The last week days had been somewhat hectic. Most of the girls in 2-A were very confused to have nearly two hours of their day disappear for no apparent reason, though many of them wondered why they couldn't get the image of a shirtless and sweaty Naruto out of their minds.
Kazumi had it worse. She swore she'd actually thrown herself at the blonde sensei and made out with him, and then he touched her and she blacked out. The fact that her underwear was sticky made her draw some conclusions and kick-started her investigative mind.
And then, the news came out that Chizuru had been attacked by someone and rescued by their sensei, of all people. The whole class had pulled out all of the stops and tried to make Chizuru feel better; and in no time, she was back to her normal, cheerful and teasing self, though she would jump at loud noises on occasion.
Asuna and Negi were punished for the Love Potion incident. Asuna was made to study medical books with Shizuna and take a test afterwards, while Negi was made to clean all of the erasers on the second floor, and was also banned from using magic unless it was an emergency.
Naruto also sent a letter home to Nekane, whose wrath Negi feared more than anything. Feminine fury scared all males, even the young ones.
…
Naruto's routine had been the same every day. He'd wake up early, work-out for two hours, shower, eat breakfast and then start class. During lunch, he'd teach Konoka about magic and it's applications, as well as eat lunch. Then, he'd go back to teaching, plan out the next lesson with Negi, and then grab dinner with Zazie at the dorm or Chao Bao Zi.
He'd also gone to the local childcare center with Chizuru twice, where he'd discovered that the mature-figured girl was very popular with the children, who cheered when she came by and cried when she left.
The exams were about to begin, and class 2-A was usually at the bottom of the grade lists, even though they had some of the smartest students in Mahora.
This was because of what the class called 'the Baka Rangers', with Yue Ayase as Baka Black; Kaede Nagase as Baka Blue; Ku Fei as Baka Yellow; Makie Sasaki as Baka Pink and Asuna as Baka Red, the "Leader" of the Baka Rangers as she consistently had the worst grades.
Naruto noted several things about these 'Baka's. Yue Ayase was a friend of Nodoka's, and a member of the Exploration Club, and it seemed like the only reason she was low in grades was her dislike of anything and everything to do with studying and homework.
Kaede Nagase was a member of the Strolling Club, as well as a ninja. She was fairly curvy, being second only to Chizuru and slightly ahead of Kazumi in that regard. Her eyes were always squinted to the point of seeming shut, and she always smiled. Kaede was calm and collected, but enjoyed teasing her friends on occasion.
Ku Fei was Chinese with blonde hair that was bunched into pig-tails and had jade-green eyes. She was rather silly and fun-loving, and a member of the Kung-Fu club, which she led due to the fact that she was the strongest. The main thing holding her grades down was the fact that she was Chinese, and had grown up in China, speaking Cantonese. She had a very small knowledge of Japanese, thus she was a 'Baka'.
Makie Sasaki was, to put it lightly, an airhead. She could never seem to focus on more than one thing at a time, and that one thing was usually something completely different than what was going on.
Asuna was pretty obvious.
So Naruto made deal with the Baka Rangers: Whoever scores the highest on the exams would get a date with him. Not a 'date' in a romantic sense, but more of doing any activity the girl wanted to do with him.
Now, Naruto and Negi were in class. The Baka Rangers had really buckled down and studied hard, but Naruto was unaware of this today, as he was asleep.
He had let Negi take this class time as practice, so he would have experience if he ever became a teacher, while he leaned against the wall next to the row of windows, sleeping quietly.
The class hadn't become aware of Naruto falling asleep until they saw that his eyes had glazed over and had been staring at the back wall for half an hour.
Ayaka nudged Negi as he passed her desk. "Negi-sensei, what is wrong with Naruto-sensei? Is he alright?"
The red-head turned to look at his brother with concern. Naruto appeared to be awake, but his eyes were glazed and unblinking and he was breathing deeply. He gave the class a confused shrug and moved in front of Naruto.
"Naruto-nii? Hello, Naruto-nii-san!" Trying to wake the older blonde up, Negi snapped his fingers in Naruto's ear, hoping the loud sound would snap him awake.
Naruto's eyes brightened and widened in shock, and before anyone could stop him, he had dived out of the window.
He fell out of the classroom in a shower of glass, grasping a branch of the nearby tree and swinging himself onto the ground, where he rolled and came up into a fighting stance, his face hard and his muscles tense.
…Until he finally realized where he was. Naruto glanced around him, noting the trees, buildings and the pair of girls who were staring at guy who had jumped out of a thirty-story window for no apparent reason and was unharmed from the fall.
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish smile creeping across his face. "Whoops. Sorry about that."
The girls just gaped at him, eyes wide.
Naruto turned and ran up the wall, pushing himself off and back onto the tree, where he used the branches as stepping stones and ladders, before finally spring-boarding off a high branch. He flew through the space between building and tree and back through the window, rolling to a stop in front of the shocked students. He laughed guiltily, rubbing the back of his head. "Heheh...oops?"
You could have heard a pin drop from how still everyone was. Jenna guffawed into her hand. "Oops, he says," she chuckled.
Most of the class gaped at him in amazement, though there were more than a few who knew someone who could do the same or actually could do the same.
