Before I get into the story, I'd like to thank my sponsor, Raid: Shadow Legends. I downloaded the game for shits and giggles and honestly, it's just not my cup of tea. Genshin Impact betta.
Seriously now, this piece was comissioned by my mans, Veilslide.
If you're interested in having a story written for you, you can send me a PM, contact me via my email(check my bio) or find me on AizenTheGoat's discord server. The code is: DjgUHCqGG
And now for a quick disclaimer: This fic is inspired by the adult game, Rogue-Like: Evolution by Oni and the game itself is based on the X-Men franchise. It goes without saying that I own neither of them. It's somehow funny to me that this is a fanfiction inspired by a fangame based on a fictional universe. All I need is for someone to make a reading of this and the cycle will be complete.
Let's get into it.
When one thought of a road trip, they thought of rebellious teenagers driving a stolen dodge charger, dusty air rushing in through the window left open because of a bad air conditioner, an old dashboard radio blasting music that came out choppy with the bad signal, snack wrappers and smoothie cups littering the floor, stopping at a gas station in the middle of nowhere and paying a bored looking cashier in coins, getting in a massive desert gunfight with the government agents and their goons who'd been tailing them since they started their journey and finally, arriving at their destination which happened to be some high tech bunker door off the road. All in all, it was meant to be the embodiment of 'it's the journey, not the destination.'
But for Uzumaki Naruto, there was none of that for him. He was the only teenager in the car, the people in it with him were not his friends, there were no snacks or soda and his stomach had started to rumble, they were driving in the countryside, the air conditioning worked perfectly but the radio was off and most of all, he'd give all the money in his wallet to skip the awkward journey to get to the destination faster. At least the Buick was comfortable.
He idly wondered what his parents would have thought if they heard he'd hopped in a car with two strangers he hadn't even known for an hour. Granted he hadn't known them, but still, he liked to think they'd strongly disapprove but eventually understand because he wasn't spoiled for options at the time and the strangers also turned out to be just like him.
Just like him.
He looked away from the neverending sight of grazing cows and windmills to the rear mirror for the umpteenth time that afternoon. Purple, ringed eyes stared back at him with the twin orbs glowing slightly as if telling him 'yeah, I'm still here!'
"It doesn't matter if you stare at them till you can tell how wide the rings are, bub. They're not leaving. Deal with it," a rough looking man said from the backseat.
"Leave the young man be, Logan," another man, this time from the driver's seat, spoke. "I'm sure he's just attempting to come to terms with his current situation."
Logan scoffed. "He tried getting us to play some roadside game with him. You think that's what some guy would do when he's still trying to 'come to terms'?"
"I'm sure he tried using that as a means of coping," the driver shrugged. "The same way you use anger to hide the fact that you lack proper people skills."
"Hey fuck you," Logan growled.
"Exactly." Hank McCoy smirked. "Don't worry, Naruto. I understand perfectly how you feel. It takes a while to adapt to a sudden manifestation."
Naruto looked at Hank or more specifically, the bush of thick, blue fur that covered the majority of his body. It was mildly comical seeing the large man behind the wheel with his hands almost completely covering the steering. "No offense, but I'm pretty sure puberty didn't make this happen to you."
Hank chuckled. "Believe it or not, I didn't become like this until my adult years. There's no real timeframe for mutations to display themselves. Some display them from birth but some do so at a random point in their lives, usually their teenage years. But there are some rarities who don't have their mutations show until they become full grown adults."
"Oh," Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, the weirdest one was this old man, popped like a firecracker on his deathbed. Gave his family a hell of a scare with that one." Logan chuckled to himself as he picked a cigarette out of the pack in his breastpocket.
Naruto grimaced. "That sucks. Do our own genes really screw us over like that?"
Hank nodded. "Indeed, Naruto."
"All of a sudden, I'm kind of glad the only thing different is my eyes." Naruto muttered.
"I greatly doubt the alteration led to nothing but a cosmetic change, Naruto," Hank said. "We might not have found you if all that changed was your appearance."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Now that I think of it, how did you find me?"
"That's not for me to say, Naruto," Hank smiled apologetically. "But I'm sure the professor will have the answers to all your questions."
"This Xavier guy?" Naruto asked. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on it.
"Yep, that's Chuck." Logan bobbed the cigarette in his mouth and Naruto picked up the slight smell of tobacco on his breath. "You don't even need to ask questions, he can probably just pick 'em out of your head."
Hank groaned. "Stars and garters, Logan. He already promised to stop that."
Naruto sighed and looked outside again. Westchester County had never been on his list of places to go and now that he was there, he didn't regret not wishing to. The green plains had given him a serene feeling at first, but even the most beautiful sights became bland when looked at for long enough.
"So this place," he started. "What exactly is it for? Aside from acting as some sort of mutant hideout."
"It's not only to keep you safe. It's to train you to learn and master your abilities in the event you have to protect yourself." Hank told him.
"Right," Naruto nodded slowly. It sounded like a roundabout way of saying they'd groom him to fight whomever they considered an enemy but he chose not to dwell on it. It wasn't like he was spoiled for options. "So-"
"I'm sorry, Naruto, but I'm hardly the person to ask all the questions you have in mind," Hank cut him off. "I'm merely a scientist. I usually don't even aid in picking up new mutants, the ones who do just happen to be busy save for Logan here."
"Shit, I should have gone with them instead. Didn't even get to fight anyone," Logan complained.
"Shouldn't that be a good thing?" Naruto asked.
"Only time I come along with this stuff is when they think shit might hit the fan," Logan said.
"So you guys thought I was dangerous?"
"To be fair, the professor likened your presence to a flash grenade going off." Hank reasoned. "And when we found you, it was near a collapsed building."
