"I thought you said we could trust him, toady-kun!"
Chris complained as they fled down the hallway.
"I thought so too! But something's clearly wrong with him right now! You heard what Aegis said, right?"
Naruto, now back in his Kakashi disguise, grimaced when he looked back and saw the horde of guards chasing behind them. He suddenly felt a presence in front of him and Jiraiya, clad in Aegis, appeared out of nowhere in front of them with a raised fist.
'Invisibility magic!?'
The thieves slid under the massive man's attack, and Naruto proceeded to drop a few smoke bombs.
Upon detonation, the hallway was filled with thick gray fumes.
Multiple copies of Naruto in his disguised form burst from the smoke and engaged with Jiraiya and the guards.
"Let's go!"
Naruto ushered in a hushed tone and led the way towards where he hoped the stairs were.
'Your clones won't last very long, kid.'
Aegis's voice chimed in the back of Naruto's mind.
'Aegis? How are we talking at this distance?'
Naruto asked and silently cheered when he spotted a large staircase when they rounded the corner, along with at least a dozen guards.
"There they are!"
"Don't let them escape!"
The men shouted and charged straight towards them.
'Telepathy, remember? I can easily reach the ends of this mansion. Although I can only speak to one of you at a time if we're not in the same room.'
The armor responded as Naruto picked up his pace until he crashed into guards, taking them down one by one with swift strikes to the napes of their necks.
"Boss!"
"On it, today-kun! Bind!"
Chris stuck her hand out, and a long rope shot forth from within her sleeve. It bundled itself around the men that Naruto had skillfully piled up as they flew down the stairs without stopping.
'Alright… Can you lead us to the basement? Also, do you actually know where that magic mirror is?'
Naruto asked as he came to a stop at the base of the staircase, which led them to the entrance hall. The front door was open, most likely from the guards they had just encountered. Which would be nice so they had a moment to catch their breath.
'Indeed I do. It just so happens to be in the basement, along with your Succubus friend.'
Aegis revealed, earning a grin from the shinobi.
"What is it, toady-kun? Are you hurt?"
Chris asked when she noticed he'd stopped.
"I'm talking to Aegis. He said he can lead us to the mirror."
Naruto replied and gave the girl a thumbs up.
"Great…"
Chris muttered when the very air behind her shimmered and a large figure appeared. Her eyes widened as Escape activated, and she narrowly avoided a blow to her side by rolling forward.
"Neat trick. That's the Escape skill, right? You must have a high Luck stat for it to have activated on such short notice."
Jiraiya mused as Naruto stepped in front of his friend defensively.
"...Go on ahead, Boss. I'll hold him off."
The jinchuuriki instructed, a bead of sweat rolling down his face. He'd been dreaming about this moment for a while now, but never anticipated it would be like this.
Chris nodded and took off running in the opposite direction, following the instructions that Aegis was likely feeding her.
Naruto drew a kunai from his leg holster and lowered his stance. He was now about to face his mentor for the first time in what felt like ages…
"I won't be holding back, kid… Show me what you got."
Jiraiya took one step before he seemingly vanished, and Naruto felt a presence in front of him. But the boy had been anticipating a frontal assault, so he sidestepped the invisible strike and coated his dagger in wind chakra.
Ching!
The blade shattered upon making contact with Aegis, which appeared as Jiraiya's Invisibility spell came undone.
'Not even a scratch, huh… Plus, that Invisibility is going to be rough.'
Naruto thought with a crooked smile, and the wind was knocked out of him by an armored knee.
The Transformation jutsu popped as Naruto was lifted off the ground, and Jiraiya proceeded to grab the teen by the ankle before spinning and throwing him into the stairs. Splinters flew everywhere as Naruto was forced through the wooden steps.
"I'm sure you're feeling it now, but Aegis not only gives me a boost in defense, but offense as well."
The toad sage revealed as he walked towards the shattered staircase.
A pair of clones burst out of the wood on opposite sides, each wielding a spiraling blue sphere in their right palms. Jiraiya disappeared again as his Invisibility reactivated, and he grabbed the wrists of both doppelgangers after they missed, bringing their attacks upon each other and dispelling them instantly.
Peering into the hole, Jiraiya found his student in a meditative position. It was hard to see in the dark, as most of the candles had been blown out during their skirmish, but the older man could faintly make out a discoloration above the teen's eyes.
'Is that…!?'
Jiraiya quickly pounced onto Naruto, slamming his armored feet into the blonde's torso. But to the sannin's surprise, the whiskered teen's form exploded in a plume of smoke.
"I've been looking forward to showing you… Ero-senin."
Naruto's voice came from behind him, and Jiraiya turned around to see his prized student standing before him in a new form.
