Chapter 3
The Commoner's Strength
Louise sat alone in the courtyard, resting her chin on one hand on the table, while her classmates got to learn more about their familiar spirits, she could only watch them enjoy themselves and be jealous. Everyone else, including Kirche, had gotten such amazing familiars, meanwhile, she was stuck with a stupid, blond, delusional commoner who couldn't even do such a simple task as getting her something to drink. The boy, she didn't remember his name much, had been gone for over half an hour and there was no sign of him.
She ground her teeth, twitching slightly with outrage. "Stupid commoner… where could he have gone?" She shot to her feet. "Jeez! It can't be that hard to get a drink!"
She then paused shortly after, blinking a few times. Everyone else was looking at her in utter confusion, even some of the familiars were rather taken aback. She had shouted it out louder than expected.
Embarrassed red, she slumped in her seat, waiting for everyone else to return to their business.
"Embarrass me like that…" she grumbled. Blaming him was way easier.
She remembered last night, and something made her feel a little too troubled.
'He's supposed to be a commoner… and yet…'
She thought back to the way Naruto ran with dizzying speed despite being poisoned. The way he vanished leaving behind a log. The way he climbed a tower with his feet as if he were walking on solid ground. And on top of that the way he, a plain commoner, had resisted a spell with his willpower.
'Has he learned spells on his own?' she wondered, a troubled expression settling on her face. 'No, that's just preposterous… commoners can't use magic at all…'
She remembered Naruto's stupid grin back in the dining hall. She couldn't wrap her head around why he looked so cheerful despite his current situation.
'Stupid familiar. I'll make him spill everything the next time I see him,' Louise decided.
When he saw her, Guiche thought he'd hit the jackpot.
He'd sat there for about twenty minutes, occasionally looking from side to side, hoping that Montmorency would be there soon, yet there was still no sign of her. He was positive he hadn't made some blunder that had made her lose it again. Not this time, anyway, so far as he was sure. She would get on the warpath more often than not, and most of the time he couldn't get why.
However, can any woman ever be denied such a wonderful gift as Guiche de Gramont? Certainly not. To deny a woman something so valuable would be downright selfish!
Then again, having had plenty of time to ponder the matter, perhaps his plan that day hadn't been the brightest of them all. 'Where in the world is Montmorency? I won't have time to get rid of Katie if she doesn't show up soon.'
Yes. Guiche had agreed to a date with two girls on the same day, within the space of a few minutes, and as if that wasn't bad enough, he'd also scheduled to meet both in the same damn place. He believed he should be able to juggle both issues as easily as a rose stem could balance two leaves. Just now, the full brunt of his mistake was beginning to sink in with every second he got to think about it, making his stomach sink into his boots.
If Montmorency found out or something, he was dead meat. Or the next worst thing.
She had promised as such the last time he'd incurred her rage - he would be in a veritable world of pain if attempted something so shameless like that again. The mere picture of her seething, surrounded by a fiery aura of malice, was far more than enough to drain all the color from his face.
Guiche swallowed sharply, pursing his lips. He hadn't touched his slice of cake since the maid brought it to him due to the anxiousness eating away at him. There were times he wondered why he did things the way he did.
"Hey there, Guiche~" A distinctly feminine voice with a flirtatious undertone whisked across his ears.
"Who is it-" Guiche turned to the girl on the spot, and his jaw practically crashed to the ground, giving off a deep thud.
The beauty of the blonde girl in front of him, Guiche thought, was almost angelic, like a fairy or even a princess: with long cute golden blonde pigtails trussed with orange ribbons streaming down both sides of her head, and her locks framing her lovely, sweet, face.
Not that Guiche was actually focusing on that, though; rather, he was more focused on her mind-boggling figure, easily outclassing even Kirche in nearly every regard. He was gawking at her like a fish. Her uniform, the color of her cape being purple, ranked her as an older student, only adding to her allure, exacerbated by her silky white knee socks. He never noticed the three parallel whisker marks on each of her cheeks, but even if he had, the connection with the only other person he had seen who flaunted markings like that would have eluded him completely.
"Have you forgotten about me~?" She asked, batting her eyelashes as her dazzling sky-blue eyes bore into him.
The girl strutted towards the unoccupied seat.
'Do I know her… well, in any case…' She propped her head on a hand, crossing her legs so brazenly as well, Guiche suddenly felt like blood was about to spurt out of his nostrils, flashing a beaming smile at him.
He broke into a huge, dopey grin. 'It'd be a shame to disregard such a beautiful sunflower…'
"W-wouldn't you mind reminding me, my lovely demoiselle?" He lifted his distinctive rose, attempting to collect himself with a smile.
The girl, plainly startled, recoiled slightly in her seat. She briefly fumbled for words, looking as if she'd somehow forgotten her own name.
"U-Um, well… my name… my name…" She scratched her head, "Na… Na… Nar-"
"Oh! Narcisa?! That's a beautiful name!"
The girl stared at him, frozen in place. She blinked twice. There was an awkward pause that lasted about five seconds. He'd probably seen enough girls to have some names fluttering about in random flashes.
"Y-Yeah! T-That's my name, ya know!" she giggled anxiously, rubbing the back of her neck.
To her relief, Guiche was none the wiser. He kept on staring at her spellbound. So she carried on with her act.
"You've forgotten about me, have you~?" she asked with faux grief, pouting as she rested her index finger on her lower lip and stared at him with puppy eyes.
Not far from the scene, Naruto watched it all unfold, with sly enthusiasm. His smirk only grew wider as his clone, whom he'd dispatched with the Sexy Jutsu over there, pounced on the cocky nobleman, latching on to his arm.
Sometimes he could hardly believe how easily everyone fell for that jutsu: not even one of the Legendary Three Ninja and the Third Hokage themselves were able to successfully fend off its allure, which was one of the reasons he considered it a masterpiece, notwithstanding the numerous times Iruka-sensei referred to it as a 'stupid jutsu', even though he had fallen for it as well, as much as they did. He slumped against the stone wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest. It was rather convenient that the rest of the smug nobles barely paid notice to commoners like him. It would've probably affected him had he been younger, but now, the disregard was the perfect thing for him.
