Chapter 7: I am the "Lazy Assassin"
A/N: I'm kind of just tired, so no Author's Note for this Chapter. Kind of. I didn't get to the point I wanted, but very soon, we will reach one rising point: Night Raid vs. Jagers. Maybe in two chapters or so. Get excited people!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything because I'm poor. Bye.
Chapter 7 START
Two months had passed since Naruto had last escaped to the Capital, and now, he was under the constant watch of the other members of Night Raid. To the ever growing ire to those who were supposed to keep an eye on him, it didn't really stop him from making a few escapades anyway, showing his inherent skill in stealth. He had his own job to fulfill is restoring the base, and they weren't letting him get away with it this time...or so they said every time he returned. He had escaped eight times, once each week.
Even his argument about how he had brought in five times the amount of money he had stolen wouldn't convince them that his escapades were alright, although they did thank him for that.
More currency was always nice.
But two months had done a lot to change the blond. His hair had grown longer, like Tatsumi's, only that his hair now had some bangs that extended down past his eyes, but despite the longer hair, it had not lost a single bit of spikiness. He had grown a good, full inch, making him only slightly taller than Akame, but it was a noticeable difference. As for his body, his shoulders became broader, indicating the increased training regiment he undertook and went through constantly and consistently without fail every day.
Yes, a lot of things had happened and the blond had changed a considerable amount in the eyes of the other members.
His laziness was not one of the changes.
Our favorite blond was currently on his back, his eyes closed and legs crossed as he relaxed on the forest earth. Shadows danced across his body as the forest trees and branches danced with the wind, cooling all and giving him respite. Suddenly, a solid shadow hovered over his closed eyes, something he noticed but preferred not to even react to.
"Naruto…"
"…Just another two hours, Akame." He was suddenly forced to his feet, but he still didn't open his eyes, instead trying to crumble to the ground and go back to his comfortable position on the floor. Akame, however, wasn't having any of that. She quickly grabbed him and looped her left arm around his waist quickly. His head lulled and stopped when it came to a rest on her left shoulder.
"We told you, Naruto," she said, starting to walk forward, forcing the blond to open his eyes and walk in time. But he didn't let the girl go, instead continuing to lean against so that he would use as little energy as possible. "Either you work with us on the base, or you train."
"But the base is almost done, and I don't really feel like training right now. Every time I train, I'm alone and I just don't feel like doing anything."
"…Do you want me to join you, then?" The blond looked over his shoulder to face the girl who continue to look straight forward.
"Yes, I would like that. It's better than Yuna constantly chiding me on something she doesn't even really know. By the way, where is she?"
"She's working right now with Leone, Mine, and Chelsea. They're fixing up the hot springs. So, what do you want to train on?" The blond remained silent. "Honestly, I can't really help you on target practice, and besides, you can do that on your own. If you're thinking about basic workouts or a spar, I can join you for that."
"A spar would be alright, I guess." Although a spar would definitely be the most explosive and most physically demanding, it would be over with the fastest. And although working on the new base was quite easy, the finishing touches required so much fine detail and caused so many annoyances to him that it wasn't even worth it.
Akame nodded to Naruto's wish and veered to the right where she knew there was an open clearing. The two continued to walk, the blond still leaning against the barely smaller girl. Just last month, he had become taller than the girl.
"You can let go, you know?" She told him, breaking the silence and his thoughts.
"Don't feel like it," he told her, instead increasing his weight against the girl, beginning to slightly drag his feet against the ground. She just sighed and quickly let go of his waist. The blond wasn't expecting the sudden lack of support, so he began to fall to the ground. However, he was fast enough to catch himself without touching the ground with his hands. He looked up at her and gave her a bored glare. "So mean," he accused under his breath.
However, his indifferent look immediately shifted to that of surprise as he changed gears as quickly as possible, jumping backwards and sliding and dodging multiple times as Akame attacked with a bokuto already in her hands.
"Woah!" he yelped, barely dodging what would have been a lethal, or at least extremely painful, strike with a real sword. Naruto jumped to the left, his eyes trained on Akame as he kept a tactical distance from her. He had expected her to be on the aggression, but he was getting very tired of constantly being on the defensive. At the same time, he knew that there was still nothing he could really do since she was much more attentive during their normal spars and actually fought in earnest against him, maybe around seventy to eighty percent.
One moment, they were standing about ten feet apart. In the blink of an eye, Akame was already in his face, her arms raised for a downward, vertical strike straight down his whole body, beginning from the crown of his head. Just as quickly, Naruto had thrown up two objects from somewhere on his body, both made of metal based on how they glinted in the sparse sunlight. In a flash, he raised both arms and caught the metal objects on the back of his arms, which protected from his wrist to just above the elbow.
"Successfully blocked," Naruto gloated with a smirk, his eyes meeting Akame's. Her wooden weapon had clashed with the defensive item and had been cleanly deflected. She jumped away and took two steps back to add some distance. Her red eyes watched Naruto with extreme attention; she couldn't let him out of her sights. The lazy teen had improved on his use of Chi to the point that he could use it constantly for nearly ten minutes, and the speed at which he moved was so much faster than when he first used it, it was incomparable. He was faster than she was; there was no doubt about it. But that didn't mean she couldn't stop him, because in order for him to attack, he had to stop or slow down dramatically for a split second. Not only that, but she could retaliate by barely shifting her body so that he struck her in a strange angle, resulting in a connected blow that would cause no pain or making him simply lose balance and give her a free strike to wherever she pleased.
But the rate of his improvement still amazed her, and it made her think what exactly he would become in the future. There was no doubt he was skilled in fighting, if anything, but how skilled, she still wasn't sure. Chelsea had not said anything about Naruto afterwards, and the growing blond hadn't asked the auburn-haired girl about his past. However, that didn't stop the two from talking, and they had quickly become friends.
She was broken out of her thoughts when Naruto took the moment of standstill to blitz her. This time, he was on the offensive as he threw an onslaught of attacks. Punches and kicks fly by her by mere centimeters, and others she blocked with her blade if she was certain she would've gotten grazed or simply struck. However, she her trained instincts caught onto a slight overextension on his attack when he punched, and she immediately capitalized on the opportunity.