Among them were Ku Fei and Kaede. The kung fu fanatic had excited sparkles in her eyes. A man who could move like that could also fight, and if there was one thing she loved, it was fighting.
Kaede recognized the movements, having used them countless times as a ninja. That meant Naruto either was a ninja, or had been trained by one. Either way was a win-win in her book. If he was a ninja, he could teach her more ninjutsu, same if he was trained by one. She would need to find a way to talk to Naruto alone…
Just then, the lunch bell rang, startling the class out of their surprise. "Oh look, there's the lunch bell!" Naruto exclaimed before he fled out of the door, unknowingly followed by three figures.
The blonde sensei jogged to a stop in the middle of a clearing in a forested area. Kami, that was embarrassing. I haven't jumped like that in years. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation. I need to relax a little…I remember hearing about a bath house around here. I'll ask Zazie later.
His eyes flicked around the clearing as he felt three signatures enter it, though two were suppressed.
The third was standing on a tree branch right in front of him, staring at him with hard brown eyes as one hand gripped the handle of a nodachi.
It was Setsuna Sakurazaki, Shinmei-Ryu swordswoman and Konoka's bodyguard.
Naruto arched a questioning eyebrow at her hostile stance. "Can I help you, Setsuna-san?"
She narrowed her eyes on him angrily. "You revealed the world of magic Konoka-ojou-sama, against the wishes of both the Dean-sama and Eishun-sama. Why would you do this?"
Naruto folded his arms over his chest and gave Setsuna a frosty look. "Keeping Konoka-chan's heritage a secret, especially one that could endanger her later, was a stupid move."
At her sound of anger, he raised a hand to stall her. "Listen to me, Setsuna. Konoka has the magical power and potential to be stronger then Nagi Springfield, the World-Renowned 'Thousand Master'. Keeping magic from her not only could have killed her in the future, but she could have easily been twisted by someone who wanted to use her power for their own gains."
The brown-haired swordswoman glared at the branch she was standing on like it had stolen something from her. She sighed heavily and nodded once. "Fine. I can understand where you are coming from…" Setsuna shot him a fierce look. "But I do not like it. I am the one who is supposed to protect Konoka-ojou-sama, not you! How can I trust you to have her best interests at heart?"
"Seriously?" Naruto asked incredulously. "You know who I am, right? I ran with Nagi and Eishun in Ala Rubra, they're my friends and we trust each other. Konoka-chan is also my friend, and I never hurt my friends intentionally…unlike some, Setsuna."
The swordswoman flinched back as if struck, her angry reply jumping from her lips like a tiger. "I did that to protect Konoka-sama!"
The blonde sensei narrowed his eyes on her accusingly. "By making her think that her first and longest friend wants nothing to do with her? To make her regret something she believes she did to push you away, when there really isn't anything she did?"
Setsuna's eyes were guilty, but she wouldn't let Naruto infringe on her honor like that! "I did what was best! Do not insult my honor again!"
Naruto's eyebrows rose in a mockery of seriousness. "Honor? In abandoning your friend and breaking her heart? We must have different definitions of honor, then."
With a ring of metal, Setsuna pulled the nodachi from it's sheath angrily. "No more! I challenge you to the right of Konoka-ojou-sama's protector!"
A dry grin spread over Naruto's face. "Very well then. We will see who is the stronger among us."
He made two hollow fists with his hands and put them together, like he was holding some sort of tube in them. Naruto pulled his right hand away from his left, and there was suddenly a handle there, where none had been before.
Pulled from seemingly nowhere, a blade appeared in his hands. It was matte black with a sliver edge and what looked like small bolts placed along the length, and it gave off a low, sinister hum.
Setsuna narrowed her eyes on him accusingly. "Where is your sword?"
Naruto raised a single eyebrow in question. "I'm holding it right now."
She actually growled at him. "Every story I've heard about you states that you wield five-foot Western-Styled broadsword with carvings on it. Do you not find me a worthy enough opponent to wield it?"
The blonde shook his head and fell into a simple stance with his blade in front of him in both hands. "Nagi is a great mage, a good friend and not that bad of a drinking partner, but he's total dick. After our final battle together, he stole it from me when I was passed out from a night of wild, drunken sex."
This was all said with a dry, sensible tone, which made it somewhat comical.
Setsuna's eyes widened in shock before they were narrowed angrily. "How could they be so irresponsible to let a child drink and fornicate like that?!"
Naruto quirked an eyebrow at her again. "I wasn't a child at that point, Setsuna."
Now confusion was evident on her features. "But if you are seventeen now, then you would to be child at that time!" She nodded to herself and spoke under her breath, "I already thought that you were lying about your age, this just proves it."
The strange blonde shook his head. "I am seventeen, Setsuna."
She pointed at him with her blade with frustration written across her face. "But if you are seventeen now, then you wouldn't have been able to fight with Ala Rubra!"
"I was seventeen."
"Then how old are you?"
"Seventeen."
"How old are you now? You said 'I was seventeen'! That means you aged!"
"No, I didn't say that. I'm seventeen, Setsuna. What is so confusing about that?"
"You said you were seventeen! You can't be seventeen for decades! How old are you really?!"
"There seems to be something getting lost in the translation here. I'm seventeen."
"ARGH!" Setsuna looked about ready to pull her ponytail out, instead slashing out with her sword angrily. "Zan-Ku-Sen!"