Even though he was clearly enjoying the attention the transformed clone was giving him, judging by the huge idiot's grin plastered on his face alongside the massive blush, Guiche was still mumbling. "H-Hey! W-What are you d-doing, miss?"
Naruto shook his head with secondhand embarrassment. It sort of reminded him of the many times he pulled that technique to get the Pervy Sage's attention during their trips.
"GUICHE!" The voice almost felt like it made the whole place quake with its volume, even Naruto was considerably startled.
The girl with long golden curls tied in the back just stood there, her shoulders slumped and fists balled into tight fists. Her face was contorted into the most terrifying sneer of unbridled rage Naruto had ever seen in his life as she snarled like a snarling beast. All around her the air itself seemed to crackle with pure energy, as though lit on fire.
She began to move forward, taking long, exaggerated steps, towards his direction. Naruto decided that the smartest thing to do would be to wipe the smile off his face and pretend he didn't know anything.
"M-M-Montmorency! I-I can e-e-explain t-this!" Guiche jumped to his feet, obviously panicked, the color of his skin practically draining out of him. He flailed his one free arm around with distress.
The girl paused, carefully surveying the Sexy Jutsu and most especially her body at a glance. Unsurprisingly, it only added fuel to her rage.
"Having quite a good time, are you, Guiche?" she hissed, shooting him a condemning glare at him.
Montmorency took a deep breath for a second, trying to rein herself in - a task she was finding extremely difficult since the other girl wouldn't let go of Guiche's arm at all.
"I swear, I don't know this woman!" he exclaimed.
"Oh, really now?" She raised a condemning eyebrow. "Because she's hanging from your arm as if her life depended on it."
"… W-Well, about that…"
"Zip it. I've already heard the rumors that you were meeting with a first-year student, but this is even worse than I imagined. We'll talk about this later," she hissed, veins popping in her temples. "Who. Are. You?" Montmorency turned to the girl.
"Me?" she tilted her head to one side, innocently. "Well, I'm Guiche's girlfriend, of course!" She beamed innocently.
Montmorency froze to the spot, looking bone-white and unable to muster a word. So did Guiche.
"G-G-G-Girlfriend?!" she thundered in outrage.
'Hah! Take that, Curly-Haired bastard!' Naruto thought, watching as the girl scolded the idiot. 'That's what you get for messing with me!' He looked around, as if searching for someone. 'Now, she should be here in any minute…'
"Lord Guiche!"
Naruto grinned with complacency, rubbing his hands together wickedly. "Just in time!"
Naruto remembered the brown-haired girl from the previous night. She was pacing around the courtyard calmly, holding a basket with both hands as she looked around for the guy.
"Yo!" Naruto casually waved as he approached her.
"Is there something you need, commoner? It so happens that I'm busy, I'm looking for Lord Guiche," Katie said with the same snooty tone used by all the nobles he'd ever seen.
Naruto pouted. 'Don't get so cocky, I'm a year older than you, ya know…'
"A-Anyway," Naruto put on his best 'PR' grin, rubbing his hands as he did so. "I just so happened to know where that guy is!"
The girl's face lit up. "Really!" she exclaimed in a friendlier tone, suddenly, catching Naruto a bit by surprise. "Would you please take me there?"
"Uh, y-yeah sure, follow me," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head. 'Poor girl…'
Naruto led her to where Guiche was being chewed out by Montmorency. The clone still hadn't let go of his arm.
"There he is," Naruto snorted, gesturing towards him as he shook his head. "The man of the hour!"
Katie ignored the commoner; she joined the fray instead. In the meantime Naruto joined the gathering crowd that was beginning to mass there, forming a circle. He stood there, hands in his pockets, and let the show go on.
"Lord Guiche!" she called out, making him sweat even harder. "I've heard you were going out with Montmorency but now you're with this blonde girl!"
"A-ah, well!"
"Weren't you saying you'd love to taste some of her food last night?" Naruto finally spoke out. "I saw you two in the hallway!"
"W-Wait, y-you?!"
"What's the matter?" he shrugged. "Honesty is the best policy, after all, so you should just come out clean, don't you think?"
Montmorency winced, "Guiche, what's the meaning of this?"
"What is it that you're going on about?!" he yelled at the commoner. "This is all just a massive misunderstanding!"
Other students gathered around the commotion and stood whispering to each other with a growing curiosity.
"What's happening?"
"Guiche's picking up a fight with the commoner familiar!"
Naruto scoffed, "'Misunderstanding' my ass! I've seen two-timing idiots before, but three-timing idiots sure are something new!"
"Three-timing?!" Katie exclaimed.
"So you were seeing a first-year and a third-year, huh?!" Montmorency hissed.
"P-Please, Montmorency!"
"You're awful!" Katie cried out. "You said I was the only one!"
"The only one?!" Montmorency uttered, in abject horror.
There was a collective 'Ohhh' across the area.
"I-in any case!" Guiche started.
"Liar!" The two girls, and even Naruto's clone just for the hell of it, yelled in unison.
There was a loud smack that made everyone, even Naruto himself cringe, as Guiche slumped down on the ground, with a red hand-shaped smack on his cheek. The two girls left without adding another word.
The clone gave a tentative thumbs-up gesture to Naruto as she winked. Naruto nodded back just as subtly.
The entire crowd exploded in laughter. Naruto just looked down at him with an extremely pleased, sneering grin.
Guiche glared at him, clearly enraged, before springing to his feet. The laughter died completely.
"Don't know how to pay respect to nobility, huh, commoner?" he spat.
Naruto frowned, sensing the same scorn from the other day.
"Really? Well, maybe I don't wanna do that," Naruto said.
Guiche grinned, his eyebrows twitching. "Oh, is that so?"
Louise was about to lose her mind and go to look for her useless familiar until she heard some whispering in the courtyard.
Talk of a commoner about to have a duel with a noble. As soon as the realization of who it was dawned on her because there was only one commoner bone-headed and stubborn enough to pick up a fight with a noble, her stomach sank to her knees.
"No!" she exclaimed. "That stupid dog!"
