/AN/: YOOOSH, it's chapter 4! Hrm...darn it, I think it's gonna be hard writing this chapter. I don't know what got into me when I left chapter 3 with that kind of -Next Chapter- preview. *Sigh* Now, how am I supposed to write it down...? Oh, I know! Let the magic do its work!
Speaking of magic, I have one magician that will read this chapter's disclaimer. Well, she's a witch more than a magician...hey, isn't she a saint in this story? Bah, whatever. Let's see...*reads long list* Yup, it's really her. Ladies and gentlereaders! I present to you, Bernkastel!
Bern: …
Me: …uh, Bern, you gotta give a reaction at least.
Bern: Is this something akin to a joke? Why am I brought here?
Me: Why, to read a disclaimer, of course! Isn't that particularly obvious already?
Bern: That's why I'm asking you… *fear mode activate* why did you bring me here for something as meaningless as this?
Me: Geh… W-Well, it's just that you're next on the disclaimer's list, an-and you're a great character and all, s-so I thought it'd be great if y-you read it. It m-might reel in more viewers…
Bern: Hm… I don't see how viewers will be interested more if I read it, but I'll see if your prediction is really true.
Me: *mutters* Talk about an indecisive saint…
Bern: Then, I'll disclaim your story to prevent unneeded controversy from the real owners. To ensure the validity, I'll put in the red truth.
Disclaimer: [Red] SpinLord does not own Naruto, and nor does he owns Angel Beats. Both franchises are too far out of his reach, and therefore it is impossible for him to own them. That is the truth. [Red]
Me: *mutters* You didn't have to add salt to my injury. Not to mention putting it in red…
-xo-
Soundtrack listing: Marina – Alchemy ; Marina – My Song
-Chapter 4-
The Song of Iwasawa Masami
Frederica's Realm
At that time, when all things were proceeding quite peacefully in the world known as the Afterlife, a conflict was imminent. No one knew this, because none were able to witness such an event.
The battle was between the "Witch of Certainty" Lambdadelta and the current "Saint of Time and Space", former "Witch of Miracles" Frederica Bernkastel. And in this battle, they decided to pull out their stops.
A battle on that level should've had a tremendously dangerous effect on the multiverse. Frederica knew this beforehand and projected a massive barrier to surround her and Lambdadelta, intending to prevent their witchcraft from affecting any of the worlds. The barrier was one that would be able to hold off even her own power, which was currently higher than Lambdadelta.
However, the fight had dragged on far too long.
It didn't matter how much they use magic. No matter how much spears and tantrums Lambdadelta shot towards Frederica, the saint would only use her scythe to tear the fabric of reality and send Lambda's attack to another dimension. Their fighting skills were as opposed as their magical elements.
"…This is getting nowhere." Frederica finally said. Her deep blue hair swayed back and forth as she balanced her big scythe on both arms. Her black cardigan was torn all over after taking damage from Lambdadelta's attacks.
Lambdadelta merely laughed at the remark, sounding pleased. "You have a point there, Bern. With how things are progressing, we will only tire ourselves out from fighting so long. I have to admit, your saint powers are really powerful." She herself had taken substantial attacks head on, though it didn't seem like she was affected. Her pink dress had tears all over.
"As are yours, my friend," The saint let her scythe dispel in an array of blue wisps as she had no reason to use it anymore. "Now you understand that you cannot lay a hand on that world as long as I'm here to stop you."
"Aw, that's mean, Bern~! All I wanted was to play with you and you're already so riled up!" the blonde witch of certainty whined childishly. Pouting incessantly like the child she seem to be, Lambda looked away with a dissatisfied look. She grumbled something incoherent before her eyes lit up and widened, her head then turned back to look at Frederica and smile widely. "Hey, Bern, I got an idea! Let's try a different way to fight!"
"A different way…you say?" Frederica said in confusion.
"Hm! We've been fighting with our personal magic for far too long now. Even when we've put all we got into it, none of us seemed to be winning. And you know, if you really want to protect all these worlds, you shouldn't clash your miracle magic with my certainty magic too much."
Certainty and miracles are two very different things. They counteract each other too much, and when someone clashes magic imbued with those two elements respectively a contradictory will occur, resulting in the damage of reality itself.
"…I usually wouldn't do this, but I agree with you," Frederica admitted. She didn't want to make any damage – no matter how miniscule – to the multiverse. If she continues to clash magic with Lambdadelta, the effects will be off the scale. Even her barrier wouldn't last long enough to contain the effects once she exhausts her energy. "However, I will have to inquire what method you suggest with fight with."
"I actually have an idea," Lambda answered cheerfully. "How about we fight, say, like in that game?"
"…" Frowning, the blue-haired saint stared at her friend/opponent expressionlessly. "What are you proposing?"
"Weeeell, if you don't mind, I'm thinking of borrowing the world your precious client was sent off to for our board." The blonde witch then smirked playfully, "Of course, I don't take no for an answer."
"I thought I told you that I don't intend to turn that world into something like Rokkenjima." Frederica interjected coldly. Her expression didn't change as Lambda broke out in laughter, possibly since she didn't find it amusing.
"So you rather we fight and have the possibility of endangering all the worlds than playing on one world with little to no risks at all?"
Frederica gritted her teeth. "Are you certain that the effects won't be disturbing the world?" She will hate herself for this, she knew, but she can't risk the other worlds for the sake of a single world. Even though that single world is where Naruto currently resides, she…
"Aw, come on, have some more faith in me! I'm not the uncontrollable magic core that I was when I was still an apprentice." Lambda once again whined.
'Long on faith, short on trust. It's more to the fact that I don't trust you enough to entrust this world's safety to you.' Frederica glanced at the Orb of Time that represented the world «universal code: Angel Beats» and gave it an unsure look. After a moment, though, she decided that she would concur with Lambdadelta's suggestion.
All she had to do is to win against her and ensure that the witch doesn't damage the world in any way.
"State your terms, Lambdadelta."
When Naruto arrived at the sports hall, there were already several people who arrived earlier than him. He looked around curiously, wondering why no one had gotten concert-crazy while holding cardboards with graffiti on it. It took him some moments to realize that the Girls Dead Monster hadn't even started playing yet, to which he sighed in relief. "Phew, looks like I made it in time."
To add to his relief, the NPC Konoha Eleven wasn't there. And for once, his conscience hoped that they wouldn't be there, for his own sake.
People were milling about, but none were familiar to him. Fat chance at that; they're all NPCs, after all. Naruto decided to wander around the hall and kill time by admiring its large empty space. Unfortunately, that got old very quickly.
"…isn't there a ramen stand around here?" He kind of missed Ichiraku Ramen already. The reliable ramen stand was always there when he was hungry or bored.
He wondered where the band members were. Judging by the time, they should've started already. His eyes found themselves staring at a lone clock that just happened to be stuck on a nearby wall. 18.58? For crying out loud, would it kill them to start the concert two minutes early?! The anticipation is killing him! Ah…but with how this world works, it wouldn't matter if he dies, since he'd be revived anyway.
'Aw, look at me, now I'm beginning to think that death isn't all that scary.' He thought pathetically to himself. Was his moral so damaged that he no longer fear Shinigami?
"Correct me if I'm wrong, brat, but I think that's actually a good thing." A grisly booming voice said inside his mind.
'Kurama, huh? Been quite a while since I last heard your old voice. But honestly, though, does your first appearance after a long time had to be one where you contradict what I say? Seriously, I think your whole life is dedicated to prove me wrong no matter what I do.'
"Good day to you too, brat. And, just to answer your curiosity, contradicting you is for my own entertainment." The fox grinned at the blond through the bars of his cage, satisfied with his answer. His Jinchuriki, meanwhile, sighed at the ancient demon's behavior.
'Well, never mind that. I can tell from experience that whenever you pop up in my head, something important is going down. You'd never waste your time just to say a periodical "hi" to me.' Naruto thought, voicing his prediction to his Bijuu. The nine-tailed fox gave a short bark of laugh. "You know me too well, brat. You're right, I've found some curious pieces of information."
'Courtesy of Rika-chan?'
"Unfortunately, no; though I've been wondering why she hasn't shown up recently. She must be busy." Kurama shrugged his shoulders. "Either way, she wasn't with us when I figured things out."
Naruto hummed to himself in response, getting a little curious about what Kurama said about Frederica. He shrugged momentarily; Frederica could be as busy as she has to. It's not her duty to keep him safe or to check on him periodically. If she wasn't here for some reason, he wouldn't blame her. 'Oh well, I guess it can't be helped. Never mind that, what about the thing you found out?'
