Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Danganronpa.
Chapter 52:
Desperation Attracts Despair
Naruto was not meditating.
He had not done much meditation for the past couple of months. He had been far too busy for something like that. Perhaps it was about time that he got back into it, is what he was telling himself as he sat motionless on a bench just outside one the greenhouses that the school had established.
It was just so...relaxing.
In the meantime several birds had found his shoulders to be a suitable spot to rest, and to be honest as long as they didn't take a dump on him Naruto was more than happy to leave them there. He did not have the energy to try and force them off. They weren't bothering him.
Kurama did not seem to agree as he bared his teeth at the birds who, in his humble opinion, were intruding on his territory. However, every time he tried to claw at one of them, they would fly off for a few seconds before descending back down on Naruto's shoulders, where the sequence would repeat over and over.
It was infuriating.
It got to the point that he had to be consoled by San-D while Maga-Z and Cham-P laughed at his constant failures. Jum-P was too busy napping to care.
Naruto didn't take notice of this. His mind was too tired to focus on anything specifically. He was far more interested just staring up at the drifting clouds as they rolled across the sky. It really was a peaceful day.
'I get why Shikamaru enjoyed doing this.'
It was very therapeutic.
Fuyuhiko didn't seem to think so as he stood over the whiskered blond with his arms crossed. He glanced at Gundham who seemed to be in the middle of a conversation with some squirrels.
"Do you know what happened to him?"
Gundham stopped what he was doing to look at the shorter boy. He shook his head.
"I cannot confirm anything. This servant of mine showed up about an hour ago with a dead look in his eyes." Gundham smirked. "At first, I thought he had finally given himself over to the dark arts. On closer inspection, it appears I was mistaken. Unfortunately, he refused to answer any of my questions."
Fuyuhiko understood about half of that. He cut out all the bullshit to focus on the important parts.
"So you don't know shit. Figures."
Sighing, Fuyuhiko decided enough was enough and walked over to Naruto and gave him a couple of light kicks on the leg.
"Get your ass up. You've been on this bench for the past hour. It's almost lunch time."
"Ah." Naruto turned away from the clouds to look at Fuyuhiko. "When did you get here, Fuyuhiko?"
He hadn't heard the boy coming.
The yakuza heir's eyebrow twitched a little as the birds started to finally fly off from Naruto's shoulders now that he was moving again, which pleased Kurama.
"Are you on drugs? 'Cause I'll kick your ass if you decided to ruin your life so early."
Drugs? What gave him that idea?
"I'm just trying to reboot my head a little. Figured that Gundham could help with that."
The Ultimate Breeder shared Naruto's love for the outdoors, after all.
"You know you're not making any sense, right?"
"Probably. I'm just contemplating how my life is so weird."
Fuyuhiko snorted. "You're just now realizing that? You had a demon spirit or some shit sealed in you for most of your life, had some creepy magic power shit, fought against other people who had that weird power, and then finally managed to travel through dimensions to get here. That's the type of crap that only Tanaka would come up with."
In an entire different part of the city, a certain round boy sneezed before continuing with his fanfiction.
Gundham wasn't offended by Fuyuhiko's comparison. He relished in it actually.
"It cannot be helped." Gundham was smirking again. "It appears as though mine and his soul were intertwined long ago. Our meeting was but a work of fate, you see. All his decisions were destined to lead to this moment in time. He just cannot comprehend this yet and thus he hesitates to take his place as my servant. It is the height of folly."
Naruto was too tired to bother trying to correct Gundham. Besides, he knew what the guy was really saying anyway.
"Are you sure you're not the one on drugs?" Fuyuhiko mused before shaking his head. Trying to understand Gundham's thought pattern wouldn't end well for him. "You gonna explain what's bugging you this time or are you gonna keep being a brooding bastard?" he asked, turning his attention back to the Uzumaki.
Naruto sighed as he lowered his head.
Might as well come out and say it. What did he have to lose at this point.
"I went to second base with Mikan."
He was sure he was using that phrase right. Better than saying that Mikan gave him a handjob before they were interrupted. And if they hadn't been interrupted, what would they have ultimately done?
A question for the ages.
Gundham and Fuyuhiko had two different reactions. Gundham looked like someone had just sucker punched him in the gut while Fuyuhiko was gaping like a fish before he turned red with anger.
"What the fuck, you shithead!? You just couldn't keep it in your pants, could you!? Fuck, you might be worse than Soda!"
Naruto wanted to cry.
"Fuck you! I've been feeling stressed lately, and she surprised me!"
It didn't help that he had also slept with Sonia in the same bed. They hadn't done anything, but he could still remember how nice that had felt. He had needed multiple cold showers just to reign in his libido from that incident. Not to mention how Ibuki was constantly hugging and kissing him. And now, he had been quite literally cockblocked by Akane of all people.
Was this the definition of "blue balled"? Because he was suffering through it! Was the world just trying to make him suffer? Was someone getting a kick out of this situation?
Fuyuhiko tried to reign in his anger. "Fucking teenagers. Don't you realize how dangerous that sort of shit is? You only get one chance at life."
Gundham on the other hand was clenching his bandaged hand into a fist while he trembled.
"Such impurity. Such foulness…..!"
Naruto almost pouted. Why did Gundham have to put it like that?
"See, this is why I wasn't going to say anything!"
So damn judgmental. He wanted to see how Fuyuhiko would react if Peko came on to him like Mikan had done with him. He bet the yakuza wouldn't last two seconds before he gave into the temptation.
"Damn idiot." Fuyuhiko felt like he was babysitting an overgrown child. "You're the type of sentimental fucker that would accept any girl's affection if they came on to you nice enough, aren't you?"
Naruto took offense to that.
"I wouldn't!"
"Don't you fucking lie to me! You know Tsumiki isn't the only one!"
"Fuck you! I bet you would do the same with Peko-chan and don't try to deny it!"
"Fuck you! I'm not weak willed like you! I actually have a spine!"
"Oh yeah!?"
"Yeah!"
Gundham scowled. "Such childishness. I do not understand why you choose to partake in such theatrics."
Yeah, you tell him, Gundham! Naruto cheered for him in his head.
"Oh, fuck off, you." Fuyuhiko wasn't having it. "I still remember how you were so willing to go along with Soda's stupid plan during our camping trip. Don't try to act so innocent. I bet you got some twisted fantasies in that head of yours too."
"You dare….!?" Those were fighting words, and Gundham was ready to throw down.
"Fine, we're all weak!" Naruto threw his arms in the air, defeated. "That doesn't help me with my situation."
"What situation?" Fuyuhiko ignored the dark aura coming off from Gundham to give Naruto an incredulous look. "So the nurse put the moves on you. Frankly, I'm surprised it took her this long."
That girl was freaky.
Naruto massaged his forehead, trying to calm his nerves.
