~::~ Know Your Surroundings: Part 1 ~::~

After a most satisfying breakfast where all of them appeared to have eaten the same thing, their guests offered to clean up for the gentlemen.

There was no need for that and Naruto couldn't wait to show them why. "Madams, if you're both ready," he said while lifting from his seat, a open palm out to the exit back into the hall, "I think it's time you met someone quite special."

Iruka followed suit. "He's also proud so pay his pages no mind."

'Pages?' Sakura arched a pink brow, lost for a moment's breath.

"The b-book!" Hinata muttered quietly in excitement, ready to see the cute living thing. She couldn't pull her friend up and along fast enough.

"But the dishes still need to be cleaned?"

"And they will be, Sakura. Trust me, you've no need to worry about that. Neither of you owe us anything." The kind blond held open the door for them, all smiles to a curious pink face and a more anxious pale one.

"Chores around here become a spectacle rather than a hassle, madams. It leaves us time for more important things." Iruka was the last to leave, being ushered to the lead right then afterwards. "Naruto?"

"You're the Lord here and a Professor! You know more than me by those ranks alone so go on. I never get tired of learning something when it's from you anyway." Naruto therefore, did not have to attend college or any real schooling, but that was only one minuscule reason why he was kept from the public eye. "You make it sound more interesting than naught. I personally don't really care for magic all that much so I know I'll downplay it."

"How come?" Sakura asked with a tilt of her head to the side.

"Personal reasons." He foolishly thought that would be the end of it.

"What p-personal reasons?" Hinata hit him with speculation from the right.

"Uhh, just a preference? I don't mind it sometimes but… um..."

Iruka let him suffer the narrowing gazes that made the blond shrink and stumble for a moment. This was all his goofy ward's fault for being so open and putting himself in this position. He came to the rescue seconds in and did what he had to do most often when people got too curious about the young blond man, which was casual redirection. "I do apologize, madams. Naruto has always been like this because he doesn't like to study. Magic is especially hard for him to comprehend too. He used to run to Vasili often in an attempt avoid his lessons on that subject alone."

"Vasili?"

"W-Who?"

Naruto could breath now with no pretty eyes digging in him for the truth.

"He's this way." Iruka guided them down a familiar path, mentioning the why to of things along the way. "We keep him by the front door because he likes to go on walks at random. This way we can reach the gate faster. The estate isn't that big either, so please don't get overwhelmed. We have a substantial amount of land that's actually below the standard for most homes around here. There is no farmland so to speak, or really any outer buildings besides the two training lodges."

"Training lodges?"

Naruto grinned and crossed his arms at Sakura's interest in it. "Typical. Sasuke only cared about that as well."

"I do not." She only partially did. "I was just wondering why he has such a place."

The blond in the middle of the two women, merely shrugged just to annoy her on purpose as if silently saying, 'Sure.'

She huffed and rolled her eyes, letting that tint of pink stamp just below her eyes. "Whatever. Where is that weird Elf-man anyway? Is he really not going to join us?"

'Hopefully not.' Hinata still found him off-putting. The giant and shiny navy shield on the wall nearby, gave her different vibes. They'd passed it before on the way to the kitchen, but only now did she get a chance to really look at all the silver lining details. At the center was the crest for the Emperor that comprised of... nothing. This was not traditional for each new leader had a different symbol.

The late Emperor ran with a leaf.

As for the current, no one knew why he decided to go with a blank canvas. He remains the first to ever do so. Perhaps there was some symbolism in nothing. If there was, no one knew but the Emperor himself who was reported to be a very peculiar and reportedly lazy man.

Hinata would still take his company over Sasuke. In her pondering and staring, she didn't miss much of the conversation since they were still discussing the rude one.

"-you will not be seeing him taking a walk around here doing nothing. Sasuke will either be out working, feeding the horses, surveying, or he's training. He only retires to his room to rest when he wants to."