"I've been examining your newly-acquired power. Reiryoku… Whatever it is, the fact that it could function so well in your body is surprising, considering it is power from another universe."
'Well, Rika-chan did say that it's a type of power that works when you're dead. Spiritual power, right?'
"Right. I still remember what she said about that. Starting from there, I concluded that the reason why it's so compatible with your body is because your body is already familiar with that kind of energy."
'What do you mean?'
"Chakra has been your body's power source since the longest you can remember right? I don't think I have to remind you this, but chakra is an amalgam of physical and spiritual energy generated from inside. When a human dies, physical energy dissipates as the body can no longer contain any type of energy, thus breaking the perfect synchronization that created chakra." Kurama's red eyes seemed to glint in interest. Naruto noticed the fox smirking in an arrogant fashion. "When that happens, what do you think will happen to the spiritual energy?"
Now that the Tailed Beast mentioned it, it got Naruto thinking. That's right, what will? Separated from its physical counterpart, spiritual energy could no longer form chakra. But what exactly happen to it?
"The answer is simple." Kurama stated, even before Naruto had the chance to voice his curiosity. "Spiritual energy's source is the human's soul. Wherever the soul goes to, spiritual energy is sure to follow. We can only assume that, using your remnant spiritual energy as a medium, reiryoku began to expand inside you and act as a replacement for the overall chakra you used to have."
'So…in a sense, after I died, my chakra is only half of what it used to be. So when I received reiryoku, I regained my full power again?' Naruto made a confused face at that. 'Wait, uh…I can't say it's chakra then, since it's now all spiritual power.'
Well, certainly, he couldn't actually refer to his energy source as "chakra" anymore, ever since it got replaced with reiryoku. With how long he had been using chakra in his body, it wasn't surprising that he got confused. Though, there is another thing that puzzled him regarding chakra.
'Hey, Kurama, you said that when I die I lose my chakra, right?' Naruto recited the fact. 'If so, then how come you still have it?'
"…That, brat, is a mystery that even I found confusing." Kurama admitted sourly. He wasn't used to being unknowledgeable about things, and his state of puzzlement only served to make him uncomfortable. "Let me state this first to you; I died along with you. For some reason, the chakra in me didn't get replaced by reiryoku like yours did, but it never actually lost its amalgam state anyway, so I can understand that. Question is, why? Why am I dead, yet I still retain my nine tails worth of chakra inside me?"
'Don't ask me that, I'm not the one who controlled something like that. I'd say ask Rika-chan, but she's not here to explain it.' Naruto said, sounding uncomfortable himself. However, he knew better than to make things more complicated than it already was, so he calmed Kurama with a few words, 'Oh well, I guess we'll just see later. It's not like something's wrong with you.'
Kurama nodded, feeling better after hearing Naruto's nonchalant words. He never was the type to worry about complicated things – the same goes for his blockheaded container – so he was actually pretty grateful for Naruto's calming gesture. Even so, the action was mildly out of character for the blond, so Kurama decided to use that. "Well, it's not like I can discuss such difficult matters with you, brat. With how small your brain is, even in comparison to other humans, I doubt you can keep up!"
Ignoring Kurama's accompanying laughter (which annoyed the hell out of him), Naruto settled back to observing his surroundings. He better find something to get his mind off the annoying nine-tailed fox, otherwise he would go three-tails and break into a hissy fit with a chance of flying tantrums. As much as the idea appealed Kurama, Naruto chose the safe path.
Surprisingly, his conversation with his Bijuu didn't take as long as he thought. To be frank, it didn't even reach a minute; proven when the blond looked back at the clock and it read 18.59. In-mind talk does proceed quicker than normal, or at least that's how he saw it.
"*Sigh*…one more minute, huh?" Naruto muttered to himself. One minute; the word itself marked the short span of time between the present and the future, yet it felt like it would feel like an eternity of waiting Iwasawa's band performance to go on. "Hurry up, Masami-chan. Otherwise I'll have to resort to prank this whole hall."
At the meantime…
While Naruto was pacing around in anxiety, the Girls Dead Monster members were busy setting up their stage behind the wide red curtain covering the stage. Nothing too fancy, just tuning some instruments here and there. Irie made sure that she was extra careful when checking over her drum set, otherwise any audience outside would hear the drums and the surprise wouldn't be so much.
The one who might be busier than others could be and should be Iwasawa, who was busying herself with propping her favorite acoustic guitar on a velvet-red cushioned chair positioned at the back of the stage. Her electric guitar seemed fine when she tuned it, so she had the time to do menial things like this.
Though, this wasn't menial by any chance. The acoustic guitar now sitting in front of her was what started her journey, the source of it all. When she had found it lying among the heap of junk back when she was still alive… She didn't understand how, but she just knew that it was more than just a simple guitar. Iwasawa smiled to herself. "You get a special seat." She said to her guitar, knowing that it wouldn't give her a reply.
She stood up and turned around, slinging her electric guitar around her shoulder before walking towards the front edge of the stage, right in front of a microphone stand. "It's time." She said to She took a deep calming breath, steadying her stiff nerves. Basic stage fright was nothing that she couldn't handle. Being a performer for as long as she can remember, overcoming stage fright was elementary for a person such as Iwasawa Masami.
And she was certain that her friends behind her were the same in that regard.
"Alright." she started enthusiastically, "Let's put on a show!"
Then, with a powerful strum to her guitar and the rise of the red curtain, the concert began.
Meanwhile…
Angel Area Infiltration Team
Yuri's infiltration team consisted of several people. Some were blockheads with enough individual force for team resistance should they meet up with an obstacle or two (Noda, Hideki, Matsushita 5th Dan), the brain of the team obviously goes to Takeyama-kun (Christ!), and Otonashi (he didn't fit any category). With a team like that, infiltrating the girls' dorm was easier than pie; more so when more than half of its inhabitants were busy attending GirlDeMo's concert.
Eh? Wait, girls' dorm?
That kind of thought penetrated Otonashi's mind when he first got a hold of where they exactly were. Unfortunately, he couldn't say anything he had in mind as he himself was curious about what they were supposed to do. After all, he could be wrong. He optimistically reasoned with himself that perhaps 'Angel Area' resided someplace secretly hidden in the girls' dorm…probably.
He steeled his nerves with a simple "Let's do this." phrase to himself.
However, he grew more and more skeptic as they ascended through the stairs, stopped in front of a normal-looking door, and let Matsushita 5th Dan pick on the door lock like a professional thief. And it opened rather quickly, in his opinion. Who knew the big guy can actually do things like that? Back to the matter at hand, though, as the infiltration team…well, infiltrated the mysterious room, Otonashi's skeptic level was already sky-high.
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
Both calls came from the Blockhead Frontier of the team (i.e. Noda and Hideki). Yuri finally came in, looking over the dark room with mild nostalgia. Well, she'd been here for several times now, so it's only natural. "Alright, infiltration successful." She said.
"Ha?" Otonashi let out.
"Angel Area infiltration." Yuri simply answered, as if it wasn't obvious enough. "Close the door already!"
Otonashi neither complied nor responded verbally, but he did close the door with a poker face. He heard Yuri telling Takeyama something regarding the computer, which the bespectacled boy responded with a polite request to call him Christ. Not surprisingly, the request went unnoticed.
"No, I mean…this is…" Otonashi started as he began to realize that his team members were either desperate or…just a bunch of lunatics. He pressed the light switch, turning the lamp on and enlightening the room, and thus revealed…
"This is just a normal girl's room! We're trespassing!"
The other members wore a look of surprise when Otonashi turned on the lights, which practically made their presence visible had anyone been seeing them at that moment. Mortified by that miniscule chance, Matsushita immediately berated the red-haired boy, "What the hell are you doing? This is the girls' dorm! Turn off the lights!" It seemed that the big-statured teenager ignored the fact that this was a girls' dorm, and yes, they were trespassing.
Hideki sighed aloud and palmed his face. He knew something like this would occur sooner or later. Otonashi was still too naïve to understand the way they work here.
"And 'computer-controlled'? There's just one computer in this room for crying out loud!" He'd expected a high-tech facility with Pentagon-level security, not a normal girl's room without all that sci-fi junk.
The operation proceeded despite Otonashi's protests. Takeyama connected the computer with his laptop using a data cable before starting a particular program in his laptop, undoubtedly to crack the password set up to protect Angel's computer. Otonashi was introduced to the business end of Noda's spear-axe when he started to create a ruckus again. "What the hell! I was just starting to think that you weren't so bad, too!"
Unbeknownst to the amnesiac young man, his opinion about his newly-found friends will be an ever-changing subject.