"Sleeping with her before understanding my feelings isn't something I'm interested in."
He couldn't do something like that to Mikan. He couldn't betray her feelings. It would be like he was using her, and that wasn't fair to her.
"Right….."
"It's true!"
Fuyuhiko didn't think so, for a number of reasons. "Then what, you came to your senses before you got any further? Really?"
His tone was that of disbelief.
Fuyuhiko's question caused Naruto to shrink in embarrassment.
"Well, no….."
"…..you weak fuck."
Naruto was mad that he couldn't refute Fuyuhiko's words.
After Akane had interrupted Naruto and Mikan's, uh, "bonding," it had taken them several seconds before they could even contemplate a lie to tell the Ultimate Gymnast. Well, Naruto had lied. Mikan had been glaring at Akane the whole time. And damn, what a glare it had been!
Naruto still wasn't sure how, but in the end they had managed to convince Akane that Naruto had simply been helping Mikan with her dress, and that the weird smell she had picked up was just some new perfume that Mikan had been trying on.
Incredibly, Akane had bought it, suggesting that Mikan should pick a new perfume because the one she had on smelled terrible.
Mikan had just continue to glare at Akane. It was kind of frightening to see Mikan of all people glaring at someone, but there you go.
It made Naruto question if Akane was even more clueless about sex than he was, but he wasn't going to worry about that now.
After that, Naruto had practically ran out of there. He couldn't bear to look at Mikan right now, especially not when he still had a boner, and he was sure that the purple haired girl was feeling the same way. Then he had come here to Gundham, which brought him to the present, where Fuyuhiko was being a pain in the ass.
"Akane interrupted us before anything else could happen."
Hey, he was already being honest with everything else. Might as well spill the beans on everything.
"Looks like that one track mind of hers finally paid off," Fuyuhiko said, uncaring about the painful look on Naruto's face.
The blond sagged back into the bench.
"You're not gonna give me any sympathy, are you?"
Fuyuhiko was not. "You got lucky this time. You're really trying to ruin your high school life, aren't you?"
Naruto wasn't sure how he would be ruining it. Mikan looked like she knew what she was doing, with how she had fondled-
Wait, no! Bad thoughts. He couldn't give in to his lust! He had to be better than Kazuichi and Teruteru!
But really, at this point, was he?
Probably not.
Goddamn it.
Fuyuhiko smirked in victory when he saw the defeated look on Naruto's face.
"Fucking idiot." The Ultimate Yakuza sighed a little. "Well, it's better than seeing you acting like a sad sack of shit like you've been for the past week."
This was true. While Fuyuhiko couldn't condone two high schoolers sharing a bed like that, it was better than having his idiot best friend worrying about some monstrous woman who deserved what she got.
Naruto was thinking along the same lines, wondering just how his life could go from questioning his core beliefs to worrying about a pretty girl coming onto him.
Was this a reward or just more torture?
"H'mph, I must concur." Gundham felt compelled to speak up at this point as he returned to normal. "You have been most distracted lately."
Naruto felt defensive now.
"Not really, we've been doing well with the play and stuff."
The last week had gone by in a flash, and he and Peko got their work done in time. Really, nothing worth mentioning had happened.
"And that's the issue." Gundham wasn't going to mince his words. "You are so quick to hide your feelings from others. Didn't you once say that it was better to lean on others during such moments? Did you not advise me to do the same? To have more trust in others?"
Naruto felt like he was being stabbed right in the heart after hearing that. He knew Gundham had a point, though. He might have turned to Fuyuhiko and Byakuya for help, but even so he had refused to share what he was feeling with them. That was true with Sonia too. After their accidental "sleepover," he hadn't spoken much to the princess.
It wasn't out of any ill feelings. It was the opposite. He didn't want to burden his friends with any of his problems. After all, when you got down to it, what he, Fuyuhiko, and Byakuya had done was murder, plain and simple. Naruto still didn't regret it, but his mind always tended to wonder. Had he acted too hastily? Had his anger gotten the best of him?
Apart from Fuyuhiko and Byakuya, Naruto knew that the others were vaguely aware of what had occurred at the very least, but they weren't going to directly address it. He was sure even Kazuichi had some idea, but they weren't treating him any differently for it. Perhaps they were waiting for him to bring it up first.
Still, he would rather suffer in silence than ask for support.
It was just another sign of his hypocrisy.
Naruto was okay with that, though. He knew he shouldn't. He knew he needed to follow what he preached, but ultimately he wanted to protect his friends at all cost, even if that meant that he had to suffer for it.
"I think it's stupid." Fuyuhiko wasn't going to beat around the bush either. "I bet he's trying to become some kind of martyr or something. That kind of thinking is messed up."
Naruto almost glared at him. "If I knew what martyr meant, I would be kicking your ass right now."
Fuyuhiko wasn't scared. "It means you want to be a victim."
Now that did piss him off.
"You know that's not it."
"Then what is it?"
"It's just hard for me to justify my actions." That was the root cause of his dilemma. "Maybe I should have tried something else. Given it more time. Or I dunno, done something else before…."
He didn't finish that sentence.
Gundham scoffed as he looked down at his Four Dark Devas and Kurama.
"The mere fact that you have such thoughts proves the folly of humanity."
What?
Naruto didn't get it. "What does that mean?"
"It means that you're trying to find reason in something that does not need it." Gundham faced him. "In the wild, it is kill or be killed. Animals will not hesitate to strike each other down for survival. You could call it petty violence, but it's not as simple as that. Many times they too have something to protect. Mothers will protect their young. Pack leaders who will guide their group to the best of their abilities, striking at any threats that may come their way. It is not an absolute rule of course. Many animals are also willing to sacrifice their own if it assures their survival."
Naruto frowned. "What's your point?"
He was paying close attention to Gundham was saying, and so was Fuyuhiko for that matter.
"My point is that humans retain those instincts. We are animals. It is only in our hubris that we try to deny that nature."
"So what, I should be able to attack whoever I want?"
"Don't misunderstand me, you cur." Gundham frowned, obviously annoyed by Naruto's insinuation. "Did I not tell you that these actions cannot be simply defined as petty violence? Some may choose to view it through such lenses, but that only shows their ignorance. In most instances, there is meaning to how animals interact with one another. Just as a mother protects her young, you acted to protect one of your own. No one can fault you for that."
Wow. Out of all the people that Naruto expected to hear a pep talk from, Gundham was not the one. But maybe it was because he was hearing it from him that it resonated with the blond. Because ultimately, everything Gundham was saying was what his heart was telling him. There was just always that voice in the back of his head that had to wonder if perhaps he wasn't making a mistake. Perhaps it was because he didn't want to fail as much as he did in his old world. He knew that carrying such a burden wasn't fair, but it was still there, always trying to haunt him from the shadows. The memories of his dead friends were always a constant reminder of what he had lost.
