Current Episode I'm On: S1 EP9
So, despite how far into the show I really am, I've done a lot of spoiler-reading so I'm not as off-target as I could have been.
Outside of that, I'm taking some guesses at personas from character designs, too.
~NRK~
He looked out at his surroundings again.
For maybe the millionth time, he wondered what sort of hell had his side caused. What sort of monsters was he in the army of?
Why?
'Why am I still here?' A young man thought, sitting atop a spire of metal, the working clanks, shift of people, and hissing structures below his perch coming into hearing range. "Dammit."
Slightly 'lax' dark blonde hair fell over his head, a pair of fox ears sitting on top with similar-colored fur on them.
His skin was peach-colored with a trio of whisker marks on his cheeks, slightly dim blue eyes looking out at the world around him.
At this 'Zone' of the lands of the planet.
The Fright Zone. Something that he was utterly baffled about when it came to his friends, his team, not realizing that they were the BAD GUYS!
"No, I'm not having that conversation again," he'd just become a bit depressed due to his own inaction.
Wearing a pair of brown cargo pants, some red and white combat boots, and a similar, skin-tight, long-sleeved top, the young man groaned again.
"Guh, they're gonna be doing combat training soon," it hurt to not put his all into it.
But he couldn't, not while he was working on this side.
On the side of the Horde, their faction, this place he'd been taken into and was now being trained by.
He couldn't prove to be an asset, he didn't want to work hard for people who were terrorizing the world at large. Who were killing people.
… Yet, what help was this former shinobi if he wasn't doing what he'd done before in his previous life? Why wasn't he helping by being that 'prophecy child' he was meant to be?
A flash of memories passed him and he groaned.
'Not yet,' he'd grown attached, he realized.
To his team, to his friends, to these people he'd grown-up alongside and worked together with. These other teens who he was sure didn't know any better… Well, that wasn't fully true.
He knew one of them knew better. Really, she was kind of the biggest reason he held off, too.
She was the one who needed the most help despite how much she might hate him thinking that.
'Catra'd beat the crap out of me,' he chuckled a bit, his legs hanging over the edge of the spire roof. 'Adora would break us up, Kyle would try his best, and the others would egg her on.'
Despite their faction, they'd become friends, somewhat. It made his heart warm to think he could still find good people on this side… but that was what also held him back.
He should have defected a long time ago. To join the side of the 'Rebels' and fight against the Horde with his other friend he'd made so many years ago on a chance trip he'd made in secrecy.
'I wonder what Bow's doing right now,' probably living up to his name, he'd bet.
He groaned before getting up and cracking his back.
"Alright, come on, me," the young man told himself with a fake smile.
The world cried for his help, the wind putrid, the lands growing destroyed, and the animals in pain.
His soul wilted.
"Let's… let's go and be the bad guy…"
~NRK~
He hurried down dark green corridors, passing circular robots and Horde officers before reaching one of the many Training Rooms they had.
The double-doored sliding entrance opened so he could grin nervously at a gathering of individuals in front of their Training Officer near a combat ring.
"Naruto!" The man shouted as the late arrival rubbed the back of his head with a wince.
"Sorry, teach," Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki, said with an apologetic look as he walked up to the assembled five individuals. "I got lost on the roads to life-"
"Cut the shit, boy, I ain't got time for it," Naruto slumped. "Now, make use of one of the few things you're good for and tell me if I need to make Catra run laps."
"Uh, your guess is about right? I mean, you know I won't know if you snuck her in here again perfectly, right?"
"Don't matter, making that skill work for you is what's keeping you on this team, boy," the man said before humming. "That and your rather outstanding reaction time, too bad it went to you."
"You're a gem, sir."
"Cut the sass. That's why we're using you, again, today for target practice, Bait."
'And that's my fault?' Naruto sweatdropped as he got a snicker from his side. "Thanks a lot, Adora, you're helping me, totally," he said as the girl at his side smirked a bit.
Adora, their 'greatest soldier', was maybe an inch or two below the male blonde's height.
She was slender with a slightly thicker frame than a regular girl of her age and size due to her own fully-accepting approach to their training. Bearing fair skin, blue eyes, and dirty blonde hair set into a ponytail with a small bunch of it in a 'high tuft' at the top of her head.
Wearing a similar outfit to himself, she grinned a bit at his 'misfortune'.
"You're the one who came late," she said before bumping shoulders with him. "So, thank you for being our eternal target once more."
"Well, when one of you can hit me solidly, we'll see where your head is at," he shrugged as her eyebrow twitched while the other members of their crew snickered or grinned competitively.
Adora was in the latter category, eyes full of 'light' but conflicted feelings he wasn't sure what to make of.
These guys were his 'weight' he'd carried to the end.
Where he'd do his best to convince them to leave with him when they were 'soldier ready' or at least defect when he knew they wouldn't be stationed at the base.
So, he went up into the ring, jumping in before being thrown his combative mitts.
Putting them on, he didn't have to guess who stepped in. "What's the score again?" He asked the preparing Adora.
The girl's eyes locked onto the blonde's back. '0 to 199,' she thought. "Around 125-74," Adora said.
The blonde boy shrugged. "I mean, you are the best of us."
'That's a lie,' the girl knew better.
Adora knew so much more about the blonde than he likely knew.
And it'd become as obvious to her as it always was when they got their match underway.
With her mitts on, Adora nodded as she slapped her fist into her palm, Naruto turning around to face her.
His blonde tail shifted side to side as their instructor got into the ring.
"Hmph, Adora, you know how this works," the man said before turning to Naruto. "And you, boy, need to actually attack your opponent."
"A-Ahehe," Naruto chuckled nervously at that. 'Thankfully, not wanting to hurt my friends is a lot easier than doing the opposite,' so, 'failing' in this exercise wasn't hard for him.
Especially because he could still show a 'quality' their forces would want while doing so.
"Mmmm," the man muttered something before jumping out. "Yeah, I'm sure this'll go differently. Adora, turn his face into meat and I won't have Catra running laps."
The girl perked up, eyes snapping to the man and then the boy across from her, grimacing at that. 'No, dammit,' she hated the look in the blonde's eyes right now.
That look of acceptance of his loss before she could even try her hardest. That look that bothered her since it made the lie 'reality'.
He wouldn't try here and one of her 'many wins' would occur once more.
Best to make this charade last while it counted.
"Begin!"
The first thing she did was step in and swing for his head.
Naruto leaned out of the way with his eyes on her.
Those eyes had her own narrowing before she swung up at his chin with her opposing fist.
He slid back while leaning below it.
Her miss turned into a right kick he blocked by raising his left side, blocking it.
The blow always confused her. 'His blocks are incredibly solid,' she slid her leg down, stomped, and threw a haymaker with her left arm.
