~NRK~
Naruto blushed a bit as he waited at the train station.
Wearing a fitting dark blue shirt, he had on a sleeveless, orange, hoodie over it and had on a pair of black pants. His feet were covered by his blue ninja sandals while his pendants jingled against his chest.
"G-Geez… This is more embarrassing than I thought," he considered before pulling a blue headband from his vest's pocket and tying it around his neck. "... That kind of helped."
"I-I'm sorry I was late!" He heard a familiar girl's voice, getting a nervous swallow out of the blonde who mechanically turned to greet her. "D-Did you wait long?"
"H-Hey, Rana-chan."
The Tibetan girl smiled, wearing a dark blue, short-sleeved, qipao shirt and a long black skirt that came down to her shins, right above her black martial artist's flats.
Her hair had been let out of their typically tied-up confines and allowed to fall down her back in a slightly wavy pattern while she still wore her familiar orange hair bandana.
"... You look nice-de arimasu!" She said with a grin that got a blink out of him.
"... yeah, you're lookin' good, too!" He said with a grin as some of his embarrassment melted away. 'Duh, why was I so worried?'
This was his Pandora, his partner, his friend, Rana, he should stop thinking about all those stupid manga romance situations and just be himself!
Rana blushed a bit as she twirled some. "T-Thanks, I'm glad the others could help me with my hair," she said with a smile.
"Heh, we've got some good friends," he said with a chuckle as she grinned.
"Agreed!"
"Ah, there you two are!" Came a voice of the female half of a pair coming up to them, their senpais.
Chiffon smiled in her white sundress, which had long sleeves, and white heels, her hair covered by a wide sunhat. "You two look so cute!" She announced, getting chuckles out of the newly-made pair.
"I agree," Eugene said as they came to a stop, wearing a white polo and dark blue jeans that led down towards his brown loafers. "Did you have any ideas for what you were going to do today?"
"Actually, Kazuya told me that there was a fair or something today, I figured that'd be a good idea. Hell, he's supposed to be taking Satella-senpai there."
"Hmph, maybe we'll see him after our talk," Eugene considered and the others nodded as they entered the train station. "So, we considered doing this after the day's enjoyed, what do you two think?"
"Sure, I don't have a problem with that," Naruto answered with a nod as Rana hummed.
"I'm the same-de arimasu."
"Alright."
~NRK~
Getting to the city had been interesting for the Tibetan once more but the group, with their familiarity with the area, navigated far more easily before they arrived at their destination.
"Wow!" Rana's eyes shined at the noises, lights, and the sheer amount of people passing them by. "This place is so big-de arimasu!"
"It really is," Naruto said as he came back to the group with tickets in hand. "Come on."
"You didn't need to pay like that, Naruto-kun, I could have done it," Eugene said but the blonde chuckled.
"It's not like I'm hurting for money, either, senpai," he said. "And I don't really use my weekly allowance so it's getting kind of absurd, anyway."
"T-That so?" Eugene asked nervously as Chiffon snickered.
"So, which ride do you want to go on, Rana-chan?" Chiffon asked and the Tibetan looked around in wonderment. "Or did you not eat yet?"
As if summoned by Chiffon's words, Rana's stomach growled and the young woman giggled a bit with red cheeks as Naruto grinned.
"Then it's time to eat!"
Walking through the crowds, Rana blinked as she walked closer to Naruto before her hand was on his shoulder.
"They're kind of rude," she whispered and he chuckled.
"Yeah, I can say that this never really changes at little carnivals," he said before taking her hand in his and adjusting their hold before they were walking while holding hands comfortably. "Better?"
"... Y-Yes," she said with a blush and grin as the group made it to a booth. "... snff, snff… t-that smells so sweet-de arimasu," Rana said with some drool being swallowed back. "W-What is that?"
"That, Rana-chan, is funnel cake."
They quickly got their food and got seated before the three more experienced carnival-goers watched in amusement as Rana observed the sweet, sweet, fried cake.
When she lifted one of the pieces, it peeled off while letting out an explosive sweet scent that had her drooling more.
The trio chuckled as she tore into it.
"A… rollercoaster?" Rana blinked as they were at the front of the line for the event. "What does it do-de arimasu?"
"Hmm, it's a ride," Chiffon said. "Think of it like a small car that keeps you locked in before going at high speeds and sharp angles!"
"... That sounds horrifying-de arimasu."
"It's a hoot!"
"Come on, we're up," Naruto said with a widening grin as Eugene chortled.
They were led into the machine, Naruto, and Rana at the front while Eugene and Chiffon were right behind them.
As the ride's bars came down to lock them in place, Rana tensed, hand shooting out and finding Naruto's immediately.
"Calm down, I promise, it's kind of like moving around a Nova without the danger or worry of crashing," he said and Chiffon hummed.
"That's… kind of appropriate," she considered with a slight giggle.
"Hm?" Came a voice from some of the people getting on, the group turning to see… "Oh, I guess we found you sooner than Kazuya and Satellizer did," came the voice of Arthur Crypton as he and Genessa Roland sat behind Chiffon and Eugene.
Wearing a black shirt, white jacket, and dark blue jeans, Arthur chuckled as Genessa grinned in her white blouse, black belt, dark brown skirt, and small white jacket.
"Ever been on a rollercoaster, Rana?" Genessa asked as they were locked in, the Tibetan laughing nervously.
"N-No-de arimasu," Rana answered as the attendant signaled the full capacity of their seats, the carts locking further in place. "Aieeee!" She squeaked and Naruto began to sweat as her hand gripped tighter.
'Please, for the love of God, don't make my arm again!'
Then the machine began to move, much to Genessa's teasing grin and Rana's horrified look.
"W-We're moving?!"
"Y-Yes, Rana-chan, please, don't break my hand!"
Eugene snorted as Chiffon and Arthur chuckled.
They began the climb of apprehension as Rana felt her heart jump into her throat as they crested a hill of metal and were so high in the school, her soul felt like it'd been left on the ground.
"Nooooo!" She wailed as they dived.
"..."
"... For what it's worth, fainting isn't the worst thing that could have happened."
Naruto tried to assuage his partner as she laid her head down on one of the picnic benches the group was at.
"W-Was it that bad?" Kazuya asked as Satellizer also looked concerned and then worried as she looked at the death trap that they'd come out of.
They'd found the two when they exited, the pair had been coming away from a haunted house.
The Limiter was dressed in a black hoodie and white pants with brown sneakers while his Pandora was dressed in a top with frills and a pinstripe pattern while also bearing a skirt that came down to her knees, a short light yellow peacoat, and brown loafers.
"Well… Satella-senpai was interested in going on it, so…"
"Don't-de arimasu! It'll kill you!" Rana pleaded with a haunted look that got a pale sophomore for her troubles.
"Alright, alright… Sure, Rana may have fainted twice but it wasn't that bad," Naruto said as Chiffon snorted and Satellizer swallowed nervously. "Look, you go at high speeds all the time, this should be a piece of cake!"
"..." The El Bridgette looked ready to 'go ghost' before Kazuya sweatdropped at her.
"W-Well, how about the teacups?" Chiffon asked with the most innocent look on her face.
Eugene paled.
"T-Too fast!"
"Yay!"
"You're… Not beating… Me!"
"W-Whuwa!"
The group had lucked out and found a Pandora-certified Teacup ride… which had confused the underclassmen for all of ten seconds when they got on…
And then Chiffon decided to make things spin.
"I love the Tea Cups!" She cheered as Eugene held onto his seat for dear life. "I can go as hard as I want!"
"I-I know! Chiffon! I know!" He pleaded and, thanks to Naruto's lessons, was capable of actually keeping himself seated… though he wasn't sure how much that helped! "God, I can't even tell where the ground is anymore!"
"Why's she so crazy?!"
"You think you can beat me?!" Naruto declared as he tossed the wheel as well, much to his companions' horror. "I'll take everything you throw at me! And throw it right back!"
Genessa and Arthur choked as he upped their speed again somehow!
"Wait, please-!"
"-Don't do this-!"
"You damn blonde!" They shouted in unison as the only thing holding them in place was Arthur's fields and even that was being tested! "Dammit!"
Kazuya, meanwhile, just smiled serenely, loving every second of this while his Pandora hyperventilated.
"This isn't that bad, senpai. Why, when my sister was on these things, it was only the two of us! It was crazy!" He said and Satellizer's eyes went deranged.
"How is this okay?!"
"... Practice."
Rana, meanwhile, found her soul centrifuged out of her mortal coil… again.
"Come on, Rana-chan!"
"Gurggg."
He rubbed her back as she refound her favored position of the afternoon.
"I, uh, yeah, sorry, Rana-chan," Naruto apologized as his Pandora turned her head to him, eyes barely there. "Y-Yeah, uhhhh… h-how about you choose our next ride?"
"..."
"T-This is kind of…"
"Hush, Naruto-kun!" Rana said as she aimed with her ball before nailing the bullseye next to him.
"I'm sensing some anger-Blghrfghgdf!" The blonde made to say before he was dunked into the water tank below his seat. "Ggggrrbbbrhhh!"
Kazuya was nervously positioned next to him in a similar booth, the two of them wearing divers' bodysuits.
"T-This is a bit," he tried to say as Satellizer's eyes narrowed in on him, a ball in her hand. "S-Senpai, t-this is totally explain-"
She finally hit the target after three missed shots.
"I-I hit him!" She cheered as Genessa's grin crawled around her face.
"Yup, you definitely hit him."
"I-I know!"
Arthur nervously stood behind the two as the crowd laughed at the boothed-up two's expense.
"Ya know what?! Best three out of five!"
"And he doesn't learn," Eugene noted with some disbelief as Naruto was set up again. "You'd think he'd take one miss and be happy but no, that'd be too easy."
"Snrt," Chiffon snorted as the blonde laughed defiantly as Rana missed two shots.
"Hah, not so tough now, are we, Rana-chan?!"
"Ooohhh! Take this!" Rana steamed as she wound up and threw her ball of hopes and dreams before grinning as the blonde gaped at the hole in the target.
"That's not-Dammit!"
"Finally learned that your mouth has consequences?" Chiffon asked cheerfully as the blonde dried off his hair at their chosen picnic table. "Goodness, someone might think you like getting punished, Naruto-kun."
"... Why did you say that so weird?"
"You're imagining things."
"Of course I am," he said with a roll of the eyes as Rana came back with some meat buns. "I'm so glad this place has so many kinds of food."
"Same!" Rana said, looking far more refreshed than ever before. "I found goat cheese and everything-de arimasu!"
"Nice!"
"Alright, we're good," Eugene said as he came over and took a seat. "The others are going to join some kind of eating contest… for a gold wiener dog, oddly."
"... Ya know, Satella-senpai seems weird enough to want that."
"Naruto, I didn't say it was her."
"But I feel like it was her."