A crescent of energy flew from her blade and tore across the clearing towards Naruto. The blonde sensei blinked once and, without any discernable effort, cut the attack in half.
In the trees, Kaede and Mana gaped in shock, with Setsuna doing the same as the cutting air wave crashed into the trees behind Naruto.
"Not bad," Naruto commented lightly, "Let's see how you deal with my attack."
He crouched and lowered his sword into a right-handed Battojutsu stance. "Ichiban Issen (First Flash)."
He 'drew' his sword and sliced the air, sending a horizontal blade of light ripping over the distance between Setsuna and himself.
Setsuna's eyes widened in shock and dashed out of the way of the attack, rolling to her feet as Naruto's blade clashed against hers. His cerulean eyes peered into her brown as her arms shook under the strain of holding him back. Sparks flew from the point of contact between the two blades as an angry buzzing emanated from Naruto's sword.
The brunette girl gathered enough strength to push him back slightly with an angry shout and slashed at his waist.
Naruto blocked with his katana and a flash of sparks ignited at impact, throwing each of their faces into sharp relief. Setsuna growled angrily and swung rapidly, each clash throwing sparks from their blades.
Kaede watched as Naruto folded his left arm behind his back and blocked every swing Setsuna made casually, a disinterested look on his face as the swordswoman's strikes became more wild and erratic. The Kunoichis' eyes were wide open as she carefully examined every move of this one-sided fight.
Naruto had been on the defensive for almost every second of the fight so far, but that could easily change in a second.
It did.
Suddenly, he spun around after blocking a strike from Setsuna and went on the attack; his blade moving so fast it left after-images.
She was back-pedaling rapidly, desperately blocking or dodging every strike; sweat beginning to pour down her forehead.
Naruto's every swing of the blade flowed into another and another, never stopping as he spun and twisted gracefully, his blade's contrails leaving a swirl pattern that hung in the air after he had moved on.
Setsuna was getting angrier at every strike, each of which was dealt with just one hand on the blade. Does he not think I'm strong enough to deal with his full strength? I will show him the error of his ways! "You will take me seriously! Zan-Gan-Ken!"
She released her Ki attack at point blank with a mid-height slash that would have bifurcated a normal human, as well as the trees behind him.
Naruto was not normal.
With the dispassionate look still firmly affixed, he swung his blade up and caught the attack, spinning it around his body and throwing it into the ground in between them.
The ground exploded and threw Setsuna skidding back, her arms over her face to protect it from the debris. Once the earth had fallen, she uncovered her vision, only to find that Naruto had somehow disappeared from the clearing.
"Stop hiding, coward!" She shouted angrily.
He did.
With a burst of earth, Naruto shot up out of his spot under the ground, a geyser of dirt following him into the air.
The sudden action right in front of Setsuna made her stumble back, and she was unprepared as he descended on her with his katana.
Their blades met in a clash of sparks, Setsuna's wrist bent loosely as he smashed his weapon against hers with no style, the sparks flying and blinding her into disorientation.
Naruto smacked her nodachi up and away from her body, twisting his katana into a reverse-grip and slapping the handle away from her grasp. The blade flew off into the clearing, impaling the ground and staying there.
Now defenseless, Setsuna could do nothing but try to dodge as Naruto slashed at her quickly.
To anyone else, it would have appeared that Naruto missed every attack by inches, but Mana's sharp eyes saw that he wasn't missing, he was only giving Setsuna tiny cuts that only broke a few layers of skin. Naruto spun and sliced lightly and Setsuna gasped in pain as his blade cut into her skin.
With a final flourish and cut, the blonde sensei stopped and posed as the brunette's shirt fluttered away with the wind, the kanji for 'Stupid' traced over her stomach. The swordswoman collapsed to the ground, her legs unable to support her weight any longer.
Naruto dropped his pose and strode over to the downed Setsuna and tapped her chin with the tip of his katana. "Do you yield?"
A grimace of shame covered her face as she visibly struggled to stand, but finally gave up as tears gathered in her eyes. "Yes…I surrender." She whispered softly.
The blonde sighed and dismissed his sword back to wherever it came from and held a glowing hand out above Setsuna. With a flick of his wrist, her small cuts healed over without scarring and her shirt repaired itself into pristine condition.
Setsuna blinked in surprise as Naruto pulled her to her feet. "Why did you do that?" She asked quietly.
Naruto smiled gently at her. "Personal reasons aside, Setsuna-chan, you're still one of my students, and I would never hurt my students. This was the only way to get my point through to you."
The brunette dusted herself off and gathered her nodachi. "What point? That I'm not strong enough to protect Konoka-ojou-sama?" She replied bitterly.
"No." Naruto shot back drily. "That you can't protect Konoka-chan by yourself. It's the law of the universe. No matter how strong or fast you get, there is always somebody out there that is stronger and faster."
He waved one of his hands airily as they began to walk back to school. "Think of it like this: would you rather have someone kidnap Konoka and fight you and you lose, or would rather have someone try to kidnap Konoka-chan and you take them down together?"
Setsuna scoffed. "I'd rather they didn't get close enough to Konoka-ojou-sama to take her."
"But it is inevitable that someone will." Naruto pointed out. "No one's perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. But mistakes can be avoided or rectified with the right back-up."