Naruto was already behind her, a swift fist barely missing her ponytail as she turned and ducked, facing him while dodging the blow.
Adora pushed off her back foot before driving it right into the opposing blonde's crossed arms, sending him sliding back onto quickly recovering feet.
'You saw that coming,' she thought before rushing him again, punch parried.
Follow-up dodged, her next kick blocked, and swing at his chest was caught before he flipped her.
Even mid-air, Adora was prepared as she tightened her core and made a harsh spin back onto her feet.
Her opponent smiled a bit at that and she muttered something before throwing punch after punch, kick after kick.
And each one was blocked or dodged with increasing 'difficulty'.
Naruto's eyes watched her the entire way, his blocks coming up slower, his dodges thinner, and his parries more amateurish.
By the end, she 'got him' with a left cross that had him grappled to the ground, 'at her mercy'.
It made her a bit sick if not downright annoyed.
"Good, put that boy in his place," their instructor said as she got off her fellow blonde, wiping sweat off her forehead.
'Three minutes,' he was allowing the show to go on longer which, in the end, did work to her benefit.
"Dammit, boy, attack!" The man growled as Naruto rubbed the back of his head, chuckling sheepishly.
"It's just not that easy," he lied as Adora huffed a bit before she grabbed his shoulder and pulled him up. "Alright, alright! Easy!" Naruto said before looking more sheepish at her pout.
Not a hint of sweat on him.
Truly, she was never at an advantage, was she?
He was always in control and just lied, slacked, and gave in.
Why? Why did he always do this?
"That makes it 126-74, huh, Adora?" He grinned harmlessly.
'0-200.'
~NRK~
He ate like an animal-And it was done.
Adora's flat eyes stayed on the blonde's sixth empty bowl of noodles with a look that could have strong-armed the universe for answers.
Too bad it didn't work on her fellow soldier.
"W-Where does it all go?" Another boy at their table asked in disbelief.
He was thinner than even Adora was despite being an inch taller.
Bearing pale-blonde hair, brown eyes, fair skin, and a slightly long face, Naruto chuckled a bit as he pat his belly.
Another 'boy', a giant lizard boy, raised a brow at the group. "?"
"Dude, h-he's not like you! He's only got ears and tail, how does this equal you?!"
The green lizard boy cupped his chin in thought before shrugging.
Adora's face thumped against the table as she groaned, three big bowls next to her. "I-I… I can't beat him," she said in horror as her eyes snapped up to amused blues.
Blue eyes that seemed to gain a 'gleam' to them that she only ever saw in a few contexts.
Food times were usually some of those moments.
"Kyle, you might as well drop it," another girl from their squad said with an amused smirk. "Naruto's kind of like a puzzle that doesn't make sense."
She was as tall as Adora was while bearing brown skin, a brown mohawk composed of dreads with faded sides, and light-brown eyes.
"Lonnie, come on!" Kyle, the first boy, said in disbelief. "If even Rogelio will just run with it, w-what am I supposed to do?"
"Roll with it?" Lonnie offered. "Besides, once again, Naruto doesn't make sense most of the time," she said as she observed their fellow cadet. "He's got lower to barely-average scores but he's got stamina in spades. Can't apparently fight but he's ridiculously hard to catch, only Adora, Catra, and Rogelio can even land hits on him," she observed some more as the fox boy wore a nervous grin.
'Why is she so observant?' It made fitting in kind of hard.
Then Lonnie smirked. "And he can eat more than a damn lion but looks like he doesn't gain pounds at all, something most of those shameless Princesses would kill for, maybe literally. Ya ever consider selling your secret?"
"I'll have you know… I don't know how it works," Naruto said after some thought, Adora groaning next to him. "Easy there, Adora, I just eat a lot, I'm good at calorie-burning."
'Yeah, I'd know,' Adora whined mentally.
She just didn't know how he could get that much training in if he was doing it secretly.
~NRK~
Evening time came with more training for the group where they finally had their last member joining their session.
"Honestly, you beat poor Naruto again?" Their last member asked Adora who shrugged.
"He was likely feeling off his game today," the blonde girl said.
Catra tapped her chin.
'Cat'ra, as one might assume, was part cat. Having caramel-colored skin, freckles, and tiger-like marks on her biceps, she was around Adora's height and possibly a bit taller if one could see through all her hair.
Speaking of, her hair was a shoulder-length wild dark gray mop, two black cat ears arching out of them with furry gray bunches hanging just behind them.
Wearing a pair of thick, ripped, red toeless stockings, a sleeveless dark red top covered by a salmon-colored corset, a red forehead protector, and a belt, Catra of the Horde cupped her chin with an amused grin as her feline tail curled around in interest.
Slit-like, beady, black eyes looked around, their heterochromatic sclera, blue and yellow, constantly confusing the blonde on many occasions.
Was that an actual thing or was it a medical condition?
"Glad to see you joined us, Catra," their instructor said, getting a small flinch and nervous grin out of the cat girl. "You can thank your stars for Adora's efforts or I'd have you running the base of the city by now."
The girl paled a bit at that, tail limp. "Y-Yeah, uh, gotcha," she said nervously.
Naruto chuckled off to the side as Adora smirked.
Only one of them got the stink eye as Catra stepped into line with the others before his body flinched, the boy barely controlling it as the new arrival grinned.
Catra's tail unraveled itself from the blonde's own, leaving him grumbling with slightly red cheeks.
"Your training is a scenario test," their blue-gilled instructor said.
Naruto's jaw dropped as he caught the odd uniform thrown at him. "Wait, what?!"
"Guess what, Bait? You're gonna be repping those dirty colors for this exercise," the man said as Naruto's eyebrow twitched. "Call it 'punishment' for failing today's combat training."
Naruto grumbled as he walked off towards the direction their instructor had pointed. All the way at the end of the large Training Room for their current situation.
Looking at the baggy gray pants, open-toed black sandals, and white shirt, the first and last bearing odd floral patterns on the bottom of them in black and orange, respectively, Naruto shrugged.
The space between himself and the others erupted into pillars that were soon covered by an out-of-nowhere pair of steel walls from the ground, doors forming in the metal.
"You've got two minutes to suit up, Uzumaki, before you're put into the scenario." A speaker from above told Naruto who hurried up.
On the other side, Catra stretched her arms while shooting the door ahead of them with a neutral but curious look. "So, us against him again?"
"That boy may be a bit dim but his reaction time outstrips each and every one of you," their instructor said with a trembling fist and a throbbing vein on his head. "Now! IF ONLY THAT IDIOT KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING!"
"I-I hear ya, sir!" Naruto shouted from through the walls.
"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO!"
"Geez!"