Ultimately, it might all mean nothing. Worrying about such things was probably stupid, but here he was, being stupid.
It's what made him the person that he was.
"The fact that you don't take pleasure from such acts should tell you all that you need to know anyway," Gundham added, his voice softer now. "The strong do what is required, regardless of how much pain it might bring them."
Naruto admired Gundham's maturity in all of this and smiled. He bowed his head in respect and thanks.
"Thank you for that, Gundham. And you're right. I….I have not been living up to my words through all of this. I am sorry for that."
It was like he was stumbling over the same obstacles over and over. Naruto hated that.
Gundham looked at him for a few more seconds before finally nodding.
"As long as you understand your foolishness."
"With this guy? You're asking the impossible," Fuyuhiko said, smirking. He too had been fixated with what Gundham had to say and found himself agreeing with the guy.
"Shut up and let's at least practice a little," Naruto said, grumbling.
He and Gundham had big parts in the play, so he could at least get some work done here.
Fuyuhiko gave him another glare.
"I still haven't forgotten about Tsumiki."
Oh, for fuck's sake! Naruto was never going to live this down, was he?
Romance troubles aside, Naruto admittedly found himself in a better mood, all thanks to Gundham and his words. Perhaps it was justification, but at the end of the day he had managed to save someone he cared about. If he had hesitated, there was no telling what could have happened.
Naruto's gratitude did not stop him or Fuyuhiko from getting annoyed when the Ultimate Breeder tried to send a horde of squirrels at them to better act out his role as a "puppeteer."
Yep, they were the best of friends.
Hajime watched his screen flash "YOU LOSE" in big letters for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour. It was probably more like fifteen, but it was still a lot of games to lose!
"I just can't beat you, Nanami," he somewhat grumbled as he put his gaming device down. He couldn't bear to look at it without feeling like challenging the girl sitting next to him.
Chiaki on the other hand was looking pretty pleased with herself as she munched on a big of chips that Byakuya had given her earlier. They liked the same brand.
"Don't get too depressed, Hinata-kun. You're getting better."
Oh yeah? Hajime didn't think so, but he was going up against the Ultimate Gamer, so maybe it wasn't fair to compare results until he took on someone else.
"The lunch break is about to end soon."
Hajime almost shuddered thinking about having to return to his class where Natsumi was sure to order him around some more. That girl wanted everything to be absolutely perfect.
"Oh yeah?" Chiaki hummed as she started another game, this one solo. She knew Hajime was too tired for another challenge. "What do you guys do anyway?"
"Well, most of the classes have their regular schedule, but this one girl in my class talked our teacher into giving us more time to prepare for the festival."
And by "talked," Hajime really meant "threatened." It paid to be the daughter of a famous yakuza.
"I guess you guys must be excited too." Chiaki smiled a little. "I'm glad. Uzumaki-kun will be happy to hear that."
Hajime felt a weird something in his chest when he saw Chiaki smiling while thinking about Naruto, but he didn't dwell on it. It probably wasn't serious.
"A lot of people in the Reserve Course just feel happy to be included. We get a chance to go up against you guys. I guess we feel like we're being acknowledged."
"Is that how you think as well?"
Chiaki's question gave Hajime pause. How was he going to answer that?
"….maybe? I guess I feel like I'm more of a part of the school than when I first got here."
Chiaki nodded. "I understand that sentiment."
She did?
Hajime was curious. "What do you mean? You were literally picked by the school to attend."
Not like him, who just paid his way in.
"Yeah, but that didn't mean a lot honestly," Chiaki admitted. "I only decided to accept the school's invitation because I thought I could make some friends."
For a reason like that…..Hajime didn't know how to respond. It sounded so simple that it once again shattered the "ultimate" image that he had about Ultimates.
"I guess I felt like I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself," Chiaki continued, trying to articulate her feelings on the matter. "What's so fun about attending class when no one else is there?"
Hajime had never really thought about that before. He had heard that Ultimates were free to choose whether or not they wanted to attend classes. For them, education was second to honing their talents. Or better put, honing their talents was their education.
"I heard it's a common thing with other classes, and it's only because of the school festival that many of them have started working together."
Seriously? Hajime couldn't see it. Not with how close Naruto and Chiaki seemed to be. There was also Akane and Nekomaru too.
"It almost happened with us too," Chiaki admitted, pausing her game to think back about her first day at Hope's Peak Academy. She had been hopeful when she had attended homeroom for the first time, only for that hope to shatter after everyone had decided to go their own way. It had made her think that she was never going to be able to make friends that she could share her games with.
"What happened?" Hajime really wanted to know.
"Uzumaki-kun made us all go on a camping trip."
"What?" Hajime didn't understand. It was that simple?
Chiaki had to stop herself from laughing at Hajime's incredulous look.
"Yeah. He said he wanted us to enjoy our time here. It was also kind of his fault that we all decided to go our separate ways at first." Humming, Chiaki tilted her head to ponder that. "Actually, that's not really fair. Uzumaki-kun had no way of knowing how his absence would cause us to react. I guess we were all just trying to find an excuse to skip at that point."
Hajime frowned. "You include yourself in that?"
"Yeah." Chiaki had to be honest with herself about this. "I wanted friends, but I guess I never did anything about it."
Not after being shunned so many times.
Hajime didn't know how to respond to that. Once again, he had thought that Ultimates were beings without problems, but here he was listening to Chiaki share about her lonely experience up to this point.
"It sounds a bit lonely….."
Chiaki hummed again. It was sort of cute the way she seemed to ponder things sometimes, but Hajime was going to keep that thought to himself.
"I suppose so. It's alright now. Thanks to Uzumaki-kun, we were all able to take that step together and become friends. I've had so many great experiences because of him."
They were memories of a lifetime, and their school lives were only just starting. It made Chiaki excited to think about the future, something that had been unthinkable to her before coming to Hope's Peak.
Hajime had to look away after hearing this. The way Chiaki looked right now…..again, he was bothered.
"You really admire Uzumaki, don't you?"
"Yeah. He's one of a kind." Chiaki smiled. It made her look even more beautiful if Hajime was being honest. "I want to be like him one day. To be able to inspire others so easily...it's really amazing. I think that's his true talent if you ask me."
That kind of admiration….Hajime silently wondered what it would take for him to draw that kind of emotion from others, especially from someone like Chiaki. Did it all ultimately come down to talent, after all?
Unsure of how to process all of this, Hajime decided to not dwell on it for the time being and instead challenged Chiaki to another match to take his mind off such thoughts.
He had to beat the girl at least once!
Annoyingly, he never did. It didn't stop Hajime from having a good time with his new friend.
