True Guardians

by Nasha Rei-Kun

Dragged from his world and being inflicted with a curse of the magical kind, Naruto had lucked out by his newly adopted father, Hakone. With the man's recommendation, the boy could get into the famous institution, High Guardian Academy, where he'd hopefully be capable of getting over the curse but with difficulty as his secret might gets out. Crossover with High Guardian Spice.

7. Future Missions I

Small correction: 'Rinnai' is now 'Zinnia', I was trying to reference Amaryllis's roommate but forgot what her name was.

Already finished chapter 8.

~NRK~

Sunday morning, the group were sitting in the dormitory living room, admiring their new Dark Wood Rings.

"I feel so much safer," Sage said with a smile from the recliner Rosemary sat on the arm of as she looked at it before nodding to the grinning Parsley. "Thank you."

"Hehe~ No problem! I'm still aching to work on the Crabbe's shell this week!" The dwarf said as Thyme nodded, the two sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Hmph, we're chilling today, yeah?" She asked Naruto before noting the same thing that most of the group had noticed about him.

The blonde boy seemed more at peace than usual, not looking the least bit bothered by anything, not even his wounds.

"Not today, Sunday's a rest day while we don't go as hard on Saturday," Naruto said as he sat upside-down on the couch with Cal and Amaryllis. "Honestly, if we could, I'd wanna use this day to go out into the town to a library."

"Hmph, you'll be happy to know, we can now," Amaryllis said with a grin as the group blinked, Rosemary 'haaing!?' from her position.

"Wait! Since when?!" She yelped as she fumbled on her armrest before Naruto's foot pushed out gently and steadied her. "H-Haaa… thanks," Rosemary said gratefully with a nervous giggle as Naruto snorted before righting himself.

"So, you're serious?" He asked Amaryllis who grinned some more.

"Yep. Snap even took the chance and went somewhere earlier," she said with a hum. "So, when you want, we can go and ask the Triad."

The group perked up as Mint came into the room with a yawn.

"What happened?"

~NRK~

She rolled her eyes, the group now in front of the Triad's office. "You could have explained more," Mint said to Naruto who rubbed the back of his head.

"Y-Yeah, sorry. We were really excited," he said.

"Yeah, I'd bet."

"Come on! Let's go in!" Rosemary said quickly as she went in without a thought. "Good morning!"

"Rose! Don't do that!" Sage said immediately as the rest of them hurried in. "Haa…" Her eyebrow twitched as she saw the one Triad she had the least amount of respect for.

Elder Triad smirked at her. "Not an early-riser?"

"W-We are!"

"Yeah!" Rosemary popped up from the side of the woman's desk, getting a raised eyebrow for her trouble. "So, we can leave the campus now?!"

"Hmph, well, I'd say so," the Elder said with a chuckle as the group's eyes went flat. "Oh, please, I have just as much power as those other two princesses who needed more sleep. Honestly, they're some principals."

"Hehe, I guess even a trio as close as you can disagree, huh?" Naruto said as the woman smirked some more. "Right. We wanted to see about getting passes to head out. We want to head to the magical libraries in Lyngarth."

"Hmm, you've got a decent enough group for it," she said, confusing them.

"What'd ya mean?" Amaryllis asked. "Yeah, it's in the better-looking places but we just want to head to the library."

"And where do you think it is? Commoners aren't supposed to be going to magical libraries," the Elder hinted as Naruto cupped his chin.

"... W-Wait, that's right," he realized with a wince. "Remember, it's probably not anywhere but the 'highest' of places. Ya know? Like around nobles?" They all winced in unison.

"B-But you said we had a decent enough group?" Sage asked.

"Yep. Callum over there is high enough on the social ladder that you might get in," Elder Triad said as Cal, or his full name 'Callum', raised his eyebrow. "And with that girlie right here," she pointed at Rosemary. "And that one right there," she pointed at Amaryllis. "You all should have enough notability to be let in."

"Is it that hard?" Cal looked surprised. "I've walked in the upper layers almost all my life!"

"And don't you think it's weird you never saw anyone less than a noble up there?" He frowned. "But, as I said, you've got a decent enough group. Just don't cause any trouble we'll have to fix. I'll get in trouble with those other two and I'd like this to be secret, ya hear?"

"Gotcha," Naruto said with a nod before she wrote something into the air that duplicated into eight signatures and slammed into all of their chests. "?"

"That's your 'pass'. If you end up breaking the rules during your trip, you'll be swiftly put into jail!"

"T-That's some specific magic," Sage said.

"It's probably one that has the rules of the kingdom applied to it, think of it like a spell that needs to just be defined," Amaryllis said as Naruto nodded.

"I get that. Hexes are kinda the same thing," he said before nodding once more. "Alright, everyone, suit-up, we're going on a trip!"

~NRK~

Ten minutes later, Naruto sat by the front of HGA, wearing a cream-colored long-sleeve top with three buttons he left undone, brown pants, and his ninja sandals. He fiddled with his hex notebook on his waist before noting Olive's feline form sitting next to him on the grass.

"You disappeared pretty quickly this morning," he said as she meowed with a nod, another orange cat next to her. "Huh? Made a friend?"

She smiled as the male cat meowed, jumping into his lap and getting a twitching brow out of Olive.

She quickly tackled him out of the blonde's personal bubble before sitting up dignifiedly at Naruto's sweatdropping face.

He lifted the orange cat and placed his currently befuddled form down gently. "Sorry about that, she's clearly possessive," the fox boy chuckled as he scratched its chin, getting a quickly sobering-up cat for his trouble who purred in satisfaction. "Heh," Naruto smirked before scratching the pouting Olive's chin as well.

With two purring cats on both sides of him, he barely noticed Thyme's form sitting next to him.

Wearing some black pants, a long-sleeve green tunic, and a pair of brown boots, she raised a brow at his 'predicament'.

"So that's your cat?" She asked as Olive opened one eye to shoot her a look. "I didn't know."

"Oh, well, no, she's just one that sprung into my life at one point," Naruto chuckled in nostalgia, Thyme blinking at it as Olive meowed in reassurance. "It's life for ya or, well, for me."

"Thinking about your past?"

"... Recently, yeah," he admitted. "... Amaryllis knows I used to be caught-up in Witch Country," Thyme's eyes narrowed.

"... wait, that's why she wanted to talk to you?" She asked. "How'd she find out?"

"Apparently, my former jailer," he began sarcastically as Thyme's eyes widened. "Has messengers who found out about me or where I am and she spoke about my name during a meeting with the mages in the country. I don't know what else but it seems she's currently…" Naruto's eyes burned before he closed them, hands never stopping their chin-scratches but his animal companions seemed to notice all the same. "She's a bitch," he said flatly enough to shock Thyme a bit.

"O-Oh," she'd never heard him curse so blatantly before. "... I see."

"Thanks for being here, at least."

She had the decency to look a bit embarrassed before Cal arrived with Amaryllis.

The warrior boy in a grayish-purple sleeveless tunic, grayish-brown pants, and black boots while the short mage was wearing a simple bare-shoulder white sundress with black tights beneath that led into a pair of purple shoes.

"What's up, pussy-magnet?" Amaryllis said as Cal grinned wickedly. "Working on your finger skills?"

"Really?" Naruto's eyebrow ticked rapidly. "Is that how you're going to greet me?"

"Yes," she grinned as Cal laughed.

"Hah! She got you good!" Callum smirked. "But, hey, he's a work-in-progress."

'The hell it is,' Olive thought with a sly thoughtful expression.

"R-Right," Thyme huffed a bit as the two 'purple ones' grinned at her expense. "Ugh. Ignoring all of that. So, are we just going to the magical library? Which one are we even going to?"

"Hmph, well, from the ones I know above," Cal said with a shrug. "After some digging, I found out that there's one run by an elf lady near the 'step-up' from the Mid-Layer to the High-Layer. That's the plan."

"It's gonna take a bit to get there as is," Amaryllis said. "It's 10 in the morning and it'll take almost an hour to get up there in the first place."

"... well, if we do this the normal way," Naruto grinned. "With brooms and some personal carry, I'm sure we could all get there in half the time!" He suggested.

"Personal-carry?"

"Duh, I can carry any two of us, easy."

Cal and Amaryllis looked at one another before shaking their heads. "He's so clueless."

"H-Huh?!"

Thyme snorted at that before considering the idea as the rest of their group showed up.

"Nice to see us all here, Battle Pals!" Rosemary grinned as the six, the cats included, shot her a look of utter disappointment. "H-Hey! W-What are those looks for?!" She blushed, wearing a long-sleeve pink tunic, a black skirt, and a pair of brown boots. "Rude!"

"Eh," Cal shrugged before smirking at Sage who blushed. "And you are-"

Olive smirked before jumping onto his head and covering his eyes.

"H-Hey! You stupid cat! I'm currently-ack?!" Cal struggled before he went rolling in the grass as Mint smirked.

"Seems appropriate," she said as Sage nodded, still a bit red.

The two mages were currently wearing dress-tunics, purple for Sage and black for Mint, the two's feet covered by either a pair of boots, Sage, or a pair of flats, Mint.

The latter had foregone her hat without issue and gained a small red scarf while Sage still kept hers on, hair in its usual braid.

"Seems like the kitties aren't a fan, Cal," Parsley said as Thyme and Naruto smirked and chuckled, respectively.

Wearing a yellow tunic under a brown vest, black shorts, and a pair of brown boots, Parsley's wrists were covered by brown cloth cuffs as she carried a jingling brown sack on her waist.

"We're all here," she said before blinking. "Actually, now that I'm thinking about it. Rylls, where is Snap?"

