Fox of Many Masks
Chapter 2
"Th-That's weird….where's the school?" the guy asked once they both walked into the castle.
Naruto was quick to notice some weird things in the massive elegant entranceway of the castle, mainly being some odd portraits he could vaguely see in the back. He swore the man from the car, the one the guy he was following called Kamoshida, was in the paintings.
"Where did we end up?" Naruto asked as it was clear to him that this definitely wasn't the school….
"It should be the school" the guy told him before pulling out his phone and furrowing his brow in confusion. "Out of service!? Where did we end up?" he said, not sure what was going on.
"The sign out front said Shujin Academy so this should be it" Naruto told him, trying to reassure him as well as convince himself that things should be fine before he heard the clanging of metal, turning and slightly jumping at the sight of what seemed to be a knight in armor with a sword and shield in hand.
"Geez you freaked me out!" the guy yelled out before calming down a bit. "Who are you? Are you a student?" he asked before Naruto shook his head.
"I really don't think he's a student dude, I mean he's way taller than us and has a sword and shield for Pete's sake" Naruto tried to tell him before a second knight appeared.
"H-Hey, what's going on?" the guy asked, his tone a bit scared which Naruto understood.
"I don't know but be careful" Naruto told him in an attempt to keep him from freaking out as the knights walked up to them.
"C-Calm down! Time out man!" the guy said before Naruto put his hand on his shoulder.
"Come on, lets just leave this place!" Naruto yelled, the guy nodding before they attempted to run back out the front door only to have two more knights cut off their path of escape.
The guy let out a groan of pain as on knight bashed his back with a shield, knocking him over and them all quickly surrounding the two of them.
"Take them away!" one knight ordered out, his voice odd sounding and booming a bit before they were knocked out and undoubtedly dragged away towards who knows where.
"Hey! Wake up!" a familiar voice called out, waking Naruto up from his sleep to see the boy from earlier crouched beside the 'bed' he was laying on. "You alright?" he asked as Naruto pushed himself to sit up while ignoring his throbbing head.
"Yeah, what about you?" Naruto asked with a frown since he did get bashed pretty hard with a shield.
"More or less though its clear this ain't no dream…but what I want to know more is where the hell are we!? Someone let us out of here! I know there's someone out there!" the guy yelled, running over to start banging and kicking at the cell door before they both froze up as the sounds of anguished screams echoed down to where they were locked up.
"Th-The hell was that just now!?" the guy yelled out, a bit terrified while they both rushed to the door to their cell.
"Not much else screams of anguish and pain could be mistaken for…" Naruto told him since as much as he'd like to deny it there was nothing else those noises could have been.
"This is real bad! Isn't there some way out of here!? C'mon! We gotta do something!" the guy said, panicking a bit – which Naruto understood – before he started to look around their cell only to find nothing of use.
The sound of clanking metal got them on guard as four knights showed up in front of their cell.
"Be glad your punishment has been decided upon. Your charge is 'unlawful entry' thus you will be sentenced to death" the knight said, shocking them both.
"Say what!?" the guy yelled as the knights started to part for someone.
"No one's allowed to do as they please in my castle" a man's voice spoke out before Kamoshida, the man from the car walked towards the door.
Unlike before he was dressed incredibly odd, wearing a red heart printed cape and a gold crown. The oddest part, in his opinion, was his bright yellow eyes.
"Wait…is that you Kamoshida?" the guy asked in confusion, this only adding to the weirdness of everything.
"I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it'd be you Sakamoto. Are you trying to disobey me again? It looks like you haven't learned your lesson at all huh?" Kamoshida said with a cocky smirk on his face.
"And you brought a friend this time…because you can't do anything for yourself" Kamoshida mocked, looking over to him while Sakamoto – that most likely being his last name – pulled on the iron bars of their cell door.
"This ain't funny you asshole!" Sakamoto yelled with a rage filled glare towards the man.
"Is that how you speak to a king? It seems you don't understand the position you're in at all. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me – the king! The punishment of that is death. It's time for an execution! Take him out!" Kamoshida declared, rubbing his chin with a cocky smirk still on his face before swinging his arm out, opening up his cape and giving both of them a mentally scarring sight of him in a pair of bright pink underwear that Naruto felt was a thong.
They both could do nothing else but back up as four knights walked into the room with Kamoshida staying back near the door.
Neither of them wanted to go down so easily like this, both of them giving each other a look before they both ran forward and slammed into two of the four knights, each knocking one over.
"I ain't down for this shit! We're out of here!" Sakamoto yelled before Naruto smirked and nodded, showing he wasn't about to sit idly by while this was all going on.
Neither of them got a chance to make a move as one knight slammed his fist into Sakamoto's gut, knocking him over, while another bashed Naruto with a shield, slamming him back into the wall.
Naruto pushed the pain out of his head as the knights started to surround Sakamoto, rushing forward and trying to pull at one of the knights away in hopes to give Sakamoto a chance to flee.
"Just go! Get out of here! These guys are serious!" Sakamoto yelled out as Naruto grit his teeth.
"Screw that! There is no way I can just run away when you seriously might die!" Naruto yelled back, pissed off that Sakamoto even suggested saving his own hide.
"Well look at that, your friend wants to die with you. How sweet" Kamoshida mocked as he looked over to him before turning back to Sakamoto.
"He ain't a friend….Just hurry up and go!" Sakamoto yelled out again, trying to get him to just leave him behind again.
"What's the matter? Too scared to run away? Pathetic scum really isn't worth my time so I'll focus on this one's execution" Kamoshida told him, as two knights grabbed one of Sakamoto's arms each, lifting him up with the two others pointing their swords at Naruto's throat.
"Take this! Lowly scum!" Kamoshida yelled out with a punch to the gut with each sentence. "Useless pest!" he added, his punch knocking Sakamoto to the ground with the knights letting him fall.
Naruto grit his teeth and clenched his teeth in rage as he watched Kamoshida spit on Sakamoto before kicking him away once he tried to stand up.
"I'll have you killed right now" Kamoshida said bluntly, as if it didn't matter in the slightest.
"Have you lost you're mind you fucking thong wearing freak!?" Naruto yelled out as he pushed forward as much as he could with the swords pointed at him, glaring with all the calm rage he could muster at the insane freak.
"What was that? Don't you dare tell me you don't know who I am" Kamoshida said as if the idea of not being known was worse than what Naruto had just called him. "That look in your eyes irritates me!" he quickly yelled out before kicking him in the gut, slamming him back against the wall and down to the ground.
"Hold him there, after the peasant its his turn to die" Kamoshida ordered before Naruto quickly burst up and ran forward, refusing to allow this only for the two knights near him to grab a shoulder of his and slam him back to the wall to hold him in place.
"N-No….I don't wanna die…" Sakamoto cried out, understandably afraid was Naruto continued to struggle.