Naruto idly wondered why they didn't ask him if he was the cause. They probably just assumed it was the result of his mutation showing up suddenly. "What if I did turn out to be dangerous?"
"Everyone's dangerous, Naruto." Hank smiled wryly.
Naruto understood. It had only been a question of whether he'd attack them and the nature of his mutation. Had it been something uncontrollably dangerous or he himself turned out to have murderous tendencies, Logan would have killed him.
He nodded slowly and looked back outside the window. There was still green everywhere but now, the plains were pocked with craters ranging from small to pond-size. There were occasional stretches of barren land with dead trees and what looked like grass shoveled over something. They looked too small to be graves, but one could never tell.
He quit his sightseeing as the car slowed to a halt in front of a tall gate with even taller fences and glanced at a brick sign with large letters written in gold on the silver plaque.
Xavier's Institute For Gifted Youngsters.
"Not very inconspicuous, is it?" He absently remarked.
"I suppose not," Hank agreed. "But then again, it's in the country and we don't advertise."
"Probably, but aren't you worried that someone might come across this place and think it's some school for special needs kids?" Naruto asked. "If they try to come in and ask to register someone and you don't let them in, don't you think they'd get suspicious?"
Hank remained silent. Naruto had a feeling the man was trying to think of a proper reply. Behind him, Logan snickered.
"You'll…have to ask the professor, Naruto," Hank said finally. The gates opened for them and the car shook lightly as it began to move again.
The school was large, far larger than it appeared to be outside. Naruto couldn't help the way his eyes bulged out as they drove past lawns the size of football fields and patches of bare, yet somehow well groomed land littered with facilities he couldn't even recognize, much less name. Large, well groomed buildings loomed in the distance and sprinklers made little rainbows in the air and glistening water sprayed out of a large marble fountain placed in the front of a large mansion.
And it wasn't just the environment that caught Naruto's attention.
People ranging from teenagers to young adults milled about what was clearly familiar grounds to them. The majority of them looked normal, but ever so often, Naruto saw something that exposed them as something other than human. He watched a girl emerge from the ground as though it was a non-corporeal projection and a man vanish into a portal that appeared beneath his feet. Elsewhere, a boy and girl, each looking no older than thirteen, held hands as they floated several feet above the ground and traveled towards a destination only they knew.
Whatever doubts he had about Hank and Logan's story had been cleared. The rumors were right. Mutants were very, very real. And he was one of them.
"First time's always the shocker, bub," an amused Logan said to him. "You'll get used to it quickly."
"Sure…" Naruto trailed off as he continued to watch the various mutants move around. "Wait, is that guy really made of jello?"
"We shouldn't keep the professor waiting," Hank beckoned to Naruto as the car braked to a halt in front of the mansion. "Come on."
"Have fun." Logan got out of the car and walked in the opposite direction of the mansion.
Naruto frowned as he watched the man leave. "Where's he going?"
"The danger room, I suppose." Hank pocketed the car key.
"What's that?"
"We use it as a relatively safe means of training for realistic combat scenarios via machinery and corporeal projections."
"Like the hyperbolic time chamber?"
Hank blinked. "The what?"
"Nevermind." Naruto sighed.
They walked in and the blond was surprised to see a man staring at them from a few feet away, his unsurprised expression giving the impression that he'd been expecting them.
He was a bald man who looked to be in his sixties with a tweed jacket worn over a turtleneck sweater. The lower half of his body was covered by a blanket draped over his legs and the arms of the polished silver wheelchair he sat on.
"Professor," Hank tipped an imaginary hat in greeting and Naruto nodded at the man. He'd never seen a person who fit their name more.
"McCoy." The professor raised a hand but if he saw the man in a favourable light, it didn't show on his face. Naruto had a feeling he didn't smile much. "And I see you've brought him."
"Uzumaki Naruto, sir." Naruto waved at him. "Nice to meet you."
"Charles Xavier," the professor replied as he moved towards him. Naruto noticed that the wheels moved on their own. "You caused quite a stir with your use of gravity."
"You're the one who found out about me."
"I am."
"How?"
The professor smirked as he tapped the side of his head. "Telepathy. I can feel the presence of every mutant in this compound."
"And outside too," Naruto frowned. If the man was an honest-to-God telepath, didn't that mean he could read and influence minds? Was his coming with the two men the result of the man's manipulation?
"When I make enough of an attempt, yes." Charles nodded. "Your fear is an unfounded one; I don't influence the thoughts of others."
Naruto stepped back, surprised. "Were you reading my mind?"
"No," Charles said. "You were just projecting your thoughts. Any telepath within a few feet of you would be able to hear them."
Naruto rubbed his head. What the hell? "I…see. God, mind reading's a lot simpler in fiction."
"Isn't everything?" Charles shrugged. "Come with me, Naruto."
Naruto followed after the man as he wheeled himself, taking in the view of the mansion's design. Books leaned against one another atop shelves nailed onto the wall but a closer look made Naruto realize they were novels and comics. The realization made him snort amusedly.
The lack of conducting materials didn't escape his notice either. The floors were tiled but the handrails were made of varnished wood and every electrical outlet and appliance that didn't need to be metal was plastic. It was a bit of an odd sight but if telepaths were real, electrokinetics had just as much chance of existing too.
A light squeak brought his attention to the wheels of the professor's chair and after a few seconds of watching the wheels turn on their own, he couldn't hide his curiosity anymore. "How do they turn on their own? I don't see any remote."
"Telepathy and telekinesis often go hand in hand." Charles said as he greeted a few passing mutants, some of which carried books in their hands or had bags slung over their backs.