Orange pigmentation lined the outer portions of his now yellow toad-slitted eyes; the signs of a perfect sage.
"So… On top of mastering the fox's chakra, you managed to pull off Sage Mode?"
Jiraiya mused as he stepped out of the rummage, in awe of his student's achievement. But not entirely surprised. The brat really was his father's son.
"Yeah… Though I wish I could have shown you under better circumstances."
Naruto replied with a dry chuckle escaping from his masked lips, his eyes trailing the older sage that was silently circling around him.
'So… Even though he can't see me, he can sense me in Sage Mode.'
Jiraiya thought with a smirk. There went his trump card, as he'd been hoping to end this battle quickly to avoid further damages to the mansion.
A moment of silence passed as master and student sized each other up, each trying to anticipate the other's first move.
It wasn't until a piece of wood fell to the floor that they both sprung into action.
Fists collided, creating shockwave after shockwave as the two sages exchanged blows.
Naruto led the offense with his mixed form of Senjutsu enhanced Frog Kata, with Jiraiya playing a more defensive tactic as he gauged what his student was capable of.
'Ouch! Hold your punches, will ya!? I might be indestructible, but I still feel pain, you know!?'
Aegis complained when Naruto landed a solid punch on Jiraiya's raised forearms.
'Can armor really feel pain!? Or rather, suck it up for now! We both know I can't hold back against Jiraiya!'x
Naruto barked back in his mind as he threw in a follow-up jab.
Avoiding the invisible after-punch that came with Sage Mode, Jiraiya ducked into Naruto's guard and landed a punch in the boy's face.
Naruto spun with the impact and crashed his elbow into the taller man's side, making him slide from the force of the blow. This gave the blonde the opportunity to land a kick to the man's knee, causing his stance to wobble, which allowed Naruto the opportunity to continue consistent pressure.
'Even with Aegis's buffs, it seems Sage Mode puts Naruto's physical stats above my own.'
Jiraiya noted as the whiskered teen continued his seemingly endless assault. He had to give Naruto credit, the boy had improved his hand-to-hand combat skills tremendously.
But that was enough taijutsu. If he didn't have the edge in raw strength, he was going to need to play it smart. It was time to bring in some strategy.
But first-
Jiraiya pretended to slip on wooden shrapnel and fell on his back. The moment Naruto made a move to jump on him, he activated a spell.
"Flash!"
"Gah!"
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut when a blinding light was released from Jiraiya's palm, taking a defensive stance from the impending follow-up attack which came in the the form of a double kick from his sensei's armored heels. The whiskered teen crashed into the ceiling, but didn't quite make it through as he hit a support beam.
While Naruto fell to the floor, Jiraiya swiveled through a series of hand signs.
"Hair Needle Senbon!"
Spiky white hair curled around the older man's form and hardened before a barrage of needle-like projectiles shot out like bullets.
Naruto had just opened his recovered eyes, only to yelp and jump back as the hairs impaled the floor where he once stood. He was forced to plow through the front door to avoid being made into a sage shishkebab.
Now standing in the wide open property, Naruto quickly put up his disguise as a bunch of guards appeared to investigate.
"There… Now our fight won't cause any more damage to the mansion. But I gotta say, Aegis. You're being awfully quiet. Normally you complain about feeling pain and whatnot."
Jiraiya noted as he walked outside, his Invisibility spell deactivated. No use wasting mana to maintain the skill if Naruto could just sense where he was.
When the armor didn't respond, Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. Was it that mad at him?
'No… He seemed to be conversing with Naruto without letting me hear earlier…'
It was then Jiraiya realized what was going on.
Of course… The other thief that had run off earlier.
"Guards! I'll handle this intruder, you're no match for him. There's another thief inside! They're after the relics in the basement!"
Jiraiya shouted, and the guards quickly did as they were instructed.
When their guest who was normally lazing around and flirting with the maids was acting serious, then that meant things were actually very serious.
Naruto cursed and made a move to strongarm his way back inside to warn Chris, but something was keeping his legs from moving. He looked down to see he was standing on a magical construct.
"Ankle Snare. I placed a trap outside before confronting you two."
Jiraiya revealed as he weaved through some more hand signs.
"Whatever… I'll just force my way out!"
Naruto shouted and added some strength into his legs in an attempt to shatter the binding spell, but the ground at his feet sloshed around like it was made of gelatin. In fact, he now found himself in the middle of what looked like a large mud bath… and he was sinking.
"Earth Style: Bottomless Swamp."
Jiraiya removed his hands from the ground and started pacing around the edge of his jutsu.
"You should have ran when you had the chance, brat. But hopefully you'll cool your head off after a couple nights at the police station. They don't like me very much over there, especially that one police lady, but I'm sure this will all blow over without Alderp finding out. You did save the town from the Destroyer, after all."