"This is truly an unjust game….your chances of winning are almost none" a soft female voice spoke out to him while a blue glowing pale white butterfly fluttered in front of him. "But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you…" she added before the butterfly disappeared.
"What's the matter? Are you simply going to watch?" a male voice spoke out seemingly from nowhere but in his head. "Are you forsaking him to save yourself?" the voice asked while Naruto looked around, trying to see if it was someone nearby or if he was somehow going insane.
"Death awaits him if you do nothing. Was your previous decision a mistake then?" it asked, undoubtedly referring to how he stepped in to save that woman in the past.
'It wasn't! It never will be!' Naruto yelled back in his head as he watched one knight pick Sakamoto up by the neck with its sword point at his chest, ready to drive through him.
"Very well…I have heeded your resolve" the voice responded, Naruto struggling more and more to try and save Sakamoto before he felt a painful pulse of a headache ring out, causing him to gasp and writhe in pain.
"Vow to me. I am thou, thou art I…Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name and release thy rage!" the voice yelled out in his head, his headache pulsing and booming stronger and stronger in his head before Naruto screamed out in pain, sweat dripping down his face as it felt like his head was about to explode.
"Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!" it demanded, the headache stopping instantly and filling Naruto with clarity and determination.
"Execute him-That's enough!" Kamoshida ordered before Naruto instantly yelled out to him, getting the man to turn around to him with an almost shocked look in his eyes. The outburst being just what he needed to get the knight to drop Sakamoto.
"What was that? You desire to be killed that much? Fine!" Kamoshida said before he nodded and the knight beside him bashed him with his shield, knocking off his fake glasses but not knocking him down.
He stayed on his feet, even as two spears crossed over his neck to pin him to the wall with a third knight standing in front of him.
Naruto kept his eyes closed, not out of fear but more out of an attempt to reach out to what he could feel inside him. Only opening them as the knight was about to swing his sword down, somehow summoning a massive gust of wind that was enough to knock over the knight that was almost about to strike him down and even enough to move the other two back away from him.
As he rose his head up he didn't know what it looked like but he could feel what seemed like to be a mask over his face. He quickly grabbed it, his instincts telling him to take it off, ignoring the pain as he began to rip it off, yelling in pain as it was attached to his skin, feeling blood gush out.
Instantly after it was as if a fog had been lifted, staring forward at Kamoshida with a smirk on his face, unaware at how his eyes had turned the same color as Kamoshida's. He wasn't even concerned as he burst into blue fire, it covering him entirely as the voice that was previously in his head rang out in laughter before the fire grew bigger than him and into the shape of a man with red flames forming eyes and a mouth for the figure.
Naruto smirked as the fire started to float up above him, chains rattling as the fire started to disappear, revealing a man-ish creature from under it.
The man had spikey black hair peeking out from under a red fedora, a cigarette held in its jagged fanged mouth. Its outfit consisting of a red jacket that had golden trimmings, a white dress shirt and black tie under it, white fingerless gloves that showed off his golden claws, a pair of black pants with a golden buckled black belt around his waist and a pair of thigh high boots.
Naruto merely waved out his hands before a pair of leather metal wings that were the shape of bat wings burst out, creating an intense gust of wind and knocking away all the knights around him.
"Wha….What the…?" Sakamoto stuttered out, not believing what he was seeing.
"I am the pillager of twilight – Arséne" Arséne said to introduce himself, Naruto finally noticing the being behind him and surprisingly enough, not being freaked out or terrified by it. (*1)
To him, Arséne felt like he was looking at himself in the mirror. A side of him he hadn't seen for far too long.
"I am the rebel's soul that resides within you. If you so desire I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis" Arséne offered, making Naruto smile and nod.
"Please grant me your power Arséne, I'd be honored" he said before the being puffed out a bit of smoke, raising his head a bit to reveal his fiery red demonic looking eyes.
"Very well then" it replied with a smirk in its tone.
"Who the hell are you!? Guards! Start by killing that one!" Kamoshida yelled out, the guards bursting back up to their feet before they started twitching and quickly turned to black liquid.
He wasn't even that shocked – oddly enough – as they reformed into floating jack O'lanterns with witch hats and torches.
"You'll learn the true strength of my men!" Kamoshida yelled out as they creatures seemingly readied themselves.
"This power of mine is yours! Kill them however you want! Run wild to your heart's content!" Arséne declared, making Naruto smirk and nod before holding out his hand towards one of the creatures with Arséne copying his movement.
"Eiha!" Naruto yelled as Arséne slammed his hand down on the ground and a burst of black and red energy shot out from under one of the creatures and instantly killing it. (*2)
He quickly leapt back, crossing his arms to try and block a fireball launched at him only for Arséne's wings to block the attack.
"Again!" he yelled, Arséne once again attacking the remaining creature and killing it just as easily as the first.
"W-What? What was that just now?" Sakamoto asked as the weird creature disappeared back into flames and Naruto just now noticing his change in outfits.
Instead of his Shujin uniform it seemed he gained an outfit similar to Arséne's only different in color with slight modifications. Instead of red and black his outfit was black and orange with the same gold heart shaped pin on it. His jacket being pitch black and longer than Arséne's down to his ankles and more akin a tailcoat in length. His dress shirt was a dark orange with the tie remaining black the same with his jeans. Unlike Arséne his boots were only went up a bit past his ankles and he also didn't have a fedora like him.
He also had a pair of red gloves and in one hand was a birdlike domino mask that was black and orange (*3) before it disappeared into fire and he felt it reappear on his face.
"You little!" Kamoshida growled out as he walked towards them only for Sakamoto to quickly burst up and body slam Kamoshida and knock him down.
"You like that you son of a bitch!?" Sakamoto yelled with a smirk before Naruto quickly scooped up a nearby pair of keys.
"Come on Sakamoto! We're out of here!" Naruto yelled, Sakamoto getting what he was going for as he followed him out of the room and quickly grabbed their bags before closing the door and allowing him to lock it.
"Damn you!" Kamoshida yelled as he ran to the cell door, clutching his head in pain.
"What was that just now!? And your clothes?" Sakamoto asked since he was still clearly confused and unsure about what all was going down.
"Is this really the time to talk about this?" Naruto asked before his clothes quickly changed in a quick burst of blue flames.
"Whoa! They went back to normal!?" Sakamoto said in shock and surprise before Kamoshida started pulling at the bars.
"You bastards!" the speedo wearing man yelled out getting both of them to take a step back away from him.
"This is so effin' nuts!" Sakamoto yelled out until put a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll freak out about this later. Lets just get out of here first" Naruto told him, getting Sakamoto to nod as he threw the keys as far as he could.
"You're right let's scram! You lead the way!" he said before the two of them started to run away from the cell and the struggling Kamoshida.
