Chapter 4, Waking up in the future
START!
Naruto found himself waking up on a rather comfortable bed even though the last memory he could think of was him sleeping on a floor made of steel.
But still…
The bed just felt very comfortable and made him rather hesitant to open his eyes.
"Oh my…? I see you've wake up, little one"
"…"
When he heard an unfamiliar voice talking in an unfamiliar language, however, Naruto just had to open his eyes and blinked curiously.
This also made him realize that he was actually in a room full of white…
Hospital room, although he didn't know this since he never went to one before.
Anyway…
His attention went to a figure standing beside the bed he was lying on, a woman who was smiling while closing both of her eyes at the same time.
Her attire looked strange…
She spoke strangely.
But the aura she excluded spoke nothing but warmth and kindness to him.
"Who are you, lady?"
"Japanese…? Oh… I might need a translation device for this…"
Naruto honestly didn't understand what the lady was talking about, and from what he could sense from her tone, it seemed she also didn't understand what he said.
Such a strange lady, she was…
"You should. Sleep, again, little one… I'll be back later with. Food. And translator so we can speak with each other"
Again, the lady spoke something that sounded like gibberish to Naruto. however, this time she followed some of her words with hand movements that succeeded at making him see what she meant.
And in simple terms, she wanted him to sleep again…
"M'kay…"
More than happy enough to follow his comfortable sleep on a comfortable bed, Naruto cutely pulled the white sheet over his whole body and began to snuggle on the bed under him.
Whether he was experiencing a dream or not, he didn't care.
Because all he was going to do right now was to get a long, nice sleep he hadn't had for years.
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A few hours later, the nice-looking lady came back with another lady who looked much smarter and stricter, although Naruto didn't really care about the latter since his attention was locked on the tray of food that the former had in her hands.
He also had to sit when his nostrils became active the very second the nice-looking lady came in.
Everything smelled so nice…
"Why don't you eat first little one? After that, I want to ask you a few questions, if that's alright with you?"
"Why don't you eat first little one? After that, I want to ask you a few questions, if that's alright with you?"
After the nice-looking lady said her words, the strict one then followed her sentence using a language that Naruto understood immediately.
And his mouth turned into an 'o' shape here…
"Sure, I can agree to that!"
The nice-looking lady took a small glance at her friend at first, and after said friend repeated the words that he said in their language, Naruto felt a warm palm go to his head as the nice lady gave him some head pats.
And he liked it…
Alas, all good things had to end because not long after, the nice lady stopped her action. Although, she soon decided to feed him with a spoon, still with a smile on her face.
Burp!
Soon, the plate was clean of food since Naruto had everything eaten, including the vegetables. Sure, he actually disliked them, but for some reason, their textures just felt… different than normal veggies.
He can't put it into words.
But they didn't feel like vegetables to his tongue.
"So, can I ask you some questions now…?"
The nice lady said, translated by her friend.
And hearing this, Naruto gave her a nod, complete with a large smile on his face.
"What's your name?"
"Naruto… Uzumaki…?"
For a few seconds before Naruto said his answer, he had tilted his head to the side… confused.
She didn't know him?
Now that's a first.
"I see… then little Naruto, what is it that you last remember?"
"I remember sleeping in my den… with my friends… Ori and Enikk… but…" In the middle of his explanation, Naruto felt the side of his head throb as he remembered another set of memories, this time where he was a nameless orphan who had a dream to save the human race "… I don't understand… where is this?"
"D-Did you say Enikk? Like… the head judge of the Ark?"
Strangely, the nice-looking lady became rather fidgety after she heard Enikk's name.
But… judge…?
It seemed there was another Enikk out there, different than the one he had in mind.
"No, Enikk is a cute robot cat that I made a year ago… it's one of my best friends, and talk about Enikk… h-have you seen it? O-Or Ori? Ori is a robot bird if you don't know"
As the realization slowly dawned on him that his friends were nowhere to be seen, Naruto started to become frantic, looking left and right for the robots that had become the pillars of support for his sanity.
Seeing this, the nice lady put her hands on his shoulders and tried to calm him down.
Tried…
Because without his friends beside him, Naruto started to see everything around him as a threat.
"N-No! Don't touch me…!"
Surprising both ladies, Naruto slapped the hands that tried to pin him down as easily as slapping away a fly. And after he did, he scrambled off from the bed… screaming and calling the names of his friends.
