FLIGHT OF THE KITSUNE STAR STRIKER
Chapter 10: Taking a Break
Naruto opened his eyes and sat up as he let out a loud yawn whilst stretching his arms before looking around to see that he was in his old room back in Elementia, the blonde fox Faunus was momentarily confused before recalling his reason for being there.
"Oh right, I told Fox and the others that I would be coming back here for a short vacation after everything we've been through," Naruto muttered to himself as he sat on the edge of his bed then he got up to make his way to the bathroom to take a shower. Afterwards, he put on a set of casual clothes before making his way downstairs to the kitchen.
It's been about a month since the Lylat Wars had come to an end thanks to the Star Fox after they had played a key point in defeating Andross and his army. Naruto heard that the Allied Nations were currently working on undoing the damage which Andross had inflicted upon the planets he had forcefully taken over and were making good progress, he was happy to hear of it but was feeling pangs of homesickness for some time and so decided to take a small vacation to relax at home. He soon entered the kitchen and turned to see his mother just about finished with the cooking of the breakfast as she turned round to smile at him.
"Good morning Sochi-kun, how was your night?" said Kushina.
"It was restful and I slept just fine," Naruto replied.
"That is good to hear, now take a seat and have some breakfast,"
Naruto did just that and both mother and son ate in silence for some time until the former decided to speak up about something.
"So how are the others doing since you came here for your vacation?" asked Kushina.
"They're doing okay, Chopper, Julia-chan and Levy-chan also came back to Elementia for a short break too and I'll be going over to see them later on today," said Naruto "How are the others?"
"They're fine as well…but Mikoto is very worried about Sasuke especially with what you had told us," said Kushina sadly with Naruto frowning as he recalled how depressed she became upon hearing about his actions, Itachi's reaction was much harder to decipher but could somehow tell that he was sad as well as disappointed in him. Naruto resolved to find the wayward Uchiha and drag him home by force if necessary.
"I'll make sure to help find him," said Naruto, then there was the sound of knocking from the front door which caught their attention "I'll go see who it is," the blonde Faunus went to the door and opened to see who it is and was taken by surprise upon recognizing them.
"Hey there Naruto!" said Miyu with a fanged grin.
Fay peeked over her shoulder and waved cheerfully "Hiya Naruto!"
"Miyu? Fay? You're here?" asked Naruto who was still stunned.
"Yup, General Pepper granted us a short vacation since the war's over now plus we learnt of you being here after calling Fox and thought to drop by so we can hang out just like back then," said Miyu.
"Come on Naruto, it will be fun!" said Fay with a hopeful look in her eyes, Naruto was coming up with a response when Kushina appeared behind him and smiled upon recognizing the girls.
"Why if it isn't Miyu and Fay, it's been so long since I last saw you two!" said Kushina fondly.
"Hello Mrs. Uzumaki, it has been a long time. Miyu and I came by on a vacation and wanted to hang out with Naruto since it's been a while and the war's over now," said Fay.
"In that case, why don't you do just that Sochi-kun? I'm sure that you can spare some time for them plus they can stay here with us in the meantime," Kushina handed over a set of car keys to him "You can drive them around while I get the guestroom ready before you get back,"
"Okay Kaa-san, we'll see you later then," Naruto stepped out as Kushina closed the door behind him and turned to his friends "Well, where would you two like to go?"
Miyu shrugged her shoulders "I don't know, surprise us,"
"Alright then, I can take you around to meet up with some of my friends along the way so let's so,"
"Lead the way Naruto," said Fay excitedly.
Naruto lead Miyu and Fay to the garage where they got aboard his mother's SUV (an BMW X6 M) and were soon on the road, the trio were chatting about anything ranging from what they had been up to since they were gone to mild jokes till they stopped at one of Naruto's destinations for the day which happens to be a dojo close to the center of the city as they got off the vehicle and approached the building where they were hearing the audible clacking of wood against each other.
"What are we doing here, Naruto?" asked Miyu curiously.
"Paying a visit to one of my friends," Naruto replied as they went inside the dojo and he led them into the main training room where they saw Hiruzen dressed in a training Gi whilst wielding a bo staff and sparring with a younger monkey Faunus boy, the trio stood and watched as they sparred for a while until stopping which was when Naruto decided to call out to them "Hey everyone, that's an impressive training session," they turned and smiled upon seeing him, especially the boy.
"Naruto-niichan!" the boy immediately scampered over to the blonde Faunus with a smile.
Naruto ruffled the boy's hair with a fond smile "Yo Konohamaru, long time no see. How are Moegi and Udon doing?"
"They're doing great plus they miss you too,"
"Ah Naruto, it's good to see you as always, and who are those two with you?" said Hiruzen.
"Are they your…?" Konohamaru held out his pinkie finger in curiosity, causing Naruto to sputter and blush with the same going for Miyu and Fay while Hiruzen chuckled in amusement.
Naruto managed to gather himself before responding "E-enough of that Kono, I came by to say hello since I'm back here for a short vacation before returning to my crew afterwards so I'll meet up with the others sometime later,"
"Okay nii-chan,"
"Anyways, they're my good friends since my academy days at Corneria and are elite pilots of the Cornerian Army as well, she's Miyu and the other's Fay," Naruto introduced the girls to the two Sarutobi.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Fay bowed in respect with Miyu following suit.