Few passed him by without a word and even fewer greeted him. The majority however, gave him looks that ranged from suspicious to curious but the one thing common with all was that they all glanced at his eyes.
Naruto wondered if he should have made Hank get him a pair of sunglasses. "What's with the books and bags?"
"What do you think? They're going to class," came Charles' casual reply.
Naruto gave the man a disbelieving look. "Class?"
"You didn't think the name of my institute was just for disguise, did you?" Charles asked. "This is a school and the majority of the people you see here are either students, teachers or graduates. Usually the graduates themselves become teachers."
"Oh God." Naruto grimaced. Even now, he still couldn't escape school.
"Albeit our education system is considerably more lax compared to the normal one," Charles continued. "We only have two classes daily and save for the mandatory sessions in the danger room, the students are free for the rest of the day."
That didn't sound so bad.
Eventually, they reached a wooden door and after the professor unlocked it with a key that had moved on its own just as well(he was sure the professor was just showing off now), they entered what looked like a study.
The professor wheeled himself over the other side of the lone desk in the room and motioned for him to take a seat and Naruto did so, his eyes looking around all the while.
The room was surprisingly plain. There were no pictures of graduating students,no portraits of himself, not even a plaque or a certificate like most learned people he knew liked to place on the wall so visitors could see them when they came in.
"I'm sure you have questions, Naruto." Charles started.
"I don't even know where to start from," Naruto slouched on the seat. He'd been asking little questions about the things he saw in an attempt to make sense of the new world he'd found himself bit by bit.
"Start from the first question," Charles told him. "The first question you wanted to ask the moment you saw a blue man appear just as you flattened the apartment you were living in."
"...are you really reading my mind?" Naruto's eyes narrowed.
"I saw you through Hank's eyes," Charles admitted. "And there are ways to read a person without prying into their mind."
Naruto nodded slowly. "Right…"
Charles tilted his head curiously. "You're taking this surprisingly well."
"I have a feeling it's more of reality not really having set in yet." Naruto smiled. "So…what now? You've brought me here, you've let me see mutants and you've made it clear that I'm one of you. What happens to me now?"
Charles drummed his fingers on his desk. "Today is for familiarizing you with your surroundings, letting you get a feel of the place and letting you rest so reality can set in, as you put it."
"And tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow is for work," Charles said. "We'll see to contacting your family to notify them of your enrollment-"
"Good luck with that," Naruto snorted.
Charles looked at him quizzically. "Are you an orphan?"
Naruto nodded. "Left the orphanage to stay with a rich friend from high school. He hooked me up with an apartment earlier this year.
"No extended family? Anyone who needs to know your whereabouts?"
"Nope," Naruto shook his head. "You really think I'd come so easily if I had to go tell my parents I was going to a school for special kids?"
Charles' shoulders jumped slightly in his amusement, but Naruto caught a glint of pity in his eyes that left as soon as it came. He probably got orphans here by the dozen but it still hadn't desensitized him to the point of apathy.
It was kind of comforting; maybe he wouldn't turn out to be like the shit matrons he grew up with.
"Well…in that case, we'll discuss the circumstances surrounding your mutation manifesting tomorrow and perhaps afterwards, you'll begin classes." Charles brought out a sheet of paper and wrote out a list. "I'll have a student give you a brief orientation session while your room gets ready."
Naruto looked at the list of what turned out to be locations scribbled on the sheet. Square, classroom, danger room, pool, shower. "These are not many."
"Aren't they now?" Charles put a finger on his head and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he opened them again. "She'll be here shortly."
It took a moment for Naruto to realize what the professor had done. "Wow, you really called her with your mind? Is she also a telepath?"
"No, even a non-telepath would know if a telepath talks to them." Charles clarified. "I'll confess, I did try it with you but there's…something surrounding your brain, shielding it and it's not just your brain, it's your entire body. It's in you but around you at the same time."
Naruto frowned confusedly. "I don't get it, didn't you say you could read my thoughts?"
"Only the projected ones," Charles said. "I'll teach you the difference later but when I tried forming a connection with you to speak, it simply whittled away…I sense it'll be impossible or at the very least, greatly difficult for any telepath to enter your mind without your consent."
Naruto glared at the man, feeling betrayed. "I thought you said you don't go poking around in people's heads whenever you feel like it."
"That's different," Charles assured him. "Think of it as exchanging phone numbers. I can call you whenever I feel like if I have your number, but it doesn't mean I can use it to hack into your phone."
"I'm pretty sure you can."
"I can but I can't at the same time," Charles squinted as he tried to explain. "There's different parts of the brain, Naruto. Just because I can reach you via the part that lets you talk and let's us communicate doesn't mean I can get to the part housing your memories. I need an in for that one. A separate door."
"I thought you telepaths could force your way through," Naruto said. "You guys sure as hell do it in the comics."
"That's one thing that's accurate there," Charles agreed. "But subtle, it is not. Even an absent minded non-telepath would feel his mind being invaded. There are subtler means but I have little to gain from attempting it on you or anyone else here."
The skepticism never left Naruto's face. "Even if you're telling the truth, I don't think I'm okay with letting you in my head, even if it's just to talk."
"I understand," Charles shrugged. "I suspect the protective field might make you unaffected by some other mutant abilities as well, most likely the ones that require contact."
Naruto grunted and looked back down at the paper containing the suspiciously specific list of locations. Seriously, why did the list have to involve the girl's rooms? And who the hell was Gwen?
He was going through it again when he heard a light creak and looked back to see a girl slip through the partly opened door. In spite of himself, he couldn't help the way he froze as he stared at her.
