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A Twist in Fate: Thalia's Story

Summary:

Itachi Uchiha hadn’t thought much about his future. He hadn’t thought much about the one night stand he had with a girl. However, as Itachi is about to learn, his actions that night had serious consequences.

12 year old Thalia Grace always knew that she was different than other demigods. She had incredible reflexes, stamina, and speed. When Thalia and her companions Luke Castellan and Annabeth Chase, are sent to a world full of ninja’s, she eventually learns why she is so different. Thalia’s mother, Beryl, was born in the world of ninja’s and was sent to the world of the Olympians, through a dimensional rift. Beryl’s father, Itachi Uchiha, had seduced Thalia’s grandmother while he was passing through her village, a month after he had massacred his entire clan.

Unfortunately, Thalia’s secret does not stay a secret for long. Now, Thalia, Luke and Annabeth will have to rely on each other and their wits to survive in this hostile world. The three of them will have to deal with near death experiences, being chased by bad guys, the Akatsuki, Orochimaru, and even Konoha. Can the three demigods make it? Or will their lives be tragically cut short? Will they ever ever go home?

Notes:

Here it is! Thalia's story of being a grandchild of Itachi Uchiha. Hope you like it. I have made this story a little different than Nico's. I plan to do the same with Percy's as well. Now remember, the Percy Jackson series belongs to Rick Riordan, just as Naruto, belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 1: Beginning

Notes:

Important note: As you can tell, I have edited and revised parts of this chapter. In fact, I shall be doing this with all of my chapters in order to fix mistakes and make some parts more clear and concise. The editing process shall be slow and I hope all of you will be patient with me as I go through this process. As I shall be focusing on editing this story, I am going to hold off on posting my next chapter. I can't promise when it will be posted, but I do promise that I shall try to work as quickly as possible to get this story updated.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

…A thousand years ago…

Long ago, in the ninja world, five siblings were born; four brothers and a sister. Each child had a unique ability. 

The oldest child was a boy named Arashi. Arashi had the ability to see into other dimensions. He could see the happenings in other worlds. He saw the births of babies, death, war, peace, and love. He could see everything. 

The second oldest child was also a boy. His name was Katashi. Katashi had the ability to sense when portals into other worlds, called dimensional rifts, would occur in the vicinity. With this power, Katashi, was able to save many of his fellow villagers from being sucked into dimensional rifts. 

The middle child was the only girl. Her name was Sorako. Sorako had the power to share memories with anyone who was willing. Sorako could show people her happiest and saddest memories. 

The fourth and fifth children were twins, both boys. The older twin was named Hideaki. Hideaki could open up dimensional rifts. Hideaki could send people to other worlds, or he could bring people from other worlds to this world. However, Hideaki, could only hold open the dimensional rifts for so long. Hideaki could also not travel to other worlds himself. If Hideaki stopped focusing, then the dimensional rift would disappear. 

Hideaki’s twin brother, Toshiro, had the power to open up dimensional rifts as well. However, Toshiro could hold open the portal to where he could travel to other worlds. Toshiro thus had many adventures in the other worlds that he visited. Of course, this earned him bragging rights among his siblings. 

The siblings were born into a recently formed clan called the Araya clan. The siblings' parents, Akiro and Tsukiko, were the leaders of the Araya clan. The clan was also made up of Akiro’s younger siblings, Akashi, Maiya, and their spouses. Tsukiko’s two younger siblings, Toma, Haruto and their spouses, also made up the clan. Akashi, Maiya, Toma, and Haruto also had children, giving Akiro and Tsukiko’s children many cousins to play with. 

The founders of the Araya clan, had been left orphans after their village was destroyed by a horde of marauders. The only survivors of the onslaught were the founders of the Araya clan, and a few other children. Other neighboring villages had been destroyed by the marauders as well, leaving many more orphans in their wake. All of the orphans, including the founders of the Araya, all hid in a sheltered valley. The orphans managed to live in peace for many decades, building new lives together.

Just as the orphans who founded the Araya clan, many of the other orphans also created clans. One group of orphans created the Amatani clan. A second group formed the Hashitani clan. A third group created the Kitani clan. A fourth group formed the Tanikawa clan. The last group formed the Yamatani clan. The founders of the other clans also began having children, giving the Araya clan heirs many friends and playmates. 

Aside from being the leader of the Araya clan, Akiro was also the leader of the entire village. Akiro was a strong man who held a strong sense of justice. He ruled the entire village with a firm yet gentle and just hand. He was beloved by everyone within his village. When Akiro died, Arashi became the new leader of the village and like his father, he was also beloved by his people. As the generations came to pass, ninshu and ninjutsu were suddenly introduced to the Araya village. The descendants of Arashi, Katashi, Sorako, Hideaki, and Toshiro; who had inherited their predecessors' powers, took to the new way of thinking quite well. In time, the people of the Araya village became excellent fighters with the ninjutsu. However, they only used this ninjutsu when absolutely necessary, as they did believe in the peaceful ways of ninshu. 

Alas, with the introduction of ninjutsu, the Araya village became a strong force. However, with their peaceful ways, the entire village was able to work together as a united force, allowing the village to prosper, even when warfare would tear the rest of the land apart.

As the centuries have passed, the Araya clan and the other clans in the Araya clans village have lived together as a strong united force. The clans have all fought together to defend their home from intruders. Through thick and thin, this unity has always provided a strong foundation for future generations to thrive within the village.

However...even such strong united forces and foundations...are bound to show cracks sooner or later. 

…..about a thousand years later…

The winter air is frosty cold. A cold wind blows lowly in the valley. Trees are bare and leafless, waiting for the warmth of spring to arrive.

All over the Araya village, villagers walk to and from, trying to get their much needed chores done. However, the leader of the village, Toma Araya, just stands in the cold. Toma is a strong man with black hair and ultramarine blue eyes. The man is wearing thick winter clothing along with a white cloak.

Toma just frowns as he stares intently at a small house, which sits close to the forest. Many other villagers see Toma looking at the house. Those villagers frown as well and just turn away.

Inside the house, a man sits in front of a hearth, which sits in the middle of the floor. The man has brown hair, ultramarine blue eyes, and fair skin. The man is wearing thick winter clothing.

Close by, a small basket sits on the floor. Soon enough, a tiny cry comes from inside the basket. The man quickly gets up and walks over to the basket. Inside the basket is a tiny baby girl. The baby girl has black hair, dark blue eyes and pale skin. The baby is wrapped in a thick white blanket. 

The man smiles as he picks up the baby girl and starts to rock her back and forth. The man is Jarou Araya and the baby is his grandniece, who is just four days old. The baby is the child of Jarou’s now deceased niece, Sakiko Araya. Sakiko, just fourteen years old, died right after she gave birth to this baby. 

Tears soon prick Jarou's eyes as he looks down at the baby. He just hugs the tiny bundle close to him. Jarou had raised Sakiko as his own, after the tragic death of her parents; Takeo Araya and Saki Araya, when she was just two years old. Takeo was Jarou’s younger half-brother. Takeo and Saki were tragically crushed when a tree fell onto their house during a storm. Little Sakiko, who was in her crib at the time, survived as her crib was just out of the tree's path.

Jarou closes his eyes as he thinks of his past. He and his family members have always been outcasts in the village and the reason is just too sad. Jarou’s mother, Akira, was very rebellious and liked to ‘entertain’ outsiders who would visit the village. Aside from 'entertaining' outsiders, Akira would also have sex with any village man who asked. Jarou’s father was an outsider. Takeo’s father was a man from the village. Jarou also has a young half-sister named Amira, whose father is also an outsider. And aside from Jarou, Takeo and Amira, Akira also had eight other children. However, Akira was not a good mother and was incredibly neglectful of the children she did have. In fact, Akira didn't even take care of herself during her pregnancies, which resulted in two of her babies dying soon after birth due to birth defects. 

Jarou just sighs as he thinks of his estranged mother, who was exiled by Toma before little Sakiko was even born. In all, Akira had ten children during her time in the Araya village. As the woman was uninterested in caring for them, it was up to others to care the ones which did manage to survive. The fathers of three of the children stepped up and took the children to raise. Two outsider men that Akira had sex with visited a second time, and found out that they were fathers. Those two men subsequently took their children back to their home village to raise. This left Jarou, Takeo and Amira, to be raised by Akira's parents, who were loving to the trio. 

Jarou sighs again as he strokes his grandniece's tiny head. Due to Akira’s promiscuous behavior, she was shunned by the rest of the village. Even Akira’s closest family members shunned her. However, Akira’s family cared deeply for her neglected and unwanted children. The rest of the village, not so much though. It just didn’t seem to matter that Akira didn’t care much for her children or that she was a terrible mother. The rest of the village decided to not only direct their animosity towards Akira...they decided to direct it towards her children. Life for all of the siblings was incredibly hard and it still is today for Jarou and Amira. Things had gotten so bad that the fathers who stepped up to care for three of Jarou's half-siblings decided to leave the village. Alas, Jarou and Amira haven't seen their three half-siblings in years.

Jarou just grits his teeth as he thinks of all the injustices that he, Takeo, Amira and all of his other half-siblings suffered over the years. Parents around the village, except for Jarou's relations, forbade their children from playing with Jarou, Takeo, and Amira or their other half-siblings. The only friends that the siblings had were their relatives and two orphans that their family members had taken in; Kesoa and Saki. Many village healers refused to even treat the children when they got sick or hurt. It was up to Akira’s family members who were village healers to heal and treat the siblings when they got sick or injured. Jarou and his siblings also had to be homeschooled by their family as the  teachers who ran the school in the village refused to teach the children. Parents even encouraged their children to bully the siblings. 

Jarou opens his eyes and just strokes his grandniece's tiny head again. Jarou has never been able to find love and that is alright with him. He has his family members. He still has Amira, who is married to Kesoa. Amira and Kesoa have two adorable little children; Alani, and Kenshiro, who are just four and one and a half. And back when Takeo and Saki were still alive, Jarou had them and little Sakiko. A few tears fall from Jarou's eyes as he looks down at the child. This baby is all that he has to remember his dear niece and brother by.

Jarou strokes the child’s cheek. The terrible truth is, the baby's father is Itachi Uchiha, the murderer of the Uchiha clan. It is because of the child's heritage that the rest of the villagers despise her even more than they did Sakiko. 

In fact, it was Toma's actions that led to Sakiko's tragic death.

It was almost ten months ago when Itachi Uchiha visited the village. The rogue Uchiha brought with him another rogue shinobi, whom he called Juzo. Juzo who wore a black cloak similar to Itachi's. The cloaks were a dead give away as well. Itachi and his partner were both Akatsuki members; part of an organization that the Araya's had just recently heard of. Alas, the whole thing confused yet terrified the villagers. Jarou and the villagers desperately wanted the two rogues to leave, but the two men just wouldn't leave, and the villagers knew they were helpless to expel the unwanted visitors. Not even Toma was brave enough to challenge Itachi and Juzo. Alas, Jarou and the other villagers had to leave Itachi and Juzo in peace.

While the other villagers were unappreciative of the arrival of the two rogues in their village, Sakiko on the other hand...was enamored with Itachi, who was young, strong and handsome. At that time, the news of the Uchiha clan massacre hadn't yet reached the Araya's. In fact, Sakiko was so infatuated with Itachi, she ignored the teachings that her uncle had taught her regarding rogue shinobi. Jarou had taught Sakiko that all rogue shinobi were criminals who couldn't be trusted. However, it seemed that Sakiko didn't see a dangerous criminal when she saw Itachi. She just saw a handsome teenage male who was actually interested in her. It just seemed that there was nothing Jarou could do to keep his beloved niece away from the boy whom he perceived as a threat.

Jarou closes his eyes as he thinks of his niece. Sakiko was always stubborn and hardheaded. And unfortunately...She was also extremely naive and had very poor judgement. 

The day after Itachi and his partner arrived, they left the village, much to the relief of Jarou and the other villagers. However, Sakiko was absolutely devastated. She cried for days, barely ate, barely slept, and barely talked to anyone. However, a month later, Sakiko, began experiencing pregnancy symptoms. Eventually, the girl confided in her uncle that both her and Itachi had sexual intercourse during the latter's stay in the village. Jarou was absolutely furious of course, but still he was extremely worried for his niece. The man took Sakiko to have her pregnancy confirmed by his aunt Rina, who was a village healer. Rina indeed confirmed that Sakiko was pregnant. After that, many villagers began sneering whenever Sakiko would walk by them, calling her a ‘whore just like her grandmother’.

Jarou opens his eyes and looks back down at the baby. A month after Sakiko found out that she was pregnant, news of the Uchiha massacre reached the village. Things got worse after that. Many villagers began calling Sakiko’s unborn child an ‘abomination’. However, Sakiko was determined to keep her unborn child and even though Jarou was angry that his niece had been irresponsible enough to get herself pregnant at the tender age of thirteen, he promised her that he would help take care of the baby no matter what it's father had done. 

Jarou then grits his teeth when he thinks of the injustice that was dealt to poor Sakiko when her due date arrived. When the time came for Sakiko to give birth, Toma, banished Sakiko to a barren edge of the valley. Toma would not allow the child to be born within the confines of the village. In fact, Toma even forbade Rina and her cousin Korra, from going with Sakiko to help her, even though the two women pleaded endlessly. Toma, even had Jarou restrained in a jail cell to keep him from going with Sakiko.

Alas, poor Sakiko literally had to hobble her way towards the barren end of the valley; alone as the painful contractions racked her body. 

By the time night fell, Sakiko had not returned. Eventually, Toma let Jarou out of the jail cell. Jarou literally ran all the way towards the place where Sakiko had been banished to. There, in an old abandoned shack, Jarou found his niece's ice cold body lying in the middle of the floor; her newborn next to her. Apparently, Sakiko was unable to deliver the placenta and thus hemorrhaged and died as a result.

Sakiko...slowly bled to death on the ice cold floor...unaided by anyone.  

A few tears prick Jarou's eyes as he looks down at the baby in his arms. Thankfully, he had found the baby alive, who was wrapped in a thick blanket. Just before Sakiko was banished, Rina had managed to toss the girl a bag of medical and baby supplies. Even though the medical supplies had done no good for Sakiko, the blanket within the bag had ensured that the newborn wouldn't freeze to death in the cold winter air. Jarou wipes his eyes with his right hand. The man had literally wept for ten minutes beside Sakiko’s body, before he got up to head back to the village with the baby. When Jarou explained to his family members regarding what he had found, everybody wept, especially Rina and Korra. However, when the family tried to make arrangements to bring Sakiko's body back to be buried in the village cemetery, Toma simply wouldn't allow it. He demanded that Jarou and his relatives either cremate Sakiko or bury her body outside of the village. Jarou and his grief stricken, yet bitter relatives, went back to the place where Sakiko had died and dug a grave for her just outside of the shack.

Sakiko wasn't able to be buried next to her parents, which is totally unfair.

Jarou closes his eyes again. He looks back down at the baby, who is sleeping soundly in his arms. Jarou hugs the tiny bundle as he thinks of the fate that could have befallen her 48 hours after her birth. For his grandniece, the first 48 hours after her birth were absolutely critical in determining her future. An ancient village law, which was made some seven hundred years ago, dictates that the village leader has the right to eliminate any child that he deems as a threat to the village, within 48 hours after birth. This law is reserved for children whose fathers are outsiders with powerful kekkei genkai. However, once the first 48 hours pass, the child is untouchable, no exceptions.

Jarou just hugs the child to him again. For the first 48 hours after her birth, Jarou, barely put his grandniece down, fearful that Toma would break down the door any minute and snatch the child away in order to kill her. However, the little one is four days old now, which means that she is safe from Toma's wrath. While Jarou is very surprised that Toma did not exercise his right to kill the child, he is still relieved that he didn't lose his grandniece. 

Ever since he became the village leader, Toma, has proven to be a pretty ruthless character.

After a few minutes, Jarou looks up at the clock and realizes that it is almost time for the baby's noontime feeding. Jarou quickly sets the sleeping baby down in the basket and heads for the kitchen. Jarou grabs a baby bottle and a tin that is half-way full of powdered baby formula. Jarou grabs the tea kettle and prepares to fill the kettle with water from the sink. Formula is rarely used in the village as all mothers within the Araya village breastfeed their babies. However, with Sakiko dead, she cannot nurse the baby. Jarou's female relatives tried to nurse the child, but with it being an extremely harsh winter, none of them seem to have enough milk for both Jarou's grandniece and their own babies. Of course, no other village women want anything to do with the little orphan, which means that Jarou has had to resort to using baby formula, which Kesoa got for him from a nearby village. And since the village does not have bottled water for baby bottles, Jarou, has been purifying tap water by boiling it in his tea kettle. Once the tap water has boiled for five minutes, Jarou will let the water cool before he fills up the bottle.

It's a lot of work but Jarou simply cannot stand the thought of his grandniece becoming sick from unpurified water. 

Jarou turns on the faucet, ready to fill the tea kettle. However, much to Jarou's confusion...water does not come out. Jarou frowns and turns the knob back. Jarou then tries to turn the water on again. Again...nothing. Jarou lets out a frustrated sigh. Great...his faucet won't work.

Jarou sets his tea kettle back down as he tries to think of a solution. The only other source of water is a well about a quarter of a mile away. Jarou sighs as realization sets in. He has to go and draw water from the well in order to fill the tea kettle. 

Jarou sighs as he walks over to the basket which contains his grandniece. It is way too cold outside to take such a small infant outside for any period of time. He will have to leave his grandniece inside while he goes to fetch the water. Jarou hates leaving the little one alone like this, even with the threat of Toma gone. But...the water is needed for the baby’s bottle. Jarou must go. 

Jarou grabs another baby blanket and swiftly begins bundling the infant up to ensure that she will be plenty warm while he is gone. The baby opens her eyes, revealing dark blue irises, which look like a mix between Sakiko's ultramarine blue ones and Itachi's black eyes. The infant also has tiny wisps of silky black hair atop her tiny head. The infant's skin is already pale and flawless and her tiny lips are a perfect pink. Jarou smiles. His grandniece...is so beautiful. The man knows that Sakiko would have been so happy to have such a beautiful and healthy daughter. 

Then, Jarou frowns when he realizes something. He was so concerned with the threat of Toma, he hasn’t even given the baby a name yet. Jarou looks down as he thinks more about this. He must think of a beautiful and special name for this child, but that can come later. Right now, he must go fetch some water.   

As Jarou gets up and prepares to leave, the baby lets out a whimper from inside the basket. 

“Shh…,” Jarou says soothingly. “I will be back as soon as possible. Just sleep my precious little one.” 

Jarou stands by the door and puts his sandals on. Jarou then wraps a thick cloak around his body and grabs a bucket which is sitting by the door. Jarou slides open the door and steps outside into the cold winter air. He shivers as he closes the door behind him. The man takes a deep breath as he begins making his way to the west, which is where the well is. He must hurry so that he can return to his grandniece as soon as possible.

As Jarou walks away from his home, he is completely unaware that he is being watched. About twenty meters away, Toma stands off to the side, just out of Jarou's line of sight. Toma watches as Jarou walks away from the house. The village leader carefully plots his next move as he watches Jarou disappear over the hill. Once Jarou is completely out of sight, Toma carefully approaches the house. Toma then silently slides open the door...letting himself inside as he does. 

About ten minutes later, Jarou, returns with the bucket, which is now full of water. However, as Jarou approaches his house, he realizes that something is terribly amiss. The door is slightly ajar. Jarou's eyes become wide as he rushes inside. The man screams and drops his bucket when he looks inside the basket.

His grandniece...is gone. 

Jarou wails with grief and runs outside. He makes a beeline for a nearby house and begins pounding on the door.

“Amira!” Kesoa! Jarou screams as he pounds on the door. “Our grandniece is missing! I think that Toma did something to her!” 

Seconds later, a younger looking woman opens the door. The woman has long black hair, ultramarine blue eyes, and fair skin. A man quickly joins her. The man has dark brown hair, brown eyes, and fair skin. 

The woman, Amira, looks questioningly at Jarou. “Missing? What do you mean, brother?” 

“I went to get water from the well, and when I came back she was gone!” Jarou cries. 

“But...what could Toma have possibly done with her?” The man, Kesoa, questions. “The child is too old for infanticide by Toma.” 

Amira wrings her hands. "I know. It doesn’t make sense.” 

“What is going on here?” A new voice suddenly says.

Jarou, Amira, and Kesoa all turn. It is Rina, Jarou and Amira’s aunt. Rina has graying blond hair, ultramarine blue eyes and pale skin. 

Jarou's eyes are wide as he rushes up to his aunt. “It is terrible Aunt Rina!” Jarou cries. “Sakiko's child is missing!” 

Rina's eyes become wide immediately. “Missing?!” 

Jarou then grits his teeth as he thinks of his village leader. He just knows that the cruel man is somehow responsible for this. “Aunt Rina, where do you think that Toma could be right now?”   

Kesoa's eyes become wide as he looks up at a plateau overlooking the village. It is where the Araya clan's special gathering place is, and right now, there are people gathering atop it. “Look!” Kesoa says as he points to the plateau. “The Araya clan’s special gathering place!” 

Jarou, Rina and Amira all turn and see exactly what Kesoa is talking about. Jarou’s eyes become wide as he starts running towards the plateau. widen. Rina quickly follows him. 

As Jarou reaches the plateau, he rushes up the stone steps. Then, the sound of a baby wailing fills his ears. Jarou's eyes become even wider. It is his grandniece and she is at the top of the plateau. Jarou runs even faster until he reaches the very top. Panic overcomes the man as he looks at the sight before him. 

Members of the village are gathered in a circle. Toma is among them. And the baby is lying in the middle of a flat, circular stone tablet. The newborn wails as she lays on the cold stone. Toma then makes a hand sign. Jarou almost screams. He knows exactly what Toma is planning on doing.

The man...is going to send the baby away to another dimension. Jarou now realizes he was a fool to think that Toma would just allow his grandniece to live and grow up within the village. 

The wind picks up. Then, a mass of swirling blue energy forms in the sky above. Jarou gasps as he prepares to rush forward in order to save his grandniece from her fate. He needs to act quickly before it is too late.  

“NOOOOO!!" Jarou screams.

Toma turns towards the sound of Jarou's voice. “SEIZE HIM!” Toma yells to a couple of men who both nod in turn. 

The two men grab Jarou’s arms and hold him back. Jarou struggles to break free. 

“Please...no,” Jarou says pleadingly. 

The swirling mass of blue energy soon forms into a swirling vortex, which hovers over the baby. People step back as the wind picks up even more. 

“No...no...no,” Jarou says as tears run down his face. “Toma, please don’t do this.” 

A gust of wind snatches up the baby and lifts the child into the air. Jarou can only watch as his grandniece...is sucked into the vortex. Then, as quickly as it came, the vortex ascends back into the sky and disappears. 

“NOOOOO!!” Jarou screams with absolute grief.

The two men who are holding Jarou back, let go. Jarou just falls to his knees and starts to sob uncontrollably. Toma, and all the others on the plateau, just look uncaringly at the sobbing mess of a man. 

…The present day… 

Jarou just sighs as he stands on a plateau overlooking a small village. Most of the homes are cliff and cave dwellings carved out of the mountains. On top of the cliffs are buildings made of wood and stone. A small river runs through the middle of the village. A small lake sits at the edge of the village. 

Jarou closes his eyes. He didn’t even get the chance to name his grandniece before that cruel hearted man, Toma, sent her away. Since Jarou and his close family members are not descendants of Hideaki or Toshiro, none of them were able to retrieve the child, and Toma knew this. The cruel village leader created a scenario which prevented Jarou or his relatives from ever physically getting the little one back. Toma had wanted to get rid of the child, and since he had missed the opportunity to kill her, he simply found another way to get rid of the child. 

Very cruel and diabolical indeed.

Jarou opens his eyes as he looks up at the moon. As if sending away Sakiko’s daughter wasn't enough, Toma dealt Jarou and his relatives another cruel blow. Toma exiled Jarou, Amira, Kesoa, Rina and their families from the village...forever. Toma decreed that if the group wasn't gone by sunrise the next morning, all of them, the children included, would be put to death. And worse...not a single villager opposed Toma's decree.

Not a single person tried to vouch for Jarou or his family members.

And so, Rina bitterly led her family away from the only home that they had ever known. The cold was terrible and some of the group just couldn't take it and thus perished. The first ones to succumb to the cold were Jarou and Amira's aging grandparents. Then, Korra's aging parents, Jarou's granduncle and grandaunt, succumbed to the cold a day later. Then, just twelve hours later, Rina’s infant grandson and Korra's infant granddaughter also succumbed to the cold. And to make matters worse, stopping to bury the bodies of their deceased loved ones was out of the question as stopping would further hinder the group's process of finding a new home. Jarou and his relatives thus had to carry their dead bodies of their deceased loved ones as they marched on.

To say that Jarou and his relatives were absolutely grief stricken by the whole thing is an understatement. However, at the same time, this just increased everyone's bitterness towards Toma and their former village.

Eventually, after three days of walking, the group found a valley, which was very similar to their old home. Inside the valley...was a community of people led by a clan called the Moriyama. The Moriyama's village leads a lifestyle much like the farming/hunter-gatherer lifestyle of the Araya's. However, unlike the Araya's, the Moriyama's have invested in more and better technology in order to help them increase food production and quality of life within the village. 

The new and strange technology wasn't the only surprise that Jarou and his relatives found within the Moriyama village. Among the Moriyama clan were two familiar faces. Those familiar faces...were the father's of Jarou's two long lost half-siblings; the ones who were taken away as babies by their outsider fathers to be raised. Jarou and Amira hadn't seen their two younger half-siblings; Aisha and Tenshi, since the two of them were just tiny toddlers. Of course, Aisha and Tenshi didn't know who the members of the group were, but their fathers immediately recognized Rina, Jarou and Amira. Aisha’s father, Kaito, and Tenshi’s father, Tetsuo, thus had to explain to their children about their familial connections to the group of people who had unexpectedly arrived at their village's gate. To say that the whole situation was awkward for Jarou, Amira, Aisha and Tenshi is an understatement.

After the Moriyama clan head, Tsukiko Moriyama, invited the group in, Rina bitterly explained what Toma had done to her family. Tsukiko and the rest of the Moriyama's were horrified and quickly took pity on the group. Tsukiko then revealed that two years prior, a fever had broken out, which killed just under half of the villagers. Tsukiko told the banished Arayas that her village's numbers hadn't quite recovered from the outbreak, and that many houses were empty. And...since the village had less hands to work the fields, the village's economy was at an all time low. So Tsukiko made a deal with Rina and the others. Rina and her family could move into the village as official villagers, and help work the land, which the exhausted and worn out Arayas readily agreed to. Tsukiko was even kind enough to allow the Araya's to bury their deceased loved ones in their village cemetery. 

Jarou closes his eyes. He is truly grateful for Tsukiko's generosity. However, he just cannot get over the horrible injustice that was done to him and his family members. 

Even after nearly four years of living with the Moriyama's, Jarou is still filled with bitterness and hatred towards Toma.

Jarou opens his eyes as he walks over to a well of water. A few tears fall from the man's eyes and land into the well water, forming ripples that distort his reflection. It has been nearly four years since his grandniece was sent away from her birth world. The child was sent to the dimension ruled by the powerful and almighty Olympian gods and due to the faster flow of time within that world, his grandniece, who was named Beryl Grace by the mortals of that world, grew to adulthood. In fact, Beryl grew old enough to have two children of her own; Thalia and Jason, thus making Jarou a great-uncle. 

Jarou blinks a few times as he thinks of Thalia and Jason. The truth is, both Thalia and Jason are demigods, the children of Zeus, almighty king of the Olympian gods. Jarou then holds his head down. At least...Jason was. Jarou just sighs as he looks down at his hands. Years ago, little Jason, just two years old, disappeared when Beryl took both him and Thalia on a picnic. Beryl swore up and down that Hera, Zeus's immortal wife had claimed him and that he was now as good as dead.

Jarou gazes up at the moon. "Jason." Jarou says to himself as he thinks of the little boy who's fate remains unknown to him.  

Jarou then closes his eyes as he thinks of Thalia. Due to the disappearance of her little brother and Beryl's indifference, Thalia ran away from home at the tender age of eight. And...like Jason...Thalia too has seemingly disappeared. Jarou hasn't been able to find her...nor her demigod companions for a couple of days. The man is really starting to get worried now. Just where could his great-niece be? 

After a few minutes, a few more tears stream down Jarou's face as he continues to gaze up at the pale moon, which glows brightly in the night sky. "Thalia...," Jarou whispers to himself. "Where are you? Are you safe?" 

Notes:

Here it is, my first revamped and edited chapter! Please comment on what you think of the changes so far!

Chapter 2: To a new world

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

...In the World of the Olympians...

In a dark alleyway, two young girls have carefully hidden themselves in the darkness. The two girls look out at the street outside the alleyway, as if they are looking for someone or something.

The older of the two girls looks to be about twelve and has spiky black hair, electric blue eyes, alabaster white skin and pink lips. A light dusting of freckles lines the girl's nose and underneath her eyes. The girl wears a black jacket, a black shirt, and black jeans. White sneakers cover the girls feet. Strapped to the girl's back is a black backpack. 

The second girl appears to be no older than seven. The girl has shoulder length blonde hair which falls in ringlets, stormy grey eyes and light skin. Right now, the little girl is wearing a pink shirt, blue jeans and a small pink jacket. Like the older girl, the little girl is wearing white sneakers. Strapped to the young girl's back is a small pink backpack. 

After a few more minutes of waiting, the two girls look at each other. The little girl clears her throat. 

“Thalia…,” The younger girl says as she looks at her older companion. “Just what do you think could be taking Luke so long?” 

The older girl, Thalia, just lets out a sigh. She shrugs her shoulders. “I do not know Annabeth.” 

The younger girl, Annabeth, wrings her small hands as she glances towards the street. “I sure hope nothing happened to him. I am getting really worried, Thalia.”  

All of the sudden, a boy no older than fourteen, pops out from behind a building. The boy bears short sandy blond hair, cerulean blue eyes along with fair skin. Right now, the boy is wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans and some white sneakers. The boy is also wearing a blue jacket. 

Thalia and Annabeth both gasp. “Luke!” The two girls say at the same time. 

The boy, Luke, just grins as he looks at his relieved companions. “I’m back. Did you two miss me?"

"Both Annabeth and I were getting really worried." Thalia begins with a tense voice. "What took you so long?" 

Luke just sighs as he approaches Thalia and Annabeth. "Pickings were slim at that dollar general...and security was tight." 

However, Luke smiles as he opens up the backpack that he is carrying. “However, I did find some good things. Just wait until you both see what I got for us to eat."  

Luke pulls out a box of pop tarts and a large box of granola bars. Thalia takes the box of pop tarts while Annabeth takes the box of granola bars. The two girls just look at the items.

"Hmm...," Thalia says as she looks at the box and at the picture. "Cookies and cream pop tarts."

Annabeth licks her lips when she sees the picture of the granola bars on the box. "Yay, Quaker granola bars! My favorite!"

Luke just grins. "That's not all."

Luke then takes out a box of crackers, along with some apples and mandarins. "I also got us some crackers, apples and oranges."

Luke then takes out a water bottle. "I also got us some more water. I got us two bottles a piece."

Thalia nods in approval. "Good idea Luke. We were getting low on water."

Luke then grins as he digs through his bag some more. "I've saved the best for last."

The teenager grins widely as he takes out a can of coca cola. "I got us some cola. Two a piece."

Annabeth licks her lips. "Hmm, coca cola."

Then, Luke takes out six candy bars. Annabeth just gasps with glee. “Candy!” 

Luke grins. “I figured that the three of us could use a treat. I thought that we could each have one now, and save the others for later."

Luke hands a candy bar to Annabeth first. Luke then hands one to Thalia. Luke takes one for himself as he puts the rest back into his bag. The three children waste no time in opening up their treats. The children just grin as they savor the mouthfuls of chocolate. Within minutes, all three children are down to their last bite of candy.

"Hmm, I just love chocolate." Luke says as he downs the last bite of his bar.

"I do too." Thalia says as she down the last bite of her bar.

"Ditto!" Annabeth says as she gulps down the last bite of her own candy bar.

Luke then takes the packages of pop tarts and granola bars out of their respective boxes. Luke simply throws the boxes into a recycling can which just so happens to be sitting nearby. The teenager then starts dividing all of the food into groups of three. Annabeth and Thalia quickly open up their own backpacks. Luke quickly starts depositing food into each waiting bag. Luke then hands Thalia and Annabeth each two water bottles, two cans of soda and a candy bar. Luke then deposits an apple and mandarin each into his companions' bags. Luke leaves the box of crackers in his bag.

"I should probably carry the crackers." Luke says. "My bag is bigger and stronger."

Thalia and Annabeth both nod. Then, Thalia reaches into her bag and takes out a set of neatly folded clothes. Thalia holds out the clothes to her male companion. “Alright Luke, here are your clothes back." 

Luke smiles as he takes the clothes from Thalia. “Thanks for holding my clothes for me, Thalia.”

Luke deposits the clothes into his bag. He then grabs a golf club that is propped up against the side of a building. "Alrighty then, let's get going." Luke says as he begins leading the way out of the alleyway. 

Luke and his companions walk until they reach a forest at the other end of the alleyway. Thalia is in the lead, despite Luke being older. The three children just walk until they reach a culvert with water flowing into a ditch. The ditch is quite wide, so just stepping across is out of the question. However, Thalia just jumps across the ditch with ease. Luke and Annabeth, on the other hand, both take their shoes and socks off. The two of them walk across the ditch, getting their feet wet in the process. Thalia hands Luke a towel. Luke dries his feet off first and then hands the towel to Annabeth, who dries her own feet off. Luke and Annabeth quickly slip their socks and shoes back on before they continue following Thalia through the forest.

Luke just looks at Thalia as the trio continues on their way. “You know, I just can't understand how you can jump across ditches so easily like that. How come you can jump across ditches while Annabeth and I can't?" 

Thalia just sighs. She shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t really know, Luke. It’s something that I have been able to do since I was very little.” 

Annabeth just blinks and crosses her small arms as she looks at Thalia. “You know, I have also noticed that you are a lot faster than us.” 

Thalia just sighs and shrugs her shoulders again. “I know. It's just...running fast just seems to come naturally to me.” 

Luke then grins. “Your battle reflexes are also incredible. You should see yourself when you battle monsters.” 

Thalia closes her eyes. “I know that I am different from other demigods. It's just...I don't know why I am so different than you and Annabeth." 

“Annabeth and I are not saying that is a bad thing.” Luke says. “Actually—”

However, Luke does not finish his sentence. A growl comes from behind the children. Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth all turn. Behind them, is a large pack of black doglike creatures. Three ladies with leathery wings and yellow eyes are also behind the children. 

Luke gasps. “Hellhounds!” Luke says. 

“Kindly ones!” Thalia and Annabeth both say at the same time.

The three ladies all let out creepy laughs. The doglike creatures, hellhounds, all let out bloodcurdling howls. 

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all start running in the opposite direction. The hellhounds and kindly ones all give chase. Within minutes, the children have been cornered against a rock ledge. Thalia, Luke and Annabeth draw out their weapons. Luke grimaces as holds up his golf club.  It is no use...they must fight for their lives. 

The hellhounds and kindly ones all approach. However, the hellhounds stop and look up at the sky. The kindly ones do the same. All of the sudden, the pack of hellhounds all howl and run away.

The three kindly ones let out shrieks. “Dimensional rift!” The three kindly ones scream. The three kindly ones all turn and fly away as fast as they can. 

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth are left standing against the rock ledge. The three children are very confused. The three of them have never had monsters run away from them like that. 

Annabeth puts her knife back into the belt strapped around her waist. “What was all that about?” 

Thalia just shrugs as she puts her sword back on her back. “I don’t know. That was very weird indeed."  

Thalia turns to ask Luke what he thinks of the strange event, only to find the boy staring up at the sky. Thalia narrows her eyes. "Luke, what is it? Is something wrong?"  
 
Luke just squints as he stares up at the sky. Then, the teenager points to a specific spot up in the sky. “Just look up at the sky." Luke says with a tense voice. "Do the two of you see what I am seeing?”

Thalia and Annabeth both look up and quickly notice something odd. There is a swirling mass of blue energy, swirling up in the sky. And..it looks as if it is descending. Thalia and Annabeth both glance at each other with tense and confused looks. Just what is that up in the sky? 

“What is that?” Annabeth asks with a small voice. "I have never seen anything like that before!"  

Thalia shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know, Annabeth. I have to say, I have never seen anything like that ever in my life.”

Thalia quickly turns to her male companion. "Luke, do you have any idea what that is?" 

Luke just shrugs his shoulders. “Beats me.” 

As the three children continue to stare at the swirling blue mass in the sky, they quickly take note that the wind is starting to pick up. Soon enough, the wind is so strong that the children almost fall over. Leaves fly off the trees and blow around in the air. The air starts to become thick. Then, the swirling mass of blue energy descends down to the ground, forming a swirling vortex.

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all gasp with horror as they back away. It is a tornado! Luke quickly grabs Annabeth to keep her from being sucked up. 

“RUN!” Luke screams. 

Thalia and Luke prepare to make their escape with little Annabeth. However...it is too late. The wind lifts Thalia and Luke off their feet and into the air. Luke just holds Annabeth tightly in his arms as the wind tries to rip the two of them apart.

“THALIA!” Luke and Annabeth scream as they watch Thalia fly around in the air.

“LUKE! ANNABETH!” Thalia screams as she is flung through the air like a ragdoll. 

The three children are swiftly swallowed up into the tornado. The tornado then ascends back into the sky and disappears. 

...in the world of ninja’s…

A swirling blue mass of energy appears in the sky. The swirling blue mass descends towards the ground, until it is just feet above the ground. Thalia, Luke and Annabeth are deposited on the ground. All three children are unconscious. The swirling blue mass of energy, then ascends back into the sky and disappears. Thalia, Luke and Annabeth are left unconscious on the ground. 


Toma looks towards the eastern end of the village and frowns. He just sensed something weird. Like...someone opening up a dimensional rift to another world. 

Toma looks to his right hand men, who all narrow their eyes towards the east as well. Hmm, they must have sensed the rift as well.

"Come on boys, I think someone's up to no good." Toma says. "Let's go see who is causing mischief now."

The two men nod and begin following their village leader towards the eastern end of the village. 

Within ten minutes, Toma and his men reach a plateau leading up to a mountain. There, on top of the plateau, a man stands in front of a large mirror. The unknown man has graying black hair, cornflower blue eyes and light skin which is just starting to show wrinkles.

Toma gasps when he sees the man. It is Masaru Araya, a distant cousin of his. Then, Toma looks at the mirror and realizes that there is an image in it. Toma's eyes become wide when he realizes that the image is of the little abomination's demigod daughter; Thalia, who is lying unconscious on the ground with her demigod companions, Luke and Annabeth. Toma gasps with shock and rage when he realizes exactly what world the three demigods are in. Thalia and her friends...are in the ninja world.

The black haired man, Masaru, turns when he hears Toma gasp. Toma’s eyes light up with rage as he looks at his distant cousin. 

“Masaru, what have you done?!" Toma yells with absolute rage. "What is the meaning of this?” 

Masaru just looks at his village leader with cold eyes. “Toma, what you did all those years ago was wrong.” Masaru says with a cold voice. “What you did to Jarou and all of his relatives was wrong as well. I have to say that I deeply regret that I did nothing to stop you all those years ago."

Masaru closes his eyes. "I also regret that I did not speak up when you banished Jarou and his relatives. I will admit it; I was afraid of you back then. However, I have now decided to let that fear go. I finally see you for who you really are. A cruel tyrant who doesn't care about his people!" 

Masaru glances at the image in the mirror. "Thalia and her friends were about to get eaten by monsters so I saved them.” 

Toma’s eyes go red with absolute rage. “YOU BLASTED FOOL! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?!”  

Masaru doesn't flinch. “I have done the right thing, by not fearing you and not following your cruel ways.” 

Toma just clenches his fists into balls. He gets a mad look in his eyes. 

Masaru notices Toma's mad look and just sighs. “I suppose that you are going to banish my family and I, like you did to Jarou and his relatives? Just go ahead and do it. I don't care to live in a village ruled by a tyrant."  

Toma's eyes suddenly narrow. “No.” Toma says with a deathly voice. “I actually just thought of a better punishment for you. DEATH! And you know what...Your grandsons shall die with you! In fact, I shall kill them in front of you!” 

Toma turns to his two henchmen. "Mihiro! Koshiro! Go find the boys and meet me in the village center. We shall show everyone what happens to people who cross me!"

Masaru just blinks a few times as he looks at Toma. “Deep down, I knew that you would suggest that. That is why I was prepared.” 

All of the sudden, Masaru, disappears in a puff of smoke. Toma and his henchmen gasp.  Toma's eyes then light up with even more rage. “A shadow clone! He tricked me!”  

In a cave overlooking the plateau, the real Masaru, with a pack strapped to his back, hides in the darkness. Two young boys are hidden behind him. The first boy looks to be about nine and has black hair and blue-grey eyes. The boy has a backpack strapped to his back. The second boy looks to be about seven and has black hair and blue-grey eyes. The seven year old boy has a backpack strapped to his back and carries a stuffed dragon in his arms. 

“Grandfather…,” The older boy begins to say. 

Masaru immediately hushes the older boy. “Hush, Masaomi. I need you and Hikaru to follow me, alright. Hurry!” 

Masaru grabs Masaomi’s hand. Masaomi grabs the younger boy, Hikaru’s hand, with his other hand. The three of them start down a dark passageway. Within minutes, the trio reach an opening and step out. Masaru then leads his grandsons down a path. After a few minutes, they all look behind them. In the distance, a mountain range sits behind the trio. Masaomi just looks up at his grandfather. 

“Grampa, are we really never going back to the village?” Masaomi asks. 

Masaru nods his head and sighs. "It is for the best my dear ones. Toma is a cruel village leader. Let's just say that I have finally seen the light, and have decided that the three of us are better off somewhere else.” 

Little Hikaru just blinks as he looks up at his grandfather. “But where are we going then, grampa?” 

“Somewhere far away.” Masaru says. "We shall find another village to settle down in. One that is not ruled by a cruel tyrant like Toma."

Masaru then looks towards the east. “However, there is something that I must do first. Just follow me.” 

Masaru walks down the path through the winding forest. His grandson’s follow closely behind him. Masaru closes his eyes. It hadn’t been his original plan to send Thalia and her friends here. However, Masaru, realized that the three young demigods would be hopelessly outnumbered by the monsters and decided to act. However, Masaru now realizes that Thalia is in real danger in this world. Masaru knows that he must find Thalia and tell her about her heritage.

Knowing the dangers out there will help prepare Thalia and her friends for the challenges ahead. It is the only way that the three demigods can survive in this world. 


Thalia just stirs on the ground. Her eyes slowly flicker open. She looks at her surroundings. Where am I? Thalia thinks to herself. The last thing the young demigod remembers is getting sucked into a strange blue tornado.

Then, Thalia suddenly remembers her friends. She looks around, trying to find her beloved companions, the only friends she has ever had. Then, to her left, Thalia finally spots Luke and Annabeth, who are both lying unconscious a few meters away. Thalia crawls over to Annabeth first and begins shaking the young girl's shoulder. Within a few moments, Annabeth's grey eyes slowly flicker open. Annabeth groans as she tries to sit up.  

“Thalia?” Annabeth asks. "What happened?" 

Thalia takes a deep breath. "We got sucked into that strange blue tornado thing. Are you alright? can you move?"  

Annabeth just groans a little as she sits up. “I feel fine. Just give me a minute."  

Then, Annabeth finally turns to see Luke lying unconscious a meter or so away. The little girl gasps. 

“Is Luke alright?” Annabeth asks with some concern. 

Thalia crawls over to Luke. “I am about to go check.” 

Thalia just sits by Luke and starts shaking his shoulder. Annabeth crawls over to sit by Thalia and begins shaking Luke's other shoulder. Within minutes, Luke’s eyes open up instantly. Luke looks at Thalia and Annabeth. 

"Luke, are you alright?" Annabeth asks.

“Thalia! Annabeth!” Luke says as he looks between her and Thalia. “I had the worst nightmare! I dreamed that the three of us were sucked up into a blue tornado! We were spun around, around and around!” 

Thalia sighs. “Unfortunately, it was not a dream.” 

Luke immediately goes pale. “It wasn’t?” 

Annabeth just shakes her head. “Nope." 

“Oh.” Luke says as he sits up. "Well, at least the tornado didn't kill us."

Then, as Luke looks around, his eyes become wide. “Oh man, I lost my golf club!” 

Thalia and Annabeth suddenly become pale. Thalia feels her back. Her eyes become wide. Annabeth checks her belt. Her eyes become wide as well.  

“I can’t find my sword.” Thalia whispers. 

“I can’t find my knife.” Annabeth says with a whimper. 

In a flash, all three children are on their feet and looking for their weapons. They know that demigods without weapons are dead demigods. 

Thalia carefully scans the ground, looking for any signs of her sword. Within minutes, Thalia finds her sword. Thalia picks the sword up and holds it carefully in her hands. “I found my sword!” Thalia calls out to her friends. 

Nearby, Annabeth finds her knife, which is lying in a patch of blue flowers. “I found my knife!” Annabeth calls out. 

Close by, Luke finds his golf club, which is stuck between two tree branches. Luke carefully shifts the makeshift weapon until it is freed from the branches. “I found my golf club!” Luke calls out. 

The three children quickly regroup and scan their surroundings. Luke then frowns when he notices something peculiar. It is dark outside. It shouldn’t be nighttime yet. 

“Uh, Thalia...Annabeth,” Luke begins. “Do the two of you notice something odd?” 

Thalia and Annabeth, both narrow their eyes and look around. Their eyes suddenly become wide when they realize what Luke is talking about. It is dark. It shouldn't be this late. 

Annabeth blinks a few times. “Yeah, it's dark outside.” 

Thalia crosses her arms. “It shouldn’t be nighttime yet.” 

Luke just rubs his chin thoughtfully. “I know. This is very strange."  

After a few moments, Thalia lets out a sigh. “Well, we should probably get a move on then. As you both know, a lot of monsters like to come out at night.” 

Luke scratches the back of his head. “Yeah, you’re right, Thalia.”

Annabeth whimpers a little. "Yeah, we need to find a good hiding spot. I don't like monsters."

Luke and Thalia just nod in agreement. Without saying another word, all three demigods begin walking towards the east. Their original destination. 


Luke, Annabeth and Thalia just walk through the dark forest. They have been walking for nearly ten minutes already. However, they have yet to see a single monster. 

Thalia just stops walking and looks around. Luke and Annabeth stop walking as well. They turn to Thalia.

"Guys, something just feels wrong." Thalia says with a tense voice. "This forest feels different than the one we were in before that freaky blue tornado sucked us up.” 

Luke looks around. He soon narrows his eyes and begins scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, you're right, Thalia. This forest does seem different. But...how can we be in a different forest?” 

Annabeth looks around. “Maybe the blue tornado dropped us in a different forest.”  

Luke shrugs. “I suppose that could be possible.”

Then, the son of Hermes just frowns as he crosses his arms. “However, we now have no idea as to where this forest is." The teenager says with a tense voice. "In fact, we could be in China for all we know!” 

Thalia immediately frowns as she crosses her arms. “That is true and that would be very problematic indeed.” 

The daughter of Zeus then looks around some more. "However, that still doesn't explain why we haven't seen any monsters."

Then, Annabeth suddenly hears something in the distance. She narrows her eyes as strains to hear whatever it is she is hearing. Then, Her eyes become wide as she realizes what the sound is. The sound...is running water. A stream or a river perhaps? 

“Do you two hear that?” Annabeth asks as she turns back to her companions. “It sounds like...running water. Like a stream or something.” 

Thalia and Luke just look at each other. The two of them begin to listen very carefully as well. Their eyes become wide as well. Annabeth is right. It does sound like running water. Perhaps they should go check it out. 

“It’s coming from that direction.” Thalia says as she points to the east. “Let’s go check it out.” 

Luke and Annabeth silently follow Thalia, until they reach a stream. When the three demigods reach the stream, they realize that something is off. The water in the stream is...crystal clear. No sign of any kind of water pollution whatsoever. Thalia, Luke and Annabeth frown as they examine the water. 

Luke scratches his chin. "How strange. I have never seen such a clear and clean looking stream before.” 

Thalia furrows her brows. “Neither have I. This is just so strange." 

Little Annabeth just bends down and sniffs the water. “This water also smells really clean. I think I might taste it."  

Annabeth forms one of her hands into a little cup and scoops up some water. Annabeth slowly sips the water in her hand. Her eyes become wide and she scoops up some more water. “This is the best water I have ever tasted! It is even better than bottled water!” 

Annabeth gulps down the water in her hands. Luke and Thalia look at one another. Hmm, Annabeth seems to be enjoying the water. Perhaps they should try some of it as well.

Thalia tentatively scoops up some water into her own hand and takes a tiny sip. Her eyes widen instantly and soon she is scooping up water just like Annabeth. 

“Annabeth is right, this water is better than bottled water." Thalia says as she gulps down more water. "Must have more.” 

Thalia just scoops up some more water and gulps it down. Luke tentatively scoops up some water with one of his hands and takes a sip. His eyes become wide instantly. Wow, this water is really good.  

“So fresh and clean.” Luke says as he gulps down some more water. "Best water I have ever tasted!"  

Within a few minutes, the children have quenched their thirst. Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all look at one another as they examine their surroundings some more. 

Thalia just blinks as she looks around. “This place is so different. It is so clean and pristine. It's almost like this place is another world.” 

Luke blinks a few times as he thinks about this. Then, his eyes become wide. The son of Hermes looks at his companions with a serious look.  “You know what, I actually think that this might really be another world. Remember what those kindly ones said?” 

Thalia and Annabeth just look at each other as they begin thinking back to what happened right before they were sucked into the blue tornado. 

“Well, the kindly ones said ‘dimensional rift’ and flew away.” Thalia recalls. “Hmm, I wonder what a dimensional rift is supposed to be.” 

“In movies that I watched when I was younger…,” Luke begins. “Different dimensions equate to different worlds. I think that the blue tornado sent us to a different dimension...another world.” 

Thalia and Annabeth, look at one another. Thalia just shrugs. “Well, If gods and goddesses can exist then why not different dimensions.” 

Annabeth frowns as she crosses her small arms. "But, what about going to camp Half-blood? If we are in another dimension, we can’t go to camp!” 

Luke just sighs and shrugs his shoulders. “Well, the three of us are just gonna have to make a life here I suppose.”

Then, Luke suddenly grins as a thought comes to mind. “However, this could actually be a blessing. If we are in another world, monsters cannot find us. We don’t have to worry about monsters chasing us ever again!"  

The eyes of both Thalia and Annabeth widen considerably. 

Luke just grins as he looks at his two female companions. "Just think of it girls. The monsters are back in our world, and we are here. They can't us. We don't have to run, hide from or even fight monsters ever again!

Thalia and Annabeth both blink a few times. Then, the two girls just grin as Luke's words set in. Luke is right. The monsters that have hunted and tormented them their whole lives...cannot reach them here. They are finally safe.  

Annabeth grins. “No more Cyclops.” 

Luke grins as well. “No more hellhounds.” 

Thalia grins as well. “No more kindly ones.”

Annabeth smiles even brighter. “No more Hydras.” 

Luke just takes a deep breath and smiles. “No more manticores.” 

Thalia smiles brightly. “No more Hera and Hades trying to kill me.”

Then, Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all jump. “NO MORE MONSTERS!” The three demigods cry together.

For the next two minutes, the three young demigods just hug one another as they all cry tears of relief and joy. 


Itachi Uchiha's eyes flicker open. He looks around. His Akatsuki partner, Kisame Hoshigaki, is laying nearby. Kisame just snores lightly in his slumber. Earlier, after completing a mission, the two rogues decided to make camp here. They made a fire, ate some of their provisions, and then drifted off to sleep.

Itachi just blinks as he looks at the campfire, which burns a few feet away. The kinslayer then blinks as he looks up at the moon and stars above. He narrows his eyes as a strange feeling overcomes him. For some reason, the rogue Uchiha just has this feeling that his lie is about to change drastically.

What is this feeling? Itachi thinks to himself. For some reason, I just have this feeling that everything that I thought I knew is about to change. Why? 

After a few minutes, Itachi just shakes his head as he looks away from the moon. Itachi just closes his eyes and tries to go back to sleep. However, the rogue Uchiha just can’t.


Sasuke Uchiha just turns in his sleep as he lays on a very thin futon. A blanket covers his body. Right now, the young genin is sleeping in the living area of Tazuna's home with the rest of his team. Kakashi is lying nearby on his own futon to Sasuke's right. Naruto and Sakura are lying to Sasuke's left.

Suddenly, Sasuke’s flickers open. The young Uchiha looks around at the rest of his team, who are all still sleeping soundly. After a few minutes, Sasuke just rubs his head and silently sits up. The Uchiha then silently gets to his feet and makes his way towards the shoji screens, which lead to Tazuna's small veranda. For some reason, Sasuke just feels like he cannot go back to sleep. Perhaps a little fresh air will help.

Sasuke carefully slides open the shoji screens, and steps out onto the veranda. Sasuke then silently closes the shoji screen behind him, being careful not to awaken any of his team or Tazuna and his family.  

Sasuke just sits down on the narrow and small veranda. He looks up at the moon. The moon shines brightly over the Land of waves. Stars are twinkling in the sky like fireflies. 

Sasuke just continues to look up at the moon. A strange feeling soon overcomes the Uchiha. Sasuke just narrows his eyes and shakes his head.

Just why do I have this feeling that things in my life are about to change? Sasuke thinks to himself. Why?

After a few more minutes, Sasuke sighs to himself. He gets up to head back inside. The Uchiha silently slides open the shoji screen and steps back into the house. The Uchiha then slides the screen closed behind him as he makes his way back to his futon.  


Thalia, Luke and Annabeth just walk around the forest. Right now, the three of them are trying to find a cozy place to sleep. Earlier, Annabeth pointed out that even though they didn't have to run from monsters anymore, there might still be dangers in this world such as wild animals. Thalia and Luke agreed with their young friend. So, instead of sleeping out in the open, the group is trying to find adequate shelter to spend the night in.

Annabeth’s eyes droop a little as she walks. “I’m tired. I just wanna go to sleep.” 

Thalia sighs. “I know. However, we must find a good place to lie down first.” 

Then, Luke suddenly stops as he spots something to his left. It is a dark cave, which looks big enough to hold all three of them. Luke approaches the cave and looks inside. Hmm, this cave is actually pretty big, and Luke doesn't see any wild animals inside it. The son of Hermes grins as he looks towards his two female companions.  

“This cave is big and it looks nice.” Luke says. “Why don’t we gather some wood and make a fire?” 

Thalia immediately nods. “Sounds like a good idea.” 

Annabeth nods as well. “Ditto.” 

The three children head off to gather firewood. Within ten minutes, they return with their arms full of wood. Luke sets down his armful first. Thalia sets hers down as well as does Annabeth. The children now have a nice sized pile of sticks and twigs. Luke quickly grabs a lighter out of his backpack, and then grabs a twig. Luke lights a small flame on the end of the twig and then lowers the twig towards the wood. Within minutes, the pile of wood is a warm roaring fire. 

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth sigh as the warmth from the fire hits them. The young demigods stand in front of the fire for a little bit to warm themselves. Then, Annabeth yawns and lies down on the cave floor. Thalia and Luke do the same. 

“Goodnight Luke...goodnight Thalia.” Annabeth says as she starts to fall asleep. “See you in the morning.” 

“Goodnight Annabeth.” Luke and Thalia both say. 

Soon, little Annabeth is fast asleep. Thalia and Luke look at each other. 

Luke yawns and sets his gold club down beside him. “Goodnight Thalia.” 

Thalia yawns as she takes her sword off of her back and lays in down beside her. “Goodnight Luke.”

Within minutes, Thalia, like Annabeth, is sound asleep. Luke smiles he looks at the sleeping forms of his two friends. Then, Luke narrows his eyes as he looks at his golf club. The son of Hermes had almost thought about ditching it since he doesn’t have to defend himself or Thalia or Annabeth from monsters anymore. However, Luke decided to keep it.

After all, you never know when a golf club will come in handy.

Luke just as he closes his eyes. Within minutes, the son of Hermes is sound asleep like his companions. 

Notes:

Alright, here is my second revamped and edited chapter. For all of you who have read this chapter before, please tell me what you think of the changes so far.

Chapter 3: Exploring a new world

Notes:

Alright, here is my third edited and revamped chapter. For all of you who have ready this chapter before my revisions, please tell me what you think of the changes so far.

Chapter Text

Luke’s eyes flutter open. The son of Hermes can see that light is starting to stream into the cave. Hmm, it must be morning. Luke then looks to his left. Thalia and Annabeth are lying to his left, and the two of them are still sound asleep. Luke just yawns as he stretches. 

I suppose that we should get up now. Luke thinks to himself. I am actually eager to see what this new world has to offer. 

Once Luke is done stretching, he turns his attention to his companions. Luke just gently shakes Thalia’s shoulder. Soon enough, Thalia’s eyes flutter open. The daughter of Zeus turns to Luke. 

Luke just smiles. “Good morning, sleepy head. I think that we should get up and explore our new home.”

Thalia just nods as she yawns and stretches herself awake. “Sounds like a good idea.” 

At the sound of Thalia moving, Annabeth’s eyes flutter open. Annabeth yawns and looks at her older companions. Luke smiles cheerfully at the young girl. 

“Wakey, wakey Annabeth.” Luke says with a slightly teasing voice. “A new day has begun. Let’s head out and explore our new home.” 

Annabeth’s eyes become wide and she smiles. “Oh yes! I want to explore!” 

Annabeth sits up right away. Then, the three children hear the unmistakable sounds of hungry bellies growling. Luke just smiles. “Well, it sounds like we should have some breakfast first.” 

Luke opens up his bag and takes out a granola bar and a bottle of water. Thalia and Annabeth do the same. As the children eat, the meager breakfast, they talk about the new world that they are in.

Annabeth swallows the bit of granola bar that she currently has in her mouth. “I wonder if this world has gods and goddesses too.”

Luke shrugs. “I don’t know...maybe.”

Thalia then blinks as she thinks of something. “I wonder if this world even has humans.” 

Luke narrows his eyes. “Hmm, that is a good question indeed. Well, if there are humans, then there would have to be some kind of civilization that we could settle down in.”

Thalia manages a smile at that. “That would be awesome.”

Then, Thalia frowns when she thinks of something else. “However, if there are humans in this world, I at least hope that they are friendly.”

Luke frowns as he looks down at the last bite of his granola bar. “I didn’t even think of that. Well, I also hope that any humans we find are friendly as well. I would hate it if we had to run from unfriendly mortals.”

Thalia sighs. “Yeah, that would be terrible.” 

Annabeth nods her head. “Yeah.” 

Luke looks down at the last bit of granola bar in his hand. “Well, we will never know for sure unless we search for humans. Let’s hurry up and finish our breakfast and then we can go.” 

The three young demigods quickly down the last bites of their granola bars. Then, they all wash down their breakfast with big gulps of water. Luke is the first to stand up and head outside into the sunshine. Thalia and Annabeth follow right behind him.

Thalia blinks a few times. “Well, at least we don’t need to check for monsters anymore when we get up.”

Luke sighs. “Yeah, I guess that’s one way to look at it.” 

Then, Luke’s eyes become serious as he looks around. “However, we still need to be cautious. We have no idea if this world has humans or animals, or if they are friendly.” 

Thalia and Annabeth look at one another. They both know that Luke is right. There could be danger lurking behind every tree and rock. They must be cautious, even if they don’t have to worry about monsters anymore.

Luke quickly goes back into the cave to retrieve his golf club. Thalia goes to retrieve her sword. The two demigods reemerge moments later with their weapons. 

Luke just sighs as he holds his golf club in his hands. “Alright you two, let’s do this.”

Thalia nods. “I’m ready.”

Annabeth nods as well. “So am I.”

With that, the three children set off into the forest to search for any signs of life, leaving the cave behind them.


Jarou stands over a well of water. He holds his hand over the water as he searches Thalia’s dimension, trying to find any trace of her or her friends. After a few more minutes, Jarou sighs and pulls his hand back, which dissipates the image in the water. Jarou solemnly begins walking away. He starts to descend the stone steps leading down from the plateau into the Moriyama village. 

After a few minutes of walking down the steps, Jarou finally reaches the bottom. Inside the village, villagers are working diligently in the many fields and gardens. Just then, Kesoa and a few village men walk by. Kesoa and the men are carrying baskets full of fruits and vegetables. Kesoa spots Jarou immediately.

“Hello Jarou.” Kesoa says to his brother-in-law. “How are you today? Have you found young Thalia?”

At the mention of Thalia, Jarou just sighs and turns away. Jarou hangs his head down and walks away. Kesoa just gets a sad look in his eyes as he looks down at the basket he is carrying. The men who are with Kesoa just look knowingly at Jarou as they all watch the man recede..

One of the men just sighs. “It has been four years. He still grieves...after all this time.”

Kesoa closes his eyes. “Even Amira still breaks down when someone mentions Sakiko and her child. I am afraid that what happened four years ago has left a permanent scar on my wife’s and brother-in-laws hearts.”

Another man lets out a sigh. “And I can imagine that Jarou is under severe stress as no one can find Sakiko’s granddaughter. The ‘not knowing what has happened to the girl’ must be one of the worst things.” 

Kesoa closes his eyes. “Yes.”

Meanwhile, Jarou eventually comes to an area that leads to some hot springs. Two elderly women walk out of a bathhouse. It is Rina and the Moriyama clan matriarch, Tsukiko.

Tsukiko has long white gray hair, blue-grey eyes and fair skin. Tsukiko is a very stern yet caring clan matriarch. 

“Ah…,” Tsukiko says as she sighs. “I feel so much better.”

Rina sighs as well. “So do I.”

Rina then notices her nephew. Rina raises a brow. “Jarou?”

Jarou looks sorrowfully at his aunt. “Aunt Rina, I think that Thalia may be dead . It has been five days since we could locate her and her friends in the other world. I now fear the worst has happened.”

Rina just puts a comforting hand on Jarou’s shoulder. “Jarou, it has only been five days. Don’t give up hope just yet. Just keep looking.”

Jarou blinks a few times, but he doesn’t respond. He simply walks away without saying another word.


Luke looks around as he takes a break with Thalia and Annabeth by a river. So far they have seen fish, birds, lizards, squirrels, rabbits and even deer. This world does have animals or all sorts, just like their birthworld does. However, they have not come across any humans yet.

Thalia lays on the riverbank. She just gazes up at the sky. “This world is so much like our own. There just has to be humans here.”

Luke nods. “I agree, Thalia.”

Annabeth sighs as she looks up at the passing clouds. “I really hope that we find humans. Our food supplies won’t last forever.”

Luke closes his eyes. “I know.”

After a few more minutes of gazing up at the sky and clouds, Luke sits up. “Well, I think that we should get going. The sun looks like it is in the noon position.”

Both Thalia and Annabeth nod in agreement as they sit up. Luke, Thalia and Annabeth grab their bags as they all get to their feet. Luke grabs his golf club while Thalia grabs her sword. Without saying another word, the three demigods start making their way downstream. The plan is to at least find an ocean, where they can then walk along the beach. Maybe that way the three of them will actually find civilization.

After ten minutes of walking, the three children gaso when they reach a meadow full of flowers. There are flowers of all different varieties, colors and sizes. There are blossoms, violets, buttercups and daisies. There are pink, red, blue, violet, white, orange and yellow flowers alike. There are big and small flowers. And all over the meadow, butterflies fly about and land on the various flowers.

The meadow...is positively beautiful. 

Annabeth gasps as she looks at the meadow with amazement. “Wow, it’s so pretty!” 

Annabeth just squeals as she runs into the meadow and starts examining all of the pretty flowers. Thalia and Luke just smile at the sight.

“I have to say, It is pretty.” Thalia admits.

Luke nods his head. “I agree.”

Annabeth just smiles as she examines the pretty and sweet smelling flowers. Then, she narrows her eyes as she spots a glinting object lying amongst the flowers. The young daughter of Athena looks closer and soon realizes that it is a metal object. Annabeth gasps and immediately reaches to retrieve the object. 

Both Luke and Thalia raise their brows. Luke clears his throat. “What is it Annie?” 

Annie is Luke’s nickname for Annabeth. Luke’s nickname for Thalia is ‘Thals’. 

Annabeth turns back to companions with eyes full of excitement. “I found something! It looks like metal!” 

After a few more moments, Annabeth finally holds up her find. It is steel. A steel knife to be exact.

Luke and Thalia both gasp as they rush over. A knife...a man made object. There are humans in this world.

Thalia and Luke both arrive where Annabeth is sitting and begin examining the object in the young girl’s hands. The knife actually looks more like a weapon. The knife-like weapon has been welded to resemble a diamond and the point and edges look as though they are very sharp. The handle ends with a little loop. It looks like the strange knife can be hung from a hook or something.

Thalia raises a brow. “This definitely does not look like it was used for chopping up food. It is a weapon for sure.”

Luke just sighs as he holds the strange knife in his own hands. “Well, now we know one thing for sure. This world does have humans...and they can be violent. Just another reason to be careful.”

Luke looks back down at the weapon in his hands. “Well, it looks as if it is in good shape. I say we take it with us. Since this world does have violent humans, an extra weapon may come in handy.”

Thalia nods in agreement. “That sounds like a good idea.” 

Luke then holds out the knife to Thalia. “Here Thalia, why don’t you hold it while I get my bag unzipped?” 

“Alright.” Thalia says as she takes the strange weapon into her own hands. 

As Luke prepares to unzip his backpack, Thalia fiddles with the knife. “By the way it can be held, it can definitely be used for stabbing and slicing.” Thalia says as she holds the weapon by its handle.

“And the design suggests that great care was taken to make it.” Luke remarks as he looks at the weapon some more.

Annabeth narrows her eyes as she looks at the little loop at the end of the handle. “That little loop on the end makes it possible to hang it or even tie something to it.”

Luke narrows his eyes as a thought soon comes to mind. He holds his hand out. “Thalia, can I see that for a minute? I want to try something.” 

Thalia just nods and hands the weapon to Luke, who puts his index finger through the loop. Luke then makes a spinning motion with his finger, which causes the knife to spin. Luke grins. “Cool, you can spin it!” 

Thalia looks closer at the spinning object. A thought soon comes to mind. Thalia holds out her hand. “Luke, can you give me that for a sec? I want to try something out.”

Luke just shrugs and stops spinning the weapon on his finger. He hands it to Thalia. Thalia holds the weapon in her own hand. Then, she turns towards a nearby tree. Thalia takes a deep breath as she holds the weapon in her hand, the tip pointed directly at the tree. Then, in one single motion, Thalia throws the knife towards the tree. 

The weapon flies through the air in a straight line and hits the tree, where it imbeds itself into the bark. The strange knife...is now stuck in the tree.

Thalia’s eyes become wide at what she just did. She looks at Luke and Annabeth. Annabeth just stares at the tree. Luke’s jaw hangs open for a few moments. When Luke finally manages to close his mouth, he looks at Thalia with a look of awe.

“How...how did you do that?” Luke finally asks.

Thalia just blinks a few times. She doesn’t really know how she did either. It almost seemed like it came naturally to her.

“I don’t know myself.” Thalia says. “I contemplated the design and thought about what would happen if it were thrown. I was just trying it out. I didn’t expect it to actually become embedded in the tree like that. When I was prepared to throw it...it almost felt natural. Like...I was born to do it.”

Luke raises a brow. “Really?”

Thalia just nods and walks up to the tree. She wiggles the knife out of the tree bark. Thalia then walks back to her friends. After a few minutes of contemplation, the daughter of Zeus puts the weapon into her own bag.

“Since I can use it to its full potential, I should probably keep it.” Thalia says.

Luke shrugs. “Fine with me.”

Annabeth gets up from her sitting position. She looks around. “You know what, since that weapon is here, that means civilization should not be too far from here.”

Luke rubs his chin. “Hmm, you’re right Annie. The creators of this weapon have to be close by.”

Thalia just glances downstream. “Let’s keep following the river downstream.”

Luke and Annabeth nod. They follow Thalia out of the meadow.


Toma sits in the village meeting room. His most trusted right hand men are sitting on the tatami floor in front of him. 

One man just sneers. “The daughter of that ‘clan killer’s spawn’ is here in this world! This is terrible!”

Toma sighs. “Yes. And worse, it is all Masaru’s fault!” 

Mihiro just crosses his arms. “I just wish that the girl would have just been eaten by a monster.” 

Koshiro frowns and crosses his arms. Koshiro is a strong man with short dark brown hair, ultramarine blue eyes and light skin. “I wish that Hades would have just killed the girl.”

Another man just groans. “Why couldn’t Hera have just killed that half-blood abomination like she did with the boy?” 

Toma shrugs. “We don’t know for sure that Hera killed the boy. However, I sure hope that she did.”

Koshiro just sneers. “Well Lord Toma, what do we do about the girl?”

Toma just closes his eyes. “Nothing...unless we come across her that is. As long as she stays away from the village, it is not our problem.”

However, Toma then opens his eyes, which have a sinister look to them. He grabs the hilt of his sword. 

“However…,” Toma says with a sinister sounding voice. “If the day comes that the girl does find her way to our village, she will never see the light of another day.”


Thalia looks up at the sky. The sun is just starting to set over the horizon. The daughter of Zeus then looks back towards Luke and Annabeth. The three children have been walking for hours. Little Annabeth looks ready to collapse any minute now.

Thalia notices Annabeth struggling. “Luke, we need to stop. Poor Annabeth needs to rest. She looks ready to just collapse.”

Luke just sighs. “Ok. Truth is...I just want to collapse myself.”

Thalia sighs as well. “I do too.”

Luke just looks around. He spots something out of the corner of his eye. It is a cabin. Luke’s eyes instantly widen. “Check it out girls.” Luke says as he walks up to the cabin. “A cabin. I wonder if anybody is home.”

Luke prepares to knock on the door. However, Luke notices that the door is actually ajar. Luke raises a brow as he knocks on the door frame. “Hello, is anybody home? You left your door open.”

There is no answer. Luke pushes the door open only to find that the inside is completely empty. There isn’t a soul inside. Luke steps inside and looks around. All that is in the cabin is a low table and a sunken floor hearth. Thalia and Annabeth quickly come to Luke’s side. The two girls peer into the cabin. 

Thalia rubs her chin thoughtfully. “Hmm, this place looks abandoned.”

Luke grins. “An abandoned cabin. It certainly is our lucky day. Since no one is here to make us leave, we can stay here for the night. There are no beds, but at least there is a roof and a hearth.”

Thalia shrugs. “Better than nothing.” Thalia then crosses her arms. “However, we will need to gather firewood in order to make a fire.”

Luke nods. He turns to Annabeth and Thalia. “Alright girls, here is the plan. We will go out and gather firewood. Then, we shall return, make a nice warm fire. While we sit by the fire, we shall eat some pop tarts and drink a soda.”

Thalia and Annabeth both grin at the idea. They eagerly follow Luke into the forest. Within ten minutes, the three children return to the cabin with arms full of wood. Luke closes the door behind them. Annabeth and Thalia set their wood into the hearth while Luke sets his wood beside the hearth. If the fire starts to go out during the night, they may need to add some more wood.

Luke quickly grabs the lighter from his bag. Luke pushes the little sliding button up, causing a small flame to appear at the end of the lighter. Luke lowers the flame towards the wood. However, nothing happens. 

Luke raises a brow. “Hmm, this wood doesn’t want to catch fire for some reason. Well girls, we may not have a nice warm fire after all.” 

Thalia suddenly gets an idea. “I will be right back!” Thalia says as she runs out the door.

Within ten minutes, Thalia returns with a handful of dried grass. Thalia, places the dried grass into the hearth. Luke immediately gets the idea and tries lighting the grass on fire. It works. Within minutes, the children have a roaring fire. 

Luke grins as he looks up at Thalia. “Good thinking Thals.”

Thalia just smiles. “Thanks Luke.”

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth all sit down to enjoy the nice warm fire together. They all reach into their bags and take out packages of pop tarts and cans of soda. Annabeth’s stomach rumbles with hunger. 

“Boy, I am starving.” Annabeth says as she opens up her package of pop tarts. 

Luke’s stomach rumbles as well. “Yeah, I am too.” 

Thalia immediately digs into her pop tarts. “Yeah, all that walking today sure worked up an appetite.” 

And so, with a roof over their heads and nice roaring fire to keep them warm, the three young demigods settle down to enjoy each other’s company. Luke, Thalia and little Annabeth spend the rest of the evening chatting pleasantly by the fire; eating pop tarts and drinking soda as they talk.

Chapter 4: Ninjas?

Notes:

Here is my fourth edited and revamped chapter! I hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter Text

Thalia awakens to sunlight streaming into the cabin. The daughter of Zeus just yawns and stretches. However, as Thalia stretches herself awake, she ends up hitting Luke in the ribs with one of her arms. Luke awakens with a loud ‘oof”. 

“Oof.” Luke says as his eyes shoot open. “Thals, watch where you swing that arm. You got me right in the ribs.”

“Sorry.” Thalia says as she sits up. “I didn’t know that you were right there.” 

Luke just yawns as he slowly sits up. “Well, since light is coming into the cabin that means it is time to wake up anyway. Don’t forget, we need to find civilization.” 

Thalia looks at Annabeth, who is still asleep. Thalia gently shakes the little girl’s shoulder. “Come on Annabeth…,” Thalia says gently. “It is time to wake up.”

Within minutes, Annabeth’s eyes slowly flicker open. Annabeth just lets out a loud yawn and sits up. All of the sudden, Annabeth’s stomach rumbles. Luke’s stomach rumbles a few seconds later. Thalia’s stomach rumbles a few seconds after Luke’s.

Luke just smiles and grabs a granola bar out of his bag. Thalia grabs a granola bar out of her bag. Annabeth also grabs a granola bar out of her bag. The three children begin eating their breakfast.


Toma just stares out at the Araya village and the villagers who are working diligently. The village leader then spots some men carrying baskets full of vegetables. Toma takes a deep breath as he goes to see just what his men have harvested. 

The harvesters bow when they all see Toma approaching them. Among the harvesters are Koshiro and Mihiro. 

“Lord Toma, the others and I have potatoes, carrots and turnips.” Mihiro says as he shows Toma the vegetables. “I have to say, the potatoes and turnips are nice and big and the carrots are perfectly orange.” 

Toma just examines the vegetables in question and nods in approval. “Good work, boys. It seems that our hard work is paying off. I have to say, I am quite impressed with the bounty this year and it is not even mid summer.”

A village man just grins. “If the crops keep growing like this, everyone in this village will be able to feast everyday for the rest of the growing season.”

However, Toma soon realizes that one of the able bodied men who usually helps with the daily harvest is nowhere to be seen. Toma frowns and crosses his arms. “Have any of you seen Akirou this morning?” 

All of the men present frown and look around. Mihiro clears his throat. “Hmm, actually...we haven’t. How strange?” 

Then, Koshiro notices something else. Another man who usually helps with the daily harvest is not present either. Koshiro just furrows his brows. 

“Lord Toma, I don’t see Kiyoshi either.” Koshiro says with a tense voice.

Toma frowns even more. He growls under his breath. Two men not reporting for daily duties is unusual. Akirou and Kiyoshi better have good excuses as to why they didn’t help this morning. 

Toma just lets out a hiss as he prepares to leave. “I am going to go see what the deal is with Kiyoshi and Akirou. As for the rest of you, just get back to work!”

Mihiro, Koshiro and the other men all bow and salute Toma. “Yes sir, Lord Toma!”

Mihiro, Koshiro and the other men quickly take their baskets full of vegetables and run off. Toma just huffs as he walks away. The angry and annoyed village leader just looks around as he walks through the village, trying to catch sight of Akirou and Kiyoshi.


Thalia just sighs as she walks through the clearing. The noon sun shines brightly in the blue sky overhead. White puffy clouds drift aimlessly through the sky. A few birds squawk as they fly overhead.  

Luke and Annabeth are following close behind Thalia. The three young demigods have been walking for hours, but have still not found any civilization. To say that the three kids are getting tired is an understatement.

Eventually, Thalia stops walking and sighs. Luke and Annabeth stop beside Thalia. Luke just raises a brow. 

“Thalia, are you ok?” Luke asks with a concerned voice.

Thalia sighs as she crosses her arms. “I am just getting so tired of walking. I mean, how hard is it to find civilization?”

Luke just puts a comforting hand on Thalia’s shoulder. “Come on Thals, it’s gonna be ok. Just—”

However, before Luke can finish his sentence, Annabeth grabs his arm.

“Shhh…,” Annabeth says as she points to the eastern part of the forest. “I thought I heard something over there.”

Thalia and Luke become alert almost instantly. Now that Thalia and Luke are paying attention to their surroundings, they realize that Annabeth is right. There are noises coming in their direction. And what’s more, the noises sound like voices . Human voices to be exact. 

Thalia’s eyes light up . People! Thalia thinks to herself. However, just as Thalia is about to run towards the direction of the mysterious voices, she gets a nagging feeling in the back of her head. Something is telling her that the owners of the mysterious voices mean trouble. Big trouble.

Luke raises a brow at Thalia’s sudden change in mood. “Thalia, are you ok?”

Thalia quickly looks at her friends. “Something is telling me that whoever those voices belong to are not friendly. I think we should hide.”

Luke and Annabeth look at one another. Eventually though, the two demigods nod. They are not gonna argue with Thalia’s judgement.

Luke looks around. “Alright then, where should we hide?”

Annabeth points to some tall shrubbery nearby. “That looks like a good spot!”

Thalia and Luke just nod and follow Annabeth over to the shrubbery. The three demigods quietly conceal themselves behind the tall shrubbery...and not a moment too soon. Just as the three demigods settle down behind the bushes, two figures emerge from the forest. Thalia, Luke and Annabeth just watch as the two mysterious figures walk through the clearing. All three demigods raise their brows at the attire that the strange figures are wearing. 

The first mysterious figure is a man with brown hair, brown eyes and light tan skin. The man is wearing a strange looking blue jumpsuit. The man is also wearing an olive green leather vest jacket, along with some strange looking blue sandals. Tied across the strange man’s forehead is a cloth headband which has a metal plate attached to it. A strange symbol is etched into the metal, along with a horizontal slash. 

The second figure is a man with black hair, blue eyes and light skin. The second man is also wearing a strange jumpsuit along with a vest jacket. However, the second man’s jumpsuit is black and his vest is a grayish color. And like the first man, the second man is also wearing a cloth and metal headband with a symbol and a slashed etched into the metal. 

Thalia, Luke and little Annabeth all share glances with one another. Hmm, the three of them have never seen such strange clothing before.

Suddenly, the man with the black hair stops walking. He begins looking around. The brown haired man stops walking as well and just looks at his companion with a confused look. 

“Hiro, what’s wrong?” The man with the brown hair asks the black haired man.

Annabeth immediately narrows her eyes. Being a child of Athena, Annabeth is able to overcome her dyslexia. Annabeth actually knows a lot about different cultures, thanks to her father being a professor. Even though Annabeth’s father majors in American History and Military History, Mr. Chase loves reading about any kind of history.

Hiro…, Annabeth thinks. That name sounds Japanese.

The black haired man crosses his arms. “I sense three chakra signatures very close by.” 

Thalia and Luke, look at each other. Chakra? Just what is chakra supposed to be?

Annabeth’s eyes narrow even more. She knows that many cultures in East Asia, regard life energy as chakra.

The brown haired man raises a brow and begins looking around. Then, he suddenly tenses up. “Hmm, now that you have mentioned it Hiro, I actually do sense three chakra signatures nearby. All three chakra signatures actually feel kind of young. Children perhaps?”

The black haired man, Hiro, looks in the direction of where Thalia, Luke and Annabeth are hiding. “The chakra is coming from over there. Let’s go check it out.”

Both Hiro and the brown haired man begin approaching the children’s hiding place. Luke and Thalia freeze up instantly. These men can actually sense where they are hiding?!

Annabeth blinks a few times. These men must have the ability to sense the energies of living things. Could all humans in this world have this ability? Could all humans in this world have special powers?

Just then, Hiro and the mystery man, stop walking. The shrubbery hiding Thalia, Luke and Annabeth is parted. The three children look up. Hiro and the brown haired man are now standing over Thalia, Luke and Annabeth.

Hiro’s eyes become wide as he looks at his companion. Then, Hiro grins widely as he looks back down at the three young demigods. 

“Look what we have here, Katashi…,” Hiro says to his companion. “Three little kids hiding in the bushes.”

Luke scowls. He is quite offended by Hiro’s remark. “Hey! I am fourteen. I am not a little kid!”

Thalia scowls as well. She does not like these bozos at all. “Yeah. I am twelve. I am not a little kid either!”

Hiro and the brown haired man, Katashi, just burst out laughing. Hiro and Katashi then stop laughing and look at little Annabeth, who is sandwiched between Luke and Thalia.

“Hmm, how old is this one then?” Hiro asks as he eyes little Annabeth.

Annabeth just shivers as she tries to avoid the man’s gaze. She does not like this man. She doesn’t like the brown haired man either. “Why do you wanna know?” Annabeth asks with a timid voice.

Hiro and Katashi then narrow their eyes and look more closely at the three children before them. 

Katashi looks at his companion. “Hiro, do you notice anything unusual about these brats?” 

Hiro nods his head. “Yeah. These kids are wearing very strange clothing.” Hiro then looks at Katashi. “Could they be shinobi like us?” 

Luke and Thalia just give each other very confused looks. Shinobi? Just what are shinobi?

Annabeth’s eyes become wide as she suddenly remembers something. Shinobi...is the Japanese word for ninja!

Katashi narrows his eyes even more. “Hmm, their clothing doesn’t look like any shinobi clothing that I have ever seen before.” 

Eventually, Luke just shakes his head. “Sorry, but my friends and I have to go.” Luke says as he gets to his feet. 

Thalia and Annabeth get to their feet as well. However, as the three young demigods prepare to leave, Hiro and Katashi suddenly jump into a tree and then jump down, blocking the childrens’ path. The eyes of Luke, Thalia and Annabeth all widen instantly. The three children have the same thought in their heads. 

Just how did these bozo’s do that?!

Katashi raises a brow as he begins circling the three young demigods. “What’s the rush? Where are you kids going anyway? Is it that important to get where you’re going?”

Luke tries to make something up. “Well, we have to go home.”

Hiro also raises a brow as he begins circling Luke, Thalia and Annabeth. “Hmm, just where is home ? My friend and I can escort you home. The world is a dangerous place for children.”

Luke just scowls. “My friends and I can take care of ourselves!” The son of Hermes snaps. “We don’t need help!”

Hiro immediately scowls. “Hmph, you certainly have a bad attitude young man. I don’t like smart mouthed little brats!”

Luke growls under his breath. “Again…, I am not a little kid!”

Hiro and Katashi both frown as they glance at each other. The two men nod in unison. Hiro then reaches one of his hands towards Annabeth.

Hiro just grins as he reaches towards Annabeth. “Now, don’t make this difficult. Come here.”

Annabeth gasps and backs away. Luke growls as he gets defensively in front of Annabeth. Luke swings his golf club...and ends up hitting Hiro in the left side of the head. Katashi just gasps while Hiro clutches his head. Hiro then lets out an angry yell as he glares at the triumphant looking Luke. 

“You brat!” Hiro says with rage. “You are going to pay for that!”

Thalia’s eyes become wide. She resists the urge to face palm herself. 

As always...Luke has just made things a whole lot worse for them

Luke swings his golf club threateningly. “Leave us alone! Go away!”

Hiro and Katashi just glare at the three children. However, as the two men prepare to lunge at the three young demigods, they suddenly tense up and turn around to look at the opposite tree line. Both men gasp. Thalia, Luke and Annabeth look past the men. The eyes of all three demigods go wide immediately. 

Standing at the opposite tree line, are strange looking individuals, who are all wearing animal masks. The masked individuals quickly draw out weapons.

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth look at each other and back away a little. They really do not like the look of those masked individuals. 

Hiro just growls under his breath. “Hunter-nin.” Hiro says.

Katashi growls. “I can see that!” 

Hiro and Katashi quickly draw out swords. Thalia and Luke look at one another. Hunter-nin?! That certainly does not sound very good. 

Annabeth just blinks as she looks up at her companions. Annabeth just makes a motion with her hand that basically says, ‘let's get out of here while we still can’. 

Thalia and Luke both nod at Annabeth. With Hiro and Katashi distracted by the five animal masked individuals, the three children make a swift exit. The three young demigods simply run as fast as their legs can carry them. They don’t even look back once.


Toma just groans as he approaches Akirou’s house. Toma has looked all over the village for Akirou and Kiyoshi. However, there just seems to be no sign of the two men. A very irritated Toma has now decided to check their houses. Toma has decided to come to Akirou’s house first. 

Toma pounds on the door. However, a moment passes with no reply. Toma groans as he pounds on the door some more.

“AKIROU!” Toma yells. “COME OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!”

However, there is no answer. Akirou...does not even come to the door. Toma just growls and slides the door open.

The house inside is cold, meaning that a fire was not lit in the hearth this morning. Toma narrows his eyes as he looks around. There are no signs of life whatsoever. Toma grumbles and starts checking every room. However, the village leader’s search yields nothing. 

However, just as Toma is about to leave, he glances at the table and spots a piece of paper lying atop it. Toma raises a brow and picks up the piece of paper. He immediately starts reading the writing on it. Within minutes, Toma’s face turns red from rage.

“AKIROU!!” Toma screams with rage. “HOW DARE YOU!!”

Toma’s scream is so loud, that everyone within a five mile radius can hear him. Toma’s right hand men quickly rush to see what the problem is. When the men get to the house, Toma  is standing outside. Toma, trembles with rage as he looks at the note.

Mihiro looks at his village leader with concern. “Lord Toma, what is the matter?!”

Toma continues to tremble. “Akirou…,” Toma says as he hisses out the name with disgust. “Is a dirty traitor! He has abandoned the village!”

Mihiro, Koshiro and the other men all gasp. Akirou has done what ? Why?

Toma rubs his temples. He then looks at Mihiro. “Mihiro, go and check Kiyoshi’s house! Now!”

Mihiro immediately salutes Toma. “Yes sir, Lord Toma!” 

With that, Mihiro rushes out of the house. He disappears into the distance. 

...about ten minutes later…

Mihiro just sighs as he walks back to Akirou’s house. He is carrying a piece of paper in his hand. 

At Akirou’s house, Toma and the other men are waiting outside for Mihiro to return. Once Mihiro reaches Toma and the others, he simply holds out the piece of paper for his village leader. 

“Lord Toma, I checked Kiyoshi’s house.” Mihiro says with a tense voice. “Kiyoshi...is gone as well. He...he left this note, sir.”

Toma takes the note and begins reading it carefully. Toma’s face turns red with rage again. Toma lets out a scream of absolute anger, which causes everyone to shrink back from the enraged village leader. 

“KIYOSHI AND AKIROU ARE BOTH TRAITORS!!” Toma screams. “NO GOOD DIRTY TRAITORS!!”

After a few minutes, Toma finally calms down. “If Kiyoshi and Akirou dare come back, they are both dead.” Toma says with a deathly voice.

Mihiro and the other men all nod in understanding. Toma just looks down at the two notes that he is holding. He grits his teeth as he tears both notes into a million pieces and throws them to the ground. With that, Toma walks away. Mihiro and the other men are left standing outside of Akirou’s now deserted home. All of the men just whisper to one another. Mihiro on the other hand, just sighs.

“How could Kiyoshi and Akirou betray us like this?” Mihiro seemingly asks no one in particular. “Why?”


Thalia, Luke and Annabeth just pant as they sit by a stream. After getting away from Katashi, Hiro and the five masked individuals, the three demigods just continued to run until they reached this peaceful little stream. With no sign of Hiro, Katashi or those mashed individuals, the three children felt that it was safe enough to stop and rest for a bit. 

Thalia just breathes heavily. “Man, I am so tired.”

Luke wipes the sweat from his brow. “Yeah, so am I. But hey...at least we got away from those weirdos.”

Annabeth just glances up at the sky. “Guys, I think I know what is going on here. You see, those two weirdo’s made references to things that I learned from my father.”

Luke and Thalia just both look at Annabeth with confusion. Luke clears his throat. “What do you mean, Annabeth?” 

The daughter of Athena sighs as she looks at her two older companions. “Those two weirdo’s have names that sound like Japanese names.”

Thalia raises a brow. “Ok, so those weirdos have Japanese names.”

Annabeth then glances down at the water. “Those weirdos also made a reference to ‘chakra’, which is considered by many East Asian cultures, especially Japanese culture, to be the energy or life force of every living thing.”

Luke and Thalia look at one another again. Annabeth is definitely the daughter of Athena. Annabeth is just so wise and intelligent for her age.

Annabeth then looks into the water. “You know, I was just thinking about something. Our world has many different cultures. Maybe if there are many other worlds, they take on different aspects or cultures of our world. I think that this world takes on the Japanese culture a little bit.”

Thalia and Luke look at one another. Luke crosses his arms. “Hmm, that actually sounds very plausible, Annie. That would definitely explain why those weirdos had Japanese sounding names.” 

Annabeth takes a deep breath. “And…, I actually have heard the word shinobi before. It is the Japanese word for ‘ninja’.”

Thalia and Luke just look at Annabeth with wide eyes. Thalia clears her throat. “Wait, you’re saying that we are in a world full of ninjas?”

Annabeth just nods her head. Thalia rubs her chin thoughtfully. Luke on the other hand, just shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Well, we are in a world full of ninjas then.” Luke says without a care in the world. “However, I am sure that being in a world full of ninjas beats being in a world where monsters chase and try to kill or eat you every single day.”

Unfortunately, Luke will soon learn just how wrong he is. 

Dead wrong.

Chapter 5: Thalia, what happened to your eyes?!

Notes:

Here is my fifth edited and revamped chapter! I hope you all enjoy.

Chapter Text

Thalia yawns as she awakens from her slumber. Thalia turns towards the cave opening to see light streaming in. After their adventure yesterday, Thalia and her friends found a cave to settle down in for the night. Now, it looks as if another day has begun.

The daughter of Zeus looks to her left to see that Luke and Annabeth, who are laying close to Thalia’s side, are both still asleep. Thalia just blinks some more and lets out a loud yawn. Thalia stretches herself to life. 

At hearing Thalia yawn and move, Luke slowly opens his eyes. Thalia just grins when she notices that her male companion is finally awake. 

“Good morning, sleepy head.” Thalia says with a grin.

Luke just blinks a few times as he yawns. “Oh, it’s morning. Alrighty then.” 

Luke just sits up and starts stretching himself awake. Once Luke is done stretching, he looks to see that Annabeth is still slumbering soundly next to him. Luke just smiles and starts gently shaking his young friend’s shoulder. Within moments, Annabeth’s eyes flicker open and she looks at Luke and Thalia with sleepy eyes. 

Luke just smiles. “Come on, Annie. It’s time to get up.”

Annabeth yawns. “Ok. Just give me a minute.” 

As Annabeth slowly stretches herself awake, Thalia and Luke rummage through their bags. Thalia and Luke, each take a granola bar out of their bags. Once Annabeth is done stretching, she opens up her own bag to grab a granola bar. Within moments, the three children are eagerly digging into their breakfast.

After all the three children have finished off their breakfast, Thalia approaches the cave entrance and peeks outside. Since their experience yesterday, Thalia and her companions are a little more weary of their surroundings than they were before. 

Thalia just looks around, trying to find any signs of trouble. With no sign of danger, Thalia signals to her companions that it is time to head out. Luke and Annabeth quickly put their granola bar wrappers into their bags. Luke and Annabeth then follow Thalia out of the cave.


The sun is shining brightly in the sky over the forest. Birds fly from tree to tree and sing as they salute the morning sun. A family of squirrels is also just beginning the day. The little critters are quietly grooming themselves in their tree. Then, all of the forest animals perk up and look towards the ground. Then, the animals all hide themselves away from sight. 

On the ground, a man with black hair, blue eyes and light skin walks through the forest. Every now and again, the man looks behind him, as if checking to see if anyone is following him. 

The mysterious man blinks a few times as he looks behind him again. Hmm, it doesn’t look like Toma sent anyone after me. Looks like I have escaped that tyrant.

The man finally stops walking. He just looks at his surroundings and sighs. However, even though I have escaped the village, I have no idea where to go from here. What should I do now? Maybe I should—

However, the man doesn’t finish his thoughts as five figures suddenly jump down from the trees and surround him. There are five figures in total and they are clad in purple clothing. The five figures are also wearing headbands that bear the symbol of a musical note.

The man gasps. Hidden Sound shinobi! The man thinks to himself. I may have just messed up big time.

Just then, a creepy looking man with long black hair, yellow eyes and pale skin steps out from behind a tree. The pale skinned man has a look of madness as he grins at the mysterious man. “Hm...jussst what do we have here?” The creepy man asks with a hissing voice. “An intruder…?”

The mysterious man just gulps and shivers at the sight of the yellow eyed man. There is no mistake…, The man thinks to himself. It is Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha. I have really screwed up now.

However, the mysterious man then thinks of something that might just save his hide. He grins and tries to act confident. “You are Orochimaru, aren’t you?” The man asks the creepy looking man. “Former legendary Sannin of the Hidden Leaf Village.”

The creepy looking man narrows his eyes. “Why yesss…,” The creepy man says with a hiss in his voice. “Yesss, I am.”

The mystery man immediately bows. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kiyoshi Araya and I have just escaped my village, which happens to be ruled by a tyrannical leader named Toma. I am guessing that I have intruded upon your land, so I want to make a deal with you, in exchange for my life.” 

The mysterious man, now revealed to be Kiyoshi Araya, just smirks. “Let’s just say that I happen to know of a source of power that you may be interested in. If you promise to let me go...I will reveal everything that I know.”

The creepy man, Orochimaru, cocks his head curiously. “A sssource of power you sssay?” Orochimaru asks.

Kiyoshi just continues to smirk. “Would you happen to be interested in acquiring a half-god Uchiha, along with two other half-gods?”


Thalia looks up at the sky. The sun is in its noon position. The daughter of Zeus just closes her eyes. We have been walking for a while. Perhaps we should take a break.

Thalia immediately turns to her companions, who are just behind her. Luke and Annabeth both walk very slowly. They look absolutely exhausted.

Thalia stops walking and clears her throat. “Guys, it is noon. Let’s take a break.”

Luke and Annabeth both stop walking. The two demigods just sigh as they collapse to the ground. Thalia raises a brow. Wow, her friends really are tired. 

“Good idea, Thals.” Luke says as he sits on the ground. “I could use a break.” 

“Ditto.” Annabeth says with her little voice.

Thalia just sits down next to her friends. She takes her bag off of her back and unzips it. The daughter of Zeus pulls out her water bottle and quickly takes a drink. Luke and Annabeth quickly unzip their packs as well and retrieve their water bottles. Luke and Annabeth quickly gulp down some water. 

Luke sighs as he stops drinking. “Man, I really needed that.” 

“I did too.” Annabeth says as she wipes her mouth with her sleeve. 

After taking a few more sips of water, Thalia, Luke and Annabeth quickly return their water bottles to their packs. Thalia, Luke and little Annabeth just sit on the ground and take in the scenery around them. Thalia breathes in deep. 

“I have to say, this world is quite beautiful and charming. Even if the locals are unfriendly.” Thalia says. 

Luke grins. “Yeah.” 

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Thalia spots something to the right. Thalia just narrows her eyes as she tries to decipher exactly what the object is. Thalia then gasps as realization overcomes her. The object looks like a sign post.

Thalia quickly points towards the object. “Guys, do you see that over there?”

Luke and Annabeth just narrow their tired eyes and scan the area that Thalia is pointing to. Luke gasps immediately and gets to his feet. 

“That looks like a sign post!” Luke says. “Let’s go check it out after we are done with our break.”

However, as soon as Luke is finished speaking, the three children hear footsteps. They turn to see four individuals walking along a streambank. The four individuals are wearing clothing that is very similar to Hiro and Katashi’s. Thalia and Luke look at one another with wide eyes. The two of them then look over at little Annabeth. Annabeth’s eyes are wide as well. 

The first individual is a man with dark brown hair and light tan skin. The man is wearing a tight fitting outfit consisting of a gray shirt and gray pants. The man is wearing a white sleeveless vest over his shirt, along with some blue sandals. And like Hiro and Katashi, the brown haired man is wearing a cloth and metal headband, which has a horizontal slash across it. 

The second individual is also a man, who has spiky black hair and light skin. The second man is wearing a black shirt, white pants and black sandals. And like the first man, the second man is wearing a slashed metal and cloth headband. 

The third individual is also a man, who has bright orange hair and pale skin. The man is wearing a pair of dark blue pants along with a dark blue jacket, which sits over a light gray shirt. The man is also wearing blue colored sandals. And like the first two men, the man is wearing a slashed metal and cloth headband. 

The fourth individual is a man with shocking blue hair which strangely looks natural and pale skin. The blue haired man is wearing a maroon outfit consisting of capri like pants that have flaps that go just above the waist and a vest top which flows down to his knees. Underneath the man’s vest top is a white shirt. A black belt is strapped to the man’s waist and he is also wearing black sandals. And...like the first three men...the last man is also wearing a slashed cloth and metal headband. 

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all share looks with one another. They have certainly never seen men with naturally orange colored or blue colored hair before. However, all three demigods know one thing that is certain. 

If these four individuals are anything like Hiro and Katashi...then they need to get out of here asap .

Without saying another word, Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all get up and start running. They are no longer tired. The three of them are just filled with adrenaline. Soon enough, the three demigods hear the sound of running feet chasing after them. The four individuals must have seen them. Thalia just grits her teeth.

This is just our luck. Thalia thinks to herself. So much for having a peaceful new life here.

All of the sudden, one of the four individuals appears in a tree and then jumps down, blocking the children’s path. It is the dark brown haired man. The man just puts his hands on his hips as he looks at the three children with narrowed dark brown eyes.

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all stop running and gasp. Not again! 

The other three individuals soon catch up to them. The three individuals just grab Luke, Thalia and Annabeth. 

The man who is holding Luke is the man with the bright orange hair and light skin. As Luke looks up at his captor, he realizes that the man has deep amber colored irises.

The man who is holding Thalia captive is the black haired man. As Thalia looks up, she realizes that the man’s eyes are a vivid violet color. Hmm, such a strange eye color.

The man who is holding Annabeth captive is the blue haired man. Annabeth looks up to see that the man’s eyes are dark green. Hmm, such a strange eye color to have.

The blue haired man just narrows his eyes as he looks down at Annabeth. He then glances back and forth between Thalia and Luke. “Hmm, three children wandering alone in the forest. How unusual?”

Annabeth grits her little teeth as she struggles within the blue haired man’s grasp. “Let go of me!” 

Thalia and Luke are also putting up quite the fight. Luke just grunts as he tries to pull himself away. Thalia just narrows her eyes in determination. In one swift motion, Thalia kicks the black haired man in the knee. The man yells as he lets go of her. 

Thalia pulls herself away and manages to grab Luke’s golf club, which he dropped when he was grabbed. Thalia immediately whacks the orange haired man, who releases Luke immediately. 

With Luke free, Thalia moves to free little Annabeth. Thalia whacks the blue haired man. The man yells out and lets go of Annabeth. Annabeth immediately runs into Luke’s arms. 

The blue haired man is now looking at Thalia with eyes full of sheer rage. “I’m gonna kill you girl!” 

The blue haired pulls out a sword, as do the other three men. The four men quickly surround Thalia. Luke and Annabeth, who are both standing off to the side, just look on with wide eyes. Annabeth gasps with worry for her friend. 

“THALIA NO!” Annabeth cries.

“THALIA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Luke yells. “THEY WANT TO KILL YOU!”

Thalia ignores her friends. She just gets into a fighting stance. The daughter of Zeus holds the golf club firmly as she prepares for battle.

The four men grin and charge. Thalia swiftly dodges the men’s movements. Thalia is moving so quickly that the men are practically moving around in circles, trying to get her.

Luke and Annabeth just watch with wide eyes. The two of them have never seen Thalia move like this before.

Suddenly, the sky clouds up and turns gray. Flashes of lightning start striking the ground around Thalia and the four men. Luke gasps and grabs Annabeth. Luke then pulls himself and Annabeth over to a rock ledge, and presses himself and Annabeth against the cold rock wall. A small overhang protects Luke and Annabeth from the lightning. 

The four men who are fighting Thalia, gasp and dodge the bolts of lightning. The dark brown haired man tries to charge at Thalia with his sword, but Thalia dodges the sword with ease. 

Thalia now stands in the center of the forest. She grits her teeth in anger and closes her eyes.

….In the Land of Waves…

Sasuke pants as he dodges another senbon. Naruto also dodges the senbon aimed at him. 

Sasuke and Naruto’s opponent, Haku, a masked teenager, stands within a floating ice mirror. Haku just throws two more senbon. Sasuke dodges the senbon with ease. However, Naruto isn’t as lucky. The second senbon hits Naruto in the thigh. 

“AHHH!” Naruto yells as he collapses to the ground. 

“NARUTO!” Sasuke yells. 

Haku then jumps to another ice mirror and throws some more senbon. Sasuke picks up a used senbon off the ground and uses it to deflect the incoming senbon. Haku then throws several more senbon towards Sasuke. Sasuke dodges all of the senbon by jumping away.

Sasuke lands back down onto the ground. Sasuke lifts his head up. Sasuke’s eyes are no longer black. Sasuke’s eyes glow red and in each eye there is at least one black tomoe. One eye has two tomoe.

...back in the Land of Fire...

Thalia opens her eyes. Thalia’s eyes are no longer electric blue. Thalia’s eyes now glow red. And...in each eye there is a single black tomoe.

The men all gasp when they see Thalia’s eyes. They all just look at each other in disbelief.

The blue haired man gulps. “The girl...her eyes.”

“That...that is impossible.” The orange haired man says. 

From underneath the rock ledge, Luke and Annabeth can see the change in Thalia’s eyes. Annabeth  just blinks a few times, trying to comprehend what she is seeing.

Annabeth looks up at Luke with very confused eyes. “Luke, wh...wha...what happened to Thalia’s eyes? They’re...they’re red!” 

Luke’s eyes are just as wide and questioning as Annabeth’s. “I don’t know, Annie. I have never seen this before.”

Thalia, who is completely unaware of the physical change to her eyes, just grimaces. She holds up one of her hands. She trembles with absolute rage. 

“LEAVE MY FRIENDS AND I ALONE!” Thalia yells at the men. 

Thunder booms in the sky. Lightning flashes in the clouds and down to the ground. The four men gasp and decide to beat a hasty retreat. After the four men are out of sight for five minutes, Thalia calms down. The lightning and thunder stops. The sky returns to its normal blue color. Luke and Annabeth slowly emerge from underneath the rock ledge. The pair silently approaches Thalia, who is breathing heavily. Then, Thalia finally turns and sees her friends standing there. Thalia just raises a brow when she notices the strange look in their eyes. 

“What’s wrong?”

Luke gulps and scratches the back of his head. “It’s your eyes. They’re different. I...I don’t know how to explain it...but—”

“Your eyes are red!” Annabeth says, cutting Luke off. Annabeth quickly fishes a hand mirror from her backpack and holds it up. “See for yourself!”

Thalia’s eyes become wide when she sees her reflection in the mirror. “My...my eyes.” Thalia says with a hitch in her voice. “How...how did this happen?”

Luke narrows his eyes. “This has never happened to you before?”

Thalia shakes her head. “No...never.”

Just then, Thalia gasps as she starts to feel weak and tired. The daughter of Zeus falls to her knees. She grimaces and holds her hands over her eyes as they start to throb. Luke quickly crouches down beside Thalia.

“Thalia!” Luke says with alarm. “What’s wrong?!”

Thalia draws in a deep breath. “My...my eyes.” Thalia says. “They...they hurt. I also feel so drained. I really feel like I need to rest.”

Luke quickly helps Thalia to her feet. Together, Luke and Annabeth support Thalia and help her walk. The  three children then begin walking away from the area to find a good place to rest.


Orochimaru just sits in his chair, which looks like a wooden throne. The man grins widely in the candlelight. 

Kiyoshi kneels in front of Orochimaru. Kiyoshi’s head is downcast as he finishes telling Orochimaru everything that he knows.

Orochimaru just grins widely. “Hmm, a demigod then. And not only that, but ssshe is the granddaughter of Itachi Uchiha. Very interesssting indeed.” 

Kiyoshi slowly tilts his head up. “Are you gonna let me leave this place alive?” Kiyoshi asks with a tinge of fear evident in his voice. “I have told you everything that I know regarding this subject.”

Orochimaru just grins. “Oh yesss. I alwaysss keep my word.”

Kiyoshi gets up. “Thank you. I really appreciate you letting me live.”

Orochimaru turns towards a girl with long dark pink hair and brown eyes. “Tayuya…,” Orochimaru says. “Pleassse essscort our guest out.”

The girl, Tayuya, nods and begins escorting Kiyoshi out of the room. A man with glasses, gray-silver hair, and dark eyes turns to Orochimaru.

“What is our next move, Lord Orochimaru?” The man asks.

Orochimaru grins. “We locate and capture the girl of courssse. And her little friendsss too."


Sasuke breathes heavily as Sakura carefully takes the senbon needles out of his body. Everyone is back in Tazuna’s home. With Gato dead by the now deceased Zabuza’s hand, peace has been restored to the Land of Waves. It is time for Sasuke and Naruto to have their wounds tended to.

Sasuke grimaces and then winces as Sakura pulls out the needles. 

“Hold still.” Sakura says as she pulls out the last needle.

Tazuna’s daughter, Tsunami, comes with two bowls of water and some old rags. Tsunami places a bowl of water next to Sakura, along with a rag. Sakura sighs as she places the rag into the bowl of water to get it wet. After squeezing the rag to get out some of the water, Sakura begins the arduous task of cleaning Sasuke’s wounds. 

Nearby, Kakashi is pulling senbon out of Naruto, who just screams in pain. 

“OW!” Naruto yells out as his sensei pulls another needle out of his body. “KAKASHI SENSEI, THAT HURTS!”

“Now hold still,” Kakashi says very calmly. “Just one more senbon to go.”

Kakashi quickly pulls out the last senbon needle. Naruto lets out another yell of pain. Tsunami places the second bowl of water next to Kakashi. Kakashi just wets a rag and begins cleaning Naruto’s wounds.

Sakura looks over to the covered bodies of Zabuza and Haku. “What do we do with those two?” 

Kakashi momentarily stops his task to glance at the covered bodies. “We will bury them.”

Tazuna and Tazuna’s grandson, Inari, are sitting nearby. Tazuna just sighs as he gets up. 

“I know a good place to bury these two.” Tazuna says as he crosses his arms. “I will take you there as soon as you are done patching those two up.”

Kakashi simply nods and goes back to cleaning Naruto’s wounds.

Sasuke closes his eyes. He is thinking about his sharingan. Sasuke wonders when he should bring this up to Kakashi. Deep down, Sasuke does not want to bring this up in front of Sakura or Naruto. Sasuke just doesn’t want Sakura to make a big deal out of it.

Sasuke opens his eyes as Sakura begins applying bandages. The Uchiha then looks out the window as a strange feeling overcomes him. It is the exact same feeling that he had the other night.

Just what is this feeling?  Sasuke thinks to himself as he stares out the window.

Sakura narrows her eyes as she notices that Sasuke is staring out the window. “Um...Sasuke, is everything ok? You’re staring out the window.”

Sasuke immediately shakes his head. “I am fine. I am just thinking about something.”


The sun is starting to set over the horizon. Birds and small animals alike rush to get back to their nests in order to be safe for the coming night. 

Inside a cave, Annabeth just looks solemnly at Thalia, who is lying in the middle of the cave floor. Thalia just breathes slowly as she slumbers on the ground. 

Just then, Luke enters the cave with an armful of firewood. Luke sets the firewood down on the cave floor. Luke then walks over to Annabeth and Thalia.

Luke raises a brow. “She is still asleep?”

Annabeth just sighs as she nods in confirmation. “She has been asleep since we got here.”

The children found this cave a while after their encounter with the four men. When they settled down, Thalia collapsed and fell asleep. She has been out ever since then. After some time passed, Luke decided to go out and gather firewood, which left Annabeth to watch over the sleeping Thalia.

Annabeth then whimpers and covers her eyes. “Luke, I’m scared.” Annabeth says with tears in her eyes. “Thalia, has been out like this for hours. What if she never wakes up?!”

Luke quickly takes the small girl into his arms and comforts her. “Shh…,” Luke says soothingly. “It is going to be alright. Thalia is stronger than she looks. She is going to be fine.”

Annabeth just looks at Luke. “How do you know that?! People’s eyes turning red is not normal!”

Luke sighs. “I know. But still...Thalia is a tough demigod. She is going to be ok.”

Luke and Annabeth both blink as they continue to watch over Thalia’s sleeping form.

...Thalia’s dreamscape…

The sun shines brightly in the blue sky. Flowers of all kinds and colors bloom in the meadow. Thalia is standing in the middle of the meadow. She steps lightly as she walks through the meadow. 

Thalia then comes to a small stream with crystal clear water. Thalia looks at her reflection in the water. Her eyes blaze blood red. 

Suddenly, the daughter of Zeus hears giggling to her left. She narrows her eyes and looks in that direction to see two individuals that she has never seen before. However, Thalia just has this feeling that she should know these two individuals somehow. 

One of the individuals is a very handsome teenage boy who has black hair, which has been tied back into a low ponytail. The boy wears a strange cloak that is black with red clouds printed on it. 

The other individual is a teenage girl, who actually looks to be about the same age as the boy. The girl has long flowing locks of blonde hair and blue eyes that remind Thalia of ultramarine blue paint. The girl also bears smooth flawless pale skin and red lips. The girl also wears a simple pink dress with a white sash.

Thalia just stares at the girl. For some reason, sees her mother, Jason, as well as herself in the teenage girl. Thalia then looks at the teenage boy. Thalia also sees her mother, Jason and herself within the teenage boy.

To Thalia, the teenage girl and teenage boy appear to be flirting with one another. Then, the boy turns, which reveals his eyes. The boy’s eyes...are red. 

Red just like Thalia’s eyes.

...end of dream…

Thalia groans a little as she starts to awaken. The daughter of Zeus stirs and her eyes flicker open. Luke and Annabeth both gasp.

“Thalia!” Annabeth says.

Thalia groans some more as she sits up. The demigod girl just blinks a few times as she looks back and forth between Luke and Annabeth. 

“Luke...Annabeth, what happened?” Thalia asks with a groggy voice.

Luke puts a hand on Thalia’s shoulder. “You collapsed after we reached this cave. You were out for hours.”

Annabeth wrings her small hands. “Yeah! We were starting to get really worried about you!” 

Thalia’s eyes widen and then narrow. “Oh. Well, I am sorry that worried you two like that.” 

Then, the daughter of Zeus suddenly remembers her eyes. Thalia quickly looks at her friends. “Are my eyes still red?”

Luke shakes his head. “Fortunately no. Thank Zeus your eyes returned to normal.”

Thalia just closes her eyes. For some reason, she can’t get the image of the teenage boy with those similar eyes out of her head. Deep down, Thalia wants to confide in her friends about her dream. However, the daughter of Zeus realizes that Luke and Annabeth probably won’t understand it either. After much consideration, Thalia decides to keep it to herself. 

Luke just blinks as he takes a pop tart out of his bag. “You hungry?”

Thalia shakes her head. She lies back down on the cave floor. “No. I would rather sleep.”

Luke raises a brow. However, he just puts the pop tart back into his bag. “You know what, I am actually not that hungry either.”

Annabeth yawns. The young daughter of Athena lies down beside Thalia. “I am not hungry either. I would actually rather sleep as well.”

Luke also lets out a yawn. He lies down beside Annabeth. “You know what, I would rather go to bed as well. I have to say, I am absolutely pooped after our day.” 

However, Luke suddenly remembers that he hasn’t prepared a fire to keep him and his friends warm. The son of Hermes just sighs as he gets back to his feet in order to prepare one. Luke walks over to the prepared pile of wood and just grabs the lighter out of his bag. Luke flips on the lighter and holds the flame against a piece of wood. Within minutes, the three young demigods have a roaring fire.

Luke walks back to the spot where Thalia and Annabeth are laying. He just sighs as he lies down beside his two female companions. 

“Goodnight girls, sleep tight.” Luke says with a yawn. 

Annabeth yawns. “Goodnight Thalia, goodnight Luke. I’ll see you both in the morning.” 

Luke and Annabeth both close their eyes. After about ten minutes...Luke and Annabeth are both sound asleep.

Thalia just blinks as she slowly brings herself to a sitting position. The daughter of Zeus silently opens her bag, which is lying next to her. Thalia opens a secret compartment within her bag and takes out a picture. It is a picture of herself and her little brother, Jason. The picture was taken just before Jason disappeared all those years ago.

