The Sky Fox

Chapter 6: Moving House and another Masculine Addition

[Sochi-kun, may I know where it is you're going?] asked Kushina curiously.

If you're wondering what's going on, the thing is that it's been a week since the unmanned IS broke into the arena. Things pretty much went back to normal routine, though the difference was Ling invited herself into Naruto's weekend IS training after finding out from the other girls especially Nohotoke from Class 1 much to Cecelia's annoyance.

Ling claims that training with Naruto could help her get strong enough to beat Ichika to the ground, Naruto took it in stride failing to catch Ling stealing glances at him but Kurami and Cecelia did with the latter looking at her darkly.

As of now, Naruto had woken up in the early morning of Saturday, dressed up, took the monorail to the mainland and was currently riding on the Kitsune cycle on the freeway through the city to who knows where with Kurami sitting in front of him.

"I was wondering the same thing, ever since Chifuyu-san announced about off-campus vacations you starting searching stuff online through the S-Touch and you won't even tell us what it is you're looking for," said Kurami.

"You two will find out soon enough," said Naruto much to their confusion.

He exited from the freeway by taking a turn and after a few more through the city, LUNA spoke up through the goggles that he wore to cover his eyes as well as view the GPS.

[Arriving at marked destination]

Naruto stopped the bike near the sidewalk and took off the goggles and helmet as he looked to the side, Kurami followed his sight and saw a tall building, then she noticed a large signboard above the door and read off it.

"A real estate agency, what are you planning to do Naruto-kun?" asked Kurami.

"As much as I liked to stay in the dormitory, I felt that getting an actual home could make a lot of things better. A home away from home as well as keeping the extra stuff away from prying eyes, let's not forget that Sonia-chan could come over to stay for vacation," said Naruto getting of the bike and walking towards the building.

[That's quite thoughtful of you Sochi-kun, but why couldn't you have done it earlier before?] asked Kushina.

"Mostly because it didn't come into mind until Chifuyu-sensei spoke about the short-term vacations in class this week, that's when I started to search online for a house to purchase,"

By then Naruto had entered the building and was currently in the reception room, he walked over to the front desk where a man sat behind it.

"Hello sir, how may I help you today?" asked the man politely.

"I'm looking to buy a house and I wanted to see what you have so far," said Naruto.

"Very well sir, here are the pictures of houses which are currently on sale," the realtor held out a book which Naruto took and opened up for him to see while Kurami sat on his shoulder to look as well.

He flipped through the pages several times, looking at some of the houses but none of them met his or his mother's expectations. He turned another page and peered through it when a certain picture caught his eye and immediately showed it to the man.

"Excuse me but can you show me the details of this one?" asked Naruto.

"Of course," the man reached into a drawer and took out a brown folder, he opened it to take out the blueprints and pictures of the building's interior for Naruto to look through.

"This property has been set in a prime residential location in Hiroo with the homelike condominium overlooking a courtyard and features spacious living areas including living, dining, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a partial one, a working fireplace and a sun room. There is also a storage room and a 2 car parking garage in the premise," said the realtor.

"What do you think mom?" thought Naruto.

[It's perfect, I approve of it Sochi-kun] said Kushina happily.

Naruto gave a low whistle after looking at the price for the house but took out his MasterCard to make the purchase much to the man's surprise and then signed the contract before receiving the keys to the house as well as the papers to signify his ownership.

"Thank you for your purchase, we'll contact you later to provide further information," said the realtor.

Naruto nodded in affirmation and left, after making his way to his bike Naruto was about to start his engine when the ringtone on his S-Touch sounded (Hero by Skillet). He put on his headphones and pressed the call button to answer the call.

"Hello?" said Naruto.

"Hey Naruto, it's me Ichika," a familiar voice responded.

"Yo Ichika, what's up?"

"I checked out your room hoping to find you but you weren't around," said Ichika.

"I had a few things to do in the city, but I'm done for now,"

"That's great, I wanted to invite you over to my friend's place so I can introduce you to him. I can send over the address and we can meet up,"

"Cool, see you soon,"

"Okay bye," then the connection was cut off.

Naruto waited for about two minutes when he received a message containing the address from Ichika, after inputting the information into the S-Touch, he activated the GPS on his goggles and proceeded to ride along the route. Soon enough he stopped and parked the bike at the marked location, there he sat on the seat and was playing a game on his S-Touch to while away the time.