The swordswoman hmph'd and crossed her arms childishly. "Fine! What do you want me to do?"
Naruto smirked mischievously. "You have to apologize to Konoka-chan and be friends with her again, as well as join her when I teach her about magic."
Setsuna gaped at him in disbelief. "What?!"
His smirk widened. "You declared we would fight for the position of Konoka-chan's bodyguard, which means that you have to look out for the VIP's best interests. You did swear on your honor."
"Bu-wha-ho-why…gah! Fine! I will apologize to Konoka-ojou-sama! And join her for lessons!" She yelled, before stomping off in a huff.
Naruto laughed to himself and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Don't forget to be friends again!"
"FINE!"
The blonde chuckled and shook his head with a smile. "Making stoic people scream in anger…the best past time there is." He muttered to himself.
Taking a look at his watch, Naruto cursed. "Dammit! I'm late for my next class!"
With a final oath, he appeared to stand stock still, before fading away seconds later.
In the trees behind him, two feminine voices also cursed their own lateness.
…
In the elevated gym, Makie, Yuuna Akashi, Ako Izumi and Akira Okochi were bouncing a volleyball between them casually, waiting for the substitute PE teacher and the rest of the class.
Yuuna was a slender but toned girl who enjoyed many sports, mostly basketball. Her father was one of the Mage-Teachers at Mahora, but she didn't seem to have any type of training in magic at all. She was very easy-going, and it took a lot to rile her up.
Ako had lavender hair that was short cut, only the back of her hair reaching her shoulders. She was a nurse's assistant, shy and demure. She was roommates with Makie, and usually hung out with her, Yuuna and Akira. She also had a fear of blood, which made her job seem odd for her.
Akira was a tall, full-bodied girl who loved swimming and was very good at the sport. She was one of the most mature of the class, and there were many who looked up to her, including Fumika Narutaki.
"What do you guys think of Naruto-sensei?" Akira asked as she bounced the ball off of her heel to Yuuna.
Ako blushed and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "He's really kind…but he can be so mysterious sometimes. His eyes are like jewels that shimmer whenever he feels happy or mischievous…and his hair is like the sun…and that body…"
The purplette trailed off as she noticed that the other girls had stopped passing the ball and were staring at her with blushes and smirks.
"I asked for everyone's opinion, Ako-chan, not just yours." Akira commented lightly, though she inwardly agreed with the shy nurse's assistant.
"What about his tattoo?" Makie asked excitedly. "It's a raven! Who'd think that Naruto-sensei would have one of those on his back?"
Yuuna tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it, he doesn't really seem like the type to get a tattoo. Maybe it's a symbol of a girl he was in love with who was named Raven? There is the word Eternal in the heart of it."
"He doesn't seem like he would get a tattoo for a girl." Akira muttered.
Ako flushed heavily and scratched one of her cheeks. "I wasn't looking at his tattoo…"
Makie giggled and missed the ball with her head, sending it sailing out onto the other side of the court, where it rolled to a stop against the foot of a tall girl.
"Well lookie here. A couple of little girls who think they're women." The girl said smugly.
…
Naruto was already on his way to the gym when Makie and Akira sprinted up to him, looking scuffed and ruffled. "Naruto-sensei!"
"Girls!" He exclaimed in surprise. "What's going on? Why are you hurt?"
"These high-school girls started insulting us, and Asuna started insulting them back and then one of them kicked a volleyball at Akira-chan and then everyone started fighting!" Makie hurried out breathlessly.
Naruto frowned, a look that was alien on his normally cheerful face. "Where is the fight happening?"
"At the elevated gym!" Akira pointed in the direction Naruto was already going. He nodded and began to jog towards the gym, the girls following behind him.
They came to the gym, where most of the girls where fighting. There were a few that weren't, like Zazie, Mana, Chizuru, Setsuna and Konoka. Setsuna had a grip on her bokken and an angry look that scared away any comers. Hailey looked concerned, while Jenna seemed to be sleeping while leaning against a wall.
A blonde girl who looked to be ten years old looked bored as she sat on a bench with a tall girl with green hair and antennae for ears.
Naruto's eye twitched as he watched the girls fighting, Ayaka and Asuna right in the middle of the melee. "Girls!" He shouted, but only a few stopped, the majority still fighting. "GIRLS!"
A few more stopped to look at him, but there were still more than a few involved in the fracas. His sharp eyes noticed Ako curled up on the ground, her arms covering her head as a multitude of legs battered her.
Naruto reached into one of the pockets of his jacket and threw a pinch of flash powder into the air, where it ignited with bright flash and a loud boom.
"ENOUGH!" He roared, freezing the girls in place as his angry face swam into view after the spots faded from their vision.
Naruto pushed passed the girls to the center of the fight, where Ako was balled up. He knelt next to her and gathered the girl in his arms, carrying her bridal style from the group and to the bench, setting her down carefully before turning to the girls with a cold visage.
"I am very disappointed. In all of you." His cerulean eyes scanned over the crowd of guilty faces. "Ayaka, I didn't expect something like this from you. I would expect something like this from Asuna, but not the Iincho of the class."