Thalia just blinks as she stares at the picture. The teenage girl from her dream had the same blonde hair as Jason. Just thinking about it brings back many memories. Thalia’s hand trembles a little as she closes her eyes. As Thalia opens her eyes, a single tear falls from each eye.

Jason…, Thalia thinks to herself as more tears stream down her face. 

After a few more minutes of looking at the picture, Thalia just wipes the tears from her eyes. She silently returns the picture to her bag. The young black haired demigod girl just silently lies back down beside her friends. Thalia just sniffles a little as she closes her eyes and tries to go to sleep. 

However, sleep just seems to elude the daughter of Zeus. Her dreams have only just begun.

Chapter 6: Uchiha dreams

Notes:

Hooray, I have this chapter edited and revamped! I hope you all like the changes I made.

Chapter Text

Itachi and Kisame just lie on the ground as they slumber after a long day of travelling around the Land of Fire. The fire that the two men made earlier is starting to go out and the once dark sky is starting to become lighter, which means that the sun is due to rise. 

Kisame just snores lightly in his sleep. Not too far away, Itachi is also lying on the ground. The Uchiha suddenly twitches slightly in his sleep as his face scrunches up a little. 

...Itachi’s dreamscape…

The sun sets over a village nestled within a valley. On a tall plateau, a large meadow with a waterfall and a small stream sits adjacent to a mountaintop. The waterfall cascades off of the mountaintop, creating another small waterfall. The second waterfall feeds a river that runs through the village.

A younger Itachi stands in the meadow with a girl about the same age as him. The girl has long blonde hair, ultramarine blue eyes, light skin and red lips. Very light colored freckles line the girl’s upper cheeks and top of her nose. The girl is wearing a pink dress with a white sash.

The girl smiles as she looks at Itachi. “See, I told you it was beautiful up here.”

The younger Itachi nods. “Yes, I have to say, I am not disappointed. It is very beautiful up here. Just like you, Sakiko.”

The girl, Sakiko, blushes and looks away. “Thank you...Itachi.”

Sakiko then opens her eyes and looks back at the younger Itachi. Their eyes meet for a few seconds. Then, they slowly bring their lips together into a passionate kiss.

…end of dream…

Present day Itachi slowly opens his eyes. The man stares at the morning sky as he tries to process his weird dream.

So strange…, Itachi inwardly muses to himself. Why am I dreaming about that? It has been years since I visited the village belonging to the Araya clan.

Itachi then slowly brings himself to a sitting position. He looks over to where Kisame is sleeping. Kisame, snores lightly as he turns over. All of the sudden, Kisame opens his eyes as a beam of sunlight hits his face.

“Uh...morning already huh.” Kisame says with a very groggy voice. “Alright then.”

Kisame slowly sits up. Then, he notices that Itachi is already awake. Kisame just grins one of his toothy grins. “Hmm, you’re already up I see.”

Itachi does not respond. He simply stares ahead at the forest. Kisame frowns. “Are you alright Itachi?” Kisame asks. “You’re acting a little different today. Is something bothering you?”

Itachi quickly regains his composure. “Nothing is bothering me.”

Kisame narrows his eyes, as if not completely believing his partner. However, Kisame eventually shrugs his shoulders. “Alright, if you say so.” 

Kisame gets up and starts walking towards a small spring to get a drink and wash his face. Itachi just sits on the ground. Eventually, he stands up. Itachi then looks at the horizon as he thinks more about his dream. 

Why did I dream of the Araya village? Itachi thinks to himself. Why did I dream of that girl? Sakiko.


All is quiet within the Land of Waves. On the horizon, the dark sky is slowly lightening. Crickets let out their last chirps as dawn approaches.

The house belonging to Tazuna and his family is silent. In the living room, the members of Team Seven sleep on the floor. Naruto turns slightly on his futon and lets out a few light snores.

Kakashi just lays silently on his futon. Kakashi’s headband lies next to the futon.

Sakura lies silently on her futon. The young kunoichi twitches slightly in her sleep.

Nearby, Sasuke lies on his own futon. Suddenly, Sasuke’s face scrunches up as he tosses and turns.

...Sasuke’s dreamscape…

Bloodied bodies litter the street. Blood is splattered everywhere. A younger Sasuke stands in the street. A teenage Itachi stands a few meters away. The teenage Itachi looks at little Sasuke with cold and uncaring black eyes.

Itachi suddenly turns. The younger Sasuke flinches and backs away, absolutely terrified of what his older brother is about to do next.

Itachi just scoffs. “You are not even worth killing. Foolish little brother.”

Itachi then looks little Sasuke right in the eyes. “If you ever wish to kill me one day in revenge, then hate me and survive. Cling to your pathetic existence.”

Itachi closes his eyes. After a few seconds, Itachi opens his eyes. The teenaged Itachi’s eyes now blaze red.

“One day…,” The teenaged Itachi begins. The teenaged Itachi’s eyes start to form a black pinwheel in them. “When you possess these eyes...come and find me...and you shall face me!”

Little Sasuke then gasps and his eyes droop. Within minutes everything goes black.

After a while the blackness fades into bright light. The bright light then slowly forms into the image of a meadow. A teenaged Itachi sits in the meadow with a teenage girl. The teenaged girl has long blonde hair, ultramarine blue eyes, light skin, a lightly freckled nose and cheeks along with plump red lips.

The teenage girl smiles at Itachi, who smiles back. The pair then kiss and lay down in the meadow together.

“Sakiko.” The teenage Itachi says as he caresses the girl’s cheek.

The girl, Sakiko, just smiles at the tender touch. “Itachi.”

The teenaged Itachi and Sakiko then kiss again, this time more passionately. Then, after a while, Itachi takes off the cloak that he is wearing. Sakiko takes off her dress. Itachi takes off the rest of his clothing. Itachi and Sakiko...are now lying naked in the meadow together. 

...end of dream…

Sasuke awakens with a start. His eyes are wide as he tries to process his strange dream. Sakura, who is lying close by, awakens and looks at Sasuke. Sakura gets up from her futon and crawls over to Sasuke. 

“Sasuke?!” Sakura asks with concern. “What is the matter?”

Sasuke quickly shakes his head. “Nothing…,” Sasuke says. “I just had a weird dream is all. I will be fine.”

Sakura’s eyes become wide. “Dream? About what?” 

Nearby, Kakashi slowly opens his eyes. Naruto then snorts as he opens his eyes. Kakashi slowly sits up and looks over towards Sasuke and Sakura.

Kakashi raises a brow. “What’s going on?” 

Sakura shrugs her shoulders. “Sasuke says that he had a weird dream.”

Kakashi’s eyes narrow. “Weird dream?” Kakashi says with a questioning tone of voice.

Sasuke just shakes his head as he gets up from his futon. “I would rather not talk about it. I just feel like sitting on the veranda for a little bit.”

Sakura blinks a few times. “Alright. I will be in the bathroom if you need me.”

Kakashi watches as Sasuke walks away. The silver haired jounin can tell that something is bothering his student. But what?

Sasuke silently opens the shoji screen leading out to the veranda of Tazuna’s house. Sasuke sits down and watches the sunrise over the sea. He blinks a few times and looks down at the water. He has not dreamed about that night for a very long time. 

Why did I dream about that night? Sasuke inwardly asks himself. And...the second part of my dream. Why did I dream about something like that?

Sasuke narrows his eyes. Just why did he dream about his hated older brother, undressing himself like that while laying with a girl?

After a few minutes, a thought soon comes to Sasuke’s mind. His eyes become wide. Were Itachi and the mysterious girl planning on having sexual intercourse together? Why?

Sasuke sighs. He gets up and heads back inside. Team Seven shall be leaving the Land of Waves today. The Uchiha figures that he better start packing.


Luke and Annabeth are both sitting inside the cave, waiting for Thalia to wake up. Nearby, Thalia is still sound asleep on the ground. 

Luke looks over to Thalia’s sleeping form as he takes a swig from his water bottle. Annabeth is also looking at Thalia’s sleeping form.

After a few minutes, Annabeth wrings her little hands. “This is weird. Thalia is usually up before either of us.”

Luke sighs. “I know.” 

Then, Luke straightens himself and looks back outside the cave. “Well, all I know is that something really weird happened yesterday. Thalia’s eyes have never changed like that. Well, at least not since I have known her.”

Luke then blinks and crosses his arms. “And...did you see how Thalia fought after her eyes turned red?” 

Annabeth blinks a few times. “Yeah, Thalia fought with such ferociousness and skill. I have never seen her fight like that.”

Luke wrings his own hands. “Neither have I. And did you see how those guys reacted when they saw her eyes? Those guys definitely know what happened to Thalia’s eyes. They have seen those eyes before, for sure.”

Annabeth narrows her eyes. “But...this is a different world. How is that possible?”

Luke just takes a deep breath. “I don’t know.” Luke says admittingly.

Nearby, Thalia lies silently on the ground, still asleep. Then, her face scrunches up as she turns slightly.

...Thalia’s dreamscape…

The sun sets over a village nestled within a valley. On a tall plateau, a large meadow with a waterfall and a small stream sits adjacent to a mountaintop. It is the same meadow from Thalia’s last dream.

In the middle of the meadow are the same teenage boy and girl from Thalia’s last dream. The teenage boy and girl from Thalia’s last dream are lying in the meadow together.

The boy smiles at the girl. “You are very beautiful, Sakiko. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. The other villagers are foolish to shun you, all because of your grandmother’s reputation. Family history does not define who you are. You deserve to be given a chance by the other villagers.”

The girl, Sakiko, blushes hard. “Thank you...Itachi.” Sakiko says.

The boy, Itachi, smiles. “The most beautiful feature on you is your eyes.” Itachi says. “I have never seen such beautiful blue eyes before.”

Sakiko blushes even more. She turns her head slightly. “You are so kind, Itachi.” 

Then, Sakiko looks back at Itachi. Their eyes meet for a few seconds. Then, the two of them slowly bring their lips together into a passionate kiss.

After Itachi and Sakiko part their lips, Itachi smiles even more. “Sakiko.”

Sakiko smiles even more as well. “Itachi.”

Itachi and Sakiko then kiss again; this time more passionately. Then, Itachi takes off the cloak that he is wearing. Sakiko takes off her dress. Itachi then takes off the rest of his clothing. Itachi and Sakiko are now lying naked in the meadow together.

The scene goes black for a few seconds. A new image soon forms. Sakiko now is standing alone at a large gate. Sakiko just sobs her heart out as she stares out past the gate.

After a few moments, Sakiko sniffles. “Why...why Itachi? You...left without saying goodbye. I...I thought you liked me. You said that I was beautiful.”

A man with short brown hair, ultramarine blue eyes, and fair skin approaches Sakiko. The man puts a comforting hand on Sakiko’s shoulder. Then, a woman with brown hair, light blue eyes and pink lips walks past the pair. The woman just scoffs at the sight.

“That is what the girl gets for falling for a rogue!” The woman says with a cruel voice.

Sakiko cries even harder at the woman’s words. The man scowls at the woman’s retreating form.

...end of dream…

Thalia moves and groans slightly as her eyes flicker open. Thalia just yawns as her eyes fully open to greet the new day. After a few moments, the daughter of Zeus yawns some more and stretches herself to life. Then, Thalia sits up and just stares out the cave opening as she tries to process her strange dream. 

Luke and Annabeth both raise their brows at Thalia’s strange behavior. It’s not like Thalia to stare at nothing. Something must be wrong. Luke immediately walks over to Thalia. He frowns as he waves his hand in front of Thalia’s face.

“Hello, earth to Thalia!” Luke says. “Are you ok?”

Thalia quickly snaps out of it. She looks at Luke. “I am ok Luke. I was just thinking about something.”

Thalia then notices that Annabeth is awake as well. Thalia raises a brow. “How long have you and Annabeth been up?” Thalia asks.

Luke just shrugs his shoulders. “About a half hour I would say. Not very long.”

Thalia’s eyes widen and then narrow. She looks down. “Oh.” 

All of the sudden, Thalia’s stomach rumbles very loudly. Luke and Annabeth’s stomachs also rumble. Luke and Annabeth quickly take granola bars out of their packs. Thalia looks at her pack with indecision. However, hunger wins. Thalia ends up opening her bag to take out a granola bar.

The three children eat their breakfast in silence. After she is done eating, Thalia puts the wrapper in her bag. Thalia, then walks towards the cave entrance and peeks outside. Perhaps if the group gets going as soon as possible, she will forget about her weird dream.

Thalia carefully scans the forest, looking for any signs of danger. Thalia does not see anything out of the ordinary. She looks at her companions.

“I don’t see any danger.” Thalia says. “Let’s get going.”

Luke shrugs his shoulders as he puts his granola bar wrapper into his bag. He gets to his feet. “Sounds good to me.”

Annabeth also puts her granola bar wrapper into her bag. However, as Annaeth tries to zip up her bag, the zipper becomes stuck. Annabeth is so busy fumbling with the zipper, she doesn’t notice the granola bar wrapper fall right back out of her bag. After a few minutes of struggling, Annabeth finally gets her bag zipped up. Annabeth gets to her feet and hurriedly follows her companions, not even noticing the granola bar wrapper.

Luke and Thalia wait at the cave entrance for Annabeth. Luke looks concernedly at Thalia. Thalia is staring blankly out at the horizon.

“Are you sure that you are ok?” Luke asks. “You sure don’t look like you are fine.”

Thalia just sighs. “It’s nothing. Let’s just go.”

Luke blinks a few times, confused at Thalia’s attitude. However, Luke ends up just sighing with defeat. It is obvious that whatever is bothering Thalia, she wants to keep it to herself. 

Just then, Annabeth finally exits the cave and joins her friends. “I’m ready!”

Thalia sighs. “Alright then, let’s head out.”

Thalia leads the way. As the daughter of Zeus steps out into the sunshine, she unknowingly steps in a patch of mud that lies next to the cave entrance. A very clear shoe impression is left embedded in the mud. 

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth just head out, leaving their shelter behind them. Inside the cave, all is quiet. The fire that Luke made yesterday is completely out. Gray ash is all that remains of the wood that Luke used for the fire. Annabeth’s forgotten granola bar wrapper lies just a few feet away. 

Alas, the cold ash, the lonely granola bar wrapper and the single shoe impression are the only evidence that the cave was even occupied.

Chapter 7: A very fishy challenge

Notes:

Hurray, I have updated this chapter!

Chapter Text

Thalia sighs as she walks through the forest. Luke and Annabeth are following close behind her. It has been nearly two hours since the group left the cave behind. As always, Thalia is in the lead. However, the daughter of Zeus is very silent as she walks. Thalia just can’t get her strange dreams out of her head. 

Luke frowns a little. He is a little uncomfortable with the silent atmosphere. The son of Hermes clears his throat. “Thalia, both Annabeth and I can plainly see that something is bothering you. Please, just tell us what is wrong?”

Thalia grits her teeth. “I am ok! I am just fine!” Thalia says with a snappy voice.

The eyes of both Luke and Annabeth widen considerably. The two of them are very taken aback by Thalia’s sudden change in attitude. 

Thalia immediately looks down when she realizes what she did. Thalia is ashamed of herself for snapping at Luke like she did. Deep down, Thalia does feel like she should confide in her friends about her strange dreams. However, Thalia herself does not know what to make of her strange dreams. 

Would Luke and Annabeth really understand then?

Eventually, Thalia just lets out a sigh. “I am sorry I snapped like that. I am ok...really.”

Luke blinks a few times, unconvinced by Thalia’s words. However, Luke eventually decides to just let it go. Luke shrugs his shoulders. “Alright. If you say so. However, can we please talk about something though? I don’t like walking in silence.”

Thalia closes her eyes. “Alright, we can do that. What do you want to talk about?”

Luke furrows his brows to think for a minute. He rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Well…we could talk about your eyes.”

Thalia narrows her eyes. “I am just so confused as to why my eyes changed like they did. It’s just...I don’t ever remember my eyes doing that before.”

Luke raises a brow. “You are absolutely certain that your eyes have never done that before?” Luke scratches the back of his head. “I mean you would have never known if Annabeth and I hadn’t pointed it out to you. The two of us have only known each other for a few years. We have only known Annabeth for about four months.”

Thalia’s eyes widen in realization. Luke is right. If Luke and Annabeth hadn’t pointed it out to her, Thalia probably would have never even known about the change in her eyes. Maybe her eyes have done that before and she just didn’t notice. 

“That is true.” Thalia admits. “Maybe my eyes have done that before and I just never realized it.”

Luke crosses his arms. “Annabeth and I discussed it earlier since you slept in. It happened when you fought those men who attacked us and did you see the look in the men’s eyes when they saw your eyes? They all looked shocked, like they had seen something like that before.”

Thalia narrows her eyes. “Really? But...but this is a different world. How could those bozos have seen my eyes before?”

Luke sighs. “That is a very good question. Unfortunately...I do not have the answer to that question.”

Thalia thinks of her dream some more. That mysterious boy with those similar eyes. Itachi? Perhaps he could hold the answer to Thalia’s question.

Thalia looks up at the sky. She thinks of the gods, and more specifically her father Zeus.

Father…, Thalia thinks to herself. She sends a silent prayer to the gods. If you know where I can find information on my eyes, please send a sign...I would greatly—

However, Thalia suddenly gasps as realization hits her. This is a different world. Zeus, her divine father, cannot hear her prayers. In fact, none of the gods can hear any prayers that the three young demigods might try to send them. Praying to the gods is useless . The gods cannot help them if they are in this world. 

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth...are truly on their own now.

Thalia stops walking. “Guys, I just thought of something. This is a different world. It may be true that monsters can no longer attack us...but that also means our godly parents cannot help us either if we get into trouble. They cannot hear any of our prayers. We are truly on our own now.”

Luke and Annabeth look at one another with wide eyes. Thalia is right. The gods probably can’t hear their prayers or even sense them in this world. Heck, the gods probably don’t even know what happened to the three demigods.

Annabeth gulps. “You’re right! We can’t ask the gods for help anymore.” Annabeth then holds her head. “Oh no! We really are on our own now.”

Luke just scoffs. “Hey, it is not like the gods helped us much in the first place! The gods rarely helped us when we were back in our own world. We can get along just fine without them.”

Thalia and Annabeth both look at one another. Luke is right of course. The gods rarely helped them. But still...they can’t pray to their godly parents to ask for help anymore.

Luke then wraps an arm around Thalia. Luke puts a hand on Annabeth’s shoulder.

Luke grins as he looks at his two female companions. “Besides, we have each other. After the three of us met, we began relying on each other. As long as the three of us live, we can always rely on each other. It’s the three of us against the world.”

Thalia and Annabeth just blink a few times. Then, after a few moments pass, the two female demigods manage to smile. Luke is right. The three of them have each other. They are a family. The three of them shall stick together no matter what happens.

Thalia smiles brightly. “You’re right, Luke. The three of us shall always have each other's backs.”

Annabeth smiles. “Yeah! We are family!”

Luke grins. “Family.”

“Family.” Thalia says with a smile. “Always.”

The three demigods break apart and start walking again. Then, after two minutes of walking straight, the children come to a break in the trees. The three children step out of the forest.

Before the three demigods’ eyes lies a meadow full of flowers. Flowers of all colors, shapes and sizes cover the ground in thick patches. Butterflies fly through the meadow and hover above flowers. Bees fly from flower to flower, collecting pollen.

Annabeth gasps at the sight. “So pretty. It’s so much like the last meadow.”

Annabeth runs over towards the edge of the meadow. The little girl crouches down and starts admiring the beautiful flowers. Luke and Thalia follow closely behind. All of the sudden, Thalia turns to the left and sees a very peculiar sight. A bunch of houses grouped together, which look like they have been burned. Thalia raises a brow and taps on Luke’s shoulder, getting his attention. The daughter of Zeus just points to the burned buildings when Luke gives her a questioning look. Luke’s eyes widen at the sight.

After a few minutes of staring, Luke finally starts walking over to the group of buildings to check them all out. “Wow, I wonder what happened to this place.” 

Annabeth looks up from the flowers and gasps at the sight. She looks at Thalia, who shrugs her shoulders. Annabeth then gets up from her crouching position and starts following Luke. Thalia follows close behind Annabeth.

When Thalia and Annabeth reach the cluster of burned buildings, Luke is already examining one of the buildings. Luke peeks inside holes and looks for any signs of human habitation. Luke then turns to Thalia and Annabeth.

“This place is totally abandoned.” Luke says. “No one is here.”

Thalia glances at all of the burned buildings. “Whatever happened here...it caused everyone who lived here to leave.”

Annabeth happens to glance to the right. She gasps. “Thalia! Luke! That looks like a lake!”

Thalia and Luke look to the left and gasp. Before them, is a large lake. Luke is the first to approach the water’s edge. Luke looks into the water. Fish are swimming in the water. The son of Hermes grins when an idea comes to mind. He turns to Thalia and Annabeth with a sly grin on his face.

“Hey girls, how about we have some fish for lunch?”


Kakashi just stares ahead as he walks. Sasuke walks close behind him. Naruto and Sakura are walking not too far behind Sasuke. Naruto grins as he walks. They left the Land of Waves a few hours ago.

“Oh yeah!” Naruto says very loudly. “We completed our first A-rank mission!”

Sakura turns and gives Naruto a serious look. “Naruto, both you and Sasuke almost died!” Sakura says with a serious tone of voice. “That is not something to cheer about.”

Sasuke just closes his eyes, annoyed with his teammates' loud voices. Kakashi just sweat drops. However, Kakashi soon tenses up when he notices a strong and very strange aura nearby. Kakashi stops walking. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto all stop walking as well. Sasuke looks up at Kakashi with confusion.

“Kakashi, what is it?” Sasuke asks.

Kakashi looks to the left. “I sense a powerful aura nearby. It is coming from that direction.”

Naruto grins. “If it is another shinobi like Zabuza, I’ll flatten them no problem!”

Kakashi holds up his hand. “All of you stay here while I go investigate.” 

Naruto’s face falls. He narrows his eyes and lets out an annoyed huff. Kakashi just enters the forest. About ten meters away from the forest line, lies a quaint little cave. Kakashi walks up and begins examining the area. Inside the cave, are the remains of a fire. Kakashi carefully feels the ashes. The ashes are cold as stone. The fire has been out for a while.

Kakashi looks around some more. No one is around. However, Kakashi does feel the remnants of a strong aura. Whoever made this fire was powerful enough to leave a residual aura within the cave. That is some serious power. 

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi spots something lying on the ground. Kakashi narrows his eyes as he picks up the object to discover that it is foil. It actually looks like a food wrapper of some kind. The food wrapper crunches in Kakashi’s hand. Kakashi carefully examines the food wrapper. The wrapper is covered with strange images and strange writing. Kakashi narrows his uncovered eye.

Such strange writing, Kakashi thinks to himself. And such strange images. I have never seen anything like this before. 

Kakashi then sniffs the inside of the wrapper. The smell is very sweet. Whatever food this wrapper contained must have had sugar in it. A lot of sugar.

Kakashi carefully places the mysterious food wrapper in his bag. He shall show this to the Hokage when he and the rest of Team Seven arrives at the village.

Kakashi exits the cave and out of the corner of his eye, he notices something else. A strange shoe impression. By the size of it, it looks like it had to have been made by a child. Kakashi steps back to think for a minute. A child? Could a child have really left such a powerful residual aura behind? 

However, after a few minutes of thinking about this, Kakashi shakes his head. With no other clues as to who occupied this cave, there is nothing that Kakashi can do except tell the Hokage about this.

Kakashi sighs and starts heading back to where he left his students.


Luke, Thalia and Annabeth look at the water with thoughtful looks. A circle of prepared firewood lies not too far away. After the children gathered the needed firewood in order to cook the fish they intended to catch, they realized that they had a problem on their hands. 

How exactly are they supposed to catch a fish without a fishing pole?

Luke sighs. Never before have the three demigods attempted to catch live fish to eat. Luke always stole fish from boat docks for them to eat. However, there are no boat docks or fishermen to steal fish from. It is up to the children to figure out a way to catch fish themselves.

Thalia huffs in annoyance. “This is just terrific.” Thalia says with a voice full of annoyance. “We have a fire prepared but we can’t catch any stinking fish.”

Luke rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Don’t give up now. There has to be a way to catch some fish. We just have to put our brains together and think for a minute.”

Luke closes his eyes. When he was very young, he used to go fishing with his maternal grandfather. However, they used fishing poles and nets. Catching fish without fishing poles and nets is not within Luke’s expertise.

Luke sighs. “I used to fish with my grandpa when I was young. However, we used fishing poles and nets. I don’t really know how to catch fish without any equipment.”

However, Luke gets a determined look in his eyes. “But this is no reason to give up. We just have to get creative . Let’s think of this as a test. We are gonna run out of food eventually. We are gonna have to find ways to feed ourselves in this world. This is just a challenge that we have to overcome.”

Annabeth closes her eyes and crosses her arms, deep in thought. After a few minutes, Annabeth opens her eyes. She looks at Thalia.

“Sword!” Annabeth says. “Thalia, your sword! You can use your sword like a spear!”

Thalia and Luke both furrow their brows. The two demigods look at one another. Eventually, Thalia just sighs and pulls out her sword.

Thalia approaches the water. “Well, I suppose it is worth a try.”

Thalia stands at the water’s edge. She holds her sword pointed downward towards the water. Fish swim beneath the tip of the sword. Thalia takes a deep breath.

Here goes nothing…, Thalia thinks to herself.

As quick as she possibly can, Thalia thrusts her sword at a fish. However, she misses by mere inches. Luke, frowns. “Just try again.” Luke says encouragingly.

Thalia takes another deep breath and tries again, only to get the same result. Thalia just keeps at this for ten minutes. Luke eventually hangs his head down in defeat.

“It’s no use Thals.” Luke says. “We need to think of something else.”

Thalia sighs and puts her sword back. Annabeth takes out her knife. “I’ll try to stab a fish with my knife then!” 

Annabeth approaches the water and waits for a fish to approach. Annabeth thrusts her knife at a fish, only to miss. Undeterred, Annabeth tries again, only to get the same result. 

Thalia sighs. “Stop Annabeth, it’s no use. You’ll just wear yourself out.”

Annabeth sighs and stops thrusting her knife into the water. Annabeth walks back to go sit by Thalia. All of the sudden, Luke gets an idea. Luke then pulls some whitish string out of his bag. Luke then grabs a long stick and ties the string to one end of the stick.

Luke just grins at the contraption. “Whalla! I made a fishing pole!”

Luke holds his homemade ‘fishing pole’ over the water. The tip of the string floats on top of the water. Within minutes a fish bites down on the string. Luke pulls the stick back as fast as he can, intending to throw the fish onto the bank. However, without a hook, there is nothing to keep the fish on the string. The fish let’s go of the string just as Luke pulls it halfway out of the water and Luke is too slow to catch the falling fish. 

Alas, the fish escapes back into the water.

Luke huffs in annoyance. He lowers the stick so that the string is floating on top of the water again. Another fish bites onto the string a few minutes later. Luke pulls the stick, only to have it break in half.

Thalia and Annabeth both blink, very surprised at this turn of events. Luke on the other hand, just looks at his now broken ‘fishing pole’ with disbelief. Luke sighs and hangs his head down in defeat. Luke retrieves his string and simply walks back to where Thalia and Annabeth are sitting.

Thalia looks up at the sky. She thinks of lightning. Thalia’s eyes quickly widen as a thought comes to mind. Wait...lightning. That’s it!

Thalia smirks. “I know! I will summon lightning and electrocute some fish for us!”

Annabeth just sighs. “I have heard that when lightning strikes water bodies of water such as the ocean or lakes, the electrical current tends to stay near the surface. Fish swim under the surface of the water. It’s unlikely that you would be able to get a fish right when it would be at the surface of the water.”

Thalia gets a little deflated when she hears this. She sighs and crosses her arms. Annabeth looks at the water. “And just think. If the lightning did travel all the way through the water, you would probably kill everything in the lake. Just look at the size of it. There has to be at least a hundred or so fish in that lake. We couldn’t eat a hundred fish before they spoiled.”

Thalia blinks a few times. “You’re right, Annabeth. That would be incredibly wasteful .”

Luke sighs. “It was a novel idea though.”

Luke suddenly looks at his golf club. Another idea comes to mind. Luke grins and grabs his golf club. He approaches the water again. Thalia and Annabeth just look at Luke with confused eyes. What is Luke up to?

“Luke?” Annabeth asks. “What are you doing?” 

Luke grins widely and holds up his golf club. “Well Annie, I just had an idea! I could simply hit the fish with my golf club.”

Thalia narrows her eyes. “You mean ‘club’ the fish to death?”

Luke takes off his shoes and socks. Luke then rolls up the ends of his jeans. Luke grins as he enters the water. The cool water is just about an inch past his ankles. 

Luke just grins as he glances back at Thalia and Annabeth. “I’ll wait for the fish to come to me and then I’ll whack ‘em’. They’ll never know what hit them.” 

After a few minutes of waiting, a fish swims just into striking range. Luke finally brings his golf club down and strikes the water with such force that water flies everywhere. Thalia and Annabeth shield their faces. 

Luke frowns. “Darn it. I missed.”

Luke strikes the water again. Luke frowns again. “Darn it. Missed again.”

Luke strikes the water with his golf club again. Same result. “Darn it.” Luke says with even more frustration.

Luke thrusts his golf club into the water again. “Darn it.” Luke thrusts the golf club into the water again. “Darn it.”

Thalia lets out a deep sigh. She has a feeling that this is going to go on forever unless she says something. “Luke, just give up. It isn’t working. All you're doing is splashing water everywhere.”

Luke sighs and stops trying to whack fish. Luke steps back onto the shore, defeated. Annabeth rests her head in her hands and just looks at the water.

If only there was some way to trap the fish…, Annabeth thinks to herself. Just then an idea comes to mind. A trap. A fish trap.

Annabeth narrows her eyes as she thinks about everything that she used to read back at home. Annabeth, was such a bookworm she practically read every book in her father’s office. Annabeth actually recalls reading about fishing methods used by ancient cultures. One such method is now standing out in Annabeth’s mind. A fish weir.

Annabeth looks at the water. How could they build a fish weir? Annabeth knows that fish weirs work best in flowing bodies of water like rivers and streams. The fish would swim right into the trap.

All of the sudden, Annabeth looks at the string that Luke used to make his homemade fishing pole. An idea soon comes to mind. Annabeth looks at her companions. “Guys, I have an idea.” 

Thalia and Luke both raise their brows. Luke clears his throat. “You do?” 

Annabeth nods her head. “We have to build a fish trap and then lure the fish into it. We just need to gather some sticks. A lot of sticks.”


Jarou stands in front of a well of water. He looks carefully into the water, trying to find any sign of Thalia or her friends. Jarou just moves his hands over the water, which shifts the image. 

The new image in the water is of a forest. Jarou moves his hand again, which causes the image to shift again. The image in the water is now of a huge city. Jarou moves his hand some more and starts to examine the shifting images. After a few minutes though, Jarou just sighs and uses his hand to change the image again. The image in the water is now of a different city. Jarou carefully examines the different views of the city that come into focus while he moves his hand.

However, after about ten more minutes of doing this, Jarou sighs as he gives up. He undoes the jutsu and walks away.

Jarou looks up at the sky. I have checked every major city up and down the east coast and yet...I still cannot find Thalia.

Jarou blinks and looks out at the village below him. Jarou knows that when a certain person cannot be found using the Araya’s special interdimensional viewing jutsu, then it is a sign that he or she is dead .

Jarou sighs and hangs his head down. His aunt told him not to lose hope. However, Jarou has lost all hope that Thalia is alive. The very fact that she has not been seen for many days is an ominous sign.

Jarou looks back up at the sky. A single tear slides down each cheek. Jarou chokes back a sob.

“Thalia.” Jarou whispers to himself.


The sun is high in the sky as Thalia looks down at the water. She is standing in the shallows along with Annabeth and Luke. Luke is holding a stick with the whitish string tied to it. In the middle of all three children, is a circular cage made of sticks. Each stick stands upright, held into place by the sediment that it has been shoved into. The sticks are placed in a way so that fish cannot swim out of it. However, a small opening sits on one side of the circular cage.

Luke looks at Annabeth. “What is this supposed to be called again?”

“It’s called a fish weir.” Annabeth says. “It’s a type of fish trap.”

Annabeth points to the opening. “Fish swim into the opening, and the opening is angled and shaped so that the fish have trouble escaping.”

Annabeth sighs. “This trap actually works best with running water. If a fish weir is placed in a river, then the fish have to swim into the weir because of the current. Then, they become trapped inside it!”

Thalia and Luke look at one another. Thalia then furrows her brows and clears her throat. “This is a lake though. There is no current.”

Annabeth then points to Luke’s stick with the string tied to it. “That’s where Luke’s string comes in. Luke will move the stick and string like he was doing earlier and lure the fish into the trap.” Annabeth then looks at Thalia. “Then, it will be up to you and me to grab the fish before they can escape.”

Luke rubs his chin thoughtfully. Then, he just sighs. “It’s worth a try I guess. We’ll never know if it will work unless we try it out.”

Thalia and Annabeth just watch as Luke lowers the string onto the water’s surface. The son of Hermes moves the stick and string, mimicking the movements of a bug struggling on the water. Within minutes a curious fish swims in through the opening of the weir. The fish follows the string.

“Now!” Annabeth says.

Thalia quickly reaches in with both hands and grabs the slippery fish. Thalia carefully holds the struggling fish with both hands.

Thalia grins at the three demigods’ achievement. By working together, they managed to catch a fish. “It worked!”

Luke smiles. “Yes, we actually caught a fish.”

However, Annabeth narrows her eyes when she thinks of something. She looks at her companions. “Uh, you guys, I just thought of something. We need to kill the fish before we cook it. How should we do that?”

Thalia and Luke both look at each other with wide eyes. That is a good question. How should they kill the fish once they catch them?

Thalia looks down at the fish in her hands. The fish moves its tail slightly. The gills on the fish move as well. The mouth of the fish moves as it gasps. The fish is slowly suffocating. The fish is suffering . They need to act quickly.

Luke then thinks back to the days when he used to fish with his grandfather. He only saw his grandfather kill and gut one fish during his life. Luke does remember his grandfather hitting the fish between the eyes.

Annabeth is also thinking the same thing. She once read that fish should be rendered unconscious with a blow to the head before they are ultimately killed. In this way the fish does not feel a thing.

Annabeth grabs a rock. “The most humane way to kill a fish is to render it unconscious and then bleed it out by making a cut along the gills. That way the fish doesn’t feel anything when it dies. The fish can be rendered unconscious by striking the head with something.”

Luke narrows his eyes. “I actually do remember my grandfather doing that to a fish. I had no idea it was to render the fish unconscious .”

Thalia takes the fish to shore and places it on the ground. Annabeth hands Thalia the rock. Thalia strikes the fish above the eyes. The fish stops moving. The mouth doesn’t even move.

Annabeth sighs as he grabs her knife from her belt. “Ok, the fish looks as if it is unconscious. Now, we need to bleed the fish out.”

Luke raises a brow. “I do remember my grandfather doing that as well.”

Annabeth carefully makes a slit in the fish’s gills. Blood starts flowing out of the fish. Annabeth then carries the fish back to the water and starts rinsing it. Thalia and Luke, head back to the weir. Luke holds the stick and string on top of the water again. Within minutes, another curious fish swims into the weir. Thalia grabs the fish and carries the flopping fish to the shore. Thalia grabs the rock again and strikes the fish on the head. The fish stops moving immediately. Thalia then uses Annabeth’s knife to slit the gills. Blood pours out of the fish’s gills. Thalia hands the fish off to Annabeth. Thalia then wades back towards the weir. Luke has already begun the process of luring another fish into the trap. A fish curiously swims into the weir and begins chasing the moving string. As quick as lightning, Thalia grabs the fish. Thalia carries the flopping fish towards the shore. Thalia strikes the fish on the head with the rock and makes the slice on the gills. Thalia, hands the bloody fish off to Annabeth to clean.

Thalia and Luke look at one another again. They both grin as they make their way towards the shore. They caught three fish. All they need is three fish. Perfect.

Once Annabeth is done cleaning all of the fish, the fish are laid out on the grass. Luke quickly starts the fire. Meanwhile, Thalia carefully skewers each fish with a long stick. This way the fish can be held over the fire while they cook.

Once the fire is going strong, the three children hold their fish over the flames. All of the sudden, Annabeth’s stomach growls. Thalia and Luke’s bellies also rumble loudly.

Annabeth frowns as she listens to her stomach growl. “I sure hope that our fish don’t take too long to cook. I am hungry.”

Thalia sighs. “I am hungry to. However, I am sure that all of our hard work will be worth it once the fish are cooked through.”

Luke shrugs his shoulders slightly. begins. “Well, now that we know how to catch fish, we can catch all we want as long as we stick close to water.”

Thalia nods. “That is true. I am so glad that we can catch our own fish to eat. I was getting tired of eating poptarts and granola bars.”

“I was too.” Luke says admittingly.

The three demigods sit around the fire, holding their fish over the hot flames. The three demigods look at one another. It is a little too quiet for their taste. But what could they talk about?

Annabeth suddenly gets an idea. She grins widely. “I know what we can do. We can tell stories!”

Thalia and Luke both raise their brows. The two elder demigods look at one another. Stories?

Thalia quickly clears her throat. “Stories? What kind of stories are you talking about?”

Annabeth grins. “Stories about our adventures before the three of us met of course! The two of you have been fighting monsters a lot longer than I have. I am sure the two of you have interesting stories to tell.”

Thalia narrows her eyes. “Well, I suppose that Luke and I have had a bunch of interesting adventures. A few of those could make good stories.”

Thalia looks at Luke’s golf club. “Hey Luke, you have never told us how you got that golf club.”

Luke raises a brow. He glances at his golf club. “My golf club?”

Thalia and Annabeth nod. “You have had that golf club as long as I have known you. Just where did you get that thing?”

Luke straightens his shoulders. “That is true. I have had this golf club for a long time. I suppose you could say that I found it a few months after I ran away from home.”

Luke blinks and sighs. “I suppose that it began like any other day…,” Luke says as he begins his story.

Thalia and Annabeth lean in closer, eager to hear what Luke has to tell them.

Chapter 8: Three demigods, a dog and a cabin

Notes:

Hurray, I have this chapter edited and revamped!

Chapter Text

Luke smiles as he holds his golf club. Thalia and Annabeth are both sitting across from Luke. The eyes of the two female demigods are wide as he tells his story.

“And so there I was,” Luke says. “Surrounded by five vicious hellhounds. Oh, I knew that I was in trouble. Then, one of the hellhounds tried to jump on me. I just barely dodged it. The hellhound snapped his jaws but he didn’t get me.”

Annabeth just shivers. “I am so glad the hellhound didn’t get you, Luke.”

Luke grins and holds up his golf club. “Then…,” Luke says. “Out of the corner of my eye...I spotted something on the ground. After dodging the jumping and snapping hellhounds, I managed to make my way towards the strange object on the ground. I realized that it was a golf club.”

Luke grins and holds his golf club like he is about to swing it. “I didn’t hesitate.” Luke says. “I picked up the golf club and swung it at one of the hellhounds. The hellhound exploded into gold dust!”

Annabeth and Thalia both gasp. Their eyes are wide.

Luke grins as he makes small swinging motions with his golf club. “I just kept on swinging. I managed to defeat all five hellhounds. From then on, this golf club became my weapon.”

Annabeth claps her hands. “Wow! That was amazing, Luke!”

Luke grins. “Thanks Annie.”

Thalia grins as she finishes off the last bite of her fish. She throws the stick away. Annabeth also finishes off her fish. Annabeth throws the stick away. Annabeth covers her mouth as she burps a little.

Annabeth just smiles. “Oh, excuse me. But I have to say, that fish was delicious.”

Thalia smiles. “Mine was too.”

Luke grins as he finishes off the last bite of his fish. “My fish was very delicious as well. Can’t remember the last time I had such a good fish.” 

Luke throws the stick off to the side. Luke then lays down on the ground and stares up at the sky.

“You know girl, I was just wondering…,” Luke begins as he continues to stare up at the sky. “What should we do with our lives now that we are in this world? It will get tiring just walking around all of the time. Maybe we should try to settle down somewhere.”

Thalia raises a brow. “Settle down somewhere? What do you mean by that?”

Luke sits up as he looks at his companions. “Remember that abandoned cabin we found a day or so ago?” 

Thalia and Annabeth both nod. Luke just blinks a few times. “My idea is to find another abandoned cabin and try to live in it. It can be our ‘house’. We wouldn’t have to be nomads anymore.”

Thalia and Annabeth look at one another. Hmm, not being nomads anymore would be kind of nice. Having a home to call their own would be a dream come true.

Thalia crosses her arms. “That sounds like a nice idea. However, we would have to find a cabin by a stream or river. Once we run out of food, we would need to catch fish in order to survive.”

Luke nods. “Of course. I was also thinking—”

However, Luke is cut off by a strange noise coming from the forest. The three demigods instinctively grab their weapons. The three of them are used to hearing strange noises and then monsters jumping out after them. However, once the children remember that they are in a different world, they put their weapons down. However, Luke is still on alert. Whatever made the strange noise sounds as if it is getting closer.

Thalia leans in closer to Luke. “It can’t be a monster.” Thalia says with a whispering voice. “What can it be then?”

Annabeth narrows her eyes. “It’s probably some kind of animal. Or it could even be another person.”

Luke narrows his own eyes. “If it is a person, then I sure hope that he or she is not like the other humans we have been encountering.”

Thalia nods. “Me too. I guess that there is only one way to find out.”

Thalia gets up and slowly approaches the forest. Luke and Annabeth watch Thalia walk towards the treeline with wide eyes.

“Thalia.” Annabeth whispers. “Be careful. We have no idea what it is.”

Thalia bravely approaches the forest. A shrub suddenly starts rustling. Suddenly, a few leaves part, revealing a small black nose attached to a white snout.

Thalia’s eyes widen. That looks like…, Thalia thinks to herself.

However, Thalia does not finish her thought. The black nose and white snout are soon joined by a head. A head with bright blue eyes, white fur, white ears and a sweet looking face. 

The mysterious creature...is a white dog.

Luke and Annabeth slowly join Thalia’s side. Annabeth’s eyes are wide. “A dog! A beautiful white dog with blue eyes!”

Luke laughs a little. “To think we were scared of a dog.”

The white dog walks out from behind the shrub. The dog is covered with white fur all over. However, some areas are tarnished with grime. The dog looks like a husky. The dog’s ears stand tall and the tail is curled slightly. The dog’s tail wags as it approaches the children.

Annabeth gets down on her knees and holds her hand out. The dog approaches Annabeth and slowly sniffs the little girl’s hand. The dog then licks Annabeth’s hand affectionately and it’s tail wags even more.

Thalia sighs. “Well, at least the dog is friendly.”

Annabeth blinks a few times. “Is the dog a boy or a girl?”

Luke carefully looks at the dogs behind. “It’s a girl.”

Annabeth smiles as she looks at the dog. “Well then, hello girl. Where did you come from?”

The dog simply licks Annabeth’s hand again. The dog’s tail does not stop wagging. Luke, looks around. He wonders if this dog could belong to anyone. However, no one else is around.

Thalia then looks back towards the fire. The fire is now completely out. Maybe the three of them should move on now. Thalia looks at Luke.

“The fire is out. Perhaps we should move on now.”

Luke nods in agreement. “Absolutely.”

Annabeth looks up from the dog. She looks at Thalia and Luke, who are both heading back towards the fire to gather their things. Annabeth follows. The mysterious white dog follows Annabeth every step of the way.

Thalia grabs her bag. Luke grabs his bag and golf club. Luke then scoops up some water from the lake with his hands and dumps the water over the fire. Annabeth picks up her bag. Without saying another word, the three children start walking away. The dog continues to follow Annabeth. After a few minutes, Annabeth turns and sees that the dog is following her. The dog lets out a bark.

“Look Luke! Look Thalia!” Annabeth says. “The dog is following us.”

Luke and Thalia turn to see the dog licking Annabeth’s hand. Annabeth looks at Thalia and Luke.

“She wants to come with us.” Annabeth says. “She wants to be our dog.”

Thalia and Luke look at one another. They know that Annabeth must be right. Why else would the dog follow them?

“I think that you are right Annabeth.” Luke says. “However, if she is going to be a part of our family now, then she needs a name.”

Annabeth narrows her eyes. “You’re right Luke. We do need to give her a name.”

Thalia narrows her eyes. “Well, the dog is white. Snow...Snowy...and daisy might work.”

Annabeth suddenly comes up with an idea. “I know! Let’s give her an ancient greek name! Her fur is white like the moon. Selene or Artemis might work. Selene is the titaness of the moon.”

Thalia and Luke both narrow their eyes. Thalia clears her throat. “Hmm, Selene doesn’t seem fitting for a dog.”

Annabeth rubs her chin. “How about Artemis then?”

Luke just gets an indescribable look on his face at the mention of the moon goddess. Thalia closes her eyes. Just thinking of the moon goddess brings back memories of the group's encounter with Artemis’s hunters.”

Eventually, Thalia sighs. “Remember our encounter with the Hunters of Artemis? Remember how they treated Luke?”

Annabeth blinks and looks at the ground. “I do remember now.”

Annabeth then thinks some more. “How about Sappho? Sappho means ‘sapphire’ in greek. The dog does have blue eyes.”

Thalia narrows her eyes. “Hmm, I don’t think Sappho sounds feminine enough.”

Annabeth narrows her eyes and then goes back to thinking. After a few minutes, Annabeth thinks of another name. “Phoebe! Phoebe, is the titaness of prophecy. Her name means ‘bright’. Just look at how bright the dog's eyes are.”

Thalia narrows her eyes. “Phoebe doesn’t sound like a dog’s name either.”

Annabeth’s face falls. She sighs. “I guess you are right.”

Annabeth then closes her eyes and tries to think of more names. After a few more minutes, Annabeth opens her eyes. “Kallisto! Kallisto means ‘beautiful’ in Greek. Just look at how beautiful this dog is.”

Thalia narrows her eyes some more. “Sounds like a little much for a dog.”

Annabeth, narrows her eyes. “Hm…,” Annabeth murmurs. “Well then how about Tethys. Tethys is the titaness of fresh water springs. We did find the dog near water. The dog’s eyes are also blue, just like how water is viewed by so many.”

Thalia narrows her eyes. “Sounds a little weird.”

Annabeth sighs. “The only other name I can think of is Theia. Theia is the titaness of ‘clear sight’. Legends say that Theia was often associated with anything shiny, such as jewels and light.”

Annabeth then gestures towards the dog's eyes. “Look at the dog's eyes. They are so shiny, they practically sparkle.”

Thalia and Luke look at one another. Thalia then rubs her chin thoughtfully. “Well, Theia does have a nice ring to it.”

Luke grins. “I agree. I like Theia.”

Annabeth smiles. “If we all agree, then it is settled.” Annabeth then looks back at the dog. “Theia it is!”

Annabeth pats the dog's head. “Theia.” Annabeth says to the dog. “Your name is Theia now.”

The dog cocks her head curiously at the name. The dog even wags her tail.

“Theia.” Annabeth says as she holds her hand out. “Here girl!”

The dog responds to Annabeth’s open hand. It looks like the dog has accepted her new name.

Luke smiles and looks ahead in the direction where he and his companions were headed. “Come on. Let’s go look for a home to call our own.”

Thalia and Annabeth both nod. Annabeth turns to Theia. “Come Theia!” Annabeth says. “Come girl.”

Theia obeys immediately. Soon enough, Luke, Thalia, Annabeth and Theia are heading into the forest. 

The four of them are trekking into the unknown.


The sun is just beginning to set over the horizon as Kakashi and his young pupils enter the village. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto are following close behind the silver haired jonin.

Sakura sighs. “Thank goodness, we’re finally home. That trip took forever .”

Kakashi blinks a few times. He looks teasingly at Naruto. “We might have made it back sooner had someone not stopped every hour in order to pee behind a tree.” 

Naruto gets an offended look on his face. “Hey now! I really had to pee!”

Kakashi chuckles and holds his hands up. “Well, at least we are home. However, before we can all head home to our respective houses, we must debrief Lord Hokage on how the mission went.”

The eyes of all three genin widen instantly. Sakura then lets out a deep sigh. “I forgot about that. I guess that I will not be home in time for dinner after all.”

Sasuke closes his eyes. “Well, let’s just go and get it over with already.”

With that, Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura begin following Kakashi towards the Hokage’s tower. As the group walks, Kakashi thinks of how he will explain his strange discovery to Lord Hokage. What will the old man make of the strange food wrapper?

Sasuke walks close behind Kakashi. The boy thinks of his sharingan. Just when should he mention the awakening of his own sharingan to Kakashi?

Maybe I should tell Kakashi about my sharingan after we debrief the Hokage about the outcome of our mission. Sasuke thinks to himself. That would probably be the best time.

Sasuke closes his eyes. He thinks of his strange dream. Should he tell Kakashi about that as well? 

After a few minutes, Sasuke opens his eyes. Kakashi probably would not understand the dream either. Sasuke decides that he should probably keep it to himself.


Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all walk through the forest. Theia walks obediently beside Annabeth.

Thalia just looks at the horizon ahead. The sun is almost set. Daylight is fading quickly. However, the group has still not found a decent shelter.

Thalia looks back at her companions. Luke and Annabeth both look as if they are exhausted. Even Theia the dog looks tired.

Luke stops walking and sighs. “It’s getting dark...and we don’t have a place to sleep.”

Thalia sighs. “I know. I don’t want to spend the night out in a forest any more than you do. It is true that we don’t have to worry about monsters anymore, but there are dangers in this world. Being out in a forest at night is especially risky. Who knows what wild animals could be lurking in this forest?!”

Luke nods his head. “I know. We may have weapons on us but I don’t want to spend the night fighting off hungry animals.”

“We also won’t be able to see once it’s dark!” Annabeth says wide eyed.

Luke narrows his eyes. He grabs his backpack off of his back. Luke opens his bag and begins searching through it. Luke smiles as he pulls out a flashlight. “I thought I had a flashlight in my bag. Now we will be able to see.”

Thalia frowns. “That still doesn’t solve our problem of having no shelter.” The daughter of Zeus points out.

“Having light means that we will be able to continue our search for shelter.” Luke says.

Thalia raises a brow. “Well, that is a good point.” 

Annabeth blinks a few times. “Well then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Luke quickly turns on the flashlight. He holds it as the group walks forward. Theia walks beside Annabeth. After ten minutes of walking, the light from Luke’s flashlight hits something. It is sawed boards. A cabin lies before them.

Thalia sighs. “Oh thank gods we found shelter. I got so tired of walking.”

Luke looks around. “Come on, let’s investigate. I don’t see a stream nearby, so this place wouldn’t make a very good permanent home. However, it shall work for tonight.”

Luke slowly opens the door. The children peer inside. The cabin is completely empty. A sunken hearth sits in the middle of the cabin. A small pile of wood, sits next to the hearth. The three children enter the cabin. Theia follows Annabeth.

Luke bends down and looks at the hearth. “Just hold on girls, we’ll have a nice warm fire in a few minutes.” 

Luke places some of the wood into the hearth. Luke then grabs his lighter out of his bag. Luke tries to light a log on fire, but it doesn’t work. Luke grumbles. “Oh come on. Not again.” 

Thalia sighs. “I guess I better go look for some dried grass.” 

Luke then looks back at the pile of remaining wood. “Well, it might not hurt to gather a little more firewood as well. At least we have my flashlight now.” 

Thalia and Annabeth nod as they follow Luke out of the cabin. Theia the dog follows close behind Annabeth. 

About ten minutes later, Luke, Thalia, Annabeth and Theia reenter the cabin. Luke, Thalia and Annabeth all carry armfuls of wood. Thalia is also carrying a handful of dried grass. Luke shuts the door behind the three demigods. Then, Luke notices a bolt on the door. Luke just grins and uses the bolt to lock the door. 

“There! Now no one can walk in on us while we are sleeping.” Luke says. 

Luke then walks over to the hearth and throws the wood down beside the hearth. Thalia and Annabeth set their armfuls of wood down beside the hearth as well. Thalia then hands Luke the dried grass. 

Luke quickly prepares a fire using the dried grass and his lighter. Luke then throws the ignited grass onto the wood in the hearth. Within minutes, The cabin is illuminated with a warm glow from the fire in the hearth.

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth all sigh as they sit down on the floor. They have formed a circle around the hearth. Theia lies between Annabeth and Thalia. Luke then opens up his bag and takes out a package of pop tarts. Thalia and Annabeth also open their bags and take out packages of pop tarts as well. Annabeth, looks down at Theia. Annabeth looks at her now opened pop tarts and sniffs them.

“We can’t feed these to Theia, they have chocolate in them.” Annabeth says. 

Then, Annabeth looks in her bag again. “Hmm, I might have some pop tarts leftover from last time. Those were cherry flavored.” 

Then, after a little bit of digging and rummaging, Annabeth pulls out another package of pop tarts. The daughter of Athena looks carefully at the image on the foil wrapper. Her eyes become wide. “Good, these are cherry flavored.” 

Annabeth looks back at Theia. “Well, pop tarts probably aren’t the best thing to feed dogs, but Theia looks really hungry. Let’s just hope they don’t upset her stomach.” 

Annabeth opens up the package of cherry flavored pop tarts and sets them in front of Theia. Theia sniffs the pop tarts and then swiftly gobbles them down. Theia then lets out a yawn and lays her head down in Annabeth’s lap.

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth, slowly munch on their pop tarts. After they are done, they wash down all of the sugar they just ate with some water from their bottles of water. Then, the three demigods lay down on the floor. It is completely dark outside now. Time to go to sleep. 

Luke just yawns some more. He turns to Thalia and Annabeth. The son of Hermes lets out another loud yawn. “Goodnight girls. See ya in the morning.”

Thalia yawns. “Goodnight Luke. “Goodnight Annabeth.”

Then, Thalia looks at Theia, lying next to Annabeth. “Goodnight Theia.” Thalia whispers as she closes her eyes.

“Goodnight Luke.” Annabeth says with a sleepy voice. She closes her eyes. “Goodnight Thalia. Goodnight Theia.”

With that, the three young demigods and their new furry friend drift off to sleep. The fire in the hearth glows brightly, giving off warmth.


Kakashi just stands in the office belonging to the Third Hokage. Many other jonin are also gathered within the office.

The third Hokage is sitting at his desk. The old man looks thoughtfully at the foil wrapper in his hand. After Team Seven debriefed the Hokage on their mission, Kakashi told his students to go home. Kakashi simply told the young genin that he wanted to speak privately with the Hokage. After the three genin left the room, Kakashi brought out the strange foil wrapper and showed it to the Hokage. Kakashi then told the story of how he had found it.

The third Hokage carefully examines the writing on the foil. Lord Third was so intrigued by Kakashi’s discovery that he decided to call in all of his top jonin to have a look and give their opinions.

Lord Third rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Very strange indeed. “I have never seen writing like this before.”

Kurenai Yuhi clears her throat. “Lord Hokage, what could this mean?”

The Hokage sighs. “Truthfully, I don’t know. I just wish I knew.”

The Hokage then looks at Kakashi. “Kakashi, you mentioned that you also found a child sized shoe print along with this wrapper. You said that the tread looked very strange.”

Kakashi nods. “Yes milord. I found the shoe print right outside of the cave where the wrapper was left.”

Lord Third looks at the wrapper and sighs. “Unfortunately...without more clues...we cannot determine the origins of this ‘food wrapper’. However, I want all of you to keep your eyes out for any more. If any of you find more of these strange ‘food wrappers’, you are to bring them to me immediately. Understood?”

“Yes, Lord Hokage!” All of the jonin in the room say.

Lord Hokage takes his pipe out of his mouth. “Good. All of you are now dismissed.”

Kakashi and all of the jonin leave the room. The Hokage looks back down at the wrapper. He sighs.

A strong residual aura…, Lord Third thinks to himself. A child sized shoe impression. A food wrapper with strange writing on it. What could this mean?

Chapter 9: Uchiha dreams II

Notes:

Hurray, here is my ninth edited and revamped chapter!

Chapter Text

Grayish storm clouds are gathering in the night sky. Low thunder breaks the silence in the air.

At their campsite, Itachi and Kisame are lying on the ground around their campfire. The two Akatsuki members simply slumber around the warm fire, unaware of the approaching storm. 

Kisame just snores and shifts in his sleep. Across the other side of the campfire, Itachi lays on his back. Itachi’s eyes are closed and he breathes softly. All of the sudden, Itachi’s face scrunches up and he starts shifting in his sleep.

...Itachi’s dreamscape…

The sun sets over the horizon. The last stretches of sunlight illuminate the village below.

Itachi stands in the middle of a meadow. Itachi looks around and then at his hands. He realizes that this is another dream.

Then, Itachi looks aheads of him to see a younger version of himself standing with Sakiko in the middle of the meadow. 

Itachi just watches as his younger self smiles at Sakiko. Sakiko simply smiles back. Then, the two share a passionate kiss. The two teens appear not to notice the older Itachi.

“Sakiko.” The teenage Itachi says.

Sakiko’s cheeks turn red. “Itachi.” 

Then, the younger Itachi lays down in the meadow. Sakiko lies down next to the handsome teenage boy. Then, after sharing a few more words, the two teens remove all of their clothing. The two teens are now lying naked in the meadow together. 

The older Itachi suddenly remembers. He almost steps back. He and Sakiko had sexual intercourse in the meadow all those years ago. How could he have forgotten? 

The younger Itachi wraps his arms around Sakiko’s waist. “Sakiko.” 

Sakiko just gets a dreamy look in her eyes as the younger Itachi straddles her waist. Sakiko ends up wrapping her own arms around the younger Itachi. “Itachi, please don’t stop.” 

The two teens share another passionate kiss. Then, just like that, the two teenagers begin having sexual intercourse underneath the darkening sky. The moon is just starting to show itself in the sky. 

The older Itachi blinks as he watches his younger self’s antics. This dream is so vivid. It is like Itachi is reliving that day. 

Then, the two teens dissolve right before Itachi’s eyes. The remaining light scatters into little balls which turn into leaves. The leaves blow in the air and surround Itachi. Then, the leaves disappear, revealing the entrance into the Araya clan’s village. On the other side of the gate, Sakiko, sits on the ground.

Sakiko’s eyes are red and puffy and tears strain her cheeks. Sakiko just lets out a sob as she stares out past the gate.

Sakiko then sniffles as she stares ahead. It seems like she is staring at the older Itachi. “Why...why Itachi…,” Sakiko seems to say accusingly to Itachi. “You...left without saying goodbye. I...I thought you liked me. You said that I was beautiful.”

Itachi blinks a few times. Is she talking to him? Can she actually see him?

Then, a man with short brown hair, ultramarine blue eyes and fair skin approaches Sakiko. The man puts a hand on Sakiko’s shoulder. Then, Itachi finally realizes who the man is. It is Sakiko’s uncle. Itachi is certain that the man’s name is supposed to be Jarou.

A woman with brown hair, light blue eyes, and pink lips simply walks past the pair. The woman scoffs at the sight.

“That is what the girl gets for falling for a rogue!” The woman says with a cruel voice.

Sakiko cries even harder at the woman’s words. Jarou scowls at the woman’s retreating form.

Sakiko looks up and stares ahead at the gate. She looks Itachi right in the eyes. “Itachi…,” Sakiko says. “Why…why...why? I thought you liked me.”

The image of Sakiko and the man suddenly dissolve into bright light. The bright light scatters into little balls, and forms leaves. The leaves dance and swirl around Itachi. When the leaves disappear, Itachi now stands inside a house. Across from Itachi, Sakiko sits in front of a toilet. Sakiko’s face goes pale and she promptly vomits into the toilet bowl. After Sakiko is done vomiting she turns and looks down at her stomach. Sakiko, puts her arms around her stomach. Then, Sakiko looks up and looks Itachi right in the eyes.

“Itachi…,” Sakiko whispers. “Itachi...Itachi.”

...end of dream…

Itachi opens his eyes. He sits up and tries to process his dream. However, he is brought out of his thoughts with the sound of thunder. Itachi looks up at the sky. Soon, little plops of water start falling from the sky. A raindrop lands on Kisame’s face. Kisame’s eyes flicker open immediately.

Within minutes, the heavens open up. Rain begins pouring down. The two Akatsuki members are now getting drenched by the pouring rain.

Kisame grumbles as he sits up. “Oh great. It’s raining.”

Itachi simply blinks, not caring that he is getting soaked. Kisame looks over to his partner. Kisame huffs. “Well, I guess we better look for some shelter.”

Itachi does not respond. The young man sits there, thinking about his unusual dream. Kisame narrows his eyes. “Itachi? We are getting soaked and you’re just sitting there! What is wrong with you?”

Itachi quickly shakes his head, snapping himself out of his thoughts. He turns towards his partner. “I am fine.” he stands up. “Let’s go find some shelter.”

Kisame grumbles. “About time!” Kisame says as he stands up. The rouge mist nin grabs his sword.

The two Akatsuki members start walking through the rain, trying to find any sort of shelter. While he walks, Itachi thinks of his strange dream.

This dream was even stranger than the last. Itachi thinks to himself. Why did I dream of having sex with Sakiko. That was years ago. Why am I dreaming of it now?  

Itachi then closes his eyes. Why was I dreaming of Sakiko crying over me leaving the village? And...why did I dream of her getting sick? What does this mean?


Sasuke lays in his bed. Outside his bedroom window, the early morning sky is covered with grayish storm clouds.

Sasuke shifts under the covers. His face scrunches up a little.

...Sasuke’s dreamscape…

The sun slowly rises over the horizon. Sasuke is standing in front of a gate which leads to a village he has never seen before. Sasuke looks down at his hands and realizes that this is another dream. 

One the other side of the gate, the girl from his last dream, Sakiko, sits on the ground. Sakiko’s eyes are red and puffy. Tears stain the girl’s cheeks. Sakiko just lets out a sob as she stares out past the village gate. 

Sakiko sniffles. “Why...why Itachi.” Sakiko says to herself as she stares out past the gate. “You...left without saying goodbye. I...I thought you liked me. You said that I was beautiful.”

Sasuke narrows his eyes at the sight. Itachi must have left Sakiko’s village. Is this girl really crying over his clan killing brother? Does she not know what the man did?

Then, the image of Sakiko and the village disappear into bright light. The bright light then turns into shadows which surround Sasuke. Sasuke’s eyes are wide as the shadows swirl around him. After the shadows stop swirling a new image forms before Sasuke’s eyes. Sasuke now stands in a room, surrounded by people. Sakiko sits on a bed. Her eyes are puffy and red. Tears stain the girl’s cheeks.

A man with short brown hair, ultramarine blue eyes and fair skin stands close to the bed. The man’s eyes are downcast. All of the other people who are in the room also have their eyes downcast.

Sakiko lets out a sob. “No…,” Sakiko whispers. She puts her arms around her stomach. “You have to be lying. It has to be a lie.”

The man standing next to the bed sighs. “I am so sorry, Sakiko. I wish that it was a lie, but unfortunately it is not. Itachi Uchiha, murdered the entire Uchiha clan...his own clan. He is a kinslayer.” 

Sasuke narrows his eyes. The village must have just found out what Itachi did. Now, the people in the room are breaking the news to Sakiko.

Sakiko lets out another sob. “He was so kind to me.” Sakiko mutters. “There is no way he could have done such a horrible thing.”

Sasuke narrows his eyes. Sakiko is acting like she doesn’t want to accept the truth.

“Sakiko…,” The brown haired man says. “I would never lie to you. I know that you really liked Itachi, but I am afraid he played with your feelings. I know that the truth is hard to accept. However—”

However, the man does not finish his sentence. Sakiko lets out another loud sob and gets up from the bed. She runs out of the room.

“Sakiko!?” The brown haired man calls out. The man tries to run after Sakiko, but another man grabs his arm and shakes his head.

Sasuke watches as Sakiko, runs out of the house and down a dirt path. The village flies by Sasuke, as he watches Sakiko run. The images fly by Sasuke so fast he can’t make out what they are. Sasuke and the running Sakiko are literally in a tunnel, surrounded by smeared images. 

Sakiko just keeps on running. Eventually a light appears at the end of the tunnel. A meadow appears in front of Sakiko and Sasuke. 

Sakiko stops running and collapses to the ground. Sasuke looks around. It is the same meadow in which Sakiko and Itachi were spending time together in Sasuke’s last dream.

Sakiko lies on the ground and stares up at the sky above her. Sakiko sobs and puts her hands over her stomach.

…end of dream…

Sasuke’s eyes flicker open. Then, the Uchiha hears thunder booming outside of his window. Sasuke turns and sees rain pouring down from the sky. Lightning flashes in the sky.

Sasuke just groans as he looks away from the window. Well, I guess I won’t be training today.

Sasuke blinks a few times. He looks at his clock. It is 5:00 am. Sasuke just turns over and tries to go back to sleep. However, he just can’t. Sasuke just cannot get the dream out of his head.

After a few more minutes, Sasuke gets up from his bed. Maybe a drink of water will help him clear his head. Sasuke walks over to the kitchen area of his apartment. The Hokage moved Sasuke into this apartment after Itachi killed their clan. The Hokage had said he didn’t want a seven year old living alone in an empty compound on the far side of the village.

Sasuke grabs a water glass and turns on his sink. Sasuke fills the water glass and takes a quick sip. Sasuke blinks a few times. Nope...that didn’t help. Sasuke sighs as he sets down the water glass and walks back to his bed. 

Maybe he should just lie back down and hope that he can go back to sleep.


Rain pours down outside of the cabin in which Thalia, Luke, Annabeth and their new furry companion are sleeping. The three children and dog are unaware of the storm outside.

Luke just twitches slightly in his sleep. The son of Hermes just lets out a yawn and turns onto his left side.

Annabeth lays beside Theia. Theia twitches in her sleep. Just then, Theia wakes up, alert as ever. The dog gets up and rushes over to the far left corner of the room.

Thalia lays flat on her back. Thalia’s face suddenly scrunches up. She begins moving around in her sleep.

…Thalia’s dreamscape…

Thalia opens her eyes to find herself in another room. It is another dream. 

In the room, people are standing around Sakiko, the girl from Thalia’s previous dreams. Sakiko is sitting on a bed. Sakiko’s eyes are red and puffy and tears stain the girl’s cheeks. A brown haired, ultramarine blue eyed man stands next to the bed. The man’s eyes are downcast. Everyone else in the room also keeps their eyes downcast. Sakiko lets out a sob.

“No…,” Sakiko whispers. She puts her arms around her stomach. “You have to be lying. It has to be a lie.”

The man standing next to the bed sighs. “I am so sorry, Sakiko. I wish that it was a lie, but unfortunately it is not. Itachi Uchiha, murdered the entire Uchiha clan...his own clan. He is a kinslayer.”

Thalia’s eyes widen. The boy from her first two dreams murdered his entire clan? That is just seriously messed up.

Sakiko lets out another sob. “He was so kind to me.” Sakiko mutters. “There is no way he could have done such a horrible thing.”

Thalia blinks a few times. Sakiko must be in denial. The truth is just too hard to accept.

“Sakiko…,” The brown haired man says. “I would never lie to you. I know that you really liked Itachi, but I am afraid he played with your feelings. I know that the truth is hard to accept. However—”

However, the man does not finish his sentence. Sakiko lets out another loud sob and gets up from the bed. She runs out of the room.

“Sakiko!?” The brown haired man calls out. The man tries to run after Sakiko, but another man grabs his arm and shakes his head. 

Thalia, without thinking about it, follows the retreating form of Sakiko down the hallway. Then, Thalia is swallowed by shadows. After the shadows dissipate, Thalia finds herself in a meadow. It is the same meadow from Thalia’s first two dreams.

Sakiko is sitting in the meadow and she is sobbing her heart out. All of the sudden, Sakiko stops sobbing as her face goes pale. Sakiko promptly vomits all over the earth in front of her. Sakiko takes a deep breath. She looks down at her stomach. Sakiko blinks as she puts her hands on her stomach.

…end of dream…

Thalia’s eyes flicker open as she feels her shoulder being shaken. Thalia looks up to see Luke, Annabeth and Theia crowded around her.

Luke’s eyes are wide. “Thalia, is everything ok? You were moving around like crazy.”

Thalia narrows her eyes in surprise. “I was?”

Luke just blinks as he looks at his friend. “Yeah. You were moving around like this.”

Luke then gets on the floor and begins mimicking the movements that Thalia was making without knowing it. Thalia’s eyes are wide. She was really moving around like that?

After a moment or so, Thalia just sighs and rolls over. She is slightly embarrassed by the whole thing. “I am fine. I guess I was having trouble getting comfortable.”

Luke and Annabeth both narrow their eyes. The two of them can tell that something is bothering their friend. However, Thalia seems unwilling to reveal it to them. Why?

Thalia looks out the window and sees that it is raining. “It’s raining. I guess that we cannot leave until it stops raining.”

Luke then makes a face. “Yeah, and it’s too bad that we can’t.” Luke then covers his nose.

Thalia is confused until she sniffs the air. She immediately gags and covers her own nose. “What in my father’s name is that horrible smell!”

Annabeth has her nose covered. “Look in that far corner over there to the left. You’ll see. I think those poptarts didn’t agree with Theia.”

At her name being mentioned, said dog whines and lays down. Theia covers her snout with her paws and then closes her eyes. It’s as if Theia is ashamed of something.

Thalia looks over to the far left corner. Her eyes become wide immediately. In the far left corner sits a big pile of liquidy and very smelly dog poop. 

Well, unfortunately it appears that the pop tarts gave Theia...diarrhea.

Luke gags. “Man, it smells really bad!”

Thalia grimaces. “Yeah! And you wanna know what the worst part is? It’s raining outside so we can’t leave. We are stuck in here with the smell.”

Luke gags some more. “I tried to open the windows, but it didn’t help.”

Annabeth opens up her bag as she gets an idea. The daughter of Athena rummages through her bag. Annabeth then pulls out a small spray bottle with some pink liquid in it. 

Luke and Thalia eye the bottle of pink liquid with questioning eyes. Hmm, that looks like perfume. Luke clears his throat. “Annie, what is that?”

Annabeth unscrews the cap on the bottle. “It’s perfume that I took from my stepmom’s junk drawer when I ran away from home. She had received it as a gift from a co-worker. However, she ended up not caring for the smell so she put it into her junk drawer. I thought that if I sprayed myself with this, it would help throw off the monsters. Well, it didn’t work so I put it into the bottom of my bag and forgot about it. Maybe this will help cover up the smell.”

Annabeth gets up and sprays some of the perfume around the room. However, this only makes the smell worse. This causes the three demigods to gag even more. Even Theia seems to gag a little bit.

Thalia finally gets up and heads for the door. “Maybe we should open up the door.”

Luke recovers his nose. “Good thinking Thals.” 

Thalia undoes the latch and opens the door. Luke then gets an idea as well. Luke quickly puts more wood into the hearth along with some dried grass. Luke uses his lighter to light the grass on fire. The grass ignites and so does the wood. The wood slowly smolders until there is a roaring fire in the hearth.

After a while, the smell slowly starts to dissipate. Good, it worked.

Thalia sighs as she goes to sit down by the fire. “Oh thank gods. I thought that I was going to throw up.”

Luke sighs. “I thought so too.” 

Thalia looks over towards the far left corner and sighs. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t plan to stay here for the long term. I don’t see any cleaning supplies around here. I don’t know how we would even clean that up.”

Annabeth wrinkles her nose. “Yeah, that would be a very hard and disgusting job.”

Thalia groans and lays back down. She can’t get her dream out of her head. However, she still doesn’t want to talk about it to her friends. Thalia immediately thinks of something to try and get her mind off of the strange dream.

“So, since it is raining, we have to stay in here.” Thalia says. “What should we do until it stops raining?”

Annabeth smiles. “I know! We can tell stories again.”

Thalia and Luke look at one another. They both shrug. Why not? It sounds like a good idea.

Annabeth looks at Thalia’s sword. “Thalia, I have always wondered where you got that sword.”

Thalia blinks and looks down at her sword. “I have had this sword for a while.” Thalia admits. “I got it soon after Luke and I met.”

Luke grins. “Yeah. She stole it from a museum.”

Annabeth’s eyes become wide immediately. “Really!? You stole that sword from a museum? How?”

Thalia just grins as she remembers. Perhaps telling this story will even help her forget about the strange dream she had. 

Thalia smirks as she sits up. “Well, it is actually a very interesting story. Just sit back and I shall tell you.”

Annabeth leans forward, ready to hear whatever Thalia has to tell her.

Chapter 10: Apple thieves

Notes:

Hurray, this is my tenth edited and revamped chapter!

Chapter Text

Thalia just smirks as she tells her story. Annabeth is listening with wide eyes. Theia the dog is sitting next to Annabeth. Luke, who is sitting nearby, just smirks as he listens to Thalia tell the story.

Thalia blinks a few times. “Then…,” Thalia says with some suspense in her voice. “Luke and I ran into the archive room of the museum to escape the manticore. There were many old weapons inside.”

Thalia then looks down at her sword. “I happened to notice this sword lying on some boxes. I immediately realized that it was celestial bronze. How mortals got a hold of such a weapon, we may never know.”

Luke smirks. “Just then,” Luke says with a voice full of suspense. “The manticore burst into the room!”

Annabeth gasps and holds her hands over her mouth.

Thalia blinks as she remembers what happened that day. “The manticore had managed to break down the door and so there we were, trapped inside the archive room with a vicious manticore.”

Annabeth just fidgets a little. “What did you and Luke do then?”

Thalia blinks a few times. “Luke charged and tried to fight the manticore with his golf club, but the manticore was just too fast.” Then, Thalia smirks as she playfully swings her sword a little. “Then, I remembered the sword so I picked it up. With Luke distracting the manticore, I decided to take an opportunity to defeat it. As soon as there was an opening, I charged with the sword in hand. I ended up stabbing the manticore in the chest.”

Luke smirks. “The manticore then exploded into gold dust.”

Annabeth just gasps. Then, the young daughter of Athena smiles and claps her hands. 

Thalia looks down at the sword. “This sword became my weapon after that. It has served me well.”

Little Annabeth narrows her eyes. “How did you end up sneaking that sword past security?”

Thalia blinks. “Well, the hallway that led to the archive room had a door which opened up to the back of the building. Of course the door was locked. And so...Luke and I formulated a plan to escape without being seen.” 

Luke smirks. “I stole the keys to all the doors in the facility. Thalia and I then hid and just waited until the museum closed down for the night. Then, we came out of hiding.”

“There were security cameras everywhere.” Thalia says as she reminisces. “The two of us made our way towards the security office. Using the keys that Luke stole, we tried everyone single one until we found the right key. We broke into the security office and shut off all of the security cameras.”

Luke smirks. “With the security cameras all shut off, we made our way back towards the door next to the archive room. Then, we tried every single key until we found the right keys for the door. Once the door was unlocked, we bolted straight for the forest behind the building.”

“We traveled in a straight line.” Thalia says. “We just focused on getting as far away from the museum as possible. We both knew the theft would eventually be discovered and we didn’t want to be in the vicinity when the police were notified.”

Annabeth’s eyes become wide. “Wow! And the two of you fought monsters together as a team. You with that sword and Luke with his golf club.”

Thalia nods. “Yes.”

Luke then looks out the door and sees that it has stopped raining. “The rain has finally stopped you guys. I know it is going to be muddy, but we should probably move on now.”

Thalia and Annabeth both nod. “You’re right, Luke. It’s time to find our forever home.”

The three children get up and start gathering their things. Theia gets up and lets out a bark. The children then realize that the fire is still going strong. The children know that they should probably put out the fire. But how?

Annabeth then notices something outside the door. It is a bucket full of rainwater. How did they not notice that when they came in. Oh well. At least they have a way to put out the fire. Annabeth simply hands the bucket to Luke. Luke then slowly pours the water over the fire, which fizzles and lets off steam. The fire is now out.

Thalia just crosses her arms as she prepares to exit the cabin. “Alright, let’s go.”

Luke puts the bucket down by the hearth. However, Luke shrugs and picks the bucket back up. “Let’s keep the bucket. Might come in handy later.” 

Then notices something in the right hand corner of the room. Luke just narrows his eyes as he goes to see what it is. Luke’s eyes become wide. Nailed into the wall is a rusty old nail, which has three cloth drawstring bags hanging from it. Luke picks up one of the bags to examine it. It is a cloth bag with drawstrings that open and close the top. It actually reminds Luke of the nylon sack bags that he used to see people carrying, back in the children’s birth world. Annabeth and Thalia quickly approach.

“Luke, what did you find?” Thalia immediately asks. 

Luke just smiles as he holds up his find. “Three bags. Whoever used to live here must have left them here.”

Luke just smiles some more as he grabs the other bags. “There’s a sack for each of us. Plus we have a bucket. Sweet!”

Luke hands a bag to Thalia. Luke then hands one to Annabeth. Luke puts the third into his backpack. Thalia and Annabeth also put their sacks into their backpacks. Luke grabs the bucket. Luke then looks back at the door and starts walking towards it. Thalia, Annabeth and Theia quickly follow Luke out the door.


Inside Sasuke's apartment, the young avenger sleeps soundly in his bed. However, Sasuke soon begins moving around erratically. His face scrunches up as he tosses and turns. 

...Sasuke’s dreamscape…

Sasuke stands within a grove of apple trees. The leaves of the apple trees sway slightly in the breeze. The sun is high and bright in the blue sky. 

Women walk around and talk as they pick the apples. Just then, Sakiko enters the grove, sporting a small but clearly visible bump on her abdomen. All of the women turn and scowl at Sakiko. One woman lets out a loud huff.

“Well if it isn’t the little whore…,” The woman says with a mean voice. “Why don’t you just leave this village? No one wants you here.”

Sakiko’s eyes are downcast as she quickly fills the basket that she is carrying with bright red apples. Sakiko does not make eye contact with any of the women.

Another woman crosses her arms. “The girl is a whore, just like her grandmother. And worse...she is carrying a kinslayer’s abomination within her!”

Another woman approaches Sakiko and gets between Sakiko and the apple tree. Sakiko backs away. 

The woman scowls. “Go away! Just take your kinslayer’s spawn and leave. No one wants you here.”

Sakiko immediately tears up and slowly walks away, taking the few apples that she managed to pick with her. However, the women continue to throw insults as the girl.

“You and your demon spawn deserve to die!” A woman yells.

“I hope the little abomination is stillborn!” Another woman yells. “And if not...I hope that Lord Toma kills it!” 

“You should just crawl into a hole and die!” A third woman yells.

“Whore...whore...whore…,” All of the women chant together. “Whore...whore.”

...end of dream…

Sasuke’s eyes flicker open. He just groans as he sits up. The Uchiha simply blinks as he tries to process his dream.

Kinslayer spawn…? Sasuke thinks to himself. He narrows his eyes. Does that mean—

However, Sasuke does not finish his thought. The sound of loud knocking comes from the door. Then, a loud and obnoxious sounding voice can be heard from the other side of the door. Sasuke almost groans. It is Naruto.

“Yo, Sasuke!” Naruto’s voice yells. “Are you up? Kakashi Sensei wants to see us!”

Then, Sakura’s voice can be heard. “Idiot!” Sakura says. “Do you always have to talk so loud?!”

Sasuke, grimaces. Oh great…, Sasuke thinks to himself. I barely slept at all. Now, Kakashi wants to see us. Just terrific. 

Just then, loud baby crying can be heard from across the hall. Sasuke just blinks. One of his neighbors has an infant. Naruto’s yelling must have awoken the little tyke.

Sasuke hears Sakura gasp from the other side of the door. “Naruto, You woke up a baby! You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Sasuke then hears Naruto huff. “Oh come on Sakura. If Sasuke would just come to the door, then I wouldn’t have to yell.”

Naruto then starts banging on the door. “Sasuke!”

Sasuke just groans and gets up off the bed. The Uchiha figures that he better answer the door before Naruto breaks it down. Sasuke opens the door. Naruto and Sakura are standing on the other side. 

Naruto just grins. “You’re up!”

Sakura suddenly gets a concerned look on her face when she notices Sasuke’s sleepy eyes. “Sasuke, are you ok? You look a little tired.”

Sasuke quickly shakes the sleepiness from his eyes. “I’m ok. I just didn’t sleep well. Let me go get dressed and we’ll go see what Kakashi wants.”

Sasuke closes the door and goes into the bathroom to change out of his night clothes. Sasuke looks at his reflection in the mirror. He thinks back to his dream.

Kinslayer spawn? Sasuke thinks. Does that mean...the baby within Sakiko was Itachi’s?


Thalia just crosses her arms as she looks up at the apple tree above her. Luke and Annabeth are standing beside her. The two demigods are staring up at the tree as well. Theia, who is sitting by Annabeth’s feet, licks her chops at the sight of the apples.

It was about ten minutes ago when the group found a grove of apple trees. After an hour or so of walking, everybody agreed that apples did sound good as a snack. Theia may even be able to tolerate an apple. However, the group faces a problem. 

Just how do they get the apples down from one of the trees? 

Thalia crosses her arms. “Well, how should we get apples down from this tree?”

Luke crosses his own arms and circles the tree. “Beats me. I am used to just stealing apples that are already picked.”

Annabeth looks at the ground. “Well, we need to shake the apples down from the tree. We could do that with a long stick.”

Luke then narrows his eyes as he gets an idea. Luke takes a long piece of thin white rope and makes a lasso. Luke swings the lasso over a branch and tightens it. Luke then looks at Thalia and Annabeth.

“I will shake the branch with this rope.” Luke explains. “When the apples fall, you girls just pick them up. The ground is soft so the apples shouldn’t get bruised too badly.”

Thalia and Annabeth just look at one another. The two female demigods just shrug. Luke’s idea sounds like it could work.

Luke pulls on the rope, shaking the tree branch. After a few good shakes, two apples fall to the ground.

Annabeth smiles as she picks up the apples. “It worked!” 

Annabeth quickly hands an apple to Thalia. As the two girls start digging into their apples, Luke shakes the branch again. Two more apples fall to the ground. Luke grins and picks one up. Theia sniffs the last apple. Theia then grabs the apple with her sharp canines and starts gnawing on it.

Annabeth gasps and shows Luke and Thalia her apple. The flesh...is pink. “Look you guys, this apple is pink on the inside!”

Thalia quickly looks at hers. The flesh inside her apple is pink as well. “So is mine.”

Luke just shrugs. “It must be a special variety or something.”

He then takes a bite of his apple. Luke’s eyes immediately widen. “This apple is so good.”

Annabeth smiles widely as she swallows her last bite of apple. “That apple was so delicious!” Annabeth says.

Thalia bites down on her apple. All that is left of Thalia’s apple is the core. Thalia throws the core to the ground. Thalia swallows the bite of apple.

Thalia smiles as she glances back at the tree. “I agree. Best apple I have ever eaten.”

Luke grins as he swallows the last bite of his apple. “You girls are right. These apples are very delicious.”

Luke throws his apple core to the ground. Luke grabs the rope. “Anyone want another apple?” 

Annabeth smiles. “Oh yes! More apples please!”

Thalia just gives a nod. Luke shakes the branch. Five apples fall to the ground.

The children each pick up an apple and start chowing down. Theia starts gnawing on another apple. 

As Luke, Thalia, Annabeth and Theia munch on their apples, they are completely unaware that they are being watched.


Itachi just blinks as he watches the three strange children and their dog eat apples. The three children and the dog eat apple after apple. Itachi just narrows his eyes.

Those children must be very hungry. Itachi thinks to himself.

Itachi then narrows his eyes when he thinks back to the children’s earlier conversation. The little girl said two names. Thalia and Luke. Itachi has never heard of such names before. 

Thalia and Luke…, Itachi ponders to himself. Very strange names indeed.

The three children finish off the apples that they were just munching on. The children throw the apple cores to the ground. The ground around them is littered with apple cores.

“More!” The little blonde haired and grey eyed girl yells. “More Luke!”

“I could eat another apple as well.” The spiky black haired and electric blue eyed girl says. 

The boy just grins. The boy looks to be no older than fourteen. The boy has sandy blond hair and cerulean blue eyes. “Alright Annabeth. More apples coming up!”

The dog lets out a bark. The little girl looks at the boy. “I think that Theia wants another apple as well.” 

The boy shakes the branch again. More apples fall to the ground. The children pick up the apples and start chowing down. Itachi narrows his eyes even more. He is starting to put the pieces together.

The boy must be Luke, Itachi thinks to himself. The girl with the black hair must be Thalia. The little girl must be Annabeth. The dog must be Theia. Annabeth and Theia, are also very strange names.

The three children scarf down their apples very quickly. Annabeth looks at Luke. “More Luke!” Annabeth says. “More!”

Thalia smiles. “More please!”

Itachi narrows his eyes. Are those children planning to eat themselves sick? 

Luke then smiles. He takes off the backpack that is strapped to his back. “Hey girls, I just thought of something. We have bags. Let’s take apples for the road.”

Annabeth smiles widely. “Oh yes! Apples for the road!”

Thalia grins. “That’s a great idea, Luke.”

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth all take their bags off of their backs and open them. Then, the three children take out cloth sacks with drawstrings. Luke shakes the branch again. More apples fall to the ground. As fast as the apples fall, Thalia and Annabeth pack their bags with the apples. After the branch that the boy has been shaken is completely devoid of apples, Luke takes off the lasso and moves onto another branch.

Itachi’s eyes widen. Are those children planning to raid the entire tree?

Itachi just blinks a few times as he continues to watch the children gather apples. He and Kisame ate the last of their food supplies this morning. Kisame is out hunting. Itachi remembered coming across this apple grove many times so he came here to gather apples. The fact that there are other apple trees is why Itachi hasn't said anything to these children. 

It’s not like the children can raid the entire grove.

Itachi then remembers something. This grove is actually an orchard, which belongs to a nearby village. If the villagers come and find the children raiding their apple orchard, there is going to be trouble for sure.

After a few more minutes, the children have filled their bags as full as they can. The children all smile as they each hold their drawstring bags with one arm. The three children each hold an apple in their remaining hands. Luke grabs a bucket that is sitting on the ground and fills it with a few apples. With that, the children start walking down a path. Theia the dog follows Annabeth. 

Once the children are out of sight, Itachi emerges from the forest. The missing nin carefully approaches the tree. All of the bottom branches have been stripped completely of apples. Itachi narrows his eyes considerably. Hmm , those children were very greedy indeed.

However, Itachi just sighs as he grabs a cloth sack from within his cloak. Itachi himself cannot take as many apples as those children did. However, Itachi must gather enough to last him and Kisame a few days.

Itachi jumps onto a high branch and carefully plucks apples from the stems. Itachi carefully places the apples into the sack. Ten should do it. Five for him and five for Kisame.

Once Itachi is done gathering apples for himself and Kisame, he jumps down to the ground. Itachi then walks carefully back into the forest, leaving the apple orchard behind. As he walks, Itachi thinks about the strangeness of the three children. The three children were also giving off powerful auras. Itachi also can’t get the image of Thalia out of his head.

That girl, Itachi thinks. Thalia. Her hair reminded me of Sasuke’s a little bit. And those freckles, where have I seen those freckles before. And those lips were also familiar.

Itachi’s eyes suddenly become wide. He remembers now. Sakiko.

Sakiko…, Itachi thinks to himself. 


Naruto huffs loudly as he walks behind his sensei and teammates. Kakashi is at the head of the procession. Sasuke walks behind Kakashi and Sakura walks behind Sasuke. Sasuke looks equally unamused while Sakura just keeps a stoic face.

Naruto grumbles. “Picking apples! Seriously?! A two year old could do that! Why us of all people?!”

Kakashi turns and looks at Naruto. “These are no ordinary apples. The village we are headed to grows unique apples.”

Sakura narrows her eyes. “Really? What’s so special about these apples?”

Kakashi grabs a couple of photos from his pocket. “The apples grow only in the area surrounding the village.”

Kakashi stops walking and holds up one of the pictures for the three genin to see. The picture is of a roundish apple with bright red skin. Kakashi clears his throat. “This is what the apples look like on the outside.”

Then, Kakashi holds up a picture of an apple cut in half. The flesh of the apple is bright pink. “And this is what the apples look like when they are cut in half. This particular variety has pink flesh. The apples also have a very unique taste.”

Kakashi holds a finger to his chin as he thinks. “Let’s see…,” Kakashi says. “The apples are supposed to be very sweet. The flesh is also very juicy, yet firm. People say it is like biting into a piece of watermelon. The flesh also has a unique scent. Think of mixing apple juice, a little rose water, and a little lemon juice all together.”

Kakashi blinks a few times. “The trees are also big and high yielding. If the conditions are just right, each tree can produce around a hundred apples per season.”

The eyes of the three genin widen. Sakura crosses her arms. “Wow, that’s a lot of apples. Just how many trees are there?”

Kakashi rubs his chin. “Well, I don’t exactly know. The thing is...all of the trees are divided into five separate orchards. The villagers always gather together when the apples are ripe and begin the process of picking the apples together. However, this year, many villagers have come down with a mysterious illness. The job of collecting apples from the last two orchards is too big of a job for the remaining villagers to handle. That is where we come in. Our mission is to help the non sick villagers finish harvesting this season’s apples.”

Sasuke narrows his eyes. “What exactly are the villagers going to do with so many apples?”

Kakashi blinks a few times. “Well, the villagers sell much of the apples. It is how they make a living. And since the apples are so unique, they fetch a higher price than other varieties of apples. The villagers also make wine with the apples, which has a unique taste. The wine also fetches a high price on the market.”

Naruto huffs. “It’s still a boring mission.”

Kakashi sighs as he returns the pictures to his pocket. “I knew that you would say that.”

Kakashi then looks ahead at the road. “Well, anyway, we should get going. The village leader is expecting us.”

With that, Kakashi starts walking again. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto follow obediently. However, Naruto just keeps a sour look on his face as he walks.


Thalia, Luke and Annabeth walk down the road. Theia walks obediently beside Annabeth. The three children carry their full bags of apples in their arms.

Thalia looks at her companions. “Alright, we have apples to last us days, maybe even weeks. Now, if only we could find a place to call home.”

Luke sighs. “I know. These apples are actually heavier than I thought. I don’t think we can carry these apples forever.”

Annabeth narrows her eyes as she looks to the left. Suddenly she gasps and sets down her bag of apples. The daughter of Athena points to the left. “Look over there!” Annabeth says.

Thalia and Luke both look to the left. They gasp and almost drop their bags of apples. To the left, is a rundown looking gate. On the other side of the gate, is a rundown looking town. The town is eerily silent and devoid of life.

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all look at one another. They nod and slowly enter the town. Theia obediently follows Annabeth.

Thalia sets down her bag of apples as she approaches a building. The daughter of Zeus knocks on the door. “Hello? Anyone here?”

Thalia receives no answer. She looks at Luke and Annabeth. “This place is a ghost town. There’s no one here.”

Luke looks around. “Yeah, this place looks totally abandoned. I wonder why.” 

Luke then looks up at the roof of one of the buildings. He quickly notices something. It looks like a rooftop mini wind turbine. The blades of the wind turbine turn slowly in the wind. Solar panels also sit atop the roof. Luke turns to Thalia and Annabeth. “I think the former residents generated their own electricity and power. I see wind turbines and solar panels.”

Annabeth, looks up at the roofs of all the buildings. “You are right, Luke. This place must have been a great place to live in.”

Thalia looks around. “The residents obviously wanted to live here for the long run. Why would they abandon such a place?”

Luke shrugs his shoulders. “Beats me.” 

Then, Luke suddenly grins. “But you know what? I just thought of a great idea. This place could be our new home.”

Thalia and Annabeth both look at one another. Luke is right. This place looks like it would be a good option.

Luke then enters a building. Thalia and Annabeth follow him. Luke stares at a light switch. “I wonder…,” Luke says to himself as he scratches his chin. “Since this place runs on solar and wind energy...could these lights possibly work?”

Luke flips the switch. The light above the group lights up with a warm glow. Thalia and Annabeth both gasp. Thalia then smiles.

“We have electricity!” Thalia says. “Sweet.”

Luke smiles as he looks at Thalia and Annabeth. Luke sets his bag of apples down on the floor. “Let’s check this place out...shall we? Let’s see what else this place has to offer.”

Thalia and Annabeth both nod. They set their bags down on the floor as well. Thalia and Annabeth begin following Luke down a hallway. Theia follows right on Annabeth’s heels.


Kakashi stops in front of the gate leading to a village. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto stop as well.

“Well, here we are.” Kakashi says with a cheerful voice.

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto look at the village in front of them with uncaring looks. Naruto lets out another huff. 

“I still don’t like the idea of this mission.” Naruto says with a grumble.

However, Kakashi doesn’t pay Naruto any mind. The silver haired jonin just looks around with a confused look. “Hmm, I was expecting the village leader to greet us.”

All of the sudden, a loud yell is heard. Everyone turns to see a man with glasses, graying black hair, light tan skin and brown eyes running around in circles.

The man just cries hysterically as he runs around. “We have been robbed! We have been robbed!”

Kakashi cocks his head curiously as he watches the man run around. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto all sweat drop.

Eventually, Kakashi just sighs. “Hm, I wonder if he could take us to the village leader.”

At hearing Kakashi’s voice, the man opens his eyes and sees the four Konoha shinobi standing outside the gate. The man stops running and regains his composure. The man approaches the ninja squad. “Are you the shinobi that I requested from the Hidden Leaf?”

Kakashi blinks a few times. “I take it then that you are the village leader, Hajimu Ikeda?”

The man sighs. “Yes, that would be me.”

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto all sweat drop again. The three genin all think, ‘really, this guy is the village leader’?

Kakashi smiles. “Well Lord Hajimu, I am Kakashi Hatake.” Kakashi then turns to introduce his students to Hajimu. “These are my students; Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki.” 

Hajimu just nods. “Hello. I appreciate you coming to help me and my fellow villagers.” 

Kakashi then gives Hajimu a serious look. “Now, we all can clearly see that you are upset about something. Please tell us why you are upset. We are here to help you after all.”

Hajimu just holds his head in his hands. “Someone has stolen apples from one of my village’s orchards!” Hajimu says with a mix of sadness and anger.

Kakashi’s uncovered eye widens. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto just exchange looks with one another. All three genin cross their arms. Seriously, this guy is upset about someone stealing a few apples? 

Kakashi narrows his eyes. “Please explain.”

Hajimu takes a deep breath. “Yesterday…,” Hajimu begins. “I checked on the orchard in question. All of the trees were full of apples. Every branch...every tree was full of apples. Well, I just checked the orchard a little while ago. I noticed that something was wrong with one of the trees.” 

Hajimu then grits his teeth. “The lowest branches of the tree were completely devoid of apples! Not a single apple on those branches. The ground under the tree was also littered with apple cores. It’s like someone ate a bunch of apples and then stole some more from the tree and carried them off.”

The eyes of Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto all widen instantly. Hmm, so it wasn’t just a few apples then that the thief or thieves took? No wonder Hajimu is upset about this.

Kakashi rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Did you see any clues as to who may have stolen the apples?” 

Hajimu blinks a few times. “Yes, I actually discovered strange shoe prints leading to and from the tree.”

Kakashi blinks a few times. Strange shoe prints?

Kakashi narrows his visible eye. “Take us to the orchard in question and show me the strange shoe prints.”

Hajimu merely nods. “Of course. Come with me.”

Hajimu starts walking to the left side of the village. Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto all follow Hajimu.

Chapter 11: Evaluating the situation

Notes:

Alright, this chapter is edited and revamped as well.

Chapter Text

Thalia looks at the house she is exploring. Her, Luke and Annabeth all split up to explore the town with Theia going with Annabeth. Luke figured that since there are no monsters to worry about, it would be safe to split up. However, everybody is making sure not to wander too far away from each other; just in case they encounter danger. 

Thalia looks around the house some more before she eventually sighs. Every single one that she has checked is completely devoid of life. This town truly is abandoned, which means Theia and the three young demigods have this place completely to themselves. 

As Thalia exits the house, she is met by Luke. Luke sighs. “Well Thals, I don’t see anyone.”

Thalia shakes her head. “I don’t either. I guess we really do have this place to ourselves.”

Suddenly, Annabeth runs up to Thalia and Luke, with Theia following close behind. The daughter of Athena has a huge smile on her face. Luke and Thalia both raise their brows. Hmm, they have never seen Annabeth this happy before. Then, the two elder demigods realize that Annabeth is carrying something in her hands. Hmm, just what has the little girl found that has made her so happy?

Annabeth then holds up her hands and shows Thalia and Luke the object she is holding. In Annabeth’s hands is a sweet looking brown teddy bear with a strip of red cloth tied around its neck like a bow.

Luke’s eyes become wide as he examines the teddy bear. “Wow, that is really cute. Where did you find it Annie?”

Annabeth quickly points to a house behind her. “It was in one of those houses. There were a lot of other toys, but this one was my favorite.”

Annabeth then looks around at all of the buildings. “This place is great. I have found so many interesting things. I have found buildings that look like they were shops, stores and restaurants.”

Thalia looks at Luke. The daughter of Zeus rubs her chin thoughtfully. “This place obviously had a thriving economy. Why would anybody abandon such a great place?” 

Luke just shrugs his shoulders. “Beat’s me. We may never know the answer to that question. However, we must decide on how we want to proceed. First things first; we need to decide which building will be our forever home.”

Thalia’s eyes widen as she looks around some more. “That’s right. We need to pick a building to live in. How in my father’s name will we decide?”

Annabeth looks behind her. “I saw a building that looked like it could have been a motel. It’s really big. Why don’t we stay in there?”

Thalia and Luke look at one another. They both shrug their shoulders. It probably won’t hurt to look inside the ‘motel’. Thalia and Luke both nod at Annabeth, who begins leading her friends towards the ‘motel’. Theia follows at Annabeth’s heels.


Kakashi stares at the apple tree in front of him, which has its bottom most branches completely devoid of apples. Hajimu wasn’t kidding when he said that the bottom branches had no apples. Kakashi then looks down at the ground surrounding the tree. Apple cores and strange shoe prints surround the base of the tree. Well, it looks as though someone came, ate a bunch of apples and carried off a bunch for the road.  

Naruto comes up and narrows his eyes as he looks at the strange looking shoe prints. He then crosses his arms. “Mr. Hajimu is right. Those are some really weird looking shoe prints.”

Sakura walks up to look at the shoe prints. “I have to agree with Naruto on this one. These shoe treads are really strange looking.”

Sasuke just stands off to the side. So the shoe prints look very strange. So what? There has to be a logical explanation for the strange shoe prints. Perhaps these shoes prints were made by wealthy civilians who can afford the latest style of shoes.

Kakashi narrows his eyes. There are three sets of strange shoe prints and one set of the shoe prints look exactly like the single shoe impression that Kakashi discovered yesterday. Kakashi looks in the direction that the shoe impressions lead. All three sets of shoe impressions lead into the forest. 

After a few more minutes of thinking, Kakashi turns to his students and Hajimu. “Well, all three of the shoe impressions lead into the forest. If we want to catch the perpetrators, we must follow the shoe prints into the forest.”

Hajimu’s eyes suddenly light up with rage as he crosses his arms. “So what are you waiting for!? Find those dirty little apple thieves and get my apples back!”

Suddenly a woman with brown hair and blue eyes walks up to Hajimu. More villagers stand off to the side. Word must have gotten around quick about the theft.

The strange woman puts a hand on Hajimu’s shoulder. “Hajimu, please...you must think about this for a minute. We hired the leaf shinobi to help us pick the apples; not chase after apple thieves.”

Hajimu raises a brow at that. “Reika, my dear, what do you mean by that?”

Kakashi and the rest of team seven exchange glances with one another. The woman, Reika, must be Hajimu’s wife. Why else would Hajimu refer to Reika as ‘dear’?

Reika looks Hajimu right in the eyes. “Hajimu, you must consider this. The Leaf nins time is better put towards picking the apples. It is what we hired them to do. We didn’t hire them to chase after thieves.”

Hajimu blinks a few times. “But what about our stolen apples?! I want those thieves to pay!”

Reika just blinks a few times. “Darling, you need to relax. This incident is unfortunate...but it is not the end of the world. All of our orchards have produced extremely well this year. A few empty branches is not a big deal. Besides...if these leaf shinobi chase after the thieves, who knows how long it will take them to even find the thieves. Our resources and the leaf shinobis’ time is better put towards harvesting the apples.”

Hajimu blinks a few times. Then, he lets out a sigh. “I suppose you are right. But...what if the thieves return?”

Kakashi steps forward. “I have a solution. I expect this mission to take a couple of days at the very least. Until all of the apples are harvested, the trees will need to be guarded. Here is my plan.”

Kakashi gestures towards his students. “Every night, after the harvesting is done, myself and my students plus some villagers shall take shifts and guard the orchards until all of the apples are harvested. Two hour shifts shall suffice.”

Hajimu’s eyes become wide. “You would do that?”

Kakashi smiles. “Of course. Our job is to gather the apples. However, we would not be doing a good job if we let thieves steal the apples.”

Naruto just huffs. “Picking and guarding apple trees. That’s still not interesting.”

Sakura then looks at the ground again and notices something odd. Sakura quickly gets Kakashi’s attention. “Look, Kakashi sensei, there are more shoe prints! These shoe prints actually look as if they were made by shinobi sandals.”

Kakashi blinks a few times and looks closer at the new set of shoe prints. He rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Sakura is right. These shoe prints were made by shinobi sandals.”

The silver haired jonin then turns to his students. He looks at his students. “I need each of you to hold one of your feet next to the shoe prints. We need to make sure that these were not made by one of us.”

Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto do just as Kakashi says. However, the shoe prints are too big to belong to any of the three genin. Kakashi even holds one of his feet next to the shoe prints. The shoe prints are just a little too small to belong to Kakashi.

Kakashi looks in the direction in which the new shoe prints are headed. The new shoe prints lead to and from a different part of the forest. “These new shoe impressions lead to and from that part of the forest.”

Reika blinks a few times. “What does this mean?” 

Kakashi sighs. “What it means is we actually have four apple thieves; not three. And...one of them...is a ninja. Probably a rogue ninja.”

The eyes of Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto widen immediately. Naruto then grins. “Cool! Now this mission has gotten interesting. Protecting these trees from rogue ninja, count me in!”


Thalia carries a bucket towards a sink. After much debate, Thalia and Luke agreed that the ‘motel’ was a great place to settle down in. However, the place is in need of some serious cleaning, which shall be a job in itself as the place is pretty big.

Thalia turns on the hot water tap. After some experimentation, the children discovered that they also have running water and even hot water. Annabeth thinks that the water is heated through alternative energy and since the solar panels and wind turbines still work, the taps are still producing hot water. The water just hasn’t been used for Zeus knows how long.

Thalia quickly fills up the bucket with hot water. Once the bucket is halfway full, Thalia turns off the tap. Thalia then places a few rags into the hot water. Thalia carries the bucket into the living area. The living area is a large room with a hearth in the middle of it. 

Inside the living area, Annabeth is sweeping the soft mats that make up the floor. Theia is laying on the floor nearby. Annabeth actually called the soft mats ‘tatami’ mats. Tatami mats are flooring mats that originated in Japan. The mats are soft and prone to developing mold if they come into contact with moisture. Tatami mats actually allow the Japanese to sleep on the floor comfortably.

Thalia sighs as she sets the bucket down next to the wall. The walls could use a good scrubbing with a damp rag. The walls are very very dusty. 

Suddenly, Luke walks into the room with something that looks like a really thick white comforter. “Hey girls, come check this out.”

Annabeth and Thalia walk over and examine the comforter. Annabeth gasps. “I think it’s a futon, just like the Japanese use. Basically you just lay them out on soft flooring like tatami mats. Then, you can go to sleep on the floor. Then, when you don’t need them, you just fold them up and store them away.”

Annabeth looks at Luke. “Are there more?”

Luke suddenly grins. “Yes, and I actually found enough for all three of us. This means we actually get to sleep on something besides the actual floor. This is awesome!”

Thalia looks around. Probably time to get to work. The sooner they get this task done, the sooner they can relax in their new home.


Itachi walks into a clearing, where Kisame is tending to a fire. Fish are roasting on spits above the fire. Kisame looks up and sees his partner walking into the clearing. “There you are. Did you find anything?”

Itachi holds up the bag of apples. “Only apples.”

Kisame shrugs his shoulders. “Better than nothing I suppose.”

Itachi sits down by the fire. “I picked ten apples; five for each of us. If the two of us each eat an apple a day, then they will last us five days. That should be enough time for the two of us to find a village and replenish our supplies.”

Kisame nods in agreement. He then grabs a stick with a roasted fish at the end of it. Kisame then digs into his fish. “You are lucky you came back when you did. I was going to eat your fish if you weren’t back by the time I was finished with mine.

Itachi does not say anything. He takes the other stick. As Itachi eats his fish, his mind wanders back to those three children and their dog. 

Those children were wearing such strange clothing, Itachi thinks to himself. They also had such strange names. The dog even had a weird name.

Itachi then blinks a few times as he remembers the weird aura that each child was giving off. Itachi has never encountered such auras before. The auras radiated power; a lot of power. The most powerful aura came from the older girl. Thalia.

Itachi narrows his eyes as he thinks about Thalia. Just how does Thalia have Sakiko’s lips and freckles? And...why does Thalia’s hair look a lot like Sasuke’s? 

The whole thing just doesn’t make sense to the rogue Uchiha.


Annabeth simply sweeps the floor in the entryway. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spots something on the wall next to her. Annabeth’s eyes become wide once she realizes exactly what it is. The little girl screams. 

The object on the wall...is a big black spider. A really big black spider.

Annabeth just screams some more as she backs away from the wall. “AHHH! SPIDER!”

Luke immediately rushes into the room. Luke grabs his shoe, which just happens to be sitting nearby. “Don’t worry Annabeth! I will get it!”

Luke smashes the spider with one hit. Thalia comes into the room and frowns at the mess on the wall. Thalia immediately hands Luke the bucket of water. “I’m not gonna clean that up. I have already cleaned up all of the walls in the kitchen and living room.”

Luke sighs. “I understand. I will clean it up.” 

Luke then looks over at Annabeth, who is hyperventilating. “Why don’t you and Annabeth take a walk? I think some fresh air will help Annabeth.”

Thalia looks at Annabeth, who is still hyperventilating. “That sounds like a good idea.”

While Luke gets to work cleaning the smashed spider off of the wall, Thalia leads Annabeth out the door. Theia the dog follows obediently. As the two female demigods walk through the street, Thalia takes a deep breath. Annabeth takes a deep breath as well. After a while, Annabeth slowly starts to calm down. 

Annabeth sighs. “The fresh air is really helping me.”

“Glad to hear.” Thalia says as she walks.

Suddenly, Theia barks and takes off towards a clearing. Thalia and Annabeth look at one another and take off after Theia. After a few minutes of running, Thalia and Annabeth reach a clearing. Theia sits at the edge of the clearing. Beyond the clearing is a large expanse of grass and trees. Fruit trees dot the landscape.

The two girls then hear small clucking sounds coming from the tall grass. Suddenly, a feathered creature emerges from the tall grass. The eyes of Thalia and Annabeth both widen in unison. 

The feathered creature...is a chicken.

Thalia looks towards the left and sees a very large hen house, which is sitting by a tree. Thalia quickly looks at Annabeth. “The people who used to live here must have raised animals for food. I wonder if there are any eggs in that hen house.”

Annabeth shrugs her shoulders. “I dunno. Maybe we should go check it out.”

Annabeth and Thalia both head towards the hen house and see that the chickens are coming and going from a chicken sized hole in the door, which has a latch on it. However, there is a very strong smell coming from inside the henhouse. Thalia and Annabeth both wrinkle their noses at the smell. Even Theia the dog recoils with disgust.

Annabeth covers her nose. “Yuck! The hen house smells like it could use a good cleaning.”

Thalia gags a little. “I know. Why don’t we go get hot water and some rags and clean it up in there?”

Annabeth nods in agreement. “Good idea. Then once it’s clean, we can tell if there are eggs in there.”

Annabeth then looks to the right. She narrows her eyes and points to a small path leading into the forest. “Hmm, I wonder where that path leads to.”

Thalia shrugs her shoulders. “I dunno. Why don’t we find out?”


Luke rifles through the cabinets in the motel kitchen. After cleaning up the smashed spider off of the wall, he decided to take a break and look through the kitchen. The kitchen is a large room with lots of counter space and storage. Luke pulls out stacks of various dishware. He is taking inventory of the items within the kitchen.

“Big bowls…,” Luke says as he begins taking an inventory of the items in the kitchen. “Small bowls...big plates...small plates.”

Luke then puts the items back into the cabinet and moves onto another cabinet. Luke begins pulling out the various items hidden within the cabinet.

“Mixing bowls…,” Luke says. “Liquid measuring cups...dry measuring cups...measuring spoons.”

Luke puts the items back into the cabinet and prepares to move onto the next cabinet. However, out of the corner of his eye, Luke spots something on the wall. It is a handle. Luke gets up and takes a closer look. It looks like a sliding pocket door with a handle. Luke opens the door, revealing a room that looks like a giant pantry. Jars and cloth sacks are scattered on the shelves. Luke steps inside and picks up a jar. Inside the jar is white rice.

Luke grins widely. “Rice! Awesome!”

Luke counts off two more jars of rice. Luke then picks up a jar full of a light amber colored substance. Luke, unscrews the lid and sniffs deeply. The amber colored substance...is honey. Luke grins even more. “Honey! Even better.”

Luke then picks up a sack and opens it. The sack is halfway full of sugar. Luke grins even more. “Sugar! This day just got a whole lot better.”

Suddenly, Thalia and Annabeth appear with Theia following right at their heels.

Thalia grins. “We just found chickens and a hen house. However, the hen house smells like it could use a good cleaning. Annabeth and I need some buckets, soap and hot water.”

Luke grins even more. “Chickens! Chickens mean we’ll have eggs for breakfast!”

Thalia grins. “We also have fruit trees. Annabeth and I even checked out a backyard and I think there are vegetables growing. The yards are just really overgrown. However, we should be able to harvest vegetables from the yards.”

Luke lets out a surprised gasp. “Vegetables and fruit!?”

Thalia and Annabeth nod in confirmation. Luke grins widely. “This day just keeps getting better and better! Look, I also found some great things.”

Luke quickly begins showing off his findings. “Rice, Honey and even sugar!”

Annabeth gasps. She then claps her hands as she squeals with delight. “Hurray, rice, honey and sugar!”

Thalia looks towards the door. “Why don’t we search all of the houses for food? There could be more and who knows what else.”

Luke nods his head. “Good Idea, Thals.” Luke says.

Annabeth looks at Thalia. “Thalia, wait! You and I were going to clean the hen house, remember?”

Thalia’s eyes suddenly become wide as she remembers. “Oh, that’s right.”

Annabeth just sighs. “There is so much we need to do. We need to clean the motel. We need to clean the hen house. We need to gather things. What in Zeus’s name are we supposed to do first?!”

Luke stands back to think for a minute. Then, he gets a brilliant idea. “I have been taking stock of what is in this motel. First thing we need to do is evaluate what resources are available in this place.”

Annabeth and Thalia look at one another. Thalia blinks a few times. “Well, we do have electricity and running water.”

Luke nods. “Correct. But what else do we have? What things are necessary for life?”

Annabeth blinks a few times. “Food...water...air...and shelter.”

Luke nods. “We have clean air here, along with water and shelter. We also have food. We just need to determine what kinds of food are available and how much.”

Thalia narrows her eyes. “You mean take stock of what food we have and how much we have?”

Luke nods again. “Exactly. This also applies to other things such as clothing and other supplies.”

Thalia looks at her clothes. “You are right on that one. These clothes won’t fit us forever.”

Luke nods. “We also need to move what we do need and want into this building. We can fill and decorate rooms to our pleasure.”

Annabeth’s eyes become wide. “Decorate rooms!?” She lets out a squeal. “I want a toy room!”

Luke smiles. “Well, you can make yourself a toy room, Annie. We can decorate the kitchen. We can decorate the living room. We can make this place ours. Our home .”

“Our home.” Annabeth says with a smile.

“Our home.” Thalia says as she smiles.

Luke then looks around and sees an object that looks like a white box with white handles. It looks like a refrigerator. “I actually do see a refrigerator over there. I wonder if it still works.”

Thalia narrows her eyes. “It might. However, if there is food in there, it is probably rotten. We will need to clean the refrigerator.”

Annabeth sighs. “One more thing for us to do.” 

Luke sighs. “Alright girls, here is what we are gonna do. First, we shall clean this place up. We need to clean the refrigerator and the pantry so that we can store food in a clean place.”

Thalia nods in agreement. “You’re probably right, Luke. It would not make sense to put food into a dirty place.”

Luke looks around. “To clean this place up really well, we will need some soap. But first...we need to find some soap. Come on girls, help me look for some soap.”

Thalia, Annabeth and Luke start searching all of the cabinets. All of the sudden, Thalia opens a cabinet and pulls out a bottle full of a viscous liquid. Thalia opens the cap and sniffs. Smells like soap to her. Also inside the cabinet are more buckets and cleaning rags.