"I wonder what's taking Ichika so long, he said that he would be here soon," Naruto muttered to himself.

"Hey Naruto!"

The blond looked up to see Ichika approaching him while dressed in a casual clothing of a blue and white T-shirt with brown trousers.

"Hey Ichika, what took ya so long?" asked Naruto with a smile.

"Sorry about that, I was checking on things at home which isn't far from here," said Ichika sheepishly.

"No prob, so who's this guy you want to introduce me to?" asked Naruto.

"His place is just a few minutes from here, just follow me," said Ichika before walking away with Naruto right behind him. They walked for a bit before stopping before what appears to be a restaurant with a large banner on the front written 'Gotanda Eatery', Naruto took notice of a first level above and speculated that it might be where they sleep.

"Let's go inside," Ichika and Naruto went in and saw a kitchen that is in full view of the guest tables but is separated by a counter. That is when someone appeared from behind the counter and was greeting them.

"Hello and welcome to…Ichika? Hey man, long time no see!" said the person, he was a male with long scarlet hair that is tied with a grey bandanna, he also wore a grey t-shirt and blue jeans.

[It's nice to see a fellow redhead after a long time] said Kushina.

"Though I still wish I had inherited your red hair too mom," thought Naruto.

"You would still be handsome if you had either hair," said Kurami rubbing against Naruto's cheeks, making him smile.

"Thanks Ku-chan,"

"Hey Dan, it's been a while," said Ichika with a smile.

"Yeah man, who's the guy next to you?" asked the guy known as Dan.

"The name's Naruto Uzumaki and this is Kurami, I'm his classmate over at the academy," Naruto waved in greeting.

"You must the second male IS pilot I heard about on the news, I'm Dan Gotanda and I've been friends with Ichika since middle school," said Dan in response.

"Well it's nice to meet you,"

"Same here, how about you come up to my room since there are any customers here at the moment?"

"Sure thing," said Ichika.

The three boys went up to the first level and entered Dan's room, there they chatted about random things or Naruto's lifestyle in Italy. At the moment, the trio are playing Super Smash Bros Brawl on Dan's Nintendo Wii.

"I gotta admit that I'm jealous of you two attending the academy where there are only girls, you guys must be having a good time," said Dan with a smirk.

"No I'm not," said Ichika.

"Lies, all lies. Reading all those emails that you send makes me imagine paradise,"

"Well my perverted godfather would have agreed with you there, though it might have resulted in feminine fury raining upon him should he have gotten on their bad side," Naruto grinned at the thought of Jiraiya getting beaten by Chifuyu and the others with Kushina and Kurami smirking as well.

"Come on Naruto, don't say that, you might make me have second thoughts," said Dan.

"I really felt uncomfortable being surrounded by girls, which was why I felt relieved when Naruto and Ling showed up," said Ichika.

"Oh so Ling came to the academy huh?" said Dan, Naruto noticed that he smiled as if he knew what was going on and smirked as well.

Suddenly the door was kicked opened, startling the guys and almost triggering Naruto's instinct to unseal one of his kunai from the storage seal on his wrist. They turned to see that it was a girl with long scarlet hair tied in a bandanna just like Dan though Naruto turned away upon seeing her current state of clothing. She happened to be wearing a pink loose top and deep violet shorts that aren't fully zipped.

"Onii-chan, lunch is ready so you should hurry up an-," the girl was talking when her eyes set upon Ichika and then Naruto who was still looking away "I-Ichika-san?!"

"Oh Ran, it's been a while and sorry for our intrusion," said Ichika with a smile.

The girl named just stood there stunned before she blinked and looked down to see her unkempt dressing before hiding behind the door with a blush of her cheeks. After dressing much more properly, she poked her head from behind the door.

"Y-you were here? And who is that with you?" asked Ran.

"Oh this is my classmate from the IS academy, Naruto Uzumaki and his pet fox Kurami," said Ichika then he turned to Naruto "And that's Ran Gotanda, Dan's younger sister,"

"It's nice to meet you," said Naruto with a foxy grin, making her hide a bit shyly.

"S-same here, he's so handsome like Ichika-san," said Ran.

"You could have knocked on the door, you'll be considered a shameless woman-," Dan stopped in midsentence upon seeing Ran giving an extremely angry look.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" she whispered angrily.

"O-Oh…I didn't tell you? Sorry about that, my bad," Dan chuckled weakly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Naruto give him a look of pity and understanding, having seen and experienced the very same thing from Sakura and Tsunade.