She ran as fast as her slender legs allowed her to do so. 'No matter how strong he is, no commoner can win against a noble! What is he thinking?!'
If only she knew.
"A duel?" Naruto repeated, confused.
Guiche was aiming that stupid rose at him as if it were a kunai. "That's right! I challenge you to a duel! You're just a commoner… even worse a familiar! And yet, you dared mock me and made three ladies cry!"
"Crying? It looked to me like they were hopping mad because an idiot was three-timing!" Naruto joked.
Guiche seethed.
"Prepare yourself!" he exclaimed. "I will be waiting at Vestori Square!"
With that, he walked away looking dramatic.
"Bah! Cocky prick," Naruto spat, folding his arms.
He then felt footsteps stomping, rustling the grass.
"You!" Naruto shuddered at the sound of Louise's voice. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
"Yo, Louise!"
She grumbled out her frustration and snatched him by the arm.
"Hey!" Naruto blurted out as she began dragging him. "What are you doing?!"
"What do you mean, 'what'?!" Louise chided. "Promising a duel just like that!"
"Where we going?"
"We'll apologize to Guiche. Right now, he might still forgive you."
Naruto frowned, stopped in place, and yanked his arm away from her.
"Get off me! I ain't apologizing to no one, especially him!" Naruto folded his arms, looking away. "He wants a fight, I'll let him have it!"
Louise scowled. 'This commoner…'
"Are you stupid! Haven't you learned a thing from what I told you the other day?! Commoners can never hope to win against nobles!"
For the first time, Naruto growled at her, making her flinch. "Tch! Oh, yeah?!"
He whirled towards one of the nobles. "Hey, you, noble! Where's that Vestori Square or whatever the hell is called?!"
"O-Oh, t-that way!" he pointed to the left.
Naruto simply headed in that direction, taking purposeful footsteps, while ignoring any protests from Louise.
"Wait!" Louise exclaimed. "Don't be so reckless!"
"This will be a sight!" Another noble exclaimed.
Louise clenched her fists as she grumbled in frustration. "Oh, jeez! He's only a familiar, yet he's always going off on his own!"
'I'll show you all,' Naruto thought bitterly.
"No previous case exists of a commoner familiar."
Osmond, the academy's headmaster, a man whose age matched the amount of wrinkles lining his face, stared at Colbert. The man's long silver hair spilled down to his shoulders. His creased mouth and jaw covered him with a beard that was just as long and frizzy.
His wrinkled hands were clasped on top of his desk, and his staff rested behind his seat. Light streamed in through the windows, filling the slightly dull office.
Colbert stood holding a rather large book in front of him, his face betraying a hint of uneasiness.
"There's more than that," he started, placing the book on the table. His index finger laid down a makeshift bookmark to separate a specific page. "I didn't recognize the rune that appeared on him at first, but I thought I had seen it somewhere else. My fears were confirmed when I saw this."
He singled out specific characters with his finger, prompting the old man to look out in shock.
He eyed his secretary sideways, the bespectacled young woman with dark green hair tied back in a ponytail. "Miss Longueville, if you would excuse us…"
She understood right away. "Y-Yes," Miss Longueville gave a nod before heading out the door.
Neither of the men realized that she had taken one last look at the page and the runes right before exiting.
Both waited until the door clicked to carry on with their discussion.
"This must not leave this room by any means, understood?" Osmond whispered. "Especially when it might involve with one corner of the lost Pentagon."
He nodded, "Yes, headmaster."
Naruto understood why Guiche picked this place to carry out their duel: it was a spacious and clear enough field, bordered only by two towers, so that two people might be able to face each other. A large green field, not unlike the others that made up the academy. He surveyed the site well, wondering if his clones wouldn't clutter it up in case he was forced to actually cast it.
While Guiche kept basking in the spectators' enjoyment, Naruto performed some stretches to warm up.
"Show-off," Naruto grumbled. Even though he still felt rather weak, he figured he could take the guy on.
Students from all grades gathered in a circle around them, whispering in excitement. Between them, he could make out the girls that Guiche had pissed off. There were also Louise's classmates, especially Kirche.
Montmorency made her way over to Kirche and Tabitha.
"Taking out his frustrations on a commoner? How pathetic," she hissed. "Like seeing a lion about to gobble up a baby deer!"
"He really amuses me," Kirche said, referring to Naruto.
The first-year girl came over. "I know the commoner doesn't stand a chance. But, it'd be nice if he could teach that jerk some humility."
Montmorency nodded.
The maid, Siesta, also walked up to the uproar. Understandably, she was worried when she learned of the duel. 'Naruto-san… What on earth are you thinking?' She felt her eyes begin to well up with tears. 'We commoners can never hope to take on a noble. It's like a death wish.'
She clasped both hands together as if praying. 'Naruto-san…'
Guiche chuckled dismissively. "I must commend you for showing your idiotic face here."
"I never go back on my word," Naruto declared.
"Wait up!" Louise yelled out.
Naruto groaned.
"That's enough, Guiche! Duels are forbidden!" Louise said.
"Only duels between nobles are forbidden," he turned towards Naruto, a contemptuous sneer on his face, "He's just a commoner - a familiar for crying out loud - so there's no issue."
Naruto bared his teeth, "Bah! Try me!"
Both ignored him. Louise carried on, "That's because nothing like this has ever happened before."
Guiche grinned.
"Don't tell me you've fallen for your familiar."
The girl's face flared red. "W-Who would be?! Knock it off! Nobody would just sit around and watch as her familiar gets beaten to a tattered heap!"
At that, Naruto, sick of it all at last, snatched Louise by her cloak, and slung her over his shoulder, effortlessly carrying her out of the makeshift battleground.
"Hey! What are you doing, stupid familiar! Let go of me! Your stupidity is gonna get you killed! Listen to your mistress at once!" she wailed as she thrashed about.
He gently laid her down on the grass. "Stay here, and shut up for once. Just trust me."
Naruto shifted his focus back to his opponent.
"Well, are we fighting, or you'll leave me waiting?" he said, lifting his shoulders.
Guiche looked at him quizzically.
"Won't you take a fighting stance or something?"
