~NRK~
Naruto hummed as he, Mai, and Miwa stood inside of a broken-down capsule hotel.
"O-Our first mission!" Miwa gasped in awe, a blue face mask over her mouth like the other two. "Mmm… Mechamaru-kun, we're here," she whispered to her phone.
-A moment, I had to maneuver through an underground railroad- The young man said as the three heard a shift from down below. -Ah, there, I'm in the basement-
"We're on the third floor," Naruto said, a yellow face mask on. "Let's go and meet 'em in the stairwell."
They walked off, their own entrance into the broken-down building left behind, a broken window.
As they walked, Mai let out an anxious breath. 'Our first real mission,' which was likely kind of moot for… All of the Kyoto group.
Naruto had fought curses for over the past three years.
Miwa had a mentor who specialized her training so she also got to fight curses.
Mechamaru had informed them of his own experiences by just sending out his robot to do these kinds of things with Utahime's permission before being a student. The boy's skills made it a non-issue since he'd not be in actual danger if he was inexperienced.
'And then there's me,' training with a Grade 1 Sorcerer, fighting curses under supervision, and learning the ins and outs of her skills over the years had given her more than enough experience fighting cursed spirits. "So, how do you guys feel about this?"
"I'm looking forward to just hanging with everyone," Naruto chuckled.
"I'm hoping we can get a lot of tough missions with Mecha-kun and Naruto-kun's levels," Miwa whispered. "The money we make off Grade 3 missions isn't… a lot."
"Oh, right, what are you girls' Grades?" The blonde asked with interest as Miwa pouted while Mai cleared her throat.
"Um… Grade 2," Mai admitted.
"S-Semi-Grade 2," Miwa whined.
"Hey, that's amazing!" Naruto said in surprise. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, ya know? Mai, you're one step below me, that's super good!"
His childhood friend blushed before messing with one of her two guns on her hips.
"Y-Yeah, well… Thanks," she meant it.
Mai was well aware of how the Jujutsu system worked but it felt nice being acknowledged every now and then.
"I'm sure Megumi's gonna end up Semi-Grade 1, though, when he enters," she pouted as Naruto chuckled.
"You've all been training for literally years," he reassured her with a hand on her shoulder and a smile on his face. "Besides, you're being way too hard on yourself. What'll you do if you get recommended this year?" Naruto grinned slyly.
Mai and Miwa froze before their heads slowly turned to the grinning blonde.
"I mean, I am Semi-Grade 1~," he grinned some more. "And you guys seem to forget that Momo, Nori, and Ao are Grade 2 or above. We can just recommend you guys. Hell, even Mechamaru could and he's the same grade as Ao & me."
The looks on the girls' faces got a snicker out of Naruto as they opened the stairwell door to show a chuckling Mechamaru.
[Hm, hm, hm, he's not wrong.] The robot chuckled. [If we're all stronger than our Grades would show, that just means we can get proven for more near the middle of the year.] He clapped his hands once before entering the floor. [Now, Naruto-kun?]
"Give or take forty more," the blonde said, confusing Mai and Miwa. "Well, it took Mechamaru a bit more time so I figured we could talk. Dealing with the ten Grade 3s below slowed him down a bit but you still did it pretty fast and quietly, dude," Naruto added, impressed and curious.
[Ah, these are to blame.]
The robot lifted his foot and curled in his leg to show them the bottom of it.
Mai's eyes widened at an odd black material on it currently being covered by a film of shifting cursed energy.
[Vibrations can be nullified by calculating them. With this, I can make my movements silent, more slippery, and even a bit faster.] The robot nodded. [Mere science.]
"I get it!" Miwa said in awe as Mechamaru chuckled. "It's like my energy blade!" She smiled.
[Exactly.]
"Right, you guys got all cozy," Mai nodded with a smirk as the two fumbled a bit. "Learnin' science~."
[M-Mai! That's a bit much!]
"Y-Yeah!"
Naruto snorted at the chaotic rise in Mechamaru's cursed energy. 'I guess this is part of it,' this and the robo-Heavenly Restricted young man's preferences.
[That's curious… I-I suppose, we share interests in that regard.] He admitted as Todou nodded.
Still, the thing they spoke about was more clear about it.
"You want me to use Reverse Curse Technique on you?" Naruto asked, looking surprised. "Mechamaru… You good?"
[My situation is a bit more complicated.] The other boy admitted through his machine, the robot looking down at his hands. [I can't leave my space, what is sadly considered 'my home'. I'm not a machine but with how many tubes and fluid involved, one could think I ran on oils and synthetics.] He chuckled humorlessly before clenching his hands. [But… I've learned of you and your situation.]
"Mechamaru, dude, you could have just asked," Naruto told him with crossed arms and a smile, the robot looking a bit startled. "If you needed help, all you had to do was ask, I'm not gonna leave any of my friends suffering if I can do something about it."
Mechamaru stared at him. 'I'd prepared so many offers,' things people might need.
Maybe the blonde wanted more tools. More finances? Mechamaru had a lot of those just from his own projects.
Maybe the blonde had even needed help of his own? He could have supplied some surveillance if he pleased.
Anything to reach out to the sunlight and just… Just be a human…. So how could he say this all so easily.
To just help him without a thought?
"Mechamaru?"
[Ah, no, I'm…] Far off, drips of water fell into a tub of foulness and life-sustaining liquid. [... I need help. I don't want to just be like this my entire life.] He admitted softly.
"..." Naruto observed him before grinning. "When do ya want to do it?" He asked.
[Any time we can, though… If it doesn't work-]
"We'll find a way."
Mechamaru just stared at this big-hearted blonde.
Mechamaru hummed away the memory and embarrassment. [W-What's the next step? If there are as many as Naruto-kun says, we should… Focus on that.] He cleared his throat as Miwa nodded rapidly.
Mai grinned. "What's the plan, Na-Ru-Kun~?" She turned to the sweatdropping blonde.
'I'm so out of my depth when it comes to Mai,' well, not like he didn't know that most times. "Well, this place has wide middle floors and long hallways around the perimeter, I can tell ya that most of the forty are on the next three floors while the tough ones are on the last."
"H-How many?" Miwa asked, face red. 'Oh, I-I should have turned it around on her!' The blueberry mentally whined.
"Around two Semi-Grade 1s."
The three looked surprised before nodding in Mechamaru's case, looking determined in Miwa's, and looking down in Mai's.
"These guys seem to be the head honchos, big chance they're controlling the smaller curses," Naruto said as he laid a hand on her shoulder and smiled for the muttering Zenin.
"Fine, fine, yeah," Mai said, crossing her arms. "Still, we can't let them group up."
[Correct.] Mechamaru nodded. [So, should we focus on the three floors first?]
"Sounds like a good idea!" Miwa agreed. "B-But what if we make them group up?" She said worriedly.
"That's fine, we'll cut 'em off," Naruto grinned. "In fact, I've gotta a good idea."
~NRK~
Landing silently on the sixth floor, Naruto and Mechamaru noted the busted-up door and peeked out into the halls.
[My senses are picking up… Chittering…]
"Rats?"
The two shot one another a look before nodding and slipping out of the stairwell and heading separate ways.
With the square-like layout of the floors, they'd press them towards one another in a pincer attack!