When he looked at her, the first thing that came to mind was 'goth'. The black gloves, studded choker, dark lipstick and eye shadow over brown eyes she had on gave her the look. However, as he examined her even further, he decided it'd be an injustice to lump her in that category alone.
She had a large patch of white on the front of her brown hair and wore a green, see-through mesh top that gave him a clear view of the small black camisole beneath that covered her breasts but exposed her midriff, and a black mini skirt over a pair of equally black leggings that covered long, shapely legs.
The only way he'd see anything more would be to look over his chair and he doubted she'd appreciate some stranger climbing his seat just to check her out.
One thing was certain though, she was very attractive. A lot more than most other girls he'd seen in a long time.
"Ah, Rogue." Charles called her over. "We've been expecting you."
"Ah heard what you said, professor. Is it true?" Rogue asked hopefully as her eyes flitted from the blond to the older man.
Naruto was more focused on her speech. She had a southern accent thick enough to make him think she'd have been whistling dixieland if she saw he had a darker skin tone than he was but it was an accent he never realized he wanted to hear from a goth girl.
Nope, not a goth girl. Something else. Something more.
"Wait, how long have you been listening to us?" He asked.
If she heard him, she didn't show it. "You think he can help me out with my powers?"
"No." Charles shut her down quickly. "It's too much of a risk, especially since we don't know what exactly his powers are. Perhaps in the future, but not now."
Rogue's shoulders dropped. "Oh.."
"But hey," Naruto started. "I'd be happy to help you out whenever I get the chance."
"Thanks, but ah'll find another…" Rogue trailed off when she finally looked at him. "Wow, your eyes."
Naruto smiled a bit. "Freaky, aren't they?"
"Ah haven't seen any like them before," she muttered slowly.
Naruto shrugged. "I'll take that as a good thing. I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."
"Rogue," she smiled at him. "He the one ah'm 'possed to show around?"
Charles nodded. "I'm glad you two seem to have started on a good note. I'll leave him in your hands now. Since he's staying in the male dorms, I'm sure his door would have been labeled by now."
"Right, right." Rogue tapped Naruto lightly, almost tentatively on his shoulder. "Come on, let's go. Prof said to give you a lay of the place."
Naruto couldn't help himself. "A lay of the place?"
"Oh…why, ain't you fresh?" She muttered as she looked away from him. "Come on, time's wasting."
Naruto gave the professor a wave on his way out, but the man's only acknowledgement came in the form of a raised hand before the door closed on its own.
The professor was showing off. He was sure of it.
…
There were multiple advantages and disadvantages to being a teenager, even one pushing nineteen. Facial hair, a manly voice and if one was lucky, a growth spurt were the usual ones. The category they fell into depended on the teenager in question, but if there was one thing teenages all agreed on was that hormones sucked.
Naruto hadn't intended to trail behind Rogue when they left the professor's office, but when his eyes went to her swaying hips and her pert behind his legs refused to carry him any faster. Everything she said went through one ear and out the other. He blamed it on hormones.
But eventually, all good things had to come to an end and he forced himself to walk abreast of her as they entered a large chamber with what looked like a glass concealed room far across.
"Not sure if anyone told you already, but we call this the danger room," Rogue started.
"Doesn't look very dangerous," Naruto remarked.
She snorted amusedly. "We use this to train mutants for fightin' in real life with simulations and all."
Naruto hummed. "...it's kind of an inappropriate question but…do you think it's only combat simulations they use it for?"
Rogue squinted. "Wha-" She flushed slightly. " A-ah don't know, sugah, ah don't spend a lot o' time here."
"Does anyone?"
"There's a girl who does. Maybe you'll meet her soon."
"Oh, alright." Naruto shrugged and opened the list again. "I just realized you actually followed the order the professor wrote down. Do you do this often?"
"List?" Rogue glanced down at the sheet. "Huh. Ah guess that's true."
"And if you followed the order…"
" Ah'd have taken you to the showers next." Her blush returned with full force.
Naruto gave her a toothy smile. "We've only just met and you're already hinting at wanting to see me with my clothes off? How forward of you."
"No, a-"
"Well, I usually don't do this, but if it's you…" he made a show of slowly unbuttoning his jacket.
"Err, let's go to the square instead." She grabbed his hand and power walked out.
Naruto chuckled at the girl's embarrassment. Either she was easy to fluster or she just wasn't used to getting flirted with.
…
Coincidentally, the first thing they saw at the square was a couple making out in the bushes. Rogue had been quick to make them leave but not before he got a few more lines in.
All things considered, this was the most pleasant tour he'd ever gotten. For someone who claimed not to have any experience with playing guide, Rogue was surprisingly descriptive when talking about each location she took him to, even the ones that embarrassed her.
Of course it wasn't all about talking about bathrooms and classes; he'd learned pretty quickly that Rogue wasn't the social type. He had to bring up topics to discuss and even then, he had to coax her to continue the conversation. Whenever he ran out of things to bring up, she went quiet as well.
Eventually, the tour came to an end as Rogue walked him to their final destination which was his room. Surprisingly, they'd spent all day walking around and he hadn't noticed till it got dark.
"Well, here's your room." Rogue waved at the decent sized, spartan bedroom. Save for a wardrobe, a study table and a double bed with a drawer on either side, there was nothing else. "Pretty cool, isn't it?"
"It is with you in it," he grinned. "Thanks for the tour, Rogue. I don't think I'd have gotten my bearings this quickly without you."
"Don't mention it," Rogue's red filled cheeks made her coy smile cuter and for the umpteenth time since they walked together, she glanced at his eyes. "Your eyes."
Naruto raised a brow. "What about them?"
"They're glowing," she whispered.