The older man said as he placed a rectangular piece of paper onto the ground, and he continued to do so as he rounded the perimeter of the manmade swamp. If Alderp had any questions about the property damage, he'd just blame it on Aegis trying to escape.
'He's planning to seal me… I need to get out of here before he completes the jutsu.'
Naruto thought as he struggled against the sludge, but it stuck to him like glue which kept him from jumping out. He couldn't rely on Kurama's chakra either, else risk the guards recognizing him.
"I bet the toads were proud of you for doing what I couldn't. I sure as hell am…"
Jiraiya whispered with a sad smile on his lips, not that his student could see through the helmet.
Naruto's heart stung, but that gave him an idea. He reached into his ninja pack and pulled out an orange sphere.
"What's that, a paint ball? Not really the time for pranks, kid."
Jiraiya chortled when he noticed the orb in the teen's hand. Just a few more tags and the seal would be complete.
"Paint ball? No… This is a Scroll Ball, Ero-senin. You made one, remember?"
Naruto replied and tossed the magic item into the air, and his mentor's eyes widened.
Jiraiya dove to place the last tag, but it was too late as a massive orange blob fell on top of him in an earth shattering "Plop!".
"Thanks, buddy!"
Naruto chirped as Jerry's tongue wrapped around his body and yanked him out of the mud. Why hadn't he thought of this earlier?
After all, what was a toad sage without a toad?
'Left! Then immediately turn right!'
'Again!? Just how far in is that basement!?'
Chris complained, but she did as she was instructed. As convoluted as this route was, so far she'd avoided all of the guards. But she could hear shouting from behind.
'Don't worry, tomboy-san, the entrance is in that room at the end of the hallway. Be ready to barricade yourself in!'
Aegis instructed as she rounded a corner, and a large door came into view at the end of the hall.
'I'll do you one better… Also, don't call me tomboy-san!'
Chris barked into her mind before she jumped and spun around in the air and activated her Wire Trap skill. Multiple steel wires shot out from her sleeves and stuck from one end of the hall to the other, all in different directions. She landed on the ground with a smirk and burst through the door.
Chris lit a nearby lamp and found herself in what looked like a study.
'Where's the basement? I don't see a staircase…'
'That's because it's a secret staircase that only a few of the guards have knowledge of. But I, the great Aegis-sama, have been entering and leaving that place every night courtesy of my partner.'
The sentient armor replied, causing a bead of sweat to roll down the Thief's cheek.
'Go to the fireplace, there is a false tile that contains a key. You will then have to place the key into the keyhole that is located on the side of the third bookshelf to the right of the fireplace.'
Doing as instructed, Chris felt around the tiles and found that there was in fact a hidden compartment on the wall above the firepit. Nobles were becoming quite crafty with their secrets, but that's precisely what made this job such a thrill.
Hearing the frustrated shouts on the other side of the door, Chris hastily moved over to the aforementioned bookshelf and scanned the side for the keyhole. Locating it, she quickly shoved the key inside and twisted it.
The bookshelf clicked from the inside and seemingly became unhinged, allowing the girl to swing it outward like a door. Behind was in fact a secret passage, to which she wasted no time to run down the steps.
Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Chris was greeted with a stale smell that made her pinch her nose.
'Gross… They've been keeping you down here?'
'Indeed… It pleases me that you agree that this is no place to be storing one as great as I.'
Aegis replied solemnly as the girl crept through the place.
Chris looked to her left and found that the wall was lined with bookshelves and display cases. On the right side, she frowned as she passed by a set of empty prison cells.
No, wait… one of them was occupied.
'How horrible…'
In the corner of the final cell, a young girl was curled up on a small pile of hay. She had short white hair and seemingly wore nothing but a familiar looking orange jacket.
Swallowing the rage that was welding up inside of her chest, Chris made short work of the lock with her pick and slowly opened the gate. She approached the girl with a soft smile.
"Hey… Are you okay? I'm gonna get you out of-"
"Guehehe…"
A strange noise came out of the girl's mouth, prompting Chris to stop in her tracks.
"Guehehe… Naruto-sama…"
"..."
Chris watched as the prisoner squirmed on the hay. Were they dreaming… Of Naruto? Did he know this little girl?
'Come to think of it… Naruto did say he learned some troubling information about Alderp. Is this what he was referring to?'
Deciding to ask the blonde later, Chris tapped the girl on the shoulder.
"Hey, wake up… I'm here to get you out of here, but we don't have a lot of time."
"Fue…? Y-you're here to rescue me?"
The younger girl opened her eyes and looked up at the Thief with a sleepy expression.
"Yes, so get ready to run. Can you stand? I just need to find something fir-"
"Oh, no thank you. I'm fine staying here."