When the curtains first rose, Naruto instantly knew that the concert was starting. Judging by the powerful strum of an electric guitar that followed the rising curtains, it was certainly a fact. He had expected the Girls Dead Monster to make a drop-dead amazing performance.
And damn, he wasn't disappointed in the slightest.
They were playing a familiar tune that he couldn't quite remember. He only remembered what song they were playing when Iwasawa began singing; lyrics regarding a certain 'crow song' flying out her mouth in a rhythm. "They're…really good!" Naruto exclaimed. He didn't know why he sounded so surprised; he should've expected nothing less. The band, Girls Dead Monster, played so well that they gave him cold feet for the second, without any apparent reason. They really functioned well as a team.
Naruto felt the edges of his mouth curving upwards into a full-blown grin. He couldn't explain it quite clearly, but…somehow he felt really happy. The feeling itself was strange; it was like having hundreds of butterflies tickling your insides. It left him breathless…yet, it wasn't a torture.
"I guess this is the miracle that you talked about." Naruto chuckled after releasing the breath he unconsciously held in. "Not bad, Masami-chan. Nah, scratch that…" He kept on watching, mesmerized by the song and how Iwasawa looked genuinely happy singing on that stage. "…this is the greatest miracle there is, dattebayo!"
But there was something missing, he realized. And as Naruto looked around, he noticed that the place was lacking some audience. He frowned and thought, 'Just this many when there's this kind of amazing concert? This can't be right.' There should be literally hundreds of NPC students watching the concert, perhaps more since Yui placed a lot of posters. And yet there wasn't that many people at all. 'I wonder if they didn't know about the concert…'
An idea popped into the blond ninja's head and prompted him to smirk. 'Well, if they aren't coming…' He turned around and walked out of the hall, 'I might as well bring them in!' His first step out of the hall greeted him with an empty road. His trained eyes, however, showed him that there were other students at several different locations. "Well then…" He charged up his reiryoku and brought his hands into a cross-fingered hand seal. "Tajuu Kagebunshin no Jutsu!"
Multiple clones spawned all around him, appearing in a bright flash of light. All of them wore similar smirks on their faces. Naruto gave them all a one-over before looking forward. "All right! We're going to get as much people as we can to attend this concert and make it livelier! No matter what, we're not going to let Masami-chan's concert go unnoticed!"
"OOOOH!" A loud battle cry answered the original Naruto's briefing, and all of them brought their fists up in excitement. The real Naruto then cried out another order, "SCATTER!" And they all went off in different directions. The real Naruto remained behind for a bit, watching as his clones sped off with their designated destination in mind. He looked to the side and grabbed a Girls Dead Monster poster that happened to be stuck on a wall nearby. He looked at the poster, smiling as he did so.
"There's no way that I'll let anyone miss this." He swore with confidence. "Not a chance!"
And so, he ran towards the school building with the intention of spreading the news. Most students should've heard about the concert, but there might be something holding them back from coming. Whatever it is, Naruto was determined to pull their attention away from it with God-knows-what methods.
"Hrm…" He began thinking as he jumped from one spot to another, "I guess I can't just leave it to my clones to bring them all in randomly. What can I use to make them all notice Masami-chan's concert?" Obviously, even with the help of his clones, bringing all of the NPC students will be a chore. He needed something that can help him call in as much people as he can get.
That was when he got an idea. What about a broadcast?
"I bet the school has something for that." With that in thought, Naruto closed his eyes and began sending mental commands to his clones. It was a technique that he figured he could do not so long ago before the war in his world. 'Oi, guys, I have a plan. Look for something that can be used for a broadcast! Once you find it, dispel to let me know its position!'
'ROGER!' answered the clones. Now all Naruto had to do was to wait for one of the clones to dispel and transfer their memories to him. Naturally, they couldn't do it when they still retain a physical form, and they didn't function like the Six Paths of Pain which had connected visions with the Rinnegan. Waiting is boring, concluded one Uzumaki Naruto, but that was all he could do.
Then it came. A sudden rush of memories, one consisting of a door leading to a room, slammed into his conscience like a speeding soccer ball. Naruto held his head at the sudden headache, sorting through the memories to recognize the clone's position before it dispelled. He barely came up with enough information, though. The last thing that the clone saw was a door, a rectangle plate hanging near the ceiling with the writing "principal's room", and a gigantic hammer.
What was the last one doing amidst the memories, anyway?
"Principal room, huh? Hm…well, the clone over there was the first one to dispel, so I better go and check." He said to himself as he took off to that direction. As much as he didn't prefer to go to that place again (as it reminds him of a certain angry battlefront leader), he knew he would be wasting his time waiting for other clones to report about their secondary mission.
He still wondered about that hammer, though. If it was the last thing that the clone saw, then it is most likely the cause of its disappearance. Perhaps an enemy was nearby?
'Nah, that's impossible.' Naruto thought as he walked up the stairs leading to the principal's room. 'It could be something autonomous, like a trap. Yeah, like a trap! Like the one that Masami-chan said will hit anyone who tries to enter the principal's room without the pass—!'
What occurred to Naruto's mind after that was something akin to having his head sledge-hammered, and his reaction was none the wiser. "EEEEH!? Don't tell that THAT'S what actually happened! It is, isn't it?!" He couldn't believe that he forgot about that one, and he was just an inch from turning the doorknob, too! If it wasn't for his speedy recollection, he'd be tuna-filling for a sandwich.
"A-Ah…that was dangerous. I almost activated it myself." Naruto said to himself as he chuckled nervously, "I must be really lucky."
The blond then stared at the door, wondering what he should do next. "If I can go past this door, then I can look for something like an intercom to do the broadcast. But…I don't know whether it's inside this room or not." He thought about it for a moment, shaking his head afterwards. He sighed, "That's wrong. I know that something like that is inside. I just… I mean, that kind of password…!"
Does he really have the guts to say it? To say something that cruel and contradictory to his beliefs? Maybe he does, but he wondered if it would be the right thing. Of course, he could just turn around and look for something else to announce the GirlDeMo's concert. His options weren't actually limited to an intercom anyway.
And yet…
"…"
He knew that it was just a hope-filled illusion.
"No God…no Buddha…no Angels." He uttered with regret. He felt something vibrate inside the door as he held the doorknob, which to him meant that the trap mechanism had been reset. He turned the doorknob and opened the door.
No hammer whatsoever attacked him as he did, but he still felt an impact in his chest. "Sheeesh…making me repeat those kinds of words…" he muttered. It had nothing to do with beliefs, he realized, but denying the existence of an existence who gave him his second chance of living felt wrong in numerous kinds of ways. It felt…bile on his tongue.
"Tch…I guess it can't be helped." Naruto entered the room with a faint feeling of nostalgic anxiety. "First I have to find an intercom..." His head turned from side to side looking for something that resembled an intercom, hoping that he didn't come here for nothing. Despite all that, he knew the one spot that had a high chance of having an intercom; on the principal's desk.
Be that as it may, though, it wasn't there. Naruto nearly lost hope before he noticed that the desk had a drawer. Feeling lucky, he pulled it and looked inside. It was then that he suspected a miracle worker was at work, because facing him from inside the drawer was a wired intercom. "OOH! I found it! It's kinda strange why something like this was stored inside the drawer…but whatever." He loosened the wire and connected it to a nearby electric socket. For reasons unknown, Naruto felt tempted to sit on the moving chair that looked so comfortable, but he didn't.
Naruto tapped the microphone part of the intercom a little, probably expecting to hear a thudding response like he usually did for normal microphones. Once he realized what he was doing, he slapped his forehead. He pressed the little button on the bottom plating of the intercom which turned on a small green light. Noticing this, the blond opened his mouth to begin talking.
"Ah, erm…good evening, everyone." He started lamely.
"By the gods, even I can do better than that." Kurama said distastefully.
'Shut up! This is harder than I thought! I haven't planned anything to say to so much people yet!' Naruto replied mentally. If only he still had the boisterous mentality of his twelve years-old self, speaking through an intercom wouldn't be so much trouble. He took a deep breath and calmed himself before speaking again, "E-Eto…do you guys and girls realize that you're missing out on a concert? And I mean, you're missing it BIG TIME, folks!"
(Activate soundtrack: Girls Dead Monster (Marina) – Alchemy)
He blinked. Yeah, he can do this! This isn't so hard after all! Naruto chuckled to himself, "I don't know if you're all a bunch of idiots or anything, but you must be a total blockhead to not notice the posters that's sticking everywhere. Girls Dead Monster is playing on stage, damn it! And you, what are you, working on essays in a stuffy classroom? LISTEN UP! Whoever's holding a pencil, drop it! Whoever's cleaning the classroom, drop your brooms and mops! Whoever's eating in the cafeteria, give it to Akimichi Chouji and be done with it! If you have some common sense in your head, then you'll understand this note: Girls Dead Monster, concert, sports hall!"