"Goddamn thieves! After them! Don't let them escape!" Kamoshida yelled out after them. "You think you can get away with doing this to me!?" he added before Sakamoto shook his head.
"I don't give a shit! I ain't down for any of this! Lets get outta here!" Sakamoto yelled back, motioning for Naruto to come on before he nodded and continued on.
Naruto frowned as they came to an iron door, only to realize it was locked.
"For real!? There has to be another way….maybe I should've kept those keys…." Sakamoto grumbled before Naruto shrugged his shoulders.
"It doesn't matter, we'll find our way through here without them. Here, there's a broken bridge we can cross over to get out" Naruto told him, pointing across the small river that was running nearby towards an open door with Sakamoto following him as he jumped across.
As they left it was obvious they'd have to do some more jumping across things, there being no bridge nearby that was down or usable. The only path leading to some iron cages poking up from the river unmoving.
"Yeesh…can we really get across this?" Sakamoto asked before Naruto leapt over to the first of two that were sticking out.
"There is no other way Sakamoto unless you want to wade through the river and honestly that is just asking for trouble" Naruto told him, getting a sigh and a nod before he leapt to the second on, allowing Sakamoto to leap to the first before they both made their way completely across.
"Dammit! This door's locked as well!" Sakamoto groaned out as he threw his shoulder against the door to try and open it.
"We'll find another way, come on" Naruto said while running into the only open cell that was nearby.
"Another cell? What good is this going to do?" he asked only for Naruto to begin to crawl through a hole at the bottom of the wall.
"Seems like someone made a break in this cell before, a little dirty but it'll have to do" Naruto said while he could hear Sakamoto following behind him.
Once on the other side Naruto quickly looked around before heading towards a lowered nearby bridge, figuring that was their best bet for the time being.
"Whoa dude! We gotta hide!" Sakamoto yelled out, pulling him down to hide behind some barrels and boxes just as the sound of clanging metal grew even louder.
"Over there…they're looking for us" Sakamoto pointed out across the river just as three knights ran up a set of stairs and off towards the direction they had come from.
"Good thing we went this way or else we would've been screwed…." Naruto muttered, getting a nod from Sakamoto before they stood back up once the sound of clanging metal was far enough away.
"Right!? Now come out, we gotta get outta here" Sakamoto told him, Naruto not needing to be told twice as they continued on and up a somewhat long spiral stone staircase. "If this goes up then it's gotta be towards the exit right?" Sakamoto asked with Naruto nodding.
"We're in a dungeon so up is the best bet for us" Naruto explained before he opened a set of large wooden doors and rushed out only to find themselves still in a dungeon. "Okay so we were probably in a lower level…my previous point still stands. We gotta just keep going up and we'll get out of here" he assured Sakamoto, getting a nod from his fellow escapee before they continued on.
They were both brought to a stop though as they saw some guys in Shujin uniforms in two of the cages that were hanging above the river. The oddest part were the seeming 'bags' over their heads and red collars.
"We really did hear people screaming…So we ain't the only ones who got captured!" Sakamoto said with a worried look on his face before squinting his eyes towards the fellow captives. "Is he….okay?" he asked while Naruto could only shrug his shoulders.
"He isn't calling out to us and he has a bag over his head…something doesn't feel right but right now our escape matters most…as bad as that sounds. We can bring people back here to save them after we escape" Naruto reassured him before he continued on, wanting to get out of here before that potentially ended up being their fate.
"Dammit, another raised bridge…doesn't seem to be any way to get it down" Sakamoto complained before they continued on only to reach a dead end. "A dead end!? How the hell are we supposed to get out of here!?" he yelled in frustration while he frantically looked around.
"Hey…you there" a young voice called out, getting them to look around for the source of it only to take a step back in shock as a small black and white cat-like creature with huge blue eyes that stood on two legs was reaching out towards them.
"What is this thing!?" Sakamoto yelled in shock, Naruto widening his eyes but, given he had just summoned some demon looking creature and ripped off a mask from his face this wasn't too weird to him.
Though he had to admit it was still odd.
"You're not soldiers of this castle right!? Get me out of here!" it called out before pointing up towards the lock on the door. "The key is right there!" it told them, desperation in its voice.
"We're trying to get the hell out of here! I mean you obviously look like an enemy too!" Sakamoto told it until Naruto held up a hand to stop him.
"I don't know Sakamoto…this cat doesn't give off the same feeling as those knights that turned into those weird jack O'lanterns…" Naruto told him, getting Sakamoto to relax a bit.
"I'm locked up here so how can I be your enemy!? Help me out! Also I am NOT a cat! Say that again and I'll make you regret it!" the not-cat thing yelled out, insulted to be called one despite having a tail and ears.
"Well tell that to your body with the ears, tail, and paw pads" Naruto hissed out before Sakamoto turned to the side as the sound of clanging metal was growing louder.
"They're catching up already!" he warned them before pulling out his phone. "There still isn't any service! Ain't there any way to contact someone outside?" Sakamoto complained before he looked around a bit more. "How the hell do we get out?" he asked, trying to find any route they could take.
"You want to know where the exit is? Let me out and I'll take you there! You don't want to get caught and executed right!?" the 'cat' asked them with Naruto crouching down to his level.
"You better not be lying just to save your own skin" Naruto warned him with a frown, the creature adamantly shaking its head.
"I'm not lying! It's the truth!" it pleaded and insisted before Naruto stood back up and Sakamoto looked over at him.
"This thing sounds like it's all talk….what should we do?" Sakamoto asked, clearly a bit unsure about things and how to handle this odd creature's offer.
"If you guys think you can get out on your own then be my guest!" it said, daring them to leave it in the cell and potentially be screwed.
Though as the clanking metal grew louder both of them knew they had no more time to think about it.
"Are you seriously not messing with us!?" he asked the cat looking creature before it nodded.
"If you don't hurry they'll catch you" it told them before Sakamoto turned to him and Naruto nodded.
"Fine, we'll let you out but don't forget our deal" Naruto said as he pulled down the lever and opening the cell for it to be free.
"Ah~! Freedom tastes so great~" it almost purred out as it stretched and walked out.
"Now where's the exit you monster cat!?" Sakamoto asked, wanting to be out of here as soon as he could.
"Don't call me a cat! I am Morgana!" the newly dubbed Morgana said, still touchy when it came to the 'cat' subject.
"Shut up and hurry up! Or do you want to be locked up again!?" Sakamoto hissed out before Morgana frowned a bit.
"A-Alright, sheesh! Just follow me and stay quiet" Morgana said as it hurried over to the pulled up bridge they passed on the way over.
"Guess we just gotta follow it…" Sakamoto muttered before Naruto patted him on the shoulder.
"I know Morgana seems weird but…I don't think he's an enemy. We gotta trust him a bit" Naruto told him while they walked over to the 'cat'.