The little girl suddenly said, which caused Chris to nearly fall flat on her face.
"W-what do you mean you're fine staying here? You're a prisoner!"
Chris asked while straining a smile. Just what was this kid thinking? Was she being tortured here and was now too far gone? Was that it?
"True… But I'm waiting for Naruto-sama to rescue me! I've been dreaming of it since they captured me! Naruto-sama is so kind, and he's surely noticed I've been missing. In the meantime, I get to laze around all day smelling Naruto-sama's jacket without being pestered by the others to share or to work to get new customers… Ah, but I hope he rescues me soon. The jacket is beginning to lose his scent."
The young girl replied while hugging the orange jacket tightly to her form before adding the last bit somberly.
Chris was stunned. Stupefied, really. No wonder she'd recognized the jacket, it really was Naruto's. But what shocked her the most was the fact that this young girl was seemingly obsessed with the shinobi.
No, this was something that went beyond even that. Judging by the lack of bruises and bags under the girl's eyes, she seemed to be perfectly fine. Externally, at least.
Internally, she was completely hopeless.
'...I'm going to have words with that man when we get out of here.'
Chris thought with a twitching eyebrow when she reached her hand out.
"Naruto-san is here. He's come to save you, but he's running a bit late. So come and help me find-"
"Nooooo! I refuse to leave this prison until Naruto-sama bends the bars with his toned arms and carries me out like his bride!"
The little girl rejected the Thief's hand and even retreated further into the corner of the prison cell defiantly.
'It's no use… She really is too far gone!'
Deciding to leave the delusional girl be for now, Chris left the cell and started looking around the rest of the basement for the mirror.
There were display cases that contained precious jewels and unique crafts, but none of them were divine relics. Was it locked in one of the chests? There were a lot of them though…
'Aegis, where's the mirror?'
. . .
When she didn't get a response, Chris began to grow worried.
'Aegis? Are you there? Can you hear me?'
'Right behind you, tomboy-san.'
Aegis finally responded, and Chris blinked in confusion before whirling around to see the sentient suit of armor standing at the base of the steps.
Chris drew her magic dagger and stood ready at the prison cell. Was Naruto captured? That didn't seem likely, and she doubted he left her to fend for herself. Especially if he knew this girl was being held captive here.
The armored man took one step before the visor flipped open to reveal Jiraiya's sheepish face.
"So, did you find the mirror yet?"
"...Why do you ask? Where's toady-san?"
Chris demanded while keeping the knife leveled towards her enemy.
"Where's…? Ah, whoops. My bad."
Jiraiya apologized before his face exploded into smoke, and Naruto's cheeky grin was revealed as the vapor dissipated.
Chris visibility relaxed and sheathed her weapon with a sigh.
"Don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry, sorry! I just forgot I was still in this form while I Was heading down here."
Naruto apologized as Aegis shifted open and allowed him to exit.
'Ugh… I can't believe I allowed not just one, but two sweaty men inside of me. You should have transformed back into your sexy form after we tricked those guards into investigating the rest of the mansion.'
Aegis complained while wiping the inside of its form with a cloth he picked up from a nearby desk.
"Yeah, whatever. So where's that mirror so we can get the heck out of here?"
Naruto asked when he was startled by the sound of a gate slamming closed. He glanced over at Chris, who was just as surprised as he was.
"What was that?"
The shinobi asked as he walked over to the Thief, and she gestured towards the inside of the cell with a half-baked smile.
"N-Naruto-sama…? I-is that you?"
Maria, who was laying in the corner of the cell, weakly glanced up at him with what looked like tremendous effort.
"Ma-er-Lynn! Don't worry, I'll get you out of there!"
Naruto shouted and moved to open the door, but found that it was stuck.
'Wait, wasn't it unlocked…?'
Chris thought, but upon further inspection, she saw that there were a few lockpicks that had been forced into the lock until they snapped.
When did that girl take her lockpicks!?
But that didn't stop Naruto as he grabbed two of the bars and grunted as he pulled them apart with brute strength, further surprising the silver haired thief.
'He actually pried the bars open!?'
Chris thought as the ninja rushed inside and picked up the little girl and carried her out of the cell. What terrifying acting skills…
"I knew you would come for me…"
Maria mumbled before she closed her eyes and rested her head on Naruto's chest, seemingly falling asleep.
"Of course… Now rest, I'll take care of the rest."
Naruto whispered before turning towards Aegis who was digging through one of the bookshelves.
"Alright, Aegis. I don't know how much more time we have before the guards find where I tied up Ero-senin. Where's the mirror?"
'But of course! The mirror is inside that chest over there! But it is locked, and I can't seem to remember where they hid the key in here…'
Aegis replied albeit a tad regrettably as he continued rummaging through the bookshelf.
