~NRK~
The demonstration's end was certainly explosive as the group were approached, numerous times, by their potential benefactors.
Her eyes were as wide as possible, the sheer madness that had been done was beyond even her expectations!
"Dammit!" She cursed, slamming her hand against her desk, her fair complexion in her view. "I-If they think this kid can make more viable warriors-!"
A nearby speaker sprung to life and she blinked, olive-colored eyes looked past her long mauve-tresses to blink at it.
She pressed the button on it.
"Yes? This is Scarlett Ohara speaking."
-Ms. Ohara, it's been some time- Came the voice over the speaker, her eyes widening as she looked back to the screen.
"W-Wait, Commander Radox?" Scarlett said in confusion. "Aren't you at the event?"
~NRK~
"I am," Radox said as he walked down a passageway of the Simulation Center. "I had to get out of that fucking room."
-... What was the purpose of this call?- She asked over his phone as he listened in for others before entering an empty staff room. -Sir?-
"Ohara, what was the status of the E-Pandora Project?"
~NRK~
Her eyes widened, lab coat shifting as she moved to pick up some files off the other side of the room's file cabinet, her light blue blouse, dark blue skirt, and black heels shifting with each shift of a file.
"I-It's done, at least, the injection and working on their physical stats," she said with a grimace as something cold filled her gut. "That said, the newest medicine isn't so hot, it's causing rapid corrosion in the girls' injections. I don't think it's a good idea to continue with the Mark medicine."
-Do I need to remind you that we've got to find a way to bring these girls up to standards?-
"No! The problem is, even if they're not compatible, they've not had half the kind of training that Pandora can deal with. Much less will they have the right amount of experience. They need more than a year of training, sir, please!"
-...- He considered it, hopefully. -Scarlett, inform me, what exactly is happening during the duration of the drugs?-
Something within her froze.
~NRK~
"Oof, I'm so glad that's over with," Naruto said as he laid down on a large couch in his family's first room. "Off my feet and not in front of a million lights trying to blind me."
Wearing some more casual clothes, an orange t-shirt, and some green shorts, he let out a sigh of relief.
"It can be overbearing," Chiffon said, sitting down on the far end as Eugene leaned against the wall by the couch. "You handled them like a pro, though, good job."
Rana sat by the blonde's head moving one of his bangs away from his forehead, his flat gaze getting a chuckle out of her.
"I could do with, like, video recorders. Who uses a camera like that these days?"
"Now you're just being a little pouty," Kushina said with a chuckle as Naruto did pout. "Hmph, you're probably going to get a lot of invitations with this news. Most likely from Chevalier if not Commander Radox."
"That dude who seems to have a hate-boner for Gengo-jiji?" Naruto said, confusing the group but none more so than Chiffon.
"Naruto-kun, what are you talking about?" She asked with a frown.
"Well, like, you may think this is weird-"
"Go on," Rana, Chiffon, and Eugene said, getting a blush out of the blonde as his family laughed at his expense. "It can't be weirder than everything else."
"I… Smck, so, like, I can feel emotions, kind of, with my Maelstrom Circuit. I'm kind of feeling the soul so I can get a slight grasp on his feelings towards the old man. Nobuhiro-jiji and Gengo have an odd kind of relationship, too, but the heat there isn't nearly as bad as it is with this Radox guy."
"... From what I know," Eugene began with a hum. "Commander Radox and Gengo-san used to have an odd relationship," he said with a frown. "I don't have all the details but they used to work together, at some point, I believe. Then, remember I don't really know, I believe they were to be chosen for who'd be the leading authority on stigmata. Radox didn't have the sheer intelligence that Gengo-san has and he was left to wayside for him."
"But he's literally the Commander of a Chevalier branch, isn't he?" Naruto wondered. "Surely, he's not that salty about this whole thing when he's a higher rank than him, right?"
"That's not true, Naruto-kun," Chiffon said with a frown. "You might not realize it but Gengo-san has just about equal rank to the commander."
"... Why?" The blonde asked in confusion. "W-When the hell is the guy doing R&D going to go out and lead soldiers? What?"
"It's because Gengo has a more innate understanding of stigmata," Eugene explained. "From what I know, he's kind of like you but from a nearby command base. He's someone who can help alter the battle by altering the minutiae. That said, I also think it's kind of weird that they'd give him that title, still, even with everything we know."
"... Hmm, isn't Gengo-san related to the El Bridgette?" Minato asked, confusing the two before the realization hit. "It's likely because he's got high-up friends."
"... That's fair," Chiffon said. "That said, Naruto-kun, you said he hates him?"
"... I don't want that to be the case but, yeah, Radox hates Gengo-jiji for some reason," Naruto said as sat up. "And it's dark, I'm not sure what it is but I'd say be careful around-" The teen was saying only for his head to snap to the door. "He's here."
There were three controlled knocks on the door and Naruto got off the couch to answer it.
As he'd sensed, there Commander Radox Phantomheim was, with a pair of Pandora at his sides.
Minato blinked, frowned, and then came up behind his son who was hiding his own frown.
"Sup, Commander Radox," Naruto said easily, getting a raised brow out of the man before him only for the commander to grunt. "I take it you want to talk about what we revealed, huh?"
"Yes," the man said before gesturing down the hall. "I'd actually like to talk to you, personally, about this whole situation."
"... Alright," Naruto nodded, getting a high brow raise.
The boy wasn't the slightest bit intimidated? While Radox wasn't even trying when it came to body language, the boy was merely a student and heir to a small company. Radox had intimidated bigger fish than him with such a display and yet he didn't look phased in the least.
Either ignorance… or confidence in his ability to talk his way out of any situation.
He'd learn soon enough.
"Be right back, guys," the blonde teen said before walking down the way. "Man, these rooms are big though, I can't imagine wanting one of these all to myself."
"Did you not receive one when you arrived?" Radox asked.
"Oh, I did, but Rana-chan kind of unofficially moved in so it's a lot less lonely there."
The chatter was… surprising.
Chiffon frowned. "He's not the slightest bit intimidated by him," she noted as Eugene nodded. "... Being fair, this is kind of par for the course."
"Naruto's not the brightest but he's a brave young man," Kushina explained as Obito, Gengo, Lucy, and Su-Na appeared in their doorway.
"What happened?" Gengo asked in confusion.
Sitting down in front of Radox, recliner to recliner, with Chevalier's Pandora on the man's side, Naruto figured that he was in for some kind of intimidation tactics.
"Tell me, Mr. Uzumaki, what is it that you see in what you did?" Radox asked, leaning back in his seat, legs crossed, and elbows resting on the arms. "You and your father have just instigated quite a bit of an increase in Limiter interest and I'm confused on why you'd do this on such a public stage."
"I mean, is it really that complicated?" Naruto asked. "I wasn't sure when to do it but since we had this event, where tons of Chevalier people will be here, this seemed like the best way to spread the message. I've already sent out the videos on the Genetics websites for the East."
'Why are you going behind my back?' The question was there but Radox sighed. "Why? I'm confused why you'd go behind our backs for this."
"Isn't that kind of accusatory?" Naruto asked with a raised brow. "How is spreading information on Limiter techniques, Absolute Frost Skills, a problem? This seems like the exact opposite."
To an ignorant person, yes, it would. "Because, despite your 'trials', you're assuming that everyone can do the same results as you and your school."
"I mean, what's stopping them?" Naruto asked. "It's not like everyone at West Genetics has some super-gene in them, they're all just random people I've been training with. I think you might be overthinking this, sir."
The sheer audacity was to be commended, he didn't wilt even like this.
"Hmm… And, of this ritual you spoke of," Radox said as he sat up, legs uncrossed but arms doing so in return. "What is it? Some form of injection? A pill with your cells?"
"Huh, what, no," Naruto shook his head, confusing the commander before he blushed a bit. "I-It's… W-Well, it's gonna sound kind of ridiculous to you but it's probably the simplest thing in the world," he said. "I fistbump them, we connect our fields and through understanding between my Freezing, and their own, I can pass on some of my power."
"... Excuse me?" One of the Pandora asked in total confusion. "A fistbump?"
"I-It's kind of weird, I know, I know, but you can ask all my friends, that's how I did it."
"..." Radox felt like his opportunity was fleeting.
Had this 'ritual' been some kind of set-up, he was sure he could find a way to assimilate it… but this was outrageous! What insanity had this boy brought upon them that he was passing out power with a mere tap of the fists?!
'I was right, he's trouble,' a child with no real understanding of the world was bound to give out 'power' for the sake of what he would call 'peace'. "Yet, that can just as easily be used against you," Radox suggested. "You hand out powers with nary a care in the world and, soon enough, you'll find yourself in a position where there's no way out. What will you do then?"
