Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Danganronpa.

Chapter 61:
Miss Ultimate

When Naruto left Sonia's hotel during the early morning hours with a napping Kurama draped over his shoulder, he did so feeling confused and flustered. He was the first to leave that morning as the others were passed out, still recovering from the late party that they had had. A part of him had wanted to wake up Kotoko so that she could go back with him, but seeing her sleeping with the other kids on Sonia's bed was too adorable for him to ruin it. She could find her own way when she was ready.

Naruto wasn't sure how much anime he had watched last night, but it felt like a life's worth. He had to admit that some of it was entertaining. Like that one show about a pirate with a straw hat. That seemed like an interesting life to live. Out in the open sea, with the world at your fingertips. If you had the guts to make it anyway. He would be lying if he said that he wouldn't enjoy going on a journey like that. Ryota said that he admired characters like that, so that was pretty cool.

They had also watched some of Sonia's horror movies after that. Hiyoko had tried to make fun of her for it while Kazuichi had instantly defended the Ultimate Princess for her interest in the "occult." Sonia never took Hiyoko's teasing seriously thankfully.

As a side note, for some reason, just thinking about the word "occult" made Naruto frustrated. Almost like he wanted to punch someone. He wondered why.

Bah, it didn't matter.

Chiaki had insisted that they play a couple of her games too. Naruto had managed to school Ruruka in a fighting game ten times over. That had been an awesome moment for him. And no, just because he took slight pleasure in seeing the Ultimate Confectioner cry in Sonosuke's arms about how much of a "bully" he was for beating her did not mean that he was a sadist. Even if he might have cackled in a Gundham-like fashion.

He was a chill guy! Honest.

Of course, as fun as all of that was, it all paled in comparison to what had transpired between him and Mahiru.

The redhead had kissed him.

'She said she loves me…..'

The blond came to a stop just outside the hotel as he started to blush just thinking about the whole thing. He had replayed that moment over and over in his mind many times already, each time feeling more and more flustered. It didn't help that Mahiru had acted perfectly normal throughout the rest of the night so he had no way of talking to her about all of this. She had just left him speechless after kissing him.

Was she trying to make him suffer or something!? She wouldn't be the first one to do so.

With a moment to himself, Naruto had to take inventory of everything that had happened in these past two and a half months in regards to his private life. The most obvious fact here being that he had been kissed by five different girls at this point.

Kirumi.

Sonia.

Ibuki.

Mikan.

And finally Mahiru.

Since when did developments like this happen to him!? Where was all of this coming from all of a sudden!?

"Ugh, what is going on with my life?"

Slightly frustrated, Naruto scratched his head as he grew more embarrassed thinking about all the different kisses up to this point. Each of them had been very different, which only confused him further. Not to mention, he felt guilty that he had enjoyed all five of them. Was he a cheater now? After acting so high and mighty with Kazuichi, was he any better than the Ultimate Mechanic at this point?

He already thought that he had his hands full when Sonia and Mikan had kissed him. Ibuki's attitude toward him as of late didn't help his mental state either. What did she want from him? Despite their kiss, or really their make-out session, she hadn't said anything about wanting to date him. Not like Sonia, Mikan, and Mahiru. To make it worse, he had gone further with Mikan than he thought he should have, which left his current relationship with the Ultimate Nurse feel incomplete as they still hadn't addressed that particular incident. There were just so many unanswered questions that left his brain fried.

You might be asking yourself: why was he thinking about all of this now?

The answer was simple. Now that the first day of the school festival was over with, Naruto felt like he could more easily relax. Sure, there were still four days of the school festival remaining, but they didn't feel as daunting anymore. With two shows under their belt, Naruto and the others felt more confident about doing the rest. So now that he wasn't focused on an immediate goal, he could take a step back and go over the other….."developments" in his life.

He always went back to the same thing: why were there so many amazing girls interested in him all of a sudden? He hated to admit it, but a part of him felt a little scared at the notion. It was something that Naruto had no experience in, and he was scared that he was going to mess all this up. That fear only strengthened when he realized that it had to do with important friends of his. He didn't want to see Sonia, Mikan, Mahiru, or Ibuki cry because he was doing something wrong.

But what was he supposed to do?

Fuyuhiko had said that he needed to trust his instincts, but that had seemed easier when trying to understand his feelings toward one person. Now there were three more that he had to contend with.

If he stripped all of this to the basics, Naruto knew for a fact that he had not disliked any of those kisses. That had to mean that he found them physically attractive at least, right? Which was a no brainer. Sonia, Mikan, Mahiru, and Ibuki were all very beautiful girls. However, beyond that, his feelings were an uncertainty. Lust was not love, and just because he thought they were beautiful did not mean that he loved them as a romantic partner. But then why would he have kissed them back if he didn't!? For that matter, was it possible for him to have feelings for more than one person? And if he did, then how was he going to go about deciding who he wanted to be with the most!?

So many questions!

'I don't get any of this.'

Groaning, Naruto squatted while he continued scratching his head as he tried to figure all of this out. He didn't enjoy feeling this anxious and hesitant. A part of him understood why that was. This was uncharted territory for him, after all. Again, it made him afraid. But what scared him the most was the unwanted thought of whether he was good enough for any of them.

This wasn't something Naruto liked to dwell on very much, but his insecurities were something that tended to rear their ugly heads from time to time. He didn't let them control him. Despite the fact that amazing and talented ninja like his father and Jiraiya had failed in finding an answer to bringing about peace, Naruto was still giving it a shot. They had had faith in him, and Naruto wasn't going to betray that faith. This did not mean that Naruto had never doubted himself, of whether someone like him was capable of achieving such a worthwhile goal. He often thought about it, just in the back of his head. He always assured himself that, since he wasn't alone, it was a dream that could be attained with enough work and belief. That was as true now as it had been before.

Unfortunately, that line of thinking couldn't be applied here. This was far more personal, and it was something that he had to do on his own. So as an individual, was someone like him good enough to pursue a romantic relationship with? At least three girls thought so, and sure that made a part of him feel awesome at that realization. Another part wondered whether that was really true or not.

So, that left him with the question of the day: what was he going to do now? He had already spoken to Sonia about this, but that wasn't good enough. He had to tell her about everything else too. Mikan and Mahiru too. As for Ibuki…..well, Naruto didn't actually know what to tell her. She was the most confusing one here.

"Uzumaki-kun, what are you doing?"