'Those had been the last of my lockpicks too…'
Chris thought as she looked at the cell door regrettably.
Crack!
Both Chris and Aegis snapped their heads at the chest to see Naruto's leg sticking through a now foot-sized hole in the wood where the lock had been. The blonde proceeded to lift his foot and kicked the chest open.
"Hehe… Looks like I excel in these types of missions, huh Boss?"
"Absolutely not! This has been the craziest mission I've ever been on! You better not have damaged the mirror!"
Chris barked, but she relented a sigh and walked over to the chest. Hopefully that rash man hadn't broken the divine treasure. To her relief, she reached inside and pulled on a cloth to reveal a mirror with an intricately designed frame. There were no visible damages, so they were in the clear.
"So what does that mirror do anyway?"
Naruto asked as Chris picked up the soccer ball-sized magic item. He hoped it didn't have a sentient personality like Aegis… He didn't know if he could take another troublesome individual like that right now.
"Its real name is actually Echo Nexus, and it allows the person of its binding to teleport to anywhere in the world using mirrors as a waypoint."
Chris revealed, and the shinobi's eyes widened.
"That's amazing!"
Naruto was so used to magic items having some kind of strange drawback that made them super situational, so it was quite nice to see something that actually seemed competent.
"Although, since the person this mirror was bound to is likely deceased, we can only use it to teleport to mirrors we've looked through in person before."
Chris added and the mirror's reflection changed to show an image of the inside of a restaurant.
"Ah, I guess that makes sense. Is there any way to bind a divine relic to someone new?"
Naruto asked and shuffled Maria in his arms so he could touch the mirror. It reminded him of the time Kazuma had "stolen" Mitsurugi's sword, Gram, and claimed it was powerless in the hands of anyone but Mitsurugi.
"No, only the gods have the authority to bind divine relics to a human. But even with half of its power, we must seal Echo Nexus. An assassin could potentially use it to get into the royal palace… Something like that could start a war between kingdoms."
Chris grimly responded, and the shinobi nodded his head in understanding.
'Bummer… It would have been fun to use this thing to teleport into Kazuma's bathroom. I could finally prank him with that tokoroten slime.'
Naruto thought, and chuckled at his friend's reaction in his head.
Suddenly, the mirror changed images again to all white.
Confused, Naruto moved his face closer to the image. It looked like… Fog? Like what a mirror looked like in a bathroom while you were having a hot bath.
A hand pressed against the mirror on the other end of the image, and it wiped some of the vapor away to reveal a completely nude Darkness. She was smiling at her own reflection.
Or at least, she was expecting to see her own reflection. But her face grew mortified when she saw Naruto's reflection in the mirror.
Although he couldn't hear anything from the other side, Naruto watched as the Crusader scrambled back while shouting and covering her modesty, slipped on a bucket, then fell out of view.
'S-she really does have a six pack…'
Naruto thought with a dribble of blood poking out of his nose.
"What is it, toady-kun? Did the location change?"
Chris asked and moved to look at the mirror, but Naruto quickly removed his hand. The image reverted back to the restaurant, much to the shinobi's relief.
"N-no, it's nothing. I was about to sneeze is all, Boss. It's really dusty here. Shall we get going?"
Naruto asked, earning a confused nod from his partner. He then turned towards Aegis and extended his hand.
"You should come with us, Aegis. You can hide in my room at the inn until we take down Alderp."
'Ah, that is quite alright. Being locked down here isn't all too bad. This room is where Alderp keeps all of his volumes of Icha Icha Paradise, after all. Though we may have our differences, I admit that my partner's literature is out of this world! Hahaha!'
The sentient armor replied with a hearty chuckle while showing off a familiar orange book, earning flat looks from the thieves.
'But also, I am the only reason Alderp has yet to kill my partner. For you see, that man, despite his questionable tastes, is quite good at investigating. He managed to find me here all by himself and was only caught because that cursed devil was down here as well.'
"Questionable tastes, he says… Well, if you say so. Thank you for helping us, Aegis. We'll take that man down and get you and Ero-senin out of here! I swear on my ninja way, ya know!"
Naruto promised and turned his outstretched hand into a fist.
Aegis seemed to study the blonde for a moment before raising its armored fist and bumping against Naruto's own.
"I would have preferred hearing such a promise from your sexy form, but I suppose this will do."
"Oi."
With promises made, Naruto turned to Chris who had been watching the scene with a smile on her face.
"What?"
"Nothing. It was just fun watching the great Hero Candidate in action."
Chris replied with a mischievous glint in her eyes, and she giggled when Naruto rolled his cerulean orbs. Although their mission was nearly a bust, she didn't regret inviting the blonde in the slightest.
