The Knight Of Mahora Academy
Period 3: Strange Places, Old Friends, Brave New World
I do not own Naruto or Mahou Sensei Negima! They are owned by Masashi Kishimoto and Ken Akamatsu respectively.
I-I-I-I-I-I-it's h-he-he-here! IT'S HEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! THE NEW MANGA IS HERE! KICK FUCKING ASS IT LOOKS SO GOD DAMN COOL! THE AKAMATSU MACHINE IS BACK BABY! UQ HOLDER! 4! THE! WIN!
[[[[[[[[Knight]]]]]]]]
The young teen leaned back into his seat on the train as he opened his eyes from his quick rest. His seat on the car was rattling and moving in time with the indents of the railway. He was finding it very easy to get lulled to sleep by the calming motions.
"Who is that?"
"Is he a transfer student or something?"
"Maybe he's a business man..."
"He's too young to be a business man. And he definitely isn't dressed for it."
"But he is so hot. I wonder if he is single."
"What's that cute little thing on his lap?"
"Is it a dog?"
"I think it's a cat."
Naruto had been listening to these hushed whispers pass around the cart for the last few miles. A small smile was spreading on his lips due to the fact of being the center of attention from all of the attractive school girls surrounding him. But that was to be expected when you were a completely unknown guy traveling a train into the girls' boarding school with a fox that had seven still tails snoring on your lap.
The young blond lifted his head and feigned a yawn, causing the girls to turn around before they were spotted staring. It still didn't stop them from stealing a few glances over their shoulder and whispering between each other.
Naruto laughed a little at their quirky need to talk about a new guy that caught their attention. Speaking of catching attention, Naruto dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. After a little bit of searching, Naruto pulled up the e-mail he had received a week earlier from one of his oldest friends.
From: HawkGlass38
Sent: April 4th 7:43PM
To: RamenLovin1010
Subject: Want a job?
Dear Naruto-Kun,
How's my favorite junior doing in his unending journey around the worlds?
I hope you and Kyūbi-San have been getting along well. And that you have been eating a regular diet and not just fast food and microwaveable cooking.
Naruto chuckled. Michi just didn't quite understand the beauty in instant ramen. A few minutes in the heat for one of the most delicious meals he could imagine. What could beat that?
I have a job request for you. Do you remember the school that I am working at? Mahora academy? Well the dean has been asking me for some advice on a matter and anyone I knew that could fix the issue. And whose name do you think came up?
Geez Michi, you sounded like a door-to-door salesman, trying to sound appealing when you were selling off some useless crap.
It would only be a short meeting, where you can hear the dean's proposal and see for yourself if you are interested in it. At most, it would take up a part of your afternoon. And I can finally see how you are doing with my own eyes.
There is someone here who joined our staff just a month ago that I believe you should meet for yourself. The meeting is within one week, at 11:00 in the central complex of Mahora Academy. If you are interested, please respond and we can prepare for you for a Brave New World.
Naruto smiled happily as he slowly turned off his phone and looked outside to the scenery passing on the other side of the window. He had to admit. Even if the train was hectic and the girls were kind of nosy, this school was pretty damn beautiful to look at.
"*Ding**Dong* We shall be arriving at Mahora Central Station in a moment. Please do not stall the doors and have a nice day in Mahora Academy."
The train came to a halt as the wheels screeched on the metal. After a ping rang out through the speakers, the automated doors slid open. The boys and girls flooded through the small opening like salmon through a creek. All of them yelling to each other and making plans for their Sunday before the end of vacation.
After a moment, the blond boy and the fox were the only ones left in the train car. The boy looked down and flicked the nose of the animal napping in his lap. After the initial shock, the fox looked up at him with a scowl, furrowing his miffed and tired eyes.
"Come on fuzz-ball. We're here." He lifted the fox up and placed him on his perch atop the blond's shoulder. He walked out of the train and was met with the shining light of the sun bearing down on him.
Naruto grinned from ear to scarred ear as he walked forward. "Brave New World."
[[[[[[[[Knight]]]]]]]]
Takamichi walked through the halls of the main school building as he headed towards the Dean's Office. He arrived at the large mahogany doors that arched the doorway to his bosses' place of business.
A beautiful, busty young woman walked out and closed the doors behind her with a clipboard at her side. She walked down the hall before spotting her fellow teacher and giving him one of her beautifully calming smiles. "Good morning, Takahata-Sensei."
The peach-fuzzed man gave her a warm smile and nodded in her direction. "Good morning to you too Shizuna-Sensei. Is Dean-sama in now?"
"Of course, he has been waiting for you. You shouldn't keep him waiting." Takamichi smiled and nodded in confirmation, moving past the well-endowed woman and walking into the large principal office.
Takamichi walked inside and strolled up to the desk placed directly in front of the stained glass windows. The wizened old man in white robes was quietly signing away on a stack of papers. He heard the entrance of someone else in his 'inner sanctum' and looked up to see his trusted advisor on Academic and Magical issues. "Ah, Takamichi-kun, there you are? How have you been my boy?"
"I'm fine sir. How are you today?"
The dean pushed out of his desk and stood out of his chair, taking a slumped over position with his hands resting behind his back. "I'm sick of doing all this paperwork for one thing. You know I spent most of the time these past few years stretching out my body so I don't get arthritis, but doing all these darn papers is making all of it null and void." The dean said with throaty chuckle as he massaged his aching wrist.
Takamichi couldn't help but laugh at that concept. He could whine about his age and body getting older all he wants but Takamichi knew that when push came to shove, this man was still one of the most competent fighters in the world.
"By the way Takamichi-kun," Konoemon turned around and started to run his fingers through his long beard. "Have you received any word from the young friend of yours? The one you said would be willing to take the job?"
Takamichi seemed to stall for a moment with the question he had dreading to answer. He turned around and scratched his cheek nervously, his eyes darting around trying to look everywhere but his boss. "Ah yes, about that..."
The regional leader of the Kanto Region Magical Association just looked at the dandy looking man with an unnerving stare. The glasses wearing man tried to keep composed, but then started to hear the sound-effect 'Jiiiiiiiiiiiiii' emanating from the elder's mouth.
Takamichi sighed in defeat. "To be honest, I don't really know where he is at the moment. After I sent the e-mail he called me and told me he would come on time. But it looks like he isn't actually coming." That made Takamichi sort of sad that his old friend had actually blown him off like that. If he knew something about Naruto-kun, it was that he always did his best to keep promises.
"Perhaps he was held up in traffic? Getting close to the Mahora entrance can't be easy for someone who has never been here before." The dean said to reassure Takahata about his old acquaintance's well-being.
"Yes but even so-" Takamichi froze as he realized something. "He's never been here before... Dean-sama, do you mind if I check the security feeds for a moment?"
Konoemon raised an eyebrow in suspicion as he nodded his head. "Of course you can." He made way for the well-dressed man to activate the computer on the wooden desktop. Takamichi searched the system and pulled up the camera feed.
"If I'm right, then he must be...yep. There he is." The middle-aged teacher slowly slid his hand down his face. "Well that's embarrassing."
The dean looked down at the screen and covered his mouth. "Ohohoho. Perhaps you should go pick him up before he causes a panic." He said with a cheerful tone. As Takamichi walked out the door, Konoemon sat down and put his full concentration on the boy with the scarred temples as he seemed to be having a breakdown.