"What are you doing?" Sakamoto asked, a bit uncomfortable in front of the creepy Kamoshida statue.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm lowering the bridge" Morgana said, turning over to Naruto and pointing at him. "You, red head. It seems you pick up on things faster than blondie over here. Try checking around the mouth of this statue okay?" he suggested before moving over to the side.
"My name is Naruto, red hair is rather blunt" Naruto told him with a flat look before he walked over to the statue and looked it over, not really knowing what else to do.
Once he looked it over it didn't take long to notice how the statue's jaw was a bit off, as if it could move. His hunch was correct as he grabbed and pulled down, making its eyes glow as its mouth opened just before the bridge lowered.
"How were we supposed to know to do that!? No one sees a statue and goes 'Ah yes you can totally pull it's jaw down!'" Sakamoto yelled out in frustration at how ridiculous that was, Naruto silently agreeing with him but then again, this place was weird as hell so unconventional things might apply more here.
"Whatever, come on! Let's keep going" Morgana ordered before they ran across the bridge.
Their run for freedom was quickly halted as a knight walked out of a room right in line of their path.
"S-Shit! It's them!" Sakamoto yelled out in fear, falling back as Naruto stepped forward and noticed that his clothes had changed again.
"Tch, you amateur. Stay still!" Morgana ordered again, leaping off of Sakamoto and landing beside Naruto. "You, Naruto! You can fight right? Let's go!" he said before he stood up straight.
"Come! Zorro!" Morgana yelled before a pillar of blue fire exploded behind him with it taking form of a being just like Arséne back in the cell.
Zorro, as Morgana had called him, looked like a buff version of the man of the same name from the movies. Black classy outfit, sharp mustache, and even a rapier in hand that it flicked around in the shape of a 'Z'.
"You got one of those things too?!" Sakamoto said in shock before he watched Naruto summon his again.
"Hmph, we will promptly shut them up!" Morgana said with confidence as he pulled out a saber and the knight transformed into a creature, this time taking the form of a jack O'lantern and a floating pink demon.
"They've taken intercept positions! Looks like its not about capturing us anymore, they're out for blood! I'll back you up so fight like your life depends on it!" Morgana warned him, Naruto nodding as a long dagger appeared in his hand.
'Seems I'm armed with more than just Arséne, that training Jiraiya gave me might actually pay off' Naruto thought with a nod.
"Eiha!" Naruto yelled out, his hand stretched out towards the pink demon with the energy shooting up from below and killing it.
"Nice job but keep in mind you have to strike on their weaknesses, like this! Garu!" Morgana yelled out with Zorro waving its sword and summoning a small cyclone of green wind around the jack O'lantern which quickly knocked it down and confused it.
It's dazed state easily allowed for Morgana to run in and kill it with a swing of his sword.
"Not bad, your Persona's pretty powerful" Morgana complimented with a smile, confusing both him and Sakamoto.
"Persona? You mean the thing that comes out of you both all dramatic-like?" Sakamoto asked, getting a nod from Morgana.
"Yeah. You saw how Naruto ripped off his mask when he summoned it right? Everyone wears a mask deep within their heart and by removing that…" Morgana tried to explain before Naruto's clothes turned back to normal in a flash of fire. "Seems like you don't have full control over your powers yet" Morgana said after a bit of thought.
"I did just awaken these powers like mere moments ago" Naruto told him while Sakamoto cleared his throat.
"Sorry but seriously this doesn't make any sense!" Sakamoto said in frustration before Morgana shook his head.
"Can't you just sit still and listen for once Blondie!?" Morgana chided before Sakamoto stomped his foot.
"My name isn't blondie! It's Ryuji!" he yelled, finally giving his first name with Morgana shaking his head again.
"Actually, there really isn't any time for me to lecture you. You want to escape this place in one piece, right? Let's go and here, use these carefully if needed!" Morgana told them, handing Naruto three Medicines which he quickly put into his pocket.
He would put them in his bag but he wasn't sure what happened to it or the things inside it while he was transformed.
"Now come on, it's not much farther to the exit" Morgana informed them before they all nodded and continued on their path, up a set of stairs before seeing another pulled up bridge.
"Hold on a sec!" Ryuji called out, drawing them to a stop as he saw a guy in a red gym uniform in a cell nearby. "I feel like I know what this guy is wearing but I can't freaking remember right now!" he yelled out in frustration before Morgana sighed.
"Come on, let's go!" Morgana urged, knowing they don't have much time and couldn't dawdle.
"Hold on dammit! What are we going to do about these guys!" Ryuji yelled, not wanting to leave someone behind like this.
"I seriously don't have time to explain myself but you will have to trust me when I say you don't need to worry about them! Focus on yourself right now and getting out of here safely!" Morgana yelled out before the bridge started to lower on its own with a knight rushing over.
"Dang it! You should have listened to me!" he yelled out before they braced for a fight with the knight transforming into two – what looked like to be – pixies.
Naruto smirked as he fired off an Eiha, it easily knocking it down in a daze before killing it and allowing him to do the same to the next.
"Nice job! Now lets get away before more show up!" Morgana urged them along before Naruto and Ryuji shared a look and followed.
It didn't take long before they got back to the room they arrived in, Morgana continuing to guide them through the room to a hallway on the other side of it. He didn't stop there, continuing on to a room on the left which at first seemed to confuse Ryuji.
"Where are we supposed to get out from here? There aren't even any windows!" Ryuji yelled, not wanting to be stuck because they trusted an odd cat.
"We're leaving through the ventilation shaft" Naruto told Ryuji, pointing up to one above the bookshelves that were on the back of the wall.
"That's right! As I thought, you're a natural at this" Morgana complimented him before turning back towards it. "It leads all the way outside" he explained with Ryuji letting out a sigh of relief.
"Then we just gotta get that metallic mesh off" Ryuji said with a smile as Naruto was one step ahead of him, leaping up onto the top of the bookshelf and pulling it off with only a bit of trouble.
"We're good to go, come on Ryuji!" Naruto urged, his fellow captive nodding and climbing up before they both turned back to Morgana.
"What about you? Aren't you coming?" Ryuji asked only for Morgana to shake his head.
"There's something that I still have to do, we're going out separate ways" he told them as Naruto hopped down off the bookcase and crouched down to Morgana's level with his hand held out towards Morgana.
"Thanks for leading us out like promised and I hope you stay safe in here" Naruto said with a smile, surprising Morgana before the cat shook his hand.
"Of course, I never go back on my word" Morgana told him, puffing out his chest in pride which made Naruto smile at.
"I'm the same way, once I make a promise I won't ever break it" he said before hopping back up onto the bookcase and out the vent.
As they left they were once again met with rain, students appearing alongside them walking back towards where they came from.