Thalia grins as she holds up the bottle of soap. “I found some! I also found some more rags and buckets.”

Luke smiles. “That’s great. Let’s get to work then. Annabeth, you clean the countertops. Thalia, you clean the cabinets. I will clean the pantry. Once we are done we shall move onto the rest of the motel.”


Naruto just grins as he stands in the apple tree with a couple of shadow clones. Below him, Sasuke and Sakura, along with a few Aoku village children are standing just below the tree. 

“Look out below!” Naruto calls out as he and his shadow clones drop dozens of apples from a tree. Sakura, Sasuke, and the village children rush to catch them.

Sakura grimaces as she looks up at Naruto and the Naruto clones. “Naruto, don’t drop the apples like that. We are barely catching them in time!”

However, Naruto does not listen. Naruto and his clones pick more apples and drop them from the tree. Sasuke, Sakura and the village children rush to catch the apples.

“Mister ninja, you are dropping the apples too fast!” A little girl with orange hair and blue eyes says.

“Yeah!” A little boy with brown hair and light brown eyes says. “We can only catch so many apples at a time.”

Naruto still does not listen. He and his clones continue to drop apples. One of the apples hits Sasuke on the head. Sasuke just winces and rubs his head. “Idiot, you dropped an apple on my head.” The Uchiha says with an annoyed voice.

Naruto and all of his clones snicker and continue to drop apples. However, Kakashi suddenly appears in the tree and starts deactivating all of the clones. The real Naruto huffs as Kakashi pops the last shadow clone. “Oh come on, Kakashi Sensei. I am just trying to make this mission interesting.”

Kakashi just crosses his arms. “That is enough, Naruto. Your way of harvesting the apples is too much for Sakura, Sasuke and the children to handle. You had way too many shadow clones dropping apples from this tree.”

Kakashi looks around at all of the trees. All over the grove, villagers are picking apples from the other trees. The villagers put the apples into shoulder bags as they pick them. Once the bags are full, the apples are emptied into a waiting wagon. 

After a few moments of careful consideration, Kakashi actually comes up with a brilliant idea. “I actually have a better idea.” 

Kakashi jumps down from the tree and takes a few shoulder bags from Hajimu. He then looks back up at Naruto. “Make a few shadow clones for each tree and have every clone wear this special shoulder bag. You and the clones can gather the apples and put them into these shoulder bags. Once the shoulder bags are full, you can come down from the tree and take them to the wagon.”

Naruto huffs. “But that isn’t interesting!”

Kakashi holds up his hand. “Look around at all of the trees, Naruto. I said that I wanted a few clones for each tree.”

Naruto looks around at all of the trees in the orchard. He rubs the back of his head. “Hmm, there are actually a lot of trees.”

Kakashi nods. “That is correct. Iruka told me that you once made a hundred clones. Think of this as a challenge. Make at least three clones for each tree and see how many apples your clones can gather.”

Naruto just narrows his eyes as he thinks about this for a minute. The blonde haired Uzumaki rubs his chin. 

“And…,” Kakashi continues. “If you and your clones target the highest branches, it would really help Hajimu and the rest of the villagers. Hajimu says that the village always has a hard time collecting the apples from the highest branches. Sasuke, Sakura the villagers and I can focus on the lower branches.”

Naruto just sits on a tree branch and crosses his arms. It appears that he is still not sold on Kakashi’s idea.

Kakashi sighs. “And please do think of this; many shadow clones gathering apples all at once will get the task done much quicker. In other words...our mission time will be cut in half.”

Naruto’s eyes widen and he lets out a grin. Naruto puts his hands together. “How many trees are there?”

Kakashi turns to Hajimu. “Well, how many trees are there in this orchard?”

Hajimu just blinks a few times as he tries to think. “At least thirty. The other orchard has at least fifty.”

Kakashi nods. “Alright then, we shall focus on this orchard today.” 

Kakashi just rubs his chin. “let’s see, three shadow clones for each tree doesn’t sound like a bad number. That is ninety clones in total.” Kakashi then looks back up at Naruto. “Naruto, can you make us ninety shadow clones?”

Naruto grins widely as he puts his hands together. “Of course I can! Ninety shadow clones coming right up!


The sun is just starting to set over the abandoned village. Inside the motel, Thalia, Luke and Annabeth are sorting through crates full of jars and cloth sacks. More jars and cloth sacks sit on the floor around them. Theia is lying beside Annabeth. Earlier, the three demigods cleaned the motel and gathered any food that they could find. To say that Thalia and her friends are exhausted is an understatement.

Thalia sighs “I am so glad that is over. I am so tired.”

Luke sighs. “I am too. But hey, we got the entire motel cleaned up and we gathered food. That is something to be proud of.”

Thalia nods. “Yeah, that is true. But we still have so much work to do.”

Annabeth just sighs as she pats Theia’s head. “We have to clean up the hen house. We have to organize and decorate.”

Luke wrings his hands. He grabs a crate. “That stuff can come later. I think what is most important right now is evaluating our food supply.”

Thalia takes a deep breath. “Alright, let’s see what we have.”

Luke just grabs jars and begins trying to determine what kind of food is in it. “Hmm, this looks like white rice.” 

Annabeth examines a jar full of dark colored rice. “This stuff looks like wild rice.” 

Thalia opens up a sack, revealing more white sugar. She sets the sack off to the side. “More sugar.”

Luke looks at the crates. “Let’s take everything out of the crates. Then, we can start sorting the food. White rice can go in one crate. Wild rice can go in another. The sacks of sugar can go in another crate. Then, when the crates are full, we can put the food into the pantry.”

Thalia immediately nods. “Good idea, Luke.”

Luke quickly empties a crate and puts a few jars of white rice into the crate. “Alright, white rice goes into this crate.” 

Luke then empties another crate. Luke puts Annabeth’s jar of wild rice into the crate. “This crate is for wild rice.”

Thalia empties a crate and puts her sack of sugar into it. “This crate is for sugar.”

Luke then narrows his eyes as he thinks of something. “You know, sugar and salt look a lot alike. Are you absolutely certain that it is sugar? I mean, we haven’t tasted it.”

Thalia furrows her brows. “Hmm, that is a good point. I guess we should taste it then.”

Luke goes into the kitchen and fetches a spoon from a drawer. Luke then hands the spoon to Thalia, who carefully scoops a tiny amount of the grainy white substance onto the spoon. Without putting her lips or tongue to the spoon, Thalia pours the substance onto her tongue. 

Thalia’s eyes widen as she swallows. The daughter of Zeus gags and reaches for her bottle of water. “It’s salt.” 

Luke just takes the sack from Thalia and places the sack into a crate. “Ok, now we know that is salt and not sugar.” 

Annabeth grabs the crate with the salt. “Why don’t we set all of the sacks off to the side? After we sort through the jars, we can taste everything from the sacks. That way we know if it is sugar or salt.”

Luke nods. “Good idea, Annie. Alright, here is the plan. We shall sort through all of the jars and then we shall sort through the sacks.”

Annabeth nods as she pats Theia’s head some more. “Alright.” 

Thalia gulps down some water. “Yes, whatever you say, Luke.” 

Luke just frowns. “Oh come on, Thals. It couldn’t have been that bad.”

Thalia frowns and crosses her arms. “Why don’t you try it then? I dare you.”

Luke smirks. He takes the sack of salt out of the crate. “Alright then.”

Annabeth’s eyes immediately widen as she watches Luke open up the bag. The daughter of Athena knows just how bad a mouthful of salt can taste. Her stepmother once forced her to swallow a mouthful of salt as punishment for something she didn’t even do. “Luke, I wouldn’t.”

Luke doesn’t pay attention to Annabeth. He takes the spoon and scoops up a little bit of the salt. Luke opens his mouth wide and pours the salt onto his tongue. Luke closes his mouth. Luke’s eyes widen as he swallows. Luke then grabs his bottle of water and takes a big gulp. “Ok, I’ll admit it. That was bad.”

Thalia crosses her arms. “Good, you believe me.”

Luke just gulps down some more water. “Sorry I doubted you.”

All of the sudden, Annabeth’s stomach lets out a low rumble. The little girl frowns. She immediately gets to her feet. The daughter of Athena slowly walks over to where the children’s bags of apples are and picks up a bag to take back over to Luke, Thalia and Theia. 

Annabeth sets the bag of apples down beside her. She opens up the bag and takes out four apples. Annabeth places an apple in front of Theia, whose ears perk up instantly. The dog quickly starts gnawing on the apple. 

Annabeth then hands an apple to Luke. “Here, eat this. This should help take the taste of the salt out of your mouth.”

Luke takes the apple from Annabeth. “Thanks Annie.”

Annabeth offers an apple to Thalia, who gladly accepts. “Thanks.”

As the children eat their apples, Thalia scans the room. Thalia and her companions still have a lot of work to do. Today, they cleaned the entire motel and gathered food. Now, they just have to organize the food and put it into the pantry. That task is guaranteed to be arduous and very time consuming. However, it should be worth it in the end to have a pantry stocked full of food.

Then, once the food situation is taken care of, it will be time to clean the henhouse and gather more supplies. Then, Thalia and the others will be able to focus on decorating, which should make the motel feel more like a home.

Chapter 12: Uchiha dreams III

Notes:

Hurray, I have this chapter updated as well!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Itachi and Kisame are both laying around their campfire. The flames from the campfire light up the surrounding forest. The moon glows brightly in the night sky.

Kisame just snores lightly in his sleep. Kisame then shifts and turns onto his side.

Itachi just breathes slowly as he sleeps. Suddenly, Itachi’s face scrunches up. He shifts in his sleep.

…Itachi’s dreamscape…

Itachi stands close to a tree. Opposite the tree is a clearing with a small waterfall. The sun is setting over the horizon.

Nearby, Sakiko is sitting on a rock. The teenage girl just sighs as she watches the sunset. Sakiko then puts a hand on her stomach, which looks as if it is swollen slightly. Sakiko suddenly jumps up at hearing a noise behind her. She turns to see three girls around her age, standing by the tree line. The three unknown girls frown at the sight of Sakiko. 

One of the girls, a girl with black hair, just sneers as she approaches Sakiko. “Excuse me, who told you that you could sit there?”

Sakiko doesn’t say anything. She simply gets up from the rock and prepares to leave the clearing. Sakiko’s stomach is even more visible now. Itachi’s eyes become wide at the sight before him. Sakiko...is pregnant.

Sakiko starts to walk away. The three unknown girls soon laugh cruelly.

A dark brown haired girl just laughs cruelly. “That’s right, you whore! Go home and stay there. In fact, no one wants you in this village.”

A girl with light brown hair laughs as well. “Just leave and never come back! Everyone in the village would love it if you did.”

Sakiko just tries to quicken her pace in order to get away from the cruel girls. Tears start flowing from her eyes. Itachi just narrows his eyes. Sakiko had told him that everyone in the village besides her extended family shunned her because of her grandmother’s unsavory history. But...these girls are being unnecessarily cruel, especially given Sakiko’s condition.

Leaves float up off the ground and start swirling around Itachi. The green leaves slowly turn into dried golden, red and orange leaves. The leaves stop swirling and fall to the ground. Itachi is now in the middle of the Araya village. The village buzzes with activity. People walk around and talk pleasantly to each other.

Sakiko walks up a path and into the village center. Many villagers turn and frown at the sight of Sakiko. Sakiko’s stomach is even more swollen. Sakiko must be further along in her pregnancy.

Sakiko keeps her head low and avoids eye contact with the other villagers. However, the villagers sneer anyway.

An orange haired woman sneers. “Oh look everyone, it’s the little whore.”

A black haired woman huffs. “She is a whore just like her grandmother. I always knew the girl would grow up to be just like Akira.”

A man growls lowly. “And worse yet…the girl got herself pregnant with a mass murderer’s spawn!”

Itachi’s eyes become wide again. Mass murderer’s spawn?! Wait...does that mean the villagers think he got Sakiko pregnant?

...end of dream…

Itachi’s eyes slowly flicker open. Kisame is crouching next to him. Kisame then points to the forest.

“I sense chakra signatures nearby.” Kisame whispers. “They might be hunter nin.”

Itachi slowly sits up and grabs a kunai from his waist pouch. Itachi then slowly begins examining the surrounding forest with his sharingan. Kisame is right. There are at least five different chakra signatures scattered throughout the surrounding forest.

All of the sudden, a kunai breaks through the leaves of a nearby tree and heads straight for Itachi. Itachi manages to deflect the kunai as he gets to his feet. More kunais fly out of the trees. Itachi moves swiftly as he dodges the kuanis. Kisame does the same. Within seconds, five hunter nin jump out from the trees and charge at the two missing nin.


Sasuke moves slightly as he lays on a futon. Sakura is lying next to Sasuke on her own futon. Kakashi and Naruto are out guarding one of the apple orchards. A group of villagers are guarding the second orchard. Soon, it will be time for Sasuke to get up and spend a few hours with Kakashi, guarding the orchard.

Sakura moves slightly on her futon. The girl breathes lightly and peacefully in her slumber.

Sasuke on the other hand, is not sleeping peacefully. The Uchiha’s face scrunches up as he begins shifting wildly on the futon.

...Sasuke’s dreamscape…

Sasuke stands in the middle of a snow covered field. Snow falls lightly around him.

A few meters away, a crowd is gathered towards the edge of a village. Sakiko stands a few feet to Sasuke’s right and her arms are wrapped around her swollen stomach. Sakiko gasps and falls to her knees. Sakiko then grimaces as she takes a deep breath. Sasuke raises a brow. What is wrong with Sakiko?

Most of the gathered villagers simply sneer at Sakiko. A strong looking man with black hair, ultramarine blue eyes and fair skin is especially looking at the young pregnant teenager with disdain. However, there are a few concerned looking onlookers in the crowd, and one of them happens to be the bark brown haired, ultramarine blue eyed and fair skinned man from Sasuke’s last dream.

The brown haired and ultramarine blue eyed man tries to get to Sakiko. However, a couple of villagers prevent the man from doing so. The man pleads with the black haired and ultramarine blue eyed man as the villagers hold him back.

“Toma!” The brown haired man says. “Please, my niece is in labor. She needs me.”

Sasuke’s eyes suddenly become wide. This man is Sakiko’s uncle?

Two older women try to get to Sakiko as well. However, a group of villagers block the two women, preventing them from approaching Sakiko.

“Toma please…,” One of the women pleads to the man standing in the center of the crowd. The woman has graying blonde hair and ultramarine blue eyes. “My grandniece is in labor. She needs assistance.”

“Sakiko needs help!” The second woman says with urgency. The second woman has graying dark blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes. “Toma, please let Rina and I help her.”

Sasuke looks at the man at the center of the crowd. That man must be Toma. These women are pleading with Toma, so Toma must be the village leader.

Toma narrows his eyes. He then sneers. “No, I have made up my mind regarding the situation. I will not allow the little whore to give birth to her kinslayer’s spawn within the confines of this village.”

Sakiko’s uncle gasps. The two women gasp as well. Sakiko lets out a choked sob as she looks at Toma with wide eyes.

The eyes of Sakiko’s uncle are especially wide. “Toma, if my niece can’t give birth within the village, then where else do you expect her to give birth?”

“I am banishing her to the western side of the valley.” Toma says with a cruel voice. “She can have her little bastard there.”

Sakiko’s uncle and the two women all gasp. Their eyes are wide as they process Toma’s words. Sakiko lets out a gasp as well.

The first woman sighs. Since the second woman said, ‘Rina and I’ earlier, Sasuke is guessing that the first woman is Rina.

“Alright then…,” Rina says. “Korra and I shall take Sakiko—”

“NO!” Toma yells out with a voice full of authority. “The little whore shall give birth alone!”

Sakiko’s uncle and the two women all gasp again. Their eyes are filled with horror. Sakiko lets out a pained gasp. Sasuke’s eyes become even more wide. Sasuke is pretty sure that women need help giving birth.

Rina’s eyes are full of horror as she pleads endlessly with the cruel village leader. “Toma, please, Sakiko, is just a child. She needs assistance.”

“Toma, please reconsider.” The second woman says. Sasuke is guessing that the second woman is Korra. “Sakiko needs support. She is in a great deal of pain.”

Toma grits his teeth. “No! This is the little whore’s punishment for her mistake. She slept with a mass murderer and kinslayer and got pregnant as a result. This is the girl’s punishment for her actions.”

Sakiko’s uncle breaks free and manages to rush to Sakiko’s side. However, Toma orders two men to seize Sakiko’s uncle. The two men grab Sakiko’s uncle and drag him away. Sakiko’s uncle struggles to break free.

“No!” Sakiko’s uncle yells. “My niece needs me! Please Toma, let me go with her!”

“NO!” Toma says with a thundering voice. “No one goes with the little whore. No one!”

Toma looks at Sakiko’s uncle with cold eyes. Then, Toma looks at the two men restraining Sakiko’s uncle. “In fact, I would like the two of you to throw Jarou into the village prison. That way he cannot sneak away and help the little whore.”

Sasuke’s eyes become even more wide at that command. Throw Sakiko’s uncle into the village prison? That is very extreme.

Sakiko’s uncle, Jarou, gasps and struggles some more. The two women also gasp. Sakiko lets out a horrified gasp. The two men who are restraining Jarou begin dragging him away. Jarou yells as he struggles to break free.

“NO!” Jarou screams as he struggles. “Toma, don’t do this!”

Sakiko just lets out another pained gasp as she watches her uncle get dragged away. “Uncle Jarou...no.” 

Toma glares at Sakiko. “Sakiko Araya, you slept with the criminal and kinslayer, Itachi Uchiha. Now, you carry his child within you. For your mistake, I...Toma Araya, leader of the Araya clan village, hereby banish you to the western and barren edge of our clan’s valley. You shall give birth by yourself. No one shall assist you. You are not to return until you have given birth to your little abomination. I shall then decide what happens to the little abomination.”

Sasuke narrows his eyes. His guess was right then. The child within Sakiko is Itachi’s.

Rina gets a steely look in her eyes. She suddenly throws a bag towards Sakiko, who catches it.

“Sakiko, take this.” Rina yells. “There are supplies in there that you will need after the delivery.”

Toma glares at Rina. He then turns back towards Sakiko. “Well, what are you waiting for, little whore?! Get going!”

Other villagers glare and start yelling at Sakiko. Sakiko turns away and starts to slowly make her way east. Sakiko clutches the bag as she slowly hobbles across the snow covered ground.

...end of dream…

Sasuke just moves around on his futon. Then, he suddenly hears Sakura’s voice. Sasuke’s eyes flicker open to see Sakura standing over him.

Sakura just blinks as she looks down at her teammate and crush. “Sasuke, it’s time for you to help Kakashi sensei guard the apple orchard.”

Sasuke just blinks as he slowly sits up. “Alright then, just give me a minute.” 

Sasuke uncovers himself and quickly starts tidying up his futon. Sakura notices the look in Sasuke’s eyes. The pink haired kunoichi narrows her eyes. 

“Sasuke, are you ok?” Sakura asks. She crosses her arms. “You look like you are thinking about something.”

Sasuke just shakes his head. “I just had another weird dream.”

Sakura’s eyes become wide. “You had another weird dream?”

Sasuke shakes his head. “Yeah. But really, I am alright. I am just going to go out and join Kakashi now.”

Sakura narrows her eyes, as if unsure whether to press for more information. Eventually, Sakura just sighs and gets up from her sitting position. She goes back to her futon. Sasuke quickly puts on his sandals and exits the house. As Sasuke walks towards the forest, he thinks of his dream. He has been having a lot of dreams lately. Sasuke wishes that he could confide in someone. Suddenly, Naruto and Kakashi emerge from the nearby forest.

Naruto yawns a little as he walks past Sasuke. “Alright, Sasuke. It’s your turn to guard that stupid orchard with Sensei.”

Naruto makes his way towards Hajimu’s house. Hajimu and Rina were kind enough to set the ninjas up in a room of their house.

Sasuke looks at Kakashi. Hmm, maybe Kakashi will understand his dreams. It might also be a good time for Sasuke to tell his sensei about his sharingan.

Sasuke sighs. “Hey Kakashi, I have something to tell you.”


Thalia, Luke, Annabeth and Theia all lay on futons as they sleep. After getting done with sorting all of the food that they found, the three demigods set up some futons in the living area in order to bed down for the night. They even set up a futon for Theia, who is lying curled up on the soft thin mattress.  

Luke is lying sprawled out on his futon. The son of Hermes yawns and turns underneath his covers.

Annabeth also yawns as she turns in her sleep. The little girl just snuggles deeper into the covers. 

Theia the dog is lying curled up in a ball upon her own futon, which is situated right next to Annabeth. The dog yawns a toothy yawn and turns onto her back. The dog just lays with her paws up the air for a few moments before she turns onto her right side. 

Thalia just lies on her own futon. The daughter of Zeus shifts underneath her covers. All of the sudden, Thalia’s face scrunches up and she begins tossing and turning wildly.

…Thalia’s dreamscape…

Thalia looks around at her surroundings. She is in the middle of a village. Villagers dance and talk pleasantly to each other. A fire roars inside a hearth.

Sakiko walks into the village center. Her stomach is swollen. Thalia’s eyes widen. Sakiko...is pregnant.

The crowd of villagers stop dancing and simply sneer at the sight of Sakiko. One woman huffs and crosses her arms.

“Get out of here you little whore!” The woman says. “We don’t want you here.”

“Yeah!” A girl about Sakiko’s age yells. “Leave now! And take your kinslayers spawn with you!”

Thalia narrows her eyes. Kinslayer’s spawn?

Sakiko trembles and turns away. She starts running until she reaches a meadow. Sakiko collapses to the ground and starts crying her heart out.

The wind begins to blow. The scene shifts like a movie being played on fast forward. Leaves float up off of the ground and morph into snowflakes. The wind stops blowing and the snowflakes start to fall around Thalia. A few meters away, a crowd is gathered towards the edge of a village.

Sakiko sits on the ground a few feet away. Sakiko’s arms are wrapped around her swollen stomach. Sakiko, gasps and grimaces. Thalia’s eyes widen. Sakiko is acting like she is in labor. Thalia remembers her mother going into labor as if it was yesterday.

Most of the villagers simply sneer at Sakiko. A man stands in the center of the crowd. The man has short black hair, ultramarine blue eyes and fair skin.

A man with brown hair and ultramarine blue eyes struggles to reach Sakiko as two men drag him away. “NO!” The brown haired man cries out. “Toma, don’t do this!”

“Uncle Jarou…,” Sakiko says with a pained gasp as she watches the man, her uncle, get dragged away.

Thalia just looks on with confusion. What is going on here?

The black haired man glares at Sakiko. “Sakiko Araya…,” The black haired man says. “You slept with the criminal and kinslayer, Itachi Uchiha. Now, you carry his child within you. For your mistake, I...Toma Araya, leader of the Araya clan village, hereby banish you to the western and barren edge of our clan’s valley. You shall give birth by yourself. No one shall assist you. You are not to return until you have given birth to your little abomination. I shall then decide what happens to the little abomination.”

Thalia’s eyes widen. The pieces all fit together now. That teenage boy...Itachi. The baby inside Sakiko, belongs to him.

A woman with graying blonde hair and ultramarine blue eyes, gets a steely look in her eyes. She throws a bag towards Sakiko, who catches it.

“Sakiko, take this.” The woman yells. “There are supplies in there that you will need after the delivery.”

The black haired man, Toma, glares at the woman. He then turns back towards Sakiko. “Well, what are you waiting for, little whore?! Get going!”

Other villagers glare and start yelling at Sakiko. Sakiko just turns away and starts to slowly make her way west. Sakiko clutches the bag as she slowly hobbles across the snow covered ground.

The snow blows around Thalia. Toma and the other villagers disappear into bright light. The bright light soon scatters and forms snowflakes, which fall silently around Thalia. The scene before Thalia is of a barren stretch of land. The only thing that occupies the area is an old run down cabin.

Sakiko slowly hobbles as she makes her way towards the cabin. Once at the door, Sakiko slides it open. Sakiko enters the cabin and collapses to the floor. Sakiko grunts and whimpers as she lies on the floor.

...end of dream…

Thalia’s eyes slowly flutter open. Luke sits next Thalia. Annabeth and Theia are sitting opposite of Luke.

Luke just gives Thalia a concerned look. “Thalia…we tried to wake you up a few minutes ago, but you wouldn’t get up.”

Thalia blinks a few times. “Oh. I was just having another dream that's all.”

Luke narrows his eyes. “Really? Another dream? Would you like to discuss it.”

Thalia turns away. “Not really. It was really strange. I don’t think that either of you would understand it.”

Thalia closes her eyes as she remembers all of her other dreams. Thalia just wishes that she knew why she is having these dreams.

Luke sighs as he puts a hand on Thalia’s shoulder. “Thalia, I can tell that something is bothering you. Please, tell Annabeth and I what is wrong.”

Thalia eventually sighs. She realizes that Luke is not going to let the matter go. “Ok, I will tell you. Ever since that incident where my eyes turned red, I have been having strange dreams.”

Luke narrows his eyes. “Mind telling us what these dreams have been about?”

Thalia shakes her head. “You wouldn’t understand them.”

Luke sighs. “Thalia, just tell Annabeth and I. The two of us will try to understand them. That’s what friends do. They tell each other all about their problems.”

Thalia sighs. “Alright, I will start from the beginning.”


Kisame and Itachi wash the blood off of them in a stream. They killed those five hunter-nin very easily. A few minutes after that, Zetsu arrived to tell Kisame and Itachi about another assignment from Leader. Zetsu glady disposed of the bodies of the five hunter-nin for Kisame and Itachi. Now, Itachi and Kisame must wash the blood off of them.

Itachi sighs as the last smear of blood washes off of his cloak. Kisame grumbles as he shakes his wet cloak. “Great, now we have to wait for our cloaks to dry.”

Itachi notices that the sky is starting to lighten. “The sun is rising. We shall lay them out in the sun. Our cloaks will dry more quickly in sunlight.”

Kisame spreads his cloak out next to him. Itachi does the same with his cloak. Kisame then notices the look in his partner’s eyes. Kisame raises a brow. 

“There is something bothering you.” Kisame states with a matter of factly voice. He crosses his arms. “Mind telling me what is wrong?”

Itachi closes his eyes. “No.” 

Kisame blinks a few times. “Oh come on! “You have been acting very strange lately. You always seem to be thinking about something.”

Itachi closes his eyes. Deep down, the Uchiha just knows his partner is not going to let this go. Itachi opens his eyes and looks at Kisame. “Alright, I shall tell you. I have been having strange dreams lately.”

Kisame immediately raises a brow. “Strange dreams, eh? Hmm, I never thought of a guy like you having dreams. Mind telling me about them?”

Itachi narrows his eyes. “No, I would rather keep them to myself.”

Kisame grumbles. “Oh come on! We have not had anything interesting to talk about lately.”

Itachi just closes his eyes again. Now that Kisame knows, there is no reason for him to keep the details of his dreams a secret from Kisame.

Itachi sighs. “Alright then, I guess you could say that my dreams began around three nights ago.”

Notes:

Oh boy! Thalia, is going to reveal her dreams to her friends. Itachi, is going to reveal his dreams to Kisame. Sasuke, is going to tell Kakashi, about awakening his sharingan and his strange dreams. What will happen? What will Luke and Annabeth, think of Thalia's dreams? What will Kisame, think of Itachi's dreams? What will Kakashi, think about Sasuke's strange dreams?

Chapter 13: Discussions

Notes:

Hurray, I have this chapter edited and revamped as well!

Chapter Text

The sun is now visible in the sky over the Aoku village. Sasuke and Kakashi are walking towards the village. They just got done with their shift. 

Sasuke looks down. “I know it sounds crazy. “I mean, Itachi impregnating a girl? Why would I dream of something like that?”

Kakashi looks at Sasuke. The silver haired jonin shrugs his shoulders. “I have no answers to that Sasuke. Besides, they are just dreams. Not like they have any truth to them.”

Sasuke, closes his eyes. “But they have all been so vivid. It’s almost like they are visions .”

Kakashi blinks a few times. “Dreams can be vivid, Sasuke. That doesn’t mean anything.”

Sasuke just sighs. “That still doesn’t explain why I am having these dreams. Just why am I having these dreams in the first place?”

Kakashi closes his eyes. He rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Well, these dreams began right after you activated your sharingan. Maybe you have a longing not to be the only Uchiha besides Itachi.”

Sasuke’s eyes become wide. He looks up at Kakashi with questioning eyes. 

Kakashi holds up his right hand. “Think about it. If your dreams were true, then you wouldn’t be the last Uchiha besides Itachi.”

Sasuke looks down. He closes his eyes. However, Sasuke is brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Naruto and Sakura’s voices approaching. Sasuke opens his eyes and looks up. Naruto and Sakura are running up to Sasuke and Kakashi.

Sakura smiles. “Lady Reika, has made breakfast for us. Lord Hajimu sent some villagers to guard the orchards until it is time to start harvesting.”

Kakashi smiles. “Alright then, we shall have breakfast.” Kakashi then lets out a yawn. “I could use a little nap as well. Sasuke and I shall take short naps after breakfast. Then, we will join the two of you later. You know the agreement right?”

Sakura immediately nods. “Yes. Whoever takes the last shift for the night gets to take a nap after breakfast.”

Kakashi smiles underneath his mask. “That means Sasuke and I get to take naps after breakfast.”

Naruto’s stomach growls. He grins. “Oh boy, I am hungry! Race you back to the house!”

Naruto starts running back towards the house. Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura don’t bother to follow. Sakura just shakes her head. “That Naruto. He is always trying to make a competition out of everything.”

Sakura slowly starts walking back towards the house. Once Sakura is out of earshot, Kakashi turns back to Sasuke. “By the way, congrats on awakening your sharingan. I can start teaching you how to use your sharingan once we return home.”

Kakashi then looks around as if to make sure no one else is listening. “And make sure to tell me if you have any more dreams. If they start occurring on a nightly basis, then they can’t be ignored.”

Sasuke immediately nods. Kakashi starts walking back to the house. Sasuke is left alone to think about things.

A longing not to the only other Uchiha…, Sasuke thinks to himself. Sasuke then closes his eyes.

For the past five years, Sasuke has lived in a state of overwhelming and never ending loneliness. The loneliness sometimes makes Sasuke wish that he had died all those years ago. The loneliness is the worst part of Sasuke’s life as an orphan. That is why Sasuke can understand Naruto’s attitude and behavior.

Sasuke opens his eyes. He looks up at the sky. A longing not to be the only other Uchiha…, Sasuke thinks to himself again.

Sasuke blinks a few times. He soon grits his teeth and clenches his hands into fists. Just because I have a longing not to be the last Uchiha doesn’t mean I want Itachi to have heirs. The bastard doesn’t deserve to have a bloodline, not after what he did. 

Sasuke closes his eyes. He thinks of the past. Father...mother. I miss both of you so much. I promise that I will avenge the two of you, along with the rest of our clan.

After a while, Sasuke slowly relaxes. His hands are no longer clenched into fists. The Uchiha eventually sighs and slowly walks towards Hajimu’s house. Once at the door, Sasuke enters the house. Sasuke takes his shoes off and walks into the kitchen. Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and Hajimu’s family are all gathered around the table. Kakashi looks at Sasuke as he sits down.

“Just in time.” Kakashi says. “Reika, just dished everything up. What took you so long?”

Sasuke just grabs his chopsticks. “I was just thinking about things.” Sasuke says as he slowly digs into his breakfast.


Thalia just blinks as she finishes telling Luke and Annabeth about her latest dream. The daughter of Zeus sighs. “And then, I woke up.”

Luke and Annabeth blink and look at each other. They say nothing. Thalia sighs again. “I knew the two of you would not understand my dreams.”

Luke blinks a few times as he clears his throat. “We may not understand your dreams, but we can help you try to figure out why you are having these dreams. We just need to put our heads together and think.”

Annabeth crosses her small arms. “You had your first dream right after your eyes turned red. That cannot be a coincidence. And that guy from your dream, Itachi, his eyes were red just like yours.”

Luke rubs his chin thoughtfully. “If your dreams are true, then it means there are other people out there who are like you.”

Thalia’s eyes become wide immediately. “You are right on that one.”

Annabeth uncrosses her arms. “Itachi is actually a Japanese name. It means ‘weasel’. Weasels are actually considered bad omens in Japan.”

Thalia narrows her eyes. “Remember the men we have encountered in this world? Their names are Japanese in origin too. Maybe Itachi...is actually from this world.”

Luke’s eyes become wide and he rubs his chin again. “You might be right, Thalia. I do remember when your eyes turned red, the men you were fighting looked really shocked. It was almost like they had seen those eyes before .”

Thalia narrows her eyes. “Really?”

Luke nods. “Yeah.”

Annabeth crosses her arms again. “But, how can Thalia have the same eyes as that guy, Itachi? This is a different world. Thalia and Itachi...are from different worlds.”

Luke closes his eyes as he thinks some more. Then, he opens his eyes and looks seriously at his two female companions. “Remember the dimensional rift that brought us here? Maybe dimensional rifts can send people from this world to our world. Perhaps one of Thalia’s mortal ancestors was actually from this world.”

Thalia’s eyes suddenly become wide. “Hmm, I suppose that is a possibility. The thing is...my mother didn’t really have any family. She was a ward of the state who spent her entire life in the foster care system. My mother’s mortal lineage is actually a mystery to me.” 

Luke and Annabeth both raise their brows at that. Luke clears his throat. “Really?” 

Thalia sighs. “Yeah. According to the stories I heard during my childhood, somebody abandoned my mother as an infant in a park. There was no note, nothing to indicate who she was or where she came from.” 

Thalia sighs again as she hangs her head down. “I don’t really wish to talk about my mother. I didn’t really have a good relationship with her. Can we return to the topic of my dreams?” 

Luke nods his head again. He rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Then, in your second dream, Itachi was with a girl that he called Sakiko. Itachi and Sakiko laid in a meadow together, while they were naked.”

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all look at one another. They all realize what that must mean. Annabeth immediately wrinkles her nose. “Itachi and Sakiko must have done you know what together.” 

Thalia wrinkles her own nose. “Yeah.”

Luke rubs his chin again. “Then, in the second part of that dream, Sakiko was crying and Itachi was nowhere to be seen.”

Thalia blinks again. “Itachi, must have left after he and Sakiko were done having sex . Sakiko was obviously upset by this.”

Annabeth frowns. “But, then, in your third dream, people told Sakiko that Itachi was a ‘kinslayer’. A kinslayer is someone who kills a member or members of his or her own family.”

Luke narrows his eyes. “If that guy really did kill his own family, then that is seriously messed up.” Luke crosses his arms. “That means he is not a good guy at all.”

Thalia frowns. “You are right. And it was because of Itachi’s supposed crimes that the people in my dreams shunned and hated the baby within that girl, Sakiko. They even banished her when she went into labor. That is so messed up.”

Annabeth nods her small head in agreement. “Yeah, that is messed up alright. Those people were so cruel.”

Luke sighs. “Unfortunately, as we all know, people can be that cruel.”

Thalia sighs again. “The real question is though is why am I having these dreams? Why?”

Luke shrugs. “Maybe it is just because Itachi has the same eyes as you. If one of your ancestors was really from this world, Then you and Itachi must somehow be connected.”

Luke then looks out the window. “Well, it is morning. We better get to work.”

Annabeth nods in agreement. “Yeah. The sooner we decorate and organize the place, the sooner it will feel like a home.”

Thalia looks at the floor as she thinks about Luke’s words. Meanwhile, Luke goes over to the children’s bags and takes out four apples. Luke hands an apple to Annabeth. Luke then places an apple in front of Theia, who begins eagerly gnawing on it. Luke then holds out an apple to Thalia. 

Thalia looks up and sees the apple behind offered to her. Thalia closes her eyes and turns her head. She lays back down on her futon. “I am not hungry right now. I’d rather just lay here for a little bit longer.”

Luke raises a brow and retracts his hand. He then shrugs. “Suit yourself.” 

Luke walks over to the counter and sets the apple down. “Just so you know, your apple is right here when you get hungry.”

Thalia does not respond. She just lays on her futon. The daughter of Zeus closes her eyes as she thinks of Luke’s words again. Connected. Luke is right. If my dream is real, then that guy Itachi, must be connected to me in some way. But...what is the connection?


Itachi takes a deep breath as he finishes telling Kisame about his dreams. Kisame is sitting on a nearby fallen log. Kisame’s eyes are wide as he listens to his partner’s story.

Itachi closes his eyes. “Then....you woke me up and we fought those hunter-nin.”

Kisame just grins. “Itachi, I never thought of you having sex with girls. You are really a sly dog.”

Kisame then lets out a laugh. “And just think; you could actually be a daddy. There may actually be a mini you running around somewhere.”

Itachi glares at Kisame. “I would prefer that not be the case.” Itachi says with a monotone voice.

Kisame frowns. “Hey, what is wrong with being a daddy?”

Itachi does not respond. The rogue Uchiha simply looks at the ground. Kisame lets out a grumble as he crosses his arms.

“Come on, it’s not like you have to take responsibility or anything.” Kisame says. “As long as you don’t actually claim any of the little brats that you father, everything will be fine.”

Itachi looks at Kisame with a frown. “That is not why I don’t want to be a father. I just don’t want to be a father.”

Kisame frowns again. “Why not?” Suddenly, Kisame’s eyes become wide. “Oh, I get it. You killed your entire clan. You don’t want to be a father because that means you will not be the last Uchiha anymore. You want to be the last Uchiha so that you go down in history as the last Uchiha. The one who destroyed his own bloodline.”

Itachi closes his eyes. He then gets up from the log that he is sitting on. “We are done talking. I am going to take a little walk.”

Kisame blinks a few times. “Suit yourself.” He then stands up. “I am going to look for something to eat.”

Itachi picks up his cloak, checking to see if it is dry yet. The cloak is dry. The thing with Akatsuki cloaks is that they dry quickly. Itachi puts his cloak on and starts walking away. As Itachi walks, he thinks about his dreams and of what Kisame said. 

I am not the last Uchiha…, Itachi thinks to himself. There is me and Sasuke...and Madara. It is not my place to rebuild the Uchiha clan. It is Sasuke’s duty. Once he kills me of course. If I end up fathering children, then my whole plan will be ruined.

Itachi stops walking and looks up at the sky. If Itachi ended up fathering children, then Sasuke would no longer be the last Uchiha after he kills Itachi. This would leave Sasuke not being the only one with the ability to revive the Uchiha clan. This is not what Itachi wants.

Itachi shakes his head. Maybe he should just try and forget about his dreams. It’s not like there is any truth to Sakiko, being pregnant in Itachi’s dreams.

Right?


Thalia steps outside the motel and into the sunshine. Luke and Annabeth follow her. Theia follows right at Annabeth’s heels.

Luke stretches a little bit. “Alright, we just put all of the food away into the pantry. Now we need to organize and decorate the place. We also need to gather stuff we want.”

Annabeth smiles widely. She jumps up and down. “I am going to gather toys! I am going to make myself a toy room!”

Luke smiles. “You go do that, Annabeth.” 

Luke then stares off into the distance. “As for me, I am going to scout the area. I am going to see what else is around. We need to have areas of fresh water nearby, so that we can catch fish. Perhaps if we can figure out how to hunt, we can have meat as well. It would be helpful if we knew what kind of animals were around.”

Thalia and Annabeth look at one another. They both know that Luke is right. Thalia eventually nods in agreement. “You are right, Luke. We need to find sources of meat.”

Luke smiles. “Ok, I am going to scout the area for water and see what kind of animals are around. Annabeth is going to make herself a toy room.”

Luke then looks at Thalia. “What are you going to do Thalia?”

Thalia looks around. “Well, I guess I will go see if I can find anything that we may need or want.”

Luke nods. He prepares to walk away. “Alright, I will see you girls later.”

Annabeth blinks a few times. “Please, be careful, Luke. Don’t let any bad men hurt you.” 

Luke just smiles. “I won’t.” Luke then swings his golf club a little. “Besides, I have my trusty golf club.” 

With that, Luke walks away, leaving the girls to do their own thing. Theia just sits by Annabeth’s feet as she watches the male demigod walk away. 

After a few minutes, Annabeth looks at Thalia. “I am going to start towards the beginning of the town and make my way through it.”

Thalia nods. “I suppose that is what I should do as well.”

With that, Thalia and Annabeth start making their way towards the town entrance. Theia the dog follows obediently at their heels.

Chapter 14: Planning and scheming

Notes:

Spoiler: This chapter does contain one curse word, curtesy of Kisame. You shall see why once you get to that part. This is why the story is rated teen and up.

Update: Hurray, I have this chapter edited and revamped as well! Just 12 more chapters to go. *sigh*

Chapter Text

Thalia looks at the little shelving unit that has books lined across each shelf. Thalia takes a book and opens it up. She frowns instantly when she realizes that the writing is different from what she is used to seeing. 

Of course…, Thalia thinks to herself. This is a different world. Of course the writing is different.

Since Thalia is a demigod, she is hardwired to read ancient Greek, which has of course made learning other languages difficult. The writing that Thalia has just discovered is even different from the English language. There is absolutely no way that Thalia and Luke can read any of these books. With no one around to teach her, Annabeth probably won’t be able to read this language either. 

After a few moments, Thalia puts the book back. No sense in gathering books if her, Annabeth nor Luke can read them. All of the sudden, Annabeth comes into the room. Theia follows right at Annabeth’s heels. Annabeth has a wide smile on her face as she holds up a book.

Thalia immediately frowns. “I know that there are books here, but they are in a different language. We can’t read them.”

Annabeth continues to grin and simply opens up the book. The book is full of pictures. “This is a picture book.”

Thalia’s eyes widen and she gets to her feet. The daughter of Zeus walks over and examines the picture book. She scratches her chin. “I have to admit, these pictures are really interesting. Are there more?”

Annabeth nods her small head as she continues to smile a bright and wide smile. “Oh yes! I found it in a room across the hall.”

Annabeth quickly shows Thalia the way to the room. Thalia peeks inside. Inside the room, there are double doors that look like they lead to a closet. Wall shelves line the bottom half of the wall opposite the doors. Books and toys line the shelves. A basket full of stuffed animals sits in a corner.

Thalia blinks a few times. “Hmm, this actually looks like a kids room. Picture books are intended for kids after all.”

However, Thalia just glances back at the book in Annabeth’s hands. “However, looking at picture books will give us something to do in our spare time.”

Annabeth immediately nods. “That’s exactly what I thought. We can create a library full of picture books!”

Thalia just grins. “Yes we can. Maybe we can even find some games to play. Like dominos or something.”

Annabeth grins. “Oh yes! We can make a game room!”

Thalia smiles. “A game room does sound nice.”

Annabeth then decides to look in the closets. The closet is full of clothes that look to be kid sized. Annabeth, smiles as she looks back at Thalia. “I am going to try these clothes on to see if they fit.” 

Thalia nods as she prepares to exit the room. “Alright then, I’ll see you later.” 

Thalia walks down the hallway, ready to explore the rest of the house and town. Maybe she will find clothes suitable for herself.


Luke just blinks as he looks out from behind a tree. The town before him bustles with activity. People walk to and from, trying to get chores done.

Luke just scratches his chin thoughtfully. Hmm, this place looks interesting.

Luke then watches as a woman walks out of a building. The woman carries a basket with a loaf of bread sticking out of it. Luke’s eyes become wide immediately.

Bread! Luke thinks. Luke then looks back at the building that the woman left. That building must be a bakery.

Luke closes his eyes to think for a minute. The children have many jars of fruit preserves back at their new home. However, there is nothing to really put the preserves on. Bread would work but there is no bread to be found back at the children’s home. Heck, Luke, Thalia and Annabeth don’t even know how to make bread so that is out of the question.

Luke crosses his arms. If we are going to eat those fruit preserves, then we need to steal some bread. I wonder if there is a way to sneak into those shops without being noticed.

Luke carefully makes his way through the trees. He will examine every aspect of the buildings. If he can find a weak spot, then the children shall have bread and who knows what else to eat.


Thalia carefully examines the wooden crate in front of her. Thalia has found many interesting items in this one house. However, the daughter of Zeus needs an easy way to carry all of the items back to the motel. In her search for a solution, the young demigod found this crate. 

Thalia just blinks as she examines the crate some more. The crate is simple unpainted wooden crate. However, the crate feels strong and sturdy. Eventually, the daughter of Zeus just nods in satisfaction. This crate should work perfectly.

Thalia starts grabbing items and putting them into the crate. Thalia then picks up the crate and carries it out of the room. Thalia carries the crate out of the building and down the street towards the motel. Once Thalia arrives inside, she sets the crate inside the kitchen. Thalia then begins unloading her cargo from the crate. 

Thalia first takes out a blender, which is actually a pretty good sized blender. Just then, Annabeth walks into the kitchen with Theia following closely at her heels. 

Annabeth just smiles as she looks at Thalia. “I just finished my toy room! Wanna come see it?”

Thalia sighs and just nods. “Sure, in just a minute. I need to unload this crate.”

Annabeth looks at Thalia’s finds. She gasps. “Cool, a blender. We can make smoothies and all kinds of things.”

Thalia then takes out a piece of equipment with a handle. Thalia narrows her eyes as she turns to Annabeth. “I have no idea what this is, but it looked kind of cool to me, so I grabbed it up and brought it back. Any ideas as to what this is, Annabeth?”

Annabeth just looks at the piece of equipment. “Hmm, it looks like a grain grinder.” 

Thalia raises a brow. “A grain grinder?!”

Annabeth nods. “A grain grinder is used to grind grains into flour.” 

Thalia immediately grins. “Cool! Now if we ever come across any whole grains, we can make our own flour.”

Thalia then pulls out a jar full of a white substance. “I have no idea what this is either. “However, it smells like minty so my guess is that it is toothpaste.”

Annabeth smells the substance. “Yeah, it does smell minty. I think that is toothpaste as well.”

Thalia then pulls out some clean new looking toothbrushes. “I came across a building that looked like a store. I got us some toothbrushes.”

Annabeth nods. “Good idea. We will need new toothbrushes very soon. The ones we have in our bags are getting old and yucky.”

Thalia smiles. “My thoughts exactly.”

Thalia then looks towards the stairs. She remembers the extra rooms upstairs and suddenly gets an idea. “I have an idea. Why don’t we gather extras of stuff, such as unused toothbrushes and put them all in a room? We can have a supply room. Then, we won’t have to hunt for stuff when our stuff runs out or gets old.”

Annabeth smiles again. “That’s a great idea!”

Thalia then unloads the last thing from the crate. It is a large wooden bowl. “This was sitting on a counter in one of the houses. I thought that we could put fruit in it.” 

Annabeth smiles even more. “A fruit bowl! That would be so cool!”

Annabeth looks at the crate. “Alright, you have emptied the crate. Do you wanna see my toy room now?”

Thalia just smiles. “Of course.” 

Thalia and Annabeth walk up the stairs with Theia following closely at their heels. The two girls and dog make their way towards a room on the left. The room is full of toys. Three baskets full of stuffed animals line a wall. Two baskets full of wooden blocks line another wall. Two baskets full of little animal figurines line another wall.

“What do you think?” Annabeth asks with anticipation.

Thalia raises a brow and rubs her chin thoughtfully. “I have to say, I like it. It’s very well organized.”

Suddenly, Luke walks into the room. “I wondered where you girls were at. I just discovered something. We have neighbors.”

Thalia and Annabeth just look at one another. Thalia then clears her throat. “Neighbors?”

Luke nods. “Remember those apple trees we found? Well, I just figured out that those trees actually belong to an orchard. There is a big town next to the orchard.”

Thalia and Annabeth look at one another again. Thalia just raises a brow. “A town eh? Well, that is certainly interesting.” 

Luke just nods. “And I actually thought of something. We have no bread to use with our fruit preserves.”

Annabeth’s eyes become wide as she thinks of something as well. “Now that you mention that, I just thought of something. We have no milk or dairy products either. We don’t even have cows to produce milk for us.”

Luke nods again. “That is right. That means if we want bread and milk, we will have to steal some. I have an idea on how to do that.”

Luke then grins. “I examined the buildings in the town up and down. There are buildings that look like stores and shops and all of them have back doors. My plan is to return at night and pick the locks while everyone in the town is asleep. We can grab what we need and then slip back out without being noticed.” 

Thalia and Annabeth look at one another again. “Well, I suppose that could work. However, at the same time, it is risky . What is the plan in case we get caught?”

Luke just frowns. “Well, the only thing we can do in that scenario is to run...and just hope that the town’s residents don’t catch us.”

Thalia looks around. “Well, I suppose that we should keep on working until it gets dark.” Thalia says. “Once it gets dark, we can go try to get us some bread and milk.”

All of the sudden, Annabeth’s stomach growls. Luke’s stomach growls seconds later. Then, Thalia’s stomach growls. The three demigods all frown in unison.

Annabeth crosses her small arms. “I am hungry. Why don’t we go see what we can make for lunch?”

Thalia and Luke both grin. Luke then clears his throat. “Hmm, a hot lunch does sound great, Annabeth.”


Sasuke just grunts as he helps to unload a cart of freshly picked apples. Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto are also unloading carts. The Uchiha just blinks as he rubs his sore back. Bending and moving baskets full of apples is certainly very exhausting work. No wonder the villagers needed help.

Hajimu is walking from cart to cart, making sure that everyone is doing what they are supposed to. The man then smiles with satisfaction. “All of you are doing a great job. We shall have lots of apples to sell this year.” 

Hajimu then turns to Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. “I also can’t thank you Leaf shinobi enough for your help.”

Kakashi simply smiles at Hajimu. “Well, it’s what you hired us to do.”

Suddenly, a man runs up to Hajimu. The man’s eyes are wide. “Lord Hajimu, you and the leaf nins need to see this at once!”

Hajimu raises a brow. “What is it?”

The man just continues to look at Hajimu with wide eyes. “There are more of those strange footprints in the forest surrounding the village!”

Hajimu quickly looks at Kakashi. Kakashi just nods and motions for his students to follow. Hajimu and the four leaf shinobi head towards the forest.

Five minutes later, the group arrives behind a cluster of trees. Strange shoe prints litter the ground behind the tree. Kakashi looks at his students as he blinks a few times. The shoe prints are very similar to a set that was discovered in the apple orchard.

Kakashi scratches his chin. “Well, I only see one set of shoe prints. That tells me it was just one person.”

Sakura looks down and starts trying to figure out where the shoe prints go. “Kakashi sensei, do you think we should follow them?”

Kakashi looks towards the left. “Let’s go that way. Maybe we will find whoever made these shoe impressions.”


Luke dips the net into the water. Annabeth waits eagerly on the shoreline. Nearby, Theia is taking a nap in the sunshine. Luke and Annabeth found some fishing net in one of the houses so they are going to catch fish for their lunch. The children are planning to make a big pot of fish soup to have for lunch and dinner tonight. Right now, Thalia is back at the motel, cleaning and chopping vegetables that the children dug up.

Luke scoops up a fish and dumps it onto the shore. Annabeth quickly renders the fish unconscious with a blow from a rock. Then, Annabeth slits the gills and lets the blood drain out into the water. 

Luke smiles at his accomplishment. “Alright, that’s one fish. We need at least a few to make a good pot of soup.”

Luke immediately dips the net into the water again. Two fish end up swimming into the net. Luke raises the net quickly and dumps the fish onto shore. Luke grins widely. “Cool! I got two fish at one time!”

Annabeth quickly renders both fish unconscious. Then, Annabeth slits the gills of both fish and begins rinsing one in the water. Luke puts the net down to help Annabeth. Luke grabs the other fish and begins rinsing it in the water.

“Ok, we have three fish.” Luke says as he looks at the fish that he caught. “There are three of us plus Theia. We need to have enough flesh leftover after I fillet and skin the fish in order to make a nice big pot of soup.”

Annabeth rinses off her hands. “Then I say we should catch at least six fish. The fish look nice and fat. We should have enough meat from six fish. And don’t forget, the soup id for both lunch and dinner.”

Luke immediately nods. “Alright then, three more fish coming up.”

Luke sets down the fish he is rinsing on the shore. Luke then picks up the net again and resumes fishing.


Kakashi sighs as he realizes that he and his team are going in circles. The strange shoe prints are circling the village. 

Sakura looks around. “I feel like this place is familiar.”

Kakashi sighs again. “That’s because we are going in circles.”

Naruto grumbles and looks back down at the shoe impressions. “These weird shoe prints keep going in circles.”

Sasuke narrows his eyes as he looks at the shoe prints. “It looks as if the person who made these shoe impressions was going around in circles. It almost seems like he or she was sizing the village up.”

Kakashi sighs. “I think you may be right, Sasuke. That means he or she must be planning on returning soon.”

Kakashi sighs again. This mission just got more complicated. Kakashi thinks to himself.


Thalia slices up some peeled potatoes on a wooden cutting board. Nearby, a bowl of chopped celery, carrots, green beans and kale sits on the counter. On the stove, a little bit of chopped celery and carrots are simmering in a large pot. The group also found some onions, but Annabeth told Thalia and Luke that onions in large amounts can be toxic to dogs. So the group decided to leave onions out of the soup. Thalia then seasoned the veggies with some olive oil, salt and some black pepper. Thalia made sure to just use a pinch of salt as large amounts of salt are apparently not good for dogs either. Annabeth also found some parsley growing in an herb patch. The parsley is all chopped and ready in a small glass dish.

Thalia sighs. Who knew cooking could be such a chore? However, it will be worth it in the end when we finally have a nice pot of hot soup.

Thalia finally chops the last potato and puts the chunks into the bowl. Thalia then goes over to the sink to wash her hands. Thalia dries her hands on a towel. I wonder what else we could put in the pot besides fish and vegetables. 

Thalia heads over to the pantry and looks at a jar of wild rice. This wild rice may be a good addition. I will ask Luke and Annabeth when they return.

Thalia sets the jar on the counter. Thalia then grabs a wooden spoon and stirs the simmering veggies in the pot. Just then, Annabeth and Luke walk into the kitchen with Theia following at their heels. Luke is carrying a bucket full of fish.

Luke grins as he sets the bucket on the counter. “We got six fish. Once I filet and skin them, there should be enough meat for a nice big pot of soup.”

Luke grabs a fish from the bucket. Luke then looks at Thalia. “Go grab another bucket. I will put the skin and heads into it.”

Thalia just nods and goes to fetch another bucket. Once Thalia fetches the bucket, Luke starts descaling the fish by running the back of a knife over the fish. 

“This is how I remember my grandpa doing it.” Luke says as he reminisces on his past. “First, he descaled the fish. Then, he gutted and cleaned the fish. After that, he removed the head, removed the fins and tail and then skinned and fileted the fish. Then, he removed the bones using special tweezers.”

Thalia holds up three pairs of shiny metal tweezers. “I remember you saying that earlier. I found these in the building that looks like a store. They look clean and new.”

Luke looks at the tweezers and nods with satisfaction. “Those will work just fine. I figured that all of us could take a fish and descale them. That will speed things up.”

Thalia and Annabeth nod. They take some knives from a drawer and begin descaling fish. Within ten minutes, all of the fish have been descaled.

Luke nods as he looks down at the six descaled fish. “Alright, I figured that I could gut the fish. Then, Thalia can chop off the heads, tails and fins. Once that is done, I can filet each fish. Then, all three of us will remove the bones.”

Luke looks at Annabeth. “Hey Annabeth, I was just wondering if you would like to pick some blueberries for us. You see, I remember seeing a patch of blueberry bushes nearby. While Thalia and I do the more nasty and tedious work, could you go pick us some? We can have them as a little ‘dessert’ after our soup.”

Annabeth smiles widely. “Blueberries for dessert! That sounds yummy!”

Thalia looks at Annabeth’s hands. Annabeth’s hands are covered with fish scales. “You might want to wash your hands before you go picking blueberries.”

Annabeth looks at her hands. “You’re probably right, Thalia.”

Annabeth quickly makes her way towards the sink and begins washing her hands. Once she is done, Annabeth dries her hands on a towel. Thalia points towards the pantry. “There is another clean bucket in the pantry. You can put the blueberries in there.”

Annabeth nods and runs towards the pantry to grab the bucket. Thalia looks at the jar of wild rice on the counter. “Oh, I almost forgot that I was going to ask you guys about putting wild rice into the soup.” 

Luke looks at the wild rice. “Probably wouldn’t hurt. Rice would definitely make the soup more filling.”

Annabeth smiles. “Rice! Rice sounds terrific!”

Luke smiles. “Alright then, we shall have fish soup with vegetables and wild rice.”

Annabeth just licks her lips. “Sounds super yummy! I can’t wait until it’s ready.”

With that, Annabeth leaves the kitchen with her bucket. As always, Theia follows at the little girl’s heels. Thalia looks at Luke. “Come on, let’s hurry up and get these fish ready. I am absolutely starving.” 

Luke smiles. “I am too.”


Itachi walks beside Kisame. Kisame just grins as he looks at the scroll in his hand. “Well, We got the scroll that Leader-sama wanted us to get. He should be pleased.” 

Kisame puts the scroll into his bag. The sharkman then looks at Itachi. “Well Itachi, what’s our next assignment?”

Itachi just blinks as he takes out a list and reads it. “We are all done with the assignments on this list. We will have to wait for Leader to give us another list.”

Kisame grumbles. “What should we do until then? I don’t want to be walking around forever.”

Kisame then looks to the left and spots a cabin. He grins. “Will you look at that? We found the cabin that we use to sleep in sometimes while on missions. Let’s stay here tonight. I am tired of sleeping on the ground.”

Itachi just blinks a few times. “Fine with me.”

Kisame grins as he opens the door. However, Kisame’s grin turns into a look of disgust as a horrible smell slowly makes its way out of the opened door. “Oh great Kami, it smells like something died in there!” 

Itachi just frowns as the smell makes its way to him. He enters the cabin and quickly takes note that the wood that he and Kisame placed by the hearth the last time they were here is gone. The hearth is also full of ashes. It appears that someone stayed inside the cabin recently.

Itachi just narrows his eyes at the sight of the ashes within the hearth. “Someone’s been here. The wood that we placed by the hearth is gone and the hearth is full of ashes. Someone made a fire recently.”

Itachi looks over to the far left corner and immediately sees where the smell is coming from. He narrows his eyes even more. “I found the source of the smell. The person who slept here had a dog and is appears that the dog had an accident.”

Kisame enters the cabin and his eyes widen immediately. “It’s dog shit!”

Itachi closes his eyes. “Yes it is.”

Kisame just gags and backs away. “I am not sleeping here! Come on, let’s go.”

Itachi turns to leave when he notices something on the floor. It looks like fur. Itachi picks up a tuft of the fine white hairs. The hairs are pure white, obviously from an animal. Itachi’s thoughts turn to the three strange children and their dog. That dog had pure white fur. This tuft of hair is pure white.

I wonder…, Itachi thinks to himself. Could those children have been the ones who slept here?


Thalia stirs the now bubbling soup. The soup has been simmering for a little while. Right now, Luke and Annabeth are sitting at the table, sorting through the berries that Annabeth picked. On the floor beside the table, Theia is chewing on a red rubber ball that Annabeth found while scrounging for toys. Thalia sighs as she rejoins her friends at the table. 

Right now, Annabeth is simply sorting the good looking berries from the bad looking ones. The good ones go into a blue bowl while the bad ones go into a red bowl. And...it isn’t just blueberries that the young girl is sorting through. Apparently, Annabeth was able to find more varieties of berries than just blueberries. There are blue-ish blueberries along with red seeded strawberries. There are bright red raspberries and dark purple blackberries. There are even golden raspberries. There are even berries that look like goji berries. 

It is berries galore.

Right now, Luke is carefully taking the tiny stems off of the blueberries, raspberries, black berries and goji berries. It is Thalia’s job to cut the tops off of the strawberries that Annabeth hands to her. Very large strawberries are cut into more manageable bit sized pieces. After the tops are cut off, Thalia places the strawberries into a sparkling white bowl with the berries that Luke has finished preparing. The plan is to mix all of the berries with some honey and make a mixed berry salad for dessert. 

Annabeth licks her lips as she sorts through the last of the berries. “Alright, I’m done!” 

Thalia smiles as she cuts the top off of the last strawberry. She places it into the white bowl. “I’m done as well.” 

Luke just grins as she places the last of the blueberries, raspberries, goji berries and blackberries into the white bowl. “I am done as well.” 

Annabeth claps her small hands. “Yay, mixed berry salad!” 

“Hold on Annie, we haven’t mixed it with honey yet.” Luke says as he stands up. “Just let me go get it really quick.” 

Luke walks over to the pantry and grabs the honey. Luke then walks back to the table and carefully drizzles some of the honey onto the berries and then mixes it all through with a spoon. Luke then puts the bowl into the fridge. 

Annabeth licks her lips. “I love berries and honey.”

Thalia gets up to check on the soup again. “You know what, I think the soup is ready.”

Luke sighs. “Good, I’m starving.”

Thalia grabs four bowls while Luke grabs some spoons and cloth napkins. Thalia dishes up the soup. Once Thalia has two bowls prepared, Luke comes to take them over to the table for himself and Annabeth. Thalia simply dishes up the last two bowls and takes one for herself. Thalia leaves the last bowl on the counter. 

“I figured that we should wait for Theia’s bowl to cool down some before we give it to her.” Thalia says as she sits down at the table. 

Luke nods in agreement. “Yeah, if we gave it to her steaming like that, she would probably burn her mouth.” 

Luke picks up a spoon and scoops up some soup with it. He blows gently on the soup before putting the spoon in his mouth. Luke’s eyes widen as he removes the spoon from his mouth. Luke chews and swallows. He grins as he takes another bite.

“I haven’t tasted anything so good and hot in such a long time.” Luke says. He quickly eats another bite. “So good.”

“Yeah.” Annabeth says as she eats. “This is the best meal I have had in a long time.”

Thalia tastes her bowl of soup. Her eyes become wide as she chews. Thalia smiles as she downs another bite. “This is so good. I have to say, I have never tasted anything so good in my entire life.”

Luke and Annabeth just look at Thalia. Luke raises a brow. “Really? What have you eaten your entire life?”

Thalia closes her eyes. Her mother wasn’t much of a cook and so the woman ordered a lot of fast food and prepared prepackaged meals. However, there were times that Thalia’s mother tried to cook a meal from scratch. However, anything that the woman tried to cook from scratch...ended up tasting horrible.

“My mom wasn’t a very good cook.” Thalia says as she reminisces on her past. “I don’t know what it was, but everything that she tried to cook from scratch ended up tasting horrible one way or another. Mom burned anything that she baked from scratch. She even burned the simplest of recipes such as buttermilk drop biscuits.” 

Luke has to stifle a little laugh. “Man, that is terrible. What did you eat during your childhood then?” 

Thalia sighs. “My mother mostly prepared prepackaged meals like boxed mac and cheese, frozen chicken fingers or patties, along with canned vegetables. My mother also ordered fast food a lot. However, she did keep the house stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables. She liked to snack on those between meals.”

Thalia looks away for a minute. “However, she didn’t really eat much. I think that I already told you guys this, but my mother was an alcoholic . There were nights that she was so drunk, she couldn’t cook supper. I had to fend for myself on those nights. Sometimes she even forgot to go to the grocery store and we ran out of food. I literally ate an entire bowl of fruit one night when I was four because there wasn’t anything else that I could eat. I wasn’t old enough to use the stove yet and there wasn’t any bread, peanut butter, or jelly to make a pb&j with. Then, when my mom discovered what I had done to the bowl of fruit, she got mad at me for it and locked me in a closet for the rest of the night.”

Luke and Annabeth both frown. Luke scoffs. “Sheesh, that’s terrible.”

Thalia looks down at her soup. “I don’t like talking about my past. It’s just...my life with that woman was not very pleasant.”

Luke puts a hand on Thalia’s shoulder. “It’s ok, we understand. Annabeth and I have not had pleasant childhoods either. However, we found each other. We are a family now.”

Annabeth smiles. “Yeah. We are family.”

Thalia manages a smile. “Yeah, a family.”

Annabeth looks towards Theia’s bowl, which is still on the counter. “I think that Theia’s soup is cool enough now.”

Annabeth gets up and walks over to the counter. She grabs the bowl and carries it back over to the table. Annabeth then places the bowl in front of Theia, whose ears perk up with interest. Theia’s stops chewing on the rubber ball and licks the liquid in the bowl. Within minutes, Theia is gobbling the soup down. It seems like Theia thinks the soup is delicious as well. 

Annabeth sits back down at the table and continues to eat her soup. Luke then looks at the living room. 

“I just had an idea.” Luke says. “I know we talked about working some more this afternoon. However, why don’t we take a little nap after lunch? It will have to be pretty late when we sneak into that town.”

Thalia raises a brow. “Hmm, that does sound like a good idea. After all, being tired would make it harder for the three of us to run away if things went wrong.”

Luke nods. “My thoughts exactly.”

...About four hours later...

The sun is beginning to set over the horizon. Inside the motel, Luke, Thalia, Annabeth and Theia are curled up on their futons.

Luke then slowly opens his eyes. He looks towards the window, and sees the fading daylight outside. Time to wake up already huh? That was quick.

Luke just sits up and yawns. Luke then gets up and heads over to wake up Thalia. Luke shakes Thalia’s shoulder. Thalia’s eyes slowly flicker open.

“Time to get up.” Luke says.

Thalia yawns. “Alright.” 

Thalia yawns some more as she sits up on her own futon. Thalia then looks at Luke. “Guess what! I didn’t have any strange dreams during my nap!”

Luke raises a brow. “Really? Well, we weren’t asleep very long so that may be why. I didn’t dream either.”

Luke walks up to Annabeth’s futon and shakes her awake. Annabeth opens her eyes and looks up at Luke, who just smiles at her. 

“Time to get up, Annie.” Luke says.

Annabeth yawns. “Ok.”

Annabeth sits up and yawns some more. Annabeth’s yawning wakes up Theia, who lets out a yawn as well. Theia the uncurls herself from her cozy sleeping position and trots over to a bowl of water. Theia laps up some water before she goes to sit by Annabeth’s side.

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth quickly tidy their futons. Then, the three of them head over to the table. Luke heads over to the fridge and takes out the pot half-way full of soup. Luke simply sets the pot of soup on the stove. Luke turns on the stove. Thalia grabs a spoon and sets it on a plastic mat.

“Alright, now we just have to wait for the soup to heat up, and we shall have a hot supper.” Thalia says.

Luke grins. “Yeah, a nice hot supper.” Luke then looks around. “Well, what should we do until the soup is hot enough?”

Annabeth runs into a room. A few minutes later she returns with a picture book. “Let’s look through one of these picture books.”

Thalia and Luke look at each other. They both shrug. It sounds like a good idea to them.


Kakashi looks at the setting sun. Hajimu leads the way into his house. 

“Reika, has dinner ready for us.” Hajimu says. “I sent some villagers out to guard the orchard until all of you are finished with your dinner.”

Kakashi bows respectfully. “Thank you, Lord Hajimu. My pupils and I appreciate it very much.” 

Kakashi then looks at Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. “Alright, so after dinner, Sasuke and Sakura shall guard the orchard. Then, Sakura and I shall take a shift.”

Sakura smiles. Oh yeah! Sakura thinks to herself. I get to guard the orchard with Sasuke.

Sasuke sighs. “Whatever.” 

...a few hours later…

Sasuke sighs as he patrols the orchard. Sakura follows close behind. Sakura just sighs as she crosses her arms.

Sakura then looks around at the trees. “You know Sasuke, I wonder if we will ever find out who made those weird shoes and stole Lord Hajimu’s apples. I mean, he or she seems to be hanging around the village. Yet...they have not stolen any more apples.”

Sasuke examines the surrounding forest. “The fact that the shoe impressions have been found going in circles around the perimeter of the village does say that the person plans on returning.”

Sakura sits on a nearby rock. “I just keep wondering about that set of shoe impressions that circled the perimeter of the village. You said that he or she may have been sizing the village up.”

Sakura looks at the ground around her. “And since then, we have not come across any more strange shoe prints in the orchards.”

Sasuke sighs. “Yeah, that is a good point.”

Sakura looks in the direction of the village. “Sasuke, what if the thieves who stole the apples are planning to return not for apples but for other things?”

Sasuke looks at Sakura. The Uchiha gets exactly what Sakura is saying. What if the apple thieves are planning on targeting the village's other resources? 

Sasuke blinks a few times. “That is a good point. We should probably mention that to Kakashi once our shift ends.”


Luke, Thalia and Annabeth all peer through the trees at the sleepy looking town. Theia is sitting obediently beside Annabeth.

Thalia looks at Luke. “The residents still look as though they are still awake. What should we do?”

Luke just sighs as he sits down. “We will have to wait. The people will have to go to bed eventually. Once that time comes, we shall sneak in and steal what we need.”

Annabeth comes to sit beside Luke. “Just how do you want to do it again?” 

Luke looks back at the town. “There are doors in the back of the buildings. All I have to do is pick the locks and we will be able to enter no problem.”

Luke takes a screwdriver out of his bag. “I can’t imagine this screwdriver not working on those locks. This screwdriver has never failed me.”

Thalia just glances nervously at the town. “What is the plan if we get caught in the act?”

Luke sighs. “Run. It’s all we can do.”

Luke glances at the town. “However, as long as we are quiet and don’t take too long, we should be able to get away without being noticed.” 

Then, after a few minutes, Luke lets out a grin. “Besides, I am the son of Hermes; god of thieves. Thievery is one of my specialties!”

Chapter 15: Getting shocked is no fun

Notes:

Hurray, I have this chapter edited and revamped! Just 11 more chapters to go.

Chapter Text

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth watch as the last light in the town fades. The town is now completely dark and silent. Luke grins as he looks at Thalia and Annabeth. “Alright girls, it’s time. Let’s go.”

Thalia and Annabeth look at each other. The two female demigods still have doubts about the plan. Especially Thalia. 

Luke simply leads the way out of the forest and towards a building with a back door. Luke puts a finger to his lips and points towards the upper levels of the building. 

“I think that people live in the upper levels of these buildings.” Luke says with a whisper. whisper. “Which means we will have to be very quiet. Don’t want to wake the people up.”

Thalia nods her head. “Yeah. That would be bad. Very bad.” The daughter of Zeus says with her own whisper.

Luke retrieves his screwdriver from his bag. He sticks the screwdriver into the lock and starts trying to unlatch the lock. The lock clicks. Luke slowly opens the door. The son of Hermes grins. “I told you girls this screwdriver never failed me.”

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth slowly enter the building. Theia follows silently at Annabeth’s heels. Once inside, the three demigods find a short hallway, which leads into a large room. A door sits on one side of the hallway and a flight of stairs sits opposite the door. Luke, Thalia and Annabeth quickly grab flashlights from their bags.

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth turn on their flashlights and enter the large room. Windows look out into the street. Shelves full of goods line the walls. Luke examines some shelves on the left side of the building. Loaves of bread are stacked inside a compartment that is covered with a plastic door. Baked goods sit in similar compartments. Luke opens up the bread compartment and motions for Annabeth and Thalia to come over.

“This place looks like a bakery.” Luke whispers. “Let’s grab six loaves of bread and some baked goods.”

Luke quickly chucks six loaves of bread into his cloth sack. The children decided to use their cloth sacks for more delicate items like baked goods. Thalia heads over to a compartment with cookies. Thalia grabs a box sitting nearby and fills the box with cookies. Annabeth goes over to a compartment with little mini cakes and starts to fill a box with the little cakes. Then, Annabeth and Thalia carefully put their boxes of baked goods into their cloth sacks. Theia sits on the floor nearby. The dog watches with curious eyes.

Annabeth, Thalia and Luke continue to gather baked goods until their cloth sacks are filled. Luke goes over to Thalia. “I don’t see any milk or dairy products in here. We’ll have to break into another building.”

Thalia nods. “Yeah.”

Luke motions for Annabeth and Thalia to follow him. The group makes their way towards the back door with Theia following obediently at their heels. Luke opens the door silently, letting Thalia, Annabeth and Theia out first. Luke then slips out and closes the door behind him. Luke grins and looks at his companions.

“We did it.” Luke whispers. “We slipped in and out without being noticed.”

Thalia blinks a few times. She is slowly starting to feel more confident. Maybe this plan will work after all.

Luke leads the way to another building. Luke unlatches the lock with his screwdriver. The children silently slip inside. They look around. It is a candy store.

Annabeth licks her lips. “Yum, candy.” 

Luke leads the way towards some boxes filled with different varieties of hard colorful candy. Luke sees paper bags sitting next to the boxes. Luke simply grabs a bag and starts filling it with candy. Once the bag is full, Luke grabs another bag and moves onto another box.

Nearby, Thalia and Annabeth grab some chocolate bars and other varieties of candy. A few moments later, Luke walks up to them. “I don’t see milk in here either. We’ll have to break into another building.”

Thalia, Annabeth and Theia follow Luke silently out the backdoor. Luke silently closes the door behind them. Luke opens his cloth sack. “The bread, baked goods and candy are lighter. We should let Annabeth carry them.”

Thalia nods in agreement. “Good thinking.”

Thalia quickly opens up her sack and takes out the boxes of baked goods and sacks of candy that she has. Luke takes the loaves of bread and sacks of candy out of his bag. Thalia places all of the boxes of baked goods into Annabeth’s backpack. Luke places all of the candy and loaves of bread into Annabeth’s cloth sack. Both of Annabeth’s bags are now full.

Luke then leads his companions to another building. Luke picks the lock and unlocks the door. Inside, shelves are stocked with lots of goods. Big refrigerators with see through doors line a wall. The building looks like a general store.

Luke looks inside one of the refrigerators. Luke grins. “Yes! Milk.”

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth each choose a refrigerator to raid. Luke chooses the refrigerator with cartons of milk. Luke grabs six cartons of milk. Six should be enough. Luke thinks to himself. 

Luke puts the six cartons of milk into his bag. Luke then moves onto another shelf. He sees cans that look like they could contain whipped cream. Luke smiles and begins chucking cans of whipped cream into his bag. Alright, I have milk and whipped cream. Luke thinks as he takes stock of his loot.

Luke then looks over to his companions. Thalia and Annabeth both hold out various food items for Luke to see. Thalia opens up a box with sticks of a hard yellowish substance. Thalia unwraps one of the sticks and sniffs the substance. 

“Butter.” Thalia whispers as she wraps the stick back up.

Luke grins. “I like butter.” The son of Hermes whispers. 

Annabeth examines a plastic container. “This looks like tofu. The soft kind can be used in smoothies to add protein and creaminess.”

Thalia grabs five more boxes of butter. Annabeth grabs four containers of tofu and hands them to Thalia. Luke and Thalia then begin dividing the milk, butter and tofu between them. Since Annabeth’s bag is full, it is up to Luke and Thalia to carry the heavier stuff. Luke and Thalia need to make sure that the weight that each of them is carrying is not too much for their bodies to handle. Otherwise, if they had to run, they might get caught.

Luke moves onto the shelves and looks at what is available. On one shelf, there are bags with images of potato chips on them. Potato chips! Luke thinks as he grabs a few bags of potato chips. Luke stuffs the bags of potato chips into his cloth sack.

Nearby, Annabeth and Thalia are also raiding shelves. They are grabbing anything that looks delicious. Eventually, Thalia looks at Luke. “Our bags are pretty full. Let’s go.”

Luke leads the group out of the building. Luke looks at another building with a backdoor. Luke leads the group to the door. “Come on. We still have a little room in our bags. Let’s just go into one more building.”

Thalia blinks a few times. She is slightly unsure about this. Luke picks the lock on the door. The lock clicks and Luke manages to open the door. However, a blaring noise startles the group. Above the now open door, is a flashing light. Luke gasps. Thalia and Annabeth’s eyes become wide as saucers. Theia whines at the noise.

This door...has an alarm. A very loud alarm.

Thalia and Annabeth both gasp as lights start turning on in the buildings. Luke looks at his companions with wide eyes. “RUN!” 

Thalia, Annabeth and Luke take off running as fast as their legs will carry them. Theia runs right behind Annabeth.


Kakashi stirs in his sleep. His eyes slowly open. He looks around. Naruto is snoring on his futon nearby. 

What is this feeling? Kakashi thinks to himself. Something feels wrong. But...I can’t put my finger on it. 

Kakashi then gets up from his futon. He feels like he should get up. Kakashi makes his way towards hooks on the wall and puts on his vest. Kakashi looks up at the clock. It is 12:00 am. Almost time for him and Sasuke to change shifts.

Kakashi then walks over to the door and puts on his sandals. Kakashi steps outside and starts looking around. All of the sudden, Naruto follows behind him. Naruto yawns. 

“Kakashi Sensei, is it time for you to take your shift?” Naruto asks with a sleepy voice. 

Kakashi just continues to look around. “Not quite. It’s just...I couldn’t sleep. Something feels off.”

Kakashi looks towards the apple orchards where Sasuke and Sakura are still guarding the apples. “I am going to go check on Sasuke and Sakura. Stay here.”

However, just as Kakashi is about to start walking towards the forest, a loud screeching sound blares out in the night. Naruto covers his ears. Kakashi turns towards the sound. Sasuke and Sakura come running out of the orchard.

“What is that horrible sound?!” Sakura asks with alarm.

“That’s an alarm young lady!” Hajimu says as he rushes out of the house. Reika follows right behind him. “That alarm is coming from the Ikeda’s general store. It means that someone has broken into it!”

Kakashi’s eyes become wide. He looks at Sasuke and Sakura. Their eyes are wide as well. However, Naruto just grins and rushes down the street. Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, Reika and Hajimu run after him.

Outside the general store in question, a crowd has gathered. Naruto, runs up to the crowd. “Where are those thieves at? I’ll catch ‘em for you!”

A man shows Naruto three sets of shoe prints which are headed into the forest. “They went that way!”

Naruto grins and rushes into the forest. Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, Hajimu and Reika arrive just a few moments later.

“NARUTO!” Sakura calls out.

However, Naruto does not listen. He keeps on running until he disappears completely. Kakashi looks at the shoe prints. “These are the same shoe prints from the orchard.”

Sakura rubs her chin. “And from the forest surrounding the village. The people who stole the apples decided to come back.”

Sasuke looks at the forest. “They were circling the village. They must have been looking for a way to break into the buildings.”

Reika approaches a group of people. “Is your family alright?” 

The woman among the group just sighs as she shakes slightly. The woman is holding a whimpering toddler in her arms. “Yes, we are fine. They set off the alarm, but they didn’t steal anything. The alarm must have scared them off.”

Sakura looks at Kakashi. “Sensei, shouldn’t we follow Naruto?”

Suddenly, a loud yell of pain comes from the forest. Everyone turns towards the forest with wide eyes. Sakura’s eyes are especially wide. “That was Naruto!” 

Sasuke blinks a few times. “That certainly didn’t sound very good.”

Kakashi turns to Sakura and Sasuke. “Come on! Let’s go!” 

With that, Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura quickly rush into the forest, leaving Hajimu and the Aoku villagers to check around for any more signs of break-ins.


Thalia, Annabeth and Theia run through the forest. Annabeth just looks around as she runs. She doesn’t see Luke anywhere. One second Luke was running beside her. Next second...he’s gone.

Annabeth looks around with eyes full of panic. “I don’t see Luke anywhere! He was running right beside me moments ago.” 

Thalia looks around. Annabeth is right. Luke...is gone. “I don’t see him either. I just hope he is alright.”

Just then, Thalia and Annabeth hear a loud voice coming from behind them. However, it is not Luke’s voice.

“GOTCHA!” The mysterious voice yells out.

Thalia then feels two hands grab her legs. She falls down with a thud. Annabeth gasps and stops running. Thalia looks behind her. A boy no older than twelve is holding onto her legs. The boy has spiky blond hair, cerulean blue eyes, and three whisker-like marks on each cheek. The boy wears a hideous bright orange jumpsuit.

Naruto, grins as he looks at the thief he has caught. “Gotcha, you dirty thieves!” Naruto says with a grin. 

However, Naruto’s grin disappears when he finally sees who he has caught. His eyes become wide with shock. “You’re...you’re kids!” 

Thalia quickly regains her composure. Rage starts to overtake her. No one trips her like that and gets away with it. Thalia’s blue eyes then turn red.

Annabeth gasps. Oh no, Thalia’s eyes have turned red again.  

Naruto just blinks a few times, as if trying to make sure what he is seeing is real. However, Naruto doesn’t get to say anything. Thalia’s hand lights up with blue lightning. Thalia then kicks Naruto away, and shoots lightning out of her hand, which hits Naruto. Naruto lets out a loud yell of pain.

Annabeth gasps even more. Thalia gets to her feet. Her hand is no longer lit up. She grabs Annabeth’s arm and starts pulling the little girl along. Theia follows at their heels. 

Naruto staggers away and breathes heavily. Then, he passes out. About five minutes later, Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura arrive. Kakashi’s eyes are wide as he spots his blond haired student lying on the ground.

“Naruto!” Kakashi says with alarm. Kakashi quickly checks Naruto’s vitals. Kakashi then narrows his eyes. “Hmm, this looks like electric shock.”

Sakura’s eyes become wide. “Electric shock?! You mean...he’s been electrocuted?!”

Kakashi shakes his head. “No...Electrocution is fatal. Naruto, has just been severely shocked. Don’t worry, he will recover.”

Kakashi just looks at the forest ahead of them. Who could have done this?


Luke pants heavily as he runs through the forest. He looks around, trying to find Thalia, Annabeth and Theia. However, the two girls and dog are nowhere to be seen.

Luke’s eyes become even more wide as he looks around some more. Oh no, I lost the girls! Hopefully they didn’t get caught.

Within minutes, Luke stops running. He figures that he has gotten far enough away from the town. He now needs to focus on finding Thalia, Annabeth and Theia. The son of Hermes blinks a few times as he looks ahead of him. He figures that he should probably head back home. If anything, the girls would have run straight home. If Luke gets home and the girls are not there, then it will be time to panic.

Luke looks around some more as he prepares to head for home. However, something stops him. The son of Hermes takes a whiff of the air, and his eyes become wide. Luke then looks to the left. There is a delicious smell coming from the left side of the forest. 

Luke licks his lips at the wonderful smell. Wow, that smell is so mouthwatering. It almost smells like...roasting chicken.

Before he knows it, Luke is walking through the forest, trying to find the source of the delicious smell. Luke then comes upon a clearing with a fire in the middle. Two figures are lying on the ground around the fire. Luke suddenly hears snoring coming from one of the figures. The two mysterious figures…are asleep.

Luke looks more closely above the fire. Above the fire is a spit with some kind of bird on it. Luke then notices a pile of feathers nearby. The feathers look like feathers from a grouse. The two unknown figures must have killed a wild grouse to eat.

A few more moments go by, and Luke just licks his lips again. That grouse smells so delicious.

Luke knows that Thalia, Annabeth and Theia would all love to have roasted grouse to eat. Luke closes his eyes. The son of hermes also feels guilty about setting off that alarm. If He hadn’t insisted on breaking into that building, then the children would not have had to run. Luke opens his eyes as an idea comes to mind.

Perhaps having a roasted grouse dinner will make up for the plan going wrong.

Luke looks around. The figures appear to be in deep sleep. Luke quickly makes up his mind. He shall steal the grouse. However, there is one problem. Luke will definitely need both hands to carry the grouse and he is holding his cloth sack with one hand. After a few minutes, Luke suddenly comes up with a solution. He quietly takes off his backpack and draws the cloth sack against his chest. Then, Luke puts the drawstrings of the cloth sack over his shoulders and tightens. The cloth sack is now ‘strapped’ against Luke’s chest like a pouch. Luke puts his backpack back on. Problem solved.

Luke silently tiptoes into the clearing. The figures remain asleep. However, Luke notices something strange. The two figures are men...and they are wearing black cloaks with red clouds. Thalia described the red eyed teenager, Itachi, wearing a cloak similar to these men.

Luke narrows his eyes at the attire of the two sleeping men. Hmm, black coats with red clouds. What a coincidence? Maybe these guys know Itachi.

Luke just tiptoes closer to the fire. He slowly reaches and grabs both ends of the spit and lifts it up off of the fire. Luke then slowly tiptoes away from the fire. However, just as Luke reaches the tree line, one of the figures starts stirring. Luke’s eyes widen and he breaks into a sprint. Luke runs as fast as his legs can carry him. He knows that if these men catch him stealing their food, there will be trouble.

The figure on the ground shifts some more. He even turns a few times.

...Itachi’s dreamscape…

Itachi stands at the edge of the Araya village. Sakiko sits on the ground a few feet away. She grimaces and holds her swollen stomach. A few meters away, a crowd of villagers has gathered at the edge of the village. Toma, the village leader, is among them. Most of the villagers simply sneer at Sakiko. However, a man with brown hair and ultramarine blue eyes tries to get to Sakiko. Itachi instantly recognizes the man as Jarou, Sakiko’s uncle.

Two men hold Jarou back. The two men begin to drag Jarou away. Jarou struggles to break free.

“NO!” Jarou cries out. “Toma, don’t do this!”

Sakiko’s eyes are wide as she watches her uncle get dragged away. “Uncle Jarou...no.” The teenage girl says with a pained gasp. 

Itachi just narrows his eyes at the sight. What is going on?

Toma glares at Sakiko. “Sakiko Araya, you slept with the criminal and kinslayer, Itachi Uchiha. Now, you carry his child within you. For your mistake, I...Toma Araya, leader of the Araya clan village, hereby banish you to the western and barren edge of our clan’s valley. You shall give birth by yourself. No one shall assist you. You are not to return until you have given birth to your little abomination. I shall then decide what happens to the little abomination.”

Itachi’s eyes widen. Banish?

A woman with graying blonde hair and ultramarine blue eyes, gets a steely look in her eyes. She throws a bag towards Sakiko, who catches it. “Sakiko, take this.” The woman yells. “There are supplies in there that you will need after the delivery.”

Toma glares at the woman. He then turns back towards Sakiko. “Well, what are you waiting for, little whore?! Get going!”

Other villagers glare and start yelling at Sakiko. Sakiko just turns away and starts to slowly make her way west. Sakiko clutches the bag as she slowly hobbles across the snow covered ground.

The snow swirls around Itachi. Once the snow stops swirling, Itachi realizes that he is now in a rundown cabin. The door opens with a creak. It is Sakiko. Sakiko hobbles into the cabin and closes the door behind her. Sakiko then collapses onto the floor. She writhes in pain and breathes heavily.

“Itachi...Itachi…,” Sakiko whispers to herself. She lets a whimper.

...end of dream….

Itachi’s eyes slowly flicker open. He slowly sits up as he hears the sound of running feet fade into the distance. All of the sudden, Kisame yells out with a very angry tone of voice.

“ITACHI, WAKE UP!” Kisame yells. “WE’VE BEEN ROBBED!”

Itachi frowns and looks across the fire at Kisame. However, Itachi immediately realizes something. The grouse that he and Kisame killed earlier, was roasting on a spit when Itachi went to sleep. The grouse...is gone, along with the spit.

Kisame’s eyes are red with anger. “Will ya look at that! Someone stole our food!”

Itachi narrows his eyes. “You were supposed to be watching it. Obviously, you were not keeping an eye on it.”

Kisame just lets out a grumble. “I fell asleep.”

Itachi just closes his eyes. “It is your fault that someone stole our food. You have no right to complain. Besides, we can always catch another one in the morning.”

Kisame frowns as he crosses his arms. “I find this to be very embarrassing. The two of us are S-class criminals for crying out loud. We are thieves...not victims of theft.”

Itachi just lies back down. “Just go back to sleep Kisame.”

Kisame’s stomach rumbles. Kisame frowns and gets up off the ground. “Well, I am hungry. I am going to catch another grouse.”

“It’s dark. Grouse don’t come out at night.” Itachi says with a matter of fact voice.

Kisame grumbles as he begins walking away. “I don’t care if I have to dig up a nest! I am going to find me something to eat.”


Annabeth sighs as she carries a glass of water over to Thalia, who propped up against some pillows. Thalia’s blue eyes are tired looking. Theia is nearby, lying on her futon.

Annabeth just hands the water to Thalia. “Well, at least your eyes returned to normal.” 

Thalia just sighs as she sips the water. The daughter of Zeus sets the glass down next to her. “Yeah. But...I am just so worn out.”

Suddenly, Luke enters the living room. Annabeth gasps and runs up to Luke. Annabeth hugs her friend.

“Oh Luke!” Annabeth cries. “Thalia and I were so worried about you! We were afraid something bad had happened to you.”

Luke just hugs Annabeth back. “I was worried about you too.”

Luke sighs as he looks around for Thalia. His eyes become wide once he notices Thalia propped up against the pillows. Luke just gasps as he lets go of Annabeth and walks over to Thalia. Luke sits down by his friend. 

“Thalia!” Luke says with a concerned voice. “Is something wrong? Why are you propped up against pillows?”

Thalia’s eyes become downcast. “Someone tried to catch us, but we escaped.”

Annabeth comes to sit beside Luke and Thalia. “It was a boy about Thalia’s age. I think he was a ninja!”

Thalia blinks a few times. “He tripped me and I got mad of course. My eyes...they turned red again. Well, I ended up shocking the boy and Annabeth and I managed to escape.”

Luke gasps. “Your eyes turned red again?!”

Thalia just nods and turns her head away. “I feel so drained. I...I barely have any energy.”

Annabeth sighs. “Guys, I think that Thalia’s energy must be getting sapped when her eyes turn red. It probably didn’t help that she was running either.”

Thalia leans back against her pillows. “You're probably right Annabeth.”

Luke’s eyes become downcast. “This is all my fault. We should have never tried to break into the last building.”

However, Luke manages a smile. “However, I have a surprise for the two of you. After I got separated from the two of you, I found something that the two of you will like.”

Luke runs out of the room. A few minutes later, he returns with a delicious looking roast bird. Thalia’s eyes become wide at the sight. Annabeth’s eyes become wide as well. Theia sits up and stares at the delectable looking bird.

Annabeth blinks a few times. “Luke, where in Zeus’s name did you get that?” 

Luke just grins. “That is an interesting story. You see, after I got separated from you, I smelled a wonderful aroma coming from the forest. I followed the scent until I reached a campsite. There were two men, sleeping around a campfire. This bird was sitting over the fire, on this spit. I think it is a grouse. There was a pile of grouse feathers nearby.”

Luke grins even more. “So…I snuck into the camp and grabbed the grouse and ran away.”

Thalia narrows her eyes. “You mean to tell us that you stole that bird while it was roasting over a fire?” 

Annabeth narrows her own eyes. “And while it’s owners were sleeping?”

Luke nods. “Pretty sly of me, huh?”

“I’ll say.” Thalia says as she watches Luke walk into the kitchen. 

Luke just grins as he grabs a sheet pan from one of the cupboards. The son of Hermes removes the grouse from the spit and places it on the sheet pan. Luke then turns the oven on.

“It didn’t look completely cooked to me so we’ll let it finish cooking.” Luke says.

After about five minutes, the oven looks as though it is preheated. Luke slips the pan with the partially roasted grouse into the oven. Luke then takes his bag off of his back. Luke just grins as he gathers up Thalia and Annabeth’s bags.

Luke goes over to sit by Thalia and Annabeth. “Why don’t we go through our bags and see what we got?”


Kakashi watches as Hajimu finishes talking to a villager. Sakura and Sasuke are standing next to Kakashi. Naruto is at Hajimu’s house. Naruto is still unconscious. 

Hajimu sighs and turns to Kakashi. “Whoever tried to break into the Ikeda’s store managed to break into three other buildings. The village bakery, the candy shop, and Aburaya's general store. The thieves took only food, no money.”

Sakura and Sasuke look at Kakashi. Kakashi narrows his visible eye. “What kind of food was taken?” 

Hajimu holds up three pieces of paper. “I have lists of all that was taken. The thieves took a lot of different things but I will give you guys the gist of it all.”

Hajimu holds up a list. “I shall start with the bakery. Alright, here it goes. “Bread, cookies, muffins, turnovers, handheld pies, mini-cakes and doughnuts.”

Hajimu looks at Kakashi. “The thieves took the time to put all of the baked goods into boxes.”

Hajimu then looks at another list. “Ok, the candy store is next. Hard candy, chocolate bars, different varieties of chocolates, candied nuts and candied fruit.”

Hajimu sighs. “The thieves actually took the time to put the candies into bags.”

Hajimu holds up another list to read. “Lastly, the Aburaya’s general store. Milk, orange juice, sweet cream, whipped cream, butter, tofu, bottled lemon juice, soda, packaged noodles, bagged nuts, chocolate chips and potato chips.”

A villager, who is standing nearby just scoffs. “Sheesh. Those thieves must be planning a feast!”

Sasuke and Sakura just look at each other with wide eyes. Wow, that is a lot of food. 

Kakashi narrows his eyes. “Milk, orange juice, sweet cream, whipped cream, butter, lemon juice...and tofu. All of those items need to be refrigerated. This means those thieves have a hideout nearby with a working refrigerator.”

All of the sudden, a villager runs up to Kakashi and the others. “Hey mister ninja! Your little friend is awake!”

Kakashi looks at Sasuke and Sakura who both nod in turn. The three of them start walking back to Hajimu’s house. Hajimu follows close behind. When the group reaches the house, they all take off their shoes and enter the living room. 

Inside the living room, Naruto is sitting up on his futon. Reika sets a glass of water next to Naruto. “Drink some water. You might feel better.”

Naruto just picks up the water and takes a big gulp. He then sighs. “Oh man, that really hurt. Being shocked is no fun. No fun at all!”

Kakashi approaches the futon. “Naruto.” 

Naruto looks up. “Oh, hello there, Kakashi sensei.”

Kakashi just sits down beside Naruto. “Naruto, I am glad that you are finally awake, but you need to tell me everything that happened after you ran off. You passed out from severe electric shock. You need to tell me how that happened.”

Naruto’s eyes widen as he remembers his encounter with the thieves. “I saw the thieves. They...they were kids!”

Kakashi is slightly taken aback by this. Sasuke and Sakura both glance at each other with wide eyes. Seriously? Kids carried away that much food?

Kakashi blinks a few times. “Kids? Naruto, are you absolutely certain they were kids?” 

Naruto nods his head. “Yeah! There were two of them.”

“Wait!” Sakura says. “There are three sets of shoe prints outside.”

Sasuke crosses his arms. “The thieves must have split up.”

Naruto narrows his eyes as he tries to think of his encounter with the thieves. “The two that I saw were both girls and they had a dog with them.”

Kakashi rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Ok, so the thieves that you caught up to were both girls and they had a dog. Anything else?”

Naruto nods. “I tripped one of them. Then, the one that I tripped...her hand lit up with blue lightning...and then the lightning shot out of her hand. The next thing I know...I am in pain.”

Kakashi narrows his visible eye. “Ok, so the one that you tripped zapped you with lightning that she shot out of her hand. Then what happened?”

Naruto holds his head down. “They ran away, and I passed out.”

Suddenly, Naruto remembers the eyes of the girl that zapped him. “The girl who zapped me...her eyes changed.”

Kakashi blinks a few times. “Changed? Changed how?”

“The color!” Naruto says. “Her eyes turned red!”

Kakashi’s eyes become wide immediately. Sasuke’s eyes become wide as he takes a few deep breaths.

Naruto then blinks a few times. “I am not sure, but the redness almost reminded me of Kakashi Sensei’s sharingan.”

Sasuke just stands silent. Sakura and Kakashi both look at Sasuke, waiting to see his reaction.

Sasuke’s eyes become wide with shock. Did...did you say...sharingan?” 

Sasuke just grits his teeth as he prepares to run out the door. However, Kakashi grabs his arm. “Hold it! Where do you think you are going?”

Sasuke frowns and pulls his arm away. “I am going to confront that girl!”

Kakashi grabs Sasuke’s arm again. “Sasuke, let’s think about this for a minute. Naruto says that the redness in the girl’s eyes reminded him of sharingan. He isn’t saying that it was sharingan that he saw.”

Sasuke blinks a few times. He starts to relax. He knows that his sensei has a point. 

“That girl is the one who shocked Naruto.” Kakashi reminds Sasuke. “If you confront her, then the same thing could happen to you. Who knows what else that girl is capable of? That girl could have actually electrocuted Naruto.”

Sasuke slowly closes his eyes. He hangs his head down.

Kakashi blinks a few times. “Sasuke, we always need to think before we rush into a dangerous situation. Remember that.”

Sasuke takes a deep breath. “Yes, I know.”

Kakashi looks back at Naruto. “Naruto, I need to tell me everything that you remember about those girls you saw.”


Thalia steps out of the shower and wraps herself with a white fluffy towel. After sorting through their loot, Luke checked on the cooking grouse and discovered that it was done. The son of Hermes put the roasted grouse onto a platter and then put the platter into the fridge. The children shall warm the grouse back up tomorrow and have it for dinner. Afterwards, the children decided to take showers before they went back to bed. Thalia has just finished with hers.

Thalia sighs and rubs herself down with some creamy white lotion. She feels so much better. I haven’t felt so clean in a long time. 

Thalia thinks as she puts her clothing back on. Thalia then chucks the towel into a basket and heads downstairs. Luke and Annabeth are in the living room. Theia sits by Annabeth as she chews happily on a red rubber ball.

Annabeth looks up from the picture book she is looking through. Annabeth’s hair is still a little damp. “You feel better? I know I do.”

Thalia smiles as she nods. “Yeah, that shower was just what I needed.”

Luke just looks up from the picture book that he is looking through. “Yeah, I feel a whole lot better too. I really needed that shower too.” 

Thalia picks up a picture book as she goes to sit down on her futon. Looking through a picture book is probably a good way to pass the time until her hair is completely dry. Then, she shall go to bed.

The daughter of Zeus can only hope that her sleep isn't filled with strange dreams.

Chapter 16: Uchiha dreams IV

Notes:

Hurray, I have this chapter updated and revamped! Just 10 more chapters to go!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The sun slowly rises in the horizon. At Kisame and Itachi’s campsite, Kisame is busy tending to a grouse roasting on a spit above the campfire.

Nearby, Itachi just shifts in his sleep. He tosses and turns on the ground.

...Itachi’s dreamscape…

Itachi stands in a cabin. In the middle of the floor, Sakiko lays propped up against some old pillows and sacks. She breathes heavily and there is sweat running down her face. The bag that the old woman tossed to her lays by her side.

Sakiko just whimpers and grunts. Sakiko’s face scrunches up and the muscles around her stomach and chest seem to contract. Itachi immediately realizes what Sakiko is doing. Sakiko is trying to push her unborn child out of her.

Sakiko then stops pushing and lays back against the pillows. She takes a deep breath. “...Itachi….” Sakiko whispers to herself. 

Sakiko pushes again. She lets out a scream. Soon, the cries of an infant can be heard. Itachi looks between Sakiko’s outstretched legs. A wriggling newborn baby lays between Sakiko’s legs. The baby lays in a pool of amniotic fluid and blood. Sakiko looks between her legs and gasps. She smiles and carefully lifts the newborn up. The baby is a girl. 

Sakiko carefully holds the newborn against her chest with one hand while she opens up the bag. Sakiko, takes out a pair of scissors and cuts the umbilical cord. Sakiko also takes out a towel and begins trying to clean her baby as best she can. 

“So beautiful.” Sakiko says as she puts the bloodied towel down and picks up a soft white blanket.

Sakiko carefully wraps the newborn up in the white blanket. Sakiko just smiles as she holds up her now bundled baby with both hands. The baby stops crying and begins to coo softly within the blanket. The baby’s skin is pale and a tuft of black hair sits on top of the infant’s head. Then, the baby opens her eyes, revealing dark blue almost black irises. Itachi narrows his eyes. The baby’s eyes look, like a mix of his own black irises and Sakiko’s blue irises. 

Could this child really be his?

Sakiko lays back and looks up at the ceiling. There is a hole in the ceiling right above Sakiko. The moon shines brightly into the cabin. Sakiko smiles and looks down at the infant. “Katsuki. Your name shall be Katsuki.”

All of the sudden, Sakiko grimaces and looks between her legs. A large pool of blood sits on the floor between her legs. The umbilical cord still lays between Sakiko’s legs. The placenta has still not come out. Sakiko pushes with all of her might. The placenta still does not come out. More blood gushes out between Sakiko’s legs.

Sakiko lays back against the pillows. She whimpers as she takes deep breaths. Sakiko’s eyes slowly start to become dull. She ends up looking in Itachi's direction.

“Itachi…,” Sakiko whispers to herself. " Itachi, help me. Please help me."

...end of dream…

Itachi slowly opens his eyes. Bright light enters his vision. It is morning. Itachi then sits up and looks around. He sees Kisame sitting on the other side of the fire. A grouse is skewered on a spit above the fire. Kisame then looks up. Itachi’s eyes become wide once he sees that Kisame’s face is covered with small scratches and tiny wounds.

Kisame just blinks as he looks at his partner. “Oh good, you’re awake.”

Itachi narrows his eyes. “Kisame, what happened to your face?”

Kisame lets out a grumble. “I dug up a grouse nest and they all attacked me. They kept pecking my face. I thought they were going to peck me to death!”

Kisame then looks back at the roasting grouse. “However, I did get us a grouse to eat. It’s a big one to.”

Itachi gets up. “I am going to take a walk.”

Kisame just shrugs as he continues to turn the roasting grouse on the spit. “Suit yourself. If you’re not back by the time the grouse is done roasting, I will eat it all myself.”

Itachi doesn’t say anything. He just walks away. The Uchiha closes his eyes. He just can’t get his latest dream out of his head.

All of that blood…, Itachi thinks to himself. Just seeing all of that blood made Itachi think of the night he massacred his clan.

Itachi opens his eyes and looks at his hands. Itachi vividly remembers himself holding the bloody katana with his bloodstained hands.

Itachi shakes his head and keeps on walking. After a few minutes Itachi reaches a stream. Itachi sits down at the water’s edge. The Uchiha looks down at the water. A single tear falls from each eye.


Sasuke and Sakura are laying on their futons. Naruto’s futon is empty as is Kakashi’s. The two of them are out guarding the apple orchard.

Sakura just breathes softly in her sleep. Sasuke on the other hand is tossing and turning. His face scrunches up.

...Sasuke’s dreamscape…

Sasuke is standing in a dark cabin. Sakiko lies in the middle of the room, propped up against some old dusty pillows. The teenage girl lets out a scream. Soon, the cries of an infant fill the cabin. Sasuke looks between Sakiko’s outstretched legs. Between Sakiko’s legs is a newborn infant covered in blood and amniotic fluid. The infant is lying within in a pool of blood and amniotic fluid.

Sasuke just can’t take his eyes off of the blood. The blood reminds him of that night.

Sakiko just smiles as she carefully picks up the bloody newborn. The baby is a girl. A tuft of black hair sits on top of the infant’s head. Sasuke almost scowls. The infant has the same color as Itachi. 

Sakiko rummages through a bag and takes out a pair of scissors. Sakiko then cuts the umbilical cord. Sakiko just blinks as she then takes out a towel and begins cleaning her newborn. Sakiko doesn't take her eyes off of the child for one second.

“So beautiful.” Sakiko says as she puts the bloodied towel down and picks up a soft white blanket.

Sakiko wraps the baby up with the blanket. Sakiko looks up at the ceiling. The moon shines brightly through a hole in the ceiling. Sakiko smiles and looks down at the baby. “Katsuki. Katsuki shall be your name. My beautiful Katsuki.”

All of the sudden, Sakiko grimaces and looks between her legs. A large pool of blood sits between Sakiko’s legs. The umbilical cord also sits between Sakiko’s legs.

Sasuke’s just stares at the blood. Images of his dead relatives start floating around him. Sasuke gasps and holds his head. So much blood. Sasuke can’t take it. He staggers back. 

The umbilical cord sticks out of Sakiko’s vagina. Sakiko gasps and pushes, only to have more blood come out of her. 

Then, Sasuke suddenly remembers something. In class, when he was still at the Academy, Iruka had talked about babies and childbirth. The placenta, which is the connection between a mother and unborn baby, supplies blood to the growing fetus. The placenta is also connected to the mother. If the placenta stays inside the mother after the baby is born, the mother will hemorrhage and bleed to death.

Sasuke blinks a few times as realization sets in. Sakiko...is slowly dying of blood loss. 

Sakiko lays back down against the pillows. Her breathing is becoming hitched and her eyes are becoming dull. More blood gushes out of Sakiko’s body.

“Itachi…,” Sakiko whispers to herself. “Itachi...Itachi."

Sasuke grits his teeth at hearing his hated brother’s name. Sasuke then watches as Sakiko takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Sakiko’s arm gives out and the baby slips out of her arm and rolls softly onto the floor. The bundle now sits at Sasuke’s feet. The baby opens its eyes. Sasuke blinks. The baby’s irises are a dark blue almost black color and the baby has Itachi’s face.

The room goes dark. More images of his dead relatives float around Sasuke’s head. Sasuke screws his eyes shut. When Sasuke opens his eyes, he is in a different room. He is surrounded by the bloodied bodies of his dead relatives. Blood stains the walls. Sasuke gasps. He tries to wake up but he can’t.

The walls around him suddenly disappear. Sasuke and the bodies are now in an open field. Gray clouds line the sky above. Lightning and thunder fills the air with noise and light.

Suddenly the sound of crying infants reaches Sasuke’s ears. Sasuke, looks down. Not one but three babies lay at Sasuke’s feet now. One of the babies is Sakiko’s baby. However, Sasuke has never seen the two other infants before.

One of the unknown infants is a girl with electric blue eyes and black hair. The baby girl is wrapped in a pink blanket. The other unknown infant is a boy with electric blue eyes and blond hair. The baby boy is wrapped in a blue blanket.

Sasuke simply stares at the three infants all together. Despite the differences, the three infants all seem to share similar features. 

Sasuke then looks up and sees the bodies of his parents...and Sakiko lying at Itachi’s feet. Itachi’s eyes blaze red with sharingan. Itachi looks coldly at Sasuke and the three infants. All of the sudden, Itachi disappears and appears right in front of Sasuke. Itachi smirks and holds up his katana.

“Weak…,” Itachi says. “So weak.”

Itachi’s sharingan morphs into mangekyou sharingan.

...end of dream…

“Sasuke!” Sasuke hears a panicked voice say. “Wake up!”

Sasuke opens his eyes to see Sakura hunched over him. Sakura’s eyes are filled with concern.

“Sasuke, are you ok?!” Sakura asks with wide eyes. “You were tossing and turning like crazy! You’re also covered with sweat.”

Sasuke frowns and feels his forehead. His hand is now sticky. Sasuke looks at his arms. Beads of sweat drip down his arms. Sakura is right. He was sweating in his sleep.

Sasuke just shakes his head. “I was just having another dream. Actually, I would call it a nightmare.”

Sakura’s eyes widen almost instantly. “A nightmare!? That’s terrible! Do you want to talk about it?”

Sasuke shakes his head again. “No. You wouldn’t understand it anyway. However, I need to tell Kakashi. Kakashi told me to tell him if I had any more dreams.”

Sasuke looks out the window. It is morning. It is time for Kakashi and Naruto to come back from their patrol. Just then, Kakashi and Naruto walk through the door.

Sakura looks at her sensei. “Kakashi sensei, Sasuke had a nightmare!”

Kakashi just narrows his eyes. “A nightmare you say.”

Kakashi looks at Naruto and Sakura. “Can the two of you leave us alone for a little while?”

Sakura gets up and grabs Naruto’s arm. “Of course.” Sakura says as she starts pulling Naruto along. “Come along Naruto.”

“Hey!” Naruto says with a tired and grouchy voice. “I want to go to sleep!”

Sakura and Naruto exit the room. Kakashi sits down beside Sasuke. “Alright then. Tell me all about it.”


Thalia lays on her futon. Annabeth and Theia both lay on their own futons nearby. However, Luke’s futon is empty.

Thalia just tosses and turns on her futon. Thalia’s face scrunches up.

...Thalia’s dreamscape…

Thalia is standing inside a cabin. A hole in the ceiling reveals a crescent moon above.

Sakiko lays in the middle of the floor, propped up slightly on old pillows. Sakiko’s face scrunches up with pain as she breathes heavily. Sakiko then pushes and lets out a scream. Soon, the cries of an infant fill the cabin.

Thalia looks between Sakiko’s splayed legs. Between Sakiko’s legs is a tiny infant, covered in blood and amniotic fluid. The infant lays in a pool of blood and amniotic fluid.

Sakiko gasps and smiles as she carefully picks up the bloody newborn. The baby is a girl. A tuft of black hair sits on top of the infant’s head.

Sakiko simply takes a pair of small metal scissors out of her bag. Sakiko quickly cuts the umbilical cord and starts cleaning the baby with a towel.

“So beautiful.” Sakiko says as she puts the bloodied towel down.

Sakiko then picks up a soft white blanket. Sakiko wraps the baby up with the blanket. Sakiko looks up at the ceiling. The moon shines brightly through a hole in the ceiling. Sakiko, smiles and looks down at the baby. “Katsuki. Katsuki shall be your name. My beautiful Katsuki.”

All of the sudden, Sakiko grimaces and looks between her legs. A large pool of blood, and the umbilical cord, sits between Sakiko’s legs. Sakiko gasps and pushes, only to have more blood come out of her.

After a few minutes, Sakiko lays back down against the pillows. Blood still gushes out of Sakiko’s vagina. Her breathing is becoming hitched and her eyes are becoming dull.

Thalia’s eyes become wide at the sight of the blood. It looks as though Sakiko might be dying.

“Itachi…,” Sakiko whispers to herself. “Itachi...Itachi.”

Sakiko then takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Sakiko’s arm gives out. The bundle slips out of Sakiko’s arm and rolls softly onto the floor.

The baby cries and opens its eyes. Thalia just stands there frozen with shock. The baby has dark blue eyes. Thalia has seen those eyes before. Thalia staggers back in shock.

The baby has the eyes of Thalia’s mother, Beryl Grace.

...end of dream…

Thalia’s eyes flicker open. Annabeth’s face soon comes into view. Thalia looks around. Annabeth is sitting to her right while Theia is sitting to her left. However, Thalia realizes that Luke isn’t in the room. Thalia almost narrows her eyes. Just where is the son of Hermes at? 

Annabeth looks at Thalia with eyes full of concern. “Thalia, What is wrong?! You were moving around like this again.”

Annabeth mimics the movements that Thalia was making in her sleep. Thalia’s eyes become wide. She was moving like that again?

Eventually, Thalia’s become downcast. “I’m fine. I was just dreaming again.”

Annabeth narrows her eyes. “You had another dream?! Wanna talk about it?”

Thalia just sighs. “Not right now.” Thalia says. Thalia then look over at Luke’s futon and back at Annabeth. “Annabeth, do you know where Luke is?” 

Annabeth shrugs her shoulders. “I dunno. He wasn’t here when I woke up.”

Thalia looks around some more. She crosses her arms. “Hmm, I wonder where he could have gotten to.”

Just then, Luke walks in through the door. He carries a bucket full of fish. “Hey girls. I woke up earlier and realized something. I realized that we needed something to eat for lunch so I went out and caught us some fish.” 

Luke also holds a basket in his other hand. “I also investigated the chicken coop. I think that the chicken coop is so dirty on the inside, the chickens aren’t even laying eggs in there.”

Luke sets the bucket of fish down and grins when he holds up the basket. “However, I decided to check the surrounding area. Look at what I found hidden in the tall grass.”

Luke picks up a small white object from the basket. It is an egg. Annabeth gasps and claps her hands. “Hurray, an egg!”

Luke smiles. “I actually found several eggs. I thought that we could have a nice breakfast today.” 

Luke then begins carrying the bucket of fish and basket of fish into the kitchen. Luke sets the basket and bucket on the counter. 

Annabeth suddenly remembers Thalia’s dream. The daughter of Athena quickly clears her throat. “Luke, Thalia had another dream.” 

Luke narrows his eyes. “She did?”

Thalia just blinks as she lies back down on her futon. “Yeah. I don’t wanna talk about it right now though.”

Luke frowns. “Alright then, you can tell us when you’re ready. Right now though, I need the two of you to help me prepare the fish.”

Thalia nods and gets up from her futon. She starts tidying it. Annabeth quietly tidies her futon as well. Theia yawns and goes over to the door. Luke realizes that Theia needs to go outside. Luke opens the door and lets Theia outside.

However, even as she works, Thalia just can’t get her dream out of her head. She blinks as she gazes out the window. That baby…, Thalia thinks to herself. She had my mother’s eyes. Why?


Sasuke sits on his futon as he finishes telling Kakashi about his nightmare. Kakashi just sits next to the futon as he listens to Sasuke’s words. 

Sasuke sighs. “Then, I woke up.”

Kakashi simply scratches his chin. “Hmm…that is very strange indeed.”

Sasuke just holds his head. “I just wish these dreams would stop! I get more and more confused with each one.”

Just then, Reika comes into the room. “I hate to interrupt, but Sakura told me that Sasuke is having weird dreams. I think I might have a solution.” 

Reika then pulls out a map and opens it up. Reika points to a dot. “This is our village.” 

Reika then points to another dot past a river towards the west. “This dot represents a nearby village. We trade with this village quite often. It is called Saitou village. It was named after the clan that founded it.”