"See, I told you." Naruto slapped the back of his right hand on the open palm of his left and said, "He's never done anything fun since he's been here. We offer him to go with us to the fall festival every year and you know what that bastard says?"

"What?" Sakura smiled, taking an easy guess, "He's working?"

"Precisely- She gets it! Iruka, I really think we need an intervention. He works everyday even on days when we have nothing at all. I've no idea where he goes sometimes."

Iruka chuckled at his caring and dramatic ward. "Yes you do. Sasuke will check the perimeter and then go straight to the training grounds like clockwork. You just don't go there anymore because you're tired of sparing with him."

"Can you blame me though? He does nothing else. I mean I love a good fight but come on… We just got done arresting a thief, saving someone's baby from being eaten by goblins, and mind you! That was a nest we walked into. We had to clear the whole bloody thing out before they spread all under the place." He expressed with wide motions, eventually pointing over yonder. "Then the same blasted pixies are still stealing peoples cattle down here in the south! Tracking things that fly remains a time consuming feat." Naruto allowed the stress from yesterday to finally catch up with him. "Can you imagine trying to stay clean after all that and then getting tossed around by a filthy, scavenger troll while your 'partner' takes five minutes to cast one damn spell that doesn't even work?! I swear on the heavens that he did that crap on purpose."

Sakura and Hinata did laugh to themselves as he ranted on. One of them in particular, started to snicker less and less the more she noticed something that made the blond's tale quite controversial.

There was not a single scar on him.

No bruise, rough patches, ect.

His skin looked as if he'd never taken a hit all his life.

Hinata saw her friend's bewilderment and followed her concerning gaze. 'What is it?' There was nothing odd other than how the blond man could keep talking without taking a breath. The gracious home owner looked so used to it that all he could do was smile and nod. Because they were busy, she could speak as quietly as she could without drawing much attention. "What's wrong?"

Sakura tapped her neck where a scar from months ago was finally fading. Unlike humans, dwarves, or Elves, Orc's possessed healing factors that are above average capacity. This did not mean that scars would not form and stay for a while. They loved them in fact when it was from a worthy cause. The question here is, where were the wounds that Naruto should have from such heroic feats? She really wanted to know. "Do you see any on him?"

Hinata took on that audible request, scanning Naruto up and down while he continued to describe his plight.

"-and the troll was almost as tall as the Emperor's Wall!"

"You've never seen The Wall, Naruto." Iruka had though, on a cover up business trip of course. In the state of Victus, smack in the center, was the capital city, Asuma. It was renamed so after the last Emperor's funeral. The stone walls separated the ruler's home city from the other four surrounding it. A lesser structure surrounded the state all together, cutting it off from its two neighboring states with the intent to only keep out one of them in particular. Because of the double security, his trip was not so fun. "I'm not taking you there either."

It would not be safe for his kind.

The women knew not of what his kind was, but they were beginning to think he couldn't possibly be human to withstand all he'd retold without a scratch. That, or someone was lying...

"I wasn't requesting to. I was only making a scale comparison. You always said it reached the stars!"

"I said that's the rumor, Naruto. I've no idea how tall it really is." It reached to the clouds and possibly beyond from his memory. "I am certain that troll couldn't have been that big though. Are you sure it wasn't just five little pixies or something?"

"Wow, very funny, Iruka." He let the older man have that laugh at his expense, brow twitching some. "Yeah, five tiny pixies flung me through a tree and then played stone skipping with my body across down the river bank."

"So that's how you got cleaned then?"

"Iruka!" He shouted in exasperation, still fuming though he was petted to calm down.

"I'm joking. You know I believe you."

"Um, what happened to your scars then?" Sakura built up the courage to ask as the atmosphere dropped to a light-hearted zone.

"My scars?" He was so used to not seeing any after an hour or so of conflict that he forgot just how that knowledge was only common to him and those who knew. "I don't get any sca- Oww!" A smack to the back of the head turned that light bulb on for him. "Oww-OH! Ooh, ohhh those scars!" He laughed it off so poorly that Iruka had to mentally face-palm. "We use magic to heal so I don't really see them much or at all."

