~NRK~

Learning that Naruto, the good boy scout, happy-extraordinaire had a romantic TYPE had left Max confused.

"Isn't that total bullshit? He's, like, one of those dense bastards! How in the world would he know anything about romance?!" The Indian whispered hotly.

"You're not giving him enough credit, Naruto's literally just in-tune with the romance side, it's not rocket science, Max," Tabii said. "But, you're not completely wrong. I mean, duh, he's not aware of any of the feelings around him like that."

Max's eyes went back to Naruto currently sparring with Snake, the shorter boy's grapples actually being a smidge better than the blondes before natural selection took its course and he was sent flying due to Naruto's longer limbs.

'I can't believe this shit… But it's like it's true.'

How did he explain away Sasha's craziness? Or Ered's need to annoy her?

What the hell was with their blushing?!

"I can't believe this," he muttered but he rubbed his chin in thought as Naruto reigned supreme.

"Alright, guys, this was good!" The blonde chuckled as he helped Snake up. "If you're up for it, we'll head on through some fighting forms and exercise for whoever's up for it," Naruto said as he, Snake, Petrol, and Tabii hurried along.

"Come on! Time for some Ku-Mi-Te!" The Namikaze cheered as she and Naruto hi-5ed.

"Some what?" Nikki asked.

"It's part of the family art," Naruto chuckled. "It's mostly called 'Gama Kumite', or 'Frog Karate'. It's why our fighting style has so many palm strikes, we absorbed it into the Uzumaki style," he pat his spiraling tattoo. "Which is more about rotation-based techniques with the wrist, feet, and elbows."

"That's rather well-put together," Neil noted with a smile. "Still, is showing us the style really a good idea?"

"Neil, it's literally known around the world, it'd be hard to not know. But you'll be fine, we've got a secret body technique that no other person on the planet could possibly get without being a damn monk. Speaking of, I'm also from a monastery of Tibetan monks."

"That's less surprising than it should be," Max said flatly. "Tsk… Whatever, show us the martial arts," he added reluctantly.


Going through this blonde bastard's idea of a 'simple' workout made Max furious!

"Alright, guys, chill here if you can't keep going!" Naruto chuckled as he stretched with the Wood Scouts minus Edward, Flower Scouts minus Erin, Ered, and Nikki. "Drink some water! Guys, we're hitting that last run!"

Watching them go left Max feeling stubborn as he made one more step to follow-

And fell flat on his face, body yelling at him to STOP before he broke something.

"Gmoddammit!" He cursed into the dirt.

"Yeah, uh…" Neil wiped his forehead as he released one more haggard huff. "You might wanna just take your pace," he said before drinking a cool bottle of water. "Haaa, I know this isn't for me but… I-I guess doing a group activity isn't so bad every now and then."

"He's quite vigorous!" Dolph said with a sweaty smile. "Naruto is always so rambunctious, he's quite contagious."

"H-His CON scores… Are… TOO HIGH!" Nerris wheezed on the ground before flopping into the dirt.

As most of the other campers rested for ten minutes, the still-going group finally came to a stop by them.

"Naru… STOP. RUINING. MA BLUSH!" Sasha said, bent over on her knees before hitting her rear. "Owwwww~."

"Hehehehe, sorry, sorry, but it's exercise, why'd you even come if it'd ruin your Sal-Orange Mark XIII make-up?" Naruto asked in amusement, arms crossed as Tabii squealed out of view.

"T-That's none of you-How do you remember that?" Sasha blinked before looking appalled as he chuckled.

"Duh, best friend privileges," he declared. "Alright, let me grab some more water! You guys chill for a bit!" Naruto said before running off.

Leaving behind a red-faced Sasha who flopped back in confusion.

'Huuuuh?'

~NRK~

Two days later, Naruto hung upside-down and held out a thick piece of machinery.

"Slowly put it in," Ered grinned as she guided it into that old, newly-polished, motorbike she'd brought out of the woods. "And… There!" She nearly squealed.

But 'squealing' wasn't cool. No.

Ered vibed.

Naruto snickered. "And that means it should be able to drive now, yeah?" He asked, righting himself off a branch before landing by the bike. "So, you know how to ride one of these things?"