Reika then takes a deep breath. “In the Saitou village, lives a woman. She is kind of like a ‘soothsayer’.”

Kakashi and Sasuke look at each other. Kakashi then raises a brow. “A soothsayer?”

Reika immediately nods. “Yes. She can foresee the future to some extent. She can also see into the past and interpret dreams.”

Kakashi’s eyes become wide. “Interpret dreams?”

Reika nods again. “However, she only speaks in riddles. Her interpretations and predictions are a lot like poetry and songs. Many people barely understand her words. However, I think that Sasuke should pay her a visit.”

Kakashi looks at Sasuke. “What do you think, Sasuke? Are you willing to visit this ‘soothsayer’?”

Sasuke just blinks a few times. “I really don’t know. I never really believed in soothsayers. However, if Reika thinks this ‘soothsayer’ can help me understand my dreams, then I will go visit her.”

Reika takes a deep breath. “I have to say that it will take you a while to get there. The Saitou village is a two hour walk from our village.”

Kakashi nods in understanding and looks at Sasuke. “After breakfast, you shall go to the Saitou village. As team captain, I am giving you a temporary break from this mission.”


Thalia just sighs as she puts the last pieces of fish into a pot. Cooked celery and carrots are already in the pot. Thalia  then covers the fish and vegetables with some water. The fish and vegetables shall slowly simmer in the pot until lunchtime.

Nearby, Luke and Annabeth are busy cleaning the counter. They both look at Thalia. Luke clears his throat. “Alright, fish is in the pot. What should we do now?”

Just then, Annabeth’s stomach rumbles. Luke’s stomach rumbles seconds later. Thalia’s stomach rumbles as well. The three children frown in unison.

Thalia crosses her arms. “Well, my stomach is saying that it is time for breakfast. Why don’t we treat ourselves to a gourmet breakfast?”

Annabeth smiles widely. “Oh yes! A gourmet breakfast sounds really yummy!”

Thalia just smiles. Thalia looks to Luke, who is smiling at the thought of a hearty breakfast. Thalia quickly clears her throat. "Well, why don't we get started then?"

Notes:

Wow! Sasuke's nightmare was pretty weird wasn't it? Now Sasuke, is going to visit a 'soothsayer' to have his dreams interpreted. What will the 'soothsayer' say? Find out in the next chapter. Also, can all of you guess who those infants from Sasuke's dream were? Leave your answers down in the comments section. And please comment. I love feedback.

Chapter 17: The soothsayer's words

Notes:

Hurray, I have this chapter edited and revamped as well! Just nine more chapters to go!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Thalia looks at the spread of food that her, Annabeth and Luke just created. The table is filled with platters and bowls full of food.

One platter contains fried eggs cooked sunny side up which have been sprinkled with salt and pepper. Another platter holds warm blueberry muffins. The children gently warmed up the muffins by placing them in the oven for a few minutes. A third platter holds pan fried potatoes seasoned with herbs, salt and pepper. A bowl holds fruit salad sweetened with a homemade honey glaze. Three glasses full of mixed berry smoothie sit on the table. Glasses of orange juice also sit on the table.

Thalia looks at Luke and Annabeth. Luke and Annabeth simply stare at the food. Luke just grins. “Wow. Look at what we just created.”

Thalia smiles. “I know. It’s awesome.”

Annabeth licks her lips. “What are we waiting for?! Let’s dig in!”

Theia, who is sitting by Annabeth, lets out a bark. Annabeth smiles down at the dog. “Of course we didn’t forget you Theia.” 

Annabeth walks over to the counter and grabs a plate full of unsalted eggs, fruit and unsalted fried potatoes. “Here is your breakfast.” 

Annabeth places the plate of food in front of Theia. Theia sniffs the food and gives a tentative lick. Within minutes, Theia is gobbling down her breakfast. Annabeth, Luke and Thalia sit down at the table and slowly start loading their plates. Luke stuffs a mouthful of fried potatoes into his mouth. He chews for a few minutes and swallows. The son of Hermes smiles. 

“Man, I sure love potatoes.” Luke says as he takes a few more bites.

Annabeth smiles as she swallows the bite of potato in her mouth. “I do too!” 

Thalia takes a bite of her fried eggs. “Hmm, these are the best fried eggs I have ever tasted.”

Annabeth takes a sip of her smoothie. “This smoothie is so delicious.”

Thalia and Luke take sips of their smoothies as well. Luke grins as he wipes his mouth with a napkin. “You’re right. Annabeth. This smoothie is pretty delicious.”

Thalia smiles as she takes another sip of her own smoothie. “I can’t remember the last time I had a smoothie.”

Annabeth takes a bite of a blueberry muffin. She smiles instantly. “I love muffins!”

Luke smiles as well as he takes a bite of his own muffin. “I have to say, these muffins are really good.”

Thalia smiles. “Just think; if we can successfully continue to steal food, hunt and fish and grow our own, we can eat like this everyday. Every meal. No more going hungry.”

Annabeth smiles. “Yay! No more starving!”

Luke just smiles. “Yeah. No more starving and wondering where our next meal is coming from.”

Thalia, Luke, Annabeth and Theia continue to eat their breakfast. Thalia, Luke and Annabeth talk pleasantly with each other as they eat. After Theia is done eating, she grabs her rubber ball and starts chewing happily on it, sitting by Annabeth’s side as she does.


Sasuke approaches the gate of a village. People bustle about in the street. Sasuke lets out a sigh. Here goes nothing. 

The Uchiha enters the village. The villagers stop walking and stare at the young ninja. Soon, a man with dark brown hair and green eyes approaches. The man stares Sasuke down. “State your business, leaf ninja!” 

Sasuke stops walking and stands in front of the man. “I am a leaf ninja from Konohagakure. I was on a mission in a nearby village, the Aoku village. However, I have come seeking guidance.”

The man raises a brow. “You have come seeking guidance?” 

Sasuke takes a deep breath. “The wife of the village leader told me that a ‘soothsayer’ lives in this village, and that she has the power to interpret dreams. For the last four nights, I have been having strange dreams. I was hoping that your soothsayer could interpret my dreams.”

The man visibly relaxes. “I see. So you have come to see lady Aisha then. Well then, I shall show you the way to her cabin. Follow me.”

The man starts walking down the street. Sasuke follows close behind. About ten minutes later, Sasuke and the man reach a staircase going up and through a mountain pass. The man turns to Sasuke.

“This staircase leads to a small valley.” The man says. “It is where lady Aisha lives. Once you get into the valley, all you have to do is follow the dirt path. That will take you to Lady Aisha’s cabin.”

Sasuke bows respectfully. “Thank you very much.”

Sasuke starts up the staircase. Once at the top he is amazed by what he sees. A small waterfall sits at one end of the valley. The valley is lush with vegetation. Sasuke slowly descends the steps and finds a path. As Sasuke walks down the path, he looks around at all of the greenery. Fruit trees of all kinds dot the landscape. Cherry blossom trees add pops of pink to the landscape.

Eventually, Sasuke sees something in the distance. It is a small cabin. A small stream runs by the cabin. A small garden sits off to the side.

Sasuke raises a brow. Hmm, that must be Lady Aisha’s cabin then.  

By the stream sits a cherry blossom tree and underneath the tree, sits an old woman. The old woman has long gray hair braided into a long braid. A crown of colorful flowers sits on top of the woman’s head and the woman wears a dress of many colors. The bottom half of the woman’s dress is earthy brown and grass green. The top half is a mix of sky blue, white and sunny yellow. The woman also wears a cape with many different colored flowers printed on it.

The woman’s eyes are closed. The woman appears to be meditating. Sasuke slowly approaches. The woman’s eyes slowly open. She stares at Sasuke with icy blue eyes.

Sasuke blinks a few times. “Hello there, are you Lady Aisha?”

The old woman nods. “Yes, I am lady Aisha, soothsayer of the Saitou village. I see that you are a leaf ninja. I can presume then that you have heard of my abilities. Tell me, have you come to seek counsel from me?”

Sasuke bows. “Yes, I have. The wife of the Aoku village’s leader, told me to come here.”

Lady Aisha just blinks a few times. “I see. Tell me young Leaf ninja, what is your name?”

Sasuke, blinks. “My name is...Sasuke.” Sasuke says. “Sasuke Uchiha.”

The eyes of Lady Aisha widen instantly. “An Uchiha?! Hmm, I had heard of what happened to the Uchiha clan. I also heard that one child survived the massacre.”

Sasuke just closes his eyes. “Yes, that would be me. I am the younger brother of the man who destroyed them.”

Lady Aisha’s eyes soften. “I see. Your eyes tell me that you hold much grief in your heart. Yet, you also hold much hatred and resentment.”

Lady Aisha closes her eyes. “Tell me, Sasuke Uchiha. What is troubling you?”

Sasuke sighs as he sits down in front of Lady Aisha. “For the past four nights, I have been having strange dreams. Each one is stranger than the last.”

Lady Aisha raises a brow. “Hmm, strange dreams you say? Tell me, young one, all about these strange dreams.”

Sasuke closes his eyes as he thinks back to his first dream. “In my first dream, I was back at my clan’s compound. It was the night of the massacre. It was like I was reliving that night.”

Lady Aisha’s eyes narrow with sadness. “I see. Anything else?”

Sasuke blinks a few times. “I was standing before that man...my brother. He was telling me the last words he ever said to me that night. Then, it all went black. But...then my dream shifted onto another image.”

Lady Aisha narrows her eyes. “Another image?” 

Sasuke nods. “Yes. Itachi, my brother, was in a meadow. He was with a girl I have never seen before. Itachi called the girl Sakiko. Itachi and Sakiko were laying together in the meadow. Then, they both started taking their clothes off until they were naked. Then, my dream ended.”

Lady Aisha’s eyes become a little wide. Then, she closes her eyes for a few minutes. Lady Aisha, then opens her eyes and looks at Sasuke. “Go on. You said that you have had multiple dreams. That is just one dream.”

Sasuke takes a deep breath before continuing.


Thalia and Luke both grab buckets from the pantry. The pot of fish and vegetable soup slowly simmers on the stove. Right now, Thalia and Luke are going to clean out the henhouse. Annabeth shall stay behind and organize the motel some more and keep an eye on the soup.

Thalia and Luke carry their buckets over to the sink and turn on the hot water. Annabeth grabs a bottle of soap for them. “Here is some soap!”

Luke just nods and takes the bottle of soap from Annabeth. “Thanks Annie.”

Luke and Thalia lift their buckets of hot water out of the sink and grab some rags. Thalia then turns to Annabeth. “Alright, Luke and I will be back later.”

Thalia and Luke slowly make their way out of the motel. Annabeth then turns to look at an empty room down an adjacent hallway. Hmm, I wonder how we could use this room.


Sasuke takes a deep breath. He just got done telling Lady Aisha about the nightmare he had last night. “Then, I woke up.”

Lady Aisha closes her eyes. She takes a deep breath. “I see so much. I foresee that you will have more dreams. The reason for your dreams will become clear in due time.”

Lady Aisha takes another deep breath. “Your dreams are rooted in the past, present and future. The answers that I am getting from beyond are not clear cut. You must figure things out yourself. This is what I see.”

Sasuke clenches his hands into fists. “Please, tell me what you see. What do my dreams mean?”

Lady Aisha breathes in very deep. She exhales and closes her eyes. Lady Aisha then puts her hands together and sits up straight as if she is getting ready to meditate. Lady Aisha then begins rambling off phrases. It is almost like a song or poem.

“A red eyed kinslayer,

wanders the earth.

He cannot escape his past.

A past stained with lies and blood.

His fearsome reputation,

is known throughout the nations.”

Sasuke just blinks a few times. Hmm, these words seem to describe his brother perfectly. His brother’s eyes are red when his sharingan is activated and he is a kinslayer . And...his brother’s past is stained with lies and blood. Itachi lied by feigning brotherly love for him and then he stained his hands with blood on the night of the massacre. And due to the massacre, Itachi has surely built up a fearsome reputation, which he shall never be able to escape no matter how much he wanders the world. And...Itachi’s fearsome reputation should be known throughout the ninja nations by now.

Lady Aisha then takes a deep breath. Her eyes remain closed as she speaks in a clear and strong voice.

“A beautiful young maiden.

A rare beauty,

the kinslayer cannot resist.

A night full of passion and deception,

the virgin is deflowered.

Her innocence lost forever.”

Sasuke blinks a few times, trying to decipher the words. He crosses his arms. Could these words be describing Sakiko? Sakiko was certainly an extremely beautiful girl in his dreams and virgin girls are called maidens.

Lady Aisha takes another breath and continues. The woman continues to speak in a clear and strong voice.

“A cold winter night.

A new life enters the world,

While another life fades.

A newborn is left motherless.

The moon above,

is the only witness to the tragedy.”

Sasuke blinks a few times as he thinks back to his nightmare. Sakiko appeared to be dying after she gave birth. These words must be about Sakiko and her child. However, before Sasuke can think more about the words, Lady Aisha continues on.

“An unbelievable act of cruelty.

From one one world to another, 

a child is sent away.

A family is banished from their home,

forced to face an unforgiving world.

A village head holds no remorse for his actions.”

Sasuke blinks a few times. He is very confused. From one world to another? What is that supposed to mean?

Lady Aisha’s eyes remain closed. She takes another deep breath and continues to speak.

“A lonely little girl waits for her happily ever after.

She watches other children find their happily ever afters with jealous eyes. 

She longs for a home of her own.

She longs for love and affection.

The little girl waits and waits for the day to come.

Yet the day never comes.

People look at her with scorn.

The other children call her a freak.

Adults call her a monster.

All because of her unique eyes.

Realization sets in.

No one shall ever want her.

The little girl wallows in her misery.

She is a broken angel.

Sasuke blinks a few times. He is even more confused now. Lonely little girl? happily ever after? What is that supposed to mean?

Lady Aisha, takes another deep breath. She continues on with her strange words.

“The years go by.

A girl becomes a woman.

She strikes out on her own,

into an unforgiving world.

Her beauty hides her scars.

She is a broken soul.”

Sasuke blinks again. He is very confused now. In fact...this is even more confusing than his dreams.

Lady Aisha takes a deep breath. She continues on. Her eyes remain closed.

“The years keep going by.

A woman becomes a starlet.

She should be happy and satisfied.

Yet she isn’t.

Her audience doesn’t see the truth.

Her beauty hides her internal pain.

She just wants the pain to end.

Glass by glass,

bottle by bottle,

the starlet drinks her sorrow away.”

Sasuke blinks again. Starlet? Does Lady Aisha mean 'actress'? What does Lady Aisha mean by 'the starlet drinks her pain away'?

Lady Aisha takes a deep breath and continues.

“In a kingdom above the clouds,

hidden from the eyes of mortals,

an immortal god watches from his throne.

He watches with lust,

yet he cannot act.

He is bound by a sacred oath.

No more affairs with mortal women,

no more fathering half-blood children.”

Sasuke blinks again. Ok, the Uchiha is even more confused now. Kingdom above the clouds? Immortal gods? Sacred oath? Half-blood children? This is not making sense at all.

Lady Aisha takes a deep breath. She continues on with her words. Her eyes are still closed.

“The god cannot contain his lust anymore.

He descends from his kingdom.

The starlet is infatuated.

She finally has love.

She has finally found satisfaction.

But every action has its consequences.”

Sasuke narrows his eyes. The god cannot contain his lust anymore? Consequences? What is that supposed to mean?

Lady Aisha takes another breath and then continues on.

“The middle of winter,

A baby is born.

Half-mortal and half-god.

A sacred oath is broken.

The god leaves.

The starlet must deal with the consequences herself.

She slowly unravels.

The starlet drinks her sorrows away.”

Sasuke narrows his eyes even more. A sacred oath broken?

Lady Aisha sighs and continues on with her words.

“The years go by.

A baby grows into a girl.

She watches her mother unravel. 

The little girl watches with contempt,

As her mother opens another bottle.

The starlet drinks away her pain.

She doesn’t think of the consequences.

The little girl pays for her mother’s actions.”

Sasuke narrows his eyes even more. Lady Aisha takes a deep breath before continuing.

“The god returns.

He cannot contain his lust.

The starlet is elated.

In the heat of summer,

A baby is born.

A sacred oath is broken twice.

The god leaves again.

The starlet’s mind slowly breaks.”

Sasuke's eyes widen. A sacred oath broken twice? Lady Aisha breathes in deep. She continues on. 

“Above the clouds, a goddess seethes with rage.

Her husband has betrayed her yet again.

No more affairs with mortal women, 

her husband had promised her. 

No more half-blood children, 

her husband had promised her.”

Sasuke narrows his eyes. A goddess seethes with rage? No more affairs with mortal women? 

Lady Aisha just breathes in again. She continues on with her strange words.

“The years go by.

A baby boy becomes an adventurous toddler.

He is loved by his sister. 

His mother wallows in her misery.

One fateful day, everything changes.

The little boy disappears, his fate unknown.

His sister wallows in her grief.

His mother forgets about him.” 

Sasuke's eyes become wide. Lady Aisha takes another deep breath. She continues on.

“A girl runs away from her pain.

She leaves her life behind.

She finds comfort in her own kind.

Yet she cannot forget the past.

A past filled with lies and grief.

She hides her tears.”

Sasuke just sits there, trying to decipher the words. Lady Aisha takes a deep breath and continues speaking.

“From one world to another, 

the heir of fire and lightning arrives.

To survive this cruel and unforgiving world, 

she must master her eyes.” 

Sasuke blinks a few times. Lady Aisha finally takes a deep breath and opens her eyes. “That is all I have to say.” Lady Aisha says.

Sasuke holds his head. “Your words were so confusing. You lost me at ‘from one world to another’.”

Lady Aisha blinks a few times. “I foresee that you shall have more dreams in the near future. The answers will become clearer and clearer with each dream you have.”

Sasuke just closes his eyes as he takes in Lady Aisha’s words.


Itachi watches as Kisame munches on a roasted grouse thigh. A pile of bones sits next to Itachi’s feet. The Uchiha just finished off his share of the grouse a few moments ago.

Kisame sighs as he throws the now bare bone to the ground. Kisame then grins as he grabs a canteen from his cloak. Kisame takes two big gulps of water. “Ah! That sure hit the spot.”

Itachi does not say anything. He simply grabs a map from his cloak and starts looking at it. Kisame raises a brow. “Itachi?”

The Uchiha looks up from the map. “Kisame, I was just thinking about where we could settle down and rest for a little while. I am sure that you remember that one abandoned village we often use for shelter.”

Kisame narrows his eyes. “Which village are you talking about?” He crosses his arms. “We use a lot of abandoned villages for shelter.”

Itachi narrows his eyes. “The one with the solar panels and wind turbines.” 

Kisame’s eyes become wide. Then, Kisame grins. “Oh yeah, I like that village. It’s quite cozy.”

Itachi looks back down at the map. “My map tells me that we are close to that village. Perhaps we should use that village for shelter until we are given further assignments from Leader-sama.”

Kisame grins. “I couldn’t agree more. I am tired of sleeping on the ground. Plus we’ll have hot water and electricity. I could use a nice hot shower. Plus there’s food!”

Itachi just folds the map back up and places it inside his cloak. “As soon as the fire is out we shall head to the village.”

Notes:

Can any of you figure out the meaning of lady Aisha's words? Who is she referring to?

Chapter 18: Unwelcome visitors

Notes:

Hurray, I got this chapter edited and revamped! Eight more chapters to go.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The sun is now in it’s noon position. Thalia and Luke enter the motel. They are both grimy and dirty from cleaning the henhouse.

Thalia just sighs. “Phew, I am so glad that is over.” 

Luke sighs as well. “Yeah. But hey, at least the henhouse is all clean. Maybe the chickens will start laying eggs in it.”

Thalia takes a deep breath. “Yeah, it would be nice to just go in there and gather eggs and not have to hunt for them in the grass.”

Just then, Annabeth walks into the entryway with Theia following closely at her heels. The young daughter of Athena just grins widely as she looks up at Thalia and Luke. “Guess what?! I turned the area by the kitchen into a proper living room and I also made us a dedicated bedroom!”

Thalia and Luke look at one another and then back at Annabeth. Luke clears his throat. “You did?”

Annabeth nods. “Yeah. Come and tell me what you think.”

Annabeth quickly leads Thalia and Luke into the living area. Theia the dog follows close behind. Annabeth then points to a futon like object that appears to be able to fold. The object is open and half of it has been leaned against a wall. Luke and Thalia both raise their brows in realization. Annabeth...has made a sofa on the floor. A table with some pillows sits in front of the ‘sofa’. Thalia and Luke then look at some crates stacked up like bookshelves. The crates hold books and games. A basket of toys sits in one corner.

Annabeth just smiles. “I made this area a place for us to relax in.”

Luke raises a brow as he admires the living room. “I have to say, I do like it.” The son of Hermes looks around some more. “Alright then, where is our new dedicated bedroom?”

Annabeth points to the hallway. “Follow me!” 

Thalia, Luke and Theia follow Annabeth down the hallway. Annabeth opens up some screen like doors. The children’s futons are laid out in a large room. The room is set up a lot like the living room. However, instead of a sofa and table, there are futons.

Annabeth just smiles. “What do you think?”

Luke smiles. “I like the idea of a dedicated living room and bedroom. It makes the place feel more like a house.”

“There’s more!” Annabeth says. She gestures over to a wall. “Look at what I found in here.”

Annabeth then shows Thalia and Luke a part of a nearby wall with some screens. Annabeth pulls back a screen to reveal a tunnel. Luke and Thalia look at the tunnel with wide eyes. A secret tunnel?

After a few minutes, Thalia raises a brow and rubs her chin. “It’s a secret tunnel. I wonder what it is for.”

Annabeth just holds her hands up. “I don’t really know what it is for, but I do know that it leads outside. I think it may be a special escape tunnel or something. I also found more around the motel. Remember all the bad men we have encountered. If the world has more bad men like them, then I think the people who used to live here used these tunnels to escape whenever bad men came looking for trouble.”

Luke and Thalia look at one another. Thalia rubs her chin thoughtfully again. “That sounds very plausible. Well, now we know we can escape if something bad happens.”

Annabeth simply puts the screen back over the tunnel. She gets up and leads Luke and Thalia out the bedroom. Annabeth then approaches a table and picks up a bottle full of a viscous substance. The picture on the front of the bottle...is a dog. Thalia and Luke both raise brows at the bottle. What is that stuff?

Annabeth smiles. “I remembered that the building across from here looks like a pet store so I ran across there really quick and grabbed some more stuff for Theia. I found dog shampoo and some dog collars!”

Annabeth reaches into her pocket and pulls out a dog collar which is a beautiful shade of sky blue. “I like this collar. It will match her eyes. I thought we could give Theia a bath and put this collar on her.”

Luke and Thalia both look at one another and then at the dog in question, who is sitting by Annabeth’s legs. It does sound like a good idea. Theia could probably use a bath.

Luke eventually nods his head. “Alright Annie, just let me and Thalia shower first. Then, we’ll eat lunch. After that...we shall give Theia a bath.”

Annabeth claps her hands. “Yay!”


The sun is halfway below the horizon. In the Aoku village, the villagers are wrapping up their work for the day. Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke unload a cart of apples. Thanks to Naruto’s shadow clones, all of the apples have been harvested. Team Seven’s mission is complete. Tomorrow, Team Seven shall head back to the Hidden Leaf Village.

Hajimu inspects the carts of apples. He smiles widely as he looks at the four Hidden Leaf village shinobi. “Excellent work! I can’t thank all of you enough for helping my village.”

Kakashi smiles underneath his mask. “Our pleasure.”

Naruto just sighs. “Man, I’m glad that is over.”

Hajimu looks towards his house. “Reika, is cooking a special dinner as a thank you. It will be ready in about twenty minutes.”

Naruto’s stomach growls. Naruto lets out a grins. “A special dinner you say! Well, count me in!”

Naruto laughs as he runs towards the house. Sakura frowns. “Naruto! Do you always have to run like that?!”

Naruto does not listen to Sakura. Naruto runs into the house. Sakura rolls her eyes, annoyed at Naruto’s antics. Sakura just huffs as she starts walking towards the house. Kakashi looks at Sasuke.

“Let’s talk about what the soothsayer told you when you visited her earlier.” Kakashi, says. “When you returned earlier you said it was like a very long poem that didn’t make any sense. I’m all ears now. I would like to hear what the soothsayer said.”

Sasuke closes his eyes. He returned to the Aoku village right before lunch. Then, after lunch it was a race to get the rest of the apples harvested with Kakashi. Sasuke didn’t have time earlier to discuss his visit with the soothsayer. However, now he does.

“Alright.” Sasuke says. “However...you will probably be just as confused as I was.”


Itachi and Kisame stand up and pour some water onto the ashes of their fire. Kisame grins. “Alright then, let’s get going.” 

Itachi and Kisame prepare to leave the clearing. However, Itachi stops and becomes alert. Kisame quickly takes notice. Kisame raises a brow. “Itachi?”

Suddenly, Itachi turns to Kisame. “Kisame, to your left! Look out!”

Kisame turns just in time to see a kunai come flying out from the trees towards him. Kisame dodges the kunai just in time. Itachi dodges a kunai as well. Just then, eight masked individuals jump out of the trees. 

Itachi narrows his eyes as he looks at the individuals. “Hunter-nin from the hidden Cloud village.”

Kisame grumbles. “I can see that!”

Then, the eight hunter-nin charge at the two Akatsuki members. The fight begins.


The sun is three quarters below the horizon. Inside the motel, Thalia, Annabeth and Luke are working on fixing their dinner. After taking their showers, Luke and Thalia sat down with Annabeth to have lunch. Then, the three children worked on getting Theia bathed.

Theia is laying on the floor just outside the kitchen. The dog's fur is clean and white. All the grime that was on her is gone. She is also wearing a pretty blue collar, which complements her eyes.

Thalia just loads some chopped veggies into a steamer basket. Thalia then sets the steamer basket into a pot with a little water on the bottom. Thalia puts the lid on the pot. Nearby, a pot of potatoes sits on another burner. The motel kitchen happens to have two stoves and ovens. There is plenty of room to cook.

Annabeth fills a pot with some peeled and chopped apples. The apples are from the orchard that the children raided a few days ago. Annabeth then pours a little water into the pot, just enough to keep the apples from sticking to the bottom of the pot while they cook. The children are planning to make applesauce to go with their roasted grouse. Annabeth puts the lid on the pot and turns on the burner.

The children step back to let the food cook. Thalia, Luke and Annabeth look at one another.

After a few moments, Annabeth clears her throat. “What else should we have with the roast grouse?” 

Luke looks at the bread which is sitting in a basket on the counter. “We can have bread with butter and fruit preserves.”

Thalia looks at a small pot. “Why don’t we attempt to make a sauce for the grouse? Maybe with some butter and herbs.”

Annabeth’s eyes become wide. She then claps her hands. “Oh yes, let’s make a sauce!”

Luke and Thalia just smile. This is going to be a grand dinner.


Kakashi and Sasuke just sit outside on the veranda of Hajimu’s house. Kakashi rubs his chin thoughtfully as he thinks of what Sasuke just told him.

Kakashi sighs. “Well, that is very confusing indeed.”

Sasuke sighs and rubs his temples. “I knew that you would not understand it.”

Sasuke gets up and opens the shogi screen. “I am tired. I am going to bed.”

Sasuke soon disappears into the house, leaving Kakashi alone on the veranda. Kakashi looks at the rising moon. He thinks about the last words the soothsayer told Sasuke.

From one world to another, Kakashi thinks. The heir of fire and lightning arrives. To survive this cruel and unforgiving world, she must master her eyes.

Kakashi just blinks as he crosses his arms. From one world to another, the heir of fire and lightning arrives. What is that supposed to mean?

Kakashi eventually just shakes his head. There is time to think more about the words later. Kakashi gets up and heads back inside the house. He figures that him and the rest of team seven should head to bed early tonight. It will be quite a walk to return to Konoha tomorrow.

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth stare at the delicious spread of food that they just made. Annabeth licks her lips. “What are we waiting for?! Let’s eat!”

Theia lets out a bark. Annabeth smiles and grabs a plate of food from the counter. “Of course we didn’t forget you, Theia.” 

Annabeth immediately sets the plate in front of Theia. Theia sniffs and starts to chow down. Annabeth, Luke and Thalia then sit down at the table. Luke sits at the head. Thalia and Annabeth each sit on one side, right next to Luke. Luke smiles and begins cutting some meat off of the grouse and distributing the meat among the children’s plates. Thalia and Annabeth fill the plates with sides.

Luke takes a bite of the grouse. His eyes become wide. He smiles. “So tender and juicy.” 

Thalia eats a bite of grouse too. She smiles as well. “So good. It tastes so much like roasted chicken.”

Annabeth swallows her bite down. “Yeah!”

Luke grabs a saucepan full of fragrant herb and butter sauce. The children made the sauce by making a roux with some flour and butter. Then, once the roux was made, the children added more butter, some garlic, herbs, salt, pepper along with some canned chicken broth that they found in the pantry.

Luke spoons some of the sauce onto his grouse, potatoes and veggies. Luke passes the sauce around so that Thalia and Annabeth can use it. Luke then takes a bite of grouse with the sauce on it.

Luke smiles as he chews and swallows. “This grouse with the sauce is even better.”

Thalia takes a bite of veggies with sauce. “This sauce goes great on vegetables too.”

Annabeth eats some mashed potatoes with the sauce. “The sauce goes great on potatoes too! It’s like eating mashed potatoes with gravy.”

Luke then takes a bite of applesauce. “This applesauce is great too. Nice and sweet, but not too sweet. And that little pinch of cinnamon is fantastic.”

Thalia smiles as she takes a bite of applesauce. “Yeah.”

Annabeth just smiles. “This dinner is the most delicious that I have had in a long time!”

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth look at the table again. Besides the grouse, potatoes, veggies and applesauce there are other dishes as well. There is a bowl full of chopped salad greens and berries. There is a platter full of buttered bread slices slathered with fruit preserves.

Luke smiles to himself as he eats. He looks at Annabeth and Thalia who are both eating happily. As long as the children can successfully continue to steal food, hunt and fish, they will have bread, milk, butter, meat and fish. As long as the chickens continue to produce eggs, the children shall have eggs for breakfast. As long as the gardens continue to produce well, the children shall have an abundance of fruit and vegetables. Luke, Thalia Annabeth and Theia will be able to eat like this every day, for every meal. This is just the life that Luke imagined for himself, Thalia, and Annabeth. They even have a dog. Their very own dog. 

Things are finally turning around for the demigods, and Luke couldn’t be happier.

Luke just picks up his glass full of cherry soda. Thalia and Annabeth also have glasses of soda.

Luke holds up the glass. “Let me propose a toast to our new life. The three of us have had it rough, but now we have a brand new life together. Cheers!”

Thalia and Annabeth smile together. They hold up their glasses as well. “Cheers!” Thalia and Annabeth say together. 

Meanwhile, Theia yawns and lays down beside Annabeth. Theia is already done with her supper. Luke, Thalia and Annabeth just continue to chat pleasantly as they continue to eat their supper. 

Unfortunately, little do Theia and the three young demigods know, they are about to have some unwelcome guests in their little haven.

Very unwelcome guests.


Itachi and Kisame walk down the road. They arrive at a gate leading into a village. Kisame just grins. “Here we are. Hot showers here we come!”

Itachi says nothing as he follows Kisame into the village. After the two Akatsuki members eliminated those hidden cloud village hunter nin, they disposed of the bodies and went on their way. Now, they have arrived at their destination.

Kisame grins some more as he enters the house that he and Itachi prefer to stay in. Kisame turns to Itachi. “I’m gonna head for the showers.”

Itachi merely nods. “I will go across the street, like I usually do.” 

Kisame does not say anything. He closes the door behind him. Itachi simply turns and heads for the house across the street. Itachi slides the door open and turns on the light. The Uchiha closes the door behind him. Itachi sighs as he walks down a hallway and opens a door leading into a bathroom. Itachi then goes to the hallway closet to grab a towel. Itachi opens the closet door up and his eyes widen instantly. 

The closet is completely devoid of towels. There is no shampoo and no conditioner either. Itachi narrows his eyes in confusion.

That is strange…, Itachi thinks to himself. There were towels and bottles of shampoo and conditioner when Kisame and I were here last. Someone else has been here since our last visit. Oh well, I shall find some towels, shampoo and conditioner somewhere else then.

Itachi walks back down the hallway. He is greeted by Kisame who is standing in the entryway. The sharkman has a sour look on his face. Itachi narrows his eyes. Why does his partner look so sour?

Kisame grumbles as he crosses his arms. “Itachi, someone took all of the towels, shampoo and conditioner!”

Itachi narrows his eyes even more. “Hn, that is such a coincidence. All of the towels and bottles of shampoo and conditioner are missing in this house as well.”

Kisame then narrows his own eyes. “Well, I guess we are gonna have to find towels in another house then.” 

However, Itachi looks down the hallway as a thought soon comes to mind. The Uchiha walks down the hallway that leads into the rest of the house. He walks over to some light switches and turns on some lights. 

Kisame, looks at Itachi curiously. “Itachi, what are you doing?” 

Itachi turns to his partner. “I am wondering if anything else is missing from this house. I am gonna have a look around.”

Kisame’s eyes suddenly become wide. It’s as if he just thought of something. Without further ado, Kisame runs past Itachi and down the hallway. Itachi simply follows Kisame. 

Then, before Itachi knows it, he hears an angry yell coming from the kitchen. “WHAT GIVES?! THE FOOD AS WELL?!”

Itachi walks into the kitchen. He finds Kisame standing in a completely empty pantry. The sharkman turns to Itachi with eyes full of anger. “Itachi, someone took all of the food too!”

Itachi narrows his eyes. “Hn, I wonder if the same is true in all of the houses. Come on, let’s go and check things out.”


Luke, Thalia and Annabeth busily put away the freshly washed supper dishes. The children even have leftovers for tomorrow. The leftovers are in the fridge. 

Annabeth sighs as she puts away the last platter. “Supper was so yummy, but cooking is a long and hard chore.”

Thalia sighs. “Yeah it is. However,  it was worth the time and effort in the end.”

Luke nods his head. “Yeah.”

Then, Luke suddenly yawns as he puts away the last pot. “Man, I sure am tired. I think it’s time to call it a night.”

Annabeth yawns as she puts away the last supper plate. “Yeah. I could use some z’s.”

Thalia puts away the last drinking glass. “Yeah. I could use some sleep as well.”

The children look around the kitchen. Well, everything is put away. Time to head to bed then. But first, they all need to go upstairs and brush their teeth. 

Annabeth just happily skips over to the staircase and heads upstairs to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Theia follows close behind. Thalia and Luke both yawn as they follow Theia and Annabeth up the stairs. The best bathroom in the motel is upstairs, which means that the three young demigods have to climb the stairs each night to brush their teeth. The downstairs bathrooms are not big enough to hold all three of them at once. It might seem like a hassle to most people, but it gives the three demigods an excuse to get extra exercise. With no more monsters to fight and no more traveling, Thalia and her friends know they are at risk of becoming fat couch potatoes in the future. So, the three young demigods are getting exercise whenever they can. 

Luke and Thalia enter the bathroom and see that Annabeth is already brushing her teeth. Thalia and Luke grab their toothbrushes and start brushing their teeth as well. Outside in the doorway, Theia just sits there silently, waiting for her human companions to get done. The dog wags her tail a little. 

After a few minutes, the children are done and rinse their mouths out. They head back downstairs with Theia following right behind them. Thalia’s eyes widen when she remembers something. She didn’t discuss her latest dream with Luke and Annabeth.

“Hey you guys, I just remembered something.” Thalia says as her, Luke, Annabeth and Theia reach the bottom of the stairs. “I didn’t discuss my latest dream with you two.” 

Luke’s eyes widen slightly. “Oh yeah, you didn’t. You feel like talking about it now?”

Thalia sighs. “Yeah.”

Luke, Annabeth and Thalia head to the bedroom that Annabeth created for them earlier. Theia follows right behind them. Luke opens up the sliding door and lets Thalia, Annabeth and Theia enter the room. Luke then closes to the door and heads over to his futon. Thalia and Annabeth also head to their respective futons. Theia walks over to her futon and lays down. The dog curls up into a ball and closes her eyes. 

Luke looks at Thalia expectantly. “Alright, the two of us are listening. Tell us about your latest dream.”

Thalia sighs and begins telling her friends of what happened in her last dream.


Itachi just watches as Kisame looks through yet another empty pantry. Kisame grumbles as he turns back to Itachi. “There is still no food! Someone ate it all!”

Itachi narrows his eyes. “We haven’t even looked through half of the village. Let’s keep looking.”

Itachi and Kisame exit the house and stand in the street. Kisame comes up with a brilliant idea. He creates five shadow clones. The shadow clones spread out and start searching houses. Itachi immediately gets the idea and creates four shadow clones of his own. Itachi’s clones spread out and start searching through buildings as well. After ten minutes the two Akatsuki members diffuse their clones. All around the village, pops are heard. 

Kisame looks at Itachi and grumbles. “All of the food is gone. This really sucks.”

Itachi looks at Kisame. “Not only is the food gone but so are the towels, bottles of shampoo and conditioner, bars of soap and cleaning items.”

Itachi then looks to the left and notices that there is a building that he and Kisame haven’t looked through yet. It is an abandoned motel. Itachi looks at Kisame. “We haven’t looked through this building yet. Let’s go check it out.”

Kisame and Itachi approach the motel and open the door. The smell hits them almost immediately. Itachi narrows his eyes. Hmm, it smells like someone has been cooking in this building recently. This means that someone is already staying in this abandoned village. 

Kisame looks at Itachi. “You do smell that right?”

Itachi raises a brow. “Yes, someone has been cooking in here. This means that somebody is already staying in this village.”

Kisame crosses his arms. “Itachi, it’s not just that. I mean what exactly do you smell? What type of food do you smell?” 

Itachi narrows his eyes and sniffs again. His eyes become wide immediately. He now realizes what Kisame is referring to. The smell is roasted bird. 

Roasted grouse to be exact.

After a few moments, Itachi crosses his arms. “I smell roasted grouse.”

Kisame’s eyes light up with renewed rage as he looks inside the motel. “It has to be our stolen grouse! Let’s go check it out.”

Then, out of the corner of his eyes, Itachi spots something. By the step up into the rest of the motel, are three pairs of strange looking shoes. Itachi narrows his eyes. He feels like he should recognize those shoes. However, Itachi just shakes his head and follows Kisame into the lounge area. Itachi then looks around at all of the rearranged furniture. This place has been cleaned and rearranged recently.

Kisame meanwhile, just enters the kitchen and opens the pantry door. The pantry is full of food. Kisame, looks at Itachi with an annoyed look. “Will ya look at that. This is where all of the food went to.”

Kisame then opens the door to the refrigerator. The sharkman takes out a platter with a half eaten grouse on it. Kisame’s eyes light up with even more rage. “This is our stolen grouse, I just know it is.” Kisame then looks around. “This means that the thief has to be in here somewhere. Oh, when I get my hands on that dirty thief, he or she is going to be sorry!”

Itachi just blinks and looks down towards a dog bowl filled with water. Then, Itachi spots a tuft of white fur on the floor. It finally hits him. Those three strange children and their dog. They must be living here. And...they stole his and Kisame’s grouse last night.

Suddenly, a noise comes from down an adjacent hallway. Kisame looks at Itachi and starts down the hallway. Itachi silently follows his partner down the hallway.


Luke and Annabeth both look at Thalia with wide eyes as she finishes explaining her strange dream. The two demigods then glance at each other. 

Thalia then sighs. “Then, I woke up.”

Luke just crosses his arms. “Hmm, the baby had your mother’s eyes?”

Thalia sighs. “Yeah. In fact she looked just like my mother.”

Annabeth blinks. “Remember what we were saying about one of Thalia’s mortal ancestors originating from this world? I was just thinking, maybe that baby is Thalia’s mortal ancestor. That baby must be the link between Thalia and this world.”

Luke’s eyes widen and then narrow. He rubs his chin thoughtfully. “You might be right Annabeth.” 

Thalia closes her eyes as she thinks of Annabeth’s words. If that baby is my mortal ancestor...then that means I—”

However, Thalia does not get to finish her thoughts. Theia sits up and lets out a low growl. Theia then gets up and sits in front of the door. Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all look at one another.

Annabeth soon raises a brow. “What is wrong with Theia?”

Luke’s eyes widen. “Do you hear that?” Luke asks with a whisper. “It sounds like footsteps to me.”

Annabeth and Thalia both listen closely. Their eyes soon widen. They can hear a noise as well. And...Luke is right. The noise does sound like footsteps. 

Annabeth almost whimpers. “Oh gods...,” Annabeth whispers with a frightened voice. “There is someone in the motel.”

Thalia just blinks. The daughter of Zeus knows one thing for sure. She, Luke, Annabeth and Theia have unwelcome guests in their house

Very unwelcome guests.

Luke looks to where his golf club is. Luke silently gets up and retrieves his weapon. The footsteps are coming down the hallway now. The footsteps are headed right for the children’s bedroom. Luke just grimaces as he stands bravely in front of the door. Then, the door suddenly slides open.

Luke yells as he swings his golf club. “WHOEVER YOU ARE, FACE THE WRATH OF MY ALMIGHTY GOLF CLUB!”

Notes:

Oh, a cliffhanger! What do you think will happen in the next chapter?

Chapter 19: Scarred

Notes:

Hurray, I have this chapter edited and revamped as well! Just seven more chapters to go.

Chapter Text

Kisame just yells out in pain as a hard object collides with his head. The missing nin was certainly not expecting to be met with a whack to the head when he opened the door. 

Kisame yells out and looks furiously at the person who whacked him. His eyes become wide immediately. The person who whacked him...is a teenage boy. Realization sets in pretty quickly. He and Itachi had their food stolen by a child. This is absolutely ridiculous. 

Kisame then takes note of the boy’s features. The boy has sandy blond hair, cerulean blue eyes and fair skin. The boy is wearing a white shirt and strange blue pants. Strange white pieces of fabric cover the boy’s feet. The boy is also holding a strange object. Kisame raises a brow. Hmm, this boy is strange.

Luke’s eyes widen when he sees Kisame. “Ah!” Luke yells as he backs away. “Thalia! Annabeth! We are under attack from a mutant sharkman!”

Kisame’s eyes widen as he launches himself forward. “I’ll get you brat! Call me ‘mutant sharkman’ again and I’ll rip your head off!”

Kisame then glances to the left and sees two young girls sitting on futons. One of the girls has spiky black hair, electric blue eyes, pale skin and a light dusting of freckles on her nose and upper cheeks. The other girl is younger and has blonde hair, gray eyes and light skin. Kisame raises a brow at the girl’s clothing. Hmm, these girls are also wearing strange clothing. 

Just who are these brats? 

The eyes of both Thalia and Annabeth are wide as saucers. They certainly didn’t expect a ‘mutant sharkman’ to barge into their bedroom. Thalia’s eyes are especially wide. This sharkman is wearing a coat just like the man from her dreams; Itachi Uchiha. 

Just what is this?

Luke grimaces as he swings his golf club again. He almost hits Kisame in the head. Kisame dodges and grabs Samehada off of his back.

Kisame growls as he prepares to swing his sword. “I’ll chop you to ribbons brat!”

Just then, Kisame hears a vicious growl, followed by a loud bark. Kisame turns to see a white dog lunge at him. The dog bites down hard on Kisame’s left leg. Kisame yells with rage as he tries to shake the dog off his leg.

“You stupid mutt!” Kisame yells as he tries to shake the dog off of his leg. “I’ll chop you to ribbons too!”

With Kisame distracted, Luke swings his golf club again and ends up whacking Kisame in the abdomen. Kisame out gasps in pain and almost falls to his knees. 

Luke grins as he whacks Kisame again. “Yeah! We are really getting him now, Theia!” 

Itachi steps into the room a few moments later. Itachi’s eyes are wide at the spectacle in front of him. It is Luke and Theia the dog. Luke is whacking Kisame with a strange weapon while Theia is viciously attacking Kisame’s legs. Itachi then narrows his eyes as he thinks about Luke’s two female companions. 

Where are Thalia and Annabeth?

Then, two soft gasps come from the left. Itachi looks to see two girls sitting on futons. The Uchiha narrows his eyes. Well, he found Thalia and Annabeth.

Annabeth stares at Itachi with wide eyes. She looks back and forth between Itachi and Thalia. He has the same red eyes as Thalia! 

Thalia’s eyes are wide with shock. Her breathing becomes hitched as she stares at the man in front of her. It...it is the man from her dreams. Itachi Uchiha. I can’t believe it…, Thalia thinks. It is Itachi. What is going on? 

“Itachi!” Kisame yells out. Kisame is on the ground now. “Help me out will ya?!”

Annabeth gasps and stares at Itachi. Then, she looks closer at the man’s features and realization soon hits her like a ton of bricks. It is Itachi Uchiha, the man from Thalia’s dreams. The man is real. Just how is this possible? 

Luke is thinking the same thing as Annabeth. Itachi Uchiha?! What is this? 

Thalia blinks a few times. “Itachi...Uchiha…,” Thalia says. 

Thalia then closes her eyes. Then when she opens them, her eyes are no longer blue. They are red again. 

Annabeth gasps. “Thalia, You’re eyes are red again!”

Itachi on the other hand, just looks at Thalia with eyes full of shock and disbelief. Sharingan…, Itachi thinks. That should be impossible. Madara and I killed all of the other Uchiha’s except for Sasuke. How can this girl have sharingan? How could we have missed one?

Itachi closes his eyes and thinks for a few minutes. Well, it doesn’t matter now. There is only one way that he can remedy the situation. Itachi opens his eyes and reaches into his cloak. 

Itachi...pulls out his katana.


Jarou and his relatives are gathered around the well. His aunt Rina and her cousin Korra are among the group. 

Right now, Rina is standing over the well of water. The woman’s eyes are closed as she holds her hand over the water. After a few minutes, Rina just sighs and retracts her hand. Rina gives her relatives sad looks.

“I have checked the entire US.” Rina says. “I even checked the rest of the world, just in case Thalia and her friends somehow got transported to another country. I...I just cannot find them.”

Rina’s cousin Korra, lets out a sigh. Korra has gray hair and ultramarine blue eyes. “We have searched for many days. And as all of you know, when we cannot find a person for many days, it usually means one thing.”

All of the people who are gathered around the well just look down at their feet. Everyone is deathly silent. They know what Korra is saying. 

Rina sighs. “I am afraid that it is time to face the inevitable truth. Young Thalia and her friends...are dead.”

A man looks at Rina. “Can’t you check the Underworld? If Thalia and her friends are dead, then their souls should be in the underworld.”

Rina immediately looks away. “I know that I should. However...I just can’t bring myself to do so. As all of you know, Hades would torture Thalia’s soul for eternity. I don’t think I could bear the sight of Thalia’s soul being tortured.”

Korra takes a deep breath. “Due to the circumstances, it is highly likely that Thalia is dead. We should suspend our search for the girl, unless we find proof that the girl is alive. This whole process has been exhausting on all of us. I hate to say it...but it is time to move on.”

Rina lets out a sigh. “You are right, Korra. It is time to give up.”

Jarou closes his eyes and turns away. Tsukiko is standing nearby. Her eyes are sad as she watches the exchange between the grieving Arayas.


Luke, Annabeth and Theia sit behind some shrubbery and tall grass and bamboo stalks. Thalia is lying on the ground. Luke has Thalia’s head in his lap. Right now, Thalia is unconscious and a bloody slash is visible on her right side. 

Annabeth’s eyes are watery as she lifts the right side of Thalia’s shirt a little bit. Annabeth  gasps and covers her mouth. Tears start to fill the little girl’s eyes. “That wound is bad. Really bad.”

Luke’s eyes widen as he looks at the wound. “You’re right Annabeth. That wound is definitely going to leave a scar.”

Luke then looks down at Thalia’s face. Thalia’s eyes are closed and her breathing is shallow and haggard. Luke closes his eyes as he thinks of how Thalia received the wound.

Luke watches as Itachi pulls out a long sword. Thalia’s eyes widen and Annabeth gasps. Luke’s eyes widen as well.

Itachi looks straight at Thalia as he approaches her, sword in hand. “I don’t know how you have sharingan…,” Itachi says with a monotone voice. “I thought that I had wiped out my clan years ago. However, you are proof that I didn’t. Now, I can fix my mistake.”

Thalia’s eyes widen with horror as Itachi raises his sword. Annabeth grabs Thalia’s arm and pulls her friend out of the way. Itachi’s sword strikes the floor.

“Thalia, he wants to kill you!” Annabeth cries. “You have to get out of here!”

Luke gives the sharkman another whack with his golf club and rushes over. Luke raises his golf club and tries to strike Itachi. Itachi turns and dodges just in time.

This snaps Thalia out of her shock, prompting Thalia to get up and attempt to make a run for it. Itachi notices Thalia, trying to escape and rushes towards her to stop her. Itachi corners Thalia and swings his sword again. The sword slashes Thalia’s right side. Thalia screams in pain as she falls to the floor.

“THALIA!” Annabeth screams.

Luke’s eyes become wide with absolute rage. Luke swings his golf club again. Luke then runs to stop Itachi from dealing another, probably fatal blow. 

“Itachi!” The sharkman yells. “Behind you!”

Itachi turns, only to get a whack to the head. Itachi just stumbles back and clutches the left side of his head.

Thalia looks up from her bleeding wound and narrows her eyes. Thalia’s hands light up with lightning. “Luke, Annabeth get back!” Thalia says with urgency.

Luke and Annabeth get to the other side of the room. They know what this means. Thalia quickly shoots lightning out of her left hand, which strikes Itachi. Itachi’s body trembles slightly before he falls to the floor, unconscious.

“Itachi!” The sharkman yells.

Thalia grimaces and prepares to shoot electricity at the sharkman as well. Annabeth quickly whistles for Theia, who stops attacking the sharkman and runs over to Annabeth. Thalia shoots electricity at the sharkman, who screams in pain before he falls to the floor. 

Thalia, Luke, Annabeth and Theia just look at the two unconscious men. Annabeth then runs over and takes the cover off of the entrance into the escape tunnel.

“Hurry!” Annabeth says with wide eyes. “Let’s get out of here before they wake up!”

Just then, Itachi’s body stirs slightly. Thalia, Luke and Annabeth gasp. Annabeth crawls into the tunnel with Theia following right behind her. Luke, grabs Thalia’s arm and pulls her over to the tunnel.

“Wait for us!” Luke says as he crawls into the tunnel behind Annabeth and Theia. 

Thalia grimaces and hobbles back to her futon in order to grab her sword. Thalia then crawls in after Luke, leaving bloody handprints behind as she crawls. Once at the end of the tunnel, Luke and Thalia crawl out into open space. Annabeth and Theia are waiting for them. 

Luke just looks around. The group is outside the motel. The forest is a few feet away.

Annabeth points to the forest. “Come on, let’s get out of here!”

Luke nods. “Good thinking! Come on Thalia!” 

Thalia just grimaces as she puts a hand on her bleeding wound. “You don’t have to tell me twice.” 

Without further ado, Luke, Annabeth and Theia run into the forest. Thalia lags behind. Running while holding a hand to one’s side is not an easy task.

Luke opens his eyes and looks up at the sky. After the children ran for a bit, they eventually came to this sheltered spot. Thalia then collapsed and passed out. Luke just looks down at the wound. Thalia probably passed out from blood loss.

Annabeth looks at Luke with her watery eyes. “Luke, that man who did this to Thalia...his name was Itachi. Just like from her dreams.”

Luke sighs. “I know, and did you hear what he said? ‘I thought that I had wiped out my clan years ago. However, you are proof that I didn’t. Now, I can fix my mistake ’.

Annabeth’s eyes become wide. “Yeah…and, when he saw Thalia’s eyes, he looked so surprised and shocked. Then, he said something about Thalia having ‘sharingan’. Maybe that’s what the redness in Thalia’s eyes is supposed to be called. Sharingan .”

Luke nods. “You’re probably right, Annie. And...if Itachi said something about his clan after he saw Thalia’s eyes, then the sharingan must be related to genetics.”

Annabeth blinks a few times. “Maybe the sharingan is a trait that only people related to Itachi have. You know, like a family trait.”

Luke looks down at Thalia and narrows his eyes. “That means Thalia and Itachi are somehow related by blood.”

Annabeth’s eyes well up with more tears. “Itachi said ‘I thought that I had wiped out my clan years ago ’. Itachi must have killed off his entire clan if he said that.” 

Luke sighs. “He tried to kill Thalia all because she is related to him.”

Annabeth sniffles as tears run down her face. She looks at Thalia’s unconscious form. “Luke, I’m scared. What if Thalia doesn’t wake up? After all, she did lose a lot of blood.”

Luke just looks down at Thalia’s face. Annabeth is right. Thalia needs medical help. But...where can they find such help in the middle of the forest?

Just then, Theia starts growling. Luke and Annabeth both blink and look around. The son of Hermes raises a brow as he hears noises coming from the left portion of the forest. Luke and Annabeth look at each other with alarm. What if it is Itachi and his sharkman friend? What will Luke and Annabeth do then?

Luke narrows his eyes and reaches for his golf club. However, after a few minutes, Theia stops growling. The vegetation rustles until four figures appear. Luke and Annabeth’s eyes become wide. 

Two more figures suddenly appear. It is a group of children of varying ages. The oldest looks to be thirteen, while the youngest looks to be no older than nine.

The oldest looking child approaches along with another child. The oldest is a girl of about thirteen and has bright blood red hair along with pine green eyes. The other child is also a girl. The other girl looks to be twelve and has bright orange hair, and blue-green eyes. Luke then looks past the two girls. He can see four other children staring at him and his friends. There is one girl and three boys. The girl looks to be around eleven and has violet hair and teal eyes. The older two boys look to be around ten. One boy has black hair, dark brown eyes, and light olive skin. The other boy has black hair and hazel eyes. The youngest child is a boy with black hair and blue-grey eyes.

The orange haired and the red haired girl simply look at Thalia, Luke, Annabeth and Theia with strange looks. 

Annabeth is the first to speak. “Can you help us? You see, my friends and I were attacked by two mean men wearing black coats and one of them hurt Thalia. Please help—”

However, Annabeth doesn’t finish her sentence. The eyes of both girls widen instantly and they both gasp. The other children gasp as well. The two girls run back to the group of mysterious children and exchange a few inaudible words with them. The children then run away, leaving Luke, Annabeth, Thalia and Theia in the sheltered area.

Annabeth gets up and prepares to run after the children. “Wait!” 

However, the children disappear from sight. Annabeth sighs with defeat and goes back to the sheltered area. Annabeth sits down by Luke and lets out another sigh. “They’re gone. I really thought they would help us.”

Luke blinks and looks down sadly at Thalia. “I did too.”

Luke and Annabeth, sit in the sheltered area. Luke just continues to hold Thalia’s head in his lap.


Itachi holds a cold rag to his head. Kisame sits nearby and holds a cold rag to his own head. The two men woke up to discover that the children and their dog had escaped out a tunnel. They would have followed but the tunnel was not big enough for the two Akatsuki members to crawl through. Besides, the two criminals had to tend to their aching heads.

Kisame grimaces as he feels his head. “Man, whatever it was that kid was holding, it sure did hurt. Man, and that girl, she almost zapped us to death!”

Itachi doesn’t respond. Kisame then remembers a critical detail. “Hey Itachi, that girl who zapped us...she had sharingan.”

Itachi closes his eyes. “Yes. Yes she did, Kisame.”

Kisame blinks a few times. “I don’t get it. You wiped out the entire Uchiha clan. How is that possible?”

“I did wipe out the Uchiha clan except for myself...and my younger brother.” Itachi states with a matter of fact voice. “At least...I thought I did. Apparently...I missed one.”

Itachi then closes his eyes. “It is strange though,” Itachi muses. “I did see those children a few days ago. They were raiding an apple orchard. The same orchard where I got our apples.”

Kisame’s eyes become wide. “Really?”

Itachi closes his eyes. “Those children have such strange names. And the girl with the sharingan, her eye color just seems wrong for an Uchiha. Everyone in my clan had dark eyes. That girl...she had blue eyes.”

Kisame’s eyes suddenly become wide once he remembers Itachi’s dreams. “Wait... your dreams. The girl you had sex with, she had blue eyes!”

Itachi just narrows his eyes. “Sakiko and that girl don’t have the exact same shade of blue eyes. Besides, if I had fathered a child with Sakiko, then the child would be no more than four right now. That girl had to be at least twelve.”

Kisame narrows his eyes and rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Hmm, I guess you are right.”

Itachi then looks back towards the room that the children were in. Itachi gets up and walks down the hallway towards the room. Itachi returns a minute later with a backpack. Thalia’s backpack to be exact. 

Kisame narrows his eyes when he sees the backpack. “Itachi, where did that bag come from?”

Itachi sets the bag down on the table. “I remember that the children were carrying backpacks when I first saw them in that orchard. This backpack belongs to the girl with the sharingan. I am going to look through it, see if I can find any clues.”

Itachi unzips the bag and looks inside. He begins taking stuff out. Itachi takes out a few pairs of clothes and some packages in foil wrapper. Itachi and Kisame look at the packages. There is strange writing on the foil. 

Kisame grumbles as he tries to read the strange writing. “This writing is strange.”

Itachi then takes out an old toothbrush, some first aid supplies and a can of soda. The writing on the can of soda is strange as well. Finally, Itachi pulls the last thing out of the bag. It is a little stuffed eagle plush. 

Kisame narrows his eyes at the sight of the eagle plush. “Hmm, girl seems to be a little old for stuffed animals.”

Itachi then looks to see compartments within the bag, with zippers. “There are compartments within the bag.”

Itachi unzips every compartment, mostly finding useless things. Then, Itachi unzips the biggest compartment. There is a piece of paper inside the compartment. Itachi takes out the piece of paper. It is a picture. Itachi looks at the picture and his eyes widen instantly.

Kisame raises a brow. “Itachi, what is it?”

Itachi lays the picture out on the table for Kisame to see. Kisame’s eyes become wide as well. The picture is of the girl with the sharingan, just younger. But...that isn’t all. There is a little boy in the picture as well.

Itachi and Kisame both examine the picture carefully. The girl looks to be at least eight years old. The boy can’t be more than two at the most. The boy and girl both share the same electric blue eyes. However, the boy has blond hair, unlike the black haired girl. Yet, despite the obvious differences, it is clear that the children are siblings. 

Itachi narrows his eyes as he studies the little boy’s features. Electric blue eyes…, Itachi thinks to himself. Blond hair. Sakiko’s blonde hair.

Itachi sets the picture down. “Hmm, it appears that the girl has a younger brother.”

Kisame looks at the picture some more. “Or maybe had a younger brother. There wasn’t a little boy with those three brats. The fact that the girl is carrying this stuff around probably means that something must have happened to her brother. This eagle must be sentimental to her. Probably one of the last things left of her little brother.”

Itachi looks at the picture again. The boy looks even less like an Uchiha. And...Itachi doesn’t recognize the background at all. This picture wasn’t taken in the Uchiha clan compound...that’s for sure.

Itachi then unzips the last compartment. Itachi fishes out two golden coins. Kisame’s eyes widen when he sees the coins. “Coins?” 

Itachi looks at the coins. The coins have strange symbols stamped on them. “These coins don’t look like any coins that I have ever seen before.”

Kisame looks at the coins. “Those coins definitely have some gold in them. I am going to run a couple of tests. Hold on.”

Kisame goes over to the kitchen sink and fills two glasses with water. Kisame brings the glasses over to the table. Kisame then rubs each coin vigorously. Kisame looks at his hand. “Pure gold doesn’t leave any discoloration, so this is very intriguing.”

Kisame then drops a coin into each glass of water. Both coins sink immediately to the bottoms of the glasses. Kisame’s eyes become wide. “Pure gold sinks. Very interesting.”

Kisame then goes over and dumps the glasses of water into the sink. Kisame fishes the coins out of the sink and dries them with a towel. Kisame fishes a piece of unglazed ceramic out of his cloak and rubs each coin against the ceramic. Two golden streaks are now on the ceramic piece. Kisame then fishes out a magnet and places the coins on the table. Kisame holds the magnet above each coin. Neither coin budges. 

After a few moments, Kisame’s eyes become wide in realization.“Holy Kami, these coins are pure gold!” 

Itachi narrows his eyes. “Pure gold you say. That is very strange indeed. What is a girl no older than twelve doing with pure gold coins?”

Kisame shrugs his shoulders. “Beats me.”

Itachi closes his eyes. Something is just not adding up. Itachi then looks back towards the hallway. Maybe he will find some more answers by looking in the bags belonging to Luke and Annabeth. Itachi gets up and walks towards the hallway. Itachi disappears down the hallway and returns five minutes later. The Uchiha is holding Luke and Annabeth’s bags in his hands. 

Itachi just sets the bags down as he looks at Kisame. “These bags belong to the two other children. We may find more answers by looking through these.”

Kisame just nods. He picks up the bigger of the two bags. “Good idea.” 

Itachi opens the smaller bag. He takes out a couple pairs of clothes along with some food and water bottles. Itachi then fishes out a bottle filled with a purplish fluid. Itachi sniffs the bottle. “Perfume.” 

Itachi sets the bottle down and continues to pull items out of the bag. He pulls out a few books with strange writing on them. The Uchiha raises a brow. “Hn, books.”

One by one, Itachi opens up the books and looks through them. After a few minutes, the Uchiha sighs and closes the books back up. “I can’t read the writing. It almost looks like another language.”

Meanwhile, Kisame fishes out a folded paper from the bag he is looking through. “This kind of looks like a map.”

Kisame opens up the map and looks at it. Kisame looks at Itachi with a very confused look. “There is something weird about this map. It’s unlike any map I have ever seen. Look at it!”

Kisame sets the map down in front of Itachi, who studies it for himself. Itachi blinks as he looks at the map. The map has a landmass that Itachi doesn’t recognize. The landmass is divided into many sections, which don’t look like any countries that Itachi recognizes.

Itachi looks up from the map and keeps going through the bag he is holding. Itachi takes out a stuffed owl. Then, Itachi takes out a knife. Kisame also takes out a knife from the bag he is holding. Then, Kisame fishes out two golden coins. Kisame’s eyes become wide. Itachi also fishes out two coins. 

Kisame quickly performs the same tests that he performed on the first two coins. The four other coins are also pure gold, shocking both missing nin. Kisame then grins a toothy grin. “We have six pure gold coins! Kakuzu is absolutely going to love this!”

Kisame fishes a bag out of his cloak and simply places the coins into it. Itachi looks at the picture of the girl and little blond haired boy. Itachi then places the picture into a pocket in his cloak. After thinking more about it, Itachi decides to do the same with the stuffed eagle.


Luke just blinks as he looks down at Thalia. Annabeth sniffles next to him. Theia is lying nearby. The dog whines as she lays her head on Thalia's legs. 

After a few moments, Luke smooths Thalia’s hair. Thalia doesn’t even stir. Luke blinks a few times. “Please Thalia, you have to be strong.”

Annabeth sniffles some more and looks away. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

Suddenly, a noise comes from the left side of the forest. Luke and Annabeth both look up. Theia sits up alert as ever, but she doesn’t growl. The vegetation rustles until two figures come into view. It is the girl with the orange hair and the girl with the red hair. The other four children come into view as well. 

Luke narrows his eyes. The children from earlier have returned. Why?

The two ten year old boys carry something into the sheltered area. Luke’s eyes widen. It is a stretcher! The mysterious children are going to help them after all.

The orange haired girl walks up to them. “If your friend has any chance of surviving, you need to listen to us and do as we say.”

Luke and Annabeth look at one another and then back at the girl. Luke clears his throat. “Ok.”

The red haired girl gestures towards the stretcher. “I need one of you to help me get her on the stretcher.” 

Luke immediately puts his hands underneath Thalia’s upper back. The red haired puts her hands under Thalia’s legs. Together, Luke and the red haired girl lift Thalia up and gently lay her on the stretcher. The orange haired girl, who is crouched next to the stretcher, buckles Thalia to the stretcher. Thalia’s eyes flicker a little. 

Luke strokes Thalia’s head. “It’s gonna be alright, Thalia. We are gonna get you some help.”

The red haired girl looks at Luke. “I need you to grab one end of the stretcher while I grab another. Together, we will lift the stretcher.”

Luke notices wooden handles at the head of the stretcher. Luke immediately grabs them. The red haired girl then turns her back towards the other end of the stretcher. The girl reaches behind her and grabs the tail end handles. Together, Luke and the red haired girl lift the stretcher off of the ground. The two ten year old boys grab two side handles.

The orange haired girl prepares to lead the way out of the sheltered area. “Alright now, run quickly but not too fast to where someone risks dropping the stretcher. There is no time to lose!”

Luke, the red haired girl and two boys run quickly, carrying Thalia and the stretcher as they do. The orange haired girl, violet haired girl and youngest boy lead the way through the forest. Annabeth and Theia run behind Luke and the stretcher. Annabeth carries Luke’s golf club and Thalia’s sword.

Chapter 20: Terrible truths

Notes:

Hurray, this chapter is edited and revamped!

Chapter Text

Itachi just blinks as he watches Kisame get prepared food out from the fridge. The half eaten grouse sits on a white platter nearby. Itachi then narrows his eyes as he watches Kisame line up the food on the countertop. What is his partner doing?

Kisame grabs himself a clean plate. He just grumbles as he looks around the kitchen. “Let’s see, all I need is a microwave now.” The sharkman looks around some more and frowns. “Hmm, it appears that there isn’t a microwave here. Darn it, I will have to heat this stuff on the stove.”  

Itachi clears his throat. “Kisame, what are you doing?”

Kisame turns to Itachi. “I am starving so I’m gonna have a feast! What does it look like I am doing?!” 

Kisame then turns back to the half-eaten roasted grouse. “Besides, this was our grouse to begin with. Those kids stole from us so I’m gonna steal from them...by eating their food.”

Itachi just blinks as he watches Kisame turn the burners on the stove. The Uchiha then glances back towards the room where the children were. He narrows his eyes. That tunnel has to lead out somewhere. He then looks at the backdoor. If I can find the exit, I can find where they ran off to.

After a few moments of careful consideration, Itachi gets up. “I am going to see if I can find the exit to that tunnel and find those kids. I still want to know why that girl has sharingan.”

Kisame just shrugs as he sets the pots of food on the stove. He turns on the oven in order to warm up the grouse. “Suit yourself.”

Itachi doesn’t respond and simply walks towards the back door. The Uchiha simply slides open the door and exits the motel. Itachi examines the outside of the building. A forest lies towards the back of the motel. The builders of this motel would most likely build the escape tunnel’s exit towards the forest. 

After a few minutes of examining the area, Itachi spots little red blotches on the ground. 

It’s blood. 

Itachi narrows his eyes as remembers how he injured that girl with his katana. That wound I gave the girl must be bleeding pretty bad. Well, at least I have a trail to follow now.

Itachi takes a deep breath and starts following the blood trail into the forest.


Jarou watches as Tsukiko and Rina prepare to announce Thalia’s assumed fate and that all searching for her will be discontinued to the rest of the village. All of the adult villagers and some of the older adolescents are gathered around an earthen mound in the center of the village. The earthen mound is set just below a ridge with a wisteria tree. 

Jarou sighs again as he watches Tsukiko and Rina climb up onto the earthen mound. The two women look at the villagers gathered around them. 

After a few moments, Tsukiko clears her throat. “My fellow villagers, It is with heavy heart that I—”

However, Tsukiko does not finish her sentence. Loud dog barking comes from the entrance. Jarou, Rina, Tsukiko and the other villagers look in the direction of the village entrance. Jarou raises a brow. The Moriyamas have guard dogs who bark when there is danger nearby. What has gotten into the dogs?

After a few minutes, a guard runs up to the group. The guard looks at Tsukiko with wide eyes. “Lady Tsukiko, we have an unexpected visitor. He says that he is a Sannin from the Hidden Leaf Village!”

Tsukiko raises a brow as her fellow villagers gasp and start whispering amongst themselves. “Silence!” Tsukiko demands. 

The villagers immediately go silent. Tsukiko then takes a deep breath as she turns back to the guard. “Bring our visitor to me.” 

The guard bows. “Yes Lady Tsukiko, at once!” The guard says. 

The guard runs off and returns a few minutes later. The guard is escorting a strange man into the village center. Jarou frowns as he studies the strange man. The strange man has long white hair which has been tied back into a ponytail, dark eyes, fair skin and a wart on the left side of his nose. The stranger wears green clothing, a red haori with yellow circles on each side and red wooden sandals. Underneath the clothing Jarou can see mesh armor sticking out. The strange man also wears a horned headband which has the kanji for ‘oil’, engraved in the middle of it. Jarou blinks and rubs his chin. 

Just who is this man and why has he come to the Moriyama village?

Tsukiko immediately clears her throat. “State your name and purpose.” 

The strange man bows. “My name is Jiraiya and I am a legendary Sannin from the Hidden Leaf Village. I assume that you are the village leader then?”

Tsukiko nods. “That is correct. I am Tsukiko Moriyama; head of the Moriyama clan and village. Now you didn’t state your purpose for being here.”

Jiraiya bows respectfully again. “I just want to talk. I have heard that you have members of the Araya clan residing in your village. I would like to speak with them.”

Everyone stands silent. People just look back and forth between each other. Just why does Jiraiya wish to speak with the Arayas?

After a few moments, Rina steps forward. “My name is Rina Araya and I am the current head of this portion of the Araya clan. What business do you have with my clan members and I?”

Jiraiya blinks a few times. “I received information about your clan through an informant of mine. The informant said that the Araya clan had information regarding the Akatsuki, and more particularly...Itachi Uchiha.”

Everyone just stands silent. They all look at one another again.

“I went to your clan’s other village and when I asked about the Akatsuki, they refused to talk to me.” Jiraiya says as he continues to explain. “However, someone did mention that a group of Araya’s had been exiled from that village years ago, and that I should go look for them and ask them about it. When I began searching for all of you, I was in a nearby village and a man said that a small group of Araya’s resided here in the Moriyama village. So...here I am.”

Jarou and Rina look at one another. Rina sighs and turns away. Jarou does the same.

“Please…,” Rina says. “We don’t want to talk about it. Especially after what he did.”

Jiraiya’s eyes narrow. “What do you mean by that? What did Itachi Uchiha do to your village?”

Jarou blinks a few times. It is obvious that Jiraiya is not going to leave until he gets answers. Besides, Jarou and his family have been keeping their grief bottled up all these years. Perhaps just letting it all out will help. Jarou looks at Rina. Rina just gives her nephew a look. Rina understands what Jarou is thinking.

Rina eventually sighs as she looks back at Jiraiya. “Please understand what we are about to tell you. It is a long and complicated tale.”

Jiraiya narrows his eyes. “I’m listening. My ears are wide open.”


Bright light enters Thalia’s vision as her eyes slowly flutter open. Where am I? Thalia thinks to herself as she slowly turns her head to look at her surroundings. She is in a bright room.

Suddenly, Luke and Annabeth’s forms come into view. Theia lays next to Annabeth’s from. The dog just cocks her head as she looks at Thalia.

Annabeth just cries with joy and hugs Thalia. “You’re awake! Luke and I were so worried about you.” 

Thalia looks around suspiciously. “Where are we? How did I get here?”

Luke frowns. “You don’t remember being carried on the stretcher?”

Thalia blinks as she suddenly remembers. “Stretcher…those kids...they helped you carry me on the stretcher.”

Luke nods. “Yes.”

Suddenly, a woman with light brown hair and blue eyes comes into view. The woman smiles when she sees that Thalia is awake. Luke and Annabeth both smile when they see the woman. Annabeth then turns back to Thalia and simply gestures to the woman as she speaks. 

“Thalia, this is Naiya. She is the one who healed you.”

Luke smiles. “In fact, she saved your life.” The son of Hermes says.

The woman, Naiya, sits down beside Thalia’s futon. “Well dear, I managed to stop the bleeding from your wound. I healed the wound as best as I could. However, I’m afraid that you shall always have a scar on that side.”

Thalia just blinks when she remembers getting slashed on her right side. Thalia looks to see that she is wearing a simple white shirt. Thalia slowly  lifts the shirt and sees that her waist is wrapped up in bandages. 

Just then, an older man comes into the room. The man has graying black hair, blue-grey eyes and light skin which is just starting to show wrinkles. The man is wearing simple gray clothing and his left arm is in a sling.

The man sits down by Naiya. Luke then gestures towards the man as he speaks. “Hey Thalia, this is Masaru. He apparently knows who you are. It’s a really interesting story actually.”

The man, Masaru, sighs and looks at Thalia. “Your friends told me what happened to you and I am afraid that I know who tried to kill you. It is a very long and complicated story...so please listen closely.”

Masaru takes a deep breath. “I know all about you, Thalia Grace.”

Thalia just blinks when she hears her last name. How does this man know her last name? Luke and Annabeth both blink and raise their brows.

Eventually, Luke crosses his arms. “ Grace ? That is your last name? Why haven’t you mentioned it before?”

Thalia grimaces and looks away. “It is my mother’s last name. The mother that I never got along with.”

Luke’s eyes become wide and he looks away for a minute. “Oh, I get it.”

Thalia looks at Masaru. “Just how do you know about me?”

Masaru sighs. “Luke and Annabeth mentioned that the three of you are from another world and that you were sent here by being sucked into a ‘blue tornado’. That blue tornado was what you could call a dimensional rift . So yes...the three of you are in another world. And yes, you are in a world of ninjas. You see...certain people in this world are able to manipulate an energy source called chakra. By manipulating chakra...one can produce many different abilities. These abilities are known as jutsu.”

Thalia blinks a few times. “Well, that certainly explains some of the words my friends and I have been hearing from people here.” 

Masaru blinks and takes a deep breath. “Some jutsu’s can only be performed by individuals who hail from certain clans. These jutsus are known as ‘kekkei genkai’.”

Thalia blinks. She then raises a brow at the strange phrase. “Kekkei genkai?

Masaru nods. “Yes. You see...I come from a kekkei genkai bearing clan. My full name is Masaru Araya. The Araya clan’s kekkei genkai is to see into other dimensions, create dimensional rifts and share memories. I have been watching over you since you were born.”

Thalia blinks a few times. “Why...why have you been watching over me?”

Masaru puts a hand on Thalia’s shoulder. “Because...you are an Araya...just like me. Your mother was born into the Araya clan and then sent to your world.”

Thalia blinks when she suddenly remembers her dreams. “I have been having weird dreams. In my dreams, I keep seeing this girl named Sakiko.”

Masaru nods again. “Yes, your grandmother was named Sakiko Araya. She died giving birth to your mother.”

Thalia just blinks a few times. “So...my dreams are rooted in truth then?” Thalia asks. 

Suddenly, Thalia’s eyes become wide. “The man who attacked me and gave me this scar, he was in my dreams too. He slept with my grandmother . Does...does that mean…—”

Thalia can’t finish her sentence. Her eyes are wide with absolute shock and horror at the revelation she has just made. The man who almost killed her...is her own grandfather.

“The man who tried to kill me...is my grandfather.” Thalia whispers. “My own grandfather almost killed me.”

Masaru nods sadly. “Unfortunately yes. Itachi Uchiha...is your grandfather.”

Luke and Annabeth both reach over and put comforting hands on Thalia’s shoulder. Luke is the first to clear his throat. “It’s ok. You’re safe now.”

Annabeth just squeezes Thalia’s shoulder. “Yeah, we got away and you’re alive.”

After a few moments, Thalia blinks and looks at Masaru. “But...how is he my grandfather? He looked so young.”

Masaru closes his eyes. “That is because time does not flow the same in every world. Your mother was born in this world four year ago. However, thirty-six years passed in your world. And your grandmother and grandfather were only fourteen when your mother was born.”

Thalia blinks a few times as she tries to process this. “Ok, I guess that makes sense. But...I still don’t understand why my grandfather tried to kill me.”

Masaru sighs. “I truly don’t think that your grandfather knows exactly how you are connected to him. Luke and Annabeth said that Itachi tried to kill you when your eyes turned red. You see, your eyes turning red is a kekkei genkai known as ‘sharingan’. The sharingan is the kekkei genkai of the Uchiha clan...your grandfather’s clan. In fact, the sharingan is one of the most powerful ocular jutsus known to man. That is why the Uchiha clan is famous throughout the ninja nations.”

Annabeth blinks. “In Thalia’s dreams she said that someone called Itachi a ‘kinslayer’. Is this true?”

Masaru nods his head sadly. “Yes. It apparently happened one month before Itachi and Sakiko met. You see, Itachi was what you could call a prodigy. He was the head of the police force of his village, the anbu black ops when he was only thirteen. However, Itachi wasn't the head of the anbu for very long.”

Masaru, sighs. “No one knows exactly why he did it. According to various sources, one night Itachi returned home from a mission and for reasons unknown...he just started killing off his fellow clan members. By the end of the night only two Uchiha remained. Itachi and his younger brother.”

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all gasp. Luke then crosses his arms. “Thalia’s grandfather killed off his entire clan?! That is seriously messed up.”

Masaru nods in agreement. “Yes...it is.”

Thalia just hangs her head down. Her grandfather, the one who tried to kill her, is a psychotic mass murderer and ‘kinslayer’. 

What could be worse? 

However, after a few tense moments, Luke puts a comforting hand on Thalia’s shoulder. “It’s ok, Thalia. You don’t need your grandfather. It is obvious that he doesn’t care about family.”

Thalia looks up at Luke. “I guess you are right. Besides, he almost killed me.”

Masaru sighs again. “Unfortunately, the news of what happened to the Uchiha clan hadn’t reached my village when Itachi and Sakiko met. You see, when Itachi and Sakiko met for the first time, Sakiko was instantly infatuated with Itachi. There was nothing anyone could do to persuade Sakiko that Itachi was trouble. After Itachi left our village, Sakiko, was devastated. Then, she found out she was pregnant. Soon after, news of Itachi’s crime reached our village.”

Thalia closes her eyes. “My poor grandmother. To be so young and pregnant...and with a mass murderer’s child. That must have been awful.”

Masaru sighs sadly. “There is something that you need to know about your grandmother’s family. Sakiko’s family and close relatives were shunned by the rest of the village because of your great-great grandmother, Sakiko’s grandmother. Sakiko’s grandmother, Akira Araya, was what you could call the village ‘whore’. She would have sex with men like there was no tomorrow. This caused her to be shunned by the village. Her children and grandchildren were subsequently shunned as well. Sakiko’s pregnancy and the revelation of Itachi’s crime resulted in Sakiko being shunned even more.”

Thalia closes her eyes as she thinks back to her dreams. “In my dreams...my grandmother was banished when she went into labor.”

Masaru nods sadly. “Yes. Your grandmother was banished by our village leader, Toma Araya. Subsequently, Sakiko died of blood loss because there was no one to assist her. Sakiko’s uncle found her body and Sakiko’s newborn. Then, four days later, Toma sent your mother to your birth world through a dimensional rift. After that Sakiko’s family was banished from the Araya village...forever.”

Thalia just gasps. She then balls her hands into fists and grits her teeth. Luke looks at Masaru. The son of Hermes crosses his arms. “Man, Toma must have been one messed up guy to do that. Banishing Thalia’s relatives like that. I just wish I could pound the guy to a pulp!”

Masaru sighs. “Let’s just say that Toma hated Sakiko’s family. Toma’s father, the former Araya village leader, frequently cheated on Toma’s mother...with Akira. It is because of this that Toma hated Akira, Akira’s children and grandchildren...and even close relatives.”

Thalia blinks a few times. “It still isn’t fair. My grandmother and her family didn’t deserve that treatment.”

Masaru nods. “It is terrible indeed. I regret that I gave into my fear of Toma and did not try to vouch for Sakiko’s family. However, I eventually saw the light and fled the village with my grandsons. Toma is just a terrible and cruel village leader overall.”

Thalia closes her eyes. Masaru then takes a deep breath. “After your mother was sent to your world, she was picked up by social services and placed into a foster home. She eventually grew up and had you...and your brother.”

Luke and Annabeth gasp and look at Thalia. Luke clears his throat. “Brother? What is Masaru talking about?”

Thalia sighs. She figures that she better open up to Luke and Thalia about her past. “I was born to an actress named Beryl Grace and Zeus, the king of the gods. My mother was an alcoholic who was very selfish and emotionally unstable. She was attention seeking. She would do anything to end up in the tabloids, often pulling stupid stunts as a result. She even went as far as to dye her hair blonde in order to attract more of an audience.”

Luke just scoffs. “Sheesh, that’s terrible.”

Thalia sighs and looks away. “After my birth, my father left, as all gods do after the birth of their half-mortal children. Well, my mother became even more unstable. She would often physically abuse me when she got drunk. My mother blamed my birth for my father leaving. She would often tell me that ‘I had ruined her life’.”

Luke gasps and squeezes Thalia’s shoulder. “Thalia, that is horrible. My mom may have been crazy but she never told me that I had ruined her life .”

Thalia takes a deep breath. “A few months before my six birthday my father returned. He and my mother resumed their relationship. That following year, my little brother was born.”

Luke’s eyes become wide immediately. Annabeth’s are also wide. 

“Zeus broke the great oath of the big three twice?!” Luke cries. “That is seriously not good.” 

Thalia nods. “Yes. My father told my mother to name my new little brother Jason, even though my mother wasn’t fond of the name. My father told my mother that Hera, his immortal wife, had been enraged by his affair with my mother and my subsequent birth. My father knew that Hera would be even more enraged with my brother’s birth. So...my father thought that naming his new half-blood son after Hera’s favorite mortal hero would appease her. It didn’t.”

Luke and Annabeth look at one another. Luke narrows his eyes. “What happened?” 

Thalia sighs. “My father left and my mother unraveled and returned to her old ways. Even though I was only six I became very proficient at taking care of Jason. I practically raised him.”

Thalia smiles as she remembers Jason. “Jason was so cute. He had electric blue eyes, just like me, and a little head of blond hair. He was so sweet, yet he could be so mischievous at the same time. A week after Jason turned two he tried to eat a stapler and almost stapled his lips together. I got to him just in time, but he ended up with a little scar on his upper lip.”

Thalia then lets out a sigh. “However, things weren’t exactly peaceful. My mother was unstable and monsters kept attacking us. My mother became paranoid and kept saying that Hera was after us.”

Thalia closes her eyes as she remembers the worst day of her life. “One day when I was eight and Jason two, my mother unexpectedly announced that we were going on a picnic. She packed Jason and I along with a basket into the car. She drove for a little while until we reached this park. Then, we got out and walked until we reached this little rundown house. Then, mom told me to go back and get the basket. I was suspicious. My mother never took Jason and I anywhere. However, I obliged and left Jason with her while I fetched the basket.”

Thalia opens her eyes. “I wasn’t gone more than three minutes at the most, but when I came back, Jason was nowhere to be seen. Mom was crying hysterically and she kept saying that ‘Hera had claimed Jason and that he was as good as dead’. I freaked and thought my mom had lost her mind. I frantically searched the entire park, trying to find my little brother, but I couldn’t. Jason had simply vanished.”

Thalia holds back a few tears. “I think my mother let Hera kill Jason as a way to appease Hera, so that Hera would leave her alone. Whatever the case, I hate that woman. I will never forgive her for ‘losing’ Jason.”

Luke and Annabeth both gasp. Luke then puts a hand on Thalia’s shoulder again. “Oh Thals, I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”

Thalia closes her eyes. “I ran away from home after that. I just couldn’t stand to be around that woman after Jason’s disappearance .”

Thalia takes a deep breath and manages a small smile. She looks at Luke and Annabeth. “However, if I hadn’t runaway, I wouldn’t have met the two of you. The two of you are my family now.”

Luke smiles back. “Yeah, the three of us have had some good times together.”

Annabeth also smiles. “Yeah, we have fought a lot of monsters together. And look, we don’t have to worry about monsters anymore. We have a new home. We even have a dog. We just have to avoid your grandfather and things should be fine.”

Masaru sighs. “I have a confession to make. I am the reason the three of you are in this world. I was the one who created the dimensional rift that sent the three of you here.”

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all gasp. Their eyes are wide. Luke clears his throat. “You…,” Luke begins. “We are here because of you?!”

Masaru nods. “I was checking on Thalia when I saw that the three of you were being attacked by monsters. I realized that the three of you were hopelessly outnumbered, so I did the only thing that I could to save all of you. I created a dimensional rift and sent the three of you to this world. Well, Toma caught me in the act and said that he would kill me for my actions.” 

Masaru then grins. “Well, I managed to trick Toma. You see, I had made what you might call a shadow clone of myself to distract Toma while I escaped with my grandsons. However, while on the road, I broke my arm.”

Masaru gestures towards the sling and then to Naiya. “Naiya’s family found us and brought my grandsons and I back here. Naiya managed to save my arm.”

Masaru closes his eyes. “I told Naiya and her family my story and subsequently the story of your mother. They were so understanding and said that they would keep a look out for the three of you.”

Luke blinks a few times as he looks at Thalia. “Masaru’s older grandson and the older kids of Naiya’s household stayed out late in order to hunt for deer. That is when they discovered us. They ran back here and stole a stretcher from the village hospital and brought it back to where the three of us were. Together, we all carried you on the stretcher.”

“Luke and the kids carried you all the way here.” Annabeth says. “Then, Naiya healed your wound and saved your life!”

Thalia looks at Naiya. “Thank you for saving my life.”

Naiya simply smiles. “You are very welcome.”

Thalia tries to turn but she grimaces when her side hurts. Naiya immediately places a hand on Thalia’s shoulder. “If you move around too much right away, you might make the wound bleed again. You need to rest. Your body needs to recover from your blood loss.”

Thalia just sighs. “Can I at least make a trip to the restroom?”

Luke quickly scoots over to Thalia’s side. “Come on, I’ll help you up.”

Luke, Naiya and Masaru quickly help Thalia to her feet. Annabeth leads the way towards the bathroom. Theia simply follows obediently at Annabeth’s heels.

Outside the house, a shadowy figure stands just off of the veranda. The figure’s eyes are closed. Unknown, to everybody inside, the mysterious figure heard everything discussed inside the house. 

After a few moments, the figure opens his eyes, revealing sharingan eyes which glow in the darkness.


Jiraiya closes his eyes as he takes in what Rina just told him. Itachi Uchiha having a daughter and a granddaughter in another world is pretty unbelievable. However, the sannin can tell that these people are telling the honest truth.

Rina just sighs. “After Jason’s disappearance, young Thalia ran away from home. She eventually met two other half-bloods. The first was a boy about two years older by the name of Luke Castellan. Then, Luke and Thalia found a young seven year old named Annabeth Chase. However, in time the three demigods disappeared. My family has searched and searched...but we cannot find Thalia or her friends. When a long period of time passes without a person being found with our interdimensional viewing and tracking jutsu...it usually means one thing.”

Rina looks at Tsukiko. Tsukiko climbs back onto the mound of earth. Rina follows her. Tsukiko and Rina both look at the villagers below them. 

After a few tense moments, Tsukiko clears her throat. “My fellow villagers, It is with heavy heart that I inform you of the Araya’s decision to suspend the search for young Thalia Grace.”

The villagers gasp. Rina clears her throat. “When a person cannot be found with the interdimensional tracking jutsu...it usually means just one thing. It usually means that person is no longer alive. I fear that the inevitable has happened. Thalia...and her friends have died. This is the most likely scenario.”

The villagers all share sad looks as if understanding what Rina is saying. Rina clears her throat. “We will probably never know exactly what happened to Thalia or her friends. However, from what we know about the lives of demigods...Thalia, Luke and Annabeth probably met their ends at the hands of monsters. We can only hope that they didn’t suffer.”

The villagers all hang their heads down. Rina clears her throat again. “The death of Thalia is a tragedy. Especially when she was still young. Thalia was given such a hard and unfair life from the very beginning. Even then, I had hoped she would be strong enough to survive the harsh life of a demigod. However, fate is cruel and unfair.”

Jarou closes his eyes and turns away. Tears stream down his face. Then, Jarou takes off running until he disappears from sight. Jiraiya raises a brow as he watches Jarou run away. Rina says a few more words before she descends the earthen mound. Tsukiko follows right behind Rina. The gathering of villagers soon starts to disperse. 

Rina walks up to Jiraiya. “I had hopes for Thalia. She was so strong and resilient. However, demigods rarely have happy endings, especially children born to the big three. The sad truth is...nearly half of all demigods don’t survive past their thirteen birthday. It’s just a harsh fact of life for demigods. The odds were against Thalia from the very start, especially with the oath of the big three, and the great prophecy.”

Jiraiya just closes his eyes. “I’m sorry for your family’s loss.”

Rina closes her eyes. “Thank you.”

Rina then looks at the moon. She sighs and looks at Jiraiya.  “Since you have been so understanding of my family’s circumstances, I shall share something with you. Toma hated my family. You see, Toma’s father, Tarou, often cheated on Toma’s mother. Akira was one of Tarou’s many mistresses. Tarou and Akira didn’t even try to hide their affair either. Everyone could see it, especially Tarou’s family. I could only imagine the strain this had on Tarou’s marriage to his wife.”

Rina takes a deep breath. “However, Tarou’s family especially hated Takeo...for a very specific reason.”

Jiraiya’s eyes become wide as realization sets in. “You’re saying that Tarou...was Takeo’s father?” 

Rina sighs. “Akira would always deny it...but I could see the truth when Takeo was born. I am sure others could see it too, especially Tarou’s family. I can only imagine how Tarou’s wife and children felt about the situation. Toma and his sister were especially cruel to Takeo when the latter was growing up. And given the situation, who could blame them. Takeo was a living reminder of their father’s infidelity. Toma and his sister were especially cruel when Saki married Takeo and even when Sakiko was born.”

Jiraiya just blinks. “That means...Toma was Takeo’s half-brother and therefore Sakiko’s half-uncle.”

Rina nods. “Yes.” 

Jiraiya closes his eyes and looks down. This little fact makes the whole situation even worse. Toma banished his own half-niece to give birth alone, and the girl died as a result. Then, Toma sent his own half-grandniece to another world. All because he hated Takeo and Sakiko and Sakiko’s child for something they couldn’t control.

Rina sighs. “Takeo wasn’t the only illegitimate child of Tarou. You see, Akira had two babies that died soon after birth and I suspect that those babies were also Tarou’s. Tarou didn’t limit his affairs to just Akira either. You see, Toma was cheating on his wife long before Toma and his sister were born. There was an older boy within the village, who bore some resemblance to Tarou. His name was Masaru. Toma and his sister also seemed to suspect the truth of Masaru’s parentage and gave him the same treatment as they did Takeo.”

Rina takes a deep breath. “Jarou and Amira don’t know the truth of Takeo’s father. All they know is that Takeo’s father was a man from the Araya village. I intend to keep it that way. I fear that the truth would absolutely crush them.”

However, unknown to Jiraiya and Rina, a figure with ultramarine blue eyes stands in the shadows nearby, having heard the entire exchange.


Jarou just runs through the forest. Tears stream down his face. Eventually, Jarou comes to a cliff. Jarou looks down at the river below him. He thinks of his past.

A five year old Jarou stares at his newborn brother Takeo, who is lying swaddled up on a futon. The baby gurgles and grabs onto Jarou’s finger, which hovers over the baby’s face. Jarou gasps and pulls his finger away. Baby Takeo just continues to coo sweetly. Rina, who is sitting nearby, just smiles.

“He seems to like you.” 

Rina’s parents suddenly walk over and look at baby Takeo with sad eyes.

“I fear Takeo shall face the same prejudices as Jarou.” Jarou’s grandmother says with a sad voice.

“Indeed.” Jarou’s grandfather says. “Life shall be difficult for him.”

The young Jarou just grins. “Don’t worry grandfather, I’m gonna be a good big brother. I shall protect Takeo from anyone and anything!”

Jarou blinks a few times as he looks up at the sky. When Takeo was born, Jarou had promised himself and his relatives that he would protect his little brother. Even at that young age, Jarou knew that he and his brother couldn’t rely on their absent mother to take care of them.

An eight year old Jarou carries a basket in his hands. A three year old Takeo follows close behind with a smaller basket. Takeo’s hair is coal black and his big round eyes are the same ultramarine blue as Jarou’s. 

Jarou looks at his little brother. “Come on Takeo. We need to pick some apples for breakfast.”

Little Takeo lets out a little pout. “But I don’t want to go to the orchard. Other villagers will be there. The other villagers are mean.”

Young Jarou smiles. “Don’t worry, I will protect you.”

Jarou closes his eyes. He always took care of Takeo, no matter what he was doing. Jarou also defended his younger brother from bullies and even the older villagers.

A twelve year old Jarou stands defensively in front of a seven year old Takeo. A group of older village children sneer at the two brothers. Jarou just grits his teeth in anger. “Pick on someone your own size!” 

The village children laugh cruelly. “Whore’s sons!” The children all say together. “Whore’s sons!”

Jarou turns to Takeo who has tears in his eyes. “Come on Takeo, let’s go.”

Jarou opens his eyes and looks back down at the river below him. Takeo would always be emotionally hurt by the other villagers' insults. Jarou always assured his younger brother that he loved him and so did their relatives. However, as Takeo grew older, the insults from the other villagers appeared to hurt him less and less. The boy knew that he had people that loved him and so he was happy. Takeo also came to idolize and trust his older half-brother. Takeo would tell Jarou anything. Whenever Takeo had a problem, he would always turn to Jarou for advice.

A twenty-two year old Jarou is picking some apples from a tall tree. A seventeen year old Takeo stands nearby. Takeo glances at a group of village girls. One of the girls has long bright blonde hair, indigo blue eyes, red lips and a heart shaped face. A light dusting of freckles lines the girl's nose and underneath her eyes. 

Jarou looks at Takeo. “Takeo, what are you looking at?” Then, Jarou follows Takeo’s eyes and he soon spots the blonde haired girl. Jarou grins. “Ah, you’re looking at Saki again. Do you like her brother?”

Takeo closes his eyes. “I do Jarou. But...I’m not sure if she likes me.”

Jarou smiles. “A girl won’t fall in love with you overnight brother. In order to win a girl’s affection, you must first be noticed by her. Why don’t you go talk to her?”

Jarou closes his eyes again. Takeo always seemed to appreciate his older half-brother’s advice. It was Jarou’s advice that helped Takeo win Saki’s affections. 

Jarou opens his eyes as thinks of one of his happiest memories. The day that Takeo and Saki got married.

A twenty four year old Jarou stands with his relatives. A nineteen year old Takeo and Saki stand together in front of a building. A man stands off to the side of the couple. The man smiles and sighs.

“Now that the two of you have said your vows, I pronounce you husband and wife.” The man says. “You may now share the binding kiss of marriage.”

Takeo and Saki both smile and share a passionate kiss.

Jarou opens his eyes and looks at the moon above. He thinks of another one of the happiest days of his life. The day that he saw Sakiko for the first time.

A twenty-five year old Jarou stands off to the side of a bed. Saki and Takeo are sitting on the bed together. Saki holds a tiny bundle in her arms. The bundle is a small baby with a wisp of blonde hair on top of it’s head. Jarou’s relatives surround the bed.

Rina smiles. “Congratulations, you two. Your little girl is beautiful.”

Saki smiles. “Thank you. Takeo and I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful little one.”

The baby’s eyes slowly flicker open, revealing ultramarine blue eyes. Rina smiles. “She has Takeo’s eyes.” 

Jarou leans in closer and smiles at the sight of his niece. “What is the little beauty’s name?”

Takeo smiles. “Sakiko. Sakiko Araya.”

A strong breeze shakes the leaves on the trees. Jarou just closes his eyes. Wind always makes him relive one of the worst nights of his life.

The night that Takeo and Saki died.

The wind howls loudly through the valley. Trees sway and leaves are ripped from branches. Jarou battles the wind as he makes his way towards a house with a toppled roof. A tree lays on top of the roof.

“TAKEO!” Jarou screams out as he forces the smashed door open. “SAKI! SAKIKO!”

Jarou makes his way through the rubble until he reaches the trunk of a fallen tree. Jarou gasps with horror and shock. Splayed out on a bed are two crushed and bloodied bodies, which are lying underneath the trunk of the tree. 

Jarou staggers back from shock and grief. However, a noise soon catches the man’s attention. Jarou looks a few feet to the left of the bed. A wooden crib stands there...undamaged. Jarou gasps and rushes over to the crib. A small blonde haired girl lays in the crib, unharmed. Jarou scoops up the child and hugs her to his chest. Tears stream down Jarou’s cheeks like rivers.

Jarou opens his eyes and chokes back a few sobs. When Takeo was born, Jarou had promised himself that he would protect and care for Takeo no matter what. Jarou had failed to save Takeo and Saki the night that tree fell on their house. He had failed in his promise to protect his younger brother.

Jarou looks up at the sky once again . Once he took guardianship over his niece, he promised himself he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. He would raise her into a beautiful woman, just as Takeo and Saki would have wanted. Of course, Jarou's relatives helped in any way that they could.

Jarou is helping Rina and Korra pick apples. Little Sakiko holds her own little basket. Rina puts some apples into Sakiko’s little basket. “Alright Sakiko, look closely at those apples I just gave you. Do any of them appear to have bad spots?”

Little Sakiko looks at the apples and picks one up. “This one has a brown spot.”

Rina nods and holds her hand out. “Yes.” Rina says. She points to another basket nearby. “Now, we must place the apple in this basket.”

Sakiko blinks and places the apple into the basket. Sakiko looks at all of the other apples in the basket. “The other apples have brown spots too!”

Rina nods. “Yes. Those apples are unsuitable to store for winter. You see, when apples have brown spots on them, they are more likely to spoil before they are eaten.”

Sakiko immediately makes a face and gags. “Yuck! I don’t wanna eat a spoiled apple!”

Rina smiles. “Neither do I. However, we can still use those apples. All we have to do is cut out the bad spots. Then, we can turn the apples into cider, wine, applesauce and apple butter.”

Sakiko smiles. “Yummy! I love cider, applesauce and apple butter!”

Jarou smiles. When his niece is happy, he is happy. However, Jarou soon spots Toma walking towards the group. Jarou frowns. “Look out, here comes Toma.”

Korra and Rina turn. Sakiko whimpers and hides behind her uncle. Even at her young age, Sakiko understands that Toma doesn’t like her or her relatives. 

Toma passes by Jarou, Rina and Korra. Toma, frowns and sneers at the three adults. Then Toma sees little Sakiko hiding behind Jarou. Toma glares at the child. Jarou just shields Sakiko and looks Toma dead in the eye.

“Go away Toma.” Jarou says.

Toma huffs and walks away. Jarou immediately starts comforting his scared niece.

Jarou closes his eyes. Jarou protected Sakiko from the mean words and hateful stares from the other villagers, even Toma. Jarou protected Sakiko from bullies and dangers such as wild animals and storms. However, Jarou couldn’t protect his niece from one thing. 

Teenage hormones.

Jarou watches as a thirteen year old Sakiko stares at two black cloaked figures. One of the black cloaked figures is a teenage boy about Sakiko’s age. The boy has black hair tied back into a low ponytail, pale skin and red eyes. 

Jarou frowns as he puts a hand on Sakiko’s shoulder. “Sakiko, I told you to stay away from those men. They are trouble I can just tell.”

Sakiko frowns. “Oh uncle, there is nothing wrong with Itachi. He is so kind.”

Jarou sighs. He remembers the day that everyone learned that Sakiko was pregnant.

Jarou looks at a sobbing Sakiko with heartbroken eyes. “You and Itachi had sexual intercourse?! Sakiko, what were you thinking?!”

Sakiko continues to sob. “I don’t know uncle. It...it just happened.”

Rina, who is standing nearby, just sighs. “Jarou, Sakiko’s symptoms indicate a possible pregnancy. I need to examine her to be sure.”

Jarou sighs. “I understand, aunt Rina.”

Jarou closes his eyes. Even though Jarou was angered by the situation, he still loved his niece all the same. She had let her hormones cloud her judgement, but she still wanted to raise her baby, even after she had learned of Itachi’s crime. Sakiko knew what it took to raise a child and she was prepared to make the necessary sacrifices. Jarou promised to help raise his grandniece and protect her from the villagers, just as he had done for Sakiko.

Jarou opens his eyes as a few tears slide down his face. The day that Sakiko went into labor, Jarou was unable to protect her Toma’s judgement. Jarou couldn't even help his niece when she needed it most. Jarou, holds his head down as he remembers the second worst night of his life.

Jarou runs through the cold and snow until he reaches a rundown shack. “SAKIKO!” Jarou screams. “ARE YOU IN THERE?!”

Jarou receives no answer. However, a sound reaches Jarou’s ears. He gasps. The sound is crying...from a newborn baby. Jarou rushes towards the door of the shack and slides it open. Jarou almost screams when he sees the horrible sight in front of him. In the middle of the floor, is Sakiko’s body. A large pool of blood is underneath her. A tiny bundle moves slightly by Sakiko’s unmoving body. The crying is coming from the bundle. 

Jarou simply walks up the body and collapses to his knees. Jarou lets out an anguished scream and takes Sakiko’s body into his arms. Jarou continues to scream as he cradles his niece’s ice cold body.

Jarou falls to the ground and starts sobbing. Finding his niece dead like that was almost too much for him to handle. If Sakiko’s child hadn’t been alive, Jarou is pretty sure that he would have committed suicide right there. After that Jarou promised himself that he would protect and care for his grandniece. However, he was unable to fulfill that promise as well.

Jarou looks up at the moon as he remembers the worst day of his life. The day that his grandniece was sent to the other world, and the day that he and his relatives were banished from their home.

Jarou, tries to rush forward. Two men hold him back. Toma, stands nearby with his hands together. Jarou’s grandniece, lays on a stone circle. The baby wails as a blue vortex starts descending from the sky. The wind picks up and soon the baby is lifted up into the air. The wailing baby disappears into the vortex. The vortex then ascends back into the sky and disappears.

“NOOOOOO!” Jarou screams with anguish. 

After a few moments, the two men who are holding Jarou back, let go of him. Jarou collapses to his knees and sobs his heart out. Rina, Kesoa and Amira all run up to the plateau and stare at the sobbing Jarou. Rina suddenly gasps in realization.

“Toma?!” Rina says with a horrified voice. “What...what have you done?”

Toma looks coldly at Rina and the others. “I have gotten rid of the ‘kinslayer’s spawn’.” 

Jarou screams with rage. He looks at Toma with rage. “How could you do this to us Toma?! First, my family lost Takeo and Saki! Then, we lost Sakiko! Now, we have lost Sakiko’s child! Do you understand the grief that my family has to go through?”

Toma approaches Jarou and punches him in the jaw. Jarou falls to the ground. Rina, Amira and Kesoa all gasp. 

Amira immediately runs up to her half-brother. She helps Jarou back to his feet. “Brother!”

Toma looks coldly at Jarou’s family. “Your family is a stain upon this village. I have decided to do something about it. Therefore...I hereby banish all of you and your relatives from the Araya Village!”

Rina gasps with horror. “Toma, you...you can’t. Where are we supposed to go?”

Toma just glares at the older woman. “I don’t care what happens to any of you! I don’t care where any of you go, just leave this village! You all have until sunrise tomorrow to be gone from this village. If you are not gone by sunrise, all of you shall be put to death, even your children!”

Amira and Kesoa both gasp. Kesoa clears his throat. “Toma, you can’t be serious?” 

“My decision is final!” Toma says. “And just so you know, anyone who returns shall be put to death!”

Jarou just rubs his sore cheek. He looks at his relatives. “Come on...let’s go. Toma is serious, I can tell. Let’s just hurry up and inform the rest of our family. The sooner we start packing, the sooner we can be out of here.”

Jarou gives Toma a look full of hate. “Toma…,” Jarou says with a hiss. “You have trampled on the principles that built this village. Unity and love. Our village and clan shall now be broken apart. Our ancestors would be disappointed in you.”

Toma frowns. “Just get out of my sight!”

Jarou closes his eyes as the memories fade away. Toma sent his grandniece away and Jarou was unable to stop him. Jarou was also unable to stop his family’s exile. 

Jarou then looks at the water. It was because of his grandniece being sent to another world that she had an unstable upbringing. Jarou truly believes that his grandniece’s unstable upbringing made her into the selfish alcoholic that she eventually became.

Beryl, Jarou’s grandniece, is in the living of her home, which she shares with her children; Thalia and Jason. Beryl is sitting on the couch. The woman gulps down some red wine from a glass. On the coffee table in front of Beryl, sits a half empty bottle of red wine. 

Beryl just mindlessly watches a television program while she drinks her wine. Then, a seven year old Thalia, steps out of the kitchen and spots the drunk Beryl drinking her wine. Beryl doesn’t even notice Thalia. The woman just continues to mindlessly drink the wine in her glass. 

Thalia rolls her eyes with annoyance and steps back into the kitchen. A ten month old Jason is sitting on the floor playing with toys. Thalia simply goes to the refrigerator and grabs a jar of baby food along with a plastic spoon, which is shaped like an airplane. 

Jason looks at his older sister with big round electric blue eyes. Thalia scoops up some baby food with the spoon and holds the spoon in front of Jason’s lips. Jason smiles when he realizes that the substance on the spoon is food. Jason bites the spoon and takes the food into his own mouth. Jason chews and swallows. 

Jarou just blinks a few times. He always worried about Thalia and Jason after they were born and how they would turn out being in such an unstable environment. Luckily, Thalia was mature and took to caring for her little brother quite well. Thalia also seemed to adore her little brother.

Beryl lays passed out in a lawns chair. A bottle of wine sits on a little table nearby. Thalia and Jason are running around the yard. Jason giggles as he runs after his big sister.

“Can’t catch me, Jason!” Thalia says.

Jason giggles as he runs after Thalia. “Tali.” Jason says with a babyish voice. Jason can’t correctly say his sister’s name yet. “Tali! Tali!”

Jarou, blinks and continues to look down at the water below him. Jarou had hoped that Thalia and Jason would survive and grow up. However, Jarou’s hopes for Jason vanished once the child disappeared. Then, Thalia ran away from home. Now, Thalia has disappeared as well.

Jarou looks down at the river below him. Takeo and Saki are both gone…, Jarou thinks sadly to himself. Sakiko is also gone. And now...Thalia and Jason are gone as well. And Beryl...the way things are looking...she probably doesn’t have much of a future either.

Jarou closes his eyes. Jarou spent his childhood taking care of and protecting Takeo. Then, after Takeo died, Jarou dedicated his life to raising Sakiko. After Sakiko’s death, Jarou dedicated his time and energy to watching over Beryl, Thalia and Jason.

Jarou opens his eyes. Takeo is gone. Sakiko is gone. Jason is gone. And now Thalia is gone as well. And Beryl...is still on a downward spiral. What is the point of living now? What does he have to live for?

Jarou looks down at the river below him. Everything that I lived my life for is gone…, Jarou thinks to himself. The pain of my losses is just too much to bear. I just want this pain to end.

Jarou chokes back a sob and steps forward. And just like that, he plummets off the edge of the cliff into the river below.

Chapter 21: A chat between grandfather and granddaughter

Notes:

Hurray, I have this chapter edited and revamped! Just five more chapters to go.

Chapter Text

Jiraiya blinks a few times as he walks towards the gate of the Moriyama village. Tsukiko, Rina and Korra walk behind the Legendary Sannin. 

After a few moments, Jiraiya turns to the trio. “Again...I am sorry for your loss. Such a tragic story indeed.”

Rina sighs as she looks at the sannin. “Thank you, for your condolences. We truly appreciate your understanding of our situation.”

Just then, a man rushes up to Tsukiko. The man whispers something in Tsukiko’s ear. Tsukiko’s eyes widen. “What do you mean no one can find Jarou?!”

Rina’s eyes widen with worry. “My nephew is missing?! When was the last time anybody saw him?”

The man sighs. “When you announced that Thalia was most likely dead, Jarou ran off in tears. Our guess is that he probably went to grieve alone somewhere. But, the thing is...he hasn’t returned yet. Amira is getting worried. Kesoa and another man are looking for him as are many others.”

Korra narrows her eyes. For some reason, she has a very bad feeling about this.

Meanwhile, Kesoa and a Moriyama man are searching the forest for Jarou. The Moriyama man has a tracker dog with him. The dog sniffs the air, darting around through the brush as it follows Jarou’s scent.

Kesoa cups his hands over his mouth. “JAROU, WHERE ARE YOU?!” Kesoa calls out.

Just then, the dog sniffs really hard and lets out a loud howl. The dog runs through the brush. Kesoa and the Moriyama man struggle to keep up with the dog. After a few minutes, Kesoa and the Moriyama man arrive at a clearing. Kesoa’s eyes widen as he notices the dog peeking over the edge of a cliff. The dog turns back to Kesoa and the Moriyama man. Kesoa gulps as he approaches the cliff. Kesoa looks down. The drop is at least ten feet down, and there is a river below. 

The Moriyama man peers over the edge of the cliff as well. The man sighs as he looks at Kesoa. “Well, it looks like Jarou went over the edge. I am sorry, Kesoa.”

Kesoa just blinks as he looks back towards the treeline. Surely Jarou couldn’t have accidentally run off the edge of the cliff. Surely the man would have noticed the cliff when he reached the tree line. Then, Kesoa’s eyes become wide with realization. Kesoa looks over the cliff with a look of horror and disbelief.

His brother-in-law...committed suicide. Kesoa just sighs as he hangs his head down. 

Just what is he going to tell Amira?


Thalia blinks a few times as she sits up on her futon. Luke and Annabeth are both sleeping on their own futons next to hers. Next to Annabeth’s futon, Theia is lying curled up in a ball. The dog breathes softly as she sleeps next to the daughter of Athena. 

Thalia just blinks a few times as she slowly gets up from her futon. She grunts as her side starts to hurt. At hearing Thalia’s grunt, Annabeth’s eyes flicker open. Annabeth just blinks up at Thalia, very confused. “Thalia, what are you doing?” Annabeth asks with a small whispering voice.

Thalia blinks as she looks at her young friend. “I just need some fresh air.” Thalia says with a whisper. “I will be back in a little bit.”

Annabeth seemingly thinks about this for a minute. After a minute or so, Annabeth just gives a little nod of understanding and lays her head back down on the futon. Within minutes, Annabeth is asleep. Thalia then silently makes her way towards the veranda. She silently slides open the shoji screen. Shoji screens are sliding frames made of wood and thin paper which are a traditional feature in Japanese homes. The paper allows outside light into otherwise dark rooms. However, these shoji screens are modern adaptations as the paper is reinforced with a thin sheet of plastic. The track that the shoji screens slide upon is also made so that heat loss is minimal when the shoji screens are closed. This of course increases the energy efficiency of the home. 

Thalia just sits down on the veranda. The daughter of Zeus looks up at the moon. The pale moon shines brightly in the night sky. Stars twinkle in the darkness. Thalia sighs to herself. Despite the night being so beautiful, Thalia’s heart is filled with grief. She closes her eyes. 

So much for a peaceful new life, Thalia thinks to herself. I can’t believe this is happening to me. I have a psychopathic mass murdering, kinslaying grandfather. This is just too much. 

Thalia blinks some more as she looks down at her hands. Her life has been full of trials, tribulations and tragedy. It has been like that ever since she was born. From being born a daughter of Zeus and the result of a broken oath. To her mother’s unstable mind and selfishness. To losing her little brother, the only person she really cared about, and then running away into an unforgiving world. Monsters attacked her constantly, trying to end her existence. 

This new reality is just the icing on the cake of her unfortunate life.

After a few minutes, Thalia closes her eyes. The only good thing that came out of running away from home was that she met Luke and Annabeth. It is comforting to know that the two still care for her, despite her tragic heritage. After a few minutes, Thalia opens her eyes and looks up at the moon again. However, a noise soon catches the young demigod’s attention. Thalia becomes alert instantly and looks around. 

“Who’s...who’s there?” Thalia whispers. “Come out and show yourself. Whoever you are.” 

Then, Thalia sees it. There is a black cloaked figure standing on the far side of the veranda. The figure then steps out of the shadows. Thalia’s eyes widen instantly. The figure is none other than Itachi Uchiha; her mass murdering and kinslaying grandfather. 

The man has found her.

Itachi holds an unemotional look on his face as he slowly begins approaching Thalia. Thalia’s heart lurches with a little fear. Just the sight of the man causes Thalia's side to hurt. However, she just shakes her head and just stares defiantly at her grandfather. I will not be afraid of this man…, Thalia thinks to herself as she grits her teeth.

Itachi is now standing directly above Thalia. His granddaughter. Itachi narrows his glowing red sharingan eyes as he looks down at Thalia.

Thalia grits her teeth some more as she looks up at Itachi with a defiant stare. “Have you come to kill me...like you did the rest of your clan?” 

Itachi just blinks a few times. “Yes, I did actually come in order to kill you. However, I have now changed my mind...now that I know exactly why you possess the sharingan.”

Thalia’s widen in realization. The daughter of Zeus grits her teeth even more. “You were standing out here weren’t you?! You were listening to everything Masaru was telling me!”