"He went to go and chill, wanted to really relax and destress, ya know?" Amaryllis said without worry, wearing a smile that was both mischievous and reassuring. "Trust me, I saw him off so I could come back and let you all know about the trip sitch."

"Where's he at?"

"Don't know, I know he knows but I don't."

"Well, maybe we'll end up meeting him there," Naruto said as he got up. "Alright, let's go. We're burnin' daylight!"

As the eight of them got up, recovered in Cal's case, and left, they never noticed a boy's eyes narrowing while a girl popped up above him, looking after them curiously before blushing as her gaze landed on a certain blonde boy.

'There he is,' they thought in unison but with completely different tones.

~NRK~

"Neppy Cat, I haven't seen you in forever," Sage said to the orange cat walking alongside her, Cal's eyebrows shooting into his hairline.

"Neppy Cat?" He asked in disbelief as Sage nodded.

"I-It's his name."

"... 'Cat' is at the end?!"

Sage steamed a bit as Naruto chuckled.

"It's a bit weird but it's not like it's the worst name," he said in reassurance, remembering how Gamakichi's entire family, toads, literally all had toad in their name. "It's just a name."

"And what about your cat?" Rosemary asked him as Olive meowed from around his shoulders. "She seems pretty chill."

"Olive? Well, she's not my cat but she just comes around often. I don't even feed her."

"Well, Neppy Cat did just seem to relax with you, too," Thyme said as the cat in question meowed. "Maybe you've got a feeling for nature."

"Oh, definitely on the nature part, I'm all about it."

Thyme nodded to that, remembering a lot of Naruto's 'nature-based' affinities. 'He'd probably be at home in the Fairy Woods… Hmm,' she grunted to herself, blushing a bit.

For the love of God, chill! This wasn't some romance thing!

As Thyme steamed in her mind, Olive smirked lazily.

'Someone's not being honest with herself,' she thought as she pawed at her forehead, Naruto's finger coming up and scratching her noggin, much to her satisfaction.

The group chatted as they walked past a series of homes before blinking at a smell in the air.

"Mmm?" Amaryllis blinked as they stopped, the eight turning to see a large stand with several large bits of fresh-looking bread. "... Glp."

Naruto and Cal blinked before looking at one another.

Minutes later, the girls chatted as they held several pastries in their hands, the two boys bumping forearms as they held their own.

"Gonna spring your master plan on them now?" He asked as he bit into the jam-filled croissant, grinning as he ate. "Damn! That's good!"

"Hmph," Naruto ate his own with a hum. "Glp. I'll tell 'em after we're all done eating," he said as his friend nodded.

As they finished their food, though, the two boys watched the girls talk and eat, bit by bit, as they walked.

They somehow pulled Thyme into their pace and the more they waited, the more the two of them began to sweat.

"We haven't picked up any speed," Cal said in disbelief as Olive snickered from Naruto's shoulders. "W-What the hell?! We're supposed to be going somewhere!" He whispered in shock as the blonde grinned nervously.

"C-Come on, we can give them a few more minutes, yeah?" He offered.

And, as they walked, they watched them eat slowly and the more they did, the more the two boys began to realize this 'battle' might be lost.

"I'll never understand how they can just talk and not eat."

"Yeah, I'm lost, too."

Olive rolled her eyes. 'Boys,' she thought as the two slumped while waiting.

Twenty minutes later, the girls were finished.

"Good God," Callum said with a hand on his head as the girls looked at the two boys in confusion. "Y-You guys do remember we were supposed to be doing something, right?!"

Most of them blinked before blushing a bit, looking a bit guilty. "S-Sorry, it's just… ya know?" Rosemary began to say as Cal's eyebrows went flat. "I know! I know!"

"No, I don't."

"Look, we've been walking for damn near forty minutes," Naruto said with a shaky grin as they all looked a bit sheepish. "While we've got the day, seriously, we probably should get to the next Layer before we're here for two hours."

Parsley chuckled nervously. "Uhh… y-yeah, probably," she blushed at Naruto's shakier grin. "No! No! We do get it, seriously!" She scrambled as Cal's eyebrow ticked.

"... Then I had an idea."

~NRK~

Thyme huffed, cheeks bright red, as Naruto held onto her thighs with a grin, forms bouncing up and down as they bound over the roofs.

"See?! So much faster!" He grinned and she noted how the light hit his eyes and facepalmed immediately after. "?" Naruto shot her a look that she huffed at, moving one hand off his shoulder and turning his head back on the 'road'.

"I'm good, focus," she said even as Amaryllis smirked from her lowering broom, Cal behind her with a perverted smirk.

"Trouble in paradise?" The short mage grinned as the elf's eyebrow ticked, getting a cackle out of Amaryllis. "Hahahahha! You're so easy."

Sitting on Thyme's shoulders, Olive nodded in agreement. 'You're so obvious, it's scary,' honestly, how did most normal girls go through this nonsense without ripping their hair out?

If ya liked the guy, say something! This wasn't some kinda super-science!

'Worst place to be right now!' Thyme thought in embarrassment, even as she delighted in how strong Naruto's arms and shoulders were. '... no…' She told herself as she kept her arms slightly straight with her hands only on his shoulders. 'I'm not wrapping my arms around his…" Thyme growled at herself as Parsley pouted a bit on the back of Mint's broom.

'Huh?' She blinked before facepalming. 'Oh, I do not have it that bad, do I?' Parsley was sure… right? There was no way she was getting jealous right now, right? '... so… I like Naruto?' Was that 'true' true, though? "Hmph," she crossed her arms in consideration.

Rosemary tilted her head curiously before blushing a bit, eyes darting between Thyme and Parsley. '... no way… r-right?!' Was it true?

Did two of her female friends like Naruto?! That was insane!

"Hey… Sage…" Rosemary whispered to her broom-wielding friend.

"Hmm?" Sage blinked as she focused on flying. "What's up, Rose?"

"Is it me? Or do Thyme and Pars like Naruto?"

Sage's mouth fell and her broom stuttered a bit, startling Neppy Cat at the front. "W-Wait, what?!" She hissed back in disbelief, head snapping to the others before she blushed in embarrassment, their raised eyebrows letting her know she hadn't been as silent as she thought. "S-Sorry!"

"Hehehehe," Amaryllis smirked before Cal pointed down.

"We're good here," he said.

As their 'vehicles' came down, Sage shot Rosemary a look of disbelief.

"A-Are you sure?"

"I don't know," the rosette whispered. "But, like, Thyme's blushing a lot."

Sage peeked out the corner of her eye, noting the elf's focused gaze on their male blonde friend's head of hair, cheek bright red, and fingers drumming against his shoulders.

She turned back around, cheeks red. "I-I guess?" That was rather shocking!

Thyme had told them, in their private 'girl time' that she didn't really like boys… but she also didn't say she didn't like them in full, right?

Were Naruto, Snap, and Cal exceptions? Or was it just Naruto?

"Mmm," she wore a conflicted expression, cheeks puffed out. "I-I guess she just really got used to him, she always seems so aloof, I thought she'd be harder to tell."

"Yu-huh," Rosemary said as they all landed, hopping off her friend's broom. "And then there's Pars," she stage-whispered and Sage's eyes went to the dwarf who wore a thinking, blushing, expression. "Like, whoa, I didn't think boys got that popular so quickly."

"W-Well, she's just…" Sage began to say, deciphering that Parsley could very well just be thinking about something embarrassing… Before she locked onto how the dwarf blushed as Naruto got close and chatted, Thyme off to the side in the back, facepalming with a smug-looking Olive on her shoulders. "I-I see it," she blushed again.

Was this that 'magical power' her mom said that some boys had? Like with dad?

"Cousin Anise wasn't this way with aunty, though."

"I bet you're thinking about when your mom said 'boys have weird powers', huh?" Rosemary smirked slyly as she elbowed her friend a little, Sage blushing a bit.

"W-Well… yeah," she admitted. "Well… l-logically, I understand why boys like Naruto, Cal, and Snapdragon would be a-attractive," Sage said some more, face a bit redder as Rosemary looked intrigued, some red on her own face.

"Yeah, I mean… I-I get it," she said. "Despite his potty mouth, Cal's, like, super confident. He's got a big frame, like my dad," Rosemary admitted, rather nonchalantly to Sage's surprise. "He's got a good family behind him and he's tough," she emulated Cal's prideful chest puffing. "Hehe, Snap, meanwhile, is super smart! He's tall and got super gold eyes, they're pretty cool."

Sage blushed as she remembered that, yes, Snapdragon's eyes were nice to look at. They weren't normal eyes like she saw in the others, they were… special.

"A-And Naruto?" Sage asked, curious before blinking at the red that spread across Rosemary's nose and cheeks, the normally energetic girl rubbing the back of her head with a lot of embarrassed laughter. "... Rose?"

"I-It's nothing! Um, well, Naru's, like, super awesome," she admitted with a bigger blush that Sage raised a brow at. "N-Not that it means anything! I-It's just… he's so brave, he stands up for what's right, he's strong," she nodded at that, knowing full well just how strong Naruto actually was. "He's got fox ears now a-and what if he gets tails, paw pads, and just turns into a beautiful-!"

"Rose?" The mage sweatdropped as her Warrior friend blushed some more, freezing. "... I think I get it," Sage felt a little bothered but Rosemary wasn't wrong.

Despite not being super smart, Naruto appreciated Old Magic for its sacredness, he didn't bash her home as many others did. He was helpful, very much so, the mage could still remember the rapier he'd suggested.

He was strong and had amazing leadership qualities. He didn't hesitate to put himself on the line for people he didn't know and clearly sought to protect people… a-and, if she was at spell-point… Sage might admit that, yes, he was cute but not in the same way that Snapdragon was cute.