The image of numerous of NPC students suddenly going rampant at the announcement made Naruto grin like a maniac, and he was aware of that. He cackled for a bit, "What are you waiting for?! Move your sorry asses and let's hear them out! Girls. Dead. MONSTER!"
It was almost like magic (dark magic, considering the look on Naruto's face) when suddenly the school erupted in a mob of black and cream-colored clothes of male and female students respectively, who all ran in the direction of the sports hall. The dust cloud they left in their wake was impressive. Seeing this, a satisfied Naruto let out an evil-sound laugh, "KEKEKEKEKEKEKE!"
And the afterlife wondered if Hiruma Youichi had arrived.
Kurama looked genuinely surprised by how Naruto's announcement developed. He obviously didn't expect the yellow-haired idiot to be so blatant about it and even going to the edges of taunting. The fox found himself chuckling in amusement, "Hmph…nice one, if I do say so myself."
"Thanks. Now all we have to do is let the NPCs fill in the sports hall." Naruto then closed his eyes and sent a mental message to his clones to dispel. They did, and he was assaulted with a torrent of memories. Nothing much, but the mere number of it was enough to make him wobble on his feet. He ended up leaning to a windowsill for support.
"Woah…didn't expect that." Naruto let out in mild surprise.
"You okay, brat?" Kurama asked. He wasn't overly concerned about his host, but Naruto rarely gets dizzy after dispelling his clones.
"Yeah, just forgot to block out the clones' memories. I should be okay in a bit, but…*sigh*, I guess I need a seat." Naruto said as he plopped himself on the sofa of that room. He groaned and tilted his head upwards, staring at the plain ceiling in annoyance. "Great. Inarguably the greatest concert is in progress and I'm stuck here with migraine. Damn it all…"
Meanwhile, back to the concert…
Sports Hall
The song "Alchemy" was supposed to be the Girls Dead Monster's secret weapon. It was literally the undeniable, irresistible equalizer that will win back the crowd no matter the circumstances. This fact wasn't without basis, as "Alchemy" had never failed to raise the crowds' spirit.
It hadn't failed them even now. In fact, it succeeded in bringing more people to become their audience. Iwasawa noticed that she had lost sight of Naruto for the moment, but paid no mind to it. Considering the number of people now stuffing into the hall, there was a chance that he was hidden behind one of them. Now, the number was that astounding already, and Iwasawa was grateful for that, but then teachers suddenly appeared at the entrance door. The first one who entered seemed to be a PE teacher clad in a collared jumpsuit, followed by several others.
She tensed at that. They all did.
Supposedly, they were expecting this. After all, it was part of the plan to attract the teachers towards them so that the infiltration team wouldn't be found out. However, that didn't mean the teachers' presence wouldn't be a problem for the band themselves. Thankfully, the crowd was defiant enough to rebel against the teachers' orders to leave. It was unlikely that there would be trouble soon.
Of course, that thought was temporary. Following the teacher from behind was the feared student council president, Angel herself.
'She's here.' Iwasawa thought. She remained calm even at the face of the Battlefront's strongest adversary and didn't let her surprise ruin her guitar play and singing. 'Everyone...give me more energy!'
Her train of thought paused there. Immediately, she corrected that thought. 'No, no one can do that for us…' she thought again. She almost laughed at herself. Why would she ask for more when the spirit singing inside her was enough? 'We'll do it with our own strength!'
Her strength…no, the band's strength was enough to overcome any difficulties. She wouldn't be borrowing somebody else's power for her own purposes. The miracle she created by singing wouldn't become one if she didn't do it herself. It didn't matter what she has to face. Whether it's teachers, angels, or even God, she won't let anyone hinder her from doing what she wants. In this afterlife, that same incident won't happen to her again!
Iwasawa's fiery determination fueled her singing, raising the spirits of the model students whom which her song had touched. And the song called "Alchemy", it became one of her many miracles.
Not all of them had their souls touched by said miracle. The teachers, even though they had to go through the onslaught of the students who were adamant on watching the concert, were like spears launched from a ballista piercing through a tsunami wave. Slowed, perhaps, but not stopped.
Amidst the crowd was Yui, who was there solely to immerse herself with the concert held by the very band she's a part of. However, as she was pushed aside by a random teacher whose spear-like trudge was dauntless, fear began to creep up her heart. "N-No…not now! You can't stop them!" she exclaimed not noticing how her voice was drowned by the many protests of the other students. "Please…just let them sing!"
(Deactivate soundtrack)
The Girls Dead Monster then realized that more teachers were creeping up behind them. The uniform that they wore had never looked so frightening until that time. Hisako was the first to fall; a teacher grabbed hold of her strumming arm and ended the music pretty harshly. She put up quite a good struggle, not surprisingly considering her attitude. However, against a full-grown man, she couldn't do much. One teacher had to restrain her by locking her wrists behind her back.
Next following was Irie, who was literally a sitting duck as she was trapped behind her drum set. She cried out when one teacher batted away her drumsticks. She couldn't do anything but remain still as more teachers surrounded her.
Sekine, seeing her best friend in trouble, discarded the thought of her own safety and stepped between the two adult teachers and held Irie in her arms. "Don't hurt her!" She gave a warning glare, one that withered quickly under the teachers' own. She was always the feisty one, protecting her best friend when in trouble. It wouldn't change even at the face of so many threats.
Thankfully, they didn't get hurt. The teachers simply made sure that they didn't do anything suspicious.
Iwasawa, on the other hand…
She got surrounded. Two teachers – one in white lab coat while the other in black – cornered her from both sides. Her singing had ended the moment the first of them stepped up the stage, but it was then that she started focusing on those two. She gave them a defiant glare while holding her electric guitar. For certain, she was not much of a fighter, but no one interrupts her concert and gets away with it.
"…I can't let you stop us." She muttered, "There are already too much people to give in now!"
She gave the two adults a warning swing with her guitar, intending to fend them off. However, she lacked arm strength to actually use it as a weapon. The moment her guard was down after a swing, the teacher with the lab coat charged in and brought her down to her knees while maintaining a strong grip on her wrists behind her back. Being put in such a fetal state like that made Iwasawa burn with anger, but she couldn't do anything.
Behind the stage curtains, a twin-tailed blonde looked at the situation expressionlessly. Concern was in her heart, though not necessarily on her face. She thought of reporting to her leader; as that was what she, Yusa, was needed to do. She was the only one able to inform Yuri of what was happening here, just as she did when Angel appeared. Knowing this, she pressed a button on the intercom in her ear and contacted her leader.
"The diversion team has been suppressed," she reported almost mechanically, "Angel is returning."
She heard Yuri cursing under her breath on the other side of the radio link before the link was silenced. Just as she finished her report, a strong hand suddenly grabbed Yusa's right arm. She glanced behind her just in time to catch a glimpse of a teacher's form before being thrown down to the floor. Drowsily, she opened her eyes and struggled to maintain consciousness. "The situation has taken a turn for the worse." She said, more to herself rather than anyone else.
Anti-Angel Headquarters (Principal's Room)
Naruto twitched.
Something was happening. Though he knew not of what the occurrence is, his instincts were screaming at him that it was happening now. It was a trait he picked up a long time ago as a Jinchuriki, though he might not notice it.
"…Okay, whatever that feeling was, I doubt it was just me," he concluded, "Did you feel that, Kurama?"
"Barely," the fox demon inside the blond answered curtly. "What do you think of it, brat? Obviously, you didn't jerk awake from your dreamless nap without a reason."
Naruto wanted to deliberately deny that he was napping (which actually he was), but he was more concerned with that mysterious feeling. He breathed in deeply, as if the air was a calming stimulus that would sway his sudden anxiety. "I'm…not really sure, but it felt similar to when I sensed people's heart in my Bijuu Mode…." He trailed off.
His Bijuu Mode was something that utilized Kurama's chakra fully rather than his own, which back then concealed him under a burning cloak of yellow chakra. In that mode, he was able to use one unique ability that had aided him in the Fourth Great Ninja War; the heart sensor. The name itself wasn't exaggerated as well, since it really does sense the heart of every living being in range of Naruto's heart sensor's radius.
He lost chakra in this afterlife. Yet, that feeling he felt was frighteningly identical to what his Bijuu Mode usually senses. And that sensory ability of his told him that a lot of conflict was going down.
"…" Naruto closed his eyes. He tried to catch that same feeling again, suspecting that it had been because he was in deep, undisturbed sleep that he was able to feel it. He tried hard but to no avail, he still couldn't feel that strange feeling. Not able to feel it didn't help in calming him down; if anything, it made him feel more unsecure.
