In other news, the Disgaea 6 demo came out and I'm playing it slowly. That frame rate is a mood killer, my doods.
Inspirational Songs:
Follow Me by Daddyphatsnaps
Break Through by The Wreckage
Murder Melody by Thousand Foot Krutch
Escape from Seraph of the End
Grateful by NEFFEX
~NRK~
Attia blinked as the two slammed forearm to blade, the fact shocking her as Naruto's orange hexagon-dotted forearm fended off Ingrid's blade.
The two shot back from one another before Ingrid lunged low to the ground.
Naruto skipped back, a knife hand and a harsh twist occurring in a matter of seconds.
Ingrid was confused for barely a moment before her eyes widened at the two falling trees heading towards her.
She grit her teeth before coming to an abrupt stop, leaves falling around her and messing up her vision.
The Rank 7th growled before she swung out with a tonfa, clearing her vision-
She let out a wet cough something slammed into her unguarded side before she was sent flying into a tree with a shout and a growl as her eyes snapped open to see Naruto standing there.
He came out of his shoulder striking stance before he jumped back into the forest. Ingrid gave chase immediately, devouring the distance between his previous location in under a second with a dash.
Up in a tree, Naruto frowned at the anger on her face.
'I felt it when we clashed earlier… Why is she so angry?' He wondered before leaping off the branch, alerting the Pandora who slashed it down. "What'd the tree ever do to you?"
Ingrid ran underneath his hopping form, eyes on him before she blurred from sight.
Naruto stopped tree-hopping before flipping back off his branch, Ingrid's weapon crushing his previous foothold.
"Grrrrr!" She lunged at him again, fury in her eyes as she cut down another branch. "I knew someone like you would be a troublemaker!" Ingrid's eyes narrowed before she disappeared from his vision.
'Faster?!' Naruto grimaced before kicking off the trunk of the tree he was in, barely dodging her downward strike. 'She's seriously not playing games!'
Ingrid's form blurred across the treeline behind him before she split into two.
'Tempest Turn!' He grimaced before landing on a branch and lunging at the original copy.
Ingrid jumped over him as her copy reared back its arm. Naruto slammed his palm into the side of the tree and stayed elevated above the copy's slice before he kicked out at its head, dispersing it.
Ingrid's eyes narrowed. '... He's… He's better than I expected,' she hated to admit that.
She'd watched the videos, of course, she had, but she'd assumed that he'd back down in a real scenario… And that'd been a mistake.
He landed on her previous branch as she did the same to his.
They locked eyes.
Attia grimaced as she heard the cracks, rustling branches, grunts, and words.
The guy seemed like he was pretty strong and she guessed that he could walk the walk.
'Mark can hold his Freezing for twenty minutes,' she considered with a worried look. 'Can he hold out until then?'
She didn't know. Honestly, that'd be the best outcome.
Because if a Limiter was able to tussle with the top Pandoras in the student body… The unrest may be beyond whatever chaos Ingrid could imagine.
They slammed together and Ingrid grimaced as the blonde gripped her arm before twisting their bodies and throwing her down to the forest floor.
She landed, feet first, with a crunch of the earth beneath her, then her eyes went wide as the air around her intensified.
Ingrid lunged out the way of his intense Freezing, eyes moving to the canopy where the Limiter had been moments before. The floor cratered in a perfect circle, causing her eyes to widen.
'What's with that strength?!' She'd never seen Freezing do that before! 'Hmph, he's truly an anomaly.'
She dodged away from several of such crater-making 'blasts', Naruto's location becoming clear to her as the Limiter came flying out of the canopy with a flying kick that she blocked by crossing her arms.
The force sent her skidding back as his hexagon-covered leg's heel slammed into her block. She growled before lunging at him once more with a swipe.
His fist came around and knocked it off target but she brought her second tonfa around in an instant.
Naruto brought his forearm up and slammed it into her wrist, the blow dislodging her weapon from her hand.
The blonde stepped in and his fist shot out in a jab that she barely blocked.
He came at her with an overhead, a cross, a leg sweep, and a roundhouse.
She blocked, stepped in, hopped over, and threw her own kick out, sending the both of them sliding back.
"It's always people like you!" Ingrid growled. "You take your power and break all the rules of our society for such selfishness!"
Naruto's eyes narrowed in confusion before he bent back as Ingrid appeared in his face, slashing the area above him.
His hand dug into the ground before he sent a handful of dust, rocks, and dirt.
The Pandora covered her face before letting out a grunt as she was kicked in the stomach and sent sailing backward into a tree.
She opened her eyes and they widened before she jumped to the side as Naruto's foot slammed into her previous location.
The tree cracked as it was hit with the blonde landing on the side of it and lunging towards her.
She crossed her arms but gasped when he grabbed them mid-air and threw himself over her block.
Ingrid's vision shook slightly as he slammed his foot into her head from the position.
'Too light!' Naruto realized as he landed into a roll and got back to his feet. "Tsk!"
He knew that, had that kick been full-power, he might have ended this fight already.
That said, Ingrid was good. Her reactions were pretty good, not like his, but she had the right body to perfectly fit her reaction speed.
He crossed his arms, Freezing on before she slammed her tonfa into his cross-guard.
The force of her attack was painful even through his enhanced blocking, the blow sending him off his feet before he righted himself.
She was already mid-way towards him before he swung out with a fist, breaking his Freezing.
Ingrid barely had a second to react before she was sent flying back by a force hitting her chest.
'W-What was that?!' She thought incredulously before slamming through a tree with a gasp. "Puwah!"
Ingrid remembered one key fact about Naruto Uzumaki's ability with the Limiter technique. That explanation on the 'breaking' of the move allowed for abrupt force to be expelled.
Had that been what he'd done… No, that that felt like more force than she'd seen him pull off save for one moment and she was sure that him using what he'd used on that wall would have dealt her more damage than this.
She rolled to a stop before getting back to her feet, breathing out a heated breath as she placed a hand against the affected area, her stomach.
She winced at the soft throbbing, eyes narrowing. 'I know I'm not using Volt Texture yet but that blow…' It would have hurt even with.
Naruto stood across from her, a frown on his face as he got into that loose stance again.
Ingrid's eyes closed as she took in a calming breath.
Naruto's eyes widened as the air around her grew intense, blue lines running up her arms, legs, and her cheeks, bluish-green eyes glowing as they opened.
… So he was right, she wasn't being serious before-
His eyes widened as the air behind him became displaced, Ingrid's hazy doppelganger before him.
Naruto jumped, barely dodging the two's slashes-
A force slammed into his side, getting a wet cough from the blonde before he was sent through a tree and into the next one behind it.
He spat out some blood to the side as his eyes squinted open-
He rebounded to the side as the tree exploded in half, an Ingrid 'shade' cutting it in twain, the four pieces falling to the floor.