"But magic only heals the wounds to… help the scar form faster."

The dunce hat slowly drifted down on the shocked blond. He should have known that.

That information is commonplace even among non-gifted folk. Iruka stepped in to help him out and also challenge her intelligence. He rested assured that the more silent woman would not be so troublesome. She seemed more reclusive with her curiosity. "I know where someone will be spending his afternoon if there's no work today."

Naruto hung his head shamefully. "I'll start in the mana section under the medical tab first thing."

"Good. As for my ward's clear lack of any knowledge in that sector, his equally missing scars are simply because of enchanted make up. Many actresses and actors often get hurt during live shows so we simply borrowed their little trick. He tends to get embarrassed when we use it so we just call it magic all together." This was true and a lie all at once. The civilian complicity in this type of magic is something a student of his would be able to call his bullshit on in seconds. This is because, as we know, magic can be gifted through a medium and interact with anything. Yet, there is a big limit to what mana and the spoken word can do. Making things vanish is one of the plausible tasks and not really so. In this world, to those who've passed his class, Vanish is just a fancy word for teleportation or invisibility.

Nothing can truly disappear so to speak.

Inanimate objects can be turned invisible and still felt though this will cost mana to run out the longer it's kept going. Teleportation is usually preferred here for it's a lesser cost all together. Getting it back shouldn't be a problem as long as the area it's sent to was not forgotten and remains known to the caster.

Blemishes or scars on flesh however, cannot be teleported. They can only be rendered invisible for a period of time once again depending on how long one is willing to let their mana bleed out.

Sakura was smart, but her self-schooling was non-existent to that extent.

Her friend did have a moment's doubt because of that fact that she is Elkin and had come from a wealthy class where teachings were early. That only brought up bad memories so she didn't speak out on the issues with his claims.

Iruka took their silence and thoughtful gazes as a win nonetheless. "Madams, I hope Naruto's vanity won't make you both this puzzled the whole day."

"Hey, I'm not that vain. I just wanted to really look presentable that day. Which was pointless because we didn't even get our wives." Naruto bit his tongue, realizing how that sounded seconds too late. "Not that I regret helping you ladies at all!"

"It's okay. We got what you meant." Sakura assured him to no avail for he still seemed distraught by what he'd said. He was so emotional unlike their missing knight, which brought her back to the initial topic of their conversation. He didn't seem like one to cover his scars when she thought about it. To time consuming. She was sure she hadn't seen him with a scratch either. Was he that good or just uppity about his image? This wasn't something she could just ask either. She'd have to find out for herself. "Iruka, will we be able to see the training grounds today?"

"Hm? Oh, oh of course. I almost forgot. Back to the tour. Naruto, stop crying. You didn't offend anyone." Iruka started their trek back up with a glance back to the sulking blond.

Naruto sniffled and nodded, carrying this mortified cloud with him.

"B-But what is this?" Hinata asked only to be heard by the ears of a man ready to redeem himself. She pointed to the shield when the eager blond turned, blushing like mad when he grinned with this energy that screamed, 'I'm about to help you to death!'

"That's Iruka's father's shield! He was one of the best shield knights that ever lived!"

'We're never going to get off this hall.' Iruka sighed and then smiled, walking on back with his hands in his suit pants pockets. "He wasn't that good, Naruto."

"For a dwarf he was!"

"Excuse me?" Sakura blinked, aghast and positive she'd misheard him because of how loud Naruto was when excited.

"Ah yes, I'm half Orkan and half dwarven. I'm an... Orcven?"

"I thought we agreed to call you a dork."

"I still fail to find humor in that, Naruto." Iruka allowed his silly ward to just laugh out against him. "It's not clever at all either." He only caused the blond to laugh harder.

