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.

8. Future Missions II

~NRK~

Thyme huffed as she kept bobbing up and down, Amaryllis's grinning visage sat across from her moving in the same rhythm.

Naruto and Cal kept going with their one-arm push-ups, carrying the two in that order, with purple magic circles over their ears.

A bit away, Parsley's hammer swung time and time again, some advice from Naruto being that she might want to get a 'style' for her weapon and she'd taken to doing sword forms with Rosemary and Snapdragon.

Finally, Mint was currently going through 'Terrasphere etiquette' with Sage, the two flying around above.

"So, be honest with me," Amaryllis said as she twirled a mini-version of her staff. "What's stopping you at this point?" She asked seriously as Thyme blinked with a frown.

"What do you mean?" She asked, notching a wooden arrow into her bow and hitting a target, in the form of an 'X', they'd made earlier. "I'm not doing nothing."

"Look, you know what I mean. You, Zinnia," Thyme's mouth slipped into a deeper frown as Amaryllis nodded. "And who knows how many other people seem to be into him. You keep waiting and you'll never get anywhere."

"I don't-"

"Can you, like, cut the bullshit for one second?" Amaryllis frowned as Thyme flinched. "Like, I'm getting as much entertainment out of this as I can but even I know that, at some point, you're all pussyfooting around. Would you just go for it or not?"

"... I-I…" Thyme blushed and grimaced in unison. "It's not what you think it is," she said defiantly as Amaryllis groaned.

"Fine but I hope this puts it into your head. We live a dangerous job, Thyme. Freaking hell, Naru almost died if he didn't have that weird-ass ace up his sleeve," the elf froze as the mage nodded grimly. "It's not wrong to say, you're literally not just going after it because… what? You're afraid of rejection from Naruto?"

"... I… he hasn't done anything, you know? He didn't even notice Zinnia and she was as obvious as it got."

"Yeah, it's crazy how he doesn't seem to even catch a hint. Like, damn, that boy is thick and not with two 'c's."

Above, Olive hummed with a tilt of the head. 'Yeah, Naruto's pretty stupid in romance,' it was as impressive as it was annoying.

With the time they spent together, Olive wasn't sure if he ever picked up on a hint to save his life. Sex had been… e-emotionally bonding and had been amazing with him but she wasn't sure if he even recognized that for what it was or just sex.

"But that's why you make yourself clear, Thyme. If no one did, we'd literally not have families," Amaryllis said.

"... Ugh, I-I don't…" Thyme grimaced and yet her face burned brighter. "I… I know, okay? It's not that easy."

"... Alright, I'm gonna stop but you have to realize, the more time you wait, the more possible it is that Naruto's gonna get approached by someone who won't wait. What would you do if, fuck it, Parsley liked him? Do you think someone that big on 'family' is gonna wait? She'd have said something from the beginning of the year!" Amaryllis lied without hesitation.

She wanted to know. What would Thyme do if her friend liked Naruto more than platonically?

Thyme's eyes widened as she went from Amaryllis's look of curiosity to Parsley currently laughing at some joke Rosemary made.

'Parsley?' What would she do if Pars liked Naruto? '... if she did?'

Thyme's body felt a bit cold as she thought of the rather friendly, kind, and emotionally intelligent dwarf and swallowed at the idea of how easy it'd be for her to just admit it to Naruto. To tell him she'd want to have a relationship.

'Pars would do it so easily,' she'd probably have already figured out where her feelings lied and just tell him.

Parsley, meanwhile, raised a brow at Thyme's look of concern as she ran her hands through her red hair.

'I wonder what she's worried about,' she'd probably ask later when they had the time. "So, you made your own style, how, Rosie? This feels kinda weird," Parsley said as she wiped her brow. "And I thought I was good at exercise."

"Well, I think I get it," Snapdragon said. "She's basically stringing together things that work for her but then I wonder if you'll change it up once you grow up more… c-considering you're not… r-right," Parsley chuckled at him while Rosemary huffed.

"I know I'm not… super tall," the rosette admitted with a small pout. "And, well, I don't know? My mom made her own style all the way up through the Academy. So, clearly, I'll find something that works, won't I?"

"I guess-Whoa?!" Snapdragon began to say only to jump into Rosemary's arms as Sage and Mint came screaming by, the blue mage yelling as she stumbled through four trees' worth of leaves before tumbling down into the earth. "Y-You alright?!" He asked as Rosemary hummed.

"Sage!" She called out to the groaning girl before rushing over with Snapdragon in her arms, the ease surprising and embarrassing the ginger to no end.

'God, when were girls so strong?!' Snapdragon thought in disbelief before being put down as Rosemary checked on Sage. "How is she?" He asked as Mint lowered to his level. "What happened?"

"We were testing out the speed of her Terrasphere's broom but…" She gestured to the dazed Sage. "Sage can't control it yet."

"I guess asking for perfect control would be too much," Parsley said as Sage was helped to her feet.

"I-I'm good… I'm good!" She repeated before flopping into Rosemary's arms. "I'm not so good."

"Whelp, it's time for you to take a rest! Luckily, it's only Monday," Rosemary grinned as she placed her friend against the tree's trunk. "For now, just chill. Come on, Pars, Snap! It's time for more exercise!"

The two nodded and followed after her.

Naruto raised a brow at that but did nothing more and simply hummed, knowing the others had it.

'I need to speak with the profs during our last class,' Naruto thought as focused on his breathing. 'Right now, I'm not strong enough to handle what's coming my way,' not even close.

With the curse, he was effectively unable to perform any real power moves. He could use his magic but that was another limit he didn't fully understand yet.

