~NRK~
Their return was welcomed with cheers and surprised looks.
"Hmph!" Naruto's eyebrows furrowed as he brought his glowing arm down, cutting the last large bit of meat into a dwarf door-sized size for Parsley's home.
The dwarf girl was standing behind him with Thyme, the two blinking in disbelief at the amount of meat he'd netted in their pajamas.
"Hehe~" He chuckled as two dwarf bros, Tarragon and Chives, took the last two bits in, their innate strength making the job pretty easy. "And I thought I'd have to go and buy some, this totally worked out!" Naruto fistpumped as Parsley blinked.
"W-Wait, what?! What do you mean?!" She asked, confused, before he grinned slyly, a hand holding his chin. "... really?" Parsley crossed her arms with a sweatdrop.
"Duh, we've not known each other as long as you've known Thyme, I don't want to be a bother and figured I'd bring over a gift and stuff," he admitted as Thyme blinked.
"You should have said something, I wouldn't have minded," the elf explained but he shrugged.
"I know you wouldn't but that's even more reason for me to do this. Trust me, this is fine, it was a nice bit of exercise anyway!"
"You're some kinda workout nut, aren't you?"
"Hehe~"
"... thanks, Naru, seriously," Parsley grinned as he chuckled. "That amount of meat will last them at least a month! That's perfect! And it helps ease into the plan!" She said as Thyme blinked.
"You never told me what it was, by the way, I thought you both had ideas," she said and got chuckles for her result.
"..." Naruto looked around, allowing his fox ears to come into existence before nodding.
They explained the plan to Thyme who hummed, eyebrow raised, and arms crossed.
"... it's honestly not the worst idea," she noted as the two blondes grinned in unison. "But you're right about how much that's gonna drain you two. It's gonna be killer."
"True but we can also consider this as more training," he offered as she rolled her eyes. "This should also help in our future battles for stamina and strength, it's kinda a cool idea," Naruto admitted as she groaned.
"You're not trying to involve me, are you?"
"Not if you don't want to," Parsley said. "It's not like we didn't expect this to be an us-only situation but if you want to get some extra training in, and help, it's there."
"Hmm, well, for now, you've gotta hope your dad will take it."
"True but I believe in this plan. Besides, he seems to like Naruto, maybe that'll play a big part."
~NRK~
Cal sighed in relief in the massage parlor with his mother, the two Agrostis members getting their necks cricked by the well-practiced hands of a pair of druid women, his eyes cracked open so he could see the 'bounty' on display.
Very nice.
"Hmph, I'm surprised you took my offer so quickly… hmm, well, not truly," Poales said before sighing. "Girls, could you leave us for a moment? Silence spell, if you will."
"Of course, ma'am," the two masseurs said before their forms sunk into the ground, the floor untouched save for a pair of sigils.
The room glowed green. "Hmph, they really are surprising but that's why they're so notable," the woman said as Cal nodded. "Now, out with it, you're actually friends with this 'Naruto' boy, aren't you?"
"... yeah, he's an awesome dude, mom. It's… dad can't meet him," Cal admitted with a grimace. "I know how Naruto is, he's one of those upright guys who won't take anybody talkin' bad about him, it'll end in disaster if he and dad meet."
"I'm not surprised, your father's opinion of him, from the start, is already dreadful but he also holds issue with his powerful reputation and the power behind that reputation. Is it true, Cal? This isn't some form of a cover-up by the school due to the situation?"
"Nope, I saw it with my own eyes," Cal said in awe as she hummed with a smile. "It's insane how powerful he is, mom, I didn't think someone from my school could do that kinda damage. Maybe the third-year mages but not some Freshman."
"I see, hmm," Poales considered something. "... hmm, it's going to be difficult for you, Callum. Not just because of him but because your friends will be there."
Cal blinked for a moment before freezing as she nodded.
"You didn't consider it which might say a lot of good things about your friends but they won't stay seated if Scabra agitates the situation, will they?"
"Not in a thousand lifetimes."
"... then we should appease him while also ensuring that the situation's context is different," she considered with a worried frown. "This isn't going to sound… well, Cal, but I might have an idea for things to at least reach a tone we can deal with."
Cal was suddenly nervous.
~NRK~
With breakfast already dealt with, Snapdragon went into the backyard of the rather modest but luxurious home and went through some sword forms with his ax.
'This isn't as easy when it's just me,' but Naruto didn't seem to have this problem.
The blonde boy was powerful in mind and body, going through with his own attitude, power, and body to do what he wanted while not stepping on most people's toes.
… 'What is Chervil's issue, though?' Snapdragon thought as he sliced through the air. 'Then Zinnia's got her quest for Thyme and Naru, it's kinda unfair, he's strong, yeah, but they shouldn't drop things on them,' still, that wasn't fair.
Naruto would have helped no matter what, it was who he was, and Thyme would verbally ignore Chervil's suggestion if she didn't feel like helping… well, helping out Naruto but that was splitting hairs, yeah?
Then there was their upcoming quest to the Vulcan Mines then the newest sparring classes they'd be taking. A-And that wasn't even in a year!
'All these events, even including our last Exploring Hours,' as he'd begun calling them. 'It's like the universe is out to get us…' Or maybe that was the wrong way to think about it?
No… it felt almost like they were being prepared for something that was on the horizon or in the future.
Snapdragon didn't know. All he knew was that, whatever came, they'd be ready.
And so the boy swung his ax.
~NRK~
Flowering Thorn swung out and locked with a metallic limb, Rosemary fighting with it for a moment before she dragged her weapon to the side and lunged in low.
The limb was thrown off-target and she grinned before sliding her blade across the underarm towards the armpit. Her blade was stopped by another metallic hand and she yelped as she was thrown, blade and all, to the ground.
"Yeowch!" She rubbed her hiney as the female metal doll jumped out of the way of a burst of blue magic.
"R-Rose?! Are you alright!?" Sage asked as she slowly moved in front of her downed friend. "Anise, are you sure this is safe?"
From the side, the literal puppet master kept one finger raised, a small blue thread connecting from the fingertip to the back of her metal doll.
"It is, these things aren't exactly hard to beat, this is the easiest level. It could beat a pack of Dark Trabbers easily," Anise explained as the two blinked.
"Dark Trabbers?" The girls asked as Aloe hummed, coming into the large yard with a book in hand.
"Of course, you all should really look into our Bestiary sometime, it'd serve all of your friends well if you knew about the many monsters of the world," she explained. "Back on topic, Anise is right, her magic isn't as simple as it looks but it's got clues on how tough the doll is. This one is metal, yes, it's certainly durable but it's not as strong as real iron and it's slow and clunky, Rosie. It's certainly weak to magic, Sage, and the only reason it can dodge is because you keep hesitating."