"How are you part dwarf?" This had to be another lie. He had her ears and… then she saw it. There across his nose was a darker patch of skin that stretched well beneath his eyes. How'd she missed that before, she had no idea. "You really are- but you're so tall?"

"L-Lucky." Hinata mumbled, wishing she gained a few inches herself among other things.

"Thank you mother." He kissed two digits closed together and then held them to the sky for a moment. "Not that there's anything wrong with being shorter than average, believe me. My father never made it a point and he did prove a lot of people wrong but… there is always some form of bigotry everywhere. He feared that for me so I hope he's resting easy."

"I see… Did he like his Shield Knight days?" She figured that he must not have since he settled down and had a family and all.

"He loved it, Sakura. There was not a day where we didn't hear a story about it, especially the one of when he was scouted for the army. They only do the choosing around the summer every year as you might have known and he wanted to be one of the lucky twenty. The ages were still fifteen to eighteen back then and he looked about ten. That didn't stop him from trying out of course and embarrassing my mother by dedicating his course run to her." Iruka patted the shield that didn't budge an inch, happy memories coming back in droves.

He then said reminiscently, "Can you imagine how odd of a sight it was for this teen who looked like a young boy to be proclaiming his love for an Orkan female taller than him by so many inches? She had no idea who he was at first either but she learned… Everyone who laughed at him that day, learned the name Ikkaku The Shield. This was all he needed in battle to protect and defend."

"Don't forget to tell them this thing is ten times his size too and he lifted it like it was the world's lightest feather. That's just a fraction of how amazing shield knights are though. Only they can lift the shield. No amount of mana on this earth can wield it but them. I've failed and even Sasuke's tried." Naruto tossed on the information that got to him the most. "It's since been stuck up here by his dad. I don't know if it's magic or not but that's some insane strength for a dwarf to have if it isn't. "

"I'm not sure either, Naruto. I do know, he had a lot of heart." Till it was ripped out of him... Iruka dealt with that scarring memory via a small twitch and one single clap. "Moving on then. We really need to wake Vasili. I'm sure he's up and flipping his pages like mad by now."

There was a silence that followed which was made worse because even Naruto didn't speak. He tagged along behind his savior with a slight frown wanting to turn into a smile. He'd give anything to correct a tragic past not of his own.

Hinata stayed behind a moment, drawn to the shield more now that she knew something about it. While the other's backs were turned, she quietly lifted a hand to poke it just once. The first initial boop gave her a cold feeling turned warm in a flash. She pressed only a tad harder and the damn thing nearly came off the wall. She shrieked silently and put it back right, wondering in a panic to what the hell just happened. Had Iruka fooled them? This was supposed to be immovable. Maybe they were joking or this wasn't actually the shield of a knight. Whatever was going on, she figured it was best she did not touch it again.

She scurried thereafter to catch back up with them, avoiding Sakura's curious brow to where she'd been. She shrugged and looked off and around, being as aloof as possible.


~::~ That Tea Did Him In ~::~

Sasuke had changed into a black, sleeveless tunic because he did like the breeze during the warm spring air. Though he was napping on his back with a forearm over his stomach and the other behind his head, he still had on his boots and ankle banded pants of gothic design. The sight of him would make a Vakhmet hunter grab the closest stake around and jam it into his chest.

First they'd have to get close enough to him.

He rested with a knee raised, an indication he could get up at any minute.

The cowl around his neck stayed loose there for quick cover ups.

Or should we say, disguise. A most noble one at that.

All eyes were on him when he and Naruto walked together, thus forcing the people to focus on his origin alone. Naruto got the praise and he did too though it was the estranged kind because they weren't sure what he was or why he let that blond wear his armor. Talk spread that it was made of holy steel and so burned him. He chuckled in his sleep at that and how fortunate that idiot was to be only half monstrosity. The defects were a mess of genetic splicing and not prone to being put down by conventional means.

He would know.

He's stabbed Naruto before with a pure blade… one of him that is.