Naruto skid into view from the hall corner, the first thing meeting his sight being-
A giant mutated rat, a cursed spirit with a festering tail, big red eyes, and a half-eaten body-
His hand already chopped past it, the blonde bounding behind the spirit before swinging out with a foot to send the next cratering into the wall.
The third had rushed him, long spindly claws swinging down on him before the blonde skirted around it.
He stepped in and jut his fist forward.
A hole punched its way through the spirit as the blonde grinned.
"Not so tough," he said before turning and rushing down the hall, ignoring the three white rat spirits slipping away. "If Mecha's going so fast, I need to speed it up," Naruto grinned as he felt the robot's speed.
He leaned down before his form vanished in a burst of dust, rounding the corner ahead to see Mechamaru hurrying up to meet him in the middle of the hall.
They skidded to a stop by a single pathway to their left that led into a large square in the middle of the floor filled with capsule rooms.
And about ten curses within.
They stepped in.
~NRK~
Two floors down, Miwa took several deep breaths, her back to Mai as the Zenin girl kneeled down with a Technique Rifle, her name for her second-most powerful tools, in hands loaded with normal bullets.
"Alright, Miwa Kasumi's gonna show her stuff," the blue-haired girl said with a focused expression. "Let's do well, Mai-chan."
"We will," Mai smirked, confident with her weapon in her hand. "For now, I'd say focus, Mechamaru-kun's sensor mines will probably go off soon."
Hearing the noise from above had been telling so when the two Mechamaru Pin-shaped sensors on both sides of the hall released heavy pulses of cursed energy, they were ready for the wave of cursed spirits.
Three immediately entered from behind them in the stairwell, Miwa's weapon held in her sheathe as a circle of water-like cursed energy formed beneath her and Mai's feet.
Simple Domain Lull. It was her most comfortable technique that allowed the swordswoman to recognize ally and foe-
Her weapon swung out in three light slashes.
Cursed Energy.
The blade's arc ended mere inches above Mai's head as she took aim at the two rat curses coming in from the opposite stairwell.
They broke apart the stairwell entrance and nearby wall, chittering and clacking their jaws-before two shots went through their eyes and 'popped' their heads like balloons.
The curses fell to the ground before bursting into nothingness.
The sounds of more coming had the two girls preparing once more as the hall began to fill with cursed spirits.
~NRK~
They waited up above, Naruto and Mechamaru taking a slow walk to the final floor before smiling as a familiar pair of figures hurried up the steps behind them.
"W-We're here!" Miwa cheered before grinning at their fellow teammates. "All cursed spirits have been extinguished!"
[Good work.] Mechamaru praised as she looked pleased.
"You girls handled that faster than I expected," Naruto chuckled as Mai came over and bumped his shoulder, rifle hanging over her other one. "Not a fan of rats?" He wagged his eyes brows as she smirked.
"Jerk," she said, faux-offended. "Come on, this wasn't so bad and we can go back with some easy pocket change."
A stomach growled, Miwa looking sheepish.
"A-And let's get something to eat… Wait, what about Mecha-kun?" She turned to the robot who waved his hands.
~NRK~
'In time, Kasumi-chan,' it seemed that he and Naruto would try their best to make meeting everyone their goal.
'Mechamaru' smiled. "It's fine, I'll watch from the Mechamaru Pin," he told them.
~NRK~
'We'll fix ya, bud,' Naruto thought with a determined look Mechamaru somehow looked appreciative of through his robot. "Alright, let's do this," the blonde said as he prepared to push the final floor door… Before shrugging.
His leg lifted as he grinned.
He kicked out with a pulse of positive energy covering the door and slammed it into the side of one of the Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirits by the stairwell.
"ATTACK!" Miwa declared as she and Naruto rushed ahead and apart, the two parting between the splitting pair of cursed spirits, the swordswoman going for the stumbling stunned one.
The creatures weren't unlike their rat brethren… In concept.
What with these ones' thin skeletal frames, rat skulls half-covered in fur and three eyes, their long spiny tails, and their sharp claws/double-jointed legs, their cursed energy was through the roof compared to the Grade 3s down below.
[Mai-kun!] Mechamaru called out as he raised his arms, wooden latches sticking back and allowing a pair of side cannons to sprout. [Supporting fire!]
Mai lugged her rifle off her back and took aim.
Naruto reached his eight-foot-tall opponent before ducking under its energy-covered tail.
'It's poison?' His eyes snapped to the feeling of the stuff behind him, the hissing cement floors greeting his ears.
His eyes narrowed.
The cursed spirit let out a wet cough as dual palms slammed into its spiny abdomen, shattering the ground beneath it before it was sent tumbling from a single shot from a rifle.
The curse hissed as it recovered on all-fours down the hall, Mai glaring at it from afar.
Meanwhile, Miwa swung out and up at her opponent, slashing only a bit into its cheek before her body shifted with a small burst of cursed energy.
The dodged tail lashing crushed the ground beside her before she cut at it twice with flickering cuts, grimacing at her shallow marks before blinking as a pair of lasers hissed into the cursed spirit and threw it away.
"Mecha-kun!"
[I'll be your back-up!] Mechamaru said with glowing cannons. [Focus on the fight!] He let loose another volley.
The cursed spirit, holding the cheeks of its skull, scattered about and dodged the blasts, its form climbing up and down the walls towards the charging Miwa at surprising speeds.
"Simple Domain: Iai," she skid to a stop as the spirit came in close.
That circle of fluid energy formed once more as she closed her eyes.
Focus on the opposing cursed energy, the stance was made for quick countering and 'first breath'.
The creature sent out a slash of its tail.
Her eyebrows furrowed. 'The breath!' Miwa told herself as she spun with her still sheathed blade.
The Simple Domain's fluidity sped up, the attack slamming into it and crunching the ground below the girl's feet before she was blown off of them.
"D-Dammit!" She cursed as the spirit came closer with one of its claws reared back.
Mid-flight, she braced her cursed energy-
[You're fine.] Mechamaru said as he slammed a glowing forearm into the curse's claws, locking them together as Miwa was held in his offhand arm. [Focus, Miwa-chan!] He told her as his limb's glow extended.
The curse shrieked backwards, holding onto its stub of a forearm.
Naruto dodged the claw of the curse as it was sent stumbling back once more by another rifle round, its legs trembling before he swept them out from beneath it.
It hit the ground before letting out a harsh guttural squeak as the blonde brought his fist down on its chest, crushing the ground beneath it.
Naruto's eyes narrowed before he jumped up and over the curse's tail.
"Shit!" Mai cursed, also jumping over the impossibly long appendage as it tore across the hall and walls with its ridiculous length. 'It'll hit the others!' Her eyes widened before she slipped her hand off her rifle and slipped it near her hip.
One of her handguns was up in her hand and out of its holster before she took aim.
The shot sent her flying back but she recovered easily.
The tail, meanwhile, squelched at a joint as it was blown-off before it could reach the other hallway.
Naruto landed before lunging at the Semi-Grade 1 Curse. "Real slick, ya bastard!" He told it as they went into a roll that released hisses of cursed energy and pulses of wall-cracking force.
The blonde then drove his fist down into the cursed rat's abdomen once more, crunching something within the spirit and getting a squeal before its bony hide 'bubbled'.
Naruto crossed his arms before being sent flying back by an explosive expansion of bones coming from the curse's chest. 'Bone manipulation?' Like Kimmimaro?