"I don't know what's going on, but I better go there and check it for myself. It gives me a bad feeling just sitting here not knowing what's happening." Naruto finally said as he stood up and went out through the door. Before he closed the door, he glanced back at the vacant room.
He had thought that he should probably tell Yuri or the orange-haired dude from before, but considering he had no idea where the hell they were he couldn't do anything but act on his instincts. Part of him said that he would be mingling with other people's business, and like playing with fire it will burn at him later on. Knowing this, he closed the principal's door and went down the stairs.
Next stop: Girls Dead Monster concert area.
"You're being awfully nice to these people, Naruto," Kurama pointed out with interest. He had a playful smirk on his face as he peered at Naruto from behind the bars. "Tell me, is there any reason behind this? They're just strangers to you, you know that."
"…I don't think I have a reason," He said that, and it was the undeniable truth. Naruto wouldn't have any reason to help the Battlefront and anyone in it because that wasn't what he came here for. Logically, it wouldn't have mattered to him if they wanted to wage a war against God, fight an Angel with all their might, or if they wanted to reel him in as an ally. Honestly, they can do whatever they want and he wouldn't have to care.
There was this part of him, though, that told him that it didn't matter if he didn't care, that all he was doing doesn't have to have a reason behind it. Coming to the afterlife was his choice, and so were all the stuff he did ever since he got here. In the end, reasoning became half as important as a grain of salt when it came to his decision-making.
"That's right, I don't have a reason," Naruto fortified his earlier statement. "It's just a selfish choice."
"I see…" Kurama chuckled out. "Then let's see what this choice of yours will bring along."
Nodding to himself, Naruto leaped up high into the night sky and released concentrated amounts of reiryoku to literally jump from thin air to thin air as if they were physical platforms. As he flew and neared the sports hall, he caught a glimpse of silver moving slowly from the direction of the hall. 'Angel? She was there, too? Why's she going back?' he wondered. After a moment of thinking and concluding, he sighed to himself.
'Don't tell me that the concert is already over...'
With that in thought, Naruto sped up and dived down towards the entrance door. The moment he landed was also the moment he feared for the soles of his sandals as it bit into the ground a lot. He sighed again and wondered if he should get a new pair of footwear. Naruto then walked casually towards the entrance with only the thought of him missing such an epic concert burdening his shoulders.
"Geez… And here I thought I could see it 'till the end. I promised Masami-chan that I would, too." He grumbled unhappily. He walked through a surprisingly empty corridor, which was strange since if the concert really had ended it should've been filled with people exiting. Passing by a vending machine, he frowned as a bad feeling crept up inside him.
"Could it be…that it's actually a boring concert which lead to the audience being silent in disappointment and Angel leaving?" he hypothetically thought, but shook his head a second later. "Nah, that's impossible. Girls Dead Monster, boring? HAH! If they were, I wouldn't be so caught up in their play before…"
However, what he found as he finally made it into the hall was something else entirely.
The crowd was definitely loud. What they were shouting out was barely hearable, but it held little to no affection behind it. "They're cheering? No, wait, this is…" They were not cheering, even though their loud voice suggested as so. They sounded angry, if anything. At the moment, Naruto confused the reason they were angry for the band doing something wrong, so he stood up to his toes and tried to see the stage. He could barely see it through the wave of hands from the crowd, but there…
The band…the girls were being restrained by teachers. What's more important than that was they looked scared and cornered. Naruto couldn't comprehend it; did this all happen while he was away? He was sure that he wasn't out for too long, so how come—?
Time Freeze
Suddenly, the world freezes and turned into something one would expect out of a grayscale picture.
"Round one, start!" a girl's voice resounded.
"What are you trying to pull here?" another, more mature-sounding girl asked.
Appearing in a flurry of golden butterflies and blue wisps respectively were Lambdadelta and Frederica, standing opposite of each other. Lambdadelta grinned and answered the question, "The rules of our fight here is all about your cherished piece over here," she pointed at the frozen Naruto, "and how he will react to occurrences such as this."
"I told you he's not my piece," Frederica calmly said. "That aside, I think I have a good understanding about the rule you stated. I am to gauge his reaction and predict how he takes an action, aren't I?"
"That's right, but you can't just say that he will do something out of your pure whim. Let me explain this first to you," Lambdadelta then looked at Naruto before narrowing her eyes and smiled. "In this game, I am the user of the blue truth. My purpose is to defeat you by stating that Naruto will do something according to the knowledge I have on him."
Lambda giggled, "Fortunately for you, I have none. All I can predict is how a normal human would react to some situations; I don't know if Naruto will do any different."
"Good for you," Frederica said coldly as she closed her eyes. "Then? What should I do?"
"You are the user of the red truth. Your purpose is to defend accusations I throw to you according to the knowledge you have of Naruto. Meaning, you are to state the fact that will nullify my blue truth about Naruto," Lambdadelta explained. "Your red truth is effective as long as what you state is right, as the red truth only tells the truth. However, if you are wrong, it will become ineffective and I can hurt you, Bern."
"I see. So it's basically a battle of knowledge," Frederica chuckled mirthfully as a small smile crept up her face. "Sorry, Lambda, but as a saint that watches over the memories of the worlds, I have far more knowledge about him than you do."
"We'll see about that," Lambdadelta shot back with a taunting smirk. "Then I'll go on ahead! [Blue] Faced with the guilt of being the sole cause of the Girls Dead Monster's getting restrained, Uzumaki Naruto's will is crushed and he will be destroyed from the inside. [Blue]"
'Crush and destroy… So she is indirectly attacking Naruto with the blue truth as well?' Frederica thought to herself. Then, for once, she smirked playfully at her opponent's verbal attack. 'Bring it.'
"[Red] Uzumaki Naruto's will is stronger than the guilt he carries! [Red]"
Time Start
Then it occurred to him. The teachers might have come along with the students when he made the announcement.
That time, Naruto felt numb with guilt. With the concert stopped and the band restrained, that means Iwasawa and the others failed to achieve what they did this for. They had fallen right into the worst case scenario, and the sole cause of it was him. And now, judging by the circumstances, they would be punished in God-knows-what method rather than creating the miracle Iwasawa spoke of. Now, judging by how one PE teacher grabbed the acoustic guitar sat on a chair, and how Iwasawa began struggling harder under another teacher's grip, the miracle would be destroyed.
Moreover…he heard her cry. "DON'T TOUCH THAT!" With a final struggle, Iwasawa broke off from the teacher's grip. She practically lunged towards the PE teacher holding her guitar, but what she hadn't accounted for was the teacher behind her having better reflexes than she thought and caught her again.
The guilt, formerly residing in Naruto, changed into one final emotion; rage.
"What the hell is going on here?!" he demanded. His voice was drowned by the other protesting voices of the crowd, but he wasn't trying to get their attention anyway. With a growl, he crouched down and filled his feet with so much reiryoku that he felt it was going to explode. He released the pent up spiritual energy and shot upwards towards the stage. His target in mind? Well, he saw this annoying-looking PE teacher that he would be delighted to introduce to his foot.
Naruto hung in the air for a while before letting gravity do its work and pulled him back down. Using the momentum, he pushed out his right foot outwards and flew down to the stage.
Iwasawa, despite being in a state of focused anger, saw something coming from the corner of her eyes. Something was moving in the shadows of the dark ceiling, something fast. Before she knew it, the ceiling's shadow bled another shadow which struck the PE teacher's face hard, flinging him away like one would a soccer ball. The guitar in the teacher's hand flew away from his grasp, but a hand grabbed it before it fell to the ground.
The left hand of one Uzumaki Naruto.
The furious look on his face was frightening to everyone that saw it. His eyes, once a calming and goofy pair of sapphire blue, bled red with fury and hate coupled with a vertical slit in the middle of each eye. Teeth…no, fangs bared at the people who was restraining the other girls; at the people who dared to do so.
And those whisker marks…
'God, what happened to them?' Iwasawa wondered. 'It's as if someone forcibly scratched on them with a rock.'
Naruto glared at the teachers, alternating between the one in a lab coat to the normal-clothed ones and back to the downed PE teacher he had pulled off a Dynamic Entry on. On other occasions, he probably would've stroke a cool guy pose like the real Lee had, but now wasn't the time. These teachers, whoever they were and whatever they're trying to do, was trying to mess with the wrong guy at the wrong time for all the wrong reasons.
"Back off. This is their concert!" he growled out angrily. His grip was getting so tight it was a wonder the guitar's neck in his left hand hadn't snapped in two.