Ah yes, their fight before they got acquainted was rough. He'd been exposed to a lot of things but never a feral like this.

Vampires, or Vakhmets, are monsters with unnatural abilities and the highest thirst for blood. One key trait of theirs is that they can turn into a spree of bats and fly off.

Naruto, being a defect, can literally create multiples of himself instead and cause utter chaos on the field. He grimaced at the memory, balling up a fist at a power he'd… want to have. It would be useful and effective. The spoken word however, does not grant multiplication. Thankfully Naruto was the only feral he knew that was like that and so had to worry about. Damn it if that day didn't feel like yesterday though.

It was his first mission out of Victus and-

"MESSAGE!" A most energetic hawk broke his train to recollection and darted through the open balcony space, talons golden and feathers a earthy brown with white splotches around those ember eyes. A black string around his neck had two clear beads on them that jiggled with his movements. He soon screeched gleefully and landed on the recipient's knee. There he flapped his wings about before settling and broadcasting again, "INCOMING MESSAGE FOR THE INFAMOUS MYSTIC KNIGHT, UCHIHA SASU-"

"Must you be so loud, Toshi?!" Red immediately painted over black, forcing the bird to fly away to the night stand nearby where it nearly knocked over a half-empty cup that seemed to agitate the knight more.

He had to flutter back to the bed this time and keep his distance. His excitement was not so much contained. "Consider my most heartfelt apology, Sir Sasuke but- I AM TO BE A FATHER SOON! You know how long I and Mira have been trying and… It's been many years but hopefully our child will be here in a month's time or less, huhu! You must come to the hatching, I insist."

Sasuke's anger subsided, unable to keep it rising with the happy soon to be parent. "Congratulations, Toshi. Do lower your voice though, please."

He tucked those wings in and dipped his head, scared beak ever sturdy. "Pardon me again, I just- I'm so thrilled! You are coming, yes? I didn't hear an answer. No answer, no work."

"Toshi."

"Oh alright! Don't give me those eyes." Toshi then cleared his throat and ruffled his feathers some. "The Cazco family requests Noble Uzumaki Naruto, and Mystic Knight, Uchiha Sasuke, to help with the pesky pixies again. Try saying that five times fast, huhu. Erhm, anyway, the vermin came back after you all left yesterday and stole one of their cows again! The family sends their apologies for the late request but they didn't want to bother you both due to your special occasion. Landing on such, how'd it go? I heard it was something to see, huhu! Are they lovely? Have you mated? You must have. You never rest for anything!"

Sasuke closed his eyes, succumbing to a headache. This is one of the less known reasons why he doesn't take a break. His delivery bird had a loud mouth like many others, including the non-avian beings. He thus feared some of those unnecessary rumors spreading. Gods forbid false news reached the Emperor claiming he'd broken his vow to be celibate. Who the hell would he sleep with anyway? That Orc woman? They'd just get into a fight and… He opened that set of onyx back up rather quickly.

"Aww look at that, a rare blush on stone! She must have been amazing, eh? I can't wait to meet her. You know my lovely Mira will have to set eyes on her too. She's always going on about how you desperately need a loving touch in your life and should stop running from it. Of course I tell her that's pure nonsense. You will revive your bloodline once retired like we've discussed so what purpose would it serve to not keep an eye out." Toshi nodded as if self-confirming, wings moving about.

"I told her, I said, 'Mira, darling, Sasuke is Elkin! They live for family and elite-status.' And she says, you won't believe this, but she turns to me and says, 'Yet he uses a poor man's delivery service.' Can you believe her retort?" He shamefully put a wing over his chest cavity. "I nearly fell out of our nest! A poor man's delivery serv- Hogwash! We birds are just as good as those shape shifting wolves, foxes, and delicious snakes. We've been around for ages longer too. Plus it's creepy turning into the person sending the message. I mean who does that? You might as well go yourself-"

"Toshi-"

"It's absurd is what it is!"