Landing near Mai, he looked down at his scuffed hands but nodded at just that little amount of damage.
"You good?" Mai asked him as she hurried over to him and shot him a concerned look.
"I'm good," Naruto smiled as he stood up and focused on their opponent while it got up and glared at them, cracked mask leaking a vile blue pus.
"You haven't been trying, have you?"
"I'd like us all to get a chance to fight a guy like this."
Mai sighed at that before she pulled out a scroll.
Taking off her rifle, just pressing the gun to the sealing item sent it back in with a small shift of cursed energy.
Putting it back, Mai grabbed her handguns before raising them up to her opponent. "Mmm, I hate 'Considerate Naru' sometimes," she pouted as Naruto grinned with a double thumbs-up.
Then, her cursed energy skyrocketed, confusing the blonde before his eyes widened at her blush.
"J-Just a Binding Vow in place," she told him. "... On my weapons."
"Wait, huh?" Naruto gawked as Mai blushed, body warm and light at his attention.
"I-It's due to the nature of my Technique! I don't know much else," she admitted. "But, yeah, I can make Binding Vows with my Technique Weapons."
"Oh, I get ya…" The blonde wondered if it was because the cursed energy in the weapons was special in some way. 'They're like their own thing,' he grinned.
He was proud of Mai, his friend had seemingly really built-herself up into someone strong.
"Hehe, I have a feeling you'll get places, Mai-chan."
She blushed at his own blushing grin.
Her heart beat like a drum and Mai's head focused back on the curse's approaching form.
"... L-Like with you?" She asked him, confusing the monkey boy. "... We'll talk about it later."
The first shot of her left weapon missed, the bullet punching a head-sized hole in the wall as the curse's form skittered up and around the corridor towards them.
The next shot cut it off before Naruto's fist sent it into the wall, the blonde's hands wrapped in familiar scripture-covered bandages with a golden talisman on the side.
"Let's end this quickly," Mai said as Naruto grinned.
Mechamaru's arm blade deflected slash after slash, the sorcerer's eyes seeing through his creations.
~NRK~
'Mechamaru's' eyes narrowed in interest as he nodded. 'The new shock absorbers were a good idea but I'll have to make sure to keep Mechamaru's cursed energy topped off,' to be fair, he'd expected it.
His Cursed Energy Shock Absorbers, a better name pending, were a recent idea he'd come up with Noritoshi on the blood-user's own interest in new ways to use his blood giving birth to a series of theories between them.
"Are you ready, Miwa-chan?"
~NRK~
Even as Mechamaru blocked over and over, he didn't move besides shifts of his feet, Miwa's crouched, closed-eyed, form behind him and emanating a harsh amount of cursed energy.
"Okay…" Her eyes opened, light blue gaze in them as she held her weapon at her hip, slowly standing up to her full height. "... Do it, Mechamaru-kun."
The robot chuckled despite the onslaught against his arms. [Very well, on three.]
Miwa took a deep breath before widening her stance, that familiar fluid circle forming around her before it floated up, levitating at chest-level.
It evened out into a laser-thin line.
[One…] Mechamaru's back slots opened and allowed thrusters to glow.
"Two…" Miwa uttered.
[... THREE!]
His thrusters burst with a flare of refined cursed energy, throwing the curse back and allowing Mechamaru's form to reach the air.
Just as Miwa's form fluctuated.
"Simple Domain Enhancement," she whispered.
The domain 'pinged' before expanding out through the walls and around the back of the cursed spirit.
Miwa's form lunged forward, a series of cursed energy afterimages forming behind her as she appeared in front of the curse.
"Akuryo Giri." (Evil Spirit Cutter)
The girl's sword gained a light blue sheen as she finished her stroke, Simple Domain Enhancement falling away as she sighed in relief before whining.
The curse froze, confused, as pain carved across its torso, the rat spirit clawing at its bony chest as more and more blue flames began to spring up.
"I'm so hungry~," Miwa turned to the chuckling Mechamaru.
[You'll get to eat after this, it's only nine pm.] He said with a proud tone as she cheered. 'You've grown so strong with just a bit of external stimuli,' they had Naruto to thank.
The blonde's advice when it came to simple but powerful creativity? Add a direction.
Rotations, more specifically from his mouth. The blonde said he had an idea for a technique that he based around omni-directional flows of energy when he borrowed Fujin's Talisman's power.
And that small advice, something that anyone likely could have said, had given Kasumi something that not many could boast.
An attack with near unstoppable cutting power when used in conjunction with Simple Domain Enhancement and Hana, the Cursed Tool.
"I-It's still kind of… I need to be able to use Akuryo Giri without so much prep time," she sighed as he shook his head. "I'm just glad I have SDE," Miwa smiled.
Simple Domain Enhancement had been the result of 'rotation training'.
By trading her Simple Domain's ability to fend off Domain Expansion, she was allowed to give it not only an extra property but enhanced range.
Of course, it took more cursed energy b-but she also found a way around that.
[Noritoshi-kun's advice was vital here.] Mechamaru nodded. [If you keep the energy's rotation in the range of the barrier, you're capable of using more than you'd be capable of.]
Naruto's idea of gathering energy and Noritoshi's own ideas on keeping rotation inside had birthed her new training and, now, greatest skill.
With enhanced cutting power, a range of condensed cursed energy, reach due to cursed energy control through her Simple Domain & Reinforcement, and, lastly, some good old-fashioned sword-drawing, this was the attack that'd bring her up…. If she could get around the steep downside.
"Binding Vow, time, and just the gathering of cursed energy is too much to use alone."
[Weren't you trying to circumvent that?]
They walked as they talked, the sounds from across the floor not worrying them in the least.
"I am, what I need is a way to either gather all the cursed energy I need or have something or someone hold off my opponent," Miwa pouted as he cupped his chin. "But I'm no good at shikigami and I can't just put someone in harm's way every time I want to use my own skills."
True but, now, they had someone who was good at shikigami, no?
Someone who'd gifted Mai a shikigami that held never-ending amazement.
[We'll figure it out.]
Naruto bat aside claw after claw, each of the curse's swipes at his head parried and then countered without impunity.
The skull face cracked over and over, causing the curse to reel before it flipped and flopped backwards from a pair of shots on its shoulders.
Naruto hummed as he found two shard-like energy 'stakes' in the curses' arms. "Oh, those guns can do things?" He asked Mai as she walked over with a smirk.
"You remember how your dad liked changing the element of cursed energy?" She reminded him as he nodded in understanding. "Just a change of shape on contact, nothing crazy. Though, I can only do it with handgun bullets but that's not the worst."
Naruto nodded before looking down at the struggling cursed spirit, the Semi-Grade 1 Curse screeching at them as it kicked its body about and tore at the ground in futility.
"... Being honest? I don't think I'm Semi-Grade 1 material, Naruto," Mai admitted as he hummed. "N-Not that I don't want to be a Grade 1, I do, a lot actually," it was weird.
But ever since leaving that household, finally being away from all the annoying Zenin males and their bullshit, Mai realized that while she'd only made it a Vow, at first, she'd slowly begun to like the idea more.
She wanted to be a Grade 1 Sorcerer, to prove a point she'd never cared about all that much before… But perhaps that was only when Naruto was around?