"... That's fair," Eugene said after a bit of thought as Chiffon giggled and Rana tore through a meat bun. "Alright, so, for this talk, is there anything you want to ask first?"
"... Hmm, well… Rana-chan," Naruto said as Rana nodded, swallowing her food before cleaning her mouth.
She then went on to explain what happened to her in her dream, every detail said, explained, and spoken.
When she finished, though… Chiffon's eyes snapped open as Eugene choked in disbelief.
The two could see the woman's eyes' colors and pupils on full display of being brightly colored and bearing the same pupils that Naruto could gain when he went all-out.
"... You're different, Naruto, this isn't me being playful, teasing or anything… you're an anomaly in what could possibly be explained and that's confusing," Chiffon said after a moment, eyes soft and non-accusatory. "Your powers, your skills, your body… something about you is different and yet so similar to my own, Kazuya's, and my siblings."
"You've got siblings?" Naruto asked and Chiffon smiled with a nod. "... So, wait, how do you tie in with all this, Eugene-senpai?"
"You remember when I told you that Gengo Aoi basically saved my family?" Eugene asked and the boy nodded. "Well, I really was thankful to him for helping my father and, kind of stupidly, said I'd do what I could to make up for it… and he had a pretty painless task for me… Look after Chiffon, make sure she doesn't get outed, nor should she pair up with a normal Limiter."
"... I'm guessing that Chiffon-senpai doing a Baptism with a normal person would cause something?" Rana asked.
"We don't really know," Eugene said with a shrug and a chuckle. "... but, from observing you, it's clear to me that, yes, something unusual would happen and she'd have to deal with this person not in on her secrets."
"Oh, wait, then I'm confused," Rana asked. "Then, Eugene-senpai, how are you able to use Freezing?"
"I've been implanted with one of the manufactured stigmata," he answered. "It's been tuned to match what a normal Ereinbar Set is supposed to be like, mind you, so we don't get asked too many odd questions."
"Huh, that explains a bit of it," Naruto said. "Even Arthur couldn't tell, could he?"
"I was worried, at first, but he said it's faint but there," Chiffon said with a relieved smile. "... Though, on Arthur, I'm… really concerned," she said with a frown.
"Why?" Naruto asked. "What did he do?"
"It's not really his fault, it'd probably be yours," he nearly faceplanted, sweatdropping with a nervous laugh. "Hmph… Naruto-kun, I'm going to ask… have you ever felt anything coming from the center of West Genetics?"
"... Yea, I have," he said and the two urged him on. "It's something I never really noticed before I was capable of using my Maelstrom Circuit technique but the moment I could, I could feel things in ways I never did, the signatures around me were completely different since I was basically bathed in my own energy and if I so much as tried to spread it out, I could find everyone in an instant… And that's when I felt that… person?" He said unsurely to the two.
"... Yes, she is," Chiffon answered with a nod. "... Rana-chan, what you saw, felt, and were protected against in your dreams… Well, for one, that was not a dream."
"... I had a feeling," Rana said. "It was too real, my body felt so vulnerable afterward-de arimasu."
"I understand, I really do… Haaa, what you saw and interacted with was something known as the Transcendent Will. The beginning of all life in this form of our existence."
"... What?" Naruto blinked in confusion as Eugene sighed.
"It's going to be hard to explain but give us a moment."
They explained everything about it that they could, the Will's hand in everything's creation starting at the Big Bang and so on.
Then, they explained how Nova were connected.
"It's sending them here?" Naruto asked in disbelief as Rana looked terribly uncomfortable. "J-Just to destroy us?! Why?!"
"Quiet, Naruto-kun," Chiffon said with a frown as the boy winced. "And, well, not even people like myself know."
"What do you mean, senpai?" Rana asked. "... It was circling you… h-has it done something to you?!"
"Well, not directly," she said. "When Gengo Aoi interacted with the Will, it sent down a messenger, Maria Lancelot. In a way, she was the leader of what the Nova were and it's hard to explain but the thing is, she didn't want to destroy humanity. It's… I don't truly get what changed her, I have my own reasons for why I wouldn't want it to happen, but she truly didn't wish for that end."
"..." Naruto closed his eyes and considered it all. "... Maybe this Will isn't as completely in control as it is," he said as his eyes opened, determined bright blues peering at the three around him. "And she knows that. If even a part of this thing can disagree with it then there has to be a good reason for it."
"Even if she said that it was inevitable?"
"Hehe, you know how humans work, Chiffon-nee," he grinned defiantly. "We don't care about the impossible, much less the inevitable."
"... Hm, hm, hm," Chiffon giggled as Eugene rubbed the back of his head while Rana's eyes lit up with flames of passion.
"Well said, Naruto-kun!" She praised him as Naruto chuckled. "He's right, senpai. If Maria-san chose to help then clearly she must be looking for a way, right?"
"Well… That's not a bad way of looking at it," Eugene considered with a hum. "The Will's control not being absolute means that more of its 'pieces' can disobey its orders. This is true, I mean," he chuckled as they looked at Chiffon who smiled. "Chiffon."
"Hmm, well, yes, I and my siblings are weird," she said with a smile. "So, with all that cleared up, the issue with Arthur still stands, what should we do about it?"
"Well… I think he'll come to me when he's ready but if nothing else, I can just talk to him about it. Maybe I can even tell him that I think it's the reactors… Ugh… I really don't like the idea of lying to Arthur," Naruto considered before grimacing. "I seriously don't."
"I know, I'm sure you'd like him to be aware if only to keep him from being a danger… Actually," Eugene considered it as Chiffon frowned.
"That's playing with fire."
"It is but isn't it better than him just trying to find out on his own and getting into worse trouble?" He shot back and Chiffon sighed. "I'm not saying that we tell him everything there is to know but hiding things from people… when they know something's up is basically the worst thing someone could do and cause them to feel untrustworthy. I've spoken to Arthur before and he's a good person but he has slight self-esteem issues with how we all were passing him by two weeks back."
"... I understand, at least, I hope I do," Chiffon said with a hum. "... Let me talk to him, I feel like he'll know something's up with me anyway so it'd be best to have him actually speak to me about this."
"Thanks and I'm sorry, Chiffon," Eugene said.
"Same, sorry, Chiffon-nee," Naruto said with a shaky grin as Rana nodded.
"... Honestly, you all are so…" Chiffon pouted at them. "Hmph, fine. Though, don't you have more questions, Naruto-kun?"
"Well, what do you think really happened with Rana-chan?"
"... That I wish I could tell you," she said, looking at Rana with a raised brow as the Type-Maria giggled nervously with a shrug. "The other thing is, Rana is also a Type-Maria, Gengo knows that she's a woman born with stigmata in her body but he doesn't truly get just how difficult it'd be for women like her if it weren't for people like you, and your father, I'm assuming, Naruto-kun."
"She said my energy pulled her back… but I didn't feel a thing," he said as Rana hummed.
"... We should tell you about everything that happened when we connected-de arimasu."
So they explained what'd happened when the two of them linked up, mentally, during their meditation training.
"That's… a planet?" Eugene asked in total disbelief as Naruto chuckled nervously. "Naruto, who has a planet for a soul?" He asked, playfully put out. "Talk about being special."
"H-Hey, sometimes, it's just that I'm built different."
"Like the moon, the stars, and planet Earth."
"Geez, don't be insecure."
"I am not… maybe a little, I want a planet."
"Snrt," Chiffon snorted. "I'll have you know, planets can be big and unwieldy… actually, that makes perfect sense for Naruto-kun."
"Oi."
"Hm, hm," Rana blushed before getting an idea. "Oh! Maybe we should do it right now-de arimasu."
The other three blinked at that before considering the idea.
"Well, it probably wouldn't hurt to try," Naruto said with a widening grin.
"... I kind of want to see a soul planet," Eugene considered.
"Still on that?"
"Yes, I am."
"... Honestly, this would probably be for the best," Chiffon said. "But not here. Later tonight, come to my room and we'll do it there."
"Gotcha," he said as he felt everyone's signatures heading their way. "And perfect timing, too, they're coming back and I don't think anyone won," the blonde said with a laugh as the group came into view.
They looked dead on their feet with only Satellizer looking any kind of accomplished with a golden dog trophy in her arms.
"G-Guh," Genessa groaned. "W-Where does she k-keep it-Hrk!" She covered her mouth and swallowed down the horror. "Oh, God."
"And that's a cue for them to hit the bathrooms-de arimasu," Rana said as the four of them nodded.
"End our suffering."
~NRK~
"Whoa… I-It's actually a planet?!" Eugene said in disbelief as the four of them appeared in Naruto's… mindscape, he called it? "T-This is ridiculous!"
Chiffon was simply focused on the horizon.
"It's beautiful," she said and Rana smiled softly.
"It is," she said as Naruto landed near them. "The horizon's pretty nice, Naruto-kun."
"W-Well," Naruto blushed a bit before laughing. "I can't really change how things work here, I think, so that's just how things are," he said as Eugene nodded. "Now if we look up, you'll see what we mean," he said, doing as he suggested before his cheeks twitched.
"... I-It's…" Rana swallowed as those six blue lights on her back appeared. "I-It's closer."
Chiffon frowned at that as she saw the line in the distance, its thickness was easily a quarter-wide in her view. "How small was it before?"
"Like, half an inch?" Naruto said unsurely with a frown as he crossed his arms, looking at the damn thing. 'This damn thing tried to do something to Rana-chan.'
It annoyed him how this thing could bother his partner.
The others blinked as they looked at the annoyed blonde who remained ignorant to the seven orbs appearing around his back, four of which were glowing bright gold.
Rana made to say something but Chiffon placed a hand on her shoulder and pressed a finger to her own lips.
"Let it play out," she whispered to the two who nodded.
The orbs glowed before the glowing ones expanded outward and shot around the planet, their owner blinking as he looked left and right.
"Uh, did you guys just see something?" He asked the others who laughed nervously. "?"
"It's, well," Rana tried to explain only for the group to blink as the 'planet' beneath their feet shifted. "... What?"
The light below them changed in shape as they were soon standing in the cupped claws of a large ephemeral being… no, a fox-like avatar.
The planet turned into a giant fox, holy hell!
"What the what?!" Chiffon balked as Eugene's pupils shrunk before the group was surrounded by a ball of energy within its grasp. "I-I have no idea what's even happening right now!"
"N-Naruto-kun, what were you thinking while looking at the Will?" Eugene asked nervously while the blonde… looked nostalgic? "... Naruto?"
"... I wasn't happy with what that thing tried to do to Rana and kind of wanted to… well, either punch it in the face or get away from it, you know, normal stuff."
"There's a lot not right with you," Eugene said with a sweatdrop. "T-There's a giant-fox-Buddha-Gundamgundam in front of you and you're not even REMOTELY BOTHERED?!"
"W-Well, it's kind of cool?"