"ORI…! ENIKK!"
~With Mary and her friend~
"W-What was that…?"
As Mary, a nikke who was made to be a medic stared at her shaking hands, she spoke with a hint of disbelief in her voice.
"How should I know? Didn't you put any pressure on your hands just now?"
Her friend, a teacher in a school for young Nikkes said calmly, although she knew something was definitely wrong.
For now, they were going to ignore Naruto who was looking for his friends under the bed…
"I did, but not that much. I mean, one of my arms alone weighs fifty kilos. I can't take any risk breaking a kid's shoulders"
Forget a kid, actually…
Even a trained adult would be hard-pressed to move her arm, much less slapping it away like a fly.
"I see… I think something's definitely going on here, should we repo-"
Before the teacher could finish her words, however, someone else had entered the room as if she were the owner of the place.
The judge, Enikk.
A woman dressed in white attire and a white veil covering her face.
"Naruto Uzumaki… you wish to meet your friend, Enikk, right?"
Surprisingly, the judge used the Japanese language as easy as breathing, taking both Mary and her friend by surprise. And of course, her words had also roused Naruto's curiosity since the boy's head poked out from under the bed.
His eyes, however, held an obvious hint of desperation.
"Y-You know where Enikk and Ori are…?"
"I can only lead you to Enikk, I'm afraid…" It was here that the judge of the Ark itself stretched her hand forward and waited patiently until the boy took it "… follow me, she has been waiting for you"
Desperate to see his friend, Naruto came out from under the bed and took the judge's hand innocently. Although he did take a small glance at the nice lady who gave him head pats and food so he'd give her a small, yet shy smile.
Even after what she did, he had been rude toward her.
"U-Um… nice lady… I'm sorry for screaming at you…"
Seeing the head judge of the Ark itself had the problem under control, Mary had a few questions in her head.
Who was the boy?
Who is the Enikk he was talking about?
And how come he had so much strength despite being so young?
Still…
When the boy shyly took a small glance at her and said his apology -her friend translated it- she just had to give him a smile of her own. After all, whoever he was and whatever his background might be, he was still a kid and she had to treat him like one.
"Of course, cutie. Just come again if you want a check-up, okay?"
"U-Un…"
After the boy gave her a nod, Enikk the judge thus started to lead him toward a place where this 'Enikk' the cat robot resided.
Alas, as a doctor, she couldn't pry into the life of her patient too much.
~With Naruto~
Naruto soon found himself being led across a village that he was pretty sure was not Konoha, since everywhere he looked, from the buildings and to the attires everyone wore, everything looked so strange to his eyes.
Of course, him being led by the woman in white attire also gained him many stares, for some reason.
And it was unnerving to him…
"U-Umm… lady… who are you and how do you know my friend, Enikk?"
Still leading him by hand, the woman soon gave him a glance and a kind smile. And despite Naruto could not see the expression on her face behind her veil, he'd sense no malice from her.
She's a kind lady too… just like the doctor lady…
"My codename is Enikk: zero three. I am Madam Enikk's clone that is tasked to observe and govern nikkes from the shadow"
"A-Anoo… I don't understand… y-you're Enikk's clone?"
Of course, everything the lady said sounded like gibberish to Naruto who still remember his friend Enikk as a tiny and cute cat that can become a black panther in a fight.
The lady…
Her skin tone does resemble Enikk's, but he doesn't remember his friend having the ability to turn into a human.
"Correct. For your information, it has been exactly four thousand and two hundred years since the day of your death. And within that time, the original Enikk has evolved to the point that she can control any machine even from afar and see what the machine is seeing"
"Wait… I-I'm dead?"
Surprised at the first part of the sentence and thus didn't hear the rest, Naruto sputtered in shock.
Well, he did…
His mind just still stuck on the first part, where the woman said that he had died a very, very, and very long time ago.
"Correct once again. When you created the original Enikk and Origin, all of your chakra and life energy were sucked dry by the race creation device, which should have killed you instantly, although you were able to cling to your life for a time"
Well… so that was the reason…
And there he was wondering why he felt weaker and weaker ever since he created his best friends, Ori and Enikk.
"Do you regret it…?"
"Eh?"
"Creating the creatures that ultimately were the reason for your death, do you regret it?"