'She's way too fucking fast!' She was a Tempest-Type, right?
Was this the average speed of a high-ranker?
He grimaced as the pain in his side flared up before he rebounded back into the air-
Two copies followed him from his sides and he grimaced before a shadow grew over him.
He hissed out a breath.
Ingrid came down as her copies swung out, an explosion of earth rocking the treeline.
When it cleared, the Rank 7th frowned, eyes narrowing, as she saw nothing beneath her impact.
"Ingrid, what the fuck?!" Attia had to speak up now. "T-That's too far!"
"..." Ingrid ignored the albino who paled at this fact.
T-This wasn't good, Attia realized.
She'd completely ignored her call of worry.
Hiding behind a tree to her side, Attia didn't look at the blonde as he peeked over the side of the tree.
She saw the blood on his lips and grimaced before he breathed in and closed his eyes, a hand covering over his harmed side, the other one lifting his shirt so she could see the bruise-
Bright orange hexagons appeared over it and Attia watched in disbelief as the bruise slowly shrunk out of existence. Sorry, did she say 'slowly'? She meant that she watched in slow motion as it disappeared.
Naruto stood up with a sigh before nodding to her and coming out of hiding a bit away.
Ingrid's eyes landed on him and three copies sprung out of her body.
"You'll do well to surrender. Drop this foolish charade and you'll be allowed to walk after this," she said coldly and Attia hesitated as she saw her Volt Weapon appear in her hand.
An involuntary action, she realized. She knew deep down that this had gone beyond being a good idea.
"How about no?" Naruto answered and he saw the way her body tensed in preparation. 'No time to hesitate.'
Orange hexagons sprung to life around his limbs, his hands, feet, and neck were covered in large orange hexagons while his joins were covered by chainmail-looking renditions of the large ones.
Two large orange hexagons sprung to life on his forehead and his eyes glowed brighter than they had earlier.
In the moonlight, he looked like some kind of mystical being as Ingrid's eyes narrowed and Attia's widened.
He widened his stance as he allowed his arms to hang limply in front of him-
Ingrid's eyes widened as her copies disappeared, the blonde standing at her back.
'Accel?!' No, that'd been too fast.
Double Accel?!
"You want a fight?" Naruto's head turned and they locked eyes, two pairs of glowing blue widening in challenge. "Let's fight."
Attia didn't see it, the two disappearing in flashes of blue and orange from their places, the earth erupting around them.
Three large cracks erupted in the air around her and the silver-haired Pandora's eyes glowed bright blue as she reinforced them-
The two slammed into one another right in front of her, a large orange hexagon holding Ingrid's tonfa at bay coming from Naruto's forearm.
His knee slammed into her stomach at accelerated speeds before he sent her flying with a roundhouse with similar velocity.
Three trees 'cushioned' her flight before she growled, slammed the back of her tonfa into the fourth, and blurred from sight.
Naruto crossed his arms and hexagons expanded as four Ingrid's slammed into the shields with enough force to crater the floor underneath the Limiter.
Naruto's eyes flickered about before they snapped to the Ingrid to his left.
The four shields coalesced on that one before layering and cracking.
The Pandora's eyes widened before she was pulled out the way by one of her copies.
The attack that was unleashed tore apart the forest behind where she'd been, an orb of windy destruction that caused the blonde to lower his guard.
Naruto grimaced as Ingrid and her copy slammed their tonfas into his exposed side, sending him flying off to the side and through six trees before he landed on the seventh, head snapping up to show determined blue eyes.
He shattered the tree's trunk as he disappeared.
'What's going on?!' Attia didn't understand as the redhead and blonde kept going. 'This doesn't feel like a battle between a Limiter and Pandora!'
Sure, he'd been able to boost his speed with his, admittedly, fascinating 'rebound' use. She was excited to think that Mark might learn such a skill.
But that was as far as she expected him to go! R-Right now… I-It looked more like he was capable of Double Accel?!
… D-Did the potential of this Limiter outstrip their highest ranks? The idea terrified the albino as the two slammed into a pair of trees at her side, Naruto's feet slamming into Ingrid's crossed tonfa.
… Oh shit, her eyes widened at how loud it was!
T-That wasn't good!
~NRK~
The Freshman dormitory slowly awoke along with those working at the Simulation Center. The noise was loud enough, and too often recurring, to be ignored.
Rana blinked awake at the feeling of no warmth next to her and the breeze from the window upon her.
"H-Hmmm?" She yawned as she sat up, eyes blearily turning to the window before the sound of loud cracks reached her ears.
Her eyes widened and she wiped away her sleep to look around.
No Naruto, no bathroom sounds…?!
She got up and jumped out the window, running past Kazuya's window, the boy opened it just in time to see her.
'Rana-san?'
~NRK~
She frowned as she and her Limiter, a handsome man with slightly voluminous feathery black hair in a low ponytail, Andre Francois, powerwalked out of the third-year dormitories, the faint sounds of an event reaching their ears as they tried to go to sleep.
In a nightgown and some pajamas, her and her Limiter respectively, Elizabeth frowned further as the noises weren't her imagination.
"... Ingrid, no…" Her eyes widened as Andre's blue eyes looked to her with worry. "... Andre, I want you to head to the faculty's office, this will be necessary."
"Qui, madame," he nodded with a boy before running off.
Elizabeth Mably's eyes narrowed as she took off.
Ingrid why?!
~NRK~
It'd been, what, six minutes since this fight started?
Naruto felt his body gaining a new bruise with every clash of his forearms to her weapons. This little idea was supposed to follow his father's own technique but his dad was a genius for a reason.
Naruto still got hit with rebounds, as he learned as of recently when he blocked with the Freezing shields and let up with their creation a bit to loosen the pile-up of force.
He could turn it on Ingrid, of course, he could, but that left his senses narrower and allowed her to slam him with far more dangerous hits than he was happy with taking. Never mind that the Frost Blow was slow as all hell!
He grunted as he crossed his arms, Ingrid's eyes growing more and more furious.
Then more of those memories passed through.
Marine.
I'm so sorry… I-I…
W-Why did they break formation?! Had they just followed the instructions?! The rules?! They-!
More of such things passed on towards him and it made it hard for the blonde to focus sometimes. He'd gotten the dealio, though.
This Marine girl that Ingrid knew died and she blamed it on the people who couldn't stay in formation. An obsession that focused on their 'rules of combat'. It likely bled over to their school rules, as well.
He grabbed her before slamming her into a tree pinning her down with a weak Freezing field.
"What is your deal?!" He shouted at the enraged woman before slamming her through the tree she'd been stuck against. "You're saying some screwed-up shit for a rule-lover!"
She grit her teeth as she rolled into a crouch, eyes flashing brighter before… His eyes widened in horror as armor slowly began to piece itself together over her form.