Itachi does not reply. He simply cocks his head to the side. “Granddaughter…,” Itachi says with a monotone voice. “You should not exist . I never planned to ever have children...or grandchildren .”

Thalia grits her teeth. The man is acknowledging their familial relationship, but he doesn’t seem to care too much regardless.

Itachi then blinks as he narrows his eyes at Thalia’s spiky hair. “You actually remind me of my pathetic and foolish younger brother...your granduncle. Just how old are you supposed to be? My pathetic little brother should be around twelve now.”

Thalia blinks a few times. “I am twelve.” Thalia says with a hard voice. She is just so tempted to electrocute this man, even if he is her grandfather. “Why do you care?!”

Itachi just blinks again and then reaches out. Itachi grabs Thalia’s chin and forces her to look him in the eyes. Itachi momentarily closes his eyes. When he opens his eyes, Thalia’s eyes become wide. Her grandfather’s sharingan has changed. The tomoes have morphed into a pinwheel.

Itachi narrows his eyes. “Mangekyou sharingan!” Itachi says.

Thalia gasps as she feels her entire body go still. Her vision is suddenly filled with black and red. Thalia can literally feel her heart racing. Thalia tries to close her eyes, but she can’t. She is trapped!

The vision before Thalia is of a large neighborhood consisting of eerie red and black houses. The sky above is a blood red color and the moon is a big ball of blood red as well, which is outlined with black. There are also lanterns hanging from poles. The lanterns bear the image of a fan.

Thalia tries to move her legs, but she can’t. Suddenly she hears her grandfather’s voice. “This is the world of the Mangekyo sharingan. I can control time and space here. For the next 24 hours, you shall see just how I killed my clan.”

Thalia manages a horrible gasp as people start appearing in her vision. One by one, the people are all cut down by a younger looking Itachi. The people fall to the ground one by one, their blood splattering onto the street and walls. 

Thalia immediately grabs her head, trying to shake the horrible image from her mind. Sure she never knew these people, but the reality is they were her family...her blood. And her grandfather is killing them like mere animals. 

“NO!” Thalia manages to scream. “WHY ARE YOU SHOWING ME THIS?!”

However, the images don’t stop. Men try to fight back, only to be cut down by her grandfather. An older man tries to shield a woman, probably his wife. An object flies towards them, piercing their bodies. The man and woman fall to the ground beside each other...dead. 

Thalia just screams some more. “STOP! PLEASE!”

A woman tries to shield a small child. The younger Itachi cuts them both down without hesitation. The woman and child fall to the ground, both dead. Their blood splatters everywhere. 

Thalia screams again. Her grandfather killed not only adults but children as well. “STOP!”

A woman holds a small bundle of blankets in her arms. Thalia gasps with absolute horror. An infant?! Oh no! The younger Itachi uses his sword to stab both the woman and bundle. The woman falls to the ground...dead. Blood pours out of the bundle that the woman was protecting. 

Thalia immediately screams with horror and rage. “YOU MONSTER!” Thalia yells.

The scene changes to a small room. Toys are scattered everywhere. Thalia gasps at the sight of a small toddler sleeping in a small bed. It is a little boy. Thalia blinks a few times. The child actually reminds Thalia of Jason. Thalia’s eyes widen with horror as the younger Itachi suddenly walks into the room. Itachi walks up to the small bed and readies his sword for the killing blow. For a second, Thalia almost imagines Jason lying in that bed, blissfully unaware of his impending death. Thalia tries to move but she can’t. The younger Itachi brings his sword down, slitting the child’s throat. Blood splatters everywhere. 

Thalia screams again. “NOOOOO!”

The scene changes again. This time, it is of a man and woman, sitting side by side. The younger Itachi appears behind them, readying his sword for the killing blow. Thalia hears her grandfather’s voice again. “My parents, your great-grandparents.”

Thalia gasps. Those are her great-grandparents?! Then, the younger Itachi brings his sword down. The man and woman fall on top of each other...dead. Blood splatters onto the floor. Thalia screams again. 

“NOOOOOO!”

Then, the vision abruptly ends. The world returns to normal. Thalia hyperventilates as she collapses to the ground. Thalia looks up as she hears a strange noise. She gasps with horror. It is her grandfather...and Luke. Her grandfather is holding a struggling Luke by the throat with one hand. The lights inside Naiya’s house are all on. Thalia can now make out the forms of Annabeth, Masaru and Naiya’s family all standing on the veranda. Theia stands by Annabeth’s side, growling ferociously at Itachi. A terrified Annabeth holds Theia by her collar. Everyone must have heard her screaming and come out to see what was wrong. 

Thalia’s eyes water a little as she looks back and forth between Luke and her grandfather. Thalia isn’t much of a crier, but as she looks at her grandfather holding Luke by his throat, she feels like crying as realization sets in. Luke tried to save her...only to get caught by her grandfather. 

Luke is possibly going to die because of her.

Luke growls and grits his teeth as he tries to get away from Itachi. Itachi just frowns as he holds Luke’s throat. “Hn, you are one brave...yet stupid boy.” 

Luke however, just gives Itachi a defiant look. “What have you done to Thalia you monster?!” Luke manages to choke out. 

Itachi frowns and tightens his grip on Luke’s throat. Luke gasps as he struggles to breathe. 

“PLEASE!” Thalia cries out as tears prick her eyes. She readies her hand to deliver an electric shock to her own grandfather. However, Thalia stops herself. She will shock Luke as well if she shocks her grandfather. 

Thalia then gulps a little bit. The daughter of Zeus isn’t one to plead, but right now seems the perfect time to do so. “Don’t kill him! Please!”

Itachi then glances over at Thalia. After a few minutes, Itachi lets go of Luke’s throat. Luke collapses to the ground. The blond haired son of Hermes hyperventilates as he tries to get air into his lungs. 

Itachi backs away until he is on the edge of the veranda. The man looks back at Thalia one more time before he runs off into the dark night. Just like that, the man is gone. 

Luke sits up and looks at the shaking daughter of Zeus. With the danger gone, Luke scoots over to Thalia. He brings her shaking form into his arms. Annabeth and Masaru both run up to Thalia and Luke. Theia just trots over and licks Thalia’s trembling hand. 

Annabeth kneels down and looks at Thalia with concern. “Thalia, What happened?!”

Thalia blinks a few times. “He was outside listening to everything Masaru was telling us. He knows I am his granddaughter, but he doesn’t care.”

Luke grits his teeth. “Why were you screaming like that? What did that horrible man do to you?!”

Thalia closes her eyes as the horrible images suddenly come back to her. Thalia closes her eyes. “He...he used his sharingan...to show me how he killed his clan.”

Luke gasps as does Annabeth. Luke then gets a mad look in his eyes. “He did what?!” 

Thalia lets out a choked sob. “He killed children...even little babies. It...it was horrible.”

Luke gasps and hugs Thalia. “Oh Thals, that is horrible.” 

Thalia blinks a few times as she hyperventilates. Eventually, tears start streaming down her face. She can’t help it. Soon, Thalia begins sobbing her heart out. Luke just continues to hug his friend.


Itachi just runs through the forest. After a few minutes, he finally stops running. Itachi then looks ahead of him. There is a stream that he can sit by for a while. Itachi sighs as he walks up to the stream. Itachi sits down on the stream bank. His mind reels with the unbelievable discovery he just made.

He got Sakiko pregnant ...and she bore him a daughter . A daughter that was sent to another world and grew up to have children of her own. Now, he has a granddaughter and a grandson. Or at least he had a grandson. 

After a few minutes, Itachi looks at his hands as he remembers what happened back at the motel. The reality of it all is quite horrible. 

He almost killed his own granddaughter.

Itachi blinks a few times before he looks down at his reflection in the water. However, that is probably what people would expect from him, given his reputation and all.

After a few more minutes, Itachi just sighs and looks at the moon above. He thinks of Sakiko, the girl he had sex with. The mother of his daughter and grandmother of his grandchildren. The Uchiha almost feels like slapping himself for his carelessness. 

Just how could he have made such a mistake? 

Itachi holds his head in his hands. He was never supposed to father children. He was never supposed to become a grandfather. But now here he is, a just turned eighteen year old missing nin...and he is a grandfather to a twelve year old girl. A girl the same age as his own little brother.

Itachi then blinks as he thinks of his little brother. Sasuke . Itachi then looks down at his hands. He hasn’t seen his little brother in nearly five years. The boy probably hates him though, which is what Itachi wants. That was his plan afterall. His plan was for Sasuke to hate him, kill him and avenge their clan. Then, Sasuke would become a hero and revive the Uchiha clan.

Itachi then thinks of Sakiko again. Itachi hadn’t meant for Sakiko to become pregnant. No...Itachi was just blinded by his teenage lust . He had taken a liking to Sakiko when he met her. And now that Itachi thinks about it, he realizes that he was slightly attracted to her. And how could he have not been? Sakiko was his age and she was sweet and beautiful. Very beautiful.

Itachi then thinks back to his dreams. Sakiko’s pregnancy and her grief when she learned of his crime. The way her village persecuted her and her unborn child. Their unborn daughter. Then, Sakiko was banished to give birth alone...and she died. And all the while, she still loved him. Itachi looks up at the moon. He is filled with regret over his actions. Sakiko…I am truly sorry . I didn’t mean to hurt you like that.

After a few more minutes, Itachi looks at his cloak. He reaches into it and takes out the stuffed eagle and the picture which he stole from Thalia’s bag. Itachi just looks at the image of his happy looking grandchildren . His granddaughter and his grandson. Thalia and Jason. 

After a few moments, Itachi runs his finger along the image of Thalia. The Uchiha just can’t help but notice how much the girl looks like his little brother. Despite Thalia having blue eyes, she looks so much like Sasuke did. Itachi then runs his finger along the image of the happy little Jason. And Jason...he has the same shade of blond hair that Sakiko had. However, Itachi can now see the resemblance between himself and the little boy. Jason has his eye shape, his mouth and his facial structure. 

After a few more moments of looking at the picture, Itachi closes his eyes as he puts the picture and the stuffed eagle back into his cloak.

After a few more minutes, Itachi just wrings his hands as he looks at his reflection in the water below. He thinks of his daughter and how his granddaughter described the woman. The Uchiha just grits his teeth. Even though it is horrible to have such thoughts, Itachi just feels like wringing the woman’s neck for her stupid actions. The woman may have let his grandchildrens’ evil divine stepmother kill his grandson! How could his own daughter have done such a horrible thing to her own son?! His grandson.  

Itachi then looks down at the water again. One question runs through his mind. Just how could his daughter have become a woman like that to begin with? What could have happened to her to make her so selfish and self centered?

Itachi then blinks as he looks up at the moon. He thinks of his clan. Itachi looks at his hands. He spilled so much blood that night. Even today, he can still vividly picture the blood on the streets and walls and the bloodied katana in his hands. Itachi puts his head into his hands. And...his parents. Itachi closes his eyes as he remembers his father’s last words to him.

A thirteen, almost fourteen year old Itachi stands behind his parents, Fugaku and Mikoto. The pair are sitting side by side, awaiting their execution. 

“We may share different views…,” Fugaku suddenly says. “However, I am still proud of you.”

Itachi opens his eyes. He looks up at the moon. “Father...mother…, I’ll bet the two of you are not proud of me now. I have messed up big time.”

Itachi blinks as he looks back down at the water. He thinks of Sasuke, his little brother. Itachi can still picture his little brother’s horrified eyes on the night of the massacre. Itachi wanted to cry when he traumatized Sasuke with his Mangekyou sharingan. However, Itachi forced himself not to cry. If Sasuke had seen Itachi shed tears, then his plan would have been ruined.

Itachi breathes in deep as he thinks of the massacre. He hadn’t truly wished for things to come to that, but with the threat of civil war looming on the horizon and Danzo’s reminder of what would happen to Sasuke if the coup was to take place, Itachi felt that he had no choice. So...Itachi accepted that cruel and horrid mission in order to save Sasuke and the village from certain doom. Itachi then grits his teeth when he thinks of that backstabbing Danzo. Even though Itachi had completed the mission, Danzo tried to go back on his word and kill Sasuke. It took Itachi threatening to expose village secrets to save Sasuke that night. 

Itachi then closes his eyes. Sasuke is still in danger from Danzo though. And...Thalia will be too if Danzo was to learn of her existence. And Orochimaru?! Orochimaru would be thrilled to learn of another Uchiha...another possible vessel. And with Thalia’s godly blood, she would certainly be a grand prize for Orochimaru. Itachi just grits his teeth as he thinks of the snake sannin getting his hands on Thalia.

Itachi then thinks of his old village, the Hidden Leaf. How would the Hidden Leaf react to Thalia’s existence? And most importantly...how would Sasuke react? Would Sasuke possibly rejoice at not being the last Uchiha aside from Itachi? Or would Sasuke possibly react with hatred towards Thalia, all because of her being the granddaughter of his hated brother? Could the Hidden Leaf possibly see Thalia as a threat and try to eliminate her? Itachi shakes his head at such thoughts. Surely the Third Hokage would never condone such a thing, but you never know. Especially with Danzo around.

Itachi then takes another breath as he thinks of what he did back at that house. Itachi didn’t want to have to do that to his granddaughter, but he felt that he had to. Thalia must learn to hate him, just like Sasuke and so many other people do. Thalia must see him as a monster. If Thalia and Sasuke were to ever cross paths, the very fact that Thalia hates him may just save her from persecution from Sasuke. Itachi blinks a few times. And when Sasuke eventually kills him, Thalia must hate her grandfather so that she doesn’t hold a grudge against her granduncle for killing him. 

Itachi then takes a deep breath. And who knows...if Thalia and Sasuke were to cross paths, the two of them may become besties.

Itachi blinks again. His heart is heavy with the weight of his new reality. He has a granddaughter. A granddaughter that must learn to hate him. And he had a grandson. A grandson who was sacrificed by his daughter to a vengeful goddess. Itachi looks down at the water. Tears start streaming down from both of his eyes. His tears plop like little raindrops into the stream below.


Sasuke shifts as he lays on his futon. His face scrunches up as he tosses and turns in his sleep.

Sasuke is standing inside the cabin that Sakiko gave birth in. Sakiko’s dead body lies in the middle of the floor. Sakiko’s baby cries as it lies beside it’s dead mother. Just then, a loud voice comes from outside.

“SAKIKO!” The voice yells. “ARE YOU IN THERE?!”

Sasuke blinks a few times. That sounds like Sakiko’s uncle, Jarou. The door suddenly slides open. Sasuke raises a brow. He was right. It is Jarou. Toma must have let the man out of the village prison cells. 

Jarou’s face contorts with horror as he spots his niece’s dead body in the middle of the floor. Jarou steps into the cabin and slowly walks up to Sakiko’s body. He falls to his knees, right next to the crying bundle lying by Sakiko’s corpse. Jarou then lets out a scream of pure anguish and grief and he grabs a hold of Sakiko’s body. Jarou cries and screams with anguish as he cradles Sakiko’s corpse in his arms.

Sasuke just blinks as he watches the scene unfold before him. Sure Sakiko slept with his murderous brother, but...just watching her uncle grieve over her dead body is actually quite heartbreaking. 

Just then, the image of Jarou, Sakiko’s baby and Sakiko’s dead body disappears into bright light. The cabin that Sasuke is standing in also disappears, but is soon replaced by a different scene. Sasuke is now standing on a plateau. In the center of the plateau is a circular stone. Sasuke’s eyes become wide immediately. Lying in the center of the circular stone...is Sakiko’s baby. The baby cries with all it’s might, her breaths like puffs of smoke in the cold air. Gathered around the circular stone are cloaked men. Sasuke realizes that Toma, the village leader, is among them.

“Sir Toma, are you absolutely certain about this?” One of the cloaked figures asks. “We are sending the kinslayer’s spawn to another world. Why don’t we just kill her and be over with it?”

Sasuke’s eyes widen with disbelief. Another world?!

Toma just blinks a few times. “Yes.” Toma says with a hard voice. “I missed my opportunity to kill her, so I have decided on another way to get rid of her. Let’s hurry up and perform the jutsu before Jarou or his relatives figure out what we are doing.”

Many of the cloaked figures nod and put their hands together. The hands of all the cloaked figures begin glowing with chakra. Toma puts his own hands together and they begin to glow as well. Toma then makes a few hand signs. 

“Dimensional rift jutsu!” Toma says.

Sasuke’s eyes widen. Dimensional rift jutsu?! There is such a jutsu?! Sasuke then hears a loud voice. Sasuke turns to see Jarou standing by some stone steps. Jarou’s eyes are wide as he looks at his grandniece lying on the cold hard stone. All of the sudden, the wind starts to pick up. Sasuke spots a mass of swirling blue energy forming in the sky above. Sasuke’s eyes widen. What is that?!

“NO!” Jarou screams. Sasuke watches as Jarou prepares to rush forward towards the baby. However, all of the cloaked figures turn and look at Jarou.

Toma frowns and waves one of his hands towards Jarou. “Seize him!” Toma says as he looks at two men who are standing nearby.

The two men nod and rush forward to keep Jarou from retrieving the baby. The two men grab Jarou’s arms and hold him back. Sasuke watches as Jarou struggles to break free. “Please...no,” Jarou says pleadingly.

The swirling mass of blue energy soon forms into a swirling vortex, which hovers over the baby. People step back as the wind picks up even more.

Jarou watches as the blue swirling vortex begins descending from the sky. Jarou’s eyes are beginning to fill with tears. “No...no...no. Toma, please don’t do this.” Jarou pleads.

Sasuke then watches as a gust of wind snatches up the baby and lifts the child into the air. The baby is soon sucked into the vortex. The vortex suddenly ascends back into the sky and disappears. Sasuke just blinks as the swirling blue mass disappears. What just happened?!

“NOOOOO!” Jarou screams with absolute anguish. The two men who are holding Jarou back simply let go of him. Jarou then falls to his knees and starts sobbing with absolute grief. Toma simply looks at the sobbing man with uncaring eyes.

Sasuke suddenly hears a few gasps come from the direction of the steps. Sasuke turns to see the old woman, Rina, and a man and a woman standing at the steps. The woman has long black hair, ultramarine blue eyes and fair skin. The man has dark brown hair, brown eyes and fair skin. 

Rina suddenly gasps as if she realizes what just happened. “Toma?!” Rina says with a horrified voice. “What...what have you done?”

Toma looks coldly at Rina, Jarou and the others. “I have gotten rid of the ‘kinslayer’s spawn’.” 

Jarou then screams with rage. He looks at Toma with rage. “How could you do this to us Toma?!” Jarou yells. “First, my family lost Takeo and Saki! Then, we lost Sakiko! Now, we have lost Sakiko’s child! Do you understand the grief that my family has to go through?”

Sasuke then watches as Toma approaches Jarou. Toma then punches Jarou in the jaw. Jarou falls to the ground. Rina, the man and the woman all gasp. 

The woman rushes up to Jarou. “Brother!” The woman cries as she helps Jarou back to his feet. 

Sasuke’s eyes widen. That woman is Jarou’s sister?! That must mean she is also Sakiko’s aunt.

Toma looks coldly at Jarou’s family. “Your family is a stain upon this village. I have decided to do something about it. Therefore...I hereby banish all of you and your relatives from the Araya Village!”

Sasuke widen considerably. Banish?!

Rina gasps with horror. “Toma, you...you can’t. Where are we supposed to go?”

Toma keeps his cold look. “I don’t care what happens to any of you! I don’t care where any of you go, just leave this village! You all have until sunrise tomorrow to be gone from this village. If you are not gone by sunrise, all of you shall be put to death, even your children!”

Sasuke’s eyes widen. Jarou’s sister and the mystery man both gasp. “Toma, you can’t be serious?” The mystery man asks with a shocked voice.

“My decision is final!” Toma says with a hard voice. “And just so you know, anyone who returns shall be put to death!”

Sasuke looks around. None of the other cloaked figures spare a pitying glance towards Jarou or his relatives. Sasuke then watches as Jarou slowly gets to his feet. Jarou rubs the cheek that Toma punched. 

“Come on...let’s go.” Jarou says to his relatives. “Toma is serious, I can tell. Let’s just hurry up and inform the rest of our family. The sooner we start packing, the sooner we can be out of here.”

Rina, Jarou’s sister and the mystery man all blink and slowly nod. As Jarou and his family get ready to leave, Jarou turns to look at Toma with a look full of hatred. 

“Toma…,” Jarou says with a hiss. “You have trampled on the principles that built this village. Unity and love. Our village and clan shall now be broken apart. Our ancestors would be disappointed in you.”

Sasuke blinks and turns towards Toma. Jarou’s harsh words don’t seem to affect Toma, who keeps on frowning. “Just get out of my sight.” Toma says.

Jarou turns away from Toma and begins following his relatives down the steps. For some reason, Sasuke feels compelled to follow them. Sasuke begins walking down the steps behind Jarou and Jarou’s family. 

Soon, Jarou’s sister turns to look at her grief stricken brother. “Jarou, it’s not like our grandniece is dead. She has just been sent to another dimension. Hopefully it is a dimension inhabited by other humans who can find her and care for her.”

Jarou wails a little. “That is true, but none of us can create dimensional rifts in order to retrieve her! Our grandniece...is gone forever!”

Sasuke awakens with a start. He breathes heavily as he tries to process his dream. This dream by far has to be his strangest yet. 

Kakashi suddenly sits up on his own futon. “Sasuke? What is it?”

Sasuke blinks a few times. “I had another dream. I don’t even know how to explain it.”

Kakashi narrows his eyes. “I’m all ears.”


Izumo and Kotetsu both sigh as they walk around the perimeter of the river. They were sent on patrol on the outskirts of the village. As always, the two men are bored with their job.

Izumo sighs as he walks beside Kotetsu. “I don’t see anything suspicious. Let’s get back to Konoha.”

Kotetsu stops walking and turns towards the river. He suddenly narrows his eyes as he looks down at the streambank below. Without another word, Kotetsu begins carefully descending the ledge towards the riverbank. Izumo narrows his own eyes in confusion. 

What is his companion doing? Doesn’t the man want to go home?

Izumo scratches his head. “Kotetsu?”

Kotetsu turns back to Izumo. “I just have this weird feeling that I should go check the stream. I will go check really quick and then we can go home. Stay here if you wish.”

Izumo raises a brow. “Alright then, but please don’t take too long. It’s late and I am tired.”

Kotetsu simply nods in return and then continues his descent down the ledge. After a few minutes, Izumo hears a panicked sounding Kotetsu yelling for him. Izumo’s eyes widen as he swiftly descends the ledge to see why his friend is sounding so distressed. When Izumo reaches the bottom, he finally sees why his friend called out to him like he did.

Lying on the streambank is a middle aged man with graying black hair. The man’s clothing is soaked, as if he took an unexpected trip into the river. 

Izumo watches as Kotetsu checks the man’s vitals. Kotetsu sighs with some relief. “He’s still alive, but he appears to be unconscious.” 

Kotetsu then turns back to his companion. “Come on, we need to get him back to Konoha!”

Izumo nods and quickly begins helping Kotetsu carry the unconscious man up the ledge.

Chapter 22: Settling in

Notes:

Hurray, I have this chapter edited and revamped! Just three to go.

Chapter Text

Rina, Korra, Tsukiko and Amira stand by a tree. Jarou and Amira’s half siblings Aisha and Tenshi stand nearby with their fathers, Kaito and Tetsuo. Aisha has long black hair and blue-grey eyes. Tenshi has short dark blond hair and blue-grey eyes. Kaito has black hair and blue-grey eyes. Tetsuo has dark blond hair and blue-grey eyes. Jiraiya also stands nearby.

Kesoa and the Moriyama man who found the cliff where Jarou jumped stand in front of the group. Amira has tears in as her husband finishes telling her what happened.

“My dear…,” Kesoa says with his own tears. “I think your brother may have intentionally jumped over the cliff.”

Amira sobs some more. “You’re saying that Jarou committed suicide ?! Oh, how could my brother do this to me?!”

Amira just can’t help it. She crumples to her knees and begins sobbing her heart out. Kesoa envelopes his grief stricken wife into his arms. 

Nearby, Rina and Korra just sob silently. Aisha and Tenshi start sobbing as well. Aisha’s father, Kaito, brings his daughter into a comforting hug. Tenshi’s father, Tetsuo, puts a comforting hand on his son’s shoulder. Tsukiko just looks down. Jiraiya looks away. 

Eventually, Rina sighs. “It appears the very idea of Thalia being dead was just too much for Jarou to take.” 

Tsukiko sighs as well. “Well, I guess we better send out men to retrieve Jarou’s body.”


Kakashi is sitting on the veranda with Sasuke. Kakashi and Sasuke moved out onto the veranda in order to talk about Sasuke’s dream as not to wake up Sakura, Naruto or Hajimu or his family.

Sasuke sighs. “Then...I woke up.” 

Kakashi blinks a few times. He rubs his chin thoughtfully. “I have heard stories of a clan with the power to create portals into other worlds. And...I am pretty certain that the name of that clan is ‘Araya’. However, I never thought those stories were actually true.”

Kakashi then yawns. “However, I think we should discuss this some more later. We need to return to our futons. We have a long journey back to the village tomorrow.”

Sasuke blinks a few times. He gets to his feet. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Sasuke sighs as he walks back into the living area with Kakashi. Deep down, the Uchiha is very troubled by his dream. If there is any truth to his latest dream, then that possibly means another world has the secrets of the sharingan. The very idea of his clan’s kekkei genkai being stolen by humans from another world is very disturbing to him. It’s bad enough that Itachi could possibly be a father and would thus have a lineage after Sasuke gets his revenge.

Sasuke lies down on his futon and closes his eyes. He grits his teeth when he thinks of the older brother that he hates so much. I don’t care if the man could possibly be a father. I am getting revenge no matter what. Nothing will stop me from achieving my goals. Nothing.


Thalia’s eyes flicker open to bright light. Thalia looks over to see that Luke and Annabeth are just starting to get up as well. Annabeth yawns and stretches as she sits up on her futon. Annabeth then looks over at Thalia. 

Annabeth immediately crawls over to Thalia. Her eyes are filled with concern for her friend. “Thalia, are you ok?” 

Thalia closes her eyes as she thinks of last night. After her grandfather left, everyone helped her into the house. After she calmed down Thalia described what had happened, even the horrible vision. After a while, the men of the house made sure that everything was sound before everyone went back to bed. Now, it is morning. 

Thalia then clenches her fists into balls. However, even after sleeping, Thalia cannot forget her horrible experience last night. The vision was just so horrible.

Luke then crawls over to Thalia and Annabeth. Theia who is curled up nearby yawns and sits up. Theia then trots over to sit by Annabeth. 

Luke just puts a hand on Thalia’s shoulder. “Thals, are you alright?”

Thalia looks away. “Not really.” Thalia whispers as she lies back down on her futon. “I shouldn’t have gone outside like I did. I...I just wanted a little fresh air.”

Luke squeezes Thalia’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault, Thals. You didn’t know that he was out there, eavesdropping like that. None of us did!”

Annabeth crosses her arms. “And just think, if you hadn’t gone out there, he probably would have broken into the house!”

Thalia closes her eyes and just stares at the wall across from her futon. She thinks of the people from her vision. The older couple. The mother and child. The mother and infant. And...the sleeping toddler. Thalia could see the fear in the eyes of the older couple as they died. The look of the mothers as they tried to protect their children. The eyes of the young child before he died. The looks all reflected horror, fear, and... betrayal. Just how could they not feel betrayal? Itachi was one of them. He was a fellow Uchiha...yet he betrayed them horribly.

Thalia sighs and turns onto her back. She is now staring at the ceiling. She thinks of the sweet looking toddler who reminded her of Jason. The child was brutally killed as he slept sweetly in his bed. 

“The little boy that my grandfather killed in his bed…,” Thalia begins. “He reminded me of Jason. I...I actually imagined Jason in that bed. I tried to move...but I couldn’t. Then, my grandfather slit his throat.”

Thalia covers her eyes. Luke squeezes Thalia’s shoulder again. “What that man put you through was horrible. However, it’s over now. He left and we are all alive.”

Thalia just blinks as she looks up at Luke. “What if he decides to come back? What will we do then?”

Luke just smirks and grabs his golf club. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect us all. I’m not afraid of that maniac!”

Thalia blinks a few times at Luke’s words. Then, the daughter of Zeus her teeth in determination. She has decided that she isn’t going to be afraid of that maniac either. She isn’t going to let a mortal man scare her.

Thalia sits up and clenches her hands into fists. “You know what, I am not afraid of that man either! If he ever comes back, I will make him sorry that he ever did!”

Luke smiles. “That’s the spirit, Thals!” Luke swings his golf club slightly and smirks. “I will make him sorry as well!”

Suddenly, Masaru pops his head into the room. “I just wanted to let the three of you know that everyone else is up. I thought that I would give you all a tour. As soon as the men and boys get back from the fields, it will be time for breakfast.”

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all look at one another. Naiya’s household is unique in the fact that it is very large. It is kind of like an extended family. Before Masaru and his grandsons arrived, the household consisted of Naiya’s family, the family of Naiya’s older sister, the family of Naiya’s cousin, six other families, five other adults, at least a dozen orphans that the family is collecting raising and an old sixty year old matriarch who is Naiya’s adoptive mother-in-law. Together, the families work a large farm which is how they produce most of their food and make money.

Naiya’s family consists of her, her husband Toshiro, seven and half year old son Naki, five and a half year old daughter Taki and two adoptive children; three and a half year old Benjiro and twenty month old Sara. Naiya’s sister is named Natara. Natara’s family consists of her husband Arashi, who happens to be the second cousin of Naiya’s adoptive mother-in-law’s late husband, and their two young children; nine year old Nerumi and two year old Atsuro. Naiya and Natara’s cousin is named Raikou Tokui and he is thirty-seven. Raikou is married to Arashi’s twin sister, Ariko, and they have three children; nine year old twin boys named Raiden and Raion and a four year old daughter named Adami. Ariko is currently five months pregnant with her and Raikou’s fourth child. 

According to Masaru, Naiya, Natara and Raikou immigrated to this village around eighteen years ago. At that time, Naiya was twelve, Natara was eighteen and Raikou was twenty. The three of them are from a village to the north that practices medical ninjutsu, which is basically jutsu that has the power to heal. Their mothers were sisters and Raikou’s mother was the leader of the village. However, Raikou’s mother wasn't exactly the best or kindest village leader and she was extremely jealous of Naiya and Natara’s mother as the latter was more successful and respected as a healer. Well, when Naiya and Natara’s mother and father died, their aunt turned on them and cruelly banished them from the village. Raikou argued with his mother, calling her out on her bad qualities and her jealousy towards her now deceased sister. Seeing this as a betrayal, Raikou’s mother decided to banish him as well. Alas, Raikou and his two cousins traveled until they reached this village. They found sanctuary with Toshiro’s adoptive family, who were looking for helping hands around their farm. As time passed, Natara and Arashi fell head over heels for one another and the same happened with Raikou and Ariko. The four of them married in a double wedding. Naiya and Toshiro married a year later. 

Just then, a woman appears behind Masaru. The woman looks to be about 60 and has long graying dark brown hair, light brown eyes and fair skin that is just starting to show wrinkles. The old woman is wearing a light pink blouse and a darker pink skirt. 

Masaru blinks a few times as he looks at the woman. Masaru looks very surprised at the old woman’s sudden appearance. “Sanae, you usually help prepare breakfast.” 

The woman, Sanae, just smiles as she walks past Masaru and into the room. “I always give tours to those who visit my household.”

Sanae Fujisato is Toshiro’s adoptive mother. Sanae was married to a man named Kaishin Fujisato, who passed away years ago. Sanae’s oldest grandson, the son of Sanae’s biological son, is named after him. And aside from Toshiro, Sanae also has thirty-six year old biological twins Kaiya and Seto, and two adoptive daughters; twenty-four year old Yumiko and nineteen year old Ikeri. Just like Toshiro, Kaiya, Seto and Yumiko are also married. 

Kaiya is married to a man named Hakurou Masuyama and they have two biological children and two adoptive children. Fifteen year old Kiyomi and ten year old son Haruto are the couple’s biological children and ten year old Chihaku and six month old Tomone are the couple’s adoptive children. Haruto and Chihaku are two of the boys who helped to rescue Thalia last night.  Hakurou’s twenty year old brother, Hideaki, is also part of the household. 

According to Masaru, Hakurou and Hideaki immigrated to this village just before Raikou, Natara and Naiya did. At that time Hakurou had just turned eighteen and Hideaki was just two months shy of turning two. It was around that time when a fever struck their home village, which killed their parents. In fact, the fever killed off two-thirds of the village’s population, leaving it in shambles. So Hakurou decided to leave the broken village with little Hideaki in tow. Hakurou packed a backpack, strapped little Hideaki to his chest, and just started walking until he came to Sanae’s village. Hakurou then looked for work and a place to stay. The only ones who would take the brothers in were Sanae and old Kaishin. Old Kaishin was actually looking to expand the family farm and was looking for a helping hand. So Hakurou and Hideaki stayed with Sanae, old Kaishin and their family with Hakurou working the land to earn their keep. It was during this time that Hakurou and Kaiya fell in love with one another. The two of them married when they were both 20, just a few months before old Kaishin’s death.

As for Hideaki, he is also married. Hideaki’s wife, Rukia, is from a far away village which she actually ran away from years ago when she was pregnant with her now sixteen month old twins; Reika and Ryuu, who are Hideaki’s step-children. However, the twins don’t really call the man ‘step-father’ as they never knew their biological father. 

According to what Masaru told the three young demigods last night, Rukia was born into a cult like village that practiced a form of teenage marriage and polygamy. Basically, once a girl started menstruating, she would be put into the ‘selection’ and then placed with an older man to act as a concubine . The man would then test her fertility by having sex with her. The men of the village would only marry fertile girls. If the man succeeded in impregnating the girl, the marriage would then commence. The lucky girls are ones that escape before they are impregnated or they escape before they can be married off. Rukia had been paired with a man when she was just sixteen and he succeeded in impregnating her when she was seventeen. However, before the marriage could commence, Rukia managed to escape. She absolutely despised the man as he already had five wives and children, and he was a terrible father to the children that he did have. Rukia didn’t want to bring her innocent baby into such a life. 

After running away, the pregnant Rukia found her way to Sanae’s village. Of course, the only one who would take the lonely and pregnant teenager in...was Sanae. And so Rukia settled in to go through her pregnancy, secure in the knowledge that she had somewhere to give birth and raise her baby. And despite Rukia being pregnant, the young seventeen year old Hideaki fell head over heels for Rukia as she was very beautiful and he felt she was very brave for defying her village like that. Rukia also fell for Hideaki. Then, a few months after Rukia turned eighteen, she gave birth to Reika and Ryuu. Rukia and Hideaki then married when the twins were just three months old and Hideaki has acted as an adoptive father to the twins ever since. 

Sanae’s son and Kaiya’s twin, Seto, is married to a woman named Amani and the two of them have three biological children and one adopted child. The couple’s oldest children are the sixteen year old twins, Kaishin and Alani. Seto and Amani’s third child is an eight year old girl named Akari. The couple’s adopted child is a four month old baby boy named Satoshi.

Sanae’s adopted daughter, Yumiko, is married to a man named Wasure Akiyama and they have a three year old daughter named Yasha. Yumiko and Wasure are also raising Wasure’s thirteen month old half-brother, Zakuro. Despite having different fathers, Wasure and Zakuro share the same last name as Zakuro’s father, who was Wasure’s step-father, was an orphan who was raised in an orphanage and he didn’t know his birth name. It was the orphanage staff who gave him his first name. However, the man remained without a surname until he married Wasure’s mother when Wasure was just six. 

Like Hakurou and Hideaki, Wasure and Zakuro are from a neighboring village. Wasure moved to this village when he married Yumiko. However, he still made the occasional trips to his home village to visit his mother and step-father, whom he had a strained relationship with. Wasure especially visited after little Zakuro was born and he occasionally brought Yumiko and Yasha along. However, when Wasure was twenty-three things took a dramatic turn. 

One day, while Wasure was visiting his family without Yumiko and Yasha, a tornado struck his birth village. Wasure’s step-father was out in the fields tending to his fruit orchard and he didn’t hear the village sirens. Wasure’s mother subsequently panicked once she realized her husband couldn’t hear the sirens and thus rushed out to find him, just as the tornado appeared over the horizon. Wasure tried to reason with his mother, citing that the tornado was already here and that it was too late. However, Wasure’s mother didn’t listen and ran out anyway, leaving baby Zakuro with him, who was just five months old at the time. Unfortunately, Wasure had spent so much time arguing with his mother, it was too late to run to the tornado shelter, which was twenty meters from the house. Wasure subsequently had to grab Zakuro and take shelter in the tub while the tornado passed overhead. 

Unfortunately, the tub proved to be inadequate shelter for the pair. Wasure, with his infant half-brother held tightly in his arms...was sucked up into the tornado. However, by sheer luck, the tornado dropped the pair as quickly as it had picked them up and by chance...they were dropped onto a mattress which had been sucked out of another house. Wasure and Zakuro survived the experience but Wasure’s mother and step-father were not so lucky. After the tornado passed, Wasure found their corpses tangled in a tree. Afterwards, the village held a quick funeral for all of those killed in the tornado. Wasure then went back home to Yumiko and Yasha, taking baby Zakuro with him. Wasure and Yumiko have been raising the child ever since.

The other members of the household include relatives of Old Kaishin. There is Old Kaishin’s 63 year old cousin, Akashi Fujisato, who is the uncle of Arashi and Ariko. Old Akashi is disabled as he suffered an accident as a child involving a horse drawn cart. The accident left Akashi with a broken leg and it never healed right, which resulted in Akashi being left with a permanent limp. This means that Akashi can’t do very much physical labor but he still tries to be helpful and productive around the place. The other men run a carpentry shop and a small plastic moulding shop, which produces small wooden and plastic items such as stools, boxes and toys. The disabled Fujisato has an eye for detail so he spends his days making drawings for products which the other men use to create items in their workshop. Akashi also paints many of the wooden products that the men make.

Arashi and Ariko are the children of Akashi’s deceased elder sister. Akashi’s sister had moved out when she married the twins’ father. However, when Arashi and Ariko were just five years old, they lost their parents in an arson fire which had been set by a disturbed villager. Well, the twin’s paternal grandparents couldn’t afford to take them in so they sent the orphans to live with Akashi, Sanae and old Kaishin. Alas, Arashi and Ariko have lived in Sanae’s household since then.

Also a part of Sanae’s household is fifty-eight year old Etsuko Fujisato, who is the widow of one of old Kaishin’s deceased younger cousins. After her husband died twenty-six years ago, Etsuko was unable to support herself and her three children so she moved in with her husband’s family. Etsuko’s younger daughter has since married and moved away but her son, Manabe, and older daughter Eirin, have remained in the household. And, the two of them are also married with children.

Manabe is thirty-four and is married to a woman named Asami. They have two biological children; twelve year old Makito and seven and a half-year old Katara. The couple are also raising Asami’s ten month old nephew, Terashi. Little Terashi’s parents, Asami’s older brother and her sister-in-law died a couple of weeks after Terashi’s birth due to a mudslide destroying their house during a heavy rainstorm. That night little Terashi was sick in the hospital with bronchitis and his parents had run home to grab a few things when the mudslide hit. After Terashi was released from the hospital, Asami’s parents brought the little tyke to her as they were simply too old to be raising a baby. 

Eirin is thirty-two and is married to a thirty-two year old man named Okami Etou. Eirin and Okami each have a son from a previous relationship and both boys are eleven. Eirin’s son is named Eiji and Okami’s son is named Osato.The couple has two daughters together; eight year old Sakiko and six year old Okiko. Eirin is currently nine months pregnant with her and Okami’s third child together. Okami’s sixteen year old sister, Sadako, is also a part of the household. 

Eirin was eighteen when she fell pregnant with Eiji and she hoped that this would encourage her then boyfriend to marry her. However, much to Eirin’s heartbreak, her boyfriend ditched her, citing that he wasn’t ready to be a father. Alas, Eirin was left to raise her child as a single mother. Eiji was born about nine months later. Around the time that Eiji was born, Okami was living in a village to the east and he was struggling to be a single father to the one month old Osato. And worse, Okami had been thrust into a parent role for the five year old Sadako as their mother passed away just before Osato’s birth. Okami’s father wasn’t in the picture as he had run off with another woman shortly after Sadako was born. And worse, Okami couldn’t afford any kind of daycare, which left him unable to work as he had no one to look after Osato and Sadako. Wanting a fresh start, Okami sold his mother’s house along with most of the family’s large possessions and packed whatever he and little Sadako could carry. Okami put his newborn son in a sling and simply headed east as he heard there were job opportunities there. Okami, Sadako and baby Osato landed in Sanae’s village, where he found Sanae and her family. Okami explained his situation and said that he was willing to work for food and board. Sanae agreed to take the trio in and that is how Okami, Sadako and Osato came to live in Sanae’s household. 

Afterwards, Okami met Eirin and the newborn Eiji. After some time passed, Okami and Eirin fell for each other. Okami and Eirin subsequently married when Eiji and Osato were both eighteen months old. Sanae says that since Eiji and Osato practically grew up together, they are like two peas in a pod and are close as could be. 

And then, there are two adult orphans that Sanae has raised in her household; nineteen year old Yuuta Haruki and eighteen year old Jin Kadomatsu. At eighteen and nineteen, the two young men are old enough to take care of themselves. However, the two young men enjoy living and working here. Jin enjoys working in the carpentry shop while Yuuta enjoys tending to the families various orchards. 

Then, there is seventeen year old Orenji Yakimisu, her thirteen year old brother Osamu and their seven year old cousin, Sayuri Tanikawa. Then, there is fourteen year old Kenji Inoue, fourteen year old Maemi, thirteen year old Natsuko Uzumaki, twelve year old Miyako, eleven year old Setsuna Yoshikawa and eight year old Tadashi. The youngest of the orphans being collectively raised by the adults of the household are five year old twins named Isamu and Genmei. 

Thalia blinks as Sanae smiles at her. Sanae is obviously a very kind woman to take in so many children. Thalia just feels so at ease around this woman.

Sanae blinks as she looks towards Thalia’s side. The side that Itachi slashed. “How is your side, Thalia?” Sanae asks kindly. 

Thalia blinks as she rubs the bandage. Her side still hurts but it doesn’t hurt as much as it did last night. “Better. It doesn’t hurt as much as it did last night.” 

Sanae sighs. “That is good.” Sanae then smiles as she gestures towards the door. “Come on, I shall show you around my family’s amazing home.”

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all look at one another. The three demigods just shrug. Well, it sounds like a good idea. 

Luke immediately gets to his feet. “Sounds good to me.”

Annabeth also gets to her feet. “Me too!”

Thalia slowly gets to her feet as well. Her side still does hurt when she moves. However, Thalia can get through the pain. “Count me in.”

Sanae smiles and begins leading the way out of the room. Thalia just blinks as she, Luke, Annabeth and Masaru follow Sanae. And of course Theia the dog follows closely at Annabeth’s heels. 

Thalia blinks as she follows Sanae down the hallway. According to what Masaru told Thalia and her friends last night, Sanae is actually an orphan herself. Sanae was abandoned as a newborn at the village hospital so she never knew her biological family. An old childless woman volunteered to raise Sanae as there was no village orphanage. The orphanage that the village did have was shut down years ago. The building that Sanae and her family live in now is actually the old orphanage. Sometime after Sanae was taken in by the old woman, the Fujisato’s bought the building and turned it into an extended family residence and inn. Well, little Sanae was subsequently raised by the old woman until she was three. However, the old woman died of a mysterious illness and poor little Sanae was left with no one. No one would take the poor little orphan in, except for the Fujisato’s.

The Fujisatos are actually not originally from this village. Kaishin’s family was actually just part of a larger Fujisato clan, who lived in a nearby village. However, when Kaishin was just a few months old, his parents and closest relatives had a falling out with the other half of the clan. The village leader, who was a distant relative, blamed Kaishin’s family for the falling out. This led to Kaishin’s family being kicked out of the Fujisato clan’s village. Kaishin’s maternal grandparents, who were not Fujisato’s, were also kicked out because they sided with Kaishin’s family and Kaishin’s mother, their daughter and only child. So Kaishin’s family ended up leaving the Fujisato clan’s village with what fortune they had, plus their livestock as they had been farmers. They eventually came to this village. 

After coming to the village, the Fujisato’s came across the old orphanage, which had sat abandoned for many years. Since the property had sat abandoned for many years, the village leader sold the building to the banished Fujisato’s for dirt cheap. Using the rest of their amassed fortune, Kaishin’s family renovated the main orphanage building into a big clan compound and inn. The empty rooms became rooms for travelers, which is how the family made most of their money. Some of the men in Kaishin’s family also took part time jobs within the village. It was the women who mostly ran the inn. 

Along with having a nice big building, the property was made up of smaller buildings, which the Fujisatos turned into workshops. The property also sat on 100 acres, which was perfect for starting a large farm. Over the years, the Fujisatos added on 100 more acres. Old Kaishin added on 150 acres. In all, the farm boasts 350 acres of land. And the village comes with an added bonus which benefits everyone within the village who has livestock. There is a field of wild hay which circles the entire western portion of the village. The villagers who have livestock simply harvest hay from that field when the hay is ripe and growing. Another added bonus is that the area in which this village lies doesn’t actually suffer from extremely cold or very severe winters. And the growing season is long, which extends the life and growing time for many crops such as hay. 

Thalia looks around. Sanae’s residence is a very large two story U-shaped building which is made up of separate buildings connected by large breezeways which act as mini-rooms. The home is also partially built into a hillside, which creates a small basement level, which has two bedrooms. In all, the home has 20 bedrooms. Most of them are small, but they are doable. The best thing about the place is that all of the ceilings are at least 9 feet high, creating adequate space and height for innovations such as triple bunk beds.  

Thalia looks around some more as Sanae opens the door to another room. According to Masaru, a home of this size would be an absolute energy hog if not for special added features which makes the place energy efficient. 

The first innovation is that the main facade of the house, such as the living area, dining area and kitchen and most of the bedrooms are oriented towards the sun. This takes use of daylight and passively warms the house in winter. Then, there is a wraparound greenhouse around the first story, which also helps to heat the building in winter. In summer, special windows are opened up to allow excess heat to escape, which keeps the home from overheating. The workshops surrounding the home also have this innovation which allows people to work in those workshops in winter. The greenhouse also has the added feature of cleaning greywater. The plants grown in the greenhouse filter the water and clean it. The cleaned water is then pumped back to the toilets to be used for flushing. This greatly increases water efficiency in the house.

The second biggest innovation is that windows and openings are strategically placed to allow for cross ventilation, which cools the home down even more. In summer, the windows are opened during the day to allow excess heat to escape. There are also special screened openings in the second floor which allows warm air to flow into the second story to warm it. Above each door is a similar opening which allows warm air to filter into all of the bedrooms. 

The third biggest innovation is that the home has special tubes placed throughout the first story called ground coupled heat exchangers. These tubes are buried several feet under the ground where the temperature remains constant in both winter and summer. The opposite opening leads to the outside and the opening is protected by a tough mesh screen which prevents insects and small animals from entering the tubes. In summer, the incoming air is cooled by the earth as it enters the home. In winter, the opposite occurs. The incoming cold air is warmed by the earth as it travels into the home, which helps to warm the house. 

The fourth biggest innovation is that on the second story there are special chimneys called solar chimneys which are just chimneys that have been painted black. In summer, the chimneys are opened up along with all of the windows. The chimney heats up and the warm air inside the house is drawn up the chimneys where it flows outside. In winter, the chimneys are closed off to keep the warm air in. 

In all, these innovations help to keep the house cool and warm no matter what the time of year. And...the family also produces much of their own energy and hot water via solar hot water heaters, solar panels, mini roof mounted wind turbines and biogas digesters. The blackwater produced from the biogas digesters flows out into a leach field where the family grows their ornamental plants. Due to this clever usage of their waste, the family doesn’t have to pay a septic bill to be connected to the village wastewater plant. Masaru says that with so many people living in one house, being able to eliminate as many bills as possible is key to saving money. 

However, even though the place is big and cleverly designed, it is starting to feel a little crowded, which is why the family has a contingency plan in place. Sitting next to the family’s residence is a similar home which is just a tad bit smaller. The two homes sit side by side and share a wide greenhouse. The reason the family isn’t using it is because it is in dire need of a renovation to make it livable. The plan is to fix it up and then move families into it once the current residence gets way too crowded. When everyone has free time, they all work on the future second house. 

Thalia just blinks as Sanae continues to show her and her friends all of the rooms. This place is actually bigger than it looks. The daughter of Zeus thinks to herself. No wonder so many people can live here. There is actually a lot of space.


Kisame blinks as he gets to his feet and stretches. He had a good night’s sleep. Kisame then looks around. He raises a brow. Hmm, he doesn’t see Itachi anywhere. 

Then, out of the corner of his eyes, the sharkman spots his partner sitting on a nearby veranda. Kisame narrows his eyes as he gets up and walks up to his partner. At first, Itachi doesn’t acknowledge the sharkman. However, the Uchiha turns to see his partner standing behind him. 

Kisame just crosses his arms. “How long have you been sitting there?”

Itachi blinks a few times. “Just over an hour.” 

Kisame just huffs as he uncrosses his arms. “Itachi, I don’t think those brats would dare to come back after last night. There probably isn’t any sense in just sitting out here and waiting for them to come back.”

Kisame then crosses his arms again. “I still can’t believe that you didn’t find them! Especially since that sharingan brat was injured. I mean, just how fast can kids run? Especially an injured one.”

Itachi closes his eyes. After he got done crying last night, he wiped his eyes and made his journey back to the motel. When Kisame had asked Itachi if he had found the ‘little brats’, the Uchiha lied and said that he never found them. Kisame just shrugged and went to bed, followed by Itachi a few minutes later.

Itachi opens his eyes. He had such a sleepless night last night. He is full of regret over his actions. However, it cannot be helped. He can only hope that he doesn’t run into Thalia or her friends ever again. That way, he won’t have to hurt his granddaughter ever again.

Kisame grunts at his partner’s silence. “Not gonna say anything?” Kisame asks. “Alright then. I guess I will go have some breakfast then.”

Kisame then walks off. Itachi just stares at the forest beyond the motel.


Thalia, Luke and Annabeth just look at one another as they follow Masaru and Sanae down the hallway. Sanae smiles as she opens the door to a room. “This is our laundry room.” Sanae says.

Just then, Naiya walks up to the group. Naiya simply smiles at the group. “Breakfast is ready.”

Sanae simply nods and looks at the three demigods. “Come, please join my family for breakfast.”

On cue, Annabeth’s stomach rumbles. The daughter of Athena licks her lips. “Oh yes, I am starving!”

The little girl looks eagerly at Thalia and Luke. Luke just blinks a few times. “Hmm, breakfast does sound nice.” The son of Hermes muses. He then looks back down the hallway. “However, I think I should go use the restroom first.”

Thalia blinks as she glances at Luke. “You know what, I need to go use the restroom as well.”

Luke nods and looks at Annabeth. “You and Theia go on. Thalia and I will catch up to you.”

Annabeth blinks a few times. “Oh...ok.” Annabeth says. The young demigod looks down at said dog. “Come on Theia, let’s go get us some breakfast.”

Theia barks and slowly starts following Annabeth down the hallway. Masaru, Sanae and Naiya follow close behind. Thalia and Luke then slip into the bathroom just a few doors down. 

The bathroom is designed so that multiple people can use it at once. On one side of the wall, just as you walk in, there is a vanity with triple sinks. The other side of the wall holds shelves and cupboards which hold all of the bathroom necessities such as toilet paper, towels and soap. Then, beyond the vanity and storage shelves are toilet and shower stalls, which are designed like public toilet and shower stalls for optimum privacy. The shower stalls come with tiny attached changing rooms. There are even a few stalls with bidets. On the second floor there are two simple bathrooms with a tub shower combo, a single vanity, a toilet and a bidet.

Another reason that this setup works for such a large household is because the workshops situated on the property also have bathrooms and showers. As the men get sweaty and dirty in the pottery and carpentry shops, they usually have very quick showers in the workshop showers after they get done working. And...when it is warm and nice out, the kids usually go swimming. The water that the kids swim in is very clean so this means that on days they swim, they don’t really have to take showers. 

Across the hall is a bathroom which is designed completely for relaxation. There is a standard shower with a tub, a toilet and a bidet along with a single vanity. Then, a wall of shoji screens lead to a separate room with two special soaking tubs called ofuro tubs which are completely meant to relax in, not bathe in. The two ofuro tubs are different sizes with one being large enough for two people. The other tub is meant for one person. According to Masaru, the married couples of the household often have a special date night once a month. On those date nights, a married couple will soak in the large ofuro tub together, drink a little wine or sake, which is an alcohol made from rice, and have a treat of their choice. 

Once Luke and Thalia are both inside the bathroom, Luke shuts the sliding doors behind them. He sighs and leans against one of the vanities. “Man, this place is actually really big.”

Thalia nods. “I know.” The daughter of Zeus looks around some more. “Well, what do you think? Should we stay here for the long haul? Or...should we leave and go back to where we were staying?”

Luke closes his eyes. “That is a good question. I never imagined us living in a community setting. I always thought it would be the two of us, Annabeth and Theia. And...we put so much effort into making that motel a home.”

Thalia leans back and bites her lip. “I know. Besides, we left our shoes and bags back at the motel. But...my grandfather and sharkman are probably still at the motel and who knows when they are going to leave. It’s true that I am not afraid of my grandfather...but still, we shouldn’t risk going back there so soon. I mean, why risk a confrontation in the first place?”

Luke bites his own lip. “I know. And really, there is no reason to leave this place. We have food, water and a place to sleep.”

Thalia then leans in closer to Luke. “And just think of this; being in a community setting can actually be helpful. If we fall sick, we will have someone to care for us. We also won’t have to worry about stealing food or raising our own to feed ourselves.”

Thalia simply blinks as she goes on. “And think of Annabeth. Katara, Sayuri, Naki and Masaru’s grandson, Hikaru...are all around Annabeth’s age. Nerumi, Akari, Tadashi and Sakiko are not much older than Annabeth either. Just think, she can finally have what she’s always wanted. Friends her age. Annabeth can finally have a childhood .”

Luke leans back against the vanity behind him as he thinks about the young girl that he cares so much about. “That is true. I would love for Annabeth to have friends that she can play with.”

Thalia sighs and makes her way towards a toilet stall. “Come on, let’s just do our business and get our breakfast. Annabeth is probably wondering where we are.”

Thalia closes the stall door behind her. She hears Luke walk into the next stall. The two demigods do their business quickly. When they are done, they leave the stalls and wash their hands at the sinks. Then, Luke and Thalia leave the bathroom and head towards the kitchen and dining room. 

The kitchen is a chef’s dream kitchen. It has a gas stove which has six burners and double ovens. Then, next to the gas range is a steam/convection oven. There is also a flat top range which is perfect for cooking pancakes and flatbreads. There is also a large double fridge and freezer combo along with a very large pantry and spice cabinet. The kitchen also boasts a deep double sink along with a five rack dishwasher which is perfect for cleaning up after large meals. There are also plenty of storage cabinets to hold everyone’s dishes and cutlery. There are special warming drawers in the cabinets to keep prepared food warm. And in the middle of the room is a big island which is perfect for meal prep. 

Just beyond the kitchen is the dining and living room combo. The room is full of activity. The members of Sanae’s family are gathered at tables which can hold fourteen people each. Two at each end and five on each side. Some of the tables have been pushed together to form larger formations so that even more people can eat together. The people that are seated just chat pleasantly as they eat their breakfast. 

In the kitchen, Masaru is getting his breakfast. Masaru holds a tray with a bowl, plate and glass. Masaru looks at the two demigods. “We have porridge, mini veggie omelettes and fruit...and there is milk to go along with it. Everyone gets a glass of milk for breakfast. The rest of the time everyone just drinks water. The littlest ones get watered down juice at lunch.”

Thalia and Luke see that two trays have been laid out on the kitchen island with some bowls, plates, and glasses. Thalia and Luke each grab a tray and begin setting it up like Masaru’s tray. Luke goes over to a pot and fills his bowl with an oatmeal like mixture. Thalia does the same. The two demigods just narrow their eyes at the mixture. It is too brown to be oatmeal, that is for sure.

Masaru notices their narrowed eyes. “It is buckwheat and brown rice porridge. It is actually more delicious than it looks. Just put some fruit on it and you’re good to go.”

As Masaru goes to sit in the dining room, Thalia and Luke both tentatively grab spoons and taste their bowls of porridge. Their eyes widen instantly. It is actually pretty good. The two demigods then look at the fruit choices to top off their bowls of porridge. Thalia chooses some berries. Luke chooses some chopped apples cooked with cinnamon and maple syrup. Thalia and Luke then fill their plates with mini veggie omelets and more fruit. They fill their glasses with milk. The two demigods then look out at the dining room. Now they just need to figure out where to sit. Thalia and Luke look at the first table.

The formation before them is six tables pushed together, allowing six people to sit at each end and fifteen people on each side. Right now, all of the adults and the littlest children are sitting happily together. At one end of the table, Masaru is sitting with Sanae, Etsuko, Kaiya, Hakurou and baby Tomone. Masaru is sitting on the far left while Hakurou is sitting on the far right. 

Etsuko is sitting between Sanae and Masaru. Etsuko has long platinum blonde hair which is starting to show grays. Her eyes are a beautiful indigo blue color and her fair skin is slightly wrinkled due to age. Right now, Etsuko is wearing an indigo colored long sleeved gown like dress which Masaru says is called a kimono. 

Sitting to Sanae’s right is her daughter, Kaiya. Kaiya is a beautiful woman with long dark brown hair, medium brown eyes along with light skin, and she is currently wearing a lilac colored blouse with a darker violet skirt. Seated to Kaiya’s right is her husband, Hakurou. Hakurou is a strong looking man with black hair, dark brown eyes and light olive tinted skin. Right now, the man is wearing a short sleeved black shirt with gray pants. 

Seated between Kaiya and Hakurou is baby Tomone, who is seated in a baby seat. Tomone is a sweet looking baby girl with indigo blue hair, violet eyes, and light peachy toned skin. Right now, Tomone is currently wearing a lilac colored onesie along with a bib. Situated in front of baby Tomone is a bowl of mush. In between bites of her own breakfast, Kaiya uses a plastic baby spoon to feed Tomone the mush.

At the other end of the table; Eirin, Okami, Raikou and Ariko are all seated together. Eirin has Etsuko’s platinum blonde hair, amber eyes and light skin. Right now, the woman is wearing a coral pink blouse and a mint green skirt. Underneath the clothing, Eirin’s heavily pregnant belly is clearly visible. Eirin’s husband, Okami, is seated to her left. Okami is a strong man with dark brown hair, lilac eyes and lightly tanned skin. Right now, the man is wearing a white sleeveless shirt with black pants. Ariko is seated to Eirin’s right. Ariko has long maroon colored hair, periwinkle blue eyes and light skin. Lining Ariko’s upper cheeks is a very light dusting of freckles. Right now, Ariko is wearing a maroon colored kimono top with a black skirt. And underneath Ariko’s clothing, her pregnant belly is visible. Ariko’s husband, Raikou, is seated to her right. Raikou has short black hair, Naiya’s light blue eyes and light skin. Right now, Raikou is wearing a black sleeveless shirt with light blue pants. 

On the left side of the table, the following people are seated in this order; Akashi, Arashi, Atsuro, Natara, Benjiro, Naiya, Sara, Toshiro, Seto and Amani. Baby Satoshi is lying in a basket to Amani’s left. 

Akashi is seated in between Masaru and Arashi. Akashi is a stout man with short gray hair, a gray mustache, dark brown eyes and light skin. Right now, the man is wearing a simple green and white robe.

Arashi is seated to his uncle’s left with his own family. Arashi is a strong man with maroon hair, dark brown eyes and pale skin. Right now, Arashi is wearing a light blue sleeveless blue shirt and charcoal colored pants. Natara is seated to Arashi’s left. Natara is a lot like Naiya in that she has light brown hair, blue eyes and light skin. The woman is just older looking and her lips are redder than Naiya’s. Little Atsuro is seated in between his parents. Little Atsuro has short maroon colored hair, blue eyes and pale skin. The little boy is currently wearing a small black shirt with gray pants. 

Little Benjiro is seated between his mother and adoptive aunt. Little Benjiro has short sky blue colored hair, deep teal colored eyes and fair skin. Right now, the little boy is wearing a dark green shirt with a gray brachiosaurus printed upon the front. To go along with the shirt is a pair of gray shorts which are the same shade of gray as the brachiosaurus motif. Naiya is seated to her young adoptive son’s left. She is currently wearing a white blouse with a light blue skirt. Seated to Naiya’s left is her husband, Toshiro. Toshiro is a strong man with chocolate brown hair, bright blue eyes, and fair skin. Toshiro is wearing a chocolate brown shirt with cream colored pants. Little Sara is seated between her adoptive parents in a special floor seat. Sara is a sweet looking toddler with light brown hair, blue-green eyes and tiny pink lips. Little Sara is currently wearing a sweet pink dress. 

Seto and Amani are weated to Toshiro’s left. Seto has short dark brown hair, light brown eyes and fair skin. Seto is wearing a blue shirt with light gray pants. Amani is seated right next to her husband. Amani is a beautiful woman with long black hair, dark indigo blue eyes and light skin. Right now, Amani is wearing an indigo colored blouse with a white skirt. To Amani’s left, baby Satoshi is lying in his basket. Baby Satoshi has black hair, emerald green eyes and light toned skin. Satoshi is currently wrapped in a green blanket.

Satoshi lets out a few cries. Amani sets down her spoon and picks the baby up. She holds the bundle against her right shoulder. Satoshi’s head is now resting on Amani’s right shoulder. Amani gently rubs the baby’s back.

The following people are seated on the right side of the table in the following order; Hideaki, Ryuu, Reika, Rukia, Yumiko, Yasha, Zakuro, Wasure, Manabe, Asami, Terashi, Ikeri and Yuuta. 

Hideaki is seated directly to Hakurou’s right. Hideaki looks almost exactly like Hakurou, except that he is younger looking and his black hair is spiked. Right now, Hideaki is currently wearing a short sleeved maroon shirt and black pants. Seated to Hideaki’s right is his wife, Rukia, along with little Ryuu and Reika. Right now, the two toddlers are seated between Hideaki and Rukia in special floor seats. 

Rukia is a beautiful young woman with long violet hair, deep magenta eyes, pale skin and red lips. Rukia is currently wearing a sleeveless knee length magenta colored dress. According to Sanae, Rukia often wears very light clothing as she has always been warm and is thus sensitive to heat. Even during the winter she seems to be hot no matter how cold it is. 

Reika and Ryuu look almost exactly alike, except for a few differences. Both little Reika and Ryuu have black hair that has purple tips that almost look like flames. However, Reika’s hair is shoulder length, while Ryuu’s is short and slightly spiked and his bangs flow down to the nape of his neck. Ryuu also has short bangs framing the top of his forehead. Both little Reika and Ryuu also have Rukia’s magenta eyes, but Ryuu’s eyes are a deeper shade, almost a maroon color. Reika and Ryuu have also inherited their mother’s pale skin. If the twins had olive skin, they could easily pass as Hideaki’s biological children. From what Sanae told Thalia, Luke and Annabeth, Reika and Ryuu’s biological father; the man that Rukia ran away from her birth village to get out of marrying had spiky black hair like Hideaki. It is no surprise to the family then that the twins look somewhat like their step-father. 

Little Reika is sitting right next to her mother. Reika is wearing a sleeveless purple hoodie with matching purple shorts. According to Sanae, little Reika has seemingly inherited her mother’s aversion to heat as she doesn’t like to be dressed too warmly. Reika didn’t even like to be bundled up as a baby, even during the winter. Little Ryuu on the other hand is the complete opposite. Ryuu always seems to be cold and he loves warmth. The tiny tot also loves to be bundled in blankets. Right now, Ryuu is seated right next to his step-father. Ryuu is wearing a long sleeved sleeved maroon hoodie with taupe pants.

Seated to Rukia’s right is Yumiko and her family. Yumiko is a beautiful young woman with long black hair, lilac irises, light skin and pink lips. Yumiko is currently wearing a lilac colored blouse with a white skirt. Wasure is seated a little ways to Yumiko’s right. Wasure is a strong looking man with medium brown hair, olive green eyes and light skin. He is currently wearing a sleeveless olive green shirt with matching pants and a black belt. Little Yasha and little Zakuro are seated between Yumiko and Wasure. Yasha, who is seated right next to her mother, has Yumiko’s black hair and Wasure’s olive green eyes. Right now, Yasha is wearing a cute lilac colored dress with white trimming. To Yasha’s right is her young half-uncle, who is seated in a baby seat. Baby Zakuro has short dark green hair, which he got from his father, and olive green eyes like Wasure. Baby Zakuro is currently wearing a green shirt with a white bib and light grey pants.

Manabe is seated next to Wasure. Manabe is a strong looking man with short black hair that has platinum blond colored tips along with indigo blue eyes and light peachy skin. Manabe is currently wearing a matching outfit consisting of a black shirt with white sleeves along with black pants. To Manabe’s right, his wife Asami is seated to his right. Asami is a beautiful woman with dark violet hair, silvery grey eyes and light skin. Right now, Asami is wearing a plum colored blouse and beige pants. Baby Terashi is seated to his aunt’s right. Baby Terashi has burnt orange hair, silvery grey eyes and light skin. Right now, the baby boy is wearing a blue onesie along with a white bib. 

Ikeri is seated to Baby Terashi’s right. Ikeri is a beautiful young woman with bright magenta colored hair which has been tied into a long braid. Her eyes are a beautiful shade of sea green and her skin a light peachy color. Ikeri’s lips are also plump and red. Right now, Ikeri is wearing a red and magenta colored kimono with a white belt. 

Seated to Ikeri’s right is Yuuta. Yuuta is a strong looking young man with medium brown hair, light brown eyes and light skin. Right now, Yuuta is wearing an olive green sleeveless shirt with beige colored pants.

Thalia and Luke look at each other. There are free spots at the table but it seems like everyone seated at the table is currently enjoying themselves. The two demigods don’t want to be a bother. Perhaps they should find another table to sit at. 

Just then, Suki, one of the household’s cats, trots into the dining room. Suki is a pretty cat who looks like a calico. The cat also bears striking blue eyes.

Suki trots over to little Reika and tries to lick the toddler’s lips, which have traces of milk on them. Rukia simply snaps her fingers to shoo the cat away. However, the cat simply goes over to Ryuu, who has his own sippy cup full of milk in his hands, preparing to take a sip. Suki jumps into Ryuu’s lap, which startles the toddler. Ryuu ends up squeezing a little bit of his milk onto his shirt, which Suki begins licking furiously. 

Rukia gasps and then frowns at the sight. Hideaki sighs and gets up from his place at the table. Hideaki takes Suki out of Ryuu’s lap and carries the cat out of the room. 

Sanae notices Thalia and Luke standing there, watching the scene. She sighs. “Suki is always trying to lick milk off of the little ones' mouths. She even tries to get into our cups of milk at breakfast. None of the other cats do this. Just Suki.” 

Etsuko sighs. “I think we may have to start locking Suki up when we have our meals.”

Sanae looks at Etsuko. “That might not be a bad idea.”

Thalia and Luke look at one another again. They have still not found a place to sit. They look around, trying to find a table to sit at. 

Then, they hear talking coming from another table nearby. They turn to see some children sitting at another table. This table is situated against a deep step down, which leads to another living room. The bottom step is acting as a sort of bench for some of the children. The other children are sitting on neat looking stools made out of tree stumps. The girls are sitting on one side and the boys are sitting on the other. Thalia and Luke both raise their brows when they notice that Annabeth is sitting with the girls. 

Haruto and Chihaku are seated next to each other. Right now, Haruto is currently wearing a black sleeveless shirt with gray shorts. Chihaku is currently wearing an outfit consisting of a white sleeved black shirt and light gray pants. 

Masaru’s nine year old grandson, Masaomi, is seated to Chihaku’s left. Masaomi has short black hair that is slightly curled in the back and he has deep blue-grey eyes like his grandfather. Masaomi is currently wearing a long sleeved black shirt with gray pants. 

Raiden and Raion are seated to Masaomi’s left. Raiden has spiky black hair with maroon colored flame tips, bright blue eyes, light skin and a light dusting of freckles on his cheeks. Right now, Raiden is wearing a maroon colored short sleeved shirt with black shorts. Raion has maroon hair that is styled a lot like Masaomi’s. The tips of his hair are black and his eyes are a beautiful periwinkle blue like Ariko’s. His skin is light and he lacks his twin’s freckles. Right now, Raion is wearing a maroon colored short sleeved shirt with white shorts. 

Tadashi, Naki, Hikaru and Isamu are seated to Raion’s left. Tadashi has short blue hair, blue-green eyes, and light skin. Tadashi is currently wearing a blue short sleeved shirt with matching blue shorts. Hikaru, who is seated to Tadashi’s left, looks almost exactly like his elder brother, except for a few differences. Hikaru’s hair does not curl at the back and he has short bangs covering the tops of his ears. Hikaru’s eyes are also bluer than Masaomi’s eyes. Seated to Hikaru’s left is Naki. Naki has short chocolate brown hair, and light blue eyes. Naki is currently wearing a sleeveless light blue shirt with black shorts. Seated to Naki’s left is Isamu. Isamu has short dark blond hair which has bangs covering the tops of his ears along with bright blue eyes and pale skin. Isamu is currently wearing a light blue shirt with light grey pants. 

Annabeth and the other girls are seated on the opposite side of the table. Nerumi is seated adjacent to Haruto. Akari, Katara, Annabeth, Sayuri and Genmei are seated to her right. 

On the other side of the table, the girls are seated in this order; Nerumi, Akari, Sakiko, Katara, Annabeth, Sayuri, Okiko, Taki, Genmei and Adami. 

Nerumi is seated on the far left of the table, across from Haruto. Nerumi has shoulder length light brown hair, dark brown eyes and light skin. She is wearing a periwinkle blue blouse top with black pants. 

Akari and Sakiko are seated to Nerumi’s right. Akari has brown hair that flows just past her shoulders, along with dark indigo blue eyes. Akari is currently wearing an indigo blue knee length dress with turquoise tights. Sakiko has pixie styled dark brown hair, amber eyes and light tan skin. Right now, the young girl is wearing a coral pink shirt with white shorts. Thalia and Luke just blink as they watch the two eight year old girls converse pleasantly with one another. 

Katara, Annabeth and Sayuri are all seated to Sakiko’s right. Katara has braided violet hair which has natural black highlights running through it along with indigo blue eyes which have flecks of silvery grey surrounding the pupils. Right now, Katara is wearing a royal purple thigh length dress with lilac colored tights. There is a white sash tied around her waist and a white headband with purple flowers sits atop her forehead. Sayuri has light brown hair which has been tied back into a ponytail and turquoise eyes. Right now, Sayuri is currently wearing an all pink outfit consisting of a long sleeved pink hoodie with matching pink pants. There is a dark pink flower printed onto the front of Sayuri’s hoodie. 

Annabeth is seated between Katara and Sayuri and she is talking pleasantly with them. Thalia and Luke just blink at the sight. This is probably the first time in her young life that Annabeth has gotten to interact like this with children her age. And of course, Theia the dog lays nearby. The dog just breathes softly as she slumbers in the sunshine. 

Close by, Yami, the family’s dog, lays close to Haruto. Yami is a sweet dog who looks a lot like a chocolate labrador. Yami’s eyes are a beautiful light brown color, while her fur is a beautiful chocolate brown color. The dog just lets out a toothy yawn and curls up into a ball. 

Okiko, Taki, Genmei and Adami are seated to Sayuri’s right. Okiko has long black hair, lilac eyes and light tanned skin. Right now, the young girl is wearing a pine green dress top with a knee length yellow green skirt and white tights underneath. Taki has pixie style light brown hair, blue eyes and light skin. Right now, the young girl is wearing a turquoise top with short brown sleeves. The young girl is wearing brown pants which are the same shade as the sleeves. Genmei is a lot like Isamu in that she has dark blonde hair and bright blue eyes. However, Genmei’s hair is longer than her brother’s and her small lips are perfectly pink. Right now, Genmei is wearing a blush colored blouse top with a navy colored skirt with blush tights underneath. Adami has shoulder length black hair, periwinkle blue eyes and light skin. Right now, the young girl is wearing a periwinkle blue top, a waist length white skirt. Underneath the skirt, she is wearing a pair of thin spring green tights. 

Thalia and Luke look at one another as they watch Annabeth interact pleasantly with children at the table. They don’t want to bother Annabeth as it seems like the young girl is clearly enjoying herself. They should probably look for another table to sit at.

Then, Thalia looks outside and sees that tables have been set up outside. She raises a brow. Hmm, Sanae did say that the older children and teenagers like eating outside when it is nice. 

Jin, Orenji, Kaishin, Sadako, Alani and Kiyomi are all seated together at one table. Jin and Orenji are seated right next to one another at the head of the table. Jin has short dark chocolate brown hair, deep blue-green eyes, light skin and he is currently wearing an olive green colored outfit consisting of matching shirt and pants. Orenji has long black hair, turquoise eyes, light skin and she is wearing a short sleeved turquoise blouse with a knee length dark blue skirt. Right now, the two older teens are engaged in conversation.  

Kaishin and Sadako are seated on the left side of the table, adjacent to Jin. Kaishin has medium brown hair, dark indigo blue eyes and light skin along with Seto’s facial features. Right now, the teenager is wearing a navy blue outfit with a white belt. Sadako has long black hair, lilac eyes and light tanned skin. She is wearing a lilac and white kimono.

Kiyomi and Alani are seated at the opposite end of the table. Kiyomi has dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, light olive skin and she is wearing a red kimono. Alani has long black hair, light brown eyes, light skin, and she is wearing a pink kimono. 

Then, Thalia and Luke both look to see the other kids seated at another outdoor table. Kenji and Maemi are seated at the head of the table. Kenji has short brown hair, blue eyes along with fair skin. The young teen is wearing a green shirt with taupe pants. Maemi has long lilac colored hair, magenta eyes and light skin. The girl is wearing a magenta colored kimono with black sleeves. 

Osamu and Makito are on the side adjacent to Kenji. Osamu has short black hair, turquoise eyes and light skin. Right now, he is wearing a long sleeved blue shirt with matching blue pants. Makito is sitting to Osamu’s left. Makito has black hair with violet colored tips, silvery grey eyes and light peachy skin. Makito is currently wearing a black shirt with some black shorts. 

Natsuko, Miyako and Setsuna on the opposite side of the table. Natsuko has pixie style blood red hair, pine green eyes and light skin. Natsuko is currently wearing a long sleeved purple shirt with a cream colored skirt over purple tights. Miyako, who is seated to Natsuko’s right, has shoulder length orange hair and blue-green eyes. She is wearing a burnt orange shirt with white capris. Setsuna is seated to Miyako’s right. Setsuna has long violet hair, teal eyes, and light skin. She is currently wearing a teal sweater with white capris.

Thalia and Luke just watch the six teens and preteens chat pleasantly. Then, Kenji notices Thalia and Luke just standing in the kitchen, trying to figure out where to sit. The boy waves the two demigods over to his table. Thalia and Luke both blink as they look at each other. They shrug. Well, it wouldn’t hurt. Since Annabeth is sitting with the younger kids, it would make sense for them to sit with the older kids. 

Thalia and Luke then make their way out onto the veranda. Luke and Thalia set their trays down at the other end of the table. However, the two demigods realize that they don’t have any zabuton to sit on. Zabuton are small thin pillows that people sit on when they sit on the floor. Luke quickly goes to retrieve a couple of zabuton for himself and Thalia. 

While Luke does that, Thalia looks around some more. She raises a brow. She doesn’t see Eiji or Osato anywhere. 

As Luke returns with the zabuton, Thalia clears her throat as she looks at Setsuna. “Where are Eiji and Osato?” 

Setuna sighs. “Oh, the two of them like to take a quick jog before breakfast. They are always late to breakfast.” 

Thalia nods in understanding as she sits down. Luke sits down next to her. The two demigods quickly begin digging into their breakfast. 

Luke takes a bite of his porridge. He looks around. “Hmm, I have to say, it is very nice out here. No wonder all of you like eating out here.”

Kenji blinks a few times as he looks around. “Yeah, it is very peaceful out here. Even with the roosters crowing.”

Then, the cry of a rooster can be heard in the distance. Thalia and Luke both blink at the sound. Thalia clears her throat. “Masaru says that you all raise as much of your own food as possible. Just what exactly do you all have?”

Osamu blinks a few times as he thinks. “We have chickens, ducks, geese and even quail. We also have cows, goats, sheep, pigs and meat rabbits. We even have bees in hives out in a meadow. We also have small aquaponic tanks set up in sunny areas of the house. Of course, we have larger tanks set up in a workshop.” 

Thalia and Luke both raise their brows. Luke clears his throat. “What’s aquaponics?” 

“Aquaponics is raising plants in water and fish waste inside of soil.” Setsuna says. “You see, when fish waste is broken down by certain bacteria, it is turned into nutrients that a lot of plants use. However, when these nutrients build up in a tank, it can make the water toxic for the fish. That’s where the plants come in. By growing the plants in the water, the water is essentially cleaned by the plants and thus can be returned to the tank to be used over and over.” 

“All you have to do is feed the fish and they will produce waste that will feed the plants you are trying to grow.” Kenji says. “If you can farm edible fish in the tanks that is another bonus. That is the beauty of aquaponics. You can get two food sources from a single system; fish and produce.”

Thalia and Luke glance at one another. Who knew there was such a way to grow food?

Makito crosses his arms. “Aside from the livestock and fish, we also grow lots of different fruits, vegetables, legumes and even nuts.”

Natsuko smiles. “We also grow grains.” She points to the porridge. “The buckwheat in that porridge came right off of our land. We also have amaranth, maize, millet, sorghum, oats, wheat, barley and a little bit of rice on some terraces. We grind our own rice into flour to use for sweets because premade rice flour is more expensive than whole rice. As far as rice for our meals, we buy it but the rice that we do buy is all grown locally so it is cheap.”

Mitsuko blinks a few times. “When it comes to our fruits and vegetables we harvest daily and whatever is ripest. Our meals are very simple. We have a main dish such as curry with rice and homemade flatbreads. Then, we always set out different varieties of steamed and cut up raw vegetables. There is always something for everyone to enjoy.”

Thalia blinks a few times. “Just what do all of you do on a daily basis?”

Osamu sighs. “I won’t lie, a lot of work does go into maintaining the farm and workshops. Our daily chores include gathering eggs, harvesting fruits, vegetables and grains...and feeding the animals. We also help the adults in the workshops during the winter. You see, we focus on mostly selling produce during the spring and summer months. However, when winter and autumn months arrive, we focus on making and selling workshop goods.” 

Kenji wrings his hands. “In order not to stretch ourselves too thin, we delegate certain tasks for each season. It helps us not to get overwhelmed by everything that goes on here.”

Luke blinks a few times. “Masaru says that all of you go swimming a couple days a week when it is nice. What is that like?” 

Osamu grins. “To the east, there is a river and a waterfall. To the west, we have the same thing. Both are just a thirty minute walk from here. After we all do our morning chores, we have a quick lunch and then a one hour nap. Our siesta helps us all recharge after doing such hard work. Some of us nap and some of us don’t. Those who don’t nap use that time to just unwind and relax.” 

Natsuko blinks a few times. “Afterwards, the men work in the carpentry shop while the women work in their own workshops. The rest of us go swimming. The boys use the west waterfall and river and the girls use the east waterfall and river. We all swim for at least an hour. We have to be home by three O’clock in order to help with the late afternoon chores.”

Kenji grins. “We all just strip down and then jump in and have a good ol time. The water is so clean, it’s like we are taking a bath. The water gets us clean enough. At the most, all of us just have to shower three times a week. And that depends on just how dirty we get on a day to day basis.”

Thalia blinks a few times. “In Ancient times the Greeks bathed in rivers and streams so that does make sense. Goddesses were especially fond of bathing like that.”

Osamu grins even more. “And the best part, both places are surrounded by hot springs! Some days we swim, others we have a good ol soak in the hot springs.”

Thalia and Luke look at one another. They both grin. Swimming and soaking in hot springs sounds like a lot of fun.

Setsuna’s eyes then become wide. “Oh, I almost forgot about our lessons. Kaiya and the other women give us all lessons in basic reading, writing and mathematics. Old Kaishin, Sanae’s late husband, had an aunt who was a teacher so we have a huge collection of textbooks full of lessons that the women use. We also have a big library full of books to read. We do most of our lessons during the colder months.”

Kenji sighs. “Despite the hard work, we do have a good life. Since we produce almost all of our own food, we don’t have to buy too much. And since we produce our own energy, we don’t have to pay for electricity from the village grid. And with our biogas digesters and composting toilets, we don’t have to pay a wastewater bill either. And with our rainwater catchment system, we only have to pay for drinking and cooking water from the village. Sanae also grows medicinal plants so we always have access to natural remedies whenever someone is sick or injured. And...Naiya and Nerumi’s mother used to be a healer in a faraway village so they both know medical ninjutsu, which also helps. It is very rare that someone needs to visit the hospital.”

Makito leans back. “Overall, life is good.”

Natsuko grins. “Since people in the village know that Sanae and her family take in orphans, kind villagers are always donating old clothes and toys. There is a shopkeeper who gives us a discount on anything that arrives at his shop damaged. Say an article of clothing arrives with a rip. The man will sell it to us for a discount, and the women simply repair the tear. Sanae and all of the women are excellent seamstresses.”

Setsuna opens her mouth to say something, but two loud yells interrupt the peaceful atmosphere. Everyone turns to see Osato and Eiji rushing into the kitchen and dining room. Both boys pant heavily as they yell wipe the sweat off of their brows. Thalia, Luke and the other kids all raise their brows. What is going on?

Inside the house, all of the adults and younger kids give the two boys strange looks as well. Eventually, Okami clears his throat as he looks at Osato. “Son, what is it? Why are you and Eiji out of breath and sweating?” 

Osato gulps. Osato has short dark brown hair, lilac eyes and lightly tanned skin. He is currently wearing a white short sleeved shirt and dark brown shorts. “Dad, Eiji and I ran into Jakobe on our run...and he seems really mad for some reason.” 

Eiji gulps. Eiji has golden blonde hair, amber eyes and light skin. Right now, the boy is currently wearing a sleeveless pine green shirt with white shorts. “Dad, he chased us all over the village like a madman!”

Eirin and Okami both gasp as do the other adults. However, before anyone can say anything, a loud noise comes from down the path leading to the house. Thalia and Luke both raise their brows at the noise. It sounds like yelling. Very angry yelling. 

The yelling gets even louder. “HAKUROU, I KNOW YOU ARE IN THERE!” The mysterious voice screams. “YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXCUSE AS TO WHY YOUR BRATS AND YOUR FOSTER BRATS STOLE A STRETCHER FROM THE VILLAGE HOSPITAL LAST NIGHT!”

The yelling makes the babies cry. Even little Benjiro, little Yasha, little Atsuro and little Sara burst out crying. Kaiya, Amani, Asami, Naiya, Natara, Rukia, Hideaki and Wasure all act quickly to calm the little ones down.

Kaiya picks up the crying baby Tomone and slips the dirty bib off of the baby. Kaiya places Tomone against her right side so that the baby’s head is on her right shoulder. “Shh, it’s alright.” Kaiya whispers to the baby girl.

Rukia takes the crying Reika into her lap while Hideaki takes Ryuu into his own lap. Hideaki grumbles as he glances towards the hallway which leads to the entryway. “Seriously, again?” 

Amani, who just set baby Satoshi back down in his basket a minute ago, simply picks the baby up again and begins patting his back soothingly. “There, there.” Amani whispers. “Just calm down.” 

Naiya takes both Sara and Benjiro into her lap and begins trying to calm the little ones down. Benjiro and Sara both sniffle against their adoptive mother’s shoulder. Yumiko does the same with little Yasha. Natara does the same with little Atsuro.

With his wife soothing their daughter, Wasure turns his attention to his baby half-brother. Wasure slips the dirty bib off of the crying Zakuro and then takes the little one into his arms. He places the tiny tot’s head on his right shoulder. Wasure just begins rubbing his baby half-brother’s back soothingly.

Asami simply rocks little Terashi on her shoulder. “Shh, it will be ok.”

Eiji and Osato both gasp. Osato turns to the hallway leading towards the entryway. “Oh no, he followed us!” 

“Let’s hide!” Eiji says. 

With that, Eiji and Osato both run up the nearby flight of stairs.

Outside on the veranda, Thalia and Luke just blink as Kenji, Maemi, Osamu, Makito, Natsuko, Miyako and Setsuna all sigh together. 

After a moment, Kenji crosses his arms. “Oh great, it’s Jakobe.” The teenage male says with a sarcastic voice. “Coming to ruin our breakfast again .”

Luke raises a brow at Kenji’s words. “Who’s Jakobe?”

Natsuko sighs. “Jakobe Hisakawa. He’s the leader of our village.”

Thalia raises a brow. “Why is the village leader visiting your house a bad thing?”

Osamu frowns as he crosses his arms. “Because Jakobe...is a jerk.”

“A real big jerk.” Makito says as he crosses his own arms.

Just then, a tall muscular man wearing all black bursts into the kitchen and dining area. The man has short black hair, dark violet eyes and pale skin. The man is wearing all black clothing with a white belt. The man frowns intensely as he looks at Hakurou and the other men.

Hakurou sighs and gets up from his place beside Kiaya, who is shushing baby Tomone. Hakurou simply looks at the mysterious man. “Jakobe…,” Hakurou says as respectfully as he can. “How may my family and I help you this morning?”

Okami then frowns. “And why were you chasing my boys around the village?” 

The man, Jakobe, just snorts and crosses his arms. “A villager told me that last night, he saw your brat, your adoptive brat and some of your foster brats sneaking a stretcher out of the village hospital.” 

Hakurou sighs. “Jakobe, they borrowed it and returned it.”

Jakobe’s face reddens a little. “THAT’S NOT THE POINT! THE POINT IS THE BRATS TOOK THE STRETCHER WITHOUT PERMISSION! THEY STOLE IT!” 

The babies all start crying again. Kaiya shushes baby Tomone while Amani shushes baby Satoshi. Asami does the same with Terashi. 

Naiya just rocks back and forth as she holds Sara in her lap. Natara does the same with Atsuro. Yumiko just rubs Yasha’s back soothingly. Wasure on the other hand just gives Jakobe a deathly look as he tries to comfort little Zakuro. 

Reika and Ryuu both let out terrified little wails as they clutch their carers tighter. Hideaki frowns at Jakobe. He is getting annoyed with this man. However, he doesn’t show it. Hideaki’s face remains stoic as he speaks. 

 “Jakobe, they returned it. That’s what matters.” Hideaki says from his place at the table.

Jakobe snorts again and frowns as he looks across the room at all of the gathered members of Sanae’s household. Jakobe’s eyes then land on Thalia and Luke out on the veranda. Jakobe then spots little Annabeth sitting between Katara and Sayuri. 

Jakobe’s eyes widen as he processes the sight before him. He then lets out a frustrated sigh. “Three more brats?! You have got to be kidding me!”

Jakobe’s eyes widen even more when he sees Theia laying by Annabeth’s side. “And another dog?! You can’t be serious?!”

Thalia and Luke look at one another. What is this guy’s bag? Did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?

Annabeth is thinking the same thing as Luke and Thalia. What is this guy’s problem? Annabeth thinks to herself.

Jakobe then looks at Hakurou with eyes full of ire. “HAKUROU, YOU DARE TAKE IN MORE BRATS WHEN YOU ALREADY HAVE TOO MANY TO START WITH?! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH STRAIN THIS IS GOING TO PLACE ON THE VILLAGE?!”

The babies start crying even louder. Benjiro, Yasha and Atsuro just cover their ears. Even Reika covers her tiny ears. Ryuu on the other hand, just continues to cry.

“Jakobe, please…,” Kaiya says as she tries to soothe the crying Tomone. “You’re scaring the babies.”

Sanae clears her throat. “Jakobe, we have been through this before. We provide for these children ourselves. We provide food, shelter, water, education and most importantly...care and love. We just receive donations from kind and willing villagers.”

Jakobe just growls and crosses his arms. “YOU HAVE TOO MANY PEOPLE IN THIS HOUSE!! YOU ARE TAKING IN TOO MANY ORPHANS!!”

The babies continue to wail. Yasha, Atsuro and Reika all press their little hands to their ears. Ryuu on the other hand...starts screaming his little lungs out, which further aggravates the irritated Jakobe. 

Jakobe glares menacingly down at the screaming toddler in Hideaki’s arms. “SHUT THAT LITTLE BRAT UP OR I WILL!!” 

Rukia gasps as does Hideaki. Everyone else inside the house also gasps at what the village leader just said. Hideaki immediately rocks the toddler in his arms but it does no good. Ryuu won’t stop crying. Eventually, Jakobe reaches down and grabs the toddler. The man subsequently begins trying to rip the little boy away from his step-father. However, Hideaki holds on tight to the child. 

Hideaki growls as he holds Ryuu against him and all the while, Jakobe tries to tug the tiny tot away. “Jakobe, what do you think you are doing?!” 

Thalia and Luke both gasp at the sight before them. Jakobe tugs and tugs hard on little Ryuu’s tiny body, trying to rip him away from Hideaki. One question runs through both demigod’s minds. 

Just who in their right mind handles such a small child like that? 

Rukia pleads with Jakobe to release her son. “Jakobe, please stop! You’re hurting Ryuu!” 

Hakurou tries to intervene. “Jakobe, stop this instant!” 

However, Jakobe doesn’t stop. Eventually, he manages to wrestle the tiny tot away from Hideaki. Jakobe holds the tiny tot up in front of him and violently shakes the little one. 

“SHUT UP!!” Jakobe screams. 

However, this only makes things worse. Ryuu just screams harder and harder. Eventually, Jakobe does the unthinkable. The man looks over to a nearby wall. Then, in one swift motion...Jakobe hurls Ryuu’s tiny body towards the wall. 

Rukia screams with horror. “NOOOO! MY BABY!” 

However, Ryuu doesn’t collide with the wall. A figure dashes in front of the wall and catches the tiny tot. It is Thalia. 

Thalia just blinks as she looks down at the screaming toddler in her arms. The daughter of Zeus didn’t even hesitate. However, she still doesn’t really know how she accomplished such a feat. In all her life, she has never moved so fast. 

Everybody, except for Ryuu and the babies, goes silent for a moment. Jakobe blinks a few times as he tries to make sense of it all. Just how did that girl move so fast?

However, Jakobe doesn’t get to think more about it as an enraged Hideaki grabs the front of his shirt. Jakobe just blinks and frowns as he looks at the enraged looking Hideaki. 

Hideaki just growls as he looks Jakobe right in the eyes. Sure Ryuu isn’t his biological child, but he has helped to raise this child since he was born. Ryuu is his son. 

How dare Jakobe throw his son like that?!

Hideaki then grits his teeth. “You almost killed my son .” Hideaki says with a deathly voice. “I oughta give you a piece of my mind!” 

Hideaki prepares to punch Jakobe, but Hakurou holds him back. “No Hideaki!” Hakurou says warningly to his brother. “Striking a village leader is a capital offense! You could be banished!” 

Thalia’s eyes become wide. Banish?! That word makes Thalia think of her poor grandmother and her grandmother’s relatives. She then thinks of the story of how Naiya, Natara and Raikou were banished from their home by Raikou’s mother. One thought rubs through the daughter of Zeus’s head. 

Are all village leaders absolute pricks like Toma, Jakobe and Raikou’s mother?

Eventually, Hideaki lets go of Jakobe. Then, everyone sees a figure standing in the doorway. It is a man with short spiky black hair, violet eyes and light skin. The man bears Jakobe’s facial features, yet he is younger looking. The mysterious man wears a one piece slate gray suit with a white belt.

The man’s eyes are wide as he looks at Jakobe. “Brother, what did you just do?” 

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all raise their brows slightly. This man is Jakobe’s brother?

Hideaki grits his teeth as he looks at Jakobe’s brother. “I’ll tell you what your brother did, Johiro! He ripped little Ryuu from my arms and tried to throw him against a wall!! Your brother almost killed my son!!” 

The man, Johiro, just lets out a horrified gasp. His eyes become wide as saucers. “He...he did what?” 

Jakobe just snorts. “The little brat wouldn’t stop crying! He was driving me crazy!” 

Johiro just sighs and shakes his head. “Jakobe, you know father doesn’t like you bothering Sanae and her family. And...just wait until he hears what you did. Aye, he will be so disappointed.” 

Jakobe snorts again. “Father isn’t the village leader anymore. I don’t have to ask his permission to do anything. His opinion doesn’t matter!” 

With that, Jakobe turns back to Hakurou with steely eyes. “I have warned you before. You have too many people living in this house!” 

Then, without another word, Jakobe stomps out of the room. Johiro just sighs as he follows his brother out of the room. A few seconds later, everyone hears the front sliding door slam shut. 

Rukia immediately rushes over and takes the crying Ryuu from Thalia. The woman just hugs the little boy and kisses his tiny face over and over. Hideaki sighs as he brings little Reika over to Rukia and Ryuu. Rukia just cries as she embraces both of her children. 

Masaru immediately looks at Thalia. “I have to say, that was quite the save.” 

Thalia nods. “Thanks.”

Luke grins. “That was amazing Thalia. I have never seen anything like it!” 

Annabeth smiles. “Yeah! That was amazing!” 

Thalia looks back to Hakurou and Masaru. “If you don’t mind me asking, what was that guy’s bag anyway?” 

Hakurou sighs. “That was Jakobe Hisakawa, the leader of our village. The other man is his younger brother, Johiro Hisakawa. Jakobe and Johiro are the sons of the previous village leader, Jitaro Hisakawa. It was twelve years ago when Jitaro suffered an accident that left him permanently blind. You see, with Jitaro completely blind, he couldn’t fulfill his responsibilities so he gave his leadership position to Jakobe, as he was his eldest son at the time.”

Kenji sighs. “Let’s just say that he doesn’t like Sanae and the rest of her family taking in orphans. Jitaro was completely alright with it but Jakobe isn’t. He believes that we have too many people living here.”

Kaishin rubs the back of his head from his place at Sanae’s table. “Despite us producing much of our own food, all of our own power and not contributing wastewater to the village’s wastewater facility, Jakobe, believes that we are using too much of the village’s resources.” 

Thalia frowns. “But...you guys are almost 100% self sufficient. How are you using too much of the village’s resources?”

Natsuko just shrugs her shoulders. “We don’t get it either.”

Setsuna sighs. “He’s always giving Sanae and the other adults a hard time over everything and he absolutely flips out whenever we add another member to our household.”

Kenji sighs. “Come on, let’s just finish our breakfast. We have a lot of work to do.”


Kakashi simply smiles as he and the rest of team seven stand at the village gate. Hajimu, Reika, their children and the rest of the villagers stand a few feet away. This is the day that Team Seven leaves. Their mission is complete. Hajimu and the rest of the villagers have come to see the leaf nins off. 

Hajimu smiles. “I thank all of you so much! I don't know how my village could have harvested all those apples without your help.”

Kakashi smiles. “It was our pleasure.”

Hajimu looks over to a villager who has three small bags. “As a token of my gratitude, please take some apples for the road.”

Kakashi smiles and gladly accepts a bag of apples. Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto do the same. Kakashi then clears his throat. “I have to say, this is very generous of you.” 

Hajimu smiles. “I just want to show all of you how grateful I am.”

Kakashi then looks up at the sky. “Well, it looks like it is seven O’clock now.” Kakashi comments. He then looks at his students. “If we get going, we can be back at the village before noon.”

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto all nod and begin following their Sensei out the village gate. Hajimu and the rest of the villagers wave the group goodbye.


Jarou’s eyes flutter open. Bright light enters his vision. I...I’m alive…, Jarou thinks to himself. How?

Just then, an old man wearing a white and red hat comes into the view. The man is wearing a white and red robe. The man’s skin is lightly tanned and his dark eyes are full of wisdom. The man is smoking a pipe. The old man then takes the pipe out of his mouth. 

“Hello there, glad to see that you are awake.” The man says with a kind voice.

Jarou narrows his eyes as he looks around. “Where...where am I?” Jarou asks with a shaky voice.

The old man smiles. “You are in the Konoha village hospital. My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi and I am the third Hokage. Two of my village’s chunin found you washed ashore on the side of a river. They rescued you and brought you here. You have been out all night.”

Jarou’s eyes widen. Konoha? The former home of Itachi Uchiha?! What are the odds? The very thought of the rogue ninja makes Jarou angry. Jarou grits his teeth. 

Hiruzen’s face falls as he notices Jarou’s mood change. “Sir, are you alright?” Hiruzen asks with some concern.

“Itachi!” Jarou just says with an angry voice. “Itachi Uchiha!”

The Third Hokage’s eyes widen at the mention of the missing nin. Does this man know the missing nin?

Jarou grits his teeth even more. He clenches his hands into tight fists. “Itachi Uchiha!” Jarou says with his angry voice. “If only I could get my hands on the bastard!”

Hiruzen steps back even more. This man is acting as if the infamous missing nin wronged him in some way. By the way the man is acting, it must be pretty bad. Lord Third closes his eyes as he thinks of the situation. His village saved this man. Now, he has a mystery to solve.

Just what is this mysterious man’s connection to Itachi Uchiha?

After a few tense minutes, Hiruzen sighs. He shall approach the subject softly. Hiruzen doesn’t want to have to force the information out of the injured man. Perhaps by approaching the subject of Itachi Uchiha softly and slowly, Hiruzen can get the man to open up about what the rogue Uchiha did to make him so angry. 

“Yes, Itachi Uchiha was once a shinobi of this village.” Hiruzen says with a soft voice. “I assume you know of his fearsome reputation then.”

“Yes, I do.” Jarou says with a trembling voice. “I heard of what the bastard did to the Uchiha clan.”

Hiruzen just blinks as he looks at Jarou. “By the way you speak of the man, it seems that you knew him personally.” Hiruzen says. Hiruzen then wrings his hands. “And the way you speak of the man, it sounds like he wronged you in some way. Please, tell me how you know Itachi Uchiha.”

Jarou blinks and looks away. He doesn’t feel like revealing what happened all those years ago to the Hidden Leaf. Just talking about it makes Jarou wish that he had died in the river. The pain of it all is just too much for him to bear.

Jarou turns his head to the side. “I should have died in the river.” Jarou says. “I was never supposed to have been rescued. I just want my pain and sorrow to end.”

Hiruzen’s eyes widen immediately as it finally hits him. The man didn’t end up in the river by accident. The man must have intentionally gone into the river in order to drown himself. Hiruzen then steps back to think for a minute. Something significant must have happened to make the man want to end his own life. And...could it have something to do with Itachi Uchiha? Hiruzen just blinks as he thinks of this. 

Just what could the rogue Uchiha have done to this man to make him suicidal ?

Eventually, Hiruzen sighs. “From your words, I can assume that you intentionally went into the river. Now, tell me...why did you do it? Was it because Itachi Uchiha did something to you? Perhaps if you tell me what is wrong, I can help you.”

Jarou just looks away. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

Hiruzen steps back. Maybe if he just gives the man some space for a little while, then maybe the man will open up about his problems. In the meantime, Hiruzen shall post a guard to make certain that the man doesn’t try to hurt himself. Hiruzen’s eyes widen when he realizes something. He still doesn’t know this stranger's name.

“If you are not ready to talk about your problems that is fine.” Hiruzen says with a soft voice. “However, before I leave, I wish to know your name and where you are from. Then, after you are fully recovered, my village can return you to your home.”

Jarou just blinks a few times. He thinks of his birth village and how his family was unfairly banished. “My name is Jarou Araya.” Jarou says with an unemotional voice. “I was born into the Araya clan’s village, which is located in the Northeastern portion of the land of Fire. However, my closest relatives and I were unfairly banished by the village leader at the time. All because of his prejudice against my family. We were taken in by a neighboring village led by a clan called the Moriyama’s.”

Hiruzen notices the look on Jarou’s face. The wise Hokage has a feeling that there is more to this story than Jarou is letting on. And...Hiruzen is certain that he has heard of a clan called the Araya. Hiruzen then steps back. Jarou is hiding something, that much is for sure. It is up to the wise old Hokage to figure out what it is. But for now, Hiruzen will just let Jarou rest.

“I am afraid that I must go back to my work.” Hiruzen says. “I shall post an anbu to keep an eye on you.”

Then, without another word, Hiruzen walks out of the room. He nods to a nurse who is standing outside the room. “Go and keep an eye on our guest. I am afraid that he sounds a little suicidal.” Hiruzen says with a low voice.

The nurse's eyes widen and she quickly nods. The nurse slips into the room. Hiruzen sighs. Time to go and search for information regarding the Araya clan.


Thalia blinks as her and Luke follow the older kids down a hallway. After breakfast, everyone split off to do their assigned chores. The kitchen was cleaned up and food was harvested from the gardens, orchards and fields. Well, the harvested food was tallied up and the women calculated how much of it was needed to make lunch and dinner. All of the excess produce was taken to town along with excess eggs, dairy products and any prepared workshop items to the local stores, markets and restaurants. 

After it was decided on what work would be done today, some of the men went and chose animals to butcher for the day’s meals. The men chose four meat rabbits, a goose, and a couple of chickens. Right now, Sanae, Kaiya, Eirin and Ariko are preparing the meats along with coming up with a reasonable meal plan for the rest of the day. Right now, the men and other women are working in their workshops. 

Thalia glances out a window. The sky is gray and rain is falling slowly outside. After the food from the gardens and orchards was harvested, an unexpected rainstorm threw a wrench in everyone’s plans. With it now wet outside, the men cannot cut down trees as planned, nor harvest hay. Nor can the children go swimming. The outdoor chores and swimming will have to wait another day. So, Thalia, Luke and Annabeth helped the older kids with their indoor work. Thalia, Annabeth and Luke helped to grind grains, card wool, and clean, which was actually a lot of work. Now, it is almost time for lunch. Since everyone had a little bit of time to spare, the kids decided to give Thalia, Luke and Annabeth a tour around the rest of the house. Sanae’s tour earlier only covered the first floor. Thalia and her friends are now being shown the second story of the house. Annabeth is currently hanging out in the younger girl’s bedroom. 

The rooms that the older kids sleep in are actually big bedrooms which can be split off into two using shoji screens. Some of the kids sleep in one half of the room while the others sleep in the other half. These bedrooms even come with their own little half-baths. 

Thalia blinks as she watches Natsuko open up a door. She smiles as she shows Luke and Thalia the room. “This is where Maemi, Miyako, Setsuna and I all sleep.” 

On one wall is a U-shaped formation of three sets of bunk beds, creating a total of six sleeping spaces. Three of them are currently made up with pillows, sheets and blankets, meaning that they are currently being used. 

Natsuko gestures to the three made up bunks. “Those bunks are where Miyako, Setsuna and I all sleep.” 

Miyako then opens up a wall of shoji screens to reveal a space with two more sets of bunks and a hammock. “Maemi sleeps in that hammock. Those are just extra bunk beds.” 

Setsuna then gestures towards a wall closet system against one of the walls. “These are our closets.” 

Thalia looks around the room. “I have to say, it is a very nice and organized room.” 

“Thanks.” Natsuko says. 

Kenji then points to the door across the hall. “That room is where Osamu, Makito, Eiji and Osato and I sleep.” 

Thalia just blinks some more as she looks around the place. “I have to say, this place is really neat. However, I am just wondering how long many of you have actually been here.”

Thalia then glances at Kenji, Maemi, Osamu, Natsuko, Miyako, Setsuna. “I know that all of you are orphans along with Orenji, Sayuri, Chihaku, Tadashi, Isamu and Genmei. I mean, what happened to your parents?”

Osamu just blinks a few times. “As you know, Orenji is my sister and Sayuri is our cousin. Sayuri’s mother was our father’s sister. That is why Sayuri has a different last name than me and Orenji.”

Osamu then looks away as he remembers his past. “It happened when Sayuri was just a year old. I was seven and Orenji was eleven. Orenji and I’s parents and Sayuri’s parents all lived together in the same house. One day, Orenji was babysitting Sayuri and I while our parents all worked the fields together. Bandits attacked the village.”

Osamu closes his eyes as he remembers that awful day.

A 7 year old Osamu trembles as he watches the strange men run around the village, cutting down the helpless villagers as they do. Fires rage across the village. The air is filled with smoke and screams. 

Orenji turns to her terrified younger brother. She is holding a crying Sayuri. “Osamu, come quickly! We must run!”

“But...mother and father…,” Osamu says tearfully. “And Auntie Kira and uncle Saburo. Where are they? We can’t leave without them.”

“They are adults, they can take care of themselves.” Orenji says. “Now come on!”

Just then, one of the bandits corners Osamu, Orenji and baby Sayuri. Orenji gasps and quickly grabs Osamu with one arm, ready to shield him and baby Sayuri from the bandit’s sword. However, before the bandit can bring his sword down, a figure jumps in front of the bandit and manages to deflect the bandit’s sword.

Osamu looks up and gasps. It is his auntie Kira and she is holding a sword. Kira is a beautiful young woman with turquoise eyes and light brown hair. Kira looks at her niece, nephew and baby daughter. “Orenji, take Sayuri and Osamu and run for your lives!” Kira says with urgency.

“Auntie Kira, where are my parents?” Orenji asks. “And...uncle Saburo?”

However, the look in Kira’s eyes tells Osamu and Orenji everything that they need to know. Their parents, along with their uncle...are dead. Tears prick Osamu’s eyes. “No…,” Osamu whispers. “No.”

The bandit attacks Kira. Kira fight’s the bandit. “RUN!” Kira yells as she nudges Orenji, trying to get her niece to move. “GO!”

Orenji snaps out of it. She grabs Osamu’s arm and starts pulling her younger brother along. Just as the two children reach the forest, they turn and see that their brave aunt is now lying on the ground. The bandit grins maliciously as he brings his sword down upon Kira. Blood splatters everywhere as Kira stops moving.

Osamu gasps. “NOOOOO!” Osamu screams.

Orenji also gasps but she remembers her aunt’s words. She holds the crying Sayuri with one arm as she begins pulling her younger brother into the forest. “Come on Osamu, there is nothing we can do.” Orenji says. “We must save ourselves.”

And with that, the two children and the crying one year old escape into the forest.

Osmau trembles a little as he finishes recounting that day to Luke and Thalia. “After that, Orenji, Sayuri and I just wandered around. It was five days after our village was destroyed when we came across this village. Kaiya was gathering berries in the forest when she came across us. A lack of food had made little Sayuri very sick so Kiaya immediately took us all home with her. Orenji, Sayuri and I have been here since.”

Luke blinks a little. “Ouch. That is terrible.”

Thalia sighs. “I am very sorry for your loss. That must have been terrible.”

Osamu just blinks a few times. “Thank you. Thankfully, since Sayuri was very young she doesn’t really remember that day.” 

Kenji just blinks a few times as he leans against the wall. “I was left on Sanae’s doorstep when I was a year old. Sanae got up one morning and there I was, wrapped in a blanket. There was a note, which was written by someone claiming to be my ‘uncle’.”

Kenji sighs as he crosses his arms. “According to the note, both of my parents had died of an illness, and my uncle couldn’t take care of me so he figured that I was better off with someone else. He left me on Sanae’s doorstep because he apparently heard that Sanae had adopted two orphans.”

Maemi sighs. “Just like Kenji, I was also left on Sanae’s doorstep. So were Miyako, Tadashi, Isamu and Genmei. Jin’s parents died when he was five. His parents were close family friends of the Fujisatos so Sanae took him in. Yuuta’s parents were also close friends of the Fujisatos. Ikeri, Toshiro and Yumiko were left as newborns on Sanae’s doorstep. She and old Kaishin adopted them.”  

Kenji sighs. “As for Chihaku, well...he is from a village a day's walk north of here. Hakurou and Kaiya found him when he was three months old. It’s a really complicated story actually.” 

Kenji then closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “From what I have been told, Chihaku’s mother was a very young teenage mother and she lived with her mother when she gave birth to Chihaku. Well, Chihaku’s grandmother died of an illness so Chihaku’s mother had no one to support her. The little house she lived in was paid off and that so it wasn’t like she didn’t have a roof over her head. However, she didn’t have any money and she was too young to get a job. So, she had to find food wherever she could. One day, she apparently got so desperate, she decided to leave Chihaku alone in the house in order to hunt in the forest surrounding her village. Well, she fell over a ledge and broke her neck. The villagers discovered her a few hours later after they found Chihaku alone.” 

Natsuko frowns as she crosses her arms. “None of those heartless villagers wanted to take Chihaku in. They left him inside the house to starve to death!” 

Thalia and Luke both gasp. Who does that to a baby? 

Kenji sighs. “Well, it was the day after Chihaku’s mother died when Hakurou and Kaiya came to that village with Haruto, who was three and a half-months old. Hakurou was looking for some new tools for the carpentry shop and he had heard that a village way up North had some good carpentry tools. Kaiya wanted to see the mountains there so they decided to make it a trip together along with Haruto. Kiyomi didn’t want to go as Sanae was just teaching her to knit so they left her at home. Well, the two of them stopped at Chihaku’s birth village for a bite to eat and they happened to pass the house where Chihaku was. They could hear him crying inside the house and they thought it was strange as the door seemed to be ajar and no one else seemed to be inside.” 

Natsuko sighs. “Kaiya and Hakurou subsequently retrieved Chihaku from the house and walked around trying to find his parents, thinking that he had been mistakenly left inside. Well, then when they learned the truth about why he was alone in there, they just took Chihaku and left the village without even buying anything. They were absolutely disgusted by the villagers' lack of humanity.” 

Thalia frowns. “I would be disgusted too if I found out that people had left an innocent little baby to die.” 

Kenji then leans against a wall. “Well, Hakurou and Kaiya just continued on their way and arrived at their destination at sunset. Even though Hakurou found the tools he was looking for, the accommodations for travelers weren’t very good. All of the good hotels were just too expensive. They got stuck with a tiny dingy basement room in one of the cheaper motels. The lights kept going on and off and the attached toilet kept making strange noises.”

Luke scoffs. “Sheesh, that’s terrible.”

Kenji sighs. “Actually, it ended up being a blessing in disguise. You see, that night a very powerful tornado hit the village that Kaiya and Hakurou were staying in. Well, Hakurou and Kaiya’s hotel room was deep enough in the ground that most of the debris and most violent of the gusts didn’t penetrate the room, and the ceiling above was strong enough to withstand the wind. The window at the top of the wall broke though and they were very nearly sucked out. However, the room around them stayed intact and they managed to survive. However, the rest of the motel above them was completely obliterated and over half of the people who had been staying there perished. I guarantee you, if Hakurou, Kaiya, Haruto and Chihaku had stayed in a different room that night, none of them would be here right now.”

Thalia and Luke look at each other. Hmm, that is kind of lucky.

Kenji takes a deep breath. “Well, the next day Hakurou and Kaiya came home with Haruto and Chihaku.”

Natsuko sighs. “After that, Kaiya just started taking care of Chihaku to the point that he actually called her ‘mama’. After that, Kaiya completely adopted him.” 

Setsuna wrings her hands. “You see, there isn’t any kind of formal adoption system in this world which means that people can really only ‘informally’ adopt a child. There are no papers to declare a child formally adopted in this world. However, village leaders acknowledge informal adoptions and protect the rights of the adoptive parents if the biological parents suddenly decide that they want the child back, especially if the child was abandoned by his or her biological parents.”

Thalia raises a brow. “Hmm, does this mean that Toshiro, Yumiko, Ikeri, Benjiro, Sara, Tomone and Satoshi are only informally adopted as well?” 

Setsuna nods. “That is correct. Benjiro, Tomone, Satoshi and Sara were left as newborns on our doorstep. Kaiya, Amani and Naiya just started taking care of them and fell in love with them.”

Thalia looks over at Setsuna and Natsuko. “What about the two of you? How did the two of you come to live here?”

Setsuna sighs and closes her eyes. “I was born in a village by the sea. When I was four, pirates attacked my village, killing my parents. My parents worked together to shield me. When...when I managed to crawl out from under my parents bodies, I discovered my entire village gone. I then just wandered through the forest. Seto found me a few days later as he was gathering wild berries and nuts. Seto brought me home and Kaiya and Sanae worked together to get me cleaned up as I was still covered in my parents’ blood.”

Natsuko sighs. “Like Setsuna, Orenji, Osamu and Sayuri, I also lost my parents to violence. My mother, Keiko, was born into the Uzumaki clan of Uzushiogakure, the village Hidden by the whirlpools. My father, Noburo, was an orphan that the Uzumaki’s were fostering. You see, the Uzumaki clan were renowned for their skill with sealing jutsus and their longevity. However, after the second Shinobi war, many felt that the Uzumaki’s were too powerful. And so Uzushiogakure’s enemies relentlessly attacked the village, trying to end it. When my parents were both seven, Uzushiogakure finally fell. My mother’s parents, grandparents and closest relatives were killed in the massacre that followed. By sheer luck, my mother and father escaped. Any other survivors were forced to scatter into other lands, trying to hide from Uzushiogakure’s enemies. My parents were never able to join up with any other Uzumaki clan survivors so they were on their own. At the very least they had each other. As my father and mother grew up together they eventually fell in love. Then, I was born.”