Catra chuckled. 'He hasn't changed a bit,' honestly, with their six years together, they'd never really got Naruto.
His efforts, his actual skill set, his appetite, his kindness? It never added up. He didn't seem gung-ho about the Horde as a crew and, likely, for 'good' reasons.
He understood the forest within the trees or however that stupid Rebellion saying went. He wasn't as much of an idiot as their superiors believed.
Naruto Uzumaki knew things weren't right but didn't say much else. Likely, he knew how pointless it'd all be but chose his own, meaningless, ways to not follow protocol.
'I wonder if he brought anything back from the Whispering Woods?' She'd have to go through his stuff again to find out.
"Alright, the simulation will go like this," their now-calmer instructor said as a screen came down and presented them with their simulation. "You're entering the latter edge of the Whispering Woods to head towards Rebellion territory," the screen changed.
On it, a nondescript black figure wore some familiar-looking clothes.
"Ohhh," Lonnie blinked. "That's how this is going?" She asked.
The man nodded. "Your jobs are to stop this target, a courier," he added as Catra grinned. "He's carrying crucial information on the Rebellion's barriers… as well as extra meal tickets," the man said nonchalantly even as the entire group's heads snapped to his grin. "Yep. You get the stupid bo-courier and you get to bring back the pride and prize."
"A-Alright!" Kyle said nervously before clapping his hands twice in prayer. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but I-I'll share the vouchers," he whispered to himself as Rogelio, the lizard boy, cupped his chin.
"Mmm," he grunted softly as Lonnie grinned.
"How many tickets are there, sir?" She asked.
"Ten."
"H-Hooo, boy!" She cheered. "Naruto, you're DEAD!"
"Huh?!" The blonde shouted across the expanse. "Why?!"
"Because you deserve it?!" Catra shouted back.
"Oi! I didn't do anything… this time!"
"This time?" Adora raised a brow at that. "It's like he asks for trouble sometimes," she muttered before shaking her head. "Ignoring that. Anyway, what are the simulation 'supplies', sir?"
"The courier's carrying numerous decoys," the man explained. "He's carrying several cloth distractions, hang traps, and rope."
"... A-Are we sure this is fair?" Kyle swallowed. "T-Trap stuff is Naruto's bread-n-butter, sir."
"Exactly, I'm making that useless fox work with what he's good at. In the name of Lord Hordak's name, I will make that boy worth something, dammit," the man growled as Lonnie and Catra smirked. "So, the scenario starts… NOW!"
The doors to the 'forest of metal trees and branches' opened, the man passing each member of the trial a handgun.
"Standard taser equipment. Go in, subjugate Uzumaki, and come back within three minutes. Subjugation includes holding him down with one body and having him at gunpoint, tying him up, or shooting him once with the tasers."
Checking her weapon, Catra chuckled ominously as she sniffed around.
"Time to gain some meal tickets," she hissed out in excitement before running off.
"C-Catra! Get back here!" Adora shouted, trying to catch her before stopping, not wanting to leave the group. "Dammit! Why?!"
"I'm getting those tickets for myself!" Catra's voice came and went.
"Ugh."
"Hmm," Rogelio's pupils dilated as the rest of them met up with Adora before he pointed in a direction, nose sniffing thrice.
The blonde girl nodded, groaning at their lacking teammate. "Why can't she just work within perimeters?" Adora scoffed.
"I mean, I'm not as confident," Kyle said. "But it's ten whole vouchers, a-anyone would be excited for that."
"You're taking up for her, Kyle, don't," Lonnie huffed before smirking. "Anyone wanna bet a voucher she gets caught in a 'Naruto Trap', first?"
Rogelio made a chuckling sound as Adora perked up before she cupped her chin.
"But Catra falls into them the most, would she fall for it again?" She asked as Lonnie grinned.
"Yes, especially if there's important stuff on the line. I bet you-"
"D-DAMMIT!" A familiar voice shouted into the air and the black girl snickered.
"Knew it."
A small run later, they found their feline teammate gnawing at a rope around her ankle, a patch of cloth, full of fur, tied to a 'branch' to the side.
"O-Oh, Naruto got more creative this time," Kyle said as Adora went past Catra and looked at the bait.
'He knows that Catra and Rogelio would be the first to sniff him out,' high chance, there'd be more of these small baits all around the area. "Catra, will you listen now?" Adora asked as she heard the 'thump' of a grumbling cat girl landing behind her.
"That stupid fox, he's getting pranked for this," Catra threatened as Kyle sweatdropped.
"I-Is that fai-What was I saying? Nothing important," he began to say before wheezing off to the side and shielding his face with a hand, Catra's annoyed glare turning his way. "L-Let's focus on those tickets!" Kyle said with a worried grin.
"Hmph, nope, he's getting a couple feathers in his tail for the next five hours."
'I'm sorry, Naruto!' Kyle knew this was his fault.
Adora, meanwhile, looked around. 'Naruto's better than we'll likely know until we can force it out of him,' she thought with a competitive gleam in her eyes. "I want to catch him," she turned to face her squad. "Naruto's never at his best in a lot of other facets but this one… I want to beat him at his own game," Adora told them.
"Yeah, I do, too," Catra said with narrowed eyes. "Make sure we tie him up at the end, I'm getting a piece out of his ass by the end of this."
"Not in so many words but same."
"Well, goodbye to Naruto's chances," Lonnie smirked. "Still, we gotta watch out for his traps."
They all nodded to that as Rogelio's eyes snapped around their surroundings, the lizard boy pressing his hands against the floor.
"You have something, Rogelio?" Adora asked, cupping her chin.
Her fellow cadet nodded, pointing in another direction with a grunt.
They snuck through metal openings and falling metal trees.
After ten seconds, they found something.
'Is that him?' Adora considered as she tapped above her eyes to the others.
They nodded, seeing it, too.
Rogelio pointed to himself before pointing two of his fingers to the side, getting a nod out of Adora before he slunk away with silent steps.
The others continued on, flanking their opponent.
'It might be a mini-speaker,' Adora thought. 'If it is, we'll be falling into a trap,' she looked around with narrowed eyes before nearly wheezing as Catra began to walk ahead. 'No, you idiot! Where are you going?!'
The cat girl grinned back at them before sneaking around the tree trunk and scaling it silently.
Adora grimaced before speeding up their stalk, all three 'sides' cinching Naruto's location-
"Oh, you guys almost had it!" They all froze, Catra landing just then as she found the mini-speaker with a clawed-up batch of yellow ribbons they'd thought was Naruto's tail. "But, too bad!"
The tree rumbled as Catra yelped, caught up by another rope trap but this time it was a net.