"Wh-What the hell?" the large PE teacher exclaimed as he nursed his broken nose. "Hey, you! The brat over there! Who the hell do you think you are?!"
"Doesn't matter, does it?" Naruto asked back, having no intention to answer the bastard's question. "That's supposed to be my question! This is GirlDeMo's concert that they've been planning to do since a long time! You got a LOT of nerves to mess with something they worked so hard for like this!"
It seemed that, somehow, the large physical education teacher managed to line his nose back to its normal position again. Growling at Naruto's insolence, he shouted back, "If it's just a concert for something like a cultural festival, it would still be acceptable. But this guerilla concert they're doing is something against the school rules! You students should just quit making such a ruckus and start studying instead, you deviants!"
Naruto gritted his teeth and glared some more at the man in front of him. "Study, my ass…" he muttered to himself.
"These girls will be punished accordingly to what they had done up until this time. I've been meaning to let it slide for some time, but this has gone far too long! The principal and student council will decide what to do to these stubborn brats. And as for all of you students who are here at this very moment," the PE teacher bellowed to the mass of people who were being held back by security, "You won't be excused! Neglecting your studies to watch this meaningless concert is against the school rules as well! You will all receive your punishments respectively! And as for you, Goldilocks…"
Naruto twitched slightly at the nickname.
"I'll see to it that I can punish you myself for breaking my nose," The teacher seethed angrily at him, his face close enough for Naruto to smell his dirty breath.
Arrogance was one thing that always made Naruto squirm in annoyance. Somehow he just had a natural disliking towards people who spoke of themselves as if they were higher than anyone else. His rivalry with Sasuke was largely based on this trait.
And yet, when the teacher he had happily drop-kicked spoke up to him and basically more than half of the NPC students of the school, he could feel that the teacher wasn't overly arrogant. The teacher spoke no empty words that arrogant people tend to say; instead he spoke words that were filled with his own reasoning.
'That's right,' Naruto thought.
Instead of arrogant, this teacher was simply…self-righteous.
And Naruto hated that kind of people the most.
"Like I fucking care…" Naruto's right hand trembled and balled into a fist, tightening considerably as he yelled right in the teacher's face, "ABOUT THE STUPID RULES YOU HAVE!"
Naruto's fist launched upwards, hitting the PE teacher's jaw with a force rivaling a locomotive's. The hand was so fast that the PE teacher didn't even see it coming, and the impact was so loud that all sounds ceased as the blow connected, and the emotion behind it was so potent that Naruto didn't realize that he had cracked his index and middle finger's knuckles.
It didn't matter. His healing factor can heal any wounds no matter how devastating; unlike the PE teacher whose jaw would likely have a dent afterwards.
The other teachers chose then to act. Releasing their captives, they charged at the lone blond in the middle of the stage as their mind registered him as a delinquent needing some restraint. They never knew that this particular delinquent wasn't going to back down, nor would he bow to the rules they instated.
Left, right, they came from two directions at once. Left, right, they went flying away as Naruto batted both of them with a roundhouse hook and backhand respectively. It felt strange wielding Kurama's chakra again after so long, but his body had subconsciously activated it thanks to his rage state. Even in his no-tailed state, he was strong enough to beat the teachers like flies.
One teacher flew very close to Sekine and Irie; the wind blowing past them made their hair ruffle a bit. The other one skidded along the ground close to Hisako, who smirked at what was happening in front of her. 'Well, well. Now I see why Yuri wanted to make him an ally,' She thought. The other teachers just looked on, terrified, as the teachers that were apprehending the band members were being illogically defeated by a lone teenager. Those defeated teachers – adults who staggered to their feet – wondered what world does this powerful boy could've come from.
"All the rules that you have created can go to hell for all I care! The only rule I follow is MY NINDO!" Naruto stated loudly. He clenched his fist hard and glared at the unjust teachers, "If there's anyone else that wants to stop this concert because of some stupid rules, I won't stand by and watch idly."
No one responded to that. It was as if the ninja's words had a power of their own when spoken. For a moment, the crowd seemed ready to jump up in excitement when they saw that the teachers were backing off bit by bit. For once, those soulless non-playable characters seemed to be expectant of this kind of happy outcome.
But then, the arrival of an unexpected guest turned it around.
"Guard Skill: Hand Sonic."
The emotionless voice came from behind the silent crowd, which parted like the Red Sea as a small person walked through. Out of fear and respect, no one dared to stand in her way. Upon seeing this, Naruto couldn't help but balk in surprise. Of all people to appear, he didn't expect her to be that one person.
"…" he chose to keep silent at the calculating gaze of the student council president; the notorious Angel.
That silver-haired girl chose to do so as well as she walked towards the stage, her almost-transparent silver blades protruding from the sleeves of her blazer. Five meters away from the stage, she stopped and looked up at the blond Jinchuriki. "What are you doing up there?"
The question sounded so dumbfounded that Naruto couldn't picture her being more sincere than this. Therefore, he unconsciously lowered his guard and, unbeknownst to him, his wild facial features reverted back to normal. He exhaled slowly, feeling the after-effects of using Kurama's chakra creeping into his system. It wasn't exhausting at all; it was something more akin to what you'd feel after being in an adrenaline-induced rush.
"What do you think? I'm helping the girls start up their concert again," Naruto answered nonchalantly.
"I assume you know that it's against the rules to attend a guerilla concert in the middle of school time, let alone lending a hand to help." With such an accusatory sentence, Angel managed to keep a toneless voice
"It's alright, isn't it? You were here yourself before I got here, weren't you? That means you were also attending."
"I was only curious to how the teachers would handle the situation. When I saw them handling it as expected I didn't see why my presence is needed anymore."
Naruto frowned at the vague words. He couldn't really put it, but there was a sense of ambiguity in the girl's statement. Was she there merely because the teachers were? Or was she there because she was also drawn by the music? It was either of the two, but without asking, Naruto couldn't depict anything. The girl's poker face was just that perfect.
But if there was anyone that could resist Iwasawa's songs, he wouldn't be surprised if it was Angel. Rather, she was perhaps the only one with that immunity.
"So if they weren't handling it so well, what would you do?" Naruto asked with suspicion.
Without missing a beat, the shorter girl answered, "I would've interfered myself."
"I see…" Dejectedly, Naruto looked back at the mess he made. The band members were saved, but the teachers were another thing entirely. If anything, this situation will only conclude to a single outcome. "Well, they don't seem to be handling it pretty well."
That outcome is him, fighting…
"It seems so."
…against Angel herself.
With a sudden lurch, Angel jumped towards Naruto with her Hand Sonic crossed in front of her. Naruto, slightly flinching at the sudden movement, regained his focus and jumped back, pulling a kunai from his tool pouch. The kunai that had once held off Noda's stupidly big halberd clashed against the translucent blades of Angel and once again proved the strength it hid in its unassuming size.
Naruto narrowed his eyes as he and Angel locked gazes. He never thought that the girl he saved once would really fight him over something like this, nor did he expect that she would be this strong. So she wasn't lying when she said she was strong enough to fend off for herself against the Battlefront. Even when she stood a head shorter than the blond, the fact that she was able to keep their power in a stalemate was surprising.
"Why are you following those damned rules?!" Naruto questioned angrily as he kept pushing on the dual blades, "A student like you should understand that no matter what rules there is, a concert like this can't be stopped just like that! They need this—no, we all do! Shouldn't you feel the same as us?!"
"I have to follow the rules regardless of my own feelings," Angel answered calmly, her golden eyes boring into Naruto's own. "I'm the student council president, after all."
"Student council…president?" Naruto wondered aloud. She…this Angel is the student council president?
He remembered what NPC-Lee had said about the student council president being a girl. To think that he was actually referring to Angel, who was the Battlefront's lone enemy, was kind of stunning. Seeing from that perspective, it was logical to see the battle between them as a deviant group going against the school's student council. That explained everything, then.
But he still couldn't get why she has to be on the teacher's side. "Kh…so just because you're the student council president, you have to side with the teachers and help them stop this concert?"
"It goes without saying," Angel broke off from their blade-lock and stepped backwards, spinning forward with a swipe attack. Naruto blocked it, but only barely due to his left hand being occupied with the guitar; it left him unbalanced as he blocked the full force of a spinning attack with only one hand.
"But what about yourself?! What do you, personally, think about having to stop these girls from performing?! Doesn't it feel strange that a student like you has to stop this!?" Once again, Naruto questioned the girl's logic. He still believed that Angel is a normal girl with normal interests, so having her step up and do this was crushing that belief. He needed to hear the truth straight from her mouth.