"... There's a lot to be learned about my fated one," Rana considered with crossed arms and a nodding head as Chiffon chuckled nervously. "He's a really weird one-de arimasu."
"Right."
As they spoke, the group noted that the avatar's tails swept together in front of it in a coiling fashion… before Naruto blinked as his body…?!
Glowing gold, he blinked before laughing as he floated up by the coiled hole.
His hands raised and his eyes narrowed while gold energy converged in front of it in a spiraling fashion.
"N-Naruto-kun!?" The three called out.
"I've got this!" He said with a wide grin as two long ears extended off his head with a long fox-like tail coming from his tailbone. "Bijuu… dama!" (Tailed-Beast Ball/Bomb!)
When it finished condensing, it exploded away from the group, knocking the avatar's tails back so they could watch that bright, star-like, attack soar across this mental cosmos around them.
"W-What's it doing?" Chiffon wondered as the blonde's familiar form, to him, faded away and he slipped back into the orb. "Naruto!?"
"... Uh, well," the blonde rubbed the back of his head but his grin was shooting on all cylinders. "Watch," Naruto said with glee as the group looked up, back at the white line.
When the gold attack disappeared from their normal vision an explosion of the color slapped against the white line in a way that froze Chiffon's blood.
What? What had just happened… H-Had Naruto just attacked…
Had he just harmed the Will?
The sheer magnitude of what had been shown to her made everything he'd done before minuscule in comparison. To everything he's done, to everything humanity has done up to this point… because the blonde had just-
A white ring appeared around her body and… she stared at the smallest, tiniest, almost impossible to see chip in the ring.
"... Well, I guess I got to punch it-" Naruto began to say only for Chiffon's hands to slam down on his shoulders. "C-Chiffon?!"
"Naruto… What you just did…" The Nova-Human hybrid child of Gengo Aoi and Maria Lancelot stared at him with such a face of complete and total shock. "Y-You really just hit it."
"... Yup."
"... You've officially just become a crazy person," Eugene said in disbelief. "Y-You hit it!?"
"Well… yup."
"... You're amazing-de arimasu!" Rana said before laughing repeatedly with a full-on laugh. "You hit it!"
"Hehe."
"... I have literally nothing to say to this," Chiffon realized with a swallow. "I-I don't… What world am I living in right now?"
"Earth… kinda," Naruto responded with a grin.
"... Well, he hit it, what does that mean?" Rana asked their senpais who took some calming breaths. "Is this a bad thing? Good thing? Weird thing?"
"Well, it's certainly weird," Eugene considered for a bit before just laughing. "My God, you hit it. I can't get over that. As for what this means… we don't really know."
"This goes beyond normal speculation, Naruto-kun," Chiffon continued. "Even Gengo can only disrupt the Will, he can't harm it like you, apparently, have. You're not just attacking some energy in the sky, you're attacking a concept… with emotions, question mark?" She uttered in confusion before looking at the fox avatar. "... A Will… You're attacking it with your WILL! That's why you were capable of it! You've got such a strong will, you fought back!"
"... Huh," the blonde rubbed the back of his head as he looked at the familiar, black-marked-up, fox avatar. 'So, even now, you're helping me, huh, Kurama?'
Considering the bijuu… Naruto looked back at the Transcendent Will with a form of… sadness that Rana caught.
She put her hand on his shoulder and he smiled at her with a bit of apprehension as her glowing stigmata's shine flickering a bit before staying strong.
"This is kind of weird. I know this is gonna sound weird, too," he said, gaining their upperclassmen's attention. "... I'm kind of sorry I hit it."
"..."
"... You wot?"
"Don't get Australian on me, Eugene, I… Okay, like, I was a bit angry with it and, yeah, I don't want it to mess with Rana-chan… but I can still feel sorry and disagree with it. Like you two told me, it's a concept but I think it's more than that. If it can speak to Rana then it has to have some kind of 'soul', yeah?"
"... Naruto-kun… Y-You're scaring me," Chiffon said with a look of confusion that blonde felt sorry for causing. "You… I… I was only told something similar to that, twice, by very powerful men."
"Gengo-ue and Obito-san," Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "While only Obito-san truly wondered if we couldn't speak to it."
'I'm glad,' Obito seemed to have really changed and wanted to understand this thing like he did. "I'm glad he does. He's probably thinking about the fact that we can even interact with it in some way… Hmm," he cupped his chin in thought-
Chiffon's hands came up and pushed his hand back down, getting sweatdrops all around.
"C-Chiffon-"
"No," she considered him like he was some sort of prized insect. "None of that, you're going to hurt yourself one of these days and I'd hope you do that only when you're, possibly, 143 years old."
"Weirdly specific."
"Call it a talent."
Coming out of the emotional world, the four sat on Chiffon's room's balcony, her set-up was similar to Elizabeth's with a table that had numerous chairs around it.
They sat in four of them and just considered their situation.
"Naruto-kun," Chiffon said.
"Hm?"
"I want to send a report of this back to Gengo-ue," she said and the blonde blinked.
"Actually, about that, why are you calling him your pops?" The blonde wondered and Chiffon smiled, eyes open and turning to the moon in the sky.
"... Kazuya doesn't know," she reminded them of this, Naruto and Rana nodding. "... He helped create me and my siblings from the tissues of himself and Maria Lancelot."
"?!"
"?!"
"... What?" Naruto grimaced. "... Did you have a life, nee-san?"
"... Hm, I'm repeatedly shown just how kind you are," Chiffon said with a serene smile. "And, yes, I did. As we speak, most of my siblings are also living their lives in a home somewhere in Japan thanks to Obito-san."
"... Alright. Huh, how'd he do it?" Naruto wondered and she grinned.
"You see, he's special like you in ways of his tissue being odd and the result of that being powerful but none more so than his eyes," she said, pointing at her own as Naruto wore a nervous smile.
"H-His eyes, you say?"
"Yup. He's one of the few working under Gengo-ue, he helped manage the power inside of us by manipulating our energy into a form of limiter that could even contain Maria's powers," she said as she turned her head to the side and spread out her hair.
It was like a small bolt bar by her hairline, it could even be mistaken for an accessory if just barely seen.
"It limits your powers-de arimasu?" Rana wondered as Chiffon nodded, letting her hair cover it once more.
"I go back and get it seen every month or so. Obito then helps us store it, he's kind of incredible. Sometime soon, the news will reveal that a man by the name 'Kamui' has possibly changed what we know about how to interact with Volt Weapons. He's that man under a fake name."
"K-Kamui, huh?" Naruto chuckled a bit before snorting. 'Dammit, Obito!' Seriously?!
The bastard knew it'd get a rise out of him!
"Also, for that report, yeah, go ahead and send it," he said as he slumped in his seat. "I'm guessing this is all super-secret, isn't it?"
"It is, not even Chevalier knows about this information," Eugene supplied. "Gengo-san is a good person but he doesn't think the general populace would take well to knowing that some big entity is trying to turn them into pure energy through the Nova."
"... I feel like it's kind of backward."
"I'm not surprised you do… hmm, let me guess, you think that by having such a big enemy, we'd band together, right?"
"... You guys are catching on."
"You're very straightforward," he said as Chiffon giggled. "And, basically, isn't that what's already happened with the Nova as is?"
"... I mean… yeah?" Naruto hummed. "I think he's taking too much upon himself, though. He's putting the weight of the world on his shoulders, likely, because he thinks only he can stop it, right?"
Obito came to mind and the blonde hoped that the changed man could turn Gengo's thinking around.
"You really are good at understanding people, aren't you?" Rana wondered as Chiffon hummed and Eugene chuckled. "Honestly, he's like one of the gurus up in the mountains. We should take you there one day and see what they say about you!"
"Really? Huh…" He rubbed his chin with a widening grin. "I like it!"
The three chuckled at him.
What an amazing blonde.
~NRK~
The following morning, Obito blanched at the report sent to him by Chiffon in the kitchen.
'Naruto, you magnificent son of a bitch!' Sorry, Kushina! 'Gengo probably-'
"OBITO! SU-NA!" Came the shout of the man from within the home and the scrambling of Su-Na. "COME IN HERE! BIG NEWS!"
"I saw it!" Obito shouted back, rushing to the man's room in his black pajamas, and found a similarly-clothed, panicked-looking, Su-Na by it.
Gengo nearly pulled the door off its hinges as he gestured them inside before slamming the door.
"Have you two seen the file?" He asked immediately.
"I have."
"I-I did!" Su-Na looked alarmed. "S-Sir, this information-"
"It changes a lot of what Chiffon told us about the boy," Gengo said as he sat on his bed, a bottle of wine ignored on his nightstand with a full glass. "The boy can harm the Will! T-This information is not just powerful, it could very well tip the odds in our favor and we might be capable of defeating that damn concept! Su-Na, read the file."
When she did, they considered all the information sent to them before latching onto the 'reason' why Naruto Uzumaki even could attack it.
"... Do you believe he's like you, Obito-kun?" Gengo wondered as he digested the entire file. "Do you think he has some form of special 'sense' for interacting with the Transcendent Will like you can with your eyes?"
"... I think he's different, far more powerful as we know, in this regard," Obito said as his eyes blinked before black orbs were replaced by glowing green eyes with three tomoe in each. "He's doing this on the emotional plane while I can see energy in such a way that I can look at the… there's a chip in it," he explained only to look up, through the ceiling of their home and into the sky above with a twitching eyebrow. "He put a chip in the Will and I'm looking at it right now."
"Amazing," Gengo cupped his chin as he considered it all. "This 'avatar' she spoke of his own 'Will' becoming… could this boy be our true savior versus the Transcendent Will?"
"Now that, I don't think so," Obito said.
"She said that he was only able to see it recently… and that this only happened after Rana Linchen, the Type-Maria Pandora he's paired with, was… offended, I supposed, by the Will itself… These children are doing things that shouldn't be possible for normal Limiters and Pandora," Su-Na noted with confusion. "But it's likely that this can all lead back to Uzumaki-kun. They're not even 'Baptized' yet, she's told us."
"..." Gengo considered that. "It's rather interesting that he'd find himself a partner that was a Maria-Type while he sports growing, transforming, stigmatic tissues like Obito's. Yet his tissues are continuing to change if what Chiffon says is true, he's slowly becoming something… different and could possibly fend off the Will itself."
Obito cupped his mouth and frowned beneath. "... He's just a boy, Gengo, we need to remember that if he can hurt it already, he could just destroy it once he's old enough and gained more understanding of the world around us."
"... You're not wrong," Gengo nodded after some thought. "And he's going to be with his parents after next month… I need to speak with all four of them, the Uzumakis and Rana Linchen. Kazuya also found himself interested in this Bridgette girl, Satellizer, that's going to be troublesome if Howard gets his hands on any of this."
"I doubt she's told her father anything," Obito said. "Satellizer has shown to have issues speaking with her parents much less having a good relationship with them."
"Obito, you baby him too much, sometimes," Gengo said with a groan as Obito chuckled.