By the time the lunch period was over, they had played two more matches. By that point, Hajime had to get back to his class to see what Natsumi had in store for him next. All the while his head was full of mixed thoughts, once again wondering if there was some way he could measure to someone like Naruto. Ultimates might not be the supreme beings that everyone made them out to be, but that didn't change the fact that they all had incredible talents. Naruto too. The guy was the Ultimate Ninja for crying out loud. Not the kind of talent Hajime would have expected, but he had seen the blond's skills firsthand. And now, Chiaki was saying that Naruto was talented in more than one area.
Why couldn't Hajime have just one?
'If I had talent, would I be able to have that kind of confidence too?'
The confidence to change the world?
So many questions. Hajime's head was starting to hurt. Maybe he should have eaten more before meeting up with Chiaki. He wouldn't be able to eat again until the afternoon when classes were over.
'I'll just have to tough it out I guess.'
Resigning himself to his sudden depressed mood, Hajime didn't realize that he was stumbling onto a different scene until it was too late.
It was incredibly suffocating.
Loneliness hurt.
For the first time in her life, Sato felt truly alone.
Her home life was nothing special. Her parents didn't mistreat her. They were the typical people that you could find walking anywhere. They didn't bother others and led mundane lives. They were content with that.
For the first half of her life, Sato had been content with normalcy as well. She had never stood out. Her grades had never been bad. In fact, on her good days, Sato knew that she could score higher than average. It wasn't like she had a talent in this area. She just did the best an average person could do.
Which was fine. Her parents led happy lives despite being normal. As long as she could find happiness, then Sato would have been fine being the same as them.
If there was one thing that people had praised her for growing up, it had been her photography skills. Now Sato knew that they had just been acting nice. There was nothing special about her skills in photography. She had learned this the hard way when she entered elementary school. Plenty of other people had shown themselves to be better photographers than her. They won prizes and competitions, while Sato always struggled just to keep up.
Once again, this had been fine. Sato had been disappointed at first, but she had told herself that it ultimately did not matter. If she enjoyed it, then she could keep doing it.
Then she met Kuzuryu Natsumi. That spoiled rotten girl had entered Sato's life right before middle school. She had taken over the peace that Sato had been able to find for herself in her school's photography club. Natsumi had treated everyone like trash just because she had been deemed to have the most skill in their club. It wasn't that Natsumi was talented per se, but her skills in photography had still earned her more praise than Sato's. It had infuriated her. Why would someone as terrible as that have more skills than someone like Sato?
How could the world be so cruel?
Then middle school came. Sato's misfortune would continue for a few more months as she had the displeasure of attending the same school as Natsumi. The girl's attitude didn't change. It only seemed to get worse. The fact that Natsumi was part of the Kuzuryu clan had exasperated the problem. She was untouchable. Sato had been on the verge of despair.
Then Mahiru had appeared.
The redhead had transferred in a bit later due to a trip she had taken with her mother that summer. Apparently by that point Mahiru's mother had already been teaching her all about photography.
Needless to say, Sato had been blown away.
Almost instantaneously, Mahiru had been recognized as the star of the middle school photography club. It was clear to anyone who saw Mahiru's pictures. They had a way of bringing your spirits up, of making you feel calm and at ease. The pictures just made you want to smile. It was like Mahiru was capturing the best qualities of the people she photographed and preserving them for the world to admire. Some critics had said that the subject matter was boring, but Sato had never thought of it that way. It was the opposite.
Sato had been inspired.
For the first time, it was Natsumi who had been humbled. Sato had taken great satisfaction at seeing the spoiled girl lose to the far more endearing Mahiru.
Sato had admired her friend from that moment on. She recognized Mahiru's talent and the good that it could do for the world. Her pictures, her skills, they had managed to save Sato when she had been at her lowest. Sato was still content to be average, as long as she was able to stand next to her friend. She would protect her to make sure that she could succeed, even if it was from someone like Natsumi.
Jealousy was an ugly thing, and Sato wanted to shield Mahiru from that.
All throughout middle school, Mahiru had been the main target of Natsumi's constant bullying. Sato had clashed with Natsumi more times than she cared to count because of it. Mahiru was too nice to speak up directly, so Sato had taken it upon herself to keep her safe. It's how their friendship had bloomed. When others caved to Natsumi and her whims, Sato and Mahiru stood up to her. There had only been peace when high school rolled around. Mahiru was scouted to be accepted at the Hope's Peak Academy as the Ultimate Photographer. Sato had followed soon after, not wanting to be left behind. Her parents could barely afford the tuition fees, and she was sure that they were going to take on some debt by her second year. However, they also knew that graduating from Hope's Peak Academy, even as a regular student, meant that their daughter would be presented with great opportunities in the future, so they were willing to suffer financially for it.
Sato did not care about that. She just wanted to stay by Mahiru's side and keep her safe. Mahiru was her precious friend. And thanks to Mahiru, she had been able to meet other incredibly talented people, like Mikan, Ibuki, and Hiyoko. Sure, Natsumi's brother, Fuyuhiko, was around but he was easy enough to ignore.
The same couldn't be said about that bastard Naruto.
Why did that blond have to enter Mahiru's life? Why had he been the one to capture her best friend's heart? Just like she had done previously, Sato wondered if it was because the blond possessed talent and she didn't. It had to be the deciding factor, and it infuriated her.
Why couldn't she have been blessed with talent too?
Sato had been willing to support her friend at first, but then she realized a chilling possibility: was Naruto just using Mahiru for his desires? Because Mahiru was talented, did he want to take advantage of her? Sato had convinced herself that she was just being paranoid, but then another scumbag entered the picture: Nagito.
The Ultimate Lucky Student had all but confirmed her greatest fears. Naruto was trying to use Mahiru for something. Sato had no idea what that something was, but she couldn't let that happen. At the same time, she also couldn't let Mahiru know how much she despised Naruto. She didn't want to cause her friend any pain. And Nagito was holding that against her.
Now, Sato had finally been able to come to a decision. As long as Mahiru was safe, then she didn't care if she hurt her a little. Ever since Nagito had confronted her, Sato's mind had been conjuring up the worst possible outcomes for Mahiru and whatever Naruto was planning. She knew she couldn't confront the blond directly. That wouldn't end well for her.
So she would plead to Mahiru, to try and separate her from Naruto and Nagito.
Well, Sato called it a "plan," but at the end of the day she would simply be begging Mahiru to make a choice to distance herself from them. Sato was desperate, and her mind couldn't handle the stress any longer. She hadn't even decided a time and place to bring this up to Mahiru.
This morning Sato had finally just snapped. After constantly hearing Natsumi and her snide remarks and being forced to partake in the school festival, something that Naruto was promoting, something in Sato had finally shattered.
And so, when Mahiru came to greet her, Sato had decided to finally put her cards on the table. She had pleaded with her friend to remove herself from Naruto's orbit.
And what did Sato get as an answer?
"I can't do that, Sato."