"You were like that back in the academy Kushina-chan," said Kurami.

[No I wasn't!] said Kushina.

"Minato can attest to it,"

[Okay fine, maybe I acted like that just a little but they asked for it by calling me a tomato head] said Kushina.

Later on, the group went back downstairs to the restaurant for lunch although it appears that Ran had changed into a loose white dress.

"Please make yourselves at home, sorry about my appearance before," said Ran with a pink tinge on her cheeks.

"Oh I see you changed, are you going somewhere?" asked Ichika.

"Um well…you see…"

"Are you going on a date?" Naruto fought the urge to facepalm upon hearing Ichika's dumb question.

"Definitely not!" Ran responded instantly.

"You must act like that at school too," said Dan.

"He definitely does," Naruto spoke in agreement.

"What do you guys mean?" asked Ichika confusedly.

"Nothing at all, I feel bad for Ling though," said Dan.

Afterwards, Naruto said goodbye to Dan and Ran before seeing Ichika off to his place as it turns that his home is quite close to the eatery. Then he rode back to the academy and was currently relaxing on his bed in the dormitory while drinking a bottle of soda pop. He was about to fall sleep with Kurami curling up next to him in her human form when his S-Touch was ringing again for the second time.

"Awww, who's that calling at this time?" said Kurami with a pout.

Naruto picked up the handheld and flipped it open to see the caller id "I don't know, there's no name and the numbers are encrypted," he cautiously looked around before answering the call.

"Hello, is this Naruto Uzumaki?" he heard a chipper female voice.

"Uh…yes, who's this?" asked Naruto, he quickly held S-Touch away from his ears when the unknown female caller responded rather loudly.

"Yay! I finally get to talk to Naru-kun! I've been wanting to talk to you for so long!" the female spoke happily.

"Whoa take it easy, you still haven't told me who you are yet," said Naruto.

"Oh how silly of me, I'm Tabane Shinonono the super genius!"

Everyone stared at the S-Touch in shock as if the caller is actually in the room with them, Naruto hesitantly responded into his handheld.

"Tabane Shinonono, as in the creator of IS?"

"That's me, but you can call me Usagi-chan!" said Tabane cheerfully.

[What could she want with Sochi-kun?] said Kushina confusedly.

"How did you get this number?" asked Naruto.

"It was so tough for me you know? Every time I tried to access your handheld's data, some program called Cerberus would pop up and block me no matter how hard I try. Then I remembered that Ikkun is friends with you so I got your number from his phone," said Tabane, they could somehow tell that she was pouting judging from her behavior so far.

"At least that guard program your father made is working like it's supposed to if it's able to block her," said Kurami.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about?" asked Naruto.

"Do you purr like a kitten when you get your whisker marks rubbed?"

Naruto blushed red at the unexpected question "I-I don't know what you're talking about dattebayo!" he clamped his mouth shut but it was too late.

"Kawaiii you even have a verbal tick and since you didn't answer my question, then I'll just have to come over to find out for myself,"

"Wait, you called me just to find out about that?"

"I almost forgot, I saw your fight with the unmanned IS. I'm really impressed with the functions of your IS to the point that it can even transform which is a first even for me. I can't wait to talk to you foxy-kun , bye-bye," then the link was cut off before Naruto could say anything as he just stared at the handheld looking confused.

"Did that just happened?" asked Naruto.

[The fact that you spoke to the creator of the IS a minute ago? Then the answer is yes]

"She's quite different from what I thought she would be like, but how did she know about your battle with the unmanned IS? I thought that it was covered up?" said Kurami.

"Well earlier she said that she tried to access my S-Touch but was blocked, she probably did the same with the academy's database and acquired the recording of the battle," said Naruto.

[One thing is for sure, you've caught her attention which is sure to increase once the second IS with Minato-kun's core were to arrive] said Kushina.

"I'm more concerned about the fact that she wants to rub my cheeks, getting that from Sonia was bad enough," said Naruto clearly embarrassed with Kushina and Kurami giggling at him.

Next day it was back into the academy after the short term vacation, Naruto was walking towards and was close to the door when he heard the girls muttering something which he couldn't hear quite clearly. He passed through the door and noticed that they all fell silent upon seeing him much to his confusion.

"That's weird, I wonder what that was all about?" thought Naruto, he went to take his seat and saw Cecelia walking up to him with a smile on her face.