"Ingrid, that's enough!" Attia came to a stop in front of the blond, weapons at the ready. "Disengage, now!"
"I… Will… NOT!" She hissed in a mechanical tone as the blonde saw the true full power of a Pandora.
A Pandora Suit, a suit of armor that they break down with their Volt Textures and recreate over themselves in times of need. The outfit increased their powers and stats, making him very worried for the next couple of moments.
If she was a third-year, he had to assume she'd been on missions where the suit was used, so this one had been around for close to three years… And hadn't been broken.
Fuck. "Senpai… You might need to get out of there," the blonde said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "She's… She's mad about some person called Marine? I think she's projecting onto me," he said as he walked past the albino.
"W-What? E-Even now?" Attia uttered with a wince. "She was her senpai, she died on a mission where the formation disbanded, and…" Attia's eyes shone with pity as she looked at the suited-up Pandora. "You can't fight her like this, she'll kill-"
Naruto's form slammed into her and threw the both of them to the side just in time to dodge the meteor of an attack that had been Ingrid Bernstein's body.
They rolled to a stop, Naruto sliding as he stood up with Attia in his arms.
"S-She's lost all reason," Attia uttered in disbelief as the smoke cleared to show a standing Pandora, her head slowly turning to the two like a monster in some horror movie. "F-Fuck," she realized as Naruto placed her down.
His eyes narrowed as Ingrid walked towards him. "It's because of people like you… You have one job and you ruined everything!" She roared at him before being sent flying to the side as a familiar blue-haired Pandora came down from her flying kick.
"Naruto-kun!" Rana ran up to the blonde, blinked at his hexagon-covered form, and saw the horrified-looking Attia in his arms. "... Something bad happened, huh-de arimasu?" She asked as she turned to see Ingrid's form getting up with little difficulty. "What is that-de arimasu?"
"... Rana, take care of her for me," Naruto said as he set Attia to his side, towards his friend. "I need to handle this. While I don't regret doing what I have, and will keep doing it, this is still my fault."
"W-What?!" Rana certainly wasn't onboard. "N-Naruto-kun!"
"Trust me with this," he said with a smile back at her, walking towards Ingrid. "I've got this… one way or another."
He walked until he stood about two meters from Ingrid. The distance might as well have been two inches with how fast she could move so he wasn't worried about being called a coward.
He spread his field out around the two of them and felt the emotions slip in.
"Marine… Tell me that I'm not wrong!"
"Tell me that, had that formation not fallen, that if the 1st years hadn't fled…"
"That you'd still be here! That you'd not be dead… I-I…"
His gaze softened. "Your idea certainly wasn't wrong."
Ingrid's entire form flinched back. "... W-What?"
"In a way, you're right," he said with a sigh as he allowed his hexagons to fall away, leaving him in a tattered version of the outfit he'd come out here in. "That formation I might have been savable if they hadn't fled. Marine might have admonished them if she was here… But she also had a job to do," Naruto said as his form was lit up by a light blue tint, Ingrid's hands twitching. "If she's as amazing as she was in your memories then you know why she wouldn't have."
"Shut up…"
"She knew she had to protect them…"
"Shut up!"
"She's the hero you want her to be. But not a hero with as tragic a death you've become obsessed with!"
"Ingrid stop-!" Attia tried to stop the blurring Pandora as she was upon Naruto Uzumaki's form.
"SHUT UPPP!" Ingrid brought her enhanced tonfa down-
A tinted blue hand caught it as cross-shaped pupils looked up at her, orange around their owner's eyes as hexagons floated away in a fashion similar to that of light particles.
"That's enough," Naruto said as he held her entire being, her attack, her hate, in the air with one hand, his exposed skin slowly bruising from her blow. "GET OVER YOURSELF!"
He reared a fist back and it burned bright orange before he swung it into her stomach.
The suited-up Pandora's form disappeared from his sight as a trail of trees, half a football field far, fell in her wake, air erupted from her previous position.
Naruto breathed in through his nose as bruises appeared on his right hand down to his forearm.
Rana stared at the impossible being before her before she ran up to him, eyes full of concern as Naruto's pupils came into view.
He let out a sigh as he let the form drop. "Catch m-" He fainted on the spot and fell into Rana's hastily-raised arms.
"N-Naruto-kun?!" She exclaimed as she went to her knees, holding her friend… Her fated one in her arms. "M-Mm?!" Rana felt a hand on her shoulder as Attia frowned, the albino looking down at the blonde with a conflicted look.
"... Take care of him," she said as she walked off towards Ingrid's, hopefully, location. "Get him healed up, after this? He's going to need all the healing he can get for what'll come."
"... Y-Yes-de arimasu!" Rana responded as she lifted the knocked-out blonde in her arms before she just… looked around at the forest. "... You're so strong, Naruto-kun," she whispered to the unconscious blonde.
Elizabeth lowered her raised arms as a form slid to a stop in front of her, the forest's destroyed appearance and the person her two focuses.
"... Ingrid?!" Elizabeth found her breath taken from her as she looked at her fellow third-year's unconscious form.
Her body was covered in bruises as her revealing outfit looked to be laid in tatters, a few flecks of armor still on her back, the back of her head, and her legs… All of them on the back of her, notably.
She kneeled to the redhead's level and observed her roughed-up form.
"Who…?"
"Elizabeth?!" Elizabeth balked at the sight of a relatively untouched Attia Simmons. "I didn't know you'd-why are you looking at me like that?"
Oh, Attia would wish she'd ended the rumor, that followed that night, sooner.
God, she did a lot for a blonde she didn't like a few days ago.
~NRK~
The next morning saw the school halls riddled with rumors, hearsay, and whispers.
"He beat her one-on-one?!"
"I heard that he's the reason that the forest got destroyed!"
"I heard she got beat on one punch."
"N-No! The legends are true?!"
More of such words passed the lips of his schoolmates, Arthur rushed past them with little attention, though.
"Shit!" Genessa cursed from his side. "Seriously?! How the hell does he even get in these situations?!"
"I don't know!" Kazuya said with a frown as they rushed to the medical wing, the crowd of people in the way more annoying this time around than he remembered. "Can you all-"
"MOVE!" Came a voice from the crowd and it parted like a pack of cockroaches in a turned-on light, revealing Satellizer in all her frowning glory.
The two groups met up before going on in.
As they entered the medical wing, the sounds of people chatting in a far-off room gaining their attention.
"So, yeah, I get it but there comes a point where rules hurt more than they help. I think your senpai did the right thing by using all her power to ensure you all could return another day."
"... I can't… The idea I just can't accept."
"I get that."
"That's Naruto's voice," Kaho said as they came to the room window to see. "... Jesus what happened?!" She shrieked, getting the attention of the thirteen people in the room. "Naruto, did you run into traffic!?"