He'd never casted spells before yesterday, honestly. He'd spent the entire year recovering, learning about the world, understanding his situation, and training physically. He'd never had the time to learn spells because it simply wasn't feasible or important.

Now? He was in a situation where he'd only learned some Runes, a bit of Demon Language, and knew a sort of Protection Spell but that was it.

And now there was a high chance he was on a timer. What would happen if Sumac sent someone other than Olive? What if she sent… him? Would he be able to fight him without hesitating?

Would he be able to fight anyone who was above a Guardian's threat level right now? That answer was more clear: No.

'There has to be something,' he looked back at his book. 'If that can offer me a way to use my power without hurting others, I'll take it,' Naruto thought with narrowed eyes before blinking at a tap on his shoulder.

He turned his head to see Cal resting on the ground, an amused Amaryllis still on his back, while the blonde had kept going, the tap coming from Thyme.

"Huh?" He blinked and noted he heard the world again. "O-Oh, I wasn't thinking," Naruto admitted as Thyme shot him a look that had him nodding. "I'm cool. I was just thinking about the fight from last week still," he admitted as she nodded back and got off his. "Thanks," he pulled his lower body through the opening in his arms and sat down.

"What'd ya mean?" Cal asked as he folded his arms beneath his chin. "Scared of it?"

"No, I'm just thinking about how much power I didn't have," Naruto said as Thyme frowned while Amaryllis hummed.

"You had way more power than you had any right to be, you know that, right?" The short mage said with a raised brow.

"I mean, it's mostly magical energy I use. Not high-tier spells or anything like that, I'm basically just throwing tons of energy at a problem," Naruto said with a frown. "And that's gotta change. I need something that doesn't waste as much energy."

"Well, you have those spell books," Thyme said from beside him on the grass. "You have tools and manuals that can help immensely," she said even though she knew that that wasn't the problem.

The curse dealt too much damage and Thyme was really coming to realize just how much of a resentful bitch the witch who did this to him was. If Naruto wasn't as good of a fighter, she was sure that that woman had basically crippled any chance at a magic-filled life he could have.

"I know, I'm just considering the fact that we now have another, possibly, big fight in a month. This is feeling like a trend!"

Thyme blinked before considering it. "... not wrong…"

~NRK~

Sitting in their classroom for Vow Learning, the group hummed before finding themselves with two new additions to their row counts.

Chervil scoffed from behind Naruto on the third row while Zinnia was above Parsley near the steps between the desks. So, now, there was only one more person left in that row with Zinnia, Chervil, and Mint before they had a perfect set of three rows of four with people they knew.

As they waited, Naruto hummed and pulled out his book again, going to a bookmarked page as Rosemary leaned over to stare.

"How's that going? Find anything cool? Maybe your tails can turn on fire?" She asked with wiggling eyebrows as he rolled his eyes with a laugh.

"Nothing on that front, yet, but I did find out a few things about two specific beastkin," Naruto explained as Parsley hummed. "There's the normal fox kind and then there's the mystical fox-type. So, like a normal person to Guardian levels of differences," he said metaphorically as they nodded, Thyme humming at that. "The book's kinda general on Beast races so it's got a ton of pages on specific types within types."

"Variants, you mean," Sage said as he nodded. "Did you find out anything about your specific type?"

"Well, assuming I'm a normal fox, I've got an amazing sense of balance," he chuckled. "I'm kind of a freak with that, won't lie," Naruto admitted as he put the book down before pulling out a pencil.

A flip and thumb-down had him balancing upside-down on the eraser-part, much to the class's disbelief.

"Huh?!" Rosemary leaned on the desk in disbelief, looking at the pencil's sharp point before gawking at the impossible way it trembled, the slightest bit, but stayed upright with all that weight?! "H-How in the world is this magic-related?!"

"T-That doesn't seem possible," Sage said in total confusion, looking around at multiple angles but coming away with nonsense. "T-There has to be a limit, right?!"

"Well, it's a bit more than natural advantages," Naruto admitted with his left arm behind his back. "I've trained in forests for a long time but I was also up in the mountains and learning from the toads about my sensory skill, remember?"

"Wait, this is how you got that?" Thyme asked in disbelief. "How does this relate?"

Naruto nodded.

And then his form stilled. No slight trembles, no shifting of his clothes, anything.

It was like he'd frozen in space like a picture.

"Like this," he explained to her and the group looked confused. "Absolute stillness, basically going so still that you basically die and become in-tune with nature."

"What?" That didn't make sense to the elf girl. "... wait, how long were you at this for?"

"Well, considering everything?" Naruto considered it. "Maybe over half a year to really perfect it, ya know? It wasn't easy. I originally started by going up to some really tall spires with nothing but a stone plate to sit on. Had to learn how to balance on it so it didn't move for over an hour."

"That sounds ridiculous," Snapdragon said as the fox boy flipped back into his seat, pencil falling to the side without a dent in sight. "So all beastkin have a sort of physical superpower?"

"Mostly. You know, some animals have greater leg strength, others arms, a tiger's power is in its shoulders. And more, I literally learned that a druid is a special type of beastkin."

"R-Really?" Zinnia looked surprised. "But people don't treat it like that."

"I know but that's what the book says which may not even be right but it's certainly not wrong in a lot of ways so far."

"It might just be outdated information," Thyme said with a hum. "What about the other type of fox?"

"Oh! Right, well, they're called mystical foxes, arch-foxes, and a few others. Those kinds were known to not have as good extra balance but they come with the ability to manipulate magic with their tails," Naruto explained. "The more tails they have, the more powerful their control is. Some were even said to be on par with Grand Mages or High Witches."

"That's insane," Amaryllis balked along with Chervil. "How in the world aren't there any known ones?"