Ered's vibe froze before she blushed while looking sheepish. "Uhhh, oh man, not cool," she admitted bashfully. "I'm sure I could figure it out… It's like a bicycle, right?"

"Not exactly but I can get ya through the ropes."

"Wait… RIGHT! Your super-cool relatives, yeah?!"

"Yep! I learned how to drive from Aunt Rin. Let's clean this up and then make sure to have an area to drive in," Naruto smiled.

Working with the ecstatic Meredith, they cleaned things up before hurrying to lead the bike elsewhere.

"Where's a good spot?" Ered asked. "There's gotta be some kind of ramp here, right?"

"I mean, yeah, but it'd be a ramp Campbell decided to make," Naruto sweatdropped as her thought process came to a halt. "Think about that seriously."

They rolled past the food hall with more ideas passed between them before Gwen peeked out of the double doors.

"There you guys are, you missed breakfast. So, you did better than most of us, what's happening?" Gwen asked as she saw those smudge-covered blondes. 'Ah, getting dirty together already~.'

"We fixed it up," Naruto said, patting the motorcycle's seat. "Thing is, we gotta find a place to safely ride this thing."

"Yep, I'm thinking we'll try it around the lake," Ered said, grinning more at the idea. "Oh my God, that's it! We just use it around the lake!"

"Is… Is that a good idea?"

"Yep, come on, let's go and make some tracts."

They hurried off, leaving an amused Gwen to watch them go.

"A romantic spot or is she just being her normal self?" She tapped her chin in thought. "... I'm sure something will happen!" The woman looked excited. "David! It's time for an activity!"

"Oh my gosh!" Said man popped out of a nearby tree. "You want to manage an activity?! This is the greatest! What are we doing?!" David asked, looking excited.

She smirked. "Watching," Gwen said.

"Bird watching?! Alright!"

~NRK~

Naruto chuckled as they kept trekking through the woods.

"So, how much do you really know?" Ered asked, ducking a branch.

"I actually had a mini-bike me and Obito worked on back in Nagano," Naruto said, minding a branch. "Thankfully, this thing isn't that big and looks like I can reach the pedals. So, this should be fine, I did some biking in the past year anyway."

The taller blonde just looked more into this idea. 'Definitely got some cool in him,' how could she deny it?

Her fellow blonde seemed like he'd done a lot in their short lifetime. Considering he also seemed to get 'physical' like she did and Meredith really couldn't say much else.

Naruto really was cool… Which brought her mind to other things.

She blushed a bit, eying that smiling boy helping her move this motorcycle. 'Now, it's weird,' Meredith thought.

How did she even begin to describe this feeling? She didn't know, she'd never felt this before.

She just knew that Narut-Naru had her feeling good and knew how to throw down.

Her cheek twitched as her eyes widened, face growing hot.

'S-Stupid, stop thinking about it!'

Naruto blinked at an intense stare. "Who's looking at me?" He muttered but Ered heard.

She froze, bright red, before Naruto looked her way-And then looked behind them.

Her heart had nearly slammed into her throat.

"Yo?" He called out behind them and, in the end, got no response. "... Gosh dammit, Nikki, I know you're there!"

"Aw, man!" Came the voice of a familiar teal-haired girl, her head popping out of a nearby bush. "I thought I could catch you off-guard!" Nikki pouted as she stumbled out and walked over to them. "You guys are going to have fun, aren't you?!"

Looking at each other, Naruto & Meredith nodded.

"Yep," they said.

"I wanna try!"

"NO!" They shouted in horror.

"COME ONNN~," she whined loudly. "C-Come on, it won't be so bad!"

"No, you'll get hurt or, worse, you'll destroy our ride," Ered said as Naruto sweatdropped at her 'priorities'.

"Nikki, you aren't even tall enough to reach a pedal, no offense, but you're not taking ANY kind of drive," Naruto said as she whined before jumping onto his back and pouting in his ear. "Yeah, yeah, there there," he rolled his eyes as Meredith smirked.

They continued on, forever ignorant to Gwen's binoculars trained on them.

"Alright, kids, it's time to see some good old fashion teen romance," the female camp counselor said. "Now, from the direction of the wind, they're bound for some romantic interaction near the lake. The perfect spot for a rise in hormones."