"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back" a female electronic voice from his phone announced, making him pull it out to check on it to see that the weird eye app was open and that it was only a few minutes since the last time he had checked the time.
"Returned? So we're back?" Ryuji asked, looking around and seeing students everywhere still and no one being weird about a castle or anything.
"It seems like it with everyone returning around us…weird thing is that we were apparently only gone for a few minutes" Naruto told him, getting Ryuji to check his phone to see for sure. (*4)
"Whoa…was all of that really real?" he asked, Naruto only able to shrug his shoulders.
"Who knows, now I'm not sure about you but I'm following the other students to make sure nothing weird happens again…." Naruto said with a sigh, turning back towards the school with Ryuji quickly following and catching up with him.
This time, as they arrived at the school, there was no castle in its place, which was nice to see.
"Look Ryuji," Naruto started to say once they arrived at the front gate "with all that crazy stuff its best to just act like nothing happened. We can talk about it later after school but freaking out and being weird is only going to make people look at us like we are crazy" he told him, getting a nod from him and a look on his face that made it clear he understood what he was saying.
"But look we gotta talk more about this. After school, meet me on the roof" Ryuji said with a driven tone, a bit quiet so no one overheard before he headed inside.
'Hmmm, going to a weird castle with someone is one way to make friends I guess' Naruto thought with a chuckle as he walked into the school.
Walking through the school on the way to the faculty office he frowned a bit as he felt a lot of eyes on him. It was rather obvious what was going on since the more he walked around the more he was able to overhear whispers about him someone being a violent criminal that has done every crime imaginable or that he was keeping dangerous weapons in his bag.
'Welp….seems like my record was leaked and I literally haven't even been here for more than ten minutes' he thought with a heavy and tired sigh once he arrived at the faculty office.
"Ms. Kawakami, I hope I didn't have you wait too long this morning" Naruto said, getting her attention as he stood near her desk before she looked up at him.
"I'm a bit surprised you showed up but nice to see you are at least taking this slightly serious. There is still a bit before homeroom starts so I have time to show you to the classroom just as the bell is about to ring" Kawakami said after she got up from behind her desk.
"But before we head there, I should probably let you know that someone…leaked info about your record this morning. It wasn't me, I promise" Kawakami told him, wanting to make it clear to him that she hadn't 'ratted him out', especially after what he had said to her yesterday.
"I would say I'm surprised but honestly I figured this would happen…if anything it's just way sooner than I expected" Naruto grumbled, rubbing the back of his head with a bit of a frown until he shrugged his shoulders with a sigh.
Not like he could do anything about it, it was more just annoying
"Honestly, I don't care about rumors. Let them whisper and make up stupid stuff all they want, in the end I know what I really did and that's all that matters" he added, getting a slight smile and a nod from Kawakami before she started to walk forward, opening the door to the faculty office and watching as students scrambled away out of embarrassment for getting caught.
"Well that is definitely mature of you, but let's not waste any more time" she said with him following behind her, them pausing for a moment so he could close the door, and making their way towards the classroom.
Even with Kawakami leading him the students were seemingly in full force with their whispering about him, barely caring if he could hear them or not.
Naruto though had to stop a bit, grabbing his head as it throbbed and he swore the scenery changed to something akin to the castle he and Ryuji were just in.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Kawakami asked, turning around once she noticed he wasn't right behind her.
"Sorry, my head was hurting for a second there. I'm fine now" he assured her, giving her a smile to help assure her before she nodded and continued leading him towards the classroom.
'Something definitely is up….' Naruto thought while keeping a normal face, his mind racing to try and explain what all had been happening to him only to let out a sigh once realizing that fussing over it on his own wouldn't do much good.
If anything talking to Ryuji later today could help….hopefully.
As the bell rang and students filed in and got in their seats Naruto patiently stood beside the teacher's podium. He had to really resist the urge to sigh or roll his eyes as the students kept whispering about him.
Stuff like how they were worried he might snap if they met his eyes or how he seemed quiet but feeling he might be monstrous if he 'lost it'.
"Alright, everyone quiet down and get in your seats" Kawakami said, urging everyone to their seats before she cleared her throat into her fist. "Today we have a new transfer student so please try and welcome him to the class as he introduces himself" she told them before turning towards him.
"Hello, I am Naruto Uzumaki. I hope we all get along" Naruto said with a soft smile before giving a slight bow.
That didn't seem to have much effect though, his comment only getting more whispers about how they all worried if his words were some kind of hidden threat.
"Okay, now for your seating, how about….over there. The one that's open" Kawakami directed him, pointing towards an empty on over by the windows. "Sorry but can the people nearby please share your textbooks with him for today?" she asked as he walked over to his new seat, both of them ignoring the complaining grumbles.
Naruto though perked up a bit as he noticed the girl from earlier today was seated in front of him. Not wanting to make things rough for her he settled for a smile and a slight nod towards her, her smiling lightly back at him in a way that showed she wasn't quite like the others in terms of judging him instantly.
"Did you catch that? Do those two know each other? Eww…Does that mean he hit on her before transferring here?" a girl nearby asked, Naruto seeing her turn around to another girl from the corner of his eye.
"That means she's cheating on him with Mr. Kamoshida…then again this is Takamaki-san we're talking about…." Another girl commented, making it clear that he wasn't the only one that people whispered about.
Personally, he doubted the Kamoshida comment had any validity since if Takamaki was with Kamoshida then she wouldn't have looked so depressed and defeated this morning….
"For real. That side of the room is totally awful…" the first girl groaned out before Kawakami finished organizing her papers.
"Everyone, don't forget that the volleyball rally is in two days. I know you all have just changed classes so make sure you use that time to get to know each other. Now lets get class started…who's on duty today?" Kawakami asked, looking around before a boy with black hair and some bruises and bandages on his face stood up.
"Everyone please rise…" he instructed before the day officially began.
The day went by somewhat quickly, even with all the whispers and people being barely able to share their textbooks due to how 'scary' he was. Though even then lunch was the only real annoyance in his book due to most of the bread being sold out by the time he got to the school store.
With the dismissal bell ringing he figured heading up to the roof to meet up with Ryuji right away was probably for the best to help figure things out. He quickly stopped in the doorway as Kamoshida and the Principal walked up the stairs beside his class.
"Why did you allow a student like him to transfer here? A student with a criminal record, I mean come on, why let in such a dangerous risk? At this rate it'd be pointless how much I contribute to the school" Kamoshida complained, Naruto rolling his eyes as he easily picked up the boasting mixed into his complaint.
"Now don't be like that…This school counts on you Kamoshida-kun, you are our star. A steady build-up is necessary behind such brilliance is all" the principal told him, getting Kamoshida to nod with a sigh.
