Naruko looked the other way while Akane ran off to see her boyfriend. She had heard several rumors about Akane recently and none of them inspired any good thoughts.
Akane was scheduled to become the Otome of a rival country. One that would take great offense should she date her boyfriend Kazu.
Which was why Naruko had waved her usual fee of a book to read later. She felt sorry for Akane, who would have to choose between love and duty at this rate.
"Sorry I'm late Naruko-chan! Any news?" whispered Akane.
"None so far. Any luck figuring out how to deal with this mess?" asked Naruko.
Akane shook her head.
"Well if worse came to worse you could run off and elope," said Naruko.
"I couldn't possibly do that!" said Akane.
"Why not? It's not like you two don't already care for each other," said Naruko.
"Because if we did that..."
"You would have to quit being an Otome. Did it never occur to you that you could...I don't know...adopt a kid?"
"But then we would never..."
"What if you became his wife and helped choose the Otome you want to protect you?"
Akane had no answer to this problem.
"It's none of my concern if you chose love over duty. The only advice I can give to you Akane-nee-sama, is to chose what you feel right in your heart. Your heart will never lead you wrong."
Two weeks later...
Naruko grinned as she watched Kazu kidnap Akane from the ceremony. Those two were adorable.
"So I hear that the repairs on the castle are nearly done," said Nina.
"Yup. Mashiro could have waited until the country was stable financially, but I guess she's tired of Garderobe's hospitality."
Nina was aware Naruko didn't think much of Mashiro, who was a spoiled brat.
"I've been meaning to ask this for a while...where did you get that odd ring on your right hand?"
"I found it in Artai. It's awesome right? It's supposed to be a replica of a lost Meister Gem called the Neptune Emerald."
"If they had the ring, I bet you also got the earring to go with it didn't you?" joked Nina.
"Yup!" said Naruko pulling it out of her small bag of treasures.
"It looks almost authentic!" said Nina impressed.
'You have no idea how real it is,' thought Naruko.
"Hey Nina, if I were a Pillar, would you become my Otome partner?" asked Naruko.
"I thought Pillars worked alone?" asked Nina.
"They do, but sometimes they're allowed to have partners. Like Shizuru-onee-sama and Natsuki-dono," said Naruko.
"Yes, but those two are..."
"Well the special circumstances behind a Pillar working with a partner Otome to help them are pretty clear," said Naruko.
"You mean they have to be partners in more than one sense?" asked Nina.
"Apparently. And not in the just-as-friends sort of way either," said Naruko.
"Naruko, if you ever become a Pillar and I haven't been made into an Otome, I'd be happy to be your partner," said Nina with a blush.
Her feelings for Naruko had been growing stronger than the ones for her stepfather Sergay for months now.
"Nina-chan!" said Naruko, glomping her.
A few days later, Naruko gave her the earring.
"If you ever need luck, or something bad happens, I want you to wear this," said Naruko.
Nina put it with her watch. She had no idea what would happen once she put that earring on in place of her Coral one.
"I can't believe those two countries would start a fight at this time..." said Naruko.
"I know. It does seem rather odd that they would chose now of all times to have an argument through their Otome," said Nina.
"Are you heading down to the mausoleum tonight Naruko?"
"Ms. Maria promised to change the flowers for me. I think she likes the fact I'm so respectful to the Otome who died in their duty," said Naruko.
In fact Ms. Maria had quickly become her favorite teacher. Because they both held a similar respect for the dead, Naruko knew she could trust the woman to an extent.
"So what do you think happened Naruko-chan?" asked Arika.
"I think that someone is on the move. This was no border dispute. I mean the timing alone makes this battle far too suspicious," said Naruko.
Then came the news that one of the Corals was leaving...Miya Clochette. Naruko knew something big was on the verge of breaking out.
It took Naruko an hour to find the girl and get the real story.
"I should have known that viper was behind this," said Naruko.