He rubbed his chin as an evil idea started to form in his old skull. "Perhaps bad boys who waste the day should be punished in kind?" A slow, evil smile started to spread across his face.
[[[[[[[[Knight]]]]]]]]
The whiskered teen was stomping around the ground angrily, his teeth flaring in rage. "Way to fucking think ahead Michi... Yeah, Brave New World and I'M STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GODDAMN OCEAN!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, his scream echoing out in the empty schoolyard.
It wouldn't have been out of place for tumbleweed to bounce by at that moment. But before it could fully come into sight the teen gave it a deathly stare and it retreated back into its corner.
Naruto was seriously pissed off. He had arrived half an hour early so that he could get the drop on his old friend. But this 'school' was so damn big he got lost and now he was over an hour late.
Fuck school. This was a god damn city state. Ariadne didn't have shit on this place.
Somehow, in the hour he had been running around, he had found himself in some of the oddest places. An island in the middle of a huge lake that was used for nothing but book storage. Half a dozen gyms. Swimming pools and restaurants as far as the eye could see. He somehow found himself on a bridge, which didn't make any sense because who went out of their way to make a structure like that when there were barely any cars. He found himself at a Shinto shrine for a good few minutes. And he had even climbed all the way to the top of that ridiculously huge tree in an attempt to spot some building that seemed official. Nothing.
"I'm jumping from one building to another and I've got fuck all to show for it." Naruto said slightly seething as he stood in place, poking his forehead as he tapped his foot in place, a slight red coloring on his face. "I walked into way too many changing rooms for one day." He looked over to his shoulder to see his old fox companion looking at him with constantly moving eyebrows and a cheeky smile.
"Don't you start." Naruto breathed out and looked around with his arms crossed. "Where the hell am I supposed to go?"
"Better question is: where haven't you gone already?" Naruto blinked in surprise as he turned around and looked to the place the new voice had entered from. Naruto let a small smile cross his face at seeing his old comrade walk up to him. Wearing a pristine white suit, with glasses and a lit cigarette hanging in his mouth. "Honestly, you haven't been here for long but you already ran across most of the main campus.
It was like looking back at Gateau-San again after all these years.
Naruto chuckled and kept up an air of pride as he put his hands in his pocket. "Yeah well maybe if certain morons took the damn time to write that crap into their mail, I wouldn't have to worry about getting lost in a huge place like this." The young blond stated flatly as he gave the man an unflinching glare.
The two men stood across from each other, not moving or reacting in any way. Before, after a few moments, they both both broke into laughter. Takamichi took one last drag on his cigarette before throwing it at his feet and stomping it out. "But really, it was funny to watch you run around hopelessly in the cameras like that. It was like something out of Benny Hill."
"Aw come on man. Be a little nicer would ya. I haven't seen you in ages." Naruto choked out as he took a few breathes to calm himself down. The older man walked up to him, slightly looking down due to the few inches of difference in their height. He extended a hand out.
"It's good to see you again Naruto-kun." Naruto firmly took his hand and shook it.
"You too Michi." Naruto held on and wrapped an arm around his old friend's shoulder, Takamichi doing the same. After a moment, they let go and started following the teacher's directions.
"It's good to see you as well Kyūbi-San." All he got in return was a small yawn and resting his head back on his paws. Huh, that was more than he thought he was going to get. "I'm sorry about not sending you a map beforehand. That's poor planning on my part."
"Damn right! What the hell is with this place? It's like a freaking maze! And you live here?" Naruto and Takamichi walked side by side as they talked casually about anything they thought was interesting. Like two old friends that hadn't seen each other in a long time.
[[[[[[[[Knight]]]]]]]]
The whiskered blond looked at the surrounding walls of the building he was in, slightly pouting at the realization. "So this was the place I was supposed to come to, huh? Way less flashy and ostentatious than I thought it would be."
Takamichi looked back at him with an impressed look. "That was a pretty big word you just used."
Naruto puffed out his chest and stood proudly. "Yes my dear Michi. I'm not the same idiot I used to be back in the day. I am far more educated and wise than that little moron you once knew."
Kyūbi just looked at him flatly and disbelievingly, a single raised brow. "What? I'm serious!" He looked back forward to see Takamichi copying the same look as the ancient fox using his shoulder had on. Naruto looked off to the side meekly, "Okay...so it was the word of the day. At least I used it right. That means I'm at least better than I was before, right?"
Takamichi laughed wholeheartedly at the boy's antics. "Yes, yes I suppose. But no, the dean doesn't think that just because he has the job, he should have an entire skyscraper belong to himself."
"Well then, he's way more levelheaded than some other guys I know." Naruto said as he put his hands on his neck and threw his arms back lazily, following the older man slowly. "Theo keeps her room at the top of the tallest tower in the castle back in her country. You have to throw your neck all the way back just to see the top of it. It's really uncomfortable."
"Hehe, yes well Theodora-sama has to do that for appearances. It's a part of being one of the royal monarchs to an entire country." Takamichi replied.
"Yeah, well what about this? Raka-ji has been living in an oasis in the middle of the desert for the last several years. It's huge, covered in columns, surrounded by mountains and has a huge spire in the middle of it for all to see for several miles. What do you call that?"
Takamichi stopped in the middle of the hall, causing Naruto to halt as well. The teacher of Mahora academy seemed to concentrate and contemplate on a possible answer. Before he just looked over at Naruto lamely, "Because he is Rakan-San."
...
"Good point." Naruto said in thoughtful realization before laughing through his grin. As they started walking again, Naruto looked back out the window and over Mahora academy. Its beauty was enhanced even more by the sight of the falling Sakura tree petals. "This place is amazing Michi. I can't believe this place is a school."
"Yes well that is to be expected from one of the best boarding schools in the world. Thousands of students need some of the best accommodations we can afford. Plus there are hundreds of activities to do after classes are done."
"Yeah, but I mean it's still a school, right? That can't be as much fun for all the students here." Naruto said offhandedly as he watched dozens of boys and girls walk around in front of the main building. He remember hearing from dozens of adults that school was an important and irreplaceable experience to be had. And he had heard from even more kids that it was possibly the most boring thing someone could do for most of the day.
Which is probably why he had skipped out on that experience in its entirety.
"Well I can't really say due to having a biased opinion with being a teacher. But from what the students have told me, if there were any place for them to attend school, they were glad it was this place." Naruto chuckled with that exclamation. Takamichi seemed to become somber at the choice for his next phrase.
"And I think...she seems to enjoy herself here."
Naruto froze in place, almost making the fox on his shoulder slip off from the abrupt stop. Takamichi and Kyūbi looked at the boy who was by the window, his eyes completely blocked out by his bangs. Takamichi bit the inside of his cheek. He should have realized that it would be a sore subject to bring up so remotely. "Naruto-kun-"
"It's okay Michi. I remember what you told me before. About how no matter what happens, she wouldn't be able to remember anything that happened before. But you told me that it was for the best that she didn't remember what happened back then." Naruto looked back up at his old friend and gave him a big smile. "So I know that she is doing well. And that is all that matters."
Takamichi just looked at Naruto in pained shock. If he had heard just those words, he would have easily believed what he had said. But he didn't just hear them. He saw the young man's face. And all he could see was a fake smile that tried to hide the same pain he had the first time he told him the truth.