"I-I'm sorry! It's… i-it's just," Sage burned in embarrassment.
"It's going to become a vital part of your adventures, eventually, Sage," Anise explained as her niece burned a bit more. "It's better to make that mistake now than on the battlefield so this is fine."
"B-But what if they move around too much? What if their magic defenses outstrip my output? If there's trap magic I-I'll have to watch my feet a-and then I'll not be prepared if there's another-"
"Sage?" Rosemary spoke and her friend flinched. "Um, yo? It's fine, like your aunts said. Just… chill," she told her with a blink as Sage took several deep breaths.
"W-What if I make a mistake?!"
"I mean, no one's perfect," Aloe explained as Sage hyperventilated. "... Sage? Please, talk to us, what's wrong?"
"I-I… I'm scared," the mage admitted shakily as the three females blinked. "I-I've never fought anyone! E-Even with the rapier Naruto told me fit me more! T-The idea of attacking another… w-what happens if I can't prevent something bad from happening!?" She asked the three of them, Anise frowning as she got up from the floor and walked over before patting her on the back.
"Rosie, Aloe, I'm gonna talk to her, alright?" She told them as she led Sage away. 'This isn't normal,' of course, maybe she was wrong?
Her friends literally almost died, that was probably a big part of all of this.
As they walked away, Rosemary frowned before Aloe helped her to her feet. "I… S-She wasn't like this at school," her head fell, sword limp.
"It's not wrong to say there are times where you don't want to worry your friends," Aloe said as she gained the rosette's attention. "It's not easy, relationships, that is. You want to help each other but sometimes, we worry about what might happen if we tell you when we're not okay. We don't want to worry others."
"B-But together we're strong," Rosemary grimaced. "If we can't stand strong together, what's the point?"
"Yes, that's quite true.
Across the yard, Sage and Anise sat in the grass, the younger mage's head down as her aunt crossed her arms.
"..."
"..."
"Sage?" Anise spoke and the girl jumped like she'd been startled, looking at her like she'd just appeared there. 'The heck is going on?' This was kind of ridiculous.
The girl's head wasn't here, at the moment, clearly. The fact she'd acted like she'd just gotten here said everything.
"Sage, no, seriously, what's wrong?"
"... e-everything is getting so BIG," Sage whispered as Anise's cheek twitched, barely holding back a joke that would be very distasteful. "J-Just a week ago, Rose, Snap, Cal, and Thyme fought some giant Crabbe thing and came back with scars! Think about it, this is our second week and yet we've got scars already?!" She looked a bit pale. "A-And Naruto and Parsley almost died… a rogue Guardian is about, knows his existence, and Naruto's even out of magical commission after two weeks within the first month we're here?! T-Then he's going to the mines with us and then going to help Zinnia with Thyme to fight a monster who's terrorizing a group of mermaids, and then…" Sage gripped her knees. "Why is everything happening to us?"
'... oh,' it hit, it really did.
The amount of insane things that had happened to them was piling up in Sage's mind. The fact that she'd clearly been holding this in for a while meant that Sage had stewed on this likely during the entire weekend and even yesterday.
"Sage…" Anise said softly. "... I'm sure you're going to be an amazing help to them, you know that?"
"I'm too weak."
"You're not 'weak', you're just not used to combat. You've spent most of your life being sedentary and not fending off monsters or even thought about it, have you? Not seriously," she asked and Sage grimaced.
"I… I-I thought I could, I knew that fighting would be involved, of course, I did! So, why?"
"Why's it so different?" The girl nodded as her aunt sighed. "... you're not gonna like this, Sage, you're really not… but you have to get over it."
"What?" Sage looked like she'd just slapped her.
"I'm saying this for your benefit, you're right, it's different," Anise frowned. "Very different. I was lucky, Sage, I lived the life before settling down with Aloe for about five years. I saw people getting hurt, really bad, and I came out with fewer scratches than most Guardians could hope for. It's not wrong to say that being a mage is probably the easiest job as a Guardian in a team."
Sage wanted that to be helpful, really she did, but the way Anise put it… it made her feel guilty. It made her disgusted with the sheer idea.
All the work, the effort, the studying, the practice, all of that was for some easy job?
"How can you say that? We study, we work, we're trying just as hard as the others!"
"Yu-huh, sure, so are you going to stand in front of a monster and stare it down?"
Sage flinched.
"Are you going to stand in front with your weapon to block the hit of, say, a giant golem?" her silence was telling. "I don't mean in effort, Sage, God knows that learning the higher-tier spells is a pain in the ass, but we're not the frontliners. We're not the ones with the most chance to die first," the girl paled. "That's why it's up to us to keep learning, to keep getting more powerful… your mom and dad know that well."
"Huh?! W-What are you trying to say?" Sage was immediately flabbergasted. "What do my parents have to do with this?"
"... that's not my tale to tell."
"WHAT?! How can you say that and expect me to not ask?!"
"Hmm, call it motivation," Anise scratched her cheek. "The thing is, when you really get it, Sage, I think you should ask your mom and dad," the girl blinked. "It's… it's not easy but complicated, alright?"
The mage girl frowned some more but sighed. "... is there anything I can do to take the next step?"
"Yep, of course," Anise grinned. "You told me that Naruto could perform defensive spells, right?"
"Well, perform is… kind of deceptive. He can do one spell specifically but hasn't tried the others due to his wounds and strict supervision."
"Hm, then how about, tomorrow, you go to him and learn a bit from that book he has?" Sage perked up. "I mean, the most direct way of protecting your friends would be with a couple defense spells, yeah?"
"Of course! H-How did I not think about this?!"
Anise snorted.
~NRK~
Naruto hummed as he pushed up again on his one arm, Nettle, Curly, Tarragon, and Ashwa on his back with encouraging cheers.
Meanwhile, Parsley did push-ups next to him, Thistle and Endive on her own back and following their brothers' examples.
Thyme, meanwhile, held a potted plant from Cilantro's room, the plant, likely not ironically, being just that.
Cilantro.
She glowed dark red before speaking in Elvish Speak and raising her hand above it, the plant beginning to glow and start to extend like several others by her seated form, Cilantro and Chives next to her, collecting the enhanced herbs.
"Thanks, Thyme!" Cilantro grinned as she nodded, the boy taking some of the plants away. "This is great! Mom's gonna flip!"
"Well, I hope it's one for joy," she responded as Chives looked at the plants before feeling them. "... you notice something?"
"Hmm? W-Well, maybe we should give some of these to Miss Apple," he said as she blinked. "She's a fairy from the woods we get our firewood from."