"Find a way," Naruto said solidly and with as much eye contact as he could. "Anyone who thinks a situation is impossible has already lost. You don't come back from that, all you'll do is destroy yourself thinking that there was never a chance in the first place."
Annoying. "You say that but the world is full of such situations. Greed, world hunger, corruption, even the Nova. What ways out of these situations can possibly be found?"
"So, you're saying, you'd give up, right?" Naruto asked him outright and brazenly, getting a twitching of the brow and a slight lowering of Radox's mouth. "You're right, there are tons of problems out there that don't have solutions… so, you're telling me, you'd give up then, right?"
"..."
"The fact remains that, as a whole, people are incredible," Naruto said as he leaned forward, eyes not leaving Radox. "Yet, we're super fragile and those two things can make a big mess if left alone."
"... Not wrong," Radox said as pinched the bridge of his nose. "Humans are troublesome creatures who can't look at the big picture even if it's for the greater good."
"... Well, yeah, that's kind of the situation," Naruto said, surprising the man a bit. "But then, I'd ask, how many small pieces of the big picture are you really willing to destroy to even make it?" he asserted and Radox frowned.
"Sacrifices are necessary."
"Yeah, that's not wrong, it's the sacrifices of those before us who gave us the chances we have now… but that was also because those same sacrifices weren't forced upon them," the blonde said. "They're great people because they pushed forward on their own power and proved that things can change. That said, you can't force people to become those great ones because that's not how good change is made, it's made by people who find ways to make things better for everyone."
"Hmph, then what is a commander, to you, Naruto Uzumaki?" Radox asked with a frown. "Are they great people? Terrible people? Ones who've toed the line?"
He'd done many things to get to this point, he would not have those losses belittled by a child.
"Hmm, that depends, the Pandora and Limiter in Chevalier, they believe in you to the end, yeah? Then, in that situation, I believe what makes a commander great or terrible is what he does with that trust he's given," the blonde said outright, confusing the commander before him. "At the end of the day, they are people, they're going to remember you no matter what happens during their time in Chevalier. What happens from then on all falls on whoever that commander is. Becoming the leader that can show them there's hope, no matter how bad things get, I believe, is a good start."
"..."
"..."
"..." Radox stared at the teen with confusion. "Where does this seemingly never-ending confidence of yours come from?" He asked simply, grunting with his eyes closed.
"I don't really need much to see that," Naruto said with a big grin. "If I'm just looking at the people around me, my family, my friends, the idea of not following through on the whole reason we're here would make me scum for not pushing forward along with them. We're all here to fight, to win, to protect our planet, to protect our people, I'm not going to let such a goal go unanswered."
"..."
"..."
"... hmph, you can take your leave," Radox said and Naruto nodded, getting up and walking off.
"... I think you're going too far with it, sir," the blonde said at the door, looking back at the man with eyes that weren't any different than they had been before
Understanding, compassion, and determination.
"We're all in this to win it, let's not forget that."
The door opened and closed with his exit and Radox found his fire had cooled along with the blonde's exit.
… It'd cooled, not extinguished. "From this moment on, I want one of the Chevalier Pandora on him, watching him, making sure any new 'events' that take place are documented and sent back to me, ASAP. Am I clear?"
"Sir, yes, sir."
"Good."
Getting back to his family's room, Naruto noted the increase in capacity of three familiar women and Gengo's group.
"Is everything alright?" Rana asked with concern but he nodded.
"Yeah, I guess he was just suspect-testing me," Naruto said, getting sighs of relief from enough of the group. "I think it went well."
"Haa, what's this I hear about Radox hating my guts?" Gengo asked with crossed arms and a sigh.
"Well, how do I say this, he does not like you, yeah."
"Hmph, I'll live with that later," he said. "For now, I'd actually like to have you give your energy to Chiffon and Lucy."
"Alright," Naruto said with a nod. "Alright, I guess I'll just…" He'd closed his eyes to activate his technique but Gengo said otherwise.
"No, I'd like you to try and send that energy, uncondensed, to them both first. It seems like your power falls away when you deactivate it. I'm curious if they can't absorb your energy more easily if it's not as concentrated."
"Alright," Naruto began as he stood before Chiffon and Lucy. "So, I guess holding hands is probably the best bet," he said, holding out his appendages.
Chiffon giggled a bit as she held his hand while Lucy observed his limb with interest.
"Odd," she said before grabbing it. "I'm in position."
The two others of this little 'circle' sweatdropped at her. "Right, Lucy-nee," Naruto said, gaining a blinking expression from the other hybrid. "Alright, hold on, never did this so blatantly before."
He pulled in Natural Energy and the blonde's body lit up in gold light that was soon passing down his arms to the two hybrids.
Chiffon's mouth let out a slow release of breath as the gold color began to light up her arm and spread up to her neck.
"It's… comforting, for lack of better words," she said with a chuckle. "It's warm and welcoming, I guess since this is an energy that surrounds all beings on this planet… Hm, hm, hm," Chiffon giggled a bit more.
Naruto chuckled before he looked at Lucy and raised a brow at her confused eyes.
'Warm,' that was the word that spoke to her.
This feeling was so different from the boiling need to destroy that the Transcendent Will would impose down on them time and time again… This was so much more comforting, it was like the Will but far kinder, far-
Protect This World
Her eyes slowly widened at the message in her mind, gold beginning to filter into her body from her neck down to her toes.
'Protect…' The thought was… it was odd to think that this 'Will' would impose it on her yet… it was so much more lenient. 'It's a song in the background of our minds,' unlike the Will's burning discontent.
This was harmony. Connected with her sibling through Naruto Uzumaki, Lucy felt odd emotions…? She blinked, looking up at the smiling Chiffon whose 'gaze' stayed on Naruto Uzumaki.
A gaze with a cool doubt, a worried warmth that would upturn her, and a rosy feeling… Ah.
'This is… this must be…?'
Was her sibling…
The idea of saying this outright had come, it'd danced on her tongue and made to release… but Lucy had also learned this odd concept called 'tact' over the years of being active. Tact was necessary for this situation.
She'd ask their father about this later, anyway.
"How are you two feeling?" Gengo asked as Obito removed his mask, his Sharingan watching the group's interconnecting energies.
"It's like it's feeding into their bodies, it's increasing the brightness of their own Volt Textures, their Soul Power is probably also increasing," Obito noted and Gengo hummed before looking at Lucy.
"Lucy."
"Yes," she whispered and, all around her, the group saw an orb-like area of energy around her appear. "... It's rising," Lucy noted after a moment with awe.
There, above her shoulders, were a set of odd half-finished circles composed of long hexagons.
It was about four lines wide and, in the middle, was a set of six numbers.
Then, the two digits at the end began to shift upward, counting higher.
"Each second, it climbs higher," Su-Na noted with some shock. "The energy to do that is…" Her eyes went to the confused Naruto. "... You're a valuable resource, Naruto-kun, especially to Chiffon and her siblings."
"Oh, well, you're welcome?" The blonde said unsurely, Rana and Chiffon giggling at him as Lucy looked… happy?
It was hard to tell but Naruto could see the slight rise at the ends of her lips and took it for what he thought it was.
"So, is this a sort of, they need it to exist kind of thing or…" Naruto began and Gengo grunted.
"... Yes, that's the basic idea for some of it," he explained. "They need Soul Energy to use their power, their abilities. It's, sadly, something that can't just be replenished so easily… until you, and Obito somewhat, came into the picture," Gengo said as Obito hummed.
"I can't use Natural Energy like you two can," Obito explained. "That said, I pull it in involuntarily, so they can, kind of, sort of, feed off me… occasionally," he said as Su-Na's eyebrow twitched.
"... I'd hope it's not homewrecking worthy," Kushina said with a frown.
"Thankfully, no," Obito said but Su-Na grunted and crossed her arms. "It's hugs."
"... That's hilarious," Naruto said as Menma started snickering. "Dude, I get fistbumps but you get hugs, that's awesome."
"Well, luckily, all Chiffon's siblings are female so, yes, it's not that uncomfortable," Su-Na said with a look. "Of course, boundaries were set outright lest some of them become too enamored with more than hugs with my partner."
"Love you."
"I know."
"Hmm, you've got a keeper," Minato said, playing wingman as Obito nodded rapidly, Su-Na blushing a bit as Kushina snorted.
"You two are something else," she said with a shake of the head. "Honestly-dattebane."
"Hmm, so how long did you want me to do this?" Naruto asked with a sweatdrop as Lucy and Chiffon just stood there, content.
