Hello again my good readers! Here we are once again in the world of the Jinchuriki and the Queen. Last time, we saw how Naruto and Lucy finally became a happy little couple. Speaking of which:
Naruto x Lucy: 18 votes (+1 Anonymous Review)
Hinata x Naruto x Lucy: 14 votes
Neutral: 2 votes
It looks like Naruto and Lucy alone are the ones that won, counting anonymous reviewer votes. I am not precisely sure if you can vote without being logged in, so… I'm just gonna add their votes as separate ones, k? Signed reviewers could vote, so their review votes won't be added. Now, without further ado, let us begin.
Konoha, 10:00 AM
Lucy felt someone trying to wake her up, but she simply ignored it, thinking it to be Mizore who wanted to have a spar. Instead, she snuggled tightly against the warm pillow that she'd been hugging. She did find it a bit odd, though. Since when do pillows move like they're breathing?
'Wait, BREATHING!?" her blood-red orbs snapped open, and were met by the deep blue eyes of Naruto Uzumaki. 'Oh, right, right, we had a date last night… and we…' Lucy blushed as she remembered the events of the night. (A/N THEY ONLY FELL ASLEEP NEXT TO ONE ANOTHER! NOTHING ELSE HAPPENED! Just in case.) Despite the color she had taken, she realized she had never felt such peace and happiness as she did right now, curled up against her oldest friend… which, she guessed, was now more than just a friend.
"Morning Kaede-chan." Naruto said happily. He too felt more at peace than ever before, with Kaede next to him. The night before was possibly the happiest night of his life, especially with the kiss… They both remembered that specific moment of their date quite well. Their faces began to inch closer, trying to repeat the moment…
"Oh, get a room, you two... oh wait! You're already in a room! HAHAHA!" Until Demon Kurama decided to screw it all up. He'd said it so loud even Lucy heard it through her Chakra. The fox's laughter was effectively cut short when a massive, 50 ton weight landed on his head, effectively shutting him up.
"Sometimes I hate that fox…" Naruto muttered.
"Sometimes?" Lucy answered playfully, and Naruto answered in the same manner.
"Ok, all the time." He then gave the Queen a quick peck on the lips, making her giggle lightly. The moment having been restored, the two quickly became aware of something: There was someone else snuggling up between them, and that someone emitted a small whine of protest when the two got too close, squishing her between them. Lifting the bed sheets, they found Mariko curled up between the two of them, still fast asleep, gripping Naruto's shirt. "Uh… did you know she was here?"
"Nope." Lucy admitted. Quite honestly, she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings, but then again, neither had Naruto. A strand of hair fell on the little girl's nose, who wrinkled it in annoyance. Lucy giggled before brushing the offending lock behind her ear. "Hmm… I never knew she had this side to her. She looks so innocent when she's asleep." Naruto chuckled along, and happily noticed something else.
"You know, this is the first time she doesn't seem to have any indication of a nightmare…" Lucy perked up at that. "You see, ever since she arrived, she's had nightmares almost every night. She says she dreams the men from the organization come and take her back to her containment, and that I do nothing about it. Every time I tell her the same thing: I'll die before letting them take her back to that place. Same goes for you, too." The two of them smiled lovingly to one another, before looking back down at Mariko. Unknown to both of them, a small black bug was stuck to the bed wall, watching intently with its beady eyes. Meanwhile, on the other end…
"So, Shino, what's happening?" Ino asked the bug user that was currently connected with his bug. The Konoha 12 were currently sitting in a small café while Shino used his Kinkou bugs to spy on the young couple. Shino simply closed his eyes (action that went unnoticed because of his shades) and said:
"It's private" He said, purposely avoiding giving them any details.
"WHAT!?" Ino shrieked. "Come on, Shino! You're the only one who can tell us! I can't do a mind possession with them, nor could we plant chakra cams!" Shino shook his head and recalled his bug, and started walking away. Ino growled, before turning to Neji and Hinata. "NEJI! HINATA! GO BYAKUGAN AND TELL US WHAT'S GOING ON IN THERE!" Neji, who had his eyes closed while drinking some tea, cracked open his left eye and stared coldly at the platinum blonde.