Naruto looked up from his hospital bed, Rana at his bedside, with a smile that was emphasized by the bandages over damn near all of his face, the only parts of him not covered were his hair, mouth, and eyes. His wasn't much body, looking like a mummy with how wrapped up he was in the medical wing's patient gowns.
Next to him, looking embarrassed, was none other than Ingrid Bernstein, the Rank 7 Pandora looking just as bad as Naruto did with the same leisures offered to her hair, eyes, and mouth.
In the room were Dr. Schmitz, Ms. Kim, Sister Margaret, Attia and her Limiter, Chiffon, Ticy, and their Limiters, and Leo, Ingrid's Limiter.
Margaret let out a long sigh as she refocused on the Pandora of the 'hour'. "Why, Ingrid?" The redhead's head dipped. "You… You had an entire day dedicated to this! In what way is this even remotely justifiable."
"... It's not," Ingrid said with a grimace. "I… I overstepped my boundaries for the sake of a personal offense I assumed was against me, I'm… I'm sorry."
Yu-Mi held her hand in her hands. "Ingrid, you of all people, I just can't understand it," the Pandora instructor said with a grimace and a frown. "I can't treat this like Naruto's a normal Limiter, the current situation certainly doesn't treat him as such so I'll be treating this as two superpowered combatants fighting on school grounds which is against the rules."
Naruto grimaced as Rana held his hand, routinely massaging his knuckles.
"Is this why you left?" She whispered to him and Naruto shook his head, getting a sigh of relief from his friend. "Thank goodness-de arimasu."
"I understand."
"..." Elize sighed in thought, holding both of the room's occupants' charts up. "You're lucky, both of you," she began. "I'm not sure how you both are even able to speak right now."
"... That's probably because of me," Naruto admitted, gaining the room's attention. "... I kind of have a healing ability, hehe?"
"..." The silence in the room was damning.
"When I used my last attack, I tried to make sure that she didn't die," Naruto explained further as Ingrid looked confused. "I reinforced the armor around your back parts to make sure you didn't, like, crack your skull or something."
"... How do you function?" Attia had to ask by this point. "I-I don't understand you! You were at one another's necks seconds before that! How in the world can you want to make sure she's alright?"
"Because it's just a fight," Naruto said with a shrug as Ingrid, Leo, Attia, and Yu-Mi just gawked at him. "I wasn't fighting to try and hurt her… You know what I mean, right?" He asked nervously.
"... A battle to prove a point, you mean," Margaret said and Naruto nodded. 'This boy…'
She knew she didn't know such a kind-hearted person in her life. It just wasn't feasible to think such a person existed but here he was, a Limiter with a heart bigger than some countries.
"Yeah, as I was catching a glimpse of some of her memories, Freezing stuff," he explained as Eugene nodded.
"You can connect to people through it," he said with some certainty. "But during a fight?" Eugene asked, impressed.
"I just spread out a weak field," Naruto explained. "Besides that, I kept getting memories of hers and figured out what her deal was," he said with a nod as Ingrid's head fell further. "She's just got her own stuff I think she needs to face and work through."
"Naruto, I can already see it on your face," Yu-Mi began with narrowed eyes at the blonde's grin. "We can't let her off the hook for this just because you are fine with the both of you knocking each other's teeth out."
"I mean…" Naruto rubbed the side of his head with a worried thinking expression. "I mean, you're not going to put her on probation are you?"
"... The thought is tempting," Margaret said as Ingrid, Attia, Leo, and Mark winced. "She crushed any goodwill the student council got for them to even fight you. It'd be rather harrowing and pathetic to not punish her for this," she saw the blonde's laugh. "Hmph? You have ideas?"
"Well, I get it, punishment is the right thing," Naruto said with a nod. "So, how about this. One month's probation and, during that time, you run her ragged with an intense boot camp," the third-years paled as Yu-Mi considered it. "Not only can she not go to class and stuff but you'll leave her too tired to even enjoy any time-off she'll have?"
Sister Margaret let out an amused hum. "Hmmm, they are Pandora, Naruto."
"Oh, easy," Naruto grinned as Genessa paled. "Have her do, like, 400 push-ups," Ingrid choked. "400 sit-ups, crunches, and squats. After that, she can run around the school ten times without any use of Volt Textures. That sounds like he'd leave her without any energy!"
The Pandoras of the student body paled at the idea save for Chiffon who hummed in thought before sweating a bit at that kind of workout.
She liked her body parts where they were, thank you.
"... That does seem rather punishing," Elize said with a chortle. "As well as not allowing her to skimp out on training, I know that something like that can take, at a minimum, 7 hours for anyone on a good day. This doesn't sound so bad, actually."
"Hehe~" Naruto grinned before waving at those outside the room, the Pandoras of his friend group looking paler than pale. "Sup, guys!"
"... I fear for her future," Genessa got out as Ingrid's eyebrow twitched something fierce. "Ugh, the thought of doing all that, uggugghhhh!" She gripped her biceps with a shiver. "He only does a fourth of all that and it still takes two fucking hours."
Leo, Mark, and Attia choked as Ingrid's skin went whiter than white.
"... I-It's fine," the laid-up redhead said after some thought even if she was as white as her bedsheets. "I… This is more leniency than I ever expected, especially from him," Ingrid said as she looked at Naruto who grinned.
"Hehe~ I'll even come and join you on some of those, it sounds like-"
"Don't you dare!" Genessa leaned over him with growing anger as the blonde nervously laughed at her angered expression. "If I hear so much of a peep about, 'it sounds like fun', I'm having Arthur freeze to your bed while we force-feed you hospital food."
The bandaged blonde choked at the idea as Elize pouted, just a smidge.
"It's really not that bad," she grumbled as Yu-Mi rolled her eyes, patting her friend's shoulder. "It's not."
"It's… certainly a statement," Yu-Mi offered with a small smile and Elize sighed. "Maybe open the windows more, I don't know."
Sister Margaret raised a brow at the room's… energy. It'd been so intense earlier and yet… She looked at the laughing Naruto, his friend group commenting, or begging him not, to join this murder workout.
"Hmmm," her eyes closed and she nodded before taking her leave. "We'll talk to the instructor for the fitness courses. I'm willing to lower it to 300 of each and eight laps around the school."
Ingrid wasn't sure if it was kindness or pity but she'd take whatever it was.
She didn't say anything, bowing her head to the principal as the woman left.
"... Haaa,' Yu-Mi's eyes narrowed on Ingrid who looked away. "Understand, such kindness isn't normal, you'd best look over everything that happened from that viewpoint," the teacher said as Ingrid nodded with her head down. "... Dammit," she looked at the grinning Naruto. 'This kid is gonna be a pain if… No, when he gets popular in the future.'