"Good morning Naruto-san," said Cecelia happily.

"Same to you too Cecelia-chan, do you have any idea what the girls were talking about? They kept quiet once they saw me," said Naruto.

"I don't know either though they seemed quite excited,"

"I'll go and out what it is they're talking about," said Kurami through the mind link.

"Go right ahead," thought Naruto.

Kurami hopped off the table and pranced over to where Nohohon and her friends sat. She yipped to catch their attention which they did before Nohotoke scooped her up in her arms with a smile on her face.

"Good morning Kurami-chan, you're looking cute as always!" said Nohotoke as she cuddled Kurami before turning to the others.

"Really Nohohon-chan, you should have been more accurate with the details," said one of the girls.

"But I thought I got it right this time," said Nohohon sheepishly while Kurami opened an eye in interest of their conversation.

"But everyone believes that if anyone wins the incoming tournament this month, then she can get to date either Orimura or Naruto," said the other friend.

"What?!" thought Kurami in shock.

"But I mentioned we overheard Houki telling Ichika that if she became champion of the tournament, she'll go out with him," said Nohohon.

"How could a rumor like that turn into a date with either Naruto-kun or Ichika-san? It must have mixed up somehow," thought Kurami confusedly.

It was at time Ichika arrived right before Chifuyu showed up and everyone returned to their seats, then Kurami got off Nohohon's lap and scampered back to Naruto before perching on his shoulder.

"Did you find out what they were talking about Kurami-chan?" asked Naruto.

"Oh nothing, just the usual girl gossip," said Kurami.

"Oh okay," thought Naruto.

Maya stood at the teacher's desk with a smile on her face "I have an announcement to make, today I'll be introducing a transfer student to or class,"

"A transfer student, at this time?" most of the students were surprised and curious about who this new student is to be joining them.

Then the sliding door opened the new student stepped inside and everyone including Naruto and Ichika were stunned upon the appearance of the person. The new student had blonde hair that was long enough to be tied into a ponytail. What caught everyone's attention was the fact that the student is wearing a white blazer with long trousers just like what Ichika and Naruto are wearing right now...which could only mean one thing.

"My name is Charles Dunois and I come from France, nice to meet you all," said the blond student.

"A-A man?" asked one of the girls shakily.

"Yes, I heard that there were two others in the same situation as me here. So I transferred from my country to…"

"KYAAAA!"

"A male student and he's coming to our class!"

"He's so handsome, the type that you'll want to protect!"

The girls squealed out in joy much to Charles confusion.

"Now all of you settle down and be quiet!" said Chifuyu and immediately the class was silent "We'll be doing IS practice with Class 2 so everyone should change quickly and gather up at school ground 2. Also Uzumaki and Orimura,"

Both boys looked at her attentively.

"I want you to look after Dunois, since you're both males too. Now move out!"

Charles approached Naruto and Ichika as they got up from their seats.

"Are you Uzumaki-kun and Orimura-kun? Nice to meet you, I'm…" Charles began.

"As much as we would like to get to know each other, we'll need to save it for another time as we need to hurry out of here, come on," said Naruto, then he held onto Charles' hand much to his surprise as they ran out of the class with Ichika following them.

"We change in the changing room at the Arena, we always go first to change before the girls in every practice session, so you'll have to get used to it," said Ichika.

"Why's that?" asked Charles.

"Mostly because there are no changing rooms for males and since we the guys change clothes very quickly, we're allowed to go first," said Naruto.

"O-okay," said Charles with a pink tinge on his cheeks much to both boys' confusion.

"Is something the matter?" asked Ichika curiously.

"I-It's nothing at all!" said Charles.

"He's kinda weird," thought Naruto.

"That's the same thing you said about Hinata," said Kurami.

"Well Hinata's a girl while he's a guy,"

Suddenly a girl popped out from a corridor much to their surprise.

"I find the rumored male student and he's with Uzumaki-kun and Orimura-kun!"

No sooner she said that than a large crowd of girls gathered around Naruto and the others.

"And look, he's holding hands with Uzumaki-kun!"

"Orimura-kun with black hair is nice, but two male blonds is way better!"

"I was afraid of this, guys we're gonna have to run!" said Naruto.

"Right!" said Ichika.

The trio turned around a corner and down a hallway to escape the girls before they got surrounded.

"Why is everyone making such a fuss?" asked Charles nervously.

"Because we're the only guys known so far to be able to pilot an IS, they're very curious about us," said Naruto.