"Wait, I thought we were bird watching," David asked, popping out of a bush with a bucket hat on. "Aww."

"Not now, David, it's time to observe!"

Max stared at Gwen in disbelief. "Can we STOP with the bullshit 'true love'?! They're riding a bike!"

"And that's another romantic point! The couple motorbike ride, it writes itself!" And she actually wrote it down.

Neil made an unsure sound. "I'm not exactly an expert on this kind of stuff but isn't this a bit…" He seesawed his hand.

"Neil, it's fucking stupid. She's being an idiot," Max said. "Love… The hell does this have to do with it?"

"From what Tabii says? It's kind of what's going on around Naruto," he shrugged. "I'm a nerd, man, I don't ask those kinds of questions."

"And yet you knew."

"Tabii's surprisingly persuasive."

Max wasn't so sure about that. 'I have a feeling you're compromised,' not good.

~NRK~

Making it to the lake, Lake Lilac, Naruto nodded to the half-beaten path going both ways around it.

"Alright, we have something to work with," he told Ered as Nikki looked around. "So, I'll take ya down this track a couple times, first, alright?" Naruto asked as he plucked Nikki off his shoulders and put her down.

"If you're gonna do that, I'm gonna go and make friends with the fishes!" She said with a grin. "Don't tell anyone!"

Watching the girl's 'plunk' into the lake, Naruto took several seconds to consider if that was a bad idea.

"Uhh, just checking, this is the usual isn't it?" He asked Ered who grinned cooly.

"Oh, yeah, she's usually that kind of timing," she answered.

"Well, as long as Nikki's not dying. Let's do this," he chuckled, gesturing to the motorbike.

Getting on, he tested out his reach as Meredith got behind him before looking sheepish.

"This is gonna go, like, super fast, right?"

"I mean, it might be a bit dangerous."

"So, we are going fast," she nodded before rubbing the back of her head. "Don't be weird about this."

Naruto blinked at her as she wrapped her arms around his abdomen. "Weird about what?" He asked, revving the bike.

"Nothing, now let's go!"

Well, if she was gonna ask.

They tore down that half-beaten track at 30 mph. And considering the closest they'd ever gotten to THAT speed was… Well, a skateboard?

It was exhilarating!

"YEAHHHHHHHHH!"

The 'tracking' team blinked at the shout of sheer JOY near the lake.

"Oh, shit! YES!" Gwen squealed, notepad in hand and jotting down every idea she could muster from the two blondes kicking up dirt tracks. "I knew it, those blonde bastards are bonding over shit like this! It's one stage away from 'Denial'!"

"Stage down from what?" David asked.

"Oh, well, ya see…" Neil explained the whole situation under his breath, David crouching to his level and nodding every now and then.

"So, Gwen's basically gone towards the other edge of the happiness gauge?" He asked.

"... I'm curious enough to ask what that is?" The boy raised a brow.

"Oh, you know, it's that bar that lets you know how happy you are."

The man pulled out an envelope before taking out a timeline-like graph.

"See, there's 'Positivity'," he smiled as Neil tried to comprehend this odd situation. "But, well, the other end is the 'Obsession' Point."

"Yeah, that suddenly makes sense," Neil said with a raised brow at Gwen's absorbed jotting-down. "Well, that's one thing solved. Still, they are riding a motorized vehicle around this lake on possibly muddy paths."

There was skip of rubber tires before a shadow shot overhead and landed behind the group, a pair of 'mud monsters' on it.

"That. Was. AWESOME, Naru!" The taller one cheered. "Oh my God, w-we cut the fastest, and cleanest, turns this side of Sleepy Peak!"

"Haha, yeah, I've got a good reaction time. It's a big part of martial arts after all," the shorter 'monster' laughed. "Still, that definitely got my blood pumping."

"Right?!"

Gwen's eyes shone as she wrote down more and more. "Al Ran, I'm catching up," she grinned.

"Yo, take me now!" Nikki gasped, running over covered in seaweed. "We could become a monster trio!"

"Take a shot, Nikki, but I'm getting second dibs," Ered said with a smirk as Nikki squealed before jumping on.

"Cover your eyes!" Naruto declared before revving the bike.

They blazed away at 30 mph.