Mahiru had been clear. Even if Sato was the one asking her, she was not going to distance herself from Naruto. Her best friend had chosen the blond over her.
Now, Sato felt like she had fallen into a pit of despair. She had been unable to say anything to that, her whole body going numb.
Mahiru had reassured her that she wanted to clear up any misunderstanding between her and Naruto, but by that point Sato was no longer listening.
Sato had failed. In the end, there was nothing she could do for the one that mattered the most to her.
Had Nagito been right? Was it because of her lack of talent that she couldn't win against Naruto? Hell, did the blond even know that she was acting against him? Did her existence matter at all?
Really, did she matter?
'What am I anyway…?'
Sato had no way of answering that as she aimlessly walked through the courtyards that stood between the Reserve Course building and the Main Course building. She hadn't eaten anything for lunch, and frankly she wasn't hungry. She knew that Mahiru had been trying to invite her to the picnics that that horndog of a cook put together for the class, but Sato was in no mood.
She needed to be alone right now. The question still remained: what was she going to do? Could she even do anything?
Sato was stuck, and she couldn't see what path to take.
'I….'
"Oh my, fancy seeing you here."
No.
No.
No…!
Sato froze. She didn't dare to look up, but that voice told her everything she needed to know.
Nagito was standing in front of her. The luckster was in his school uniform and was holding something in his hands, but Sato was doing her best to look at anything but him.
"If it isn't Sato-san." Nagito was giving her a smile, but it only made Sato shiver. "How lucky of us to run into one another. On such a beautiful day too."
Sato wanted to just walk away, but like last time her legs weren't working.
"W-W-What are you d-doing h-here…..?"
Her voice wasn't working all that well either.
"Hm?" Nagito seemed confused by her question. "Nothing in particular. I was just trying to perfect my lines, I guess. I didn't have a destination in mind. How odd that I would run into you. I wonder….."
The boy trailed off, but Sato didn't care. She didn't even know what he meant by "perfecting his lines," but again she did not care.
"W-Well, if y-you don't have a-any business with me-"
"Ah, that's not quite right either."
What?
Nagito's friendly demeanor vanished as he looked down in disappointment.
"I was expecting to hear from you sooner actually. I know you're practically worthless, but do try to accomplish something meaningful, no matter how small it ultimately is. The school festival is almost upon us, but I haven't heard a single thing about your involvement."
What was this guy saying?
"Y-You just wanted p-people to participate, right?" Sato was having trouble breathing. "W-Well, everyone in my c-class already is, s-so there was nothing for m-me to do!"
Nagito's disappointment persisted. "Hmm, I guess at your level that would be what's expected. As long as you're not troubling Uzumaki-kun and Koizumi-san too much, I suppose I have no reason to complain too much."
At this, Sato finally exploded.
"Y-YOU-!"
"Hm?" Nagito raised his eyebrow at Sato's now enraged expression. "Why are you so angry all of a sudden?"
"DON'T ACT LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW!" Sato was close to hyperventilating, but the adrenaline pumping through her wouldn't let that happen. "I've had it with you and Uzumaki! What do you plan to do with Mahiru!? Why are you trying to use her!?"
"Oh my." Nagito crossed his arms and sighed, the papers in his hand all but forgotten. "I'm afraid you're asking the wrong questions, Sato-san. Did I not explain this to you before? There is no point in you worrying about that. It's not like you can do anything."
"ANSWER ME, YOU BASTARD!"
Sato could no longer rationalize. After Mahiru's rejection, she couldn't.
"I have no reason to." Nagito was as calm as always. He didn't look the tiniest bit bothered by Sato's outburst, which only angered the girl further. "If you want me to talk, I suppose you'll have to force it out of me, but…..do you really think you can do that?"
This bastard was mocking her…..!
"You….."
Sato's legs could work again, and she took a step toward the calm Nagito.
She stopped when she noticed someone else approaching them, someone that she did not expect.
It was Hajime, and the boy looked confused as he got closer.
Nagito noticed Hajime too and asked, "A friend of yours?"
Sato didn't answer him.
"Sato, what's going on here?" Hajime questioned as he came to a stop between her and Nagito. "I heard screaming. Is everything alright?"
Sato didn't know what to say. How could she explain this situation anyway?
Nagito was more than happy to provide an answer.
"Oh, it's nothing. Sato-san and.I were merely having a discussion about the school festival and how much we're both looking forward to it."
The bastard was good at lying. Sato hated that.
"Oh yeah?" Hajime looked surprised. "Sato, I didn't know you knew other people from the Main Course. But I guess I see Koizumi around sometimes, so it makes sense….."
"You know Koizumi-san?" Nagito asked him.
Sato didn't get it. Why was Nagito interested in knowing that?
Hajime shook his head. "Not really. I know she's in Uzumaki and Nanami's class, but I don't really talk to her."
Something seemed to change in Nagito when he heard that, but Sato had no idea what that was. It did scare her a little.
"Hmm, is that so?" Nagito was smiling once more. "So you know Uzumaki-kun as well. I'm not surprised. He seems to be able to make friends everywhere he goes. It's one of his best qualities."
Hajime looked a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, I guess that's true. I sort of got that impression from him. I'm guessing you're in his class too?"
"I am. You'll have to tell me how the two of you met, but that will have to wait." Nagito turned and started to walk away. "I have somewhere I need to be soon."
"Ah, right. Sorry for holding you up," Hajime apologized.
"It was no trouble at all."
This "pleasant" exchange had thrown Sato off, making her momentarily forget about her anger, but seeing Nagito walk away caused her to explode again.
"WAIT! Where do you think you're going!? We're not finished here!"
Hajime was startled by the tone of her voice, but Sato didn't care about him right now. All of her attention as focused on Nagito.
The luckster stopped for a moment. Just long enough to look back at Sato with a smile.
"Why don't you ask Uzumaki-kun."
With that, he left the scene, to do whatever it is that he had to do.
It left Sato enraged as she clinched her fists and gritted her teeth.
'So you're telling me to tackle the problem at the source, huh.'
Was Nagito trying to goad her? Was he laying a trap for her somewhere? But really, at this point, what choice did Sato have?
"Um, Sato?"
A worried Hajime tried to catch her attention, but Sato was already walking away. She had some planning to do.
A very confused Hajime was left at the scene, wondering what all of that had really been about.
When Naruto arrived at the music room, he did not expect to see Hiyoko and Kotoko butting heads. He did not mean this figuratively either. They were literally butting heads with one another while on the stage. Ibuki was just watching the whole thing with obvious amusement while Nagisa stood by the door, looking annoyed.
What had he just stumbled into?
So he asked Nagisa.
"What's going on?"
The boy turned to him, surprised. "Oh, Naruto. I didn't think you were going to be here."
Ibuki had texted him. She probably wanted to practice her lines, although her "character" as the narrator didn't really need practice with anyone.