Naruto grinned.
"There's something I want to test. C'mon, let's begin!"
"Very well, don't blame me if you die!" he swung his arm out and a single petal of his rose broke off.
Naruto merely watched as it bobbed up and down until it touched the grass. A flash of light burst from the ground: a statue made of brass, with a strange and elaborate armor, holding a spear in its right arm appeared in front of him. It boasted a rather feminine build, something that almost made Naruto groan to himself. This guy really had no shame, huh?
Naruto was a little taken aback by the sight. He'd seen all sorts of summoning jutsu in the past, but nothing like that humanoid thing ever. The statue itself appeared to be a bit taller than him, but besides that and its alarming physique, it still came across as relatively human.
"My runic name just so happens to be 'The Brass'," he glanced at the statue. "Therefore, this golem, a Valkyrie, shall be your opponent."
"So you'll hide behind the skirts of your little statue and let it do all the dirty work for you, huh?" Naruto snorted. "Hmph! Pathetic, and I expected more from you than just running away, noble!"
"I am a mage, so it's only natural I fight with magic," he smirked.
"Magic this, magic that…" Naruto snorted. "You'll need a hell of a lot more than just magic and nobility to take on me."
"Oh, really?" he narrowed his eyes.
"Better than you have tried," Naruto spat.
"Stop it, Guiche" Louise screeched. "My commoner won't stand a chance against your Valkyrie!"
Naruto spun towards her, "I told you to stay there and wat-"
"Oh no!" Louise shouted out. "Turn around, behind you!"
"Huh?"
A sturdy bronze fist thumped into his stomach before he could even try anything. Air whooshed out of his lungs as he sank to his knees against the ground, wheezing quite obviously in pain.
It struck him with a vicious kick to his vulnerable jaw sending him careening backwards. Naruto's body skidded twice on the grass before crashing to the ground.
Some of the girls shrieked at the display of violence.
"Naruto!" Louise ran to him. "Naruto, stop it!"
He was already getting up. "Dammit, profiting from my blind spot, the asshole."
"Didn't I tell you!" she cried out. "A commoner doesn't stand a chance against a noble."
Naruto grinned. "Haha…" Blood was dripping from his lip, "About time you called me by my name."
She was taken aback.
"Huh? Never mind that! Just stay down and-"
"This is nothing," Naruto uttered, his voice hoarse, as he sprang to his feet. "I've been hit by worse, trust me. He took advantage of the distraction to attack me. Didn't I tell you to stay back, you're getting in my way?"
"You need to stop!" Louise yelled, though her eyes were welling up with tears. "Why are you so stubborn?! You could die!"
"He pisses me off, this whole thing pisses me off…" Naruto said.
"Pisses you off?" Louise stood up, at a loss. "Look, there's no embarrassment in losing to a mage-"
"It isn't that!" Naruto hissed. "You're getting on my nerves now. I still don't get all that shit about nobles or why they're so stuck up, but if there's something that pisses me off is when people look down on me."
He glared at her sidelong, blue eyes blazing with anger. "You need to stop underestimating me."
Naruto shifted his attention back to the Valkyrie. "You said you can't send me back to my home, didn't you?"
"Yes, but why does that matter now?!"
"I'm stuck here," Naruto said with a faint voice. "Now, my dreams are out of reach." He lowered his head. "I can't bring Sasuke back. I can't become the Hokage I want to be either. I've failed both my master and my sibling disciple."
There was a pause in which Naruto took a deep breath. "At this point, who cares if I'm a familiar or whatever? If I have to sleep on the floor, eat horrible food that isn't ramen, or even wash your fucking underwear, I'll do it, there ain't much I can do about it, I guess."
He looked up, fiercely, "But I'd rather croak it here than see some pompous asshole like him call me a failure!"
Then, he made something inconceivable: he lifted both arms as if purposely leaving himself open.
"What are you doing now? Giving up?" Guiche wondered.
"Bah!" Naruto snorted. "Think I'm joking when I say you just caught me by surprise? Then summon all the statues you want! Beat me to a pulp, I won't fight back!"
"What?" Guiche asked, in shock.
"Huh?" Louise's eyes widened.
Siesta covered her mouth. 'What's he doing?'
"You're not seriously…" Guiche bared his teeth. "What do you think this will accomplish? You're just crippling yourself! You won't fight me to your fullest strength?!"
"Feh! Waste of my fuckin' time, man."
"What?"
"Just thought of giving you a bit of a handicap," Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Call it mercy and make this a little bit more exciting."
"What the blazes are you saying?"
Naruto spat, "I'm saying you and your little doll are too fuckin' weak for me to go all out, asshole."
Guiche snorted, trying to ignore the cold shiver that went down his spine.
"Fine then, commoner! Don't blame me if you die!"
Several minutes passed during which the three golems battered him: at least three times in the face, four times in the stomach. Once or twice they had targeted his limbs, but fortunately enough, no bones were actually snapped. At no time did he try to defend himself as he had sworn, at most, he would get up to wipe the blood from his nose before approaching the same spot again, and all repeated.
They all watched with bated breath, cheers eventually dying down as they noticed how one side of his face was starting to swell nastily.
The last shot made both Louise and Siesta look away in abject horror.
He was covered in dust and bruises. But even so, Naruto hardly seemed to be bothered by the wounds, despite the many he had received. He never sagged, nor did his gait ever falter in the slightest.
"I said c'mon," Naruto looked on curiously as he spewed blood. It came out darker and thicker than usual; it felt unnaturally gritty between his teeth. Dirt was mixing with his saliva and blood. "Bug bites hit harder than that!"
"Please… just stop it already," Louise pleaded, coming to his arm again. Tears were trickling down her face.
"Move aside, Louise!" Guiche commanded.
"I told you to stay outta this…" Naruto hissed, rubbing the dirt from his face.
"You did well enough!" she said. "Never had I seen a commoner as determined as you!"
"Get out," Naruto pushed her, effortlessly. "This is just getting started." Naruto grimaced ever so slightly, his arm flaring with pain for a moment. He clutched his shoulder.