Max's eyebrow trembled as the need, the WANT, to ride that damn motorcycle began to get to him.

"N-No, dammit, it's so damn cool," he hit his knees in despair. "But I won't let that happy fuck beat me!"

"What is he doing?" Nurf asked flatly.

"Being dramatic!" Preston grinned as he slid beside Max. "Use it! Aim for the top, Max!"

The Indian shot him a flat look.

~NRK~

Sasha curtsied.

She spoke delicate words, deepened her connections, planned her future, and then handled her supreme make-up.

Now, if only that last one didn't continue to bug her.

Standing there in her uniform minus her sash and boots, she looked at herself in her dorm's mirror.

'What is it? Why am I being such a weird bitch right now?' She didn't know, this didn't make sense. "Ugh, thinking like this is gonna give me a gray," Sasha double-checked for the fourth time before coming away with no such blemish. "Good… What is wrong with me?"

"Dollar for a holler?" Tabii giggled from beside her as Erin nodded.

"You've been mad confused this morning," the blue-haired girl said as they looked at the mirror. "Something slink in?"

"No, girls, this is just something stupid I'm dealing with," Sasha said before 'frumping', frowning & pouting, at her reflection. "Tsk, let's just focus on the future: Cookie Sales and I need to tell you, Tabii," she grinned devilishly. "We can make the most of Naru's looks, body, and power!"

Tabii raised a really high brow as Erin blushed harshly. "Is. That. So?"

"GIRLS, GATHER IN THE ROTUNDA!" A voice from outside demanded.

"Coming, Miss Priss!" The trio announced before shooting out of their dorm and hurrying down a hallway towards the doors outside. "We're here, madam!"

"Damn right, girls, it's morning call!" A curvy middle-aged woman at the center of their campsite said. "Front and center, it's time to decide by the lake!"

'Miss Priss', or Penelope Priss, was their Garden Mother.

Being a woman of powerful height, incredible figure, wide hips, and etiquette, she had fair skin with a few wrinkles, black lipstick, hay-colored eyes with light pink eyeshadow, pink nail polish, and poofy paarl-brown hair. Wearing their uniform in all her hourglass-figure glory, their very DEFINITION and GOAL, she had on pink flats instead of boots.

"I'm sure that you all are prepared for the upcoming cookie sales. I'll tell you DAMN RIGHT we're going to fill those low-brow crowds in the city!" The woman declared as she led the way, sipping on a can of margarita. "Mmm!"

As they walked in step, getting further away from their comfy camp, Sasha blinked at a sound.

"The heck? Is that a bike?" She almost looked excited. "Someone with modernity out here besides us?" Sasha whispered to the grinning Tabii and intrigued Erin.

"Seems like it," the blue-haired girl said. "Still, it's probably some jockey, there's no way whoever that is has culture."

Tabii could have exploded into giggles right then and there. 'Oh, give us a couple minutes,' she grinned. 'I have a feeling it's exactly who I think it is.'

After all? How many people in these camps knew how to drive a motorcycle?

And as she expected, once they reached a seemingly beaten path by Lake Lilac, the sounds got closer along with some laughs.

"I-I don't think this is awesome-FUCK, THIS IS AWESOME!"

"Hahahahha, finally got you to chill out!"

Coming down the dirt path, she grinned as Sasha gawked while Erin's face erupted into red.

"What in the world-" Penelope tried to say.

"Oh, it's the girls!"

There was a screech of tires before a bike skid to a halt by the Flower Scouts.

Max looked alive with the biggest shit-eating grin & a helmet while Naruto chuckled, covered in dirt stains.

"Sup?~" The blonde said as the scouts crowded around.

"N-N-Naru?! WHEN?!" Sasha asked in disbelief, staring at his dirtied ride. 'Clean it up and it's the perfect back and forth to town!' And she knew someone who could drive!

This was PERFECT! And if the blonde looked hot with swept-back hair? E-Excellent!

"?!" Erin kept on messing with her bang as Tabii nudged her side.

"Totally cultured," she said as her friend squeaked. "So you guys finally finished that thing?" She asked her cousin who nodded.

"Yep, finished it an hour ago, taking everyone around for rides," Naruto said with a thumb thrown Max's way. "I'm almost done and then I'll be teaching Ered how to drive."