"D-Dammit!" She roared as she struggled to get free. "Damn you, Naruto! You're going down for this, you bastard!" Catra threatened.
"Hahaha!" The mini-speaker laughed as she growled.
Rogelio slunk up the metal tree before cutting through her bindings with his claws.
Seconds later, the two were out of the tree with Catra's eyebrow twitching rapidly.
"I'm finding him and I'm going to torture him," she hissed out as Adora groaned, forehead in her hand.
"Stop running ahead! We can do this together!" She told the cat girl who looked barely capable of listening. 'He knows to go after Catra,' Adora's not aware where this mental game ability Naruto came up with came from.
But she'd admit it, she was kind of impressed.
She wanted to win more and more.
"He's ahead of us and a minute has passed," Kyle said. "What do we do?"
"Well, for one, we need to keep Catra on a leash," Lonnie uttered as the cat girl's eyebrow twitched some more. "Chill it, would you? You're the one who keeps setting off traps."
Lightning flew between the two only for Rogelio to shake his head, tapping the back of his wrist.
"Rogelio's right, we don't have much time," Adora said. "... We can't keep being so sneaky, it won't mean anything if he gets time to slink away," she added. "We have to box him in, he can't be allowed to move without us knowing. Catra, Rogelio, and I will run to the four walls of our area. Kyle, Lonnie, you guys need to mind the middle and door."
"Alright," Lonnie nodded. "I guess we'll leave the center area to you and your best bud," she smirked at Kyle who pouted.
"... I guess," he added. "Still, Naruto's a prankster, deep down, so you know for a fact he's going to make this 'hilarious' for him," Kyle said as Adora stopped.
'Make it funny for him?' But if that were the case, what would be 'funny'?
Five people, searching for him, falling for his traps, with one of them being someone he knew would go ahead on her own…?!
Adora heard it first before turning around and letting off a shot with her taser.
"Whoa?!" The rest of the group's heads snapped to behind them where a figure slipped in and out of view. "I've been revealed!" Naruto said dramatically before leaping away.
"GET HIM!" Catra roared before giving chase with the others.
"Thanks, Kyle," Adora grinned as the boy blushed before chuckling a bit as they ran. "You were right, Naruto would find this funny if he was watching all of it."
"W-Well, he's who he is, after all," Kyle said.
They followed the blonde for a time, taking shots, cutting him off, and otherwise trapping him.
By the time they had 30 seconds left, they had him cornered in the middle of a small clearing of trees.
"This is it, Na-Ru-To," Catra said, gun left in its holster as she approached him with some rope between her hands, getting a nervous chuckle out of the blonde. "You know what I'm going to do to you, don't you?"
"Y-You were pretty clear about t-that," Naruto chuckled nervously as his eyes went to a timer above the area. "Come on, I'll s-Whoa?!"
He flipped over Catra's charge before sliding below a trio of taser shots from Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle.
Adora considered her gun before rushing the blonde boy with narrowed eyes, sidearm raised.
Catra chased from behind, the others in a semi-circle around them.
Naruto noted this before his eyes surveyed all of them.
He was already above Catra when she tried to tackle him from behind.
Mid-air, he threw his body to the side to dodge several shots of tasers before barely crossing his arms in time to block Adora's dropkick.
He was sent tumbling before he heard the telltale sound of gunshots.
He slammed his hands down before throwing himself up over the next bits of gunfire.
Naruto landed before immediately ducking Adora's follow-up, the punch coasting over head, before the fox boy was tackled by Catra.
"Almost gotcha!" She grinned wickedly at him as Naruto's ears twitched.
"W-Wait, we can-" Naruto tried before finding the barrel of a gun in front of his face, Adora smiling behind it. "... Dammit."
"YES!" Kyle cheered as Lonnie snickered.
"To think, the entire time, the bastard was following us. You're sick, you know that?" She said but was already laughing, Rogelio smirking at the blonde's prankster nature. "I-I can't get over how ridiculous that is!"
Adora smiled brightly as Naruto chuckled nervously at Catra.
"L-Look, you won, right? There's no need for any pranking in revenge, right?" He asked her, pleading-
"Maybe," the cat girl said slowly as he began to pale. "But, just in case," Catra held up the rope.
Ten seconds later, Naruto walked out behind the grinning cadet, bound in rope around his wrists.
"Man, I feel great!" Catra said with a look of awe, tugging on Naruto's bindings to get a bit of a stumble out of the blonde. "The world order is back where it's supposed to be," she nodded like it made sense.
Naruto just felt abused. "If my life was in her hands, I'm pretty sure I'd be doing dishes instead of facing the barrel of a gun," he slumped as Adora pat him on the back.
"Yeah, well, call it better leadership," she chuckled before undoing his bindings. "Still, we beat you," Adora grinned as he shot her a look. "Usually, we're facing off against you in things that aren't your forte, this was different," she said brightly as Naruto rubbed the back of his head with red cheeks before he shrugged.
"Well… congrats, ya beat me. That ain't doing the ego any good, Adora."
"It just means you can get better, stronger, and not allow someone who knows your ways to give you away."
Kyle chuckled a bit. "I-I mean, I wouldn't have known he'd be right behind us, that's some terrifying thinking," he sweatdropped as Naruto chuckled nervously.
"I mean, I thought it was funny."
"Don't worry, it was hilarious," Lonnie said with another laugh. "It's like horror documentaries but for comedy, that's crazy."
'So, the Horde being hippies?' Naruto considered with a shaky grin.
"Hmph, good work, all of you for once," their instructor said with a look thrown Naruto's way. "Actually showing some hustle for once, kid? I'm surprised. Still, this will be good for you all next week."
"Huh?" Naruto, Catra, and Adora blinked in unison. "What are you talking about?" They asked before shooting one another weird looks.
"I guess I could tell ya," the man said. "Your squad is going to be going on a reconnaissance mission for Lord Hordak. There's been a long-time siege near the kingdom of Plumeria and yet we can't figure out what's wrong," he frowned. "You lot are going as an assessment test for Adora's experience as a leader and to see if you can't get closer without issues."
The six teens balked in disbelief but none more so than Adora and Catra.
"Wait, hold on! This seems a bit sudden!" Catra exclaimed.
"Yep but Shadow Weaver put in a good word for you all. That's all I've got for ya on that side, you want more info? Get to her yourself. Now, come on, it's time for more training."
~NRK~
The next three hours were spent through the same rigorous before arriving at a combat arena once more.
Naruto hummed as he put on his mitts, Catra bouncing on her heels opposite him.
Her gloves on and her eyes alive.
'This is gonna be a bit different, huh?' Naruto smiled a bit as he faced her before assuming a boxing stance. 'Well, I guess, since you guys need to be prepared, I'll take this up a notch.'