"I guess you're right,"

"We're almost at the changing room," said Ichika.

Sure enough, they had arrived at their destination and stopped to catch a breath except for Naruto who didn't even break a sweat.

"Sorry that I gave the both of you so much trouble," said Charles.

"It's no problem, seeing that we have some time before the practice session, we can properly introduce ourselves. My name is Naruto Uzumaki Salvatore and this is my pet fox Kurami-chan, but you just call me Naruto," said Naruto and Kurami yipped in greeting.

"And I'm Ichika Orimura, you can also me Ichika. It's nice to meet you," said Ichika.

"Okay then, you can call me Charles,"

"Hey guys, we need to get changed since it's almost time for practice and we don't want Orimura-sensei on our case," said Naruto.

Both boys began to change from their school uniforms into their pilot suits with Kurami ogling at the blond, Naruto had just taken off his shirt to expose his chest when they heard a yelp, they turned to see Charles looking away from them with his hands covering his eyes.

"What's the matter Charles? You need to change quickly," said Ichika.

"Okay, but j-just don't look this way please," Charles stammered.

"Sure, though I have no intent to look at you while you change,"

"I guess he's a shy type," thought Naruto before turning away along with Ichika.

They turned around again only to be surprised at Charles already wearing his pilot suit which happens to be a tank top and burmudas with orange edges and he wears an orange pendant around his neck.

"Is there something the matter?" asked Charles.

"Wow, I know we guys dress quickly, but just wow," said Naruto with a quirked eyebrow.

"I'm just used to dressing quickly at home," said Charles nervously.

"It looks like your suit is much easier to wear than ours," said Ichika.

"That's because it's a special model from the Dunois Company,"

"Dunois, it's a family name too right?"

"My stepdad and I know of them, they're supposed to be the largest company in France when it concern the IS industry," said Naruto, having been told about the meeting Fabio frequently attends when he was at Italy.

"You're right Naruto, and my father happens to be the president of the company," said Charles.

"No wonder, cause you seem to have this aura like you're from a high class family," said Ichika.

However Charles looked a bit down after what Ichika said much to his confusion while Kurami was looking at him with a small frown. Later the trio rejoined their class along with Class 2 as they all gathered at the training field for the IS practical.

"We will begin practice starting today," said Chifuyu.

"Yes ma'am!" both classes responded in chorus.

"First, we will be watching a practice combat. Huang, Alcott," said girls responded to their names that Chifuyu called "Since you have personal machines, you should be able to begin immediately,"

"So much trouble, why do I have to?" Ling mumbled.

"I don't feel too encouraged to do this since it feels like I'm in some exhibition," said Cecelia walking forward alongside Ling.

Chifuyu passed by and whispered for them to hear "You two need some enthusiasm, especially this is your chance to show off with him watching,"

Hearing this made tinges of pink appear on the cheeks of both girls as they immediately perked up.

"This is the stage for me, Cecelia Alcott the representative student candidate for England," said Cecelia.

"It's a great chance to you our difference in skills as personal IS holders," said Ling with a smirk with both classes sweatdropping.

"What did sensei just tell them?" whispered Charles.

"Don't know, must be some sort of pep talk," said Naruto.

[More like letting them know that they have an opportunity to impress a certain someone] said Kushina.

"So who shall be my opponent? I wouldn't mind if it's against Ling-san," said Cecelia "I'll show you who's most suited to be with Naruto-san,"

"That would be my line, I'll slaughter you," said Ling "And scare you away from my fellow ramen buddy,"

"No need to rush, idiots. Your opponent is…" Chifuyu looked up to the sky to see something diving towards them and screaming.

Everyone else looked up and were surprised to see that it was actually Maya who is currently piloting a green IS but spiraling out of control.

"Maya-sensei?!" said Naruto in shock.

"Please get out of the way!" shouted Maya.

Everyone scrambled out of the way except for Naruto who was rather running towards her, he activated his bracelet and was immediately piloting Odin. He quickly ascended towards Maya with his arms stretched out, once she got close enough, he grabbed her but was also sent spiraling as well.

"Kaa-san!" thought Naruto.

[On it Sochi-kun! Increasing power!] Kushina responded.

The wings released an extra burst of energy enough for Naruto to somersault in midair before managing to stabilize properly and was now hovering while holding Maya in a bridal carry. Maya's face was flushed red and her heart bashed against her ribcage like a drum due to being held so close to the blond.