'A fairy?' That was interesting. 'The last time I saw a fairy was… a long time ago,' she frowned.
Ever since the Rot came into play, the fairies of the Fairy Woods had slowly disappeared from sight, their locations unknown.
"... well, I don't mind going there," she explained as the boy grinned.
"W-We could go Saturday! Miss Apple really likes to sleep during the day and she LOVES Saturdays!"
She smirked. "Yeah, fairies are finicky like that."
The training went on for maybe two hours, the elf groaning as she wiped sweat off her brow from her 'Parsley-enhanced' push-ups.
"Hey, you did good!" Her fellow female student chuckled as she got off her. "Honestly, 100 push-ups, that's crazy. You don't look as muscly as Naruto and Cal are, ya know? You're more 'in the legs', as they say."
Thyme sat up on her knees, looking down at her thighs with a shrug. "I'd travel throughout the Woods when I was a kid. Centaur, fairies, druids, and animals would play in a particularly faraway spot and I'd go nearly every day."
"Sounds fun."
"It was… but the Rot appeared," Thyme frowned as the dwarf nodded. "I have to come back with some kind of cure… and I don't know yet but you remember that healing water you guys got? Do you still have yours?"
"Yeah. I totally forgot to use it, panicked at the time," Parsley frowned with a sigh. "I'm starting to realize, I probably should have just used that on Naruto when we were down, ya know?"
"It's combat, it's not easy."
"Thanks, you were saying?"
"That healing water… Do you have it with you?" She asked and Parsley nodded. "Alright, let's get it so I can see what it's all about."
"Alright!" Parsley grinned as they got up, looking at the meditating Naruto surrounded by her little brothers. "Hehe~ Naru! We'll be right back!"
"Alright," he said, one golden eye cracked open to look at them with a nod before closing again.
"I seriously should use my Vow on him," Thyme said as Parsley laughed. "It's like he changes eye colors whenever."
"Hi-Lar-Ri-Us!"
They hurried to her room, passing the dining room where loud banging could be heard beneath the trap door while singing was heard further in.
They went to the right and entered a series of 'small', in number, passageways before reaching her room. Going in and immediately heading towards her bags.
"Now… where…" Parsley rustled around in her luggage before grinning as she pulled out a familiar vial. "Nice! Here ya go!" She handed it, gently, to Thyme who grinned a bit.
"If this works, I could find something that'll help," she whispered as she focused on the vial with narrowed eyes. 'Focus.'
She pulled on her Vow, that small 'ball' within her soul, and it responded, her red glow springing to life as she focused it all onto the healing water-
︎□︎⬥︎ ︎❒︎ ✋︎■︎ ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎■︎⧫︎
Her eyes widened as her glow seemed to disperse like a bursting balloon.
"What?" Thyme uttered in confusion as Parsley frowned.
"You alright?"
"Y-Yeah, I…" She tried again.
︎□︎⬥︎ ︎❒︎ ✋︎■︎ ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎■︎⧫︎
Again, she failed, Vow falling away like a burst of wind. "... I-I can't decipher it," Thyme told her in disbelief, the dwarf blinking before she cupped her chin.
"Hmm… well this might be a reach but you remember how your Vow developed?" Parsley asked the put-out Thyme. "Think about it, what if your Vow isn't strong enough?"
Now strong enough?! B-But…
"... you shouldn't feel bad about it, Thyme," Parsley continued, noting the elf girl's flinching and how she looked away from her gaze. "We're literally two weeks in, it's not like we're third-year students, ya know?"
"... I-I know," Thyme said weakly as her friend sighed. "... we don't know how long it'll be until that damn Rot grows out of control, Pars."
"You're right…" Parsley wore a conflicted expression. "... and you may want to reconsider Mint's words," Thyme winced. "If this gets as out of hand as you're saying, we may want to just take the arrow and let the teachers know. This is big if you're right, it's not something we should just allow to happen when we can do something about it."
The elf girl's head fell. "I know…"
"..." Parsley simply nodded before patting her friend's knee. "Come on, we were training, maybe you can figure out another expansion to your Vow," she grinned as her friend huffed a bit but stood to her full height. "Besides, Naruto'll probably come runnin'-"
"Everything good in here?" Naruto asked as he peeked into the room, the eight brothers of Parsley following his example. "You both cool?" He asked again, getting a chuckle out of Parsley.
"We're cool, just tried some ideas," she said, the vial in Thyme's hands getting a nod out of the fox boy.
"I'm guessing she's not strong enough?"
"Maybe?"
Thyme sighed at the look the two threw her way. "I can't decipher it at all. It's all just gibberish."
"Hmph, not like a different language, right?" Thyme froze, eyes widening as Naruto considered it, Parsley blinking at his words. "I mean, it's only an idea, ya know? But what if you just can't read it? It might be in another language, we don't really know how the healing water is made."
"... t-that's possible!" Thyme realized with a determined look before frowning again, arms crossed. "... still, what can I do? It's not a language I've ever seen before."
"Wait, you see the words?" Parsley asked and Thyme nodded… before humming. "Seems like you have a few ideas now," she grinned and Thyme smiled a wee bit. "Awww! There's that pretty smile!"
"YERP!" Naruto smirked as Thyme blushed. "And that pretty color-!"
A book slammed into his face as Parsley laughed like an idiot.
'T-These two idiots!' Thyme burned like the schoolgirl she was, unfortunately. "D-Dammit!"
~NRK~
Come lunchtime, the two blonde students made their move.
"Dad… mom…" Parsley spoke up, her parents perking up at her words. "... I was thinking about what we talked about… yesterday, ya know?" She said as the two winced. "I don't want to give up my dream of being at HGA, I really don't, but I also don't want to have something bad happen here while I'm not around," she said concisely as the two blinked.
"Parsnips?" Sorel blinked as Naruto grinned. "Ya put her up to somethin', huh?" He asked with a huff and a flat glare.
"Basically?" Naruto admitted as the man squawked.
"Hold on, dad, wait! I know how that sounds but I wouldn't agree with Naruto unless I figured it'd be a good idea!" Parsley said, confusing her mother while her dad's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean, Parsley?" Angelica asked, confused, as Dandelion babbled. "An idea?"
"Yeah," the girl nodded. "The thing is, well, we have these things called Everything Hours, the weekends off, and we even finish school at 4 pm. So, what we're trying to say is… instead of me staying, I'll still go to HGA but Naru and me will bring the extra work over to the school and finish things there… y-ya know?" Please work. "And… if that doesn't end up working out, I'll come back, no questions asked."
Naruto and Thyme shot up. "WHAT?!" They shouted as Angelica frowned softly.