Where Naruto had a sort of animalistic look to his face, so much so that it made you want to just squish his cheeks together and scratch his chin, Sage would never admit that to anyone, and Snapdragon… it was odd b-but he seemed so feminine and yet not.

He was the 'innocent' one, to her, at least. He approached everything with a sort of excitement she expected from a boy but didn't seem to get it all like she thought a boy would. He wasn't strong, physically, but he was smart and seemed to treasure his connections with Naruto and Amaryllis rather closely.

She honestly thought he looked kind of 'beautiful', on occasion, but boys didn't like being called that, she knew for a fact.

"I-I really get it," Sage had always expected to have some kind of 'balance' between her affections but it seemed rather 'boy-heavy', at present, not that she thought her female friends weren't attractive.

"Alright, lead the way, Cal," Naruto said as the rougher boy nodded, the group moving on. "So, this is the High-Layer?" He added as they looked around.

Oddly enough, the area seemed especially clean in a way the lower levels couldn't compete with. The street's bricks were perfectly laid, the walls a solid color that hadn't been besmirched by any possible dirt or marks.

The people around, at the few stalls they did see, were dressed in cleaner clothes than any in the lower Layers and they all seemed to be so new, it was hard to tell if they were just that well cleaned or if they'd just bought them.

"Whoa…" Rosemary blinked as she looked around only to blink again, in confusion, as she thought she saw a pair of heads slinking out of view. "...?"

"Hmph, so this is where the nobles live," Thyme said, snapping the rosette out of her thoughts. "It seems so… clean," she found the word.

"Yeah, the way things are, there are magic sweepers who come through every morning and night, cleaning up the place to perfection," Callum explained as they passed another group of noble teens. "Mallow!"

One of the boys in that group of four blinked at him before grinning and hurrying over.

His skin was slightly dark and his green, covering his hair in a slicked-back, controlled, bed of hair that allowed his yellow eyes to pop. Wearing a blue long-sleeve tunic, black slacks, and a pair of prim dressing shoes, he looked like a regular old Prince Charming.

"Callum! Why I didn't think I'd see you for a while," the rich boy said as Cal smirked.

"We just got the go-ahead to start leaving the Academy."

"I see," the noble said before looking at the group of Guardians-to-be. "Hmm, curious group though some seem to have a true high-birth to them," he said with a smile at the curtsying Amaryllis. "And polite ones! I can't believe there are some of your status going to High Guardian Academy, no offense meant to you, madam, but are you from a line of fighters by any chance?"

"Not for many generations but for the recent one," Amaryllis said as she stood up to her full height. "I strove to leave Witch Country for Lyngarth without a thought, though. My home isn't there."

The boy nodded seriously. "Yes, that dreadful place needs to be defeated in a fight of wit!" Mallow said with a smirk as Thyme raised a brow at him. "Hmm, a beastkin, humans, elf, dwarf, you've quite the group, Callum," he said but his form moved over to Naruto, locking eyes with the similar-height boy. "Yes, with some curious folks considering your parents-"

"Dude," Cal said with narrowed eyes and Mallow froze. "Do not."

"Y-Yes, quite!" The other noble grinned nervously. "Good graces, you got scary in under three weeks!"

"Hmph. Look, I'll hang with you next weekend, we're heading to the magical library."

"Oh," the other noble winced and Cal raised a brow. "You may need to hurry, last I heard, the library had been bought up," the group's eyes widened. "There's no need for an Old Magic library, after all."

"Shit!" Cal hurried with a nod, patting Mallow's shoulder. "Head off, we need to go!"

The eight ran like they had hellhounds on their ankles, the purple-haired boy leading the way.

"Dammit!" Naruto grimaced. "We took too long!"

"We're sorry!" Rosemary squealed in apology. "We'd have hurried if we knew!"

"Forget it!" Cal shouted. "We're almost there!"

They kept running for maybe a minute before skidding to a stop by the library with frowns as they saw boxes after boxes being brought out.

At the front of the store, the group saw two females, one a woman with oval glasses, white eyes, tan skin, and short gray hair dressed as a librarian would.

They hurried over to her and the druid woman, who they could now see the small leaves coming out of her wrists, sighed.

"Can I help you, children?" She asked them as she and the girl next to her faced them before the girl froze. "Or are you simply here to see the loss of old tomes?"

"N-No, wait, we wanted to take some of the books, ma'am!" Naruto said as he strode forward with a look of urgency as the woman blinked at him.

"Take? Y-You like Old Magic?"

"Yes!"

"W-We do!" Sage said immediately after. "W-We wanted to visit this library because we knew not many cared for Old Magic!"

"..." The woman's eyes softened before she sighed again. "Then you'd best look while you can in the library, sadly, we didn't have that much of a collection in the first place."

"Where will you go after today?" The girl at the librarian's side asked, Naruto blinking at the sight of long vibrant red hair. "T-That is, you said this location was bought, right, Ms. Philo?" Her voice was soft but held a slightly deep tone, maybe two octaves above Thyme's own voice.

She turned to him and Naruto blinked as blue eyes locked with gold.

Her face was slightly angular, like Thyme's, but it was rounder by a good bit, allowing her small red freckles to splash cutely across the bridge of her nose beneath her gold eyes. As he said before, she had long red hair, salmon-red, and it had some good volume to it while also coming down to the middle of her back.

Dressed in some small brown boots, black tights, and a thigh-length tunic dress that was dark blue in color with a white coat over her shoulders.

"Brunnera, I'm likely going to have to take most of this back to an old archive," the woman said as the group frowned. "I've already been offered a position in the new Terrasphere Library here. It seems, more and more, people just don't care for Old Magic."

The girl, Brunnera, frowned softly at that, sighing. "I-I guess."

"... What are you going to do with the books?" Naruto asked again. "If it's just to put them away then could I come by and borrow them often?" He offered as the druid woman blinked.

"It's not that I wouldn't want that but, young man, the archive I'm sending these to is going to be across the entire city. Surely, you won't make that trip constantly."

"I will," Naruto said as Brunnera's eyes widened at him before she nodded.

"I-I can, too, if you'll allow it," she said to the librarian who looked happy.

"Well… if so just come by here and I'll give you both temporary passes every time, alright?"

"Sure!" The two said with grins.

"Come on!" Rosemary said with a grin. "We can still look, right?!"

"Of course."

The teens all nodded, hurrying in, with Amaryllis at the back with Brunnera.

"Hmph," she wore an all-knowing smirk as the tall girl, who was even taller than Naruto, blushed. "Nice ta meetcha, Brunnera."

"T-Thanks," the taller teen said with a bit of a pout.

As they hurried past numerous packed boxes, Naruto chuckled nervously.

"We don't know where to go," he said sheepishly.

"This way," Brunnera said with a smile as she pointed in a direction. "I-I started coming here recently so I know where it is."

"Lead the way, Brunne…" Naruto looked at her flatly as she giggled a bit. "I'mma call you 'Bru', that cool?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Lead the way, Bru!"

They hurried to the section with focused expressions save for Cal and Rosemary.

"How the hell does he do it?" The boy wondered in disbelief. "It's like it was nothing!"

"H-Hey! Not everything is about romance, ya know?" She said with a huff. "... besides, Naru's super friendly, it's not surprising."

"Like a pet?"

"... kinda?"

They made it to the Old Magic section that had been basically half-cleared by this point.

"Dammit! Let's look at all the books!" Naruto said to the group who nodded.

They spread out a breath later, looking at sections without a thought.

"So, we're looking for Runes," Sage said to herself as she pulled a book and read the title. "Hmm, Burst Magic Theory?" She blinked at the title and skimmed the first few pages. "... alternative methods to increasing magic output?" She blinked again before placing the book by her feet.

She swept through a whole shelf, four books now sitting by her feet.

"... Next shelf."

Rosemary squawked as she stumbled to the side to catch a book, Parsley settling her before she fell. "T-Thanks!" She said with a grin before showing off several books in her arms. "These ones had the most interesting titles!"

"That so?" The dwarf asked as she took a few and opened them up. "Hmm… Magical Swordwork?" Her eyebrow raised at Rosemary as she looked at another. "Your Magic Sword And You, Rose."

"I-I know!"

Parsley chuckled regardless. "Well, it's not like it doesn't relate to you. Just remember, Runes."

"Gotcha!"

Cal hummed as he pulled books off the top of the shelf like clockwork, each one being caught by Amaryllis, examined with a flash of purple energy, and being thrown into a neat pile a bit away.

"So, tell me, you think we'll find anything useful here?" He asked her and she hummed, eyes glowing as they swept over a quickly flipping book before throwing that book into the pile.

"Yes, I'm sure. Already, I've found several books for Whiskers and Ironess over there," she said as she patted a pile of books by her feet. "The fact remains, they can't just learn Runes, it's not gonna help them if that's all they know despite how much I hate it."

"Man, you really don't like your mom."

"Not a bit. She's tarnished our name, she's not a contributor to society, she cheated on my dad, I'm dealing with that bitch if I can help it. And that's a very thick line to cross."

"Hey, you do you, sticking to your principles is super important."

Meanwhile, Mint passed a book to Thyme who looked at its title before placing it down gently into a pile of 'Not Useful'. On the other side of her legs, the 'Useful' pile found itself only growing to be three-books tall.

"Hmph, are those for you and them?" Mint asked as Thyme nodded.

"I can use slight Earth Magic but that's not good enough if I'm going to make the most of the Crabbe armor pieces," the elf said. "Just a simple thing like that."

"Hmph, I guess so. Still, it's kind of a waste that Parsley doesn't know any magic. I'm sure she would have quite the Earth element."