She felt like the world was a lot more 'safe' with him by her side, a ridiculous amount.
"?" Naruto raised a brow at Mai's melancholic grin. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah… I'm glad you're around," Mai smiled at him and Naruto blinked before rubbing the back of his head with a flustered nod.
"I'm glad to be back, especially for you guys… And for you," he added with a hand running through his hair as Mai's cheeks reddened, the girl chuckling.
Oh yeah, Mai believes she has more than just a 'chance'.
"Let's end this, I don't think curses like listening to teenagers."
Naruto blinked before turning back to the struggling curse. "... Right," he sweatdropped before walking over the curse and taking a solid stance, one arm raised back with an open palm. "You might want to back up, Mai-chan," the blonde warned before humming. "Wait, do you wanna exorcise it or me?"
Mai sweatdropped at his 'chivalry'. "Naruto, one of these days, I think we're gonna need to talk about times and places," she told him as she walked over before holstering her guns and removing a single scroll. "But, I guess, if I wanna show off some more," she grinned as he chuckled before moving back. "An oldie but a goodie."
The scroll glowed before releasing a shotgun.
"This is one of my secret tools," she told him with a grin as she took aim at the curse. "This is one of my One-Off Arsenal."
She pulled the trigger.
Mechamaru and Miwa jumped as the floor rumbled, the sound of an explosion causing both to hurry around that last corner.
And, when they did, Mechamaru chuckled in relief as Miwa's jaw dropped.
Mai smiled as her weapon faded away into nothingness, Naruto's eyebrow-ticking, sweatdropping, body next to her as they looked down a trio of floors allowed by a hole the size of a SUV.
"I… I-I'm guessing you've been abusing the Binding Vow skill," he said nervously.
"Close!" Mai grinned at him, patting his shoulder. "Hehehe~ One-Offs, as I will perfectly call them, are special in that I compose them entirely of all my cursed energy. They're twice as effective due to me giving up the ability to make two a day. I breach my limits but that makes a more powerful weapon. So, with my Technique Bullets… Well, you've got this as an outcome if I give 'em a Binding Vow of one use."
[Ah.] Mechamaru stared at the destruction. 'She did tell us but this is ridiculous,' he'd expected something with piercing power.
They were bullets, after all… But this ignored that rule and left Mai with, admittedly One-Off, multiple tools that could outstrip her normal cursed energy output by several magnitudes.
"T-That's crazy!" Miwa squealed. "Mai-chan, that's so cool!" She praised the Zenin girl.
Mai snickered as Naruto chuckled nervously.
"Never point that at me outside of training? Please? Mai-chan?"
"I'll consider it~. Now, onto some shopping!"
~NRK~
Walking around the nighttime streets of Tokyo, the quartet of Miwa, Naruto, Mai, and Mechamaru's pin chatted amicably, the swordswoman having an earpiece in to 'fake' talking to Mechamaru over the line.
It was always an incredibly kind gesture that never left the far-off sorcerer untouched.
"So, anything you've been needing?" Naruto asked the others. "I'm good on most fronts-Is that pendant shop?" He began to say, relaxed before his body froze at the sight of the jewelry in a window. "... Um-"
"Alright, let's go in," Mai said with a smile as she lugged on the blonde's elbow, Naruto keeping up with an excited grin. "I never knew you as someone who liked jewelry."
"I mean, usually, I don't really see them, ya know?"
"Hmm," a new thing to learn about her blonde friend?
Count her in.
Going in behind the two, Miwa looked around with a hum. "I hope Nitta-san doesn't mind," she said with a hum. "Hmm, do you like jewelry, Mecha-kun?"
[Hmm… Well, mostly in the vein of science, you understand.] He said as she nodded. [Different jewels can have different aspects I can use.]
"Really? L-Like what?"
[Crazy as it sounds? Diamonds are useful for a theory I've had. Refraction of cursed energy.]
Miwa's eyes blinked in surprise even as she filed away the boy's interest. 'That's gonna be expensive,' she had to become a well-paid sorcerer soon! "... I wonder if Mai's going to do it today or not?"
Mechamaru hummed as the two of them observed Mai and Naruto looking through pendants.
The blonde sheepishly chuckling as Mai inspected a pair of similar-looking, to Mechamaru, pendants in the shape of a finger-length crystal covered in gold-looking wire.
[You think she's going to make her move?] He asked curiously as Miwa grinned.
"Mai's been so anxious before Naruto came back. Now, she's like a whole new person t-though I think Todou-kun had something to do with it," she sweatdropped as Mechamaru chuckled.
[I believe I know what happened.]
"Y-You do?! What is it?!"
All of a sudden, Mechamaru wheezed as he remembered most of 'that conversation's' topics. 'CRAP.'
As Mechamaru scrambled for his lawyer's wit, Naruto was currently chuckling as Mai kept inspecting the two pendants.
"Either's fine, ya know… I-In fact," he blushed a bit at an idea. "I'll just get both."
Mai perked up, raising a brow at his embarrassed visage before humming. "Already splurgy, are ya?" She smirked as Naruto laughed a bit.
"Nope but I know a good purchase when I see one."
Mai considered that before nodding, the two of them going to the cashier with the items in tow.
One purchase later, Mai had all of three seconds before being given a bag holding a forest-green pendant.
She blinked once, twice, three times before 'it hit' and she was burning bright red at Naruto's embarrassed chuckles, accepting the gift with rigid digits.
"H-Hehe, like I said," he chuckled with a grin. "I see a good purchase when I can," Naruto told her with a nose scratch.
'There's n-no way he made a lay-up like that!' Her skin burned and her heart beat like thunder. "... B-Bastard, I should have just bought you the damn pendant," Mai muttered as he chuckled.
"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told ya. Besides, consider it a 'thanks for always being my friend' gift."
Stupid blonde.
She smiled.
"Yeah, well, I'm glad you're always around as ya know."
He grinned and she loved it all over again.
~NRK~
The following morning, the quartet of Freshmen walked around Kyoto High's campus, heading for the cafeteria.
Naruto and Mai sporting their new pendants that quickly gained the attention of the coming-up-to-them quintet of Aoi, Momo, Nanako, Noritoshi, and Utahime.
The females, and Aoi, of the group took one look before Naruto and Mai were besieged.
"Hehehehe~," the short blonde witch nudged the embarrassedly grinning Mai a bit. "So, what's this?"
"It seems progress has been made," Aoi whispered similarly as Mai burned up some more before wearing a determined expression.
"H-He sprung the sneakiest lay-up line on me," Mai whispered hotly as the three perked up. "... Mmmm," she explained what had happened.
Seconds later, Nanako was shaking her head in disbelief at the sheer textbook bullshit Naruto had apparently pulled as Aoi wore a look of pride.
"He's already walking the path to greatness," the tall boy decidedly declared.
"My God, I did not think he had it in him," Momo said in awe, impressed beyond words. "Mai, holy shit, that's a keeper without a thought. Y-You can't pass this up!" She whispered urgently.
"Agreed," Aoi said with a shine in his eye as Nanako snickered.
"Mai gets her Slice-Of-Life anime moment and we're acting like side characters, Jesus," she said in amusement.
Mai just looked embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Naruto wore a squinty-eyed embarrassed expression as Utahime awaited his response.