"He's literally fifteen, I don't baby him, I just think he should get to enjoy some of his life before any of this craziness comes to a head."
"Not incorrect… still, this isn't just good news on his end, this means that the way to reach the Will has been confirmed. It has to happen in the emotional realm with people who can already view it," he said as he looked at Obito. "That makes me wonder-"
"If I can interact with it, right?" Obito finished and Gengo nodded. "... Being fair, Su-Na and I haven't ever done this technique before," he said as the Pandora's face paled.
"I-It's dangerous, most likely! I'm different, what happens if my own feelings, the other side of me, tries to attack you?" She shook her head and Gengo nodded.
"We understand, Su-Na… but, surely, it'd be better to at least check," he said with a determined gaze as she flinched. "This isn't fair to you, I know this, and I will apologize, but if not with you-"
"I-I'll do it," she said with a grimace, face down before she was in her beloved's arms and she stuffed her face into his chest. "... This… I don't want you to hate me, Obito."
"And I won't," he said with a warm embrace. "You know that I've seen that part of you already. You were right in that you had a darker part to you but I think it's also to do with the fact that you never got reached out to… but," Obito held her at arm's length and smirked. "You've got that now, you're not some monster, you really just needed a true partner."
She stared at him before burning bright red as Gengo chuckled.
"Hm, hm, I'll leave you two alone."
"We're n-not children!"
"Oh, are we assuming that my grandson and Ms. Bridgette have… ahem, formed the 'beast'?"
Su-Na stuffed her face back into Obito's chest.
"Smmpid Gemmo."
Obito snorted.
~NRK~
They looked up at it as Obito activated his eyes… and, soon enough, they were surrounded by an astral blue ball with wings at the back of it.
"... It's similar to what Chiffon noted," Su-Na said as they looked around themselves. "... So we can see it… and if you have this 'avatar' of your own, you should also be capable of interacting with it."
"True. Now," Obito looked around and Su-Na blushed. "I don't see a shadow Su-Na, I just see normal Su-Na."
"S-Stop, that's not safe, who knows what could pop out?!"
"Oh?"
"O-Obito!"
"So, how'd it g-And she's gone," Gengo said with a raised brow as Su-Na came out of their 'trance', blushed, and walked off with a chuckling Obito left behind. "... Look, porn is less expensive than what you two could have done. Don't do that to me."
~NRK~
The week for the group passed by with one word defining it all.
Training.
She expanded her senses before shooting them out in triplets around her.
"... Ohhh, that makes sense-de arimasu," Rana said with a grin as Creo chuckled.
"Good, the same number as me, huh?" The white-haired teen said before Rana grinned and her afterimages dissipated. "... I guess you're not that great since you've just learned it."
"Teach me!"
"Like Naruto had been told, you need to not think too much about it," Ingrid said as she came up to the two. "For now, focus on using one copy and make it move as you do."
Meanwhile, Satellizer skirted to a stop by a wall of the Simulation Room, Arnette humming as she considered her.
"H-How's that?" The blonde asked.
"You're moving better. We saw how you circumvented the interval for your Accels but that's going to be a whole other problem if you tried to use it during an actual fight," the redhead said as she skipped all about her fellow Accel-Type.
"T-There's no sounds?" Satellizer blinked before turning her head at the feeling of someone ruffling her hair. "H-Huh?"
"That was actually me," the skipping Arnette said, getting a tilt of the head from her underclassmen. "... God, you're like a cute puppy!"
The blonde blushed bright red.
"That's even better!"
"You can't keep riling her up like this," Ticy said with a flat expression.
"But it's so easy!"
"Hmm, one more time, Mr. Uzumaki, Andre, try hitting all his targets," Elizabeth commanded as her Limiter stood in front of her who nodded.
Naruto nodded by the wall, several individual hexagons of his arranging themselves across the wall, sitting in a meditative stance as he formed that ring of his Freezing, eyes closed.
"Take aim, Andre."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"... Fire!"
"You all as well," Elize said to Garou, Leo, Mark, and Abebe who nodded, following Andre's example.
He aimed and shot as well as he could while Kazuya, a bit away, had his arms held out at his sides, his field forming into a circle of that diameter.
"Okay, I'm ready," he said to Arthur and Eugene who nodded.
"Alright."
"On three."
Abel was at the sides with a stopwatch, watching the floor.
"One… Two… THREE!"
They activated their Freezing and two thick strips rushed Kazuya before slamming into his field as Abel clicked his stopwatch.
"Done!" The two cut off their fields as Kazuya dropped his, looking at Abel with interest. "So, it took you guys 1.5 seconds from a distance of 20 meters. That's pretty above average for most fields that try to connect."
"It needs to be faster," Arthur said with a hand cupping his chin. "Alright, let's try the formulas again!"
"Alright."
The way it's done, even if I shouldn't be saying this," Chiffon began as Genessa and Kaho nodded. "Is that you should build Volt Textures in your body and then expel it out into the mental image of your body. That's for Tempest-Types."
"Alright," the redhead said as she focused on her stigmata. "Pull it in and, kind of, build it there?"
"That's the general idea," Chiffon supplied. "Kaho, you should focus on Volt Texture enhancement with Attia."
"Alright, let's do this, Freshie," the silver-haired girl said as Kaho laughed nervously, following after her.
"... I'm concerned."
"No, that's warranted."
Naruto focused as his floating ring grew wider, the teen expanding the energy ring as he finished encircling his second gate internally.
As he moved onto the third gate, he breathed out and the area around him spasmed with random flashes of blue energy that were slowly turning gold.
He focused on his third stigmata and, the moment he encircled it, he felt another change take place.
He opened his eyes, his cross-shaped pupils and golden irises looking down at his hands, the ends… burning gold.
'...' He held it in front of him, cautiously. Didn't want another accidental explosion of force aimed at his comrades, after all. "It's version 2," he considered his limb before going back into his meditative stance. "Once I get all four of them, I'll start sparring with Chiffon-nee."
Doing that was probably the safest yet best training. Of course, he'd need to test out his new limits… but once that changed?
Oh yeah, they were going to fight.
~NRK~
Come Friday evening, Naruto hummed as he and Rana fought.
They skid back from an exchange before lunging back at one another.
"You're… getting better!" She said as she threw out a kick that he blocked before Rana pushed forward and down, bringing her body down to his midsection.
Twin palms flew out and slammed into Naruto's stomach before sending him flying back and bouncing off the wall.
"Hmph!" His eyes glowed and he was upon her once more, small rings around his limbs but his notable golden energy wasn't there.
She blocked his palm strike but grunted as he rotated down at a ridiculous speed and threw an elbow into her stomach.
Rana flew back before hitting the ground in a roll that she backflipped out of with her arms raised.
Naruto's jump kick was blocked before she threw him off, the blonde backflipping into a ready stance as Rana did the same.
Their forearms cracked painfully against one another, thought those on the sidelines.
"They're really going at it," Abel noted as many of the other Limiters nodded, the group drinking water during their breaks. "Talk about putting in the work, that makes my forearm hurt," he winced at another loud crack.
"He's already doing what he can in his fields, for now, training physically is his best kind," Ticy said as the Pandora around her nodded. "Honestly, I wonder how many Pandora here even have a defined fighting style."
"I don't."
"I know I don't."
"I did some fencing for two years."
"Oh, same here! Three years and coming!"
"Karate."
"Yep, yep, yep."
"I know I don't," Chiffon said and the Pandora didn't even question it, much less wanted to address that matter. "You know, having big claws for a weapon kind of limits you, hehe."
"... That's for the best," Genessa said. "Call it a patch Chiffon-point-one and call it a day," many agreed with the gaming terminology.
"I'm going to have to agree with Chiffon," Elizabeth said as Attia snickered. "I mean, being fair, lasers don't make for a physical fighting style… less we give Naruto some time, in which case-"
"He'll have an idea!"
"Yes."
Elize snorted at the 'unity' on display. "Honestly, you'd think he was their mortal enemy with how much information they have on him," she said to Kim who chuckled in her coach uniform. "... I should probably wear those, too," the doctor considered as she lifted her coat. "This doesn't breathe all that much."
"There are some extras."
"Thank you," she said, going to get changed.
"Phew!" Naruto grinned as he fell on his rear, arms behind him holding him up. "The Seimon Hyakku-Ken is something else, my ribs are more bruised than I thought was possible," he said to Rana who grinned with her fists on her hips.
"You're picking up the moments where you can use your martial arts advantages more-de arimasu," Rana said as she sat down in front of him, cross-legged. "What's the progress with Maelstrom Circuit?"
"Well, I'm almost on the last 'gate'," he whispered as he sat up properly before reciprocating Rana's posture. "The way it's going, I think I'm about to hit that next level, and then it's sparring with Chiffon."
"I kind of want to try that, too," Rana said in wonder before grinning. "Well, no time like the present-de arimasu!" She said as they got up before rushing over. "Hey, Chiffon-senpai!"
"Yes?"
"I actually want to spar with you!" Rana said and the Pandora half of the group choked on their water bottles while Chiffon's mouth began to widen into a large smile that Eugene coughed at.
"R-Rana-kun, t-that's not-"
"Why, I'd love to!" Chiffon said, already on her feet with the widest grin any of the group had ever seen. "Get your water and stretch, Rana-chan! We're gonna have some fun!"
"I will-de arimasu!"
Chiffon grinned as she moved to her desired space before beckoning Naruto over.
"Let me guess, a boundary?" He asked.
"You know me so well!"
Naruto snorted before she pointed out her desired area, he raised a brow.
"Huh, well, I've heard you have a whole different kind of Accel but is this really enough?" He asked after finishing marking off her sparring arena.
It was about a third of a football field while also being half that in width, like a decently big rectangle.
"That's a good enough space, trust me, Rana-chan, and I don't have that kind of speed… Actually," Chiffon tapped her lip before smiling some more. "Naruto-kun, I know this is going to sound weird but, at some point, I do want to see just how far Rana-chan can go when she's got her full support behind her."
"You mean our fistbump."
"Yup."
"Alright, I honestly don't think Rana's going to mind, I think she's just going to see it as more of a chance to go against you," he said with a snicker. "This is bound to be good."
Chiffon followed suit by performing her own stretches as the blonde went to check on the, also-stretching, Rana. "Ready to have some fun?"
"I know this is going to be fun-de arimasu!" Rana said as she pushed off the floor and landed into a crouch before standing up and stretching her arms. "I'll get to see what the highest in West Genetics will be like!"
"T-Trust us, that's not an easy wall to try and climb," Attia said with a nervous chuckle as Ticy considered Rana. "I-It's the Smiling Monster of West Genetics! How are you so excited by this?!"
"Hmm, hmm," Elizabeth crossed her arms with a hum, eyes closed. "We've all wanted to try and topple Chiffon Fairchild before during most if not all Carnivals we've been in. To this day, she's the reigning champion of every Carnival due to points alone that she only ever gained from ONE Carnival."