It was the same expression he had when Takamichi went to tell him the news the first time a little under a decade ago.
It had been several months since Naruto had last seen the entire group together in one place. They all had to go their separate ways, taking care of issues that needed their full attention. Nagi, Al-Jiji and Gateau-San were traveling in the Middle East so as not to bring any danger to the princess that was in their care. Eishun-San had to return to Japan to regulate a war threat between two factions. And Takamichi was traveling all over the world, helping both Nagi's group and assisting Arika-San as she was preparing for her child. And Raka-ji was left in the magical world, protecting it from any forms of aggravated attacks from the organization.
So when Takamichi had traveled all the way from Japan and to the middle of the Mgaical World, Naruto knew that it was either good news or bad news that brought him there. And considering that Gateau-San was nowhere to be found...it was bad.
Naruto had never been so horrified in his entire life then on that day. In an instant, everything he knew about the world seemed to crumble into nothing.
Takamichi had confirmed that the rumors spreading around about Nagi were true, not a trace of his body was found anywhere.
Albireo had disappeared off the face of the worlds. Not a single clue. Not a single trace.
He had told him that Arika was gone. He didn't go into detail about what had happened. All he said was that she was gone. And now, their newborn son was left all alone in the world. From the look on his face, Naruto knew that it was a far more painful subject for Takamichi to talk about.
Eishun was locked in the conflict in Japan. He couldn't leave, or else war would descend in such a fragile state for the magical community.
And finally, Gateau was killed. And Asuna had lost everything that she had once had. From what he had said, not a single remnant of the old twilight princess was salvageable.
Naruto was in complete despair. The strongest team in the world. The people that had taken him in as a family. The people he cherished more than anything else in this world...and they were gone.
Before Naruto could run off back to Earth, Rakan had grabbed him and pinned him to the ground. The young boy could do nothing but scream his lungs out, cursing the old gladiator for not being there to help them in their time of need. But even with all the venomous words he said, the boy fell from his anger and screamed out for hours in pain at the loss.
Takamichi knew Ala Rubra for a very long time and saw every member of that team as someone he could trust his life with. But he knew that out of the whole team, Naruto had suffered the worse from the news. Because more than just a team, these were his family and most trusted friends and idols. These were the first true people that had accepted him. And Ala Rubra was gone.
He had never seen someone fall into such unrivaled despair before. Let alone the usually happy blond.
No. Wait. That isn't true. There was one other time he had seen the boy so broken before. But that was over half a decade years ago. And that was something he didn't need to relive at the moment.
Naruto did his best to forget the melancholy that had resurfaced itself in the moment as he rubbed the bridge of his nose and walked past the older man. "C'mon Takamichi," he grasped the shoulder of his friend, giving him a legitimate smile. "We can't leave this waiting forever."
Takamichi watched the back of the boy that he had seen grown up after all these years as he walked down the hall. To see him keep moving forward, even with all that had happened to him before.
Takamichi realized that the boy still didn't know where to go. So he started to catch up to him and lead him back down the right path.
[[[[[[[[Knight]]]]]]]]
Takamichi walked into the office of the dean. "Dean-sama, here is the young man I wanted you to meet." Konoemon turned around in his chair and faced the front entrance, seeing the form of the young man that he had been expecting to talk to the entire day.
Out of the doorway, a young and lean blond man walked into sight. He was quite tall, only a few inches shorter than the older suited man standing by his side. He had vibrant, spiky blond hair that was long enough to almost reach his shoulders. He was wearing faded blue jeans and a designer white shirt, a simple black jacket to finish off the look. Across his smiling face were six whisker-like markers, three on each cheek. And from the spot he was sitting in, the old dean could see three faded scars that started at the end of his whiskers and cut off over his right ear. Perched on his right shoulder, a small fox was looking around lazily at his new surroundings.
The elder got up out of his chair and addressed the young boy that had entered his chambers. "Ah, Naruto Uzumaki-kun. I have been anticipating this meeting. It is nice to finally meet you. I am the dean of Mahora Academy, Konoemon Konoe."
The teenager felt his eyes widen in surprise when hearing the man say his name. This man shared the same last name as Eishun-San. And he could also sense an unconscious emission of power cooking from the old man. He had to be careful with what was said next.
Naruto nodded his head towards the elder. "Thank you sir. It is an honor." On the inside, the youngest man in the room looked over the wrinkled man and examined him. He was covered in elegant white robes and carried an air of regal superiority around him. Naruto would have applauded himself for being able to hide the terrified shock he had when he saw the size of that man's eyebrows but thought it to be unprofessional.
Konoemon offered him a seat across the desk that Naruto took willingly. The old Mage sat back into his chair, "Now, I wanted to have some time to spare for small talk but I think we lost that chance. So we should just get straight to the business."
Naruto nodded his head in agreement. "I don't actually know why I am here? Takamichi told me this was a job opportunity but didn't really elaborate on what it was about...does a lot of that actually." He looked over his shoulder and glared lightly at the older gentleman, making him look away in shame.
The Konoe elder coughed to get their attention back on him. "Yes well you see my boy, Takamichi-kun gave me your number because I was in need of someone who could...keep the peace and secrets tolerable while under the radar."
Naruto gave him a quizzical look and raised an eyebrow. Before a small smirk formed and he leaned forward, placing his arms over the desk. "Keep what secret? Exactly?"
"Ohoho, I think you know exactly what it is." Konoemon said with a cheeky tone as he leaned forward and propped head with his hands. "Magic."
"Good than he knows." Naruto felt a powerful smack strike his face as he was completely caught off guard. The young man fell to the floor with a defeated grunt as a surprised Takamichi and Dean watched the small fox flip through the air and land on the desk perfectly. He sat there calmly as his seven tails mindlessly moved behind him. "I was getting tired as hell just waiting for a safe spot to talk."
Naruto massaged his red cheek as he pushed himself up and glared at the sitting fox with pure hate. "God dammit Fleabag! What the hell was that for you bastard?" The boy hopped up on his knees and got right up in the small demon's face.
"That's for wasting all that time running around the damn school. Did it not occur to you that you could have gone to a directory or asked one of the people you passed by to give you the directions?" The small animal stated calmly and in a matter-of-fact tone. Which was the complete opposite of the teeth flaring boy that was slowly huffing through his teeth.
Naruto snarled through his teeth. "If you were thinking that, why the hell didn't you say anything before?"
"Because we made an agreement that when we were in public, I had to stay quiet so that the presence of a talking fox would not cause a riot in the audience of people we were not certain had any affiliation with the magical world." Kyūbi kept his level and calm stare for a few moments. Before a toothy and cheeky grin grew over his features. "And also cause I love to see you look all stupid and hopeless like that." Naruto felt a vein pop in the back of his head. Even after all these years of docile behavior and calming days, this little bastard was still one of the most evil existences he had ever met. "Plus the flustered look you had when walked in on all those girls was pretty damn priceless. Wish I had a phone."
"You little son of a-"
"Anyway..." The dean said as he tried to control the ruckus in his room. "I was told that you were an old comrade of Takamichi-kun's. In fact, I heard that you used to tag along with the entire Ala Rubra back in its later days. I didn't truly believe that such a young lad could be a comrade of Nagi and his friends, but after that little skit I can't help but see the resemblance."