"Your troubles never seem to end, do they Principal Kobayakawa?" Kamoshida wondered before growing a smile. "I understand though, I'll continue to do my best to answer your expectations of me" he told the principal before the man walked off, Naruto waiting a moment or two – to not seem like he was eavesdropping – before walking out into the hallway.
"Ah! Just the student I was looking for" Kamoshida said with a smile, walking over to him as if he hadn't been complaining about him a minute ago. "I don't know if anyone has told you about me but I'm Mr. Kamoshida, the PE teacher and the coach for the volleyball team. I wanted to check on how you're doing" he said, his tone and look thick with worry that he knew was an act given he had always been great at reading fake acts like these.
It was one of the reasons people didn't quite mess with him back home since he could always call them out on their bullshit.
"I hear someone leaked your record and people are giving you a rough time but hey, don't let them get to you" Kamoshida said as he patted him on the back in an attempt to comfort him. "You just have to prove them wrong by being an exemplary student and hey, I saw on your student records that you played in a lot of sport clubs and were their ace in several of them so how about you try out for my volleyball team? I can assure you that'll help get rid of the bad stigma" he suggested, Naruto knowing instantly what was up and, given the castle, also knew that outright rejecting him would be making a bad enemy.
"Actually I was thinking about doing a sports club but you see, my guardian runs a shop and given how he has to wait for me to come home before he closes up and him not allowing me to stay out too late it'd have to be something I clear up with him beforehand. Give me a few days and I'll get back to you" Naruto said with a smile, mustering his best acting skills to show him he was seriously considering it while honestly not caring in the slightest.
"Great! You just let me know when you get things cleared up. Here, take my card and have your guardian call me as soon as he can and I'm sure we can work things out" Kamoshida told him while handing him a card that Naruto made sure to look over before putting it in his pocket with a smile, nodding as the man walked off upstairs.
'Yeah there is no way I'm considering shit after what I saw in that weird castle. Something definitely isn't right with that guy but hopefully that excuse will give me a few days of protection from him bugging me about it' Naruto thought with a frown as he waited a bit before trying to head upstairs only for Kawakami to call out for him.
"Oh good, I caught you before you left" Kawakami said with a seeming sigh of relief.
"Did you need me for something?" he asked, unsure what Kawakami would need to catch him for.
"Look, I just wanted to give you a warning. I got word of you arriving at school alongside our native 'trouble student', I don't know if it was coincidence or what but try not to get involved with Sakamoto-kun. He won't really help make things easier for you" she suggested, Naruto trying not to frown as he nodded.
"Got it, I'll be cautious of who I hang out with" Naruto told her before she walked off, having delivered her warning.
'Seems I'm not the only one with a bad stigma around me…Ryuji honestly doesn't seem bad and from what Kamoshida said in that castle I don't think he's actually bad' Naruto thought while he made his way up to the 3rd floor.
He had to pause and stop for a moment once he got to the 3rd floor, noticing a girl nearby struggling with picking up a few papers scattered along the ground while she held onto a stack of papers. His main reason for pausing and looking over at her was that, despite her struggling, people just walked by her without even thinking to offer any help her way.
"Here, I got those for you, let me help" Naruto told her with a smile, picking up the papers for her and carefully putting them on top of her stack. "I'd offer to take half for you but someone's waiting for me" he told her, getting her to look up at him to give him a clear view of her face.
The girl was rather cute with brown eyes and black hair tied back into a ponytail with a pink elastic band. She wore no jacket or suspenders with her uniform, her turtleneck's sleeves rolled up to her elbows and a black knee brace around her right knee.
"Oh…thanks" she said with a slight smile before he simply nodded with a soft smile and headed back towards the roof.
Ignoring the 'no entry' he opened the door to the roof, instantly noticing Ryuji already waiting for him and leaning back in a chair beside a bunch of spare desks that were grouped together on the roof.
"There you are, all day that weird ass castle has been on my mind. I've been struggling to keep focused in class as I've been dying to talk about it again" Ryuji said before letting out a scoff. "Though I bet Kawakami already told you stuff like 'don't get involved with him' didn't she?" he asked before Naruto sighed and sat down on one of the desks after making sure it was clean.
"Yeah, she said you were trouble but honestly, after all that in the castle, if someone like that version of Kamoshida hates you that means you must be a good guy" Naruto teased, getting a chuckle and a smirk from Ryuji before he sobered up a bit.
"I heard you got a criminal record…everyone's been talking about it. No wonder you were so gutsy" Ryuji said with a look on his face that made it clear he didn't mind or care about it.
"Hey, all I did to get that record was pull a guy off a girl who was screaming out for help…not my fault he was drunk and landed on his face when he went to throw a punch" Naruto muttered with a bit of a grumble.
"Sounds rough but what was all that that happened? You know, how we almost got killed at that castle…it wasn't a dream right? You remember it too, yeah?" Ryuji asked, almost wanting reassurance that he wasn't crazy.
"Trust me, I remember it. Hell I saw the hallway change to a castle decorated hallway a bit ago so it definitely wasn't a dream" Naruto told him, understanding Ryuji's concern about wanting to make sure it had actually happened.
"Dream or not, you saved me from Kamoshida so yeah, thanks Naruto" Ryuji said with a smile before Naruto waved him off.
"Honestly don't worry about it. There was absolutely no way I was about to just stand there and watch as it happened or run away. I'd rather go down trying to save someone than saving my own skin" Naruto admitted since the mere idea of leaving someone to die made him sick to his stomach.
"Either way, that Kamoshida we saw there…" Ryuji muttered with a frown, shaking his head before looking his way. "You probably don't know about it but there are some rumors about him. No one says anything against him cause he's some medalist who took the volleyball team to nationals….the way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt crazy real cause of that. If only we could get back to that castle" he continued on with a frown and a dismissive shake of his head before hopping up to his feet.
"Ugh! Forget it. Must've been a dream! It has to be!" Ryuji tried to convince himself.
"A dream we both shared and had together?" Naruto asked him, getting Ryuji to pause and stare down at the floor before shaking his head again as if to 'shake off' the thoughts he was having.
"Sorry to drone on and vent like this. This is all I really had to say" Ryuji said, choosing to continue to ignore things for the time being. "You know, we might be pretty similar, I feel like we're gonna get along just fine as 'troublemakers'. I know you heard my name back in the castle but I'm Ryuji Sakamoto" Ryuji said, officially introducing himself.
"I'll come talk if I see you around, don't ignore me all right?" Ryuji asked with a smirk, making Naruto nod with a smirk as they bumped fists.
"Don't worry, after what we went through, I feel we'll be good friends" Naruto assured him before he watched Ryuji leave.
'Well…I wasn't lying when I said Sojiro has to wait for me to get back to think about closing so I'd better head back' Naruto thought, rubbing his chin a bit before he headed out only to raise an eyebrow as he was faced with the sight of a girl struggling to pull a bag of fertilizer up the steps.