'Oh, Par-Par,' the woman sighed. 'We've… we've really weighed her down,' lowering her choices, her chances, and potential.
Parsley was a rather amazing, bright, dwarf girl whose strength, even among dwarves, wasn't… normal. It was something they never really spoke to her about seeing as it was more help but… she wasn't really destined to be here, was she?
"P-Parsnips?! I…" Sorel grimaced as he looked down and away. "... really?" He asked and Parsley grinned.
"Of course! I wouldn't go back on my word-"
"No, Parsley," he said softly as she flinched. "Can you handle the work and school at the same time? I know… we ask a lot of you, it's not fair, goodness, I'm probably the worst father in Lyngarth," he raised his hands to stop his children's words. "I know, I know, I've done my best to raise you all… but I'm clearly not there enough to the point that I've not helped my oldest as much as I should have."
"D-Dad… I…" Parsley looked down before she steeled her gaze. "I want to do both, to follow my dreams while also helping the family… which was the plan, to begin with. Ignoring what I'd learned, Guardian Blacksmiths make the most money amongst our jobs, it makes the most sense."
The two looked shocked as she blushed while Naruto rubbed the back of his head and Thyme looked a bit nervous.
"... I see," Sorel sighed before leaning back in his seat, eyes on the table. "... we'll see how this arrangement works, alright?"
"THANKS, DAD!" The older girl dwarf of Sorel & Angelica grinned. "This is gonna rock!"
"Well… glad things went the way they did," Naruto admitted with a sheepish grin as she sat back down. "Well… ya know? How about we see how bad it can be, yeah?"
"Is this another weird training idea?" Thyme asked.
"Yep."
~NRK~
Naruto huffed as he leaped off the next roof in his combat gear, the bodies of Sorel, Angelica, and Dandelion sitting in a large basket he was carrying along with Thyme, the other teen in her own combat gear.
"I can see the school," Thyme told him as he nodded, eyes focused as sweat dripped down his face.
Ten minutes later, Naruto landed in front of the temporarily closed High Guardian Academy to find a familiar person there who shot him a smile and a weird look.
"Hey, dad!" The fox boy said as he stood up. "What's going on?" He asked as Hakone blinked, wearing a hazmat suit.
"Well, handling the trabbers though I'd ask what's this all about? Sorel? Angelica? I'm surprised you know my boy," he said with a blink, a long net held in his hands while one large cage sat beside him, full of squeaking trabbers.
"Oh, that's what a trabber is?" Naruto asked with a grin as he flooded his body with more magical energy. "Those are some cute crabs," he chuckled as he set the large basket down, a door on the side of it allowing his, rather impressed, 'cargo' out. "Give me five minutes and I'll take us back," he said to them with a strained grin before flopping onto his rear end. "... haa… I should-"
"No, you're not," Thyme said with a twitching brow as he grinned innocently. "For the sake of all that is holy, stop trying to kill yourself through training."
"Hahaha, I see, so he's well," Hakone chuckled as the elf threw him a twitchy-eyed look. "Apologies, young Thyme, it's just that Naruto's way of pushing forward will seem unorthodox at times."
"Ya don't say?"
Naruto, meanwhile, chuckled as he pushed one of the trabbers who grabbed his finger and pushed back.
"Trab."
"Yu-huh," he chuckled as it crawled onto the area of his finger that was inside the net. "You guys are an 'infestation'? It's kinda weird how something this cute can be a bad thing."
"Haha, they're not but trabbers are numerous. The last thing we need is for a student to be spooked and cause an explosion," Hakone explained nervously as the Thyme wore a flat look. "I know, I know."
They spent time in front of HGA just chatting over some things.
Hakone blinked at Sorel's recent order. "A warrior-only school?" He frowned as he cupped his chin before facepalming. "Oh, God, please don't let it be-"
"I'VE FOUND YOU!" A dramatic voice said from a nearby street, a man leading the charge with a rapier in his hand. "I knew you'd be here, HAKONE!"
"Of course, you would," the warrior Guardian groaned. "I work here, Turmeric."
Naruto raised a brow at the rather fancy-looking man as he huffed. 'Who's this character?'
He was tall, the same height as Hakone, and had peach skin bereft of blemishes save for a scar on his high cheekbones' right cheek. Above his mouth sat a rather impressive mustache, his hair short and black with a pair of bangs following his mustache's example as his round monocle sat in front of the left of his gray eyes.
He wore a decorative, bright red, colonial military uniform with silver buttons, white pants, and shin-length dark brown boots. As noted before, the man had a rapier in his hand but the weapon was the most interesting thing about him… well, okay, outside of his matching mustache and bangs.
It was completely silver and held several curling wing motifs for the pommel, guard, and handguard. The rapier was four feet long, in total, and the blade's tip was a single see-through crystal of some sort that formed its point.
All in all, who the hell was this guy?
"Hmph and you, boy!" The fancy man, Turmeric, gestured towards Naruto who pointed at himself while Hakone frowned. "You're the one who took my rival away from our lands for over a year?! How dare you?!"
"... what is this guy on?" Naruto asked, completely confused. "Uh, yo, old dude? We've been in Lyngarth for eight months."
"And not even attending the latest competitions?!"
"Turmeric, my God," Hakone's eyebrow twitched. "I know you wanted to fight in the finals but this isn't something you're going to blame a boy over."
"How can I not find him curious? Why, the king has become rather intrigued by this young Guardian-to-be," the man said as the group's eyes widened. "So, he has to have been something you were working on in the shadows."
"... in the shadows?" Thyme asked flatly as Naruto sweatdropped. "Is he insane?"
"Close enough," Hakone muttered. "Okay, while I'm curious about that, why did you come here?"
"To request you, my rival," Turmeric said, pulling out a scroll that had Sorel blinking.
"A royal summons?" He whispered in disbelief as Angelica's mouth fell.
"Ahem, our liege wishes to speak with you, at depth, young man," Turmeric said to Naruto who blinked while Thyme and Hakone gasped. "Yes, he wants a first-hand report from you about the encounter with that vile woman, Elecampane."
"That's her full name?" Naruto balked as the man hummed.
"Of course, she wouldn't say her dastardly name so easily, would she?!"
"Um, no, she literally had us call her 'Elecamp'."
"... that woman's insane!"
"I bet you are, too," Naruto said through a shaky grin. "So, the king wants to meet me? In the castle?"
"No, no, no, no! It'd be too much, especially with the recent event," Turmeric winced as Hakone frowned. "No, he wishes for you to meet with his twin children as his representatives and you to bring Guardian Hakone as your 'guardian', o-hoo-hoo!" The man grinned at the joke while Naruto snickered along with him, Thyme's look of disbelief sobering him up a bit. "We already have a woman who's good at handling paperwork so this should be a pure conversation between you and them."