Adora's eyes widened outside of the ring, seeing the blonde's eyes shine a bit, his stance a bit tighter.
'He's getting more serious!' The jealousy within her raged but her anticipation beat it out, eyes glued to the two.
She wanted to see it. More of the true strength of the actual strongest cadet.
Their instructor scoffed at the blonde. "... Catra, you score a hit on 'im and you might be able to nab a bit of a recommendation," the girl's eyes widened while Naruto raised a brow. "And you, slacker, I might just bump up your scores if yer actually active in the fight."
'He's lying,' that was low, even for their instructor. 'He's just trying to get a better show out of Catra…' Naruto's eyes closed as he breathed in. 'Sorry, Catra,' his eyes opened.
Catra froze at a feeling that settled over her shoulders, eyes snapping up to Naruto's eyes-
A shiver went down her spine at the seemingly larger boy.
'W-What the hell's going on?!' She felt like the normally kind boy was… terrifying. "Geez… when something important is on the line, you ain't playing, huh?" Catra's eyes narrowed as she hardened her resolve.
Naruto was impressed, really, he was. 'You have a strong will, Catra… but I'm not gonna let him rile you up for nothing,' he thought as he let out a breath.
"You two can begin any time you feel like it," their instructor said with crossed arms before blinking at a presence on his shoulder. '?!'
The presence shushed him, a small shadowy blob with yellow eyes that watched the fight with interest.
Catra considered the serious-looking blonde. "I get it, ya know?" She told him, slowly circling her comrade. "You've not been doing too great, physically, but this chance comes out of nowhere," Catra continued, Naruto's eyes closing as she reached his back. "But we're all fighting for that chance!"
She lunged at his back-
A flash of pain hit her forehead.
The girl stumbled back as Adora's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Whoa, who knew even Naruto would wanna shut Catra up sometimes?" Lonnie said with focused eyes. "Did anyone even see that? That… that was a jab, right?"
"It was?" Kyle asked, looking awed.
"I think so," Adora said slowly, watching as Catra blinked away some kind of dizziness. "And he knocked the sense out of Catra with just that alone, it's…" amazing.
That much precision and control tied with his timing made him ferocious.
Naruto, meanwhile, turned around, his backwards jab doing its work. 'What will you do?' He wondered as he inched forward.
Catra blinked the last bits of confusion away. "What the hell… Dude, since when could you even do that stuff?!" She exclaimed in disbelief before flinching at Naruto's approaching form. "... Alright," she resumed her stance, eyes narrowed. "I guess time for talking is over!"
She rushed in before rearing back her right arm-
A jab slammed into her shoulder, sending a jolt into her feet and jamming up her bicep.
She flinched back, almost off-balance from two hits. 'What the hell is wrong with me?!'
Catra flexed her right hand with a frown.
She rushed Naruto again, the boy's eyes on her the whole time.
She flinched before circling him with a worried grace, at his back again-
Black eyes dilated as he appeared in front of her.
And the fist in her stomach nearly folded the cat girl over his fist, Catra coughing out spittle before her shaky hands tried to grab Naruto's arm.
The boy was out of her grasp and sight in an instant, startling her as she took a knee, arms around her stomach.
Adora was a bit floored. 'Catra's usually one of our best and…' Naruto had basically downed her in three hits.
How?! Was this what his full effort looked like?!
"Well, I'll be damned," their instructor said with an appreciative eye. "The brat's got fight in him and the precise kind, too."
Adora agreed before shivering at a familiar feeling, eyes snapping to the man's shoulder where a familiar presence alarmed her.
"Shadow Weaver?" She barely stopped herself from shouting, Adora whispering in disbelief before nodding to her. "Naruto's strong when he has proper motivation," Adora said to no one as that black blob's eyes narrowed with more interest.
Naruto, meanwhile, braced for any attack Catra could give from behind him, the girl stumbling to her feet.
"H-Haa," she let out a shaky gasp. "W-What the hell is this?!" Catra shouted at him in disbelief.
"A bit of actual effort," Naruto declared simply as she flinched. "We both have things we want, right?" He asked as his expression remained neutral.
Catra reddened at her own words being thrown back in her face. "That's… well," she took a couple deep breaths before regaining her fire and stance. "I won't lose to you."
She inched forward as Naruto did the same,
The moment their feet inched past each other, Catra leaned in instantly.
Naruto's eyes stayed on her as she grinned, his fist raising.
'You're not the only one who can react!'
Her fist snaked up into his chest and made powerful contact.
… What? Had she just hit a damn brick wall?!
Her eyes snapped up in horror as Naruto's fist flickered out.
Catra stumbled back, grimacing as the boy's eyes locked onto her.
"Did you feel that at all?" She asked him in disbelief.
"A bit."
His right fist swung out just past her head, getting a wince and small cut for her troubles.
It all fell on deaf ears as she felt the pull and force pass her by, jumping back again before gasping at her feet, the border of their ring right on her heels.
"Shit!" She cursed before running around him. 'His hits are too fast!' Catra could barely see them-
The hairs on her neck stood up and she turned with a slash, swiping through the air.
'What-?'
Again.
Her eyes snapped behind her to see nothing-
A light impact sent her stumbling again, the blow landing on the side of her head.
"You're strong, Catra, in a decent amount of ways," Naruto said kindly as he sighed. "But I'm gonna give you something you need to get back up from. When you can, you'll be a more powerful person than a lot of people."
Catra peeked at him through squinting eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Naruto reared back his fist.
FEAR
It filled her bones and rattled her senses.
That single raised fist terrified Catra.
She hit her rear in horror. Spine-tingling, body trembling, FEAR.
Adora froze at the feeling around her, Kyle wheezing while holding his biceps.
"W-What the heck is that?" He whispered in horror, shivering again, as Lonnie winced while looking just as cowed.
Rogelio's eyes dilated, the lizard boy's gaze on the fox boy's back.
Then, Naruto sighed and the entire sensation, the feeling, and the fear vanished like leaves in the wind.
Their instructor flinched. "The fuck, kid?"
"So, I get that recommendation, right?" Naruto asked without a smile nor cheer, dropping his mitts and walking up to Catra who flinched again. "... Dammit. Adora."
"H-Huh?!" The girl-in-question flinched to attention. "Y-Yes?!" She saluted without thinking.
The blob on the instructor's shoulder felt her interest double-down but her annoyance rose.
"I don't think Catra'll want to be near me right now… probably not a lot of you," the boy sighed again, rubbing the back of his head as his eyes dimmed a bit. "Can you take care of her?" Naruto asked as he walked off out the arena and out of the room.
Adora took a deep breath before hurrying up onto the ring to find her friend, her comrade, essentially her sister-in-arms.