The question was followed by a pretty loud and admittedly somewhat cute yawn.

Coming out of his thoughts, Naruto turned his head to greet Chiaki. The Ultimate Gamer was walking out of the hotel lobby with a pretty sleepy expression. She rubbed her eyes as she came to stand next to him.

Still squatting, Naruto looked up at the girl with a grin, putting his thoughts to rest for the time being.

"Morning! I didn't think anyone else was going to be getting up anytime soon."

"Pekoyama-san and Izayoi-kun heard you leaving. Nidai-kun's snoring woke me up."

Oh yeah, the Ultimate Team Manager could be pretty loud in his sleep. Thankfully, Naruto could be a pretty heavy sleeper if he was relaxed enough.

"Are you gonna be able to function today?"

Chiaki looked pretty groggy.

"Euh…..I just need some soda in me. I'll be fine…..I think."

"Heh, you could have stolen some from Byakuya. I'm sure the dude always carries a stash with him."

"Hanamura-kun yelled at him the last time he brought some, so I doubt it."

Oh yeah, that had happened. Those two could still not see eye-to-eye when it came to junk food, which included sodas.

"But what about you?" Despite her somewhat sleep deprived state, Chiaki was still sharp enough to take note of Naruto's distress. "You look like you're struggling with something."

"Oh, you know. Dealing with youth."

Chiaki pursed her lips. "That sounds like something Yukizome-sensei would say."

She would say that, wouldn't she.

"It's true in my case." Standing back up, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck in an awkward manner. "Just trying to understand the world of love, I guess."

He wasn't sure if he should tell Chiaki about his love problems, but he would feel bad if he lied to her. She had a habit of making him feel like trash whenever he disappointed her. It had to be those eyes of hers.

"Oh, that." If Naruto was as observant when it came to situations like this as he was with some others, then he would have picked up on the fact that Chiaki did not sound surprised by what he said. Alas, he did not, so he didn't question her on it.

"Is this because of what I asked you on our date?"

Naruto started coughing as he almost choked on his spit. Where had that come from!?

"C-Chiaki!"

How could the girl say something like that so easily!?

"Hm?" Chiaki glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "What is it, Uzumaki-kun?"

Trying to reign in his embarrassment, Naruto looked back at her.

"I know it was technically a date, b-but you don't have to say it like that, right?"

He was stuttering a little. How embarrassing!

"…..I don't understand."

She really didn't.

"Eh, forget it." Almost facepalming, Naruto averted his gaze away from the shorter girl. He was sure he would start blushing if he looked at her right now. "You girls have no shame, huh."

"You think so?" Chiaki let out a small hum. "Well, it's not like I really understand, but apparently when you fall in love for the first time you are overcome by a need to be around that person. I think it might have something to do with being eager?"

"….Chiaki, are you secretly a love genius?"

"Are you trying to mess with me, Uzumaki-kun?"

"Of course not!"

Chiaki pouted a little. "I'm just repeating what I've seen in games. Of course, Tsumiki-san has been trying to share some of her romance novels with me recently too. Something about wanting to return the favor for introducing her to games."

Oh yeah? Naruto hadn't heard about that at all. It always made him happy to know that his friends had their own dynamics that he wasn't always aware of. It showed that they really cared about one another.

"Mikan with romance novels, huh." Crossing his arms, Naruto squinted his eyes, not really focused on anything in particular. "Somehow, I can't really see that."

Then again, she had kind of been the one to dictate how their date went. Was it possible that Mikan was more knowledgeable than he was when it came to romance!?

"Are you trying to make fun of Tsumiki-san too? That would make her cry, you know."

"I would never! Also, I wasn't making fun of you either."

This time.

"Right." Chiaki seemed to believe him as she shot him a smile. "I think you are going to have to make a decision soon. Otherwise, you're only going to be more confused."

Naruto paused. For some reason, that sounded like Chiaki knew about his romance problems. But there was no way. Only Fuyuhiko knew…..and to some extent Gundham.

Should he ask her?

"Hey, Chiaki-"

He stopped himself when his senses went off. He wasn't sure who it was or where they were, but there was someone lurking nearby. Someone was watching him. Whoever it was, it was making him wary. It wasn't a random nobody. He took a quick scan of the surrounding area, but he couldn't see anyone suspicious.

Kurama's ears started twitching, and a few seconds later the little fox's head shot up, now alert. No doubt the fox was aware of the possible danger too.

"Uzumaki-kun?" Chiaki noticed the change in his demeanor. "Is something wrong?"

Naruto didn't get a chance to answer her as his eyes finally caught sight of movement.

A blur shot forward from the other side of the street, appearing from one of the alleyways. So that's where the bastard had been hiding.

The blur was fast, Naruto couldn't deny that. He could make out the long pitch-black hair swaying in the air, but that was about it and only because he didn't have the time to fully study who this was. That said, it was far from the kind of speed that he couldn't keep up with. With his trained eyes, he noticed right away that the blur was heading not for him but rather aiming right for Chiaki who was still unaware of the threat.

The Ultimate Gamer for her part didn't realize what was going on. She just knew that one moment she was next to Naruto in front of the hotel talking and the next she was being scooped up in the blond's arms and carried bridal style away from the hotel entrance. Her eyes did manage to catch sight of something at the last second, but she was still confused as she found herself being carried away.

Naruto didn't have the time to explain the situation to Chiaki as he quickly sprinted away from the hotel. Or he would have if he didn't sense the same blur now looming over him and Chiaki.

'But how? They shouldn't have recovered so quickly!'

Had he underestimated their mystery assailant? Perhaps they were faster than Naruto had given them credit for initially. Not that it changed anything.

With a show of amazing flexibility, Naruto twisted his lower body upward just in time to deliver a powerful upper kick to their assailant's jaw just as they tried descending upon him and Chiaki. No doubt the asshole hadn't seen this coming as they didn't make any attempt to block it or evade it.

It was as his kick made contact with its target that Naruto finally took a good look at who he suddenly found himself against.

Yesterday, he had thought that so far in this world Korekiyo resembled Orochimaru the most. Now he had to take that back, because the person in front of him was a closer comparison than even Korekiyo was. Their mystery assailant was very tall and slender, looking almost like a snake with how his body stretched upwards. He had pale skin. Very pale skin. It was almost creepy how much he resembled a ghost. The way his long tongue was sticking out didn't help Naruto feel any less creeped out. That was such an Orochimaru-esque thing to do. Finally, he was wearing a pitch-black school uniform.