"What do ya think, ossan?"
"Well, I'm going to ask when this is," Hakone said.
"He wishes for this meeting to take place Friday. The twins are currently taking their tests, you see, it will be good for them to rest before any possible interactions not within the royal family."
"The king sounds like he really cares for his kids," the boy grinned. "Sure, I'm in."
"Marvelous. Now, Hakone-"
"Turmeric, once again. At. Work."
"Another day then! For now, have a truly blessed day, you have a more blessed one Friday! Ta-Ta!" The man bowed before leaving with a wave of a handkerchief.
"... so, uh, I didn't sign up for anything crazy, right?" Naruto asked the group who sweatdropped. "I got caught up in the moment."
"Well, no, thankfully, the king's children aren't the ignorant, gullible, teens they used to be. They're both around 20 and have reputations as being stoic but welcoming," Angelica said as Naruto nodded.
"Still, a royal summons?" Sorel said as the group considered it. "Though, I've no idea why he's summoning you, still."
"The fight me, Pars, and Mint had. We met a Guardian whose rep could be called… 'garbage'," Naruto explained as the two dwarves blinked.
"T-There are Guardians like that?" Angelica asked.
"We only know that they're not the best, ma'am," Thyme explained. "We only heard of this second-hand," she added as Hakone nodded.
"For now, Angie, Sorel, it's for the best that you both don't worry about it. Things tend to solve themselves when you don't worry too much," the man said kindly as the dwarves nodded.
"Now, I believe you've rested quite a bit," Sorel said as Naruto chuckled, the boy kipping up and moving to the basket. "... He's honestly got more stamina than a well-bred stallion."
"Hm, hm, I'm sure it'll help in his future," Angelica said with a motherly smile that Thyme raised a brow at. "It's nothing, Thyme, you young girls should just enjoy your youth!" She chuckled vaguely as the elf blinked.
"... hmm," the girl crossed her arms with a huff before turning to Naruto. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yup, I regain strength pretty fast," the blonde said as he stretched a bit, the audible clicks and pops getting a grin out of him as he hopped in place a bit before facing Hakone. "Alright, pops, we're gonna head out. I guess I'll see you whenever."
"Maybe this evening, we got a lot done today," the man chuckled. "Take care and hopefully things will fix themselves, yes?"
"Don't I know it."
~NRK~
An hour after bringing the group back, Naruto laid on the ground in a field that the entire family went to.
Folding his arms behind his head, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the breeze. 'Just more and more,' it seemed like his schedule was getting packed without him trying. "Geez, next you'll tell me I've gotta go and save the princess," he said to himself.
"Probably," Thyme said as he turned his head to her and Parsley, the latter looking over some parchments with designs and the like as the elf was laid back like him, her hands on her stomach "You're seriously going to need a big rest after this, you know that, right?"
"Yeah, I get you. Though, it's the Vulcan Mines and then still a whole four weeks before Zinnia's thing. Sure, I've got a meeting with the royals Friday but it's just a talk," he said intently as Thyme nodded, the meaning unknown to Parsley. "I'll have plenty of downtime in December."
"Hopefully," both girls said as he flinched. "Who knows what you'll get into next?"
"... I'm sorry."
"That's not good enough," Parsley said, not looking away from her work and still somehow cowing him. "Like, no foolin', you need a break, buddy. You're literally about to go all the way to a mermaid's home, you do realize they live in water, right? That's not gonna be somewhere near us, that's easily a couple of weeks' walk from Lyngarth."
"... I get it, I do, I wish I could say I was different but I can't help it," Naruto admitted as the two hummed. "Me and not helping someone is a rough relationship."
'Yea but it's why you're so…' amazing? Incredible?
A boy who'd made them feel weird things? Yeah, Naruto was a lot of things.
"Huh? Hey!" Came a voice from down the hill and the three sat up before chuckling at the sight of a familiar sextet of teens and a pair of women who hurried over in their casual combat gear.
Ten minutes later, the four gawked at the sheepish Naruto.
"Y-You're gonna meet the king?!" Rosemary yelped.
"H-His kids b-but royalty, Naruto?" Sage asked in disbelief while her aunts blinked.
"I mean… it makes sense," Anise said. "Like, yeah, I've heard rumors about the king's interest but I didn't think he'd make a move so suddenly."
"Still, this is insane," Amaryllis said as Snapdragon nodded rapidly. "Dude, you're gonna have an 'in' with royals!"
"Uhh, it's just a meeting," Parsley said with a chuckle. "It's not like Naruto's trying to do something here."
"Well, I suppose I understand what she's saying," Aloe said. "The thing is, there's a high chance that this is going to open a connection with Naruto," she explained as they looked at the blonde who shrugged. "Hm, hm, quite. The thing is, you'll likely tell them and they'll tell their father… who will then want to speak with you, following that. Royal etiquette is rather contrived but this is the most likely way things will progress."
"It sounds rough," Snapdragon said as Thyme hummed.
"It's hopefully not something we'll have to worry about," she said as he nodded. "For now, we'll be taking things easy, especially with the new situation with Pars and Naruto."
They informed the six about the new situation and got mixed results.
"Geez, you're basically trying to kill yourself, aren't you?" Amaryllis said with a huff. "One second, he's not supposed to do anything, and next he's doing this."
"I-I feel better already, come on!" Naruto whined as Aloe blinked.
"I was of the opinion you were injured," she said curiously as he rubbed the back of his head. "Or is this that odd healing ability of yours?"
"Healing ability?" The teens minus Naruto asked, confused.
"Oh, well, I have a sorta increased healing factor and stuff," he explained as they all blinked.
"Since when?" Snapdragon asked.
"Since I was a beastkin."
"Ah, of course."
"So, wait, y-you have some sort of super SUPERPOWER?!" Rosemary squealed as Parsley tilted her head.
"Increased healing speed?" She asked her blonde male friend who nodded.
"I've been that way ever since I was a kid, it helped me out of a lot of tough spots."
"Sounds convenient," Amaryllis said with a raised brow. "So, what? You'll recover from your wounds faster?"
"No, well, I'm not sure. I've never had magic burns before so this is new and the teachers know, by the way," Naruto said as his friends hummed. "It's something they knew because of dad, ya know? So, if they say I'm pushing it, I'm probably doing a lot of pushing."
"Yeah, we're working on that," Thyme said.
"Wait, does this have anything to do with your beastkin-ness?" Snapdragon asked and Aloe grinned at the new word. "T-That is, well, maybe you'll see something in your book about it."