Tomoe Marguerite had given her a bad vibe since day one. The witch was in love with Shizuru-onee-sama, and was willing to sabotage the efforts of other Otome candidates to get what she wanted.
After the sound thrashing Arika gave her, Naruko became extra vigilant in shadowing her.
"Nina Wang, Naruko Uzumaki, Arika Yumemiya. Congratulations. You three have been chosen as the Corals to perform the inaugural Dance Battle during the unveiling of the new Castle," said Ms. Maria.
"Hai," said Naruko.
"Naruko-chan, why do you always have those weird things strapped to your arms and legs when we go running?" asked Arika a few days later.
"These? They're weights so I can get extra training done," said Naruko.
"How heavy are they? You don't want to strain yourself too much," said Nina.
"Ano..." said Naruko looking away sheepishly.
"Naruko, just how heavy are those weights?" asked Nina suspicious.
"It's better to show you..." said Naruko embarrassed.
She took off an arm weight, which was lighter than the ones on her legs and put it on the ground gently. Nina tried to pick it up, but couldn't. It took the combined effort of Nina and Arika to lift the thing more than an inch before they had to drop it. It landed with a dull thud, creating a small crater.
"Naruko-chan, how heavy is that thing?!" said Arika.
"About fifty to sixty pounds. The ones around my legs are a hundred each."
"You have the combined weight of over three hundred pounds on you...how the hell have you been able to move so easily?!" said Nina in absolute shock.
"I usually have around four hundred, but I've been taking it easy. If you want, I can get some basic weights for you two to practice with...they'll be a lot lighter but they're pretty much the same as mine," said Naruko.
"How much lighter?" asked Nina.
"About ten to twenty pounds each. Like I said, they're basic weights," said Naruko.
She had graduated to the advanced ones in four months when she started the Academy. Those weighed four times the amount.
"No wonder you're so strong!" said Arika impressed.
Once they had the basic set, it took Nina and Arika a few days to get used to the additional weight. But they didn't complain once about it.
"We will begin the Graduation Ceremony with a Dance Battle between Corals and Pearls."
Naruko was between Nina and Arika while they unveiled the new castle.
The second she saw the monstrosity that had taken the place of Mashiro's original design, she was disgusted.
Slaves filled the streets as the Schwarz took control of Windbloom.
Natsuki used her status as the Second Pillar and Headmistress to do a mass authorization of all robes. They would need the help fighting this enemy.
"Naruko-chan, what do we..."
"Nina, do you still have that earring I gave you?" asked Naruko seriously.
"The replica?" asked Nina.
"It's not a replica," said Naruko.
In fact ever since she had the Gem she had been slowly altering it so that it could be used with chakra. It helped that one of her chakra natures was water.
"Then you're really..."
"The Master that belongs to the Neptune Emerald? Yes. Though to be honest it was an accident I bonded with the ring. I only meant to try it on for fun, but it won't come off," said Naruko.
"The only reason a Master Gem would refused to come off..."
"Is if I had the authority or bloodline to use it," finished Naruko.
Naruko turned serious for a moment...and she worried Nina.
"I am Uzumaki Naruko, daughter of the last Princess of Whirlpool and the Head of the Uzumaki Clan. Thanks to the way I ended up in this world, I can take possession of a Master Gem and have an Otome at my side."
"Then why are you an Otome?"
"Because I want to be. In our world, we don't have any stigma against same-gender couples so long as a few things are done. Adoption, surrogates, even taking multiple partners is allowed. That's why I'm allowed to be an Otome," said Naruko with a smile.
"Shinobi live fast, fight hard...and die young. Living to the age of fifty is considered a miracle at best, let alone retaining your sanity. Naruko," said Jiraiya. He had come to watch her fight.
"Hai, I know. Mission, Start," said Naruko.
She took out a mask, one designed to look like a fox.
"ANBU Naruko Uzumaki, awaiting orders taicho," said the girl.
Naruko had been inducted as a secret ANBU when she was ten as a joke by Anko. It was a way to counter the Uchiha kid should the need arise.