"It's… I-It's just a gift I got her," he whined quietly as Noritoshi tilted his head in interest while Miwa giggled. "I-It could mean anything."
"I'm sure 'anything' would be convenient, hmm?" Utahime grinned a good bit as the blonde blushed some more. "Well, I won't pry, that's your business… But as your teacher, I'm here to offer input and to listen to your gossip."
"Was that necessary?"
"Hmm," Noritoshi cupped his chin as Mechamaru and Miwa chuckled. "You seem to understand your current status quo, I suppose you'll know what to do," he smiled as Naruto muttered something with an embarrassed face.
"Yeah, well… Thanks, Nori."
~NRK~
Eating together and doing his best to dodge the 'encouraging words' of his friends, Naruto quickly found himself sitting in Mechamaru's room with the robot.
"So, how do you want to do this, Mechamaru?" Naruto asked kindly. "The thing is, I think it'll work, I'm sure it will, but I'm not sure if I'm good enough at it yet or not, ya know?"
[You mean that odd third Technique?] Mechamaru asked. [You've never given more details.]
"As I go up in levels, like," the blonde raised his hand. "This."
The Yellow Mandala formed in it and his eyes, the robot leaning forward in interest.
The amount of positive energy that'd sprouted from the blonde nearly broke his energy sensors. [You're saying you can unlock more positive energy?] Was that how it worked?
"My Vital Positive Energy basically enhances my limits and those who I use it on. I can do healing but that's mostly because I just pump people full of it," Naruto admitted sheepishly. "I need to actually get good at healing people. It was always something I just used on myself, ya know? I never had to heal someone too injured."
Ah, he understood. 'That makes sense,' Naruto likely didn't hurt anyone else to the point he'd need to heal them so drastically.
It was in the boy's nature to help others more than hurt them.
[Have you considered what I think you have?]
"Yep, Ieiri-nee-chan is gonna come over and start giving me tips," Naruto grinned. "She's always wanted a protege, ya know? Hehe, I guess this works out perfectly for us. So, I'd ask ya, do ya want me to try anyway? Just to see what we can do?"
[... Yes, please.] Mechamaru bowed. [I've… Naruto-kun, any chance at walking in the light is better than nothing to me.]
"Alright. So, do you want me to go to you?"
Mechamaru cupped his chin. [If you're capable of doing so quickly. The issue remains, I'm not just a couple miles away, Naruto. I can't just reveal myself.]
"You need to trust in my speed a bit more," Naruto grinned. "Still, right now? Or at night?"
~NRK~
Naruto hurried through the treetops as the moon lit up the nighttime sky.
'He's really ridiculous,' the more land the blonde covered, the more he realized how ridiculous Mechamaru's 'long range' actually was. "Mechamaru, dude, how the hell is your reach this much? I mean, I can usually tell how far away I am from you but actually running makes me realize you're kind of crazy."
The Mechamaru Pin on his shoulder chuckled sheepishly. [It's the only benefit to my situation. My Heavenly Restriction, Naruto-kun, traded my physical body for nation-wide reach.]
Naruto nodded. "I wonder…"
[You also consider if your power nullifies Heavenly Restrictions?]
Naruto nodded. "I mean, in the grand scheme of things, most Heavenly Restrictions aren't like mine. My own mixed with my Six Eyes and became something else."
'Which is still ridiculous,' not to offend his friend, really.
But the Six Eyes appearing in two Gojous a generation didn't make sense. Not a single time had this event happened before.
'There's likely a lot that that divination has to do with this,' Naruto was powerfully tied to Tengen, likely just as much as Satoru Gojou was. 'Power that can heal Tengen has to mean he can heal me,' but that left Mechamaru relieved and confused.
What kind of power would Naruto truly wield? To be able to affect someone thousands of years old and help them retain their form, assumably?
It'd been something Mechamaru had considered. The effects Naruto Uzumaki's powers would have on Tengen whose body needed to be reVITALIZED.
'If his powers were a substitute for Tengen-sama's condition,' that'd change a lot of things, mostly about Naruto's actual position in the world.
If the Six Eyes had been fated to go to him so he could work not as a 'protector' for Tengen, like Satoru Gojou, but as a 'cure'... It meant that fate had changed for the Jujutsu World, no?
Who else could abuse the blonde's power? To what ends and means?
Then, the blonde came to a stop by the end of the forest, blinking at the sounds of rushing water and the sight of a large lake with a large dam-like structure near it.
"Whoa… Mechamaru, this place is awesome," Naruto grinned as Mechamaru hummed softly.
[I move here every now and then, it's safer to test puppets out over the waters and not attract loose eyes.] The pin said before fluttering off the blonde's shoulder. [Follow me, please.]
~NRK~
They'd gone into the large damn structure where Naruto found out several things.
One, it was more like a base than a dam.
Two, it was covered in large cables.
Three, it smelled like mold.
[Apologies for the smell, sadly, it's not one that goes away easily.] The pin said. [I need pure liquids and minerals to enter my body at a fast rate. My body's lacking functionality is the cause.]
Naruto wore a sad look. "I get ya," he said softly as they kept on walking.
It was a five-minute travel, really showing how big the area was, before Naruto was brought to a single door where all the cables congregated.
[Here.] The pin sprouted a large cloth. [It's no offense to me, Naruto-kun, consider it my courtesy.]
Considering the cloth, Naruto respected the other sorcerer enough to just tie it around his mouth. "Alright, time to meet face-to-face," he smiled as the pin moved to the wall and latched in.
There was a cacophony of small clicks and shifts before the door opened up and allowed him into a dimly-lit area.
Finally, he saw him at the center of it all, smiling somberly.
"Hi, Naruto-kun," the bandaged-up boy said to the blonde who blinked.
"Yo, Mecha… Is that your actual name?" Naruto asked after a moment of thought, grinning.
'Mechamaru' chuckled. "Kokichi Muta AKA Mechamaru," the newly-revealed Kokichi said as Naruto got closer, minding his steps. "It's been a while… A long while since I've seen someone face-to-face besides Utahime-sensei at the school."
"Hehe, yeah, Uta-nee's just that kind of a person… So," the blonde's tail unfurled as he conjured his Mandala. "Let's try this out, alright?"
The blonde focused on his positive energy.
And Kokichi's eyebrows rose at the torrent of white force that erupted up from around the blonde, his hair shading over into a platinum blonde along with his single silver fringe.
"Your powers have grown," the harmed-boy said as Naruto came closer before placing his hand on Kokichi's shoulder. "..." he let out a soft breath. "Do it."
"Alright."
The feeling was almost instant, Kokichi's eyes widening at the warm surge that shot through his body and filled his being up from his feet to his crown.
'Is this what it's like?' Or was it that different for him due to his condition? 'Still…' Kokichi focused on his cursed energy.
The energy source fended off the effects of positive energy on principle, the two powers being polar opposites in every way including name.
'... It's odd,' as he allowed his body to relax and truly engulf his mind in Naruto's 'strength', Kokichi's eyebrows furrow. 'It's fending it off from my core…' The feeling was almost impossible to describe.
He could feel the healing powers brimming under his skin, in his veins, and arcing about his bones but there was a 'point', a 'core' if you will, inside of him that remained obstinate.
"It's weird," Naruto told him as his Mandala expanded in size before hovering over Kokichi's head. "I'm going to try something, Kichi," he grinned as Kokichi blinked before chuckling.