Naruto took all of these details in the split second that his kick connected, which had the guy reeling back and spinning in midair as he was sent flying back across the street. With this small victory, Naruto then ducked into a different alleyway while Chiaki clapped.

"That was incredible, Uzumaki-kun! It's like a video game fight!"

Naruto almost sweatdropped as he came to a stop in the middle of the alleyway. He still had Chiaki in his arms, not that the girl seemed to mind.

"You know we're being attacked, right?"

"Of course!" Chiaki gave him a thumbs up while her eyes sparkled. "I'm sure you can beat him, though."

Always felt nice to have a vote of confidence on his side.

Their back-and-forth was cut short as Naruto took a quick sidestep just as their attacker came darting for them again, still poised forward like some kind of snake.

'Okay, so he does recover fast.'

Naruto had to give this guy credit. He was sure his kick would have slowed anyone else down for a few more seconds. Not this guy, though.

Still, he wasn't just going to sing their mystery attacker praises. Not when they had been ambushed like this.

Kurama bared his fangs at him but stayed in place on Naruto's shoulder. He wasn't hotheaded enough to attack this foe head on it seemed, something Naruto was glad to see. He couldn't protect Kurama on top of having to look out for Chiaki too.

There was only a one second pause to the guy's attack as he suddenly darted for the shadows again. It was still early in the morning, so the sun wasn't fully out yet. This gave the alleyway some amount of darkness, which this guy was planning on using.

"Ha, you think that's going to work?" Naruto taunted their attacker. "I can still see-!"

He stopped when he sensed another presence behind him.

'What!?'

Acting quickly, Naruto shot from the ground and jumped up just in time to evade the long arms from this mystery attacker coming down from behind him.

'What the hell is going on!? I could swear he was still in front of me!'

Sure, he had tried to hide, but Naruto had still been able to sense him. But then, he was suddenly behind him and Chiaki? What the hell? Worse still, since he had Chiaki with him, Naruto couldn't use his hands to fight back.

So be it. This was going to be an interesting handicap. Whatever trick this guy was pulling, Naruto was going to figure it out. And quick.

Or so he thought, as right as the figure below in the alleyway disappeared into the shadows just as before, another was suddenly shooting up into the air with him from a different direction.

'Again!?'

Was this guy a teleporter or something?

A bit frustrated, Naruto narrowed his eyes as he locked gazes with their attacker.

"You can't evade forever." The guy's voice was unpleasant to hear. Worse, it was almost like his mouth wasn't moving at all when he spoke too.

Why did he have to fight against creepy people? Orochimaru was bad enough! Kabuto too.

Naruto glared down at him. "Then I won't."

Facing the guy's challenge head on, rather than trying to just dodge again, Naruto allowed himself to fall back down and meet him halfway. Their attacker's offense was similar as before. He was still lunging at him and Chiaki, his long arms stretched forward. It didn't take a genius to realize that this guy probably had an insane grip. It was also obvious at this point that whoever this guy was he had some kind martial arts training or something similar. Unfortunately for him, Naruto wasn't afraid to fight at close quarters.

It was almost as if their attacker's arms were some kind of pincers with how their converged on their target, which was probably Naruto's head. They never reached, however, as Naruto maneuvered his body midair to the point that his legs were once again acting like his shield. They parried the unnamed attacker's arms with ease as Naruto practically kicked them to the side. It all happened in a fraction of a second, but Naruto saw the pain flickering on their attacker's face as his arms were swatted to the side like they were nothing.

Not content to just leave it at that, it was Naruto's legs which now acted like pincers as they closed in on their attacker's face. Yes, Naruto was performing a leg lock midair just moments after kicking the guy's arms away. Unlike Naruto, the unnamed assailant did not have the capability to react fast enough to the blond's movements, still wincing from the powerful kicks his arms had suffered. Because of this, before he realized it he found his head trapped in between Naruto's legs.

Given what he had seen so far, Naruto was sure that it wouldn't take much for the guy to recover and counterattack. Not giving him that opening, the blond twisted his body again, this time aiming for the ground. He brought their mystery assailant along for the ride, successfully positioning their bodies so that their attacker's face was smashed into the hard concrete of the alleyway.

The force of the impact was enough to cause the ground to crack. Naruto wasn't sure how bad the guy's face had fared from the blow, but he didn't much care as he disentangled his legs with ease and jumped back to put some distance between themselves and his downed opponent.

"Woah." Throughout all of this, Chiaki had remained secure in the blond's arms. She had made sure to hold on tight with how swiftly Naruto had been moving just now. What amazed her the most was how much control the blond had over his body, to the point that it seemed like his lower half had been acting separately from the rest. Just how flexible was he?

"It's like I'm watching a video game battle for sure! I should have recorded this."

This time, Naruto sweatdropped. "You're gonna keep comparing this to a video game, aren't you?"

Kurama let out a high-pitched bark from his spot on Naruto's shoulder. Apparently he was just as excited as Chiaki with all the unexpected action if his wagging tail was any indication.

At least they were both okay. It wasn't easy fighting when you were carrying someone, that's for damn sure. Their mystery attacker wasn't getting up from the looks of it, so that was good. Now they could try and figure out just what the heck was going on.

Their moment of reprieve was cut short, however, when Naruto found himself sensing four shadows descending upon him and Chiaki all at once. It only took him another split second to turn back to see who was trying to attack them now. What he saw made his eyes go wide in surprise.

It was the same person, only now there were four of them!

'What the fuck!?'

Had the shadow clones made it to this world somehow!?

Naruto didn't have the time to worry about the details here as he readied himself to face this new threat head on, but the four identical looking assailants stopped halfway as a shout rang through the alleyway.

"Madarai! Cut it out already!"

The shout came from the street that Naruto had ran from earlier. He recognized who was screaming too.

Karen readjusted her glasses just as the four assailants turned back to look at her.

"What do you think you're doing attacking Uzumaki-san like this!? That's not what we told you to do!"

Before this so-called "Madarai" had a chance to respond, a panting and sweating Daiki came running into the alleyway to stand next to Karen. Well, technically, he was hunched over as he tried to regain his breath.

"D-Did you catch them?"

Someone wasn't in the best of shapes.

"Just in time." She said this, but Naruto didn't miss how Karen took notice of the unconscious look-alike on the ground behind him.