"N-Naruto-kun saved me and he's c-carrying l-like a b-b-bride!" thought Maya, her mind fell into a fantasy of her in a white wedding dress and Naruto in a blue tuxedo as they walked down the aisle of a cathedral.

Odin's helmet opened up to reveal Naruto's face looking at her in worry "Maya-sensei, are you okay?"

Maya snapped out of her thoughts to answer "I-I'm okay, t-thanks for catching me,"

"Don't mention it, let's get you down," said Naruto with a foxy grin, making her almost faint as they descended towards the ground.

Most of the girls from both classes were squealing how Naruto acted like a hero straight out of a fairy tale while a certain group of girls were watching with jealousy and mentally grumbling about stealing the 'first'.

"Now that the potential disaster has been prevented, let's us begin with the battle. I must warn you that Yamada-sensei is a former candidate representative," said Chifuyu.

Naruto, having reverted Odin to its closed form looked at Maya in shock "You were a candidate representative before? I never would have expected to hear that,"

"T-that was ages ago and I never got past being a candidate student," Maya shyly looked away.

"But it's two against one?" said Cecelia confusedly.

"That's a little unfair," said Ling hesitantly.

"Rest assured, you will lose easily," said Chifuyu, making them frown a bit. "Now then, begin!"

Cecelia activated Blue Tears with Ling doing the same with Shenlong before ascending into the air along Maya in her own IS as everyone watched from the ground in anticipation for the upcoming practice battle.

"I won't be holding back," said Cecelia.

"Same could be said for me," said Ling.

"I'm ready," Maya responded with absolute focus which is a far cry from her usual demeanor.

Cecelia swung into action as she deployed her bits which flew towards Maya while firing along the way, Maya skillfully darted from left to right to evade the oncoming shots but made no move to attack as she took a glance at Ling who was aiming her Impact Cannons and fired as well before using the shield attachment to partially defend against the incoming shots.

Meanwhile the others on the ground watched the ongoing battle attentively while Naruto was still surprised to see Maya fight so expertly.

"Whoa, she's pretty good at piloting an IS," thought Naruto.

[It should be obvious, given that she's a teacher] said Kushina.

Chifuyu then spoke up "Dunois, make a commentary on the IS Yamada-sensei is using,"

"Y-yes ma'am, Yamada-sensei's IS is a Raphael Revive from the Dunois company. It's a machine developed at the end of the 2nd Generation, but its specifications rival the early 3rd Generation machines. In terms of deployed mass production IS models, it went on sale the last but has the 3rd largest user-base in the world. By changing the equipment, it can be configured for all types including physical combat, sniper role and defense," said Charles.

[In other words, this particular IS can be equipped many varieties of weapons unlike the Uchigane that is more on close combat] said Kushina.

They looked up to see Maya using a sniper rifle to exchange fire with Cecelia, she immediately darted to the side to evade a slash from Ling who wielded her Souten Gagetsu in dual mode. Docking the sniper rifle, Maya reached to the side of her waist and pulled out a short combat knife and rapidly parried the strikes, suddenly she pushed Ling back and quickly ascended right as a blue projectile struck Ling by mistake, turns out the shot came from Cecelia with her Blue Pierce laser rifle who looked surprised.

"Watch where you're shooting!" Ling shouted angrily.

"Well you should have kept her still for a few more seconds!" Cecelia retorted.

She would have said more had her systems not alerted her of incoming fire from Maya and took evasive maneuvers…however she ended up crashing into Ling who was moving into position for another attack. Maya flew above them while swapping the sniper rifle for a grenade launcher as she took aim and fired, the girls could only look up in shock before the projectile slammed in to them and exploded before crashing into the ground.

"How could I have lost?" said Cecelia in disbelief.

"You were having your evasive movements predicted by her so easily!" said Ling.

"Same could be said for you too!"

[They would have stood a better chance against Maya had they worked well together, plus Maya is quite the veteran that she could be graded as Chuunin level] said Kushina.

"Yeah I realized that the hard way," thought Naruto, recalling the test he underwent when he was in Team 7 and the humiliation.

[Maybe you could teach them later about teamwork] Kushina suggested.

Chifuyu walked towards Cecelia and Ling while Maya landed back on the ground.

"You should understand the abilities of teachers now, so from now on treat them with respect. Now we'll be doing group practice, personal machine holders will be the leaders, split up now,"

Immediately several girls rushed towards Ichika and Charles, though there were a higher number of girls in Naruto's group.