Naruto chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Aw you sweet talker. I don't actually think I was an official member of the club back then. More of an apprentice that tagged along for the ride."
The dean of the boarding school wagged his finger in argument. "Not from what I've heard. Takamichi-kun and Eishun speak of you quite fondly. And I continue to hear rumors from the magical world of a blond superhero that swoops in to save the day in the nick of time. Something that I believe you learned from another group of crazy powerful heroes, hmmm?"
Naruto could do nothing but embarrassingly shrug his shoulders. He would be lying if he said that Ala Rubra wasn't basically his entire base for his current choice of motives and actions. Wow, they had really screwed him up more than he had originally thought.
"Naruto-kun, this school is a very concentrated point for magical beings to flock to. Some are invited. But most are the types to sneak their way in to syphon off the abundant magic power that can build up in certain places. And they are not too friendly to our local residents if they were to meet."
Naruto leaned back into his chair and crossed his legs with a contemplating gaze. "So you want to hire me as a guard to stop any intrusions of these magical beings?"
The dean got himself into a professional position in his chair. "Normally that would be enough, but recently we hired a young lad who has some rather influential standing in the magical community. A Negi Springfield-kun."
Naruto and Kyūbi both felt their eyes widen in surprise as the blond lost his entire professional act and looked at the man anxiously. "S-Springfield!" He looked back to a subtly smiling Takamichi. "I-is he Nagi's...?" He left the question hang in worry that he may have dropped the ball too soon.
Takamichi nodded his head in agreement. And Naruto felt a sense of shock, amazement and joy grow inside as his open mouth formed a smile.
"Negi-kun has just started a teaching job in our employ no longer than a month ago. He is quite the skilled young man. He was able to motivate our most academically challenged class enough to raise their ranking from last place to first in less than a week. But even though he is doing an excellent job on his own, he is still quite inexperienced and could use some guidance along the way."
"Yeah...if I remember he shouldn't really be old enough for anything like that." He looked back toward the other teacher standing off to the side. "How old is he anyway?"
"He's over 9 years old. He'll be ten next month." Takamichi replied. Naruto and Kyūbi looked at him in utter disbelief.
"Ten years old! Why the hell is he a teacher?"
"It was the assignment he was sent with after he had graduated from the magical academy. He has to act as the Homeroom teacher for Class 3A to show that he has grown into a competent Mage. And if he can, then he will be taking his first steps into claiming the title of Magister Magi."
"Oh...so he's motivated by that, huh? But being a teacher at that age, are you sure that he is Nagi's brat? Seems way too smart by any means to be that moron's kid. Must've skipped a generation or something." Kyūbi stated blandly as he scratched the back of his ears.
"Ignore him." Naruto said as he tried to get the conversation back on track. "So what exactly do you want me to do? Train him? Evaluate him?" He saw the dean and Takamichi look between each other expectantly.
"We want you to work as an assistant teacher underneath the school faculty and keep an eye on Negi-kun's activities. At least until the beginning of Summer Vacation."
Naruto didn't react in any way as what the man said was slowly taking root. "Assistant teacher?" They nodded in agreement. "Me?" Nodded again. "Okaaaaayyyyy...you do understand that I'm not smart enough to be a teacher, right?"
"I am well aware of that, yes."
"Then why would you give me such a position like that? I don't have the credentials and skill to help a teacher, even one that's a kid, take care of their classes. And until the summer! Are you crazy?" Naruto shook his head in complete bewilderment at the idea. "My bank account keeps getting emptied and if I don't regulate it, Raka-ji is gonna bleed me dry! I can't stick to one job like this for so long!"
"I will be more than willing to compensate you for both a teaching job and border patrol work. And as for credentials, we can help you along the way with learning the appropriate materials and curriculum for each class you will be assisting in. And over time I promise you will learn more along the way."
Naruto was looking at him helplessly. "Y-yeah, but-"
The boy with the scarred ear felt a hand grasp his shoulder while he looked up at the dandy man in the suit. "Negi-kun is a good young man who has already won the heart of his class. But last week, several of his students were almost harmed in their attempts to prepare themselves for their end of term finals. All of them unaware of the fact that magic even exists."
Naruto looked from the teacher to the dean, a cold sweat dripping down his face. "What kind of exams are you giving these kids?" The dean just chuckled darkly.
"We are not telling you that there will be any simple issues, but at the same time there hopefully won't be any outstanding dangers. But there are a lot of innocent civilians and normal people in that class who could be caught up in something dangerous without them being prepared. And when the time comes, I think you would be the best choice in helping Negi-kun through his ordeals." Takamichi pulled his hand off and placed it in his pocket. "Please consider this Naruto-kun."
Naruto looked down and thought through what he was told. It was a pretty long job to take. And there were a lot of uncertainties along with it. But he did want to meet the child that he had never gotten to see before. And if he could help him with his magic, then that would just be a plus.
"I...I don't know. Maybe I could?" He said with much uncertainty about the idea of taking this job. Takamichi nodded, understanding the weight of a choice like this. It wasn't really something you should just say yes to on a whim.
The dean leaned back and grabbed something from under his desk. He pulled it out and placed it on the desktop, letting the young blond see the folder he had prepared. "Well Naruto-kun, if you want some help making a decision, you can go to this meeting to help with your choice."
Naruto looked through the folder with pictures and bios that were spread across the dean's desk. They showed the profiles of many handsome and successful men. Ranging from doctors, astronauts, lawyers and political advisors at 25 to higher years of age. He looked up at the Konoe elder, "What is this? Some kind of board meeting between higher ups?" Naruto had been to things like this before. But he was more along the lines of security for wealthy companies than actual member of the talk.
"Well I think it is more appropriate to call it an 'Investment into the future'." Naruto chose to ignore the gulp he heard Takamichi try to hide. "But believe me, there is no better way to help you make your decision than going there and seeing for yourself. But a little warning, whoever you meet there has no knowledge of the Magical Society, so keep that under wraps ok." The dean gave a playful wink to the boy that made him feel sort of dirty being on the other end of it.
God it was like hanging out with Al-Jiji all over again.
Naruto thought through the idea for a moment before nodding his head in agreement. Konoemon gave him a wrinkly smile and a nod of thanks. He pulled out a map, "Here is where the meeting will be taking place. It is in one hour so make sure you give yourself enough time to prepare. There will be a change of clothes waiting for you there. And thank you Naruto-kun."
The blond gave a reluctant smile and got out of his chair. He looked at the fox, "You stay here with Michi. I'll be back as soon as I can." Naruto walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.
Takamichi looked at the dean in disbelief. "Sir! You didn't actually do what I think you did, right?"
The old man just gave a throaty chuckle and turned his chair around. "I just thought that it would be fun to let a little trouble maker learn a lesson about making his meetings on time. And also, you never know what kind of big miracles can come out of small chances."
Kyūbi just looked between the two men confusingly. "W-wait I don't get it? What happened?" Takamichi sighed and leaned down, whispering something into the demon's ear as his eyes slowly widened.
Shizuna was about to walk in to the office to talk to the dean when she heard a deep throaty giggle come from the room. That slowly formed into a happy laugh. And finally turned into a maniacal, almost demonic hysteria that made her freeze in worry. She slowly and wearingly started to walk backwards, away from the rumbling doors.