"Go ahead, this is literally the best I've felt my entire life," the sedentary boy said.
Naruto nodded before taking a deep breath. "The second Technique of the Three-Tailed Mandala is called 'Gold'," he explained as the feeling in the air grew.
'Explaining his Technique,' Kokichi hoped for success or even just an increase in efficiency. 'If it can grant at least that much,' it meant that Naruto might have been right.
He only needed his last Technique to heal him or even just better control.
"It's similar to aniki's Blue, it's compressed positive energy but pointed in the direction of my Mandala."
The artifact glowed.
"Haa…" Naruto's eyes glowed with a nearly holy light. "GOLD."
The feeling in his body… Kokichi could have compared it to nothing else but life.
Like life itself had welcomed him into its world and nurtured his soul, body, and mind.
"It's still resisting," Kokichi said but the boy's body was revitalized, regardless. 'My Heavenly Restriction is still fighting it off,' he had a few ideas about that.
Because Naruto's powers were born from his Heavenly Restriction, the same was said for Kokichi's own. His Restriction gave him great amounts of cursed energy like a silo with a rusty spigot.
'It's because the core of my energy is from the Restriction,' Naruto's powers destroyed cursed energy on principle, no wonder his own powers were fighting the blonde's own. 'But what does this mean?' He wondered.
And then balked as he stared at something coming down into his vision, even if only slightly.
'HAIR?!' He nearly bugged out as the floor around his tank began to fill with flora and vines. "The life element…" Kokichi breathed out before realizing something else.
His skin didn't hurt.
His breathing was unhindered.
There was FEELING BELOW HIS WAIST!
Yet, adding all of that into this 'soup' of confusion, relief, and worry, he had to wonder.
Why was it working? He could feel his powers fighting it off but it stayed contained in a core-like manner. Clustering together into a potent ball of unused-
"I-If I use it, the Restriction returns…" Kokichi realized, confusing Naruto as the blonde's Mandala kept going. "Naruto-kun," he spoke.
"Yeah, what's up?" The blonde asked, looking at him in confusion. "Oh, uh, welcome back to your arm, bud."
Kokichi lifted a shaky right hand, his eyes looking at it like it was alien to him.
Flexing it had him gasping a bit, droplets of water falling into his tank as he did. The arm filled with strength that his left didn't have.
He was healing… God above, he was healing!
'Stop, f-focus,' don't become overcome with happiness that you misread the situation! 'Focus on your body, what's happening? Was my earlier hypothesis correct?' Only one way to find out. "Naruto-kun."
"Yo."
"I'm going to test something, it might come with feedback and rejection from my end to yours. Please, just keep going."
Naruto locked eyes with his fellow 'Restricted' before nodding. "Do what ya gotta do, Kichi."
Kokichi realized that he really was glad to have met the blonde.
This wasn't something he could expect from some random person, no, for that he was sure.
'I have to see how far I can push this.'
~NRK~
Two hours later, Kokichi Muta let out a slow breath in the fresh nighttime air, his body covered by a white loincloth and cloak.
Bearing scarred fair skin, a skinny frame, a noticeable scar on his left cheek, and shoulder-length black hair he'd tied back into a ponytail, the puppet user let out a shuddering breath.
"Naruto-kun, thank you," he whispered to the tired-looking but grinning blonde boy. "I don't… This is more than I ever imagined," Kokichi grinned as Naruto chuckled.
"Still, we now know your limits like this," the monkey boy yawned. "So, what'll ya do now?"
"Seeing as you can do this anywhere, I don't know. I never thought I could do something like this ever. Though, like this, I can't be a sorcerer. Not at the level I should be."
Naruto considered that. "Sad to say, like I told ya, to make it permanent will probably need me to figure out my powers," the blonde said to the brunette. "That or really get how Ieiri-nee does it."
"Anything's better than nothing," Kokichi smiled. "I can handle one puppet at a time, that's it. A sheer cutdown but considering what I've gained, I don't really fucking care," he grinned brightly. "Um, still, making sure the others know is kind of…" His cheeks reddened a bit, Naruto chuckling as his fellow Freshmen grew embarrassed. "H-How should I do it? I mean, I can't just walk into class like this, can I?"
"Hehe, look, let's keep it simple."
~NRK~
Around the time of breakfast, most of the friend group had gathered at a table in confusion.
"Wait, where's Naru?" Mai asked in confusion as Miwa nodded.
"I haven't seen Mecha-kun either," she told the others.
Aoi cupped his chin in thought. "Perhaps the two are bonding?" He offered.
"At seven in the morning? What, did they have a sleepover?" Nanako asked with a yawn. "Next you'll tell me he brought out the real Mechamar-"
"So, yeah, how'd ya enjoy sleeping outside of a tank?" A familiar voice queried another, yawning, one.
"I-It was revolutionary, thanks, again," the other voice said with a sheepish inflection.
As one, the group stopped talking, blinked, and turned their heads to see a sheepish pair coming up to them.
Naruto grinned at the group while the boy next to him looked embarrassed.
Wearing a puffy white neck collar and a familiar dark blue school uniform but with hardy-looking baggy pants, the group blinked as one before Todou realized what was up.
"Y-You magnificent bastard! Y-You helped him?!" The tall boy cried tears of pride as Kokichi blushed before grumbling.
"Of course, Todou would get it first," he muttered as Naruto snickered.
Miwa blinked once, twice, three times as she looked at this new boy with a squinty-eyed look.
Kokichi burned as he barely locked eyes with her before looking away. "Y-You never said it'd be so different like this!" He whispered to Naruto who sweatdropped.
"Dude, I can't prepare ya for everything, just go on and introduce yourself," the blonde snickered one more time before patting his back and leading Kokichi over. "So, you guys, say 'hello' to a familiar not-so-familiar face!" He grinned.
Miwa blinked thrice as she stood up and locked eyes with Kokichi one more time before her jaw dropped.
The puppet user went bright red.
"N-Naruto-kun?! HOW?!" She asked in shock, stumbling over before observing Kokichi from all sides, the boy steaming by this point.
"M-Miwa-chan, please, i-it's emba-"
"YOU'RE IN THE FLESH, MECHA-KUN!" The swordswoman cheered with the biggest brightest grin.
Kokichi Muta A.K.A. Mechamaru… Fainted.
"Whoa, there!" Naruto said as he quickly caught the unconscious boy. "Geez, first day walking and this is how he starts it," he muttered as the others scrambled out of their seats before crowding around. "Easy, easy, turns out, Kichi ain't good with crowds yet."
"N-Naruto, what did you do?!" Momo asked with excitement. "You brought him out of hiding?" She sweatdropped as Naruto chuckled.
"No, it's a bit more complicated than that. It's Kokichi's story to tell, though, not mine."
"K-Kokichi?" Noritoshi's eyebrows rose. "... Ah, that's his REAL name."
"Yep! Kokichi Muta, at your service though he's unconscious."
Nanako stared at the sight in front of her before her eyes snapped to the chuckling Naruto as he answered one of Mai's many questions, the Zenin girl crouching next to him and poking Kokichi's cheek with a happy Miwa.
'I-Is this what nii-chan meant?' Her eyes stayed transfixed in disbelief. 'The one known as Kokichi was supposed to be… Barely a person,' Nanako felt some guilt at her own thoughts. 'I didn't… The point is, how did he… Unless,' Geto had been pretty clear on some things.