"Why are you so interested in knowing what they're doing, Ino?" Ino then turned and regarded the Hyuga prodigy with a hellish glare.
"Because, it's my duty to be in the loop of every romantic involvement in this village!" She stated proudly. Neji sweat dropped at her answer, before focusing back on his tea (and ignoring the fact TenTen was sitting incredibly close to him). Hinata, however, activated her Byakugan, for she too wanted to know what was happening. "You go, Hinata! Now, what are they doing?"
"Ano… Lucy-san seems to be helping Mariko get ready for the academy, and Naruto-kun seems to be preparing breakfast… he's actually cooking something instead of preparing instant ramen…" Everyone but Hinata noticed the lack of stuttering during her last sentence. "Wait, Naruto did a hand sign… but I can't tell what he was trying to do... He seems to be looking… straight at our direction." They all looked around; trying to find what the blond Shinobi had been trying to do. Just then, they heard a cough above them, and saw Naruto – or rather, a Naruto – Looking down on them.
"Spying isn't nice, you know." The clone said before dropping down on the table and dispelling himself, filling the area with Chakra smoke, throwing everyone into a coughing fit. Back at the apartment, the original Naruto chuckled slightly.
"Naruto: 1, everyone else: 0. Gotta love the 'invisible' Shadow Clones" He said gingerly before focusing back on breakfast, which was composed of simple scrambled eggs. Naruto had only started cooking actual meals a few months ago, and despite his best attempts he could only make the most basic meals. In other words, he and Mariko often ate out. After the three of them ate their meals and exchanged some cheerful small talk, Mariko popped the question again.
"Is Lucy-san my new mommy now?" She asked 'innocently'. The two looked at each other, and Lucy simply nodded at him. Naruto began to scratch the back of his head before answering.
"Yeah, y-you could say it like that…" He said that all the while blushing harder than Hinata on her worst day. Lucy too was blushing, and while they were like that, Mariko's only thoughts were.
'YAY! I have an actual mommy now! And daddy has someone to keep him company!" And then her thoughts took on a darker edge. 'Now I get to collect the money from the bet I made with Tsunade obaa-chan and Jiraiya Ji-chan!' Just then, in the Hokage Tower, the Slug Sannin of Konoha tensed, and she knew she had lost yet another bet.
"SHIZUNE BRING ME THE SAKE!" She yelled out, and her assistant began to run a mental list of the blonde's current bets as she ran to the Hokage's private alcohol cabinet. Now, back to the couple…
"Hey, Mariko, you got everything ready?" Naruto asked his adoptive daughter.
"Hai!" She said happily. The girl thoroughly enjoyed going to the Academy, even if she fell asleep on some of Iruka's lectures, particularly on the ones where he started droning about something educational. Lucy watched as the girl cheerfully took her father's hand into her own, and the blond Shinobi turned to her.
"Wanna come?" The Pinkette nodded before walking out after him. They walked side by side on the way to the Academy, followed closely by the Konoha 12, this time with suppressed chakra.
"Teehee! Naruto won't be able to notice us this time!" Ino whispered cheerfully. The others, particularly Neji, Shikamaru, and Shino sweatdropped at the girl's attitude, while wondering why they were following her in the first place. Shikamaru whispered to Neji.
"Should we remind her of Naruto's sense of smell?" He asked the Hyuga prodigy, who just shrugged.
"Let her find out the hard way. I'm pretty sure Naruto is just waiting for the right moment to reveal he knows." Neji answered.
The group followed the couple all the way to the academy. It seemed like Naruto and Lucy were unable to stay too far away from each other for long. They were either holding hands or playfully hitting each other, much to Mariko's happiness. There was no way Tsunade would be able to escape paying her. This little girl was spending too much time with her father, eh?
"Hey, Naruto!"Iruka greeted as they approached the academy. "How are you do…" The Chunin stopped in his tracks when he noticed Lucy and Naruto holding hands, and chuckled. "Nevermind, you're doing very well it seems." Both teens blushed at the implications of Iruka's words, but Naruto smiled at his brotherly figure before answering.