Trembling with a look of disbelief, shame, and anger on her face.
Catra's clawed hands scratched across the arena surface in irritation.
~NRK~
Cleaned up and in another cadet uniform an hour later, Naruto laid down in his barracks on his bed.
It was one of many other bunk beds. After all, the soldiers slept as one and in the same room.
Which would make Catra's eventual arrival difficult.
"I have no idea how she's going to act around me," he was sure he'd done the right thing.
Catra desired to please the Horde as much as she could. They were her life, her reason for being, right next to Adora.
Any sort of rise in her compliance wouldn't help her in the end and just lead her to making decisions because of them. He couldn't allow any of his friends to go through that.
If it meant crushing their dreams down to the ground, as much as it made him feel like the world's greatest bastard, Naruto would do it.
Even if he was already trying to figure out what kind of 'Sorry' gift he could get her.
"Dammit, this is gonna explode in my face, isn't it?" Naruto groaned, hand on his face-
There was the sound of a door opening and he sighed.
"Alright, time to face the music-you're not Catra," he realized, eyes snapping open as he jumped out of his bed to his feet. "... Oh-"
"Ah, yes, that so-called sensory skill you wield, boy," came the voice of the woman who'd just entered. "Yes, that could be quite useful from what I've heard of you."
She was a tall average-build woman with pointy ears of a pale-green color and her face covered by a mask. Her long black hair seemed to 'wiggle' in the air at her discretion while the visible pure yellow eyes of her mask squinted or widened at her behest.
Wearing a high-collar maroon dress that ended in tendril-like tentacles at the end, an additional harness of a lighter shade that locked around her torso and covered her right arm, shoulder-length fingerless gloves, and as said before a mask, this was their magician.
Adora and Catra's main caretaker.
Shadow Weaver.
"Hey, Shadow Weaver," Naruto said with a confused look. 'Why's she here?' He didn't see Adora or Catra around. "What can I do ya for, ma'am?"
"Hmm, potentially a lot of things, boy, but those would require more impressive feats than simply defeating Catra and humoring Adora," the woman said as Naruto frowned a bit.
"Uh? What-"
"You should be thankful it's not always in my best interest to inform Hordak or your instructors about your… lies," the woman said as Naruto's eyes widened.
"..."
"Ah, silence, it truly is golden. Still, if I wanted to intimidate cadets, I'd make it easier. No, boy, I'm here for something other than ratting you out. You see, I want to make a deal with you," she said, confusing him.
"Why? I don't get it, what exactly are you looking for that Hordak isn't?" Naruto asked with narrowed eyes as the woman cupped her chin with interest.
"You've hid a lot of yourself that's come to light in the last hour or so. How curious. I'd ask you the same thing, what do you hope to gain by doing all of this posturing and falsehood?"
"... I don't believe in the Horde's mission, its methods, or the way it views the world," Naruto said with a frown. "We're destroying EVERYTHING. We're not saving people, we're not helping anyone. NO ONE besides Hordak and whoever else might be involved with him benefit from this."
'Curious, he's not as dim as even I expected,' how intriguing, perhaps she could fashion the boy into something she could 'wield', so to speak, in time. "Hmph, you're not like the other children… Yes, you are correct, it's all as you see it. It truly does astound me that the cadets can believe the drivel that's fed to them when we live in a place literally called the Fright Zone."
"... I mean," Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I can't exactly say you're wrong but it's not just something so obvious to them. They were born, raised, and taught here. For them, to realize what's happening with this place, it's going to require more than that."
Shadow Weaver was astounded how such foolishness had survived in the Horde Empire. "And you believe in, what? Righteousness? Justice? Peace and Friendship?"
"I know you're making fun of me but, one, those aren't bad things no matter what the Horde thinks. Last I checked, despite being crap at history, they haven't conquered everything yet because they couldn't," he smirked as she hummed with narrowed eyes. "And I know they won't because of those same values, they're gonna be what puts an end to all of this madness no matter what Hordak and whoever else thinks."
The air was silent between them, Naruto's gleaming blue eyes gaining the woman's attention.
'So, I was right,' there was something within this child which could become interesting. "You're putting a lot of trust in a 'Horde or otherwise', you know? That's quite foolish."
"It would be if you weren't trying to trade for something."
"And what's stopping me from ratting you out regardless?"
"You said it, didn't ya?" Naruto grinned cheekily as the woman scoffed a bit. "You won't and it likely has to do with Catra, doesn't it?"
Sharp. The boy's horrid studies may have been real but his intuition and sense of righteousness weren't to be underestimated. "Close but no," he looked surprised as she shrugged. "I need my two students to be at their best, I need your influence to keep that happening. You were right when you told Catra that overcoming fear would make her into a more powerful person, that would be useful… but you seemed to think too highly of that girl."
"What?"
"You think she will just follow this path of positivity but you have unforeseen the rather impossible road ahead of her and I'm sure you'll realize how far wrath, hate, and shame can turn a girl like her into a true monster worthy of note," Naruto's eyes narrowed. "But that's none of my business unless she progresses, whatever you all do in the meantime isn't my business… but Adora must progress," her eyes narrowed, the shadows around them curling, folding, and boxing them in. "That isn't to change, that mustn't change, and you will ensure that holds true. The upcoming mission isn't a simple one."
"What? Why?" Naruto frowned. "What is this trip to Plumeria actually supposed to be about?"
"..." Not a hint of fear at her efforts?
Truly, the boy would be a pain or a value.
Her shadows receded and she folded her arms behind her back, the sounds of steps coming closer.
"Those who reside in the settlement you'll be stationed near aren't as farfetched from drivel as the Horde would imply," she said as she began to fade away, a familiar group beginning to crest the corner of the opening doors. "Remember your responsibility, boy."
Naruto frowned as the others gaped at him… but none more so than Adora and Catra.
For two extremely different reasons.
"Wait, no way! Shadow Weaver noticed you?!" The blonde girl said with excitement.
"She… noticed you?" Catra asked with a look of disbelief that seemingly bordered on… despair? "... Heh, I guess she would want to know the person who could thrash her best physical combatants," she grinned.
It didn't reach her eyes, her pride wasn't in it, and her expression was dull.
"Look, what happened here was just because she was warning me about hurting you," he said as Catra perked up. "Seriously, she has her eyes on you two and was just telling me a bit more about the mission we might need to worry about."
"Really?" Kyle asked as he looked at the blonde with a tilt of the head. "H-How are you so calm? SHADOW WEAVER looked like she just put you in a d-dark box and you're not bothered?!"
"Why would I be?" Naruto asked him with a raised brow as Lonnie whistled with a smirk.
"Someone's got big cojones, huh?" She chuckled as Rogelio cupped his chin.