"Her?" Sasha asked from the front of his vehicle.

Penelope raised a VERY high brow at both this familiar boy and Sasha. 'Is this what I believe?' As a former beauty pageant victor, she knew those kinds of looks.

The jealousy was on full display so this meant Sasha needed to take her advice!

What you wanted? TAKE. If you were high status, you got anything.

"Yeah. We were working on this kid," Naruto said with a shrug even as Tabii observed the scratched-off logo.

"How old is this thing?" She asked, intrigued.

"Well, it's old enough that the logo's not there anymore."

"H-Huh, what were we talking about?" Max blinked 'awake'. "Dammit, I'm not paying attention. Come on, let's tear up some more road!" He grinned.

Naruto looked excited. "Look, we gotta go but you girls can come on over and ride, we're gonna get a LOT of mileage out of this thing," he chuckled as he revved the engine. "I could probably take this into town but that's gonna require some hiding."

"We'll figure it out, keep your schedule open," Sasha declared with an ominous grin. "I know how to make this work."

"... Gotcha," he said unsurely as Tabii snickered and Max shook his head. "See you girls later," Naruto grinned as he pulled up a pair of goggles.

The bike roared before they took off again, leaving behind a surprised, awed, Flower Scout Troupe.

"This just got interesting," Tabii said, noting Sasha's more-than-blush blush. "Come on, leader," she nudged her a bit.

She'd startled said 'leader' out of her trance. "U-Uwah?!" Sasha squeaked, looking embarrassed and then angry. "Tabii!"

"Present!"

"Dammit, Tabii!"

"Girls, girls," Miss Priss shot them both a look, shooting Sasha a look. "I think talking about boys can come later, specifically," she tutted her finger. "That boy is high-value material so make sure to plan thoroughly."

Erin looked down in thought while Sasha's eyes narrowed in challenge.

~NRK~

Having the others get their fun, Naruto chuckled as he & Ered rolled their ride into a newly-built shed of the Hidden Grotto.

"Alright, we've got something fun for the Summers ahead," Naruto chuckled as she grinned.

"Today was totally sick, Naru, thanks," Ered said gratefully. "I don't get to find this kind of fun often."

"No problem, what are friends for?"

His smile had her heart racing to meet her daredevil needs.

~NRK~

The following day had him on a different 'mission'.

Neil smiled as they put together some circuit boards into a box. "So, with this, we're a good bit there. I hope this isn't a problem, Naruto," he said.

"Nah, I get it, we can't have a repeat of what happened with Daniel & Jen," Naruto said determinedly as he screwed in the boards. "Now, this adds the processing unit but I still gotta make a new mold for it."

"Your tree modem is good but it doesn't need to be so stocky. After getting a better look, you could cut down on a large amount of space and make it more portable."

"Men," came a familiar redhead, Eddy coming up to them with his arms folded behind his back. "It would seem this will be our squad for the day, be assured, I am a gracious leader with iron fists! Firm but fair."

"... What the hell happened, Eddy?" Neil asked, utterly confused.

"I think Snake and Petro were busy, likely with Camp duties," Naruto said as Eddy wilted. "... Oh," he realized. "Snake's mom came on by and spoke with him and Petrol, didn't she?"

"W-Well, ahem, yes, Mrs. Slips did arrive at 0730 hours… She told me it had to do with him going to get shots," Eddy said before looking nervous.

"Snake's tough, he'll be fine… And Petrol went for support."

"Affirmative."

"Well, I mean, if you want you could help us out," Naruto smiled, confusing him.

"What are you two doing here anyway?" Eddy asked.

"Huh, well, we're making a modem for the internet," Neil answered.

"What about the one in the Grotto?"

"Well, Camp Camp is still a good walk away so Neil was wondering if I couldn't make something decent with him for their phones and stuff," Naruto said. "Just a simple 3G."

"You should make sure to assemble one in the Wood Scouts area, I know the sergeant keeps saying that he'll get someone to fix it but he's kind of against higher-tiers of technology," Edward said.

"He is?" Neil asked, alarmed, as Eddy nodded once he sat down.

"Like you wouldn't believe, I think he's Amish."


They chatted as they worked, the trio of boys becoming quite a sight for a few of the campers when they found them.