"She tried at one point, I think. Don't know much else."

"Hmph."

Finally, Naruto and Brunnera looked through book after book.

"Dammit. You find anything, Bru?" He asked.

"I've read through this section a few times," she explained as she put down another book. "Sadly, I didn't find anything on Runes."

Naruto nodded, working through another book's face before blinking at the title on the next one.

Innate Beast Magic: A Beastkin's Application

"Huh?" He tilted his head at the book before opening it up to look at the first few lines. 'What's this all about?'

Innate magic is not really called as such despite its clear effects. Merpeople, Beastkin, Dwarves, Giants, and so on. Every odd race has innate magical potential that can be applied in numerous ways. Dwarves, Giants, and Merpeople are the simplest examples. The Dwarves and Giants have their incredible strength even despite their sizes. Why, once, I watched a giant lift an entire village on his back, for a time, before putting it back down, protecting them from a raging flood. The Dwarves carry a strength that is notably used for the art of smithing and mining, their dexterous fingers and yet powerful palms allowing for focused strength not capable by many other races.

That was pretty cool, honestly. It wasn't surprising in hindsight, the races were different in their own ways, they were special by mere birth.

The Merpeople's ability to swim faster than a sparrow can fly is also noted. The fastest in the lands were a pair of brothers, one a merman with the other being a cheetah Beastkin, the fastest on land and in the water, they were nearly incomparable existences that went down in history.

"Now that's insane," he said, gaining Brunnera's attention.

"What is it?" She asked, leaning over his shoulder as he grinned.

"It's a book on the special skills of all the races. I didn't know some of this stuff," he said as she tilted to see the book's title.

"But it's about beastkin, isn't it?"

"I think I'm getting to that section."

The next paragraph proved as much.

The races, far and wide, are impressive beings who defy the laws of our world but the focus of this book isn't about them as a whole but one in full definition: The Beastkin race. Notably, a Beastkin isn't a summarized term, insects, fish, plants in rare cases, and so on. Druids, by specification, are Beastkin as are Merpeople but they separated themselves far enough that they're their own race.

The two blinked at that. "That's crazy."

No, the Beastkin is probably one of the most powerful races due to the sheer amount of possibilities the race can have. Spiders, whales, tigers, lambs, sharks, scorpions, dragons, a Beastkin's race is dependent on several factors but the idea that one can become part dragon has no end to their possibilities. Still, we're getting ahead of ourselves, the beginning is important, after all.

All Beastkin are basically a brother race to humans. At a point in history, a man who specialized in Beast Magic made a potion that irreparably changed his entire make-up for the sake of increasing his efficiency with his magical skills. He was the start of it all, Stega. The man who started the race in its infancy.

"That's amazing," Brunnera said as she looked at Naruto only to blush and step back as nodded obliviously. "T-That is! You know?!" She giggled nervously, cheeks a bit red. 'Dammit, stop!' She told herself as he closed the book with another nod.

"Alright, keeping this," he said before looking at her. "... uh, you cool?" Naruto asked her as he slipped that book into a small two-book pile, including that one itself.

"Y-Yeah!" She grinned nervously. "C-Come on, let's make sure we look through as many of these as possible!"

Naruto nodded.

~NRK~

The return to High Guardian Academy was slow with their hauls.

Well, most of them, Naruto still carried Thyme with his books without too much effort, much to her embarrassment and disbelief.

"You're super-light, it's not like it was impossible in the first place," he'd said at some point and she'd huffed at the oblivious compliment.

The others had either laughed, blushed, or teased but it all came to an end by the time they made it back by the gates where they found a familiar face.

Snapdragon waved them down in a cream-colored tunic, blue pants, and brown boots. "Hey! Where'd you guys go?" He asked as they walked into the courtyard, the ginger sitting in front of the school with a book in his hands.

"I'd ask the same question," Cal said as Snapdragon chuckled nervously.

"I just needed to chill. I went to a field I saw on the way to Lyngarth once," he said with a smile that shook a bit.

"Well, we went to a, sadly, now bought-out magical library," Naruto said with a sigh as the ginger frowned.

"I feel for you. Sorry, I couldn't be there."

"Nah, it's fine. It's not like we expected to be let out today. I'm just glad we got some useful stuff. I even got a set of barrier spells I could kinda try if you're up for it?" Snapdragon grinned.

"I'd be honored."

~NRK~

"H-Hmm, s-so she's going to hit me?" Snapdragon asked nervously as a golden tint formed over him. "N-Naruto?!"

"I know, I know! But I can't test it without, you know, actually seeing it in person, yeah?" Naruto said apologetically even as he winced. "T-Thanks for your effort!" Parsley shot him a disapproving look.

"This is an effort to kill me!"

Rosemary chuckled sheepishly in front of him, Flowering Thorn in her hands and terrifying her friend, apparently.

"S-Sorry! Do we have anything wooden?" She asked the others and Thyme came forward, a book in hand and eyes squinted.

"Let me… try this," she said after re-reading a sentence. "Form my blade and ascend my power as I decree! Wooden Weaponry!" Thyme called out as she raised her hand.

The area beneath the limb glowed with a magic circle that spun slowly before the crackling of wood reached their ears.

They watched curiously as a finger-thick thick of wood came out of the ground, Thyme blushing at its mediocrity.

"Hahahahhaha! Thyme's got wood!" Amaryllis cackled and the group snorted or blushed in unison.

"S-Shut up!"

Rosemary messed with the bastard sword-length wooden 'weapon'. "Hey! It's good enough!"

"That's what she said!" Cal added and the snorting plus blushing continued.

"D-Dammit, Cal! You pervert!"

"Hey, I'm not the one handling wood!"

"Ugh!" Sage blushed and huffed all in one breath. "Boys."

"Yes?" All three males asked and she groaned again.

"Go back to work!"

"Hehe, she's got a point," Naruto admitted as Mint rolled her eyes. "Alright, Rosie, give it your-"

"NOT HER BEST!" Snapdragon shouted.

"You're medium-best shot," Naruto finished as Rosemary giggled with her 'weapon' at the ready.

"Alright! Here I come, Snap!" Rosemary said before rushing the lanky boy who looked very nervous right now. 'Keep it simple, body,' she told herself as her form glowed pink. 'Not too much power,' her eyes glowed as she 'sensed' the strength within her.

That '100%' mark had her blinking but she 'lowered' it to '50%'... somehow.

She felt the limit hit her arms as she reached Snapdragon before swinging out at her 'current' hardest.

The blow slammed into his stomach and the boy hit the ground, eyes already closed in preparation for the pain… but he blinked at the dampened ache or even the large lack of it.

"H-Huh?" Snapdragon blinked as he kept glowing gold.

"Nice. What'd ya do, Rosie?" Naruto asked the rosette who chuckled nervously.

"Well… I guess I used my Vow?" Rosemary said unsurely as she looked at her glowing body. "I wanted to lower my strength for the hit, I was hitting at half-power and I guess I could sort of… tell? I told myself '50%' and it went down that much."

"Huh, didn't think Vows could be looked at like that," Cal said before Parsley, Naruto, and Thyme perked up.

"Actually, we learned something from Professor Phlox," she began before the three explained the lessons they'd learned while the rings were being made.

By the end of it, the group looked intrigued.

"Really?" Snapdragon looked surprised but kind of excited. "That sounds so cool! I didn't know you could gain Titles for your Vow!"

"Yeah, the prof didn't go too much into it," Naruto said. "But he made it clear that you can gain them. I think you can gain 'Titles' from competitions? We'll have to ask."

"Oh, you can," came the voice of Mature Triad as she walked up to the group with a smile, wearing a white dress with long sleeves and brown sandals. "It's not something you'd have learned until your second year but some things are learned at different rates. Yes, you can gain new Titles from contests."

"W-Wait, how does that work?" Mint asked in disbelief. "Are Titles… giftable?"

"Well, yes, actually," the woman smiled as the nine students' mouths fell. "Titles can be gained naturally, they can be rewarded, they can be given, they can be accessed temporarily. Vows are peculiar in that facet. They're basically containers of power or Titles in this case. The more Titles you have, the more complete your Vow becomes."

"Is there a limit?" Sage asked and got a shake of the head for her result. "T-That sounds ridiculous! H-How big was the biggest Vow?!"

"Hmmm?" Mature Triad chuckled at their expectant looks. "Well, if I'm remembering correctly, the number is currently 20. The holder?" She smiled at Rosemary's whose eyes shrunk. "Was none other than Lavender."

"N-No way?!" Rosemary freaked out. "W-What were they?! Can you tell me how she got them?! Are they hard?! Is it easy?! Tell me, please!" She begged and the woman shook her head.

"Revealing the Titles one has isn't exactly… wise," she explained as the group hummed.

"I can imagine," Naruto said. "Imagine if someone tried to fight you and knew your skills? They'd prepare for all your Titles and just beat you up."

"Oh, that makes sense," Cal said, bearing a soft frown. "The thing is, my parents never told me about this. Hell, they never told me about the Titles they had."

"It sounds like they were really tight-lipped," Amaryllis said and he nodded. "Still, how valuable is that really?"

"Very," Mature Triad said. "It's not wrong to say, a Title is a measure of your importance in the world. For example, would any one of you tell me yours?"

"... Peace-Bringer," Naruto admitted as most of the group blinked at the Title. "That's the one I got."

"The hell?" Cal raised a brow. "The hell kinda Title is that?"

"Hmm…" Mature Triad came over and kneeled by Naruto, observing him as her body glowed a soft white. "... it's a rather curious title. It's rare as well."

"Is that bad?" He asked.