"Please take care of us Uzumaki-kun," said one of the girls.

"We can't wait to learn a lot from you," said another girl.

"We'll be in your care!" all of them spoke at once while bowing to him with a hand stretched out.

"O-okay, I'll do my best," Naruto responded reluctantly.

[If I don't know any better, it's like they're proposing to you Sochi-kun] Kushina spoke teasingly.

"Kaa-san I don't need that in my mind right now!" thought Naruto with a blush.

Cecelia and oddly Ling looked at Naruto and his group with envy.

"Times like these, I wish I wasn't a personal IS holder," thought Cecelia.

"Why does it bother me that Naruto is being surrounded by those girls when I like Ichika?" thought Ling confusedly.

At the moment, Naruto was guiding one of the girls who was piloting the Uchigane by walking step by step.

"Remember to view the IS as an extension of yourself, it will respond to your movements and act accordingly," Naruto instructed, the girl complied and her movements became much smoother before finally stopping at his command.

"Phew, I was so nervous. Thanks for teaching me Uzumaki-kun," said the girl happily.

"You're welcome, keep on practicing and you'll be doing it with your eyes closed," said Naruto with a foxy grin, making the girls around him blush. He glanced to the side and saw Ichika in Byakushiki holding a blushing Houki in a bridal carry to the cockpit of the Uchigane and smirked.

"I bet a hundred bowls of ramen that he's doing it with no romantic intentions,"

[No need to bet cause it's pretty obvious] said Kushina.

Afterwards everyone returned to the academy and changed back into their uniforms while Naruto reunited with Kurami. They were walking to the cafeteria when they heard a call from behind.

"Naruto-san!"

They turned to see Cecelia quickly walking up to them with her hands behind her back.

"Cecelia-chan, what's up?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Erm you see…I happened to wake up early this morning and prepared lunch but I ended up making too much. So I hoping to invite you to the roof to eat with me," said Cecelia holding out a picnic basket from behind.

"Oh-ho, the impression by cooking tactic…well played, If only I could do the same as a student," Kurami grumbled.

"That's nice of you Cecelia-chan, I would like to," said Naruto with a smile.

"That's wonderful, let us be on our way," Cecelia smiled back but in her mind, a chibi version of her was jumping around with joy.

They made their way upstairs to the rooftop, but when they opened the door, Cecelia's smile turned into a frown with what they're seeing. Turns out that someone was already there and it happened to be Ichika, Charles, Houki and Ling, thought it was noted that Houki wasn't pleased either and it's didn't have anything to do with their arrival.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" asked Naruto.

"Houki had invited me to the roof for lunch, but then I thought it would be better if we all eat together and was about to call you and Cecelia over," said Ichika.

Naruto, Kurami and Cecelia all had a deadpanned look on their faces at how dense the guy is as it was so obvious that Houki was inviting just him and not anyone else.

"Can this guy get any denser?" said Kurami.

[Not even Minato-kun's density is to that point] said Kushina.

"Well since we're here, might as well join them okay Cecelia-chan?" said Naruto.

"If you say so Naruto-san," said Cecelia with a pout.

They walked towards the group and settled on the grass next to them, with everyone with the exception of Naruto, Ichika and Charles opening their lunches. Ling had Sweet and Sour Pork, Cecelia's was sandwiches of different fillings and Houki's was a bento (Can't exactly describe as there are various types).

"Why don't try one Naruto-san? This will show you that there are delicious thing in England too," Cecelia held the basket out to Naruto.

"Sure thing Cecelia-chan, I'd like to try one," Naruto reached out and picked a sandwich before taking a bite. Suddenly his tongue was assaulted by a taste which was anything but pleasant "Oh kami, wha-what's this?! The texture's normal but the taste…I can describe it!"

[Sochi-kun, is something wrong?] asked Kushina worriedly.

"So how's the taste, is it good?" asked Cecelia curiously.

Naruto's complexion had turned purple and was currently sweating as he forcibly swallowed the bite before smiling nervously.

"Words fail me when I try to describe the taste," said Naruto neither telling a lie nor the truth.

"Really, then perhaps Kurami would like to have one too," Cecelia turned to see the vixen curled and asleep "I guess she's too tired to eat,"

However Kurami sensed something wrong with Naruto when he bit into the sandwich and had linked with his senses and almost yelped upon sensing the taste. So when she heard Cecelia wanting to offer her a sandwich, she quickly pretended to be asleep to avoid sharing the same fate with Naruto.