[[[[[[[[Knight]]]]]]]]
Naruto was lazily fiddling with a teabag that he found in a Japanese tea set on the low table. He was dressed up completely in an expensive male kimono and he was sitting crossed leg style on the floor pillow placed on the tatami. The room he was waiting in was elegantly prepared and traditionally Japanese, an open window was blowing in a gentle breeze with petals floating down the wind.
Naruto had been waiting for about 30 minutes for this meeting to assemble. It took him the other half-hour to find this place and get dressed for the meeting. He didn't exactly know why he had to be dressed up in a kimono to meet so many wealthy men but he wasn't in a position to complain at the moment. But like hell he was going to sit in seiza for half an hour when no one else was even here.
No one was here. He didn't know how to make himself a cup of tea. And he couldn't bring his phone in here with him so he couldn't look up the most recent Chiu homepage update. This was turning into a pretty sucky afternoon.
The sounds of feet shuffling were coming out of the other side of the door. Naruto bucked up and realized that he was lounging around in the traditionally prepared room. He pulled himself out of his crossed position and sat his knees down on the pillow. He straightened up his kimono and sat in wait for whoever came through the door.
He looked down at his hand to see that he was still holding the crumpled up tea-bag. He looked around in panic to find a place to hide it before he tossed it over his shoulder. Unfortunately, over his shoulder was the open window so he tried to ignore the sound of someone cursing in surprise at being bombarded with tea-bags.
The door slid open to reveal a young girl walking in first. Naruto could do nothing else but look up at her in surprise. She was a young girl, with unblemished skin and silky, chestnut brown waist-length hair. She was dressed up in a formal, exquisite flower patterned kimono with pins holding her hair out of her eyes. She walked in with an elegance and grace she must have gained from years of experience. But among all the beauty and regality she had a rather unpleasant or unwilling look in her eye, like she was forced into it.
Either way, Naruto was completely stunned by the young beauty that had walked through the door.
The girl looked up from the spot on the ground and towards the boy at the table. She had a mildly surprised expression across her face, like she wasn't expecting someone like him. Naruto also realized that he had been staring a bit longer than anticipated and looked off to the side, a little pink hue on his face.
The girl sat on the other side of the table as a woman at the door smiled and bowed her head. "The meeting will officially begin in ten minutes. Please wait here until then." She walked out and closed the door behind her, leaving the two teenagers alone in the room.
The girl sat down silently in the seiza form while Naruto continued to look off in another direction to avoid any more awkward moments before the rest of the group arrived.
But as a full minute passed with no talking and no more arrivals from any of the people he was expecting, Naruto was getting very uncomfortable. Even the girl was slightly fidgeting in her spot. "Excuse me?" Naruto looked back over to the girl who was giving a nervous smile. "I'm sorry. This isn't like most of the meetings I have come to before."
Naruto blinked and then gave a small laugh at the sudden ease she had at breaking the tension. He leaned back and scratched his neck with a smile, "Yeah. I know what you mean. I've never actually been this involved with a meeting before." They both laughed lightly at the prospect of that.
Naruto calmed down and bowed his head slightly towards the girl. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. It's nice to meet you."
The girl gave a similar motion towards him. "Thank you. My name is Konoka Konoe." She finished with giving a kind smile towards the slightly older boy.
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, Konoe? Does that mean you are-"
The girl nodded her head in agreement. "Yes. I am the granddaughter of the headmaster of this school. I'm sorry that you weren't told that beforehand."
Naruto just looked at her in complete disbelief. "Old man? White robes? Looks like a cross between Gandalf and E.T.?"
"That's my Grandpa."
The whiskered boy's eyes turned white. "Wow." He fell back onto his feet. There was no way a girl this pretty was related from someone so...leathery? Is that the word?
Naruto then realized something else. "Does that mean...your father is Eishun Konoe?" This time it was the girl's turn to look at him in surprise.
"Do you know my father?"
"Y-yes! Yeah, I used to travel with Eishun-San a long time ago! He used to send me manga all the time when he was back home." Naruto said with a fond smile of his past experiences.
Konoka placed her soft fist in her palm. "I remember my father was always traveling around a lot when I was younger. But I always thought it was for business. I didn't think he was off having fun with his friends. Meanie." She said with an adorable pout and crossing her arms.
Naruto waved his palm with a laugh. "No no. He was always on-" Naruto realized what the dean had said earlier about whoever he met in this meeting was unaware of the existence of magic. Even though he could sense a slight presence of magical power coming off of the girl, it wasn't any more than a normal person. He filed that away as a question for later, "-business when he came to visit. They didn't have as much fun as you'd think."
That was a bald face lie. But he was trying to save Eishun-san's skin right now so that was kind of necessary.
Konoka gave him a little look before nodding her head. "Ok. I guess you're right." She giggled a little at the relieved breath Naruto let out after she had said that. "Thank you Naruto-San."
The blond boy looked over to her, "For what?"
"For making me laugh like this. I don't really like coming to these things but if I have to stay for them, I'm glad I can talk to someone who understand how strange it is to come to an Omiai." She said as she placed her hand on her cheek.
Naruto smiled in relief, "Its okay. I don't think I would be able to handle coming to an Omiai all by my-" Naruto froze.
...
He cleaned out his ear with his pinky finger. "I-I'm sorry. I think I heard you wrong. I thought you said this was an Omiai?"
"Yes. This was an Omiai that Grandfather set up for me. Maida-San will act as the matchmaker when she comes back."
Naruto didn't react in anyway except for his eyebrow to periodically twitch. "No way!" He yelled out suddenly, surprising Konoka as he reached behind him and pulled out a folder. He opened it up and pointed desperately at the pictures of the men inside. "I'm supposed to be meeting these guys here for a business meeting! To help me decide on a job to take!"
Konoka looked at the pictures which her hand under her chin. "Oh yeah. Those are the other suitors Grandfather has set up for me." She sighed tiredly. "He wanted me to take a look at their profiles but I really didn't want to."
Naruto dropped the folder and looked at her with a blank, shock covered face. "So the old man...sent me here...to a marriage interview... And he didn't even tell me?"
Konoka nervously smiled and nodded her head. "Sorry."
Naruto lowered his head dejectedly as a raincloud formed overhead. Konoka could do nothing but worryingly move out from her spot at the desk and by his side, trying to help just in case he was completely defeated. But before she could do anything, Naruto got up to his feet with his head still hanging down.
"DAMN YOU OL'MAN!" Konoka looked up at his outburst with surprised, pinpoint black eyes. "I SWEAR WHEN I WRING MY HANDS AROUND YER TURKEY NECK, I'M GONNA MAKE YA BEG FER MERCY! MARK MY WORDS!" He yelled so loudly that the room slightly shook and Konoka could have sworn she saw fire coming out of his mouth.
Naruto stopped his angry tirade as he huffed in anger. He heard a dainty giggle and looked down to see Konoka stifle her laughter. "W-what?"
"I'm sorry." She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "It's just I heard your accent slip a little when you were threatening my grandpa. It's cute."
Naruto looked away with an embarrassed blush. Damn. He forgot he would slip into his old dialect when he got too excited. And in front of a girl he had just met. Oh god.
"I've got one too, see." She said as her words changed from Tokyo-Ben to a hint of Kansai-Ben. "I was born in Kyoto, and I've still got a little bit of it with me. Where is yours from?"