"Hmm… unless it's a title with a bad connotation?"

"I don't think so."

"Then it should be fine. Though, expanding that Title is going to be rather difficult, I imagine," she said as he chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, I figured. It's not easy outside of, maybe, protecting people giving me the power to do that," Naruto said as Mature Triad chuckled. "So, hell, maybe I'll find out in the middle of combat?"

"It's certainly possible. For now, just expand your way of thinking, we all know combat is out of your realm right now," she said with reproach as Naruto lowered his aching arms with a sheepish grin. "We were serious. Despite your impressive healing, you'd best not push your body until the week is up, Naruto."

"I-I get it, I'm sorry!"

"... Alright," she smiled moments after staring him down before he slumped in defeat. "Though, I'm confused, did you all go somewhere?"

The group looked away as she asked, leaving the 'Mature One' to smile more coldly.

"Where did you all go?"

A minute of pleading and snitching later, the middle of the Triad stomped off with a smile that could kill.

Needless to say, the group didn't stay in the courtyard to see if she came back.

~NRK~

Monday morning, Naruto walked to Sacred Alphabets alongside Thyme, Sage, and Amaryllis, the four ready to face the day before they stopped at the sight of a girl standing by the room door.

She had moderately long blonde hair set in a ponytail, fair skin, and blue eyes that turned before locking onto him and shifting away from his gaze.

"Huh? Zinnia?" Amaryllis blinked as she looked at her roommate. "What's going on? You don't have this class early on a Monday."

"H-Hey, Amaryllis," Zinnia said while fidgeting a bit. "I-I just needed to speak with Naruto, is that alright?" She asked while blushing a bit.

The fox boy raised a brow while his three friends… well.

They knew way more than he did, at that moment.

The way Amaryllis started laughing like an idiot, the way Sage blushed a bit while looking shocked, and Thyme… weirdly enough, he felt heat rising on his back.

What the hell happened?

"Sure, what's up?" Naruto asked as she gestured down the hall. "I guess I'll be right-"

"Hold on there, class is about to start," Thyme said and Amaryllis looked like her day went from 'good' to 'GREAT!'. "He doesn't have time for… speaking with YOU," she said with emphasis that Naruto was lost on.

"H-Huh? Hold on, I-"

"S-She's right, Naruto," Sage said quickly. "Class starts in five minutes, we don't have the time," was this being a 'wingwoman'?

Sage didn't know if she hated it or not.

"... They kinda have a point. Is there a time where we can talk, I guess?" Naruto said after some thought, Zinnia looked a bit downtrodden but perked back up when he asked.

"Y-Yes! Um, t-that is," she blushed again. "A-Ahem! You're not going anywhere for Everything Hours, right? We can meet then!"

"Alright, sounds cool!" He grinned and she burned a brighter red before the boy's eyebrows rose as he felt heat from behind him. "Huh?" Naruto turned and found nothing there but a cross-armed Thyme. "Huh, maybe someone's messing with a flame spell or something," he said and Amaryllis barely held back the amount of laughter she wanted to release.

"I-It's fine, Zinnia!" She gasped for breath yet grinned with more amusement. "He'll meet you there, scout's honor. He's like that."

"Y-Yeah, alright!" Zinnia smiled before shaking one of Naruto's hands in both of hers, the boy flinching a bit before he chuckled nervously.

"Y-Yeah, later."

As she walked off, Naruto stood there, tilting his head with squinting eyes.

"Did something just happen? I-I feel like I'm missing something!" Naruto said to the girls who all either looked away, looked amused, or huffed. "... did I do something wrong?" He asked, hopefully, but was left with a scoffing Thyme for his troubles walking into class. "... I-I don't…" He looked so lost, Sage threw him a bone.

'Not all boys can just take that kind of hint,' and Sage was sure Naruto really needed it. "I-I'm sure Thyme's just… a little annoyed with the Wooden Weaponry spell! That's it, she's been kinda obsessed as of late," she lied as Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"Really? I mean, I get it, we laughed a bit yesterday," he looked guilty. "I'll go and apologize."

"NOPE," Amaryllis said with a tutting finger as Naruto frowned, fox ears, and tail, wilting. "H-Hey! Don't use that on ME. I'm trying to help you out," she said, blushing a bit at the wet puppy look. 'Geez, h-he got me to cave so easily!' H-How?!

The boy was too strong!

"Girls like to think on their feelings a bit," Sage came in with the save as Professor Caraway came up to them.

"What's all the hubbub?" He asked with a smile before chuckling nervously at the look of desperation on Naruto's face. "Gold for your thoughts?"

"I-I don't understand women."

"... Yes, that seems about right," the man grinned and Naruto slumped in defeat, slinking into the classroom, leaving behind a confused teacher.

"Okay, so, what actually happened?" He asked the two before chuckling nervously as he noted the difference in expression.

Sage looked slightly miserable while Amaryllis's grin was shooting on all cylinders.

"... I have a feeling you two have something to do with it."

"Not on purpose," they said but one was smug while the other looked guilty.

"N-Naruto's a guy, he just couldn't pick up on a hint is all," Sage said even as she combed her fingers through her hair. "Ugghhhh, I-I wanna tell him," she added quickly but Amaryllis shook her head.

"Nope, let Thyme actually think about what she's doing. Besides, telling that dense boy is like trying to slam a block of water through a metal wall. Dense," Amaryllis snickered as Caraway huffed a bit.

"Honestly, Sage, I believe you might be applying your thoughts to Naruto a bit too much," he said as she shot him a miserable look he chuckled at some more. "Honestly, do you think Naruto's not a bit aware?"

"Oh, he is," Amaryllis said. "That's the best part."

"... I see," the teacher chuckled a bit. "Well, one of you seems to think so."

"Mmmm," Sage messed with her hat. "I-It's just, it's so obvious and he doesn't get it! How?!"

"Of course, to those outside the situation, a crush seems pretty obvious," he said as he walked past. "Just remember, your viewpoints are different."

"Mmm… w-wait," Sage blinked in disbelief as Amaryllis snorted before going in. "H-How did he… I-I didn't say anything!" She squeaked before hurrying in.

"Hm, hm," Caraway smirked. "Now, class, we've been at this for two weeks now and you all should currently have a Rune Word made from last week," many looked embarrassed or hesitant. "Does anyone want to come up and share theirs?"

The entire room was silent for a bit before Naruto got up.

"I'll do it," he said with a strained grin, feeling Thyme's glare on his back. 'What did I do!?' He wishes he knew!

As he reached the front, he turned around and held up his finger.

"Uruz," he began, writing the letter into the air as Caraway nodded with a smile. "Algiz, that one was hard. I didn't know if any of them was a 'z' or not, ya know?" Naruto offered and their teacher nodded.

"Of course, the Rune language can be rather finicky at times so do your best to make the appropriate word possible," he said. "Now, is that the last one?"

"Nope, one more," Naruto said before repeating his first letter, breathing out a slow breath. "... Uzu," he said, 'completing' the Word, allowing it to glow in the air and shivering a bit at the throbbing on several parts of his body.

"Oh ho," the teacher came around and wrote it down. "Tell me, what interpretations did you take for this one?"

"I used the 'Concepts' definitions," Naruto explained as the class grew curious. "Life Force, Protection, and Endurance were the three I focused on and it wasn't too much of a strain on my mind."

"I see, I see," Caraway hummed before snapping his finger with a smile. "Would someone come up so we can test out his Rune Word?"

The class hummed in thought before Sage got up with a look of guilt.

"I'll do it," she said as she came up to Naruto and rubbed the back of his head. "... sorry… about earlier," Sage admitted in embarrassment but the boy's chuckling was all she got.

"No problem, I know I'm not… the smartest guy around," he said as she stared at him, confused. "Life's gonna throw some curveballs, can't prepare for all of 'em," Naruto added as he held out his hand.

She placed hers in it and watched him write out the Rune Word on her skin.

When he was done, Sage jumped at the feeling of… magic flowing into her body. "W-What?! That's too much, isn't it?!" She squeaked as her body became covered in a slight golden glow.

"Now, many of you may not notice this but, when applying a Rune or Rune Word, the magical energy you use to write it is a big part of the spell," Caraway explained as Naruto tilted his head.

"How's it feel?" Naruto asked his friend who just looked at him like he was insane. "... What? I put in, at best, 5% of my energy," he said as her cheek twitched.

Five percent? Was he really saying that this was only a twentieth of his total energy?!

"I-I… h-how?! The amount of energy feels ridiculous!" She squawked at him as he chuckled.

"I've always had a large energy pool," Naruto explained as Caraway looked intrigued. "Even now, I can feel it going back to normal levels."

"Fascinating," the man wrote down more notes by the blonde's Rune Word. "Hmm, Sage, how do you feel about a little test?"

A trio of minutes later, Amaryllis blinked at the gasping girl as she performed her 100th push-up before collapsing onto a white energy platform beneath her.

"H-Haaa… haaa," Sage gasped for breath and Naruto crouched to her level.

"You good?" He asked her and she groaned. "Uh… did anyone come up with a Rune Word for giving back stamina?"

"Hmm, you might want to try yours again," Caraway explained to him.

"Wait, I can double-up like that?"

"Of course. Though, whether the 'object', in this case 'Sage', can handle it is another matter."

Naruto nodded before applying his Rune Word onto Sage's back and the girl jolted up, eyes wide as she let out a few quick gasps before looking down at her hands in disbelief.

'T-That was basically instant,' the sheer amount of utility in this one Rune Word, nay, in Naruto's energy was beyond ridiculous! "I-I don't know how you function," Sage whined as he chuckled before picking her up by the armpits with more ease than Sage wanted to admit.