The blonde rich girl looked down and away, an ashamed blush on her face. One of the older girls laughed derisively. Naruto's gaze snapped to her and she froze under the cool blue. "The same goes for all of you. You are their sempai. You're supposed to set a good example for the younger students. I will be talking with the dean about this."
He moved back and picked Ako up into his arms. "You have free period in five minutes." Naruto left, leaving behind quite a few ashamed and depressed girls.
He carried the shivering girl to the nurse's office, which was empty with Shizuna being gone for lunch. He tried to set her down on one of the beds, but she refused to let go of him.
"Ako-chan, it's all right. No one is fighting anymore, okay?" He whispered to her softly.
Ako's scared brown eyes fluttered open, her brown eyes darting around the room nervously. "They're not?"
Naruto rubbed her shoulder soothingly. "We're not even in the gym anymore, Ako-chan."
The purplette sighed in relief, her limbs loosening on her body, though she still shivered once in a while. When she shivered, her eyes would glaze over as if she was remembering something she'd rather not recall.
"Are you okay, Ako-chan? Do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly, sitting on the cot next to her.
She shuddered again but nodded her head in an affirmation. Naruto watched as she gathered her courage and opened her mouth to speak, but lost it and closed her lips.
He leaned against the wall and put an arm around her shoulders, and Ako allowed him to pull her head onto his shoulder.
"It's just…every time I see someone fight…" Tears began to stream from her eyes, "I see…I see that…"
Naruto rubbed her back gently. "What do you see?"
Ako shook her head in denial; her eyes squeezed shut as tears began drip from her chin onto her clothes.
The blonde sighed lightly and thought, Well, to be fair, I have things in my past that I don't want to talk about either.
He took a deep breath and began to speak in a low tone. "When I was younger, I was discovered to have special abilities…abilities never seen before. A group of scientists found out about me and kidnapped me."
Ako gasped as she looked at Naruto's face in shock, though his eyes were glazed and unseeing. "They thought that my powers could be transferred to other people, but they didn't know how. So, they experimented. A lot. On me."
The purplette began to cry for Naruto, hugging his midsection tightly. "They held me captive for a long time…I couldn't fight; they kept putting drugs in my food to keep me docile. Finally, I managed to lull them into a sense of complacency and broke out when they weren't expecting it, and I barely made it out with my life."
His eyes cleared as he blinked away the memories. Naruto looked down at Ako as she clutched him tightly, a growing wet spot on his shoulder. He wrapped his other arm around her shoulders, returning her embrace fully. "We all have memories we'd rather get rid of, Ako-chan, ones that we can never forget. But it does help to talk about them to someone who will listen." He whispered into her hair. "You listened to me, Ako-chan. Allow me to return the favor."
Ako shivered as her mind went back to that particular event, the one that scarred her, figuratively and literally.
"When I was four…my mom and dad took me on a walk through our neighborhood…as we were walking, two rival Yakuza gangs started a turf war, with us in the middle of it all…" She shuddered and Naruto hugged her tighter to himself, listening raptly. "My dad was shot, and died instantly…and my mom was caught in the flames of a Molotov…I hid under a car, just wishing that they would leave me alone, and that my mom would stop screaming…"
Ako couldn't stop the words from coming out of her mouth; they just spilled out like water. "Someone hit the car I was hiding under with a fire bomb and I had to crawl out before it blew up, and one of the gang members thought I was an enemy…and he carved my back open with a broken bottle…"
Naruto hugged her tightly as she grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt and sobbed into his chest. One of his hands stroked her hair while the other rubbed small circles in between her shoulder blades comfortingly.
He just held her as she cried out her pain into his shirt, holding her tightly to let her know he was there.
Ako eventually ran out of tears and just held onto Naruto, and she spoke once again. "I fainted after that…when I came to, the doctors told me it was a miracle that I was still alive after losing so much blood. My mom wouldn't ever be able to walk again and was in constant pain for the rest of her life, before she died from an infection…after that I was raised by the nurse who took watched over me and my mother for three years. She's the reason I wanted to become a nurse…even though I can't stand the sight of blood. Eventually, I moved here and Shizuna-sensei took me on as an assistant. And I've never been happier."
Ako snuggled into his embrace and squeezed him, her demeanor morphing from sadness to warmth as she held onto him. "I have friends I love being around…and I have two sensei's who listen to me, even though they have more important stuff they could do…"
Another warm body was draped over both Ako and Naruto, a feminine body with green hair.
"Naruto-sensei will agree with me, Ako-chan, when I say that nothing is more important to a teacher than their students." Shizuna said, squeezing both of them tightly.
"Of course I agree, Shizuna-chan." Naruto replied, "And it's more than a job; it's my pleasure to get to know each and every one of you girls on a personal level. You can always talk to me about anything that's bothering you."
Ako blinked in surprise, looking at both of the sensei's faces in surprise, before moisture started gathering in her eyes again and a wide, happy smile broke out on her face as she hugged both of them tighter.
"Thank you, sensei…"
…
"Ah, Naruto-kun, thank you for seeing me on such a short notice." Konoemon greeted Naruto jovially.
The blonde waved it off airily as he took a seat in front of the Dean's desk. "Not a problem, I just had to get Negi to take over the gym class I was substituting for. What'd you need me for, old man?"
The old man straightened up and lost his normally cheerful look. "As you know, Naruto-kun, class 2-A has been at the bottom of scoring in tests for quite a while. I would like to know how to plan to fix that."