"Of course, it hurts!" Louise said. "It's common sense! What are you thinking just taking those blows like that?!"
"Quit moppin' around," Naruto said. "I've told you already: this ain't my first rodeo. I've got my reasons. Stop worrying so damn much."
"There's no way I'd cry!" she hit Naruto in the shoulder, her face going red, but he barely budged.
"Yeah, sure, whatever," Naruto pointed back at the crowd with his thumb. "Get back there."
Naruto approached where the three Valkyries were standing again, clutching his sore shoulder and rolling his arm.
Guiche smirked, with regained confidence. "Still want to go on?"
"Ain't it obvious?" Naruto nodded. "Warm up's over."
For the first time in this entire duel, he took up what looked like a fighting stance. His outstretched hands raised and drawn forward.
"Is that all you can do?" Naruto wondered, narrowing his eyes.
Guiche flinched. "What are you babbling about now, commoner?"
"Your little statues are heavy, dumb, and move very slowly. All they do is punch head-on like an amateur. You call me dumb when that's all you can do?" Naruto commented. "You're all slow."
"Y-You bastard…"
"That's why you let yourself…" Louise said.
Kirche smirked, "Oh my~"
Tabitha shut her book and left. "Going home."
"It's starting to get interesting!" Kirche said.
"It's settled," she said flatly.
Naruto wiped the blood from his mouth with his thumb. "I just let you trash me for a while to see how skilled you were and give you an advantage because, honestly, if I went all out this you'd be dead in the blink of an eye. But I'm disappointed. I know twelve-year-olds who hit harder than your stinkin' dolls!"
He frowned. "You nobles are all bark no bite."
Guiche grinned nervously, "If this is any kind of bluff, you'd best stop, for you will be the one that does die."
"Blah, blah, blah. Get on with it, you over-pretentious asshole! If you ain't coming then I will!" Naruto hissed. "How about I teach you some of the ropes Kakashi-sensei taught me…"
The nobles looked at him confused.
Meanwhile, he flexed the fingers of his hand.
"Shinobi Battle Techniques, Part One: Taijutsu," he whispered. "The physical part. In other words, ninja hand-to-hand combat."
"You little-"
Faster than thought, Naruto dashed over to the first of the Valkyries, caught her by the arm, and, cartwheeling through the air, delivered a drop-kick that plastered her to the ground, obliterating her utterly. Brass gave way against the sheer weight of the impact as if he had kicked through wet cardboard. All the way through, Naruto's expression hardly denoted a sign of strain.
"Naruto, watch out!" Louise yelled.
"I know!" Naruto shouted back.
As he was getting up, the two Valkyries to either side of him shifted in alarm; both tried to catch him by surprise, this time brandishing the spears that until a moment ago he assumed were just decoration.
Naruto sneered contemptuously. "I don't think so," he caught hold of the spears that tried to impale him, pulling himself up into the air, and struck both statues with a double kick without so much as a glance.
Then he leaped, using the spear shaft as a springboard, soaring high into the cloudless sky.
'Gotta make sure those things stay down for the count,' He reached for his weapon pouch at the back of his pants.
'Oh, you've got to be kidding me!' There was nothing there. Then it came back to him…
"Ahh, dammit," Yamato groaned, picking up the now dry and cold bowl of porridge. "Not even a spoonful? That's what I get for being too kind, I guess. Wonder if Kakashi-senpai will want some?"
He took a mouthful of it, immediately wincing at the taste. "Yeaaaah, never mind…" He set the bowl down in the corner again, heaving a disappointed sigh. "'Take a cooking class with Ikemoto,' they said. 'It won't taste like ass,' they said."
He glanced at the hole Naruto had sliced through the tatami with his kunai knife while he wasn't looking.
"Tch!" The little punk slipped away despite his orders, leaving him to his own devices to face the innkeeper's wrath over property damage, though he should have expected that from Naruto. The shadow clone had vanished a few minutes ago, leaving a bed in disarray.
How had he, a former member of ROOT and ANBU, fallen for such a stupidly obvious ruse? Maybe the shortage of more severe assignments was indeed rusting him out a little at a time.
Yamato then stopped. He blinked a single confounded blink, his large eyes widening even more. "Is that Naruto's…?"
He spotted it in the corner of the room: Naruto's weapon pouch, his kunai knives and shuriken still there, together with some of his scrolls. He'd just left them there.
"Oh, well," he said flatly as he shrugged, picking it up, out of curiosity. "Knowing Naruto and how he deals with things, I'm sure he won't need these."
As it turned out, Naruto needed those.
After a few seconds, he widened his eyes. "Oh, right!"
He steered his hand to his right knee, where his other weapon pouch, the lighter one he had strapped to his leg, pulled up the slipcover and rummaged through its interior. There were two pairs of shuriken and kunai contained in it.
Naruto never realized the runes on his left hand were glowing.
He gasped. "I can see…"
Everything slowed down to a standstill as he grasped his weapons. It felt the same way as in Sage Mode when all of his senses were magnified to superhuman heights. He was able to feel everything, but most of all see everything. His body was as light as the leaves swaying through the air.
Pain from his wounds had also vanished. He figured it was going to happen sooner or later, but not this way. It was not the fox's healing power, but something else entirely.
It should have taken him a good deal of focus to strike his targets from that height and with his current condition, but this way, it felt as easy as the mere act of breathing.
'Let's go.'
Naruto swung the shuriken and the kunai. The two hit the Valkyries in the head, and (as far as he could tell) in the middle of the eyebrows. They never got back up.
The other one, however, hit the ground right before Guiche. He'd aimed them there to scare him, which worked flawlessly. He fell on his butt and crawled back a few inches.
Naruto flipped as he landed lightly on the ground, right in front of the challenger. "Hey."
"W-What?" Guiche stammered.
Naruto grinned scornfully, "Don't tell me this pathetic commoner scares you?"
Louise watched in awe, 'I knew he was different… but I never expected him to be so…' she blushed, '... so brave… and… and… agh! What the heck am I thinkin'?!' she shook her head. 'Stupid familiar! Making me feel so weird… especially when I already have a fiancé…'
Bewildered whispers arose from the crowd.