"Well, sadly, the last one died in a battle with a team of Guardians," he frowned as they choked. "The guy was bad news, he was apparently on the edge of gaining his final tail and he was already enough of a threat that he turned the town Mountain…" Naruto looked at Rosemary and Sage who paled. "Into the towns Pebble and Slab."

"No fucking way," Cal choked as the blonde nodded while Snapdragon shivered. "A-And he wasn't even at full strength?"

"Well, I mean, 'full potential' would probably be the better words," Naruto said with a frown. "This guy was more powerful than anyone could call 'full strength'."

"T-That's…" Rosemary began to say before blinking. "W-Wait, I-I think I've heard of the stories of how Pebble and Slab were made," she said nervously as the others looked to her for answers. "It was one my dad said he and my mother knew. It was about a spirit who hated the Mountain guys' guts or something and drove them away. I-I didn't know he made them split!"

"Well, I can only imagine," Sage said. "And when you think about it, it was odd that Pebble and Slab both had such identical cultures. I always thought it was due to differences between the leaders."

"Well, to be fair, this is still only possible," Parsley said. "Even the country of Lyngarth is said to be riding on the back of a giant turtle, trust me, it could all just be folktales."

"S-Still, this sounds more real," Zinnia said as Mint shrugged.

"It's still only a story. We don't know if it's true or not," the glasses-wearing mage said.

"Not wrong."

A pair of the Triad, Elder and Young, along with Professor Caraway entered the room just on time, gaining the students' attention.

"Alright, everyone, settle down," he said to the group of teens. "Over the past two weeks, you all have been learning about your Vows and their general effects. For the next two weeks, we'll be applying those Vows on purpose while trying to expand on them," Caraway explained. "Several of your fellow students already know this but a Vow, its Titles, and the general understanding of it can be expanded on if you believe in it hard enough, odd as it sounds."

He went on to explain the ways that Titles were invested in, how Vows were expanded in general, and the other things the nine-person friend group knew already.

"For this week and the next, we'll be working on the expansion of Vows. Class begins now," he said with a nod to the, now moving about, students before noting Naruto walking up to him. "Naruto? How can I help you? I know things will be rather… boring for you, for this week," Caraway smiled as the blonde nodded.

"The thing is. Does working on my Vow stress my body in this case?" He asked as the magic teacher hummed before Elder Triad chimed in.

"Nah, you just need to make sure not to push it. In this case, go wild!" She said and the beastkin snickered.

"Alright then next question," he continued. "You remember how you wanted to observe how my Vow's effects worked? Can we do that?" The two looked surprised. "I gain more fox-like traits and I know that'll make me stronger. So, can you help me develop my Vow in this case?" Naruto asked with determination burning in his eyes.

"... very well, in your case, I guess this would be a bit odder," the professor grinned. "Give me a moment," he said as his fingers danced in the air, two sets of Runes being written at the same time into a circle of them. "Right now, all anyone knows about beastkin Guardians is that their bodies can have a special chance for gaining more traits."

"It's not normal," Elder Triad said as Young Triad spoke to Mint and Sage. "Not saying you're 'weird' weird, you are," Naruto sweatdropped. "But even amongst the general beastkin populace, this is rare. Every other beastkin this has happened to… well," she considered her next words as Caraway smiled sadly.

"Things didn't go well for them," he admitted as she shrugged, Naruto's raised eyebrow garnering a better explanation. "... for the sake of simplicity, they became odd existences even in the context of the countries. Be warned, people aren't always… accepting of odd circumstances. Especially ones where there's a track record of these individuals going insane with power," the boy's eyes widened.

"Wait, what?" Naruto balked. "What do you mean? What happened?"

Elder Triad tapped her cane against the floor and Naruto observed a small glowing blue square.

On the 'plate', it had inscriptions and a diagram of a beastkin, a lizard, in this case.

"A beastkin's body is a careful balance, young man," she said as the diagram was split down the middle by a line, two separate colors, red and blue, in either half. "You may not know this but, originally, the beastkin were never an actual race. They were humans and that humanity is what allows them to keep their forms," she said as the blue half pulsed twice. "But with the initiation of your Vow and its additions, you're tipping the scales."

The red color glowed before covering the head completely, lowering the blue color's control.

"It's not wrong to say, at every moment, your body is constantly making balance," Caraway explained as a trio of white rings appeared around the diagram before glowing as they rotated around the beastkin. "It's also the innate magic within you that comes from the knowledge that Stega, the first beastkin, learned as he became one."

"..." Naruto observed the rotating rings before nodding. "So, it's dangerous to try and push this?"

"Hmm, well, no one gets anywhere from being so safe but from previous studies," Elder Triad said before tapping on the magic plate, the red color increasing to beat out more of the blue. "If you go beyond the 70% point… you'll likely begin to lose your mind and quickly become something we can't allow inside the Academy," she said softly as Naruto's eyes softened.

"I get it. If it comes down to it? Do what you have to," he said without hesitation, getting slight grimaces out of the two.

"Now, hold on, Naruto. I understand, you don't want to hurt anyone but we have spells and containment rooms for this. We could help you-" Caraway began to say but Naruto shot him a sad smile that he flinched at.

"No… you know about the curse, so you both know what happens if I'm hit with too much of it," Naruto said with a serious expression. "... but you don't understand how bad it can get. You saw what happened with Parsley and me, right?"

"Wyverna told us," Elder Triad frowned with a raised brow. "What are you trying to say?"

"... if this goes the way I think it does… the curse can get way worse, more dangerous, more powerful than anyone in this school could contain. If I so much as go beyond… I'll give myself three tails. If that happens, do what needs to be done."