Right by Chiffon's shoulder appeared little floating protrusions like with her sibling, five numbers that's, like her siblings, last two digits began to climb steadily.
"Hmm… How long could you keep this up, Naruto-kun?" Gengo asked.
"Hmm? Well, I feel fine," Naruto said as he siphoned more of his power to the two. "Like I told you, I turn Freezing back to energy and this stuff is part of my soul, too. So, I've gotta say, I could keep this up for at least an hour."
"How much exchange would that be?" Su-Na considered, looking at the numbers and counting in seconds. "... 23, 24, 25… If I'm right, each second it goes up by 2. So that's 120 Soul Energy a second… a-and 7-7200 for an entire hour… and it's two of them at once."
"... Naruto-kun, I'd like to hire you as a sort of SE charger, if you will," Gengo said, getting a hum out of the blonde.
"Eh, I don't really mind helping charge up Chiffon-nee and Lucy-nee-san, it's not like it's not important, right?"
"... Are there more people like you?"
"Hehe~ If there were, I'd like to know, too-dattebayo."
"He's being odd, once more!" Rana declared with a grin and snicker. "I wonder if there's a world record for that?"
"Oi, that's hurtful," Naruto said as Chiffon grinned.
"Sounds like someone's in denial," she said as Eugene snorted.
"As always, right?"
~NRK~
"Hmm?" She blinked at the video, brown eyes blinking before they widened in shock. "N-Naruto?! As in Naruto Uzumaki?!"
A young woman balked at the Livestream being played, her fair skin pulling as she leaned forward, looking at her tablet as intensely as possible.
Her long hair fell to her backside and was white in color with a long bang being crimson red.
She dressed in her… she never really wanted to call it an 'outfit' but apparently there was a pervert in the upper echelon.
So, yes, she was in her… 'workout attire' which basically consisted of thigh-high black boots with a pair of black bicep-length sleeves that ended by her palms.
T-The most embarrassing part, at least in the beginning, had been the black t-thong-like parts that allowed for her white, regulated, underwear to show in the most ridiculous ways!
Over her chest, from above her stomach to her neck, was a black skin-tight halter top of some sort with a 'military-grade', as her friend Jina joked about it, training bra that was white in color and had two thick light purple bands at the bottom and top that hung snug around her chest and biceps.
This whole outfit made no sense and she'd die on that hill. Fucking hell.
Still, she had no time to think about how stupid this outfit was, again, for like the thousandth time!
Her former penpal was on the Chevalier website!
'... H-He's really cute,' she realized with a slight blush as she zoomed in on the video. 'H-He did say that he had whisker-like birthmarks… His hair's so bright yellow.'
Being fair, was she one to talk? Before she'd started taking the performance-enhancing drug, Mark, she'd had a powerful red color to her hair.
Even now, it was so white that she knew it glowed a bit at night!
"Still…" She moved through the information that had been pasted onto the sight. "Limiter Suits… New Pandora Suits?" She blinked.
Amelia Evans had assumed that many saw no more use in the suits? Hadn't the daughter of the man commandeering the Alaska operation been fitted with a new project to replace it?
'...' She looked at it all before gasping at the sight of a set of words.
Like Kazuha Aoi in the generation of Genetics before them, another child rises to give more hope to the world but for Limiters?!
What could these Absolute Frost Skills mean for the future of the campuses?!
"W-Whoa…" Amelia didn't believe it, her friend had gone on and become famous! "And he's younger than me?" She slumped.
Their entire situation, in middle school, had been just a big mess of the penpal system back then.
The way it was supposed to work was that people of the same grade, across the countries, would send mail, penpal mail, to one another to have little bits of culture across the way but for Amelia that had been an odd experience.
At current, she was 19 and had been forced to wait two years to enter school due to her parents' abandonment and Luke's early birth. So, when she was 7, she was in kindergarten.
When she was in the second grade, she was 9 and had been a part of the program where they'd messed up their mail and she'd gotten one from a kindergartener.
She thinks it was because of how many words Naruto could have used back then and so they thought he was in a later grade.
They'd traded back and forth until she'd gone to high school, where she simply didn't have the time to keep those kinds of things going.
Her last mail had been so… heartbreaking. Amelia hadn't understood it, at first, but she'd come to realize that Naruto was her actual first, and only, friend during her middle school years where she was so worried for her future.
And now, here she was, looking at his face and features, a good few years later.
'... S-Should I even…?' She wasn't sure if it was even possible to contact people from here, she'd been allowed calls to her brother but with his condition, that wasn't plausible so she'd been left with an empty slot of calling one person. '...'
Her fingers moved across her tablet and, soon enough, she was looking up her penpal's name on the internet-
"Amelia, it's only you in here?" Came a voice from the entrance to the locker room Amelia was in.
"Dr. Ohara?"
"Yes," Scarlett said as she looked at the former redhead in confusion before the sight of her tablet in her hand told her everything. "You saw it, didn't you?"
"U-Uh… only some of it," Amelia admitted with some embarrassment. "I-I only saw the pictures and a little bit of the Livestream."
"... That boy," Scarlett looked so confused. "He's a mystery among mysteries right now and his existence doesn't make sense," she said, coming in and leaning against a set of lockers.
"Oh, I did see something about Freezing High-End Skills," Amelia said, going back to the video and Ctrl+Fing to the words. "Absolute Frost Skills… I-I think he named it."
"Hmph, a boy at heart, huh?"
"Hm, hm, hm."
"... As of recent decisions," Scarlett began, confusing the albino. "The E-Pandora Project has been given the go-ahead by Commander Radox."
Amelia's eyes widened. "R-Really?"
"Yes, he says that this is also in part because of this young man's discoveries," Scarlett admitted. "But it's also because the current prediction of a Nova Clash is becoming… worryingly close," she said with a grimace as Amelia flinched. "No, listen, I'm not saying that it's that soon but… in the near future, likely at the end of the year, there's going to be a Clash and the commander has seen fit to follow through on this project."
"O-Oh…" Amelia looked down in thought before looking back at her tablet. "... D-Doctor?" Ohara raised a brow. "Is it… is it possible to call someone in our system?"
~NRK~
He put down his third large bowl, a chuckle on his lips as Gengo Aoi stared at this mystery among men along with Lucy and Obito.
Su-Na had, apparently, gotten used to his weirdness, talk about the odd one out.
"Where… Does it go?" Lucy asked with confusion as Obito nervously grinned.
"I guess all that energy comes from somewhere.
"Naruto's diet has been documented by the doctor… it's not… normal but his metabolism has always been strong," Chiffon said with a sweatdrop as the boy went after a fourth bowl. "But he's increased his intake, as of late."
Rana sat next to him, eating an array of middle-eastern food that most of the group hadn't really seen.
"Hmm," she swallowed some food and wiped her mouth with a napkin before grinning. "A good appetite is good fortune-de arimasu."
"I… In most cultures, yes," Gengo said slowly as Naruto began eating again. "... I might need to look at your charts because where does it go?"
"I think he's got a black hole in his stomach," Obito joked.
"... I'd be concerned if you were right," Gengo said before he crossed his arms in thought, eyes slowly narrowing as he looked at Naruto. '... Could he… help them?' The thought was… oddly exciting and yet gut-wrenching.
If he could, this meant big things but Gengo knew he'd have so many tracks to cover, so many things to reobserve… but they'd be alive and well.
'... There's no point in not doing this, though,' he considered. 'Unless his Will does something… odd, to them,' Gengo wasn't sure if it'd even be anything negative, though.
Lucy and Chiffon had informed them of how it felt and if Rana Linchen's testimony was to be believed, this boy's 'Will' spoke of protection and harmony.
If anything… perhaps, if his hypothesis was right, they could be removed from the Transcendent Will's control and simply left be.
It was worth a shot. "Naruto-kun, there are a few more people I want you to meet, alright?"
Naruto hummed before nodding. "Alright."
"... Oh," Obito's eyes widened in his mask's eyeholes before he chuckled. "Perhaps… Maybe he can help them."
Su-Na blinked before her eyes widened. 'No… I-If he can…' That'd cause so many changes that they'd be swamped for weeks!
Chiffon smiled softly as Lucy's eyes went wide.
"It… Might be possible," they said in unison, confusing Naruto's group before Eugene chuckled a bit.
"It's not safe to talk in the cafeteria," Chiffon's Limiter said and the others nodded as the Seiga group joined them. "Later."
~NRK~
"You're in on this, Margaret-oba-san?" Naruto asked as the group was taken down an elevator.
Menma was left behind in the care of Su-Na, Kushina, and Eugene, allowing the group to stay small.