"We were told by Murasame to bring this guy in," said one of the look-alikes. Again, Naruto absolutely hated how his voice sounded. "We figured it would be faster if we went ahead and grabbed him."

"By force?" Karen said, obviously floored by the logic.

Daiki wiped some of the sweat from his face as he observed the scene more closely, specifically the look-alike that was sprawled on the ground.

"I don't think that's going too well if you ask me….."

"He retaliated against us-"

"Bullshit." Putting Chiaki down but still keeping her close, Naruto narrowed his eyes at the four assailants. They weren't the only ones either. Now that two of the student council members were here, the others weren't bothering to hide themselves anymore. Or maybe they were underestimating him. Either way, he could sense three others still keeping to the shadows.

"You came after Chiaki first. If you were only after me, then why try to attack her?"

Naruto's accusation had the four of them go silent. Obviously they had not been expecting for Naruto to point that little detail out.

Karen looked less happy now, especially when it became clear that Naruto's question was going to go unanswered. "Madarai, go back to the school. We can take it from here."

"Madarai" looked at one another. There was a silent signal given between them before they vanished, skulking back into the shadows before daylight could expose them. One of them still took the time to pick up their downed ally before leaving the area. He kept Naruto within his sight, a detail that was not lost to the blond. The signal was clear.

The asshole wanted a rematch. Well, after this little stunt, Naruto would be more than happy to oblige them.

"Uzumaki-kun." Chiaki's voice made the blond look at her. The Ultimate Gamer was giving him a worried look. "Are you okay?"

"No. Those assholes put you in danger for no reason. I would have done worse if they actually hurt you."

Kurama barked in agreement.

"Oh. I see." Chiaki's worry seemed to disappear as she smiled instead while her cheeks reddened a little. "Thank you. That means a lot."

Naruto missed the way she blushed, something Chiaki was silently thankful for as he switched his focus to Karen and Daiki.

"You two have some explaining to do."

Karen and Daiki had the decency to look embarrassed at least.

Back in Sonia's suite, a far more comfortable scene was taking place.

After Naruto and Chiaki had left the suite, some of the others started to wake up despite their desire to sleep in more. Most notably Peko, Sonosuke, and Nekomaru as the three had sensed Naruto and Chiaki leaving before any of the others. Peko had tried to let the others sleep as much as possible, but unfortunately soon after Nekomaru had announced that he needed to take a shit and left for the bathroom in a hurry. What followed after were a series of quakes that had the whole suite shaking. This naturally caused the others to start waking up one after the other until eventually everyone was awake.

Hajime was the one who woke up in a panic.

"W-What's happening?"

Was there an earthquake hitting them? It was nothing new in Japan, but still. To be awoken like this, it wasn't fun.

"Sheesh, it's Nidai again." Kazuichi was holding his head as he groaned. "Just when I was having such a good dream too."

"Aww, man. Just my luck." Hiyoko's face looked like that of a duck as she pouted. "I have to wake up to that disgusting gorilla going to the bathroom. This sucks. I should just get out of here."

Hajime lost sight of her after that as there was more movement in the suite. Without Naruto and Chiaki here, he felt more awkward than he would have liked just standing around. It was embarrassing to admit, but he was still unused to the idea of being around so many Ultimates. It didn't help that he didn't see Sato anywhere either.

"Yoi-chan, carry me home."

A sleepy Ruruka practically passed out in Sonosuke's arms as the Ultimate Blacksmith carried her out of the suite. Seiko trailed after them, obviously still tired too.

"Man, you can't even get a moment's peace around here, huh." Jun was yawning as he made his exit as well. "Hey! Someone tell Uzumaki that he owes me for helping set up that TV last night."

"That was me who did that!" Kazuichi shook his fist at the Ultimate Physicist, but the upperclassman was already out of earshot. Or maybe he was just ignoring Kazuichi. Hajime couldn't tell.

'I guess I better go too.'

It was still pretty early. The sun wasn't fully out yet, but hanging around didn't seem like the best idea. Besides, he needed to take a shower and get ready for day two of the school festival. He had to make up for all the work he had missed yesterday.

"Jeez, you look like a total idiot right now." Before Hajime could head for the door, Natsumi approached him as she exited one of the bathrooms. "Cat got your tongue or something?"

"It's not like that really." Hajime glanced around the room at the Ultimates that were still hanging around. Basically the entirety of class 77-B. He hadn't spoken much to them the previous night, mostly just to Fuyuhiko, Nekomaru, and Peko. Without Naruto or Chiaki with him, they were kind of hard to approach in his opinion.

"I just have to go and get ready…."

Was his excuse too weak?

"Oh yeah? I guess you're fired up to win the prize, huh."

Whew. She bought it! Hajime was thankful that Natsumi could be an airhead at times.

On the other hand, he also perked up at the reminder. "The prize?"

"Don't tell me you forgot already." Natsumi scoffed. "You can't trick me, you know. I'm sure you're thinking that the prize is going to be amazing, aren't you?"

Wasn't she the one who thought like that?

Hajime didn't bother fighting her on it. It wasn't worth it.

"The student council is preparing it, right? It's gotta be something worthwhile at least."

What it could be, Hajime didn't know. But it was definitely something awesome for sure.

"Maybe." Natsumi looked back at her brother who was trying to stop Kazuichi from sneaking into Sonia's room. "To tell you the truth, I don't think we're going to win."

Say what now?

"Where did your confidence go?"

Hajime deadpanned when the girl turned her gaze back towards him, glare full on force. She was still going to do that, huh.

"There's a difference between being confident and an idiot. You saw their play, didn't you? That totally blows our stuff out of the water. Not that I'm surprised. My onii-chan was helping them, so it's only obvious that they could pull off something so amazing."

Right, right.

"I wouldn't bet on an easy victory," Hajime said after thinking it over. "Yesterday I went with Nanami and some of the others to see another play. They were pretty good too."

They had the Ultimate Actress. Her performance had been amazing. No matter how much he might like Naruto and the others, Hajime couldn't deny that.

"Say what? Some other piece of trash is trying to go up against my brother? Some people are fucking brainless."

Hajime wasn't so sure about that. From what he had heard yesterday, it was almost like that class was trying to challenge Naruto for some reason. Or maybe that wasn't entirely right either. That green haired girl had said that she was only interested in Hiyoko.

Basically, it was all complicated!

"Whatever." Natsumi decided to not dwell on it. "At this point, it doesn't have anything to do with us. We might as well just enjoy the school festival, so stop looking like a loser already. It's embarrassing."