Back on her feet, she blushed and grumbled a bit more as he chuckled along with their teacher.

"Hm, hm, hm," Caraway wrote down more notes. "Hmm… Well, Sage, since you're already up here, why don't you present your Rune Word?" He asked the girl as she froze before blushing more in anxiety. "Unless you're not prepared?"

"... I-I'll do it now!" Better to get it out of the way instead of waiting to be embarrassed. "I-I wanted to, um, make an offensive spell," she said as she raised her. "The first letter is Algiz," she said, writing it out. "Then comes Isa," she added the 'I' to the 'Z'. "A-And finally, Fehu, the 'F' letter. This is to form ZIF. It's a Rune Word focused on higher energy output with 'Higher Self' which is usually used to promote increased inner power, 'Self Control' and 'Focus'," Caraway perked up. "For better control, so I don't do something I'll r-regret."

"Oh? I didn't think anyone could apply two effects from one letter without applying another copy."

"W-Well, I figured… i-it's got multiple meanings so why couldn't it mean both?" She said unsurely but his smile was encouraging.

"That sounds crazy complicated," Naruto said with crossed arms and a thoughtful nod. "I guess one of our resident smarties would know how to do this," he chuckled as Mint scoffed at the back of the room behind Thyme's seat. "How, though? I mean, I get that it's got more meanings but isn't that messin' with your head?"

"Well," Sage considered her words. "It's not easy, I have to consider two things as one which isn't hard but you don't do it in parallel on the regular. For example, a 'sword' is a 'stabbing' and 'slashing' weapon. You'd say it like that because of course you would," Caraway grinned. "But it's like saying it in a sentence at the same time. It's gibberish until you can remind yourself that, no, they're separate words."

"Hmm, I get it. Think of it like sneezing and coughing at the same time," Amaryllis smirked as Naruto slapped the side of his fist into his palm.

"I get it!"

"That's how you got it?!" Sage stared in disbelief as their professor laughed.

"It's a good analogy, though," Caraway said with a smile. "You were in the middle of your explanation, though. Please, what is Fehu used for? Luck?"

"I-Initial Conditions," Sage corrected and his eyebrow rose. "Well, I considered it as being stable when you perform the symbol properly. In a way, like that."

"Oh, so it's like the 'ritual', yeah?" Naruto offered and she stared at him like he didn't make sense, Amaryllis's laughter was all the clue Naruto needed to rub the back of his head. "I-I get some stuff, alright? Not everyone could have picked up everything when it's first explained to them," he huffed as she smiled a bit. "Alright," he grinned as he skipped back before crossing his arms. "Uruz."

His form glowed gold and she blinked.

"Ya gotta test it somehow."

"N-Naruto?! I'm not going to blast my classmate!"

"No, no, he has a point," Caraway smirked at her look of disbelief. "Hm, hm, isn't it better that it's someone who could gauge you more than a puppet? Besides, Naruto has more than enough energy as you said."

Sage whined a bit. "It's the spear all over again."

"... yes?"

"Mmm," Sage raised her hands and held them out towards Naruto. "A-Alright… I'm gonna actually do it."

"Bring it on!"

'Don't get super hurt, please!' She begged her spell as she filled it with a tenth of her energy, "ZIF!" She called out as the letters formed in the air in front of her hand.

A magical array formed around the Rune Word before glowing bright blue.

It shot out an explosive beam of blue energy that pushed her back.

'No! Wait! That's too much!' Naruto, please, dodge!

But he didn't, the blonde boy grinning as he kept his crossed arms up.

The attack hit him and he shifted back a few inches, loafers digging into the wooden floors but the boy didn't give much more ground, golden glowing form still holding back the beam as it ended.

Sage's mouth fell. "W-What? T-That was a tenth of my energy!" She squealed before looking more embarrassed. "Mmmmm!" She pulled down on her hat's edges only to hear Naruto's, coming closer, chuckles.

"That was pretty good!" The boy grinned, the smoke coming from the front of his forearms not even a concern to him. "Honestly, that was decent, Sage!" Naruto said with a thumbs-up as the girl growled a bit.

"H-How can you say that?!" She squealed at him as he chuckled, raising his forearms to show the blackened spots before brushing them off to show the slight welts beneath. "Y-You're hurt."

"I mean, yeah, the whole point was to see if you could make it past my defenses, Sage."

H-How could he say that?! Sure, o-okay, he was tougher than her spell was but that didn't mean he shouldn't be hurting right now!

"Naruto's way of helping is simply a bit different, Sage, it's not wrong to say this is far better to get a hang of the spell," Caraway chuckled. "So, in your own words, what did you think of it?"

"Hmm," Naruto flexed his hand and his forearms tensed time and time again. "Maybe good enough to crack a brick wall? Maybe a bit better."

"Hmm, that's decently powerful," Caraway said with a grin as he wrote it down, Sage completely lost in the two's words. "Alright, good work, Sage. Remember to keep trying! You could probably use your Terrasphere to conduct that spell in the target range!" He smiled as the mage slumped before Naruto chuckled and pat her back towards their seats.

"H-Hey! Wait! Can you b-be my test dummy?"

"Yeah! Me, too!"

"Please?!"

Naruto sweatdropped before shrugging and going back up, much to Sage's disbelief.

"Sure!"

It seemed that was the catalyst to get the students more eager, much to Caraway's amusement and concern.

'Why is the idea of a living body being the target exciting them?' Worrying thoughts for another time.

Sage sat down, looking to all the world like she'd been hit with the greatest conundrum known to man. "W-What's wrong with boys?!" She squawked, Thyme's look of concern and Amaryllis's now-tamed amusement greeting her.

"Hehe, you're thinking too generally, not every boy's gonna be like Naruto," the shorter mage snickered. "He's built like a brick house and tougher than that, by his own words, there are some things to him, I'd bet, that he understands he can do compared to others. Well, that and helping people, though Lord knows how well that's going for him."

There was a thwack and the student in question groaned as he slid down the wall.

"Sorry! I thought you said it was a protection spell!" Naruto yelped before running over and picking up the boy to put him in his seat. "CRAP! Everyone, please, let me know if this is an actual Word or not!"

He ran back up to one of the female students who approached him with a sly grin and a raised finger.

Thyme's eyes narrowed as she got up. "I'm going to go up," was all she said before stalking towards the two. "Hey, keep those hands where I can see 'em."

"God, she has it so bad," Amaryllis shook her head in disbelief as Sage grumbled. "Like, yeah, Naruto's hotter than a batch of newly baked biscuits but this is more ridiculous!"

"I-It's weird to me, too. I don't understand Naruto, Cal, Snapdragon, boys in general!"

"Well… why not figure it out?" Amaryllis said with a slowly growing grin as Sage blinked at her. "Ya see, Sage, there's a little thing called 'Transition Magic' that I have a temporary spell for."

"Transition Magic? I thought they only had that in certain stores in the biggest cities? Wait, does Witch Country use that?"

"No, most witches are kinda solid in who, or what, they want to be. That said, it's still good money to know how to do it, even temporarily. No, especially, temporarily. You ever wonder what it was like?" She asked with a normal grin. "Think about it. You'd be able to figure yourself out and not be a total moaning magic girl lump."

"I am not a lump," Sage pouted before considering her words, looking back up to Naruto and Thyme.

The elf wrote some words into the ground that caused the wooden planks to shoot up into a human-sized cage, Naruto humming within it.

"Kinky," Amaryllis blinked as the boy slammed his arm into the bars, bending them with a good amount of breaks but it held, even if only a bit. "Ya ever think that Thyme's choice in magic is telling?" She sweatdropped at the taller girl's look of consideration at Naruto's ease of breaking out. "Like, it's human-sized, kinda suspect."

Sage huffed. "You and Cal are totally the same, not everything i-is about…" She burned as Amaryllis smirked. "Romance," she found the word.

"Come on~ I wanna hear you say the 's' word."

"No!"

~NRK~

At lunch, the group congregated before chatting.

"Wait, she what?!" Cal's mouth fell as Naruto shrugged, the others not in the know gawking at him in disbelief.

"Yeah, she wanted to talk about something, it was kinda weird but I guess she wants some help with magic? I don't know," the fox boy said and Snapdragon's look of disbelief could be put into art. "... what?"

"N-Naruto," he looked at the other boy, again, in disbelief. 'T-This isn't some kinda romance story! In what world is someone this dense?!' Snapdragon cleared his throat. "I-It's just… uhhh."

"You're clueless," Mint said with a huff as Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"Usually, yeah."

"... I-I can't say any more to him," defeat had never been so swift.

Parsley, meanwhile, felt her eyebrow twitch. "S-So, what are you going to do?" She asked, minding her already bent fork. 'Is he actually not aware?' It was honestly pretty possible, now that she thought about it. 'I'm fussing over a boy,' sure, he was a great friend.

And sure she thought he was cute.

And yeah Parsley thought he was awesome.

Okay, and maybe she thought he'd reminded her of her dad.

… Her eyebrow twitched again.

"I mean, I don't know what to really do? She asked to talk and I promised to talk later, I won't turn back on my promises. What kinda man would that make me?" Naruto said assuredly. "I've held that close to my heart for about all my life, can't very well back out now."

"That's gonna get you in trouble one day, you realize that, right?" Thyme said a bit harshly, confusing the boy a bit. "... Nothing."

'Is it?' This entire day had seemingly gone halfway and he was already more confused about his friends now more than ever! "R-Right."

Rosemary considered her friend's dismay and the entire situation. 'This is way different from what happens to Chicory,' her brother could have girls flocking to him and yet he'd never pick one.

His words: 'I don't know what will happen to me if I do. If anything, I'll find a girlfriend not in Pebble.'