"Most of those high within Chevalier know about this area and secret," she said as the elevator came to a stop in front of a set of large, covered, tubes. "It's a set of mysteries that can't even be heard by mere lieutenants Chevalier. This secrecy could upheave the entire world if it came to be known."
Gengo's eyes softened as he looked at the two large tubes. "You covered them," he noted with no real negative emotion behind it. "I mean, I guess any form of protection, in all forms, helps."
"It was, especially after the students Ticy Phenyl and Abel Rotomaster were very close, it was for safety," Margaret said.
"I understand," Gengo said as the group walked up to, and past, a set of consoles that came around in an incomplete semi-circle before standing before the tube as Margaret stayed by one side of the consoles. "Do it, Margaret."
The headmistress nodded before pressing a button on the panel before her and looking up to lay her eyes on them once more.
When the group looked at the opened tubes…?!
Naruto's eyes widened along with his father as two women floated in the tubes, bodies broken in random places that looked like damage in the form of squares.
They floated in some kind of liquid and seemed… asleep.
"... no, you're telling me…" Minato's eyes widened as he looked at the two women.
One was clearly older than the other bearing light brown hair that almost looked orange with a fair complexion.
The other was someone that could have easily been in their teens but was as full-bodied as the woman before. Her hair, like the older woman's, was long but dark blue, almost a slight blue, in color bearing a fair complexion.
Their identities hit him all at once.
"Maria… Lancelot," Minato said to the older one before swallowing as he looked at the younger female. "... Kazuha… Aoi… Gengo, what is the meaning of this?!"
"Haa, this is the states they were in after they fought to the 'ends' of their lives," Gengo said with finger quotes as Obito stepped forward.
"Maria's situation is… different from Kazuha's," he began, gaining the two blondes' attention. "She was sturdier by a greater magnitude and, as such, could still be put on life support… Kazuha's living status was only because of an odd effect between her and my painkillers. Minato-sensei, Naruto."
"What?" Naruto looked confused. "... The painkillers?"
"Yes," Chiffon continued. "Obito-san's painkillers… you should understand that he can see, and understand, energy on a level that no being on this planet, can," she said, surprising Naruto with a nod. "Even I couldn't… Obito's painkillers work by using the stigmatic tissues and having them 'close down' that area in your body. By doing that, he can numb the feeling… but Kazuha-chan… we believe she took them before her final fight, and we didn't understand, at all, before we recovered her 'corpse'."
"What occurred could only be called a miracle," Gengo said with a soft smile as he looked at Obito, the man rubbing the back of his head. "Kazuha enhanced the pill's effects in her body, sometime after destroying the Nova and made it so her entire body entered a state of stasis, a coma of sorts and that was the only reason we were able to get her on life support before her cells came back to life."
"... You want me to try and see if I can't fill them with Soul Energy, right?" Naruto asked with a determined frown. "Alright, let's do this, I don't know what'll happen… but might as well try!" He said with a wide grin as Chiffon's cheeks reddened some and she giggled.
Minato ran his hand through his hair before chuckling as Margaret smiled.
Obito smirked while Gengo… Gengo was so full of hope at that moment as the two tubes lowered at a press of the button from Maria's console.
Walking up to the two, Naruto looked at both… before leaning back as Maria's eyes slowly opened and turned to him.
Her eyes slowly widened in shock as her hand shifted ever so much before landing on the glass between them.
"What are you?" Naruto blinked as he rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, this might be rather… unsettling."
"Nah, it's fine, I'm used to speaking in the heads of people," the boy said as Chiffon snorted. "So, you're Maria Lancelot… so Maria-obaa-san, gotcha."
Gengo choked as Obito, Minato, and Margaret covered their faces and shook their heads.
This damn blonde.
"... Hmm, you're not… scared of me?"
"Why would I be?"
"I'm… you can tell, can you not? So close to me? You know that I'm like you but 'complete', of sorts." Maria said. "I'm complete Nova tissue… I'm a Nova."
"Hmm… Yeah, I can tell," Naruto said with a nod as she tilted her head at his reddening face. "Still, you decided to not want to hurt us, you're A-okay in my books!" He said with a wide grin as she looked alarmed. "Hehe-dattebayo~"
She raised her brows at that. "What are you here to do?" She wondered.
"Oh, well… Okay, so, I can sort of produce tons of Soul Energy," Naruto said, surprising her once more. "I was asked to see if I can't help you two out," he said, looking at Kazuha before taking his tie out of his pocket and wrapping it around his head. "There, much better," he said, face completely red. "Is it really necessary for them to be naked?"
"It's a stigmatic solution," Gengo said with a chuckle. "It kind of needs full contact to keep things running," he said, walking up to the tube as Maria smiled at him. "Maria… It's been a while."
"You've been busy," she said with a curious smile, looking at Naruto. "You… I've felt you for so long, almost eight years."
"... Oh, I guess I awakened my Freezing skills earlier than I expected," Naruto said but she hummed, confusing him. "?"
"It's not that… It was you, your soul, your Will," she said, confusing him. "... The Transcendent Will was unsure of your presence. It was confused how another like itself could exist in such a small form."
"I was short, I get it."
"Hm, hm, yes but not in such a manner," Maria said with a smile that he grumbled at while Obito snorted. "Your existence exerted itself, likely unconsciously, against the Will and it has never had such defiance in its conception. It's been there for many things but another powerful Will, like itself, that completely put it on the back foot."
"... Yay?" Naruto tried, experimentally, as Lucy hummed. "So, like, I get the feeling it didn't like me sucker-punching it a few weeks back."
"... An odd way of saying it," Maria noted. "But, yes, the exertion of your presence is something it's come to 'fear'… for you are an unknown to it. You present a direct danger to the Will itself. Its idea of 'fear' isn't one it wishes to experience and so it's not sure what to do."
"He confused it?" Gengo asked in wonder but confusion. "Well, that's not surprising, we all come from the Will, it likely shares some form of characteristics with us."
"Likely… but then you apologized and its reaction has been stilled," Maria said and Margaret blinked.
"Why?" She asked Naruto who chuckled nervously.
"I mean, I was just angry at it," he said as Rana chuckled nervously. "It was bothering Rana-chan with that ridiculous command," Naruto said with determined eyes that glowed in the dimness of the room. "I'm sorry I hit it, I wish things could have gone differently, but I can't, won't, allow such a crazy order to be carried if I can stop it."
"... You're doing it again," Maria said and Chiffon's mouth began to widen into a grin that Naruto began to sweat at. "Oh, yes, that is something that Chiffon says to you a lot, doesn't she?" She asked with some amusement in her tone.
"C-Chiffon-nee, don't-"
"As a matter of fact, I do," Chiffon declared with a giggle. "Why you'd be surprised by how much trouble he can be, kaa-san, he makes a total mess of things that I can't keep up, sometimes."
"That sounds familiar."
"... Wait, no, I'm nothing like him," Gengo realized a moment later in indignation as Naruto squawked. "Much less someone who can barely pull straight Bs."
"Oi! Bs are an amazing grade!"
"Snrt, to a student."
"Old man, there's a retirement home down the way."
"Hmm, for people who can't walk."
"You want to find out."
"This is what I mean," Maria said with a small grin. "Too similar to ignore."
"I'm not like him!" The two said as Rana giggled along with Chiffon.
"Hmm, I'm happy that Gengo could find those around him with similar interests," she said with a chuckle as Gengo grumbled while Naruto pouted. "Now, I believe you had an idea."
"Yeah, yeah, let's see if this works," Naruto grumbled as she chuckled. "So… So, do I just put my hand against the glass or?"
"... That should be good enough," Gengo said with a huff that the boy rolled his eyes at, much to the room's amusement.
"Alright, gonna start now."
The boy rested his hands against the sides of the tubes, eyes closing as his Maelstrom Circuit sprung to life and gold energy flashed within the diameter of the ring.
His form lit up gold, much to Maria's interest, before the gold energy began to slip into the two tubes' light blue liquid.
The gold was clear as day in the fluid holding her and Maria tilted her head at the color just dispersing out like cola through water.
She reached out to it and blinked as, on 'contact', it slipped into her palm and began to cause golden marks to crawl up her arm.
The energy moved up and to a broken 'patch' of her bicep before moving around it and… her eyes widened at the slowly, but surely, knitting together flesh.
"It's working…" She realized in awe and Gengo swallowed in anticipation. "But it feels… like it's not one hundred percent… I was told you had a healing skill?"
Naruto's eyes widened before he nodded.
He raised his hands off the tube before holding them at his side.
"Expand."
His technique did as commanded, widening in diameter before slipping through the tubes' covers and settling behind the two in their containers.
Maria's eyes simply focused on him more as the boy brought his hands together.