"…"
For a few seconds, Naruto went silent, staring at Enikk's clone with something akin to a mix of confusion, bewilderment, and shocked expressions on his face.
It was a complicated expression, simply said…
But in the end, everything disappeared when the blonde chooses to smile at his friend's clone with an expression that shows nothing but adoration.
"Of course not! It might be short… but the days I spent with Ori and Enikk were the happiest moments in my life. I'll not change those days for everything"
"I see… the original will surely be happy when she hears that"
More than happy to hear that, Naruto let out a small laugh.
However, it was not until a few seconds later that he realized something was wrong in that sentence of hers.
"Her…?"
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..
..
Oh yeah… Enikk had become 'her' alright.
After he was brought by Enikk's clone into a secret room on the highest floor of the highest building in the village called Ark, Naruto met her.
Original Enikk…
She was sitting on a large throne befitting her large stature.
And unlike her clone, the original Enikk had her large body covered by a more haunting, yet still beautiful black dress, complete with a thick black veil that covered her face, neck, and shoulders.
There was no skin to be seen since even her arms were covered up by black gloves made of silk.
"I heard from number three… a-are you really Enikk?"
Friend or not, even Naruto had to shutter in a slight shock when he saw such a tall person.
After all, he was still six years old and stood at a normal height of 3'7 ft. Compared to Enikk's height, even her knees were still taller than him.
So do forgive him for flinching in front of a friend of his.
"Don't be afraid, it's me… come here and let me hold you"
Surprisingly, despite her large stature and inhuman height, the voice that came from beneath the veil was nothing if not loving and inviting, gently lulling Naruto closer even though she hadn't done anything yet.
Still, the boy hesitated…
"It's okay, take your time"
Enikk said once again, this time while spreading her arms in an inviting gesture.
It was a sign that she was willing to patiently wait until her dearest came to her by his own will since she knew where his distrust coming from.
He might be a child…
But he had a gaping hole in his heart, a wound made by years of neglect.
"…"
Seconds.
Minutes.
Or perhaps hours.
Each step that Naruto had took longer than the last, as if there was a weight pulling him down every time he got closer to Enikk, chaining him.
Still, even with those chains called distrust, the smallest light in his heart called hope made him continue.
And while this happens, Enikk's arms are still spreading, patiently waiting for him…
"…"
Soon, Naruto arrived in front of Enikk's knees and looked up at her with trembling eyes and a question on his lips.
"A-Are you really Enikk…?"
The boy repeated his question, still unsure about him actually dead and getting revived in the future. His mind, still young and inexperienced just could not wrap itself around it, nor did he know whether he'd believe in his supposed 'friend' or not.
Enikk, however, kept her calm…
"I am… so why don't you come up here first before we talk hmm~? let's snuggle like we did in the past before we talk about heavy topics"
"Like… in the past?"
"Of course, don't you remember…?" despite her words were still calm and collected, Naruto was still sharp enough to notice a hint of happiness in the woman's voice "… when the winter came, you'd ask me to grow into my panther form so you'd get some warmth"
Correct…
As soon as Naruto heard those words, his hands grasped Enikk's black skirt in front of him, although they were still trembling.
"Ori… that stupid bird would always snuggle with your face, though. Even though I wanted to give your face some licks back then"
Correct again…
As steady as he could, Naruto climbed Enikk's knees so that he was sitting on her thighs, although he became silent when he realized just how soft they were.
"Soft, aren't they…?" knew why her dearest suddenly stopped, Enikk said those words gently "… it took me a hundred years to perfect a material that is durable enough to handle explosion, but soft enough to the touch. I called this invention of mine, goddessium"
Carefully so she won't startle Naruto who was currently very timid, Enikk slid off the glove that covered one of her palms.
Said palm then stretched to the boy…
For a few seconds, he stared at it, looking for any hidden weapon or something like that. But when he was pretty sure none was present, he carefully touched the palm with both of his hands.
"Its… warm…"
The boy muttered with a small smile on his face.
Said smile then was sent toward Enikk's face… or where her face should be since he still cannot see anything behind her veil.
By this point, however, fear was no longer present in his heart.
"Enikk… I'm so happy to see you again!"
Now one hundred percent sure that the tall woman before him was indeed Enikk, Naruto spread his arms and wrapped them around her waist, all the while snuggling his face against the underpart of her womanly bosom, happily taking in the new scent of his dear friend.