She'd never understood what he meant by that. Sure, those girls might be sad but he was allowed to be happy, too.

… Now she kinda got it! Girls could get mad dangerous, it seemed!

"You, blonde boy!" Came a voice from behind Naruto, the beastkin blinking before turning around to see… an elf kid?

He wasn't that tall, maybe a bit taller than Amaryllis by a few inches but not even close to Rose's slightly average height.

His skin was slightly tan and his eyes were black as he frowned at him with crossed arms. His long elf ears twitched a bit while his neatly combed black hair shifted with his slight tilt of the head.

"Okay, we're doing this now," Naruto said as he got up and looked down a foot. "Sup?"

"You! I've had quite enough of you!"

"... okay?"

"Grrr! That attitude! Treating elves like we're normal!" The short boy said as Thyme's eyes narrowed.

'What's that supposed to mean?' The heck was this kid on about? "Hey, the heck are you on about?"

"Apologies, Miss Thyme, but I couldn't allow this ruffian to bother you!"

"E-Excuse me?!" Thyme burned a bit before she got up with a growl that the shorter elf made no notice of.

"Allow me," he said as Cal's eyes went flat.

"He's a tool," he said to Snapdragon who coughed into his fist.

"I-I mean…" He hesitated before clearing his throat. "W-We can just leave this, yeah?"

"No, this is great!" Amaryllis grinned as Sage groaned.

"Who even is he?" She asked and Parsley answered.

"He's Chervil… a High-Elf to-be," the dwarf answered nervously as the group blinked.

"Look, dude, what is it that you want?" Naruto asked as the short elf smirked before holding a hand to his chest, proudly.

"To stop you from bothering Miss Thyme, I demand a challenge!" The boy declared as the fox boy hummed.

"... right? But, like, what do you mean by bothering Thyme?"

"Isn't it obvious, you clueless oaf-?!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" The two boys flinched at the feeling of heat coming from the side of them as Thyme began to approach. "I SWEAR TO GOD, CHERVIL, IF YOU SO MUCH AS SPEAK ANOTHER WORD, I'LL KILL YOU!"

"E-Ehh?!" The short elf jumped back before swallowing and clearing his throat, Naruto noting the speed and distance he'd made.

'This guy… he's not just some big talker, is he?' The guy was decently athletic. "Look, I get it, but we shouldn't be-"

"SHUT UP."

"Well, would you look at that, my food's getting cold!" Naruto said immediately as Snapdragon chuckled along with Rosemary, Cal and Amaryllis smirked, as the others rolled their eyes. "H-Hehe, can we please not fight?" He asked Thyme.

"... hmph, finish eating, Everything Hours is coming up," she said intently and Naruto grinned nervously.

"I get it!"

With her need for 'order' satiated, Naruto sighed in relief as Thyme went back to her seat.

The group forgot about the now not there Chervil.

'I won't forget this! I'll catch you at Everything Hours!'

~NRK~

Now sitting in the large field of the campus, Naruto blinked as he sat beneath Thyme who raised her finger.

She wrote two Runes into the air before they slowly floated down and latched onto his cheek.

"What's this?" He asked her as the others sat with them.

"I tried to compose a healing Rune Word," Thyme explained. "Ul," she activated the Word and they all watched as the two letters glowed a green color.

Naruto's body glowed a soft green afterward, the boy blinking as he looked down at his hands and the unbuttoned three buttons of his shirt.

"Whoa… it feels pretty nice," he chuckled as she nodded with a small smile.

"We don't know all of the Rune Language but I did what I could with what we learned."

"... Hmm," Sage considered it before Rosemary tapped her elbow. "?"

"What kinda Runes did you guys learn?" She grinned and the mage chuckled. "Amaryllis, you know the whole thing, right?"

"Sadly? No," the purple mage said as the group looked surprised. "Like, I know almost 10 letters completely."

"Completely?" Snapdragon asked as she nodded.

"When I was… taught I was taught Runes by only using one until I could utilize every concept of it. Runes have several meanings and a 'definition'. The definition is the general power of it while the specific meanings can alter how it works completely while still carrying the main definition. Think of it like adding a suffix or prefix to its own definition," she explained as Mint nodded.

"It's not wrong to say, Runes aren't as widespread because you can't fully comprehend their power until you fully understand every part of a single one. Imagine trying to learn the entire alphabet," she explained as Cal shivered.

"I don't wanna think about that," he said.

"How ya feelin', Naru?" Rosemary asked the fox boy who hummed.

"I can feel the energy in my body and it's moving to the sore parts of my body but it's kind of slow. You put, like, 20% into this spell, right, Thyme?" He asked the elf who blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I can sense energy, remember? I can typically tell how much anyone has at any time or where someone is."

"That's right, you did have a skill like that," Sage realized, perking up. "I-Is that teachable?" She asked, intrigued.

"Yeah but you'd have to find the right animal to teach you," Naruto grinned and the group blinked.

"Animal?" Snapdragon repeated. "What do animals have to do with this? Is this a part of being a beastkin?"

"Nope. I learned this skill by learning from toads," Naruto admitted and the group balked. "The thing is, there are special animals in the lands of Scarborough who can talk and teach you stuff," he explained, pulling a book off from his waist, a familiar book. "I was reading one of the books I got from the library and it's super interesting," he said as he showed it to Snapdragon who nodded.

"Innate Beast Magic… I'm curious on how that Stega guy worked this out," he said with a smile as Naruto nodded. "Though, what's this got to do with toads?"

"Well, if you go to page 24, he talks about special spiritual animals who could talk and teach you magic or something."

Going to the page, Snapdragon nodded as Sage and Amaryllis leaned over his shoulders.

"Hmm… i-it's true?!" The 'blue' one shrieked as the ginger chuckled while Amaryllis hummed.

"... well, there are people who contract with spirits and stuff but I don't know if this is the same thing or not," the witch-born mage said with a hum.

"Hmm," Thyme took the offered book from Snapdragon, looking at the pages before gently flipping to the next. "... Innate magic. So, you're going to focus on internal power?"

"Yeah," Naruto said with a grin. "I've been considering my Vow and, well, if I get more animal-like traits, I'd want to make the most of them as I can," he said, allowing his fox ears to spring into existence before focusing on his hands.

They clawed up for a bit and the group blinked at the sight of his nails growing sharper.

"See," he raised his hands by his face to show them more clearly. "I'm probably going to talk to the Triad and Professor Caraway about this. I don't know if this is normal or not," Naruto hinted as those in the know nodded. "Besides, this could also help me figure out my specialties and all that. Seems like fun."

"I-I guess," Snapdragon considered something. "I honestly just need to get better at using my ax," he said as he looked at the quickly grinning Rosemary with a nervous smile. "I-I guess that's what we'll be doing."

"Alright! Come on, Snap! Time for some EXERCISE!" She said with a grin, jumping up and rushing over to grab both of their weapons from a nearby tree the group had left all their equipment leaning on.

"... Hey, Rylls-"

"Snap, I'm keeping the shield," Amaryllis said without losing a breath, leaving the lanky boy slumping. "Honestly, you should focus on being better with the ax first. Lord knows you can't do both at the same time."

"Hehe," Naruto chuckled as a glowing Rosemary led the way for Snap before the two of them were sparring. "Hmm, I guess you guys can just do whatever, I won't be doing anything, unfortunately," he said before blinking and turning his head to the side. "Besides, I have someone to talk to."

The group blinked, Snapdragon and Rosemary stopping mid-clash, as Zinnia came over to them with a look of confusion and embarrassment.

Beside her? Chervil frowned with his arms crossed.

"... The both of you don't want to speak to me, right?" Naruto asked and the short boy scoffed.

"No, Uzumaki, I don't wish to speak with a weird name-having individual like yourself," he said as the group frowned.

"Then I guess you're not here to speak with anyone," Thyme shot back and the short elf flinched. "You-"

"Thyme, hold up," Naruto said, turning to her with his hands raised, confusing her. "Maybe you should talk this out-let me finish!" He said immediately as her eyes narrowed. "No, seriously," the beastkin glowed a soft gold and he snickered as her eyebrow rose along with the others. "We're not gonna get anywhere if we just keep blowing him off. I know, it's annoying, but can ya at least find out what he's about? Please?" The blonde asked kindly and Thyme's eyes went flat.

"He's literally done nothing but insult you the entire time we've met him."

"I mean, yeah, but I don't really care," Chervil squawked as Naruto chuckled. "He's a kid, I'm not gonna take that seriously."

"K-Kid?! I'M SIXTEEN, YOU REPROBATE!"

"..." Naruto blinked and turned around to look at the seething elf. "... Pars, I am so sorry."

"Hey, I'm literally a 'dwarf', I don't hold it against you," Parsley chuckled as Cal smirked.

"I thought elves were supposed to be tall," the purple-haired boy said with a chuckle that Amaryllis copied, Chervil's eyebrows twitching as the sound of something 'cracking' reached their ears. "But, hey, we're nice tall people. Even Amaryllis is around your height, buddy-boy."

The boy reached his breaking point and Naruto's eyes narrowed.

A finger raised, magic lightning flashed, and a blur sliced it to the side.

"Oi, the hell was that?" Naruto asked as Cal and the others jumped. "... Haaa," the beastkin sighed, rubbing the back of his head, his left arm hissing as he winced. 'That didn't even look that tough,' and yet he'd burned his arm? "Look, I'm sorry for my friends' insults but you're doing yourself any favors."

Chervil's mouth fell as he flinched back at Naruto's hissing arm, the tree beside them tilting.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Thyme shouted in rage as Chervil wilted, Naruto sighing as his golden glow fell away. "Do NOT, Naruto, this isn't a case of me even being in the wrong!"