Naruto got up off of his pillow and looked around the room. "Sort of out of the way and...rural." He walked over to the window and looked outside for an escape route. "Sorry about threatening your grandpa."
"Heheh, it's okay. But if you are going to beat him up, can you give him a bonk on the head for me?" She said as she placed her fist on the side of her head.
Naruto smiled and nodded his head. He grabbed the edges of the window and put a foot on the frame, ready to escape. But before he did, he stalled and looked over his shoulder at the girl that had gotten up out of her seat. He turned around and lowered a hand, "Wanna run away before the Matchmaker gets back?"
Konoka looked at him in disbelief. "But if I run, all of Grandfather's hard work and effort will be completely wasted."
Naruto grew a little guilty when she said that. "W-well yeah, but-"
She then gave him a huge smile. "I'm in!" Naruto looked at her with a raised brown in accusation. "I run away all the time. I just like to see you look all surprised and funny like that. It's cute." She picked up all of the pictures and profiles on the table and collected them in the folder in her arms.
Naruto huffed and shook his head. He leaned down and offered his hand again as Konoka raised hers and took it willingly.
[[[[[[[[Knight]]]]]]]]
Konoka giggled happily as she walked down the empty street with the taller blond by her side, laughing as well. "Really? My dad used to punish you if you didn't eat all the food on your plate?"
Naruto walked by while laughing wholeheartedly. "Not just me. Raka-ji, Al-Jiji, Gateau-San, Michi-anybody who didn't eat up everything they were given were forced to run away as fast as they could while he swung around a soup ladle. The Hotpot Shogun they called him." He clutched his stomach as he remembered all the things Eishun-San used to do to Raka-ji and Nagi when they didn't eat all their vegetables.
The strongest men in history cowered before the might of the Hotpot Shogun.
Konoka laughed so hard she was finding it hard to breathe. Naruto waited as she caught her breath and wiped the tears from her eyes. He was finding this little moment of peace to be really fun. Konoka was very kind and always had a smile on her face, finding all the stories he told her about her dad to be a ton of fun.
It was even making up for the faint presence of angry Ki that was being directed at him from some remote location. He didn't know who it was and he wasn't putting his full effort in finding their location but he knew they were following him since he had escaped the building with the girl. And whenever he got too close to the plucky girl, the Ki flared.
So he decided against making a move. He didn't want to start a fight when didn't have any leeway here.
Konoka finished her laughing fit and stood back up. "T-thanks for telling me all that. It's funny to hear what my father was like back when he was traveling."
"How is Eishun-San doing nowadays?"
"He's doing great!" The girl answered eagerly as the two of them walked aimlessly down the school street, Naruto only wearing socks and the girl's sandals clicking together. "He's always working back home in Kyoto but every time I see him he always looks like he's doing fine. He's the one who sent me here to Mahora. Says it was a chance for a whole new way of life."
"Was he right?"
The cheerful girl nodded her head happily. "I made tons of new friends in my class. I met Nodoka, Yue and Haruna in the Library Expedition Club. I've known Iincho since I was in primary school." Naruto chuckled as she listed off all the people in her class she knew or had met, which was probably everyone because she seemed to be a very likable girl.
"Oh, and my roommate Asuna is always arguing with Negi-kun in the morning. But I just think that's because she is starting to warm up to him."
Naruto stopped in place after what Konoka had said. The heiress continued to walk a few steps before she realized her traveling companion had stopped. She looked back to him with some slight worry. "Is something wrong?"
Naruto looked up at her and gave her a wide smile. "No, everything's fine. Just thought about something I forgot. So, these roommates of yours, what are they like?"
Konoka thought carefully. "Well Negi-kun just transferred here a few weeks ago as our new Homeroom teacher. He's not very old but he's really, really smart. And he did his best in trying to help the Baka Rangers with their test exams and he succeeded. He got our class to be the #1 in overall test scores." She remembered how happy her class was when they got the news and clapped her hands excitingly. "And he's really cute. He gets a little mad when we don't call him teacher but I think he's more of an adorable little brother than anything else."
Naruto looked at her as she fondly reminisced about Nagi's son as he smiled.
"Also, every morning he wakes up and he sleep-walked his way into Asuna's top bunk. Cause he's got this little habit of going to sleep in the same bed as his sister. And he said that Asuna kinda looks and smells like her so he climbs his way up and- ah. Oh, I shouldn't be telling you all his little secrets. He'll get mad at me for blabbing about his embarrassing little condition."
The young blond man chuckled, "Yeah I bet." He seemed to look off into the distance as he considered something. "And your roommate Asuna...what's she like?"
"Asuna? Well...she's kind of a blockhead."
Naruto looked at her with stark white eyes. "Eh?"
"Yep. She's the dumbest member of the Baka Rangers. Whenever she has remedial classes she has to stay behind the longest to take the make-up test over and over. And when she doesn't have anything to do she sleeps in till noon, if I'm lucky. She always beats Negi-kun up when she thinks he's done something wrong and she starts fights with Iincho at the drop of a hat. Plus she's got a crush on our old Homeroom teacher, Takahata-sensei, which she always has a hard time working out."
Naruto chuckled weakly and felt a large sweat drip down his face. Asuna had a crush on Michi? Wow. That was...unexpected.
"But, even with all that..." Naruto lifted his head to where Konoka had stopped and looked up at the sunny sky with a fond smile, her hands behind her back. "She's kind, considerate and strong and always thinks about helping me or anyone else in trouble. She doesn't like to say anything but I know she's the one who helps Negi-kun through all the problems he has. She's hotheaded but..." Konoka looked over to the boy with the scarred ear and gave him a big smile. "She's definitely my Best Friend."
Naruto looked at her in stunned, unbelievable surprise. He slowly looked down at the ground and inclined his head back, looking up at the sky. He felt a slow but steady smile grow on his face from hearing what she had to say about her roommate. "She sounds nice."
The two teens finally reached an empty school compound that would suffice for a hiding spot for the young heiress. The blond boy looked over at Konoka, "Are you sure you'll be alright here?"
Konoka nodded her head. "I know some of my bodyguards will probably be looking for me so this will be the best place to hide. No one would think about looking inside an empty school, right?"
Naruto laughed and agreed with her. He started to make his way out when-
"Thank you!" He turned around to the girl that had taken some steps towards him with her hand stretched out. She brought them back to her chest, "I mean, thank you for everything you did today. I hate going to these meetings Grandpa sets up but I have to go because it's for my future. But...but thanks to that I got to meet someone fun like you. Who understood that I shouldn't be going to things like this so early. Someone who could tell me old stories about my dad and listen to me babble on and make me laugh. Thank you for that."
Naruto could have sworn his cheeks heated up a little when she thanked him with that innocent smile. He gave her an equally thankful grin. "Thank you too. I didn't think this was going to be a good day but I got to go to a fake marriage interview, run away from said interview and talk with someone like you."
"Maybe, if you're ever in the school grounds again, I can show you around the campus. My treat for helping me today."
"I'd like that. See you soon, Konoka-San." He finished with a smile.
"Yeah. You too, Naruto-kun." She replied with her own smile.