So that was why he could see so well outside. "Well, at least that means you won't lose sight of me if the power ever goes out."
"Yeah," she chuckled.
"You know, if someone told me last week that my eyes would change color and I'd get brought to a school for special kids on the same day, I'd have probably laughed in their face and kicked them in the shin or something." Naruto said. "But look at me now…maybe it would have been better to be born this way. Less shock value and all"
"Not really," Rogue argued. "Those who're born with their stuff don't always have the best time growing up."
"Oh." Naruto idly looked at his bed. There was a bit of dust on the pillow. "Were you born with your mutation?"
Rogue trailed a covered finger over her left glove. "Yeah."
"I don't want to pry, but what is it?" Naruto asked before adding. "You don't have to tell me if you don't wa-"
"It's fine," Rogue cut him off. "You'd have found out anyway. Ah can't touch people."
Naruto frowned. "But you've been touching me all day."
If she picked up on the unintentional double entendre, it didn't show. "No, ah mean ah can't touch people. Like skin to skin."
"Oh," Naruto's eyes widened. "Why? Do you lose your physical form or something?"
"No, ah just absorb the person's memories, life, character and their powers too if they have any." Rogue said.
"Wow." Naruto whistled. "Wait, character? Like if you touch a smoker, you'll start smoking too?"
"Yeah." Rogue looked down. "And the people ah touch end up in a bad way as if ah'm draining their life away. They can die."
"That's…kind of overpowered when you think of it."
Rogue gave him a strange look. "That's what you got from all ah said?"
"I mean, it sucks what happens to them, but that's a pretty awesome power to have." Naruto shrugged. "Just not when it's a passive one."
"That's a mighty shame 'cause mine's passive." Rogue smiled bitterly.
Well shit, Naruto thought. "Still awesome though."
She snorted. "Bit of an oddball, you."
"Just calling it like I see it." Naruto said and a stray thought flew into his mind. "Hey, the professor said most contact based mutations might not work on me, right?"
Rogue eyed him suspiciously, but nodded.
"And yours is contact based, right?"
"Yeah," she nodded before her eyes widened. "Oh, sugah, you don't need to-"
"No, no. I want to try." Naruto insisted. "Nobody should go their whole lives being afraid of killing whoever they touch. That's not living, Rogue."
"Ah've gone my whole life that way, Ah'm okay with it."
"I saw you in the professor's office. You're not okay with it."
"You don't know that."
"Don't I?"
"You might die." Rogue shook her head. "Aren't you afraid of that?"
"Of course I'm afraid, Rogue." Naruto nodded. "But I don't know shit about all the things I can do, much less know how to control it all. Who knows I might even be able to turn your powers off and just don't know how."
"That's not very likely." She bit her lip.
"But it's likely. One percent chance, ninety nine percent faith." Naruto winked. "I didn't choose to come with Hank because I knew he was telling the truth, I did because I chose to believe he was and I'm pretty sure everyone who came here did so for the same reason."
"You've got to have faith now, Rogue." Naruto took one of her hands in his. "Just like you had faith in whoever you chose to follow here."
Rogue stared at him, obviously deep in thought. After a few more seconds, she asked, "and if it turns out your power doesn't protect you?"
"You'll get my awesome powers and I'll get a good, long nap."
"I said you might die."
"I simply won't die, I'm different."
She snorted again and glanced down at her hand. "And if it turns out ah can touch you?"
"Well, at least there's going to be one person you don't have to be scared of killing." Naruto said. "Maybe after that, we can figure out if I can share that energy stuff with you. Energy's energy, right? You might not be able to make or destroy it but you can move it and change it. Maybe we can make it work and then you'll be able to touch anyone."
Rogue licked her lips. "The professor said-"
"What he doesn't know won't hurt him now, will it?" Naruto asked.
She gave him a knowing smile, but didn't say anything. "... alright."
Naruto nodded and released her hand for her to take off the glove before flexing her naked fingers in the air. He held back from commenting about how pale they looked.
"So how do you want to do this?" He asked.
She hummed thoughtfully. "We can't be sure this will work so let's just touch fingertips so ah can pull back if ah feel anything coming at me."
"Alright then." Naruto said and slowly stretched out a hand. In spite of his words, he was more than a little afraid. He didn't want to end up dying on the same day of his life changing just because of some mistake made from his own overconfidence.
But at the same time, no one deserved to live like Rogue did. He'd seen how she was treated, there was no rudeness but everyone avoided so much as grazing her as if she carried the plague. And it wasn't just them, it was herself too. Every pat she gave him was hesitant, she seemed to think twice before even holding his arm and the one time he bumped her shoulder accidentally, she'd tensed so much he feared she'd gone into shock.
She was constantly afraid, both for others and of herself. And people were just as afraid of her as they were for themselves.
He'd never considered himself a particularly altruistic person, but there were things he couldn't ignore, especially when he had the ability, even if probable, to help. It was why he'd decided to stake his life on an aging telepathic cripple's theory being correct.
He sucked in a deep breath as he steadily brought his index finger towards Rogue's trembling own until they grazed each other. When he felt nothing other than cool flesh, he decided to take the plunge and his hand shot out to clasp Rogue's. The brunette's shocked gasp was loud and she briefly flew into a panic.
"Let go!" Rogue shrieked and jerked her arm backwards. "Ah said let go of me!"
"Wait, wait!" Naruto said just as loudly. "For God's sake, Rogue, calm the hell down and look!"
His words apparently got to her as her voice trailed off and she stilled until she was staring at their connected limbs incredulously.
"Nothing happened." She whispered.
"Not a thing." Naruto agreed.
"Nothing happened," she repeated. "Ah can touch you."