"…" Unfortunately, no truth—or any kind of words in that matter—came out of Angel's mouth. She remained silent as she once again attacked, this time using a left hand cross slash to attack Naruto's defenseless left side. Noticing that she was targeting his weak spot, Naruto tried to dodge. But to do so, he would be sacrificing Iwasawa's guitar instead and it would be cut in half.
He didn't want to damage Iwasawa's belonging. So, with a grunt, he let Angel's blade cut his arm. It was faint at first, but the pain immediately rose and made him wince. He stumbled back and almost fell, but he landed with a crouch by pure reflex. His right hand covered the wounded left arm.
"You don't have to fight," Angel stated as she relaxed her stance. For some unknown reasons, she sounded worried just now, even though her face didn't show it.
"What did you say?" Naruto let out.
"My intention is to apprehend the band. You aren't involved with this, so step down." Angel explained.
The way she put it might sound unfair, since Naruto had a hand in the concert's progression (i.e. his broadcast), but her reasoning was logical to an extent. The ones who put up the concert were the Girls Dead Monster, not him. If he was a part of the band, she probably wouldn't have any qualms on apprehending him. But in this reality, he wasn't a part of the band, so she didn't want to fight him.
If she were to be frank with herself, she was…worried.
Iwasawa heard what Angel said, and in all honesty she couldn't bring herself to say otherwise. Naruto wasn't involved in this; he wasn't supposed to be involved, but he acted on his own and assaulted the teachers. What he exactly was, though…he was just a friend of hers, a friend who promised that he would see her band perform and hear her songs. A kind of person like that shouldn't be involved—
"Stop joking around…!" Naruto said heavily, almost like growling. The left arm that was trembling because of the wound was being clutched by his right hand, sandwiching his kunai in between his right palm and left arm.
There was a reason why Naruto hadn't done like Angel told him to. He thought that it was already glaringly obvious, but apparently his current opponent didn't understand. She didn't understand why he could back off and leave the Girls Dead Monster to their demise.
She didn't understand that he fell for the miracles they made.
"[Red] I won't let you ruin…THE MIRACLE SHE CREATED! [Red]" The force behind Naruto's cry was impossible. Activating Kurama's chakra again, his eyes were just as red as the words he spouted. At that time, something cracked mysteriously, and all voices suddenly muted. None of the people present was even able to utter a single word.
Iwasawa's eyes widened in response to Naruto's cry. She stared at his wounded arm, almost gasping in disbelief when he forced it to close just by squeezing at the wound itself. Blood finally flowed down his left sleeve.
"I can't just stand by and watch my friends get taken away for something they wanted to do!" Placing down the guitar in his left hand to the ground slowly, Naruto gritted his teeth and moved his left hand to his tool pouch. "I promised… I promised that I will be there when they're playing, that I will be there and hear their songs that created miracles! NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, I WON'T RUN AWAY!" His left hand pulled out another kunai, and he cursed silently as he was reminded that there was only one kunai left in his pouch. "I won't go back on my words, no matter what or who I'll face! THAT'S MY NINDO!"
Momentarily stunned by Naruto's outburst, Angel could no longer say anything back. She was stunned in more ways than one. There was no sense of logic behind Naruto's words, that fearless statement of his. There was no sense on doing all this; defying the teachers, fighting against her, for the sake of a simple promise. In other words, it was illogical.
Such was Uzumaki Naruto's nindo, his ninja way.
No one could understand his way of thinking, so the people from his past just gave up altogether. They knew that Naruto's nindo—that illogical way of thinking of his—was what defined his person. Without it, he could never be himself. And now, the people of the present will realize that.
Iwasawa did. Or at least, now she does. She now knew that, no matter what, Naruto is not going to step aside and let anything happen to them. At the back of her mind, she knew that that was the miracle that would save them all.
In the depths of her heart, though, she knew she didn't want this.
'Why?' she thought, 'Why must he force himself to do this? This…this isn't supposed to…'
Personally, Iwasawa didn't want Naruto to die. Even though in this afterlife people would just revive like in some old RPG game, she really didn't want him to experience death. Her conscience as a friend wouldn't let her. She racked her mind, searching for a way to help Naruto and stop Angel, if such a thing is possible. Think, think, think, think, THINK!
"Ne, Iwasawa, you should let me hear that new song of yours sometime!"
The girl blinked. Her mind had just stumbled upon that one memory and her head had never felt so clear.
'That's right,' she thought with realization, 'There's still that song.'
In her mind, there was only one song that she can use in this situation; one song that can stop this fight and turn things around. But… there were risks in singing that song.
Problem was, Iwasawa put her all into that song. That one song contained all the feelings that had piled up in her heart throughout her life; a compilation of memories that created Iwasawa as she is. If she uses that song, she will…
'Heh… Who would've thought, right? To think I'd be willing to go so far…' she thought, chuckling with irony.
Iwasawa silently rose to her feet, careful not to attract attention. Doing so, however, made the other band members turn their eyes towards her in curiosity. That was what she aimed for, though.
"Iwasawa, what're you doing?!" Hisako whispered harshly.
Iwasawa turned to her band mates and smiled, utterly confusing the girls.
"Hey girls… Can I ask you a favor?" Iwasawa asked to the others in a low tone, so quiet that no one except the band members could hear it.
"Favor? What—isn't this the wrong time to be asking something like that?" Slightly behind, Sekine asked in the same whispering tone.
"I know," With a nod and a small smile, Iwasawa answered. "But please, I need you all to do something for me. And…this will be my last request as your lead vocalist." Hearing that unexpected statement, the three band members' eyes widened considerably.
"L-Last request? What's this all about, Iwasawa-san?" Irie whispered in a questioning manner. She didn't like how Iwasawa said those words, it felt like she was saying goodbye all of the sudden. It sounded…so lonely.
Hisako had an idea of what her partner was talking about, and frankly she didn't like it one bit. "Don't tell me, you…?"
Iwasawa's smile never did disappear, nor did it even waver. If anything, it widened so much that she had to close her eyes. The reason for her closing her eyes might not be just that, as she was actually holding in the tears that threatened to fall.
"It's been a great time, girls. I know this sounds selfish, considering all the miracles you've made real for me all this time, but please…do me this one more favor."
She whispered her request to the others, silently conveying the message.
Her position wasn't what made her believe that she can ask them to do it. In fact, even as the lead vocalist, she doubted that they'd do it. Her position wasn't what made them nod half-heartedly nod tearfully to her and silently snooped away to the backstage area, because they wouldn't have listened to her as a lead vocalist alone.
However, Iwasawa was their friend. More than that, in the Girls Dead Monster, she was…no, is their comrade. Regardless of the audacity of her request, they would do it as her friends and comrades.
Just like what Naruto did for her as her friend, Hisako, Sekine and Irie would do the same. And now, just like Naruto did, Iwasawa will do the same as Naruto's friend. It would be only natural that she does so.
Meanwhile, Naruto continued to face off against Angel. If one were to look closely, however, their attacks lacked power. Every time Naruto slashed his kunai at Angel, it would either be too slow or it would lack strength behind it. It was as if he didn't have the intention to hurt her, but he stood to fight her regardless. Angel too, was attacking with hesitation in her every move.
Frankly, Naruto couldn't bring himself to actually hurt someone he had saved some time ago. It wouldn't make any sense if he attacked her senseless now. After all, he didn't want to be her enemy, but the circumstances forced him to fight her.
'But damn it, how long can I keep this up?' the blond thought grimly. 'She may not look the part, but she's strong. Even though she doesn't look like she's giving her all, those blades of hers aren't just for show.'
Naruto was so deep in thought that he didn't realize Iwasawa picking herself up along with the acoustic guitar lying on the ground near her. In fact, if it wasn't for her suddenly calling him out, he might've missed it completely.
"Naruto!" She called out. The boy she called shook a bit, probably stunned by the sudden call, before turning his head around and gave her a curious glance.
"What? I'm in a middle of a fight here, so I'd be glad if you don't…" His sentence trailed off when he saw Iwasawa, on her feet, with a guitar in her hand and its strap slung over her shoulder. "Masami-chan? What're you doing?"
"I…" Iwasawa started, hesitation clouding her thoughts as she turned her eyes to the ground. Somehow, she couldn't bear to look Naruto in the eye. Somehow, she felt guilty. "…I guess I really can't leave you be, huh, Naruto?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto asked loudly, not understanding the meaning behind Iwasawa's words. He felt thankful that Angel didn't attack him while he had his attention diverted like this, but he kind of wondered why she didn't. He warily looked at Angel from the corner of his eyes to see that, indeed, she didn't look to be attacking him, or would be.
But now, he paid attention to Iwasawa. Strangely enough, she seemed to be…chuckling.