Naruto's powers were truly otherworldly and needed to be kept under watch. The boy had abilities that, likely, even he didn't know about.
"So… Now, we can tease Mechamaru?" Mai asked with a look of euphoria.
"Come on, don't be mean. Once again, he's getting used to the whole able-bodied thing," Naruto shot her a nervous smile. "Mai-chan, you're terrifying."
"Hehehe."
"Oh, this poor boy."
And, just then, Kokichi blinked into consciousness… And prepared to faint-
"No, stop, please!" Naruto begged as the brunette blushed for the umpteenth time. "Okay? Come on, guys, back up, let's do this normally."
They did, Kokichi looking redder than ever but nodding to them all as they all stood face to face.
"W-Well… It's me," the genius said lamely and he let out a shuddering breath. "What is wrong with me?" Kokichi asked himself as he looked dead to the world.
"It's good!" Aoi declared loudly as a yawning Utahime entered the cafeteria. "Ma'am! Welcome back our student!" He grinned proudly as the scarred woman blinked.
"Hmm?" Utahime tilted her head, hurrying over a bit. "Welcome back?" She said unsurely to Kokichi. "Apologies, I don't remember you," she admitted, slightly embarrassed.
Kokichi cleared his throat. "I-It's not that you don't remember but didn't know this is what I l-look like."
Utahime blinked thrice, confused, before looking at Naruto for answers.
"Kokichi," he answered simply with a chuckle as she nodded obliviously before freezing. "Yeppers," Naruto grinned cheekily as Mai snickered.
"Y-You went to… T-This is good news!" The woman smiled brightly as the puppet user blushed again.
"W-Why is my embarrassment so high?" The boy groaned. "... Still, about my current state," Kokichi began slowly, gaining their attention. "Let's sit down first?"
Doing so for the boy, Kokichi took several deep breaths and nodded at Naruto's thumbs-up.
"Well… You should all know a few things I've been doing over the years…"
He'd gone on to explain his original situation, his Heavenly Restriction, and the effects it had on him.
Most of the group looked ill, worried, or downright shocked as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I'm glad I spruced that place up a bit," Naruto muttered with his head on his crossed arms, Mai prodding his cheek. "Why, Mai-chan?" He whined quietly as she chuckled.
"Your good deed is going unnoticed," she told him.
"Huh? Eh, it's not really about that, I'm just glad I could help Kichi."
Mai grinned brightly as the blonde grumbled and stuffed his face back into his arms.
Yep, still the same old blonde she fell for, the pendant around her neck filling her with pride.
"W-We might have been able to do something, Kokichi-kun," Utahime told him as the boy looked down in thought.
"Maybe… Maybe it was just pride on my part," he admitted. "Being so fragile didn't help my mental state, for sure. I didn't want to seem like a burden."
"... Ko-kun," Miwa said with puffy cheeks that he began to sweat nervously at. "For someone who's gotta be at least boy genius level, you're really stupid, huh?"
"A-At least?" He asked in disbelief. "I… Perhaps, outside of the boy genius remark, you aren't off-target," Kokichi muttered as Miwa nodded proudly. 'Why does it feel like troublesome roads are ahead?' He thought nervously.
Aoi threw him a thumbs-up he really didn't want to think about.
He continued his explanation, this time dealing with his knowledge of Naruto.
"You knew?" Utahime asked, not accusatory but curious. "I'm… No, I'm not surprised with what you've told us. I can't imagine how long you've been searching for someone who could help you," she smiled motherly for the boy who looked bashful.
"I… I have been for a while," he smiled at the sleeping Naruto. "And Naruto-kun's become quite a positive all-around if I can say so. This body of mine, he's not fully capable of healing it," Kokichi explained.
"Huh? Wait, what?" Momo blinked.
"Let me explain."
He went on to explain his and Naruto's midnight rendezvous and the discoveries they did make.
"As long as I don't push it beyond one puppet, I'll be able to move unrestricted thanks to Naruto-kun's efforts," Kokichi said before taking a deep long breath. "That's… About everything," he admitted, Naruto's head perking up as he blinked and rubbed at his eyes. "It's also why he's so tired, I don't think he should spend too much positive energy for long periods of time."
"I'll recharge… Mmm~," the blonde's head flopped down as Mai shot him a concerned look. "I-I'm good, I've never done that for as long before. Good to know my limits," Naruto added, voice muffled through his sleeves.
"That's still an outstanding thing," Momo grinned as Kokichi smiled again. "Still, how strong are ya now? Before, you were also Semi-Grade 1," she said.
"W-Well, from some demonstrations with Naruto-kun, I'm likely a Semi-Grade 2 since I lack my long-range and I'm not used to being in the field," Kokichi admitted.
"Dude, that's crazy!"
"W-We're Semi-2 buds!" Miwa cheered with big bright eyes.
Kokichi blushed but nodded through the embarrassment. "I… I-I suppose that's so," he smiled shakily as Miwa grinned. 'I don't think I'll last like this.'
Mai just smiled at it all, head down on her own crossed arms as she prodded Naruto's bicep, the boy smiling.
Yep, as Momo said.
Definitely a keeper.
~NRK~
That brings things to a slight simmer, for now.
Being honest, I'll probably have us go through, maybe, four to six missions before reaching the Christmas event. In that time, we'll also look into the Tokyo side and even mix the two.
After all, the Goodwill Event is still active and we haven't seen two of the last members of the Tokyo school.
My passion is at an all-time high!
~NRK~
~Omake: Slave Dad Part I ft. Toji, Naruto, the Fushigoro Siblings, and Satoru~
Toji Fushigoro grumbled as Satoru snickered at him.
Riko Amanai huffed off to the side under Kuroi's care while Geto wore a nervous grin.
"... God, do not tell me that brat can bring people back from the dead," the man grunted in concern, facepalming at Satoru. "Goddammit."
"Nope but it's pretty damn close!" Satoru grinned as the former-Zenin threw him a flat look. "So, as it turns out, using Purple on ya should have been the final blow if ya get me but my cuz gotcha when we weren't looking. He put a barrier talisman on you."
"He what?"
"Ahh… Maybe," Ieiri said unsurely as Toji shot her his flat stare. "So, it's kind of like what he did for Riko."
"For who?!" Toji asked her in shock, head snapping around to see the scoffing fox girl. "... W-What? She was…" His eyes went to the unconscious Naruto before going to Satoru's chill smile. "What exactly did he do?"
"Well, from what Riko's explained to us about herself, it's likely that he encased your soul in a barrier, protecting it inside of your body," the Gojou explained as Toji's brow twitched. "And since he's got wicked positive energy, your body simply healed up with your soul still being safe inside. Think of it like him basically blocking your soul from moving on."
Geto wore a nervous expression. "It's not bringing back the dead, that we're clear on… But God is it closer than one might think," he said while Utahime nodded.
"It's not something most could even imagine doing but… Naru-kun seems capable in ways most sorcerers are not," she uttered as she brushed said boy's bangs to the side. "So, what will you do?"
Toji blinked at her in confusion, frowning a moment later before groaning.
"Well, surprise surprise, guess who can't come back alive?" He offered sarcastically.