"Kotoko decided to start another one of her lectures when we got here," Nagisa explained as he turned his attention back to the stage. "Saionji-san didn't appreciate that, and the two started arguing. Mioda-san has been laughing the whole time."
Sounded about right. Is this why Ibuki called him?
"Oh dear, is that Naruto-chan I hear?"
Before Naruto could officially announce his presence, Ibuki had already spotted him.
"Finally, you have arrived!"
This caused Hiyoko and Kotoko to disengage for the time being as they also turned to look at him.
"Naruto, you're here!" Kotoko immediately ran over to him to engulf him in a hug, much to the growing ire of Hiyoko.
"That brat is getting ahead of herself," she muttered as she watched Naruto hug Kotoko back.
Ibuki just snickered to herself.
"I got a text from Ibuki." Naruto patted the beaming Kotoko on the head while Nagisa watched this exchange in silence. "You know you shouldn't fight with other people so easily, Kotoko."
The younger girl pouted. "It's not my fault! She didn't want to accept my brilliant guidance."
"Excuse you!?" Hiyoko stomped her foot in protest. "I'll have you know I'm a performer too, and with a lot more experience! Don't underestimate me, you grunt."
This was true. Naruto had only seen Hiyoko perform once, but he had been blown away. And he wasn't typically the kind of person to enjoy traditional stuff like that.
Kotoko stuck her tongue out. "That's dancing. This is acting. They are separate art forms!"
This was also true.
"Maybe to an amateur." Hiyoko let out a rather crude snort. "Don't compare us, you brat. We're not in the same league."
"Eeeeehhhh~" Kotoko looked grossed out. "She's so not adorbs right now~"
"WHY YOU-!"
Oh boy, Hiyoko was gonna explode!
It took several minutes to get Hiyoko to finally stop trying to come after Kotoko, but Naruto and Ibuki somehow managed to do it.
Already feeling tired even though the day wasn't over, Naruto turned to Ibuki for an explanation.
"So why did you text me?"
"Why do you sound so troubled, Naruto-chan~" Ibuki winked. "You know that when Ibuki calls you it's always for the important stuff!"
Not really.
Ibuki pouted. "Your face says you don't believe me."
Oh. He really sucked at lying sometimes.
Nagisa shook his head. "To be fair, I don't find you particularly trustworthy either."
Shots fired!
"Ugh!" Ibuki clutched her chest. "You shot Ibuki straight in her heart, Nagisa-chan! And here I thought you were one of the cute ones!"
"C-Cute!?" Nagisa practically squeaked as his face heated up. It was the first time someone had called him cute to his face, so it was probably to be expected.
Naruto had to hold himself back from laughing.
"Eh, I don't know." Kotoko cupped her chin in thought as she looked Nagisa over. "I think he's too serious sometimes. Maybe that's why you haven't gotten anywhere with Monaca."
"K-KOTOKO!" Nagisa had to stop himself from fainting. How could Kotoko just say something like that so casually!? He didn't want everyone else knowing about his crush!
"Huh?" Naruto was surprised. "You like Monaca?"
Ibuki and Hiyoko looked at the blond with blank expressions.
Even Kotoko was disappointed. "Naruto, how can you not know that?"
She thought he was observant too!
Naruto frowned. "I'm supposed to know?"
It wasn't like he was studying every single thing Nagisa did!
"Naruto-chan." Ibuki walked up to him to pat him on the back. "Ibuki worries about you sometimes."
Peko had done something similar recently too!
Naruto just grumbled to himself.
"A-Anyway, it's not true!" Nagisa crossed his arms in denial. "You don't have to listen to every thing Kotoko says, Naruto!"
Hmm. Now who was he supposed to believe here? The obviously embarrassed Nagisa or the confident Kotoko?
Tough choice!
"Don't worry, Nagisa." Kotoko's voice sounded consoling, but her face was anything but that. She was having fun with this. "I'll tell you all of Monaca's dirty little secrets later. You'll win her over in no time!"
"S-Secrets?" The poor boy was squeaking again. He was instantly hooked. "W-What kind of secrets?"
"Pfft." Hiyoko snickered. "Of course, the idiot is like this too. I swear, they always start young."
"More like it's going too far." Naruto flicked Kotoko on the forehead, much to her indignation. "Don't go spreading Monaca's secrets to other people."
Kotoko pouted as she massaged her forehead. She bruised easily. "I was only kidding. I wanted to tease Nagisa a bit."
And boy, did it work. It might have been a lie, but Nagisa was too embarrassed to snap out of it so quickly.
"I feel like we've gotten off track here," Naruto said, still trying to understand just why Ibuki had called him here.
"Unwanted pests aside." Cue glare from Kotoko, which Hiyoko happily ignored. "I was the one who had big sis Mioda call you here, Big Bro."
Oh.
Naruto raised his eyebrow. "What for?"
"W-Well." Surprisingly, Hiyoko started to look embarrassed now as her cheeks reddened slightly. "I wanted to get your opinion on the dress that I'll be wearing for the beauty pageant."
Ah, that.
It wasn't Hiyoko's fault, but Naruto instantly got embarrassed himself since the memories of what had happened with Mikan instantly flooded into his mind.
Goddammit, he was not going to live that down anytime soon. More worryingly, he didn't need to be getting a hard-on here of all places. It would lead to his death if Hiyoko noticed something like that.
He was going to need another cold shower after this.
Doing his best to push down his embarrassment, Naruto nodded.
"I guess that's fair."
He had roped them into this, after all.
"That's not all." Ibuki playfully stuck her tongue out. "You'll also get my special exclusive, never before seen dress! Doesn't that excite you, Naruto-chan!"
Sure, let's go with that.
"Oh, so you guys are doing that, after all." Kotoko was a bit surprised by that. "Can anyone join?"
A beauty pageant sounded like fun!
Naruto shrugged. "No clue."
The student council hadn't specified that part, but then again who would be willing to take part in a beauty pageant?
Kotoko apparently, as she looked intrigued.
But right now, Naruto was here for Ibuki and Hiyoko. It was time to see what these two had, and hopefully it didn't end up like with Mikan.
It was hard for Naruto to explain his feelings when he saw Ibuki stepping back on the stage after getting changed. Nagisa and Kotoko were seated on either side of him. They were going to be impromptu judges too.
What she was wearing was very much "Ibuki," but it was also heavily inspired by Hiyoko. For one, it was a very altered purple and black yukata dress, with pink highlights. It wasn't a long dress, as it only reached just above her knees. Instead of heels, she was wearing black boots. She had changed her pink and black glove-like sleeve for a pure black one and was now wearing a skull necklace.
It was definitely the sort of getup that Naruto would come to expect from Ibuki. It did not make her look any less beautiful.
"Well, well~" Ibuki did some twirls on the stage as she showed off her dress to her audience. "What do you think?"