Now their positions were switched and in their original order with Naruto doing his best to defend the endless cuts and slashes. When he tried to jump away and hop from tree trunk to tree trunk to land on one of the lower branches, Akame was directly with him, already prepared to fight him above ground. He growled as he was forced to jump to another branch nearly thirty feet away as she destroyed the branch he just stood on with a slash that would've easily reduced him to a complaining blob on the ground.
He jumped back again, this time flipping backwards and trying to get a kick at her chin before getting out of range. It was futile; she easily raised her chin just barely enough so that his kick flew past her without leaving a single mark.
"Not even close," he muttered. It seemed as if he had barely missed and had been so close, but in reality, she could've dodged with the bare minimum distance each and every time. His foot would just fly by, and a small wind would tickle her chin before disappearing.
"But you've gotten better," she told him truthfully, granting him a small smile. He stopped for a moment and leaned against a tree with his arm straight as a support. He took a deep breath. Then, he smiled back.
"You got better, too, Akame-chan~," he teased. He knew that he still didn't even hold a candle to the girl in a real fight, but it was always fun to mess around with the girl. It was one of his favorite pastimes.
One that she didn't exactly enjoy, but no one really cared about that. Leone approved, at least.
She immediately raised her wooden sword and jumped with enough intensity to break the branch she had been standing on, alerting the platinum-haired teen of the incoming assault. However, by the time he raised his hands to block her strike, he realized one thing: she was moving way too fast for him to block properly.
"Oh shi-" was all he managed to get out before wood clashed with metal and he went flying away, falling twenty feet to the ground and flying nearly double that distance. Akame watched him bump up and down and then roll to a stop before walking over to him. When she was directly above him, the two remained silent, Naruto resting on the ground and breathing deeply. In and out. Inhale…exhale. Inhale…
"I swear, Naruto, if you are sleeping again-"
"That you will join me?" he called out tiredly from his position. His lips twitched in amusement when he heard something shift and suddenly rolled to the left, dodging her weapon that had dug into the ground almost to the hilt. Shifting his body, he rolled onto his back and onto his neck before utilizing his hands and spring-boarding onto his feet.
"I really don't like it when you do that, Naruto," she told him with an indifferent expression, but her eyes showed the smallest amount of disapproval and…was that pouting?
He just gave her a wide grin and raised his arms as his silent reply, knowing he had at least another hour of this to finish up for the day. He would have to work on the base for the rest of the day, excluding the times for food and some time to relax.
That would be the case if he didn't make his escapade today.
And he would definitely make it.
XShuyaX
(Location: Capital)
"Ah, this feels so nice," Naruto buzzed in a content, and yet tired, lanquid tone, ambling through the streets with a lazy gait as he rolled his shoulders and closed his eyes, his head tilted up to the sky. Despite the fact he wasn't looking at where he was going, he was managing to slide easily through the bustling and lively crowd.
After a few minutes of strolling about, he entered a large, spacious plaza. This plaza was specifically picked by Naruto and Air for the meeting. Why? For one main reason: it was an extremely hot spot for couples to mingle and do their little things to each other in public. As he suspected, he saw dozens of couples in the vicinity the moment he entered the area, all showing their affections without a care in the world.
Naruto walked over to an empty bench and dropped down with a sigh. All that was left for him to do was to wait.
So, Naruto looked up to the deep, bright blue sky with his ocean colored orbs, his back arched and his arms extending behind the bench in a relaxed position. The clouds passed slowly above him, listlessly crossing the ocean called the sky in their own lanquid pace. He gazed up, watching one cloud pass over before switching to another one. Slowly, his lack of activity led to actual thoughts.
'It's been approximately four months since I've joined Night Raid, and I think I improved in strength and speed enough so that I won't be a burden anymore. Hopefully, that means that I can sleep more often and just be the person doing the basic stuff, like cooking ramen or going on trips to the Capital instead of taking missions and performing hits.'
He lazily curled his lips into a small smile as he dropped his head to his right and spotted multiple couples getting more intimate with each other. Those kinds of things weren't really that interesting to him. All this poor, poor blond wanted was sleep, and lots of it. Along with a few dozen bowls of ramen, which he finally convinced to Akame was somewhat related to a kind of deity, a decent amount of lazing around, and more sleep.
Did he mention sleep?
But despite his improvements in the art of battle and the keenness of assassinations, his lack of experience was still the thing most needed and essential for his repertoire. What would happen the moment he went up against an opponent that was not only more skilled and experienced in the art of battle, but also came at him with the intent to kill?
'…'
Naruto turned his head back up to the sky and stared at the passing clouds, his eyes reflecting the gray and blue above. He slowly crossed his legs and gave a tired smile as the slow sun rays warmly caressed his skin. His appointment was late, but he didn't mind. He might end up just sleeping in the Capital for the day so that he could skip out on the rest of the workload that would no doubt be dumped on him. Whatever the consequences were, he didn't really care. It's not like he would actually be affected by the punishment since he would either ignore it and somehow disappear or would simply find a hiding place and sleep through the punishment time period.
Either way, he was ignoring it.
The fact that Najenda gave him the least work because of his laziness did not affect his mindset on work at all.
"Naruto!" someone called out from the blond's left. The platinum-haired teen assassin turned his head in the direction of the voice and smiled amiably enough when he recognized his appointment running over, dressed as if the two were going on a date.
That assessment wasn't too far off, in reality. The girl was attracted to him. It had began simple enough with a basic crush, and despite his oddities and quirks, she had grown more and more attracted to him to the point it had become an actual liking to the blond. This was all over the course of two months, so it wasn't too unrealistic.
The same could honestly be said for Naruto. Although he wasn't sure what this strange feeling was in his chest was, he knew it was the same one he felt for Akame, in a sense. But for some reason, his mind told him that Akame would not need his protection, as he was much weaker than she was. However, if he was with Air more often, then that meant that he could at least protect her, which he should be capable of doing with his current strength against most opponents.
"Hey, Air. How have you been?" he asked complacently. He slowly stood up and rolled out his shoulders and neck before stretching his body, his arms above his head as he closed his eyes. Once he got the kinks out of his body, which was just in time to straighten up when the girl was directly in front of him, he gave her a thin grin, one that she returned with a beautiful smile comparable to a rising sun in a misty morning.