"...?" The lizard man raised a brow.
"One, no," Naruto said to Rogelio.
"Wait, right, you can understand him for some reason," Lonnie sweatdropped as Rogelio shrugged.
"It's not that hard," the blonde boy turned to Lonnie. "Second, I'm not afraid of her just because. I'm not scared of her or Hordak, that kind of stuff isn't really all that scary generally. I mean, why would I be scared of him?"
"The fangs?" Lonnie said.
"T-The dark ominous voice?" Kyle shivered.
"Hmm," Rogelio… grunted.
"No, no, and I think I know what you're saying, bud," Naruto said. "But, no. Ignoring that, for one, unless you actually committed treason, why would you be scared of meeting your big boss? Why wouldn't he be giving you good news or orders?"
Adora's eyes shined. "He gets it!" She grinned brightly.
Naruto sweatdropped as the girl pushed down on his shoulders, using it to lift herself up.
"See! Even Naruto knows that we don't need to worry and just get good!" Adora said with a chuckle, cartwheeling off her fellow blonde's shoulders. "Speaking of, when did you have moves like that?! I KNEW you weren't taking me seriously!"
"Wait, what?" Catra balked before wincing at the memory of a fist in her… everything. "O-Oh, right."
"Seriously, Catra, I wasn't trying to-" Naruto winced before trying to apologize.
"It's fine, it's whatever," she scoffed weakly at him, eyes filled with something that had the boy concerned. "... Still, she's right, what… what the hell kinda stuff were you pulling on me?" Catra asked in a scanning manner.
"In my downtime, I make the most of my reaction time," Naruto admitted, telling a half-truth. "It helps that we have the personal simulation rooms."
"That's why we couldn't find you… b-but, wait, you need permission to use those," Adora said as Naruto chuckled nervously.
"I'd trade the guy handling the room some of my vouchers to get in."
"Dude, no way!" Lonnie's jaw dropped. "G-Give 'em to us, man! Do you think I don't want extra beans and sausage?!" She nearly wailed.
Naruto sweatdropped. "Hey, I am getting the most use out of my vouchers…" He looked at the door before leaning in. "I currently have the highest score in the room. The guy even did me a solid and gave me a fake name that no one would think about."
"No way," Kyle said with a gasp. "Naruto, that's awesome… b-but then, why don't you try?"
"Why would I?" Naruto shrugged. "My childhood friends are in this squad. Actually putting in effort would just take me out of the group and we'd probably never meet for long periods of time."
The group looked at him like he was an idiot.
None more than Catra. 'What's wrong with him?'
… No, that wasn't right. She knew what Naruto's deal was.
He was a good person through and through. As in, 100% good guy.
And Catra knew the way the world worked more than nearly every one of her comrades.
~NRK~
Once night hit, Naruto rested on his upper bunk bed, Kyle resting on the one below him.
With most of the others asleep, he just laid there with a contemplative frown on his face.
'What does she want out of them?' And, on that matter, out of him? 'What about me has her attention?' Something was 'off' about him and Shadow Weaver wanted it. "Hmph, there you go again, Uzumaki, attracting powerful eyes and having no idea why-"
"That so?" Catra asked him, landing on his bed by his feet. "Are you seriously not sure why? Did it actually have to do with my safety at all?" She asked him some more.
Naruto sighed, sitting up. "I'm not lying when I say, she was talking about both of you… but she wants to make sure I don't get you guys into trouble, that's why… I'm pretty sure something weird or bad is going to come out of this one. Something's gonna go wrong and I have to make sure it doesn't or she's gonna give me crap for it."
Catra shot him a bit of a down look and he rubbed the back of his head.
"When you said I'd get over it, what did you mean?" She frowned.
"I mean… fear at losing your life," he simplified as she flinched. "You don't know what that's like, Catra, and not knowing is going to bite you eventually… You're strong in a lot of ways, Catra, personality, eyes, go-getter attitude, the works," Naruto shrugged obliviously.
Catra cleared her throat a bit, blushing. "Y-Yeah?" She said with a shaky grin.
"Yep, you can be great but the thing is, you ran into way too many things… today," he sweatdropped as she burned, rubbing the back of her head. "Going in first, checking things out, and even doing it to lower the numbers isn't a bad thing but you didn't do that… and I think it's because you just don't value your life as much as we all do."
She frowned at him, crossing her arms in her crouch. "I know how to care about my own life, Naruto."
"Catra, come on-"
"Nope, none of that," she said with a confused look. "You beat the shit out of me today and you've been acting like you did something wrong… like I'm some flower."
"..." Naruto grimaced. "You know that's not true."
"Do I?" He sighed. "Do I, Naruto? You make it sound like you're being real with me but I'm not sure if you are," Catra frowned. "You hide your strength, you act like a normal person," she hissed out, pushing out at his chest.
"Hup?!" Naruto grunted in surprise as she towered over him. "Ca-" She covered his mouth, straddling him.
"You understand? I'm not some prey you can act like needs protecting, you bastard," she growled a bit at him, tail wrapping around his in 'ticklish spots'.
Naruto flinched, cheeks reddening. "CMat! Cmme onm!"
"Nope, you've been pissing me off nearly all of today. I told you, didn't I?" She grinned slyly at him. "That I'd get my revenge sooner or later," Catra snickered as she pulled something out of her hair.
Naruto began to sweat bullets as she revealed a feather.
No!
She tickled his whisker marks with interest, hand coming off his mouth only for his own to cover it.
He shook his head as she grinned at him some more.
The boy's struggle was music to her ears as she tickled those marks on his cheeks that always confused her.
He fidgeted in his bed, Kyle groaning down below before covering his head with a pillow, face a bit red.
'T-They're not, right? She's just messing with him!' He thought, hiding from the muffled sounds of Naruto. "Oh no."
Some ten minutes later, Catra seemed satisfied as she released the gasping-into-his-pillow Naruto from her grasp.
"You pull some crap like this again and we're gonna talk with Mr. Feather again," she threatened, hopping back to Adora's bunk bed. "Night~"
"These women are out to kill me," Naruto muttered in horror.
~NRK~
The following morning, the blonde did his best to not address Catra.
The girl's more chipper attitude and his state had easily been put together.
"S-She attacked him when we were all asleep!" Kyle whispered to the others. "She got him with the feather," he blushed as Lonnie cupped her chin, some red on her own cheeks.
"Ya think she just uses it on his face?" She wondered a bit perversely.
Adora raised a brow at that while shooting the smug Catra a look.
She just looked like the, no pun intended, cat that ate the canary.
"... I'm going to go and check on him," she said slowly while shooting her sister-in-arms a look. "Catra, be easy on him, you know he's usually a lot less capable when it's bedtime."