Both adults' eyes widened at Naruto's nod of understanding.

"I get this power more than you know and, trust me when I say this, it's not going to just be some small damage you could contain in HGA. It's going to spill out into Lyngarth and I know, for a fact, damn near the entire city will disappear if I'm allowed to rage for too long."

"... you've really made up your mind?" Caraway asked softly as Naruto grinned widely. "You're but a boy. You shouldn't be so ready to accept death."

"Nope, probably not… but I stopped being a 'boy' years ago."

Elder Triad sighed at that. "I'm well aware of how many interpretations that sentence has," Naruto only grinned in response, getting a huff out of the woman before she hummed. "... then we'll ensure it never gets that far," she said with a grin as he raised a brow.

"Ya got something for me?"

"Of course. I feared from the very first moment you sprouted some new additions," the old woman pulled on the air by her eye, a glowing white ball forming before it became a pendant.

It sat on a white cord and its 'jewelry' was a golden orb that had symbols written on it.

"Take this and put it on," she handed it to the blonde and he blinked before doing as he was told.

As soon as it settled around his neck, it vanished, leaving him confused. "And that was?" Naruto asked before his eyes widened at the 'sound' of something 'locking', getting him to look down at his body. "... a seal?"

"Essentially," Caraway said with determination. "You're a bright and brave young man, not many your age could accept the possible finalities of your life in the future… but we're pretty nosy adults," he chuckled as Naruto snorted. "We're going to help you, finding out how to help you is essentially written into our souls as teachers, much less as adults. We're supposed to guide you and take care of you, it's in our blood."

"Is that what being an adult is like?" Naruto smirked. "I thought it was mostly booze and poker."

"On occasion," Elder Triad cackled. "But that's more for downtime. Now, you came for tutelage, let's test your Vow out, shall we?" She said with a smirk as she tapped her cane against the floor twice.

Naruto blinked as a blue platform formed beneath his feet before a magic plate appeared by his chest, a diagram of his body on it while showing his 'percentages'.

"Hmm?" Caraway raised a brow as he walked closer and looked at the two colors and their ratio.

Blue and gold were settled into a fifty-fifty divide…?

"Wait, I was under the impression he'd be making the divide wider," Caraway said with a blink, as Elder Triad raised a brow. "It's still at the halfway point."

"Huh? How?" The old woman twirled her finger and the plate floated over to her. "... that's odd, you've never had a set of fox ears before, yes?"

"Not once," Naruto answered, arms crossed and face squinted. 'There's no way the first time I tried to become Kurama would have an effect on this… right?' He hoped not.

"..." Elder Triad raised a brow at it before rubbing her chin. '... is it possible his fox nature isn't the full nature of his race?' If so, that meant that the ears weren't an increase in his capabilities, yes?

But they were still a new addition, what was going on with this boy?

"Hmph, we are still learning about your kind of Vow effects. For now, let's just test and test, alright?" She said and both males nodded. "Good! Now, activate your Vow."

Naruto's eyes closed for three seconds before his body gained his Vow's golden aura.

"Good. Focus on it, remember this feeling, grab a hold of it," she continued as his eyebrows relaxed. 'His control is rather remarkable,' the old crone could feel it.

The boy's Vow was already set in a controlled motion throughout his body. You didn't feel that in kids who barely got their Vows!

"Alright, you understand the feeling, you can take a hold of it. Now, mold it into your being. A Vow's increasing effectiveness will cause its flow to change into something more uniform. With this, you can push it into a pattern and increase its power, carefully."

Thyme hummed as she kept 'reading' her ring before something… 'hit' her, sort of?

She blinked at the feeling of something within the room and turned her head towards the general direction of it, focusing on Naruto's glowing form before blinking as she looked down at her body's flickering red glow.

'I'm not using my Vow right now,' why was it trying? 'Is this another way?' Outside stimuli? "What's he doing?" Thyme wondered as she got up before hurrying over to Naruto, ignoring Chervil's huffing gaze.

'She keeps on chasing that one,' Chervil groaned as his forehead pressed against his folded arms. 'I can't protect her like this,' oh but to heed his King's words would be no greater honor. 'I'm still not sure what's so special about her,' sure, her family was the oldest in the Fairy Woods, but there were many other woods for the elves with more important members, no?

Why this girl?

Naruto focused inward. 'It's not like chakra,' well, not generally.

The way a Vow seemed to work made him think of it like his bijuu cloaks. It was just blazing energy that was usually controlled into a form but a Vow was more like chakra in that regard of needing to be trained and tamed to be more useful.

Right now, it was like he'd just gotten 'chakra' even though he had his internal spiritual energy. So, he brought his hands together in front of his chest before forming the 'Ram' handsign.

His 'current' teachers blinked at it before watching with interest as the boy's Vow slowly began to coil in on itself.

The golden aura slowly stopped 'burning' and simply formed a small glow over his body before Naruto's eyebrows furrowed.

'There it is,' he saw that malicious 'Vow' from where he was. 'I can't go further unless I want to get near it,' Naruto realized as he breathed out, stopping his 'progress' before something happened. "... did something happen?" He asked them as his eyes opened.

Golden irises greeted them and Caraway hummed.

"... your eyes and hands," he said as the boy looked down at his sharp nails, flexing his hands. "... 60%?" Caraway blinked at the diagram. 'It feels so arbitrary,' how were they to understand this increase if they didn't know what the parameters were for the increase? 'He gained more control… is that it?' But that wasn't something a fox beastkin would have as something innate.

So… was he a normal fox beastkin?

"Naruto," came a voice from the boy's side, Thyme standing there shooting him a look.