"Need some help there?" Naruto asked, getting the girl to somewhat turn her head to look back at him but stop once the bag started to slip from her hands. "Whoa, easy there, I got it" Naruto quickly told her as he squeezed past her and grabbed the bag from her.
"Oh? Thank you" the girl said in an airy and sweet voice, smiling at him as he picked up the bag and set it on his shoulder.
The girl was definitely pretty, almost stunningly so, with chin length curly – and rather poofy – light auburn hair and brown eyes. She wore a pink turtleneck cardigan with short puffed sleeved over the standard uniform only with a pair of white tights with black flower patterns on them.
"Of course, I can't really just walk on past you when you are struggling like that. That'd be pretty heartless" Naruto told her with a smile, motioning her to go on ahead towards the roof. "So are you planting things up here?" he asked, getting a nod before he set the fertilizer near the planters.
"Yes the teachers gave me permission to use them so I decided to bring a couple of bags of fertilizer up here to get started. I got that bag as far as I could and was worrying I'd be able to bring the other two from the first floor" she told him while he started to head back towards the door.
"Okay, give me a sec and I'll bring those up as well" he assured her, getting a worried look on her face.
"O-Oh you don't have to. Really, I can manage" the girl tried to convince him, him only giving her a look that made it clear he didn't quite believe her.
"Please, let me do it as I can only imagine how two more bags would be for you to do. It'll take me no time at all so just wait here and I'll be right back" he said, making her frown with him deciding to quickly go get them before she had any chance to attempt to refuse his offer a second time.
The bags, while heavy, were simple enough for him to carry up to the roof given he was rather strong due to training for several sports.
"See? Not an issue" Naruto told the girl, smiling to her and stacking them on top of the first bag before stretching a bit to show he wasn't tired out.
"You really didn't have to but thank you, that was quite kind of you" the girl said with a smile before looking at the collar of his jacket. "So you're a second year? Seems I'm a bit older than you, sorry to make an underclassman carry things for me" she added with a slight giggle.
"Oh so you're my senpai? Then I'm even happier to help. My name is Naruto Uzumaki and, as my badge shows, I'm a second year and I just transferred here" Naruto introduced, somewhat preparing for her to shy away from him with the 'transfer' comment.
"It is very nice to meet you, my name is Haru but don't feel inclined to use any honorifics" Haru told him with a smile.
Calling a girl senpai of his by their first name was a definite first for him but honestly he was more surprised by her lack of reaction about the transfer comment.
"So what are you planning to grow up here Haru? Just some flowers or are you thinking about some vegetables if you can get the soil right?" he asked as he walked over to the bags of soil and crouched down to check them out.
"Are you a gardener as well Naruto-kun?" Haru asked, getting him to give a 'sort of' gesture with his hand.
"I haven't personally grown much but I did take care of some plants back home. Its surprisingly relaxing to do as a little hobby" he told her, looking back at her to see her smiling happily.
"I plan to grow some flowers at first, setting up a nice arrangement and then, when I get the seeds for something I'm working on at home, I might try some tomatoes" Haru explained before clapping her hands as if she just got an idea. "Do you possibly want to try your hand at it? I can set aside half the planters and some flower seeds for you to experiment with" she suggested with a smile, making him chuckle a bit at how happy she was at the thought.
"You know what, sure. That sounds fun" Naruto said with a smile, surprised to see he had seemingly made two friends on his first day – one being a fellow troublemaker and the other being a sweet senpai.
"Oh good! I'll leave some seeds for you next time I come up here. You don't have to worry about the door as the school leaves it unlocked" Haru assured him before checking the time which caused her to frown a bit. "I'd love to talk more but I really must be going" she said before he stood back up and picked his bag back up.
"It's okay, I need to be heading home soon as well. It was nice to meet you Haru and I look forward to how your flowers come out" he said, thankful that her smile returned before she nodded.
"Same to you" she said with a smile as she walked with him to the door. "I'd offer to walk with you to the gate but I have to get my bag from my class…" she muttered, as if disappointed she couldn't only for him to wave it off with a smile.
"Don't worry about it, the mere thought is very nice of you" he assured her, getting a smile and a nod from her before they went their separate ways.
The way home wasn't nearly as hectic as the ride to school, Naruto arriving back home in the evening to find Sojiro waiting for him.
"Your home rather late" Sojiro commented with a raised eyebrow, clearly asking where he was without actually asking.
"Sorry, I ended up helping a senpai of mine carry some bags of fertilizer up to the roof of my school. They were struggling and I couldn't just leave them be, ended up getting a bit caught up talking about gardening with them and lost track of time" Naruto explained, getting a nod and a slight smirk from Sojiro.
"Ah a woman, well aren't we quick" Sojiro teased before gaining a bit of a serious look. "Just be careful who you befriend, I'm not saying this girl is bad its more just a warning in general…so besides that how was your first day?" he asked, a bit awkward about it as if unsure how to go about it before deciding to be blunt about it.
"It was good but someone, somehow, leaked my record so – as kids tend to be – I was the focus of gossip. Did you know I apparently smuggled elephant ivory?" Naruto asked, getting some loud laughter from Sojiro.
"S-Sorry, rude to laugh about your hard situation but kids these days can be quite imaginative" Sojiro said with a few more laughs, Naruto chuckling a bit as well as he had found it ridiculous as well when he learned about it on his way home.
"Look, I don't mind you spending some time with friends after school but I do have to wait for you before I can head home so keep that in mind" Sojiro reminded him, Naruto nodding as he definitely understood but before he could reply Sojiro's phone rang with the man quickly answering it.
"Hey what's up?...Yeah I just closed up shop. I'll head over in half and hour as promised" Sojiro said over the phone before looking back over at him, Naruto giving him an 'Ok' sign to show he got Sojiro's previous reminder, getting a nod from the man before Naruto started to head upstairs.
"Oh don't forget to lock the door and turn all the lights off okay?" Sojiro called out, Naruto giving him a thumbs up to not interrupt his call before going back to said call. "Yup I'm leaving now. I told you, he's a part timer" Sojiro continued on the phone with Naruto heading up the stairs to make sure he didn't eavesdrop on him anymore.
With the bell on the door being the signal that Sojiro had left Naruto sighed as he sat down on his bed and once again pulled out his diary.
'So much has happened today, from a freaky castle to being an ivory smuggler…School is going to be odd isn't it. Then again I also made a friend or two so it won't be too bad…hopefully' Naruto thought to himself as he wrote a bit of his day down on paper.
The more he wrote the more exhausted he felt, it all seemingly catching up with him. Quickly locking up, changing the sign, and turning off the lights he wasted no time before he changed and laid down for bed.