It was only a matter of time, really. Naruto was too kind, too open, too willing to share and help others. He was destined for greatness but she worried how many rocks will be below his feet as he traveled such a hill.
She cupped her chin before taking ahold of Elize's shoulder.
"We'll take our leave, now," Yu-Mi said, Elize blinking before nodding.
"I'll check up on you two later, alright?" The doctor told them, the two bandaged-up individuals nodding to her. "Alright, let's go and talk," she said to her friend who nodded.
With those two leaving, all who were left were those of the student body.
"Hmph," Naruto made a noncommittal sound. "I wonder if I can't find the stamina to heal up some more before the evening hits."
"What?" Chiffon's eyebrow rose. "Naruto-kun… Are you not angry?"
"Annoyed? A bit," Naruto shrugged. "But, angry? Any anger I might have felt came and went, like, last night."
"Are you saying that because you won?" Ingrid asked with a frown.
"Nope," Naruto closed his eyes in thought. "Being angry doesn't do me any favors, even if I lost, the fight's over and, I know on good faith, I'm sure we both would have still ended up here," he said with a chuckle at Ingrid's raised brow.
"... How does such a person exist?" Attia asked the room as she held her head in disbelief.
"... Naruto-kun is very kind," Rana said after some thought. "He's wise, too! Though I think a bit too much-de arimasu."
"He does give off a naive aura, at times," Chiffon said as Naruto's eyebrow twitched. "I worry that he's the type of person who'd get married just to help someone."
"... Ignoring that," Naruto said, Rana's sputtering his kryptonite.
"W-What's that supposed to mean-de arimasu?!"
"It's nothing," Naruto said with a pout. "You're thinking way too much about this. I'm not getting married any time soon."
"That didn't reflect my point," Naruto began sweating as Chiffon hummed. "So, a straight answer would be nice," she said with a grin.
Naruto was silent even as he sweat further, the entire room looking at him.
"... I-If it was necessary-"
"Oh my God," Genessa balked as Kazuya and Arthur snorted and Ticy just stared at him in disbelief. "A-Are you being serious!?"
"L-Look, it's fine, that's not-"
"I can't abide by that-de arimasu!" Rana said with an angry pout that Naruto choked at the sight of. "Naruto-kun!"
"Y-You're not letting me-"
"He's a total weirdo," Attia realized as Mark, Eugene, and Abel chuckled. "I… Who says that?"
"Y-You're all picking on me! Hear my words and let me speak!"
"Mmm, Naruto does like talking a bit too much," Satellizer realized, much to her fellow blonde's disbelief. "For someone who wears his heart on his sleeve, he'd be an amazing negotiator."
"K-Kuh!"
"He does!" Kaho said with a grin.
"I-I!"
Watching the group interact with, and tease, the blonde, Ingrid's eyes widened slightly at how… calm and warm it was.
A pair of hands gripped one of her own and she looked at a smiling Leo.
"I guess West Genetics really lucked out on getting him, huh?" He asked as he looked at his fellow blonde. "I don't think most could even say a quarter of the things he does."
Ingrid's gaze softened as she gripped her Limiter's hands.
"Yes, I think so, too."
~NRK~
Getting to her office, Elize closed the door once Yu-Mi came in, leaning against it with her arms crossed and a curious expression on her face. "What's up?"
"I want to check, have you donated any of this information to the Chevalier?" The instructor asked, getting a blink from her friend. "Elize?"
"... No, not yet," she answered with a shake of the head. "I want to consult Naruto on it before I consider sending it in. He deserves that much," Elize said with a smile as Yu-Mi reciprocated.
"That's good."
"You're worried, aren't you?"
"Yeah…" Yu-Mi crossed her arms as she leaned on the wall by her friend's desk. "I have plenty of trust in our organization but… How are his bodily reports?"
"Well, it's along the hunches you probably have. There's a key in the plant next to you, take it out and open the top drawer on my desk."
Doing as told, Yu-Mi raised a brow as she turned to Elize. "?"
"You're not the only one worried for him," Elize responded with a grin.
Yu-Mi smirked before doing as Elize proposed and got out the documentation. "... Seven Chakras…" She read off before looking over Naruto's chart again. "... It's grown more, hasn't it?"
"Yes," Elize said with a nod. "Those were taken when he was brought in. It now fits over 65% of his body while the transformed tissue is over 30% of those currently covered by his stigmatic tissue. I still have to ask him how he got his tissues and this new healing ability as well."
Yu-Mi hummed at that. "Oh, right, forgot about that for a moment," she admitted with a blush as Elize chuckled.
"For what it's worth, Naruto's a treasure trove of new discoveries, some of us can't help but forget some of them."
"Which isn't a loaded sentence or anything," Yu-Mi said with a shake of the head. "Regardless… What are your thoughts on Naruto's tissue acceleration?"
"I want to ask him if he's willing to perform a live test with me," Elize said. "While there's plenty of evidence, this is still all conjecture. I want to see if I can't observe it happening."
"That sounds good."
Yu-Mi observed the diagnosis of the blonde one more time.
'Chakras, transforming tissue, increasing tissue, his odd meditation, and Freezing abilities, it all leads to an odd conclusion.'
Naruto was an anomaly in their country, possibly even in the world, and it became more apparent as time went on.
~NRK~
Naruto hummed as he spread out his Freezing, the orange hexagons forming beneath his and Ingrid's beds.
"I didn't think you could heal people, Naruto," Arthur said with some nervous laughter. "Next you're gonna tell me you can walk on water."
"... I'm working on that," Naruto said with a chuckle as Arthur was held up by Genessa, the pigtailed redhead smirking at her boy's moment of weakness. "I mean, with wall walking, the theory's gotta be the same, right?"
"Wall walking?" Attia asked in disbelief before Naruto and Chiffon chuckled. "... Chiffon?"
"We tried it out when he was first in the medical wing," Ingrid, Leo, Mark, and Attia balked. "Yup. Though I'm not sure how well it'd work in actual combat."
"Well, it's not like you'd want to do a whole wall at once," Naruto said as Ingrid's eyes widened, the feeling of warmth in her hand sending pinpricks up her arm. "It's why I think increasing your reflexes is a good idea. It'd be a better idea to only freeze the areas where they're at instead of a whole wall."
He sucked in more Natural Energy and Ingrid flushed a bit as the feeling of her arm became slightly fuzzy but not sore.
"Mmmmm," Naruto focused more and the others blinked at the feeling of warmth in their bodies, the hexagons against the floor glowing a bit brighter. "... Phewwww!" He let out a long sigh as the field slowly fell away, the blonde flexing his hands, biceps, and forearms.
Ingrid did the same with her right arms, eyes staring at her easily clenching hands. "T-That's ridiculous," she uttered in shock as Naruto undid both his arms' bandages to reveal unharmed skin with a scar around his forearm and two on his hands. "?!"