Naruto waved goodbye and walked back towards the campus, leaving the girl to happily wave him goodbye. And by him leaving, he missed meeting a red-headed boy landing on the ground with a familiar staff in hand moments later.
[[[[[[[[Knight]]]]]]]]
Naruto was walking down the streets of Mahora City, carefully thinking about his next course of action. He had to be very precise and very quiet about it. Not too slow. But not too fast. Carefully.
"Selling out a potential employee and his granddaughter...that man needs a lesson. And someone to teach him that lesson." An evil grin stretched out from his face, showing off comically sharp and pointy teeth. "And I'm just the kind of guy to do it. Just wait old man. I'm coming after you! Aha-Ahahaha-AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"
Naruto rounded the corner while laughing like the Joker on gas. And while rounding that corner, he walked straight into a group of girls who momentarily stopped yelling out for a 'prince'. The girls, who were all ranging from short to tall, busty to flat, blonde to pink, were looking at the boy like he was the one who was the odd person out.
For an instant, Naruto's skin went ashen out of sheer shame of his action. In the span of a few seconds, Naruto was standing completely motionless in front of this group of varied girls and didn't know what to do. So what do you do when you make an idiot of yourself in front of more than a dozen different girls and you have no way of explaining yourself without looking mad?
Simple. As Raka-ji would say, 'You play out the idiot and run like hell!'
"HaHaHaHa! Yes! There is nothing that foolish old man can do to stop me now! Soon I shall control all of Mahora! And then, the world! Bwahahahahahahahaha!" He hammed as he walked through the crowd, paying them no mind as he moved around like a mad man.
The girls made room as the older boy started laughing hysterically and running away, towards an alley on the other side of the road. They were left standing there with question marks hovering over their heads. "W-what on Earth was that about?" Asked a pretty blonde girl that was at the front, leading the pack.
"It kind of looked like a madman, plotting the takeover of the school while dressed up in a Kimono." A girl with vibrant red hair done up in a pineapple fashion answered as she lowered the microphone in her hand.
...
"Don't see that every day-De Gozaru." A tall, busty girl with squinty eyes replied while two young kindergarteners looked between each other frighteningly.
"Maybe he gonna try to fight for winning school-Aru?" A dark-skinned girl said in rather rough Japanese while bouncing on her feet, excited at the idea of battling a madman.
"Or maybe one of the local crazies got out of his jacket and stumbled his way here. It seems far more likely to happen than the idea that a madman would try to capture a boarding school." A very short girl with a large forehead replied in a stable monotone. Besides her, a nervous girl with her eyes hidden by her bangs was finding it hard to switch from the previous topic to talks about insane teenaged dictators.
"Yes, that may be the case. But still- Ah!" The blonde girl shrieked and palmed her face loudly. "We do not have time to waste on the prospect of insane boys! My prince calls to me! Negi-Sensei~!" As the blonde girl ran off, the other girls were gawking at her in disbelief.
"Mou, Iincho~! You cheater!" A short girl with ribbons in her pink hair yelled as she chased after her class president. Soon, each of the girl classmates had remembered their previous task of chasing after the Prince in the Slums continued to search for him.
Around the corner of the alley, Naruto had one hand on the brick wall to support him as he hung his head in shame. His face was covered in a shade of blue while stink lines were forming over his head. "I can't believe I just did that...damn you old man. Damn you!"
Naruto was furious now. Fuck subtlety. Fuck the secrets of magic! That man was getting a foot up his ass. Naruto didn't care who he met anymore, he was just on a mission to teach that man a lesson. He didn't even care that he didn't know where he was going again. All that mattered was-
"Omphf."
Naruto felt someone walk into him as he turned another corner towards wherever he was going. He stumbled back a little but kept on his feet as the person that had run into him had fallen on their butt. From the sound of their grunt and resulting moan, he knew it was a girl. He looked down at the fallen girl, "Oh, s-sorry about-"
*Clink*
Naruto froze as he heard the sound of bell chimes. The ringing continued as the girl rubbed the back of her head in pain. "Ow." Naruto didn't say anything as he looked down at the orange-haired, twin-tailed girl. She was dressed in what he could guess was the school uniform with a sleeveless red vest and plaid skirt.
"Man...ow. Watch where you're going ya jerk!" She waved her arms around and looked up to see the blond boy was not reacting to anything she said. She got up and waved her hands around his face. "Hello? Anyone there? Great, I broke some foreign kid. Gotta find Negi before he gets surrounded by everyone." She walked past the boy and cupped her mouth, "Negi? Neg-"
Naruto reached back and instinctively grabbed the collar of her vest, causing her to slightly gag. She coughed a little and looked back with a glare at him. "What was that for you jerk?!"
Naruto was a little confused as to why he did that. "I-I'm sorry. I don't know why but-"
"Do you just like choking people in the middle of the street? I'm in a hurry here Whiskers, and I don't need you grabbing my clothes while I'm trying to find that kid!"
Naruto blinked slowly at her tone. He closed his eyes and decided to follow the flow. "Well sorry Bells! But maybe you could go out of your way to apologize to the guy ya just ran into! No 'sorry' or 'are you okay'? Nope! Just 'get out of my way' and run! Some serious guts you've got to blame me!"
"W-wh-You were the one just standing in the street, dressed like you just came back from the Feudal era! Plus, I'm the one who got knocked over! And what are you made of anyway, iron? Geez it was like walking into a brick wall!"
"I get that a lot! You know, if you're looking for some kid, there were a bunch of girls heading that way saying something about a prince!" Asuna looks in the direction that the kimono wearing blond was pointing.
"Thanks! That's very helpful!" She screamed at him with the same intensity but actually meant it as a sincere thanks.
"Don't mention it! By the way, do you have any idea where the Dean's office is? I'm lost!" He said with a matching loud voice.
"Yeah! It's that way, take a right and go straight until you see the intersection! It's the building with the stained glass, can't miss it!"
"Great!"
"See ya later, Whiskers!"
"Bye, Asuna!"
The two teenagers stomped off, leaving the odd conversation of mixed calm and angry yelling at an end. The bell-wearing girl walked a few feet before it dawned on her that the boy had said her name. "W-wait? How'd you know-"
He was out of sight. Nowhere to be seen as Asuna was left standing there. Why did she feel bad? Like leaving that conversation off like that was a slap in his face?
Baka Red blinked several times. She ran off in the direction he pointed in, "Ah! I don't have time for this! Negi! Where the hell are you?"
[[[[[[[[Knight]]]]]]]]
"Hahaha, that was actually kind of fun. I've got to make sure I go back there if I'm staying." The old fox said with a giggle as the shoulder he was standing on was swaying slightly. Kyūbi looked down, "What's wrong with you, Bakamichi? Can't handle your liquor?"
Takahata was trying to find his bearings as he was losing his balance, a mild pink hue marked his face. "I-I can hold it. I'm just not used to drinking like this so early in the day. It's-*hiccup*-sort of unethical."
"Hey, it's got to be happy hour somewhere, right?" The demon fox jumped off his shoulder and in front of the Dean's door. "You build up a pretty strong immunity when you've gone clubbing with that moron for so many years."
Takamichi opened up the large doors and was met with an odd sight. On top of the desk, a familiar blond boy was standing with his foot tapping repeatedly and his arms crossed over his chest. Like a bully picking on a nerd for money. Said nerd in this case was the esteemed Dean of Mahora Academy.