"Ehh… That's debatable," Satoru said as Toji shot him a disbelieving look. "For one, what's it to anyone that you're alive?" He asked casually as Geto blinked once before realizing what he meant.
"Oh," the cursed spirit user said before his eyes narrowed in thought, confusing Yaga. "Toji-san likely won't get a warm welcome from the Time Vessel Association but they know how dangerous you are to them."
"..." The teacher cupped his chin. "Would he even be happy with that?"
"Oi, you mind explaining this to those in class?" Toji asked with a twitching brow. "Goddamn, you guys are just talking over a former dead guy, I'm hurt," he said flatly. "You're basically saying I screw 'em over, right? I'm guessing you didn't find the main base?"
"We destroyed almost all of them," Satoru said as Toji raised a brow. "Well, the ones we know about."
"You didn't attack the big space in the city, did you?" Satoru blinked at Toji's look of disbelief. "What? Did you think I was there to look at the sights?"
"..." Satoru cleared his throat.
"..." Geto adjusted his collar.
Toji's jaw dropped before he looked down and held his head. "I got beat by this?" He asked the air in shock. "Two idiots!?"
"Oi!"
"Look, while your assessments may be a bit on point," Utahime began.
"No they ain't!" Satoru cried.
"Shush. The point is, where does this really leave you? You are Naruto-kun's mentor, are you not?"
"How did you… Oh, right, that message," Toji muttered. "... I don't think it's safe for me to head anywhere. Uh, duh? I'm the Sorcerer Killer, ya know?"
"I mean, why would it be so hard?" Utahime blinked. "How does you being alive now change things when you were like this before?"
"Because I was confirmed dead, likely by Shiu who doesn't do shit half-assed."
"Hmm…" Satoru cupped his chin. "... Who cares?" He asked after a moment of thought, Toji's jaw dropping once more. "Duh, as someone who's afflicted by a Binding Vow to my cousin, you're not in a great position."
Toji's face went blank along with the others.
"What?"
~NRK~
Naruto Uzumaki awoke thirty days later to a disgruntled Toji.
"WHY?!" He pleaded.
The now-monkey boy sweatdropped. "Huh?"
~NRK~
Riko, Naruto, and Toji finished their last trays of food, much to the others' disbelief.
"So… We did, what, a Binding Vow that happened in the past? What kind of thing could we have said?" Naruto asked as he sighed in relief and patted his belly. "What the heck did I do?"
"... Oh God no," Toji realized with a twitching brow. "No, no, no, no," he began to sweat nervously. "Do not tell me it was that business dad bullshit."
Naruto blinked once before he began to snicker to no end, confusing the others as Toji's head hit the table.
"W-Well, I might have 'made a deal'," Naruto grinned. "Without knowing it."
He explained their last conversation before he'd been cut down.
Satoru and Geto laughed while Minato sweatdropped.
"You made him a Slave Dad? Am I hearing you correctly?" He asked as Kushina tilted her head.
"Hmm… Slave Dad," she said like it was the title of a new show. "... I kinda wanna watch something like that."
Toji's brow twitched painfully, the man's form covered by a black cloak. "Why… Why is my life like this?" He asked the table. "You won't betray me, table."
Utahime let out a nervous giggle. "I think we broke 'something'," she said as Yaga sweatdropped.
~NRK~
"Oh man," Toji rubbed the back of his head, the man's hoodie hood up and hiding his face a bit. "Geez," he looked around at the familiar scenery. "... I guess he should be coming home from school-"
"Hm?" Came a voice from behind them, Toji freezing before Naruto chuckled and walked forward.
"Hey, nice ta meetcha," he greeted a small boy. "You're Megumi, right?"
"Huh? Um, no offense, I am," the other boy, Megumi, said unsurely. "But who are you… And do you dye your hair?"
As the two chatted, Toji let out a slow breath as Satoru chuckled.
"I mean, we know you're happy to see 'em. Better alive than a literal deadbeat dad, yeah?" The Gojou offered.
Toji crossed his arms while looking away-
"Megumi!" Came a call from above, his head involuntarily snapping up to see a girl waving from a fence balcony. "Is that a frien…?!" Her eyes widened before she slipped back inside.
Barely ten seconds later, the door beside him flew open before he was tackled at the waist by a bright-eyed girl.
"Dad?! You're home?!" She asked with a grin as Toji wheezed, Megumi's head snapping to his grinning sister. "Megumi! It's dad! So, he didn't run off with mom!"
"Wait, what did she do?!" Toji was kneeling in an instant with a dropped jaw, hood pulled off in shock. "WHERE'S YOUR MOM… Tsumiki?"
"O-Oh, um…" The girl, Tsumiki, fiddled with her patchy skirt. "S-She didn't come back one day so we just kept on doing stuff," the girl scuffed the floor. "Y-You're not gonna leave, too, are-"
"No! No, I'm not," he said quickly with an annoyed expression. "That stupid woman…" Toji muttered as Naruto grinned, confusing Megumi.
"Y-You brought back dad?" He asked, shocked and slightly amazed.
"It's a bit more complicated than that."
~NRK~
A mere two hours later, the group were on a train heading back to Tokyo High.
With a small Screen around them suggesting normal people look away, listen elsewhere, or even walk off, they could speak candidly without issue.
"You sure this is a good idea?" Toji asked as his children sat on either side of him, their bags resting between his feet. "You know you're basically asking for trouble, right?" He ruffled his head of hair with a look of some shame. "Dammit."
"I don't give a damn what the Zenin think," Naruto answered with a grin as Toji scoffed. "I literally saved my master's life because I care, dammit. If they don't, well, it sucks to be them. You're under Uzumaki Protection from here on out," the blonde snickered. "Now, well, I guess you can either let 'em know to screw off or just follow me to Kyoto."
"... I kinda need to call off something."
"What?"
~NRK~
"Sensei, oh my God."
"It was better, at the time," Toji said bashfully to the blonde as they sat in front of Naobito, Naoya, Jinichi, Ogi, and Ranta. "So, yeah, I'm calling off the contract. Turns out, I don't want to be a shit dad," he said flatly.
Naobito was just sitting there in total confusion. "What the hell did a Gojou do to you?"
"... A lot? Unfortunately? Look, the thing is, you never even cared if my kid didn't have a Technique and this basically saves you some money," Toji shrugged as Jinichi frowned. "Seems like you lost nothing."
"Hmph, you can't even see a deal through, huh?" The large gruff man said as Ranta fiddled with his hakama pants. "Tsk, damn you, Toji."
"Love ya, too, bro. Alright, is that it?"
Naoya was just left staring at the blonde next to Toji, the man's disciple, at that. 'He returned Toji-kun?' Wait, the man didn't seem to want to be a Zenin but now Naoya knew where he'd be.
Apparently, he now flew the blonde boy's banner. Naruto Uzumaki's banner.
"Hmph," Ogi grunted. "Failure as always."
Toji's eyes glinted as he grinned a bit slyly. "I'm sorry, is that what you were screaming last time?" He chuckled as Ogi froze before the room rose in temperature. "Remind me."
Naruto sweatdropped as the second-oldest Zenin in the room growled. 'Glad to see him returning to form,' he chuckled weakly. "You're something else, sensei."
"The best?"
"Debatably but if I get to dig at my cousin? Sure."
Toji looked very pleased all of a sudden.
~NRK Out~