Then he burst into gold form, tie falling off, blazing in particles as his eyes opened to reveal cross-shaped pupils. One like her own, a long, vertical, bar-like pupil with a similar, but shorter, one crossing past it perpendicularly.
Then she felt 'them'.
"Inside of you," Maria began but he chuckled. "It's not Nova tissue… not anymore and it's like seven large stigmata."
"The tissue around those areas seemed to have gathered together," Minato explained. "Are you aware of the idea of the Seven Chakras?"
"That's odd to me."
The concept was explained to her as Naruto breathed in.
His field spread out from beneath his feet before covering the room's floor and glowing brightly.
"They're growing," Maria noted after processing the blonde's body. "Each time this skill is used… Young man, you may not know this but these 'gates' that you consider them… They seem to be held back by your mental perceptions," Naruto blinked.
"... The Throat Chakra is supposed to be related to my growth and stuff… The Heart Chakra my connection with others, yeah?" Naruto said, blushing a bit at the second one as he didn't say the entirety of its contents. "But the last one, the Crown Chakra, that's supposed to control all the others."
"Hmm, an interesting way of interpreting them," Maria said. "... Energy, at our very base, is what all things are composed of. It's loose in the beginning but the Will brought it together and gave it form for us all and, as such, energy can be controlled, shaped, and awakened with one's own understanding, command, and will. I believe you don't see it yet but your Throat Chakra is opening… and I believe it will be open soon."
"Why?" Rana asked in confusion as Maria smiled. "... Is it because he's changing-de arimasu?"
"Yes," Maria said, getting a cupped chin from Gengo. "Even as we speak, the more he uses his skillset, his cells are changing… at current, Naruto Uzumaki is barely human by blood."
"O-Ohh," Naruto said with a shaky grin as Minato strode forward before placing a hand on his shoulder. "... That's fine then," he said after some thought before grinning, Maria smiling at him. "I'm glad I can help people and, if this is how it's going to go down, I'm fine with that. Gaining this body, my powers, have given me the ability to help my friends and connect with them more than I ever could before."
"Hm, hm, a fine answer," Maria said and smiled further.
That Heart Chakra, she'd not said anything, she'd learned, through her children, that humans could be oddly embarrassed and impeded by the unmerciful truth.
He was close to falling in love with the young woman who bore a similar body to herself, Rana Linchen was it?
Yet, that wasn't just it, was it? Chiffon had a growing emotion in her that likely even her youngest daughter didn't understand.
It'd be amusing to watch develop if only because humans were so interesting.
"When you fully become that tissue and you've changed it all… you're likely to gain that fifth gate and, with it, things might… change."
"How so?" Chiffon wondered as she felt her mother's… nervous embarrassment? "Mother?"
"Chiffon, surely you understand that, as inhuman beings, we have some sort of difference from them, physically," the group wore shaky grins.
"N-Now, hold on," Naruto swallowed. "You're not telling me I'm gonna… what, spout wings? A tail? Horns?!"
"... I can't really tell you outright," Maria hummed. "While different in our ability to gather the things you call Volt Textures, the only real difference between myself, my children, and humanity is that our eyes differ."
"... That's comforting, at least," he said as Lucy tilted her head at him.
"You suggested many… odd, additions, to yourself… Why?" She asked and Naruto began to sweat bullets as Gengo, Minato, Chiffon, and Rana chuckled while Margaret smiled.
"U-Um… W-Well, those were the oddest things I could think of," Naruto said with a shaky grin. "I mean, those would be super weird, right?"
"... Hmm," Lucy considered the idea with a hum as the blonde chuckled unsurely.
"Right… Gonna go all out with this one, Maria-obaa-san," Naruto said and the full-Nova female smiled.
"I'm ready."
Naruto nodded before closing his eyes. 'Gather all of it together,' he told him as he pulled in that golden energy.
The gold flashes grew in number before the air tinted yellow and began to pull in towards Naruto.
'It's like I thought…' Chiffon considered with wonder. 'It's like the world becomes his to control within his field and technique.'
It'd been something she'd been surprised by, that the energy of the world could so readily answer his call but the world did. All for this young man.
The air then began to regain its normal color as that yellow tint swirled into Naruto's back, looking like flames being sucked into a bottle.
When it flowed in completely, Naruto breathed in before raising his hands apart once more.
The two limbs' wrists became encircled by golden rings as he placed them on the two's tubes.
"This is gonna be me throwing in all that energy at once," Naruto explained as the others nodded. "This is going to be totally directed, no general fields, this might be kind of uncomfortable," he said to her and Maria breathed in before nodding.
"Do it."
Blonde's opened before they narrowed.
Gold shot over the tubes in an instant, the energy looking intense as Maria's eyes widened, body burning gold, not unlike Naruto's hand.
'It's so powerful!' At first, she'd expected some energy, perhaps it'd be notable, he was basically becoming an unknown Nova.
But this was more than just some energy! Her entire being felt filled like it was being filled to the brim with warmth and then each of her stigmata were filled with great power!
The sound of something cracking gained her attention and Maria Lancelot looked at her bicep as the flesh on it began to crack and shift before hissing as it began to move faster, the skin knitting itself together at an obscene rate.
She breathed and her breaths felt like she'd been in a purified field.
She opened and clenched her hands, the fingers flicking open like she'd been massaged all over.
Gengo watched in awe as Maria and Kazuha's bodies reknit themselves, their forms glowing gold.
'This boy…' This went beyond what Gengo had been expecting…
If word got out of just how powerful Naruto was… It wasn't an exaggeration to remotely say.
'A war could be waged over him and him alone, likely even more so than Maria,' and that thought was horrifying. 'I got to him at the right moment… Had he been found by Radox…'
The commander would have never let the boy go and use him for military purposes that likely no one in the public would know about…
As he watched his beloved being built back to her former prowess, Minato stepped to his side.
"I know what you're thinking," he said with a sigh and grimace. "No one can find out about this… not even a soul. If it gets out that he granted the Mother of all Pandora back her life… Things would go from rough to horrid… And Naruto would never deny a request to help… That's who he is."
"I'm glad you understand… but it's Naruto who has to be convinced, no?" Gengo responded with a sigh. "A boy with far too much righteousness in him, to see those in need of help and rush right in. I hope you aren't offended, Minato… but that boy is going to get himself killed if he keeps doing these things."
"... It's not unfounded advice," Minato said with crossed arms. "... That said, Naruto is special. He's powerful, obviously, but his greatest strength lies not in combat but in his ideals. In his conviction and emotions. He's a good child," the man said with a chuckle. "And that's why he needs good people to stand by him, to help him make up for his flaws and follow alongside him."
"..." Gengo simply watched on with him, Kazuha's, and Maria's. bodies' restoration almost complete. "If this works… Things will need to be redone, plans written up, people to speak with, and just so many things to be looked at… Naruto's slowly becoming a being on par with the Transcendent Will and may very well be capable of disconnecting Pandora from it. With all this information… If we can send him to the Will to cut off its connections, this whole war may very well end."
"Naruto is one to do everything in his power to help end things and seeks world peace. I doubt he'd be against helping out."
Naruto, meanwhile, did his best to not look at the naked two as the gold power finally faded away, leaving him to step back before finding his tie and wrapping it tightly.
"Rana-chan, lead me away."
"Hm, hm," Rana giggled a bit before taking his hand and leading him a good bit away. "There," she said with a grin as Naruto peeked out of his personally-made blindfold.
"Thank God."
"... Margaret," Gengo spoke up, the headmistress nodding. "Bring Maria down first," he said.
"Incoming," Margaret said as she pulled down a small lever as Maria's 'pod' hissed before slowly lowering. "..." If this became a true miracle, Margaret wasn't sure what would come after.
Maria could not be seen, outside, at the moment. She was not only too valuable but her conscience barked against the idea of Naruto being put on display and, unfortunately, most likely, be used as a tool for the sake of those in the upper echelon who might have a corruptive mindset.
Naruto was strong, of mind and will, but she feared for his, and his family's, safety should he become too valuable.
Lucy wondered if Naruto Uzumaki was truly as her mother said, like them. Was he born of the Will, truly? Or had he been made… somehow else?
His presence didn't make sense, his abilities even less so, and yet here he was, performing even further outside of what understanding should things end… well.
The Uzumaki's presence informed Lucy's mind about things, about people she had a feeling she'd never understand… and, yet, the sheer idea of such a person, of someone who was more otherworldly than herself… It enticed her.
The idea of finding out how he thought, worked and fought, to see how he adapted and moved through differing situations.
In under a day, she'd been captivated by how Naruto Uzumaki existed.