She no longer smelled like leaves and mud…
"The pleasure's all mine, my dearest"
Long arms soon snaked around his body, tenderly holding him like he was some kind of invaluable vase that might break at the smallest of pressure.
Feeling this, Naruto smiled…
However, he soon felt the shadow covering him getting darker and darker.
It was only when he pulled back his head a little and looked up that Naruto realized that Enikk's thick veil had been getting longer until it was covering not only her upper part but also her lower part, caging him in her embrace and darkness.
"Umm… Enikk… what are you doing?"
Cannot see anything inside the darkness beneath Enikk's very thick veil, Naruto asked his friend, although his answer came in the shape of her gently lifting him with one arm while pulling his head into her cleavage with another.
It felt like she was standing too, carrying him like a baby.
"Ssh… don't mind it. I just want you to feel comfortable…"
Well…
Naruto cannot refute that it was indeed comfortable, the darkness just took him by surprise.
"M-Mnn… I guess you're right…" After Naruto said those words, he went back to snuggling against Enikk's soft and warm, still-clothed breasts "… and don't treat me like a child, I'm older than you by five years old… you know?"
Naruto's words at the end were muffled due to the soft flesh in front of his face, although it was easy for Enikk to capture what he was trying to say.
And she was amused by it.
"My dear, I'm more than a thousand years older than you"
"… whatever"
Inside the darkness, embraced by warmth, swayed by Enikk's gentle movements, Naruto soon found his eyes getting heavier even though he had just woken up not long ago.
And sensing this, Enikk had a small smile on her lips.
"Sleep well, my dearest"
~Later~
From the outside perspective, no one would be able to tell whether the tall figure standing near the window was a man or a woman since a huge, black veil was covering this person from head to toe.
The soft humming that came from beneath the veil, however, was definitely feminine in nature.
"…"
For a few minutes, Enikk kept walking around the room while carrying the love of her life.
Her whole world, in a sense…
"Three, dim the light"
It was not until a few more minutes passed and she was sure that Naruto had truly asleep did Enikk said these words toward her clone, who clapped her hands twice, dimming the light in the room so that it wouldn't blind the eyes too much.
And after her clone did this, Enikk used her mind to control millions of very tiny spider-shaped nanomachines in her veil to move the cloth away from her head to her chest.
Just one of her many inventions…
Swish
Swish
If there was someone in the room, they'd see Enikk's veil lose its width and become longer as the spider nanomachines within it ate and spewed out silk in their stomach, and once the piece of cloth was long enough, the tiny machines then moved it away from the woman's head and onto her chest, wrapping around her neck, breasts, and stomach while making sure the boy named Naruto was comfortable and secured in his position under Enikk's clothed chest.
"I have to lessen that noise… it has been reduced by three hundred percent, but it can be better"
With her head and face freed from her usual veil, Enikk muttered this sentence with a hint of intelligence in her eyes. Her hands, -no longer needed to support Naruto's weight- took a small note from somewhere and started to jolt down several ideas in her mind before she'd forget it.
Nah…
She won't forget any idea she'd gotten her hands on, but it was still nice to write down some ideas so she could look back whenever she wanted.
"Nnnn…"
However, the boy she was carrying soon began to move around beneath the silk that cocooned him, probably feeling rather uncomfortable since he'd not move freely in his sleep.
Worried that he might fall, Enikk's answer to this was to tell her nanomachines to wrap her dearest up even more with silk.
Excessive movement while sleeping isn't good for one's health, after all.
"…"
And thus, Naruto didn't let out any more sound after that, nor did he move any limb.
As for whether it was a sign of him being comfortable in his position or just meant that he could not do any movement, Enikk just took the conclusion for the former.
Her breasts were just too soft, after all.
To be wrapped so close to them, what is there not to like…?
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..
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"So… how does my accent sound like?"
Two years have passed and now Naruto is eight years old.
He had been living with Enikk in her secret room with only her clone going in and out to bring him food from the outside, learning about the future, the people in it, and their language.
As for why he hadn't gone outside for the last two years… well…
He actually asked Enikk about it once…
"Enikk… c-can I go outside…?"
"Of course, you can, why would you need my permission to do that…? However, I do wish you to be ready to face your fears. The question is… are you ready to face people… or are you still afraid to trust them?"