Just because a majority of Konoha treated the Uchiha clan as the next coming of the Rikudo Sannin didn't mean the clans did. Some, like the Hyuuga, felt that they needed a countermeasure in case the boy went rogue, as he obviously did.
So they picked Naruko as their counter. The third had no idea of the fact she had been getting training from the ANBU on the sly.
Naruko's designation was the Sly Fox. She was only called in when a...younger...ANBU was needed. This was her first official mission.
"Nina-chan, I suggest you follow orders for now. If the system turns off..."
"I understand, Naruko," said Nina.
If the robe system were temporarily disabled, then Nina could replace her Coral gem with the Neptune Emerald. Since she was well aware that she was in fact the true Princess of Windbloom, that meant Nagi could use her against Garderobe. Naruko never held back information that could be used against her later.
Naruko was in the air port, and Ersty had unleashed her Slave. She could end this farce now...as much as she liked Ersty she wasn't above killing a monster. She had chosen her path and she knew the consequences. Then she saw Nagi come with Nina with that smarmy look on his face.
She could see Nina had removed her original earring, though Nagi hadn't noticed it. Her left hand was clenched tightly around something.
Naruko had a very good idea what it might be.
Ersty went to kill Arika, tears streaming down her face. Sergay got in the way and Nina watched in horror as her father was cruelly slashed down.
"Otou-san!"
"Shit. Jiraiya, can you heal him of that wound?" asked Naruko.
"My healing ability isn't on par with Tsunade, but a basic slash like that should be doable. Get him out of there before your girlfriend does something stupid!"
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Four streaks of orange and blond ran past the injured man, grabbing him and evacuating him from the area to where Jiraiya was.
"He'll live, Nina-chan. Now, are you going to allow the coward who orchestrated this farce get away with trying to kill him?" called out Naruko. No one recognized her except Nina.
Nina looked at Nagi with absolute anger and betrayal in her eyes. She took the earring she had been clutching in her left hand and put it in place of where her Coral gem once was.
"How interesting... I didn't know you already had a Meister Gem on you Nina-chan. But it's useless without the other one," said Nagi.
"Nina Wang," said the masked girl.
"I know," said Nina. She jumped off the roof and towards the girl.
"Oh? And who might you be?" asked Nagi.
"Someone sent to end this farce," said Naruko flatly. She looked at Nina, who was at her side.
"Nina Wang, Otome of the Neptune Emerald, do you acknowledge me as your Master?"
"Yes."
"Then hear me... In my name, I hereby free your powers," said Naruko, moving the mask so she could kiss the earring.
"Yes, Master!" said Nina.
"Shall we?" asked Naruko grinning.
"Materialize!" came the twin cries.
Naruko's disguise over her earring fell off as she and Nina materialized their robes.
"Impossible! You can't Materialize your robes without a Master unless..." said Smith.
"In the name of the hidden Sixth Pillar and that of the Head of the Uzumaki Clan, I authorized my own robes. Too bad you idiots didn't listen to the rumors," said Naruko smirking.
"Where did you find the Neptune Emerald?" asked Nagi.
"There's a fascinating series of ruins in your country that haven't been fully explored," said Naruko... "Too bad it's lost most of the good stuff."
It was clear who had taken it too.
"Naruko-itoko, what's going on?" asked Arika.
"Arika, get your Master out of here. Nina and I can handle these bozos..."
"R-right..." said Arika, grabbing Mashiro. She flew off before anyone could stop her while Aoi took Mikoto and left.
"Nina, you're my back-up, okay?"
"Understood...partner," said Nina.
"I'm sorry Ersty, but you've chosen your own path when you brought that out," said Naruko apologetically.
Ersty was crying even more now, as she knew what the girl would do. There was no hesitation...Naruko destroyed the Slave with a single strike of her Rasengan.
Nina had her own tears watching her friend fade away, but this was war.
"Nina, let's get out of here before reinforcements arrive," said Naruko.
"R-right..."