As the pod holding Maria Lancelot lowered, slotting into a grove in the floor meant for the pod's base.
Slowly the liquid that she was held in was drained away from her pod, leaving a slight hiss, steam, and an opening pod door in its wake.
Gengo's cells were in a hyperactive frenzy as he waited for the steam to clear, eyes looking through the steam for any sort of clue of Maria…?!
The sound of wet steps greeted his ears as he choked on his own spit as a familiar figure made her way through the steam-
"For the love of!" Naruto yelped before throwing his shirt at her. "Put on some clothes!" He shouted at her with a dramatic finger and his tie being secured by Rana once more. "Dammit!"
Obito started laughing at that, taking off his lab coat and coming over before throwing it over Maria's shoulders. "He does have a point," he said with a smug tone as he looked at Gengo's embarrassed face, the man grunting as he crossed his arms. "Seriously, get a room."
"... Hmph," Gengo grunted once more before looking at Maria softly, the Nova woman smiling at him with slightly rosy cheeks.
"... Hmm… Hmm… W-What?" Came another voice in the room, getting a blink from Gengo before he coughed. "W-Where am I?!"
"Right, I forgot about… Kazuha," the professor said as Chiffon snorted along with Margaret.
"I guess Kamui was right," the headmistress said as Maria giggled and Gengo pouted.
"Please bring her down."
As the girl looked out and around, covering her mouth for a moment before realizing that she didn't need to, as she approached the floor.
Obito sighed before undoing his vest before taking off his dress shirt, the pod's opening hiss getting him to approach.
"H-Huh…?!" Kazuya Aoi had been blinking for a moment before covering herself a bit at the reminder that she was naked, an act of modesty she'd learned from Kamui-san- "Kamui-san?!" She shrieked as the shirtless man came forward. "N-No wait, I'm not prepared for this! I have to smell like-"
A white dress shirt was thrown over her shoulders, bringing her stumbling to an end as she looked at the chuckling man who was putting his vest back on.
"H-Huh?" She made a confused sound before her pupils shrunk as the steam cleared to see- "?!"
Obito sighed as the young woman hid behind him, face bright red, as the others raised some brows who just looked completely amused.
"W-What's going on?" Kazuha asked as she buried herself into his back before peeking around him to see… "M-Maria?!" She asked in disbelief before looking at the others. "... C-Chiffon-nee-san?! Lucy?!"
Chiffon wore a wide, bright, smile as Lucy bore a small one, the two's enthusiasm and happiness confusing the hero of the 8th Nova Clash.
"..." Her eyes widened slowly before it all hit her. "I'm… I'm awake?" Kazuha realized with a choking swallow as Obito chuckled.
"Yup," he said before gesturing to the blindfolded Naruto. "And you have him to thank for it, Kazuha-kun."
Kazuha cried tears of joy into his back.
"... hehe, nice to meetcha and you're welcome," Naruto said with a grin, still safely blinded, as Rana chuckled. "So, I have to ask, though, what do we do now?"
"We need to keep their awakenings quiet for now," Gengo said instantly even as Maria was in his arms barely a moment later, the man's chin resting on her head. "I missed you so much," he whispered and the 'messenger' smiled softly, holding his bicep. "Right now… Not only do we need to reacclimate them to the current day, but we also have to keep things secret, they can't know they're awake right now, it'd cause too much panic much less questions for you," he said to Naruto with a wide grin.
"Thank you."
"No problem-dattebayo."
"So, right now, the moment we get back up," Chiffon began with a contemplative smile. "Well, first they probably need showers and clothes."
Minato coughed into his fist as he kept his back to the women. "That should probably be for the best," he said as Naruto snorted. "Hey, none of that, young man, your father's a loyal, non-perverted, man with a wife."
"Noted."
"Haa, this is an amazing turnout," Margaret said before humming. "That said, what are you going to do? Will you leave? I know I don't need to tell you but that won't shine favorably on the Uzumakis' work."
"... Actually," Gengo hummed at an answer. "We can just set them up in a home that I know of," he said as Kazuha gasped. "Yes, Kazuha, you're about to see a place you haven't been in for over four years."
The group assembled back in the elevator lift before it began to rise.
Naruto hummed with his blindfold on only to be flanked by Chiffon, Rana, and Lucy.
His partner chuckled on his right. "The whole thing is kind of crazy-de arimasu."
"It honestly is," Chiffon said at the blonde's left. "But, things worked out in ways none of us could have seen coming," she said with a big grin and a hug that Rana squawked at!
"W-Wait, there are procedures, Chiffon-senpai!" She said as she grabbed the blonde from his other side. "You can't just… What are you doing-de arimasu?!"
Naruto's mouth went flat at the feeling of arms wrapping around his neck from behind him.
"Lucy, you're so bold!" Chiffon noted.
"You all are acquiring something from him that seems interesting," the most emotionless of the three said.
"You can't be serious."
Maria raised a real high brow at the four while Kazuha blinked from behind Obito.
"Who is he, Kamui-san?" She asked the taller brunette who rubbed the back of his head.
"... We'll talk in private, it's an entire conversation, Kazuha."
"Oh… I-Is my brother-"
"Yes, he's alive and well," Obito answered with a smirk as she nuzzled his back some more. "I was doing my best while you weren't around. He wasn't as responsive, in the beginning, but I think he came around to me."
"... I-I'm glad it was you," she said with a smile. "You always helped us even if you didn't need to."
"Well, you have to be able to eat more than meatballs."
"I-I could make other things!"
"With varying degrees of success," he shot back and she glowered at him. "Honestly, you watched me cook all the time, was it that hard to pick up on my way of doing things?"
Kazuha's face lit up like a match, much to his confusion.
Gengo considered the reaction for a few moments. '... Oh,' he hadn't expected that. 'Then again…' His eyes moved to Chiffon who looked like she was on top of the world when Maria's voice came to his mind.
"It's kind of interesting, isn't it?" She asked with amusement as the two groups bickered while Minato and Margaret chuckled. "This situation is so… peaceful. I didn't think they could be like this."
'It's likely because of these odd ones,' Gengo thought back, Obito and Naruto's presences on his mind. 'They've done something for them that could only be possible for people like them.'
And it was these people, he was starting to understand, who'd change the world.
For now, they needed to protect a world with a future to lead.
~NRK~
The group had slipped up from the Ravensbourne Nucleotide and entered a set of back hallways that led into a set of rather vacant stairs.
"A little bit more," Margaret said as she led them up another flight before entering into a hall. "Come, my room should be here," she said as she led them down a hall, the muted sounds of people down below getting a sigh out of her. "My floor is typically near my office, just in case. I have another outside the school for when I want the time away."
They made it down a few halls before entering her room.
When they were inside, Naruto raised a brow at the modest-sized room with a kitchen entrance by a bed with a bathroom to the opposite wall. By a wall to the right of the door was a pretty large dresser and by the bathroom door was what looked like a closet door with a large window opposite the door.
"I like this place," Naruto said. "It's way more normal than every other room in this school."
"Hm, hm, well, they call this room 'small'," Margaret said with a smirk at Naruto, Minato, and Obito's twitching lips. "Yes, I'm well aware that some of the people in this establishment are… a bit detached," she said before gesturing to her drawers. "Will the men wait outside?"
The males did and, as they waited, Gengo addressed Naruto.
"Naruto-kun, I've spoken to your father about it and I know you'll disagree… but you need to keep this part of your abilities under wraps, okay?" Gengo pleaded, confusing Naruto who then grimaced.
"... I just want to know, is Kazuya ever going to know Kazuha-nee-chan is alive?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, when I find the right moment… perhaps," Gengo considered something before nodding. "You're right, this occasion is… I really can't thank you enough, having Maria and Kazuha back, I feel like the world is so much lighter than it was."
"No problem."
"And, after he returns, I want you to bring him to his old home," Gengo explained, pulling out his phone and typing through it. "This is the location in the email. I'd say, when the week's over, bring him. If you need to tell him something-"
"I've got this," Naruto said with a big grin that lit up the hall, getting a chuckle out of Minato as Obito smirked. "I can't wait!"
~NRK~
Kazuya wiped his lip as he looked at the large bath in confusion.
"W-Who needs a bath this big-Achoo!" He began to say only to sneeze before a knock on his door gained his attention. "C-Coming!" Kazuya shouted, scrambling over and opening the door. "... Wait, I forgot my-" He began, looking down at the towel hiding his lower half.
There stood Satella, eyes wide and pupils shrunken, a video playing in her hands.
"I-I'm sorry!" She squeaked, zipping to the room beside his and slamming the door.