Their little moment was cut short when they heard shouting from the room above.
"I guess they found Ero-senin… Ready, Boss?"
Naruto asked, and Chris nodded her head before placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. They nodded towards Aegis, who returned the gesture.
'Don't worry, Ero-senin… I'll get you out of here.'
Naruto thought with a serious expression, and his vision went black as Echo Nexus was activated.
After sending a clone off to take Maria home, Naruto stood on top of the restaurant with Chris. They stared at the bright mood that floated in the center of the clear starry sky.
"Thanks for coming with me, Naruto. With your mentor there, I don't know if I would have been able to pull that off."
Chris voiced while lifting the bag that contained the secured divine treasure.
"Yeah, thanks for inviting me. I'm glad I was able to get Lynn out of there…"
Naruto replied with a half baked grin, but there was a distant look in his eyes and it wasn't hard to tell what he was thinking about.
While they had saved Maria, Alderp still had Morrigan and Jiraiya in his possession. With the hostage free, he might be able to get the receptionist Succubus out of there in a similar fashion. But it would have to wait until Alderp was back in town… It would take him too long to get to the Capital on foot, and he didn't have the funds to pay for the Teleportation service.
He just needed to be patient and it was killing him.
"I understand why you want to take down Alderp… I knew things were bad with him, but not this bad. To kidnap some of your friends… Did you do something to make him hate you?"
Chris asked, bringing the shinobi out of his thoughts.
"No, he didn't seem to care about me or Kazuma during that trial after the Destroyer. It was probably just a coincidence… My friend is, umm… Kinda pretty, you see."
Naruto admitted while scratching at his whisker marks awkwardly. It wasn't like he could tell her Maria and Morrigan were Succubi and that he'd sent them on a mission to investigate Alderp's devil. But this story seemed believable enough, and was partially true after what Aegis had told him.
"I see… Well, I'll look into Alderp some more. Let's take that corrupt noble down, alright toady-kun?"
Chris signified by extending her fist out with a supportive grin on her face.
Naruto looked at the girl's fist and smiled, albeit a bit tired. Bumping her fist with his own, the shinobi looked back up at the moon. He didn't really appreciate it enough, but the skies were extra clear in this world.
"By the way, Naruto-san… How do you know that pretty girl Alderp seems so interested in? I noticed you didn't mention her name."
The mischievous Thief suddenly asked, causing the blonde to stiffen.
"O-oh, well, you know… S-she's Lynn's older sister, yeah!"
Naruto silently cursed his stuttering, hoping Chris would pry for more information on Morrigan.
Is that so… Then how did you meet Lynn? She sure is cute…"
Chris took a sudden turn and smiled sweetly.
Was it just his imagination, or was her gaze suddenly a little cold?
Naruto began to sweat profusely. Maria had been her goal all along! It was a trap!
But he was ready this time. After all, he had that excuse lined up.
"It was Dust. He tried to set me up with Lynn during my bet with Aqua that one time."
"Oh, I see. I'll have to have a long chat with this Dust fellow some time."
Chris replied while tapping her chin thoughtfully, and the shinobi sighed in relief.
"Anyways, I'll let you know when I get more information. See you on our next mission, toady-kun!"
Chris winked before standing up and taking off into the night.
Naruto waved goodbye until the girl was out of his sight. Standing on his own two feet, he jumped down to the ground and started making his way towards the inn.
Yunyun sighed as she laid down on her bed in her yellow pajamas. Wiz had avoided the conversation again! Was she annoyed by her consistent pestering about Naruto? Or was she just super shy? Maybe both?
'Not to mention Naruto-san seems to have had some strange developments with Cecily…'
She just didn't understand what was going on in Naruto's head… Which was why she asked Cecily to act like she was getting married, so she could see how Naruto would react. It didn't really prove very useful, and now she felt bad for essentially sneak attacking her party member.
But Cecily wasn't the only potential threat. Far from it.
From what Yunyun had gathered from her conversation with Naruto in regards to his recent travels, nothing really changed between him and Aqua.
This was both a relief and unsurprising, given that Arch Priest's personality. Yunyun had been worried that Naruto was secretly in love with that bratty woman because of all the rumors that Dust had told her about in the past. But there was no way they were true.
Then she'd overheard Kazuma complaining at the Adventurer's Guild earlier that morning that Naruto was having strange developments with Darkness, and the Crusader's reaction was not very helpful. Darkness had looked both happy and offended at the accusations, which was super confusing. Maybe it was just part of her weird quirk?
'I still can't believe that Naruto was practicing his etiquette with Luna! She looked over the moon the entire time!'