"She's the very definition of punk," Nagisa muttered.
Kotoko had stars in her eyes. "I think it looks amazing!"
Hmm, Naruto silently wondered if Ibuki was going to be a big influence on Kotoko, and then also wondered if that was a good or bad thing.
He still gave his opinion.
"I think it looks good."
Naruto had no idea if the judges were going to like it, but Ibuki was going to do what she wanted anyhow. It's what made her who she is, and Naruto wasn't going to complain.
"Eh~" Ibuki clicked her teeth as she crossed her arms. "Can't you give Ibuki a more concrete compliment, Naruto-chan? That's the kind of thing you tell your annoying sister when she asks you if you think her new outfit makes her look bad."
"Wouldn't you just say she's fat?" Nagisa wondered. He had read that in books before.
Ibuki gasped. "He's more heartless than I thought!"
Naruto scratched his head. What did Ibuki want him to say here?
"I don't really know what you expect, Ibuki. I mean, you're already beautiful. I don't think a dress is going to change that."
He was just being honest.
"Ibuki shock!" The Ultimate Musician looked like she had been physically struck as she clutched her chest again. "He's a natural at this!"
Naruto didn't get it. "What are you talking about?"
Kotoko giggled. "He won't get it until you explain it to him."
"No way!" Ibuki perked up again as she gave the younger girl a peace sign. "Then Naruto-chan would be a lot less charming. That's what makes it so fun to mess with him."
Say what?
"But Ibuki appreciates that thought~" The Ultimate Musician blew him a kiss before skipping backstage. "Maybe she will reward you with another date soon~"
Just his luck.
"A date?" Nagisa looked amazed now. "Naruto, you've gone on dates before?"
Should he feel insulted that the boy looked so surprised about that?
Naruto didn't dwell on it.
"Yeah, why?"
"W-Wow." Nagisa was looking at him in a whole new light. "What's it l-like?"
Did he want to know because he liked Monaca? How cute.
"You can ask about that later," Kotoko cut in. "The next one is coming out!"
And by next one, she was obviously referring to Hiyoko who was walking back on the stage just like Ibuki had done.
Where Ibuki had chosen a yukata, Hiyoko had gone for a traditional kimono dress. Naruto was used to seeing her in those, but this one was different. It was far more grand than the ones she usually wore despite having a simpler design. It was lavender, and even though he wasn't up close Naruto could tell just by looking that the fabric was extra soft. Hiyoko still had her single ponytail, but now it was fashioned to come down to her back rather than at the top of her head. She also had it secured with a hair ornament that consisted of pale pink rope and flowers and even a white cat accessory.
Honestly, it made Naruto think that he was looking at very cute and huggable doll, and there was a part of him that wanted to run up to the stage and just hug her. She just looked that cute and beautiful right now.
He wasn't sure if Hiyoko could read his mind or if his face was expressing what he was feeling or maybe he was just staring a little too hard, but she looked extra smug when her eyes landed on him.
"What do you think, Big Bro? Impressive, right?"
She was no longer feeling embarrassed but confident.
"U-Uh." Naruto coughed into his hand. "Yeah, you look great. Yep."
He was making it awkward, wasn't it?
Hiyoko's face turned gleeful. The little sadist was enjoying his discomfort, wasn't she? It was unfortunate that she could be observant at the worst of times.
"I'm impressed." Kotoko was beaming as she gave Hiyoko an energetic thumbs up. "You can't act, but I'll give you a pass for this!"
Hiyoko's face strained. She was probably trying to stop herself from giving into her desire to just verbally assault Kotoko.
Impressive. Hiyoko with self restraint was a rare sight indeed!
"I'm a little surprised." Naruto kept the conversation going to avoid Hiyoko's restraint being tested further. A miracle should never be pushed too hard. "When did you guys get these dresses?"
"Like last week!" Ibuki ran back on the stage to stand behind Hiyoko. "It was Hiyoko-chan's idea. She wanted to impress you, Naruto-chan!"
"DON'T TELL HIM THAT!"
Naruto sweatdropped at the sight of Hiyoko trying to smack a laughing Ibuki. Sadly for Hiyoko, the taller girl was just too fast for her.
"She's deceptive." Kotoko hummed to herself as she rubbed her chin in thought. "She's trying to score the secret points. It's pretty adorbs in a disgusting way."
Nagisa didn't understand. "Kotoko, what are you talking about?"
"Oh, don't worry about it." Kotoko waved off Nagisa's question. "You're dense, like Naruto. I wouldn't expect you to understand."
Where had all the respect gone!?
Regardless of Kotoko's diss, Naruto was more than impressed by Ibuki's and Hiyoko's respective dress for the competition.
Whoever the judges were, they were going to have a hard time!
Naruto spent some more time messing around with Ibuki, Hiyoko, Kotoko, and Nagisa, but it wasn't long before he found himself spending time with Kazuichi by the main hall. It wasn't on purpose, as Naruto had been hoping to find a place to take a quick nap with Kurama. Before he could, he bumped into the Ultimate Mechanic who dragged him into a conversation.
"All of this has me feeling a little left out," Kazuichi complained as he scratched his cheek. A similar habit that Naruto shared. "I've been stuck outside trying to complete all the sets for the play. I don't even have a major role!"
"We were trying to help you out," Naruto confessed. He wasn't lying. "Peko-chan and I figured that you were going to be too busy with all the maintenance junk, so we decided to give you a small role so that you wouldn't be overworked."
"O-Oh." Kazuichi looked relieved by that. "I guess that makes sense. I thought that maybe Kotoko had told you that I couldn't act or something."
Naruto deadpanned. "She probably thinks that most of us can't act."
Kazuichi couldn't argue with that. "I'm still being worked to the bone, you know. Sheesh, between our festival and this, I feel like I'm some sort of work slave."
"I thought Fuyuhiko had offered to send some more muscle to help….."
Kazuichi tried to look innocent. "They did their part, bringing everything into the school. But do you really think I was going to trust them with the actual important work?"
"Then you can't complain….."
"Just humor me for a bit," Kazuichi whined. "I haven't gotten to see much of Miss Sonia lately since I've been too busy."
"Then you should have-"
"Don't say it!" Kazuichi cut him off with a scowl. "I'm just trying to vent here! I'm not looking for reasonable explanations."
How unreasonable.
"You're just happy that Chiaki complimented you earlier, aren't you?" Naruto guessed, grinning.
Kazuichi's cheeks colored. "It's not my fault! It's usually just Saionji trying to make fun of me. It feels good to have someone compliment my work, you know?'
Naruto understood that.
"Maybe you should show that side of yours more often. Hey, maybe Sonia would notice it too."
Kazuichi made a weird face. "I can't believe you're still trying to help me with that when you basically like her too."
Oh god, they weren't going to talk about that, were they?