"I've been fine. Should we begin?" the pink-haired girl asked in a cheerful tone, her eyes closed in an eye smile. Naruto just nodded, his lips twitching a bit as his smile widened by just a touch; her exuberance was a contagion and was spreading to him. Some life even began to bloom in his cheeks, as red slowly spread.
"Yeah, let's start."
She quickly moved to his right side and wrapped her left arm around his limb. Naruto didn't even give a start and the two began walking at the pace of a calm amble, strolling around the park of couples.
"So how are the other two doing? Well, I hope," Naruto began, trying to get a basic conversation flowing before the actual information swapping began. He had been doing this for the past two months, and the girls had a rotating schedule for who met Naruto. They always asked him when he was able to come to the Capital, as the three girls were now simply working at a restaurant as waitresses. They were accepted quite easily and readily since all three had a pretty face and a nice body to accompany their good looks, and the three had their own personality that made them all the more desirable together than if they came alone to the restaurant owner.
Although Naruto hadn't been in the Capital or near the Capital for a long time, he had been quickly led through the run-down through experience and forced learning, namely: missions. Akame was usually his partner, and she tended to get him out of the sticky situations and other fatal fights he tended to get into, but she only did so if she felt that he couldn't handle what he was facing or that he was way too far out of line of the mission. But she noticed that he excelled in infiltration missions, especially long-term missions that went as far in as a week. In fact, even though he wasn't that well practiced in the life of an assassin yet, he seemed to catch on to stealth, infiltration, and what he deemed as "getting the hell out" with surprising ease.
Honesty was not Naruto's best trait. That's a fact and truth.
And that was why Naruto was grateful that the restaurant owner accepted the three girls to be waitresses for his establishment was a complete and utter idiot. Maybe a good-willed, perverted idiot, but still an idiot, nonetheless. The three girls didn't have any kind of registration with the government to prove their citizenship, nor did they have any real belongings of their own, and the clothing they had when they joined were that of middle to high class citizenry. Trying to join anything in the Capital without proper registration and identification was impossible…in general. It's why Tatsumi was forced to register for the army and return when he had completed the form with identification and proper sword technique. Then again, the sword-wielding teen didn't join, so that was fine.
But Naruto knew how difficult it was to join an establishment or any shady form of business without identification. The blond had created a false alibi for himself, and he changed it for every infiltration mission he undertook. However, as of late, he had been sticking to a few, as they were basic, common names in the Capital.
But he digressed. The girls were doing well enough in the Capital, and he had nothing to complain about. Less trouble for them meant less trouble for him. He had told Najenda that he would take responsibility for his actions, and this was his way to proving that he had the mental maturity to follow through with his promises. The fact he was ditching work and training did not even bother his conscience.
"We're doing well enough. Luna got sick three days ago with the cold, but she should be fine." Naruto gave a nod to one of the couples who were giving them a look of interest. He then turned his attention to the girl currently latched onto his arm.
"How long until she's fine?"
"Maybe a day before your appointment with her next week." She giggled a little before leaning a bit more onto Naruto's arm and body, her grin widening. "But for now, it's just us two, so please give me attention."
"I'm all yours," he told her with a grin. No…honesty was not Naruto's strong suit. Lying and deception was. But deception was partial truths mixed in with lies...and he was also a professional in that art. "So tell me some good things to make me happy."
Air's expression didn't change.
"Nothing's wrong and there doesn't seem to be much to say at the moment about our lives. However, there was news of a different kind of beast never seen before. It's extremely hostile to any living caught in its sight, and it's surprisingly fast. Reports have stated that the majority of the victims die immediately, although there were cases of some gruesome deaths as a result of some strange sadist string."
Naruto took everything in with a wide smile on his face for show, nodding his head with interest. However, on the inside, he was thinking carefully and analytically. What are these beasts? Why did they suddenly appear now? What were the implications of their sudden arrival? Something wasn't quite adding up in his mind…but he would worry about that later.
"I see. Well, that's nice and all that there is a new breed to tame. I always love having a new pet," he responded with a roll of his eyes, signifying his sarcasm. She let out a small giggle before looking up into his blue eyes with her bright, pink ones.
"Hey, do you want to walk around a bit more?" Air asked quickly. The blond turned his head to face her and gave a delicately raised eyebrow. "I have some other news, and I want to tell you in private."
The two had stopped walking, and when they stood silently still in the park looking at each other, a beautiful and perfect split of shade and lighting splashed across the two's bodies. If they were just normal people, it would have been a beautiful and surreal scene. However, the fact that they were an assassin and an accomplice splashed a darker light on the two. Instead of the touch of orange and yellow with red and a bit of light blue from the fading sunset, it was all a shade darker with deeper set shadows.
"Alright," Naruto agreed quietly, looking straight at Air's face with a neutral expression. She gave him a warm smile that was comparable to a fading sunset. A lukewarm touch, like that of a caring close friend that knew so much more than one should have. He gave her that simple gaze, and yet inside it held so many different traces behind it: analytical, curious, a nuance of confusion, interest, rejection…but overall nonchalant acceptance.
Her warm smile widened, now in comparison to that of the rising sun in all of its glory as it spread its graceful touch across all that came within its wondrous grace. The blond felt himself moved, although for what reason, he could not define. He mentally shrugged and let the girl guide him along as she cheerfully let go of his arm and grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the park vicinity and into the bustling streets of the happy yet corrupt Capital.
(Play: Nujabes – Feather)
"Hey, where are we going?" Naruto asked, both of his eyebrows quirked in a larger arc than before. He turned from side to side, watching the many kinds of people pass by. Some laughed, ignoring him completely and utterly stuck inside their own world of the present. Others pointed at him and smiled. That population was mainly composed of couples, young adults, or children that were just beyond the identification of adolescent. The blond reluctantly waved back at the few that jovially and amiably waved over to him with his left hand since his other hand was currently occupied by the pink-haired girl in front of him.
Air was smiling extremely widely, but it was still a beautiful grin. She turned around a few times to check out how Naruto was doing – she was towing him along – but he mainly seemed confused as well as a bit embarrassed if anything, based on the looks he was receiving and the sheepish expression he was returning in response. So, she just turned back around and faced forward, smiling to herself as she guided him along.
Oh, she heard his question. But she didn't respond on purpose. That was the whole point of a surprise, wasn't it?