"So, old man, mind telling me why you were pimping out me and your granddaughter? Seems like a strange little hobby for the Principal of a school like this to have in his off-time? Like selling off kids."
Konoemon was sweating and dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief. "Now now, Naruto-kun. I know you must be mad but there is no reason for hostility. I just wanted you to meet my granddaughter, Konoka. She's a sweet girl, don't you think?" Naruto softly bonked his head with his fist and turned around on the desk, leaving a crossed bandage on the old Konoe's head.
Naruto jumped off of the desk and started to walk around in a line. "Oh yeah. One of the nicest girls I've ever met. Heart fully of honey and kind words that make Barney look like a grizzled biker. And you just put her up for marriage with all those old guys." He turned and pointed at him with an accusing pout. "And just so you know, she hates going to those things. Runs away from them all the time."
Konoemon breathed tiredly. "Yes. Yes I know she does not enjoy them. But I do it for the sake of her future. Even if she grows to hate me, I will do whatever it takes to make sure my granddaughter has a happy future."
Naruto sighed and scratched the back of his head. Families. They do the weirdest things to make sure they can keep each other happy and safe. "Yeah, well...put a little faith in her, okay? She's a wonderful girl. I'm sure she'll have no problem reeling in some poor sap without any help from you."
Takamichi smiled and adjusted his glasses. "She may have already done so."
Naruto turned and glared. "What was that?"
"Nothing."
"Hmmm...speaking of saps, where have you two been?"
"Getting plastered with the wrinkly guy's supply of aged wine."
"Pla-It's not even 4 yet! Why are you guys getting drunk in the middle of the day?"
"I think I should say that it is for celebration of old friends gathering together again after such a long time."
"Should?"
"I think if I didn't, Kyūbi-San would probably have answered, 'Cause we can.'"
"Damn straight."
Naruto just palmed his face and shook his head in disappointment. These were the generations assisted by the growth of Ala Rubra. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Konoemon pulled the comical bandage off his head. "So, Naruto-kun. Walking a mile in our shoes? How does it feel? Have you decided?"
Naruto looked between the adults. "I can't believe this place. It's crazy. It's ridiculous. The staff seems to be as immature as the students." Dean and teacher lowered their heads in shame. Naruto was silent as he thought through all the bad points of the day.
And then he thought through those simple, minuscule little good points.
"...I'm in." The Dean smiled and nodded his head while Takahata showed a pleased expression at his choice. "Yeah, I can't just leave this place in the hands of you two weirdoes. Gotta do what I can to get this place checked up on its Human Rights Laws."
"I wouldn't have it any other way. The new term starts tomorrow, I'll be setting you up as an assistant teacher over the night and you'll start in Negi-kun's class. You can stay with Takamichi-kun until I can find you a new home for the year."
He started to walk out of the office when he turned back and pointed at the men. "The start of summer. Got it? I'll stay here for the term but then I'm off." He swung his hand and the perched fox jumped to the floor, following his partner's steps.
Takamichi dropped into the guest chair and breathed out in relief. The Dean got comfortable in his own chair, "Is this what you wanted?"
The dandy man smiled and nodded his head. "I keep being told about how he keeps running around the worlds, taking bodyguard duties and protecting royal families. Looking for something that he could do. A place where he belongs. And I think he'll find that place here."
The Dean turned in his chair and looked out the window, watching the cheerful blond have a one-sided conversation with the fox on his shoulder. "You have so much faith in this boy, don't you?"
Takamichi smiled and lit a cigarette in his mouth. "I think...he was the shining ray of hope we needed when we thought our efforts were in the dark. And if anyone will help Negi-kun push through the fights he has ahead, I think a brother would be the best choice.
[[[[[[[[Knight]]]]]]]]
Naruto was uncomfortably fiddling with the tie wrapped around his neck, feeling it dig into his chin whenever he stopped moving. "Michi, can you do something about this damn noose? I'm not a saint but even I think I deserve an easier sentence than 'slowly chaffed to death by some crummy cloth'."
Takamichi shook his head while he heard Naruto argue childishly with the fox on his shoulder. He turned around, "I think you look rather good with that tie, Naruto-kun. Handsome. Dapper." He looked his old friend over as he stood still, dressed up in a chic black suit with a red tie and black shoes.
Naruto scoffed, "Great. Dapper. Don't even know what that means." He pulled on the tie a little and gave himself some breathing room. He swung his arms, "You sure they'll even take me seriously?"
"Of course they will. Why wouldn't they?"
He pointed to his cheeks. "The whiskers?"
"It's a quirky class, they need a quirky teacher."
He pointed to his right temple and ear. "The scars? Can't really say authority figure when I look like I just came back from the Thunderdome."
"It gives you character."
Naruto raised an eyebrow and finally, pointed at the animal clawed into his shoulder. "How about the Furtastic Asshole?"
"Ummm, j-just keep him away from the students...and keep an eye on him."
"Teehee."
Naruto and Takamichi walked up to the sliding doors with the sign 3-A over it. He held up his hand, "Stay here for a moment. I'll go tell Negi-kun to prepare." The blond nodded his head and leaned against the windows of the class.
He looked inside to see Takamichi talk to a figure that was blocked out by a section of the window's frame. So he looked over and into the classroom instead. His eyes widened when he saw that most of the girls that had seen him make an idiot of himself yesterday were sitting in the class. He panicked even more when he realized that it was an all girl's class.
Takamichi walked out and motioned to him with a wave of his hand. "Alright, they're ready for you."
"Michi, could you come here for a second?" The dandy man followed his request and walked over to him.
The young red-head boy with the ponytail looked over to the doorway with concern as he heard his old friend get quietly whispered to. Which then evolved into mild yelling. And then some reassuring words from Takamichi. Which ended with, from what Negi could guess, several very hard head-smacks against the window.
There was a moment of silence. "T-Takamichi?"
Takahata-sensei appeared in the doorway again with his hand behind his head and laughing easily. "Sorry about that Negi-kun. I just forgot to tell my new associate something but it's all good now." He walked back to the front of the class and in front of Nagi's son. "As I was saying, we've decided to add a new member of staff to your class as an addition for the new year. He will be your assistant and I hope you'll be able to help him along the way."
A tall, blond young man walked into the classroom, his face in his hands like he just realized he had made a horrible mistake. A strange little fox on his arm was wagging his tails excitedly as the boy huffed loudly into his hands. He pulled back and gave the classroom of girls a big, kind smile. A large, throbbing red mark on his forehead from repeatedly slamming his face into the window outside.
"Hello everyone. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I'm going to be your assistant teacher for the next term. Please treat me well."
[[[[[[[[Knight]]]]]]]]
Have you guys seen the promo pictures for UQ Holder? Looks so good. Based ten years after magic was revealed to the rest of the world. So you just know that there has got to be some Negima people in this bad boy.
Main kid looks like a cross between Negi and Kotarou.
The main(?) girl looks like an expy of Setsuna before the Kyoto Arc.
Teacher(?) is Nekane lookalike.
And in the background, we got clones of Nagi, Filius, Fate, Narutakis and Dynamis. A good mix of both boys and girls, instead of leaning towards just one extreme.
Oh, and swords. Lots and lots of swords. And a broom. Squeal!
Anyway, August 28th. Set ya calendars.
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