Leo nodded to that, going around to her other side and undoing the bandages to reveal unharmed arms with just two scars along her forearms. That said, there literally was no damage to be felt.
"Hmph, those blows were hard," Naruto noted with a nod as he looked at his arms. "So this is the power of a high-ranked Pandora in the third years? Then again, you also have a damn tonfa so that's also a part of it," he hummed once more. "And, well, the power-up," he said vaguely.
Ingrid grimaced at that as Attia frowned with a sigh.
"That was also too far," Ingrid admitted. "... I used Pandora Mode," she came clean to those not in the know.
"YOU WHAT?!" Ticy looked at the Rank 7 with an expression bordering on fury. "Ingrid?!"
"..." The redheaded third-year's head fell. "There's nothing to say. I went beyond just breaking the rules, I…"
Naruto frowned. "I mean, yeah, it's pretty powerful," he said with a sigh. "Is it that taboo?" He asked Chiffon whose frown was apparent.
"It's more than just taboo. Unlike Pandora fighting on school property, one is at least allowed to spar in designated areas," the Rank 1 said with a deeper frown. "Pandora Suits, on the other hand, outside of high-level training exercises, are never to be pulled out no matter WHERE you are."
"..." Naruto wanted to say something, anything to try and de-escalate the oncoming heated words but he was sure that he'd used up all the goodwill he had at the moment with damn near everyone in the room. "... Haaa, what are you planning on doing?"
"..." Chiffon observed him with her frown plastered on. "This will require some consideration since the headmistress already divvy-ed out a punishment this will have to be separate. With her possible prohibition off the table, we have to consider something else."
"... Thanks, Chiffon-senpai."
"I'm doing my job," Chiffon hummed.
"Hmph," Naruto considered his situation. "I guess we'll have to postpone today's challenges."
"... Actually," Abel spoke up with a chuckle. "You had twenty letters of resignation, half of today's spars were canceled on that principle while the others were similar to those of last evenings."
"... Huh?" Naruto blinked as Satellizer frowned and Rana tilted her head along with Kazuya. "They're all canceled?"
"I guess your display yesterday got them to reconsider," Eugene said with a smile. "So… That just about cancels all the letters ever turned into you. Outside of Arnette and Creo, you've got, what, six other willing Pandora and Limiter pairs willing to take a shot at you for clout."
"... Whose names?"
"... Yes, it's also the girl who asked for nudes," the room stuttered as Abel answered nervously with a slight blush. "Trust me, Ms. Fairchild went through most of those kinds of requests rather seriously."
"There was a worrying amount of… 'rewards' that I made sure they reconsidered," Chiffon added with a huff as Ticy grumbled, cheeks slightly red.
"A-A girl who what?!" Abel was appalled. "Without a date?!" Ticy smacked his head.
"T-That's not the point!" She shouted at him. "T-The fact remains is that these were the… less intense letter rewards," Ticy said with a blush and a trembling fist. "W-Why are they all like this?!"
"Hmmm, I wish I knew, Ticy," Chiffon said with a shake of the head as Attia balked.
"W-Wait, who was the girl who wanted n-nudes?" Attia asked with a blush.
"Um… Some girl named Cassandra?"
"She has a Limiter," Attia said immediately and the blonde in the bed groaned into his hands. "I… T-There've been jokes that he wasn't really… ahem, picking the pearls, so to speak," many in the room who got the innuendo blushed. "A-And, yeah, some thought he might swing for both sides of the fences."
"... Ohhhhhhh," Kazuya understood after a moment before blushing. "Ohhhhh…"
"Yeah, let's just say, that's a slippery slope, right there," Attia said with a shaking head. "That said, she's not that strong. All I will say is that she's persistent. She's been chasing the Rank 10th spot for the past couple of months."
"Fantastic," Naruto said with a flat expression. "... Actually, Chiffon-senpai, what were the other girls' names?"
Going through them all, Naruto found his eyebrows twitching as many of the others coughed into their fists or outright squawked.
"S-Some of these are…" Attia blushed as Mark burned bright red. "Swingers if you will."
"My God," Chiffon somehow managed to look shocked with her ever closed eyes, "There truly are all types in our year?"
Naruto and Eugene laughed nervously.
Talk about a hell of a class.
~NRK~
Two hours later, the groups left to go to their normal classes, leaving only Ingrid and Naruto to lean back in their raised beds.
Before leaving, Satellizer had seen fit to open the window for the two and they enjoyed the gentle winds that blew in.
"Hmmm," Naruto closed his eyes and just enjoyed his rest, rolling his healed shoulders before smiling. "It's not the best solution but it is one, senpai."
Ingrid took her gaze off of him to look outside their room's window. "... It's mercy I didn't expect from you," she said after some thought. "I don't understand you… Perhaps that was the core issue in this whole mess but, even now, I don't understand what type of person you are."
"Well… What do you want to know?" Ingrid hummed at that question.
"Hmm, Attia did say you were here Ingrid," came a strong but soft voice from the two's door. "... I must say, putting you both in one room after such a fight seems unwise."
Elizabeth Mably stood there in the doorway in their school uniform, the young woman's eyebrows raised as Ingrid fidgetted and Naruto blinked at her.
"... Who's this, Ingrid-senpai?" Elizabeth raised a brow at how casual the boy was with his… aggressor was the best word here, she guessed.
"... She's Elizabeth Mably," Ingrid supplied as she and her fellow high-ranker locked gazes for a moment. "She's the second-highest rank of the third-years right beneath Chiffon Fairchild."
"That Chiffon-senpai?" Naruto looked shocked as the redhead nodded before he turned to his fellow blonde. "... Y-You're not here to try something, yeah?" He asked nervously as the standing blonde raised a brow at him before she chuckled.
"No such thing will occur," Elizabeth explained with a small wave of the hand. "I wanted to check up on Ingrid while also meeting our so-called troublemaker."
Ingrid had the decency to blush. "I may have been hasty, Elizabeth," she admitted as Elizabeth frowned softly. "I made a mistake that shouldn't have happened and I… I know I need to pay for that."
"Hold on, that's why she's being punished by both Margaret-baa-chan and Chiffon-senpai," Naruto said with a frown as the two girls looked at him. "She's got enough punishment on her plate, don't ya think?"
"... Well, I see you're as odd as the rumors say," Naruto began sweating at Elizabeth's words. "Honestly, I think it's a bit much to be called a Freezing Angel sent down to gift Limiters new powers is a bit… much."
"For what it's worth, that sounds stupid to me, too."
"Hmph," the blonde girl smiled. "Glad we're in agreement, Naruto Uzumaki," she hummed a bit. "I hear you're to fight Arnette and Creo after tomorrow. Are you sure you can try and do so in your current state?"