Hajime was unsure of how to take this new Natsumi. It was just like Sato. Something in her had changed, and now Natsumi was looking more relaxed than ever. Sure, she still had her rough edges, but they weren't as prevalent as before. Hajime had noticed this throughout the party last night. What in the world had made her change like this? Was it connected to Sato?

So many questions! Hajime really felt like he was out of the loop here.

"I'll go with you. I'll even give you a ride back to the dorms."

Natsumi's offer caused Hajime to look at her with surprise.

"Is that okay? Isn't your brother still here?"

"We have our separate rides." Natsumi was already walking past him without a care in the world. "Besides, it looks like the idiot that I wanted to talk to is already gone. No reason to stick around. I might be able to get some more shuteye back at the compound before I have to show up at school."

That didn't sound like a bad idea at all actually. Hajime might just take a quick nap too.

To some, it might seem suicidal to accept a ride from the heiress to the biggest and most powerful yakuza clan in the country. To Hajime, it was just another detail about his life that he was slowly getting comfortable with.

Whether he realized it or not, it was another sign of his adaptability and ability to get along with those around him, even if he did deem them as his "betters."

Of course, such a thought didn't enter his mind. Hajime was too busy picturing his bed back in his dorm.

What a glorious nap this was going to be.

Mahiru would admit to feeling a little embarrassed as she stood in the balcony where she had kissed Naruto the night before. It couldn't be helped, though. She needed some privacy in order to talk with Sato, and now that everyone was up and about every other part of the suite was currently occupied. The kids were still sleeping in Sonia's bed, but they weren't going to eavesdrop on her conversation.

"You woke me up too early." Sato rubbed her eyes. Her body felt exhausted. She had probably gotten about two hours of sleep, and that was because she had fallen asleep earlier than the others. She wasn't used to pulling all-nighters, so her body had given in first. Teruteru's food had helped in making her sleepy too. She had eaten more last night than any other time in her life. The food had been that good.

"Everyone is already up. We don't want to be late in getting back. We still have to prepare for the school festival."

"I guess so." Sato fought back another yawn as she stretched out her back. She felt satisfied when she heard a popping sound. "At least I don't have to feel Saionji's glare on me anymore."

Mahiru winced. Hiyoko hadn't confronted Sato at the party last night. Not directly. The blonde dancer had made her displeasure known in different ways, one being the constant glare she shot Sato whenever she noticed her. It got to the point that Hiyoko was currently giving her something of a cold shoulder when she found out that Sato had joined the party because Mahiru had invited her. Without meaning to, Mahiru's friendship with the blonde was becoming strained.

"I'm sorry about that."

"Why are you apologizing?" Sato stopped mid-stretch to give her a confused look. "Saionji has very good reason to hate me. If I wasn't such an idiot, then I would have turned down your invitation to come here."

"But that's not right," Mahiru said softly. She locked her hands behind her as she looked down in worry. "We managed to get through Natsumi yesterday, but now it's Saionji-san who is giving you a hard time."

There was also Mikan to consider, but the Ultimate Nurse hadn't shown any outward hostility toward Sato at all last night. She hadn't interacted with Sato either, though. Then again, neither had Kazuichi or Akane so there was that. It was obvious that it wasn't just Hiyoko and Mikan who had misgivings about Sato, even if Naruto said that he had forgiven her.

Sato sighed. "Mahiru, it's okay. Really. I brought this on myself. I'm not going to hold it against Saionji or any of the others for giving me the cold shoulder. I deserve it and much more. By all accounts, my situation right now is the best thing that could have happened to me. I'm not going to complain."

"I know…." Mahiru did know. She just didn't want to see two people she cared about be at odds like this. She still blamed herself for being so indecisive when Sato had first asked her to stop hanging around Naruto. Perhaps if she had done something, then Sato never would have decided to attack Naruto. Then they wouldn't be where they were, with Hiyoko and Mikan hating her.

Sadly, there was no convenient way for the past to be changed. They were stuck with it.

"Now, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Sato let her arms fall back to her side. "I still need to head back and brush my teeth and take a shower. Maybe sleep some more if I get the chance."

Sato doubted that Mahiru had pulled her aside like this just to rehash Hiyoko's negative stance on her.

"Oh. Right. That." Mahiru started squirming in place as she rubbed her locked hands together. Her cheeks started to redden as she opened her mouth to speak. "Well. The thing is. Last night…..I sort of kinda k-kissed Naruto….."

Mahiru was too embarrassed to look at Sato to see what her response was going to be.

"….are you trying to brag?"

"W-What? No!"

"That's what it looks like to me." Wiping an imaginary tear away, Sato sighed wistfully. "I guess it's about time my best friend climbed the stairway to adulthood. I never knew it would be this soon."

"I-I'm telling you it's not like that!" Mahiru's blush grew at Sato's insinuation. At least she was able to glare at her friend for her teasing, not that it did much when she was blushing as much as she was. "I was only able to kiss him before running away!"

"You ran away?" Sato repeated with a tilt of her head. "Poor Uzumaki-san. Knowing him, he must have been confused for the rest of the night, especially when you had such a poker face on. I had no idea something like that happened, and I was with you for most of the night."

"W-Well." Mahiru started to squirm again. "I realized that I couldn't drag my feet forever. Sonia-san and Tsumiki-san have already gone on a date with him. I-I didn't want to fall behind…..plus, it felt right."

"Oh yeah?" A smile formed on Sato's face. "So you don't regret it? Your first kiss?"

"You don't have to say it like that," Mahiru mumbled as her face heated up yet again. Those words. First kiss. She had tried not thinking about it, but it was true. She had had her first kiss. It was crazy to think about really, but after everything that has happened since coming to Hope's Peak, Mahiru didn't think it was that crazy. At the very least she knew one thing.

"No, I don't regret it."

At all.

In fact, Mahiru was confident that she wanted to do it again. Is this was love did to you? It made you more confident and sure of yourself? Well, it had also made Mahiru feel week and indecisive. She couldn't forget that either. Regardless, she liked what she was feeling right now, so she wasn't going to regret falling for Naruto, even if he was a stupid boy.

"You look like such a woman right now. I'm proud of you."

"S-Sato!"

Why did her friend have to try and embarrass her at a time like this? She had only shared one kiss with the blond. That's it!