Kazuya just stood there, bright red, as he closed the door. "Oh, God…"
~NRK~
As they chatted a bit more, Naruto blinked at his phone ringing, the blonde blinking.
"Maybe it's Kazu or the others?" He said curiously before frowning at the generic ringtone. "No, it's not, I have personal ringtones for all of my friends. This is new," Naruto said as he opened it. "Hello?"
-... H-Hello?- Came a female voice over the line, confusing him.
"Yo?" He said unsurely as Gengo rolled his eyes, much to Minato's amusement. "Who is this?"
-... I-It's been a while but… It's me, Amelia? You might not remember, though-
"... Wait, no way!" He gaped. "As in Amelia Evans 'Amelia'? My penpal?!"
-Y-You remember?!- She sounded so relieved. -Y-Yeah, it's me-
"Whoa… wait, hold on," the blonde looked confused. "Did you find me in the yellow papers?"
-Well… I can't really tell you, not yet, b-but I promise, I was able to call you due to… connections- She said, getting an odd hum out of him.
"Alright… So what's up?"
-I saw you on the news! You made High-End Skills for Limiters?!-
"Hehe~ I know, right?" He said with a grin as Minato hummed, looking at him. "Oh, right, this is my friend from America, Amelia. We used to be weird penpals in middle school."
"Weird how?" Gengo asked and the woman over the phone choked.
-W-Wait… that sounded like Gengo Aoi!- Amelia said and Obito snorted at Gengo's smug look. -I-Is he actually there?-
"Yup, and way too smug about it," Naruto said with a roll of the eyes.
-This is going to be weird then- The group blinked.
"Weird how?" Minato asked.
-... Um-
"That's my dad," Naruto explained, putting the phone on loudspeaker, as Minato chuckled sheepishly.
"Apologies, good evening, nice to meet another one of my son's friends," Minato said as the young woman stuttered.
-I-It's fine! Naruto was my best friend in middle school! The honor was all mine!-
"Well, someone's a smooth talker," Gengo said, looking at Naruto who wore a flat expression.
"Old man, I swear," the blonde snorted. "So, weird how?"
-Well… The doctor said that this is going to be announced at the end of the week- Gengo frowned. -But… due to recent circumstances with the Nova Clash in East Genetics, they've decided to go forward with the Evolutionary Pandora Project-
Gengo's eyes widened. "She what?!" He shouted and Amelia's voice yelped over the phone. "Young woman, I'm sorry, but I need you to explain."
-... Well, from what I know, Commander Radox informed her of the decision- Amelia said. -It's going to be deliberated on some more but the fact remains that the project was given the go-ahead-
~NRK~
Scarlett nodded from behind her.
"The way things are going, the council thinks that we need more people… and I'm one of them," Amelia admitted to the group of males.
-Amelia-chan… What does that mean? Not saying it's good or bad, I just have no idea what those words mean-
Amelia blushed but giggled all in the same breath, getting a raised brow from Dr. Ohara.
'... Oh, a crush,' Scarlett realized with a grimace.
It wasn't that Amelia wouldn't be able to form relationships after this project was officially greenlighted but the fact that she was so enamored already was something Scarlett hoped wouldn't cause problems.
And it was apparently with Naruto Uzumaki! The latest craze among the Chevalier! Quite frankly, Scarlett was shocked by this coincidence… but had seen the blonde's healing skill.
'If we can procure him somehow, maybe fly him over for numerous healing sessions,' and after seeing what effect he had on the E-Pandora… 'He might be capable of helping the upcoming Mark IV come with fewer consequences.'
She hoped.
"Well, it stands for women who didn't have much compatibility with stigmata using a sort of injection of them to become capable of using the same skills of normal Pandora," Amelia explained with a sigh. "W-We're not great yet b-but I can do a Double Accel and I hear that's really impressive!"
-Oh snap, really?!- He sounded awed by the idea and she giggled. -So, you also know there's more beyond just that, right?-
"I-I've heard, there's the 'Godspeed', Cassie Lockheart, who can use Quadruple Accel," Amelia said, remembering the information. "B-But I heard you also fought her!"
-Oh, yeah, that- Naruto laughed. -Well, not when she was normal but due to some crazy parasite by the Nova, we had to 'fight'. I'm glad I could end it before things got crazy-
"It's so crazy," she said in thought, twirling some of her hair as Scarlett's expression settled on 'Are you serious?'. "No one considered Limiters as actual fighters on the frontlines… I'm surprised you were capable of contending with the best from East Genetics."
-Well, I'm not going to lie, it wasn't that much of a fight. My other friends tired her out first before I got in and finished the job. Trust me, it wasn't so long I could even call it a 'fight'-
"Really?"
-Yup… So, you're a, what, E-Pandora, now?-
"Got it in one," she said with a smile. "We're training to try and keep up, to push forward and defend our own families… And that's going to be put on display in front of the Chevalier come two weeks from now if things go like I was told."
-So what's the 'weird' part in all this?-
"W-Well… When they do, they're going to send all the best Pandora in the world to come here," Amelia said with a nervous swallow. "I'm getting super nervous and it's not even finalized."
Scarlett nodded to that. 'They're not close to ready, though,' she considered with a grimace.
But that was what the Mark IV was for, to push their capabilities to higher levels in exchange for a little stigma corrosion.
She wanted to scoff at the 'little', looking at Amelia's hair color, the result of barely saving her life.
"And, they're going to bring in their Limiters as well… along with you," Amelia said with a grimace. "You don't… Naruto-kun… do you have a Pandora?"
-Oh, yeah, Rana-chan- Amelia flinched. -She's a girl from Tibet I met last month-
So her chance was up… No, he'd only met her for a month! There was still time, time to m-make him…?!
Her face went neon and Scarlett's face shifted into an expression of, once more, 'Are you serious?'.
"T-That so?!" She asked. "Well… They're going to ask you two to come… and, well, I hope we can hang out when you get here."
-What? Sure!- Amelia smiled in relief. -Still, it's not like we can't still talk up until then, we should catch up!-
"Y-Yeah, I like that," she said with a grin. "Well, I have ten more minutes before I get back to training, what's happened?"
~NRK~
As Naruto moved down the hall to talk to this 'Amelia Evans', Gengo looked irritated and Obito explained to Minato why that was.
"The E-Pandora Project… it's going to use civilian women with little stigmata compatibility and inject them with injection-based stigmata," Obito explained, getting a frown out of Minato.
"Is that wise?" He asked.
"... No, it's not," Gengo uttered with a grimace. "And, what worries me, is that this isn't recent. If this young woman is truly capable of using Double Accel then they've been training, at a minimum, for a year… Those sons of bitches," Gengo growled.
"I understand what you're saying and this is going to sound rather ignorant," Minato prefaced. "But what's the difference between them being soldiers in the army and this?"
"It's because stigmata compatibility is important," Gengo said with a sigh. "The thing is, you'll be told this eventually, but stigmata are essentially Nova tissue implanted into the body of young women," Minato's eyes narrowed. "Stigmata corrosion is a term we use for when a Pandora uses their stigmata to their limits and is testing them too much… A Pandora who overextends her stigmata too often is destined to become a Nova."
Minato's eyes closed at the idea. "... I always did wonder how we had similar, almost identical, powers to the Nova. It'd be kind of ridiculous to think that we, out of nowhere, had the technology, all along, to fend off the Nova even if it was over fifty years, especially during the time between the first Nova Clash and the creation of Pandora."
"... Hmm, I should have known, huh?" Gengo said with a chuckle before frowning. "Radox… Was he so annoyed by Naruto that he'd do this in response? Or was this because of my connection to you all?"
"Naruto's read on people's emotions is typically pretty accurate," the blonde said with narrowed eyes. "What's the worst-case scenario with the project?"
"... If they push them too far and, seeing as they're going to try and sell it to the Chevalier in the coming two weeks, they'll cause a reaction of either one of them, or all of them, turning into Nova."
"That can't be allowed to pass," Obito said with a frown. "We need to get into the facility, that's all I can come up with."
"... Kamui," Gengo spoke up with a neutral face. "Tell me, that 'shadow' from that event all those years ago, is he still around?"
Obito smirked as Minato hummed.
"He might be."
Naruto leaned against a wall as they spoke.
-A-And our friend, Rattle, she's from a pretty sad background but she's so nice and is the best, physically!-
"That so? Yet you're the only one able to use High-End Skills?" Naruto wondered. "I guess you've tried to teach them already, yeah?"
-Yeah… I don't think I'm good at that- Amelia answered. -So, we've gotta find some other ways-
"Sounds fine," Naruto said with a grin. "Hmm, well, actually, you won't believe it but I kind of run a little training session for the students here at West Genetics."