Meanwhile Houki had offered a bit of her bento to Ichika who willingly complied before helping himself to a piece of chicken and taking a bite.

"Wow, this taste delicious! This must have involved lots of work," said Ichika.

Houki smiled brightly at his praise "Its flavoring is ginger, soy sauce, grated garlic, and I mixed in some pepper before frying. And to add a little bit more flavor, I also added a hint of grated radish,"

"That explains the great taste," said Ichika.

Ling frowned at the exchange and was about to butt in when she glanced to the side and noticed Naruto looking at the sandwich with discomfort and at how Cecelia was smiling and felt even more annoyed before approaching them.

"Hey Naruto, wanna have a bite of my Sweet and Sour Pork?" asked Ling.

"Are you sure Ling?" asked Naruto while Cecelia frowned at her.

"Yeah you treated me to a meal before, so now it's my turn. So give it a try," Ling held out a pair of chopsticks to the blond.

"Naruto-san cooked for her? Since when? I can't fall behind!" thought Cecelia.

"Okay then," Naruto took the chopsticks and used them took pick a piece before putting in his mouth and ate it "Whoa this taste pretty good, and thankfully overwrote the previous taste,"

"Thanks, I did tell you that I worked in my father's restaurant," Ling smiled smugly at a frowning Cecelia.

"It's nice to see that you're all getting along so well," said Charles.

"Well we're all friends here," said Ichika with a smile.

"That's pretty much it," said Naruto in agreement.

After school, Chifuyu revealed that Charles will be Naruto's roommate given that he has an extra bed and Ichika is still having Houki as a roommate with the rooms not being ready yet. At the moment Naruto wearing a t-shirt and shorts is treating Charles who is wearing a tracksuit to a cup of green tea.

"I've never this kind of tea before, but it's very soothing," said Charles.

"First time for everything, even new food," said Naruto taking a sip of the green tea while rubbing behind Kurami's ears, making her purr blissfully.

"Aaaaahhh, I'm in heaven," murmured Kurami.

"I heard that you and Ichika do IS training after school," said Charles.

"That's right, and I normally train with Cecelia-chan and Ling on the weekends," said Naruto.

"Then can I join in? I have a personal machine too, and I hope to learn a bit from you,"

"Sure you can, I don't mind and I'm sure the others won't either,"

"Thank you, you can count on me,"

The next day, everyone was in class when Maya arrived to say something quite surprising.

"Umm…I have a happy announcement again today, our class will be joined with a new friend," said Maya before gesturing to the student now standing before them.

She is a girl with long silver hair, a red right eye and a black eye patch on her right eye, reminding Naruto of Kakashi. She wears a modified version of the academy's uniform which is a pair of baggy pants and black jockey boots.

"This is Laura Bodewig, a transfer student from Germany,"

"What's going on?" murmured one of the girls.

"Transfer students, two days in a row?" whispered another.

"It's kinda strange no matter how you look at it,"

"Everyone please be quiet, we haven't finished introducing her yet," said Maya.

"Say your greetings, Laura," said Chifuyu.

"Yes instructor!" said Laura.

This made Naruto quirk an eyebrow in curiosity "Instructor? Could it be that they met before?"

"That might be so," said Kurami.

"My name is Laura Bodewig," said Laura

.

.

.

"Ummm…is that it?" asked Maya confusedly.

"That's all," Laura glanced at Ichika and immediately frowned upon seeing Ichika and approached him "So it's you,"

Ichika was confused for a moment but the next thing he knew…he received a backhanded slap from Laura much to the shock of everyone around especially Naruto.

"What did she do that for?!" he thought angrily.

"I will not accept that you're her brother, I will never accept it!" Laura declared with anger.


HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE ON FANFICTION!

This is Hussbek online with another chapter, looks like another male IS user has joined the academy and we have another transfer student who has it out for a confused Ichika, is Naruto going to simply stand by and watch or is he going to butt in as always to help a friend? Stick around to find out and let's not forget that a certain someone is targeting the blonde's cheeks.

Before any of you complain about me nerfing Ling and Cecelia in this battle, keep in mind that I'm trying to follow the canon storyline a bit while putting a few twists of my own. So all flamers should put out their blowtorches.

This is Hussbek online with another chapter

Signing out.