Naruto nodded, "I see. Well, as you've no doubt heard, most of my class seems to be infatuated with me on some level, probably due to my bishounen goods looks and whiskers." He paused to glare at the Dean, who had given off a perverted giggle. "Quiet, you. Using their attraction to me, I've set up a small contest to see who could score the highest, and whoever does gets a date with me."
The Dean quirked an eyebrow and giggled again. "Not like that, old man. Whoever wins has an afternoon to do whatever activity they want with me. Nothing perverse." He added quickly, seeing the grin on Konoemon's face.
"That's all well and good, Naruto-kun, but I want you to know something: If you can not bring 2-A out of the bottom rank, you will have to leave Mahora." He said seriously.
Naruto waved the warning off easily. "I gotcha. It won't be a problem."
Konoemon smirked slightly. "You certainly aren't lacking for confidence, are you Naruto-kun?"
The blonde chuckled and grinned. "I just know how awesome I am." He sat up sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'd better get back to my gym class. I can only guess what's happening right now…"
"Triangle Attack!" A red Dodgeball bounced off of Fuka and hit Haruna, rebounding off of her to hit Ayaka in the face, while Negi watched from the sidelines, twisting his bandaged staff in his hands nervously.
Earlier in the period, the older girls who had gotten in a fight with 2-A had returned after taking Negi hostage, demanding the class to play Dodgeball to settle the problem between them once and for all while using Negi as leverage.
Asuna had agreed to the challenge, despite the fact that 2-A outnumbered the older girls by a good number, which was not a good thing in Dodgeball.
And now, it came to this. A good number of the girls had been taken out by the older ones, leaving the more athletic girls (and Nodoka) to defend their honor and assistant sensei.
"Why do I tempt fate like this?" Naruto muttered to himself, one palm firmly pressed against his face. He shook his head with a sigh, before watching the game with a piercing gaze.
As he watched, the girls rallied themselves with the help of Asuna and Negi, and managed to beat the older girls using their own unique skills, Makie using her ribbon, Akira with her leg strength and Setsuna with battojutsu, strangely.
When the older girls had been driven off in shame and 2-A was celebrating their victory, Naruto stepped forward, clapping his hands with a wide grin. "Awesome job, girls!"
"Sensei!" The girls shouted in surprise.
"You used your skills, stuck together and defeated a more experienced team." Naruto said. "Take a lesson from this: you can defeat overwhelming odds with the right people behind you."
The girls cheered once more.
…
Naruto sat back in the hot water of the onsen with a relieved sigh, letting the stress of the past few days go. Zazie played in the water next to him, making little whirls and patterns with the soap.
"…?" She asked quietly, grabbing a bottle of shampoo from its nook.
The blindfolded sensei shrugged lightly. "Sure, why not. I can't see, so you'll have to help me find your hair." He held his hands out, palms up.
Zazie licked her lips quickly, her amber eyes darting between Naruto's face and his hands, before taking a quiet, deep breath and lightly grabbing his hands and bringing them to her face.
Naruto felt his hands come into contact with smooth skin instead of silky hair and nearly froze in surprise. He felt the texture; smooth and soft, warm and pliable. His fingers slowly brushed over her cheeks and under her eyes, over her nose and following the curve of her jaw to the tip of her chin, the pads of his thumbs brushing over her lips, soft and supple, like velvet.
His hands trailed back up her jaw, once more cupping her cheeks in his calloused hands.
Zazie, during his blind exploration of her face, had moved in the water until she was directly in front of him. She reached her hands up and gripped his wrists, gently squeezing them with her similarly calloused hands. Her eyes locked onto his, having discarded the blindfold but kept his eyes closed to preserve the moment, now open to meet her gaze.
Slowly, without disturbing the water, they drifted closer, lost in each other's eyes. They were so close; they could feel the other's breath on their faces.
The door banged open, admitting most of the chattering girls of 2-A into the room.
Had anyone looked, they would have found Naruto sitting with Zazie between his legs, his hands massaging foaming shampoo into her hair, a blindfold around his eyes.
The girls clamored into the bath, talking about the day and what they had planned for the holidays. No one noticed Zazie or Naruto in their corner of the bath as they switched to the acrobat now washing the sensei's hair.
"Who's going to win the date with Naruto-sensei?" Narutaki Fumika asked suddenly.
Yue raised her hand calmly, sipping on an ever-present juice box. "I believe my scores will sufficient to win the competition."
Makie pouted and crossed her arms, splashing the water around her. "I doubt that! I've been studying, like, super hard! I bet I'll ace this test!"
"Speaking of Naruto-sensei," Haruna spoke with a familiar gleam in her eyes, "Does anyone know where he lives?"
"Why do you want to know?" Hailey asked curiously, with the only part of her body sticking out of the water being her head and neck.
"Feh!" Jenna scoffed from next to her, unconcerned with the full view of her chest she was giving out as she bumped Hailey with her elbow. "You know why she wants to."
Hailey flushed a deep shade of red in embarrassment and sank further into the water like a turtle, mumbling, "Someone had to ask…"
"Ayaka, you could you use your authority as Iincho to-"
The tall blonde splashed the water indignantly, her face stern. "No! I refuse to abuse my position like that!"