"Well, some beastkin can have a higher heal rate, mostly druids, so it's not impossible."
"See?" Snap grinned. "So, wait, you could carry three people across the city and you're injured?"
"Hehe~ I'm pretty tired, I tell ya," Naruto grinned as Snapdragon leaned back in disbelief.
Thyme blinked as she remembered that, yes, Naruto had carried that many people with a bit of effort but he'd done it. She felt some guilt rise as she realized that she'd basically forgotten that he was in such a state… and yet she, too, was confused.
'How strong is he really?' That wasn't normal strength, she could definitely say that.
"But enough on me, I'm sure I'll have more crazy stuff later," the way Amaryllis, Rosemary, and Parsley chuckled made him aware that they all knew. "What about you guys? Anything crazy?"
"Hehe~ Well, for your information, my uncle's coming!" Amaryllis cheered as Sage blinked.
"Your uncle from Witch Country?" She asked as Anise and Aloe balked at the short mage's excitement. "We're happy for you. So, he's coming when?"
"This week! Oh man, you guys have to meet him! Uncle's, like, a total nerd when it comes to Terraspheres," Amaryllis grinned as Aloe and Anise chuckled.
"Well, I guess you all knew already?" Aloe asked as the group nodded.
"Rylls is definitely proud of her uncle and dad," Naruto said as the girl nodded with a determined look.
"He's bringing my newest Terraspheres with him… s-so, yeah, it's gonna be great," her enthusiasm died a bit. 'If what we spoke about is true, those Terraspheres were made with…' She'd talk to him in private.
This wasn't something to just spout in the middle of their talk.
"What about you, Rosie?"
"Well, we got presents from Sage's aunts!" The rosette grinned as she unbuckled a dagger from her waist to show the two-sided, light pink, weapon. "I got a dagger for crits!"
"For… crits?" Naruto asked, confused.
"It's enchanted so she'll be guided to more powerful blows," Aloe explained as the group hummed.
"I didn't know you enchant something like that," Snapdragon said, looking to Amaryllis for answers but she just shrugged.
"Enchanting more odd effects is only possible by people more in-tune with powerful magic. Elves, Merpeople, Shapeshifters, and races who can use internal magic are the most capable of this," she explained as Anise nodded. "Well… them and mages of Old Magic who really pushed it, like High Witches and Grand Mages."
"It's true. From the offset, those who had the best advantage had been the elves," the woman grinned as her wife giggled. "The thing is, to this day, it's not wrong to say that races with internal power have the greatest opportunities."
"Hmm," Sage considered her words, pulling out her newest Terrasphere. "T-This is my new Terrasphere, its abilities are water-based."
"Oh snap," Amaryllis grinned as Snapdragon laughed. "Well, shit, planning to do something with this?"
"I-I haven't thought about how I want to approach New Magic," she admitted as Aloe nodded. "I want to… f-focus on learning defensive spells, actually," Sage said, looking at Naruto. "Do you think we can practice some of those in your book?"
"Hm? Sure!" He grinned. "Honestly, having you try the spells out, now that I think about it, would probably be perfect!" Naruto noted as she blushed a bit but smiled all the same. "Being honest… I've actually been considering some stuff, ya know? For now, I want to try and increase my Support Magic knowledge," he admitted as the group blinked.
"Oh? Not interested in an explosive turnout?" Amaryllis asked and he chuckled.
"I literally have more than enough firepower… but I can't handle it, not as I am," he said, the meaning interpreted completely differently between the group. "Right now, I want to be able to increase our abilities… you know? I have a ton of magic to use up," he chuckled as Sage pouted. "You said it yourself, Sage, I've got tons and I can replenish it fast enough to keep it up. So, I'm probably going to keep continuing with spells like my Protection spell and Uzu."
"Ah, yes, that's the Stamina Rune Word you made, correct?" Aloe asked as he nodded. "And Sage said she could do a hundred push-ups?"
"Yep, it was hilarious," Amaryllis cackled as her friend blushed, pulling down her hat. "Oh, perk up, Naruto can make you a gym nut! That's rad!"
"I mean, it might give you a workout nudge," Anise chuckled as Sage groaned.
"Who likes working out?"
"Me," Naruto said.
"It's pretty nice," Parsley chuckled.
"It's for getting stronger," Thyme added.
"Sage, it's nice to work up a sweat!" Rosemary grinned.
"W-Well, it's kinda nice when you get into it," Snapdragon admitted sheepishly.
"..." Sage's face contorted into apathy. "Of course, I know crazy people. At least you're on my side, Ryllis."
"Eh, I can pull a decent run but being covered by physical sweat isn't my deal," the shorter mage smirked.
"Oh, come on, you'll have to eventually, you know," Anise said as the seven looked at her. "You guys are mages, you'll have to keep up somehow."
"W-We have brooms!" Sage squealed.
"And what happens if yours breaks?"
"C-Can Terrasphere brooms do that?"
"Yep," Amaryllis admitted. "Obviously, it's not permanent but it'll take some time to regain that power."
"Ugh."
"Hehe," Naruto chuckled. "What about you, Snap, anything new?"
"Not much, I've just been practicing like always," the ginger admitted with a bit of embarrassment. "Well, that and ensuring Rylls doesn't burn her house down."
"It was only one time, I put it out."
"The fire?" Thyme asked with a raised brow. "Or the house?"
"..." Amaryllis blushed as Parsley snickered. "U-Uhhh… those aren't mutually exclusive things…"
"I think that says it all," Naruto smirked.
"What about you guys?"
"Meat, lots of meat!" Rosemary said with stars in her eyes.
Amaryllis's mouth opened only for Snapdragon to bump shoulders with her.
"No."
"Ruin my fun."
"What she means is that Naruto, apparently, killed the largest Ramar known to mankind," Sage said as he rubbed the back of his head. "A-And he just… carried it through town! W-Who even does that!?"
"Uh, yeah, him," Parsley chuckled. "And not much else happened for us. We did learn that Naruto and a large slab of metal is a negative relationship."
"Huh?"
~NRK~
Their mouths just fell as thunderous blows crumpled the surface of the metal sheet in disbelief.
"W-What?!" Sage paled at the sight of the being-beat-up slab. "H-How?! His hands must be mush by now!"
Naruto stopped for a moment and showed his fist, the appendage glowing a slight gold.
"I mold my energy inside of my body and…!" His fists gave a good one-two that rattled the chain and the slab. "Follow through! This is kinda amazing training when I think about it-"
"Y-You're going to make me do that, are you?" Snapdragon asked, pale and trembling.