Hiruzen bowed in response "The pleasure is all mine to meet companions of Naruto,"
"They came here on vacation like me and will be staying at my place with kaa-san, so I thought to take around Konoha before heading back," Naruto explained to them.
"I see, where are you taking them next?" asked Hiruzen.
"Maybe to the Konoha Weapons Research lab, I got a message from Levy-chan and Julia-chan about something that they want to show me,"
"Then in that case, I shouldn't keep you. We can meet up later on,"
"Okay then, I'll see you two some other time," Naruto began leading Miyu and Fay as they said their farewells with Konohamaru doing the same.
The trio boarded the SUV once more and drove towards the next destination where they arrived at the complex as he parked the vehicle before leading them inside the building whilst using a certified ID card to gain entry. Having been here many times, Naruto led them towards one of the more private research rooms where levy and Julia are more likely to be and sure enough found them situated at a worktable whilst deep in conversation and so decided to catch their attention.
"Hey you two, I'm here along with a few friends," said Naruto, Levy and Julia turned round with a smile which lessened slightly upon seeing Miyu and Fay with him.
"Hey there Naruto, what brings them here?" asked Julia curiously, then Naruto went on to explain why they're here in Elementia.
"Anyways, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" asked Naruto.
Levy was the one to speak up "We were looking into the specs for the Kitsune Striker from your father's disc that he left to you to find ways to upgrade it when we came across this…" the harpy pressed a button on the keyboard to project a holo-screen which was currently displaying the blueprints of a body armor and a gun holstered to its waist along with a small robot next to it "…it's battle armor which was designed particularly for you, its specs and functions center around your aura and semblance just like with the Kitsune Striker. There's more details concerning it but we're still decrypting the data to find out,"
"So what's it called?" asked Fay curiously.
"Apparently it's identified as the Megante Leon," Julia answered.
"Hmmm, well we can decrypt the rest of the data but I feel we should also focus on upgrading the Kitsune Striker and the Formula Zero just as much since they're utilized more frequently in missions besides me going on foot at times," Naruto pointed out.
"I guess you make a good point there," said Levy in agreement.
"Anyways, there's somewhere else I'll need to go to so I'll meet up with you two tomorrow okay?" said Naruto.
"Really? We might drop by to visit then," said Julia whilst glancing at Miyu and Fay.
"Alright then, catch you later," Naruto and the girls left the complex and were soon back on the road "So are any of you guys hungry?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah we are," said Miyu thoughtfully.
"In that case, I'll take you over to the shopping district where there are a few favorites to eat out," Naruto drove in direction of their next destination and parked the SUV at the parking lot as they walked into the section of the city. Miyu and Fay marveled at the sight of the stalls with the salespeople calling for interested customers to see their wares whilst faunus both young and old were passing by them with some stopping by one of the stalls every now and then so they didn't notice Naruto go somewhere for a few moments before returning and called out to them.
"Hey girls, one of my favorite spots is this way so come on," said Naruto.
"Okay, we're right behind you," said Miyu.
It didn't take too long till they arrived at the restaurant where the signboard overhead read Ichiraku's ramen and went inside to see many customers already inside and eating bowls of ramen. Naruto led them to the counter and sat on the barstools as two people whom Naruto was familiar with stood behind the counter with smiles on their faces.
"Well now, it's been a while since we last saw you hasn't it Naruto," said Teuchi who is a cat faunus and the owner/founder of the restaurant and his daughter Ayame.
"Yeah it is, but I'm here now and ready to chow down with my friends here," said Naruto fondly.
"So what would you like?" asked Ayame politely.
"I'll take my usual which is Miso pork ramen with a boiled egg tossed in please," said Naruto in anticipation.
"I'll take tuna fish ramen please," said Miyu after looking at the menu.
"I'll have the beef ramen," said Fay.
"Alrighty then, just give me some time to cook them up," said Teuchi before going into the kitchen to do so with Ayame accompanying him to assist.
Miyu decided to strike up another conversation with Naruto "So what have you and the others been up to since the war ended?"
Naruto shrugged his shoulders "Nothing out of the usual really, just the basic escort, protection and hunting missions. None of which were exciting enough to be remembered, plus we still have to pay the remainder of the cost for constructing the Great Fox with our budget hitting rough spots too,"
"I'm sure things will turn out okay for you," said Fay encouragingly.
"Thanks Fay-chan, I appreciate it," said Naruto with a foxy grin, getting Fay to beam happily with a tinge of pink on her cheeks "So what about you girls, what were you up before taking a vacation?"
"I'm sure you've heard, Corneria and the allied nations have been working together in restoring the planets which Andross had taken over to the state they were before. Fay and I have been working around the clock in safeguarding and making sure that everything was going on without a hitch, even Bill was working his tail off. General Pepper was more than welcome to let us have our vacation so I guess he must have noticed too," said Miyu.
"Looks like we all had something to do until now," said Naruto with a quirked eyebrow.