Naruto shrugged and sighed when he wasn't given an answer. So, as a young teen resigned to his fate should, he looked around at anything but his charge, whose grip on his hand has relaxed but had not disappeared. Large and small shops with their own eye-catching methods captured his attention for a few seconds, and he would window shop for the few quick seconds that he was able. At other moments, his nose would pick up the aroma of freshly baked bread mixed with butter and even honey, one of the most expensive treats available in possibly the world. At other times, it was the scent of cooked Danger Beasts, quite the rarity as well as expensive. The higher and more difficult and dangerous the beast was, usually the more expensive. Quite a simple trend to understand, really. He wasn't the biggest fan, but he had to admit there were a few merits. For example, the meat in the leg was thick, but also quite delicious when cooked and smoked for at least ten hours under a fire, slowly roasted and turned. It was a timely process, but Susanoo took care of it all with his supernatural cooking ability.
And so, Naruto would find other things to constantly occupy his interest for a few idle moments, and Air would continue to lead him through the crowded streets of the cobble-stone paths. Finally, when it seemed as if they were done walking, the two stopped at the same moment. Air, because she brought them to the location she wanted, and Naruto, because he recognized a certain smell. This smell…it couldn't be…
He slowly turned to the girl beside him, who was already giving him an eye-smile.
"Yup. Our restaurant now sells ramen, and it's an extremely popular new food trend in this bloc."
She was promptly given a tight hug without any prior warning, so the short exclamation of surprise wasn't totally unwarranted.
"Thank you so much. You're the best…the greatest!" he managed to speak through what seemed to be thankful tears streaming down his face. His mouth was also flush against the crook of her hoodie, right where the neck ended and the shoulder began. Air's beet red face wasn't totally unwarranted in this case either, but at least she managed to hold in her surprise and give back a response by slowly wrapping her arms around him for a short moment.
"You're…welcome. Thanks, too." She felt movement near her face. His hair was tickling her cheeks. Well, scratch out beet red and find something much more crimson and something that can let out steam. Then, the proper description would be given. But for now, beet red would have to do.
"Yosh!" Naruto let go with a start, tears still running down his face like a cascade, leaving puddles on the floor. "I will have ten bowls!" he declared as he marched into the restaurant. Air only managed to watch him push through the door with exuberant gracefulness – that is, no grace at all – and proceeded to listen to the surprised cries of multiple people as his tears began to flood the floor.
In the end, she let it all go with a sigh with closed eyes. When she opened them, she tilted her head and gave a content, blissful smile.
Yeah…that was Naruto. Weird, interesting, and a strange guy all at the same time. But that was the guy she liked.
(End: Nujabes - Feather)
XShuyaX
(Time Skip: Three Hours Later)
"Ah, thank you very much for your hospitality," Naruto said appreciatively as he showed his gratefulness by leaving a few more coins on the table. "Make sure you guys use whatever you guys do what you got to do with the extra, but also live life." He smiled, but this one was worn, tired, as if the knowledge of the real world had rid him of his innocence, as it really had. "Buy clothes, and be happy, alright?"
"Hai! Arigatou gozaimasu!" Luna thanked the blond with a bow. He chuckled in embarrassment and scratched the back of his head, still not used to formalities such as these. Well, at least he wasn't the only one used to certain things. Luna was still liked by the many patrons of the restaurant due to her shy and very sheepish character. Apparently, moe was liked in the Capital as well.
"Alright, I'll be going now. See you guys next week, alright?"
"Yes." She bowed.
Naruto chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head as he nodded once at the girl named for the moon before he turned his back with his jacket flung over his shoulder. Then, he left, the glass doors making a little jingle to signify the leaving of a customer. The last thing Luna saw of the blond that week other than his many smiles and his insanely disturbing eating habits when it came to ramen was him walking out of the restaurant with his back turned to her and his hand waving over his head as he walked into the night.
"Wait!"
Naruto stopped suddenly. He knew that the person was addressing him as he had instinctively checked if anyone was out at this time of night the moment he had walked out of the restaurant. No one was at this specific area at the moment, so it had to be him.
"Yes?" the blond drawled out, turning around to face the person who had stopped him. Air was standing tall, staring at him with a fixed expression filled with no humor.
"Naruto…the minister's son is back with his group." This immediately roped Naruto into conversation. However, he remained stoic on the outside, taking a moment to stare up at the night sky above. It held so many intimate messages and thoughts.
'So free…so full of stars which are said to represent our dreams and hopes…I'm going to be late to base, aren't I?'
Taking a few more moments to contemplate, he dropped his head and sighed while looking down a random corridor.
"What's his name?"
"Syura."
"Syura…" Naruto said slowly, letting the name roll of his tongue tiredly, languidly. "Syura. Sounds stupid enough to memorize. Alright, anything else?"
"No, that should be it, I believe."
At that moment, the two heard a scream echo through the city streets. Air started with a small jump while Naruto remained completely composed, a trained reaction he had developed over the months, also through instinct. He was lazy, yes, but some things were just hammered into your brain until it just could not be screwed out.
"You're...going to do something about that, aren't you?" she asked, her eyes conveying both expectancy as well as fear. The blond internally understood how she felt. It was how he first felt against enemies that he actually had to kill.
"Of course something just has to happen and my curiosity just can't wait, right?" Naruto stated sardonically as he gave the girl a small smile before turning around. "Be safe. The night is dangerous, and the streets are a dangerous place to be for some beautiful like you at a night in the Capital."
And with that, he ran off, leaving a blushing Air behind, her left arm stiff against her side and her right reaching out for where he was last seen. Her lips pursed together, trying to make a sound, but she gave up.
She really had to work on her cowardice in situations like this.
On another note…being told that she was beautiful…it felt really good. Really good. She could get used to it.
She shook her head.
'No no no…bad thoughts. Cowardice, deal with that first.' An idea popped into her head. 'I got it! I'll follow Naruto!' Make that a bad idea.
XShuyaX
(Location: Another Sector of the Capital)
Daylight had submerged over the bend on the earth hours before, and pitch darkness was now reigning supreme over the streets of the Capital other than the rare lamps and lights overhead that gave sparse lighting to the cobblestone pathways. The majority of the light that gave any kind of luminance to the path was the moon.