"Sup? What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"... I don't really know. I could feel something, I guess," she admitted, looking the blonde in his golden eyes. "... your eyes changed."

"Oh, yeah, apparently that's a part of my Vow's changes," he explained as she hummed.

"So, nothing else?"

"Nails."

She looked and nodded. "Oh, you finally got that under control?" Thyme asked him as she looked at the nails and their sharp edges. 'Honestly, those are pretty scary,' the boy probably didn't even notice this part.

That his fingers had slightly elongated and grown a bit slender, the look of his whiskers had even darkened even if only enough that anyone who was actually aware of them would notice a bit.

"I wish I did but it's really not good enough," Naruto said as he sighed, his Vow's glow slowly falling away. "Bringing 'peace'... helping people come to an understanding seems to be one part of it," he grinned and the three blinked at the sharp teeth he now had.

"Ah… the changes might not have been easily visible," Elder Triad whispered as Naruto blinked before the blue platform beneath his feet glowed and sprouted three balls of light that rotated around him randomly. "One moment, boyo, I'm just checking something," she said as she snapped her fingers and another magic plate formed by her head. "... yes, I'm seeing it now."

Caraway hummed as she 'tossed' her plate to him, the magic construct 'landing' by him as Thyme and Naruto chatted.

Looking at the plate's display, his eyes widened at the more in-depth diagram showing the blonde's magical pathways and bodily structure. The 'normal' version was presented next to the 'altered' state, mankind the changes more visible.

'A change in his tailbone? The energy in his body is focusing mostly around his spine?' The magic professor's eyes flicked to Thyme observing Naruto's new claws. 'And the thickening of his energy… it's all so curious,' he'd have to write this down.

The more they knew about Naruto's upcoming changes, the more prepared they would all be.

"Alright, so, what else should I do?" Naruto asked the teachers who hummed. "... I really want to get stronger without having to rely on too much magic."

"Sounds like you want more physical training," Caraway said as Naruto shrugged.

"Going all-out isn't possible for me," he said blatantly and the two shot him a look as they looked at Thyme, the elf girl crossing her arms. "... she knows, for the most part," they looked surprised. "I underestimated just how hard it'd be to hide all of this," Naruto sighed. "With how everyone saw what happened Friday, I'm not sure how many of them even believe that being a part of my skill set, ya know?"

"I see," Elder Triad hummed before turning to Thyme. "Tell me, Thyme, what do you think of all of this?"

"I think it isn't fair to Naruto that some random witch would exploit him," her eyes narrowed. "It's wrong. It's sickening."

"It's true. Hakone's testimony didn't make it much better," the girl perked up as Naruto frowned. "... it's not our story to tell, it's Naruto's, but things aren't as simple as we'd want to believe."

"... I'll ask you when you're ready," she said to her… to her friend. "This whole thing is probably a whole ride for you."

"It's definitely not great but I need to move forward, it's all I can do," Naruto said as she nodded. "And, right now, that means figuring out the entirety of my Vow's abilities."

"Yes, remember, Vows aren't necessarily an energy you can use and abuse," the old Triad member said as the two looked at her. "It's not an energy source but an energy container. You can't use up a Vow until it's dried up, it's not some kinda fuel, it's basically like a fruit flavoring for some water," she grinned, swallowing. "I'm thirsty."

The two teens sweatdropped but Naruto hummed. "A container," it was kinda like Sage Mode then?

By mixing in a power he hadn't known, he could create more powerful energy but Vows were like giving that energy powerful conditions. He remembered what it'd been like when he fought the Gnarls.

He'd felt more powerful, more aware of the people he was protecting and his comrades, Naruto had felt his energy become more potent and he was now considering some things.

"Mixing… thanks, you guys, I think I have an idea on where to go from here," Naruto grinned as he nodded. "... I'm not normal and I shouldn't have acted like I was," he chuckled as Thyme shot him a weird look. "Thyme, I'm gonna get creative."

"... good for you," she hummed with a shrug. "You seem to have some idea."

"A bunch, yeah, for now," he turned to Elder Triad. "I need to know everything I can about Vows, ma'am. Can you give me some good lessons on them?"

The old woman looked intrigued. "I wonder what idea you came up with," she chuckled. "Sure!"

"Nice!"

~NRK~

With their class ending half an hour later, the blonde couldn't have gotten much learning in but he already knew where he was going to go.

Sitting in the dorm living room, the group watched the fox boy sitting in the middle of the floor with a book in front of him and his eyes closed.

Naruto glowed gold, Vow active, before frowning as he breathed out.

'I don't actually know how to call on that Vow, do I?' If he was going to do this, he'd need to figure that out. 'But is it its own separate Vow?' Hadn't he glowed gold with a red spot?

Wasn't it within his current Vow? He'd sensed as much earlier, hadn't he? If he pushed too far, he'd hit it and it'd change his Vow's effects.

The group watched his Vow's current spiraling motion, the golden energy forming an orb over his as the spiraling kept happening within.

"He's been this way ever since Vow Learning ended," Snapdragon said. "What happened?"

"He was learning more about his Vow," Thyme explained as Parsley and Sage hummed. "He got some ideas when we were talking to Professor Caraway and Elder Triad. Not sure what he thought of but he seemed pretty gungho about it."

"So, he's just gonna meditate?" Cal asked as he and Rosemary arm-wrestled a bit away before he fought back her hand pushing his back. "T-The hell you will!" He said as she squawked at his hand gaining the advantage.

"Y-Yeah! Naru seems to be… no you don't!" She said as she barely pushed their clasped hands back up. "Gotcha! Naru seems to be really in tune with energy, he's basically covered with spiritual energy right now!"