"No way! The commoner has the upper hand!"
"He has Guiche backed into a corner!"
Naruto merely looked down on him in disappointment. "Done already? After all that big talk this is disappointing."
Guiche wouldn't respond, he was scared. His entire body was trembling.
A pause broke between them. Gusts of wind rustled the bushes nearby. Naruto pursed his lips tightly.
"Need some drive, I guess, huh?" he clasped both hands together in a hand seal.
A billowing burst of smoke enveloped Naruto. Guiche watched in shock at who was standing in front of him: the blonde girl from a moment ago. She wore the same clothes as Naruto and sported the same bruises.
Then it dawned on him: both the girl and the commoner possessed identical hair color, the same complexion, and even the same eye color. No, they were the exact same eyes. Because as it turned out - the girl was the commoner all this goddamn time.
"You!" he growled, springing to his feet. "It was you!"
The girl - no - Naruto gave a spiteful grin.
"Heh!" spoke in her same voice but with Naruto's crass accent, which only added to his outrage. "Took you long enough to realize, noble!"
Another cloud of smoke popped up, and Naruto emerged in his usual form. "What ya gonna do about it?"
"Crush you!" Guiche bellowed sharply.
"Now, that's more like it!" Naruto grinned, "Don't hold back!"
"Oh! You best bet I will not hold back!" He brandished his rose again, waving it at Naruto, who shifted into a more defensive posture as if bracing himself for the next move. "I normally only create up to a maximum of six golems. But since today I am in the mood of thoroughly wrecking a worthless scumbag commoner to bits, I might just push the envelope a bit," he said with a downright unhinged smile.
The crowd watched in horror as Guiche called forth not just ten, not just twenty, but a hundred golems, each one larger than the last, with one goal in mind: to destroy the commoner who dared to challenge him.
"Get inside!" one of Louise's classmates yelled out. "Quickly!"
Right away, they understood that the field was a war zone now, so they took refuge in the towers so as not to get caught up in the ensuing conflict.
The entire court was being blown into clouds of dust kicked up by the wind brought about by the arrival of all those Valkyries, and yet Naruto simply stood there unmoved. Disheveled locks of hair whipped back, and even though he squinted slightly through the dust, he never tore his gaze away from the battle.
Louise was about to follow her classmates into the tower, but stopped and looked back. She paused momentarily.
Naruto was vastly outnumbered: he stood only one against a battalion of bronze golems. Her legs were shaking, most especially from the explosions, but what kind of example would she set if she just abandoned her familiar to its own devices just like that?
Gagging from fear, she rushed towards Naruto and seized him by the sleeve of his jacket.
"Naruto, we need to leave!" Louise cried out.
The latter, however, ignored her.
"Look! You're just one! There are too many of them! Guiche isn't playing anymore, he's gonna kill you if this keeps going!"
Naruto's lips parted. "If you want to leave so badly, then just go. I'm staying here."
But Louise didn't move as well. She stomped her feet on the ground instead.
"I won't, you obstinate idiot!" she declared. "No self-respecting mage forsakes their familiar!"
Naruto shot her a sideways frown for a second, Louise assumed it was out of annoyance, but then his features softened.
"That's a good Path," Naruto commented with a half-smile, before shifting his attention towards the golems. "Get behind my shadow clone."
"Shadow clone?" she repeated confused, blushing slightly at Naruto's determined look. "What is that?"
Naruto brought both hands together in a cross shape. "There are many of them, so we'll make a lot of us. Even as weakened as I am, that should be easy."
She blinked, "Huh?"
"Now!" Naruto shouted. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Louise just watched in wide-eyed shock as a hundred identical duplicates of Naruto popped into existence from multiple bursts of smoke in front of them both.
"EHHHH!" she cried out. "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?! THERE'S SO MANY OF YOU!"
Naruto brushed at his nose with his index finger, flashing a proud smile.
"Shinobi Battle Techniques, Part Three: Ninjutsu!" he said. "Skipped two because I ain't know shit about genjutsu. But this - oh this is a jutsu I know too well!"
"Make as many copies of yourself as you wish!" Guiche growled. "They will not save you!"
Naruto grinned, "Wanna bet?"
The Valkyries poised themselves, clasping fingerless brass knuckle hands around the hilts of their weapons, before pouncing on the commoner's barrage of copies. The clones retaliated, bellowing various war cries as they readied themselves to engage the living statues.
The entire atrium erupted in frenzied pandemonium almost immediately.
Several clones hurled themselves at brass, managing to knock them down with relative simplicity, though others were decimated by sneak attacks, bursting into billowing puffs of smoke.
While Naruto was already impetuous in his attempts, the rampaging Guiche was no slouch. Rage surged through him, virtually injecting his senses to superhuman adrenaline-fueled levels.
But despite all their attempts, Naruto's clones still held the upper hand. Little by little, the number of Valkyries dwindled under the shinobi's ruthless martial arts, until only two remained.
What difference could the number make with no experience to match against a seasoned warrior?
But even as his forces were reduced and the difference between the two was plain as day, Guiche still refused to fall. His face held the same enraged look it had when the whole melee began.
Naruto supposed that whatever power these mages tapped into to cast their spells was similar to chakra. Just as when Naruto's chakra was split evenly across each of his clones, rendering him weary afterward, having called forth that many statues seemed to have taken quite the toll on the noble.
"This is all your fault!" he bellowed, drawing in sharp ragged breaths. "Montmorency hates me because of you!"
Silently, Naruto watched him as he clutched his chest. He was hacking up a cough as if all his breath had been sucked out of him.
Naruto peered over to the tower, noticing how a certain girl with golden curls was clasping both hands in prayer. The very girl who was berating him was now silently pleading for his safety.
Almost brought back memories.
"Please withdraw, I'm afraid" Sakura pleaded with Sasuke as she wiped away tears of concern, while he tightened his grip on his neck with a pained grimace, which he struggled to control.
The Curse Mark Orochimaru placed on him at that moment threatened to incapacitate and even kill him. Though he didn't know it at the time; eventually Sakura would tell him that Sasuke had asked her not to say a word to him.