Naruto continued to run at a fast, but not overly exerting rate. He had put his jacket back on in case of an emergency situation, which he was pretty sure that what he was about to find was exactly under that category. His slightly more sensitive ears had heard the cry, and it sounded like it was a desperate call, almost a plea, for help.
If that was the case, simply sprinting and winding himself was a bad…no, that would be one of the worst things an assassin could possibly do. So, he went at what he considered a jog, which would be considered a fast run or even a sprint for some others. Then again, this was without Chi, so there was no comparison if he actually used his innate ability.
Eventually, he stopped once he thought…no, he was certain he had found it. His face grimaced when he saw the situation and what was happening before his very eyes. The cerulean orbs narrowed dangerously thin as his nose wrinkled from the heavily furrowed eyebrows. His fists instinctively clenched shut with the blood slowly stopped flowing so that the knuckles and hand were all white. The shoulders tensed, and the hair on the back of his neck began to rose.
Naruto was generally nonchalant or indifferent to a lot of things.
Rape was not one of those things. Rape meant lack of decision. It meant someone doing something they didn't want to do. It meant someone enforcing another person's will upon another.
His disgust only increased as his sensitive ears heard the gagged cries from the reluctant girl, who was currently choking. The two were near an alley, not exactly hidden behind a few boxes and crates. What was troubling Naruto was the fact they were doing it in an alley…right next to an open plaza with a decent number of homes and housing hotels as well as restaurants, even if no one was out at the moment. The man was standing, and in Naruto's view, only the girl's ears were visible behind the man's legs as her head bobbed back and forth in forced motions through the man's force.
He took a step forward.
"Isn't it a wonderful night outside? Why do we have to have a nice couple like you two ruining such a beautiful nocturnal moment by doing things that should be done in your own room?" Naruto began, his face contorted with a fake smile as he took a step forwards, making sure that the movement was clearly audible throughout the silent street, making a loud enough echo to inform others of his presence.
And attention he did gain when the man turned around. Naruto reassessed his former thoughts. This "man" was actually probably an older teen, or maybe just a young adult. He had white hair and a strangely well-placed crossed scar across his face right on his nose. His body was toned, and Naruto recognized that kind of body. It was similar to Tatsumi's…that of a fighter. He frowned.
"What? Are you bothering me, peasant?" the man asked with a sneer, showing one side of his mouth curled up in a smirk. Naruto only shook his head in fake apologies. He noticed that the older teen didn't stop his disgusting act.
"No, no…just…" the blond's presence was suddenly felt throughout the whole area as something seemed to emanate from him. Naruto didn't do anything, actually. No increase in blood pressure, no anger, no rage, no use of Chi, nor was there any Killing Intent. But something…maybe it was innate his lack of presence and the sudden reality of understanding something that shouldn't usually be seen or noticed became viewable was a huge paradox.
Then the Chi was released, and Naruto disappeared, as did the former rapist. A rumble echoed nearly one hundred feet away from the alley. A crash against a house.
"Put this on," Naruto ordered, taking off his shirt, but leaving his jacket on. He didn't look down at the half-naked girl, whose upper body was completely lacking in articles of any clothing. He had noticed that there were fragments of ripped garment on the cold ground.
"You fucker…" a voice emanated from the location of the crash. "You dare to oppose me? The son of the Prime Minister?" Naruto watched with apathetic eyes and a silent mouth as the older teen stood up to full height in what he must have assumed to be an imposing posture and walked with a swagger towards the blond and girl.
'I didn't hurt him with that? Okay…well, there isn't really a reason to fight. I can just run. And thank whatever deity above that at least his pants are on. I don't think I would've taken him seriously if we was walking towards us if it was still unzipped.'
Naruto took a quick moment to look down at the girl. She was pretty, with auburn hair that ran down in tresses all the way down her back. Her bust was decent, but it seemed larger in his shirt since he was about the same height. Not exactly the ideal clothing for a girl with the same upper body except with breasts. It just meant that her torso was showing. No big deal. Her legs were long and beautifully shaped, so Naruto could see why the guy went for her…but what he didn't see was why that disgusting person described as a 'man' just could not be a gentleman and eventually get the girl in bed. In a room. Away from the open and into the sweet sector called privacy.
Weird thoughts. Bad thoughts, out.
"We're running," he said. That was all the warning she got before he grabbed the girl's left arm and lifted her before the two began to run.
"Huh?" She followed anyway as fast as she could.
"I said we're running," he repeated once they made a turn in a bend to the right, trying to lose track of their pursuer.
"And who said you can run?" a voice taunted from directly above him. That was right before Naruto crashed to the ground and fell face first against the unforgiving, cold surface of the cobblestone. A hand had gripped the back of his head and slammed him down with all the downward momentum he had.
Naruto groaned when the force on the back of his head increased. Instead of a hand this time, it was the man's boot pressing against it, constantly going up and down and using punishing force against the teen. The girl he had "saved" was watching with her hands covering her mouth and tears leaking from her ability to do nothing of the vicious and cruel scene occurring before her.
"You think you can fight the son of the Prime Minister, kid?" This was accompanied by another kick in the head against the ground. Blood started to leak from the left side from the scrapes and from the brute force. "You, come here. We have some unfinished business."
"No…I don't want to," the girl's voice hesitantly responded.
"You want this kid to die?" the man above the blond asked sarcastically. Naruto could envision it…the girl would shakily say no and then would come closer…and then she would get on her knees again. And just like he had envisioned it…the events played before him.
'No…more. No more!' He thought resolutely.
Right when the man enforcing his current punishment let go of the pressure on his head to give another curb stomp, Naruto suddenly moved, twisting his body and spinning so that all of his weight was on his hands. Then, still spinning, he extended his legs and smirked lowly as his eyes caught Syura's.
"Take this," he muttered lowly. He had the satisfaction of hearing a few bones crack as his foot connected with the man's ribs. The man went flying against, his grip on the girl loosening until he let go because the force of the blow was too great. Naruto flipped back onto his feet, his head bleeding with droplets going down his chin in streams.
"You little shit!" The man yelled out in pure anger. Naruto watched silently as the man got up just as easily as before and storm towards them. "Prepare to face my wrath!" he shouted with a dark visage, charging towards the blond. Naruto didn't even make a move or a change in emotion to signify he had heard anything. The girl who was standing right behind him felt her fear and terror increase.