He hadn't said any answer back then and actually had a pretty miserable expression on his face -Enikk's words, not him-, and seeing such a thing, Enikk had said her apologies and embraced him.
She had their study canceled and had him cocooned in her veil too to make him feel better too that day.
Not that he'd refuse, since she did it before he'd say anything, but oh well…
With all of her heart, Enikk loves him. And to Naruto, that was more than enough for a reason. Whatever she might do to him in the present and the future, so long her heart still adores him, he'll not say any complaint.
"Adorable… I think you should keep it instead"
Enikk said with a small smile on her face in response to her dearest's question, although Naruto had a rather unsure expression on his face.
His friend tended to say whatever she had in her mind, but she had never used a sentence that might sound like a critique.
At least not to him…
"You know that's not what I meant. I mean… did I do the language right or not?"
"To me you do, that's my answer"
'Oh, come on Enikk…"
Pouting, Naruto decided that he wouldn't get any honest answer from his friend and had to turn his attention to Enikk's clone number 9, created specifically to cater to his every need.
What are her differences compared to other clones?
Nothing, except for their programmed tasks, actually…
"Nine, what do you think about my English?"
"For some words, your accent indeed made them sound rather unique. But it should be still easy enough to understand which word you say and want to convey"
"R-Really…?"
"Of course, and if a human says otherwise then they're probably lacking the intelligence needed to understand words"
"Oh, come ooooooon… you both should stop teasing me!"
With a red face of embarrassment and a vein of anger popping out from the side of his forehead, Naruto soon threw a tantrum.
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Aside from his normal studies, Naruto would also partake himself to hit the books that tell him about raptures in his free time, at least when he wasn't helping Enikk in her research and invention, since she'd ask him for his presence when she was doing the latter.
At least when he was available.
As for why he's reading books about raptures… well…
Ori was the one who made them intent to destroy humanity, so it was kinda his responsibility as Ori's creator to make her see reasons.
Although this looked like a very hard task to do, since her rage came from observing humans for years and seeing them destroying nature repeatedly.
Nature that had been their home from the day she was born.
It still didn't give her any right to kill all humans, though…
"Dearest… can you be a dear and test this new drug?"
Today, however, Enikk suddenly interrupted him when he was in the middle of a study about the Ark's structures and the rank of people who govern it.
Enikk's rank…?
She stood at the top, with her existence known only by selective people who held high enough rank.
"New drug…? And what's its effect, Eni?"
Curiously, Naruto took the bottle of the drug from his best friend's hand and stared at the rather cloudy liquid resting inside it. As he doing this, Enikk had her arms wrapped around his shoulders and placed her huge breasts right on top of his head, something that'd crush him with softness if she pressed them down at him without restraint.
But then again, Enikk had always been a clingy one. Evolved or not, having a humanoid body or not, she hasn't changed at all to Naruto.
Hell… from what he had heard, his body had been preserved inside her stomach for thousands of years.
"In theory, it should allow you to keep going without drinking for a month"
"Woah, how does that work?"
Enikk however, didn't give him any answer as she kept snuggling her face onto his hair, sniffing on his scent and literally just making herself comfortable.
Oh well…
She was probably missing the days when she did the same as a tiny kitten.
"Hmm… it's sweet"
Innocent enough to think what Enikk doing was harmless and not strange at all, Naruto soon gulped down the entire liquid inside the bottle -it was a small bottle that one could hold with two fingers- and muttered those words.
It tasted like normal water mixed with sugar…
"Good job, my dear… now let's sleep to check if the drug's working or not"
Suddenly, the long arms that were already wrapped around him lifted him with ease in bridal style. Although, the words that Enikk said following this action kinda surprised him.
"S-Sleep…? Why would I need to sleep?"
"Humans normally become thirsty when they just wake up, and it is the fastest way I can think of to make your body thirsty… so you shall sleep"
"But I can just… you know… run around the room?"
"Denied"
When his friend still decided to make him sleep even after he gave her a more normal suggestion, Naruto sweat dropped, and then rolled his eyes just a little.
Enikk…
Sometimes he just didn't understand her actions.
But then again, sleeping with his friend had become a hobby of his too since he didn't need to hunt or scavenge for food, and thus, he could just relax and spend his life however he wanted.
Now, don't misunderstand…
Studying and whatnot were important, but they were far from enjoyable, unlike snuggling with Enikk.
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..
It is just what it is.