Sasuke lowered his gaze. As aloof and belligerent he made out to be, seeing Sakura like this clearly stung him worse even than the searing mark.
Back in the present, Naruto frowned. The old, mildly easy-going Sasuke may have been too short-tempered with Sakura at times, but it was clear that he still loved her as a companion. He treasured her as an equal at times too.
The ringlet girl had been looking out for his welfare, even after the stupid stunt he'd pulled, and he hadn't appreciated it until now - after being caught cheating on her nonetheless!
To someone who would likely never see his friends again, especially Sakura-chan, and make good on his promise, it made his blood boil.
Naruto squatted down, hunching over slightly. "This ends now," he declared.
Guiche sucked in the air a couple of times. Then he stopped, with a sharp intake of breath. A pause that lasted for a few seconds.
Then, shouting out, he whipped out his rose as if it were some kind of sneak kunai. Earth shuddered in front of him, shifting into the shape of a huge hand made of rock that swung toward Naruto. A last-ditch attack to crush him.
There was a squelching sound as the hand crashed down onto him. Naruto never moved away and all of his clones vanished. Several seconds of complete stillness passed. The noble's hand came down flaccidly, his face sporting an almost unhinged, weary grin of sufficiency.
Louise froze for a few moments, her mind unable to handle what had just transpired. "I… told you… you idiot…" Then her legs buckled to the ground. "Naruto…"
"Should have listened to Zero Louise, you nitwit," He wiped the sweat from his chin. "This is what happens to idiotic commoners who try to challenge their superiors."
"I don't think so."
Guiche froze in alarm. "HOW-" He was about to turn around, only to be struck down by a simple elbow aimed at his face by Naruto who had somehow gotten right next to him in the blink of an eye.
Louise could have sworn that, for a second, she saw a hint of red around Naruto's eyelids, and how his eyes took on a different hue - more specifically gold - before returning to their usual shade. He suddenly looked a lot more weary than before, but not enough to quite show it.
The only way she could tell was from the sweat suddenly dripping down his face, and how he seemed struggling to breathe, whereas up until a few moments ago he had been in relatively top form.
Could it be that he was still poisoned? What kind of insane poison had they inflicted him with?
Guiche was downright dumbfounded, he was sure he was done with the bastard. At least until the rock hand caved in. All that was there was nothing more than a flattened bush.
The commoner, somehow in an extremely brief window of time, had switched places with a cursed bush!
'I knew leaving an extra clone behind to gather natural energy just in case was a smart move, ' he grimaced, 'Geez, Sakura-chan, that poison Shizune-nee-chan taught you to make is super effective. Full day and I still feel it. Had it not been for the Nine-Tails chakra I'd be so dead right now. I only used Sage Mode for a few seconds to get it over with fast and I'm already feeling super tired.'
Naruto seized him by the arm, forcing him to his knees.
"You won!" Montmorency cried out. "It's over! You've proved your worth, commoner!"
But Naruto ignored her begging. Dull sunlight fell on his shoulders so that the commoner now stood looking much more baleful with his wild, unblinking gaze. Not a glimmer of sympathy lurked in those eyes all of a sudden, in comparison to the jolly doofus of the other day.
He held up an open hand, bracing himself to deal the coup de grâce.
"Mercy is for weaklings," Naruto said, his voice completely cold and horrifying. "Us shinobi do not train to be merciful back where I come from. We're trained killers, ready to strike on command. If a man faces you with intent to kill, then he's the enemy."
"Please, stop it!" she shouted, in panic.
"Naruto!"
"Enemy deserves no mercy!" His hand twitched in warning, "All they get is death!"
"No," Louise whispered.
Guiche screwed his eyes shut, readying for the final blow.
Naruto roared out wildly and prepared to deal the blow.
…
And he merely flicked him on the forehead with his middle finger.
"Just fuckin' with ya," he said sticking his tongue, his eyes closed in typical fashion. "Heard that in a movie once. Thought it'd sound cool."
A few stunned seconds passed. All tension built up was released at once.
Naruto watched as Montmorency wrapped her arms around Guiche.
"You idiot!" she cried out with tears. "Making me worry like that! I thought he was going to kill you!"
A silence followed until Naruto spoke.
"Ringlets here was looking at you all worried and stuff during our duel, you know?" Naruto's face grew sterner, again. "You got some good buddies, you jackass, better than you deserve. Don't throw them away just like that. Hold on to them. You don't know when you might lose them."
Images of his friends back in Konoha flashed in his head, especially on Sakura-chan and then on Sasuke, "If you don't, I'll beat you up even worse, and this time I won't hold back a bit. Got that?" He finished, clenching his fist tightly. "If you wanna get back at me, it'd be best if you train."
Guiche made no retort; neither did he seem very outraged at the commoner's words. He turned his gaze to Montmorency with a regretful look.
"I-I'm sorry, Montmorency," he mussed, "I was a complete idiot… I don't know what got into me… I-"
She wiped away her tears in shock. 'He sounds genuine! He's not lying to me!' Montmorency then looked at Naruto. 'I could never get him to turn back like that, but this commoner did it just like that. He did it in the most mindless way possible, but he did it.'
She smiled, 'Uzumaki… Naruto, that was his name, right?' even in her head, the name rolled off her tongue with difficulty, 'What a strange familiar you summoned Vallière…'
Naruto rested his head in his arms.
"Well, that's what I call a win!" he exclaimed, "Not so bad for a commoner, huh?" he spun around and began to walk as calmly as he could. "Hey! I'm off to your room, Louise! I need a good nap after all that exercise!" Naruto waved one of his hands.
Louise stood up, sighing heavily.
"'Exercise', he calls it. Making me worry and on top of that he lets himself get beaten to a pulp for something so stupid," she grumbled, her face somewhat flushed. "Honestly! Are all men this stubborn?"
However, she smiled as she looked up at him, 'Oh, well,' in the light, Naruto almost appeared dazzling, 'Guess you're not the waste of magic I thought you were. You're so talented after all…'
It didn't last, as it crumbled a bit, remembering Naruto's prodigious display of strength, 'More talented than I could ever hope to be… ' she tugged at her skirt, 'Even my own familiar has more skills than I do…'
Until Naruto abruptly stopped dead in his tracks. Louise panicked as she saw him losing his balance and plummeting to the ground.