Haruna smiled knowingly at her. "…But you want to, right?"
Ayaka's face turned bright red. "S-Shut up, Saotome!"
In their corner, Naruto quietly asked Zazie, "Do you think they know we're here?"
"…"
"I gathered that, but I'm pretty sure Hailey and Jenna, or just Jenna at least knows we're over here and is trying to embarrass us."
"…?"
"I wouldn't put it past her to point us out at the precise time to embarrass as many of the girls as she can."
"…?"
"No, I kind of want to hear their reactions."
Kaede tapped her chin thoughtfully and hummed. "You know, now that I think about it, I have seen Naruto-sensei walking with Zazie, de-gozaru. Maybe she would know?"
As a few of the girls looked around for the quiet girl, the door swung open forcefully, banging against the wall and drawing the attention of the girls.
"Guys! We just heard something terrible!" Konoka yelled, running into the room, with a panicked Asuna following behind her.
"What?!" The girls shouted in shock.
"Asuna forgot one of her things in the nurses' room and I went with her to get it, and while we were there, we heard Takahata-sensei and Shizuna-sensei talking about Naruto-sensei!" She explained in one breath. "We heard that if class 2-A doesn't get passing scores in the exams, Naruto-sensei won't be teaching us anymore!"
Gasps of horror rang out through the bath, the girls looking particularly horrified. Jenna rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. "Drama Queens…Why don't ask Naruto himself about the rumors? Because, y'know, he's been right over there the whole time."
Silence fell over the bathhouse as the girls, as one, turned in the water, following Jenna's finger.
Naruto felt the shift in the water as Zazie played with his hair, molding it into a spiky Mohawk, and waved with a simple "Yo."
The heat from the girls' faces could be felt all the way over to Naruto's spot.
"Sensei!" Ayaka shrieked. "What are you doing here?!"
Naruto turned his blindfolded eyes on her with a quirked eyebrow. "I am getting my hair washed." Zazie dumped a bucket of water over his head at that point. "Thank you Zazie-chan."
"Zazie!" Ayaka cried in outrage. "What are you doing here with Naruto-sensei? Th-that's immoral!" She had a tone of jealousy in her voice that was missed by no one.
The blond sensei shook the water out of his hair before replying, "It would only be immoral if we were naked, Ayaka-chan."
Haruna opened her mouth when Naruto cut her off. "I'm wearing shorts, Haruna-chan."
Ignoring Haruna's huff of irritation, Nodoka managed to speak up. "S-so, N-Naruto-sensei, a-are the r-rumors true? W-will you have to s-stop teaching u-us?"
Naruto shook his head. "No."
The girls all sighed in relief, until Naruto finished his sentence. "I'd have to leave Mahora entirely."
The girls gasped again while Jenna snickered. "Way to break it to 'em slowly, sensei."
The girls gathered around each other, brainstorming ways to keep Naruto as their teacher. Yue nudged Nodoka in side and asked, "What about that myth, the one about the book that makes people smarter when they read it? It's supposed to be near the bottom level of Library Island."
Nodoka nodded unsurely, biting her bottom lip nervously. "I-It's only a m-myth, but I have h-heard-"
"Then that's it!" Asuna shouted, making the girls jump in surprise as she smacked a fist into her palm. "We'll go through Library Island and finds this book!"
As the girls began to plan the expedition, Ku Fei left the bath and wrapped a towel around herself, leaving for her room and the stacks of books there, with her fists clenched tightly, a promise in her mind.
"Well, it's only around five o'clock," Naruto said, drawing the attention of the girls. "And the exams are tomorrow at eight. If you want to make them and find the book, we should start getting ready now."
He stood up from the water and stepped out of the bath. "Coming, Zazie-chan?" He asked, holding a hand out for the acrobat to take. She grabbed it let him pull her out of the water, and they gathered their things and began to leave.
Before they left, Naruto turned and pointed at Jenna with a smirk. "By the way, Jenna. Nice chest."
Many jaws hit the water at this statement while Jenna grinned widely and hefted her rather formidable assets. "I know, right? Thanks for noticing!"
In the water next to her, Hailey tried to hold in her giggles, making the water froth around her mouth. "What?" Jenna asked in a clueless fashion, making the runner break out in full-blown laughter.
She glanced at Naruto in confusion, only to realize that he still had his blindfold on. "You asshole!"
…
The expedition group had gathered in front of the entrance to Library Island, ready to face whatever may lie in it's depths.
…expect for Negi, who had tried to take an early night, and was still in his teddy bear pajamas.
"Remember, gaki, your magic is still sealed, so be careful in here." Asuna whispered to the short red-head, who nodded sleepily and yawned.
"All right, let's set out!" Yue commanded from her position near the front, still sipping on a juice box.
As they entered, the people who had been inside before gasped in wonder at the tall book cases, stuffed full of rare and exotic books.
"Wow, look at this!" Negi exclaimed, running forward and reaching for one of the books. As soon as he laid a hand on it, a small click was heard before an arrow shot out of a hidden trap, straight for Negi's head.
Like a snake, a thin pink ribbon wrapped around Negi's waist and pulled him out of the way, the arrow embedding in the wood right next to his head.
"Be careful, Negi-sensei! This place is laden with traps, de-gozaru." Kaede warned, patting Negi on the head.