"I guess we have to plan your next move, huh." Sounding confident, Sato began to pace back and forth on the balcony. "Unfortunately, I don't think I can help that much. Unlike you, I'm still a little girl, you see."

Mahiru wanted to pinch her friend so badly right now. Was she trying to sound like a creepy old pervert!?

The Ultimate Photographer opened her mouth to say as much but was interrupted when an enraged Sonia burst into her room. Like them, the Ultimate Princess was still wearing her school uniform from the day before as none of them had had a chance to change.

The blond princess hadn't noticed them yet as she was too busy half-yelling into her phone.

"What do you mean Naruto was attacked!?"

Mahiru felt her heart start to beat faster at those words.

Naruto had been attacked!? When!? How!? By whom!? What!?

"And you didn't think to step in!?" Sonia glared up at the ceiling as a response came from the other end of the call. "I don't care if this is a foreign country! Naruto is supposed to be under my house's protection. Or did you already forget that he is to meet with my father this summer!? That means if he's attacked it's as if Novoselic itself is being attacked!"

Wait, what?

Mahiru couldn't believe what she was hearing. Naruto was going to see Sonia's father this summer? Since when? This was the first time she was hearing of this! Had the idiot been keeping this a secret from her and the others?

'Had Sonia-san?'

Was the Ultimate Princess more sneaky than Mahiru had assumed?

Neither Mahiru nor Sato could make out what was said on the other end of the phone call, but whatever it was it did not brighten Sonia's mood any. It got to the point that Sonia let out some words in a different language that Mahiru didn't recognize. It sure wasn't Japanese.

"We will be talking about this later in detail. Goodbye."

Sonia hung up the call as she took in some deep breaths to calm herself down. The princess must have a lot of experience with it as it quickly seemed to help. She placed a hand over her chest before she turned back toward the door. However, she froze when she finally noticed that Mahiru and Sato were standing out on the balcony.

Mahiru could only stare at the blonde with wide eyes while Sato waved at her awkwardly.

"Hello there."

It was a wonder that the Li'l Ultimates managed to sleep through it all.

Naruto didn't bother to hide his annoyance as he practically shoved the doors of the student council room open, a quiet Chiaki trailing after him. Karen and Daiki were a few steps behind, neither able to hide their growing embarrassment as they followed after the blond.

Sōshun was seated by his desk. He wasn't alone. Kotomi, Taro, and Tsubasa were present in the room with him. The last two were by his desk, helping him look over some documents. Kotomi was on one of the sofa chairs dealing with some of her own paperwork.

"Oh, Uzumaki-san!" Sōshun looked up from his work to greet the blond. Despite how early it still was, the boy didn't look tired at all. "I see my friends found you!"

"Found me?" Naruto slammed his hands down on the desk, startling Taro and Tsubasa while Kotomi looked over to them with a confused look. "Someone just attacked me and Chiaki, and from what Karen told me he works for you."

Kurama bared his fangs at the Ultimate Student Council President as a way to show that he too meant business right now.

"What?" Sōshun didn't understand. "How could that be? I didn't order anyone to attack you."

Sighing, Karen rubbed her arm awkwardly. "About that. It looks like Madarai did something stupid. For some reason, he decided to attack them after he got ahead of us."

"I could hardly believe it," Daiki added while looking nervous. "They went nuts!"

"Seriously?" Groaning, Kotomi almost threw her paperwork to the floor in aggravation. "Why the heck is that guy is so stupid?"

"Um." Tsubasa clasped her hands while giving Naruto a reassuring smile. "You can believe us when we say this, Uzumaki-san, that we did not mean for that happen."

"Of course we didn't!" Sōshun got up to his feet and clenched his fists. "We would never order an attack on the two of you! You have my word!"

"Besides, he's not a hitman or anything," Taro said while rubbing his chin. "More like a bodyguard."

"Easy for you to say that," Kotomi muttered. "I never feel safe around those guys."

Naruto didn't get it. Were they talking about one person or multiple people? There were definitely more than one, that's for sure. But they looked exactly alike…..

So weird.

"Hey, Uzumaki-kun." Chiaki tugged on his shirt. "I already told you it's fine, alright? You don't have to be so angry."

Naruto disagreed. "After that crap, they're lucky I'm even talking to them right now."

He was doing his best to keep his composure here.

"W-Well, you're not wrong there," Karen muttered, still feeling awkward after what had happened. If Naruto didn't have the skills that he did, then who knows what would have happened to Chiaki.

"You have my word that I will get to the bottom of this." Sōshun glanced over to Daiki, who instantly understood the message that Sōshun was trying to convey.

The round boy ran out of the room, silently glad that he didn't have to be around the irritated blond. Given his usual laidback personality, Naruto was surprisingly scary when angry.

Seeing this, plus with Chiaki once again reassuring him that she wasn't angry and that everything was okay, Naruto began to relax. This led Kurama to relax as well as he realized that his partner was going to let this incident go.

"Yay! We're all friends again!" Tsubasa cheered.

Taro cheered next to her, the two sharing an enthusiastic high five.

It almost made Naruto smile. Tsubasa reminded him of Sonia sometimes, but nah the Ultimate Princess was still more awesome in his mind. No offense to Tsubasa, of course!

"I'm glad no one was hurt." Relaxing as well, Sōshun fell back to his chair as he let out a sigh. "We're already swamped with work."

"What kind?"

"Mostly vendors," Kotomi answered, also relaxed now. "Word got out yesterday that Hope's Peak Academy was letting people set up shops on school grounds. The Ultimate Entrepreneur brought in a lot of business, but there are a lot of others asking to join now."

"As it stands, the school is looking to gain some money out of this," Sōshun said with a small smile. "I'm sure that'll make the headmaster happy."

Oh yeah? Once again, Naruto hadn't bothered to consider the possible monetary gains that could come out of a situation like this. It kind of made sense, given the school's reputation. It was meant to be a silly school festival, but many would see it as a way to cozy up to the school and get their names recognized. If not that, then maybe just impress some of the Ultimates. All the students here were bound to be successful in one way or another.

It was all about opportunity basically.

"Is this conversation going to take a while?" Chiaki asked as she let out a pretty loud yawn. "I wasn't able to eat breakfast at the hotel, and I need to shower too."

Oh yeah, now that she mentioned it, Naruto was getting kinda hungry too. He should have nabbed whatever was left from Teruteru's buffet before leaving, especially since Kurama was probably hungry as well. Missed opportunity!