She made a hasty dash, hoping to catch him before he hit the ground, but immediately skidded to a halt as she saw his fall slowly decelerate. He was now levitating. Someone had used a spell.
Both she and the weary Naruto turned back. It was Guiche, tired as he was, who had stood up to cast that spell.
"I'm not fighting anymore," he said in between sharp intakes of air. "I'll carry him…"
Naruto looked at him for a few seconds, confused, before letting out a dry chuckle. "Sometimes you gotta teach 'em some humility by roughin' 'em up a bit, you know…" he joked wearily.
Meanwhile, the diminutive mage stared at both of them, confused. 'Just a moment ago they couldn't stand each other… that's odd…'
Then she addressed Naruto, with one of her typical grumpy looks. "I warned you not to push yourself too far, dummy!"
"Gimme a break, please," Naruto grumbled. "Think I'm still poisoned. Besides, you never said that."
"'Poisoned', give me a break!" she whispered through clenched teeth, closing her eyes with her hands on both hips. "You shouldn't do such risky things when you're not even in top shape! You're too much of a bonehead for your own good sometimes, you know. One of these days you could get yourself killed if you aren't careful enough!"
But when she lifted her eyes, Naruto was all but sleeping. He was snoring like nothing had happened. At that, even Louise couldn't avoid a smile from creeping on her face.
"Dummy…" she whispered, hands behind her back. "I'll nag you more when you wake up, Naruto."
When Naruto woke up he was pleasantly surprised as he felt excellent. His eyes snapped open, but he didn't want to move too much just because he was lying on the comfiest bed he'd been in his entire life: so soft and cushioned that he just laid there for a few more minutes enjoying its smooth surface and the sweet-smelling scent in the air as he stretched his arms out and rested his head on them.
It was certainly much better than the two he'd had before and after the destruction of Konoha, though it could do with the fact that he'd hardly ever bothered with caring much for his furniture.
He could feel some fabric wrapped around his head, and others around certain parts of his body. They were bandages. Although he didn't really need them; sure enough, the healing process of the Nine-Tails had begun.
Outside the purple-curtained window, a sparkling mix of orange and gold drifted across the sky, the glass glinting red. It was already sunset again. How long had she been asleep?
Minutes passed, in between slow sluggish eye blinks, as he watched the flying birds soaring through the air, trying to make the most of this fleeting moment of tranquility.
Then he heard the door unlock. Naruto pulled up the upper half of his body.
"Have you awakened?" He recognized Siesta's gentle voice. "Thank goodness! You've been sleeping for three whole days!"
That startled him a little at first, but he was at least relieved that the thing inhabiting his body hadn't attempted to do something to his body while he slept.
"Yo! Siesta!" Naruto tried to come off sounding as unconcerned as he could. "Why you here?"
"Oh!" she put both hands before her waist, while politely smiling. "Miss Vallière instructed me to bring you a meal."
She turned to the right. Louise had been snoozing on her dresser, her arms serving as a makeshift pillow to rest her head on. It turned out that Naruto had been sleeping in her bed all this time.
"She must be tired," Siesta commented, "She's been watching over you all this time without sleep, Naruto-san."
Naruto flinched, taken aback. Then he smiled.
"She was, huh?" he turned to look at her tiny, sleeping form. "She's actually kinda adorable like that."
Naruto clutched his shoulder, blinking for a moment. He looked surprised.
"Woah! I feel great it's like all the poison I had is gone!" he exclaimed. "I'm completely healed!"
"Poison?" Siesta tilted her head.
Naruto grinned nervously.
"It's a bit of a long and convoluted story," he summarized. "Point is: I'm feeling much better than before! Feel like I'm born again, Siesta!"
Naruto stood up cautiously so as not to wake Louise up. He reached for his food: it was a couple of slices of bread, but he didn't mind. With an empty stomach, even that looked like heaven. All the more so because these loaves of bread looked genuinely palatable.
"I dunno what the hell happened, but I feel like I could take on a whole army and win, ya know!" Naruto said as he took a bite.
"Naturally," Siesta said.
"What do you mean?"
"Miss Vallière ordered a terribly expensive elixir to treat you," she added. "That's probably why you're feeling much better."
Naruto's eyes widened. He stood quietly for a moment, gazing at the young noblewoman, sleeping so blissfully.
He snorted, but it didn't sound derogatory at all, instead, his smile turned somewhat affectionate, "As a noble, she sure does love to spend money on worthless stuff."
"Naruto-san."
"Hm?" Naruto turned to the maid.
"I'd like to sit down and talk with you next time," Siesta said.
The girl's statement took Naruto aback ever so slightly.
"Is something wrong?"
He shook his head, "Nah! I'd like to talk to you more too!" he grinned, "You remind me of an old friend, that's all."
She smiled back at him, her face slightly flustered, before bowing. "Oh, excuse me! I have something else to attend to!"
"Don't worry," Naruto waved to her. "See ya later, Siesta."
"See you later too!" she said, turning and leaving, as she closed the door softly.
A few moments passed, as Naruto enjoyed his dinner.
"She's just like Hinata," he smiled.
He paused for a moment, and his smile faded a bit.
"Wonder how's everyone at home," Naruto whispered. "Hope they don't think I'm dead, or something."
Louise was still asleep, and would probably stay that way for a while, as told by Siesta.
Naruto stood up, grabbed her bed cover, and wrapped it around her back. Louise's face lit up a little. He thought she had the prettiest face he had ever seen in his life.
"Sleep tight, boss," Naruto whispered, gently tapping her in the back.
He watched her sleep for a few minutes, before going off to clear his head a bit from the memories of home. Since he was going to wash Louise's clothes anyway, he thought he'd also give his tracksuit a bit of a thorough dusting after the fight.
CHAPTER 3 END.
A/N: Never underestimate Naruto's finest technique: the Talk no Jutsu :p
Writing fight scenes while having a specific word count in mind is a real pain in the ass.