"The hell? What's Pikeman doing here?" Max asked, baffled, as Nikki smiled nervously.

"I mean, maybe they're secret friends? Y-Ya never know, it happens!" She said as two other members of her camp smiled nervously.

"That's bullshit, there's no way."

"Where are Snake & Petrol? Usually, they're quite perfectly positioned with Edward," Dolph said. "Ooh, is one of them the sick?"

"You think those two are down with a cold?" Ered asked.

"Yah, it's likely quite unfortunate."

They made it over to the three where they heard parts of their conversation.

"You should do it, Naruto, i-it might even be cool for someone like me," Neil said before holding out his hand. "Socket wrench."

Edward handed it over, bereft of his sash that sat on a box with Neil's sweater, which left him in a black shirt, and Naruto's headband & sash. "He's got a point, N, you're easily able to corral some attention if you use your physical might to gain some cash," Edward said before needling some wire through a hole. "Prepared for contact."

The blonde chuckled as he soldered some of them into a point. "Got it. As for the fighting? I get it, I guess it would be nice to have some on-hand cash," Naruto admitted.

"Totally," the two said.

"What's going on, Whiskered Rogue?" Nerris asked.

"Oh, we're making a modem for the internet over here to prepare for the future," Naruto explained. "Oh, and well… Considering going into town to enter this tournament that has a $200 cash prize for teenagers. Figured, why not?"

"Really?" Meredith looked excited. "Take me with you, do you remember what you said about instruments?"

"You're trying to play?"

"If you're up for it."

"... Well, I won't say I'm NOT," Naruto chuckled as she grinned. "Alright, well, first we gotta tell David & Gwen. Don't wanna disappear on them out of nowhere."

~NRK~

"Wow, you really are the most well-behaved kid we have," Gwen said, surprised.

"Ah, well, I guess it won't be so bad," David said. "Still, Naruto, you need a license if a cop sees you and then you have to be careful of city people," he whispered.

Naruto sweatdropped. "U-Uncle? I've been in cities before, it's not THAT dangerous if you know what you're doing," he chuckled weakly as David looked unsure.

"Um… Well…" He tapped his fingers together in thought. "W-When is that tournament?"

~NRK~

Two days later, well…

Naruto grinned, goggles on, as Tabii cheered on the back of the motorcycle with a pair of her own.

Riding beside the Camp Camp bus, Sasha stared out the window of it with a big pout, frumping with a grumble.

"Naruto, Tabii, be careful!" Gwen said out the window. "If we lose you two, we are fucked."

"Got it!" The two blondes said as Ered leaned out the window with a smirk before locking eyes with Sasha.

The two's eyebrows rose in defiance.

"Heh, long time no see, Sash," Ered smirked.

"Hmph, and you're dirtier than usual, Mery," Sasha scoffed.

Suddenly, Ered wasn't so smug as Sasha smirked.

"What?~ Can't handle what you dish out?"

"Let's see if you can dish back a wrench, you little bit-"

"Everyone, please be nice!" David shouted out a window.

"NO!" Sasha & Meredith shouted back before glaring at one another.

"Gwen, what do we do about that?" He asked.

"We let 'em fight! Keep going, girls, you'll find what you want at the end of the 'tunnel'!"

With the other kids encouraging their behavior, Naruto shook his head before noticing the approaching city.

"So, how ya gonna keep this thing safe?!" Tabii asked over the rushing winds.

"Already thought of that!" Naruto said. "I'll tell ya when we get there! It's important you guys know, too, besides me, Neil, and Eddy!"

"Ooh! A nerd trilogy!"

His laughter was cheeky.

They reached the city limits soon enough and brought their two rides to a crawl as they rode through town at a legal pace.

"Where is this spot, anyway?" Gwen asked.

"It's supposed to be near the middle of Coal Street, it's supposed to be small," Naruto said as he looked around the streets they passed. "Hmm… Hold on, stop here," he told them.

Gwen peeked inside and said that as Naruto and Tabii stopped in front of a store, attention taken-

"Wait," Tabii blinked before Naruto's eyebrow twitched as they looked to the side.

And saw no bus.

"... Wow, that old bastard REALLY doesn't like you."

"Freaking QUARTERMASTER!"

~NRK Out~