Sleep though didn't quite turn out to be his reprieve from weirdness as, once again, he found himself waking up in the Velvet Room.
'Great…weirdness…again' he thought with a sigh as he sat up on his cell's bed, looking over to see the twin wardens Caroline and Justine as well as Igor were waiting for him.
"About time you've come to. On your feet Inmate!" Caroline ordered out, Naruto groaning as she banged on his cell's door with her security baton before he stood up and made his way towards the door.
"Our master wishes to speak to you. It's for your own sake that you take his words to heart" Justine told him while he nodded and looked off towards the long-nosed man behind the desk.
"First off, let us celebrate our reunion. And it seems you've awakened to your powers – and special ones at that. Your rehabilitation can finally begin" Igor said, clearly referring to his 'Persona' ability that he had awoken back in the castle.
"What do you mean by rehabilitation anyways?" Naruto asked as he was still not sure what that meant.
"There is no need to understand it all for the time being. You will be training the power of Persona, which you have awakened to. Personas are, in other words, a 'mask' – an armor of the heart when confronting worldly matters. I have high expectations for you" Igor explained, somewhat raising more questions with his words.
"What do you mean? Expectations for what?" Naruto asked since he was unsure what any of the talk that went on in here really meant.
He was never good with vagueness, it causing only headaches for him.
"There is no need to worry, you will lean when the time comes" Igor said, once again waving off his question 'for the time being'. "By the by…have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator? Using it will allow you to come and go between reality and Palaces" the man asked, confusing Naruto before things clicked for him.
"Wait, are you talking about that weird red eye app on my phone? And by Palaces are you talking about that castle?" Naruto asked since the only 'app' he could think of was that weird eye app that kept reappearing on his phone and the only 'palace' he could think of would have to be the castle that he and Ryuji visited today.
"Yes on both accounts. I bestowed the app to you as a means to train you as a thief" Igor finally answered, Naruto surprised he didn't go vague on him again…despite the 'thief' comment being vague-ish.
'Then again what else do I expect in a weird dream prison…' Naruto deadpanned before Caroline turned to him.
"The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master! You better take care in using it Inmate!" Caroline warned with Justine also turning his way.
"Devote yourself to your training so that you may become a fine thief" the calmer of the two wardens explained, Naruto still confused by the thief comment.
"It must be disheartening to make use of the Metaverse Navigator alone. Should there be others who would prove beneficial to you I will grant it to them as well. This is all for you to grow as a most excellent thief" Igor told him before an alarm started to go off.
"Hmph, it's time. Go back and enjoy whatever rest you might have" Caroline explained as his vision started to go dark just like last time.
'Metaverse, Palaces, and Persona…as if it couldn't get any more weird…' he thought as he felt himself getting pulled back to sleep, silently wondering what his life might be becoming ever since he arrived at Tokyo only to decide to worry about the days as they came.
Afterall, not like he could prepare himself for whatever was ahead of him with all the craziness he had been confronting….
-Chapter End-
Pairing: Naruto x Futaba, Ann, Shiho, Makoto, Haru, Kasumi, Kawakami, Tae, Caroline, Justine, Lavensa, Sae, and one more TBA (due to it being a massive spoiler to a change I have in mind)
Maybe: Hifumi, and Chihaya
*1 = Arséne is his Persona in name only since appearance wise he looks like Raoul. I like Raoul's appearance a lot better than Arséne but Raoul is an odd name given its hard to tell who his Persona is based off of with a middle name as its name
*2 = When fighting I'll have Naruto and the others occasionally call out their attacks like that though it might not be too consistent. We'll see how it feels
*3 = Naruto's mask is like Joker's but replace the white of it with black and make the black of it dark orange.
*4 = I decided to tweak something when it comes to the Metaverse. It isn't as if time stops while in it but it just moves incredibly slow in regards to real time passing meaning a few hours could be only a few minutes in the real world. I did this cause I wanted to modify the 'late on the first day' start of things
Before I get to the story notes I would like to remind everyone I do have a pat reon which includes rewards like seeing progress updates, notifications to new stories I plan to do, voting polls, and early access to chapters before I post them on FF.
Simple go to pat reon and paste:
/user?u=4783680
At the end of pat reon's url and you'll find my page.
You don't get anything that everyone here won't get aka there will be no "pat reon exclusive stories" or things where I have to get a certain amount of money before I work on something as both of those are shitty practices.
It is solely "hey, you want to support me, a disabled unemployed writer who survives off my disability checks? Thanks, I appreciate it" and nothing more
So yeah, check it out if you want, now onto chapter notes!
Okay so chapter two done rather fast with a lot of things and changes – can't talk about all of them or, once again, the notes would be way too long so let me stick to the main points and if you have any questions leave them in the reviews and I'll respond to them.
As stated above, Ohya is gone, Sae is on the list, and Hifumi and Chihaya are on the maybe list. I was very iffy about Ohya from the start and I can see Hifumi and Chihaya potentially working better (but still iffy) so we'll see
I hope you all are okay with Raoul (who is named Arséne) being Naruto's persona as honestly I went back and forth so many times on what/who would be his Persona. At first I decided the Bijuu with Kurama being the first one he awakens and Kaguya Otsutsuki being his Ultimate and then changed it to Kaguya Otsutsuki being his base with an unknown ultimate before going fuck it, Raoul only to change Raoul's name to Arséne as no one would hear the name Raoul and know who he's supposed to represent you know?
I feel Raoul/Arséne still fit Naruto in a way with Raoul's outfit being much cooler and modern form of Joker's. All in all, I'm happy and I hope you all are as well
As stated in *4 time is different so he wasn't late to school, this in turn made things a bit different – my explanation for how his record was still leaked is that Kamoshida had Mishima leak it at morning practice and it spread like absolute wild fire from there (teen gossip is fast afterall)
I had Naruto meet Shiho a bit – not learn her name – in a scene I saw from the P5 Animation. I haven't watched it, only seen clips but I might integrate things from it here and there.
I also made Naruto meet, and befriend, Haru very early on. I figured, given you can overhear her talking with a teacher on the first day I could use the roof planters as a way for them to meet and bond over plants (I know plants is a fandom thing that people gave Naruto a bit but it isn't that bad of a fandom thing – unlike the CRA and villager mob beatings).
Another big thing is Kamoshida, he full on is trying to be the 'teacher you can rely on' and a 'friend amongst all the hate' to get Naruto's sport skills on his team – despite being the one behind the record being leaked. It's definitely something I can see him doing so I decided to set it up
Naruto also pieces things together a bit better than Ren/Akira as the Meta-Nav and the Palaces he kind of put together quicker given only two things could really be those things. It's small things like that here and there that will help differentiate Naruto from Akira/Ren so watch and see how things differ.
I hope you all liked it
Until Next Time
Rate and Review!
Buh-Bye!