"Hey, do something! You'll die if you don't!" she screamed in fright.
"Quiet," he told her quietly. It didn't hold any emotion in it, but underlying the blank tone was so much conviction and resolution that she decided to remain silent. "Now…what should I do with this little pest, the Prime Minister's…son. After all, that's all you are, right? Just a little bastard."
A roar in response as Naruto's opponent came closer and closer, rage in his eyes as his nostrils flared in his rage. Right when the punch toward his face came, the blond had a misplaced smirk as he dodged at the last second with his Chi, moving at inhuman speeds. The man didn't even get to respond. One second, Naruto was in front of him, about to take the blow without even retaliating. Not even half a second later, the blond in front of him had disappeared, and a huge pain sprouting from his upper chest exploded.
"Idiot, charging in without even thinking," Naruto murmured, looking up from chest level of his enemy. His dark look on his face and ice-blue eyes were only enhanced by the blood going slowly streaming down his face. "Fly. Chi Strike."
The Prime Minister's son suddenly felt the force in his chest increase, as if a single point in his body was being drilled and weight was adding onto it by the tons. He screamed in pain, as he felt the punch actually digging into his solar plexus. When he couldn't take the strain and pain anymore, his feet lost purchase with the ground, and he went flying through the air for the third time that night. However, right before the man hit another wall, he disappeared through what seemed to be a tear in space with writings around the warp. Naruto eyed it with some suspicion before widening his eyes when he heard something above him.
"Take this, you little shit!"
Naruto didn't even bat an eyelash as he had a split second to look up with uncaring eyes before jumping away from his current standing as quickly as possible, rolling and quickly jumping to his feet the moment he was back on the ground. He turned quickly to face where his opponent was currently at. The blond swiped his the bottom of his lip with his thumb and spit out blood to the side, never letting his eyes off his enemy. Slowly, he bent his knees and raised both hands right as his hip level, keeping his cold eyes on the prime target. When he felt his body tense and prepared, he slowly let out a breath, fog escaping his lips from the chilly night.
Much like Naruto, the Prime Minister's son was getting prepared for a confrontation, as it seemed the blond was more than he seemed, especially if he was able to dodge that.
'Hmm…maybe it would be a good idea to make him join me for Wild Hunt,' Syura thought carefully, a wide smirk on his face the moment that thought came to mind. Naruto immediately went on guard when he saw that tilted grin; something about it offset him, as much as a crazy person would.
"Hey, you little bitch. How would you like to join me and my gang called Wild Hunt? I'll even let you off the hook this once as Syura," the white-haired teen said magnanimously, presenting his offer as if it were the greatest possible gift in the world beyond God's last gift, Rest.
Naruto stared at Syura, his blue eyes glowing in the luminance of the moonlight. Something about night and Naruto seemed to add together cleanly, almost beautifully.
"No," he responded tartly. Syura's smirk simply widened.
"Fine by me. Don't complain when you're dead!" he shouted the exact moment he bursted forward much faster than Naruto predicted he would. The two went into a fast hand-to-hand engagement, one that the girl that was behind Naruto could barely follow. One moment, they were on the ground, throwing kicks and spinning quickly, aiming at vital points or places that would render their opponents useless, such as the kneecap or the elbow. Then, at other moments, the blond would suddenly be nearly ten feet away from Syura, having flipped such a large distance away within a second.
However, although she couldn't see the confrontations and engagements between the two, she was able to see the results during the short respites the blond that had saved her took. He was slowly getting whittled down, if the cuts and bruises showing on his clothing and body indicated anything. His breathing rate was increasing rapidly, and sweat rolled down his forehead, mixing with the blood droplets on his chin. However, his eyes showed the same light of indifference to pain it had before.
"You know," the blond spoke, standing straight up. "I'm not really for fighting, and prefer to take a nice nap, especially right about now."
Syura didn't seem to like this, if his guttural snarl meant anything. He immediately charged at the blond, faster and stronger than before. Naruto found himself hard pressed to react and defend, blocking incoming roundhouse kicks and then a spin kick.
'No, too close. Take a step back and re-engage.'
'…Shit, he hit me in the ribs. NO, don't look away! Immediately go back on the offensive!'
'Bad decision: he was prepared. God, that really hurts on my head. Shit, block that kick!'
"Kid, you're too weak to best someone like me, the best of them all!" Syura started yelling while throwing kicks and punches that were only getting more and more ferocious and filled with power. Naruto internally winced from the dynamite packed behind the punches but remained stoic on the outside. "Someone that's lazy especially won't beat me! Either you fight for your life-"
Naruto's eyes watched a punch come towards his head. He raised his hands to block it, or at least redirect it, but he didn't catch the kick coming to his left. The opposite side of the punch.
'SHIT!' he yelled internally the moment he felt the foot crash against the left side of his ribcage, which felt like it was shattering upon impact. He flew off the group and careened in the air, bouncing a few times before sliding to a stop on the ground.
"Ow…" he moaned in pain before coughing out a red liquid from his mouth onto the street ground. Blood.
"-Or you just die like the lazy scum and piece of trash you are, damned waste of space! You know, I've traveled a lot, and I've learned a lot of styles of fighting. Not really sorry to say it, but there's not a thing you can really do against me."
Naruto didn't respond, sliding his fingers across his mouth and rubbing the underside of his ribcage to feel for any broken bones or bruised areas. He winced when he felt one part of the bones bend under his touch.
'Damn, Akame is going to get on my case for this.' He slowly stood up, taking the time he felt he needed to get a breather.
The auburn-haired girl was watching Naruto with wide eyes, worried, and yet amazed. Despite the cracks she had heard when he had gotten kicked on the side, he still got up and got into a battle stance.
"Did you know that lazy people can be quite smart?" the blond began, suddenly digging into his coat before throwing multiple projectiles at his opponent. All of them were dodged. The only way the girl was able to tell this as a fact was that Syura was untouched and that the…knives on the walls behind him were trenched deeply into the wood.
Naruto continued to throw the weapons, every once in five grabbing a shuriken and throwing it at an arc towards his opponent. However, Syura dodged and dodged some more with ease, twisted and flipping his way out of harm, all the while getting closer and closer to Naruto. The blond narrowed his eyes carefully, watching each of his kunai carefully as some of them seemed to disappear or bend a bit around space and end up behind his target.