"Huh? God no, Snap! You'd turn to paste before you got a good start!"
"Oh thank God!"
Rosemary blinked before rushing over. "C-Can you teach me how to do… that?" She asked with a shaky grin that had Sage feeling faint.
"R-Rose?! Don't you dare!" She squeaked.
"Naruto could teach me a whole new method, Sage!"
"But you don't have magic," Snapdragon explained before Naruto cupped his chin.
"... she doesn't… but she doesn't need magic," he chuckled as the group blinked. "Guys, remember when me and ossan fought? What Rosie saw?"
"Huh? What'd she see?" Anise asked as Curly and the other dwarf boys tilted their heads in unison. "Rosemary?"
"W-Well, you guys know how I said I can see the mental stuff, right?" She and Aloe nodded. "Well, if Naru's right, that stuff is my next step to getting stronger!"
"Spirit Vision… so, of course, maybe she can use mental or spiritual energy?" Thyme considered as Naruto grinned while Amaryllis blinked.
"She's gonna do as your dad does, huh?" She asked as he nodded.
"The thing is, unlike dad, Rosie already has the vision to see the energy of thoughts, or mental energy, as we'll call it," he said. "Rosemary has a bit of an upper hand on how he had to learn it, from what he told me."
"That's good, Rose!" Snapdragon grinned as the girl followed suit. "Still, is it hard?" He wondered if he could do it.
"Yeah, you said that Professor Hakone couldn't do it from the beginning, he had to learn it, yeah?" Rosemary asked as Sage huffed but also looked curious.
"Yea but he had to 'awaken' his 'vision' before he could start learning. The thing is, most Warrior-class Guardians can 'awaken' to it but those situations happen WAY down the line. They'd get no benefit from trying to learn how to use mental energy."
"Why?"
"The thing with this energy is that it requires a specialized mindset. It's an act of 'doing' while you do something and increasing the strength of that action. It's like repeating a move, say, ten times in your head to up the strength of a move in the real world."
"That doesn't sound complex," Aloe said as he grinned. "So, I'm assuming there's more to it."
"Yeah. It's still 'thinking', after all. What do you think will happen if someone tried that out of nowhere in the middle of a fight? They'd not only slow down but they'll be super open because their heads aren't in it. Parallel processing is what dad calls it, to think 'twice' but the 'second time' is just for the sake of increasing your power. 'Attacking' more than once at one time, basically."
"That sounded both simple and complicated," Amaryllis said as Naruto hummed.
"... Ah, here's the way for mages to at least get it," he grinned. "Think of it like Runes."
Sage's eyes widened. "OH!" She understood immediately alongside Amaryllis, Aloe, and Snapdragon.
"I don't get it," Anise said with a sheepish grin. "I kinda skimped on that class in school."
"Hmm…" Rosemary crossed her arms in thought. "I-I guess I get it? It's kinda like daydreaming, yeah?"
"I mean… I guess?" Naruto chuckled. "More like sleeping with your eyes open."
"Oh."
"That's what helps," Snapdragon chuckled as Parsley grinned.
Moments later, Snapdragon and Rosemary, borrowing Wooden Weaponry from Thyme that fit their favored type, went at it while being covered in gold and blue glows from Naruto and Sage, respectively.
The ginger did his best to block time and time again, Rosemary's swordsmanship, while not full of the precision he noted from Naruto's style, was quick and powerful enough to make his body 'hesitate' with each blow he tried to block.
"Snap! You can also parry!" Naruto said as the golden eyes widened. "You can't just block!"
"Hmph!" Rosemary grinned as she brought her weapon down on the much taller teen only to wobble once she made contact, Snap's form sidestepping hers and allowing her weapon to glance off his weapon and hit the ground. "Hah?!"
He brought his weapon into her side before hesitating and just tapping her.
"... Snap ya gotta hit me."
"That's a case waiting to happen!" Amaryllis shouted as Sage blushed along with Snapdragon.
"Rylls!" Rosemary pouted as Naruto chuckled.
"She's right, Snap, I know it's not easy to hit a friend but you do remember that these weapons aren't sharp, right?" He asked his male friend who blinked.
"T-They weren't?!" He asked, looking at his blunt weapon. "I-I'm sorry, Thyme, I just thought…"
"No, it's fine, besides," the elf shrugged. "I can't make sharp weapons outside of sharp tips. It's why I use it for my arrows."
"Oh, you picked that up, right?" Aloe asked her and Thyme nodded.
"It's from this book," she said, showing the one on her hip. "This and Earth Magic are what I'm practicing with."
"Then why not try Stone Weaponry alongside Wooden Weaponry?" She asked Thyme who blinked.
"I-I didn't… I mean, it'd only make sense that there'd be higher levels when it comes to material… you don't happen to know it, do you?"
"I do!" Aloe grinned as Snapdragon and Rosemary kept sparring.
~NRK~
Hakone chuckled as he sat at an enlarged dwarf family table, sitting next to Naruto in the man's usual teaching uniform. "Honestly, you really went through a lot in, what, three days?" He said to the fox beastkin who chuckled.
"Yeah, um, I wish I could say I planned for it… most of it," he admitted as Parsley chuckled across from him. "Still, I think as long as we see the benefits of it, we're good."
"Hmph, still, maybe you both should double-check to be sure about this," Angelica said. "The distance from here to High Guardian Academy is certainly not small."
"It's not," Parsley nodded. "But it's not like it's gonna be an everyday thing, right? Like with dad's mass order, we'll take, like, half the stuff to fix with us."
"Well, so far, that's not the worst way to do it. Most orders come in the first two days of the week, Parsnips," Sorel said with some thought as they all ate. "Hmm… though, for the days Naruto is busy, perhaps you all should get a cart?"
"Hmm?" Aloe considered the idea before smiling at Thyme who blinked.
"What?" She asked.
"That could be a good goal for you!" She said with a grin as the girl balked.
"A cart?"
"If you think about it, it's not a bad way to get better, yeah?" Amaryllis suggested as Snapdragon nodded. "You want to get better, doncha? Having a goal is super important then."
"I think Ryllis has the right idea," Sage said.
"If you can make a cart, imagine the other stuff you could make!" Rosemary squealed. "Oh man, what if you could make wooden armor?! Or wooden baskets?! Or wooden trees?!"
"Rose."
"Trees!"
"... I guess," Thyme said with a huff. "Honestly, this whole thing is gonna be weird."
"That's life," Anise said as she nodded.
They ate their food before finishing up, Aloe, Angelica, Sage, and Snapdragon cleaning the dishes.
"Hmm, tell me more about yourselves, why don't you?" Angelica asked with a chuckle.