"Huh, speaking of," Amaryllis said as she coiled her 'staff' around her right arm. "I've been wondering about you and your so-called spirit vision."

"H-Huh?!" Rosemary growled before whining as Cal beat her, the boy looking victorious. "D-Dammit! I was this close to winning!"

"Haha! Not today!" He shot back with a smirk. "Speak, Rylls, I'm living in the moment right now."

The short mage cackled a bit before rolling her eyes. "I was just curious. If Rosie over there can tell when magic's being cast or, really, when someone's mental commanding energy, that might be something she'll want to focus on honing. It's not like she's working on anything specific right now, right?"

"Hmm, I guess," Rosemary hummed. "... I also want to know more about my mom. She had the most Titles, she was a legend on the battlefield and countries. I want to learn to be more like her and, maybe, one day find her."

"Hmm? Wait so she did disappear?" Mint asked in confusion as the group hummed.

"Y-Yeah… y-you don't know anything, do you?!"

"N-No! I don't… it's just, there was talk about her disappearance seven years ago. How old are you again?"

"16. My birthday was literally the week before we entered HGA," she explained. "Mom just… vanished one day before I was ten. I don't remember anything about it… w-well, I do have weird dreams about her, sometimes," Rosemary said as Snapdragon blinked.

"Weird dreams?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah! It's super weird," the rosette said. "I… I-I don't think I've ever seen this stuff before but I had one right before we came here, Sage. You remember?"

The blue mage blinked in shock at her. "Wait, you had a weird dream? I-I thought it was about your mom?!" She asked.

"It was b-but that's where the weird part began. She was giving me her sword, which she never really did, ya know? But she did in my dream and then… s-she got covered by some gooey, purplish," Thyme's eyes widened as she sat in horror. "I don't know what this stuff was. It looked like roots and stuff but then it wasn't. It was icky and I was trying to claw her out of it."

"The Rot?" Thyme asked immediately as Rosemary blinked. "T-That's what you saw. Did it have a glow in it?"

"Y-Yeah! It did! You know about this thing?" Rosemary asked, looking hopeful. "D-Do you know where it comes from?! Maybe it took my mom!"

"I… I'm sorry, I don't really… know," Thyme admitted, wincing at the way Rosemary's enthusiasm died. "I'm serious… the Rot… it's something that occurred in my forest around a year back." her head dipped as Snapdragon's eyes widened. "My mom took me away before I could do anything."

"The Rot?" Amaryllis frowned. "What is it? What's it do? Why'd Rosemary see it in her dreams if she's never seen it before but it's real?"

That's when they heard Naruto's voice, the boy's glow dying down.

"What if this is a part of Rosie's spirit vision?" Naruto offered and the group blinked at the idea, Thyme the most shocked by the possibility. "If what Rosemary saw is true and Thyme's said it's real… it's likely related to magic, right? If she saw this in a dream, what if it wasn't only a dream but also bringing in a piece of the world as well? What if this is something that's happening to the world?" He asked as they saw his golden eyes. "Because I don't like the feel to it myself."

~NRK~

They hurried out of the dorms, Naruto in the lead with a frown on his face.

Rushing through the nearby forests by the main school building, they slipped in and out of foliage before ending up by a single tree on a small hill.

And they saw it. "No…" Thyme and Rosemary choked at the sight of the tree and its 'cover'.

Purple and blackish vines with a glow within them that seemed to slip across their surfaces like lightning. The root-like substance seemed to be suffocating the tree, the spots where they saw it covering it looking like it was slowly crushing it.

"... the hell is that?" Cal looked nervous as Snapdragon grimaced.

"... this is the Rot," he said with a frown. "... I don't like this. D-Didn't you say it was in your forest? The Fairy Woods a-aren't even that close to Lyngarth, it's almost a two-week trip by foot and a week by caravan!"

"It's spreading," Amaryllis realized as Mint grimaced.

"We need to tell the teachers," she said as Thyme's eyes narrowed. "If this is as widespread as it sounds, we don't have time to be hiding this."

"..." The elf's fists clenched as Parsley frowned at her side.

"This is choking the land, huh?" She thought as Rosemary and Naruto stood by the tree before the blonde looked over the edge of the 'hill' and grimaced further.

"God, that's not good," he said to her and she grimaced as she also looked over at what looked like a half-eaten 'hill' that had the roots of the tree coming out of it, the Rot on them as well. "We need to stop this. I don't like this, you guys, this feels way too odd."

"What do you mean?" Thyme asked as they all remained ignorant to the sadly frowning Olive in the tree.

'No… please, don't tell them,' she begged Naruto mentally. 'If you tell them-'

"This doesn't feel like there's much of a trace," he admitted to them, looking out into the expanse behind the school. "... I don't think this traveled here," Naruto said.

The group's eyes slowly widened, none more so than Thyne's as she stumbled over to him.

"N-Naruto… Naruto, what are you saying?" She asked him, grabbing his shoulders with a look of horror in her eyes. "... what?"

"... this isn't some naturally occurring thing… someone did this and now they're coming for High Guardian Academy."

The other froze at that before looking back at the Rot-covered tree.

"W-Why?" Sage asked, shaky. "W-Why?! What's the point?!"

"... we don't know," Rosemary realized with a frown as she reached out and gripped some of the Rot, growling a bit as she pulled some off with her hands, the arbor-like texture quickly turning to mush. "T-They have mom! They have to! Why else would I dream about something I never saw?!"

"... why would you?" Snapdragon realized as she looked at him with a sad look and he shook his head. "N-No! That's not what I mean, Rose! What I mean is, how could you see something like that so clearly. You even said it yourself, your mother never officially gave you her sword, right?" The girls sniffled a bit, looking confused as Naruto cupped his chin.