The moment the white-haired teen came into hand-to-hand range, Naruto pulled out two kunais and held them in reverse grip, prepared for another confrontation that would take all of his concentration and mental fortitude to come out alive.
However, what he didn't expect was for Syura to disappear right in front of his very eyes and feel a crushing, debilitating blow from behind, right at the bottom of his spine. The blond's eyes widened again, this time actually letting out a shout of pain as the impact sent him flying into a wall.
"Naruto!" someone shouted from one of the alleyways. Said blond had just crashed into the wall and stayed stuck on it for half a second just from the intense force of the kick. Then, he slid down and dropped lifelessly to the ground.
In just five seconds, Air was at Naruto's side, propping him up and trying to bring him back to the world of the living. Her right arm was on his back, her face directly above his as tears made their way to her eyes.
"Naruto! Get up! Please!" she shouted at the unresponsive blond, whose eyes were closed to the world in stillness. The pink-haired girl bent closer to the blond as sobs began to rack her body and tears went down her face.
"So…his name's Naruto?" Syura asked in a haughty tone right above Air. He bent over so that he was almost face to face with the girl but still had the height advantage to give him the psychological superiority. "And you like this Fishcake?" He guffawed, laughing to himself and ignoring the girl.
"Yes…" she stated silently through her sobs. But it was loud enough for the Prime Minister's son to hear.
His laughs suddenly stopped as he narrowed his eyes and brought his hands to his hips.
"You know," he began in a threatening tone, a look of complete lust and sultriness on his face. "I can pretty much make you mine simply because of my position, you know that? You have nothing defending you, other than your flimsy civilian card, and even that is but an annoyance to me. Nothing is there to protect you!" He leaned closer to the girl's face so that they were barely a foot apart. "Say, you're kind of cute. Maybe I will take you."
"No," she retorted defiantly, a spark coming into her eyes. The disgust was rolling off of her in the waves. Syura chuckled; he enjoyed girls that disliked what he did as well: made it more fun for him. Resistance was futile.
"It was never your choice to begin with." He brought his hand close to her face. Right when he was about to touch her cheek, however, a stabbing pain coursed through his wrist and extended all the way down his arm. His whole arm felt like the blood had been replaced by electricity and nerve endings, all of which were screaming pain. Syura howled in pain and anger as he yelled into the sky.
That was mistake number one. He looked away from his opponent.
Another stabbing pain extended into right foot, and then quickly another on his left thigh. Realizing his mistake, Syura jumped away with a wince from the knife, snarling when the pain from the two injuries on his lower body caused him even more irritation from simply jumping. Looking back at the two on the ground, he stared with one raised eyebrow.
"Who the hell stabbed me?!" he shouted at her. The girl didn't have a knife, and the boy was obviously unconscious. This didn't make sense!
"None of your business, slave driver." The blond he had thought he had taken out spoke and slowly got up from the pink-haired girl's lap, giving her a certain strange look before standing at full height again. "You know, I really hate it when people don't give others a choice," Naruto told Syura in an indifferent tone, his eyes glowing azure. The blond tilted his neck languidly and grabbed the crook between his neck and shoulder before cracking it. "And you know what? Just for now…I won't be lazy."
Suddenly, the blond's presence completely disappeared. There he was, standing before Syura, but it was as if he had no intent or even any thought. Just react.
Syura shot forward, ignorant of the difference in the blond and charged with a short grunt of exertion, cocking his right hand back and shooting it forward in an explosive punch to Naruto's cheek. However, before it even moved forward, Naruto's hand was already in position to block it, and his body was in motion to counter.
The moment Syura's fist came within a foot of Naruto's face, the strike was quickly redirected by the back of Naruto's left wrist pushing it outward. Following immediately through with his intent, Naruto enforced his right fist with Chi just on impulse and exploded forward, using every muscle and ounce of strength in his body in that one strike.
"Empowered Chi Strike," Naruto said quietly into Syura's ear. The victim of the blow to the stomach gagged and doubled over from the unexpectedly powerful blow before the wind was blown out of him. Then, his feet lifted off the ground just from the power of the strike.
"Now...fly."
Syura flew upon release, crashing into a wall nearly ten feet away without even having the time to soften the blow to his back. He choked and opened his mouth to yell in pain, but even that hurt. Internally, the portion of his ribs that had been hit by the punch had shattered, making breathing a very laborious task. However, that was the least of his worries. Before he could even begin to slide down the wall, another punch hammered into his stomach, and another, and a third, which actually forced to break through the wooden wall.
The wood splinters and supports folded inwards and fell to the ground, crashing down and hitting the old mats and broken down wears of the building. Syura coughed before suddenly widening his eyes. He felt something rise out of his throat. Was that...blood his eyes saw on the ground? His blood?
Hearing footsteps quickly approach him, Syura immediately went on full alert. The white-haired teen rose from the ground slowly, spitting blood out the side and then plastering a smirk on his face.
"Is that all you got, brat?" he asked the moment the blond had stepped through the hole in the wall.
"Did you think I was done?" Naruto retorted calmly, his blue eyes still glowing somehow in the darkness of the room. It was a complete contrast to the dark, black visage of his shadowed face. The white-haired man gulped internally, not expecting this development, but kept a strong face on for show.
"No, but...I guess we'll have to take this play to another day. Let's have some fun another time, shall we?" Syura told the blond in a proud tone as he took a step back. The moment he did, Naruto noticed that the body of the teen slowly began to fade away into another kind of hole in the space that was lit up. Syura turned around, his bloodied face no longer in view of the blond. His body and back slowly faded from vision, disappearing from Naruto's eyes.
"I don't think so. I'm having too much fun now, and it's a bad time to get lazy."
A hand gripped Syura's shoulder on the other end of the hole, something the white-haired teen didn't expect. Then, he was forcefully pulled back and thrown with so much force, he flew another ten feet before rolling on the mats on the ground. By the time he had regained his bearings about him, the blond was staring down at him with his viciously lit up blue eyes, his hands clenched at his sides.
"The person that's making me have so much fun should remain for the rest of the party and take responsibility...right?" Naruto asked as his right fist actually begin to exude a kind of power.