"Huh?" Naruto blinked. "W-Wait, hold on, there are, like, four Carnivals a year… i-it's been how many since you've been here?"
"Exactly," Andre said with a nervous clearing of the throat. "From her first-ever Carnival, Chiffon Fairchild gained 35,000 points and hasn't needed to gain any more since."
"..."
"..."
"... T-That sounds," Satellizer swallowed. "I-I only ever got 7,000 over four C-Carnivals."
"Which is respectable. If Chiffon wasn't as…" Elizabeth tried to find the word.
"A monster, Liz, the word you're looking for is monster," Arnette noted with a chuckle.
"... Perhaps, yes, was she not that your progress would be commendable. Hmm, even now, that's an impressive amount of points, you should be proud of that… but Chiffon's a whole different person."
"... oh, I can't wait," Naruto said with a widening grin as Arnette snickered.
"Yes, my people!"
"... Oh shit, they are," Creo realized in some form of horror as Abebe snorted.
Most of the Pandora laughed that fact, Arnette's battle-junkie attitude one most of them were used to.
"Alright," Rana cracked her knuckles as she locked gaze with a quickly grinning Chiffon. "I'm ready-de arimasu."
Naruto chuckled before walking her over and standing at the side in a 'referee box' that he'd made just then.
"Remember, Rana-chan, we've yet to see her Illusion Turn! Your way of getting into her guard is to attack from her sides!" Naruto said as he and Rana bumped fists.
A spark passed between the two and she nodded. "I know what you're saying."
"Huh?" Arnette blinked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Chiffon-senpai said it, didn't she?" He said quietly, watching Chiffon's gaze for if it aimed his way. "Rana's reaction speeds aren't to be laughed at, that's what she's gonna need to bank on."
"That's not untrue," Creo said. "She's capable of even reaction while disorientated, she's got a way of turning a bad position into her advantage."
"She's both athletic and full of power," Garou said with a nod. "Like a coiled-up string."
"But Chiffon's not a pushover," Ingrid reminded them. "Even if we don't see her in action often, it's never pathetic, she's garnered her reputation for a reason."
Naruto nodded before looking at the two combatants. "Are both combatants ready?" He asked.
"Yes, I am!" Chiffon said as she lowered her stance, hands held up like she was trying to scare someone.
"... Oh no, she's doing something new!" Naruto realized as Rana laughed. "Uh, yeah, Rana-chan, you ready?"
"I am-de arimasu!" Rana answered as she activated her Volt Weapons. "I'm coming at you with everything I am, Chiffon-senpai!"
"I'd expect nothing less!"
"Then this fight between Chiffon Fairchild and Rana Linchen… BEGIN!" Naruto declared as he swiped his arm down.
There was a torrent of wind as Rana charged at Chiffon, arms raised in a tight block over her head.
When she was a meter away, Chiffon crossed her arms as Rana threw out a cross that nearly knocked the older Pandora's block away.
'That's incredibly powerful!' She'd seen how powerful Rana's Kugas were before and this was on a whole different level. '... Naruto-kun,' the answer was clear.
Rana didn't let up as she sent Void Fang after Void Fang at her senpai.
'Don't let her gain any footing,' the Tibetan thought as she sent a blow at the Monster of the West's thigh only for her to vanish. 'Illusion Turn!'
They'd never seen it before so, as she saw the afterimage before her, something warned her of a danger at her side-
She barely bent back to dodge the rushing force that was Chiffon's punch.
"Well played!" The hybrid said as Rana kicked up, knocking her fist offline before bringing her body down, foot denting the floor where it landed as she twisted her body and slammed a fist into Chiffon's side-
Forearms, into Chiffon's forearms as the older woman turned, crouched, and blocked all at once.
'Insane!'
"That was kind of…" Arnette was impressed. "... We kind of never have seen Chiffon fight any Pandora recently, so we don't really know her true capabilities, do we?"
"She just barely does physicals," Kim stated as Elize nodded. "We know she works out and can hit like a truck but that's it, she's never really wanted to put in the effort," her eyes narrowed as she nodded at Chiffon. "I guess she finally gets to fight people with your group getting stronger."
"You mean Naruto," Ingrid corrected and Yu-Mi snorted. "That's a hard if when it comes to those she's known for this long, Rana and Naruto are the recent outliers."
"Ooooh! Don't tell me that! I'm getting fired up!" Arnette whined as Attia, Abel, and Arthur snickered. "I'm gonna show her who she can go all-out against!"
"And the Mad Dog returns," Leo noted with a chuckle as Elizabeth smiled.
Rana charged and they engaged in several blows.
'As I thought, her blows are sharper than Creo's,' Chiffon thought as she knocked on off-target only for Rana's body to rotate into a vicious backhand that she barely blocked in time.
They were sharper than Creo's in general with the other hand-to-hand Pandora having sharper jabs.
Rana, meanwhile, pushed her body further as her blocked backhand turned into a grab that she pulled Chiffon down and her left knee into the back of her head.
The woman slipped out of her grapple, bouncing back a bit.
"Okay, okay, you're really impressive," Chiffon said with a grin as rose her arms up at her sides and her Volt Weapons enclosed around her arms, the large clawed gauntlets held at the ready as Rana breathed out.
'Full power!' She held her arms at her side and, soon enough, her Holy Gates opened, allowing golden wings to sprout out. 'I'm sure they're different because of Naruto-kun, no time to wait!'
Naruto hummed as Rana's 'wings' had changed somewhat.
The two long wing extensions now had a slight angle to them with two small spikes of energy forming beneath both wings, the six points glowing bright gold.
"They changed," he noted to the others and they nodded.
"Your influence most likely, qui?" Andre asked as Arthur chuckled.
"Qui, he's developing a new way to handle his own powers, it'll likely have effects on whoever he uses it on," Arthur nodded with a hum. "This change is probably more powerful, too."
Rana then proved that fact as she vanished from her spot.
'Faster than before,' Chiffon noted before her eyes narrowed as several Rana copies appeared around her. "Getting good at Tempest Turn are we?" She asked as the copies rushed in.
Chiffon sliced through the first before blocking another, leaving her front open to the third clone-
"Grk!" She grunted as someone attacked her back, gaining her attention. 'Get in while I'm occupied and thought she disappeared?' It was a good strategy.
Chiffon flexed and allowed her Volt Textures to burst out, knocking the copies away only to grunt as Rana seemed to have kept her footing and sent another burning blow into her back.
"Enga Bokou." (Burning Fang Outrage)
It was like her back was set aflame and, soon after, Chiffon flew into the far wall.
Her clawed weapon pushed out and it stopped her flight against it before she slid down, screeching metal beneath each finger ringing out.
The damage was apparent as the group saw the smoking back of Chiffon before it vanished behind the No. 1 Pandora of the third years' back.
"... She allowed her energy to coil around her fist," Naruto determined with a nod. "And by smashing that, and her fist, into Chiffon's back it burst and let out a ton of heat."
"I-It's not even is it?" Ticy wondered in disbelief as Abel hummed.
"Rana seems to have the upper hand for now but Chiffon hasn't activated her Volt Textures yet," he said and the group nodded.
"But I think that's going to change," Naruto said, convinced.
'That hit was more powerful than a lot of things that have hit me,' she realized as she caught sight of Rana once more. 'This isn't just her strength, this is her and Naruto's power pressed against me…' Chiffon giggled a bit.
Oh, what she wouldn't give to fight the two at full strength… but something in her grew excited for, for some odd reason, she knew.
One day, she'd fight them, the three of them going all-out and that day would be one of her most enjoyable moments.
That said, for now, she grinned as she stood in opposition of the slowly inching forward Rana.
The girl's eyes never lost focus as she gave up her inching before outright walking up to Chiffon.
The Monster of the West's smile could have killed a kitten as she beckoned the girl forward.
The moment the younger woman was within reach, her fist snapped out at the hybrid-
A loud smack echoed out as Rana struggled, Chiffon's now uncovered hand gripping hers, her Volt Textures set to full power.
Dark blue eyes narrowed and Chiffon gasped as a flowing stream of gold surged up Rana's arm.
"... O-Oh-!" She barely got out before the younger female's fist found her face and sent her sailing.
"S-She really copied you," Eugene realized in horror as even Naruto was surprised.
"... She's a hell of a woman," Naruto said with a laugh after a moment. "Hell, yeah, kick ass!"
"Ah, yes, the cheerleader role of being a Limiter," Mark declared as Attia snickered. "I know it well."
"And no one's surprised," Andre said with a slowly widening smirk as Mark slumped while Leo laughed nervously a bit.
"You're too mean to him," Elizabeth said with a sweatdrop as Andre bowed to her.
"Qui, madam."
"That's not a good response."
Chiffon recovered with a flip, landing on her feet once more as Rana charged her.
She adjusted and each fist thrown her way was blocked with precision before she caught one and flipped the Tibetan before rearing her fist back.
Rana choked as a heavy fist, uncovered by a Volt Weapon at all, slammed into her midsection, cratering the floor beneath her.
'W-Way too strong!' Rana mentally gasped as she coughed up blood before grimacing.
Chiffon wondered if that would be the end only for Rana's legs to come up and lock around her neck.
The next moment she felt pain burst through the back of her skull as Rana slammed her down onto the ground headfirst.
'Oooohh,' Chiffon moaned a bit as she grunted. "That hurt," she said as she jumped to her feet and swung Rana into the wall at their side.
Denting the wall, the Tibetan rolled to the side to dodge as Chiffon's fist dented the wall.
They locked eyes and lunged-
"That's enough!" Naruto declared as he caught their fists, small energy rings around his wrists giving him the strength to stop them cold, the floor beneath his feet cratering. "This spar is done, go cool off!" He said as he flipped both before throwing them out of the 'ring'.
The girls landed upside-down against the wall as the blonde shot them a disapproving look, arms crossed and foot tapping.
"... Hehehe…" Both giggled nervously as he shot them a flat stare.
"You two get way too into it sometimes," he said as the entire room threw him a flat look. "W-What?"
"As if you're one to talk!"
~NRK~
The following days saw the blonde practicing his newly-increased powers.
"You're at the level of No-Interval Double Accel," Arnette noted with a clap of the hands, Naruto coming to a skidding stop in front of her as she stopped. "And this is with three of those 'gates' of yours under the effects of Maelstrom Circuit? Hmm."
"Y-Yeah," Naruto said as she breathed out, the rotating ring surrounding him falling away as he wiped some sweat off his brow. "So that's, twenty laps, twenty room-wide sidesteps."
"Twenty weighted dodges thanks to Elizabeth," Arnette noted as the Pandora in question bowed.
"It's the least I could do for helping Andre," the No. 2 said and Naruto chuckled.
"No problem, senpai," Naruto thanked her, body full of welts. "I'm glad my defenses also increase or else this'd be way worse, haha."