"Speaking of which, I've noticed things have been tense between you two lately." Kazuichi grinned. "Did you finally mess up? Does Miss Sonia hate you?"
Naruto wanted to walk away. "I'm not going to talk about this with you."
"Man, you and Kuzuryu are the same." Kazuichi grumbled. "We're supposed to talk about this stuff! It's what makes us high school students!"
"I still think you need to get your priorities in check, Kazuichi."
Kazuichi rolled his eyes at this. "Oh sure, mister eroge protagonist. I'm the one that needs the help."
Naruto was not happy to hear that nickname for himself. "Don't start with that again. It's bad enough you talked to Teruteru about that."
The Uzumaki didn't know when, but Kazuichi had gone off and blabbered to the Ultimate Cook about his status as the "eroge protagonist" of the class. It was unfortunate that Naruto now knew what an eroge was.
He was not going to explain how that talk with Chiaki had gone.
"I'm just saying, it's unfair." Kazuichi looked depressed. "Is what that weird dude at the festival said true? Are you blessed by the gods? How can I get some of that?"
"Again, priorities!"
"You just don't understand the suffering of the lonely!"
"I always carry some kunai on me. I have no problems stabbing you with one of them to get you to shut up!"
The two boys would go on to bicker for a few more minutes until they were suddenly interrupted by Akane of all people who came running up to them from the main entrance.
"Yo! There you are, Uzumaki! I've been looking for you!"
The moment he saw her Naruto began to sweat.
'Crap, not Akane!'
He didn't want the girl blabbering about what had happened earlier today with Mikan!
Kazuichi didn't miss Naruto's reaction to seeing Akane and instantly got suspicious. His "don't let Naruto have his eroge moments" senses were tingling.
Naruto put on his best poker face. "Akane. Why were you looking for me?"
"I guess I'm not even here then," Kazuichi said sarcastically.
He went ignored by the gymnast.
"It's about that stupid pageant thing." Akane looked annoyed just talking about it. "Apparently you're supposed to wear a stupid dress or something. I don't get it, but Pekoyama was giving me some tips earlier and I still don't get it."
Right. Akane and "girly stuff" didn't exactly mixed well together.
"I'm surprised you're even taking part," Kazuichi said as he started to eye her up and down. "You even know what you're doing?"
Oh no-!
Naruto nearly rammed his elbow into the mechanic as he glared at him. "Don't even try to pull any other dumb pranks like you did with Peko-chan. I don't wanna pay for your mistakes again."
He hadn't forgotten about having to act as a butler just to appease the girls for something Kazuichi had done.
"D-Don't look at me like that! I told you it wasn't a prank! I was being serious about that!"
"That only makes it worse!"
"What are you guys even talking about?" Akane looked impatient now as she placed a hand on her hips. "Are you going to help me or what?"
What?
"Help you?" Naruto turned to her, confused. "What would I be helping you with?"
"The pageant! Aren't you paying attention to me?"
"He's not. You should kick his ass." Kazuichi was being helpful as always.
Akane though about it. "Hanamura gave me another feast, so I'm at full power right now."
Naruto started to look nervous again, but for a completely different reason. He didn't have the energy to deal with Akane and her bloodlust right now.
Thankfully, by some miracle, he was saved as she then shrugged it off.
"But nah, I can't right now. I need to get to the bottom of this first."
She was making as much sense as usual.
At least Naruto understood that she needed help with something.
"Why come to me?" Naruto was curious about that.
"Oh." Akane gave him a toothy grin. "Well, after you left the store, I talked with Tsumiki about what you guys were doing. And I need similar help!"
Akane wasn't being intentionally misleading. She was pretty much naive when it came to sexual matters. Whatever the reason for it, there was no changing that truth. Naruto knew this now.
However, he still had to fight to keep his cool to not react to the unintended implications of her words.
If only she knew what he and Mikan had really been doing in that changing room when she interrupted them…..
"Suspicious."
Naruto almost cursed when he saw Kazuichi staring at him, hard.
"There's something suspicious going on here….."
Kazuichi was well aware of Mikan's massive crush on the blond Uzumaki, and if the two had gone to a store by themselves…..the possibilities!
The Ultimate Mechanic had no proof of anything. He was just letting his imagination run wild. This did not stop him from grabbing the disgruntled Naruto by his necktie to get all up on his face, his face stricken with jealous tears.
"You bastard! You finally did it, didn't you!? You crossed the bridge into adulthood and left me behind!"
"…"
Naruto couldn't even fully deny that anymore.
He was so ashamed of himself.
His silence only made Kazuichi cry even more.
"SAY SOMETHING!"
Akane just watched the two go at it with plain confusion, but that didn't last long as she was starting to think that maybe having a quick tussle before going dress shopping was probably worth it.
However, the laidback thoughts from both her and Naruto ceased as they immediately picked up on a threatening aura heading towards them.
Kazuichi was oblivious, as he lacked the natural instincts that Naruto and Akane possessed.
The Ultimate Ninja and the Ultimate Gymnast were on high alert as the sound of footsteps reached their ears. It wasn't hard for them to spot who it was. The person wasn't even trying to hide their presence or their killer intent. Or perhaps they couldn't.
Regardless, the two Ultimates turned to the entrance to the main hall where a certain girl now stood.
Naruto and Akane recognized her.
It was Sato.
Kazuichi stopped crying when he started to notice the shift in the air.
"What the-"
He paused when he finally noticed Sato standing in front of them. He hadn't seen much of the girl, but he still knew who she was.
The three were very surprised to see her, as the Reserve Course students weren't allowed in the Main Course building. Had she slipped past the guards somehow?
"Sato?" Naruto separated himself from Kazuichi to give his full attention to the girl, who looked to be shaking. Her head was down. Her hands were behind her back, away from sight. Naruto's head was practically blaring with alarm bells, as he could still sense the killer intent that was just radiating from the girl.
"Why….?"
Sato's voice was low, but the three Ultimates still heard her well enough.
"Why did you have to show up…?"
Naruto had no idea what the girl could be talking about. His eyes narrowed when he saw her start to shake.
"You and Komaeda…..you've ruined everything. I have no other choice now. Even if Mahiru hates me, I have to do this. For her sake. I can't let you control her. Not her."
Naruto was even more confused now, but he didn't have a chance to question her as the girl shot straight for him, finally revealing her hands and just what they were holding.
A knife.
She had a crazed look in her eyes, eyes that were full of hatred and desperation. It was obvious that she was no longer thinking straight.
And all of those emotions were being aimed at Naruto.
It was in this state that Sato pounced.
I know. I am a bastard. It's fun.
Thanks for all the reviews, everyone. It's always fun to read them, and I do read all of them.
I wanted to include other stuff, but this chapter was already getting too long.
Hope this was enjoyable.
Till next time.