"Yeah everything's fine, Iruka-sensei." He then turned to his daughter, and knelt down to her level. "Now, I want you to behave today, you hear me?" Mariko nodded in response. Iruka nearly released a sigh of relief, thinking he'd finally have a peaceful day. Sadly, he failed to notice that this was a code Naruto and Mariko had set up. If Naruto ended a sentence with 'you hear me', he doesn't mean 'Listen to my words', he says 'Listen to what I really mean'. He pretty much just told Mariko to give Iruka hell.
"Will do, Daddy! Dattebane!" Iruka sweatdropped when the girl said that last word.
'Sweet Kami she's becoming a Naruto mini-me…' The Chunin thought worriedly. The last thing his nerves needed was Konoha's #2 Unpredictable Ninja. The image of the girl in a bright orange jumpsuit flashed through his head, and the teacher was forced to suppress a shudder at the thought.
"Ok then. Kaede-chan and I will head over to see if there are any missions available right now. Have a nice day, Mariko-chan!" After the girl said goodbye and the couple bid farewell to Iruka, they left. Iruka then motioned for the little girl to enter the Academy, when he noticed someone had stuck a piece of paper into his pant pocket. He took it out and unfurled it, revealing a single, expertly drawn symbol, with a word written in a barely legible handwriting underneath.
"What does this say? Re… Rel…" The Chunin kept trying to decipher the word as he entered his classroom. Just as he did, he recognized the word. "Ah! It says Release!"
*GLUG GLUG GLUG*
The second he said the word, a powerful stream of water was fired from the piece of parchment, completely dowsing the Chunin. The whole class roared in laughter at the event, especially Mariko. After all, she had seen her father preparing the prank. Iruka then did something that, under other circumstances, would've been nostalgic.
"NAAAAAARUUUUTOOOO!"
Near the tower
Naruto began to laugh when his name echoed around the walls of Konoha.
"Beat that Mariko!" He yelled excitedly while Lucy shook her head, internally laughing. Being on separate teams, the two of them split up as they entered the tower, not before giving each other a 'see ya later' kiss.
When they did, having been seen thought the Crystal Ball of the Hokage, the Legendary Sucker banged her head against the desk, for once truly considering abandoning gambling. Losing to a little girl is a big hit to anyone's pride…
?
A young man stood on top of a small flight of stairs, looking at the ocean. He had moved here a little over 5 months ago, and had been living with his cousin and a little girl in a place called the 'Maple Inn', and he could honestly say he was happy. The location had a lot of fond memories for him… even if he felt like there was something he had forgotten, but at the same time he did not want to remember.
'It's weird… I feel like something bad happened here… but I can't seem to grasp what it was…' He said in his thoughts. The young adult was broken out of his musings when a man, dressed in a blue suit, approached him.
"Excuse me, are you Kouta, owner of the Maple Inn?" The man asked. The other man, now identified as Kouta, nodded. "I am Director Kurama of the DRI. I have to talk to you about the deaths of your father and sister."
And that's a wrap. Kurama's attempting to do the lowest thing possible, but will it work? Or will it blow up in his face (Either figuratively or literally)? I'm pining for the latter, thought. Now, I'll make this clear: I have, for now, three arcs planned for this fic. This number might eventually change. All that has happened up till now has been nothing more than an introduction, so to speak. The first arc, which starts next chapter, will involve the Diclonii training and Akatsuki. Second Arc will be when Kouta comes in. Third Arc… hehe, that's a secret!
IMPORTANT!
I still need more Jutsu for the diclonii! Thanks a lot to Flamefather and Lucas Bane for their submissions; that will undoubtedly be used. To speed things along, I'll reveal the first elemental affinity of the Diclonii (They all have two)
Lucy: Fire
Nana: Water + ?
Mariko: Wood + ? (Earth + Water)
Mizore: Lightning + ? (Remember: She's a medic!)
Hikari: Earth + ?
All Elemental affinities have already been set, so please stick to these. I won't reveal their secondary affinity until later, nor will I reveal if any more of them have a Kekkei Genkai. Hope you enjoyed! This is BladeOfThePoet, logging out!