Natsuko closes her eyes as memories fill her mind. “Even though we moved around a lot, we were happy. However, when I was six, everything changed. Enemies of the Uzumaki clan discovered us. My mother managed to hide me in a cave while my father distracted the enemies. I stayed in that cave for hours, waiting for my parents to come back for me. They never did. The next morning, I left in search of them. I eventually found their bodies about a mile away from the cave. They had given their lives to keep the enemies from discovering me.”

Natsuko pauses and glances out the window before she continues. “I stayed by their bodies for a while. However, I feared that the enemies would return so I eventually dug shallow graves and buried my dear parents. I left and began wandering the countryside. Hakurou eventually came across me and brought me back to his village. I have lived here ever since.”

Thalia and Luke just look at one another. It appears that this world is full of violence and misfortune, just like their birth world.

Natsuko sighs. “I do miss my parents, but I do have a wonderful life here. I don’t know where I would be without Sanae’s family.”

Setsuna closes her eyes. “Neither would I. If it wasn’t for Sanae’s family, I would probably be dead...or still wandering around.”

Osamu blinks a few times. “I am glad that Orenji and I found this place. Sayuri would have died without Sanae’s kindness. She was so sick when we arrived at the village. I don’t think she could have lasted another day without food.”

Thalia and Luke glance at each other. Sanae has a big heart indeed. She has taken in so many orphans, many with tragic pasts and given them what they need. Hope and love.

Thalia sighs. “This place is really nice.”

Luke closes his eyes. “But the thing is...I never thought of Thalia, Annabeth, Theia and I living in a community setting. I always just imagined it being the four of us.”

Thalia wrings her hands as she thinks of her grandfather and his sharkman friend. “We really thought we struck gold when we found that abandoned village. However, my grandfather and sharkman chased us out right when we made the place a home.”

Thalia then looks at Luke. “However, I think that this place could actually be a better home. Luke, just think about it. Sure we would be sharing this place with a lot of people, but that would have it’s advantages. We wouldn’t have to worry about who would take care of us if we fell sick or became injured. We would always have a reliable supply and diverse selection of food. And more importantly, Annabeth can have friends that she can grow up with. Annabeth can finally have the childhood she’s always wanted.”

Luke blinks a few times. “I know.”

The look in Luke’s eyes tells Thalia everything that she needs to know. Luke has made up his mind about what the three of them are going to do.

They...are going to stay with Sanae’s family. Besides, Thalia is part of the Araya clan, just like Masaru, Masaomi, and Hikaru. The four of them share blood, and are thus family. It would make sense for Thalia to be with blood relatives.

Thalia manages a smile. “I am sure that Annabeth will be happy to stay here. She has already become friends with Sayuri and Katara.”

Luke smiles. “Yeah, I think so too.” However, the son of Hermes soon looks down at his bare feet. “But...the thing is, we left our bags and shoes back at the motel.”

Osamu’s eyes become wide instantly. “Please don’t tell me that you are gonna risk going back there just to retrieve your stuff.” 

Luke sighs. “I know we shouldn’t risk going back so soon. However, we will have to go back at some point to retrieve our stuff.”

Thalia suddenly remembers the chickens. “And...we left the chickens in the coop. If we don’t go back and let them out...they’ll starve to death.”

Natsuko and the other children all look at one another. Then, the sound of a bell ringing catches everybody’s attention. Natsuko cranes her head. “Oh, it is lunchtime.”

Kenji looks at Thalia and Luke. “Come on. After we eat, we can ask the men what to do about your stuff.” 

Luke and Thalia look at one another. Sounds like a good idea. They are getting hungry. The two demigods should be able to think more clearly after their bellies are full.


Jarou simply looks out the window as he lies in the hospital bed. A pretty young nurse is sitting by his bed, The nurse tries to initiate conversation as she takes his vitals. 

“So, Mr. Araya, tell me about your village.” The nurse says. “What is your village like?”

Jarou looks away. He knows what the nurse is trying to do. She is trying to distract him from his suicidal thoughts. I should have died in that river. Jarou thinks sourly to himself. Why did I survive?

The nurse sighs. “Hmm, don’t want to talk about your village eh? Well then, how about you tell me about your family?”

Jarou blinks a few times. Family. The word makes him think of his dearly deceased brother and sister-in-law. He thinks of Sakiko. He thinks of Beryl. He thinks of Thalia...and of Jason. Jarou just can’t take it. Tears fall from his eyes.

The nurse just raises a brow at Jarou’s reaction. Hmm, the man’s actually crying. The nurse thinks to herself. All I did was mention his family. Something traumatic obviously happened in this man’s life. Death of a loved one maybe?

Just then, Hiruzen walks into the room. The nurse gets up from her seat and bows to her village leader. “Lord Third.” The nurse says respectfully.

Hiruzen nods pleasantly to the young nurse. “How is our guest doing?”

The nurse frowns a little. “I have tried to engage this man in conversation, milord. However, he just won’t talk. I did ask him about his family, and he just started crying.”

Hiruzen’s eyes narrow slightly when he sees Jarou’s tear stained cheeks. Hmm, the tears and emotional reaction to the word family is evidence of a trauma involving the death of a family member. Could this have something to do with Itachi?

Hiruzen looks at the nurse. “You can leave for now. I wish to speak to our guest in private.”

The nurse nods. “Yes milord.” 

Then, without another word, the nurse exits the hospital room. Hiruzen turns to the crying Jarou. “Jarou, I have read up on the Araya clan, and the description of the abilities that your clan possesses is quite remarkable. It said in the book that I read that your clan create portals into other dimensions. Is this true?”

Jarou just blinks a few times. “Only those that hail from a certain bloodline within the Araya clan can do so. I don’t actually hail from that bloodline. My abilities are seeing into other dimensions and memory sharing.”

Hiruzen blinks a few times. “I see. Now, please explain one thing. Tell me what exactly is Itachi Uchiha’s connection to a clan that can see into and create portals to other worlds?”

Jarou frowns and looks away. “Please don’t mention that bastard’s name in front of me. Whenever I hear his name, I can’t help but remember what he did. And when I remember what he did, I get very tense.”

Hiruzen sighs. “I am sorry, but I must ask. What did Itachi Uchiha do to you? What did he do to make you want to commit suicide?”

Jarou clenches his hands into fists. He thinks of Sakiko. “Sakiko, my dear niece.” Jarou says as tears stream down his face. “Damn you Itachi!”

Hiruzen narrows his eyes. Hmm…, his niece. Hiruzen thinks. And he is cursing Itachi. Could Itachi have done something to this man’s niece?

More tears stream down his face when he thinks of Sakiko’s death, baby Beryl’s exile into the Olympian’s world and Toma’s cruelty. “Sakiko...no…,” Jarou says. “The baby...Beryl...no. Damn you, Toma!”

Hiruzen’s eyes become wide. He mentioned his niece again…, Hiruzen thinks. The baby? Beryl? And...who is Toma?

Jarou’s eyes water even more when he thinks of Thalia and Jason. “Jason…,” Jarou says. “Thalia.” 

Hiruzen’s eyes narrow a little. Jason? Thalia? Hiruzen thinks.

Jarou cries even more. “THALIA!” Jarou cries. “JASON! THALIA! JASON!”

Jarou can’t take it. He curls into a ball on his bed and begins sobbing his heart out. Hiruzen back away from the sobbing man. Perhaps he should continue this again later.

Hiruzen walks over to the door and summons the nurse back in. The nurse just stares at the sobbing mess that is Jarou Araya. “Keep an eye on him.” Hiruzen says as he walks out of the room.

After Hiruzen reaches the end of the hallway, he looks out the window and just stares at the village surrounding the hospital. Well, he got some clues out of the man. But, Hiruzen has now been left with more questions than answers. 

Just how is Jarou’s niece, Sakiko, connected to Itachi? And...what does a baby have to do with it? Who is Toma? 

Hiruzen then narrows his eyes. And...more importantly...who are Beryl, Thalia and Jason?

Chapter 23: Jarou's sad story

Notes:

Hurray, I have this chapter revamped and edited as well!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth are sitting out on the veranda of Sanae’s home with the older children. After lunch, the three demigods mentioned to the men that they left their things back at the motel and they have chickens shut up inside a henhouse. After some discussion, everyone agreed that it is too dangerous to return to the motel to retrieve Thalia, Luke and Annabeth’s things. For now that is. However, the henhouse is actually some distance away from the motel so Hakurou has come up with a plan to rescue the chickens from the henhouse. 

Earlier, Hideaki went and scoped out the area where the chicken coop is and didn’t see Itachi or his sharkman partner coming and going from the henhouse, making it seem that they know nothing about it. So Hakurou came up with the plan to sneak to the henhouse under the cover of darkness and take the chickens. Hey, Sanae’s family could use more chickens which will provide more food for everyone in the household.

Thalia blinks a few times as she looks up at the darkening sky. She and her friends just had dinner with Sanae’s family about ten minutes ago. It’s almost time to go. The daughter of Zeus thinks to herself.

Luke, who is sitting next to Thalia, just looks down. Hakurou and the other men revealed to the three young demigods that the village they intended to make their home in is actually a very popular rest stop for rogue ninja and bandits. 

Apparently, Luke, Thalia and Annabeth chose a very bad location to make a home for themselves and Theia.

Luke sighs to himself as he looks at his hands. Deep down, I just knew that place was too good to be true. If I had known how dangerous it actually was, I would have insisted that we move on and find another place to live.

Luke then closes his eyes when he thinks of the encounter that he and his companions had with Itachi and that sharkman. Thalia ended up getting seriously injured and almost died. This is all my fault…, Luke thinks sadly to himself. It’s all my fault that Thalia almost died. 

Thalia then notices Luke’s downcast eyes. She raises a brow. “Luke, are you alright?”

Luke looks up at the daughter of Zeus. “It’s my fault that you almost died.” Luke says with a sad voice. “I would have never let us stay there if I had known how truly dangerous it was. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for putting the three of us in danger like that.”

Thalia sighs and puts a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “I don’t blame you for what happened and neither does Annabeth, so don’t blame yourself . We didn’t know the history of that village when we settled down inside that motel. We didn’t know that my grandfather and that mutant sharkman would show up. It is not your fault.”

Luke glances at Thalia’s right side. The side that Itachi slashed with his sword. “How can I not blame myself?! You got hurt! And then that man found us and tortured you with his sharingan!”

Thalia squeezes Luke’s shoulder. “But I lived. We all lived. That is what matters.”

Luke closes his eyes. “Yeah, I suppose you are right.”

Thalia then looks in the direction of the forest surrounding Sanae’s property. “And remember, we are putting ourselves in danger by going back to get the chickens. However, Hideaki said that he didn’t see my grandfather or his mutant sharkman friend going back and forth from the henhouse so it should be alright. And remember, back in our own world, we had to take lots of risks.”

Luke opens his eyes. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Just then, Hakurou comes out onto the veranda. “It is time. If we set out now, we shall reach the henhouse by nightfall.”

Thalia nods and gets to her feet. She looks back at Luke. “Come on, let’s go. Those chickens aren’t gonna wait forever.”


Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto arrive at the village gate. The moon has just risen in the now dark sky. The stars are starting to twinkle in the darkness.

Naruto yawns. “Man, I am tired. I could use some z’s.”

Sakura just huffs with annoyance. “We would have made it home sooner if we hadn’t had to rescue you from that hole!”

Sasuke grumbles as he follows Kakashi into the village. Sakura is talking about how Naruto decided to show off his ninja skills while they stopped to take a break and ended up falling into a hole. A really deep hole. Kakashi had to figure out how to rescue the blond knucklehead from the hole, which took a very long time. This set team seven back considerably when it came to returning home.

After about ten more minutes of walking, team seven finally arrive at the Hokage tower. Kakashi stops and smiles under his mask as he looks at his students. “You know what, since it is late, I will go and report to Lord Hokage myself. You all go home and get some rest.”

Sasuke raises a brow. Really? Kakashi said that the two of them would talk about his strange dreams with the wide old Hokage. What changed? 

Sakura seems just as surprised. However, she just nods as she yawns. “Alright then, see you later Kakashi sensei.” The young pink haired kunoichi then blushes as she looks at Sasuke. “Goodnight Sasuke.”

Sakura then frowns as she walks past Naruto. “Goodnight Naruto.” Sakura says with a hard voice.

Naruto whines as he follows Sakura. “Aw, come on, Sakura. It’s not like I meant to fall into that hole.”

Once Sakura and Naruto are out of earshot, Sasuke turns to his sensei. “Kakashi, you said that the two of us would talk to the hokage about my strange dreams.” Sasuke says with a suspicious and annoyed voice. 

Kakashi just smiles. “Like I said, it is late and I know you didn’t sleep well last night. Besides, I actually have some private business to discuss with the hokage. I will discuss your dreams with the Hokage myself. If the hokage is interested I am sure that he will summon you to his office in the morning to discuss them with you himself. Please, go home and get some rest. You need it.”

Sasuke blinks a few times. What Kakashi says is true. He didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. After a few minutes Sasuke just nods and walks away. After Sasuke is out of sight, Kakashi walks up the doorway of the hokage tower. Kakashi sighs as he opens up the door. Kakashi wants to discuss the whole incident with Naruto and Sasuke’s dreams with the hokage himself because he just doesn’t want Sasuke to get all worked up while telling the story. Especially when the young genin is exhausted.

Kakashi sighs as he climbs up the stairs. However, he runs into the person who he wants to talk to. It just so happens that the Hokage himself is coming down the stairs.

Kakashi immediately stops and bows to his village leader. “Lord Hokage, my team and I have returned from our mission. I report that we completed our mission successfully. However, something happened that you must know about.”

Hiruzen just takes his pipe out of his mouth. He has been trying to get his mysterious and suicidal visitor to speak all day with no luck. Maybe Kakashi can help him. 

“I see.” Hiruzen says. “I am afraid that you must make it quick though. I have important business to attend to...and I could use your help.”

Kakashi’s eyes widen. “Really, milord, you could use some help? With what?”

Hiruzen sighs. “Yesterday night, Kotetsu and Izumo rescued a man from the river just north of here. Our medics managed to save the man, Jarou Araya. However, it turns out that Mr, Araya jumped into the river in order to commit suicide, and he won’t talk about why. And...he keeps crying and saying something about Itachi Uchiha. It is a mystery that I could use help solving.”

Kakashi’s eyes immediately become wide as saucers. “Milord, did you just say that the man’s name is Jarou Araya?”


Thalia looks around as she follows Hakurou, Hideaki and Setorou through the trees. Luke and Annabeth walk closely beside her. Theia trots obediently beside Annabeth. Kaishin, Kenji, Osamu, Natsuko, Miyako and Setsuna all bring up the rear.

Thalia watches as Hakurou stops and looks around nervously. Thalia looks past Hakurou. Well, they have arrived at the henhouse. 

Once Hakurou sees that the coast is clear, he nods and leads the way into the clearing. Hideaki, Kaishin and Kenji all carry large baskets that are tall. This will allow the chickens to be carried through the forest easily and they won’t be able to jump out of the baskets.

Luke is the first to approach the henhouse. He opens up the door to the henhouse. The sound of chickens clucking comes from inside. Luke turns and nods to Osamu, Natsuko and Miyako, who all carry flashlights. Osamu, Natsuko and Miyako turn on their flashlights.

Hideaki enters the henhouse behind Luke. He looks seriously at all of the kids. “We will have to work quickly... and we must try not to make too much noise.” 

Everyone nods in agreement. One by one, Kenji, Kaishin, Osamu, Natsuko, Miyako, Thalia and Annabeth enter the henhouse behind Luke and Hideaki. Osamu, Natsuko and Miyako just hold their flashlights to provide light.

Luke goes to the first nest box and gently picks up the resting hen. Kenji picks up the hen that is resting in the next box. The two hens just cluck as the two teens carry them out of the henhouse. As the hens are brought out and placed into the baskets, Hakurou counts them.

Nearby, Seto is standing guard. He scans the forest, looking for any signs that Itachi and his sharkman friend are nearby. However, Seto doesn’t see anything. He sighs with relief. Then, after five more minutes, Luke gives the thumbs up. All of the hens have been removed from the henhouse. 

Hakurou glances into all three baskets. He grins. “We have fifteen extra hens.”

Natsuko grins. “And we didn’t run into Itachi Uchiha or his sharkman friend. Awesome!”

“Not so fast.” An eerily familiar voice suddenly says from the forest. 

Everyone gasps and whips around to face the owner of the voice. Standing at the tree line...is Itachi. Thalia gasps. They have been caught!

Itachi just narrows his eyes as he looks at his granddaughter and the rest of the group. He slowly begins making his way towards Thalia and the rest of the group.

Thalia just grits her teeth as she watches her grandfather approach. Luke just takes his golf club from Annabeth, who is quivering with fright. Annabeth then grabs Theia’s collar as the dog tries to leap towards Itachi. Theia growls and snaps her jaws at the missing nin.

Itachi looks hard at Thalia. The missing nin just can’t believe that his granddaughter would come back after last night. Either this girl is extremely brave...or extremely foolish. Anyway, I have to teach her a lesson. 

Itachi then closes his eyes. It isn’t like he truly wants to hurt his own granddaughter, but he is a missing nin who killed his entire clan. That is what people would expect of him. And besides, if Thalia doesn’t try to avoid him, then it will make it more likely that the Akatsuki will find out about her existence. And if the rest of the Akatsuki find out...so will Madara. Then, Thalia would be in extreme danger. After a few moments, Itachi opens up his eyes. 

He must teach his granddaughter that nothing good will come from being near him.

Within moments, Itachi is standing just a few feet in front of Thalia. “Either you are an extremely brave...or extremely foolish girl.” Itachi says with his monotone voice. “I would think that you would try to avoid me at all costs after last night. But no...you came right back here.”

Thalia growls as she faces the man that is her grandfather. “I am not afraid of you! And I never will be!”

Itachi raises a brow. “Really? Not even a little bit?”

“No!” Thalia bravely shoots back. “I have faced off against monsters scarier than you! I am not afraid of some mortal man, even if that man is a kinslaying maniac!”

Thalia then looks down at her right hand. Her hand then lights up with electricity. “Come any closer and I will electrocute you!”

Itachi frowns. Hmm, this girl has sass. Itachi thinks to himself. And she is cocky. Very cocky. That could be a bad thing. 

Then, faster than lightning, Itachi disappears and then reappears behind Thalia. Itachi punches Thalia in the back. Thalia gasps and falls to the ground. 

Luke growls and readies his golf club and lunges at Itachi. “Get away from Thalia, you monster!” 

Itachi just turns and catches Luke by the neck. “Don’t be cocky.” Itachi says to the struggling Luke. Itachi then glances down at the horrified looking Thalia. “You shouldn’t be cocky either. You have no idea what I am capable of.”

Thalia growls. “Let go of Luke this instant, you mass murdering maniac!”

Itachi just raises a brow. However, he just throws Luke to the ground beside Thalia and begins walking away. However, Itachi turns to look at Thalia one last time. “People fear and hate me for good reason. You should learn to fear and hate me as well.”

Thalia just grimaces. “I will never be afraid of you!” Thalia says with a brave voice.

Itachi just cocks his head. Hmm… It appears that I have underestimated this girl’s bravery. I guess then that if she won’t fear me, then I must make her hate me.

“I see.” Itachi says with his monotone voice. “If you cannot bring yourself to fear me, then settle for hating me. Hate me with a passion.”

Thalia growls and gets to her feet. She gives Itachi a look full of contempt as she prepares to punch him. However, Itachi just grabs Thalia’s arm and throws her back down to the ground. Itachi cocks his head to the side. “For being half-god, you are actually quite pathetic. A lot like my younger brother, your granduncle.”

Itachi then thinks of something. Thalia is not from this world, so she has no shinobi skills. Thalia must learn shinobi skills in order to survive in this world. Itachi then blinks as he stoops down to Thalia’s level. Perhaps...he should encourage her to become stronger. Like he did with Sasuke.

Itachi narrows his eyes as he looks Thalia right in the eyes. “From what I can see, you are not even worthy of being an Uchiha. You don’t even know standard shinobi skills. Here is my advice to you. If you truly want to be worthy of being called an Uchiha, then become stronger. Master your sharingan. Learn how to be a true shinobi.” 

Itachi then stands straight. “If you are truly fearless, then come seek me out once you are strong and fight me. Prove to me that you are worthy of bearing the sharingan and the Uchiha name. That is, if I don’t die at the hands of your granduncle first.”

Then, without another word, Itachi disappears into the night. Setsuna quickly helps Luke and Thalia to their feet. Thalia just rubs her sore back. “I hate that man already.” Thalia says.

Hakurou sighs and just looks back in the direction from which the group came. “Come, let’s get out of here quickly.”

Everyone just nods. They begin walking away. However, Thalia just can’t get her grandfather’s last words out of her mind. She closes her eyes. 

...If you are truly fearless, then come seek me out once you are strong and fight me. Prove to me that you are worthy of bearing the sharingan and the Uchiha name. 

After a few moments, Thalia just shakes her head. Her grandfather basically called her weak and pathetic right to her face, which angers to no end. However, Thalia just can’t stop asking herself this crucial question.

Does she really have it in her to fight her own grandfather?

Then, Thalia remembers something else that her grandfather said. That is, if I don’t die at the hands of your granduncle first…, Thalia remembers her grandfather saying. These words remind Thalia that there is another Uchiha out there. A granduncle that she hasn’t met yet. Masaru says that word is the boy actually swore revenge on her grandfather after the massacre of the Uchiha clan.

Thalia closes her eyes. I have a granduncle who wants to kill my grandfather for revenge…, Thalia thinks to herself. What if I was to fight my grandfather, and I actually killed him in the process? Then...I would deny my granduncle of his revenge. I mean...the guy has probably lived and trained in order to take revenge on my grandfather. Could I really rob him of that opportunity? 

After a few minutes of thinking about this, Thalia just shakes her head. Oh, why do I care? It’s not like my granduncle will ever want anything to do with me. He would probably hate me just for being the granddaughter of the man he hates.

Thalia just blinks as she walks beside Luke. Thalia is actually kind of curious to know what exactly her granduncle is supposed to be like. Both her grandfather and Masaru have described him as being around her age. 

Thalia then passes by a puddle on the ground. She momentarily glances at her reflection. Her grandfather also described her granduncle as looking a lot like her. The daughter of Zeus narrows her eyes. I wonder how much my granduncle and I are supposed to be alike. 

Luke then looks at Thalia. The son of Hermes raises a brow when he notices the look on his friend’s face. “Thals, are you alright?”

Thalia just shakes her head as she looks at Luke. “Oh, I was just thinking of what my grandfather said before he left. You know, about becoming stronger and if I truly wanted to prove myself as an Uchiha, then I would fight him.”

Luke just scoffs. “Oh come on Thals, you don’t need to prove your worth to that man. You are strong no matter what anyone else tells you. You used to fight monsters for crying out loud!”

Thalia sighs. “You have a point.” She then looks up at the stars. “However, I was also thinking about my grandfather’s younger brother, my granduncle.” 

Thalia blinks as she looks back at Luke. “Masaru told us that supposedly my granduncle swore revenge upon my grandfather after the massacre of their clan. I mean I wouldn’t be sad if that man died at the hands of my granduncle. But...I am also starting to wonder about what my granduncle is supposed to be like. I mean we are both Uchiha’s so we should at least get to know each other, right? Well, what if my granduncle doesn’t want anything to do with me? After all, I am the granddaughter of the man he wants to kill.”

Luke just blinks a few times. “Come on Thals, you don’t need your granduncle to be happy. You have Annabeth and I!”

Thalia sighs. “I know.”

Thalia glances up at the crescent moon above. Even though the daughter of Zeus is certain that her mysterious granduncle will want nothing to do with her, she knows that she can’t be absolutely certain unless she actually meets the guy face to face, which brings her to another critical question.

Should she really try to locate and attempt to forge a relationship with her mysterious granduncle?


Sasuke sighs as he looks in the mirror. He ate a little bit when he came home and then sat down to relax some before he went to bed. However, the sworn avenger just can’t seem to relax. He just cannot get his latest dream out of his head. And Sasuke knows deep down that he will just have more dreams if he goes to sleep.

I really need to figure out why I am having these dreams...or else I am going to lose it. Sasuke thinks to himself.

Sasuke sighs as he steps out of his bathroom and makes his way towards his apartment door. Sasuke slips his sandals back on. Sasuke knows that Kakashi told him to go home and rest, but he just can’t. The Uchiha figures that maybe if he confides in his dreams to someone else, then maybe they won’t bother him as much. 

Sasuke opens up his apartment door and steps outside. The Uchiha has made up his mind. He is going to see the Hokage, whether it is late or not. Surely the wise old Hokage can at least provide some answers to his dreams.

Sasuke closes the door behind him and quickly locks it. The Uchiha then begins making his way down the stairs and to the entrance into the apartment building. Sasuke quietly exits the apartment building and begins walking towards the Hokage tower. After walking down the street for about five minutes, Sasuke is almost to the Hokage tower. However, much to the Uchiha’s surprise, he sees the Hokage and Kakashi leaving the Hokage tower. 

The Uchiha raises a brow. Where are those two headed off to? Sasuke thinks as he watches his village leader and Kakashi walk down the street. Well, I guess I will have to follow them in order to find out.

As Kakashi and the hokage continue to walk down the street, Sasuke follows silently behind them. The young Uchiha is making sure not to be seen because he knows that Kakashi would just tell him to go back home.

Eventually, Sasuke finally sees the pair's destination. Sasuke narrows his eyes considerably. 

It is the Konoha hospital. 

Sasuke blinks a few times. He is really confused now. What business do Kakashi and Konoha’s hokage have at the Konoha hospital? Well, the Uchiha supposes that he is about to find out. As Kakashi and the Hokage step inside the hospital, Sasuke silently follows behind them. 

As Sasuke steps inside, he sees that there is no one in the waiting room. Good, no one will see me following Kakashi or Lord Hokage.

Then, the Uchiha sees that Kakashi and the hokage are already halfway down the hallway which leads to patient rooms. Sasuke raises a brow as he silently follows meters behind them. It seems as if the hokage and Kakashi are going to visit a patient here. 

Just who could it be and why are both the hokage and Kakashi going to visit him or her?


Jarou sighs as he lays back against the pillows of his hospital bed. The same nurse from earlier is still trying to engage the suicidal Araya in conversation.

“So Mr. Araya…,” The nurse begins in a cheerful manner. “You have still not said anything about your family. What is your family like?”

Jarou frowns and turns his head away. The nurse sighs. “I see. You still don’t want to talk about your family.” The nurse says.

Just then, the door opens. It is the Hokage and a man that Jarou does not recognize. The new man has spiked silvery gray hair and is wearing a mask that covers most of his face, along with the left eye. Jarou raises a brow when he sees that the silver haired man is wearing a Konoha headband. 

Why has the hokage brought a Konoha shinobi into the room?

Kakashi just looks at the man in the hospital bed. So, that man is Jarou Araya. Kakashi thinks to himself. He holds the key to the mystery of Sasuke’s dreams.

Kakashi then glances at the hokage. After the wise old hokage told Kakashi about how Izumo and Kotetsu found Jarou washed up on the river bank, Kakashi quickly explained Sasuke’s dreams, the soothsayer’s words, and what happened to Naruto on the mission. The wise old hokage was very intrigued and agreed that they both needed to have a serious talk with their visitor. 

Jarou just blinks as he watches the nurse bow to the Hokage and the silver haired man. “Lord Hokage, I tried to engage Mr. Araya in conversation, but he is still being very tight-lipped.”

Hiruzen just nods in understanding. “That is ok. I will take over from here. You may leave for now.”

The nurse bows again and makes for the door. She opens and shuts it behind her as she leaves the room. However, the nurse doesn’t completely get the door shut, leaving it ajar . The hokage, Kakashi and Jarou all fail to notice this though.

Hiruzen turns to Jarou. He gestures towards Kakashi. “Jarou, I would like to introduce you to Kakashi Hatake, one of Konoha’s best jonin.” 

Jarou gasps. He has heard of Kakashi’s reputation. “You are Kakashi Hatake?! The copy ninja?!”

Kakashi smiles underneath his mask. “It is my pleasure to meet you Mr. Araya. The hokage has told me that you were found washed up on a river bank. Is that true?”

Jarou frowns a little. “Yes.”

Kakashi just blinks a few times as his smile fades. “And from what the Hokage has learned, it was attempted suicide. Is that correct?”

Jarou closes his eyes. “Yes.”

Kakashi then blinks a few more times. “And...most interestingly...you seem to have a personal grudge against Itachi Uchiha, a former leaf shinobi. You see...one of my students is actually Itachi’s younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha.”

Jarou’s eyes widen. This man teaches Itachi’s younger brother?! What are the odds of that?

Kakashi then lets out a lighthearted laugh. “And the crazy thing is...Sasuke has been having strange dreams lately. And...they all seem to center around Itachi getting a girl named Sakiko Araya pregnant. And...the strangest thing is...Sakiko had an uncle named Jarou Araya .”

Jarou gasps and covers his mouth with disbelief. He is absolutely speechless.

Kakashi then narrows his one eye that is not covered by his mask. “I just think that it is very interesting that you share the same name as Sakiko’s uncle. And I can see from your reaction that you know exactly what I am talking about.”

Jarou doesn’t respond. He just sits on his bed and hyperventilates.

Kakashi cocks his head to the side. “And more interestingly...the Hokage says that you uttered something about Sakiko, Itachi, a baby and three strange names. Beryl...Thalia...and Jason.”

Jarou gasps even more. He uncovers his mouth and starts to hyperventilate even harder.

Kakashi just blinks a few times. “Please, tell me about Sakiko and Itachi. Do tell me who Beryl, Thalia and Jason are as well. I have a feeling that it is a very interesting story.”

Jarou closes his eyes. He stops hyperventilating. There is no use hiding it now. “Alright, I shall tell my story.” Jarou says with a hard voice. “But I warn you...it is a story with a tragic ending.”

Kakashi and the hokage glance at each other. If Sasuke’s dreams are truly correct, then they already know at least part of the story. However, Kakashi and Hiruzen want to hear the entire story from Jarou. They want to hear it in his own words.

Jarou sighs. He then quickly clears his throat. “I must start with the story of my clan and village. You see, I was born into the village led by the Araya clan. Our clan and village was founded a little over a thousand years ago by a group of orphans, who had lost their homes and families to a group of marauders who had swept over the land. The orphans hid in a sheltered valley and in time, they grew up and formed their own village. A group of orphans created the Araya clan, who then became the leaders of the village. Other groups of orphans created their own clans as well. These clans were called Amatani, Hashitani, Kitani, Tanikawa and Yamatani.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi glance at one another. Stories of the Araya clan and village describe a rather unorthodox beginning.

Jarou then sighs as he continues with his story. “The first leaders of the village were Akiro and Tsukiko Araya. The two of them had five children who all had special powers. The oldest, Arashi, had the power to see into other dimensions. The second oldest, Katashi, had the power to sense when portals into other worlds called dimensional rifts would open up. The only girl, Sorako, had the power to share memories. Akiro and Tsukiko’s youngest were twin boys named Hideaki and Toshiro. Both Hideaki and Toshiro both had the power to create dimensional rifts, but there was a major difference. Hideaki could not hold open the rifts in order to travel to other dimensions while Toshiro could. In time, Arashi and his siblings grew up and had children of their own, who inherited their predecessors abilities.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen glance at each other again. So many powers for one village to hold.

Jarou sighs. “Nearly all of the Araya villagers today can trace their ancestry back to Arashi and his four siblings. I am personally descended from Arashi. I am also descended from Katashi and Sorako.”

Kakashi cocks his head a little as he thinks about this. Hmm, so Jarou is not descended from Hideaki or Toshiro then? Well, that would explain the part in Sasuke’s latest dream where Jarou told his relatives that they wouldn’t be able to get Sakiko’s child back.

Jarou then sighs as he draws in a deep breath. “Alas, the Araya village remained a strong and united force for nearly a thousand years. For many centuries, our village stood strong in the face of adversity. However, the actions of one person managed to tear our village apart. That person...was my mother...Akira Araya.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen look at each other. This story is really starting to take an interesting turn. Hiruzen then clears his throat. “Please explain what you mean. How exactly did your mother tear your village apart?”

Jarou sighs. “You see, my mother was what you could call ‘promiscuous’. She never married yet she loved to have sex. In time, she became known as the village whore. My mother would have sex with any man who was willing, even married men, which earned my family the ire of the mens’ families. In essence, my mother’s behavior practically tore our village apart.”

Kakashi just blinks a few times. He remembers what Sasuke told him about his latest dream. A man named Toma, apparently the village leader, exiled Jarou and his relatives. Could this be a factor as to why?

Jarou hangs his head down as he remembers what his mother was like.

A four year old Jarou frowns as he watches his mother, Akira, kiss a male villager. Akira’s hair is blonde and her eyes are a beautiful ultramarine color. Akira’s skin is flawless and her lips are plump and red. 

Akira just smiles as she looks at the man playfully. “Come on baby, let’s go to my house. We can have fun there.” 

Jarou just sighs as the memory fades. He then clears his throat. “I was the oldest of ten children born to my mother. However, two of my half-siblings died soon after birth due to birth defects. You see, my mother wasn’t interested in being a mother so she never took care of herself during her pregnancies. In all, my mother had eight children who lived, and she never tried to raise a single one. My mother was a very selfish and self-centered person. She only cared for herself .”

Kakashi and Hiruzen glance at one another. They just shake their heads. It sounds like Jarou’s mother could have benefited from the use of birth control. 

Jarou just blinks a few times as he remembers how his mother barely seemed to care for her children.

A young seven year old Jarou stands next to a two year old Takeo. In the living room, Jarou and Takeo’s grandparents stand beside each other. Their grandmother is cradling a one day old Amira in her arms. 

In the doorway, Akira is getting ready to leave for the village brothel. Jarou cocks his head curiously as his grandmother places baby Amira against her right shoulder. Jarou’s grandmother frowns as she looks at her daughter. “Akira, you just had a baby for and here you are going right back to the brothels. Shame on you!”

Akira just huffs. “I don’t care what you think. I am an adult. I can do whatever I wish.” 

Jarou blinks a few times as the memory fades. He then sighs. “With my mother unwilling to raise my half-siblings and I, it was up to others to raise us. My grandparents ended up raising me and my two younger half-siblings, Takeo and Amira. My three other half-siblings, Adami, Kato and Hitomi were taken in by their fathers. My two other half-siblings Tenshi and Aisha were taken in by their fathers from a nearby village.”

Kakashi just blinks a few times. Well, at least there were people willing to raise Jarou and his half-siblings. Kakashi thinks to himself. 

Jarou blinks and then looks out the window as he continues to tell of his past. “However, despite my half-siblings and I being raised in loving environments, things were still rough for all of us. My half-siblings and I were all shunned by the rest of the village. It was so bad that the teachers at the village school refused to teach us! All of us had to be homeschooled. Village healers even refused to take care of us if we were sick or injured. Luckily though, some of my relatives were village healers so we did at least get medical care. None of my half-siblings or I really had any friends either. Many village children even bullied us. The only friends we had were young relatives, and two orphans that my family had taken in, Saki and Kesoa.”

Jarou sighs again as he remembers his three other half-siblings. “Things got so bad that the fathers of Adami, Kato and Hitomi just decided that they had had enough and decided to leave the village altogether. Alas, Takeo, Amira and I...never saw Adami, Kato or Hitomi ever again.”

Hiruzen takes his pipe out of his mouth. Jarou’s description of his childhood paints a pretty depressing picture. His heart is now filled with pity for the suicidal Araya.

Jarou closes his eyes as he thinks of Adami, Kato and Hitomi. He remembers the day they left the village with their fathers.

A twelve year old Jarou just stands at the village gate. A seven year old Takeo stands to his left. To Jarou’s right stand his grandparents. Jarou’s grandmother is holding the hand of five year old Amira. 

Two men stand a few feet away, just outside the gate. The two men are Seto Tanikawa and Katashi Yamatani. Seto is the father of Jarou’s nine year twin half-siblings, Adami and Kato. Katashi is the father of Jarou’s two year old half-sister, Hitomi. Seto has light brown hair and bright blue eyes. Katashi has black hair and lilac colored eyes.

Standing to the right of Seto are Adami and Kato. Adami has Akira’s blonde hair and Seto’s bright blue eyes. Kato has Seto’s light brown hair and Akira’s ultramarine blue irises. Two year old Hitomi is in Katashi’s arms. Little Hitomi has black hair and ultramarine blue eyes. 

Jarou then watches as his grandmother just shakes her head. “Seto...Katashi…,” Jarou’s grandmother says as she looks at Seto and Katashi. “Please, don’t do this. Don’t take our grandchildren from Aizen and I.”

Seto sighs. “I am sorry, Sorako. Katashi and I have made up our minds. We cannot continue to allow our children to be shunned like this.”

Seto then looks down at his children. “Adami, Kato...go say goodbye to Jarou, Takeo and Amira.”

Adami and Kato just look up at their father with confused eyes. “Why do we have to say goodbye father?” Kato asks with a confused voice. “Where are we going?”

“Far away.” Is all that Seto says. “I am going to give both you and your sister a better life...away from all of these hateful villagers.”

“When are we coming back?” Adami asks.

Seto sighs. “I don’t plan on coming back.” Seto says with a hard voice. “However, once you and Kato are adults, you can choose to come back and visit your half-siblings. But for right now, I need to get both of you away from hateful stares of the other villagers.”

Adami and Kato both suddenly get sad looks on their faces. They finally get what their father is saying. Slowly Adami and Kato walk up to their three half-siblings and give each one a hug and a tearful farewell. 

Little Hitomi just watches the scene with curious eyes. Then, the little girl waves innocently as her father begins walking away from the village gate. “Bye-bye.” Little Hitomi says with an innocent little voice.

Jarou sighs as the memory fades. “When I was twenty years old, the leader of our village, Tarou, died of a mysterious illness. Tarou’s son Toma took over as village leader. Well, I guess you could say that things got worse from there. You see, Toma seemed to have it out for my family and I never understood why.”

Kakashi blinks a few times. So Toma’s ire for Sakiko’s family began even before she got pregnant by Itachi? That is very interesting indeed. 

Jarou then blinks a few times when he remembers what happened to his mother after Toma became the village leader. “The first thing that Toma did after he became village leader was to throw my mother out of the village. Alas, Takeo, Amira and I...never saw our mother again. However, the three of us didn’t really grieve over the fact that our mother was banished though. She was never really there for us to begin with.”

Jarou then sighs as he looks down at his hands. “However, I now realize that Toma’s actions were a precursor to what was eventually to come.”

Kakashi blinks a few times. He realizes that Jarou must be referring to his family’s banishment in Sasuke’s dreams.

Jarou looks down as he remembers the day that Toma banished his mother.

A twenty year old Jarou stands beside a fifteen year old Takeo. A thirteen year old Amira stands to Takeo’s left. At the village gate, Toma is standing in front of an angry looking Akira. Akira is still very beautiful looking but it is obvious that her age is starting to catch up with her. Akira’s blonde hair is starting to sport a few grays and her face is starting to show a few wrinkles.

Akira just huffs as she looks at Toma. “Really, you are banishing me?! You can’t do that!”

Toma just glares at Akira. “I am the village leader now, and this is my decision. You are a stain upon this village. Face it, no one wants you here you whore. Just get out of here!”

The other villagers begin to gather around. They sneer at Akira. A brown haired man especially sneers. 

“Get out you whore!” The brown haired man yells. “We don’t want your kind here!” 

An orange haired woman sneers. “Yes! Get out and never come back!”

Akira’s eyes become wide instantly. She can tell that the villagers are serious. Eventually, Akira just sighs and begins walking towards the village gate. 

“Alright then, if no one wants me here, then I shall go.” Akira says with a hard voice. “Just let me go home and pack my things...and I will go.”

Jarou then takes another deep breath as the memory fades. “Eventually, Takeo and Saki fell in love, and they married shortly after I turned twenty-four. Within a year, Saki gave birth to a baby girl. Sakiko.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen look at one another. So Sakiko is the daughter of Jarou’s half-brother, which makes Sakiko Jarou’s half-niece . But...in Sasuke’s dreams, he didn’t mention anyone named Takeo or Saki. Could something have happened to the pair?

Jarou then closes his eyes. “Unfortunately, when Sakiko was two, a violent storm struck our village, and both Takeo and Saki were killed when a tree fell on top of their house. The tree missed little Sakiko by mere inches and she survived.” He lets out a sigh. “After that, I began raising Sakiko. I had never married or had children of my own so I tried to act like a father as best I could.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi both share sad glances with one another. What a shame about Takeo and Saki. At least little Sakiko had her uncle Jarou though.

Jarou looks at his hands when he remembers what it was like to raise little Sakiko in a village that was filled with people who hated them. “Unfortunately, Sakiko also experienced much hate and prejudice from the other villagers. I did my best to protect Sakiko from the hatred of the other villagers. However, the prejudice from the other villagers had a profound effect on my niece. She was lonely as she didn’t have any friends. Sure she had me and our other relations, but it just wasn’t enough for her.”

Jarou then grits his teeth a little as he remembers Itachi Uchiha. “Then, when Sakiko was thirteen, he came to our village. Itachi Uchiha . He came to our village with another man, and even though the news of the Uchiha massacre hadn’t reached our village yet, we just knew that something was terribly off with Itachi and his friend.” 

Hiruzen and Kakashi both raise their brows at that. Hmm, Itachi was with another man? That is interesting indeed. Just who was the man with Itachi that day? Could Itachi have teamed up with someone on the road after the massacre?

Jarou narrows his eyes when he notices the strange look in the eyes of the hokage and the silver haired jonin. Then, it finally hits him. They must not know about the Akatsuki. 

After a few minutes, Jarou sighs. “I can assume that the two of you have never heard of the Akatsuki then?” 

Hiruzen’s eyes suddenly become wide. He now remembers a crucial detail after Itachi came to him and reported that his horrible mission was a success. The Uchiha told the hokage that he had gotten wind of an organization that could be trouble for the Hidden Leaf in the future and that he planned to infiltrate the organization and find out as much as he could about it. Itachi mentioned the name of the organization as being ‘Akatsuki’. The wise old Hokage blinks a few times. Hmm, it sounds as if Itachi was successful in infiltrating the Akatsuki then. Could it have been another Akatsuki member that Itachi was with that day?

Kakashi blinks a few times. “The Akatsuki ? I have never heard of them. Who are they?” 

Jarou sighs. “A roving group of S-class criminal shinobi. I have heard bad stories about them. Well, the garb that Itachi and his companion were wearing was a dead give away as to them being Akatsuki members.” Jarou then shrugs. “I don’t really know why the Akatsuki decided to visit our village. However, we knew their unsavory reputation so the other villagers and I were immediately suspicious yet frightened of them.” 

Jarou holds his head down. “Oh, we so desperately wanted them to leave. We could just tell that they were trouble with a capital T. However, there was nothing we could do to make them leave. We knew that trying to force them to leave might provoke them into harming us so we decided to just leave Itachi and his companion be.” 

Kakashi steps back to think for a minute. He thinks of what the soothsayer told Sasuke. Kakashi closes his eyes. 

...A red eyed kinslayer, wanders the earth. He cannot escape his past. A past stained with lies and blood. His fearsome reputation is known throughout the nations….

Kakashi opens his eyes. Well, these words would describe Itachi perfectly. He is a kinslayer and his reputation is known just about everywhere. However, it appears that this must have occurred shortly after the massacre as the Araya’s were unaware of his reputation. 

Jarou sighs again. “However, my niece was enamored with Itachi. It was an instant attraction and Itachi seemed attracted to Sakiko as well. I could sense that there was something very off about Itachi, so I immediately warned Sakiko to stay away from him. However, my niece was already head over heels for the young rogue and she just wouldn’t listen to anything I had to say. All she saw was a handsome young man who was nice to her and kept telling her how beautiful she was.”

Jarou then closes his eyes as he remembers his conversation with Sakiko about Itachi and his partner.

A thirteen year old Sakiko just looks exasperatedly at her uncle. “Uncle Jarou, just give Itachi a chance! You will see that he is very nice.”

Jarou just frowns. “Sakiko, don’t you remember what I have always told you about rogue shinobi?” Jarou asks with a serious voice. “Rogue shinobi are dangerous! Itachi is a rogue shinobi and therefore he cannot be trusted. Besides, I can sense something very off about him.”

Sakiko just groans. “That is not fair! You don’t even know him and you won’t even give him a chance!”

Jarou frowns at his niece. “You don’t know him either, Sakiko!”

Jarou sighs as the memory fades. “Then, that very night, Sakiko disappeared and she was gone for hours. When Sakiko returned, she was silent and she seemed a little disheveled, but she refused to tell me where she had gone. Well, the next day, Itachi and his friend left our village, never to return. Sakiko was devastated but two weeks later we discovered that she was pregnant. Sakiko finally revealed that she had sexual intercourse with Itachi and that he was most certainly the father of her unborn child.”

Kakashi blinks a few times. He thinks back to the soothsayer’s words again. 

...A beautiful young maiden. A rare beauty, the kinslayer cannot resist. A night full of passion and deception, the virgin is deflowered. Her innocence lost forever….

Kakashi looks back at the suicidal Araya. These words now make perfect sense. Itachi must have seduced Sakiko that night. He robbed her of her virginity and then left her.

Hiruzen is thinking the same thing. However, the old hokage is having trouble wrapping his head around the idea. Itachi was a shinobi of honor. Why would Itachi do such a dishonorable thing? Then, Hiruzen remembers a conversation that he had with his father long ago when he was young. 

When Hiruzen was just eight, one of his female cousins, just fifteen at the time, got pregnant out of wedlock. Hiruzen had asked his father why his cousin had been so foolish as to do such a thing. Hiruzen’s father simply said that ‘hormones can blind a person’s judgement and make that person do things that they would have never considered before’. 

After a few moments, Hiruzen scratches his chin thoughtfully. Hmm, could that have been what happened to Itachi? Could the young kinslayer have been blinded by his teenage hormones?

Jarou takes another deep breath. “I was very angry of course, but Sakiko was determined to keep her unborn child. I loved Sakiko dearly so I agreed to be there for her and help raise my future grandniece or grandnephew.” 

Jarou then sighs as he puts his head in his hands. “However, things got worse for my niece after the news of her pregnancy spread throughout the village. The other villagers began calling Sakiko a ‘whore just like her grandmother’. Aye, those words hurt Sakiko alot.” 

Hiruzen and Kakashi both share sad glances with one another. Somehow, they just knew that Jarou would say that, given his mother’s promiscuous reputation and all. 

Jarou sighs again as he looks up from his hands. “It was about a month or so after we discovered that Sakiko was pregnant when the news of the Uchiha clan massacre at the hands of Itachi Uchiha reached our village. At first, Sakiko didn’t want to believe me when I told her. However, once I showed her a newspaper clipping, she finally believed me. To say that she was devastated was an understatement. My niece cried and cried for days.”

Jarou closes his eyes as he remembers Sakiko’s grief.

Jarou stands by a sobbing Sakiko who is sitting under an apple tree. “Sakiko, I know that you liked Itachi very much. However, I am afraid that he fooled you with kind words.”

Sakiko sobs. She puts a hand on her abdomen which is just starting to show a small baby bump. “I just don’t understand it. Itachi was so kind to me. How could he have done such a horrible thing?!”

Jarou just sighs. “Sometimes people are extremely good at hiding their true nature. Perhaps now you will listen to me about rogue shinobi.”

Jarou opens his eyes as the memory fades. “However, Sakiko eventually decided to pull herself together for the sake of the child that she was expecting. Even after hearing of Itachi’s crime, Sakiko still loved the child growing inside of her. Sakiko saw her unborn child for what it was. A sweet baby...innocent of it’s father’s crimes. And...it was her child too.”

Jarou then sighs. “However, the rest of the village chose not to see it that way. The villagers’ prejudice against my niece got worse after the news of Itachi’s crime reached our village. The villagers would call Sakiko’s unborn child horrid things such as ‘abomination’, ‘demon spawn’, and ‘kinslayer spawn’. Aye, those words hurt Sakiko very deeply.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen just look at each other with sad eyes. They can imagine that those words would upset Sakiko.

Jarou then sighs again. A few tears stream down his face as he remembers what ultimately happened to Sakiko. “When my niece went into labor, Toma banished her to a barren end of our valley. He wouldn’t allow Sakiko’s child to be born within the confines of our village.”

Kakashi just blinks as he remembers what happened in Sasuke’s dreams. “In Sasuke’s dreams, Toma wouldn’t even allow you or anyone else to go with Sakiko to assist with the birth. Toma even threw you into the village prison cells. Is that true?”

Jarou merely nods. More tears stream down his face. “Sakiko had to make the journey to the barren edge of our valley, in pain as the contractions racked her body. All my relatives and I could do was wait for Sakiko to return with her child. But...when night fell...Sakiko didn’t return. Eventually, Toma did let me out of my prison cell. I ran as fast as I could to the barren edge of the valley to search for my niece. I eventually found her dead body and her newborn in an abandoned cabin. Apparently, Sakiko was unable to deliver the placenta and hemorrhaged as a result. My niece bled to death on the ice cold floor, alone...and unaided by anyone.” 

Kakashi steps back to think about it. He remembers the soothsayer’s words. He closes his eyes. 

...A cold winter night. A new life enters the world, while another life fades. A newborn is left motherless. The moon above is the only witness to the tragedy….

Kakashi then looks at the sobbing Jarou. These words make sense now. Sakiko died after she delivered her child on a cold winter’s night. Sasuke also said that in his dream, there was a hole in the roof of the cabin which let in moonlight. 

The moon was truly the only witness to Sakiko’s death.

Jarou blinks a few times as he wipes his tears away. “I cried over my niece's body for the longest time. However, Sakiko’s child, a girl, was in need of warmth so I made my way back to the village. My relatives grieved over Sakiko’s death and readily agreed to help me bury Sakiko’s body. We wanted to bring my niece’s body back to the village to be buried in the village cemetery, but Toma forbade us from doing so. Toma wouldn’t let us bury Sakiko's body in the village’s cemetery so we had to bury her in the area where she died.”

Hiruzen’s eyes are wide almost instantly. It is bad enough that Toma pretty much caused Sakiko’s death, but to forbid her family from giving her a burial in the village cemetery is pretty awful.

Kakashi is thinking the same thing as Hiruzen. The jonin narrows his eyes. Toma certainly must be a piece of work if he was heartless enough to forbid a family from burying a young girl next to her parents' graves.

Jarou closes his eyes as he remembers how Toma refused to allow Sakiko’s body to be brought back to the village to be buried.

Jarou just grits his teeth. He clutches his grandniece’s tiny swaddled body close to him. The rest of his relatives stand around him. A few feet away, Toma stands with his goons.

“Toma, you can’t be serious!” Kesoa says with exasperation. “All villagers are supposed to be buried in the traditional burial grounds...or at the very least cremated.”

Toma narrows his eyes. “The little whore doesn’t deserve to be buried in the village burial grounds!” Toma says with a harsh voice. “I have made up my mind. Either bury the little whore’s body somewhere else...or cremate her.”

Jarou just sighs and looks at his relatives. It is way too cold out to try to be chopping wood for a funeral pyre. They will have to find a place to bury Sakiko’s body...outside of the village. 

“Come on, let’s just grab some shovels and go find a good place to bury our dear Sakiko.” Jarou simply says.

Jarou then closes his eyes as the memory fades. “Of course, since Sakiko was dead, I began raising my grandniece. I barely put her down for the first 48 hours, afraid that Toma would decide to end her life. You see, our village had a cruel law that gives the village leader the right to kill any newborn that he sees as a potential future threat within the first 48 hours of its life. However, after those first 48 hours are up, the child is untouchable, no exceptions. Well, the first 48 hours passed, and Toma didn’t exercise this right, so I thought we were in the clear.”

Jarou then lets out a few sobs and buries his face in his hands. “If only I had known what Toma was truly planning.”

Kakashi sighs as he remembers the soothsayers' words. He closes his eyes.

...An unbelievable act of cruelty. From one one world to another, a child is sent away….

After a few moments, Kakashi opens his eyes. “In Sasuke’s dreams, Toma sent your grandniece to another dimension. Is that true, Jarou?”

Jarou merely nods as tears stream down his face. “Yes, that is true.” He buries his face in his hands. “I didn’t even have a chance to give my grandniece a name before Toma sent her away!”

Hiruzen takes his pipe out of his mouth. “Jarou, how exactly did that happen? How did Toma get a hold of your grandniece? Did Toma somehow trick you into giving him the baby?”

Jarou shakes his head. “No! I would have never willingly handed my grandniece to Toma. However, it was still my fault that Toma got a hold of her. You see, when my grandniece was four days old, I tried to make her a bottle and I couldn’t get any water to come out of my sink. The only other water source was a well, which was a ten minute walk from my home. It was very cold outside and I didn’t want to take my grandniece outside. Since Toma had no authority to kill her, I felt it safe to leave her alone for a little while.” 

Jarou then looks down at his hands. “However, when I returned, the door was ajar...and my grandniece was gone. Apparently, Toma snuck in while I was gone and took her in order to send her away. He must have been standing outside, hiding...waiting for me to leave.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen share a sad look. Jarou let down his guard, and his grandniece ended up being stolen from him. That is just awful.

Jarou then looks at his hands again. “After Toma sent my grandniece away, he banished my relatives and I from the Araya village. He threatened to have us all killed, including the children, if we were not gone by sunset. So...my relatives and I set out, leaving the only home we had ever known behind. We walked for days in the bitter cold. Some of the young and old perished. My grandparents were among those who perished. As stopping to bury the dead would slow us all down, we literally had to carry the bodies of the dead as we trekked along through the snow and bitter cold.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen give each other sad looks. Even after Toma sent the baby away, he still made sure that Jarou’s relatives would suffer. So tragic indeed.

Kakashi almost grits his teeth as he thinks of the soothsayer’s words. 

... A family is banished from their home, forced to face an unforgiving world. A village head holds no remorse for his actions…

Kakashi blinks a few times. Toma made his own villagers, whom he was responsible for protecting, suffer the worst way possible. He banished them during a harsh and very cold winter, even though he knew there was a chance they would die. Toma isn’t a village leader. He is a tyrant.

Jarou then closes his eyes as he remembers another one of the worst days of his life. The day his beloved grandparents died.

Jarou hears Amira and Rina cry out from behind him. He looks to see two bodies crumpled on the snowy ground. Jarou’s eyes become wide instantly. The two bodies are his grandparents. Jarou rushes over and begins shaking his beloved grandparents, trying to get them to respond.

“Grandfather! Grandmother!” Jarou says with a voice full of panic. “Please get up! You must!”

However, neither one responds. The eyes of both Jarou’s grandfather and grandmother are closed, as if they are sleeping, and their bodies are limp like rag dolls. Jarou’s eyes start to water as realization sets in. His beloved grandparents...are dead. 

Eventually, Jarou lets out a wail of grief and pounds the ground with his fists. “NO! Damn you Toma! Damn you!”

Jarou then sighs as the memory fades. “Then, by chance, we came across the village where my half-siblings, Tenshi and Aisha, lived with their fathers’ and their fathers’ clan, the Moriyama. The Moriyama’s readily took us in and we have lived there ever since. They even gave us a place to bury our dead loved ones.”

Jarou then grits his teeth. “My relations and I have had a good life with the Moriyama’s. However, I will never forgive Toma for what he did. Whenever I think of my family’s suffering at the hands of that brute, I get very tense .”

Kakashi blinks as he looks at the seething Araya. The man certainly has a right to hate his former village leader after what the latter did to him and his family.

Eventually, Hiruzen lets out a sigh. “Jarou, I must ask you this.” Hiruzen’s voice is serious as he speaks. “Do you know what happened to Sakiko and Itachi’s daughter after Toma sent her away? Do know which dimension she was sent to?”

Jarou closes his eyes. After a few minutes, he merely nods. “My relatives and I used our power to see into other dimensions in order to locate her. Eventually, we found her in a dimension, which was thankfully, inhabited by humans who found and rescued her. However, as none of my relatives and I are descended from Hideaki or Toshiro, there was no way for us to retrieve my grandniece. So, we had to leave her in the dimension she was sent to. However, we made the decision to at least watch over her from afar.” 

Jarou then closes his eyes. “Now, let me tell you about the dimension that my grandniece was sent to. From here forth, things shall get confusing and even weird so you must understand how that dimension works in order to truly understand the rest of the story. You see, that dimension has features that our world has. There are continents, oceans and seas. There are even humans and animals, much like we have in this world. However, human society there is more technologically advanced than ours. Humans there are capable of creating buildings that are one hundred stories high, and many different modes of transportation exist. They have aircraft carriers which allow people to travel from continent to continent. Massive ships that can carry people across the seas and oceans. They even have trains that travel at high speeds and small personal vehicles called cars that allow people to travel from place to place. They even have advanced lines of communication such as phones, more advanced radio systems, and even more advanced computer systems. Society in that world is also advanced. Almost every country in that world has some kind of government and justice system. They have police forces which uphold laws and bring criminals to justice and even special organizations that ensure the welfare of children.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen look at one another. Such an interesting world indeed.

Jarou sighs. “You must understand something else about the world that my grandniece was sent to. That world has existed for many millennia, and it was created by immortal beings, basically gods and goddesses.”

Hiruzen raises a brow. “Gods and goddesses you say?”

Jarou nods. “Yes. These gods and goddesses are known as the Greek gods and goddesses as they originated in a country called Greece. Some of these gods are also known by another culture that is centered in a region next to Greece. This culture is Roman, and the gods and goddesses that the Roman’s worshipped were almost basically the same to the Greeks, just with different names.”

Jarou then blinks a few times. “Many people today simply regard these gods and goddesses as mere myths, but they are real. In the past, the gods mingled with humans on a regular basis. However, most humans would not be able to handle the truth so the gods have chosen to hide their world from the eyes of humans. Well, my clan knows all about them because we can see into other dimensions.”

Jarou then sighs. “The world of the gods is also full of magical beings that live alongside the gods and goddesses and in many cases even serve them. There are nature spirits such as dryads, nymphs and nereids. There are satyrs, which are half-human and half-goat looking creatures. There are centaurs, which are half-horse and half-human creatures. However, there are also monstrous beasts such as cyclops, hydras, hellhounds and manticores.”

Hiruzen cocks his head in curiosity. He is very interested in the story about these gods and goddesses. “Tell me more about these gods and goddesses. What are they like?”

Jarou takes a deep breath before he continues on with his story. “There are actually three branches in the  immortals lineage. The first are known as the primordials , and they literally make up the elements of that world; earth, sky, air, ect..., but they can take on human form when they want to. The next step in the godly lineage are the titans and they are the children of the former primordial king, Ouranos. Well, many millennia ago, Ouranos was overthrown by his children, and his son, Kronos, became king. However, a millenia or so later, Kronos was overthrown by his six children; Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter and Hestia, who were the first true gods and goddesses. Well, after Kronos was overthrown, Zeus became king and he still is to this day.”

Jarou then sighs. “The gods are essentially immortal in that they live forever and do not die like humans and animals. However, they can fade from existence if people stop believing in them and everything that they stood for is destroyed.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen both share intrigued looks. Out there, in the vast universe, there is a world ruled by immortal gods and goddesses. That is certainly a very intriguing piece of news. 

Jarou then takes a deep breath. “Zeus and most of the gods reside in a magical floating palace called Olympus, which is set above the clouds, and is of course, unable to be seen by humans. On Olympus, Zeus is the head of a council made up of eleven other gods and goddesses. All together, they are known as the 12 Olympians.”

Jarou then sighs again. “Here is another interesting fact about the gods and goddesses. They look like humans, except they are much taller and bigger. However, they can use magic to disguise themselves and shrink themselves down to a normal human size. This is how they occasionally interact with humans without giving away their true nature.” 

After a few minutes, Jarou closes his eyes as he takes a deep breath. “The gods also have a special blood called ichor , and it is golden in color. Ichor is basically godly blood and all immortals have it. However, ichor doesn’t act like human DNA, so the gods and goddesses don’t really have to worry about problems associated with incest. Nearly all of the immortals are related in someway so it is almost impossible to avoid incestuous relationships. Some of the gods and goddesses have even been known to marry brothers and sisters. I know it sounds disgusting, but like I said...it is nearly impossible for the immortals to avoid incest.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen just share looks. Well, that does make some sense.

Jarou blinks a few times. “For this story, I shall focus on a handful of the gods and goddesses. The most important are the three brothers; Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. Collectively, these three are known as the big three as they are the most powerful of all the gods and they preside over certain areas of that world. Zeus, is the king of the gods and he presides over the sky. His brother, Poseidon, rules the seas. Zeus and Poseidon’s brother, Hades, rules the underworld, which is that world’s equivalent of the afterlife. They cannot enter each other’s domains without an invitation but the land in that world is neutral ground for all of them.”

Jarou then clears his throat. “Here is another interesting fact about the gods and goddesses. Despite ichor not being the same as human blood, the gods and goddesses can actually have relationships with humans and...half-human, half-god children have been known to be born from these relationships. These children are known as half-bloods or demigods. Demigod children are essentially stronger than normal humans and they do have special powers.” 

Kakashi and Hiruzen both share intrigued glances with one another. Hmm, half-human and half-god children is certainly a very interesting concept. 

Jarou closes his eyes. “However, as the gods and goddesses have the responsibility of ruling the world, they really can’t take part in the upbringing of their demigod children. They leave their childrens’ mortal parents to do the raising. However, the gods are caring parents as they do at least guide and protect their demigod offspring from afar.” 

After a few minutes, Jarou opens his eyes. “Demigods are also known as heroes , as they are capable of great things. However, the life of a demigod can be very treacherous as they are constantly hunted by monsters who are attracted to their auras. Most monsters just want to fight and kill demigods for sport. However, others actually like to eat demigods. In order to survive, demigods must learn to fight these monsters. The lucky ones are able to attend Camp half-blood, a training place for demigods.”

Jarou then clears his throat. “Children sired by Zeus, Poseidon and Hades are especially powerful and this can occasionally lead to trouble. Around two decades prior to my grandniece being sent to the Olympians world, a world war had taken place and it was basically a war between the demigod children of the big three. The bloodshed was absolutely horrible. Then, during the war, a prophecy was made regarding the children of the big three. You see, the gods believe in prophecy and they take it very seriously. They even have an oracle who can predict the future. Unfortunately, the prophecies that the Oracle makes are not clear cut so you just have to listen and interpret the meaning.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen both share glances with one another. By the tone of Jarou’s voice, they can tell that the prophecy that this oracle delivered wasn’t a good one.

Jarou takes a deep breath. “Well, the meaning of the prophecy that the Oracle gave during the war is pretty clear. Basically, a child of either Zeus, Poseidon or Hades...will either save or destroy Olympus when he or she reaches sixteen.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just share a glance. A child of either Zeus, Poseidon or Hades is destined to either save or destroy the home of the gods? That certainly isn’t good.

Jarou sighs. “Zeus was desperate to avoid the prophecy from coming true so he came up with a radical solution. Zeus, together with his brothers, would swear an oath to sire no more demigod children. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades all swore the oath, which meant that they could no longer have relationships with human women.”

Hiruzen raises a brow. Hmm, Jarou said that the gods live forever. An eternal oath when you live forever doesn’t sound very practical to him.

Jarou then takes another breath. “Well, let’s go back to the story of my grandniece for now. My grandniece was sent to a park located in a country called the United States of America. She was found by a man who happened to be taking a midnight stroll in the park. The man handed her over to the local police, who in turn handed her over to CPS, otherwise known as Child Protective Services. Child Protective Services coordinates the care of abandoned babies and abused or neglected children who need to be removed from their abusive or neglectful guardians. And if children cannot be placed with relatives, they are immediately put into foster homes . Basically, a foster home is run by people who are paid by the government to care for abandoned children. In the past, parentless children would go to orphanages. However, life was hard in orphanages and many children died due to neglect or abuse. So, the American government created an alternative to orphanages. They created the foster care system . Children would from then on be placed into pre approved homes with families and their progress and lives would be monitored by the government. They even have group homes which are run by individual organizations.”

Jarou sighs as he closes his eyes. “Long story short, CPS put my grandniece into a foster home. Since my grandniece was found abandoned, no one knew if she had a name or what it was. So, they had to give her one. CPS workers came up with the name Beryl Grace . Beryl, comes from the name of a gemstone in that world, and Grace comes from the park in which my grandniece was found. Well, since no one came forward to claim Beryl, she was immediately placed up for adoption.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen just glance at one another. Hmm, so Beryl is the daughter of Itachi and Sakiko. That is very Interesting.

Jarou sighs again. “And here is something that you should know about other dimensions. You see, time does not flow the same in all dimensions. Sometimes, time flows slower in one dimension, while it flows faster in another dimension. In the dimension that my great-niece was sent to, time flows faster there than it does here.”

Hiruzen steps back. “Hmm, so you’re saying that Beryl aged faster than she would have if she had stayed in this world?”

Jarou just blinks a few times and he nods his head. “Yes. As of right now, Beryl is thirty-six years old.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen both look at one another with wide eyes. Hiruzen then turns to Jarou. “So, that means Beryl is all grown up. Tell me, what is Beryl like?”

Jarou’s face immediately falls. Hiruzen and Kakashi look at each other again. This doesn’t look good.

After a few minutes, Jarou sighs and holds his head down. “A lot like my mother, Akira. She is selfish and only thinks about herself. She just doesn’t have the sex drive like my mother did. Beryl...is also an alcoholic.

The eyes of both Kakashi and Hiruzen widen considerably. The two men certainly were not expecting that. 

Jarou wrings his hands. “It all started when Beryl was young. You see, there are only two options for foster children. Get bounced around from foster home to foster home until they age out of the system, or they get adopted. Like all foster children, Beryl was available for adoption.” 

Hiruzen raises a brow. “Jarou, was Beryl adopted by people who taught her to be like that?” 

Jarou closes his eyes. “No. The truth is...Beryl was never adopted by anyone. You see, there was a problem. Beryl’s eyes...were just too different from everyone else’s. Beryl’s eyes were a dark blue, like a mix between Itachi’s black eyes and Sakiko’s blue eyes.”

Kakashi raises a brow. “What was wrong with Beryl having dark blue eyes?”

Jarou sighs. “Dark blue eyes don’t exist in that world. Everyone who saw those eyes realized that Beryl was not normal . Every potential adoptive family that came to see Beryl was put off by her eyes.” 

The sorrowful Araya man just wrings his hands. “You see, Beryl didn’t enjoy being shuttled around from foster home to foster home. And many children already in those foster homes made fun of her for being ‘different’. The adults running those foster homes weren’t exactly loving either.” 

After a few minutes, Jarou closes his eyes. “Alas, my grandniece just wanted a real home and a real family who would love her for who she was. She thus did her very best to impress every potential adopter who came to see her. However, as I said, all of the potential adopters were put off by her dark blue eyes. Believe me, social workers tried very very hard to find a family who would appreciate Beryl’s uniqueness.” He then sighs and just wrings his hands. “However, it was a hopeless situation. Nobody wanted my grandniece.” 

Jarou closes his eyes. “It was a real shame as well because Beryl was actually a very beautiful child. She had long silky black hair, pale skin with delicate features and rosy red lip and cheeks. And of course...her dark blue eyes were her most defining feature. If anyone in that world had really cared to look closer at her eyes, they would have realized just how stunning they were.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen both share sad glances with each other as they try to imagine this. How could anyone pass over the opportunity to adopt such a beautiful child into their family? Even if said child had strange looking eyes. 

Kakashi then blinks a few times as he thinks of the soothsayers words.

... A lonely little girl waits for her happily ever after. She watches other children find their happily ever afters with jealous eyes. She longs for a home of her own. She longs for love and affection. The little girl waits and waits for the day to come. Yet the day never comes….

Kakashi eventually sighs. With hearing Jarou’s story, these words finally make sense to the silver haired jonin. These words are describing Beryl’s desire to have a real home and a real family, but no one would give her a chance. So very sad indeed.

Jarou just closes his eyes as he thinks about Beryl’s hopeless situation during her time in foster care. 

A five year old Beryl is sitting in a room. She is reading a book. Just then, a cheery social worker brings in a young couple. The couple look to be husband and wife. Beryl’s face immediately lights up and she jumps up from her chair. Yay, potential adopters!

The social worker smiles. “This is Beryl Grace and she is five years old.” The social worker says to the couple. 

“Hello, My name is Beryl!” Beryl says with a cute and enthusiastic voice. “I am five and I can already tie my shoes and read. Oh, and I like purple and pink. I also like flowers and butterflies.”

However, Beryl’s face falls when she notices that the couple is just looking at her with strange looks in their eyes. Then, the couple just shake their heads and look at the social worker. It is the wife who speaks first. 

“Are there any other children that you can show us?” The wife asks. 

“You know…,” The husband begins as he glances back at Beryl’s eyes. “Those who have more normal eyes?”

The social worker just sighs and nods. “This way.” 

The social worker simply shoots little Beryl a glance as if to say ‘sorry kiddo, maybe next time’. 

Little Beryl just pretends not to be bothered by the rejection. However, as soon as the social worker and couple leave the room, Beryl sinks back down into her chair and starts sobbing silently.

Jarou holds his head up. “Since no one wanted to adopt Beryl, she was bounced around from one foster home to the next until she aged out of the system at 18 years old. You must also understand this; not all foster homes are created equal. Some are good and some are bad. While foster homes usually have a healthy and loving atmosphere, some are abusive and unstable. Sometimes...children are even killed or even sexually abused in these foster homes.”

Hiruzen’s eyes become wide instantly. He has a feeling that Beryl got more than her fair share of bad foster homes during her childhood. 

Jarou hangs his head down. “Poor Beryl...she just got one bad foster home after another. Luckily, she never experienced sexual abuse, but her experience in the foster system affected her greatly. Children teased her because of her eyes and even adults made mean comments about her eye color. Beryl was often slapped, hit, and yelled at by her numerous foster parents and sometimes...she would even be locked in her room days on end without food or water. Alas, Beryl’s childhood was absolutely miserable during the entirety of her childhood.” 

Kakashi and Hiruzen share sad looks with each other again. Kakashi then closes his eyes as he remembers more of the Soothsayer’s words.

... People look at her with scorn. The other children call her a freak. Adults call her a monster. All because of her unique eyes….

Kakashi opens his eyes. These words make sense now. Not only did no one want to adopt Beryl, but she was also mistreated by those who were paid to care for her. That is so sad indeed. 

Jarou sighs. “Eventually, I think my grandniece realized that no one would ever adopt her, and I truly think that broke her on the inside. Soon, my relatives and I began to notice disturbing things. Beryl seemed to have trouble trusting people and she was obsessed with being perfect. She craved any sort of praise and attention and she had mostly become self centered and selfish.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen look at each other again. Given Beryl’s upbringing, it is no wonder she turned out like that. How unfortunate.

Kakashi thinks some more on the soothsayer’s words. He closes his eyes. 

...Realization sets in. No one shall ever want her. The little girl wallows in her misery. She is a broken angel…. 

Kakashi eventually sighs. Those words describe Beryl’s lost hope at finding a home and family and how that ultimately affected her.

Jarou just closes his eyes as he remembers Beryl’s horrible life in the foster care system.

A ten year old Beryl stands before her foster mother, which is the eighteenth one that Beryl has had during her short ten years of life. Beryl’s foster mother growls and slaps Beryl hard on the cheek. 

“You little freak!” Beryl’s foster mother yells. “I told you to do the dishes! You are an absolute disaster!”

Jarou opens his eyes as the memory fades. He just lets out a heavy sigh. “When Beryl turned eighteen, she was officially kicked out of the foster system. She was just given some clothes, a little money, a pamphlet on finding a job and then then turned out onto the streets to figure out the rest of her life. With nowhere to go, Beryl ended up moving in with a group of girls who had aged out of Beryl’s last foster home a few months before. Beryl was forced to get a job and make a life for herself. Even though Beryl was out of foster care, she just couldn’t seem to bring herself to be happy. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the older girls who lived with Beryl introduced her to alcohol, even though she was not the legal age to drink. By the time Beryl turned twenty-one, which is the legal age to drink alcohol, she was already a full blown alcoholic . I guess the alcohol helped Beryl forget her misfortune and sad past.”

Jarou hangs his head down. “My grandniece literally drank her sorrows away.” 

Hiruzen takes a deep breath. “That is terrible indeed.” Hiruzen says with a sad voice. 

Kakashi sighs. He thinks more about the soothsayer’s words.

...The years go by. A girl becomes a woman. She strikes out on her own, into an unforgiving world. Her beauty hides her scars. She is a broken soul….

Jarou closes his eyes. He thinks of the first time Beryl tried alcohol. 

An eighteen year old Beryl is sitting on the couch in the apartment that she shares with five other former foster girls. The couch also happens to be where Beryl sleeps. Just then, two of the girls that Beryl lives with, Samantha and Stacie, walk into the room. Samantha is twenty-one and is Stacie’s older sister. Stacie is eighteen and aged out of the system a few months before Beryl did. Samantha aged out of the system three years before Stacie did so after Stacie herself aged out of the system, she moved in with her older sister.

Samantha and Stacie both laugh as they sit down on another sofa in the room. Samantha is holding a brown paper bag. She then takes out a glass bottle full of a maroon colored liquid. 

Beryl eyes the bottle with interest. “What is that?” 

“Oh, it’s red wine.” Samantha says nonchalantly. “Wanna try some?” 

Beryl looks at her empty water glass. After a minute or so, Beryl nods and holds out her glass. Samantha pours a little bit of red wine into Beryl’s glass. Beryl takes a sip. After seemingly processing the taste, Beryl smiles.

“It’s...good.” Beryl says as she takes another sip.

Jarou opens his eyes as the memory fades. He sighs. “When Beryl was nineteen, she landed an acting job. Directors thought that Beryl’s unique eyes would generate more interest from the public. Beryl did indeed become a popular actress. However, despite the fame, it just seemed like Beryl was never satisfied with what she had. Beryl was always looking for ways to out compete her fellow actors and actresses. Beryl even went as far as to dye her hair blonde in order to attract more of an audience. And she was always pulling stunts...most of them stupid in order to end up in the tabloids.”

Kakashi raises a brow. He is wondering what kind of stunts Jarou is talking about. Then, he suddenly remembers more of the soothsayer’s words.

...The years keep going by. A woman becomes a starlet. She should be happy and satisfied. Yet she isn’t….

Jarou sighs again. “Beryl also of course drank during her acting career but she did her best to hide it from everyone who saw her. And...it just seems that as time went by...her drinking became worse and worse.”

Kakashi blinks as he continues to think about the soothsayer’s words. 

... Her audience doesn’t see the truth. Her beauty hides her internal pain. She just wants the pain to end. Glass by glass, bottle by bottle, the starlet drinks her sorrow away….

Jarou leans back against his pillows. “Then, when Beryl was twenty-three, something happened which set a chain of events into motion that neither myself or my relatives could have predicted. Beryl’s life was never the same again.”

Hiruzen cocks his head curiously. “Hmm, what exactly happened?”

Kakashi blinks a few times. He suddenly remembers the next lines that the soothsayer told Sasuke. 

...In a kingdom above the clouds, hidden from the eyes of mortals, an immortal god watches from his throne….

Kakashi narrows his eyes. He has an ominous feeling as to where this is all going. Beryl must have caught the eye of an Olympian god. 

Jarou closes his eyes. “One night, Berly was performing at a show and Zeus, disguised as a mortal of course, happened to be there. I guess he got bored with his life up on Olympus and decided to just take a stroll in the mortal world. Once Zeus caught sight of Beryl it was instant infatuation.” The Araya man sighs. “You see, Zeus...is a womanizer . He has always had problems controlling his lust and he chases beautiful mortal women, goddesses and even nymphs like there is no tomorrow. However, after he took the oath to sire more demigod children with his brothers, it meant that he had to stop chasing mortal women.”

Kakashi just blinks as he remembers more of Lady Aisha’s words.

... He watches with lust, yet he cannot act. He is bound by a sacred oath. No more affairs with mortal women. no more fathering half-blood children….

Jarou sighs and just shakes his head. “However, Zeus just couldn’t contain his lust and eventually descended from Olympus to meet Beryl during another show a few nights later. Zeus used his usual flirting tactics and Beryl was instantly impressed and seemingly developed an intense infatuation with Zeus. Eventually, Beryl realized that something was up with her admirer and so Zeus revealed his true nature to her. Beryl was very excited by the fact that she had been beautiful enough to attract a god; the king of the gods nonetheless.”

Kakashi blinks a few times. He thinks more about Lady Aisha’s words.

...The god cannot contain his lust anymore. He descends from his kingdom. The starlet is infatuated….

Jarou then closes his eyes as he thinks of the night Beryl met Zeus.

Beryl is walking back to the changing rooms to change. She just got done with a show. Just then, a man wearing a dark blue pinstripe suit approaches her. Beryl’s eyes light up immediately. The man is incredibly handsome. The man has black hair, a black beard, and dazzling electric blue eyes, along with a muscular body.

The man just smiles at Beryl. “Hello there beautiful. I just wanted to tell you how amazing you were out there.”

Beryl blushes a little. “Thank you very much, sir.”

The man then looks at Beryl’s eyes. “And I must say, your eyes are incredibly beautiful. I have never seen such beautiful blue eyes before. The color is like that of beautiful indigo blue cloth. And I must say, your eyes literally shine like diamonds.”

Beryl blushes even more. “I have never gotten a compliment like that about my eyes before. Almost everyone who looks at them just sneers at me. They call me a freak.”

The man just blinks. “Well baby, those people are wrong. Don’t believe anything that they say. You are a true beauty.” 

Jarou just opens his eyes as the memory fades. “Beryl and Zeus began their affair. For a time, Beryl did get better. Beryl actually stopped drinking and she stopped pulling stupid stunts.”

Kakashi blinks a few times as he remembers more of Lady Aisha’s words to Sasuke.

... She finally has love. She has finally found satisfaction….

However, Kakashi narrows his eyes as he suddenly remembers the line after that. 

But every action has its consequences.

Kakashi closes his eyes. The silver haired jonin has a feeling as to what these ‘consequences’ were.

Hiruzen is thinking the same thing as Kakashi. He just looks at the floor. Beryl must have gotten pregnant with Zeus’s child…, Hiruzen thinks to himself. 

Jarou sighs as he wrings his hands. “However, Zeus’s affair with Beryl had serious consequences. That following winter, one day after the winter solstice and just before her twenty-fourth birthday, Beryl gave birth to her and Zeus’s child; a baby girl that she named Thalia.” 

Kakashi and Hiruzen both glance at each other. They were right. Beryl had Zeus’s child. Then, the eyes of both men widen considerably once they both realize what this means. 

Itachi Uchiha...is a grandfather.

Kakashi just closes his eyes as he thinks more about this. The middle of winter, a baby is born. Half-mortal and half-god. These words must be describing Thalia.

Jarou sighs as he remembers Thalia’s birth that cold winter night.

Beryl screams in pain as she lies on a hospital bed. A doctor is standing in front of her splayed out legs. 

“Just push some more Ms. Grace.” The doctor says. “I can see the head.”

“Get it out!” Beryl screams. “I can’t take it anymore! I feel like I just wanna die!”

“Just push and it will be over soon.” The doctor says. 

Beryl takes a deep breath and pushes. A moment later, the cries of a baby can be heard. The doctor smiles and holds up a small naked baby who is covered in blood and amniotic fluid. “Congratulations Ms. Grace. You have a beautiful baby girl.”

Beryl wrinkles her nose slightly. “Are all babies supposed to look like that?” Beryl asks.

“When they are born, yes. All we have to do is get her cleaned up and then you can hold her.” The doctor says as he passes off the newborn to a nurse.

Jarou just blinks as the memory fades. “Thalia was so beautiful. She had a little head of black hair and bright electric blue eyes, which she inherited from Zeus. However, Thalia’s birth officially broke Zeus’s oath, which had serious ramifications later on.”

Jarou sighs again. “Well, after Thalia’s birth, Zeus was forced to leave. Beryl fell into a deep depression and returned to her old ways. She resumed her drinking and she started pulling stupid stunts again to end up in the tabloids.”

Kakashi blinks a few times as he thinks about the next lines that Lady Aisha told Sasuke. The silver haired jonin closes his eyes.

...The god leaves. The starlet must deal with the consequences herself. She slowly unravels. The starlet drinks her sorrows away….

Kakashi opens his eyes. These lines make sense now. Beryl lost her immortal lover, which then caused her to unravel and return to her old bad habits. So very sad indeed. 

Hiruzen blinks a few times. “Jarou, you said there were repercussions about Thalia being born. What exactly were those repercussions?”

Jarou sighs. “Let’s just say that Zeus’s womanizing ways don’t sit well with Hera, his sister-wife and the queen of Olympus. You see, Hera is what you could call the jealous type. Hera has always hated Zeus’s faithfulness and she especially hates any child of Zeus that is born outside of their marriage. Many of the Greek myths describe her making the lives of Zeus’s illegitimate offspring miserable, or even trying to kill them. Hera is literally the origin of the term evil stepmother .”

Hiruzen just blinks a few times. Hiruzen can just imagine how Hera felt about Thalia’s birth. “I can safely assume then that Hera wasn’t happy about Thalia’s birth?”

Jarou sighs. “Of course not. Hera was enraged that Zeus had cheated on her and had a child with a mortal woman, especially when he had promised her that he would never do so again. Let me tell you a few stories about Hera’s hatred towards Zeus’s illegitimate offspring. Then you will clearly understand the trouble that Beryl and Thalia would find themselves in.”

Jarou then blinks a few times. “Let’s start with the story of Alcides, a son of Zeus who was born thousands of years before Thalia. When Alcides was a baby, Hera sent two poisonous vipers into his nursery in order to kill him. However, Hera had underestimated baby Alcides’s strength. You see, Alcides was stronger and more powerful than most demigod children. Well, Alcides managed to grab both snakes by their necks and then literally strangled them to death. After that, Alcides was known as Heracles , which literally means glory from Hera , which further enraged Hera. Heracles was known as Hercules by the Roman’s but really it is supposed to be Heracles.” 

Jarou then closes his eyes. “Well anyway, when Heracles was an adult, he married a greek princess and had two sons. However, Hera wasn’t finished with Heracles. Hera inflicted Heracles with a maddening rage to the point that he murdered his own family. When Heracles finally managed to break out of his crazed state, he realized what he had done and he was so remorseful. In ancient Greece, the only way for a murderer to redeem himself was to go to the high king of his or her kingdom and ask for penance. The king would then assign the remorseful murderer tasks to complete in order to gain penance for his crime. That is exactly what Heracles did. He went to the high king and asked for penance. However, unknown to Heracles, Hera had gone to the high king and literally bribed him to give Heracles twelve dangerous tasks that she hoped Heracles would die trying to complete. However, Hera had again underestimated Heracles. Heracles managed to survive each task and completed his penance. Later, when Heracles was on his deathbed, Zeus acknowledged his son’s suffering at the hands of Hera, and decided to give Heracles the gift of immortality. After Heracles became a god, he became the gatekeeper of Olympus.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just glance at one another. Well, at least Heracles had a happy ending, despite all the suffering that Hera put him through.

Jarou sighs. “I will now move onto Leto, a young titaness that Zeus fell in love with. Leto of course, became pregnant and Hera was enraged. However, since Leto was a titan, she was immortal and thus Hera couldn’t kill her. So Hera came up a sneaky way to get revenge on Leto. When it was almost time for Leto to give birth, Hera went to each section of the world where land had roots in the ground. Hera told the nature spirits there that if they allowed Leto to give birth on their land, she would curse the ground there and everything that lived on it. Then, when Leto went into labor, she couldn’t give birth because the land would literally not allow her to. The land would shake and catch fire every time she tried to lie down.”

The eyes of both Kakashi and Hiruzen become wide instantly. The two men look at one another. That is seriously messed up.

Jarou just takes a deep breath. “However, Hera’s curse only specified land that had roots in the earth. So, Leto sought out an island that floated in the ocean, and thus the curse wouldn’t affect it. So Leto sought out the island until she found it. It was there that Leto gave birth to twins, Artemis and Apollo. Artemis became the goddess of the moon and hunt. Apollo became the god of the sun, healing and music.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen just share a glance. Well, at least Leto was able to give birth to her children.

Jarou sighs. “Now, I will move onto the god, Dionysus, a son of Zeus. You see, Dionysus was born a demigod, and just like Heracles, he was granted immortality by Zeus. Dionysus’s mother was a princess named Semele who had caught the attention of Zeus. Well, when Hera learned of Zeus’s affair with Semele, she was of course furious. Hera came up with a sneaky plan and diabolical plan to get rid of Semele. Hera went to Semele, disguised as a mortal woman and convinced Semele that her lover, who claimed to be Zeus, was actually an imposter. This upset Semele to the point that when Zeus came to visit her again, she insisted that Zeus prove his identity by showing her his true immortal form.”

Jarou gives Hiruzen and Kakashi a serious look. “The gods and goddesses have two forms that they can appear in. The one that humans see is their regular form. The other is their true immortal form. The gods are at their most powerful while in their true immortal form, and they literally glow like a thousand suns. Any human who is standing too close and looking directly at the gods true form simply vaporizes . Demigods can also be killed by looking at a god’s true immortal form, but they are not vaporized like humans.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen just look at each other with wide eyes. They have a feeling as to where this story is going.

Jarou says. “Well, at that time, Zeus actually didn’t know that as he had never appeared to any human in his true immortal form before. Since Semele persisted, Zeus showed her his true form, and of course, Semele was instantly vaporized . However, baby Dionysus, who was still inside of Semele wasn’t vaporized and he survived because he was underdeveloped so his eyes were shut tight. Zeus acted quickly and caught baby Dionysus before he hit the ground. Seeing that his son was underdeveloped, Zeus came up with an unusual and wacky idea. Zeus cut open his thigh and using magic, he literally created an artificial womb in his thigh, and then literally sewed baby Dionysus into his thigh. Once baby Dionysus was fully developed, Zeus cut him out and handed his newborn demigod son off to his godly son, Hermes, the messenger god. Hermes then took baby Dionysus to Semele’s sister Ino and her family to be raised.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen just give each other sad looks. It is so tragic what happened to Semele. Hera is certainly one diabolical goddess.

Jarou sighs again. “However, when Dionysus was three years old, Hera decided to try and find him...and kill him. Luckily though, Zeus caught wind of her plan and quickly sprung into action. At that time, Dionysus was playing with his uncle’s goats, so Zeus decided to turn the child into a goat in order to hide him from Hera. The plan worked and Hera was unable to find little Dionysus amongst the goats. However, Hera found Ino, Ino’s husband Athamas, and their two sons. Since Hera could not find Dionysus, she decided to take out her rage on Ino’s family. Hera inflicted both Ino and Athamas with a very violent form of madness. Athamas, who was getting ready to go out hunting, ended up envisioning his older son as a deer, and killed him by shooting him with a bow and arrow. Ino was getting ready to bathe her younger son, and in her crazed state, she filled the wash basin with boiling water and then drowned him in it. After Ino and Athamas snapped out of their madness, they realized what they had done. In their grief, Ino and Athamas both committed suicide by jumping off of a cliff. After Hera left, Zeus turned Dionysus back into a child and then took his son to a mountain inhabited by nymphs and satyrs to be raised.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen just look at each other with wide and horrified eyes. Poor Ino. Poor Athamas. Their poor sons.

Kakashi shivers a little when he remembers the part about Ino drowning her son in boiling water. After hearing this story, the jonin will certainly never look at hot springs the same way again.

Jarou takes a deep breath. “I think that both of you can now imagine just the trouble that Beryl would find herself in after the birth of Thalia. Hera of course, wanted to kill Beryl and Thalia, but Zeus would not allow her to. So Hera settled for making Beryl and baby Thalia’s lives miserable by constantly sending monsters to torment them.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen just give each other sad looks. Poor Beryl. Poor Thalia.

Jarou sighs. “And...it wasn’t just Hera who was furious with Thalia’s birth. Hades was also furious when he found out that Zeus had broken his oath. You see, when the oath was made, Hades actually had two young demigod children under sixteen. Since it was actually Hades' adult sons that had instigated the war, Zeus immediately saw a threat in Hades’ younger children. Zeus was apparently convinced that if one of Hades children became the demigod of the prophecy, Olympus would be destroyed. So Zeus’s plan was to convince Hades to hand over his children to Camp-halfblood, the training camp for demigods and then Zeus would kill them. However, Hades was smart and realized what Zeus’s true intentions were so he decided to try and hide his children in the Underworld. However, this didn’t sit well with Hades' mortal lover, the mother of the two children. She absolutely refused to be separated from her children. The woman just didn’t believe that Zeus would be cruel enough to kill her children like that. Then, after some time, Zeus grew angry that his brother was defying him so he decided to take action. When Zeus tried to kill the children, Hades managed to protect them both...at the cost of their mother.” 

Jarou takes a deep breath and just wrings his hands. “After the death of his mortal lover, Hades hid his children in the Lotus Hotel and Casino, home to an ancient tribe of people called the lotus eaters. The lotus eaters surround their home with a special type of magic which makes time literally stand still inside their home. Hades knew this magic would hide his children from Zeus, and this magic would also prevent his children from aging. As of now, Zeus doesn’t know that the children are alive.”

Jarou closes his eyes. “However, as you can imagine, Hades has never forgiven Zeus for what he did to his mortal lover. So when Hades found out that Zeus had broken the oath that had literally caused the death of his mortal lover, he was absolutely livid . However, since Zeus was the king of the gods, Hades couldn’t directly take revenge on Zeus. So, Hades decided that he would take revenge by making Thalia suffer. Just like Hera, Hades sent monsters to torment Beryl and Thalia.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just glance at each other. They don’t blame Hades for being angry with Zeus. But...to simply torment his daughter just because he couldn’t get revenge directly on Zeus is just wrong.

Jarou takes a deep breath. “And sadly, since Beryl returned to her old ways, her parenting skills were terrible.” 

Hiruzen narrows his eyes. “Jarou, please explain what you mean?” 

The Araya just lets out a sigh. “Due to Beryl’s constant drinking, her memory and thinking were impaired greatly. There were times that Beryl would forget to feed Thalia or even change her diapers.” Jarou wrings his hands again. “Sometimes, Beryl would pass out on the couch for hours, which would leave Thalia crying and screaming in her crib, bassinet or playpen.” 

Kakashi and Hiruzen just share sad looks with one another. Hiruzen then clears his throat. “That is very sad indeed.” 

Jarou just nods his head. “And things only got worse as Thalia got older. When Thalia was able to crawl and walk she would be left to wander throughout the house, which was very dangerous as Beryl didn’t baby proof anything. It is a miracle that Thalia never really hurt herself during one of those times.” 

Jarou then closes his eyes. “Truth be told...I don’t really think that Beryl truly cared about Thalia’s wellbeing. I actually think that Beryl may have resented Thalia’s birth because it was her birth that caused Zeus to leave.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just look at one another. If that is the truth, then that is absolutely horrible. Poor baby Thalia.

Jarou just sighs as he remembers how Beryl’s drunkenness caused her to neglect Thalia. 

Beryl is passed out on the couch in her living room. An empty bottle of wine sits on a side table. Nearby, Thalia’s bassinet sits off to the side. Inside the bassinet, a four month old Thalia is screaming her tiny lungs out. Thalia screams with all her might, but Beryl doesn’t even stir. Beryl just continues to snore as she lies passed out on the sofa, leaving her daughter to scream. 

Jarou just blinks a few times as the memory fades. He thinks of new, even more horrible memories. He then wrings his hands. “In fact, there were times when Beryl’s negligence almost killed Thalia.”

Hiruzen’s eyes become wide instantly. “Jarou, please explain what you mean.”

Jarou sighs. “When Thalia was just a few months old, Beryl was carrying her down the stairs of their home and she was really drunk. Well, long story short...she fell down the stairs with Thalia in her arms. Luckily though, Beryl was almost to the bottom so it wasn’t a long fall and she managed to not drop Thalia.” Jarou then wrings his hands. “Then, a month later, Beryl was making Thalia a bottle and mistakenly put white wine into it instead of water. However, when Beryl tried to give Thalia the bottle, Thalia spit it out. Then, Beryl looked over at the counter and quickly realized her error and thus had to make a new bottle.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just glance at each other with wide eyes. They just shake their heads in unison. The two of them have a feeling that a lot of Thalia’s near brushes with death were due to Beryl being drunk.

Jarou sighs again. “Then, when Thalia was just six months old, Beryl was cooking herself some dinner and forgot to turn off the stove. There was a cloth towel next to the burner and it caught fire. By the time Beryl realized that there was a fire inside of the house, the entire backside of the house was engulfed in flames. If Beryl hadn’t noticed the fire, then both her and Thalia would have perished. Well, long story short, Beryl had to find another place to live, because she accidentally burned down her house.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just shake their heads. Beryl accidentally burned down her own home all because she forgot to turn off the stove? Seriously, how hard is it to remember to turn off a stove?

Jarou then becomes tense when he thinks of Beryl’s drunk driving habits. “And don't get me started on Beryl’s driving habits. You see, cars or vehicles have to be driven along roads in order to get to places. Let’s see how to explain what a car looks like. Well, a car is basically a big machine with windows and seats inside to carry passengers. A car runs on gas, which has to be pumped into an interior fuel tank periodically. On the bottom are four wheels, called tires, which allow the car to move along smooth roadways. The car then has to be manually run by a driver, who uses a steering wheel and gears to make the car move a certain way.” Jarou then closes his eyes as he wrings his hands. “Well, if you operate a car incorrectly, you risk crashing into things, which can be fatal . Over a thousand people every year die in vehicular related crashes, most of which were caused by the driver being drunk or intoxicated. You see, it takes a lot of concentration to operate a car effectively and alcohol can impair cognitive ability.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just look at each other. That does make sense. Hiruzen then clears his throat. “Jarou, did Beryl drive drunk often?”

Jarou sighs. “A lot actually and she would have Thalia in the car with her. There were so many times I thought that Beryl was going to crash and kill both herself and Thalia.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just give each other sad looks. That is so sad.

Jarou takes a deep breath. “Things didn’t improve as Thalia got older either. There was one time that Beryl took Thalia, who was three years old, to a twenty story building for an interview. Beryl had to get on an elevator which would take her up to her desired floor. Well, Beryl ended up forgetting Thalia in the elevator and didn’t realize so until the elevator door closed. She simply waited for the elevator to come back up in order to retrieve Thalia. However, after some time, the elevator didn’t come back up. As it turns out, the elevator had become stuck between two floors, so emergency crews had to work to get the elevator unstuck. 

Jarou holds his head in his hands. “Poor Thalia, she was stuck alone in the elevator for over two hours.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just give each other sad looks. Poor little Thalia. Beryl is such a poor excuse for a mother.

Jarou sighs. “Beryl’s drinking also occasionally caused her to be abusive to Thalia. As a baby and toddler, Thalia’s crying would annoy Beryl to the point that she would either scream and yell at Thalia. Sometimes, Beryl would even slap Thalia or even shake her.” 

Kakashi and Hiruzen both gasp at that. That is positively terrible. 

Jarou sighs as one particular incident comes to mine. “There was one time that Beryl was drunk and Thalia, who was around fifteen months old, was in her playpen just a few feet away screaming her lungs out. Beryl ended up throwing her empty bottle of wine at Thalia. Luckily though, the wine bottle didn’t hit Thalia. It sailed over Thalia’s head and crashed into the wall behind the playpen.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi give each other wide eyed looks full of horror. That is just terrible.

Jarou just sighs. He remembers that particular incident as if it happened yesterday.

Beryl is sitting on the couch drinking some wine from a glass. Once the glass is empty, Beryl takes a bottle of wine that is sitting on a nearby table, and refills her glass. Beryl empties the bottle. She sighs. “Oh great, I will have to get me another bottle.” Beryl mutters.

In a playpen nearby, a fifteen month old Thalia is standing in her playpen, screaming her little lungs out. Beryl grits her teeth. She looks right at the playpen and raises the empty bottle of wine. “Be quiet will you!” Beryl shouts.

Then, Beryl chucks the empty bottle at Thalia. The empty glass bottle misses Thalia’s small head by mere inches, and crashes into the wall behind the playpen. The glass bottle shatters into a million pieces.

Jarou just sighs as he wrings his hands. “Aye, I do dread to think of what would have happened if the wine bottle hadn’t missed Thalia. Unfortunately, that incident wasn’t the first time Beryl struck out angrily at Thalia, nor would it be the last.”

Kakashi then thinks of something. Jarou had said something about CPS taking neglected and abused children away from unfit parents. From what Jarou is saying regarding Beryl, it certainly sounds like Beryl was an unfit mother. The silver haired jonin clears his throat. 

“Jarou, you said that CPS removes neglected and abused children from their parents.” Kakashi begins with a tense voice. “Didn’t people around Beryl notice that she wasn’t being a good mother? Didn’t anyone try to get CPS involved?”

Jarou sighs again. “Yes, numerous people did call CPS on Beryl. However, Child Protective Services in Beryl’s area wasn’t run by the best people and they actually overlooked the many signs of abuse when it came to Thalia. Unfortunately, CPS failed Thalia.”

Hiruzen sighs as he looks at the floor. “That is terrible.”

Kakashi closes his eyes. “Indeed.”

After a few moments of silence, Jarou just blinks as he takes a deep breath. “Of course, Beryl was still acting and pulling stupid stunts. Anyway, Thalia’s relationship with Beryl suffered tremendously due to Beryl’s behavior and alcoholism. I would even have to say that Thalia resented her mother.” Jarou wrings his hands. “Of course, Beryl drank everyday, which impaired her memory and thinking greatly. There were times that Beryl would forget to buy food and Thalia would go hungry for a day or so.”

Kakashi closes his eyes. He thinks about the next lines that Lady Aisha told Sasuke. 

...The years go by. A baby grows into a girl. She watches her mother unravel. The little girl watches with contempt, as her mother opens another bottle. The starlet drinks away her pain. She doesn’t think of the consequences. The little girl pays for her mother’s actions….

Kakashi eventually sighs. The meanings of these lines finally make sense now. Beryl’s behavior and neglectful ways drove a wedge between her and her daughter. So very sad indeed. 

Jarou then takes a deep breath as he remembers Zeus’s return. “Then, just before Thalia turned five, Zeus unexpectedly returned. I guess he wanted to resume his relationship with Beryl. For a while, Beryl was better. She stopped drinking and stopped pulling stupid stunts, and her parenting skills did improve somewhat.” 

Kakashi and Hiruzen both narrow their eyes at that. They have a feeling that Zeus’s return had even more serious consequences for Beryl and Thalia.

Jarou sighs. “However, the consequences were very predictable. That following summer, Beryl gave birth to her and Zeus’s second child; a little boy with Sakiko’s blond hair and Zeus’s electric blue eyes.” 

Kakashi and Hiruzen both look at each other. Hmm, this means that Itachi Uchiha actually has two grandchildren. Very interesting indeed. 

Kakashi thinks more about this as he remembers the next lines that Lady Aisha told Sasuke.

... The god returns. He cannot contain his lust. The starlet is elated. In the heat of summer, a baby is born. A sacred oath is broken twice. The god leaves again. The starlet’s mind slowly breaks….

Kakashi blinks a few times. Zeus is certainly one irresponsible godly king. He broke a sacred oath twice and left his heartbroken fling to deal with the consequences herself.  

Jarou wrings his hands. “Zeus told Beryl to name their new son Jason. Zeus told her that Hera would be absolutely furious that he had sired a second child with the same mortal woman. Zeus then explained to Beryl that thousands of years ago, Hera had a favorite mortal hero, and his name was Jason. Zeus hoped that naming his new demigod son after Hera’s favorite mortal hero would somehow appease her. Beryl wasn’t really fond of the name but she respected Zeus’s wishes and thus named their new son Jason.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just share looks. They both have a feeling that naming the baby in honor of Hera’s favorite hero didn’t really appease her. However, it probably wouldn’t hurt to ask. 

After a few moments, Hiruzen clears his throat. “Well, did naming the new baby Jason appease Hera?”

Jarou just shakes his head. “No, it didn’t.” 

Kakashi and Hiruzen both sigh. They had a feeling Jarou would say that. Kakashi closes his eyes as he thinks more about Lady Aisha’s words to Sasuke.

...Above the clouds, a goddess seethes with rage. Her husband has betrayed her yet again. No more affairs with mortal women, her husband had promised her. No more half-blood children, her husband had promised her….

Eventually, Kakashi opens his eyes. For some reason, Kakashi just has a bad feeling about this.

Jarou closes his eyes. “In fact, the monster attacks just got worse after Jason’s birth. And of course, Zeus left. I guess he got tired of Beryl’s constant demands. You see, Beryl kept asking Zeus to make her eternally beautiful, make her immortal, and to even take her to Olympus, which humans are not allowed to go to. Well, after Zeus left, Beryl totally fell apart and of course returned to her old ways. She began drinking heavily and she kept pulling stupid stunts to gain attention in the tabloids. By the time Jason was two, Beryl’s repeated stunts ruined her acting career.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen just shake their heads at that. The two of them had a feeling Jarou would say something along the lines of that.

Jarou sighs. “As you can imagine, Beryl’s drinking made her very unstable. She could barely take care of Thalia when she was born, and now she had two children to take care of. Thankfully though, Thalia was mature enough to at least take care of Jason. Thalia changed Jason’s diapers and even fed him bottles when Beryl was unable to...which was most of the time. Despite having to literally raise a baby when she was still a child herself, Thalia adored Jason.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen just look at each other. Well, at least little Jason had his older sister to take care of him.

Jarou then manages a small smile as he remembers Jason. “Jason was absolutely adorable. He had a sweet little face, a little head of blond hair, and electric blue eyes. However, Jason also proved to be very mischievous. The little tyke certainly kept Thalia on her toes as he was always trying to get into everything. Just after Jason turned two, he got a hold of a stapler, and being a curious toddler, he started mouthing it and very nearly stapled his lips together. Thalia got to Jason just in time, but he ended up with a small scar on his upper lip.”

Hiruzen narrows his eyes. “Where was Beryl when this happened?”

Jarou sighs. “Out...partying and drinking.”

Hiruzen just looks at Kakashi. The two of them then shake their heads.

Kakashi thinks about Lady Aisha’s long and strange conversation with Sasuke. 

... The years go by. A baby boy becomes an adventurous toddler. He is loved by his sister. His mother wallows in her misery….

Kakashi blinks a few times. These words do make sense now. Little Jason had a very unstable and selfish mother but he had a big sister who adored him. Then, Kakashi remembers the next lines that Lady Aisha uttered during her conversation with Sasuke.

...One fateful day, everything changes. The little boy disappears, his fate unknown….

Kakashi’s eyes widen considerably. He looks at Jarou, who is starting to get a sad look in his eyes as if he is remembering something unpleasant. One question is running through the silver haired jonin’s mind right now. 

Could something terrible have happened to little Jason?

Jarou sighs as he looks at his hands. It is now time to tell the hokage and Kakashi of what ultimately happened to Jason. Just the thought of that day fills Jarou with sorrow and pain. 

“One day, something happened that changed everything.” Jarou says with an ominous voice. “When Thalia was eight and Jason was two, Beryl unexpectedly announced that the three of them were going on a picnic . She packed Thalia and Jason into the car along with a picnic basket and drove for a little while until they reached a deserted park. My relatives and I happened to be using our interdimensional viewing jutsu to check up on Beryl and the children, and we immediately became suspicious. Beryl never took the children anywhere. It was very strange behavior.” 

Kakashi and Hiruzen shoot each other tense looks. The two of them don’t like the sound of this. 

Jarou sighs as he continues on with his story. “Well, they got out and walked until they reached this old run down house. Beryl then told Thalia to run back and get the basket. Thalia hesitated but she ultimately did what her mother asked, leaving Jason alone with her.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just give each other concerned glances. The two of them have a very bad feeling about this.

Jarou just hangs his head down. “Thalia wasn’t gone for more than three minutes at the most. Well, when Thalia returned, Beryl was on the ground sobbing...and Jason was gone .”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just let out horrified gasps. Gone?! A fter a few minutes, Hiruzen just clears his throat. “Jarou, what do you mean that Jason was gone? What happened?”

Jarou just sighs. “I...I don’t know. My relatives and I had decided to keep an eye on Thalia while she was fetching the basket so none of us saw what happened. Well, anyway as I said, Beryl was on the ground sobbing when Thalia returned. She just kept saying that ‘Hera had claimed Jason, and that he was as good as dead’. Well, Thalia simply lost it and proceeded to frantically run around the park, trying to find her little brother. However, it was useless. Jason had simply vanished . Eventually, Beryl dragged Thalia back to the car and she proceeded to drive home like nothing had happened.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just give each other shocked looks. How could a mother just lose her toddler son and then act like nothing even happened?

Jarou sighs. He remembers the day Jason disappeared very clearly. That day was one of the most horrible days of Jarou’s life.

An eight year old Thalia walks down a trail, a picnic basket in hand. When she reaches the spot where her mother and Jason are supposed to be waiting, she freezes. She drops the basket. Her mother is on the ground sobbing. Jason on the other hand...is nowhere in sight.

Beryl just sobs as she sits on the ground. Thalia gives her mother an angry yet horrified look. “Mom, where is Jason?!” Thalia asks with an angry yet panicked voice. “Did he run off?”

Beryl just continues to sob. “No...Hera claimed him.” Beryl says through her sobs. “Your little brother is as good as dead now Thalia. Dead I tell you!” 

Thalis just shakes her head. “No, you’re crazy!” 

Thalia then begins running around the park. “JASON!” Thalia yells. “Where are you?!”

Jarou just clears his throat as the horrible memory fades. “To this day...my relatives and I have never figured out what Beryl did with Jason.” Jarou says with a broken voice. “However, this is what I think happened. I think that Beryl was tired of the constant monster attacks and simply decided that perhaps if she sacrificed one of her children to Hera, the angry goddess would stop tormenting her. Beryl...chose to sacrifice Jason.”

Kakashi and Hiruzen gasp and look at each other with wide and horrified eyes. Could Beryl really have been that cold hearted to simply allow her immortal lover’s vengeful wife to kill her young son? If that is the truth, then that is simply horrible. Poor little Jason. 

Jarou sighs again. “Thalia cried for days after Jason’s disappearance. She barely ate and she barely slept. Beryl on the other hand, just continued to act as if nothing had happened.” 

Kakashi blinks as he remembers the next lines of Lady Aisha’s conversation with Sasuke. His sister wallows in her grief. His mother forgets about him. The silver haired jonin closes his eyes. Those words are describing Jason and his family’s reaction to his apparent ‘death’. His older sister grieved while his mother chose to forget about him. 

So very sad indeed. 

Jarou closes his own eyes and takes a deep breath. “Eventually, Thalia grew annoyed and angry with her mother’s lack of emotion regarding the matter. She reported her own mother to the police, who investigated Jason’s disappearance. However, the police couldn’t find anything and closed the case. After that things got worse. Beryl turned against her own daughter, citing that Thalia had betrayed her and that she should be supporting her.” 

Jarou then looks at his hands. “Well, I think that did it for Thalia. Two weeks after Jason disappeared, Thalia packed a bag and then snuck out her bedroom window in the middle of the night. Thalia...ran away from home. She didn’t even look back once.”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just blink a few times. The two of them then give each other sad looks. Beryl’s behavior drove her own daughter away. That is terrible. 

Kakashi closes his eyes. A girl runs away from her pain. She leaves her life behind. Those words are describing how Thalia ran away from home due to her grief.

Then, after a few minutes, Hiruzen clears his throat. “Jarou, what happened to Thalia after she ran away? Do you know?”

Jarou sobs a little. “Thalia eventually befriended two other demigods and they formed a tight knit group. The first was an older boy named Luke Castellan, a son of Hermes; god of messengers. Then, Thalia and Luke came across a young seven year girl named Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena; goddess of wisdom. Like Thalia, both Luke and Annabeth had run away from their less than ideal home lives. Together, Thalia, Luke and Annabeth formed a tight knit group...fighting and defending each other from monsters.” Jarou then looks at his hands. “Even though Thalia acted happy, I could always tell that she was holding her grief back.” 

Kakashi blinks a few times. She finds comfort in her own kind…, Kakashi thinks . Yet she cannot forget the past. A past filled with lies and grief. She hides her tears. The silver haired jonin closes his eyes. These lines are describing Thalia finding other demigods like her who made her somewhat happy but she still couldn’t completely shake off the grief of her unhappy childhood. 

Jarou gulps a little as more tears stream down his face. “Alas, my family and I have kept an eye on all three demigods since they met. However, over the last few days, whenever my family members and I have tried to track the group using our interdimensional tracking and viewing jutsu, we have had no luck. Thalia and her friends...have simply disappeared .”

Jarou then sighs as he looks at Kakashi and Hiruzen. “Here is the thing about time flow between our world and the Olympians world. You see, time will flow faster in the Olympians world for a certain amount of time, and then the time will slow down and flow at the same rate of our world for a year or so. No one knows why this is, but that’s what happens. Well, about a month ago, the time flow in the Olympians world slowed down. As of now, the time flow between our world and the Olympians’ world is the same , and it will stay that way for at least a year.” 

Jarou blinks a few times as he looks down at his hands. “Theoretically, that should make the job of finding Thalia on a daily basis easier for my family and I. However, none of us can find Thalia or her friends. When a person cannot be found with the interdimensional tracking and viewing jutsu after a period of time, it usually means one thing. Death .”

Hiruzen and Kakashi just look at each other with wide eyes. Oh no! 

Jarou sighs. “We will probably never know what truly happened to Thalia or her friends. However, it is likely that they met their demise at the hands of monsters. The sad truth is nearly half of all demigods don’t survive past their thirteen birthday. It’s just a harsh reality in the life of a demigod. Children of the big three especially have a hard time surviving. Their auras are just so powerful. They attract monsters like magnets.”

After a few moments, a few tears fall from Jarou’s eyes. “Thalia would be twelve now.” Jarou says through his sobs. “And Jason would be six.”

Hiruzen cocks his head slightly. Hmm, so Thalia would actually be around the same age as Sasuke Uchiha. Very interesting indeed. 

Kakashi just hangs his head down. All of Lady’s Aisha’s words make sense now. Itachi got a girl pregnant with his child and the child was sent to another world where she grew up into a selfish person. 

Kakashi blinks a few times. Beryl led a tragic life and even though she found fame as a starlet, she wasn’t satisfied with her life. Beryl then descended into alcoholism and literally drank her sorrows away. Then, Zeus, an immortal god, became infatuated with Beryl and broke his sacred oath by fathering two demigod children with her. Zeus’s wife Hera was so enraged by her husband’s affairs with Beryl that she tormented Beryl and the children. And due to her alcoholism Beryl was such a terrible mother that she literally drove a wedge between herself and her daughter. Then, Beryl’s son disappeared, which later caused his older sister to run away from home. The girl found companionship in two other demigods, but ultimately she wasn’t able to survive the dangerous world that she was born into. 

So very tragic indeed.

However, after a few minutes, Kakashi remembers the last four lines of the poem that Lady Aisha told Sasuke. From one world to another, the heir of fire and lightning arrives. Kakashi thinks with narrowed eyes. To survive this cruel and unforgiving world, she must master her eyes. Kakashi closes his eyes. 

Just what is that supposed to mean? Who is the heir of fire and lightning?

However, before Kakashi can think anymore on the subject, he hears Jarou let out a sorrowful wail. The jonin just watches as Jarou curls into a ball upon his bed.

“The pain of my losses is just too much.” Jarou says with a broken voice. “Sakiko is gone. Jason is gone. And now...Thalia is gone as well. And Beryl, she’s on such a downward spiral that I don’t expect her to live much longer either. For the last four years, I literally lived on the hope that my grandniece would have a happy life...and have children of her own. But now...Beryl’s children are both dead and she is slowly killing herself through her drinking. What is the point of me living now?!”

Hiruzen just takes a deep breath. “Mr. Araya, I can understand that you are filled with grief. It is indeed very tragic and even unfair about what happened to your niece. It is also very tragic about what Beryl has ultimately become. It is also very tragic that both Jason and Thalia have disappeared , and are more than likely dead.” 

Hiruzen then looks seriously at Jarou. “However, that is no reason to end your life. From what you said, it sounds like you have relatives that care very much about you. Just imagine the pain they will have to go through due to your death.”

Jarou stops sobbing. He looks at the wise old hokage. Hiruzen just looks at Jarou. “I can imagine that your relatives are wondering what has happened to you. Do you really want them to suffer through your death?”

Kakashi just blinks a few times. He understands that the hokage is trying to get through to the suicidal man. But...what if they can’t? It sounds like Jarou is so overwhelmed by his immense grief that he just cannot cope. Grief of this magnitude cannot be gotten rid of. Is it really worth it to try and help the man? 