"Naruto…do you remember when I said that music can be turned into miracles?"
"Eh? Uh, yeah, I do, but why are you asking that?"
"Well…" Iwasawa bit her lip slightly, "The truth is I said that part based on my own personal opinion. I never really thought whether it could be considered a miracle by other people or not. To me, it really does feel that way every time I play with the other girls."
Naruto didn't really get why Iwasawa wanted to talk about this now of all times. He decided that he'd see for himself what she was leading on. "Are you kidding? The songs you sing are a real miracle to me. Though, yeah, I don't really get what miracles actually feel like; all I know is that it is when you can make someone smile." He saw Iwasawa looking at him with a wide smile, looking as if she was holding back a laugh. "Oi, don't give me that look! I know it's a cheesy line, but that's really what I thought!"
"Is that so? Well, then…" Suddenly, the lights around them dimmed. A slight humming sound resounded throughout the hall, as if someone's adjusting the microphone's frequency.
In truth, that was really what happened. When the Girls Dead Monster scattered, they already had their destination in mind. The control room behind the curtains was where every setup on the stage is being controlled from, starting from lighting, the curtains, and the microphones as well as the guitar amplifiers.
Hisako took it upon herself to adjust the microphones using an old-looking equalizer. It was turned down, probably by the teachers when they invaded. Her fingers made short work of it, and soon the microphones were on the right frequency again. Meanwhile, Sekine worked on the lighting along with Irie who helped her coordinate the pattern. First, the dimming lights, and second…
The second pattern was the highlight around Iwasawa's person using a lone neon lamp.
Back on stage, Iwasawa finally raised her eyes and smiled at Naruto, giving him an almost too sincere smile that took him aback.
"It's my turn to keep my promise."
(Activate soundtrack: Marina – My Song)
The moment Iwasawa started strumming her guitar everyone's attention was no longer on the fight between Naruto and the student council president. No, even the two fighting participants had their attentions diverted. Even Angel, who looked upon Iwasawa with emotionless golden eyes, dispelled her blades.
Naruto, for his part, didn't know beforehand that Iwasawa was planning to sing. What purpose would it serve? However, as he continued to listen, he realized something odd.
The strum, the chord, and the rhythm of which Iwasawa was playing her guitar with were different. It was slower, sadder, and more than anything, it was deeper. It was as if she turned into a completely different person; from the normally cheery and cheeky lead vocalist to a woman conveying the innermost part of her heart. Naruto's eyes widened as he finally realized what Iwasawa meant before. The promise she wanted to keep was…
"This is…her song." He uttered in shell-shocked surprise.
The girl began singing.
"People who act like they have common sense are laughing.
What kind of lie will they tell next?
How can they treasure what they obtain with those lies?"
Another person noticed what the song was. In the crowd, Yui, the unlikely Girls Dead Monster underling noticed that with wide eyes. "The new song…"
"But we've got to move ahead, toward tomorrow.
So I'm going to sing like this."
She sounded tired. It was as if all her pent up stress and frustration led to this song's creation. Even so, she kept on singing.
"You may be crying, you may be lonely
But that's what being human is.
The tears you shed say,
'For giving to us such a beautiful, honest, and real life
Thank you.'"
She knew the pain caused be loneliness. Somehow, just from the words she spouted, Naruto could understand that much. Yet, despite knowing about that ugly side of the world, she insisted that she wasn't crying. Even if she was, they weren't tears of sadness. In this song, she insisted that her tears were tears of happiness, after being given such a beautiful, honest, and real life.
Even in this messed up world.
There were about ten seconds that passed after the last lyric was sung, and it was then that Naruto realized something wet was trailing down his cheek. Tears were leaking from his eyes. He didn't realize that he got pulled so far into the song that it shook his very soul this way.
"Masami-chan…you…"
Iwasawa didn't stop. She was still strumming the guitar's strings like it was her natural talent.
'This is my life…' That thought permeated Iwasawa's mind, 'To go on singing like this…in front of all these people…and to create miracles…this is why I was born!'
Her eyes turned to Naruto who was staring at her with teary eyes. She smiled sadly, 'Naruto… I'm sorry, but this song I promised you will be my last. I'm sure that someday…somehow, you'll find me and make me sing it again. But, when that time comes, I'm sure…it won't be my last.'
Her hand dropped in one smooth sweep, ending her song slowly. A satisfied look crossed Iwasawa's face as she stared upwards. Never had she felt more complete after singing, not until now. That song contained her whole being, including her past. That she was able to finally sing it was a sign that she was already complete.
In this world of afterlife, "complete" would mean two things.
One is the end of the underlying regret that most of the inhabitants of this world have.
Second, it is the vanishing. Having finally getting over their regrets, a person will be able to transcend pass this afterlife.
And that was what Iwasawa went through. In a motion that was similar to passing out, Iwasawa Masami's life in the afterlife ended. With her regrets erased, she disappeared.
The disappearance was enough to make Naruto gasp out in surprise. What he saw was faster than any shunshin he had ever seen. It didn't even take a second. In a blink of an eye, the lead vocalist of the Girls Dead Monster was just…gone.
"MASAMI-CHAAAAN!"
Frederica's realm
Standing pride in front of Angel Beats' Orb of Time was Frederica. In front of her was an impenetrable barrier of red that had successfully repelled a blue ballista spear that flew towards it.
The one shooting the spear was Lambdadelta. The witch had a smirk on her face even though she had failed in her attack. "Red truth, effective."
"Why are you smiling when you know you lost?" Frederica asked coldly. She wasn't happy that Naruto had to go through what he had gone through. If it wasn't for the sake of protecting him, she wouldn't have let Lambdadelta lay a hand on him.
"Why, I'm only surprised that you actually know your piece well, Bern! Or it could be a lucky guess, either one," Lambdadelta, upon her loss, didn't even flinch. "Anyway, you won the first round. No biggie, this means I just have to be more strategic in planning my next attack."
"Attack in any manner you see fit, Lambdadelta. It wouldn't change the fact that you have no chance of winning." Frederica stated, "You saw it yourself. Naruto alone can already deny your statement just through his actions. Coupled by me, you really have no chance of winning unless something short of a miracle happens."
"Hai, hai, you can say all that when you win the game, Bern." Lambdadelta merely ignored the blue-haired saint and looked at her fingernails. "But, really…to be able to use the red truth? This Uzumaki Naruto might be more than an ordinary piece, Bern. I almost feel envious that you have him."
"He is not my piece, nor is he anyone's." Frederica recited once again. She sounded confident, but even she was concerned when Naruto literally bellowed a statement, forcing enough determination and conviction into those words and turning it into the undeniable red truth. He just did magic by pure willpower.
'I'm amazed. None of the Narutos before had ever shown such power…' Frederica thought.
However, even if he could use magic, he was still in danger if Lambdadelta was targeting him. She was a Great Witch that can bend reality and create a certainty by a mere wave of her hand. Only Frederica could prevent her from doing anything unwanted.
'Then I'll fight. If only to protect him as I promised, I will fight Lambdadelta's evil intentions, even if I have to do it a thousand times.'
Laced with such conviction, Frederica let herself smirk a little.
She will not lose.
-End of Chapter 4-
-xo-
#Re-uploaded in May 27, 2013.
When I first uploaded this chapter, it was still in its shitty state. No glossary, no teasers, no nothing. Though, yeah, those two are some features that I picked personally, but I felt like I'm leaving a hollow chapter the first time I posted it.
Let me say it again, I pulled an all-nighter for this chapter's ending. A fellow author told me that I wasn't supposed to do that, and I think I'll follow his advice in the future. However, for this particular chapter, I apologize if some things seem a little forced and rushed and sounds so abnormal.
Trivia Time!
»This story's main focus revolves around Naruto's interaction with the Girls Dead Monster, and thus leaving out the Battlefront's activity. Next chapter's going to turn the focus to them :D
»The Hiruma Youichi reference was purely for humor relief.
»Iwasawa's character perhaps sounded a little off, and maybe so are the other band members'. Truth is, I still couldn't get a real grasp on their character, and all I'm doing up until now is follow the anime and stem the characterization from there.
»Naruto's usage of the red truth is something I pitched in for story-related reasons, and it will always be unintentional. Rest assured he won't turn into a wizard or anything; I only used it to describe his emotion. Besides, if he ever intentionally uses it, he could screw Lambdadelta's magic all over.
-Next Chapter-
"You're going to enlist?"
"Is this that 'death metal' stuff?"
"I…guess I need some time to think."
"The upcoming ball game tournament's concept is baseball."
"Count me in!"
"HE'S ON THEIR SIDE?!"