Yunyun thought and rolled over on her bed. Having heard a lot of the head receptionist's horror stories from work while she helped in the mornings, she almost wanted to cheer her on as well. But she would remain loyal to Wiz until the bitter end!
Finally, there was that Thief girl Chris who was apparently meeting up with Naruto tonight. Just what were those two up to?
'They were pretending to be a couple to win the bet… Does she perhaps-'
Yunyun heard a couple light knocks on her door, jolting her out of her thoughts.
Was that Cecily? But she said she was staying at the Axis Church tonight.
Sitting up and putting on her slippers, Yunyun walked over to the door and unlocked it. Opening it enough to peek outside, she found Naruto standing outside with his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a white t-shirt and some shorts… and looked tired.
"Hey, Yunyun… Sorry to bother you. Were you sleeping?"
"N-no! I mean, I was getting ready for bed, but… Would you like to come in?"
Yunyun opened the door all of the way for the shinobi to enter, to which he readily accepted.
"Thanks… I just really need to talk."
Naruto replied as he took off his open toed boots and set them against the wall next to the door.
"Of course! What are party members for?"
Yunyun chirped, elated at the thought that her friend was finally opening up to her on his own accord. She hurried over to the table in the center of the room and pulled out a chair for the blonde, and he sat down with a sigh.
"So… What did you want to talk about, Naruto-san? Ah, would you like some tea?"
Yunyun asked, and upon seeing the short nod from her company, she scurried over to her miniature kitchen and used a magic item to start a fire under her tea kettle.
"Hey, is that one of Kazuma's items?"
Naruto asked with a knowing smile, and the mage nodded her head.
"Y-yes, it's called a lighter. Ah, but you probably already knew that since you helped him gather the materials."
Yunyun giggled and took a seat on the other side of the table to wait for the water to boil.
They sat in silence for a bit, and Yunyun shuffled in her seat as she patiently waited.
Did he decide he didn't actually want to talk to her after all? Or was he waiting for the tea first!? Ah, what if he was actually waiting for snacks!? What kind of host offered tea and not snacks!? She was a fool!
"U-umm… Would you like some snacks-"
"I broke into Alderp's mansion tonight."
Naruto interrupted the Crimson Demon, and the girl's jaw hung loose.
"Eh? You… Eh?"
Did she hear that correctly? Was there something wrong with her ears? Naruto had said something quite incredible just now.
Break into a noble's mansion? That was seriously some Megumin levels of stupidity!
"I broke in with a partner, you might have heard of them. The chivalrous thief that's been stealing magic items recently. Well, they approached me with some information on Alderp and asked if I wanted to tag along on their heist. I said yes, we broke in, and I found out so many things…"
Naruto continued and pinched the bridge of his nose.
They sat in silence for a moment until the kettle began to spout, and so Yunyun mindlessly stood up and walked over to prepare the tea.
"W-what did you figure out?"
"My mentor is being held captive there, but he doesn't even know it… Alderp is contracted with a powerful devil that can apparently manipulate people to a point that's past illusions. Alderp kidnapped two of my friends, the Succubi I was telling you about, and he was using one of them as a hostage to make the other his maid… I managed to save the hostage and get her home, and hopefully I can save the other one before Alderp can do anything in retaliation… Hey, are you okay?"
Naruto asked when he noticed Yunyun's shoulders were trembling. Upon hearing his question, the girl wiped her eyes with her sleeve before she turned around and placed a pair of cups on the table. He couldn't see her eyes behind her bangs, but it was as clear as day that his party member was upset. But he expected as much. He'd just dropped a bombshell on her.
"Why…"
Yunyun muttered, her hands balling into fists.
"Do you not trust me, Naruto-san?"
"Of course I trust you, it's just-"
Naruto began, but Yunyun slammed her hands on the table so hard that he had to grab the cups so they didn't spill.
"Then why won't you talk to me!? About your plans, your past, your thoughts on Wiz!?"
That last one was a little questionable, but she was too upset to care.
"W-we made a promise! A pinky promise! But… Am I not strong enough? To stand by your side? Is it because I don't understand people? Because I'm too shy? Everyone back at home calls me weird, but everyone here calls me strange whether I act like a Crimson Demon or like myself…"
Yunyun shouted before sitting down on her chair and just started sobbing into her hands. Everything was going so well… The promise, their victory against the Orcs, the praise from the village and her old classmates…
"Was it all a lie? Or am I just too stupid and weird to understand just what the heck is going on?"
"..."
Naruto watched as his friend silently cried into her hands. He'd messed up, again. The promise he'd made to this girl, broken.
Why? Why was he so hesitant to involve his party member in his plans regarding Alderp? He could have easily told Yunyun about his plans with Chris and involved her with the planning, and yet, he didn't. He felt like he wasn't even doing it on purpose, but in reality-
"I'm scared."