"Looks like it." Naruto let out a relieved sigh. "Guess having faith paid o-oof!"
He had to balance himself as Rogue engulfed him in a bear hug and jumped around with him still in her arms. She must have touched some behemoth in the past because she picked and spun him around with her like he weighed as much as a raggedy ann doll.
Eventually, her excitement died out and she let go of him, still laughing as she did. "Ah can touch you!"
"Yes you can." Naruto blinked when she squeezed his hand before taking off her other glove and using both hands to knead his face so his cheeks squeezed each other. It'd have been annoying if anyone else had done it to him but he simply let her have her moment.
You never realize what you've been taking for granted until you either lose it or see someone else get it.
Eventually, her excitement died out and she took her hands off his face. "Hehe, sorry 'bout that."
"No worries, I'd be excited too in your place," Naruto assured her.
"Ah still can't believe it." She shook her head as she stared at her hands. "It's been so long… ah'd forgotten how it feels."
"Well, I'm always here if you ever want to remind yourself." Naruto played with her fingers as he spoke. "Your hands are very soft. It's nice."
"Really?" Rogue asked, enjoying the warmth of his fingers and the ticklish feeling from getting her fingers rubbed and pinched.
"Really."
"Gee, ah don't know how to thank you…" Rogue trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"Don't worry about it."
Rogue wasn't sure how long they spent in silence, but she was content with getting as much feeling in as she could. In spite of having resigned herself to a relatively solitary life, a part of her had still hoped for a way to turn off her powers or at least have someone they wouldn't affect.
And she got the latter. And he had not only made blood rush to her face more times in a day than it had in her entire life, he'd also gone out of his way to help her, putting his life at risk for a gamble none but herself had something to gain from.
She glanced at the blond who still hadn't let go of her hand and found her lips curling. She wasn't sure what else he was other than a good person, but that was all for the future. For now, she'd enjoy what he'd given her.
Eventually, a chime from the clock on the wall reminded them both of the time and she reluctantly withdrew her hands to put her gloves back on. "Well, ah got to get going. Before the others start asking why ah took so long."
"That's fine," Naruto nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Sugah, you'd see me even if you didn't want to," Rogue's smile showed a lot of teeth and she made for the door with Naruto following after.
Naruto paused as she crossed to the other side. "So…good night?"
"Yeah, good night." Rogue agreed quietly. "And thanks, Naruto. You don't know what this means to me."
"I'm sure anyone else with what I have would have done the same." Naruto waved her off. "Later, Rogue."
"Later."
Rogue lingered a bit at the door even after he'd shut it. The feeling of his hand still lingered on hers and the thought of doing it again the next day made her feel a lot more giddy than she expected.
What you two did was rash and extremely dangerous.
She sucked in a breath as the professor's voice resounded in her head. 'Professor…'
I can't fault you for letting him convince you, but I expected a stronger resolve on your part.
'Ah know, prof. But it worked. I touched him,' she replied.
Indeed. I must commend his selflessness, but I cannot overlook your disobedience. I'll be deducting your stipend for the next month.
'Ah understand, prof.'
The only advantage this bears is the confirmation that contact dependent mutations have no effect on him but I expect you to present yourself at McCoy's laboratory tomorrow for testing.
'Yes sir.'
Now I suggest you head to your quarters as swiftly as possible. Goodnight, Miss Marie.
'Goodnight, prof.' But she'd felt him leave her mind before she could respond.
Rogue's initial worry was gone. She rarely used the stipend she got anyway and the professor knew it. His penalty was more for the sake of upholding the rules than to punish her for daring to hope there was someone who could aid her condition.
Maybe Logan was wrong about the man. He wasn't always uptight.
Another chime rang out of one of the rooms.
Better get to my dorm, she thought. Before the cuckoos decide they need to know where ah've been.
…
Sleep hadn't come easy for Naruto, not one bit. After Rogue left and he finally had time to be alone with his own thoughts, he laid in bed reflecting on everything that had happened and bracing himself for the next day and even after that, he still hadn't managed to get a wink of sleep till the wee hours of the next morning.
Waking up in the same room he'd slept in and seeing purple, ringed eyes told him that the previous day hadn't been a fever dream. He was very much a mutant. And he was very late for the morning class.
As he walked towards the classrooms, still feeling sticky from the previous day's sweat and having to skip a shower, he stopped briefly to take out his buzzing phone but before he could properly read the message, his grip on the device was loosened by someone bumping into him with their entire body.
"Hey, be careful," his irritated glare died out when he saw a girl rubbing her head as she tried to pick up the books she'd dropped and the numerous sheets that escaped the confines of their leaves.
She had a petite frame with light brown hair held up in a ponytail by red beads and much like Rogue, her yellow camisole failed to conceal her abdomen and the pink shirt she wore with only one button failed to do the same. Her blue jeans were tight enough to make him feel strangled and from her neck dangled a gold necklace with a hexagram as the centerpiece. He was sure it was supposed to be a symbol, but he couldn't remember what it was.
She was attractive, in a girl-next-door sort of way.
"I'm, like, so sorry," she said as she stuffed the papers back into her book.
Naruto sighed. Great, a scatterbrain. "Here, let me help you out."
"Thanks, but I got it." But he helped anyway. When they were done, she got back up and her sheepish smile dropped. "Woah, your eyes."
Of course it was his eyes. Every single person he'd met since leaving his room had made it a note to blatantly look at them. "What about them?"
"They're, like, purple." She pointed at one of them. "And they've got, like, rings in them."
"Yep." Naruto nodded. "Pretty cool, right?"
"Probably," she shrugged. "I didn't actually think I'd bump into you."
"Why?" Naruto asked. "You didn't see me?"