"Hmmm, it might be close but I think I can pull it off," Naruto said with a nod, confusing his fellow blonde. "And, even if I can't, we could just move it to Friday secretly so it's a match only we need to be in on."
"I find myself left trying to find the right words for you and yet I fail to do so," the Rank 2nd said with a finger tapping her chin. "Honestly, I believe the only times this has happened is when Andre surprises me with a date every now and then."
"... Glad to help?"
"Hm, hm, relax, it's fine," Elizabeth said as she came in and took a seat across from both beds, the middle of a three-seater right between both injureds' beds. "... I'm curious, Naruto, do you find our system wanting?"
"A bit," Naruto said instantly, getting a curious hum from his upperclassman. "I think it's fine to have rules but when it comes at the cost of someone in the system who literally didn't even try to break them for the sake of doing so, but to defend themselves, I think that the system needs to also try to understand that not all situations are the same."
"Hmm, that's not incorrect," Elizabeth said with a nod. "There is no such thing as a perfect system but systems should also have people making decisions with them in mind… I've read the report," she said with a grimace. "And everything that transpired against you and Ms. Bridgette during that altercation was, without a doubt, wrong. I know we can seem rather… bloodthirsty when it comes to the rules," Ingrid blushed a bright pink.
"... I mean, yeah, a bit," Naruto answered back with a small laugh. "And I get you but, still, surely we weren't in the wrong in that situation, right?"
"To defend yourselves? No, not in the least," Elizabeth said with a sigh. "I think Attia simply got the bare minimum of the situation and reported it back. She even told me that she had to apologize for causing you both undue harm."
"..." Naruto scratching his bandaged cheek in thought. "I think she realized it back when me and Ingrid-senpai fought. She really seemed like she was trying to stop her from going too far to the point and even stepping in to help me and try to stop senpai."
Elizabeth blinked at that. "She didn't… Haa, that girl," her eyes softened. "Feeling that guilty isn't any good for anyone," the platinum blonde said before shaking her head. "I need to send her some milk chocolates."s
"Hehe~" Naruto grinned at that. "I've noticed it for a while now, you guys seem to really take care of each other," Elizabeth blinked before she smiled. "Having people like that to have your back's pretty important. Tell her she's forgiven, I don't think she's a bad person."
Elizabeth chuckled a bit. "And I thought I was here to try and gauge you," she shook her head, smiling fully. "That said, you are as odd as the rumors say if not in other ways."
"I try," Naruto said. "Understanding one another is important, I believe. If we can't we're kind of screwed," he said with a sweatdrop. "We have to work together and I'd rather that be because we understand one another instead of forcing each other to. This isn't a knock against the military ranks, I mean it, I'm just saying that we also need to remember that we're all people at the end of the day. We need each other."
Elizabeth closed her eyes at that, humming in an agreeing fashion. "... Yes, that's true. People do need to speak and talk with one another more, that's a good mindset to have."
"Heh~"
Elizabeth found this talk far more enlightening and calming than what she had expected from the rumors.
What a pleasant person.
~NRK~
The day came and went, the next morning saw Rana in the two's medical room.
"I believe you should focus more on yourself, first-de arimasu," she whispered to him, dressed in her school uniform as her eyes peeked at Ingrid's side of the room.
"It's fine," Naruto reassured her. "It's been nice getting to talk to Ingrid-senpai when we're not at each other's throats."
"Mmmm," she pouted at him and Naruto ruffled her hair. "Hmph, if something happens, Naruto-kun. I'm not gonna be nice next time-de arimasu."
"Hehe~" Naruto chuckled. "I'll be fine. Trust me, I was in way more of a disadvantage yesterday when Elizabeth came by."
"... Who?"
"She's No.2 of the third-years."
"E-Eh?!"
He chuckled as they chatted for a bit more before Rana got up and left, waving at him through the glass of his and Ingrid's medical room as she exited their sight.
"Rana Linchen, yes?" Ingrid asked and Naruto nodded. "The new transfer after Kazuya Aoi. Where are all these odd ones coming from?"
"Trust me, me and my friends are wondering the same thing," Naruto said with a sweatdrop. "I get the feeling that whoever ends up coming here this year is gonna be a weirdo of some kind. Call it a hunch."
"You'd call yourself a weirdo?"
"Yes."
"... I see," Ingrid looked amused by this subject, her and Naruto's faces now clear of bandages with the bandages around their stomachs also gone. "One more session with the healing machine and I'll be handling my punishment."
"Yeah… Sorry," Naruto said, confusing her a bit.
"... You truly are an odd one," Ingrid said with a tilt of the head. "I believe you'll find yourself in odd positions of power if you keep that up."
"Ehhh," Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "While that sounds nice if I can help people more no matter what, I don't think I'd care," he said as Elize came into the room. "Hey, Doc."
"How are you feeling, Naruto-kun?" Elize asked as she raised a brow at his hands raising his top, his stomach's bruising smaller than before. "I see, you used that healing skill again, right?"
"Yup," Naruto grinned as the green-haired woman prodded his stomach at odd intervals before she nodded and he put his top down. "Ingrid-senpai figures it'll take maybe one more set of sessions."
"You really are amazing," Elize said with a smile as she wrote some stuff down. "Had you not used your own skill, you two would have been laid up for at least five days. In just under two, three at most, you're both almost fully healed."
Ingrid nodded, clenching and opening her hands at random intervals. "His ability feels more potent than the machine," she observed and Elize's eyes widened before she quickly wrote down the third-year's testimony. "The machine feels like your veins are being filled with Aloe Vera while his feels… warm," she admitted with a blush as Naruto grinned.
"I'm taking in the natural energy of the world around us to heal us," Naruto explained and Ingrid stared at him like he was crazy. "By doing that, we don't have to worry about our bodies being overstressed since we're given natural increases for however long I can keep my field up. This skill of mine is gonna be super useful for helping people."
"It will be," Elize said with a smile before turning to face him. "That's also one of the reasons I'm here, right now," Naruto raised a brow. "Naruto-kun, would you have me submit this information to Chevalier?" Both bedridden students' eyes widened. "I won't if you don't want to. I have my own reservations about doing this to you when you've only just got here."
"..." Naruto considered it. "I… I don't mind but you said you wanted to wait?"
"Yes," the doctor smiled. "Outside of wanting you to be capable of moving should immediate action be taken, I want you at your best when you make this decision. Maybe you'll want some of the Limiters to actually get a grasp of some of these skills of yours first."
"Yeah, that sounds good," Naruto nodded. "And, actually, my family was going to introduce these when we did our showcase in the coming months. It's gonna be around when we're off for break to go home."
"Want to wait until then, then?"
"Sure."