"Toshi!" He called out one more time. "Toshi, we discuss this every time we see each other." Sasuke shook his head to the bird who talked a little too much, slipping off the bed to grab his cape from off the hook. "Now, you said the Cazco family require our help, correct?"

"Woah, woah, woah. Don't change the subject… though I fear I might have done that myself a while back but still the day is long!" He flew over to that oak dresser, head bobbing about. "I mentioned my happy union and soon to be precious one. You should tell Toshi about yours. It's only proper. We're good friends after all who enjoy the classics." He received a gentle scratch to the back of his head and no confirming verbal answer after.

"Tell them we'll be there as soon as we can."

"But what about this woman you've yet to show me? And the hatching… And..." Toshi frowned, if birds could, as the unresponsive man left the room by normal means for once through the door. 'Guess I'll have to see her for myself.' Unfortunately, that would have to wait. The beads on his little necklace started to glow a green for an emergency caller. 'Dear heavens, these boys might be in for a busy day.'


~::~ Know Your Surroundings: Part 2~::~

"Would you like to do the honors, Naruto?" Iruka stood to the left side of the pedestal opposite the excited blond who beckoned the women closer.

"Yes sir!"

The living medium still breathed with a flutter of its pages as everyone gathered around. Naruto removed it's silk sheet and neatly folded it up to place on a dusted shelf nearby. He put his palms together next and dipped his head some. "Oh great and knowledgeable Vasili... Good morning!"

Nothing happened for a minute or two after that cheerful greeting.

"I think he's upset because it's nearly the afternoon." Iruka crossed his arms and slightly pouted to the no longer moving book. "Sorry, madams. He can be a bit of a drama queen."

Vasili flipped open in a split second with a loud smack, pristine white pages creating a draft by how fast they flipped before landing in a random section. He startled the women only a smidgen, sending away their fright when calligraphy started to appear in a fade-in like pattern. The one word written so eloquently was, "King."

Naruto chuckled while his foster father groaned. "He's awake ."

"And still ever so high and mighty."

"I'm confused..." Sakura openly admitted what Hinata was experiencing as well. The sight itself was interesting but it raised a lot of questions. "Is he actually a king?"

"Oh heavens no. He's just an old friend who loved books a little too much and lives to represent a narcissus."

Those pages got to moving once more. "Don't be jealous."

"No one is jealous of you, Vasili. I promise. We can walk and eat for instance." Iruka got into arguments often with this man turned book.

"Ha, mortal claims." The pages changed again to give space to these words, "Beauties, watch this."

They sure did and even stepped back when the book started to levitate. An instant chill washed over their bodies and drew them closer to each other. The curtains all around, bunched up and tied themselves to let in the sunlight. Torches and lanterns were unlit from the night before with a sharp gust of wind that they could see travel throughout the hall and past the front door. It bounced from post to post, taking away the warmth. Before they could blink, brooms and dustpans came out of the woodwork and went to cleaning. Once all was started, Vasili settled back down on the pedestal.

Naruto shared the women's excitement. "Would you ladies like a drink?" he gestured off to the distance where a silver tray was hovering their way. "He only brings out water I'm afraid."

"Well you should be drinking nothing else." Iruka narrowed his eyes to his ward who really didn't tell him everything. "Naruto."

"You should have a drink too, Iruka! Here, everyone gets one." Naruto got to spreading out those mugs, avoiding that scrutinizing gaze. "Mmm!"

Sakura shook her head and then gazed within the crystal clear liquid before looking to the floating tray just waiting for them to put it back. "How-... What is this type of magic? How'd he become a text?"

"Was he c-cursed?" Hinata frowned for the poor soul if he was.