"H-Hotel?" Tsubasa gasped as she looked between Naruto and Chiaki. She began to blush. "You two s-stayed at a hotel last night?"

"Hm?" Naruto didn't understand her reaction. "Yeah. Not for the first time either."

"It was still kind of a new experience for me, what we did last night," Chiaki said with a small smile. "But it was fun."

Anime was definitely a new thing for them, for sure.

Tsubasa gasped again as her blush only grew, her eyes wide. Taro was looking pretty embarrassed too, as was Kotomi. The redhead tried to fiddle with her hair as a way to play off her embarrassment, but she was sporting a pretty big blush too.

A blushing Karen was having a similar reaction as she tried to look around the room to distract herself.

Sōshun looked at his fellow student council members, blinking. "What's the matter, guys? Are you feeling alright? Your faces are red."

"So grownup," Tsubasa muttered, still staring at the confused Naruto and Chiaki. They felt extra confused when Taro gave them a thumbs up.

Why were they acting so weird?

"L-Let's just move on, shall we?" Karen cleared her throat as she tried to regain her composure. "President, you asked to see Uzumaki-san for a specific reason, did you not?"

"Hm? Ah, of course! How could I forget?"

Finally, they were getting to the main point of why he was brought here. Naruto already wanted to leave.

"It's about the beauty pageant!"

Say what now?

Naruto looked at the student council president warily. "I already did my part with that."

Sure, he sort of made a mess of things, but that was because of Kazuichi. Naruto would always profess his innocence when it came to that incident.

"Oh, this isn't about securing candidates," Sōshun waved off his concerns. "When it was discovered that the ladies from class 77-B were participating, a lot of other applicants signed up. We even have our lovely Kamii-san as a contestant."

Tsubasa too?

Said girl blushed when Naruto looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm just trying to make things a little more exciting. It would help if at least one member from the student council joined."

Naruto supposed she had a point there.

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about, my lovely flower." Taro grabbed her hands while his eyes sparkled. "You are the most beautiful girl at this school. Nay, the world! There's no way that you will lose this contest!"

"Taro-kun." Tsubasa was overcome with joy from his words. She could almost cry.

Chiaki looked at the scene with curiosity. "So that's love, huh."

"Annoyingly so," Kotomi said with a huff.

Karen readjusted her glasses. "They do like to show off whenever possible."

Sōshun merely laughed in response. "It's great to see a happy couple!"

Naruto wouldn't disagree with that, but he was more concerned with what Sōshun wanted from him.

"So if this isn't about convincing anyone else to join, then what do you want from me this time?"

"You see, Uzumaki-san, we were trying to keep this a secret until the last possible second, but at the beauty pageant the winner will be awarded the most prestigious title of 'Miss Ultimate' to commemorate her victory."

"With a title like that, are only Ultimates allowed to join in then?"

That would be stupid.

Sōshun shook his head. "Perish the thought. My initial hope was for at least one female Reserve Course student to sign up, but as of right now none have. The title was my hope of trying to bring the two courses together in the event that a Reserve Course student won. I suppose not everything goes as planned."

"Oh yeah?" Naruto's brain started braining. "I think I know two Reserve Course students who might join."

Chiaki glanced at him. "Are you really going to try and convince them, Uzumaki-kun? After what happened before?"

Naruto grumbled. "It was different! I should have approached you guys individually. I get that now."

"Hmm. Well, if you say so."

She didn't believe him!? Naruto wanted to cry.

"I thank you for your continued efforts!" Sōshun exclaimed with a wide smile. "I knew I made the right choice when making you one of the judges and giving you the title of 'Mister Ultimate'!"

…..say what now?

Naruto deadpanned. "Can you run that by me again?"

Kotomi sweatdropped. "He just went and skipped the most important part, didn't he?"

"I'm embarrassed that I'm not surprised by this," Karen muttered with a hand over her head.

Sōshun realized his mistake and quickly said, "O-Oh! My mistake! I was trying to build up to it! But when I saw you trying to make the school festival more fun for everyone, I couldn't help it!"

What was he, some fanboy? It was kind of embarrassing.

"You gotta give me details here, man!"

"It's all quite simple, Uzumaki-san." Coming out from her lovey dovey state, Tsubasa jumped in to explain with a smile. "Murasame-kun thought it would bring more buzz if we made a couple out of the two most popular students in the school. Not a true couple of course, but more like for fun."

"He got the idea when he saw prom videos from overseas," Taro explained further. "Apparently it's something that they do at school proms over there. The two most popular students are voted as king and queen. He just changed the titles for our event."

Naruto had no idea what a "prom" was, but that wasn't the point.

"How the heck am I the most popular male student?" He couldn't believe that. "Pick Fuyuhiko or something."

"You're throwing Kuzuryu-kun under the bus?" Chiaki wondered, tilting her head.

Yes!

"No…."

"There is no better choice, Uzumaki-san!" It was Sōshun's turn to slam his hands on his desk. This startled the blond who looked at the Ultimate Student Council President with trepidation. "You are the class representative of the most famous class in the school! That means you are already the most popular male student in the entire school!"

Naruto didn't think so! "I think you're skipping some important details there…."

"Not really," Karen intervened. "Tell me, Nanami-san. How was Uzumaki-san chosen as your class representative?"

Naruto shot Chiaki a pleading look, hoping she wouldn't say something that would Sōshun's case stronger.

Sadly, he was not that lucky as Chiaki gave the student council the honest answer.

"It was mostly by popular choice really. Yukizome-sensei was going to put it for a vote, but she was able to tell that all of us would have voted for Uzumaki-kun so no vote was needed."

Nooooooo! Why did she have to say it like that!?

"Then it's decided!" Sōshun said with another wide smile.

Nothing was decided!

"And also, what do you mean that I'm going to be the judge of this thing!?" Naruto hadn't missed that little detail either.

"Well, you're more like one of the judges," Sōshun responded with a nod. "I will be one of them, and we have decided to approach one other class. I'm sure he will say yes."

"Oh?" Chiaki was kind of curious. "Who is it?"

"Izayoi Sonosuke-kun. He seems like an honest man!" Sōshun said with an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"You guys know that he's biased, right?" Naruto sweatdropped at their pick. From what he heard, Ruruka was participating too. If she was in it, then the Ultimate Blacksmith was bound to vote for her.

"You do raise a good point there," Karen said with a nod. "From what I hear, he's already in a relationship with one of the contestants. That would not be fair for the rest. I believe we must choose another judge, president."