"Alright, we've got a set date," Elize hummed as she tapped her lower lip with the back of her pen. "... Also, some bit of inspiring news, actually," she grinned. "Sister Margaret's actually been considering giving these skills a subset name, you know~?" Ingrid's eyes widened in disbelief. "Since you're basically the creator of High-End Limiter skills."
Naruto blinked thrice before he started laughing.
"Dude, that sounds awesome!" Naruto said with a grin. "What did she call them? Are we just going with High-Ends?"
"Here were the names she came up with," Elize offered that piece of paper Margaret had written on. "She's pretty good at naming but she wanted to know if you had any good ones."
"I like True-Limit Skills," Naruto said after some thought. "Though maybe something like Absolute Frost skills sounds fun, too."
"Hehehe, sounds cool," the doctor said and both students found amusement in the pun. "Well, it's not finalized yet, think on it."
"I will!"
~NRK~
Attia Simmons hesitated before she opened the door to her dorm room to see…?! "I-It's you!?"
"Sup, Attia-senpai," Naruto said with a grin and a salute, Ingrid and him walking around on their own power, now, five hours later. "Just wanted to check in on you. Make sure you're alright, see if Elizabeth-senpai sent those chocolates."
"Y-You knew?!" Attia said before looking inside and then out. "Come on in," she let both in before closing the door.
Looking around, Naruto was starting to connect the dots. "Yeah, she wanted you to know that things are fine. I told her to send a message your way," the blonde said as he looked around. "Damn, no wonder Rana doesn't like to stay in her room. This place is so big!"
"He, he," Attia laughed nervously as she leaned against the back of her door. "Most people in the high ranks of their years get to have such big single rooms. Meanwhile, others typically bunk up."
"Huh," Naruto chuckled as he saw the little round table with two chairs underneath a big window. "Damn, you get a pretty good window seat, though, huh?"
"Hmph," Attia smirked at the pun. "It's probably the best seat in the room."
"I'm glad," Naruto said, catching her off guard. "You seem like you took our advice. I don't blame you for trying to follow the rules."
"E-Eh?" Attia winced. "I… I almost got you seriously injured and riled up Ingrid… How can you say that?"
Ingrid sighed as she sat on her fellow third-year's bed. "It's likely because he knows you're not the enemy," she answered, gaining Attia's attention. "I… After speaking with Naruto, it's come to my attention that he's not one to hold a grudge."
"Like I said a couple of days ago," Naruto said with a grin. "Staying mad all the time won't do me any good. I can get annoyed but anger, hate, is something people shouldn't dwell on. You're bound to end up in a bad place."
Attia stared at him for a moment before she let out a big sigh and slid down her door to sit at the bottom of it.
"I get it," she said with another sigh. "That doesn't mean I'm not still angry at myself."
"Hey, that's fine. It means you know better for whatever comes next," Naruto said with another grin and the silver-haired girl chuckled.
What a crazy blonde.
~NRK~
He sat on his bed, Rana bouncing up on its surface, her eyes on him.
"Everything alright-de arimasu?" She asked, sitting up cross-legged in the middle of the bed.
"Yeah, everything's pretty good, crazy enough," the blonde said with a grin as he let his upper half fall onto the bed. "Talking, clearing up misunderstandings, making sure people know their limits, and just finalizing some things. Honestly, it seems like everything loves to come at me when I'm in my hospital bed," Naruto said with a chuckle as Rana fell forward, head on her crossed arms and next to his. "... Hey, Rana-chan?" She raised a brow as he blushed a bit.
Sitting up, Naruto turned to her and the Tibetan girl took three seconds to realize what this was about.
She shot into a sitting position, face red but her expression eager as she sat seiza-style, hands on her thighs.
"Y-Yes-de arimasu?!" She responded with a rapidly beating heart.
"... You know, we've known each other for a while," Naruto began, blush across his cheeks. "It's been pretty cool getting to know you and, well, I don't mind these overnights… ya know?" He rubbed the back of his head as she nodded quickly. "... Would become my-"
"YES!" She answered before he could finish, startling the younger teen. "T-That is, um," Rana proceeded to imitate her tomato ancestors, hands on her cheeks. "T-That is, I-I'd be honored, Naruto-kun!"
Naruto blinked before he laughed a bit, grinning at her.
At his new partner, his Pandora, and… well, whatever became of them after that.
"I guess this is the beginning of a new part of our lives, huh?" He asked with a smile and Rana blushed with a nod, crawling over a bit. "Huh, wha-?"
Blue eyes widened as a happy girl held him in a tight embrace, Rana's head snuggling into the crux of his neck.
"I-I'll be the greatest Pandora-de arimasu!" She declared to him as Naruto regained his bearings and reciprocated her hug. "P-Please be patient with me. I-I'm going to get far stronger as well!"
"Duh," Naruto placed his forehead to hers and grinned. "We both are. With the dangers to our lives and the world, we have to get stronger," he said with an encouraging smile.
Rana giggled.
Yes, learning, having fun, training, getting stronger together was their future together.
Arthur and Genessa chuckled as they laid on the former's bed, listening to their blonde and Tibetan friends finally take that next step.
"Hmph," Genessa smiled as she held him close, Arthur's grin coming to life as he reciprocated. "About damn time."
"Hm, hm, hm."
He smiled as he heard that conclusion finally come to pass.
'I'm happy for you two,' Kazuya thought as he laid back in his own bed. 'Now, what about myself?'
The fact that he was, as of right now, the only one of their friend group not in a pair, Kaho didn't count since she was a Freshman, made this fact all the more apparent.
The face of Satellizer came to mind and he blushed before covering his face.
'... Tomorrow,' he thought to himself with resolve. 'I'll see if she'll want to be my P-Pandora,' Kazuya groaned.
Who'd have thought his thoughts could stutter?
~NRK~
Satellizer let out a sigh, the silence from her left side not unusual but Genessa had also told her she was going to go and spend the night with Arthur.
So, she was all alone over here, hugging her pillow to her chest as she stared at the ceiling.
'Rana's been staying over there for a while now,' she'd observed. '... Did they…?' She didn't know but she knew that the two had shown more than enough signs of attraction for it to be highly possible. '... I'm one of the only ones in the group.'
Not counting Kaho, she was one of the two singles in their group. The idea made her thoughts go to Kazuya and she blushed further.
'I-Is he, also thinking about this?' She had a hunch he was and a woman's intuition was, typically, pretty accurate. '... What should I do?'
The idea of being alone even when she was with her friends was an odd but worrying thought.
She didn't want to just establish a connection because she might hold some form of jealousy, though. Even if she was happy for Naruto and Rana.
But the thought of pairing with Kazuya… The idea sent blood to her cheeks and she grabbed her body pillow harder.
… 'T-Tomorrow!' She told herself with some form of backbone. 'M-Maybe he's thinking the same thing?'
God, she could hope, at least.
~NRK~
Words: 11.1k+
~NRK Out~