'Chi Strike: Overflow.'
Syura caught the right fight with wide eyes and immediately went into "get the hell out" mindset.
"Ah...you aren't running. Those that are scum don't escape me." Naruto bent lower so that his eyes were now directly even with Syura's visibly shaking orbs. "What, did I read your thoughts? What, maybe if you used your Imperial Arms, you would've won?" The blond grinned. It wasn't one of those kind grins, but one of absolute insanity or knowledge of the current situation of the other person's lack of control in the situation and his enjoyment in the knowledge of that fact. "Well, here's your chance."
Suddenly, Syura disappeared, much faster than before. It was as if he had sunk from the ground and simply whisked away.
About fifty feet above the building he had been in, Syura exited out of a warp and created one above him, continuously making a chain until he was high into the sky. He would show that little brat who was the top predator in this food chain! Once he felt he was high enough, he slowly let gravity fall over and take on its toll. His body arced over the ridiculously large moon in his perspective, and then he dropped, creating warps to drop down faster. The moment he felt he was fast enough, he appeared right above the blond.
At least that's what he thought.
The moment his hand reached out for the blond's hand to slam it to the ground and end Naruto, he caught, from the corner of his eyes, a flash of light above him. When the flash disappeared, his widened eyes exposed a certain specific blond reaching out his hand from Syura, his eyes showing a kind of hell-bent determination to end him that very moment.
"I knew it. You were too prideful to escape and would try to kill me one more time."
'He followed me?!' Syura screamed mentally.
Naruto's hand gripped Syura's head in a vice-like grip, and he prepared to slam him down into the cement portion of the floor. However, on instinct, Syura created another portal, and Naruto immediately reacted by kicking Syura away from him and into the portal. There was nothing he could do about letting the enemy escape; he had no other choice and move to make at that moment.
Naruto stared down at the space where the portal last was with an indifferent look to his eye, his bloodied jacket and pants, as well as hair, slowly swaying with the night wind.
"Naruto?" Air called out from outside after nearly a minute. The blond didn't respond, his eyes transfixed on the spot where Syura last was.
'He knows my name...'
The blond slowly turned around after nearly another fifteen seconds of silence, his eyes meeting Air's concerned ones.
"We need to get you out of the Capital. Now."
XShuyaX
(Location: Night Raid's Base: Meeting Room)
"So...you're telling me the Prime Minister's son is back and that you destroyed him in a fight?"
"No," Naruto told Najenda, rejected her assumption. "I didn't destroy him. He underestimated. If he had fought seriously from the very beginning, I would have lost. However, it is true that he is back...and he knows my name." The blond gave a the girl to his left a glance from the corner of his eyes. Najenda caught his movement and gave Air her attention.
"Well," the white-haired ex-general began, crossing one leg over the other before placing her right cheek against her right fist. "I would think you made the right move in removing her from the Capital. However, Air, what compelled you to say his name?"
"I..." the pink-haired girl began, hesitating as she saw the stares from every Night Raid member fixed on her. Every one of them seemed accusatory, almost deadly in her perspective. She knew she had made an egregious mistake, but she didn't mean to. "I don't know...I thought Naruto was going to die."
"And I probably would have if she didn't buy me time," Naruto agreed. He shrugged. "Honestly, I don't care whether he knows my name or not. I just needed to get Air the hell out of the Capital."
"You don't care your name is on the hit list and that you would suddenly be targeted by possibly hundreds of people?" Najenda asked with an interested expression. Naruto gave her a shocked face with eyes the size of dinner plates.
"What?" was his intelligent remark.
"Ah, come on. It's not that bad, Naruto!" Leone cheered. Naruto turned to give her an incredulous glare. "All you do is kill a few willing victims and go about your daily life. No big deal!"
"Agreed," Akame stated quietly from her side of the room.
"...You know what, I don't care. Just let me sleep on it and wake up tomorrow and pretend to give a damn about this whole assassination business." Naruto turned around quickly, his back to his leader as he began to walk out of the meeting chambers. Right when he was about to exit through the door, he stopped. "Oh, and I'm taking Tatsumi's orange pillow. It'll make a nice addition to my orange bed. You said he's gone right?"
"Yes?" Najenda replied.
"Okay, then we should be fine. Oh...his disappearance might have to do with Syura...I think. I don't know."
And then he walked right out, Yuna quickly following after the blond teen.
The moment those two exited the room, all eyes went back to Air. The pink-haired girl felt the stares weighing down on her. Chelsea, Akame, Najenda, Leone, Mine, Lubbock...all of them staring at her with their deadly serious eyes.
"The real question is what should we do with you," Najenda started slowly, her lone, visible eyes never changing expression throughout the meeting. "You can't go to the Capital and continue your infiltration without risking your life and Night Raid's security. You aren't a combat specialist and probably cannot be trained to become one. There really is very little you can do about your current situation other than become a part of the Revolutionary Army's labor girl."
Suddenly, a knife flew into the room, slamming near Akame. No one reacted to the knife, even though they saw it coming: they all caught on that it was a kunai. When the blade sunk into the pillar, Akame removed the knife and took out the paper that had somehow been caught by the blade.
"Don't even think about it," she read off the paper. She raised her ruby-eyes to her leader. "What do you think?"
Najenda sighed deeply and just lit a smoke.
"I think Naruto should go to sleep." Another knife and paper flew in, this time near Najenda. She didn't even blink and read the note.
'Damn right I do.' She wasn't even going to ask how he can send messages through papers and kunais, and also throw the weapon without them seeing him.
Najenda's smoke brightened as she inhaled. She closed her eyes and uncrossed her legs before standing up.
"We'll decided what your fate will be when Naruto is actually among us...awake. And Tatsumi...when he returns from wherever the hell he went." She began to walk down. However, right before she crossed Air, she whispered quietly, but loudly enough for everyone to hear. "However...if you endanger any of us, your fate will be death alone."
Chapter End.
A/N: Sorry for the late update. I'm kind of tired, so I'm not going to say much other than I hope you enjoyed, and that I hope you leave some reviews, criticisms, and others. It's 2 A.M. here, so I'll be going to sleep now.
KenzoXShuyita,
Nodding Off.
'I guess I'll actually have to use my Teigu just to beat this trash.'