After a few minutes of thinking about this, Kakashi just sighs. Well, it probably wouldn’t hurt to at least try to get through to Jarou.

As Hiruzen continues to try and help the suicidal Araya, both him and Kakashi, and even Jarou are completely unaware of the black eyed figure standing just outside the door. Unbeknownst to everyone in the room, the figure heard their entire conversation through the crack in the door.

Notes:

Alright, let me explain family relationships here. I always thought that great-aunt and great-uncle were the correct terms for a grandparents sister or brother. However, I actually saw something that stated that granduncle and grandaunt are actually the correct terms for such familial relationships. I am not sure that this is true, but I actually like the term granduncle for this story, as it sounds way cooler so I decided to start using it instead of great-uncle. So here are the familial relationships.

Itachi and Thalia: Grandfather and granddaughter. Thalia's mother Beryl, was born when Itachi was fourteen, and she was sent to the Percy Jackson world as a newborn. Since time flows faster in the Olympians world, Beryl aged 36 years and had Thalia when she was 24. Beryl then had Jason when she was 30.

Sasuke and Thalia: Granduncle and Grandniece. Since Sasuke is Itachi's younger brother, that makes him the uncle of Beryl, and thus the granduncle of both Thalia and Jason.

Jarou and Sakiko: Half-uncle and half-niece. Sakiko's father Takeo was the younger half-brother of Jarou. This makes Jarou the half-uncle of Sakiko, and thus the half-granduncle of Sakiko's daughter Beryl. This also makes Jarou the half-great-uncle of Thalia and Jason.

(see comments section for more notes)

Chapter 24: Truth

Notes:

Hurray, I have this chapter edited and revamped as well!

Chapter Text

Kakashi is standing in the hokage’s office, in front of the Hokage who is sitting in his desk chair. The silver haired jonin just blinks as he watches the wise old hokage smoke his pipe. 

After a few moments, Kakashi sighs. He and the hokage just got done talking with Jarou about five minutes ago. When he and the hokage left the office, they sensed the remnants of an aura just outside the doorway, leading to the realization that someone was standing outside the door, eavesdropping on the conversation. Kakashi immediately recognized the aura as Sasuke’s. 

Kakashi closes his eyes. Right now, the silver haired jonin is wondering just how much of the conversation his grumpy black haired student overheard. Sasuke, just how much did you hear?

Meanwhile, Hiruzen leans back in his chair. Even though Hiruzen is hopeful that he got through to the suicidal Araya, he sent the nurse back in to keep an eye on the man just as a precaution. The wise old hokage knows that grief of this magnitude takes time to heal, but it just seems as if Jarou can’t deal with it, which is bad. 

Hiruzen then lets out a sigh. “I am just wondering what we should do about Mr. Jarou Araya. We’ve talked and talked to him but it seems like there probably isn’t much we can do. Perhaps we should just have a team escort him back to his home. Perhaps his relatives will be able to get through to him.”

Kakashi just nods in approval. “That is probably a good idea.”

Then, after a few minutes, Kakashi just closes his eyes. He has been thinking about this whole thing for a while. The silver haired jonin now has a theory regarding the identity of those two girls back at the Aoku village. 

Kakashi takes a deep breath. “Lord hokage, there is something that has been bugging my mind about this whole thing. I mean, if there is a chance that Thalia and her friends are still alive, then why can’t Jarou or his relatives find them. Just how do three children disappear without a trace?”

Hiruzen blinks a few times. “Hmm, that is actually a very good question.”

Kakashi then takes his bag off of his back. “Lord Hokage, I actually have something to show you. Do you remember what I told you about the thieves who stole from the apple orchard and the shops in the Aoku village? Well, I made plaster casts of the shoe prints left behind.”

Hiruzen’s eyes become wide instantly. “Please, do show me what you got.”

Kakashi takes out three plaster casts. The hokage looks at the three casts with scrutinizing eyes. The wise old hokage narrows his eyes at the design of the tread. Hiruzen sighs and leans back in his chair.

“Hmm, these are very strange indeed.” Hiruzen says with a voice full of interest. “I have never seen anything like these shoe prints.”

Kakashi then points to one of the plaster casts. “This one actually looks exactly like what I found outside of the cave, where I found that strange food wrapper.”

The hokage narrows his eyes even more. He takes said food wrapper out of his cloak pocket.

Kakashi blinks a few times as he holds up one of the casts. “I just keep looking at this particular shoe impression, and I would have to say it was made by a child between 11 and 13. Jarou said that Thalia was supposed to be around twelve when she disappeared.” Kakashi then picks up the biggest cast. “I would have to say that this shoe impression was made by an older child, and Jarou did say that Thalia’s friend, Luke, was supposed to be older than her.” Kakashi then picks up the smallest plaster cast. “I would have to say that this shoe impression was made by a child between 6 and 8, and Jarou did say that Thalia and Luke’s young friend, Annabeth, was supposed to be around 7.”

The hokage just sits back in his chair. He scratches his chin.

Kakashi takes a deep breath. When he told the hokage about what happened to Naruto, he didn’t mention how the girl’s eyes changed. He feels that he should probably say something now. 

“Lord Hokage, there is something that I didn’t tell you.” Kakashi begins with a tense voice. “The thing about the girl who shocked Naruto, he said that her eyes changed . In fact, Naruto told me that it almost looked like sharingan .”

Hiruzen’s eyes become wide instantly. Kakashi quickly continues on. “And the most interesting part of this is that before the girl’s eyes changed, her eyes were a bluish color. And...Jarou did say that Thalia had blue eyes. And Naruto did describe the girl who shocked him as being around twelve, and the other girl looked to be around seven.”

Hiruzen takes his pipe out of his mouth. He closes his eyes.

“And do not forget what I told you about the soothsayer and her strange words.” Kakashi says. “And...the last four lines went like this; From one world to another, the heir of fire and lightning arrives. To survive this cruel and unforgiving world, she must master her eyes.”

Hiruzen takes a deep breath and opens his eyes.

Kakashi takes a deep breath. “The thing is, if it is possible for people from our world to be sent to other worlds, then the opposite should be possible as well. People from other worlds...being sent to our world.”

Hiruzen looks back down at the food wrapper and the plaster casts. He glances at Kakashi. “Kakashi, do you really think that the mysterious girl who shocked Naruto could be young Thalia Grace?”

Kakashi nods his head. “It would make sense as that could be the reason Jarou and his relations have been unable to locate Thalia for a while. They are looking in the wrong dimension.”

Hiruzen looks at the evidence in front of him again. “But that would mean Thalia and her friends must have been sucked through a dimensional rift in order for them to be in our world. If this is truly the case, then this is a serious matter.”

Kakashi closes his eyes. “Yes.” He then opens his eyes. “Somewhere out there...there could be another Uchiha. One with godly blood.”

After a few minutes, Hiruzen sighs. “If this is truly the case, then we need to find the girl before her power falls into the wrong hands.”

However, the wise old Hokage looks back down at the plaster casts and the food wrapper. “However, this could all be a coincidence as well. I just don’t want to make a big deal out of nothing if I don’t have to.”

Kakashi closes his eyes. He understands where the hokage is coming from. To look for Thalia and her friends will require a lot of time and effort and not to mention manpower. And if the other jonin were to learn of this, it would cause quite a stir. Kakashi then looks down at the casts that he made. What if he is wrong and Thalia and her friends are not in this world? Valuable manpower would be wasted for nothing.

After a few minutes, Hiruzen looks at the plaster casts again along with the food wrapper. “I do know one thing for sure though. We need to talk to Mr. Araya again. Perhaps he can shed some light on these strange findings.”

Kakashi nods his head. However, Kakashi then thinks of his black haired student. The silver haired jonin just can imagine what is going through the young Uchiha’s mind right now. After a few moments, Kakashi just sighs as he looks at his village leader.

“Lord Hokage, I did actually recognize the aura that was outside the hospital room door. It was Sasuke’s.”

The hokage’s eyes become wide instantly. “Do you think the boy overheard the entire conversation?”

Kakashi sighs. “I do not know. But if he did, I am certain that his mind is a wreck. Why don’t you go and talk to Mr. Araya? I will go and look for Sasuke.”


Thalia sits in a meadow a few meters outside of Sanae’s residence. After the group came back, the chickens were placed in a temporary coop to be monitored for a little while just to make sure that they don’t have any kind of diseases that can be spread to the other chickens. 

Right now, it is 9:30 pm. The younger kids in Sanae’s household went to sleep around thirty minutes ago. Annabeth decided to join the younger girls in their bedroom as she was starting to feel a little sleepy.

Thalia looks up at the moon as she thinks of the latest encounter with her grandfather. She just cannot get her grandfather’s words out of her head.

Thalia just stares up at her grandfather, Itachi. “For being half-god, you are actually quite pathetic.” Itachi says.

Thalia closes her eyes.

Thalia just stares up at her grandfather, Itachi. The man’s red eyes are bearing right into Thalia’s soul. “From what I can see, you are not even worthy of being an Uchiha. You don’t even know standard shinobi skills. Here is my advice to you. If you truly want to be worthy of being called an Uchiha, then become stronger. Master your sharingan. Learn how to be a true shinobi. If you are truly fearless, then come seek me out once you are strong and fight me. Prove to me that you are worthy of bearing the sharingan and the Uchiha name. That is, if I don’t die at the hands of your granduncle first.”

Thalia bites her lip and just shakes her head. Then, a voice catches her attention. The demigod opens her eyes and turns to see Luke and Masaru walking up to her. 

Luke places a comforting hand on Thalia’s shoulder. “Thals...you have been sitting out here for ten minutes. You only do this when you are thinking really hard about something. Come on, just tell me what is wrong.” 

Thalia just turns her head away. “I just can’t stop thinking of what my grandfather said. You know, about being ‘pathetic’ and not ‘worthy of being an Uchiha’.”

Luke sighs. “Come Thals, you need to let that go.” He squeezes Thalia’s shoulder. “You need to stop letting that man get to you. You are strong and brave no matter what that evil man says!”

Thalia looks away. Of course Luke would think that…, Thalia thinks to herself. He is my friend.

Masaru then clears his throat. He has actually been meaning to ask Thalia if she would like to learn shinobi arts from him, more specifically the Araya clan jutsus . Thalia has Araya blood running through her veins so she has every right to learn the Araya clan jutsus as any other person born into the Araya clan.

“Thalia…,” Masaru begins with a tentative voice. “Luke told me about what your grandfather said about you becoming stronger and fighting him one day. The thing is, if you are truly interested in learning shinobi arts, I can teach you a few things. I can even teach you the Araya clan jutsus.”

Thalia’s eyes become wide with surprise. “You would do that?!”

Masaru nods. “Yes, of course I would. You are an Araya by blood. Learning the Araya clan jutsus is your birthright just as much as wielding the sharingan is.”

After a few minutes, Thalia manages a small smile. “I would like that very much.”

Masaru smiles. “Alright then, I shall teach you shinobi arts starting tomorrow.”

Then, Masaru suddenly lets out a yawn. He begins rubbing his eyes.  “Oh my, I’m afraid that I must go get myself some z’s. We can talk more about me training you in shinobi arts tomorrow.”

With that, Masaru walks away, heading back to Sanae’s house. Thalia and Luke are left alone in the meadow. 

Luke sits down beside Thalia. “Thals, we have a new life. You need to let yourself be happy. What you went through with your grandfather is in the past now. You need to focus on the future.”

Thalia sighs. “I know. It’s just...I will never be able to shake my grandfather’s reputation off of my back. If people other than the Araya’s, my grandfather and Sanae’s family find out about me, all they will see is a granddaughter of a mass murdering kinslayer.” 

Luke caresses Thalia’s cheek. “That isn’t what I see when I look at you. You want to know what I see when I look at you?”

Thalia looks at Luke with questioning eyes. Luke smiles. “I see a beautiful, kind and extremely brave girl who had a difficult life, but toughed it out and beat the odds.”

Thalia blinks a few times. The daughter of Zeus looks at the son of Hermes with questioning eyes. “Luke?”

Luke then runs his fingers through Thalia’s hair. Luke has been wanting to express his feelings for a long time. “Thalia, I love everything about you. I love your voice. I love your spiky black hair and your beautiful blue eyes.”

Thalia takes a deep breath. “Luke, are you saying what I think you are saying?”

Luke then blinks a few times. “Deep down, I have always had feelings for you. In the future, if you ever feel like reciprocating my feelings, I would like that.”

Thalia closes her eyes. Deep down, a part of her has always had feelings for Luke as well. However, Thalia had never given much thought to her suppressed feelings due to the constant danger the two demigods were in.

After a few minutes, Thalia sighs. “Luke, the truth is...I have always had feelings for you as well. It’s...it’s just, I didn’t want to get too close to you. You know, in case I was to lose you. Like I lost Jason .”

Luke caresses Thalia’s cheek some more. “I completely understand. However, we can relax now. We have a real home now.”

Luke then looks up at the moon. “All I know is that when I look at you, I can see a future. I know that I wouldn’t mind spending the rest of life with you. I also wouldn’t mind starting our own little family together.”

Thalia’s eyes widen. She never thought about starting her own family either.

Luke then laughs. “Can you just imagine if we had kids?! We would have little Lukes and little Thalias, and Annabeth would be the kind of ‘auntie’ who always tells stories.”

Thalia actually manages to smile at that. “Yeah, Annabeth would never get tired of telling our children stories about the gods and goddesses and of our many adventures together.”

Thalia then frowns. “However, I am in no hurry to start a family. After all, I am still only twelve. Besides, I am going to be busy these next few years learning shinobi arts from Masaru. I won’t have time for babies .”

Luke nods in agreement. “I am not ready to start a family either. However, we must really think of what we want for the future. You know what they say; time flows by quickly.”

Thalia closes her eyes. “I know.”

As Thalia and Luke talk more about a potential future together, they are both completely unaware that they are being watched. About 50 meters away, hidden behind some trees, on top of a hill, is a black cloaked figure. 

It is Itachi.

The Uchiha just narrows his eyes as he watches Thalia and Luke converse in the meadow. Due to his keen ninja hearing, Itachi can hear the demigods' conversation very clearly. After a few minutes, Itachi shakes his head. I tell this girl to hate me and to prove herself a true Uchiha by fighting me, yet here she is talking about future children. I don’t get this girl at all. 

Then, Itachi suddenly senses a presence nearby. Itachi narrows his eyes even more when he realizes who it is. Kisame…, Itachi thinks as he turns around.

Standing by a tree a few feet behind Itachi is Kisame. Kisame grins as he looks at his partner. “I found you. Where have you been, man?”

Itachi does not respond. He just turns his attention back to Thalia and Luke down in the meadow. Kisame follows his partner’s eyes and lets out a gasp. “You found the brats!” Then the sharkman grins. “What are we waiting for?! Let’s get em!”

Itachi shakes his head. “No.”

Kisame’s eyes become wide instantly. “No!? Why not?”

Itachi sighs. He figures that Kisame is bound to find out the truth anyway so it is probably best to tell the sharkman the truth. “Kisame, when I told you that I never found the children when I went looking for them last night...I lied. I just didn’t want to reveal what I ultimately learned. However, I suppose that you are bound to find out the truth sooner or later so I shall tell you.”

Kisame’s eyes become wide. His partner lied about not finding the children last night. Why?

Itachi closes his eyes. “Kisame, I fathered a daughter with Sakiko. Apparently, she was sent to another dimension in which time flows faster. She grew up into an adult woman.” 

The Uchiha opens his eyes and looks back down towards Thalia and Luke in the meadow. “Kisame, that girl down there is my daughter’s child. That girl...is my granddaughter.”

Kisame’s mouth drops wide open in shock. Then, after a few minutes, the shock subsides. Kisame chuckles. “Man, that is something. No wonder you didn’t want to tell me.”

Kisame then narrows his eyes. “Hey, if your daughter was sent to another dimension then that means your granddaughter must have been born in that dimension. What the hell is the girl doing here then?”

Itachi closes his eyes. “The truth is very complicated Kisame so you must listen carefully. The dimension that my daughter was sent to is ruled by immortal gods and goddesses, unseen to most humans of course. The father of my granddaughter is one of these immortal gods, which makes her half-human and half-god. Apparently half-god children are called demigods. That is why my granddaughter has such a powerful aura...and why she can shoot lightning out of her hands.”

Kisame’s eyes become wide. “Half-god? Hmm, I have to say, that is very interesting. Well, what is her name?”

Itachi blinks a few times. “Thalia. In fact, Thalia’s friends are also demigods. Their names are Luke and Annabeth. Their dog is named Theia.” 

Kisame blinks a few times. “Hmm, I suppose they should have different sounding names since they are from another world.”

Itachi looks over towards the house. “However, being a demigod is apparently not as grand as it sounds. Demigods live a very precarious existence due to there being monstrous beasts in that world that love to kill and even eat demigods. Apparently, Thalia and her friends were about to be killed by some of these monstrous beasts, so a man from Sakiko’s birth village saved them by opening up a portal which of course sent them here.” 

Kisame blinks a few times. “Hmm, that would explain why those brats are here then.”

Itachi closes his eyes. “The man then left with his grandsons and they landed at this house. Last night, after I slashed my granddaughter’s side, she and her friends ran into the forest. My granddaughter collapsed due to blood loss and some children who live in that house found them and managed to get Thalia back here so that a woman with knowledge of medical ninjutsu could heal her up.”

Kisame just blinks a few times. Then, he suddenly remembers the picture and the stuffed eagle. “Itachi, what about the picture...and the stuffed eagle?”

Itachi just closes his eyes. “Apparently, I had a grandson. He was Thalia’s little brother and his name was Jason. You see, Thalia and Jason’s immortal father, Zeus, is the king of the gods. Zeus has an immortal wife who is his queen, Hera. As you can imagine, Hera was not happy about Zeus’s affair with my daughter and the subsequent birth of Thalia and Jason. She sent monsters to torment my daughter and grandchildren.” 

Itachi then opens his eyes. “You see Kisame, I eavesdropped on Thalia’s conversation with Masaru and her friends and this is how I found out about all this.” Itachi then shakes his head. “Apparently, according to Thalia, my daughter was an unstable alcoholic actress who could barely take care of herself and her children. Zeus couldn’t really be in the picture as he had to rule the immortal world, so my daughter was left to raise Thalia and Jason herself.” 

Kisame scoffs. “Sheesh, that’s terrible.” 

Itachi closes his eyes. “Well, one day, when Jason was two and Thalia eight, my daughter unexpectedly decided to take them on a picnic.” Itachi then opens his eyes and turns to Kisame. “You see Kisame, that world is more advanced than ours. People in that world have advanced means of transport such as cars, which are like miniature trains. People drive along roadways in order to travel long distances.” 

Kisame blinks a few times. “Hmm, that is very interesting.”

Itachi looks back at Thalia. “These are Thalia’s words which she told her friends and Masaru regarding what happened that day. My daughter owned her own personal car so she packed herself, Thalia and Jason into it along with a picnic basket and drove until she reached a deserted park. My daughter then took my grandchildren to a clearing with a rundown old cabin. However, she had forgotten the picnic basket so she told Thalia to go back and fetch it. Thalia did so, leaving my grandson alone with my daughter. Well, when my granddaughter returned, Jason was gone.” 

Kisame raises a brow. “Gone? What happened?” 

Itachi blinks a few times. “All that my daughter would say was that ‘Hera had claimed him and that he was as good as dead’. Well, my granddaughter didn’t know what to think so she tried to search for Jason. However, after a little while, my daughter dragged Thalia back to the car and drove home like nothing had even happened. Alas, Thalia never found Jason.” 

The Uchiha looks back at Kisame. “Thalia seems to think that my daughter became fed up with the monster attacks and simply decided to sacrifice Jason to Hera as a way to appease her.” 

Kisame’s eyes become wide. How could Itachi’s daughter do that to her own son?!

Itachi closes his eyes. “The death of Jason caused Thalia to run away from home. She eventually met Luke and Annabeth, who had also run away from their less than ideal home lives.” 

After a few minutes, Kisame just crosses his arms. “Hmm, this is quite the situation you have found yourself in. What are you going to do about the girl?”

Itachi opens his eyes. “Nothing for now. I have kept an eye on her and confronted her on multiple occasions. From what I can see, she is pathetic...especially for being half-god.”

However, Itachi glances back towards the meadow. He narrows his eyes at Thalia and Luke. “However, she does have potential, which is why I have decided to let her live.”

Itachi sighs and starts to walk away. “Who knows...she may even become a worthy opponent for me one day.”

Kisame simply watches as his partner walks away. Kisame looks back down towards the meadow where Thalia and Luke are.

In the meadow, Luke and Thalia are talking pleasantly about their hopes for the future. Then, Thalia frowns when she thinks of something. She looks up at the moon.

“Luke, I am actually wondering if it wise for us to potentially have kids in the future.” Thalia says. She looks back at Luke. “I mean, what if my grandfather is still alive when we have kids? What if that evil man tries to hurt our children?”

Luke immediately grabs his golf club, which is lying next to him. “Don’t worry Thals, I am not afraid of that man. I will protect any children we have from that evil bastard!”

Thalia’s eyes then light up in determination. “You know what, I will protect any children we have from that horrible man as well! I won’t let him lay a finger on any babies I have!”

Luke grins. “That’s the spirit, Thals!”

Thalia then sighs as she looks back up at the moon. “However, like I said, I am not ready to have kids yet.”

Luke nods his head. “Of course, you’re only twelve and I am only fourteen. But think of this. We will both officially be adults once we turn eighteen. Then, we can really get serious about a future together.”

Luke then smiles and places a quick kiss on Thalia’s cheek. “Don’t worry about trying to rush things for me. I will be ready whenever you are.”

Thalia just blushes as her and Luke get to their feet. It is really getting late now. They should probably head inside.

Up on the hill, Kisame watches the happy pair make their way towards the house. The sharkman witnessed the kiss. Sheesh…, Kisame thinks as he walks away. It looks like Itachi is going to end up a great-grandpa before he’s even thirty.


Kakashi sighs as he approaches the training fields. He can see that Sasuke is throwing shuriken. The jonin figured that he would find his student here. Sasuke often comes to the training fields to vent out his anger and frustration by throwing shuriken and kunai.

Kakashi simply approaches his pupil. “Sasuke.” 

The Uchiha turns to look at his sensei. Sasuke quickly shakes his head and returns to throwing shuriken. “What do you want?!”

Kakashi sighs. “Sasuke, I know that you were eavesdropping on the Hokage and I while we were in that hospital room. Just how much did you hear?”

Sasuke grumbles and throws another shuriken. “Everything!”

Kakashi closes his eyes. “Sasuke, I can just imagine what you are thinking and feeling right now. This is afterall a very delicate situation.”

Sasuke momentarily stops throwing shuriken. He sinks to his knees and pounds the ground with his fists. “This just isn’t right! That bastard is supposed to die at my hands and yet he fathered a daughter...and even had grandchildren!”

Sasuke grits his teeth and looks up at the moon. “That bastard wasn’t supposed to have descendants. He doesn’t deserve any after what he did!”

After a few minutes, Sasuke then looks down at his hands. “Yet at the same time...it’s just not fair. That bastard having a daughter and grandchildren meant that I wasn’t the last Uchiha aside from him. I had a grandniece and a grandnephew...and they are both dead. And my niece will probably be dead in a few years. When I eventually kill that man, I will truly be the last Uchiha until I have children. It’s just not fair!”

Sasuke closes his eyes. “For the last five years...I believed that I was the last Uchiha aside from that man. There were days that the loneliness of it all was just so much...that I actually wished I had died alongside the rest of my clan.”

Sasuke takes a deep breath and looks back up at the moon. “Deep down, I would give anything not to be the last Uchiha aside from that bastard.”

Kakashi closes his eyes. He wonders if he should mention his theory about Thalia being alive and in their world to Sasuke. Afterall, it is like the hokage said. It could all be a coincidence . Kakashi doesn’t want to get his student worked up over nothing. But then again, if Kakashi’s theory is correct, then Sasuke may be very angry that he wasn’t in the know once the truth comes out. 

After a few minutes, Kakashi rubs his chin. Perhaps there is a way for Kakashi to approach this subject in a way which won’t cause Sasuke to freak.

After a few minutes, Kakashi sighs. He has decided to keep this to himself for now. Besides, he hasn’t heard back from the hokage regarding Jarou’s reaction to the food wrapper or the plaster casts that he made back at the Aoku village.


The Hokage sighs as he approaches Jarou’s hospital door. The hokage would have been here sooner but he ended up having to take care of some unexpected business. Well, all that matters is that he is here now. 

The hokage opens the door. The nurse who has been watching Jarou all day is cleaning the room. Jarou is actually sleeping in his bed. Hmm, that’s a good sign. 

The nurse turns and bows to her village leader. “Milord, Mr. Araya fell asleep a little while ago. I wouldn’t disturb him.”

Hiruzen just nods and prepares to leave. Well, they can certainly discuss things tomorrow.

However, Jarou senses the hokage’s presence and opens his eyes. “Lord Hokage…,” Jarou says with a tired voice. “You have returned.”

Hiruzen just nods and looks at the nurse. “You may go for now. I wish to have a quick discussion with Mr. Araya regarding a very important topic.”

The nurse bows and leaves the room. Hiruzen turns to Jarou. “Jarou, Kakashi and I were discussing your situation earlier. The thing is...Something interesting happened on Kakashi’s latest mission and we have things that we cannot explain. We were hoping that you could shed some light on our mysteries.”

Jarou narrows his eyes as he watches the hokage take something out of his robe. It...it is a food wrapper. It almost looks like a granola bar wrapper.

Hiruzen sighs. “Jarou, Kakashi discovered this strange food wrapper inside a cave along with a strange shoe print.”

Hiruzen holds the food wrapper out to Jarou, who tentatively takes it into his own hands. Jarou’s eyes become wide instantly. It is a granola bar wrapper. In fact, it is the same kind that Thalia, Luke and Annabeth liked to eat.

Hiruzen just cocks his head when he notices Jarou’s reaction. “I can assume by your reaction that you know exactly what that is.”

Jarou merely nods. “Yes, it is the wrapper from a food item called a granola bar. It’s...it’s from Thalia’s birth world. It’s something that Thalia and her friends liked to eat. In fact, this is the exact same brand that they liked.”

Hiruzen sighs. “Tell me, how could a granola bar wrapper from Thalia’s world end up in ours?”

Jarou just shakes his head. “You said that there was a shoe print found along with this wrapper. I would have to say that someone from Thalia’s world, who had a granola bar on them, was sent to our world through a dimensional rift.”

Hiruzen takes a deep breath. “Jarou, it was around three days ago that Kakashi and his team, including Itachi’s younger brother, went on a mission to a village to pick apples. When they got there, they discovered that someone had raided one of the orchards, practically stripping the lower quarter of one tree completely of apples. Around the tree, were three sets of strange shoe prints, along with some dog tracks. One of the sets of shoe prints was exactly like what Kakashi had found outside the cave where he found the food wrapper.”

Jarou just blinks a few times. He’s witnessed Thalia, Luke and Annabeth raid fruit orchards before for food.

Hiruzen stops speaking momentarily to take a deep breath. “Then, later the next day, a set of shoe prints that looked eerily similar to one of the sets discovered the day before, was found practically circling the village.” Hiruzen crosses his arms. “Then, later that night, someone picked the locks on the doors to three shops and stole food. The intruders tried to break into a fourth shop, but an alarm scared them off.”

Jarou looks back down at the granola bar wrapper. That is exactly what Luke would do when stealing food for himself and the girls.

Hiruzen sighs. “Three sets of shoe prints were found leading into the forest. Well, one of Kakashi’s students, a young boy named Naruto, went ahead to try and catch the thieves. However, when Kakashi and the rest of his team caught up with young Naruto, they found him unconscious . Apparently, he had been severely shocked and was rendered unconscious.”

Jarou gasps immediately. Shocked?! 

Hiruzen sighs. “Well, when Naruto finally woke up, he was able to describe what happened. Apparently he managed to catch up to two of the thieves, which turned out to be two young girls, plus a white dog. Well, Naruto managed to trip one of the girls, and in response...she zapped him with blue lightning that she shot right out of her hands.”

Jarou’s eyes become wide. A girl who can shoot lightning out of her hands?!

Hiruzen wrings his hands. “Naruto described the girl who zapped him as being around twelve and she had pale skin with freckles on her nose and cheeks, spiky black hair and electric blue eyes. And interestingly enough...the girl’s eyes turned red, which Naruto described as looking a lot like sharingan.

Jarou begins to hyperventilate. His mind is reeling from the information being told to him. It...it can’t be. How?

Hiruzen then reaches into the bag that he brought with him and takes out the plaster casts that Kakashi made of the strange shoe prints. “Kakashi made plaster casts of the strange shoe prints. I thought that you might want to see them.”

Jarou gulps and takes the plaster casts into his hands. He gasps in realization. There is no doubt about it. These prints were made by Thalia, Luke and Annabeth’s shoes!

Jarou gulps again. “These shoe prints...were made by Thalia, Luke and Annabeth’s shoes! There’s no doubt about it.”

Jarou looks out the window. Thalia and her friends...are alive and they are here in the world of shinobi. The reason why he and the rest of his family couldn’t find the trio is now plainly obvious to the Araya man. They were looking in the wrong dimension. 

After a few moments, Jarou closes his eyes. However, this also poses a problem because of one crucial drawback to the interdimensional viewing jutsu. The Araya’s cannot use the jutsu to view their own dimension. This means that Jarou nor any of his relations cannot find Thalia, Luke and Annabeth as long as the trio is in the world of shinobi.

Hiruzen sighs. “Jarou, how could this have happened?”

Jarou shrugs. “Dimensional rifts can occur spontaneously. Thalia and her friends could have just happened to be in an area where a dimensional rift occurred. However, spontaneous dimensional rifts are extremely rare. My guess is that someone from either Hideaki or Toshiro’s bloodline intentionally sent Thalia and her friends here. However, I can’t imagine who would do such a thing.”

Hiruzen sighs. “Well, either way, this is a very serious matter. I do fear the consequences of Thalia’s power falling into the wrong hands.”

Jarou wrings his hands. “And...from what you said...it sounds like Thalia awakened her sharingan. Due to Thalia’s constant battles with monsters, I just knew that would happen someday.”

Jarou suddenly remembers the part about there being a white dog with the two girls. He narrows his eyes. He doesn’t remember Thalia, Luke and Annabeth having a dog. Where did the dog come from?

“Lord Hokage, you said that the two girls had a dog.” Jarou says with a confused voice. “I don’t remember Thalia or her friends travelling with a dog.” Jarou’s eyes then soften. “However, they do like animals so I suppose they could have always adopted a stray dog after they came to this world.” 

Hiruzen just blinks a few times. Even if they don’t know where the dog came from, this is still a very serious matter. “Jarou, I am sure that you realize that this is a very serious matter. Please tell me you can find them using your jutsu.”

Jarou sighs. “That is the problem. The interdimensional viewing jutsu works when you use it to see into other dimensions. However, when my relatives and I use the interdimensional viewing jutsu to search our own world, it simply does not work.”

Hiruzen’s eyes become wide. “Jarou, you’re saying that you won’t be able to find young Thalia or her friends?”

Jarou shakes his head. “Not as long as they are in this world.” Jarou then looks back at Hiruzen. “And the worst part, is even if we do manage to find them...my relations and I can’t even send them back to their own world.” 

Hiruzen’s eyes become even more wide. That would mean Thalia and her friends are stuck here for the rest of their lives. 

Hiruzen steps back to think for a minute. Hmm, perhaps he should ask Kakashi what he thinks the best course of action is. Hiruzen looks back towards Jarou. “I must go ask Kakashi something. I will be back in the morning. Please, try to get some rest.”

Hiruzen leaves the room. He beckons the nurse back over. “I think that I have gotten through to Mr. Araya so you can go home. Let’s let our guest sleep in peace.”

The nurse looks unsure of this but nods anyway. The nurse walks away. Then, as Hiruzen begins making his way towards the stairs to go down to the first floor, he is met by Kakashi. 

Kakashi just blinks a few times as he looks at the hokage. After the silver haired man spoke with Sasuke for a little while, he managed to coax the young sleep deprived Uchiha back to the latter’s apartment so that the young genin could get some sleep. Now, Kakashi is hoping that the Hokage has found out some more answers from Jarou.

Kakashi bows respectfully to his village leader. “Lord Hokage, Raidou told me that I would find you here. I am happy to report that Sasuke is back in his apartment and is sleeping soundly in his bed.”

Kakashi then looks back down at the bag that the hokage has with him. “Lord Hokage, have you found out anything from Mr. Araya?”

The wise old Hokage sighs. “Kakashi, come with me. We have much to discuss.”

Back inside his hospital room, Jarou is just mulling over what he just learned. He turns his head to look out the window and closes his eyes. His thoughts turn to his great-niece and her companions. Thalia, are...are you and your friends safe?


Thalia just blinks as she lies in her new bunk. She will now be sleeping with Natsuko, Miyako and Setsuna in their half of the older girls room. Luke shall be sleeping in the older boys room. Annabeth will be sleeping with the younger girls from now on. 

Thalia turns on the mattress. She is on the bunk above Natsuko’s bed. Nearby, Miyako and Setsuna are sharing a bunk. Thalia can hear Miyako and Setsuna’s soft breathing, along with Natsuko’s. The demigod sighs softly as she looks up at the ceiling above her. Thalia just cannot sleep. She just keeps thinking of the future that she wants. And...Thalia cannot get her grandfather’s words out of her head.

...For being half-god, you are actually quite pathetic.

Thalia grits her teeth. She knows the meaning behind these words. Her grandfather was basically calling her weak. No! Thalia thinks to herself. I am not a weakling!

Thalia then closes her eyes as more of her grandfather’s words enter her mind. 

...From what I can see, you are not even worthy of being an Uchiha.

Thalia grits her teeth again. Masaru basically told Thalia that since she has Uchiha blood, bearing the sharingan is her birthright . The fact that her grandfather basically told her that she isn’t worthy of being an Uchiha actually stings a little. 

...If you truly want to be worthy of being called an Uchiha, then become stronger.

Thalia blinks a few times and turns onto her side. It was almost as if her grandfather was taunting her. He was basically saying that if she truly wants to prove herself worthy of being called an Uchiha, then she will have to become stronger because she is already weak . Thalia grits her teeth again. No! I am not weak.

...Master your sharingan. Learn how to be a true shinobi. 

Thalia turns back onto her back and looks up at the ceiling. Masaru told her that for an Uchiha to master their sharingan, he or she must gain three tomoe in each eye, which comes with age and power. Thalia now realizes the meaning behind her grandfather’s words. He was basically telling her to master her sharingan eyes by gaining three tomoe in each eye, and learn shinobi arts in order to be like a true ninja. 

After a few minutes, Thalia smirks. I can do that! I can master my sharingan and learn to become a true shinobi.

Thalia then closes her eyes as more of her grandfather’s words come to mind.

...If you are truly fearless, then come seek me out once you are strong and fight me. Prove to me that you are worthy of bearing the sharingan and the Uchiha name.

Thalia blinks a few times. Again, it’s like her grandfather was taunting her with those words. It’s like the man was telling her that if she is truly brave then she will face him in combat and prove her worth as an Uchiha.

...That is, if I don’t die at the hands of your granduncle first.

Thalia blinks again. She looks at her hands. Her grandfather’s last words to her remind the young demigod that she has a granduncle. A granduncle that wants to kill her grandfather. Thalia then closes her eyes. She won’t deny her granduncle of his revenge so she won’t seek out her grandfather in order to fight him. However, if the day ever comes that the man decides to show his face around here again, Thalia will prove herself to the man.

Thalia looks at her hands. Demigods and shinobi are supposed to be warriors. Masaru told her that before the founding of the shinobi villagers, the Uchiha were renowned warriors. The daughter of Zeus closes her eyes. I have the blood of warriors running through my veins. Thalia thinks to herself. I am a demigod and the demigods of ancient times were warriors. There is no reason why I can’t become a warrior just like my ancestors and the demigods of ancient times.

Thalia then blinks a few times. As she slowly starts to drift off into sleep, she makes a silent vow to herself. Grandfather, you have severely underestimated me…, Thalia thinks as she turns onto her side. I know I can prove to you and the rest of the world that I can be strong and that is what I am going to do. I will not let your fearsome reputation define me. You literally kicked me to the floor, called me weak and you even gave me a scar. However, I will not let all of that define me either. I shall rise out from under your shadow and become a warrior.


Kakashi stands in front of the hokage’s desk. The hokage himself is sitting in his chair. The two of them just arrived at the hokage’s office no more than a minute ago.

Hiruzen sighs. “Well, Jarou did confirm that the food wrapper came from Thalia’s world.”

Kakashi nods in understanding. “What about the shoe prints?”

Hiruzen sighs again. “Jarou confirmed that the shoe prints came from Thalia, Luke and Annabeth’s shoes.”

Kakashi narrows his eyes. So his theory was correct. Thalia and her friends are in their world, and Thalia has awakened her sharingan.

Hiruzen wrings his hands. “Jarou says that dimensional rifts can open spontaneously between worlds but that is an extremely rare occurrence. Jarou thinks that an Araya from either Hideaki or Toshiro’s bloodline intentionally sent the young ones here. Unfortunately, Jarou has no idea who would have motivation to do such a thing.”

Kakashi just blinks as he watches Hiruzen wring his hands some more. The silver haired jonin can tell that his village leader is very troubled by this. 

Eventually, the wise old hokage sighs. “Unfortunately, Jarou told me that the interdimensional viewing jutsu that the Araya’s use to see into other dimensions does not work when the Araya’s try to use it to view our own dimension. This means as long as young Thalia and her friends are in this world, Jarou and his relatives will be unable to find the children.”

Kakashi frowns. “Hmm, that is problematic indeed. What should we do then?”

Hiruzen sighs. “I actually want your input on ideas to find the young ones.”

Kakashi steps back for a moment. His eyes are wide with surprise. “Me?! You want my input?!” 

The wise old hokage nods. Kakashi slowly regains his composure and starts to think. After a few minutes, he sighs. 

“Well…,” Kakashi says as he thinks back to the mission at the Aoku village. “Back at the Aoku village, Thalia and her friends stole items that require refrigeration and packaged noodles which need to be cooked. This means that they must have a hideout with a working refrigerator and even a stove in order to cook. And that was a lot of stuff to carry. The hideout must be close to the Aoku village.”

Hiruzen’s eyes become wide. “Hmm, that is a very good possibility.” He scratches his chin. “Perhaps we should send out a team to check the area surrounding the Aoku village.”

Kakashi nods in approval of the idea. “That sounds like a good idea to me.” 

Then, Kakashi narrows his eyes and rubs the back of his head when he thinks of something. “But...who should we send out to search for the kids? I don’t think my team would be a good choice. Sasuke...well he seems to have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I just don’t want him to be so overcome with anger that he strikes out at Thalia. And Naruto, he’s likely to strike out at Thalia over the whole ‘near electrocution’ thing. I just don’t want to have to deal with any drama.”

Hiruzen scratches his chin. “Hmm…that is a good point. Well, I will have to decide on a team as quickly as I can. I just keep thinking about what Orochimaru would do if he was to find out about young Thalia. The man is obsessed with power afterall. I fear that Thalia’s godly powers would be too much for Orochimaru to resist.”

Kakashi then thinks of something. “Lord hokage, I just had an even worse thought.”

Hiruzen narrows his eyes. “Kakashi, what could be worse than Orochimaru finding Thalia?”

Kakashi gives his village leader a serious look. “What if Itachi Uchiha finds Thalia first?”

Chapter 25: Lie

Notes:

Hurray, I have this chapter edited and revamped!

Note: One of my major mistakes was that I accidently reversed Iwashi Tatami's name when writing this story. I hope it pleases all of you that I fixed this mistake.

Chapter Text

Thalia walks with Masaru towards an old building on Sanae’s property. The young demigod looks around. It is just after chore time and Thalia is ready to begin her training with Masaru. 

Right now, Annabeth is with the other children at the house...trying to learn to read and write this world's language. Since children of Athena can overcome their dyslexia to some extent, Annabeth decided to at least try and learn this world's language and writing system. This will give her something to do with her life.

As for Luke, he is trying to learn carpentry from Hakurou and the other men. Luke told Thalia and Annabeth that he wanted to do something with his life but he just knew that with his dyslexia he wouldn’t be able to read and write this world’s language. So Hakurou and the other men offered to at least try and teach the son of Hermes some carpentry.

Thalia looks around some more at the building. The building is a large wooden building with wooden framing, a wooden roof and shoji screens. Inside is a large open room. The daughter of Zeus looks at Masaru. “Why have brought me here?”

Masaru sighs. “This is an old dojo. It is a building in which people like to practice martial arts.” 

Thalia narrows her arts. “Martial arts?” 

Masaru nods. “The things I am going to teach you first are taijutsu and manipulate your chakra. Taijutsu is our world’s word for martial arts. You see, in order to manipulate your chakra, you must be able to perform special hand signs. This in turn produces various jutsus. However, in order to make your chakra accessible to manipulation, you must learn to focus it.”

Thalia blinks a few times. “Focus?” 

Masaru nods. Thalia just crosses her arms. “Well, unfortunately demigods are not good at focusing.”

Masaru sighs. “I know that, which is why I have come up with a plan to help you focus. You see, this is where the taijutsu comes in. Taijutsu is basic martial arts, except that you can combine chakra with certain moves to help produce stronger attacks. However, since you do not know how to access your chakra yet, I shall focus on teaching you basic martial art moves.”

Masaru sighs as he looks around the room. “My plan is for you to practice martial arts everyday, which will help to burn off some of your energy, which will help with your ADHD.”

Thalia blinks a few times. “Hmm, very interesting concept. That might actually work.” 

Masaru stands straight. “And then right before we do each chakra focusing exercise, I will have you sit in a peaceful spot and do breathing exercises, which will help your body to relax.”

Masaru sighs again. “For now though, let’s just focus on your martial arts exercises.” Masaru then points to a dummy made from wood, cloth and straw. “The first basic arts moves that I want you to learn are punches and kicks which are basic attack moves.”

Thalia looks back and forth between Masaru and the dummy. “You want me to attack the dummy like I would an opponent?”

Masaru nods. “Exactly. However, it is important that you lift up your attacking leg to aim for the head and chest area, which is what you would want to do in real combat.”

Thalia looks at the dummy. “Alright, that sounds easy enough.”

“One more thing…,” Masaru says as he gestures towards the other side of the room. “I want you to run up to the dummy, which means you must start from the other side of the room. If you were to engage in combat with someone, that is what you would most likely do.”

Thalia takes a deep breath and makes her way towards the other side of the room. Thalia takes another deep breath and closes her eyes. Well, here goes nothing I suppose. 

Thalia quickly bursts out running and rapidly approaches the dummy. Thalia lifts up her right leg and kicks the dummy hard. The wooden dummy moves slightly. 

Thalia looks at Masaru. “How was that?”

Masaru smiles. “Not bad for a first try. Now remember, you have to be forceful. You need to act like you are attacking an actual opponent. And I would try delivering multiple kicks. Let’s just say that when you are facing off against a strong shinobi, one kick usually won’t do it.”

Thalia blinks. “Multiple kicks? Alright, I can do that.”

Thalia walks back to the other side of the building and takes a deep breath. You can do this , Thalia inwardly tells herself as she gazes back over to the other side of the room. It will take work, but so does learning to use a sword. Besides you are a demigod and demigods have inborn battle reflexes. Martial arts should be right up your alley. 

Thalia takes a deep breath. She then takes off running towards the dummy again. As Thalia approaches the dummy she lifts up her right leg and kicks the dummy three times. 

Thalia turns back to Masaru. “How was that?”

Masaru smiles and nods in approval. “That was very good.” Masaru says.

Thalia manages a small smile herself at her accomplishment. So far, everything is going well.

...meanwhile...with Luke…

Luke just blinks as he looks down at the piece of wood in front of him. Nearby, Hakurou is smoothing out cut wooden pieces using a small sharp knife-like tool. Kaishin is using a similar tool to smooth out wooden pieces as well. Nearby, Jin and Arashi are each using a milling machine to cut some wooden pieces into shapes. 

A few feet away, Seto is nearby cutting large pieces of wood into smaller more manageable pieces. Masaomi takes the cut wooden pieces and places them by the milling machines for Jin and Arashi. 

Over at the small plastic moulding machine, Kenji is making animal figurines. Kenji carefully feeds the machine with the soft almost liquid plastic. He stamps the injection end for the plastic against the end with the mould. He presses and holds for ten seconds. When Kenji releases the lever, small plastic figurines fall into a basket below. 

Over at a table, Akashi, Chihaku, Nerumi, Raiden and Raion are painting some wooden toys and boxes that are already finished. Nerumi, Chihaku, Raiden and Raion all like to paint so they sometimes help paint the wooden pieces that are made in the workshop. The two of them do this on days that they don’t have lessons. 

Since there are so many kids, the women have come up with a system in which they teach certain kids one day and the other kids the next. Today happens to be lesson day for all of the children under eight. Right now, Haruto is helping Osamu, Makito, Eiji and Osato plant tree saplings. Ikeri, Orenji, Alani, Kiyomi, Maemi, Natsuko, Miyako and Setsuna are inside the women’s workshop, helping to make soap, candles and small knitted and sewn items. Yuuta is tending to the orchards and fields.

Manabe, Okami and Raikou are busy fixing up the second house. Everyone agreed that with the household expanding, they need to get the second house fixed up and ready for people to move into. Hideaki, Toshiro and Wasure are cutting down some more trees and bamboo to be used in the workshop and for the renovation of the second house. 

Luke wipes his brow as he stands back for a minute. He is currently running a sharp blade along a piece of wood, just like Hakurou. Luke then runs his tool along the piece of wood again. A thin almost paper like piece of wood is carved away, which smooths out the side of the wooden piece that Luke is working on.

Luke told the men that he probably wouldn’t be able to measure the pieces due to being dyslexic, but Hakurou told him that he could save them time by smoothing and assembling their cut pieces. Right now, Luke is learning to smooth wooden pieces with a special blade like tool. After all of the pieces are smoothed out, Hakurou will show Luke how to glue the pieces together in order to make a basic wooden box. Hakurou told Luke that wooden boxes are good beginner projects for first time carpenters.

Luke eventually smiles as he runs his finger along the now smoothed out wood. He looks at Hakurou, who is coming over to see how everything is going. 

Luke immediately shows Hakurou the smoothed out wood. It feels smooth to me. What do you think?”

Hakurou runs his finger along the wooden piece. He smiles with satisfaction. “That is very good. He looks over at a pile of other wooden pieces. “Now, we can begin the assembly of the wooden box.”

Luke manages a small smile of pride. He is doing so well. Luke then closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. Luke knew his ADHD would be a problem when it came to concentrating on his task so he has taken to taking deep breaths to help him focus. And before he started working, he ran a few laps around the workshop in order to burn off a little bit of his energy. So far, the son of Hermes has been able to concentrate on his work. And probably just knowing that he doesn’t have to worry about monsters anymore is probably helpful as well.

Luke takes another deep breath and flexes his muscles a little. He looks at Hakurou. “Alright, shall we begin then?” Luke asks.

...meanwhile...with Annabeth and Theia…

Annabeth is sitting at a table with Naiya. Theia the dog is sleeping next to Annabeth. 

At another table, Akari, Sakiko, Tadashi, Katara, Sayuri, Naki, Hikaru,Okiko, Taki, Isamu and Genmei are practicing writing their kanji, numbers and sentences. Adami, little Benjiro and little Yasha are doing a special shape sorting and color coordinating activity. 

Knowing that Annabeth is dyslexic, Naiya decided that Annabeth should begin with using flashcards to identify and memorize kanji. Right now, Naiya and Annabeth are on color flashcards.

Naiya holds up a flashcard with a blue dot on it. “What color is this?” Naiya asks.

Annabeth blinks a few times. “Blue.”

Naiya nods. “Very good.” Naiya then turns the flashcard over to reveal the side with the kanji. “Alright, this is the kanji for blue. Now, repeat after me. This is the kanji for blue.”

Annabeth blinks a few times. “This is the kanji for blue.”

Naiya nods. “Good. Now look at the kanji and say blue.”

Annabeth takes a deep breath. Annabeth has found that taking deep breaths every five minutes or so is helping with her concentration. She also ran a few laps around the house before she sat down. 

Annabeth looks at the kanji. “Blue.”

Naiya nods. “Good.” Naiya then points to a piece of paper with red and yellow writing on it. 

Naiya has taken the liberty of providing Annabeth with colored pencils so that she can practice her writing. This will help Annabeth not to get the kanji mixed up. 

“Alright…,” Naiya says as she gestures towards the paper. “Now try to copy the kanji for blue onto the paper.”

Annabeth nods and picks up a blue colored pencil. Annabeth looks back at the flashcard with the blue kanji on it and slowly begins trying to create an exact image on the paper with the blue colored pencil. The goal is for Annabeth to eventually memorize the kanji so that she doesn’t have to keep looking at the flashcards in order to write the kanji down.

Hey, it is a start though.


The sun shines brightly over the green forest. Animals scurry about and birds fly from tree to tree, trying to catch insects. 

On the ground, Aoba Yamashiro, Iwashi Tatami, Anko Mitarashi and Tsume Inuzuka are walking along a path in the forest. Tsume’s canine partner Kuromaru is walking by her side. On the other side of the forest, Shikaku Nara, Chouza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka along with Tsume’s brother Kanzou Inuzuka are also searching the forest.

The hokage sent the eight Konoha shinobi out to check the areas surrounding the Aoku village. When the hokage explained the delicate situation to the eight Leaf shinobi, they could barely believe their ears. However, they could all tell that the hokage was telling the truth. Everyone agreed that they needed to find Thalia and her friends quickly and so they all set out to search the areas surrounding the Aoku village.

Aoba looks around. He sighs. “Man, this just seems hopeless. We have been searching this part of the forest for hours and we still haven’t found anything.”

Tsume looks sharply at Aoba. She crosses her arms. “Let’s just think for a minute. If I was a child from another world and I was trying to survive, what would I do first?”

Iwashi rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Well, I suppose I would try to find shelter.”

Tsume nods. “And remember what the hokage told us. The kids stole items from the Aoku village that need refrigeration. What kind of shelter would offer refrigeration?”

Anko rubs her chin. “Well, a house of some kind.” Then her eyes light up. “Like maybe in an abandoned village with solar panels.”

Aoba, Iwashi and Tsume look at each other. When the group went to the Aoku village to ask if there had been any more strange instances since team seven left, the villagers said no. However, the village leader, Hajimu, said that there was an abandoned village with solar panels that they could rest at if they got tired. Everyone thanked the man for the info and went on their way. 

Aoba scratches his chin. He has to agree. An abandoned village would certainly make a very good home for three lost kids.

Tsume looks at the map that the hokage gave her. The villagers pinpointed the position of the abandoned village for the leaf shinobi to find. Tsume points to the north. “The village is north of here. Let’s go.”

Iwashi glances towards the north. “Hmm, that is where your brother and the others are searching. Perhaps we will run into them.”


Shikaku, Chouza, Inoichi and Kanzou are searching the forest. Kanzou is a strong man with short black hair, brown eyes, light skin and purple fang like birthmarks on each cheek. Kanzou's canine partner, Rikumaru, is sniffing the ground nearby. Rikumaru is a large husky with dark gray fur, black markings, a white belly and snout. Rikumaru’s tail is white tipped and his eyes are a warm brown.

Rikumaru whines and looks almost apologetically up at his master. Kanzou sighs. “Well, Rikumaru can’t pick up any unusual scents. The Aoku villagers did say that it rained recently.”

Shikaku closes his eyes and rubs his chin. “Hmm, that could be problematic indeed.”

Just then, a voice catches the group's attention. Everyone turns to see Aoba, Iwashi, Anko, Tsume and Kuromaru standing by the treeline a few feet away.

Aoba holds up the map. Tsume gave it to him as she got tired of holding it. “Anko thinks that the kids may be hiding out at the abandoned village the Aoku villagers told us about. I mean think about it. The kids stole food items that need refrigeration and cooking. If they decided to stay at that abandoned village then they would have electricity, refrigerators and stoves to cook on.”

Inoichi’s eyes light up. “You might be right. Plus they would have a roof over their head and beds to sleep in.”

Chouza looks north of the group. “That village is supposed to be north of here.” He looks back at his companions. “What are we waiting for then? Let’s go.”

Everyone else nods. They begin making their way north.

...meanwhile...with Itachi and Kisame…

Itachi just watches as Kisame eats a muffin. The two Akatsuki members found some baked goods in the pantry. Kisame suggested to the Uchiha that they make the most of the food before it goes stale. Itachi hasn’t really eaten since yesterday so he agreed. Right now, he is on his last bite of muffin. 

Kisame just grins and grabs another muffin from a box. “Man, I wonder where the brats got such delicious food. Well, I suppose that since it appears those brats are not coming back for this food, it’s all ours.”

Itachi then frowns when he senses a large group of eight different chakra signatures approaching the village. And, they feel very familiar. Then, it hits Itachi. The Uchiha narrows his eyes. The figures approaching the village...are Konoha shinobi. 

Well, looks like it is time to go.

Kisame frowns when he senses the eight approaching chakra signatures as well. “Hmm, looks like we are about to have company.”

Itachi closes his eyes as he stands up. “Konoha shinobi. I recognize the chakra signatures from when I lived in Konoha. Even if we could fight them, it would be a waste of our time. It’s better if we leave. Besides, many of them are highly skilled.”

Kisame grumbles a little as he gets to his own feet. “Alright then, if you say so.” 

However, Kisame begins filling a sack with some food. “However, let me grab some food first.”

Itachi doesn’t say anything. He just decides to take a quick stroll into the room in which he and Kisame found Thalia and her companions on the night they arrived. Itachi opens the door. The blood from when he slashed his granddaughter's side is still on the floor. It is dried now, but it is still an awful reminder of what he narrowly did. 

Then, Itachi narrows his eyes when a thought comes to mind. Maybe Konoha has found out about Thalia’s existence and that is why they are here. Perhaps they found shreds of evidence of the girl that has led them here.

Itachi closes the door as he mulls over this thought. Could these Konoha nin be here to capture Thalia or even kill her? If Thalia was to end up being taken to Konoha now, her chances of being eliminated by Danzo are very high. And...what about Sasuke? He’s still young. Just how would he react to meeting Thalia?

Itachi blinks again. And...Masaru told Thalia that he would train her in shinobi arts and teach her the Araya clan jutsus. If Thalia gets taken to Konoha now, she will never get that chance.

Itachi closes his eyes. After a few moments, he reopens them. He knows one thing for sure. Now is not the time for Thalia to be taken to Konoha. But...how can the Uchiha prevent the approaching Konoha nin from discovering his granddaughter? If the Konoha shinobi end up searching this area, they may decide to search the other surrounding areas and may discover the village where Thalia and her companions are currently living. 

After a few minutes, the Uchiha looks back at the door and then back at the blood spot on the floor. There is blood in the room, and the young demigods things are scattered around the place. If the Konoha shinobi know what to look for, they will realize this is where the young demigods are...or at the very least were hiding out at. And when they see the blood...they may assume the worst and just give up the search. 

Eventually, Itachi closes his eyes. He knows that avoiding a confrontation with the Konoha shinobi is impossible. They have probably already picked up on his and Kisame’s presence by now. When the Konoha shinobi see him and find the room with the blood, they may automatically assume that he killed Thalia. Or at the very least...wounded her and she escaped into the forest and then died of blood loss. That is a very believable scenario.

Itachi takes a deep breath as a clever, yet very twisted idea comes to mind. Maybe he can lead the approaching Konoha shinobi to believe that he and Kisame killed Thalia and her friends. Then, maybe they will give up the search.

Itachi lets out a sigh. The plan of making the approaching Konoha shinobi think that he killed his own granddaughter is twisted in itself. However, that is what people would expect of him, given his reputation and all.

Itachi walks back into the living room. Kisame is waiting for him. “You know…,” Itachi begins. “Deep down...I actually believe that Konoha has somehow learned of my granddaughter’s existence...and that is why those Konoha shinobi are here. Either they are here to capture or kill her.”

Kisame blinks a few times as he walks towards the door to leave. “Hmm, that could be a possibility.”

Itachi takes a deep breath. “Even though I don’t care for the girl, she still has potential. If she gets killed right now, she will never reach her full potential. And if she gets captured...Konoha could train her as a weapon against me.”

Kisame frowns as he walks. “Hmm, that could become problematic.” 

Itachi then looks back at the motel as he and Kisame walk away from it. “The thing is though, the blood from where I slashed my granddaughter’s side is still on the floor in that room. And...her things along with her companions' things are still there. If these Konoha shinobi know exactly what to look for, then they will automatically put the pieces together.”

Kisame immediately gets the idea. “Oh, then they will find the blood and assume that she was killed in a grizzly manner and then give up the search for her.” Kisame then looks at his partner with a grin. “Oh, I know what we should do. Let’s pretend that we killed the brats!”

Itachi closes his eyes. “My thoughts exactly.” However, we should approach the subject carefully just in case the Konoha shinobi in question do not know about my granddaughter. Here is my plan.”

Itachi takes a deep breath as he carefully explains his plan to Kisame.

...at the front gate…

Aoba, the other seven Konoha shinobi along with the two ninja hounds are standing at the front gate of the village.

Aoba sighs. “Well, it looks like we are here.”

Just then, Iwashi narrows his eyes. He can sense two very powerful chakra signatures within the village. “Do all of you feel that?”

Everyone narrows their eyes and just starts looking around. Then, they sense the chakra signatures as well. Everyone frowns. Hmm, this doesn’t seem right. There are only two chakra signatures here. 

Shikaku crosses his arms. “Hmm, Lord Hokage told us that there are supposed to be three kids, yet I only sense two chakra signatures.” 

Inoichi looks around. “And not only that, they are extremely powerful. Much too powerful to belong to children, even if the children are half-god.”

Iwashi just closes his eyes and breathes in deep. “Hmm, these chakra signatures belong to adults for sure.” Then, he then narrows his eyes. “And the thing is...one of these chakra signatures just feels familiar for some reason.”

Aoba and Anko share a glance with each other. Aoba looks around as he and the group slowly enter the village. Everybody is being cautious. 

Just then, Rikumaru and Kuromaru sniff the air. Both dogs snarl and begin growling.

Tsume looks at Kuromaru. “Kuromaru, what is it? What do you smell?”

Just then, Aoba gasps as does Iwashi. They realize just who the familiar chakra signature belongs to.

Itachi Uchiha.

Aoba and Iwashi both grit their teeth. Iwashi then hisses under his breath. “Itachi Uchiha.” 

The eyes of Anko, Chouza, Inoichi, Kanzou, Shikaku and Tsume become wide instantly. They all grit their teeth and grab weapons from their pouches. A tense moment passes before a familiar voice can be heard.

“Hn, just what are the eight of you doing here?” The mysterious...yet familiar voice asks.

Everyone turns to see a black cloaked figure standing on top of the buildings. The figure has red sharingan eyes, black hair pulled back into a low ponytail and pale skin. There is no mistake. The figure is none other than Itachi Uchiha.

Aoba grits his teeth. It has been nearly five years since anyone has seen the kinslayer. The young man hasn’t really changed at all. He may be a little older looking but his red sharingan eyes are still the same.

Itachi just looks at the eight Konoha shinobi and the two growling dogs with unemotional eyes. It has been five years since the missing nin has seen anyone from Konoha, but it sure does seem like they remember him alright.

Itachi just narrows his eyes as he looks at Aoba. “Hn, you haven’t changed at all Aoba.” The Uchiha then looks at Iwashi. “And Iwashi, it has also been awhile.”

Aoba just grits his teeth. “Well, we are all certainly surprised to see you as well Itachi.” 

Itachi then narrows his eyes as Kisame suddenly appears next to him. Kisame grins as he looks at the eight Konoha shinobi and the two ninja dogs.

Aoba and the others narrow their eyes at the sharkman. Hmm, he is wearing the same garb as Itachi. This man must be the companion that went to the Araya village with Itachi all those years ago.

Aoba then realizes who the sharkman is. He gasps. The sharkman is Kisame Hoshigaki, a missing nin, S-class criminal and one of the Seven ninja Swordsmen of the mist. Aoba then narrows his eyes. Hmm, what are these two missing nin doing together?

Kisame just grins as he looks down at the eight Konoha shinobi and the two growling dogs. “Well, look what we have here. Eight Konoha shinobi and two mutts.”

Tsume and Kanzou both growl slightly. How dare this missing nin refer to their canine partners as mutts .

Kisame then looks at Itachi. “Hmm, these shinobi seem to know you Itachi. Are they old friends of yours?”

Itachi blinks a few times. “Acquaintances of mine. All of them are skilled shinobi in their own right. It’s best if we get out here.”

Kisame frowns a little. “Hmm, I was itching for a fight.” However, the sharkman just looks the eight Konoha shinobi up and down. “Then again, there are eight of them and just two of us. You’re probably right. We should just retreat.”

Aoba raises a brow as do many of the group. Hmm, Itachi and his partner aren’t brave enough to face eight of them it seems. 

Anko grits her teeth. “Oh no, you don’t! We are not going to let the two of you get away so easily!”

Aoba and Iwashi quickly look at Anko. Aoba clears his throat. “Anko no! Don’t you sense how strong these two are?! Even if there are eight of us, we could all be seriously injured fighting these two.”

Iwashi nods his head. “Besides, we have a very important job to do. Remember our mission.”

Shikaku blinks a few times as he looks into the village. He soon realizes something. There are no other chakra signatures within the village. If Thalia and her friends truly took shelter here...then why can’t he feel their chakra signatures? Shikaku’s eyes widen when a thought soon comes to mind. 

Could Itachi and his friend have done something to the children?

Itachi just narrows his eyes. “Hn, an important job you say.” The Uchiha then cocks his head to the side. “The eight of you wouldn’t happen to be looking for three children named Thalia, Luke and Annabeth would you?”

The eyes of Aoba, Iwashi, Anko, Tsume, Shikaku, Chouza, Inoichi and Kanzou become wide instantly. The eight shinobi just share surprised yet horrified glances with each other. Itachi knows about Thalia! How?

Kisame then grins. “Oh, I almost forgot about your granddaughter and her little friends.” Kisame then frowns. “Uh, I still can’t believe those brats managed to steal our grouse right under our noses.”

Itachi just frowns. “Kisame, just let that go already. It was your fault that they managed to take it in the first place. You fell asleep while you were supposed to be watching it.”

The eight Konoha all share shocked yet slightly amused glances. The fearsome Itachi Uchiha was food robbed by his own granddaughter and her friends. That is hilarious.

Kisame just crosses his arms and frowns. “Don’t forget what happened after we found them back at that motel. Their damn mutt tried to tear my legs apart...the boy tried to wack us to death with that strange weapon of his...and your granddaughter tried to zap us to death.” 

However, Kisame soon grins. “At the very least though, we made them pay very dearly for their thievery.”

The eyes of Aoba, Anko, Iwashi, Tsume, Shikaku, Chouza, Inoichi and Kanzou widen instantly. Oh no! That doesn’t sound good.

Itachi narrows his eyes. “Enough Kisame, let’s go.”

Itachi quickly gestures for Kisame to follow him. Using their incredible speed, the two missing nin flit away. The eight Konoha shinobi and the two ninja hounds are left to stand at the village gate.

Anko just grits her teeth as she looks at Aoba and Iwashi. “Aoba...Iwashi, do the two of you honestly think that Itachi and that other rouge killed the kids?”

Inoichi just looks at his feet. “I mean if that is true, then that is seriously messed up. Sure Itachi killed his own clan members, but Thalia was his own granddaughter. That is just sick and twisted.”

Aoba sighs. “Well, there is only one way to find out for sure. We'll just have to see if we can locate their bodies or any traces of blood.”


Thalia breathes deeply as she sits on the ground in the quiet and peaceful little meadow. After she practiced kicking and punching the wooden dummy for at least an hour, Masaru brought her to this peaceful little meadow in order for her to learn how to focus her chakra. 

Thalia looks down at her two hands which are formed to form a ball. Her two index fingers are pointed upward. Despite one of Masaru’s arms being broken, the man managed to show Thalia the hand sign for chakra focusing. He then told her to sit down and relax. 

Thalia takes another deep breath. The daughter has found that taking deep breaths every few minutes has helped her to focus significantly. It probably helped to burn off some of her energy earlier.

So far, everything is going well. 

Masaru is sitting close by. He looks up at the sky. It is almost noon. He turns towards Thalia. “Alright, you can stop now. It is time for lunch.” 

Thalia opens her eyes. She releases her hands and fingers from their positions and gets to her feet. She begins following Masaru back to the house. 

Masaru smiles. “I have to say, I can already sense your chakra becoming stronger.” 

The daughter of Zeus blinks a few times. “Really?” 

Masaru nods. “At this rate, you should be able to perform simple jutsu in no time at all.” 

Thalia manages a small smile at that. “Thank you.”


Aoba and the other seven shinobi enter the rundown motel. They remember Kisame mentioning encountering Thalia and her friends in a motel so this is where they are going to start. Everyone quickly takes a deep breath before entering. They are preparing themselves for whatever they might find.

Aoba immediately spots something strange by the door. It is three sets of strange looking shoes. He raises a brow as he picks up one of the shoes and turns it over to look at the tread. The jonin gasps. The tread is the same as the plaster casts that Kakashi made.

Aoba immediately shows his companions his find. “Look! The tread is the same as the plaster casts that Kakashi made.” 

Iwashi looks at the shoes. He rubs his chin thoughtfully as he looks at the two other sets of shoes. “And there are three sets as well! These shoes must belong to Thalia, Luke and Annabeth.”

Kanzou and Rikumaru enter the motel living area. Suddenly, Kanzou calls out. Everyone rushes in to find Kanzou kneeling over a weird backpack. The man points to two other weird looking backpacks. Aoba picks up one and Iwashi picks up the other.

Tsume just looks around while the others examine the backpacks. Kuromaru sniffs a few things. Kuromaru then starts walking down a hallway. Tsume raises a brow and follows her canine partner to a door. Tsume slides open the door. The Inuzuka clan matriarch peeks inside. Well, the room is empty except for three futons lying on the floor. 

However, as Tsume enters the room, she spots something in the middle of the room. Her eyes become wide instantly. In the middle of the floor...is a dried red spot.

It is blood.

Tsume only blinks as she walks over to the blood spot. She examines the blood spot closer. There are droplets leading towards a hole in the wall, which leads into a tunnel. Tsume then bends down and sniffs the blood spot trying to determine what kind of blood it is. The Inuzuka matriarch frowns instantly. 

Well, It is human blood for sure. However, there is a scent mixed in with the humanness of the scent. A scent that Tsume does not recognize, nor has never smelled before in her life.

Tsume rubs her chin thoughtfully. She then blinks a few times as a thought comes to mind. Well, due to demigods being half-human and half-god, their blood probably has a unique scent.

Tsume then closes her eyes. The Inuzuka clan matriarch figures that she should let her fellow shinobi know about this. “Guys, come in here quick! I think I found something!”

Within minutes, everyone else is in the room with Tsume. They all gather around the blood splotch. 

Aoba just examines the spot carefully. “Hmm, most definitely blood.”

Tsume closes her eyes. “It’s human blood. However, there is another scent in there that I cannot recognize. It’s something I have never smelled before.”

Shikaku looks at the trail of blood droplets leading to the tunnel in the wall. The Nara head approaches the tunnel and looks inside. The tunnel is at least twelve feet long and there are blood droplets going down the entire length of the tunnel. And there is an opening on the other side. 

Shikaku looks at his companions. “There is an opening on the other side of this tunnel. I am going outside to look for it.” 

...five minutes later…

Shikaku and the rest of the Konoha shinobi just stare at the opening outside of the motel. The tunnel that they found inside the motel leads out here. 

Kuromaru and Rikumaru both sniff the ground around the tunnel. Both dogs whine and look apologetically up at their masters. Both Tsume and Kanzou sigh. The two Inuzukas know what that means. Their canine partners cannot pick up a scent. 

Tsume crosses her arms. “I’m afraid that neither Kuromaru or Rikumaru can find a scent. I’m afraid that any scent left behind has been washed away by rain.”

Anko looks at the tunnel. She crosses her own arms. “It is obvious that the kids escaped so why did Itachi’s friend claim that he and Itachi killed them then?”

Shikaku crosses his arms. “They are probably confident that they killed at least one of the kids. “Just look at the amount of blood inside that room and inside the tunnel. We may never know exactly what occurred in that room, but it is fairly obvious that someone was injured. Blood loss of that sort would have had to result from a fairly significant injury.” 

After a few minutes, Shikaku sighs. “As all of you know, without medical treatment, such blood loss is fatal .”

Everyone just gives each other solemn looks. Shikaku is right. Whoever was injured in that room probably bled to death. 

Iwashi looks at the forest. But still, what if Thalia and her friends managed to escape, and whoever was injured managed to find medical help. Thalia and her friends could still be out there. However, with no scent trail to follow, there is no way to know their whereabouts. Eventually, Iwashi just sighs. This mission...has unfortunately led to a dead end.

Just what are they going to say to the hokage regarding their failure to retrieve Thalia?

Chapter 26: Assuming new identities

Notes:

Hurray, I finally have this chapter edited and revamped!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Aoba just looks up at the sky as he and Iwashi search the surrounding forest. The sun is in it’s noon position now. Right now, everybody else is searching other areas of the forest. Even though everybody agreed that it would probably be pointless to search for Thalia and her friends, they decided that it wouldn’t hurt to at least search the surrounding forest for more clues.

After a few minutes, Aoba sighs as he looks at Iwashi. “I’m afraid it’s pointless. If those kids are alive, they are probably long gone by now.”

Iwashi sighs. “You’re probably right, Aoba.” Iwashi then looks back towards the direction of the abandoned village. “But...I mean if those kids are alive, they left their stuff back at the motel. Don’t you think they would at least try to sneak back and grab their things?”

Aoba crosses his arms. “If Itachi and his friend scared them enough, they might not want to risk it.”

However, Aoba then narrows his eyes as he looks back in the direction of the abandoned village. “However, you do bring up an interesting point, which actually gives me an idea.”

Iwashi raises a brow. “An idea?”

“Perhaps we should maybe go back to the village and just wait a few days to see if the kids return.” Aoba says. “If they don’t, then we just go back to the village and report our findings to the hokage.” 

Iwashi rubs his chin as he thinks about this. “Hmm, you mean like a stakeout?”

Aoba nods his head. “Exactly.” The jonin then looks at the backpack strapped to his back. “I mean, we do have a couple changes of clothes with us so we are covered there. There is also food, water and toilets in that motel. We would be able to comfortably live there for a couple days at least.”

Iwashi sighs as he scratches his head. “Well, that actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Let’s go find the others and see what they think.”

Aoba quickly nods in agreement. Then together, both Iwashi and Aoba begin making their way back towards the motel.


Thalia breathes deeply as she follows Masaru towards the house. She suddenly sniffs the air. The daughter of Zeus can already smell the food and it isn’t like anything that Thalia has smelled before. However, whatever it is that is cooking, it sure does smell good. Thalia literally has to keep herself from licking her lips at the wonderful smell.

Man, I am hungry. Thalia thinks to herself. All that work made me hungry.

The young demigod sighs as she steps onto the veranda. Aside from being hungry, the daughter of Zeus is also very tired after her day of practicing martial arts. However, Thalia did find it worthwhile to exert her energy before ultimately practicing chakra focusing as she was able to concentrate and relax.

As Thalia and Masaru enter the house, Thalia can see that Luke and Annabeth are already inside the kitchen getting food for themselves. The smells coming from the kitchen are incredible. Thalia’s stomach churns and rumbles with hunger. She sure has worked up an appetite.

Luke and Annabeth turn to see Thalia entering the kitchen with Masaru. The two of them momentarily set the bowls they are holding down on the counter. 

Luke smiles at Thalia. “Hey Thals, how did your training go?”

Thalia just blinks as she grabs a bowl. “Well, I learned martial arts, which was actually very tiring.”

Annabeth’s eyes become wide immediately. “Martial arts?! Wow, that is so cool!”

Thalia approaches the stove. “Afterwards, I learned how to focus my chakra and because I exerted my energy beforehand, I was able to concentrate on my task.”

Luke smiles. “That’s good. I also found that by doing some exercise before learning how to do carpentry, I was also able to focus more.”

Annabeth also smiles. “I also did exercise before I sat down with Naiya to learn kanji. I was also able to focus on my task.”

Thalia manages to smile. “That’s good. I’m glad that you guys are enjoying learning new things.”

Thalia then narrows her eyes at the concoction inside the first pot. Inside the pot is a yellowish stew with various vegetables along with some shredded chicken mixed into it. There also appears to be beans in it. The pot next to it holds white rice.

Thalia examines the pot of yellowish stew. “Hmm, what is this supposed to be?”.

“It’s curry.” Annabeth says. “It’s ‘chicken, chickpea and vegetable curry’ to be exact.”

Thalia scoops some of the curry into her bowl. She grabs her spoon. “I have to say that I have never tried curry or chickpeas before. This shall be my first try.”

Annabeth smiles a little as she glances towards Luke. “Luke and I have never had curry before either. However, the two of us just tasted it and it is actually pretty good.”

Thalia takes a deep breath as she scoops up some of the curry with her spoon. Well, it smells good so she can’t really imagine it tasting bad. The daughter of Zeus puts the spoon into her mouth, depositing the little bit of curry onto her tongue. Thalia’s eyes become wide as she starts chewing. 

Hmm, it is actually very tasty. Much better than she expected it to taste.

Luke smiles as he sees Thalia’s reaction. “I can see that you like it.”

Thalia quickly takes another bite. “I have to say, it actually tastes pretty delicious.”

Annabeth then points to the rice. “Try some with the rice. It’s really good with the rice.”

Thalia scoops some rice into her bowl and tries the remaining curry in her bowl with a little bit of rice. Annabeth is right. The curry does taste really good with the rice. Thalia immediately scoops some more rice and curry into her bowl. 

Thalia then blinks as Luke gestures towards the kitchen island, which has an array of different sides. “Kaishin says that these are the sides that everyone usually eats with the curry. Just pick and choose which you want. The fruit salad though is meant as a little refreshment after the main meal.”

On the kitchen counter are platters and bowls full of different sides. There are platters with cut up raw vegetables and bowls full of steamed vegetables. There is also a bowl full of salad greens. On one platter are round whole grain flatbreads. Then, there is a bowl full of a delicious looking fruit salad.

Thalia grabs a plate and starts filling it with food. Thalia grabs some raw carrots and some steamed broccoli. Thalia also grabs one of the flatbreads. Then, Thalia fills the remainder of her plate with some salad greens. The daughter of Zeus then watches as Annabeth hurriedly goes to join Sayuri and Katara at their table. Of course, Theia the dog trots behind Annabeth.

Luke just smiles as he gestures to the table outside where Natsuko and the other older kids are sitting. There are two prepared settings with glasses of water and napkins. 

“I already made places at the table for us.” Luke says proudly.

Thalia smiles as she follows Luke out onto the veranda. “Thanks Luke. I do appreciate that.”

Luke smiles as he and Thalia sit down at the table. “Your welcome, Thalia. Now let’s eat.”

As Thalia and Luke dig heartily into their lunch, Thalia can't help but smile to herself. Right now, things are going good for the demigods. They have a home and new life. Thalia can learn more about her heritage and learn how to be a ninja. Luke can learn to be a skilled craftsman and Annabeth can become a scholar.

Right now, the future's looking bright for all three demigods.


Sasuke pants as he throws the last shuriken he has towards the target set up before him. Sakura and Naruto are standing close by and the two of them are also throwing shuriken towards similar targets. 

This morning, when team Seven met for training, Kakashi told them that he had decided the trio would practice throwing kunai and shuriken. Then, after lunch, the trio would practice their tree climbing. Of course, Naruto complained about throwing kunai and shuriken, but Kakashi reminded the stubborn blond haired Uzumaki that practice makes perfect.

Sasuke simply watches as the shuriken that he just threw hits his target dead center. Nearby, Sakura’s shuriken hits her target close to the center, but not quite dead center. Naruto’s shuriken on the other hand...doesn’t hit the target at all. It falls to the ground with a thud.

Kakashi, who is standing nearby, just smiles at Sasuke and Sakura. “Excellent work, Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura, I have to say, you are getting better at throwing shuriken everytime we train. And Sasuke, it seems that you have perfected your throwing already.”

Sakura smiles proudly. “Thank you, Kakashi sensei.”

Sasuke just blinks a few times. “Hn.”

Kakashi then looks at Naruto, who is just looking glumly at his own target. Not a single shuriken that Naruto threw hit the target at all. 

Kakashi just sighs and rubs his chin as he notices this. “Naruto, it seems that you still need to practice.” 

Naruto just huffs and crosses his arms. “Hmph.”

Kakashi then looks up at the sky. “Oh, would you look at that. It is time for lunch already.”

Sasuke and Sakura both nod and go to grab their bento boxes. Naruto glumly follows his teammates. As the three genin settle down to open up their bento boxes, Sakura notices that Kakashi doesn’t have a bento box.

Sakura immediately raises a brow. Her sensei usually has a bento box at lunch. “Sensei, aren’t you gonna have lunch?”

Kakashi holds up his right hand. Truthfully, he is secretly going to go meet with the hokage to see if Aoba or everyone who was sent to find Thalia and her friends have returned yet. However, the jonin can’t reveal that to his students. The silver haired man quickly thinks of something to say.

“Oh, I am actually going to run a few errands while the three of you have your lunch.” Kakashi says as he prepares to walk towards the entrance into the training grounds. “Don’t worry, I should be back when the three of you are done with your lunch.”

Kakashi just smiles as he waves his young proteges goodbye. “I’ll see the three of you later.”

Then, just like that, the jonin turns and walks away. Naruto huffs and crosses his arms.

“Man, he made us throw shuriken and kunai and now he’s just up and leaving us here!” Naruto complains.

Sakura immediately turns to her teammate. “Naruto, Kakashi sensei said that he would be back. Whatever he has to go do must be important.”

Sasuke narrows his eyes as he watches the silver haired jonin leave. Sasuke just has this feeling that his sensei is hiding something from him. And whatever it is...Sasuke will find out what it is. One way or another.


Thalia’s eyes shoot open as she hears the alarm clock going off. After lunch, everyone went to their rooms to have their siesta. Annabeth joined Sayuri, Akari and Genmei in their room. Luke joined the older boys in their room while Thalia joined the older girls in their room.

Thalia just blinks as she watches a now awake Natsuko turn the alarm clock off. The young demigod just yawns as she climbs down from her bunk. After practicing martial arts for two and half hours straight today, and having a pretty filling lunch, Thalia felt pretty tired when it was time for the family’s traditional siesta. 

Now, Thalia feels super refreshed.

Nearby, Natsuko yawns. “Gee, I had a good nap.”

Setsuna yawns as well. “I did too.”

Miyako just stretches. “I sure did sleep well.”

Thalia blinks a few times. “I have to say, I do feel very refreshed.”

Just then, the shoji screens open up to reveal Maemi. The girl just yawns as she stretches herself awake. 

After a few moments, Thalia looks around. “Well, what do we do now?”

Setsuna smiles. “We go swimming of course!”

Thalia just blinks a few times as she looks down at her right side. “Well, Naiya told me that I should wait at least another day before I go swimming with all of you. By tomorrow, my scar should be healed enough.”

Natsuko just blinks as she glances at Thalia’s right side. “I can imagine that your wound is going to need time to heal. I mean, it was really bad when we brought you back to the house the other night.”

Setsuna cocks her head as she looks at Thalia. “Well, what do you think you’re going to do while we swim?”

Thalia just blinks a few times. “Masaru said that he would help me train some more. I imagine that Annabeth won’t want to swim without me so I guess she is going to have to find something else to do as well.”

Miyako cocks her head slightly as she thinks about this. “Hmm, maybe she should ask Naiya to help her learn to read some more. The more she learns each day, the faster she will catch up to Katara, Sayuri and Hikaru.”

Thalia just blinks as she thinks about this. “Hmm, that actually sounds like a good idea.”

Just then, there is a knock at the door, followed by Luke’s voice. “Hello? Is Thalia awake yet?”

“I’m awake.” Thalia calls out.

“Come on in if you want.” Natsuko says.

A moment later, the door opens, to reveal Luke standing outside the door. The son of Hermes quickly enters the room. He clears his throat as he prepares to address Thalia. “Kenji mentioned that he and the others go swimming after the siesta. Are you guys coming?” 

Thalia sighs and shakes her head. “Naiya said that I should wait until my wound heals more before I go swimming. You can go if you want. Masaru told me that he would train me some more.”

Luke cocks his head a little. “Hmm, I can’t imagine that Annabeth would want to go swimming without you.” 

“I mentioned that and Miyako suggested that Annabeth study some more with Naiya today.” Thalia says. 

Luke scratches his chin. “Well, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Let’s go see what Annabeth thinks about that.”

Thalia immediately nods and follows Luke out into the hallway. After a few moments of walking, they finally reach the younger girls’ bedroom door. Luke knocks on the door frame. However, there is no response.

Thalia raises a brow. “Hmm, maybe Annabeth and the other girls are already downstairs. Let’s go.”

Luke just blinks as he follows Thalia down to the first floor. In the dining and living area, Annabeth and the younger girls are gathered with all of the adults. Theia the dog is sitting by Annabeth’s legs. The younger boys are also gathered in the living room. Maemi, Natsuko, Setsuna and Miyako arrive a moment or so later. Kenji, Makito, Osamu, Eiji and Osato arrive a few moments later. 

Annabeth turns to see that Thalia and Luke have awoken from their siesta. “You’re awake! Masaru and the other adults say that they have something very important to discuss with us.”

Both Luke and Thalia raise a brow. Hmm, something very important to discuss? Just what could the adults want to discuss with the three demigods?

Masaru quickly clears his throat. “Thalia, I am sure that you and your friends realize that this world’s culture is based upon Japanese influence and thus everyone in this world has a Japanese sounding name.”

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all raise brows. The three demigods share glances with one another. Well, the three of them did figure that out when they ran into those two weirdos a day or so after they arrived in this world. 

Just why does this need to be discussed?

Thalia clears her throat. “Yes, we do know that. Why do we need to discuss this?”

Masaru sighs. “You see, the thing is, I don’t want the Hidden Leaf to find out about you yet.” The Araya man’s voice is tense as he speaks. “And...it’s just...your names make you stand out in this world.”

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all gasp when they get the meaning of Masaru’s words. Masaru is right of course. Their names are different and thus ‘alien’ in this world. Anyone else who hears their names would automatically question their origins.

Hakurou sighs as he scratches the back of his head. “Jakobe knows about the three of you now. Even though he doesn’t know your names, I am sure that it will not take long for everyone else within the village to find out about the three of you. People would start asking questions as to where the three of you came from if we told them your names.”

“Seriously, what are we supposed to tell the rest of the village?” Kaiya asks with a tense voice. “That the three of you came from another world and are all demigods?”

Masaru wrings his hands. “The villagers would never keep that a secret and news would spread to the Hidden Leaf faster than we know it. It’s too risky to reveal your origins just yet. This is why we need to come up with a believable cover story for the three of you.”

Annabeth blinks a few times. “Along with creating a cover story, we have to come up with Japanese sounding names to use in public don’t we?”

Masaru nods. “Exactly.”

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth look at one another. The three demigods never thought about this. Just how are they going to pick out names when they don’t really know Japanese?

Thalia rubs her temples. “I get what you are saying, but how on earth do we even decide on names. I mean, we don’t really know the meanings behind most names. Just how would we choose good names that we could feel good about?”

Masaru smiles. “Over the years that I have watched the three of you, I have analyzed each of your characters firsthand. This is why I have actually come up with names that would fit each of your unique personalities. All we have to do is decide which names all of you like best.”

Masaru turns to Thalia first. “Thalia, I shall begin with you first.” He takes a deep breath. “Thalia, you lived a hard life, that is very true. However, you have proved to be incredibly strong and adaptive as you have endured everything that has come your way. You are also a fine and fearsome warrior, yet you are also a caring and compassionate individual. You fight for your friends, and that is very noble.”

Thalia blinks a few times. “Thank you.”

Masaru closes his eyes. “As I have thought about all your attributes, there is one name that perfectly describes you. That name...is Tora.”

Thalia blinks and narrows her eyes. “Tora? What does Tora mean?”

Natsuko, who is standing nearby, just grins. “ Tiger . It’s a name for both girls and boys. However, when girls use it, people often refer to the meaning as tigress.

Masaru smiles. “Thalia, you are beautiful and graceful, just like a tigress. You also fight with a ferocity that would match any tigress. You are also caring and protective of your friends, just as a mother tigress is with her cubs. Tigers are also very strong and enduring animals, just as you are.”

Thalia blinks a few times. A tigress? Hmm, the daughter of Zeus never thought of herself in such a light. However, she does have to agree that tigers are very fearsome yet majestic animals. Any name that means such would certainly bring the user respect and honor.

After a few minutes, Thalia smirks to herself. This is certainly a name that she can bear with pride. “Tora certainly does have a strong meaning to it and it is very simple yet almost elegant. I wouldn’t mind being called Tora.”

Luke grins. “I like it! Besides, it does start with a T, which will be very easy to remember for you.”

Annabeth smiles. “I like it too!”

Thalia takes a deep breath. “Tora…,” Thalia says to herself. “Tora.”

Masaru then smiles. “I also have a very good surname for you. You see, given the situation, you probably shouldn’t use Uchiha as your surname.”

Thalia nods. “Duly noted.” Then, Thalia frowns. “I was just wondering, why can’t I use Araya as my surname?”

Masaru sighs. “If you went by Tora Araya , I am afraid that if someone else was to find out your story from Toma or someone else, they might just look at your features and connect the dots. Besides, I don’t think that Araya would go with Tora very well.”

Masaru then glances at Masaomi and Hikaru. “I also fear that Toma may send someone after my grandsons and I if he was to learn we were living here. And the thing is...Jakobe doesn’t actually know our last names as he hasn’t really bothered to ask. I actually think it may be wise for my grandsons and I to change our last names.”

Hakurou just blinks a few times. “Given the situation, that may be a wise thing to do. Have you thought about a good surname to use?”

Masaru nods. “I do like the name Akamori. Back at the Araya village, I loved the red leafed maple trees that grew all over the valley. My home was next to a forest of those trees.”

Kaiya smiles. “Hmm, I do like Akamori as well.”

Setsuna grins. “Masaru, Masaomi and Hikaru also don’t go too bad with Akamori either.”

Masaru then turns back to Thalia. “Thalia, I also have the perfect surname for you. Kaminari . It means thunder, which fits with your powers.”

Thalia thinks about this. “Hmm, I have to say, Tora Kaminari does have a nice ring to it.”

Luke smiles. “I like it!”

Annabeth smiles as well. “I like it as well!”

Masaru smiles. “Alright, now that Thalia has figured out her name, I shall move onto Luke.”

Masaru then turns to said demigod. “Luke, you are a natural leader and despite being dyslexic, you are clever and very witty when it comes to battle. Truthfully, I was thinking of Koya , which means ‘a clever and quick witted leader’. However, like Thalia, you are also a very fine warrior. This is why I have come up with another fitting name. Takeo , which simply means ‘a warrior’. I think that both would be fitting for you.”

Luke blinks a few times. “Koya and Takeo. Hmm, both sound nice. It is actually a very difficult choice.”

Masaru blinks a few times. “I can tell you the most fitting surnames that I could come up for you and decide which names go better together.”

Luke shrugs. “Alright then.”

Masaru smiles. “Now brace yourself, this surname is a mouthful and a little eyebrow raising. Gushiken , which means ‘strong willed’. Luke, I do believe that this surname would be fitting for you as you are a very strong willed young man. And do think of this. If you put Koya together with Gushiken, the entire name would basically mean ‘a clever and quick witted leader who is strong willed’. If you put Takeo and Gushiken together, then the entire name would basically mean ‘a warrior who is strong willed’. In that respect, I think that you could bear either name with pride.”

Luke’s eyes become wide. “I never did think of what the two names together as a whole would mean.”

Then, after a few minutes, Luke smirks. “I have to say, I do like the sound of Takeo Gushiken: a warrior who is strong willed. I do believe that I could bear that name with honor and pride. And deep down, I know that I am not really that clever or incredibly quick witted. I wouldn’t feel true to myself if I used Koya as my new name.”

Thalia smirks. “I have to say, I do like Takeo Gushiken. It does have a strong meaning to it.”

Annabeth smiles. “I like it too!”

Masaru smiles as he turns to Annabeth. “Alright Annabeth, time to decide a name for you. I have to say, I think that either Sana, Akira or Ayeka would be fitting for you. Sana means ‘brilliance and exceptional talent or intelligence’. Akira means ‘bright, clever and intelligent’. Ayeka means ‘one who bears a quick and analytical mindset’. Annabeth, I think that either one of those names would be fitting for you. You are very intelligent, talented and you have a bright personality. You also possess a quick and analytical mind, just like your mother, Athena.”

Annabeth blinks a few times. “Hmm, I am torn between Sana or Ayeka. I like both of their meanings. I also like the meaning of Akira, but you said that Akira was the name of Thalia’s great-great grandmother, and that she wasn’t a very nice woman. I would prefer either Sana or Ayeka.”

Masaru sits back as he thinks. “Hmm, If you say that, then I think the surname, Akechi, would be fitting for you. Akechi means ‘bright wisdom’. If you put Sana and Akechi together, the entire name would basically mean ‘one who has brilliant and exceptional talent and possesses bright wisdom’. If you put Ayeka and Akechi together, the entire name would basically mean ‘one who bears a quick analytical mind and bright wisdom’. Annabeth, I think that either name would be fitting for you.”

Annabeth blinks a few times. Then, the daughter of Athena smiles. “Well, I do like the sound of Ayeka Akechi . It’s not too long and it is pretty simple to remember.”

Luke smiles. “I do like it.”

Thalia also smiles. “I also like it.”

Annabeth takes a deep breath. “Ayeka Akechi.” Annabeth says to herself.

Hideaki then looks to Thalia. “Thalia, you might also want to refrain from using your demigod powers along with activating your sharingan out in public.”

Thalia immediately nods in understanding. “Duly noted.”

Annabeth then gasps. “Wait, I just thought of something!” The daughter of Athena then looks at Theia. “Theia is a greek name!”

At her name being mentioned, Theia the dog cocks her head in Annabeth’s direction and whines. 

Thalia’s eyes become wide. “You’re right Annabeth. We can’t say Theia’s name out in public either.”

At her name being mentioned again, Theia lets out another whine. 

Luke just scratches his chin. “Hmm, this means we have to come up with a new name for Theia as well.”

Theia the dog whines again. Annabeth rubs her temples. “But how do we even teach her a new name?”

“Don’t worry, the dog can learn a new name.” Sanae says. “It will just take time and lots of training.

Sanae then glances over to Yami, who is dozing in her dog bed. “We got Yami as a puppy and we had to teach her to respond to her name.”

Thalia rubs her chin. “But how do we come up with a good name for her?”

Natsuko scratches her chin. “Well, here are a few good names. There’s Yuki and Tsuki. Yuki means ‘snow’ and Tsuki means ‘moon’. I think that those names would describe Theia perfectly.”

At her name being mentioned again, Theia the dog wags her tail. Luke, Thalia and Annabeth all share looks with one another. Well, both names seem like they would be fitting. Now they just have to decide on one. 

After a few moments, Luke rubs his chin. “Well, I do like Yuki. It is very simple so it should be very simple for her to remember.”

Thalia looks at Theia. “Well, I do like the sound of Yuki. It is pretty simple.”

Annabeth crosses her arms. “Well, Yuki isn’t actually a bad name. Yuki does mean snow, and Theia’s fur is snow white. Yuki should be very fitting for her.”

Theia whines again. The dog then goes up to Annabeth and licks the girl’s hand. It’s as if the dog somehow knows that things are about to change. 

Annabeth gets down to Theia’s level. “Theia, we have to change your name because it is not Japanese sounding. From now on, your name is Yuki . Got it?”

The dog just sits there and looks up at Annabeth with confused eyes. Annabeth sighs. “This may be hard.”

Thalia sighs as well. “We may have to refrain from taking ‘Yuki’ out in public until she learns her new name.”

Sanae smiles. “There is time for that. I also suggest that all of us practice saying your cover names for a while before all of you make yourselves known to the rest of the village.”

Luke crosses his arms. “Hmm, that may be a good idea.” The son of Hermes muses.

Natsuko smiles as she looks at the rest of the kids in the house. “Alright, now that Luke, Thalia and Annabeth have come up with cover names for themselves, the rest of us can go swimming!”

“Not so fast.” Wasure suddenly says. “You see, I had just returned from town when you woke up. According to news from the weather observatory, there is a large and powerful storm system headed for the village. It should be here between three and four today. I am afraid that if all of you were to go swimming, you would get caught out in it.”

Kaiya sighs. “I’m sorry kids, but I am afraid that all of you need to stay close to home today.”

Natsuko sighs. “Oh man, I was really looking forward to swimming today.”

Hakurou suddenly narrows his eyes as he looks at Seto. “Seto, how much hay do we have for the animals?”

Seto’s eyes become wide. “Hmm, not a lot actually...and hay isn’t good to harvest when it is wet. Depending on how heavy the rain is, it may take days for the wild hay fields to dry out.”

Kaishin gasps. “Oh no, we have to gather hay for the animals before it rains!”

Hakurou looks at his brother, Seto, Toshiro, Wasure, Arashi, Manabe, Okami, Raikou, Jin and Yuuta. “Come on boys, we should get going before it lets loose on us.”

The ten men all nod in agreement. Hakurou then looks at the older boys. “Kaishin, Kenji, Osamu, Makito, you four as well.” Hakurou then looks to his son and Chihaku. “Haruto, Chihaku, you two shall come as well. The more hands we have the better.”

Okami then looks over to Eiji and Osato. “Osato, that goes for you and Eiji as well.” 

Raikou then looks over to his own sons. “Raiden, you and Raion shall come as well.” 

Masaru, who is standing nearby, looks at Masaomi. “Masaomi, I think that Hakurou and the others could use your hands as well.” Masaru then looks at his broken arm. “However, I am afraid that I will have to stay here. Now remember, listen to Hakurou and the others and do as they tell you.”

Masaomi nods as he gets up from his seat. “Yes Grampa, I will.”

Kaiya looks at the older girls. Kaiya then turns to Ikeri. “Ikeri, I was just thinking that maybe we should harvest some more food before it rains. It is liable to be muddy tomorrow.” 

Ikeri nods in agreement. “That sounds like a good idea.” 

Kaiya then looks at the babies and littlest children playing in playpens and play yards. The woman then looks at Rukia. “Rukia, you Eirin and Ariko can look after the babies while the rest of us work.” 

Rukia, Eirin and Ariko all nod in agreement. Kaiya then looks at the rest of the women. “Alright, so the rest of us along with the older children shall harvest food.” 

Naiya blinks as she looks to Thalia, Luke and Annabeth. “Why don’t the three of you use this time to train ‘Yuki’. The sooner she learns her new name the better.”

Luke nods his head. “Good thinking.”

Sanae suddenly gets up from her seat. “Hold on, we need to see how many dog treats we have.” The old woman walks over to the canisters of dog treats which are sitting on a shelf. “Training the dog to learn a new name shall take a lot of treats. We may have to make more.”

One of Sanae’s specialties is making homemade natural dog treats, along with homemade breads and food mixes. The food mixes include hot cocoa mix, pancake mix, cookie mix and cake mixes. Sanae batch makes the mixes by mixing the dry ingredients together and then storing them in large containers to use for later. Whenever the family wants to make something special to eat, they just get out the pre-prepared dry mixes and add whatever wet ingredients are needed.

Sanae looks in every canister on the shelf. She just shakes her head. “There are not a lot of dog treats left. We must make more.”

The old woman looks at Taki, Genmei, Isamu, little Benjiro and little Yasha. “Would the five of you like to help me make some more dog treats while everyone else works?”

The eyes of both Genmei and Isamu light up immediately. The eyes of Taki, Benjiro and Yasha light up as well. “Of course, Sanae!” All five children say at the same time.

Kaiya simply nods. “Alright everyone, get to work.”

As everybody scatters to start on their assigned tasks, Thalia just breathes in deep as she thinks of this new turn in her life. Starting today, she will have two identities. Luke and Annabeth shall also have two identities, and Theia shall have a new name as well. Masaru, Masaomi and Hikaru shall also have two identities.

To everyone in Sanae’s household, Thalia and her friends shall be Thalia Grace, Luke Castellan and Annabeth Chase. Masaru and his grandsons will be Masaru Araya, Masaomi Araya and Hikaru Araya.

However, to the villagers and the rest of the world, Thalia and her friends shall be known as Tora Kaminari , Takeo Gushiken and Ayeka Akechi . Theia the dog will be known as Yuki. Masaru and his grandsons shall be known as Masaru Akamori, Masaomi Akamori and Hikaru Akamori.

Annabeth sighs as she looks at Thalia and Luke. “Well, what do you think we should start with first?” Annabeth then glances at Theia, now ‘Yuki’. “She does know simple commands such as sit and stay already.”

Luke crosses his arms. “However, she responds to those commands when we say ‘Theia’. We need to teach her to respond to ‘Yuki’. Otherwise, we’ll never be able to take her out in public.”

Thalia nods in approval. “Alright then, we will start with simple commands.” The daughter of Zeus then walks over to the canisters to grab some dog treats.

...An hour and half later…

Thalia glances up towards the sky, which is starting to turn a dull gray. Over towards the west, dark gray storm clouds are starting to gather over the mountains.

Luke and Annabeth are standing nearby. ‘Yuki’ the dog is sitting at Annabeth’s feet. The three young demigods have been training the dog for about an hour and a half now. So far, everything is going good. Prompted by the ‘delicious’ treats, the dog is responding to her new name quite well. She has responded to every single one of their commands. ‘Yuki’ will even fetch a stick and bring it back to them now.

To say that the three young demigods are extremely pleased is an understatement.

Luke narrows his eyes at the coming storm. “Hmm, I suppose it is time for all of us to head inside now.” Luke turns to Thalia. “What do you think, Tora ?” 

Thalia nods her head. “I agree, Takeo.” Thalia then looks at Annabeth, who is also staring at the coming storm. “What do you think, Ayeka ?”

Annabeth nods as she pats Yuki's head. “I agree.”

Along with training ‘Yuki’, the three demigods have been practicing calling each other by their new cover names. 

Thalia sighs as she looks towards the house. “Well, I guess we better head inside then.”

Luke, Annabeth and Yuki the dog quickly follow Thalia towards the house. After the three of them reach the entryway and take off their new sandals, they head for the kitchen.

Ever since the three demigods arrived at Sanae’s residence, they have had to go barefoot everywhere as they left their sneakers back at the motel. However, just as Thalia and her companions were about to head outside to train ‘Yuki’, Sanae presented them with three pairs of sandals that she found hidden inside the storage room. Sanae told them that she felt the sandals might fit them, which they did. Now Thalia and her companions have shoes to wear. Sanae also found some more clothes for the three demigods to wear.

As Thalia, Luke and Annabeth step into the kitchen, they see Natsuko and the others bringing the outdoor tables inside. With the coming storm, Natsuko and the others certainly won’t be able to eat outside like they usually do.

Akari is sitting nearby. She is currently entertaining Yasha, Sara, Benjiro, Atsuro, Ryuu, Reika, Sara, Zakuro, Terashi and Tomone with some hand puppets. Baby Terashi and baby Tomone are both seated in bouncy seats. 

Akari then looks over to see Thalia and the others. The young girl smiles. “How did training Yuki go?”

Annabeth smiles. “Great! She responded to every single one of our commands. She even fetched a stick and brought it back to us.”

Kenji just smiles as he walks up to the demigods. “That’s wonderful. Maybe she will learn her new name faster than expected.”

Thalia sighs. “I hope you are right.”

Akari smiles ever wider. “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Grandma is going to make hot chocolate and cookies after dinner! She says it’s just the thing everyone needs on a stormy evening.”

Annabeth gasps. “Cookies and hot chocolate!? Yum!”

Kaishin, who is standing nearby, just laughs. “Trust us, the three of you are going to love grandma’s cookies and hot chocolate.”

As Thalia and Luke watch Annabeth ask Akari more about the cookies and hot chocolate, the two demigods can’t help but smile at the sight. In their hearts, both Thalia and Luke know that staying here with Sanae and her family was the right move. The two of them, along with little Annabeth, can have the lives they always wanted. 

After a few minutes, Thalia sighs. The daughter of Zeus just hopes that trouble will not find the young demigods and ruin their cozy new lives in Sanae’s village.


Iwashi looks around at the green forest surrounding him. The man sighs as he looks around at the ground, trying to find any sign of tracks. However, there are none. The jonin just rubs his temples in frustration. 

Earlier, after everyone returned from patrol, Aoba and Iwashi mentioned the idea of sticking it out here at this abandoned village for a while to see if Thalia and her friends return. Everyone else thought it was a good idea. 

However, everyone agreed that it wouldn’t hurt to at least still patrol the surrounding forests.

Iwashi looks around some more. Right now, Aoba and Anko are back at the motel, waiting there just in case the kids happen to come back. Everybody else is out searching the different areas of the forest.

Iwashi sighs again. He just walks some more. The man wonders if the rest of his companions are having better luck than he is. To him, the entire mission just seems pointless now. Trying to find three kids in this huge forest is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Just as Iwashi is about to give up and head back towards the motel, he spots a break in the trees. He narrows his eyes and walks until he is on the other side of the tree line. The sight before the seasoned jonin amazes him. It is another village! A big and thriving one by the looks of it.

Iwashi steps back to process this new development. Hmm, Iwashi thinks to himself as he rubs his chin. Perhaps there is a chance that the kids found this village and are hiding out here. Probably wouldn’t hurt to search the village.

Iwashi takes a deep breath as he prepares to descend the hill he is standing on. However, in the distance, the jonin suddenly realizes that dark gray storm clouds are gathering over the mountains. He frowns as he looks at the dark clouds. The seasoned jonin also realizes that the wind is starting to pick up a little.

This is just terrific. Iwashi thinks to himself. I won’t be of any use if I get sick from being out in the rain. I guess I will have to return tomorrow.

Iwashi quickly takes out a kunai. As the jonin begins making his way back towards the abandoned village to rejoin his companions, he carves an x into every tree that he comes across. Doing this will ensure that he can find his way back to the village tomorrow.


Thalia and Luke both listen to the wind and rain batter the house. The wind howls as it blows against the house. The two demigods frown. Wow, this is a bad storm. 

In the kitchen, Sanae and the other women are getting dinner ready. Tonight, it is a dish called a ‘rainbow bowl’. A rainbow bowl is basically a large bowl filled with various foods. The base is a cooked whole grain topped with various veggie and meat toppings and even vegetarian toppings such as tofu. The bowls are totally customizable. You can make the bowls meaty, vegetarian or even vegan. The people in Sanae’s household prefer a mix of chicken and legumes for their protein toppings. 

Tonight, the base of the bowls are going to be either white rice, brown rice or cooked millet. Thalia has never tried millet before so she has decided that she shall put a little millet into her ‘rainbow’ bowl. The toppings shall be a mixture of chopped steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and celery. There shall also be a chopped green salad made of spinach, radishes and kale. Then, there shall be a protein salad made of a mixture of cooked shredded chicken, beans and sweet corn tossed with diced peppers and spices. 

At the main table Hakurou, Masaru and the other men, except for Akashi, are all sitting at a table, having a nice conversation. Akashi is in his room, drawing new designs for products. 

Nearby, Annabeth is playing with special lego-like blocks with Sakiko, Akari, Katara, Sayuri, Tadashi, Naki and Hikaru. Annabeth has always had a thing for architecture so these blocks are right up her alley. As the eight children build with the blocks, Annabeth is telling the others stories of the greek gods and heroes.

“And then…,” Annabeth says with a little suspense in her voice. “Heracles slayed the Nemian lion!”

Then, Annabeth winces and scratches her scalp. Katara takes notice and raises a brow. “Ayeka, are you ok?” 

Aside from the adults using the three demigods new cover names, the children in the household have taken to practicing calling the three young demigods by their cover names as well. 

Annabeth just sighs. “I just had an itch on my head. I’m ok.” 

Nearby, Okiko, Taki, Genmei, Adami and Yasha are playing with a small dollhouse. Isamu, Benjiro and Atsuro are playing with some dinosaur figurines. Nearby, Nerumi is coloring. 

At one table, Chihaku, Haruto and Masaomi are playing with some cards. Raion and Raiden are playing a board game together. The rest of the kids are reading books and comics. The littlest children are playing inside a play yard with some toddler and baby toys. 

Wasure is currently seated at the sofa, holding a bundled Zakuro in his arms. The child whimpers as the wind howls outside. Apparently, little Zakuro is afraid of strong storms. 

A strong gust of wind shakes the house. Wasure winces and clutches his much younger half-brother tightly. Thalia and Luke have also taken note that Wasure seems to have an aversion to strong storms as well. The man’s eyes will widen and he sometimes winces when he hears a particularly strong gust of wind. Thalia quietly asked Miyako about it and the girl simply said that strong winds remind Wasure of the tornado that killed his mother and step-father. 

Thalia then glances at Kaiya who is in the kitchen working. The woman winces as well when she hears the wind blowing against the house. According to Miyako, Kaiya also has an aversion to strong wind due to her and Hakurou’s own tornado experience when they found Chihaku. 

Sanae sighs as she wipes her hand on a towel. “Supper is ready.” The old woman calls out. “Come and get it.” 

The house becomes a flurry of activity as people stop what they are doing. They put their activities away and start setting up the dining room to eat. The men all push tables together so that all of the adults can eat together. 

Annabeth and the other children put the blocks away. Annabeth scratches her head again. Sayuri and Katara both raise their brows. Sayuri clears her throat. “Ayeka, you’re doing it again. Are you sure you’re ok?” 

Annabeth shakes her head. “My scalp itches a little. Hmm, maybe I have a bug bite or something. But don’t worry, it’s just a little itch. I’ll be fine.” 

Nearby, Wasure just sighs as he gets up from his seat. The man holds the bundled Zakuro in his arms. Then, a very strong gust of wind literally shakes the house. The man’s eyes widen and he immediately clutches Zakuro for dear life. 

Yumiko notices her husband's behavior. She walks over to him and puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Honey, please calm down.” Yumiko says. “It’s just a thunderstorm. Not a tornado.” 

Wasure takes a deep breath. “You’re right, dear. What am I thinking?” 

Luke and Thalia then notice that Kaiya is hyperventilating a little. Sanae quickly puts a comforting hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Kaiya, please don’t fret. It’s as Yumiko said. It’s just a thunderstorm. Not a tornado.”

Kaiya sighs. “I know mom. It’s just, whenever I hear wind like this, I can’t help but remember that night.” 

Sanae squeezes Kaiya’s shoulder. “I know dear.” 

With the tables set up, the adults go one by one to fetch the little ones from the play yard and playpen. Naiya picks up Sara and Kaiya picks up Tomone. Asami scoops up Terashi who just giggles. Amani retrieves baby Satoshi from a bassinet. 

Rukia and Hideaki are the last ones to come over to the play yard. Hideaki steps into the play yard and picks Reika up. He hands the little girl to Rukia. He then turns his attention to Ryuu, who is tugging on his pant legs. 

Another gust of wind shakes the house. Thalia just blinks as a thought comes to mind. The daughter of Zeus has been wondering if perhaps deities other than the greek gods exist in other worlds. Since her birth world was created and is ruled by immortal gods, Thalia just cannot imagine there not being deities who rule this world. The blue eyed demigod turns to Masaru, who is just walking past her to head to the kitchen. The man went to use the restroom before he went to get himself food. 

Thalia clears her throat. “Masaru. I was just wondering about something. Since my world was created and is ruled by gods and goddesses, were all of the other worlds including this one created by other deities? Are there gods and goddesses other than the greek gods and goddesses?” 

Masaru raises a brow. “Well, actually...yes. So far, my clan has counted 100 different dimensions. At least 50 of them, including yours, are ruled by gods and goddesses.” 

Thalia’s eyes become wide. “Wow. Really?” 

Masaru nods. Then, he scratches the back of his head. “However, as far as this dimension goes, we don’t really know for sure whether or not it was created by gods or goddesses. My clan and I are able to see into other dimensions so that is how we know there are other worlds which are ruled by deities.” 

Masaru then sighs as he looks out the windows at the storm raging outside. “However, the thing is, my clan can’t seem to view our own world. Our dimensional viewing jutsu just doesn’t seem to work when we try to view our own dimension for some reason.” 

Luke, who is nearby and listening to the conversation, raises a brow. “Really?” 

Masaru nods. “However, we do have religions in this world and many people in this world do believe that gods and goddesses rule this world.” 

Masaru closes his eyes. “Many of these religions center on one creator deity named ‘Kami’ and a few others who rule aspects of life, a lot like the greek gods in a way.” 

Thalia and Luke both share glances with each other. Hmm, that is interesting. 

Thalia looks back out at the storm. “Masaru, do people in this world believe in a storm god ?” 

Masaru blinks a few times. “Well, yes. Actually, there are many gods associated with storms in this world. There is Susanoo, who is said to create storms at sea. Then, there are Fujin and Raijin, who are associated with storms that form inland. Fujin is a wind god and Raijin is a thunder god.” 

Thalia raises a brow. She then looks out the window. A crack of thunder booms and leaves and small twigs fly through the air as the wind blows and howls outside. “Well, if the myths of your world's gods are real, I would have to say that Fujin and Raijin are not very happy today.” 

Masaru chuckles slightly. “I suppose that is one way to look at it.” The Araya man then glances towards the kitchen. “Well, I think we better get some food before it is all gone.” 

With that, the man walks into the kitchen and grabs a tray and some plates and bowls. Thalia and Luke follow. 

Annabeth meanwhile, is already seated at the table with the younger children. Annabeth just digs into her supper. However, she winces again as she feels the urge to scratch her scalp again. However, it is a different spot this time. The daughter of Athena is really confused now. 

Just what is going on with her scalp?

Notes:

Woah, this is definitely a twist right? Thalia, Luke and Annabeth have taken on 'cover identities' to help them blend into society. They even gave Theia a new name. What do all of you think of the names that I chose for each of them?

And what did you think of the part towards the end with Iwashi? Which village do you all think he discovered?

And what about that ending? Little Annabeth has an 'itchy' situation. What do you all think is wrong with the little demigod?

Chapter 27: An 'unwelcome' visitor

Chapter Text

Thalia’s eyes flutter open to the sound of the alarm clock going off. Thalia then hears Natsuko yawn as she sits up in her own bed. The alarm clock is turned off. 

Thalia yawns as she looks towards the window. The sun is just starting to come up over the horizon. Wow, Masaru wasn’t kidding when he said that everyone wakes up early here. The daughter of Zeus thinks to herself. 

After a few minutes, Thalia climbs down from her bunk. Natsuko crawls out from underneath her own bunk. Miyako climbs down from her bunk while Setsuna crawls out from her own bed. Then, the shoji screens open to reveal an awake Maemi, who is stretching. 

Thalia looks around. “Well, what do you guys do first?” 

Natsuko sighs. “Well, the men wake up earlier and get the milking parlor ready to milk the cows and goats. We have the luxury of milking machines, so after the milking equipment is all ready, it only takes two or so people to actually milk the cows and goats.” 

Miyako clears her throat. “Once the cows are ready to be milked, the rest of us get up. Some of the men and the eldest boys go out into the fields to check on the beef cattle, which we leave out overnight during the summer months. We don’t have a lot of large predators around here so it is usually safe to leave the cattle out overnight. The men and boys also check on the grain fields and orchards. The rest of us give the barns a good cleaning and the younger children help some of the women gather eggs from the hen houses, quail houses, duck houses and goose houses. They also give those houses a good cleaning. The other women stay behind and prepare breakfast.” 

Setsuna crosses her arms. “Then, once the cows and goats are all milked and the eggs all gathered up, we take all of the animals out to pasture with the sheep. The chickens, quail, ducks and geese are let out to pasture later as some of them haven’t laid their eggs yet. We keep our work mules and horses in special paddocks so that we can harness them up whenever we need them to pull a cart or wagon.”  

Thalia raises a brow. “Wow, that sounds like a lot of work.” 

Miyako clears her throat to say something when a shrill yell comes from down the hallway. Thalia raises a brow. That yell came from the younger girls room. 

Just what could be wrong?

Then, there is a frantic knock on the side of the sliding doors. Maemi raises a brow and walks over to open the doors. Standing on the other side of the door is Nerumi. Nerumi’s eyes are wide as she looks at Thalia. 

“Thal...no...Tora, you need to come and see this.” Nerumi says. “It’s Anna...no...Ayeka. Her...her scalp is all red and scaly.” 

Thalia gasps and runs down the hallway towards the younger girls bedroom. When Thalia arrives inside the room, she gasps at the sight before her. 