Naruto nodded in agreement. "Indeed, Negi. You should never just grab rare works and- ah! The God From Below! I love that book!" Ignoring his own warning, Naruto plucked the old, leather-bound book off of the shelf and cracked it open, casually dodging three arrows that flew at his head.
The expedition made their way deeper into the inner sanctum of the library, dodging pitfalls and other traps along the way, allowing the girls to showcase their natural abilities; such as Makie's skill with her ribbon, which she used to pull herself to safety after the ground opened up underneath her; or when Kaede used her strength to break a book case that was falling on Negi; or when Jenna lifted a fallen book case that blocked their forward progress.
During this, Yue gave out the history of Library Island, which had been built as a way to store knowledge during World War 2.
About ¾ of the way through the Island, the expedition stopped on top of a gigantic bookcase, which had required the group to climb up, with Naruto carrying Negi on his back.
Hailey huffed and stuffed a piece of bread in her mouth, rubbing her scarred leg and wincing as Yue passed out the snacks she had brought with her. "We're making good progress. This is farther then I've ever gone before."
Konoka peered over Naruto's shoulder, trying see what he was reading about in his book, but found the words to be written in strange, spidery runes that she had no chance of understanding. "Naruto-kun, what are you reading? I don't recognize those letters at all!"
Naruto flipped a page and continued scanning the pages. "It's a story about a religion that worshipped various gods that came from the Earth, as opposed to the Heavens. One of the gods is," He made a strangled groan that was completely unintelligible and drew alarmed looks, "He was considered the god of love and fertility, as opposed to the classical version of women being deities of the same thing."
Konoka made an interested noise. "Hm. That sounds interesting. Can you tell me about it later?"
He smiled at her and nodded. "Sure."
As the expedition packed up and began to make their way further, Jenna sidled up to Naruto and nudged his side. "I bet you could tell her more about a 'God of Love' than that book says, right?"
Without looking up from his book, Naruto grunted in agreement. "Definitely. Though it is weird to be reading about myself."
They continued to blaze a trail, eventually coming to a tunnel that required everyone to crawl on their hands and knees in a single file line to continue.
"Congratulations, everybody." Yue commented from her spot in front of Naruto. "We are almost to our goal. We've gone farther than anybody else."
They came to the exit and helped the others out, before taking a look around at the chamber they found themselves in.
"Whoa!"
The chamber was huge, with strange carvings on the walls and a waterfall somewhere in the background. There was a long walkway that lead to a pedestal, which was guarded by two large statues, one carrying a hammer, and the other a sword.
"Look!" Negi shouted excitedly, pointing at the book. "That's the legendary Book of Merkisidek!"
"Awesome!" Asuna shouted exuberantly, pumping a fist in the air. "Let's get that thing!"
And without further ado, charged straight down the walkway, the rest of the class caught up in her attitude and following after her.
"This feels like a setup." Naruto muttered to himself eyes narrowed on the Hammer-wielding statue, feeling a familiar magical signature emanating from it.
"It usually is a setup," Hailey commented from beside him.
And, true enough, when they came within twenty feet of the book, the floor dropped out from underneath them, dropping the group into a pit with a checkered floor that had characters written on them.
The hammer statue jumped down into the pit, a deep, booming voice echoing out of it. "HOHOHO! If it is knowledge you seek, first, my riddles you must answer!"
Naruto helped Yue to her feet and grimaced at the statue, knowing full well who was behind that golem.
The golem's riddles involved translating words and phrases, by pressing on the tiles in a similar manner to Twister. Everyone became involved, even Naruto. He had to do the bridge, using his head as well. Kaede had to straddle his waist and press herself into Naruto to press the tiles under his shoulders.
Ever the tease, she used the opportunity to press her ample chest into his and lightly nip his chest through his shirt.
The last riddle came, "The final question!" The golem boomed once again, "What is the translation for 'dish'?"
Asuna thought hard for second, and then called out, "I got it! It's Osara!"
She bent herself some more to press one of the tiles as Makie followed her lead, only for Asuna to misjudge and press the wrong button.
The floor turned red as a loud buzzer rang out and the golem hefted it's hammer in it's hands. "WRONG! HOHOHO!"
The golem swung the hammer down into the tiles, which broke and dropped the expedition into a deep pit underneath it.
The most of the girls were screaming in terror as they fell and fell.
Naruto narrowed his eyes as he saw the bottom of the pit, which opened up into a large body of water. At this speed, most of the girls will be injured when they hit the water! His mind sped through options, finally coming on the one that would work. Dammit, I hate being the hero!
Reaching out grasping the air, Naruto waited until the right moment, when they were thirty feet above the water, and propelled wind from his hands to increase his speed, then threw out his arms into belly-flop.
He hit the water with a thunderous splash that threw water high into the air, the girls following seconds after.
…
Chapter End.
A/N: I'm back, yo.
Funny thing; when I say "It won't take long" or, "I promise, the next one will come out quick", it tempts my muse to give me a Writer's-Block infused-punch to the Think Tank.
Fate is not the only thing that is a fickle bitch, turns out.
…
Thanks, once again, to NorthSouthGorem for the use of his characters. Bro, PM me so we can talk!
Enjoy yourself.
Keep Being Awesome!
~Soleneus