"Y-Yeah? But that doesn't mean much, does it?"

"... it might," Naruto realized as she perked up. "... okay, like, assume that Rosie's mom is also capable of seeing spiritual commands… mental commands," he emphasized to the group and Amaryllis gasped.

"N-No way, you're not saying she's calling Rose, are you?" The purple mage realized as Rosemary's eyes widened.

"M-Mom?"

"It's the most likely reason but we don't know anything about Spirit Vision," Snapdragon said, capitalizing the skill's beginning letters in his head. "We don't… but Professor Hakone would," he grinned as Cal nodded.

"If this is true, this is big," the noble boy said. "... I think we shouldn't tell anyone yet," Cal said as the group faced him, Mint's eyebrow twitching. "Don't bark at me, princess, let me finish," she growled but held her peace. "Look at it like this, right now, we're the only ones to know about this… assumably."

"... you think there's a spy?" Sage figured out as he nodded.

"Duh, think about it, how else would this get here if Naruto doesn't sense a long trail of this stuff? That means, it was planted here and the person has to be watching it, right? It's not like they'd leave it alone… maybe."

"If we leave this alone, how in the world do you expect this to be dealt with?" Mint asked the group. "Yes, if what Callum says is true, we'll be alerting this supposed nefarious individual but, at the same time, are we even at an advantage with this knowledge?"

Thyme, Snapdragon, Sage, and Amaryllis frowned. "..."

"Exactly. Your way of thinking is too narrow, Callum. Right now, this isn't some small problem we just found. This has clear, long-reaching, effects on the world right now and we have to inform someone before… b-before something possibly happens to us."

The entire group flinched save for Naruto who frowned, Olive's face contorting into a sad grimace, eyes closing in resignation.

'I have to tell the Triumvirate,' she thought as her current form, see-through and not visible to the naked eye, jumped off and scurried away. '... Naruto, I'm so sorry,' she thought as a single tear left her eye. 'This is all I can do to protect you and Kurama.'

If God heard her, please.

Please give Naruto the strength to protect them all.

~NRK~

Back in his room, Naruto wore a conflicted expression.

'Olive… was it you?' He knew more about the situation than anyone would know. 'Would they put you up to this?' But then he'd wonder, why would she do it?

What would force Olive's normal 'messenger' status for them, the Triumvirate, to change into a 'deployer'? Wasn't the one who did this Man-

There was a knock on his door and he blinked, sitting up in his orange sweatpants and white shirt, the blonde getting up and going to it. "Yo?" He called out as he opened the door to find none other than… well, two people there.

Thyme and Rosemary stood there in their nightclothes, shooting him slight pleading looks.

"Can we talk?"

Naruto frowned.

~NRK~

Now on the roof, the three of them looked around before settling in for whatever conversation was ahead.

"What's up? You both came to me for something and I'm pretty sure it's gonna be an idea with an adventure attached," Naruto said as they both sighed.

"We want to go to the Faery Woods," Rosemary said as he blinked. "Yeah. If Thyme's right, that's where she first saw it, where her family saw it. I want to know about what happened to my mom and that might be where I'll find clues."

"Right and I'd help regardless but why come to me?"

"Your sensory abilities," Thyme explained with a vulnerable look Naruto never saw on her face. "I-I… we need your help, please," she begged and he felt like she'd stabbed him with a kunai.

"L-Look, no matter what, I'd help you but why didn't you guys say this to the others as well?"

"Because it'd become too big, wouldn't it?" Rosemary winced. "I love Sage, she's like the sister I never had, but the moment she hears about this idea… she's gonna freak. She's gonna nag me and she's gonna make this way bigger than it is."

"She's right," Thyme agreed. "Right now, you, me, Rosemary, can be the only ones who go without the others knowing. We can't let them get caught up in this when we don't even know where this'll go."

Naruto frowned. "Like I said, I'll help, but that's not what I meant. Why is this secret? What? Are we gonna sneak onto a ship?"

"..."

"..."

"... Y-You guys, you can't be serious! W-We're literally in the middle of the week!"

"We know!" Rosemary shot back. "And we weren't going to do that, it'd be way too obvious."

"The week before the festival at the end of October," Thyme said. "There's a ship that's going to end up going through a special canal that will take them one day to and from the area where my old home is," she explained. "It's how my mother and I got to Lyngarth, at first, and I know the man. We can go there, check, and then come back without anyone knowing."

"... Dammit, fine, okay," Naruto agreed as the two smiled.

"Thank goodness, we really needed your help, Naru," Rosemary grinned before bringing the two in for a hug. "Our secret mission is a-go!" She cheered as the two taller teens grinned nervously.

This was gonna end up blowing up in their faces, wasn't it?

~NRK~

The following morning… well, let it be said.

Jinxing yourself was never a good idea.

They stood outside of HGA, the sign on the gate with a Trabber on it the only message they needed.

Trabber Infestation! All students stay away for the rest of the week!

Redbud even put her face and personal stamp onto the paper.

"So… didn't see this coming," Parsley said as she held her duffle bag. "Naru, what are you gonna do? Isn't Professor Hakone gonna stay back and help?"

"Yeah, ossan isn't gonna be around for a while," Naruto admitted with his own duffle bag over his shoulder. "But it's whatever, I can handle living on my own for a week."

Parsley shot Thyme a look, the elf girl groaning. "Well, guess what? The home of Parsley is open to guests!" She declared with a grin as Naruto blinked.

"H-Huh? Pars? I mean, I'm glad, but you already have Thyme and your brothers. I couldn't."