"I did, but like…" She seemed to think of what to say. "I thought I'd just pass through you, you know? Like this."
She swung a hand at him and stared at it in surprise as she slapped his arm. "Huh?"
Naruto looked at her strangely. "I'm guessing that wasn't supposed to happen?"
"No. Like, it was supposed to pass through you." She drew back her hand. "Sorry about that."
"It's good." Naruto narrowed his eyes as he remembered something. "Wait, I know you. You're the girl who came out of the ground yesterday."
"What?" She frowned. "Oh yeah, I can do that."
Naruto ohh'd. That explained why she'd walked straight into him. She'd been expecting to simply pass through him and she was obviously used to doing it. "You know, you probably shouldn't do that. Even if you're not going to bump into anyone, it's rude."
"Habit." She shrugged again, her nonchalant reply showing she wouldn't stop. "But why can't I pass through you?"
"Mutation," Naruto replied smoothly. "Contact powers don't work on me."
She hummed. "Oh, that's…weird."
"Probably," Naruto said. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto."
She glanced at his eyes again. "Kitty Pryde. With like, a y not an i."
"I'll keep that in mind," Naruto nodded and stretched out a hand. "Nice meeting you."
"Sure," she shook his hand and shivered lightly. "Weird touch you got there."
Naruto blinked. "What? How?"
"It's like, kinda tingly," Kitty slowly withdrew her hand and rubbed it. "It's not bad, just tingly."
"I see." Naruto touched his own hand. He didn't feel anything.
Kitty glanced at the small watch on her wrist and jumped. "Oh gosh, I'm late!" She rushed away without saying farewell, leaving the blond alone.
"That makes two of us…she didn't even collect her books," Naruto complained. "What a ditz."
…
For someone as mellow as Hank was, he didn't take well to lateness, even when it was circumstantial. He'd let Naruto off with a warning since it was his first day, but threatened punishment if he repeated his tardiness or worse, started to play truant.
The morning class had gone by in a flash with the man giving them a small lecture on biology before it devolved to an interactive session about the hypothetical state of Spider-Man's anatomy By the time the afternoon bell rang, Naruto had grown tired of hearing the strawberry blond haired girl next to him, who introduced herself as Gwen, claim the hero's webbing was his coagulated semen. He thought she had a few screws loose with the kind of commentary she made, as if speaking to some invisible audience.
"Class, I'd like to introduce you to a new addition to our roster." Hank McCoy, who Naruto had come to realize was also called Beast, announced. "She arrived on the grounds weeks ago but her other duties had prevented her from assuming her position till now."
Naruto's interest was piqued by that. If every female he'd seen so far was to go by, a female teacher would be gorgeous too.
"It's funny 'cause she is," the strawberry blond girl next to him giggled and Naruto frowned. Was she reading his mind?
"It's in written text so kinda, yeah." She claimed. "And I'm telling you the webbing's his nut, man."
Naruto tried to ignore her. Maybe she'd go away if he did that for long enough.
"I won't." She shook her head. "But hey, the teacher's in."
Naruto blinked and focused on the podium again. He'd missed the rest of what Hank had said but the afternoon teacher had walked into the wolf-whistles of some of the students and the blue man was nowhere to be found.
She carried herself like a person of high standing and it reflected in her attire. She wore a pristine white suit jacket which was opened to expose her equally white corset pushing up her large bosom. She wore matching white trousers over white high heeled shoes. Her blond hair was neatly groomed so not a strand of hair was out of place and her blue lipstick had bits of glitter that made her lips shine in a manner that reminded him of diamonds. She wore either a choker or a kerchief on her neck. The only thing that he felt would have completed the look would have been a large fur coat.
She was beautiful in a regal manner, but she wore a condescending smirk that made him fear she'd be far from pleasant.
Her frosty blue eyes scanned the whole room, giving him the feeling she was committing everyone to memory, until they landed on him and didn't move away. He felt his hairs stand on end as the woman stared at him and looked down only to see his book as well as his stationery missing. A quick glance at his side showed the girl was gone too.
Not only was she weird, she was a thief too.
"Good afternoon, class," the teacher started. "My name is Emma Frost, but you would do best to refer to me as Miss Frost."
No one interrupted her. Naruto didn't consider it a surprise; her voice was heavy with authority and her speech was cultured. She wasn't trying to be pompous. She was high-class and didn't have any qualms about showing it. It was more than a bit intimidating.
Her introduction was short and to the point. She began to teach immediately after, showing her lack of interest in knowing any of them.
By evening, class was over and Miss Frost was quick to dismiss them immediately as the clock struck five. Naruto sighed heavily and joined the students milling out of the classroom when he heard the lecture hall's microphone being tapped before the teacher spoke again.
"Mister Uzumaki, could you wait behind?"
Shit. Naruto squeezed his face as he backtracked.
The woman seemed to be aware of everything going on in the class even when facing the board. She'd glanced at the few people who called her a bitch, she'd smirked when someone said they wanted to be like her, and he could swear she'd been answering the students' like she knew what they would ask before they even did.
In spite of it all, her gaze kept going back to him. Not once had he missed the way her eyes would settle on him everytime she scanned the classroom, even when he switched seats and actively tried to conceal himself from her. It had become unnerving after the first hour.
As he walked towards her, he tried to calm himself. They were in a school, like the professor had said, and he hadn't done anything wrong. Even if he had, the worst she could slap him with was detention.
Right?
Soon enough, he was standing a few feet away from her and forced his eyes to remain on her as she seemed to scan him again.
"Mister Uzumaki," Emma Frost started and Naruto found himself eye to eye with her. "You have peculiar eyes."