"Far from it actually." Iruka sort of enjoyed their endless questions and did his best to answer them, unknowingly freeing Naruto from suspicion once more. "Vasili was once a scholar in the power of the spoken word at the college I teach at. He enjoyed studying and reading so much that on one day when I came to see him for a question I had, all I found was a book on his desk. Now knowing him, nothing is ever out of place. He's very neat and orderly so my first thought was that someone had left him a book to read. I went to pick it up and then it opened. The pages repeated my name and then went to explaining who it was. How he got like this, he has failed to tell me. I do know he doesn't wish to turn back."

"I will never."

"Because you can't or won't? Don't you miss food or breathing or anything like that?" Sakura asked earnestly.

"They never gave me / true joy."

"Three words is his limit too, madams. Best keep your questions short or you'll be here a while with a terrible excuse for a fan." Iruka massaged his temple from the pain this could be sometimes. "Blame him for writing so big."

"That is because / I am granting / your eyes rest." Vasili changed a couple of more times to say, "Also, Naruto is / here."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto grumbled over that cup. "I can read, Vasili."

"Are you sure? / It took you / awhile."

"That's because I was young and had never seen a book before." He really hated being dubbed a moron for reasons that weren't his fault sometimes...

"You avoided them still." Iruka mentioned in light of an adorable memory. He pulled the floating tray closer and said, "Naruto used to grab onto this and make Vasili fly him around the house just to get out of doing his homework."

Off topic majorly but Sakura found a snicker to spare.

Hinata did not because Vasili's existence was troubling since she did know a little bit about mana. "He can still use his powers?"

"Yes, I can."

"H-How?"

"I can't say."

"Why?" Sakura didn't mean to but she caused Vasili to close up suddenly. "Ah, um… oh no. I'm sorry. "

"It's nothing to do with you, Sakura. He really doesn't want to talk about it. I have a feeling it's because of the nature surrounding what he did that could possibly lead to an unlawful way," Iruka said wisely, a digit to the air.

"You mean like necromancy?"

"Why...yes." Iruka hadn't expected Sakura to answer so quickly let alone at all. In fact, both women were awfully familiar with things they shouldn't be too well acquainted with… or at least he assumed they shouldn't.

"I don't believe Vasili would stoop that low just to become inanimate somewhat." Naruto, while not keen on magic, straight out despised the dark arts branch of it. "Anyone who seeks corrupt power by Malthest and her bastard son will only live a life of suffering and death. Which is nothing short of what they deserve." The record skipped twice from his dead set tone, brewing an awkward air momentarily before he lifted it back up. "Those who worship Hikori's light like us, will live a just life."

Iruka apologized for that strange emotion flip. "I might have let him stay in the religious section a little too long. He knows his gods at least."

"You bet I do! They are the reasons we exist! Even the dragons are a part of us."

"Naruto, please don't start with those false beings." If Iruka ever regretted teaching his ward anything, it would be the topic of mythical beasts.

"They are not false!"

Vasili opened right up, sharing his opinion in bold letters, "They don't and / have never existed."

"You don't know that for sure." Naruto probably read too many stories once or thrice before bed. They were his favorite tales of valor and honor. "Just because something has never been seen doesn't mean it didn't exist."

"Evidence suggests otherwise. / These creatures left / no trail of / their possible existence."

"Maybe you've all been looking in the wrong place for years, hm? What do you women think?"

Hinata shook her head from left to right, answering faster than he expected. "No."

"I must agree with everyone else too, Naruto. There's only talk, no proof." She hated to put a pout on his face but she dealt in facts very much like someone else deciding to make a short appearance sooner than later.


A/N: I feel compelled to mention that the day is Tuesday. That will be noted as well on the beginning of a new day. I was going to go without it but it saves me from checking my notes every time. Every four complete seasons concludes a year as well. With that typed, this is planned to be a long tale and hopefully not to dragged out.

~ Awww! Thank you so much! I'm glad ya'll like it. Thank you all still for any fav, follow, or review no matter the context. Voice your concerns, spite, theories, advice, frustration, and ect to your heart's content at your will. Have a lovely day and a hopefully satisfying read. XoXoXo ~