"Huh?" Snapdragon hummed as he dried a plate before passing it onto Angelica who put it away on a ladder. "Well, what do you want to know?"
"Well, how did you all meet Par-Par and the others?"
"Oh, well, I met them all the week before we started HGA," Snapdragon said as Angelica blinked. "... O-Oh! High Guardian Academy, ma'am."
"Oh!" Angelica tilted her head. "I didn't expect that. Still, continue, what about you? Did you travel to Lyngarth or were you already a citizen?"
"I traveled to get here, like Sage."
"He's right," Sage picked up. "I know for a fact, Amaryllis, Snapdragon, and Thyme aren't from here. Rosemary, Aunt Anise, and I came here from Pebble."
"Hawthorne," Snapdragon inputted with a raised hand as Angelica nodded.
"I see. What of you, Aloe?" Angelica asked.
"Hmm, I'm not from Lyngarth or even Pebble, I'm from an elf town by the name of 'Accola'. It's a gathering and departure of elves of all kinds," Aloe smiled. "It's where my family settled down when I was five before I left two years ago to marry Anise."
"I didn't know of any elf settlements outside of the Fairy Woods."
"It's not something that many people really consider, most think we're from forests and the like which is mostly true."
"I didn't know that," Snapdragon admitted. "I-I did think you were from a forest, though… sorry."
"No, it's fine," Aloe smiled. "You'd be surprised to know that there aren't a lot of elves who interact with humans on the regular. It's honestly kind of rare."
"N-Now that I think about it… there really aren't a lot of elf students," he realized as Sage nodded.
With the others, Naruto held up his hands as Rosemary punched at him, each time the beastkin slapped her blows away without difficulty.
"Focus, Rosie! It's not just you punching once!" Naruto told her as he slapped down another hit as she growled, sword against the wall behind her along with her leather shoulder pads and the dress she wore over her dress shirt and big pink skirt over it. "Keep it movin'!"
Rosemary wore an annoyed pout as she tried. 'Um, ten times?' Nope, too much. 'Two times!' She tried as she punched again, mind playing the move inside her head over again.
Naruto raised a brow at the slight bit of increased force but he wasn't sure if she was just punching harder or not. "Hit them as hard as you can, Rosie, I'll know if you've made progress," he said with his eyes closed. 'Focus on it,' those streams of mental energy.
The stream around Rosemary had flinched earlier, he was sure, but it wasn't enough. She needed to bring this power into her body.
Each blow, he parried before they were moving around the dining room.
Naruto stepped in and to the side, swinging out his leg as Rosemary's eyes narrowed and she ducked, the girl bypassing his kick and bringing his fist around to his face.
'Twice! Twice!' She put her all into it as Naruto's closed eyes beckoned her.
He stepped down with his offending leg and ducked without even looking at her! How?!
'Sense it,' she thought as she looked at him again, eyes narrowing. "Again and again!"
They kept going, Parsley raising a brow from the table with her dad and Thyme, the dwarf brothers all around them.
"She's really trying," the dwarf said.
"They've been at it for almost 20 minutes," Thyme said as Rosemary wiped some sweat off her brow. "And she's not a fist fighter as far as I know."
Rosemary ducked a jab or two and made to punch back before squawking as she barely dodged his follow-up cross, the air dragging past her head, much to her disbelief.
"Maybe we'll focus on doing some hand-to-hand in the future," Naruto said, eyes still closed as he followed those flows. 'It's focusing into her eyes?' Oh? A new skill, maybe? 'It's beginning to focus more inside of her but she needs more!'
He upped the heat and Rosemary grimaced as his fists grazed past her cheeks. 'He's getting faster?!' Rosemary realized with another pout as she tried to hit back-
She barely dodged his next punch.
'I-I can't fight back?' Rosemary stepped in only to be shoulder-charged back, stumbling a bit before barely stumbling out of the way of Naruto's knife-hand. "I-I can't-"
"Try."
She grimaced before punching at him again and Naruto 'saw' it.
'Do it twice!' The rosette said as Naruto's eyebrows shot into his hairline.
'There it is!' He grinned as her fist rocketed towards his face. 'There's some in it and her eyes now!' And so he played his hand.
Naruto stepped in and down with a speed he knew Rosemary couldn't normally catch, gold magic wafting off his form, grinning as Rosemary stepped in and brought her fist down on where his head would be.
"Ha-uwah!?" Rosemary had been ready to cheer, she'd got him-
Then she coughed as she was put on the ground, arm in Naruto's grasp as the boy grinned down at her.
"Well done!" He chuckled as he pulled her onto her feet. "You're getting it a bit and have a bit of a special thing yourself," Naruto smirked as Rosemary tilted her head at him.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Hmm… you gathered a bit of it to your eyes," he explained as Thyme walked over with a raised brow.
"That something you knew about?" She asked and he shook his head, surprising her. "Really?"
"Yup but I have a good idea on what she's more capable of with it. Rosie, you're gaining a small bit of future-sight, I'd bet," Naruto said with crossed arms as the two girls balked. "I mean, if you think about it, it kinda plays into her 'sees things ahead of time' thing."
"R-Really?!" Rosemary's eyes shone like stars. "YESSSSSS!"
"Huh? What happened?" Snapdragon asked as he and Sage came over, Anise coming into the dining room before heading towards Sorel. "Something good, I guess?"
"Yu-huh!" Rosemary grinned as Amaryllis came running into the room from the same way Anise came. "I've got-"
"Uh, guys, there's an elf lady who looks a lot like Thyme at the front," the small mage said as Thyme froze.
"W-Wait, what?" The elf girl flinched as Sorel got up.
"Parsnips? There's an order you can handle while you're here," he said to his eldest who grinned.
"On it!" The dwarf girl ran off, Thyme paling as she chased after her.
"W-Wait!" She ran, the two disappearing from sight within seconds, leaving the room confused.
"... Oh, crap," Snapdragon realized a moment too late as the others blinked. "Uh… y-you guys remember how Thyme's not great with her mom?"
"... crap baskets," Amaryllis realized a moment too soon as Angelica went after her daughter. "W-Well, it's not like anything bad can happen, right?" She whispered as they waited twenty seconds.
"Why, I'd be honored if you'd have me," came a mature feminine voice they didn't know.
"We'd be glad to have you," came Angelica's voice, clearly inviting the unfamiliar voice for food.
"Whelp," Naruto smacked his lips as a grumbling Thyme came back in with a guilty-looking Parsley. "Sounds like this is another situation I'll be dealing with," he muttered.
Well, time to help out another friend with their issues.
~NRK~
That's a wrap and I'll be writing Nao-Shi and Void Breathing next.
~NRK Out~