"Blasts!" Sōshun grumbled. "I thought it was perfect!" He then shrugged. "Oh well, what's done is done! We will look at new candidates! Perhaps someone from the Reserve Course!"

Naruto almost facepalmed. "You're just adding stuff as you go, aren't you?"

Kotomi's eyebrow twitched. "That's the kind of person he is…."

Was the school alright having a student council president like this?

"We must not get hung up in the minor details!" Sōshun's enthusiasm shot back up. "Thanks to you, Uzumaki-san, this school festival has been a bigger success than we originally intended! We must not let the people down and let them see what they want!"

"You mean pretty girls fighting to see who's the prettiest?" Naruto said sarcastically.

"Precisely so!"

…..was this guy an idiot?

"My Tsubasa-chan is definitely pretty." Taro turned to his girlfriend with admiration. "I am confident that you will win this!"

"Oh, Taro-kun!"

And they were in their own little world again. Just great.

"Besides, it's only fair for the main lead to pick his lady!" Sōshun said with a satisfied look.

Why did he have to say it like that!?

Naruto's shoulders sagged in defeat. "I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

Karen offered him a small smile. "What do you think?"

Chiaki rubbed his back in support. "It's okay, Uzumaki-kun. I'm sure Hanamura-kun will treat you to ramen to make it up to you."

Naruto still wanted to cry.

And so, just like that, Naruto had been dubbed "Mister Ultimate"!

Now, it was time to find the "Miss Ultimate"!

Yasuke was up and about earlier than he would have liked, but that could not be helped when he found his makeshift lab invaded by the overly enthusiastic annoyance known as Riko. The Ultimate Heroine just had to show up early in the morning to bug him.

Just great.

It was because of moments like this that Yasuke had never bothered to interact with his fellow classmates. It just wasn't worth the hassle.

"You must get your butt in gear, Matsuda-kun! A new day is upon us!"

Yasuke sat up from his small bed that he had pushed into the room. His actual lab wouldn't be ready for a few more weeks, so he still had to make do with this room in the science building.

"What are you doing here?" He didn't bother to hide his disdain for the girl as he sat up, the manga that he had been reading the night before falling from his chest and onto the floor. He didn't bother to pick it up.

Riko didn't seem to mind. "I came to personally escort you back to our headquarters! We must have our leader there to guide us toward victory."

What's this? Was Riko enthusiastic about the school festival now?

Wait, how did she even get in here? Hadn't he locked the door?

Putting that aside, despite himself, Yasuke was kind of curious about what brought this change. Sure, she hadn't been opposed to the school festival before, but now it was like she practically adored the idea of it.

"I don't think that's necessary. The stage is already built. We just have to do what we did yesterday."

Hopefully Junko didn't show up today. That would be one less concern for him if true. Although the way she was ignoring his calls wasn't sitting right with him either. Just what in the world had happened after she had left with Naruto?

If Yasuke didn't have so much disdain for the whiskered blond, he would have asked him by now.

As a side note, Eizan had been annoyed that Junko hadn't stuck around yesterday. He had wanted to attach her name to them so that he could bring in more revenue. He was already making a lot of money working with Alicia but apparently that wasn't enough for him. Leave it to the Ultimate Entrepreneur to be as greedy as possible.

"You must show more enthusiasm, Matsuda-kun! Are you not facing off against your rival in this? The school festival itself is your battleground!"

Rival?

Yasuke almost shot her a glare as he got up from his makeshift bed. He was still wearing his school uniform as he almost never bothered to change into any sleepwear. It wasn't worth the hassle.

"What nonsense are you bothering me with now?"

Yasuke had half a mind to kick her out right now. The only reason he didn't do it was because the girl was pretty skilled and would easily fight back. Going up against her would be more of a pain than putting up with her…..that was his original thought process, but maybe he was wrong.

"I'm talking about you and Uzumaki-kun of course!" Riko's eyes sparkled. "I can see it now! Your struggle with him reminds me a lot of my own rivalry with the biggest mastermind in the world! The only difference is that you both have people to support you in your struggle with one another."

Yasuke couldn't even begin to understand that thought process.

"That's what you wanted to say?"

This girl was such a pain in the ass.

"You cannot tell me that I'm wrong!" Riko grinned. "For you see, I was able to speak to Uzumaki-kun yesterday in order to better understand his intentions regarding this school festival. You two are very much different."

Yeah, you didn't need to be a genius to figure that out.

"But I also sense similarities between the two of you! That is why I am most curious to now find out who will come out on top in this fight. Will it only be the start or will it be the end for you two? The winner will decide what true justice is!"

Scratching his head, Yasuke walked over to one of the windows. His bare feet quickly adjusted to the cold floor. It was actually kind of comforting.

"Your view on justice is very childish."

"It is not!" Riko quickly denied it. "Everyone knows that it is the strong who are able to define what justice is. That is why I am the strongest of them all!"

Oh yeah, she was very childish alright. Then again, it wasn't like Yasuke wholly disagreed with such a viewpoint. After all, as far as he was concerned, it was talented individuals that made the world go round. If he thought about it, his mindset wasn't all that different from Riko's. The difference was that he wasn't all that concerned with the vague concept known as "justice." He dealt with concrete problems, not arbitrary emotions. He supposed that's what annoyed him the most about Naruto. The blond was all about his emotions. That kind of thinking never led to anything good or worthwhile.

"I can see that you're deep in thought."

Remembering that he wasn't alone, Yasuke turned to look at the girl.

"Will that be all?"

He did not want to keep talking to the girl anymore.

Riko stared back at him and smiled. It wasn't an overly excited smile, but rather a more somber one.

It gave Yasuke some pause, silently wondering if somehow Riko had switched places with someone else.

"I hope that you are able to find what you're looking for, Matsuda-kun."

The Ultimate Neurologist watched her go in silence.

What had been the point of her coming to bother him so easily in the morning? She didn't make any sense. But her words...

'What I'm looking for…..'

Turning back toward the window, Yasuke had to stop himself from thinking about the past.

Despite his best efforts, the young boy felt more alone than he had in years.

Alright, so I wasn't able to fit everything into one chapter. I get carried away sometimes.

Anyway, everything should be wrapped up next chapter. Then we move on to the summer adventures! Yeah, we're finally getting there. It's been a long time coming.

That's all from me. Once again, thanks for all the reviews.

Till next time.