Naruto found himself saying, realization dawning on his face as Jiraiya's, Chris's, and Darkness's warnings came to the forefront of his mind.
"You're… scared?"
Yunyun repeated and looked up with teary eyes.
"Nobles… They're unlike any kind of foe that I've ever faced. I'm not scared to fight anyone, be it man, beast, or devil… But you don't fight with your fists in the noble world. I have a plan, but I don't even know if it'll even work, and if I mess up… Alderp wouldn't aim for me in retaliation."
Naruto looked at Yunyun, and small beads of moisture were forming in the corners of his eyes.
"I'm scared of getting you involved… Terrified of what that man might do to get back at me for trying to expose him. But it's all so overwhelming. I'm worried about my mentor, my friend that's still in Alderp's clutches, and the devil that he's contracted with… I'm sorry, Yunyun… For not telling you sooner. For breaking our pinky promise… For being weak."
Silence took over the room again as Yunyun processed the new information.
Naruto thought… he was weak? Because he was scared of her getting involved and becoming the target of a corrupt noble?
"T-this is just like one of my novels…"
Yunyun mumbled as she wiped the tears from her eyes, earning a confused look from the shinobi.
"What?"
"N-nothing! U-umm… Naruto-san! I have decided!"
Yunyun stuttered before pointing at the blonde, and he sat up straight. She then took a deep breath.
"You're an idiot!"
"H-huh…?"
Naruto wouldn't refute it, he even agreed. But it was kind of strange hearing the normally docile girl straight up insulting him. But at the same time, it was refreshing. Like it was something that he needed to hear from her.
"You're on the same level of stupidity as Megumin and I won't have it!"
Yunyun marched over to the boy and continued, and this time Naruto took offense. He would not be placed in the same bucket as the girl who was known as the "girl with a screw loose" and "Explosion girl" in town.
"Hey, I'm not-"
"Which is why you have to tell me everything! Also, that noble might retaliate and target me? Don't worry about such things! We're party members, and f-friends! I'm going to support you no matter what! Okay? So no more secrets!"
The Crimson Demon finished with her hands on her hips, letting out a huff as she caught her breath from all of the yelling. She hoped the neighbors weren't going to complain about all the shouting…
"Yunyun…"
Naruto wiped his eyes and stood up. Maybe he really was on the same level of stupidity as Megumin… He really was lucky to have a friend like Yunyun and, honestly? He didn't feel like he deserved her friendship.
"I'm sorry…"
"Mhm, that's right! Now out with it or I'll-Eep!?"
Yunyun squeaked when Naruto suddenly embraced her, his arms wrapped tightly around her slender form. He felt so much bigger than her, and warm. But something else…
'He's… Trembling…'
In her eyes, this man was invincible. Having witnessed him taking on countless foes, and coming out on top nearly unscathed each and every time.
But right now, this very same man felt so fragile. As if he'd fall apart the moment she let go of him.
It was a strange feeling, and Yunyun felt bad that her friend was feeling this way. But at the same time, she felt warm inside. Like Naruto was truly depending on her, more than anyone else.
This was the truth.
Naruto took in a shaky breath, his body shuttering slightly as he released it.
"This is all so overwhelming… I'm sorry, Yunyun…"
"There, there… It'll be okay, Naruto-san… We'll figure it out together! As a team, okay?"
Yunyun reassured the boy while rubbing his back, and she felt his head shuffle in what she assumed was a nod.
They stood like that for what felt like minutes, but neither cared. It was a moment of concern, comfort, and trust that just felt… Right.
Eventually, Naruto was the one to break the hug. He straightened his shirt before coughing into his hand.
Yunyun herself became red-faced and took a sudden interest in the tea that had more than likely grown cold by now.
"Okay, Yunyun. I'm gonna tell you everything. You ready?"
"Y-yes!"
Yunyun shook away her nervousness with a serious expression. She was ready for anything! Be it more infiltration missions, or that he was secretly the brother of the Demon King himself! Nothing would take her by surprise!
'You sure about this, kid?'
Kurama asked, and Naruto nodded his head.
His heart rate picked up again, but he had come to terms with this decision during their hug. Although they've only known each other for a couple months now, Naruto felt like he could trust this girl with anything and it was time to show that. After all, Yunyun deserved to know the truth.
So, the truth he told.
"It all started when I died."
This concludes the second part of A Shinobi's Take on this Wonderful World.
A/N: Part three begins next week, and it's going to be something special… After all, WE'RE ABOUT TO REACH 100 CHAPTERS!
Review, moi friends. This one was a killer, for both the MC and the author. :p
Spirit out!
P.S. Sylvia was recently declared the 4th Booty Warrior… If you know, you know. .