"Not my problem," the cat girl snickered some more. "You guys should have seen. His. Face. Thank Hordak that I can hold that over his head."
Adora just shook her head as she hurried over to Naruto's currently despair-covered scrunch in a corner of the room.
"Hey, Naru, are you good?" Adora asked the pouting boy.
"I'm fine, Catra was just… Well, being a bit much last night," he groaned as she sat by him with a hum. "Ugh, she said I treated her like a princess yesterday."
"... Uhh."
"The not real kind."
"Oh!" Adora nodded. "I mean, you did kind of just leave her there on the floor," Naruto twitched. "But, well, don't beat yourself up over it, I'm sure Catra would do it for you," she grinned as he sweatdropped before chuckling.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop moping, Adora," Naruto said as she smiled. "I swear, one of these days, I will find a way to make a nickname for you," he muttered with a head-tilting hum.
Not noticing Adora's blush and look of excitement. "I-It's not that easy so I can wait!"
"Yeah, thanks. I've tried doing it for Catra but, uh…" She snickered.
"Just calling her 'Cat' might not be a good idea?"
"You get it. Like, uh, how attached are you to the 'A' in your name?"
"Pretty attached."
"So, like, 'Ado' wouldn't work, would it?"
Adora rolled the nickname around her head before shaking it. "Nope."
"Damn," Naruto said as he tapped his noggin. "... Oh, huh?" He blinked, turning his head to the door, gaining her attention.
"Wha… who is it?"
"Shadow Weaver-"
As if to interrupt him, the sorceress appeared just before he could finish his sentence, gaining startled looks from all cadets.
"MA'AM!" The six shot to their feet and saluted as the woman nodded before zeroing in on Naruto and Adora.
"Good morning, ma'am," Adora said with a nod. "What can my team help you with?"
"Nothing, Adora, I simply need to speak with your scout member," the woman said, confusing the group before she addressed Naruto. "More details on your role will be discussed now, cadet, follow along," the woman said, beckoning the young man over to another corner of the room.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head before following along with a sigh. "Alright, I wonder what this'll be about," he said before waving at the others. "Give me a couple minutes, guys," he told them.
Meeting the magician in a corner, he looked around them as darkness and shadows coiled up to form a box.
Those outside looked worried if not intrigued. "So, Naruto's gonna go on ahead and scout things out? I thought… Was this what he meant yesterday?" Adora frowned, knuckle on her chin. "What do you guys think she's telling him? If she's doing this-"
"She doesn't want it to get out," Catra said as they all peered at the black corner. 'What is it? Why would she tell him and not even Adora?' Not even her.
What was it?
Naruto frowned. "That sounds like it's gonna suck… but, alright, I'll distract any of the princess's warriors from attacking them… Still, didn't you say the place was already dangerous? What do I do if they get into trouble?"
"You mean Catra's penchant for rushing in?" Shadow Weaver said.
"I didn't blame her for anything," he rebuked. "I'm just saying that you said it'd be dangerous. If you're right about these guys 'living up to the hype' we love giving them, they'll be in danger!"
"Be at ease, boy, I can already sense that virtuous spirit of yours," Naruto blinked. "And I've planned for this," she placed a finger above his chest.
It glowed with a red light before forming into a scarf-like cloth that held an embedded red gem in it.
"This will allow any Horde soldiers to recognize you while also giving your squad the ability to call on you at will. Once we're done here, I will give Adora the controller to your leash," Naruto's eyebrow twitched. "And it'll allow her to call on you in a moment's notice. This isn't to be known by anyone, Naruto. Not your duties nor this scarf's true purpose."
Naruto frowned at the article of cloth before sighing with a nod.
"Fine… still, why aren't more people being put on this mission? We have more squads, don't we?"
"Not at present and your team has shown the most promise. Lord Hordak has, also, personally wanted to see you all in action for… promotional purposes."
Naruto gawked as the shadows began to become undone. "Huh… Oh boy," he said as the others came into view, his last few words with Shadow Weaver still muted. "Who?"
"Who else? Only one of you has shown the most impressive scores."
Naruto felt a bit better but also a bit worse. "Damn," he said, their voices now heard.
The group blinked at the new article of clothing.
Catra's jealousy raged unknowingly. "A… scarf?"
"An apprentice's scarf?" Adora said in shock and awe. "W-We're fellow apprentices?!" She grinned.
Naruto blinked at the scarf. "Wait, what?!" The boy shouted at Shadow Weaver who raised a brow.
"It seems my students have been studying more than expected… but it's not a bad thing," the woman shrugged. "For the sake of this mission, consider it as such, then."
Naruto's twitching brow said it all as the woman glided over to Adora before doing the same that she'd done with Naruto, the girl and she soon in a black box in the corner of the room.
The others flocked Naruto. "So, what's it do?" Lonnie asked as Naruto sweatdropped.
"It's supposed to allow any Horde guys who see me to let me through, she said," he told them. "I can probably use this to scout ahead for any trouble we can't immediately get through," Naruto said.
"Still, isn't that dangerous for you?" Kyle frowned. "Naruto?"
"Kyle, you know how good I am at hiding, traps, all of that stuff," the blonde boy smiled. "I've got this. You guys are gonna be in more trouble than I am, most likely," he frowned. "I told you guys, this place, it's basically more dangerous than we'd like. The town near the main kingdom of Plumeria is called Glossweed and it's not… it's not good from what Shadow Weaver says, you need to be on your toes."
Moments later, Adora came out of her chat with Shadow Weaver with an odd locket in her hands, the girl looking relieved.
Catra's smile became a bit more brittle.
"You all have your roles for this mission. Adora is your leader-in-charge and her word is law," Shadow Weaver said, eyes narrowing in on Catra. "Any insubordination will be brought to me and dealt with appropriately."
Catra flinched while Naruto frowned. "I doubt there will be problems," he said. "We're a team, we've got this."
"Remember your actual duties, scout."
"I will."
The magician nodded before leaving the room.
"So, wait, what's that do?" Kyle asked Adora who rubbed the back of her head.
"It's basically the same thing as Naruto's scarf does," she said. "With this, we have immediate access the moment Naruto gives us the 'OK' to continue forward," Adora nodded to them all. "She gave me a map of the location and access to the Map Rooms. Let's go and make some plans, Team Adora."
Most of them agreed, following after her with Naruto hanging back by the downtrodden Catra.
He made to open his mouth before her immediate stare stopped him cold.
"... Haa," he bumped shoulders with her before continuing on.
Catra raged painfully at the two blondes' backs. 'It's always them,' Catra thought in shame, head low and tail limp. 'There has to be something I can do.'
Something to prove her worth.
~Nature's Chosen Part 1 END~