"Yeah, but now's time for fun!" said Fay cheerfully.
Naruto blinked at what she said and smiled in agreement "You know what? You're right, after all we did to end this war, we all deserve to have some fun and I know just where to start after here,"
"Here you go, eat up while it's hot," said Teuchi as he and Ayame had returned from the kitchen and placed bowls of ramen before Naruto and the girls.
"Thanks Teuchi-san," Naruto took out a pair of chopsticks and split them into two "Itadakimasu!" he proceeded to eat with Fay and Miyu following suit after giving their thanks as well "…man, your ramen is as good as always!"
"Thanks for the usual compliment, one of the many reasons which keeps this business going," said Ayame with a smile.
"He's right, it's really delicious!" said Miyu.
"Well you can consider these on the house," said Teuchi.
Fay looked up in confusion "Why's that?"
"We're well aware that you and the Star Fox were the key factors to finally ending this long war. This is our way of congratulating you,"
"Wow, thanks a lot. We really appreciate it," said Naruto.
The trio continued on their ramen and had a few more before finally leaving restaurant after bidding the cooks farewell and were back on the streets, then Miyu decided to ask Naruto about their next destination.
"So where to next?" asked Miyu curiously.
Naruto closed his eyes to think for a moment before opening them upon coming up with some ideas "I know just where to go, come on,"
Naruto took the girls to the other section of the district where shops and businesses were into more of the entertainment variety amongst others. The trio started things off by going to the arcade and playing some games with Naruto showing off a bit of his gaming skills although Fay wasn't so far off with her proficiency at rhythm games and Miyu was quite the competitor in First Person Shooting, their rather heated competition against each other at had grabbed the attention of many inside the arcade until they finally decided to had had enough and left. Next was the comic where they wanted to check on the series which they used to read by when they were younger, Fay almost went to a certain section which Naruto was quick to drag the Cocker spaniel away much to her confusion as for some strange reason at the back of his mind was that he didn't want her to be 'tainted'.
Their next stop was a shop where goods from anime and video games were being sold, Miyu and Fay wanted to buy certain things relating to their favorite cartoons and Naruto willingly paid for them despite protests to use their own money. There were a couple of Gachapon machines which they had fun getting capsules with random goods inside them especially Naruto getting some particularly rare items and thought to share with Konohamaru and his friends later, knowing that they would like to have them. Afterwards the trio found their way into a confectionary much to Fay's joy due to having a sweet tooth and was soon purchasing cakes, cookies, tarts, candies etc. with Miyu having to stop her before Naruto runs out of money much to the blonde's hidden relief, now understanding how the others felt whenever they treated him to ramen. All in all, they had fun until it was soon getting late and so they had to get back home where Kushina had prepared dinner for them which they found quite tasty and were soon in the living room watching a movie and having idle chats.
"So I can see that you three enjoyed yourselves," said Kushina fondly.
"We really did, it's been so long since we did something together," said Fay happily.
"She's not wrong, it's been work all around until we came here. Playing around has really gotten us to relax," said Miyu.
"Is that so? Have you met any of Naruto's friends today?" asked Kushina.
"Besides Levy and Julia whom we had already met before, we got to meet Mr. Hiruzen and his grandson Konohamaru who sort of reminds me of Naruto in a way," said Fay.
"Well today's the first day, I'm sure we'll meet the others from tomorrow since I've learnt that they're back," said Naruto, having received a message from Levy about that.
"That even reminds me to visit their parents at home to see how they're doing since it's been quite some time," said Kushina thoughtfully.
Fay let out a small yawn and covered her mouth to show her tiredness "I'm kinda worn out from having fun today, guess I'll turn in for the night,"
"You're not the only one, I'm just as tuckered out," Miyu was in agreement.
Kushina stood up from her seat "In that case, I'll take you to the guest rooms as they're already set up for you,"
"Thank you, Mrs. Uzumaki," said Fay gratefully as they were led upstairs to the rooms.
"Goodnight girls, I'll see you in the morning," Naruto called after them.
"Right back at you," Miyu called back.
Naruto watched them leave then he took out his laptop and checked in on the StarFox's database to check if there was any job for the team and let out a sigh of disappointment upon seeing that it was just the usual and even less than normal which in a way bothered him.
"I hope that we get more jobs with some being more exciting and higher pay, *sigh* better quit fretting and go to sleep for tomorrow," Naruto got off the couch and made his way into his room where he took off his clothes then had a shower before plopping himself on the bed and was soon fast asleep. Unknown to him was that the sheathed Dragon Blade was emitting a faint green aura and a low growl was coming from the sword for a few seconds before stopping with the aura dissipating.
This is Hussbek online with the latest chapter, Naruto has returned to Elementia along with some of the members of the StarFox team for a well-deserved vacation, apparently they weren't the only ones with the idea as he was paid a surprise visit from Miyu and Fay who are on vacation as well. Naruto took the girls around the city and had fun whilst getting involved in a project about a battle armor for future missions. What else will Naruto and the team be facing in the time ahead now that the war is over.
Read and review as always.
This is Hussbek from Ghana.
Signing out.