Annabeth is sitting in her bunk and she is scratching her small scalp, which is red and flaky. Yuki the dog is sitting next to the young girl. Said dog whines as she lays her head in Annabeth’s lap. 

Thalia just blinks a few times. What in her father’s name is this?

Just then, Luke arrives in the room. His eyes become wide as well and he gasps. “Annie, what happened to your head?!” 

Annabeth whimpers. “I...I don’t know. It started itching last night, I thought it was just a bug bite. But now...it is driving me crazy. It is so itchy!” 

Nerumi walks in through the doorway. She clears her throat. “Ayeka, I think you should let Naiya or Natara look at that. Perhaps they will know what is wrong.” 

Annabeth nods her small head as she gets to her feet. “Yeah, you’re probably right."

With that, Annabeth, Thalia, Luke and Nerumi leave the room. The rest of the younger girls stay behind to get dressed.

...about ten minutes later…

Annabeth just whimpers as she scratches her red and flaky scalp. Naiya, who is sitting next to Annabeth, is carefully examining the young girl’s scalp. Yuki the dog is sitting in front of Annabeth. Yuki simply licks one of Annabeth’s hands and lets out a whine. 

Thalia and Luke are also standing nearby. The eyes of the two demigods are filled with concern for their young friend. The two of them have never seen anything like this before. 

Naiya parts the strands of hair on top of Annabeth’s head and carefully examines the child’s red scalp. After a few moments, Naiya leans back and just sighs. “Well, it looks like a yeast infection.” 

Thalia and Luke just look at each other. Luke then clears his throat. “A yeast infection? How did that happen?” 

Naiya holds her hands up. “Masaru told me that all of you ate a very sugar laden and highly processed diet before all of you came to this world. My guess is that Annabeth’s gut bacteria have become imbalanced due to her drastic change in diet, causing a yeast overgrowth. Most of the time, imbalances like this cause gastrointestinal problems, but sometimes the problem can affect the skin, causing rashes.” 

Naiya then looks down at Annabeth. “In Annabeth’s case, it is affecting her scalp.” Naiya sighs again. “I’m afraid her body just has to get used to her new diet.”

“But what can we do to help Annabeth?” Thalia asks with concern as she watches Annabeth scratch her scalp some more. 

“Don’t worry, Sanae and I both know plenty of good natural remedies to heal yeast infections like this.” Naiya says. “The first step is to introduce lots of good probiotic foods like yogurt and kombucha into her diet. This will help to get her gut bacteria back in balance.” 

Setsuna, who is standing close by, clears her throat. “Back in my old village, I ate a lot of fish and seaweed due to living near the ocean. Then, after I came here, I started eating more vegetables, fruit, poultry and dairy products. I actually developed a yeast infection just like Annabeth’s.” 

Thalia raises a brow. “Really?” 

Setsuna nods her head. “It was terrible.” The violet haired girl admits. “My head was so itchy, I could barely go five minutes without scratching it.” 

Annabeth grimaces as she looks at Setsuna. “Well, I can certainly picture that.” 

Setsuna just blinks as she looks over at Sanae, who is sitting nearby. “I remember Sanae washing my hair and then rinsing my scalp with a liquid that smelled like apple cider vinegar. I also remember that it fizzed like peroxide and it stung slightly.” 

Sanae just smiles. “It was a mixture of apple cider vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. Both of those are good for yeast infections on the skin.” 

Setsuna then sighs as she recalls the past. “Then, after Sanae rinsed my hair with that liquid, she applied this pinkish oily mixture onto my scalp and massaged it for about five minutes. Afterwards, Sanae put a shower cap on my head and left the solution in my hair for fifteen minutes. Afterwards, she rinsed it out. We did that once a day for about seven days until the infection cleared up.” 

Sanae leans back in her chair. “It was a special recipe that I came up with when I got a yeast infection many years ago. You see, after I learned that I wouldn’t be able to have more children after Kaiya and Seto were born, I became a little depressed. I began eating a little unhealthily and before I knew it, I broke out in a bodywide rash. Doctors told me it was yeast overgrowth and that I couldn’t do anything about it.” 

Sanae then wrings her hands. “Oh, the doctor’s attitude towards the whole thing just infuriated me so much. However, I was also angry with myself as I knew it was my fault to begin. With my husband’s help, I snapped out of my depressed state and then set out to prove to both myself and the doctor that I could find a cure for my problem.”

Luke raises a brow. “Hmm, what exactly did you do?” 

“I did my research of course along with changing my diet.” Sanae explains. “Through my research, I came up with homemade topical skin treatments to help treat my rash.” 

Sanae then looks to Setsuna. “The pinkish oily substance that Setsuna described to you is just one of my many homemade treatments. It is made with melted coconut oil, a mixture of essential oils, plus a natural anti-itch serum that is available commercially and at wholesale. We buy it in big two gallon pump jugs which we buy directly from the supplier, which saves us money. The serum is like a lotion, just a lot oilier and more hydrating than a conventional lotion.” 

Masaru, who is standing nearby, clears his throat. “Just think of a very oily calamine lotion. That is basically what the serum is. It is full of good ingredients that combat itching and irritation.” 

Masaru then looks at his grandsons. “Why, when my grandsons and I came here, little Hikaru had a bug bite that was driving him crazy. Sanae just dabbed some of the serum onto it, and little Hikaru’s itching was gone just like that.” 

Kenji also smiles. “I’ve also had bug bites. That serum sure works wonders on bug bites.” 

Tadashi also smiles. “I had poison ivy once and once Sanae put the serum on, my itching was gone.” 

Thalia and Luke share glances with each other. Hmm, this serum must be really good stuff then if everyone is praising it. 

Sanae then blinks a few times as she looks at Luke and Thalia. “Since the serum is more oil based than a lotion, It can actually be applied to the hair and scalp. And it’s not like the mixture stays in the hair forever. We rinse it out after the solution soaks into the scalp really well.” 

Naiya then holds her hand up. “However, the serum is just to help with the itchiness. It’s the coconut oil and the mixture of essential oils that really help to cure the yeast infection.” 

Thalia raises a brow. “Hmm, I have heard of essential oils. They are oily extracts that are extracted from plants, right?”

Sanae nods. “That is correct. Essential oils are used in lots of different products. They are used in bath and beauty products and even in cleaning products. People even use essential oils in aromatherapy by placing drops of essential oils in a steam diffuser and then inhaling the steam. Certain essential oils can even be diluted in a special carrier oil to be applied to the skin.” 

Naiya then clears her throat. “However, when it comes to topical use, one must be very careful with essential oils.” The woman’s voice is tense as she speaks. “Some plant materials contain compounds which can irritate the skin and those certain oils contain those compounds. There are just some oils such as cinnamon and clove that are not safe to use on the skin under any circumstance; even when diluted in a carrier oil. Other essential oils, even if they are supposed to be safe for topical use, have to be diluted in a carrier oil. Essential oils can be very powerful and using them straight on the skin without diluting them in another oil can cause skin irritation.” 

“And you can’t use a lot either. When it comes to essential oils, a little bit goes a long way.” Kaiya says. 

Sanae closes her eyes. “I use just a little bit of my special essential oil blend in my yeast treatment mixture, but it is powerful stuff. I call my special blend my ‘anti yeast blend’. I use tea tree oil, oregano oil, rosemary oil and calendula oil; all of which are good for fighting yeast.” 

Sanae then opens her eyes and smiles. “I also add just a little bit of lavender oil to help make it smell better. And besides, lavender is quite soothing.” 

Annabeth just looks at Sanae. “I do like the smell of lavender.” 

Sanae just smiles back. “I do too.” 

Then, Sanae gives Annabeth a serious look. “However, I must warn you dear, the anti-itch serum has a tendency to stain clothes and skin. I have even heard stories of this serum giving light colored hair a pinkish or reddish tint when it is used on the scalp. However, the pinkness or redness does fade and wash out with time.” 

Kaiya leans back. “Well, I know of a blonde haired village woman who accidentally used the serum instead of her conditioner. After it was all said and done, her hair looked like it was a very light strawberry blonde color.” 

Annabeth winces as she scratches her head again. “Well, if that serum is really good stuff, then just use it. Given the situation, I am probably in no position to complain about my hair color anyway. My scalp is already red.” 

Annabeth then looks at her golden blonde ringlets. “Who knows, strawberry blonde hair might even look cool .” 

Kaiya looks at the length of Annabeth’s hair. “Well, if we want to make sure that Annabeth doesn’t end up with part of her hair strawberry blonde and the rest golden blonde, we’ll have to use the mixture on all of her hair.” 

Sanae looks at Amani. “Amani, please go see how much of everything we have.” 

Amani nods as she gets up from her seat. “Of course, Sanae.”


Iwashi yawns as he awakens from his slumber. Aoba, who is lying next to him, is also starting to wake up. 

Nearby, Anko is already awake. She is eating a muffin. Across the room, Tsume, Kanzou and their ninja hounds are already up as well. Chouza, Shikaku and Inoichi are already up as well, and they are sitting on the left side of the room. The three of them are also eating. 

Anko just grins as she grabs two muffins from a box. She throws one to Iwashi and one to Aoba. “Morning sleepy heads.” Anko says with a small laugh.

Iwashi and Aoba just frown as they both quickly down their muffins. Iwashi sighs as he gets up to address the room. “Alright, enough chatting, we need to get to work.” 

Aoba, crosses his arms. “We need to decide on who stays here and who goes out on patrol.” 

Chouza rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Well, Aoba and Anko stayed here yesterday. I suppose either, Inoichi, Shikaku, Iwashi, Kanzou, Tsume or myself should stay behind today then.” 

Iwashi crosses his arms. “Yesterday, I actually found another village. There’s a very good possibility that if those kids are alive out there somewhere, they may have actually found that village. My plan was to go inside the village to look around today.” 

Aoba rubs his chin thoughtfully. “That means Iwashi should definitely go out on patrol today then. That leaves Chouza, Inoichi, Shikaku, Tsume or Kanzou to stay behind here.” 

Tsume crosses her arms as she glances at Kuromaru. The Inuzuka clan matriarch then looks at her brother and Rikumaru. “Kuromaru and Rikumaru will be more useful out in the field searching the forest.” 

Iwashi nods his head in understanding. “Alright then, that leaves either Chouza, Inoichi or Shikaku to stay behind here.” 

Shikaku blinks a few times as he crosses his arms. The Nara clan head clears his throat. “You know, the villagers at the Aoku village said that this abandoned village is a popular resting spot for rogue shinobi and bandits. I was just thinking that perhaps one of us should guard the gate just in case a rogue shinobi or bandit happens to show up.” 

Iwashi nods his head. “Hmm, that does sound like a good idea.” 

After a few minutes, Iwashi starts to come up with a decent plan. “Ok, here is what I am thinking of. Chouza, Shikaku and Inoichi shall stay here. One of them shall guard the gate while someone else patrols the perimeter of the village. The last person shall stay inside the motel in case the kids somehow make it past the one patrolling the village.”

Everybody else nods in approval. Aoba quickly clears his throat. “That is a good plan. That shall leave the rest of us to search the forest.” 

Iwashi stretches as he prepares to walk out the door. “And as planned, I shall go to that village I found to search there. I leave the rest of you to decide on what you want to do. I will be back at sunset.” 

And with that, Iwashi leaves his companions to figure out what they wish to do. He figures that it should be a forty-five minute walk to that village he discovered.


Luke and Thalia just blink as Sanae finishes combing Annabeth’s now pink-red tinted blonde hair. Kaiya was right; Annabeth’s hair does look like it is a very light strawberry blonde color. However, the new look is an interesting one to say the least. 

Sanae then sighs as she sets the comb down. She holds up a mirror so that Annabeth can see her new hairdo. “Well dear, what do you think? Of course your hair will look different once it is dry.” 

Annabeth gasps at her reflection. “Wow, I look so different .” Then, the young girl smiles. “And my head doesn’t itch anymore. Awesome!” 

Luke smiles. “Well, I am glad that you are feeling better, Ayeka. And I have to say, your temporary hairdo does look interesting .” 

Thalia smirks. “Yeah.” 

Naiya, who is sitting nearby, pulls out an indigo and light grey colored cap, which looks a lot like a skull cap. “I found this in the storage room. I think that if you wear this, it might help you to not scratch your head in case it starts itching again. Of course, you can’t put it on now since your hair is wet. After your hair is dry you can try it on.” 

Annabeth shrugs. “Alright, I’m willing to give it a try.” 

The young girl simply blinks as she looks at the cap. She then looks down at her new outfit, which consists of an indigo blue shirt and some light grey shorts. “Well, the hat goes with my outfit.” 

Luke smiles. “I like it.” 

Thalia nods. “I like it too. I think it would look good on you” 

Kaiya then looks towards the kitchen. She smiles when Amani gives her a thumbs up. Breakfast is ready. “Alright, it is breakfast time.” Kaiya says. “Let’s get our tables prepared shall we?” 

On cue, Annabeth’s stomach rumbles. She smiles. “Oh yes, I am starving!” 

With that, everyone starts preparing the tables. Then, once the tables are prepared, everyone lines up to get their portions.


Iwashi looks at the village before him. The man narrows his eyes. Well, it is certainly a thriving village that is for sure. The man thinks to himself as he enters through the village gate. And it is big. There are probably plenty of places for three kids and a dog to hide.  

Then, the hidden Leaf shinobi suddenly notices that there is a man wearing all black walking up to him. The man has short black hair and violet eyes. The mysterious man has a frown plastered on his face as he approaches the Hidden Leaf nin. Iwashi just raises a brow. 

Who is this man?

The mysterious man stops in front of the confused Hidden Leaf shinobi. The man just snorts as he eyes Iwashi. “Excuse me, but who the hell are you and what are you doing here in my village? I didn’t ask for any hidden Leaf shinobi to come here.” 

Iwashi is slightly taken aback by the man’s attitude. By the way the man is speaking, it sounds as if he is the village leader. Iwashi clears his throat. “Hello there sir.” iwashi says with the politest voice possible. “Are you the leader of this village?” 

The man snorts again. “Yes, my name is Jakobe Hisakawa and I am the leader of this village. Now, you didn’t answer my question, leaf shinobi. Who are you and why the hell are you in my village?” 

Iwashi raises a brow. Hmm, this man is not very friendly towards outsiders it seems. This could be hard. Then, Iwashi suddenly hears a new voice. 

“Brother, what is it?” The new voice asks. “Do we have a visitor?” 

Iwashi and the man, Jakobe, both turn to see another man, a younger looking version of Jakobe, approaching the pair. 

Jakobe snorts again and crosses his arms. “Johiro, go away. This is none of your business.” 

However, the new man, Johiro, just continues to approach. He gasps at the sight of Iwashi. “A Hidden Leaf shinobi!” Johiro turns to Jakobe. “Brother, you didn’t say anything about inviting a Hidden Leaf shinobi to our village.” 

Jakobe frowns. “I didn’t invite him! He waltzed in here on his own!” 

Jakobe then turns to Iwashi. “Now, you still haven’t answered my question Leaf shinobi. Who the hell are you and why are you here?” 

Johiro gasps. “Jakobe, that is no way to talk to a visitor. What would father think if he was here right now?” 

Jakobe snorts again. “Johiro, may I remind you that father isn’t the village leader anymore. I am. His opinion regarding visitors and village affairs doesn’t matter anymore.” 

Johiro frowns. “Well, father was the leader of this village for nearly forty-five years. His opinion does count!” 

Jakobe grits his teeth at his brother’s words. He then turns back to Iwashi. “Now, I won’t ask again. Who are you and why are you here?!” 

Iwashi just sighs. “My name is Iwashi Tatami and I am on a mission for my village. You see, I am looking for something. However, I cannot share any details as my mission is classified.” 

Johiro raises a brow. “Hmm, a classified mission you say? That sounds very interesting. What does this have to do with our village though?” 

Iwashi looks around the village. “I was looking around the area when I happened upon your village last night. However, I couldn’t come in as there was a storm approaching, so I had to return today.” 

Iwashi then crosses his arms. “You see, I am just wondering if what I am looking for might be here. Do you mind if I have a look around?” 

Jakobe snorts. “Sorry, but I didn’t invite you in the first place, so no .” 

Iwashi’s face falls. However, Johiro steps forward. The younger man looks at Jakobe with serious eyes. “Brother, this leaf shinobi is politely asking to search our village for whatever he is looking for. There is no reason to be rude to him, nor deny him his request.” 

Johiro then crosses his arms. “Besides, the Hidden leaf helps to protect the land of Fire. We owe it to them to at least allow them to come into our village when they ask.” 

Jakobe frowns at his brother. However, the man eventually relents. “Fine, but you are in charge of him. I will hold you personally responsible if anything happens. Are we clear?” 

Johiro nods. “Of course brother. I shall show this leaf shinobi around our village.” 

Just then, a ball comes flying out of nowhere...and hits Jakobe on the head. Jakobe turns around, absolutely livid. There are two young boys standing off to the side. The boys look at the angry village leader with terrified eyes. 

“Lord Jakobe…,” One of the boys says with a shaky voice. “We...we are so sorry. We didn’t mean to.” 

Jakobe literally roars as he looks at the two youngsters. “YOU LITTLE BRATS, I’M GONNA GET YOU TWO FOR THAT!!” 

The boys cry out in fear and run away. Jakobe starts chasing the terrified youngsters. Iwashi and Johiro are left standing at the gate. Iwashi just blinks as he watches the scene with slightly wide eyes. That seems like an extreme reaction for a child’s honest mistake. 

Just what is that guy’s problem? 

Johiro sighs as he turns to look at Iwashi. “I am very sorry about that. As you can see, my brother isn’t one of the friendliest people around.” 

Iwashi narrows his eyes. “I have to say, his reaction to those children was very extreme. What is his problem?” 

Johiro sighs. “Jakobe, isn’t exactly fond of children. In fact, if it wasn’t for our village needing to grow, I think that he would ban the villagers from even having children.” 

Iwashi scoffs. “Wow, that is terrible. He must be some village leader.” 

Johiro closes his eyes. “None of the other villagers care for him. However, they all respected my father, the former leader of our village, which is why they at least tolerate my brother.” 

Iwashi crosses his arms. “Hmm, earlier you made it sound as if your father is still alive. Why is your brother leading the village then?” 

Johiro closes his eyes. “Around twelve years ago, my father suffered a terrible accident which left him almost completely blind. With his blindness, he couldn’t perform his regular village duties so he handed over his position to Jakobe.” 

Iwashi sighs. “I see.”

Johiro then opens his eyes. “So, you want to look around at our village?” 

Iwashi immediately nods his head. “Yes. I don’t know if what I am looking for is here, but I figure that I should look while I am in the area.” 

Johiro nods his head. “Alright then, come with me. I shall give you a tour. Hopefully you can find what you are looking for.” 

Iwashi nods his head. However, Johiro looks down at the toy ball. He bends down and picks it up. “I know where those boys live. We shall drop this off during the tour.” 

Then, Johiro looks down the street. “You know, my father has never met a Hidden Leaf shinobi before. I think we would be interested in meeting you and hearing all about Konoha. My father may be blind but he can still make out simple shapes and his hearing is as sharp as ever.”

Iwashi nods in understanding. Hmm, maybe if he gets on the good side of the former village leader, these villagers will readily accept his presence. 

With that, Iwashi begins following Johiro down the street.


Luke and Thalia just blink as Naiya finishes brushing Annabeth’s now dry strawberry blonde hair. It is just after breakfast and everything has been cleaned up.

Naiya then sets the brush down. She slips the indigo colored cap onto Annabeth’s head. Annabeth’s entire scalp and the hair at the top of her head is now covered with the cap. However, Annabeth’s wavy ringlets cascade down to her shoulders.

Naiya holds up a mirror so that Annabeth can see her new hairdo. The young girl simply blinks as she looks at herself in the mirror again. “Hmm, I really look different now.”  

Luke smiles. “I like it.” 

Thalia nods. “I like it too.” 

Yuki the dog looks at Annabeth’s new hairdo and hat with curious yet unsure eyes. The dog sniffs the girl’s hand again, as if making sure it is really her and not some imposter. After a while, the dog starts wagging her tail and licks Annabeth’s hand affectionately. It seems that Yuki has accepted Annabeth’s new hairdo as well. 

Masaru, who is standing nearby, just smiles. He looks over at Thalia. “Alright, now that Ayeka is taken care of, and breakfast is finished, it is time to train. Are you ready, Tora?” 

Thalia nods. “Of course I am.” 

Hakurou, who is standing nearby, looks at Luke. “Are you ready to go to the workshop, Takeo?” 

Luke grins and nods. “Yes.” 

With that, Luke and Thalia head off with their teachers. 

Kaiya, who is standing nearby, looks at all of the children nine through fourteen. “Alright, as you all know, it is your day to do lessons. All of you go grab your books and notebooks and get to work.” 

The children do as Kaiya says. This leaves the younger children, Annabeth and the two women in the living room. Katara and Sayuri smile and grab Annabeth’s hands. 

“Ayeka, come and play with the rest of us.” Katara says. 

Sayuri nods her head. “Yeah, we haven’t gotten to show you our playhouse yet or the playground yet!” 

Annabeth’s raises a brow. “Playhouse and playground?” 

Kaiya lets out a chuckle. “Oh, they are just talking about the playground that was here during the property’s days as an orphanage. The kiddoes use it all the time.” 

Sanae, who is standing nearby just smiles. “The playhouse is the old building that my husband’s aunt used to teach us along with the village children. After she died, it was abandoned. These days, the kiddies have turned it into a private playhouse.” 

Annabeth blinks a few times. “Hmm, sounds very interesting.” 

However, Naiya soon looks at the younger children. “Kids, as you know, it is very muddy outside due to last night’s storm. I don’t think that all of you should play in the playground. All of you might get muddy.” 

“Besides, the equipment might still be wet.” Sanae adds.  

Katara, Sayuri and the other children all share looks with one another. Akari sighs. “Alright, we’ll just play in the playhouse I suppose.” 

Katara just smiles. “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” 

Then, Sayuri grins widely. “I know, let’s bring Mai and Ren with us!” 

Katara smiles. “Oh yes!” 

Mai and Ren are the younger girls' pet female kittens that they all collectively care for. Mai is a black and orange bobtail kitten with emerald green eyes. Ren is a gray and white kitten with blue eyes. 

Tadashi then crosses his arms. “Well, if you girls are going to bring your kitties then the boys and I should be able to bring Youta and Yasu.” 

Tadashi is referring to the younger boys’ pet male kittens which they collectively care for. Youta is an orange tabby looking kitten with blue eyes while Yasu is a black and white kitten with emerald green eyes. 

Katara nods her head. “Of course you two can bring your kitties. The more the merrier!” 

The other children soon smile and quickly run upstairs to find said cats. Annabeth just stretches and goes to the entrance to get her sandals on. The daughter of Athena steps outside. The young girl takes a deep breath as she steps out into the sunshine. 

The morning sun is shining brightly in the sky. Birds sing as they fly through the air. Some birds sing as they sit perched in trees above. Nearby, bees and butterflies fly from flower to flower. 

However, despite the nice day, Annabeth frowns when she looks down at her already muddy shoes. Wow, Kaiya was right. It is a muddy mess out here. 

Soon, the younger children arrive with the kittens in tow. Sayuri is holding Mai while Katara is holding Ren. Tadashi is holding Youta and Naki is holding Yasu. 

Sayuri frowns as she looks down at the extremely muddy ground. “Uh, I hate mud!” 

Katara sighs. “We may have to leave our shoes outside when we get to the playhouse.” 

Tadashi nods. “Yeah, that might be a good idea. If we end up tracking the mud into the entrance, we’ll have to clean it up and that won’t be fun.” 

After a few more minutes of walking, the group arrives at a two story circular building with lots of windows. The roof is adorned with solar panels and small mini wind turbines. And, just like the house and workshops, the first story is surrounded by a glass greenhouse enclosure. Plants are planted inside the greenhouse and flowers are planted outside in the ground surrounding the structure. 

Katara smiles brightly as she looks at Annabeth. “Here we are! What do you think?” 

The daughter of Athena blinks a few times. “I have to say, it is big. Much bigger than I was expecting it to be.” 

Sayuri smiles as she and the rest of the children walk up to the door and deposit their muddy sandals on the wooden deck by the door. Annabeth does the same. 

Tadashi does the honors and opens the door. “Ta-da, Our personal playhouse!” 

Annabeth just blinks as she looks around. To the left is a wall with a door. Akari clears her throat as she notices Annabeth looking at the wall. “That is where the bathroom is. The toilet is a composting toilet. All you have to do is sprinkle some sawdust onto your waste. After some time, the waste turns into compost. The men and boys use that compost when they plant trees. There is another bathroom just like that upstairs.” 

Annabeth looks towards the right to see a short hallway with a staircase. Past the staircase is a big open room. The young girl just blinks as she follows the children into the room. 

In one area to the left is a setup with a dollhouse, mini kitchen and a table with a tea set and play food. Taki, Genmei and Adami all squeal as they run over to the setup. 

Annabeth then looks past that setup to see a table with a little art station. In built-ins next to the table are containers filled with art supplies. Sakiko and Okiko run past the other children and sit down at the art station. 

Past the art station is a big table with blocks of all kinds. Then, there is a large mat on the floor which is set up like a turf of grass and rivers. There are containers filled with various kinds of plastic animals and props such as plastic trees, mountains and even houses. 

Tadashi then smiles as he points to the ceiling above him. “The second story is our own personal theater. It holds all of our costumes, toy weapons and other things. We just go up there and act out stories.” 

Akari smiles. “Just like actors and actresses.” 

Annabeth blinks. “Hmm, this is very interesting.” 

Then, Naki opens up some shoji screens to reveal another big room. He grins. “This is where the real fun happens.” 

Annabeth steps inside the room. Her eyes become wide. The room holds various and very interesting activities. There is a big ball pit on one side of the room. There is an in-built trampoline on the floor and one one wall is a climbing wall. Then, there are tumbling mats. 

Annabeth just blinks a few times. “Wow, this place is neat.” 

Katara smiles. “I told you it was neat.” 

Then, Katara turns to look behind her. She gasps and covers her mouth. “Oh no, we forgot about Yami and Yuki! Look!” 

Annabeth and the other children turn. They all let out horrified and surprised gasps. Yami and Yuki are sitting on the floor behind them, and their paws are absolutely covered with mud. Muddy paw prints litter the floor leading from the entryway.  

Genmei, Taki and Adami just stare at the sight. They put their toys down. Genmei then shakes her small head and frowns as she shakes her finger at the two dogs. “Bad doggies!” 

Sakiko and Okiko just gasp and stare at the two dogs. Then, Okiko starts crying. “Oh no, they got mud on the floor!” 

Katara face palms. “Uh, I didn’t really think about them following us in here.” The girl then looks at the area with tatami mats inside the second room. “Well, at least we caught them before they went to that room. Tatami mats and mud to not mix.” 

Naki sighs. “Yeah, but we still have to clean up before we can play. This stinks!” 

Akari sighs as she goes over to a cupboard. “I’ll get us some rags and cleaner.” 

Annabeth blinks a few times. Well, playtime certainly hasn’t gotten off to a glorious start. Annabeth thinks to herself.


Iwashi sighs as he follows Johiro through the village. Earlier, they stopped at the house of the two young boys and returned the ball to them. Apparently, the youngsters had managed to lose Jakobe and made it back home. The two boys thanked Johiro and Iwashi. Then, the two men went on their way to Johiro’s residence to meet his father, Jitaro Hisakawa, the former leader of the village. 

Johiro stops in front of a two story home. “Well, here we are.” 

Johiro leads the way inside. Both he and Iwashi take off their sandals. Johiro sighs as he takes a deep breath. 

“Father, I am home and I have brought a guest.” Johiro calls out. 

A voice comes from down the hallway. “I am on the veranda. Please, bring our guest.” 

Johiro nods to Iwashi and starts leading him down the hallway and then to a big open room. On the other side of the big open room is a veranda. Sitting outside on the veranda is an old man who looks to be about sixty. The man has gray hair and slightly wrinkled skin. The man is wearing a simple maroon colored robe. 

Eventually, the man turns as he hears his son and Iwashi approaching. The man’s violet eyes are clouded, a clear sign of blindness. “My son…,” The man says. “How good of you to bring a guest today?” 

Iwashi gulps. The man then turns to the sound of Iwashi’s gulp. “Hmm, you must be our guest then? Tell me, what is your name and why have you decided to grace your presence to an old blind man such as myself?” 

Iwashi blinks. “Hello sir, My name is Iwashi Tatami and I am a jonin from the Hidden leaf village.” 

The man’s cloudy eyes suddenly become wide. “A Hidden Leaf shinobi?!” The olds man asks. Then, his eyes soften. “Oh my, I never thought a shinobi from the great Hidden Leaf village would grace my village with his or her presence. Please, sit down. You are an honored guest in my home.” 

Iwashi smiles to himself. “Thank you, sir.” Iwashi says. 

The old man smiles. “Please, just call me Jitaro.” 

Iwashi closes his eyes as he and Johiro sit down on the veranda. So far so good. The jonin thinks to himself.


Luke just blinks as he smooths out some wooden pieces. Right now, he is in the carpentry shop with Hakurou, Hideaki, Arashi, Akashi, Jin, Kaishin, Kenji, Wasure and Seto. Toshiro, Manabe, Okami and Raikou are currently fixing up the other house. Yuuta is out in the fields and orchards, making notes on how the recent storm has affected the crops. 

Hakurou and Jin are smoothing out wooden pieces just like Luke. Nearby, Hideaki and Arashi are both cutting pieces of wood into different shapes using milling machines.

Seto is at a table, cutting large boards of wood into more manageable pieces. Meanwhile, Akashi and Kenji are at another table, painting wooden figurines. Kenji is very smart so he breezes through his lessons with ease. Whenever he gets down with said lessons, he comes into the workshop to help the men. 

Nearby, Kaishin is making some plastic figurines using the plastic moulding machine. The teenager feeds some plastic pellets into the machine. He waits a minute or so before he presses the injection nozzle to the mold. He waits ten seconds before he releases the lever. Small plastic figurines drop into a basket below. Kaishin nods with satisfaction. 

Wasure is packing some toys into cardboard boxes. Today, Wasure is going to take some toys and other items to the shops to be sold. Amani is supposed to be coming by with some soap, plushies and other items.

Just then, there is a knock at the door. Wasure momentarily looks up from his task. “Come in.”  

The door opens to reveal Amani standing outside in the entryway. There are two boxes at her feet. “I have some plushies, soap, lip balm and baby items. They are ready to be sold.” 

Wasure nods. “Just set them right there. I am almost done packing up these toys.” 

Amani nods and sets them down at the doorway. She then sighs as she looks at the bottom portion of the entryway, which has muddy shoes prints and muddy shoes scattered around it. “I have some time. I can clean up the entryway for all of you. Uh, it is a muddy mess out there.” 

Hakurou sighs. “I know. Let’s just hope that the storm didn’t affect our crops too badly.” 

Just then, Osamu, Osato, Eiji, Chihaku, Nerumi, Raiden and Raion come into the entryway. Chihaku clears his throat. 

“Dad, we are done with our lessons.” Chihaku says. “Do you need help here at all?” 

Hakurou looks around. “Well, Akashi and Kenji could use some help painting stuff.” 

“Alright, we can do that.” Chihaku simply replies. 

Hakurou then narrows his eyes when he notices that his biological son isn’t with the group. “Chihaku, where is your brother?” 

Chihaku sighs. “Oh, he got stuck on a math problem. Mom is helping him with it.” 

Hakurou just blinks a few times. “I see. Well, I suppose he can join us once he is done.”  

Chihaku and the others enter the workshop and sit down at the table to help Akashi and Kenji paint and lacquer the wooden items. Wasure looks down at the amount of boxes he has. He sighs and looks over to the table.

“Hey, could one of you help me take this stuff to town?” Wasure asks. “I don’t think I can push the cart myself.” 

When the men take stuff to town, they use a special cart to transport the boxes of items. The mules and horses don’t do good when walking on the town roads so the men have to push the carts themselves. 

Kenji immediately stands up. “I will help you. I am done with the duck that I am painting.” 

Wasure nods in appreciation. “Thanks, Kenji.” 

Luke just blinks as he feels jittery. He sighs as he sets his tools down. “Sorry guys, but I need to take a running break. I’m feeling all jittery again.”


Thalia takes a deep breath as she runs towards the wooden and straw dummy. She kicks it three times. The daughter of Zeus looks over to Masaru, who nods in satisfaction. 

“Great job.” The Araya man says. “I can sense your chakra getting stronger and stronger.” 

Thalia smiles. “Thanks.” 

Masaru then scratches his chin. “Tora, I have noticed something when you kick though. You are only using your right leg. You see, in a real combat situation, there is a possibility that you may have to use both legs. To exercise your full potential, you should practice kicking with both legs. Can you do that?” 

Thalia thinks about this for a minute. Then, she nods. “Alright, I can give it a go.” 

Thalia walks back over to the other side of the room. She takes a deep breath and rushes towards the dummy. As she approaches, she lifts up her left leg and kicks the dummy three times. 

After the daughter of Zeus is done kicking, she looks over to Masaru. “How was that?” 

Masaru smiles. “Very good. You are getting the hang of martial arts faster than I expected. You truly do have the blood of the great Uchiha clan flowing through your veins.” 

Thalia smirks. “Thanks for the compliment.” 

Masaru nods. Then, he looks towards the other side of the room. “Alright, just keep on practicing your kicks for a little longer. Then, just like yesterday, we shall do another chakra control session.” 

Thalia nods in understanding. “Sounds good to me.” 

Masaru then tilts his head back as he thinks of something. “I was just thinking, once you master your kicks, we will have to move onto another exercise. Perhaps after you master your kicks, we should move onto punches.” 

Thalia blinks a few times. “Hmm, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” 

The daughter of Zeus just walks back to the other side of the room. She takes a deep breath and starts running towards the dummy again.


Iwashi sighs as he follows Johiro through the village. The two of them just got done talking with Johiro’s father around thirty minutes ago. Now, Johiro has resumed the tour. 

Iwashi blinks as he looks around. He has already been through half of this village already. He has checked every alleyway and abandoned house that he and Johiro have come across. However, there just seems to be no sign of the three young demigods and their pet. 

Iwashi and Johiro come across another alleyway. Iwashi steps into the alleyway and looks around. He sighs once he realizes that the alley is devoid of life. 

Johiro raises a brow. “Sir, might I ask exactly what you are looking for? Perhaps I can help you.” 

Iwashi sighs. The details of the mission are top secret. However, maybe there is a way to explain the delicate situation without giving away too many details. Besides, maybe Johiro has actually seen the youngsters around. 

“Well…,” Iwashi begins. “I suppose I can tell you a few details. You see, I am looking for three children and I am pretty certain that they have a dog with them.”

Johiro crosses his arms. “Hmm, three children and a dog you say. Well, what are these kids supposed to look like? What about the dog.” 

Iwashi closes his eyes. The jonin knows that he can’t reveal the name of the three demigods as they have other worldly sounding names. However, maybe he can tell Johiro what they look like. “Well, one of them is supposed to be a boy of about fourteen and he has sandy blond hair and blue eyes. Then, there is a girl of about twelve and she has black hair and blue eyes. Then, the third child is also a girl and she is about seven. She has golden blonde hair and greyish eyes. The dog, well...all I know is that the dog has white fur.” 

Johiro scratches his chin. “Hmm, well all I can say is that I haven't seen any children like that. Do you know what they are supposed to be wearing?” 

Iwashi shakes his head. “Actually, no. However, there is a chance that one of them is injured.” 

Then, Iwashi thinks of something. If there is a hospital or clinic in this village, Thalia and her friends could have always come here and visited the hospital or clinic for medical attention. Iwashi clears his throat. “Johiro, is there a hospital in this village? Do you think the doctors there would remember such children visiting around a night or so ago?” 

Johiro blinks as he thinks of this. “Well, yes, we do have a village hospital and a day clinic. I suppose there is a chance that the doctors and nurses would remember such children if they had visited.” 

Johiro then scratches his chin as he thinks of something else. “Well, if those children you are looking for are not at the hospital, then the next best place to check would be the Fujisato farm. You see, three exiled members of a clan who specialized in medical ninjutsu live there. If anything, if those children you are talking about didn’t go to the hospital or clinic, they could have found medical help from the Fujisatos.” 

Johiro then narrows his eyes. “Iwashi, you didn’t mention any parents. Are those children you’re looking for orphans. Because if they are they could actually be living with the Fujisatos. Sanae, the matriarch, takes in orphans.” 

Iwashi narrows his eyes. “Hmm, that is interesting. Well, I think I should check the hospital and clinic first. If I can’t find the kids, then I suppose we should go talk to the Fujisatos.” 

Johiro nods. “Alright then, follow me. The hospital is this way.” 

Iwashi nods and begins following Johiro down the street. However, just outside of a nearby store, two figures are watching the two men with interested eyes. 

It is Wasure and Kenji. 

Wasure and Kenji just blinks as they both watch Johiro and hidden leaf shinobi walk down the street towards the village hospital. Wasure and Kenji look at each other with wide eyes. They just got done with their deliveries for the day. The two of them were about to head home when they suddenly spotted Johiro with the mysterious Hidden Leaf shinobi. And...Wasure and Kenji just so happened to hear the entire conversation very clearly. 

Kenji looks at Wasure. “Wasure, did you hear that? That man’s description sounds exactly like Thalia, Luke, Annabeth and Yuki. He has to be looking for them. He just has to be.” 

Wasure closes his eyes. It is just as Masaru feared. The hidden leaf has found out about Thalia’s existence. Now, they are trying to find her. And worse, the man knows what the three young demigods look like. Using their new cover names isn't going to work. 

Thalia and her companions...are going to have to hide. 

Eventually, Wasure opens his eyes. He watches Johiro and the mysterious hidden leaf shinobi enter the village hospital. The man then turns back to Kenji. “Kenji, this is serious. If that man goes to the compound and finds Thalia and the others, there is going to be trouble.” 

Kenji nods. “They are going to have to hide.” Kenji says knowingly. “Should we go home and warn them?” 

Wasure looks at the cart. “The cart isn’t as heavy but still, we won’t be able to run and push this.” The man blinks a few times and looks back at Kenji. “Kenji, go home as fast as you can and warn everybody. I will push the cart back home myself while you do that.” 

Kenji narrows his own eyes. “Alright, that sounds like a reasonable plan.” 

Then, Wasure and Kenji notice Johiro and the Hidden Leaf shinobi stepping out of the hospital. Wasure turns to Kenji with wide eyes. “Run, now! You have to get back to the compound before they do!” 

With that, Kenji begins running towards home. Wasure closes his eyes as he starts pushing the heavy cart down the road. The man knows one thing for sure. If that shinobi finds Thalia, there is going to be trouble. Big trouble.

Thalia, Luke, Annabeth and even Yuki the dog need to make themselves scarce.

Chapter 28: Make yourselves scarce!

Chapter Text

Thalia takes a deep breath as she sits cross legged on the floor inside the old dojo. Her hands are together and her two pointer fingers are pointed upward. The daughter of Zeus has been practicing her chakra control for about half an hour now. 

Nearby, Masaru is sitting on the floor. He smiles as he looks at Thalia. “Just keep it up. We have about an hour and a half left until lunchtime.” 

Thalia smirks as she takes another deep breath. She looks at Masaru. “I can already feel myself becoming stronger.”  

Masaru smiles. “That is good. You see, when one feels oneself becoming stronger while doing this exercise, then he or she is truly mastering basic chakra control.” 

Thalia smiles to herself. She then closes her eyes and takes another deep breath. Focus Thalia…, The daughter of Zeus inwardly reminds herself. You must focus in order to master this step.  

Then, Thalia smirks to herself. Then, once I master this step, I will be able to advance to the next stage of my training. Then, I shall truly become stronger and more powerful.

...meanwhile...with Luke…

Luke draws in a deep breath as he finishes smoothing out the piece of wood that he is working on. He turns to Hakurou. “How is this?” 

Hakurou feels the wood. He nods with satisfaction. “Very good.” Hakurou gestures towards a premade wooden block set. “In fact, I actually think you are ready to start smoothing out smaller pieces of wood. You see, smoothing out very small wooden pieces takes much more precision and control.” 

Hakurou then grabs a simple square wooden block. “Practice on this piece of wood.” Hakurou then grabs a similar tool to the one Luke is holding, except it is much smaller. “The tool you have is too big for this job as well. Use this tool for smaller projects.” 

Luke blinks a few times as he takes the small wooden piece from Hakurou along with the tool. “Alright, I’ll give it a go.” 

Luke carefully begins scraping the wood with the tool. He narrows his eyes. Hmm, Hakurou is right. This is a lot harder.  

However, Luke just takes another deep breath and continues to scrape the wood. However, I am willing to learn.

...meanwhile...with Annabeth...

Inside the playhouse, the younger kids are enjoying themselves. Over at the play kitchen, Taki and Genmei are playing tea party with some stuffed animals. Taki and Genmei both giggle as they pretend to pour tea into each other’s tea cups. 

At the dollhouse, Yasha and Adami are playing with dolls. The two girls giggle as they play with the dolls and various toy furniture. 

Over at the art station, Sakiko and Okiko are painting with a watercolor set. The two girls smile as they paint pretty flowers on sheets of paper. 

Over at the blocks station, Isamu and Benjiro are building houses with the blocks. They are currently grouping the houses together to form a village. 

On the other side of the playhouse, Tadashi is climbing on the climbing wall. Akari is jumping on the trampoline. 

Meanwhile, Annabeth is enjoying the ball pit with Katara, Sayuri, Naki and Hikaru. Even Yuki and Yami are enjoying the ball pit. Right now, the two dogs are swimming in the ball pit with the children. The cats are sitting at the edge of the ball pit, watching the whole scene. 

Annabeth just giggles as she swims in the ball pit. Katara giggles as she throws up some balls. “Hurray!” 

Sayuri giggles. “Ha-ha.” 

Naki and Hikaru both laugh. “Yippee!” 

Annabeth closes her eyes and leans back in the balls. I could really get used to this. The daughter of Athena thinks to herself.


Iwashi and Johiro are standing at the counter of the day clinic. A young receptionist is sitting on the other side of the counter. Iwashi clears his throat. 

“So, you’re positive that you didn’t check in three children a few nights ago?” Iwashi asks. 

The receptionist nods. “I am one hundred percent positive. Even if they had, we would have turned them away. We can’t treat children without a parent or guardian present. And of course, we wouldn’t have let them bring an animal inside.” 

Iwashi sighs. “I see. Thank you for your time.” 

The receptionist nods and returns to her work. Iwashi and Johiro leave the building and walk out onto the street. Iwashi sighs. “Alright Johiro, this leaves the Fujisato farm. How long should it take us to get there?” 

Johiro thinks for a minute. “Well, I would say it will only take us ten minutes to reach the farm.” Johiro then sighs. “However, I must warn you, I don’t think that we’ll exactly receive a warm welcome. You see, my brother and the Fujisatos don’t exactly get along very well.” 

Iwashi immediately nods in understanding. “I understand. Let’s just go.”

Iwashi and Johiro start walking down the road, completely unaware that they are being watched. A few meters behind them, a man is pushing a cart. 

It is Wasure. 

Wasure blinks as he watches Johiro and the Hidden Leaf ninja make their way towards his family’s farm. The man grits his teeth. Kenji, you need to hurry.


Kenji pants heavily as he runs towards the Fujisatos farm. He gulps. I have to hurry.  

Then, the house comes into view. Outside, Kaiya, Sanae and Naiya are gathering flowers from the gardens. Kenji almost yells with relief. Finally, he made it. 

Kaiya turns and sees Kenji running up to them. The woman raises a brow as she clears her throat. “Kenji, what is it? Why are you running like that?” 

Kenji just pants as he finally reaches the three dumbstruck women. The teenager holds up one of his fingers as he begins trying to explain. “Wasure and I...saw a hidden leaf shinobi...in town with Johiro. He...he’s looking for Thalia, Luke, Annabeth and Yuki.” 

Kaiya, Sanae and Naiya all gasp at that. Kenji just continues on. “And worse, he knows what they look like. Using their new cover names isn’t going to work. The four of them need to—”

“Hide.” Naiya says as she cuts the teenager off. 

Kenji nods and takes a few more deep breaths. “I thought that cave to the east would be a good hiding place.” 

Kaiya, Sanae and Naiya all nod in understanding. Sanae sighs as she looks at her daughter and adoptive daughter-in-law. “I will go and warn Thalia. You two go warn Annabeth and Luke.” 

Kaiya and Naiya both nod and quickly run off to complete their tasks. Sanae looks at Kenji. “Go inside and rest. You have earned it.” 

Kenji nods and slowly makes his way inside the house. Sanae then runs away towards the dojo. 

...with Thalia and Masaru…

Thalia takes a deep breath. Masaru, who is sitting nearby, just smiles. However, a frantic voice outside suddenly breaks the peacefulness. 

Thalia opens her eyes and looks towards the entrance. “That sounds like Sanae.” 

Masaru raises a brow. “Yes, it is. I wonder what could be wrong.” 

Just then, Sanae bursts into the room. She pants as she looks at Masaru and Thalia. “Masaru, Thalia needs to go and hide right now!” 

Thalia raises a brow. “Hide? What’s wrong?” 

Sanae takes a deep breath as she begins to explain. “Kenji and Wasure saw Johiro with a Hidden Leaf shinobi in town. Thalia, the hidden leaf shinobi is looking for you and your friends, and worse, he knows what all of you look like!”   

Both Thalia and Masasu both gasp at that. Say what?

After a few moments, Masaru sighs. “I knew this day would come.” The man says with a tense voice. He then covers his face with his hands. “However, I never imagined that it would come this soon.” 

Thalia blinks a few times. “What’s the big deal? As long as he stays away from the farm, we’re good. Right?” 

Sanae shakes her head. “That is the problem. Johiro is bringing the Hidden Leaf nin here!” 

Thalia and Masaru both gasp. Say what?!

Sanae blinks a few times as she continues to look at Thalia. “Thalia, using your new cover name won’t work. You and your friends need to—”

“Make ourselves scarce?” Thalia asks, cutting the old woman off. 

Sanae nods. “Thalia, there is a cave on the eastern edge of our property that should make a good hiding place. Don’t worry, Naiya and Kaiya are warning Luke and Annabeth right now. After the leaf shinobi is gone, one of us shall come to retrieve you from the cave. Now go!” 

Thalia sighs as she gets up. “Alright.” 

With that, Thalia runs to the entrance and quickly shoves her sandals onto her feet. The daughter of Zeus then runs out the door. 

...Inside the carpentry shop with Luke…

Luke smiles as he looks at the toy building block that he just smoothed out. He looks at Hakurou. “What do you think?” 

Hakurou looks at the block. He nods with satisfaction. He then glances towards the pile of blocks that Luke has already smoothed out. “Great. Keep this up and you should have this whole set done by lunch.” 

Just then, a frantic voice comes from outside. Hakurou raises a brow. That sounds like his dear wife. What could be wrong?

Then, the screen doors open to reveal Kaiya standing in the entryway. The woman pants as she looks at her husband and Luke. “Hakurou, Luke needs to hide right now! Wasure and Kenji spotted Johiro with a Hidden Leaf shinobi in town. The Hidden Leaf shinobi is looking for Luke, Thalia, Annabeth and Yuki, and worse...he knows what they look like!” 

Everyone inside the workshop gasps. They all look at Luke. Luke’s eyes are wide as he sets his tools down. 

Kaiya sighs. “And even worse, Johiro is bringing the Hidden Leaf shinobi here!” 

Everyone lets out horrified gasps. Luke gulps a little. “Oh no, if that Leaf shinobi was to see Thalia, Annabeth and I, that would be very bad.”

Seto shakes his head. “Hmm, using their new cover names isn’t going to work then. They must hide.” 

Hakurou looks at his wife. “Kaiya, you’re saying that Luke and the others need to make themselves scarce, right?”

Kaiya nods. She then looks at Luke. “Luke, there is a cave on the eastern edge of our property that should make a good hiding place for you and the girls. Don’t worry, Sanae and Naiya have gone to warn Thalia and Annabeth. One of us will come and find you after the Hidden Leaf shinobi leaves. Just go!” 

Luke just nods and rushes past Kaiya to put his sandals on. After that, the son of Hermes runs out the door. 

...With Annabeth and the younger kids…

Annabeth just giggles as she jumps around in the ball pit with Katara, Sayuri, Hikaru, Naki, Yuki and Yami.

Just then, a frantic voice comes from outside the playhouse. It is Naiya. The children all stop playing. Even Yuki and Yami stop playing. 

Katara clears her throat. “It’s Naiya. Something must be wrong.” 

Just then, everyone hears the sliding doors open. A few moments later, Naiya bursts into the room. 

Naki stares at his mother. “Mom, what’s wrong?” 

Naiya just looks at Annabeth and Yuki the dog. “Annabeth, you need to take Yuki and hide! Kenji and Wasure spotted Johiro with a Hidden Leaf shinobi in town, and the hidden Leaf shinobi is looking for you and your friends. Worse, he knows what all of you look like! And even worse, he is coming here!”  

Annabeth gasps. All of the other children gasp and look towards said demigod. Yuki just whines as she swims through the balls towards Annabeth.

Naiya sighs. “Annabeth, using your new cover names isn’t going to work for you and your friends. The three of you and even Yuki need to hide.” 

Annabeth gulps. “But, where do we even hide?” 

Naiya takes a deep breath. “There is a cave on the eastern edge of our property. It should make a good hiding place for all of you. Don’t worry, Sanae and Kaiya are warning Thalia and Luke right now. After the shinobi leaves, one of us will come and find you. Now go!” 

Annabeth nods and looks at Yuki. “Come on Yuki, we need to go hide!” 

Yuki simply lets out a bark as she follows Annabeth out of the ball pit. Annabeth rushes towards the entrance and shoves her sandals onto her feet. The demigod then rushes out the door with Yuki the dog following close behind. 

After about five minutes of running through the mud, Annabeth and Yuki arrive at an orchard which borders the forest on the eastern edge of the property. Luke and Thalia are waiting for them. 

“There you two are!” Thalia says. “Come on, we need to go.” 

Annabeth sighs. “I know.” She turns to Yuki. “Come Yuki!” 

Yuki lets out a bark and follows Luke, Thalia and Annabeth into the orchard.


Kenji sighs as he takes a sip of water from a glass. Natsuko, Maemi and Osamu are standing nearby. Inside the kitchen, Ikeri and Ariko are preparing lunch. 

In the living area, Eirin is keeping an eye on the littlest kids as she knits baby things. Every now and again, the woman glances towards the gathered teens with concerned eyes. 

Right now, Atsuro is playing with a shape sorter. Inside a play yard, Zakuro, Sara and Terashi are playing with baby and toddler toys. Right now, Ryuu and Reika are outside with Rukia and Hideaki. The two adults are picking apples from one of the orchards and they decided to take the toddlers along as a kind of ‘family’ time together. 

Nearby, Tomone is seated in a bouncy seat that has been suspended from the ceiling. Nearby, a basket has been suspended from the ceiling. Inside the basket, Satoshi is taking a nap. 

Kenji sighs as he takes another big gulp of water. “And so I ran all the way back here.” 

Maemi gasps. “You poor thing. You must be so exhausted!” 

Kenji wipes his sweaty brow. “Well, did Luke, Thalia and Annabeth get the news?” 

Ikeri nods. “Yes, I saw them run with Yuki into the east orchard around five minutes ago. They should be at the caves in a few minutes.” 

Kenji sighs again. “That is good.” 

Just then, Setsuna comes into the room. She gulps. “I just got done picking berries near the entrance. I saw Johiro coming up the pathway with the leaf shinobi. Act cool in case he comes into the house.” 

Then, Osamu suddenly gasps as he thinks of something. “Oh no, what if that leaf shinobi searches the place, counts all the people here and then goes upstairs and sees three extra bunks made up?!” 

Natsuko gasps. “You’re right Osamu. We need to unmake those bunks so that leaf shinobi doesn’t get suspicious.” 

Kenji then goes pale as a thought comes to mind. “Luke’s golf club...it’s in our room.” Kenji looks at Osamu. “Osamu, hide Luke’s golf club while you are at it.” 

Osamu nods and rushes upstairs. Natsuko gulps and runs up after him. “I better hide Thalia’s sword and Annabeth’s dagger while I am at it as well.”


Iwashi stares at the property before him. He just blinks at the size of the two houses before him. He can see a few women outside picking flowers. Wow, this place is really big. The jonin thinks to himself. 

Johiro sighs. “Well, here we are. Fujisato farm.” 

Iwashi blinks a few times. “I have to say, it is pretty big. If I may ask, how many people are supposed to live here?” 

Johiro sighs. “I don’t really know exactly. I lost count at forty and Sanae, the matriarch, is always taking in orphans.” 

Iwashi blinks a few times. “Hmm, over forty people eh?” 

Johiro nods. Then, he gestures towards the larger of the two houses. “You see that really big house right there? That is where everyone in the compound lives.” Johiro then closes his eyes. “That is where the Fujisatos and Jakobe have been butting heads. Jakobe keeps saying that they have too many people inside that house and he’s always giving Sanae a hard time.” 

Iwashi narrows his eyes. “Why don’t they utilize the other buildings?” 

Johiro shakes his head. “The smaller buildings are workshops and the other house is so rundown...no one can live in it. However, the Fujisatos have been slowly renovating it to make it livable. Right now, they have been making the current house work. It helps that it is so big.” 

Iwashi narrows his eyes. “I see. Well, just how do they care for so many children?” 

Johiro sighs. “Well, for starters, the land and houses are paid off so they don’t have to pay house payments. And they have the farm, which actually supplies many markets and restaurants in this village with food. They also use their workshops to produce goods such as small wooden items, toys, soap, candles, knitted and sewn items. They supply many of the village shops with their goods. They pretty much provide for the children themselves. However, some villagers like to donate used clothes and toys to the Fujisatos as they know they take care of orphans.” 

Johiro then takes a deep breath. “And the thing is, the Fujisatos cleverly designed the property to reduce waste and make themselves more sufficient. They produce their own electricity, food and they deal with their own wastewater. They also catch rainwater to reduce their water usage from the village tap. That is how they can take care of so many children under one roof. They simply eliminate as many utility bills as possible, which saves them tons of money in the long run.”  

Iwashi scratches his chin. “Hmm, that is interesting.” 

Johiro then sighs. “However, despite the Fujisatos providing for themselves and the orphans under their care, Jakobe simply won’t let the issue of them having so many people under one roof go. He says that they are hogging the village's resources.” 

Iwashi raises a brow. “But, they produce much of their own food and they even have excess to sell to the rest of the village. How are they using too much of the village’s resources?” 

Johiro sighs. “Truthfully, I don’t really think Jakobe’s issue lies with that necessarily.” Johiro then gestures towards the three women picking flowers. “See those three women over there?” 

Iwashi raises a brow. “Yeah.”

Johiro blinks a few times. “Do you see that old woman? That is Sanae Fujisato, the Fujisato clan matriarch. The dark brown haired woman next to her is her daughter, Kaiya. The light brown haired woman is Naiya, the wife of Sanae’s adopted son. Naiya is one of the three medical ninjutsu experts that I told you about.” 

Iwashi narrows his eyes at the three women. “Hmm, interesting.” 

Johiro closes his eyes. “You see, back in the day, Jakobe had a thing for Kaiya...but she rejected him in favor of an ‘outsider’ named Hakurou Masuyama. Kaiya and Hakurou have since married and had children, but Jakobe still hasn’t gotten over that rejection.” 

Iwashi blinks a few times. “Hmm, I see.” 

Johiro then spots Hideaki with Rukia and little Ryuu and Reika. Rukia and Hideaki are picking apples from a nearby tree. The two adults carefully place the apples into buckets that they are carrying. Reika is strapped to Rukia’s back while Ryuu is strapped to Hideaki’s back.

Johiro just gulps a little. Given that he is Jakobe’s brother, Johiro is figuring that Hideaki won’t be pleased to see him given what happened a few days ago. 

Iwashi quickly takes notice of Johiro’s change in attitude. “Is something wrong?” 

Johiro sighs. “See that young man down there with the violet haired woman and those two toddlers? That man is Hakurou’s younger brother, Hideaki. The woman is Hideaki’s wife and those toddlers are his step-children. However, Hideaki has raised them since birth and he is fiercely protective of them.” Johiro then closes his eyes. “Well, a few mornings ago, Jakobe visited to complain about something, and Hideaki’s stepson wouldn’t stop crying as Jakobe was screaming at everyone. Well, Jakobe got so annoyed with the crying...he tried to throw the child into a wall.” 

Iwashi gasps. “He did what?!” 

Johiro shakes his head. “Luckily someone managed to catch the little tyke before he hit the wall. But as you can imagine, Hideaki went ballistic and almost struck Jakobe. Hakurou had to hold Hideaki back.” Johiro then looks back at the house. “As I said earlier, since I am Jakobe’s brother, I don’t know how welcome I will be here. However, since you are with me, I am sure that Sanae and her family will at least be civil with us.” 

Iwashi nods in understanding. “Alright then, let’s go.” 

Johiro simply nods as he starts leading Iwashi down the path leading to the house. 

Sanae blinks as she notices Johiro and the approaching leaf nin. Alright, don’t act nervous. The old woman inwardly tells herself. Just act cool and confident.  

Sanae then clears her throat. “Johiro, I am surprised to see you here.” Sanae then looks to Iwashi and feigns surprise. “And I see that you have brought a guest, and not only that...he is a Hidden Leaf shinobi.” 

Iwashi bows before Sanae. “Hello ma’am, my name is Iwashi Tatami, and I am a jonin from the Hidden Leaf village. You see, I happen to be looking for three children and a dog, and I have reason to believe that one of the children was injured a few nights ago.” Iwashi then momentarily glances at Johiro before he turns back to Sanae. “Johiro here told me that you take in orphans and that you have three residents here that specialize in medical ninjutsu. I am just wondering if the children that I am looking for could be here.” 

Sanae tries not to act nervous as she speaks. “Hmm, three children and a dog you say?” 

Kaiya just blinks a few times. Just act cool and confident…, Kaiya thinks to herself as she prepares to speak. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, what are these children supposed to look like?” Kaiya asks, feigning interest. “What are their names?”  

Iwashi blinks a few times. “Well, I don’t really know their names. However, I do know that the oldest is a boy of about fourteen and he has sandy blond hair and cerulean blue eyes. The second oldest is a girl of about twelve and she has black hair and electric blue eyes. Oh, and she has freckles lining her upper cheeks. The youngest is a girl of about seven and she has bright blond hair and grey eyes. The dog, well, all I know is that the dog is supposed to have white fur.” 

Sanae tries not to act nervous. “Well sir, all I can say is that I don’t remember such children visiting my home.” Sanae then looks to Naiya, who is standing a few feet away. “Naiya, do you remember such children visiting our home?” 

Naiya shakes her head. “No, I don’t ever recall such children visiting our home. I would especially remember if Natara, Raikou or I had healed one of them.”  

Kaiya blinks a few times as she looks at Iwashi. “I will admit, we do have children here around those ages, but not like you described.” 

Naiya then blinks. “And we do have a dog, but she is brown furred...not white furred.” 

Sanae then sighs. “I’m sorry we couldn’t help, but would you please leave now. We are very busy today.” 

Iwashi raises a brow. For some reason, he is suspicious of the behavior from these three women. Iwashi can sense shreds of nervousness coming from these women. Then, it finally hits the jonin. He narrows his eyes. Could these women actually be trying to hide the youngsters? Iwashi then looks around. Hmm, maybe he should search the property just to make sure that these women are not trying to fool him. 

After a few moments, Iwashi turns back to Sanae, Kaiya and the other woman. “Are you sure you haven’t seen those children? Mind if I have a look around just to be sure they aren’t here?” 

Sanae, Kaiya and Naiya all share glances with one another. Hmm, it seems that that hidden Leaf shinobi doesn’t completely believe them. Well, at least Thalia, Luke, Annabeth and Yuki the dog have hidden themselves away. And at least the other children have hidden the young demigods’ things and unmade their bunks to hide any trace of the three demigods being here. 

Eventually, Sanae sighs and gestures for Iwashi and Johiro to follow her. “If you wish to look around, then I shall show you around. Come with me.”


Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all pant as they look at the narrow cave opening. Beside Annabeth, Yuki the dog sits obediently by the small girl’s side. 

Luke takes a deep breath. “This must be the cave that Kaiya was talking about. Let’s go inside.” 

Thalia and Annabeth both nod and follow Luke inside. Yuki follows closely at Annabeth's heels. Then, once inside, the three demigods are speechless at the sight before them. 

The cave is a massive cavern with an open ceiling in the center. In the center of the floor is a pool of water with a tiny stream at one end of it. The stream exits through a much smaller opening. 

Luke blinks. “Wow, check this place out.” 

Thalia blinks as well. “Yeah, this place is bigger than I thought it would be.” 

Annabeth looks around. “Well, what should we do until Naiya or someone else comes for us?” 

Luke sighs. “Well, we just wait I suppose.” 

Then, Yuki lets out a low growl. Annabeth, Thalia and Luke look at the dog with confused eyes. What has gotten into their canine companion? 

Then, the three demigods hear a strange noise coming from the other side of the cave. The three demigods look to see a dark tunnel at the other end of the cave. Strange shuffling noises are coming from inside the tunnel. 

Annabeth gasps. “Oh gods, there is someone or something else inside this cave.” 

Thalia and Luke both look at each other. Annabeth is right. They are not the only beings in this cave. There is someone or something else inside this cave. But the big question is whether this other being is friend or foe. 

Then, Yuki stops growling. She lets out a whine. A moment or so later, a figure slowly emerges from the cave. The eyes of Thalia, Luke and Annabeth become wide immediately. The figure...is a young woman. 

The woman looks to be about eighteen years old and has long carnation pink hair with darker pink highlights running through it. The young woman also has sky blue eyes and light skin. Right now, the woman is wearing a white blouse and sky blue skirt, both of which are dirty and torn in places. 

The woman blinks as she looks at the three young demigods and the dog. “Who are you?” 

Luke blinks a few times. “I am Takeo.” Luke then gestures towards Thalia and Annabeth. “These two are Tora and Ayeka.” 

Annabeth gestures towards Yuki the dog. “And this is Yuki.” 

Luke blinks a few times. “Who are you? Don’t you know that you are on the land belonging to the Fujisatos? Do they know you are here?” 

The woman gasps. “Oh no, did we really trespass? I am so sorry. I had no idea.” 

Thalia raises a brow. “We?” 

Just then, three more voices come from inside the tunnel. A few moments later, three more figures emerge from the tunnel. The eyes of Luke, Thalia and Annabeth become wide immediately. The three new figures are just children. 

The first child is a girl who looks to be about ten. The girl has long dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, light skin and pink lips. The girl is wearing a red blouse and a green skirt. And...like the woman’s attire...the blouse and skirt are dirty and torn in places. 

The other two children, a boy and a girl, look to be twins and no older than three. The two children both bear chestnut colored hair, blue-green eyes and pale skin. The girl’s hair is shoulder length and she is wearing a white blouse and a lilac colored skirt. The boy’s hair is short with short bangs framing his forehead. The boy is currently wearing a blue-green shirt with black pants. And...like the clothing on the older girl and woman, the clothing of the two young children are dirty and ripped. And, the two youngsters appear to be very pale and gaunt. 

The older girl clears her throat. “Jasumin, what is it?”

The young woman sighs. “Apparently, we have trespassed on someone’s land, Aiko. I am afraid that we will have to leave.” 

Thalia quickly clears her throat. “Don’t worry, the Fujisatos are nice people. They took my friends and I in when we needed help. They won’t throw you out.” 

Luke blinks a few times. “What are the four of you doing here anyway?” 

The young woman, Jasumin, just sighs. “You see, the four of us lived at an orphanage. Well, I lived there my entire childhood and once I became an adult, I just stayed there and helped to care for the children.” 

The older girl, Aiko, lets out a sigh. “The woman who ran the orphanage died.” Aiko then looks at the two toddlers. “The three of us were the last children left at the orphanage and the other workers simply abandoned us.”

Aiko looks up at Jasumin. “Jasumin didn’t abandon us though.” 

Jasumin then closes her eyes. “However, the village leader wouldn’t let us stay inside the building as he wanted to sell it for money. He...he kicked us out.” 

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth all gasp at that. So these people are homeless then. 

Jasumin sighs. “I couldn’t find a place for us to stay in our village so I decided to take these three and leave. We have been on the streets for two weeks now, and I still can’t find a place for us to stay. Then, last night, we took shelter in here due to that storm. I...I had no idea we were on someone’s land. Again, I am very sorry.” 

“Don’t worry about it.” Thalia quickly says. “I assure you, Sanae will be more concerned about your situation than the fact that you wandered onto her family’s land.” 

Jasumin raises a brow. “Sanae?” 

“She is the matriarch of the Fujisatos.” Annabeth quickly says. “She took us in when we had nowhere else to turn.” 

Jasumin blinks a few times. “Are you certain that the Fujisatos won’t be angry?” 

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth all nod. Jasumin lets out a relieved sigh. “Thank goodness.” 

Aiko then raises a brow. “What are you three doing here anyway?” 

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth all raise their brows. They can’t tell these people the truth. Thalia blinks as she comes up with something to say. “Well, the thing is, we are hiding from bad people who want to hurt us.” 

Aiko raises a brow. “Bad people who want to hurt you?” 

Luke and Annabeth both look at Thalia as they both get the idea. Luke clears his own throat. “Yeah. The Fujisatos agreed to help us as we had nowhere else to go.” Luke then sighs. “Today however, one of those bad people suddenly turned up in the village.” 

Jasumin’s eyes become wide with realization. “He was looking for you.” 

Thalia nods. “Luckily though, someone from the Fujisatos’ household spotted the bad man and rushed home to warn us. Sanae told us to hide in here as she was afraid that the bad man would search her farm for us.” 

Annabeth sighs. “And so here we are. Sanae said that she would send someone to retrieve us once the bad man is gone.” 

Luke then sits down on the floor. “And now, all we have to do is wait for someone to come fetch us.” 

Jasumin manages a small smile. “It is so kind of the Fujisatos to hide and protect you three like this. They must be very nice people.” 

Thalia nods as both her and Annabeth sit down beside Luke. Thalia sighs. “You don’t know half of it. I literally owe the Fujisatos my life.” 

Yuki places her head in Annabeth’s lap. Annabeth strokes the dog’s head. “Don’t worry Yuki, I am sure we won’t be in here for too long.” 

Thalia looks back to Jasumin, Aiko and the two toddlers. Jasumin and Aiko are now sitting down on the cave floor as well. The male toddler is seated in Jasumin’s lap while the female toddler is seated in Aiko’s lap. 

The male toddler frowns as his small belly rumbles. “Hungry!” 

Jasumin just strokes the toddler’s head. “I know Kuma. However, I don’t have any food to give. I am sorry.” 

The female toddler frowns as her belly rumbles. “Hungry!” 

Aiko sighs. “Usako, Jasumin already said that we don’t have any food.” 

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth just look at the four homeless people before them. Then, Thalia suddenly comes up with an idea. Hmm, maybe if Jasumin can contribute to the farm, Sanae would take the four of them in, like she did for her, Luke and Annabeth. Thalia quickly clears her throat. 

“I was just thinking…,” Thalia begins as she looks at the four homeless people in front of her. “What skills do you have? You see, Sanae’s family makes products in their workshops. Maybe if you have skills that would be helpful in those workshops, Sanae would allow all of you to live on the farm in exchange for work.”  

Jasumin narrows her eyes as does Aiko. Jasumin then scratches her chin. “Well, I used to help the lady who ran the orphanage mend, sew, cook and make soap which we would sell to make a little bit of money.” 

Annabeth blinks a few times. “Sanae and the women make soap which they sell!” 

Jasumin’s eyes become wide. “Do they?” 

Annabeth nods. Jasumin manages a small smile. “Well, I could certainly help make soap.” 

Aiko scratches her chin. “Well, I am good at painting. I used to sell little paintings in our old village to make money.” 

Annabeth blinks a few times. “The men run a carpentry shop where they make wooden toys which they paint. Maybe you could help paint their creations in the carpentry shop.” 

Aiko’s eyes become wide. Then, she grins. “Yeah, I can do that. That actually sounds like it would be fun.” 

Luke leans back against the cave wall. “Well, I suppose we’ll just have to wait until the Fujisatos come to fetch us to see what they think.” 

Thalia then thinks of something else. Hmm, the daughter of Zeus thinks to herself. Whoever Sanae sends after us might call us by our true names, and then Jasumin and Aiko will know that our names are not what we said they were.  

“I’m gonna give you guys a heads up.” Thalia says with a sigh. “You see, Takeo, Tora and Ayeka are not our real names. They are cover names to help hide us from the bad people trying to find us. Whoever Sanae sends to retrieve us may call us by our real names, so try not to be confused.” 

Jasumin and Aiko both narrow their eyes. Jasumin then clears her throat as she bounces the male toddler, Kuma, on her knee. “Cover names? Hmm, I have to say, that is interesting.” 

Aiko crosses her arms. “So, what are your real names then?” 

Jasumin scowls at Aiko. “Aiko, that is obviously a secret.” 

Thalia sighs. “If the four of you do decide to live on the farm, you’ll eventually learn our true names and why we are hiding from these ‘bad’ people. Until then, it’s top secret.” 

Jasumin just nods in understanding. “I understand.” 

Luke leans back against the wall. “Uh, how long do you think we are going to be here? I hate just sitting around.” 

Thalia sighs. “Hopefully, not too long.”


Sanae just blinks as she watches Iwashi search the kitchen. Iwashi opens up each cupboard and peers inside. Sanae almost narrows her eyes at that. Does this ninja really think that he will find Luke, Thalia, Annabeth or Yuki in the kitchen cupboards? 

Kaiya is standing nearby. This ninja has already been through the entire first floor. He has opened up every closet and cupboard. This man must be really determined to find the young demigods. 

Johiro is standing nearby. He rubs the back of his head, slightly embarrassed by the whole thing. When the two men had a moment alone, Iwashi told Johiro that he suspects that Sanae’s family are hiding the three youngsters he is looking for. However, Johiro simply doesn’t get the point of searching the cupboards when it is obvious that the children would never fit inside them anyway. 

Iwashi blinks as he opens up the last cupboard. So far, he hasn’t found anything to suggest that the three young demigods and their canine companion have been here recently. However, this is just the first floor. He still has a lot of searching to do. 

Kenji, Maemi, Osamu and Natsuko are standing nearby. The four of them share quick glances with one another. Sheesh, this guy is being really thorough. 

Iwashi sighs as he looks at Sanae. “May I see the second floor now?” 

Sanae sighs. “Of course, follow me.” 

Iwashi nods and starts following Sanae up the stairs. Johiro follows close behind. As soon as the adults are out of earshot, Kenji turns to Osamu. “Where did you hide Luke’s golf club?” Kenji whispers. 

Osamu gulps a little. “In our bedroom closet, in the very far back.” Osamu whispers. “I hid it behind some clothes.” 

Kenji grimaces. “We better hope that leaf shinobi don't search our closet.” 

Maemi turns to Natsuko. “Where did you hide Thalia’s sword and Annabeth’s dagger?” Maemi whispers. 

Natsuko gulps a little. “I hid Thalia’s sword in our bedroom closet and Annabeth’s dagger in the younger girls’ bedroom closet.” Natsuko whispers. “I hid them both in the very far back of the closets and behind and underneath clothes and boxes.” 

Maemi lets out a quiet sigh. “Let’s just hope that ninja don’t tear those closets apart.” 

Just then, Masaru comes into the room. He looks at the four children with eyes full of concern. “Well, where is that leaf ninja at?” 

Osamu sighs. “Upstairs. I think he may be searching the rooms now.” 

Natsuko walks up to Masaru. “We hid Luke’s golf club, Thalia’s sword and Annabeth’s dagger in the closets.” Natsuko whispers to the Araya man. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t tear those closets apart.” 

Masaru closes his eyes. Please Kami, Masaru thinks to himself. Don't let that Leaf shinobi find Thalia's sword or Luke's golf club...or Annabeth's dagger .

Chapter 29: New life

Chapter Text

Iwashi blinks a few times as he walks into the bedroom. Johiro follows right behind. Sanae, Natsuko and Osamu are already standing inside the room. Sanae sighs. 

“This is where our younger girls sleep.” The old woman says. “Feel free to look around.” 

Iwashi looks at all of the made up bunks. “How many girls sleep in here?” 

Sanae thinks for a minute. “Nine girls.” 

Iwashi raises a brow. “What are their ages?” 

Sanae sighs. “The oldest is nine and the youngest is four.” 

Iwashi blinks as he examines all of the made up bunks. He is asking these questions in order to catch these people in a lie if they are lying. Iwashi then counts all of the made up bunks. Well, there are nine made up bunks, meaning that Sanae is telling the truth that nine girls sleep in here. 

Then, Iwashi looks towards the walk-in-closet. He walks towards the door and prepares to open it. 

Natsuko and Osamu just watch as the Hidden Leaf shinobi opens the closet door. They try not to show their nervousness. Natsuko closes her eyes. Please, don’t look through the boxes. Natsuko thinks to herself. 

Iwashi turns on the light and glances inside. All he can see is clothes and boxes full of clothes. Iwashi scratches his chin. Well, the boxes are too small for children to hide inside. The jonin sighs and turns off the light. He closes the closet door and looks at Sanae. 

“Ma’am, can you show me where the older children sleep?” 

Sanae nods. “Yes, just follow me.” 

Iwashi nods and follows Sanae out of the room. Johiro follows right behind the pair. Natsuko and Osamu just share slightly relieved looks with one another. Well, the shinobi didn’t find Annabeth’s dagger. However, there is still Thalia’s sword and Luke’s golf club to worry about. The two children quickly follow Sanae, Iwashi and Johiro out of the room. 

The two arrive at the older girl’s room. Sanae, Johiro and Iwashi are already inside. Iwashi is looking at all of the made up bunks. 

Sanae sighs as she opens up some shoji screens, to reveal a set of bunks and a hammock, which happens to be made up. “This room is where our four older girls sleep. The oldest one in this room sleeps in this hammock.” 

Iwashi narrows his eyes and glances back and forth between the hammock and the three made up bunks. Well, that is four sleeping spots so Sanae seems to be telling the truth here. 

Iwashi then scratches his chin as he looks at the old woman. “What are the ages of the girls who sleep in this room?” 

Sanae blinks a few times and rubs her chin. “Well, the oldest is fourteen and the youngest is eleven. The eldest girls, including my adopted daughter, Ikeri, sleep in a basement bedroom.” 

Iwashi then narrows his eyes and looks at the closet. He approaches the closet and opens the door to peek inside. 

Natsuko and Osamu try to hide their nervousness. Natsuko closes her eyes. Please don’t look behind those boxes to the left...please don’t look behind those boxes to the left.  

Iwashi peers inside the closet. He looks around. Well, all he sees is clothes and boxes, and the boxes are definitely too small to hide children. The jonin turns off the light and closes the door. Iwashi then turns back to Sanae. 

“May I now see where the older boys sleep?” 

Sanae sighs and gestures for the jonin to follow her. “Yes, this way.” 

Iwashi nods and follows Sanae out of the bedroom. Johiro follows right behind them. Natsuko and Osamu share slightly relieved glances with one another. Phew, that ninja didn’t find Thalia’s sword. However, it is not over yet. There is still Luke’s golf club to worry about. The two children quickly follow the three adults across the hallway to the older boys room. 

Inside the older boys room, Iwashi is looking at all of the made up bunks. Sanae sighs. “This is where five of our boys, aged eleven to fourteen, all sleep.” 

Iwashi blinks as he looks around. Well, there are five made up bunks so Sanae is telling the truth there. Iwashi then glances towards the closet door. The jonin simply blinks as he approaches the closet door. 

Osamu and Natsuko both share glances with one another. Osamu then closes his eyes. Please don’t look behind those boxes and clothes to the right...please don’t look behind those boxes and clothes to the right.  

Iwashi opens the closet door and turns on the light. He glances inside. Well, all he can see are clothes and boxes, and the boxes are too small to hide children inside of them. The jonin sighs and turns off the light. He closes the closet door and turns back to Sanae. 

“Alright, Is that all of the bedrooms on this level? Are there other rooms up here?” 

Sanae sighs. “Yes, this is the last bedroom. However, there are two bathrooms up here.” 

Iwashi blinks. “Can I have a peek at those?” 

Sanae takes a deep breath and gestures towards the door. “Yes, come with me.” 

With that, Sanae, Iwashi and Johiro leave the room. Once the three adults are out of sight and earshot, Natsuko and Osamu both turn to one another with huge grins on their faces. They silently high five each other. 

...With Sanae, Johiro and Iwashi…

Sanae knocks on the door of the first bathroom, only to find it ajar. Sanae opens the door. She turns to Iwashi as she leads him inside. 

“This is our first upstairs bathroom.” Sanae says. 

Iwashi looks around. He can see a shower and tub combo, a vanity with a sink, a toilet and bidet. Nothing too fancy. 

Just then, Iwashi hears a noise coming from inside the tub. He raises a brow and smiles slightly as he quickly approaches the tub. I’ve got you now kids. Iwashi thinks triumphantly to himself. 

However, as Iwashi pulls back the curtain, his face falls. Inside the tub...is nothing but a white, black and orange colored cat. The cat simply meows up at the jonin and then jumps out of the tub. The cat then runs out of the bathroom. 

Sanae laughs a little. “Oh, don’t mind Suki, she just likes sitting in the tub.” 

Iwashi quickly shakes his head and turns back to Sanae. “May I see the other bathroom?” 

Sanae quickly nods. “Oh yes, follow me.” 

With that, Iwashi and Johiro follow Sanae out of the bathroom.


Ikeri silently walks through the forest, a basket in her left hand. The basket is full of warm flatbreads. Ikeri snuck these flatbreads out of the house while the Leaf shinobi was upstairs, searching through the rooms. Ikeri figures that Thalia, Luke and Annabeth will be getting hungry and no one knows just how long the Leaf shinobi is planning to search the farm. 

Ikeri looks at her other hand, which is holding an old willow broom. She is dragging it behind her, trying to erase her tracks, just in case the leaf shinobi decides to trace where everyone has been. Ikeri found the young demigod’s tracks so she is trying to cover these up as well. However, she shall use the demigods real names so they know it is her and not someone else looking for people who happen to share their cover names.

Ikeri finally reaches the mouth of the cave. “Psst, Luke, Thalia, Annabeth...It’s me, Ikeri. I’ve brought you guys some food.” 

“Come in.” Luke calls out. 

Ikeri enters the cave, and to her shock, she finds not only the three young demigods and their canine companion...but four extra people as well. 

Ikeri looks at the four extra people. There is a young woman of about eighteen, a girl of about ten and two small toddlers that look to be no older than three. 

The ten year old girl raises a brow at the three young demigods, who are sitting across from the four mysterious people. “Luke? Thalia? Annabeth? Those are your names?” 

Ikeri gulps and looks at the three demigods in question. “Guys, who are these people?” 

Luke sighs. “Ikeri, these four are Jasumin, Aiko, Usako and Kuma. They took shelter in here last night due to the storm.” 

Thalia crosses her arms. “We haven’t told them any specifics, except that we are hiding from bad people and that we use cover names.” 

Annabeth clears her throat. “Ikeri, they are homeless. They have nowhere to go.” Annabeth then looks at Jasumin and Aiko. “However, Jasumin knows how to make soap and Aiko is good at painting. We wondered if perhaps they could stay on the farm and work like Hakurou and Okami did.” 

Ikeri raises a brow. “Well, I will have to talk it over with my mother. The house is starting to get pretty crowded right now.” 

“There is the guest room.” Thalia quickly points out. “And Aiko could always sleep in either the room I share with the older girls or with Annabeth and the younger girls.” 

Ikeri thinks about this for a minute. “Hmm, you’re right. And...it shouldn’t take too much longer to renovate the second house.” 

Ikeri then looks back at the basket. She sets it down on the cave floor. “Well, anyway, here is your lunch. I packed two for each of you. I also packed dog treats for Yuki.” Ikeri then looks towards the stream flowing through the cave. “And just so you know, the water from that stream is perfectly fine to drink from.” 

Luke nods and takes the basket as Ikeri quickly leaves. Luke takes one of the flatbreads and hands it to Annabeth. Luke takes another flatbread and hands it to Thalia. Luke then takes a small cloth package out of the basket and opens it. There are two large bone shaped dog treats inside. Luke then takes one flatbread for himself and takes the basket over to Jasumin, Aiko and the two toddlers. 

“There are three flatbreads left. I figured maybe the little ones could share one.” 

Jasumin nods and immediately tears one flatbread in half. Jasumin holds out the two halves to Kuma and Usako, who both eagerly take the flatbread halves into their little hands. The two toddlers make quick work of the bread. Jasumin and Aiko each take a flatbread into their own hands and heartily dig into the food. 

Luke hands the dog treats to Yuki, who gobbles them down. Luke then turns his attention to his own bread. Thalia and Annabeth have already eaten half of their bread. 

Aiko blinks a few times. “So, where did you guys get such strange names?” 

Jasumin frowns and pinches Aiko’s arm scoldingly. “Aiko, that isn’t nice!” 

Luke sighs. “It’s a very interesting story actually. You need to listen carefully, otherwise, you will get confused. You see…”


Iwashi sighs as he and Johiro follow Sanae, Kaiya, Naiya and two young children; a boy and a girl, who appear to be around eight. The girl is apparently named Akari, and she is Sanae’s granddaughter through Sanae’s biological son, Seto. The young boy is named Tadashi, and he is an orphan that the Fujisato’s have raised. 

Right now, Kaiya is carrying a bowl full of a shredded chicken and chickpea salad. Sanae is carrying a basket lined with cloth, which holds flatbreads. Naiya is carrying a basket, which holds cups, plates and cloth napkins. Little Akari is carrying a tray full of raw veggies while Tadashi is carrying a bowl full of fruit salad. Sanae said that this day of the week is one of their busiest days and so everyone has a simple lunch and eats in their designated spaces. The men and older boys eat inside the carpentry shop and the little ones eat in their ‘playhouse’. The women and older girls eat inside the soap making shop. 

Iwashi and Johiro arrive at a circular two story building. The sound of children laughing and giggling is coming from inside. Iwashi closes his eyes. The man has already been through the carpentry shop and the soap making and knitting shop. He still hasn’t found any sign of the young demigods or their canine companion. Maybe he will have some luck in the ‘playhouse’. 

Tadashi immediately runs up the door. “Katara!” The young boy calls out. “Sayuri, we are here!” 

A few moments later, a young light brown haired girl opens the door. Everybody takes off their shoes on the wooden deck and silently walks inside. 

Children emerge from different spots. They all squeal and cheer as the food is set at a table. Naiya smiles as she sets her cargo down. “Alright kiddoes, it’s time for lunch.” 

“YAY!” The children all cheer. Many start pushing the various tables together and quickly grab zabutons. 

Iwashi looks around. He can see various doors and a staircase. He looks behind one set of doors to find a simple toilet room. Iwashi opens another door to find a closet. He peers inside the closet but doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He then checks some cabinets, but still doesn’t find any evidence of the young demigods being here. 

Then, Iwashi suddenly realizes that the room is cut in half. The jonin raises a brow as he walks into the other room. His eyes immediately land on a big ball pit in one corner of the room. Then, the jonin sees movement inside the ball pit. 

The jonin grins as he enters the ball pit. He is thigh deep in balls now. Iwashi raises a brow. Wow, this thing is deeper than I thought.  

The balls move again. Iwashi just grins some more as he moves towards the moving object. I’ve finally got you kids.  

However, as Iwashi approaches whatever is moving inside the ball pit, he frowns as a brown furry head pops up out of the balls. The creature he is after...is a brown dog. 

“Woof!” The dog barks as it jumps out of the ball pit. 

Iwashi simply groans and stands up straight. Well, he is already inside the ball pit. He better search the entire thing. Iwashi simply walks around through the balls, feeling for anything solid. 

Johiro, Sanae and Naiya just watch the whole thing with wide eyes. Tadashi and Akari both peek inside and just giggle softly at the sight. 

Iwashi just groans. He knows he looks ridiculous but he simply doesn’t want to leave without doing a thorough examination of the ball pit first. After all, the kids and their dog could still be hiding in here. 

However, after finding no evidence of the young demigods or a white dog being in the ball pit, Iwashi gives up and climbs out. He looks at Sanae. 

“May I see the upstairs now?” 

Sanae holds back a laugh and gestures for the shinobi to follow her. Sanae quickly leads Iwashi and Johiro upstairs and flips a switch. They all step into a room full of racks with costumes and built-ins full of props and accessories such as hats and toy weapons. There are two stalls which look to be changing stalls. 

Iwashi looks inside the stalls and finds one room with a bench along with a toilet room. He then looks behind all of the racks. However, he finds nothing. He sighs and turns back to Sanae. 

“Are there any other buildings that I should know about?” 

Sanae sighs. “We do have a dojo and a second house which is under renovation.” 

Iwashi nods in understanding. “Might I have a look through those buildings?”

Sanae simply nods. “Of course, come with me.” 

Sanae quickly leads Iwashi and Johiro downstairs. They quickly prepare to leave the ‘playhouse’. Naiya and Kaiya prepare to leave as well. Naiya turns back to her children and the other children. 

“Enjoy your lunch kids.” 

All of the kids smile and nod. “We will!” They all say. 

Naiya nods and closes the door behind her and Kaiya. After the adults disappear down the path, the kids just burst out laughing and all high five one another. 

Tadashi just laughs. “Gee, we all really fooled him!” 

Akari also laughs. “Yeah!” Akari then laughs even more as she remembers how Iwashi searched through the ball pit. “And did you see how he searched the ball pit?!” 

Katara giggles a little. “Yeah, it was hilarious!”


Thalia sighs as she leans back against the rock wall. She, Luke and Annabeth have just finished telling Jasumin and Aiko everything. 

The three young demigods first explained how they are from another world and that they were sent here via a portal. Then, Thalia explained her dreams and how they turned out to be rooted in truth. Then together, the three young demigods explained how they had found Yuki, who was then named Theia at the time, and how they found that abandoned village and tried to make it a home, only for Itachi Uchiha and his mutant sharkman friend to chase them out. Thalia showed Jasumin and Aiko the injury which her own grandfather had inflicted upon her and explained how she very nearly died from it. The very sight of the scar made Jasumin and Aiko cringe.

Luke and Annabeth then explained how the Fujisatos had found them, rescued them and how Naiya had saved Thalia from the verge of death. Thalia then explained how the three of them met Masaru, learned the entire truth from him and how they learned it was he who had sent them to this world. Then, Thalia explained how her grandfather had ambushed her later that night and tortured her with his sharingan, which also made Jasumin and Aiko cringe. Then, Thalia, Luke and Annabeth carefully explained how their lives have been since then, their decision to take cover names and rename Theia to Yuki. Then, Thalia explained how Kenji and Wasure had spotted a hidden Leaf shinobi inside the village, which is why the three young demigods are currently hiding. 

Jasumin blinks a few times as she bounces little Kuma on her knee. “Are you certain that hidden leaf shinobi is looking for you? I mean, how could he have found out such a thing?’ 

Thalia shrugs her shoulders. “My guess is that someone from my grandmother’s village told the hidden leaf.” 

Aiko then blinks a few times. “And you guys aren’t mad at Masaru for sending you all here? I mean, you all wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for him.”  

Luke sighs as he looks at Thalia and Annabeth. “We aren’t mad. We actually prefer it this way. Even though this means we may occasionally have to hide from time to time, and deal with that ‘kinslaying maniac’ sometime again in the future, this situation beats being hunted by bloodthirsty monsters 24/7.” 

Jasumin and Aiko just share glances with one another. Luke then lets out a sigh. “Gee, I wonder how much longer that leaf shinobi is going to search the place. I’m getting tired of sitting here.” 

Thalia crosses her arms. “Yeah. Next time this happens, hopefully we’ll have more time to prepare. Then, maybe we can bring stuff with us such as picture books to pass the time. Looking at picture books would certainly be better than just sitting here.”


Iwashi sighs as he looks out towards the pathway which leads back into the village. Johiro follows closely behind. Sanae and Kaiya also follow close behind. Well, the jonin searched through every building and he didn’t find one trace of the demigods or their pet ever being there. Either the youngsters were never here to begin with or the Fujisatos simply tipped the young ones off, allowing them to escape and run away from the village. 

Well, either way, it looks as if his search in this village has led to a dead end. 

Sanae sighs. “Well, I am sorry that you didn’t find what you were looking for.” 

Iwashi simply closes his eyes. “I am sorry to have wasted your time ma’am. Johiro and I will be leaving now.” 

Sanae fakes a smile and waves the two men goodbye. Once the two men are out of sight and earshot, Kaiya turns back to her mother with a grin. 

“That turned out better than I expected.”

Sanae smiles as well. “Yes, much better than I expected as well.” 

Kaiya blinks as she looks towards the eastern edge of the Fujisatos property. “Well, I guess I should go fetch Takeo, Tora, Ayeka and Yuki from their hiding spot.” 

Sanae then takes a deep breath. “And don’t forget what Ikeri told us when she came back. Takeo, Tora, Ayeka and Yuki will not be the only ones you will bring back.”  

Kaiya sighs. “Oh right, that woman and those three children. Mother, the house is already crowded enough. Do you really think that we should take them in?” 

Sanae closes her eyes. “You know I can’t turn away such young children. Besides, it sounds as if that woman, Jasumin, is willing to work to earn their keep.” 

Kaiya sighs. “Alright, I shall go now.” 

Sanae nods as she watches her daughter walk off towards the east. Sanae sighs and slowly makes her way towards the house. 

However, as the old woman enters the home, she hears a commotion coming from the living room. Sanae narrows her eyes and quickens her pace until she is inside the living room. 

Nearby, Wasure is sitting at the table, drinking a glass of water. The man just returned from town about ten minutes ago. Due to having to push the cart all the way back to the house by himself, Sanae has kindly given her adoptive son-in-law the rest of the day off. 

Over at the sitting area in the living room, Eirin is sprawled out on the sofa and she is wincing, as if she is in pain. Etsuko is standing by the sofa and she is holding her daughter’s hand. 

“Just breath my dear.” Etsuko says soothingly. 

Sanae’s eyes become wide as she finally gets what is going on. Eirin has gone into labor. Sanae lets out another sigh. So much drama for one day. 

Etsuko sees Sanae. “Sanae, we need to get Eirin and Okami’s room ready for the birth.” 

Sanae simply nods her head. Even though there is a hospital, many women in this village still choose to give birth in their own homes, when there are no known complications of course. And...Natara learned midwifery from her mother back in her old village. 

Natara delivered Kiyomi and Haruto. Kaishin and Alani were born just before Natara, Naiya and Raikou arrived at this village. With Akari’s birth, Amani went into labor early, and decided to give birth in the hospital to be on the safe side. Natara also delivered Makito, Eiji, Sakiko, Okiko, Katara, Naki, Taki, Adami and Yasha. When Ariko was pregnant with Raiden and Raion, the twins were breached so she had to have a C-section in the hospital. However, Ariko recovered wonderfully from the c-section so when she became pregnant with Adami, the gynecologist determined that it would be safe to do a home vaginal birth. Since Rukia was young when she got pregnant, Sanae felt that it would be safer if she gave birth in a hospital. 

Sanae simply goes to grab the birthing supplies and to fetch Natara and Okami. Etsuko focuses on helping her daughter to her bedroom.


Kaiya blinks as she approaches the cave mouth. She takes a deep breath. “Luke, it’s me, Kaiya. That Leaf shinobi is gone now.” 

Moments later, Luke, Thalia, Annabeth and Yuki emerge from the cave. Jasumin and Aiko emerge moments later. Jasumin is holding a sleeping Kuma while Aiko is holding a sleeping Usako. 

Kaiya gasps when she sees the condition of Jasumin and her three young charges. “Oh my, I wasn’t quite expecting this.” 

After a few moments, Kaiya sighs. “Well, come along then.” 

With that, Kaiya begins leading everybody home. Luke, Thalia and Annabeth follow close behind while Jasumin and Aiko follow a little ways back. Yuki walks obediently by Annabeth’s side. 

Thalia clears her throat. “Well, what happened? Did the leaf shinobi search the property?” 

Kaiya sighs. “Yes, but we managed to hide all evidence of you three being there. He seemed pretty convinced that you all were hiding somewhere, but of course, he never found anything.” 

Kaiya then lets out a small laugh. “He searched all of the workshops and outer buildings as well. Why, he even searched through the ball pit in the playhouse!” 

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth all raise brows. Luke crosses his arms. “Really?” 

Kaiya nods and chuckles a little. “Oh yes. We all laughed, but he was clearly unamused with the whole thing. And Johiro, he just looked so embarrassed.” 

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth just let out chuckles themselves as they try to imagine a grown man swimming through a pit of balls. 

However, as the three demigods and their companions walk, they are unaware that a figure is watching them from a high tree. The figure is a young man who has silvery grey hair tied back into a low ponytail, dark eyes and light skin. The man is currently clad in all purple and he is wearing glasses. 

The man smirks as he watches the three young demigods walk with their companions. So young Uchiha princess, this is where you and your little friends have been hiding? The man thinks to himself. I must inform lord Orochimaru of this.  

However, the man then narrows his eyes as he continues to watch Thalia and her companions walk through the forest. Then, he smirks as he silently jumps down from the tree. Or perhaps, I should continue to follow you to see exactly where you are living.


Thalia sighs as she and the group arrive at the house. Sheesh, it seems like the trip home took longer than the trip to the cave. The daughter of Zeus blinks a few times. Well, maybe the trip home took longer than the tip to the cave because they were walking, not running

Kaiya opens the door and lets everyone inside. Then, as everyone is taking their shoes off, they hear a commotion coming from the kitchen. They enter to see Naiya filling a bowl with hot water. Sanae is carrying rags and towels towards Okami and Eirin’s bedroom. 

On the sofa, Osato and Eiji are sitting with Sakiko and Okiko. Osato and Eiji are wringing their hands. Sakiko and Okiko are whispering to each other with hushed and worried voices. Luke, Thalia and Annabeth just share glances with one another. What is going on here? 

Luke clears his throat. “Hey, what’s all the excitement about?” 

Eiji sighs as he looks at the three demigods. “My mom’s baby’s coming, that’s what’s going on.” 

Luke blinks a few times. “Oh.” 

Sanae puts a hand on both Eiji and Osato’s shoulders. “Boys, why don’t the two of you and your sisters go upstairs to your rooms and take your midday nap? It has been a very long and tiresome day. You all deserve it.” 

Sanae then glances back towards Okami and Eirin’s room. “Besides, the baby won’t come faster with all of you sitting here.” 

Osato and Eiji both sigh as they get up. They take their sister’s hands. “Alright.” Both boys say. 

With that, Osato and Eiji leave the room, taking their sisters with them. Sanae then turns to Kaiya, Luke, Thalia and Annabeth. The old woman then spots Jasumin, Aiko and the two toddlers. 

“Hmm, you four must be Jasumin, Aiko, Kuma and Usako?” 

Jasumin immediately nods. “Yes, I am Jasumin.” Jasumin then gestures towards little Kuma, who is in her arms. “This is Kuma.” The woman then gestures towards Aiko and little Usako. “And those two are Aiko and Usako.” 

Aiko clears her throat. “Kuma and Usako are twins. At least, they should be twins. They were both left together at the orphanage we used to live at, they both looked to be the same age and they do look a lot alike.” 

Sanae nods her head in understanding. Sanae then looks at the dirty and torn clothing that everyone is wearing. “Well, I have to say, all of you need to bathe and put on different clothes.” 

Luke, Thalia and Annabeth all look at one another. Well, it seems like Jasumin, Aiko, Kuma and Usako will be taken care of now. Maybe the three of them should take their siesta now. 

Thalia clears her throat. “Well, if Jasumin and the others are going to bathe and try on clothes, then the three of us shall take our siesta now.” 

With that, Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all leave the room. Yuki the dog follows obediently at Annabeth’s heels.


Iwashi sighs as he walks to the village gate. Johiro follows close behind him. He sighs as he looks at the Hidden Leaf shinobi. “Well, sorry I couldn’t help you.” 

Iwashi crosses his arms. “I did find the behavior of the Fujisatos a little suspicious. I am starting to think that those kids were there but the Fujisatos managed to tip them off, allowing them to hide somewhere not on the property.” 

Johiro crosses his arms. “Hmm, I don’t know why the Fujisatos would be secretive about it. They have always been honest people.” 

Iwashi looks up at the sky. He remembers the blood back in that hotel room. Those kids probably aren’t very trusting of ninjas, given their encounter with Itachi and his ‘friend’ probably wasn’t very pleasant. They probably asked the Fujisatos to hide them in case any ninjas came into the village. This might be more difficult than I thought it would be. 

Eventually, Iwashi sighs again. “Well, I better get going. My team is waiting for me.” 

Johiro raises a brow. “Team?” 

Iwashi sighs again, suddenly remembering that he didn’t mention his companions. “I travelled to this area with a team of shinobi and we are currently making camp at an abandoned village. Right now, my comrades are searching other areas of the forest and any nearby villages.” 

Johiro sighs. “I see. Well, farewell to you.”

Iwashi simply nods. “Farewell to you as well.” Then, Iwashi narrows his eyes. “You know what, I actually have an idea. If the Fujisatos really did hide the kids, maybe it would be a good idea if teams of shinobi visited every so often. You know, to catch the Fujisatos off guard and then maybe they wouldn’t have time to hide the kids.” 

Johiro narrows his own eyes. “Hmm, that doesn’t sound like a bad plan. Jakobe would probably have a fit, but I am sure my father wouldn’t mind.” 

Iwashi nods. “Alright then, I will get going now.” 

Johiro nods and waves the Leaf shinobi goodbye.


Thalia awakens with a start as she hears the alarm clock going off. Nearby, Natsuko turns off the alarm. Natsuko then climbs down from her bunk and just starts yawning and stretching. 

Thalia just blinks as she climbs down from her own bunk. Setsuna and Miyako then crawl out from underneath Thalia and Natsuko’s bunks. The two girls simply yawn as they stretch themselves awake. 

Just then, the shoji screens open up to reveal Maemi, who is also awake. The girl just yawns as she stretches herself awake. 

Thalia smiles and lets out a deep sigh. Boy, she feels super refreshed. 

Just then, there is a knock at the door. Then, Luke’s voice can be heard on the other side of the door. “Hello, is Tora awake yet?” 

Thalia clears her throat. “Yes, I am awake. Come on in.” 

Moments later, Luke opens the door. He sighs as he looks at Thalia. “Well, I certainly feel refreshed, especially after the day we had.” 

Thalia nods. “Yeah.” 

Just then, Kaiya’s voice comes from down the hallway. Thalia and Luke peek out of the room to see Kaiya walking down the hallway. She has a smile on her face. Osato and Eiji then poke their heads out the door from the boy’s room. 

Kaiya smiles as she looks at Osato and Eiji. “I just came to tell you two that you have a healthy little brother, and he was born just five minutes ago. I already told Sakiko and Okiko.” 

Eiji blinks a few times as he steps out of the room. “Can we go meet him?” 

“Your mother and the new baby are doing skin to skin contact right now, so you two along with Sakiko and Okiko will have to wait a little while to meet him.” Kaiya says. “However, I was just thinking that you and your sisters might want to help me make a special treat for your mother that she can have after dinner tonight.” 

Osato and Eiji both look at each other. They both nod eagerly and follow Kaiya down the hallway. The rest of the boys emerge moments later. Kenji, Osamu and Makito all look at one another. Kenji then sighs. 

“Well, it looks like we have earned five new members to our household today.” 

Thalia and Luke then remember Jasumin, Aiko, Kuma and Usako. Perhaps they should go see how they are doing. With that, Luke and Thalia head down the hallway towards the staircase. 

Luke and Thalia arrive on the first floor moments later. They can see Kaiya in the kitchen with Osato, Eiji, Sakiko and Okiko. The five of them are mixing and rolling dough out. Then, the two demigods see Sanae carrying sheets towards the laundry room. Luke clears his throat. 

“Where are Jasumin and the others?” 

Sanae smiles as she turns towards the young demigods. “Well, Amani is showing Jasumin and Aiko around the soap shop.” 

Just then, Natsuko, Miyako, Setsuna, Kenji, Osamu and Makito arrive downstairs. Setsuna smiles widely. “Let’s go swimming now.” 

Kaiya sighs. “Sorry, but Hideaki checked the two waterfall and river systems earlier, and they both are muddy as can be. I’m afraid that the rainstorm washed a bunch of mud and silt into the water. All of you would get dirty rather than clean if you swam today.” Kaiya then smiles. “However, the good news is that it shouldn’t take more than a day for the water to clear up.” 

Setsuna groans. “Man, this just stinks.” 

Kaiya just manages a wry smile. “Well, we have a new family member to coo over today so it isn’t all that bad. Besides, we have to help Jasumin, Aiko, Kuma and Usako get used to their new surroundings.” 

Natsuko gasps. “Oh, I almost forgot about that.” She then looks around. “Well, where are they at?” 

“Touring the workshop with Amani.” Kaiya says as she returns to kneading the dough she has on the counter in front of her. “We were thinking that all of you could show them the bedrooms, bathrooms and gardens later.” 

Luke and Thalia then look around. Hmm, Annabeth and Yuki haven’t come down yet. Thalia clears her throat. “Hmm, I wonder what is taking Ayeka and the younger girls.” 

Kaiya smiles. “Oh, Ayeka and the little girls have been awake for ten minutes now. They went to go play in the playhouse again.” 

Just then, Masaru comes into the room. He sighs as he looks up at Thalia. “Tora, I was just wondering if you wished to resume your training, especially since it was rudely interrupted earlier.” 

The daughter of Zeus blinks a few times. Then, she simply nods. “I would like that.” 

Masaru nods and leads Thalia away. Kaiya then looks at Luke. “Takeo, you can go resume your learning in the workshop if you wish.” 

Luke immediately nods his head. “That sounds good.” 

With that, Luke immediately heads to the entrance to put his shoes on.


Iwashi takes a deep breath as the abandoned village comes into sight. He sighs as he approaches the gate. Shikaku is standing guard at the gate. The Nara head blinks as he looks at the approaching jonin. 

“Well, did you find anything in that village?” 

Iwashi sighs and shakes his head. “Well, it didn’t go as I expected. I’ll tell you later when everyone regroups tonight.” 

With that, Iwashi silently walks past Shikaku. The Nara clan head narrows his eyes and crosses his arms. Hmm, what does Iwashi mean by that?

Just then, Inoichi walks up to the gate. He clears his throat. “I see that Iwashi has returned. Well, did he say anything about how his search went?” 

Shikaku shakes his head. “All he said is that his search didn’t go as expected. He says that he will tell us later.” 

Inoichi narrows his eyes. “Didn’t go as expected? What is that supposed to mean?” 

Shikaku just shrugs his shoulders. “Beats me.”


Thalia sighs as she, Luke, Annabeth and all of the kids enter the house. Yuki follows closely at Annabeth's heels. Annabeth then turns and swiftly wipes the dogs paws with a towel. 

Thalia breathes in deep and she and the others take their shoes off. The daughter of Zeus trained with Masaru for about three hours. Then, it was time to help with the afternoon chores. Now, it is time for dinner. 

Thalia and the others enter the kitchen and living room area. The smell of the delicious food is overwhelming. It makes Thalia’s stomach rumble. 

The three young demigods see that people are filtering in and out of Okami and Eirin’s bedroom. Sanae looks over to the group of children. “You all haven’t met the newest addition to our household yet. Come and meet him.” 

Thalia, Luke and Annabeth just blink as they follow Sanae towards the bedroom area. There is an open pair of sliding doors, which leads to a simple white room. A pair of sliding glass doors leads to a private section of the wraparound greenhouse, which is set up like a patio. 

Eirin is lying propped up against some pillows on a floor bed and in her arms is a tiny bundle of white blankets. Okami is sitting on the bed next to Eirin and he has a proud look on his face. Sadako, Eiji, Osato, Sakiko and Okiko are all sitting around the bed. 

Sakiko then turns to all of the other kids. She smiles widely. “Come and see my new baby brother! His name’s Yasuto, after daddy’s maternal grandfather!” 

Everyone slowly comes in closer for a peek. The baby in Eirin’s arms bears light tanned skin which is slightly pink tinted due to him just being born hours ago. The baby also bears a full head of black hair, which has platinum blonde tips on the very ends. 

Kenji smiles as he glances at Makito. “Aw, the little guy has two colored hair like Makito. He shall certainly be a handsome little fellow when he grows up.” 

Just then, the infant opens his eyes to reveal lilac colored irises. Kenji then grins as he looks at Osato. “Aw, he has your eyes Osato.” 

Thalia just blinks a few times. The sight of the newborn infant almost reminds her of the day Jason was born. Thalia then blinks again. The blankets wrapped around the newborn make her think of the infant that her grandfather killed in that horrible vision. Thalia shakes her head and leaves the room. 

Unfortunately, everyone notices Thalia’s reaction. Luke sighs in understanding. She must have been thinking of her brother. The son of Hermes thinks to himself. 

Osato narrows his eyes. “What is wrong with Tora?” 

Luke sighs. “I just think that the sight of Yasuto made her think of her little brother, Jason. Probably brought up painful memories.” 

Annabeth gasps. “Oh no. Do you think that we should go talk to her?” 

Luke sighs. “Let’s give her a minute. Then, we will go talk to her.” 

Annabeth pouts a little, as if unsure of Luke’s advice. 

Meanwhile, Thalia steps out onto the veranda. She walks until she reaches the bottom step. The daughter of Zeus closes her eyes. 

A six year old Thalia stands in front of a hospital crib, which holds a bundle of blankets. Thalia’s mother, Beryl, is lying in a bed nearby, not caring about her new son. 

Thalia peeks into the crib. Inside the blankets, a baby boy with tufts of blonde hair is sleeping soundly. Then, the infant opens his eyes, to reveal electric blue orbs. The infant wriggles a little. 

Thalia narrows her eyes and pokes the infant with one of her fingers. The baby boy gurgles and uses one of his tiny pink hands to grab onto Thalia’s finger. The baby lets out a giggle of delight. 

Thalia gasps and then smiles. “Hello, I’m your big sister.” 

Thalia just opens her eyes as the memory fades. She looks at the fading light on the horizon. Tears prick her eyes. Jason…, The daughter of Zeus thinks to herself. 

A minute or so goes by before Luke's voice suddenly breaks Thalia out of her throughts. “Tora.” 

Thalia turns to see Luke and Annabeth standing in the doorway. The two demigods come outside. Luke clears his throat. “Tora, I know it must be hard for you to see a new baby like that, especially considering you lost your brother.” 

Thalia sighs. “It’s not just about Jason. The way the baby is wrapped up in those blankets, he looks a lot like the one my grandfather killed in that horrible vision.” 

Luke and Annabeth both gasp. Their eyes then soften in understanding. Luke sighs as he sits down by Thalia. 

“Tora, you really need to put what happened between you and that horrible man behind you.” Luke whispers. He puts a hand on Thalia’s shoulder. “Otherwise, you won’t be able to move on and be completely happy with our new life here.” 

Thalia just shakes her head. “But, how can I do that? Everytime I close my eyes, I can’t help but remember that vision.” The daughter of Zeus then looks down at her right side and rubs it. “And everytime I look down at this side, I can’t help but remember what he did to me.”

Luke squeezes Thalia’s shoulder. “Tora, you have a tragic past, that much is true. However, to move forward in life, sometimes you have to put your bad memories behind you. Just focus on creating new, happier memories.” 

Annabeth then sits down. “And just think, we helped four people to find a new life today. We’ve done good in the world.” 

Thalia blinks a few times. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. Jasumin and Aiko wouldn’t have known about this place if we hadn’t told them. Now, the two of them, along with Kuma and Usako can have a new beginning.” 

Annabeth then smiles. “And a new life has been born into the household. In a way, it’s almost a new day for Okiko. She’s an older sister, which means that she is no longer the baby of her family. This means she is going to have to take on more responsibility and be a good role model as little Yasuto will be looking up to her.” 

Thalia blinks again as she thinks about this. “Hmm, I never thought of it that way before.” 

Annabeth then smiles as she pets Yuki, who is lying next to her on the veranda. “And this is our new life.” Annabeth then looks towards the hallway which leads to Eirin and Okami’s room. “And just think, since we live here now, we have to be role models to the younger generation as well.” 

Thalia gives Annabeth a questioning look. “What do you mean by that?” 

“The little ones will look up to us as they get older.” Annabeth explains. “You see, given our own pasts, we can teach them to be hard workers, determined and tough. By sharing stories of our experiences with them, we can encourage them to be tough and weather hardships with their heads held high.” 

Thalia’s eyes become wide considerably. “I...I never thought of it that way.” 

Luke then smiles as he hears a bell ringing. “Oh, do you hear that? It is time for supper. Let’s go eat. I am sure that you will be able to think better on a full stomach.” 

Thalia looks down at her stomach as it begins to growl. Eventually, the daughter of Zeus nods her head and gets up. She silently follows her friends inside. 

However, Yuki suddenly turns and lets out a low growl as she looks towards the far end of the veranda. Thalia, Luke and Annabeth all take notice and narrow their eyes. What has gotten into their canine friend? 

Annabeth clears her throat. “Yuki, come here girl!” 

Yuki hesitates for a moment as she looks back and forth between Annabeth and the far end of the veranda. The dog eventually relents and follows the young girl inside. 

On the far end of the veranda, a figure stands in the shadows. It is the silver haired man from earlier. The man frowns as he slowly walks away from the house. Over the course of the afternoon, the man has been following Thalia around using a special genjutsu to spy on her. He is glad that he did. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have learned as much as he has. 

So young Uchiha girl…, the man thinks as he walks into the forest. You are training with an Araya then, and you and your little friends have taken on new names? Well, Lord Orochimaru will be very interested to hear this.  

The man looks back at the house one more time before he disappears completely into the surrounding forest.

Chapter 30: Note: not a chapter!

Chapter Text

I want to announce that I have decided to rewrite this story. I am doing this for many reasons. 

1. I wish to fix grammar errors and make this story simpler. 

2. I wish to adjust the plot and make it simpler: I have read through this story many times, and I now realize that the current plot is going to result in a story that is over a hundred chapters long. I have thought about ways to simplify the plotline, and thus make the story shorter and simpler. 

3. I wish to make the story title and summary more interesting: I rewrote the very first story that I did, 'A Twist in Fate: Nico's Story'. I made a new story called 'The story of Nico di Angelo Uchiha'. I had decided to make a series with that story and this story. However, I now feel that this particular story could use a different title. That way, it will flow with 'The story of Nico di Angelo Uchiha' better. 

Don't worry, I have not given up on this story. I simply wish to give it a new and more interesting title, as well as an adjusted plotline. The revised version of this story shall be called 'Thalia Grace Uchiha, heir of Fire and Lightning'.  

While this story is being rewritten, you can check out my other stories:

1. The Story of Nico di Angelo Uchiha: This is a Naruto and Percy Jackson crossover, and the theme is the same as this story. Basically, Nico is the grandson of Itachi, and he is sent to the Naruto World. 

2. Itachi's Demon Spawn: Book 1: This story was inspired by Dissenter's one shot, 'Itachi Uchiha must die'. In Dissenter's story, Itachi Uchiha never receives sex-ed in the ninja academy. After he joins the Akatsuki, he is introduced to sex on his fifteen birthday by Kisame, who hosts a party for him a brothel. Itachi ends up liking it so much, he begins making it a hobby to visit brothels and have sex with hookers, without using protection of course. This results in a catastrophic inflow of baby Uchihas into Konoha, which to Sasuke's horror and disbelief, he ends up responsible for. My story is simply a continuation of Dissenter's one shot, which details Sasuke's life taking of Itachi's children: all forty-six of them. 

3. Little Again: This story is about Naruto and Sasuke being turned into babies by a strange jutsu. 

4: The tale of Tsukiko Uchiha: This story is a 'what if the Akatsuki were never defeated story'. In this story, Itachi fathers a daughter. When Itachi is forced to attack her village, and kill her mother, she becomes an orphan. Tsukiko ends up having to navigate the dangerous shinobi world without her mother. 

5. Mordred Snow: A Merlin and Game of Thrones crossover. Mordred, after being killed by Arthur, is given a second chance at life. He is reborn into Westoros, as the bastard son of Ramsay Snow. If you like Merlin and Game of Thrones, then this story is for you. 

6. Shinobi and Pokemon Trainers Unite: This story is a crossover between Naruto and Pokemon. This story is about how Naruto, Sakura, other Hidden leaf shinobi, as well as some Akatsuki members, are sent to the Pokemon world. Naruto and his friends team up with Ash and company, while the Akatsuki team up with Team Rocket and other evil Pokemon organizations. If you like Naruto and Pokemon, then this story is for you.

 

I should have 'Thalia Grace Uchiha, heir of Fire and Lightning' uploaded soon. Just be patient while I get my new and revised chapters ready. 

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