"It is interesting," she said as she floated into the sky with the help of her SSS, Stigmata Satellite System, Volt Weapons. "You've taken more hits than anyone else I've shot these at. And they're no laughing matter," Elizabeth said as she demonstrated, shooting one of her stigmata-shaped weapons at the wall.
It was lightning quick and left a slightly seared hole in the metal walls with some twist to it.
"Have you been able to add a spin to it?"
"A bit, being fair, I've never thought to try and manipulate the beam coming out of my weapons. I'd practice using them, not literally changing them."
"First time for everything, yeah?" Arnette said as she turned around to see Satellizer and Kaho sitting against the wall, water in their hands, as Ticy and Attia gave them tips as the Limiters handled some equations with a whiteboard. "They're getting good at this. While Kaho can't really do any High-End Skills, she's actually pretty good at Volt Texture control. She's been giving Satellizer tips."
"Yes, it's rather amazing what even a Freshman can do for her," Chiffon said as she appeared behind the blonde male who snorted.
"Nice try, nee-san."
"Dang it," Chiffon said but her mouth set in a grin that told them she wasn't remotely serious. "Honestly, this sensory skill of yours, that's going to be an amazing skill if you ever have the unfortunate honor of facing one, I think you'll be a key factor."
"Hehe~ Sounds good," Naruto said with a grin. "What about you, senpai? Try out any of my ideas? Any progress?"
"Hmm," Chiffon considered it, holding out a fist that began enveloped by Volt Textures that spiraled off around her wrist. "Yes."
"... You're seriously ridiculous," Arnette realized with a nervous swallow. "Then again, so is our fellow crazy Limiter," she said, turning back to Naruto who chuckled. "You are getting way too strong, way too fast! It's not fair!"
"Didn't you literally touch Triple Accel-"
"Not the same thing!" She interrupted with a hot whisper, looking around. "And, for your information, no one knows about that yet."
"Except the three of us," Chiffon said with a chuckle but Arnette chuckled darkly.
"I'm setting my limits, Monster, I'm gonna beat Ticy in the next Carnival."
"... Hm, hm, hm, I'm liking where your head is at, Arnette!" Chiffon grinned, much to the redhead's concern. "Honestly, everyone's getting so much stronger, hasn't it only been a month or so?"
Behind them, Rana, Creo, Ingrid, and Genessa ran around the perimeter, the three older females having their three copies around them while Genessa, amazingly, had one following her movements.
"I'm glad Genessa-nee could prove that she's strong," Naruto said. "That said, it's crazy that she could still do it, isn't it?"
"Yes," Chiffon hummed. "For her to have pulled off even one clone must mean she's pretty adept with the technique."
"What do you mean?" Naruto wondered as Elizabeth floated down.
"You may be surprised to learn that there are limits to what someone with the High-End Skills can do," she explained. "For example, Attia can't perform anything above Accel. No double or triple, she's stuck with that one. That said, she's on par with Ingrid and Creo in three copies. I can perform Double Accel but only make one copy of myself, I'm an All-Rounder like her but you'll see that both our skill ceilings are different."
"That's crazy. Huh, so why'd you think that Genessa could be a real prodigy with Tempest Turn?"
"Because, while rare, some Pandora are capable of learning High-End Skills earlier than usual. Satellizer's one of those types and, possibly most favorably, so is Genessa but they're differing types. If Genessa's capable of this much with stigmata that aren't that mature yet? She's incredible and could possibly go over three, possibly four, copies of herself."
"... Heh and with her weapon, she's bound to be a terror."
"..."
"..."
"... That's horrifying," Arnette said but her mouth set in a grin that the other three chuckled at. "Man, all these underclassmen are really lighting a fire inside of me! I want to get more weights!"
"Sounds good," Naruto said before grinning, his Maelstrom Circuit back up. "Let's do some more!"
~NRK~
With Friday behind them, the students of West Genetics ate amicably in the lunchroom.
"I'm telling ya, I-I think I'm onto something," Genessa said as she formed several spearheads tip-to-end-to-tip. "It's like a spiral sword!"
"Maybe you should focus on defense," Chiffon said. "I mean, would you really want to have to learn both a new sword style and Tempest Turn? Remember, you can't spread yourself too thin."
"I-I know and, I'll have you know, the Kettenrüstung (Chain Armor) is coming along well. I can actually push the chains faster without hurting myself," she said with a fistpump as the group chuckled. "I'm ready for anything!"
"You sure?" Creo asked as Garou frowned.
"You mean the latest news?" He said, confusing their underclassmen. "... You all don't know… Can I have everyone's attention?!" Garou said to the room as all chatter came to a halt, Ticy nodding as he got them to stop. "Many of you may be unaware but, as of 5 hours ago, the 10th Nova Clash has been declared to have hit East Genetics!"
The lunchroom froze before murmurs hit everyone's ears.
"This was told to the second years and third years but for anyone who was skipping, sick, or not available for the class, this is news that everyone should know of. That is why the fourth years have disappeared from the campus for anyone who was curious."
"Thanks," came the collective call.
"You're welcome."
"Snrt," Naruto snorted at that as Rana sweatdropped. "Dude, are you your class president? I'm curious."
"As a matter of fact, I am!" He declared as the blonde, Arnette, Arthur, Leo, and Attia began to laugh at his confidence. "I keep all students within my reach aware!"
"We're glad!" The five said with snickers bleeding off of them.
"?"
"Don't worry about it, Garou," Creo said with a large smirk as her Limiter nodded. "Now, what did you cook that you won't let us eat anything else?"
"I call it the healthy-calorie intake!" He declared as he uncovered the large dish on the table to reveal breakfast food. "If you've never tried keto, the pancakes are made of all forms of proteins and grains. I made the syrup from scratch as well as well."
"It's kind of dry but it's not bad," Creo said as she tore off some of the turkey bacon. "Trust me, it's pretty good."
Naruto tried some of the pancakes along with Abebe. "... Hmm…"
"I-It's kind of… tasteless," Abebe said with a twitch. "... I want my coffee."
"Nope! Eat your food, it's good for you," Garou said as Arnette snorted but took some of the bacon.
"The bacon smacks though," she said as she chewed on it.
"The world will end before I live without my coffee!" Abebe declared.
The lunchroom grew silent as Abebe blinked, skin beginning pale as something came in from out of earshot.
"W-What?"
CODE 1 ALERT! CODE 1 ALERT!
ATTENTION ALL WEST GENETICS STUDENTS EQUIP WITH LEVEL 1 REINFORCED ARMOR!
"W-What's going… Guys!" Naruto shot up out of his seat. "THERE ARE TWO NOVA COMING IN FROM THE SIDE OF THE ACADEMY!"
The lunchroom exploded into rushes as the announcements continued.
ALL UNITS ASSEMBLED AND MOVE TO DESIGNATED AREAS IMMEDIATELY!
"Fuck!" Arnette's eyes widened before she grimaced. "W-What should we do?!"
"Do as the announcement says!" Chiffon announced to the lunchroom over the sirens. "All years assemble to the barracks next to the dormitories! Don't waste any time going into your rooms! You'll find your uniforms when you get there!"
The students swallowed before following her orders, many of the Pandora-Limiter pairs using the windows to exit while those not in pairs used the stairs.
"You all know what to do," Chiffon declared as the group nodded. "Satellizer and Genessa show Rana to the barracks. Andre, lead all the boys to their barracks!"
The group separated with the pairs hugging one last time.
Rana nodded to Naruto before the pairs were led out the windows and separated on the ground.
~NRK~
"Naruto, how many of those suits do you have?" Andre asked as the group ran.
"Three in total, so two for anyone else," Naruto said from the front next to him, senses raised. "... That's weird, I can feel the fourth years coming back."
"T-That's good!" Abebe said as Mark frowned.
"What was weird?" He asked.
"... There are smaller signatures along with the Nova," the blonde said, shocking the group as they came upon the large crowd of Limiters. "I… They feel like Pandora who have way too much Nova in them. I don't like this, guys."
"That's bad… Uzumaki, Aoi, Crypton," Andre spoke up. "Go and get suited up with Naruto's wares, right now, Naruto's more helpful on the battlefield than here!"
"On it!" The Freshman nodded with narrowed eyes as they went into the doors. "Stay safe!"
"We will!" The older boys said.
~NRK~
They got suited up quickly.
Kazuya, in his combat outfit, grimaced as his fingers shook before he clenched them into a fist. "T-This is really happening."
"It is," Naruto said as he donned his orange, hexagon-covered, gauntlets.
Wearing his black ninja sandals, orange pants with bandages around his right thigh, and a black shirt, Naruto's eyes narrowed as he clenched his hands.
Arthur had gotten a suit of his own while dressing for the situation in a pair of white cargo pants, black combat boots, and a thin white jacket with a hood.
He looked down at his hands. "... We have to do this," he said to Kazuya who grimaced before nodding. "T-This isn't easy for me, either, Kazu… I-I'm barely holding up," Arthur said with a shaky voice as the boys nodded.
"You'll all make it through this," Naruto declared with narrowed eyes as he looked between them. "We're going to win today, nothing fucking else!"
"Yes! Nothing but victory!"
"Damn, right!"
They ran out of the dormitory dorms and headed towards the barracks.
Thankfully, just in time to catch unit assignments.
"There you are," the man at the front said with a nod. "Uzumaki, you're to meet up with Rana Linchen at the South gate focused towards the Nova! Can you handle that?"
"Yes, sir!" Naruto said with a salute that Arthur and Kazuya mimicked.
"Good answer! Crypton! Aoi! You two are going to be placed near the Nucleotide along with Genessa Roland and Satellizer El Bridgette! Am I clear?!"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"Then every one of you knows your positions, get to it!"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
As they ran out, the Limiters enclosed.
"U-Uzumaki, I-I'm also going to be by the South gate. Please protect me if you can!"
"Me, too!"
"I want to sip wine with my girlfriend again!"
"Snrt," Naruto rolled his eyes. "You all will make it but you can't just rely on me, you've all trained hard. While not ready for up-close combat yet you've got training in, do your best! Am I clear?!"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
They separated with nods of camaraderie between one another.
"Hmph, luckily enough, Elizabeth and I will also be by the South Gate," Andre said and Naruto grinned.
"It'd be an honor, senpai."
"Why, likewise."
"Arnette and I will be by the Nucleotide," Abebe said nervously to Kazuya and Arthur. "S-So good luck to us as well!"
"Hm, hm, yes, Abebe," Arthur said with a chuckle as Kazuya lightened a bit.
"Same, senpai!"
"Attia, Leo, I, and Ingrid will be by the West Gate," Mark said. "The distance between the gates isn't small, either… but I'd hope you all can handle your side and help us out if anything," he said nervously as Leo chuckled.
"We'll do our best," he said.