He winced at that, rubbing the back of his head with another sigh. 'Talks came to an unfortunate end,' this whole thing had gotten-

Naruto blinked at Zinnia's presence in his face, raising a brow at her before she raised her hands around his injured arm.

Light blue energy coiled around the limb, the sound of water filling the area before it glowed brighter.

The green energy around Naruto was quickly overtaken by the energy itself before, maybe five seconds later, the transformed mermaid removed her hands to reveal a completely unharmed limb, much to the group's shock.

"W-Wait, hold on, you have healing magic?" Naruto asked in disbelief as the girl blushed a bit but nodded with a smile. "... thanks, I'm serious," he said as she wore a happy but conflicted expression. "... I have a feeling you're going to ask me something, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes… PLEASE HELP MY PEOPLE!" She begged him, bowing at the waist and shocking the blonde along with the others save for Chervil. "I NEED YOUR STRENGTH TO PROTECT MY FAMILY!"

"W-Whoa! This whole thing jumped for no reason!" Cal said in disbelief as Snapdragon nodded as he and Rosemary rushed over.

"W-What's going on? Why'd she…" He asked, still confused, as Olive appeared in the trees above with a frown on her kitty cat face.

'This isn't good,' she realized nervously. 'The Triumvirate's work is getting noticed,' Olive swallowed as the girl explained.

"M-My family, the mermaids, they've been at odds with a creature that used to be a friend of ours," Zinnia said with a saddened look. "H-He was my friend," she whispered. "A-And he started rampaging out of nowhere! And I need your and Chervil's help to take him down so we can help him!"

"Huh? That's why you wanted to talk to him?" Amaryllis gawked as Zinnia nodded. 'The hell?! I've been gypped!'

"... Wait, why Naruto?" Sage asked the mermaid turned human.

"I was there," the group balked as she nodded. "I was there when he fought that Gnarl thing. I-I wouldn't have asked if I thought he wasn't strong enough b-but he is! Please!" Zinnia asked him again and Parsley huffed as the boy glowed gold.

"Whelp, too late to talk him out of it," she said with a shaky grin as Mint facepalmed. "He's done."

"Sure, when?" Naruto asked a moment later, eyes narrowed with determination as Zinnia smiled brightly while Chervil groaned. "But, uh, we're still only students, ya know? How would I help you in the first place?"

"In a month, High Guardian Academy is going to allow us to take quests, right after October," she explained. "When that time comes, I'd like you to help out during the Everything Hours."

"Alright, that should give me enough time to get over these wounds of mine."

"Thank you!" She grinned, hugging the life out of him, leaving the boy's eyebrows flat and twitching at the heat coming at his neck. "I-I can help out!" Zinnia said as she held his shoulders at arm's length, completely oblivious to Naruto's mental dismay.

'Someone's going to kill me,' it was coming from behind again?! "U-Uhhh, yeah, um," he said nervously as Amaryllis snorted from behind him. "What do you mean by… that?" Please, for the love of God, do something so he didn't get jumped by someone!

"I-I could heal your wounds," she said and he perked up. "The thing is, I've never told anyone about my healing magic. I-It's kind of dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Rosemary asked. "Why?"

"Because the greatest healing magic is almost completely reserved for the merpeople," Chervil explained. "The greatest healers in the world couldn't match up to a merperson of similar tutelage if not a bit less. Water is regularly a healing element, after all, that's why we have the separate Ice element."

Sage blinked at his words. 'I did wonder why they were separate,' but one being defensive and the other being offensive made sense the more she thought about it.

"Y-Yeah. So, I also need you all to keep this under wraps," Zinnia said nervously but Naruto nodded.

"We're not gonna say anything, promise. Right guys?" He asked the others as the 'heat' died down. 'Oh thank God.'

"Hmph, fine," Thyme said as he wore a nervous grin. 'He's an idiot,' she groaned.

She might be fussing over him too much, God, when did a boy make her such an idiot.

Olive snickered from above. 'God, it's like he really doesn't get it,' then again, despite their current 'predicament', Olive wasn't sure where the line between them stood. 'Huh, still, I need to inform them… right?' It wasn't like she knew there was a mermaid-turned-human student, right?

It's not like she needed to be there when it happened.

'Anything to let things be,' Olive knew, for a fact, that things wouldn't stay this way.

She just wanted things to be 'peaceful', just for a bit more…

"Alright, alright, so when can you heal him?" Parsley asked as she walked over to her fellow blondes. 'I'm honestly being stupid,' what the hell was she waiting for?

Just ask him!

"W-Well, I'm actually only out here for a bit more," Zinnia said as she let go of Naruto.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Zinnia's a real honors student," Amaryllis said with a smirk. "She's doing all three courses and cuts down her normal Everything Hours for extra classes."

"Wait, you can do that?" Sage balked. "I-I'm confused, why?!"

"I-I don't get to go on land often," the former mermaid said with a small smile. "T-That's why I've got to figure out everything! I-It's not easy, especially the Everything Hours when we a-adventure, but it's all so new! So interesting!"

Parsley chuckled at that. "Well, if extra school is nice to you, don't let us take that away from you," she said. "Still, I can't imagine how draining that is."

"I-It is but I also know that I can learn a lot! If I can even learn how to make the potion that allowed me to walk on land," she said, scuffing her feet. "I can come onto the land more often on my own. I could probably make some for my family that isn't as pricey as normal ones are."

"Hmph, how much do such potions usually cost?" Mint asked.

"... W-Well, if you're only going to go in for a day? Maybe ten gold?" The group nodded. "D-Doing it for a week is 30, and a month is usually 100."

"A HUNDRED?!" Cal grimaced. "That's a total rip!"

"W-We know but there aren't a lot of good potion-makers near our lands," Zinnia admitted as Thyme's frown softened at that. "Even coming to HGA was only possible thanks to Professor Redbud sponsoring me."

"Redbud?!" Thyme, Amaryllis, Mint, and Sage choked. "HER?!"

"Y-Yes? I don't understand that reaction everyone has, she's a rather nice teacher."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... R-Right, um, let's focus on things that are real and urgent," Sage said with a look of disbelief. 'REDBUD?!' Nope!

She'd never believe that.

"So, how much healing can you to him for now?" Snapdragon asked with a small smile. "I know for a fact that Naruto would rather be able to do things instead of nothing."

"Ain't that right," Naruto huffed as Zinnia nodded.

"Okay, so, um. For you, this will probably take a while," she said as he nodded. "While healing magic doesn't usually take that much time, I know that you have magic burns and that your energy pool is kinda ridiculous."

"Yep, I'd know," Sage said with a look of jealous misery that Naruto chuckled at. "Mmmm."

"Alright, so I guess no more for today?" Naruto asked and she nodded.

"I-I can do it tonight but I'm also banking on having the amount of energy to do this again," the mermaid said with a smile. "A-Alright! Chervil, I don't know if we'll need more than one more person!"

"Hmph… well, there's a possibility Ms. Thyme will be g-good," the small elf said nervously, hiding behind a tree as Thyme's heated gaze snapped to him.

"... only for the sake of keeping him," she pointed at the nervously chuckling Naruto. "Out of trouble with HIM," Thyme growled at the High-Elf who yelped and hid again.

"Sure!" Zinnia smiled before pumping herself up. "YES! I can really get him back to normal with this!"

"Wait, I'm confused, why not hire a Guardian?" Cal asked the quickly wilting girl. "I mean, it sounds like you just need the firepower. Guardians do all forms of missions from scouting to capturing, this shouldn't really need Naruto."

"It'd be too costly."

"Oh, damn… oh, shit, that's how you're here?!" He asked, pale, as Zinnia nodded with a grimace.

"... Oh my God," Amaryllis groaned. "I thought you said Redbud was sponsoring you?"

"S-She is! But she says the materials to constantly keep making the long version of the potions aren't easy," the mermaid whined. "By the beginning of next year, we'll be allowed to adventure more during Everything Hours! Then, I can go and get the materials and not have to pay the costs!"

"It all comes back to money, yeesh."

"Yep. W-With this, though, I won't have to worry about my family being in danger!"

"Alright, guess we're done for some extra training," Naruto said to Thyme who nodded. "So, this friend of yours, what is he?"

"He's a Scypith," Zinnia explained as the group hummed. "I-It's basically a race of water dragons. They're usually a stubborn race but he's been a friend of mine, and my family, for years. I don't know why he's acting like this all of a sudden."

"We'll figure this out, no matter what!" He grinned. "Still, if we're about to, at least, beat him up, we need to know everything about his battle style. What's he weak against? He's probably got water powers, yeah?"

"I'll tell you all in the dorms tonight," she grinned. "W-We just need to make it to the next month!" Zinnia bowed one last time before heading off. "I-I'll see you in class Thyme! Amaryllis!"

And so she left, leaving the group to look at Chervil-

"Huh?" Naruto blinked, looking around and up. "... he vanished."

"He probably just hid," Amaryllis said but he shook his head. "Huh?"

"No, like, he disappeared when Zinnia left. It's like he slipped away somehow and I can't sense him."

"Well… to be fair, Zinnia did choose him because he was strong, yeah?" Parsley offered. "So, we can just assume this is a part of it. I imagine getting away from danger is actually pretty useful."

"Probably," Snapdragon said. "So, what'll we do now? We've got, maybe, an hour and some change left."

"Hmm," Naruto flexed his healed, right, arm. "Hmm… I guess I'll just do some one-arm push-ups," he chuckled before Cal shrugged.

"I'll join ya."

For now, it was time to get some gains!

~NRK~