"Nah, man, it's cool. Trust me," Parsley blushed nervously. "M-My 'rents know how to make room for other people," she said with a mutter. "Please, it'd be better than letting you sit in an empty house."

Cal snorted as Snapdragon chuckled. "Damn, talk about being called out!" He laughed as Amaryllis snickered. "Well, since you're whipped-I mean, getting helped out," Cal emphasized as Naruto rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna enjoy hanging with the fam. Maybe tell 'em about our little quest, really live in that spotlight."

"What about you, Snap?" Amaryllis asked as she stretched. "Not gonna head home?"

Snapdragon shivered. "N-Nope! Not this week! I'll bunk with you," he said with a nervous grin as she snickered some more.

"Well, prepare to go to the house my dad bought here. It's right near the shift between the Mid-Layer and High-Layer, too! So, we can go and mess with Cal whenever we want!"

"Hey!" The noble boy balked. "That's a bad idea! My family would eat Snap alive!"

"W-Why me?!" Snapdragon whined.

"That's why," both purple-haired students said in unison as he whined some more.

"We'll be with my aunts," Sage said as she and Rosemary nodded. "We might see you all if you're around in the Mid-Layer. I know Aunty Anise and Aloe are definitely going to make us… walk around, ugh."

"It'll be great!" Rosemary giggled. "And, honestly, maybe all our families can hang if we do meet? Never know, it'd be nice to know more people in this place."

"Maybe."

"Alright, since Mint left a while back, we'll go our separate ways here," Naruto said with a nod, a pair of books on his waist. "We'll see each other whenever! Don't start slackin'!" He chuckled as he, Cal, and Snapdragon laid their forearms together. "Guys, we'll be back for that contest in a week."

"Contest?! Where?!" Rosemary asked, using Cal and Naruto's forearms to pull herself up between their 'manly trifecta'. "Let me in!"

"Hell no! It's us with the guys in our year," Cal said with a smirk. "It's time to establish the pecking order."

Snapdragon chuckled nervously as Amaryllis snorted. "They're gonna eat you alive," she grinned as he whined again.

"D-Don't say that!"

They all nodded, shook hands, hugged, or whistled before departing, each heading their own ways.

Walking away with Thyme and Parsley, Naruto folded his arms behind his head, duffle bag hanging around his torso.

"So, like, uh, every time I wake up-" He began nervously and Parsley cut him off with a chuckle.

"Yep," she answered.

"The shower-"

"Yep."

"The kitchen?!"

"Nope, you lucked out," she chuckled as he sighed in relief, Thyme humming in amusement.

"Thank God. Still, I hope your folks, and bros, won't mind me."

"If anything, I think they'll just add you to the mob of blondes," Thyme said as he chuckled.

"Well, it is Parsley's family."

"Exactly."

The dwarf girl chuckled. '... this is nice,' she realized with a smile as they walked down the sunny streets of Mid-Layer Lyngarth. 'Really nice.'

Sometimes, it really was moments like this that made her realize that, yeah, it was all alright.

They were alright.

~NRK~

Olive grimaced as she sat at The Crossroads, a notable multi-directional set of paths where travel to at least one kingdom was guaranteed.

'I'm really about to do this,' she thought, sitting in a tree in her humanoid form.

Wearing a black dress with her favorite black choker and small black boots, Olive raised a hand and tapped her choker's Terrasphere tentatively.

'... they'll find out and it won't help anyone if I end up dead,' she sighed before pulling something out of her pocket, a pack of ash that sprouted blue flames that slowly formed a face of fire.

"Hmm, Olive, what's happened? Your current assignment is to look for the boy for Sumac," it said, its voice very masculine. "Unless you've found him."

"M-Maybe, I think he's in High Guardian Academy," Olive admitted with a wince as the flame face hummed in satisfaction.

"Your work is appreciated. What of the seed?"

"Planted. It took over three weeks for it to show anything decent, though, and it was only one tree. Those Rot Seeds aren't a good idea, ya know? Some students found them," she frowned as the face's eyes widened.

"What?! What happened?! It's supposed to be hidden!" He raged and she frowned as well.

"I… really don't know," she said truthfully. 'How did Naruto find it?' Those Rot Patches weren't just some nasty stuff.

They came pre-packed with minor stealth spells. It shouldn't have been possible unless they actually knew it was there… so how?

"Troublesome. Did you watch them?"

"Yes, they've decided to not tell anyone due to wanting to figure this out themselves like children," she grinned. "I think we can leave 'em be. A little misstep and crackle and they'll find nothing but smoke!" Buy it, buy it!

"This is still not good, Olive, we need to make sure our machinations are never revealed to the Guardians or the King's Council," he said as she nodded.

"Things won't get that far, promise."

"Hmph, how is the newest line of Terraspheres?" He asked curiously and she grinned nervously, touching the golden one at her throat. "Well, you haven't used it outside of minor transformation magic, most likely."

"It refills," she explained with a frown, holding her Terrasphere in her hand. 'And all it took was hurting my friend's greatest comrade,' Olive's eyes dipped again. "S-So, yeah, it's a working product."

"Good. Once we have the boy back, that stubborn fox won't be capable of resisting, though our efforts aren't all in vain," he grinned as her eyes widened, skin dropping in color.

"W-Wait! What do you mean?! You said you'd leave him alone!"

"Hmm, we did and we also said he'd be unharmed if you completed your missions. So, for now, our contract is still valid."

Olive was thankful she was sitting up here.

Her legs had easily gone weak, her eyes wide and trembling.

"W-Wait-"

"Continue your work."

With that, he vanished, leaving her alone with trembling fists before she sobbed.

"I'm so sorry, Kurama."

~NRK~

Words: 9.5k+

~NRK Out~