"Where will you be, Garou-senpai?" Naruto asked and his fellow Japanese smiled.
"I'll be by the way towards the Nucleotide as well with Abebe."
"I and Eugene will be by the North Gate as well," Abel said as Eugene hummed.
"That's a pretty powerful position, alright," the Limiter of Chiffon said with a nervous chuckle.
"Thank you, Garou!" Abebe cried tears of joy as the Japanese boy chuckled.
"Morrison, you really aren't," Leo snorted. "We've got the school's strongest at our sides, can't really lose now, can we?"
"I'd say non," Andre said with a smirk as the groups separated. "Take care of yourselves, no needless sacrifices!"
"Got it!"
"We'll do our best!"
~NRK~
Getting to the South Gate, Naruto and Andre smiled as they came to a stop by their Pandora.
The girl's combat uniforms were a royal blue on the sleeves, skirt, and tie at their collar with cream colors handling their torsos. It looked like a school uniform and had black tights that lead down into dark brown boots. On their hands were brown fingerless gloves and their clothes were alight with their Volt Textures.
Rana redid her hair in that familiar style from when he and she first met while Elizabeth crossed her arms, her pair of weapons floating by her shoulders.
"I'm glad you two got here safely," she said with a nod as the group of students placed their earpieces in. "The estimated time of arrival for the enemy is 60 seconds," Elizabeth explained as the two nodded.
"Alright," Naruto slammed his fist into his palm before looking around with determination. "... Look alive! The opposition is on its way!" He shouted as the students around them jumped.
Then the gate door bubbled inward and Elizabeth's eyebrows furrowed as she raised a hand, her Volt weapons materializing as coiled projections appeared beneath her palms.
Her and Naruto's hands raised as the bubbling reached its max.
"Blast it back, senpai!"
"Indeed!"
Her Volt Weapons circled before a bright light formed as Naruto's wrists began encircled by rotating rings of energy.
As an explosion of energy burst towards them, they shot back, the two forces fighting against one another before Naruto twisted his hand.
Their attacks coiled and destroyed their opposition's, leaving the hole bigger than it was but with little more damage on their side.
"Thank you, Naruto," Elizabeth said with a sigh as she adjusted her bang, Andre chuckling as she did.
"No problem," Naruto said with a smirk as Rana snickered. "So, a rundown on these guys' energy, they feel like Pandora and Nova mixes-"
-All units! The West and East Gates have been attacked and invaded! The opposition that you all are facing are Pandora that have been infected by the Nova from the attack on East Genetics!-
Their eyes widened at that as Naruto frowned.
"I had a feeling."
"This is… concerning," Elizabeth said with a grimace as she looked out the hole they'd made with a bit of a sweatdrop. "... We haven't even seen them yet," she said as Naruto rubbed the back of his head.
"... Uhp, they're coming back," he said as two figures slammed through what was left of the gate. "... Hm."
It was both a Chevalier Pandora and another from East Genetics, both in their organizations' corresponding uniforms.
From out their backs, the group could see four, long, bladed objects. The next thing was that their hands weren't even human anymore, they were nothing more than long blades that looked like the ones on their backs.
"... It's saddening," Elizabeth said with a dark frown. "All of this, the Nova will pay."
"I understand," Naruto said with a frown before blinking. "Senpai, that thing, in the center just above their chests."
Elizabeth's eyes snapped to what he was talking about and her eyes widened at the sight of what looked like a dark teal stigma.
"The energy from that thing… it's spreading out and contacting the stigmata on their backs and since I'm pretty sure that's not where stigmata are supposed to be…"
"I see, we have to test it then, yes?" Elizabeth's hands raised while Naruto's and Andre's fields spread out. "All other personnel keep watch on the gates! Should more come, prepare to be in the first line!"
The others spread out, giving them their space.
"Andre-senpai."
"After you, Naruto-kun."
Naruto grinned as he spread out his connections to the other three, their eyes lighting up as Rana and the blonde male stepped forward.
"A basic formation," Elizabeth said with a chuckle. "But one that works."
The enemy appeared behind the two hand-to-hand specialists with their weapons raised-
Lasers slammed into their arms, tearing them off before Naruto and Rana rotated and stepped in.
"Nagarekari."
"Nagare Futan."
Their fists slammed into the two's abdomens, sending them sailing overhead where Elizabeth floated in waiting.
Her hands lifted before coming down, her Volt Weapons appearing above the two and her aim was true as they slammed into the odd stigmata.
The two bodies fell before being caught by Andre and Rana.
"... A very good job," Andre said with a smile as the odd features of the two Pandora receded slowly but surely as he and Rana set them down on the floor. "I've already informed the other students."
-Attention all Pandoras!- Came the announcement over their earpieces. -The targets' weak points are the odd stigmata in their chests! I repeat! The targets' weaknesses are the stigmata!-
"Nice, senpai," Naruto nodded before putting his fist to his palm and his Maelstrom Circuit sprung to life before forming around the two, currently armless at the middle of their forearms, Pandora. "Let's see how this…"
The two's limbs slowly began to… regenerate?
"... I believe you've become more potent than we believed," Elizabeth said with a raised brow as they watched his energy work. "... Perhaps it's because you finally mastered your Maelstrom Circuit?"
"I mean, that's all that I can think of," Naruto said as he kept healing them. "Go on ahead, when I'm finished, I'll catch up."
"... Alright," Elizabeth nodded as she began to float up.
"Rana-chan, go on ahead, alright?" Naruto asked her with a grin, the Tibetan looking confused.
"Why? I don't want to leave you here alone-de arimasu," Rana said with a frown as he chuckled nervously.
"... Fine, fine, I know better than to try and tell you otherwise," he said with a chuckle as she grunted with a pleased smile. "We'll see you later, then, Elizabeth-senpai."
"This is more relieving," she said with a nod as she and half the people there made to move. "When you get the chance, since I know you will, go and check on the others by the Ravensbourne Nucleotide."
"Hmph, you guys are catching on to me."
"Hm, hm."
The group left the two to heal.
~NRK~
"Ha… haa… N-Not so tough, are ya?" Genessa asked her enemy, one eye shut as blood fell from it and her stump of a left arm.
The redhead's body was riddled with wounds that flowed red with blood and tainted her clothes as, in the background a bit away, Arnette fended off another of these opponents on her own with Abebe's input where he could.
Satellizer sat behind her, horrified as she shakily got to her feet. "G-Genessa, d-don't-"
"H-Hmph didn't take you for a weakling, Satella," Genessa said with a shaky grin, head turning to look at a knocked-out Arthur on the floor.
This opponent… She was some kind of monster among monsters because the only reason Genessa was even still conscious was because Arthur was capable of giving her a view she didn't have.
Their opponent, having healed of all her damage, had tried to kill him and Genessa had done her best to stop it with Satellizer and Kazuya, the latter of which barely saved the Frenchman's life.
Speaking of, Kazuya was currently gasping against the wall a bit away, sweat dripping down his face as his left arm hung useless.
Overexertion of Naruto's abilities apparently meant a loss of feeling after a certain point, numbness.
She hoped he could heal from that as she turned to look at-
She was tackled to the side by Satella as their opponent slammed into the wall behind her.
"D-Damn, sorry," she apologized to the worried blonde which made this whole thing worse. 'I'm being useless.'
Getting stronger had always been a goal but this whole situation made her realize just how far she had to go to not see such a face on the supposed Untouchable Queen.
Or was it the Warm Queen, now? Heh.
They got to their feet and looked at her.
"I-I know this girl," Satella informed her with a grimace as she pulled her Volt Weapon into existence. "S-She's the East's… Godspeed… I think her name is Cassie Lockheart."
"W-Well, that ain't troublesome or anything," Genessa said but her chains encircled her waist and she hissed as it tightened in the needed places. "... Arnette's handling her opponent well with her Triple Accel. We just have to hold out."
Satellizer's eyes narrowed as she nodded, the two of them circling around the Novafied Pandora.
Her eyes shifted between the two of them before locking onto Satellizer.
"Hit 'em!"
The two of them lunged at her sides before their enemy vanished from her spot.
"Haa…" Kazuya grimaced at how heavy his arm felt.
Was this the petrification Naruto had told them about? It was so hard to use it… but his fingers clenched on that limb, still usable.
Right now, they had to deal with their opponents.
'Abebe-senpai is keeping up well,' he had to assume that watching after Arnette improved the older Limiter's reactions, they were a good team. 'I have to do the same for Satella-senpai.'
He watched as Genessa and Satellizer fended off the enemy Pandora.
She vanished in and out of sight, like a phantom, reminding him eerily of Arnette just across the way.
'Triple Accel?' If he heard Satella right, this girl had been known as the Godspeed. 'So she's faster than this?' Kazuya knew that wasn't good as he saw Satella get slammed into Genessa by a kick from the fast third-year. 'Focus on her feet.'
He watched her vanish from her spot and grimaced… before his eyes widened at an idea.
Kazuya focused and spread out his Freezing field.
A light field, a field that wouldn't really do much…
But one that was oh so fragile.
Satellizer's eyes widened at the sound of shattering glass behind her and turned with a swing of her weapon, knocking the Novafied Cassie Lockheart away.
"Glass?" She looked down and saw the Freezing field beneath their feet and followed it to the source. "Kazuya?"
"When she moves, she'll break it!" He said. "You two don't have to worry, just fight!"
Genessa grinned viciously as she raised five chains before sending them forward at their opponent whose eyes settled in a glare before disappearing.
The sound of crushed glass reached her ears and Satellizer glared as she turned and crouched low, her back illuminated by green wings.
She vanished from her spot and the forms of her and their opponent crashed into a wall by Genessa.
The redhead didn't hesitate, chains flying forth and snaking around the Godspeed's limbs before tightening and then rotating.
The older Pandora's limbs didn't last too long before basically being hacksawed off, her form hitting the floor as Satella and Genessa gasped for air, Kazuya's field fading away as their opponent sat against the wall, head down.
"W-We did it," Satella said with a grimace before letting her shoulders fall. "W-We did-"
The Godspeed's body shone as the three's eyes widened, shadows casting over them as Cassie's light began to overtake them.
"Shit-!" Genessa moved as fast as she could.
"No-!" Satellizer's eyes widened.
Kazuya's eyes widened in despair as the light began to emit from their opponent's chest-
The wall by the Pandora exploded, Rana Linchen's eyes moving towards the light to her left as gold lined her eyes.
A kick sent the enemy's body to the side as the blast tore apart the hall walls down the hallway.
"Haa?!" Satella let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding as Rana looked at her with a look of concern. "I-I'm fine, thank you, Rana."
"... I'm glad-de arimasu," she said before frowning at the now regenerating Cassie. "That's new."
"Y-Yeah, she's been doing that shit for who knows how long," Genessa explained as Rana looked at her as well, her golden wings shining over the two. "H-Huh?"