~NRK~
"Really?" Amelia asked in disbelief as Scarlett raised a brow at that. "No way!"
-Nah, totally, it's kind of the reason why I'm as big news as I am over here. I think we mentioned it earlier but I've already taught a lot of the guys here some stuff and three of them are already finished with the basics already. It's only a matter of time before I teach them the most important part of my skillset-
Scarlett was curious about that. "And that would be?" She spoke up for the first time since this call had started, getting a jump out of the blonde, much to her amusement. "Apologies, Dr. Hara here, I've been listening and can't help but think you're rather interesting."
-Oh, that so? Right, and the answer to your question is rebounds!- the boy sounded ecstatic as she blinked. -You might not know what rebounds are, Amelia-chan, they're a sort of reaction where Freezing field's break and cause a lot of force-
"R-Really?" Amelia looked intrigued. "That sounds so different from Volt Textures."
"It's kind of ingenious," Scarlett said with a hum. "Your style relies on rebounds and that ventured off into this Natural Energy?"
-Oh, no, well, I've had the ability to gather that for years, rebounds were something I learned how to do when I was, like, 10-
"Interesting. Amelia, times up," Scarlett said as the E-Pandora wilted a bit. "... You have so many days ahead of you for training… besides, it's not like he's gonna disappear. You both literally under Chevalier, I'm sure we could find a way for you to visit every now and then."
"R-Really?!" The young woman looked hopeful and Ohara felt something horrible form in her gut.
"Y-Yeah, I'm sure."
"... T-Then, we'll talk later, Naruto," Amelia said with a wide smile as the doctor left the room. "Talk to you tomorrow!"
-Sure, hell, maybe I could even give you guys some pointers!-
"That sounds great!"
Hearing them end their conversation, Scarlett grimaced, hands in her lab coat pockets fully clenched.
'Stop, you knew this in the beginning,' she told herself as the door to the Communications Room opened to let out a happy-looking Amelia. 'You're giving these kids chances, regardless, why feel bad about this?'
She doesn't know. Maybe it was the fact that she was lying to people who were on their last legs.
Maybe it was the fact that Rattle had been dying of starvation.
Maybe it was Jina's whole situation of being sold to Chevalier.
Maybe it was the fact that Amelia's only reasons for being here were because she'd been abandoned along with her terminally ill brother and this was her last line of rope?
All she knew was that, in the beginning, she'd expected this to be so easy.
And yet here she was, unable to face their most promising subject while her heart felt like breaking.
'Please, save this damn project,' she hoped the boy could.
Maybe then she'd be able to feel great about all of this.
~NRK~
The call ended with the blonde grinning as he returned to the waiting group.
Perfect timing, too, as the door to Margaret's room opened to reveal the women all smiling as they came out with their latest additions dressed.
Maria in a simple set of black slacks and a white dress shirt with Obito's lab coat over her shoulders along with some brown sandals.
Kazuha, meanwhile, had donned a long white nun's skirt, Obito's dress shirt, a white jacket over it, and some brown boots. Over her shoulders was
Margaret was forever thankful she and these two had some similar sizes.
"You look great," Obito said with a nod to both, Kazuha blushing before grinning as Maria handed him back his lab coat. "At least I now don't look like a stripper."
Margaret snorted while Kazuha burned bright red.
~NRK~
Kushina hummed as she played a game of checkers with her second son before the group found several knocks on their… window?
Turning to it, Su-Na blinked at the sight of Obito, Naruto, and Minato grinning at her.
Moments later, the entirety of the group was inside…!?
Eugene choked as Maria Lancelot stood there along with Kazuha Aoi.
"Oh God, what did he do this time?" He asked in shock and Chiffon giggled. "T-They're literally standing in front of me, what happened?!"
Su-Na swallowed at the sight of Kazuha Aoi in front of her, the hero of the 8th Nova Clash looked around at the group in wonder.
'The sheer magnitude of what's before me…' No, the sheer magnitude of what Naruto could DO had become something that had to be protected.
A boy who could bring Novafied hybrids? Ones as notable as the two before her?
Oh, fuck no.
"..." Maria looked around with a tilt of the head when she saw Kushina, eyes blinking. "Hmm, you're like… Rana."
"Hmm… Maria Lancelot… Minato-kun," Kushina considered the legends before her before Minato rubbed the back of his head and walked over to take her to the bathroom. "Be right back."
As the two went in and noise erupted, Naruto hummed, feeling kind of drained.
"Mmm!" He stretched before letting out a yawn. "Alright, like, this is cool but I'm tired dang,' Naruto said, looking at Menma. "Come on, bro, let's hit the hay," he said as Menma rubbed his eyes.
"Alright," the boy said as they walked out of the room, Rana right behind them… and Lucy right behind her. "... Onii-chan, are we going to talk to Renault-san?" Menma asked as Naruto looked at her in confusion.
"L-Lucy-nee, like, I'd be all about talking to you in the morning but I'm super tired."
"Hmm but Rana Linchen is following," Lucy observed as Rana blushed a bit.
Naruto was too tired to blush. "Look, Rana and I just share a bed, nothing crazy," he said as Margaret, Obito, Su-Na, Gengo, and Kazuha shot him the weirdest of looks. "We've basically been living out the same room for the past month."
"What was that?!" Kushina yelled as she threw the door open, looking shocked beyond words. "N-Naru-kun?!"
"Nope, too tired," he said as he left, Menma right behind him and Rana right behind him… with Lucy right behind her. "... I can't find the emotion to care to at the moment," Naruto said with not a gaze thrown her way as he moved out the room.
"... Someone's gonna grow up to be a ladykiller, geez, he already is," Gengo noted as Obito snorted, Kazuha right behind him.
"Um, where am I going to sleep… where's Maria-san going to sleep?" Kazuha asked nervously. "If we want to keep things as low as possible, don't we need to not go outside?"
"..." Gengo looked outside the window. "That was convenient."
None of the group noticed Chiffon's disappearance.
Naruto Uzumaki laid back on his pillows as Rana did the same, Menma flopping between them in some pajamas, the Tibetan following his example with a pair of Naruto's.
Then the bed dipped and Naruto didn't even care.
He flopped back, arms behind his head, and closed his eyes.
Rana raised a brow at Lucy before grunting and shooting her an odd gaze.
She followed her fated one and laid on one of his arms, Menma following suit right between them.
Lucy Renault was curious about the scene before a form passed her and took up the blonde's other arm.
Chiffon pressed a finger to her lips with a grin before getting some sleep.
'Ah, she does sport more affection for Naruto Uzumaki,' glad to have some clarification.
She laid down on his stomach and closed her eyes.
And Naruto couldn't scrounge up the want to care.
Need sleep.
~NRK~
That's a good place to stop.
So, we had Radox's talk and he's not one to back down much less not make any moves.
Greenlighting the E-Pandora Project is a bit different this time around because Radox is clearly going against the committee by not informing them first.
Add on that he's trying to keep an eye on Naruto Uzumaki and this will be an odd situation, especially once things in Alaska die down.
Radox's a prideful man who thinks he knows what's necessary but, as Naruto says, how many pieces of the big picture are you willing to sacrifice to even make it. What will be left of that puzzle other than a blotchy thing full of missing parts which is rather fitting.
Moving on, Naruto can not only replenish Soul Energy, a rather valuable thing that'll make things interesting in the future… But what's this?! Kazuha Aoi IS ALIVE?!
I hope you all loved that little change. With Obito's drug, Kazuha could shut down her stigmata which put her into a deep sleep that was aided by the life support system. Notice, we never did look into the Nucleotide, and for good reason.
And Naruto's not just brought back Kazuha but MARIA and that's going to change things. She's not only pretty powerful but Maria can connect to the Will herself, the two will have an interestingly chatty relationship when all's said and done.
Now, we've finally added Amelia to the characters of the fic, now. Yes, this penpal thing has always been the connection between them and we delve into not just Amelia's past a bit but Scarlett's mind on the matter.
I'm going to reread the entire arc but I always found it kind of weird how she could flip back and forth on her emotions. For the love of God, just tell them you're also weeping for fucking Jina already!
Also on that, it's going to be 'Jina Purpleton' not 'Gina Papleton'.
Note: Lucy is not a part of the harem, just a reminder.
And, one more time, I appreciate the thoughts but I'm, at best, going to just 'jump' into the scenes I want to with the Louis arc. No more than that.
Now, I hope you all had a good week, like I said earlier last chapter, for those who care, Kamui Candy will be continuing on next week even if it's not that far off from being put on hiatus so I can focus back on Dust in Dark Silver with a better writer's mindset.
Ciao.
Words: 14.5k+
~NRK Out~