The appendages released some light over the two, golden motes of light touching their bodies before the two Pandora let out slight gasps as they were filled with warmth.
Kazuya blinked as the motes spread to him and touched his left arm, the weight in it lightening up.
"H-Heh, I guess Naruto's getting better at this," Genessa said as she felt some of her pain relieve slowly but surely. "Still, she's faster than Arnette who can go Triple Accel."
"That so?" Came a male voice, from the hole in the wall, as Naruto appeared, Maelstrom Circuit around him. "Alright," he grinned as he applied his rotation technique in full.
Gold flashed over his body leaving a golden flame of a human in its wake with rings of energy around his ankles and wrists. His features were still perfectly visible but not a single part of him was left untouched by the golden aura.
The Novafied Cassie's eyes snapped to him.
"Elizabeth-senpai was right, they latch onto the strongest thing in the room."
She vanished from her spot.
No Interval Triple Accel.
His eyes narrowed before he vanished as well.
A loud crash, crackle of metal, and dust appeared at the group's side as Naruto reappeared, fist on the abnormal stigmata.
The rotating ring around his fist's wrist expanded.
"Mini Frost Spiral."
He turned his knuckle and the stigmata shattered as the area around Cassie cratered, the effects of the odd stigmata slowly fading away.
"... U-Ugrk!" She gasped as Naruto lifted her up before throwing her arm over his shoulder, bringing her to the group. "I-I'm alive?" The teal-pig-tailed-haired Cassie said as her similar-colored eyes looked around at the others slowly before landing on Satella. "S-Satellizer?! W-Where am I?!"
"Hmm? Oh, well, we don't have time for that, we've gotta help… Never mind," the blonde began to say only to blink and laugh nervously as the group turned their heads to see-
A body rolled to a stop by the group's feet, a broken stigma on her chest, and the woman choking for breath.
"M-Mileena-senpai!?" Cassie choked as Chiffon, Ticy, Arnette, along with their Limiters, came forth. "... U-Uh, is she alright?"
"H-Hard… to breathe."
"... She's alright," Abel said with a nervous laugh as Arnette snorted, bruised to hell but looking accomplished. "... I'm guessing this is the finished product of your Maelstrom Circuit?" He asked Naruto who chuckled as his form glowed.
"... Why's he glowing?"
"He's weird, don't worry about it."
~NRK~
The following day, many were seeing off their fellow students alongside the Chevalier.
Atop the school's rooftop, Naruto, Rana, Satella, Kazuya, Arthur, and Genessa looked over the school's rooftop railings.
The group, as a whole, were wholly unharmed, a big advantage to Naruto's improved Spiral Heal.
"You're starting to make me think you're running with Disgaea ideas," Kazuya remarked as Naruto snickered.
"Well, Grand Spiral Heal sounds like the next step up," the blonde joked as the others chuckled. "... But, man we really just went through a Nova Clash," Naruto considered as the others hummed.
"... We really did," Genessa realized with a blink. "I-It doesn't feel real, ya know?"
"Don't we all," Arthur said as he rubbed the back of his head. "So, man, what do you guys think comes next?"
"Something normal-de arimasu," Rana pleaded as he wore a strained smile.
"Hopefully, not another Nova Clash," Satella said and the group, as a collective, grimaced and nodded. "... This was so stressful," she complained with a sigh before the group heard the door to the rooftop open, several steps coming through. "... Cassie?" She blinked and the Godspeed of the East smiled gently while Mileena stood next to her.
"Oh, how'd things go for you guys?" Naruto asked as he leaned back on the railings.
"Hmph," Mileena Marius rubbed the back of her head before bowing to the group along with Cassie. "Thanks for helping us, didn't think we'd make it out of that situation alive," she said with a sigh, her long black hair shifting as she came back up, her bangs coming down over her right black eye. "We found your upperclassmen already, we just needed to finish saying this to you."
"Hmph, no problem," Naruto said with a chuckle as Mileena snickered a bit. "I'm glad we were able to solve this quickly and with… well, fewer casualties if things were left to keep going for too long. I still need to go and visit Mark in the infirmary, give him some of the magic healing touches."
"That can't be misconstrued," Arthur teased as Naruto's face went flat. "That said, I'm sure he and Attia would appreciate it."
"... O-Oh, right, them," Mileena blushed a bit. "I might need to go and apologize. Call it weird but those names sound familiar."
"I'd hope not but you can never be too sure."
"... Hmph, thanks, seriously," Cassie said sincerely to the group. "I… I saw the videotapes a-and I'm so sorry."
"... Hmph," Satella flipped her hair back, arms crossed. "I could care less, things worked out, being stuck in the past doesn't help anyone," she said with a slightly haughty attitude.
"... Snrt," Genessa snorted before grinning. "Well, well, well, the Untouchable Queen is back in play!"
And the blush on Satellizer at the mention of that title made it all the sweeter.
"?"The two East Genetics students looked confused as Kazuya chuckled.
"W-Well, senpai just has an interesting reputation, is all," he said but Satellizer didn't seem to be taking it any better. "... Right."
"A swing and a miss," Naruto said as he came forward and threw his arms around both his friend's shoulders. "She's saying, in her own way, she's not feeling too bad about it. Why she's rather Shakespeare-like if you give her a chance," he lied like the snake he was as Rana giggled.
"I-Is that so?" Cassie asked as Mileena covered her face as her shoulders shook in with mirth behind her. "W-Well, I'm glad there are no hard feelings!" She said with a beaming smile.
"... You're a gem," Genessa said with a widening grin as Mileena did the same. "Really, how do you know this rather powerful girl?"
"W-Well if you don't mind a bit of a story."
"Tell us, please!" Naruto, Rana, Genessa, and Arthur said in unison.
"N-No! Don't tell them anything!" Satella screamed in complete and total embarrassment.
~NRK~
Elize and Margaret wore neutral expressions as the commander and a few other of the higher-ups replayed the clip.
What clip you may ask? Oh, just the one with Naruto doing another form of his craziness.
'This isn't good,' Elize thought as the group of men murmured and wore confused if not intrigued expressions. 'At least they don't think he's some sort of monster.'
"This is confusing information, as of the last Nova Clash, the council has come to the answer of finding out all that Naruto Uzumaki is hiding from them."
"He's not hiding anything, though!" Elize had to speak up now before this got out of hand. "Look, I have it on record, studies, notes, Naruto's own input, in my files. He's not planning to hide anything, he's actually going to have this all sent next week."
"?" The man blinked. "Wait, what?"
"It's true," Margaret supported. "The one known as Naruto Uzumaki has already been teaching the student body's Limiters how to approach his techniques, ideologies on Freezing, and training regimens. As we speak, if you watch the earlier portions of the video captures, you'll see how he's taught the students, Arthur Crypton and Kazuya Aoi, to the point that they made a big difference in the outcome of the fights with the Novafied Pandora."
"... If what you say is true, it will be alongside the demonstrations of the Uzumaki Arts Production," General Kouichirou Sasagami said with a hand on his chin. "That much information would be rather perfectly aligned, wouldn't it?"
"Does Minato Namikaze know of these techniques?" Radox Phantomheim asked with a frown. "And he never spoke of this?!"
Time to lie. "No, Naruto-kun has spoken at lengths about his father and he's completely different from his son. Naruto is a special case, a really special case. This is going to be revealed next week but, I want to impress upon you, it's going to be a large change in our understandings of the world and Limiters. All I'd ask of you is to simply wait for the following week, that's all."
"... If it really is going to just be revealed next week," Kouichirou considered, looking at Naruto's file before him. "I'm curious, Elize-hakase, Margaret-san, what is this boy like? I'm surprised that he never ended up at the Eastern Branch."
"Oh, that can be explained simply as him following his mother and father's footsteps towards West Genetics," Margaret said with a smile as Radox frowned.
"His mother… Kushina Uzumaki, she was taken under the, as of back then, Namikaze Industries after Minato Namikaze worked alongside his studies for a personal permit," he noted with some begrudging respect. "That's impressive."
"Really? Why didn't he try to become a part of Chevalier?" Sasagami wondered. "Oh, a foolish question, they made a family, did they not?"
"Yes," Margaret answered with a chuckle. "And as for the answer to your earlier question… Naruto is a boy who's closely bound to many here at West Genetics. He's come into conflict with many here but, through working out their problems, or noteworthy, beating the Rank 7th through 4th Pandoras of the third years," the men gaped. "He's not only established a connection with the top 3 third years but has also helped them see more reason and they all train on Fridays while having a collective sports day on Mondays."
"He's got influence?" Radox wondered.
"It's more like he's a good inspiration for the student body," Elize answered. "Naruto doesn't want conflict and seeks for them to work together as the forces of humanity that they are."
"... I see."
"He sounds as impressive as his father," Kouichirou considered with a cupped chin as Margaret chuckled.
"I take it you'd want such an aspiring student."
"Well, it seems that he's rather taken with his current campus… though, perhaps he'd like a cross-school education? Yes?"
"Hm, hm, we'll see."
As they talked more casually, pertaining to a certain blonde's education, Radox Phantomheim's eyes narrowed on the picture of Naruto Uzumaki before him with a generic file holding his information.
'The Limiter with the best physical scores in the world, huh?' He considered the boy with a grimace. 'He sounds too headstrong, though.'
He'd have to see what he could glean from this young man the coming week.
~NRK~
So, yeah, big changes while Naruto's completing his techniques.
Also, for people using Guest reviews, could you actually just make an account so I can answer your questions in real-time instead of 'whenever'? Please and thank you.
So, the date went well, Naruto and Rana punking on each other a bit is fun while Chiffon and Eugene give up the goods, so to speak.
Notice that I'm changing some things with the relationship Chiffon has, I don't remember her calling Gengo anything special but I feel like she'd have lived with him the longest as one of his 'daughters' so her applying the '-ue' suffix makes sense.
Also, from here on out, Garou will be comfortable enough that he'll use his culture more, totally just realized he's Japanese like Kazuya. Add on he's also class prez.
Yeah, the 10th Nova Clash was way easier with Naruto's input and training. Not only did Elizabeth and his group take out the opposing Pandora quickly but they also found their weak points quicker.
Add on that not only did Satellizer not Novafy, she, Genessa, Arthur, and Kazuya put up a good enough fight to take down a fully-enhanced Cassie Lockheart with no inhibitions, they should be proud right now, they can take down a legend+ with their teamwork.
Also, note that Arnette wasn't knocked out so easily in this path and with Genessa actually knowing a High-End Skill they could follow orders more.
Chiffon still came in to handle Mileena and things went really well with Naruto's healing skill increasing in potency, gee, regenerating limbs? He's sounding awfully useful right now, a certain commander named 'Radox' might be making his life difficult just for his utility alone.
We'll wait and see next chapter. Now it's time for some dances!
Oh and Naruto literally just punched the TW in the teeth and feels sorry! Our main character, ladies and gentlemen!
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~NRK Out~