"I've been getting that a lot," Naruto tried to shrug. "You wanted to see me."
"Correct." She rubbed two fingers together. "I've noticed something curious about you."
"Other than my eyes?"
"Indeed. Believe me when I tell you I've seen stranger sights than eyes like yours," her smirk widened. "But a person capable of flawlessly shielding his mind from me never fails to catch my eye."
"You're a telepath," Naruto realized. That explained everything.
"Astute observation, albeit a tad insulting that I had to tell you before you came to a conclusion," Emma frowned slightly. "I even attempted to try…knocking. Did you not feel that?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, not at all."
"I see." Emma nodded slowly. "I've only met a handful of people capable of withstanding me and even they had to put up resistance…did Xavier succeed?"
"No." He said. "He said I have a protective energy field in and around me. It protects me from telepathy and contact reliant abilities."
"I felt it too, at least the outer one." Emma said and folded her arms. "But I merely assumed it was you resisting me, I hadn't considered it was a passive defense. Interesting..."
She hummed to herself as she began to drum on her sleeve, obviously deep in thought. Naruto watched her cautiously. She didn't seem a person to like the thought of someone being immune to her.
Eventually, she looked at him again. "We'll be seeing each other again, Mister Uzumaki. For now, you're free to go. Have a nice day."
Naruto waved at her as he left through the door she used to enter. What a strange woman.
…
As Naruto walked outside towards the showers, he went through his phone. There were no missed calls which honestly stung a bit. He'd have expected someone to at least want to know what happened to him after his home got destroyed.
He pocketed the phone again and sighed. He wanted to see Rogue again, but he didn't have the slightest idea how to go about it. He wasn't sure how the professor would feel about him asking for his help with calling a girl and he'd rather not linger in the girls' dorms until he saw her. He made a mental note to get her number the next time he saw her.
He wrinkled his nose as the strong smell of sweat, cigarette smoke and motor oil reached his nose before a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. Naruto recoiled but the limb refused to budge.
Beside him, Logan exhaled a stream of smoke into the evening air. "We've got to work on your awareness, bub."
"What the hell?" Naruto gaped at the man. "Where have you been?"
"None of your business," Logan flicked ash off the cigarette's butt. "Anyway, Chuck said we've gotta see what you can do and help you control whatever it is before you bring down the house on us all."
"So?"
"So," Logan began to walk in another direction, herding Naruto with him. "We're going to the danger room."
Naruto grimaced. "I haven't even showered yet."
"Don't be a bitch. A little sweat never killed anybody," Logan chuckled and clapped the blond's shoulder. "Besides, you're going to be working up a hell of a sweat in the danger room. Rogue told me you said it ain't dangerous."
"She did?" Naruto asked. "You know where she is?"
The second question made something ugly flash across Logan's face before he smirked. "Well I told Forge and Forge don't take too kindly to being told his pride and joy's a playground so he's made it dangerous now, just for you."
Naruto didn't like what that entailed. "I'm fucked, aren't I?"
"Unless you've got something to help you, yeah." Logan blew smoke in his face mockingly as he firmly pushed him through the danger room's entrance. "You're just lucky I'm not the one testing you."
Naruto frowned. "Who is?"
"She is." Logan pointed at the female figure moving down in the stimulation area, prompting Naruto to stare.
The girl moved in a manner that reminded him of a big cat. She leapt and twisted around robots and projection, avoiding attacks with a graceful ease only experience could give a person. But in spite of her grace, she attacked like a rabid animal, the twin claws protruding from the spaces between her knuckles glinting as she mauled robot and man indiscriminately.
Her long, black hair shone in the light as it flowed with her movements yet somehow not becoming a hindrance. Her tight, black leather trousers might as well have been made of rubber with how she was able to stretch, perform splits, and kick without any visible effort. On her upper body, a black choker with a gold centerpiece and a black sports bra covered her breasts but left the rest of her lithe body exposed and covered in sweat. Her muscles visibly shifted as she did a backflip over an armored man's low sweep, giving Naruto a very good look at her defined abdominal muscles. Her toned abs looked like they went all the way down to the beginning of a v line which descended further into her pants.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Naruto felt Logan's grip on his shoulder tighten but it didn't hurt as much as the man probably intended it to. He briefly looked away from her to see another man even higher up staring at him. From the goggles he wore and the mild glare on his face, he was guessing that was Forge.
Eventually, the girl was done with whatever routine she was doing and gestured at Logan and him to come down.
Logan shook his head and pressed a button near the glass. "Just want you to see what he can do."
"Why?" She yelled back.
Logan grinned at Naruto. "He's the one who said Forge's work ain't dangerous and I don't have time to oversee his exam myself."
The girl gave Naruto a pitying look. "Shit…okay."
"Well, it's your time to shine, bub." Logan patted Naruto on the back. "Use that door."
Naruto sighed, but did as he was told and by the time the elevator brought him to the ground, the wrecked machines he'd seen surrounding the girl were gone, leaving the room as empty as when he'd first seen it.
He waved at the girl. "Hey."
"Hey." she nodded.
"I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."
"Okay."
"And you are?"
"Laura," she said.
Naruto wanted to sigh. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Laura."
"Cool." Laura looked upward and made a gesture with her hand.
"Not one for many words, are you?" Naruto muttered.
"What's your power?" Laura asked.
"I can…use gravity, I guess." Naruto shrugged. "And telepathy doesn't work on me."
Laura raised an eyebrow. "You guess?"
"I don't know how to use it," Naruto specified. "And I haven't been able to do anything since yesterday."
"Right," Laura nodded. "What happened yesterday?"
"I brought my house down."
"How?"
"With gravity."
"How'd you do it?"
"I don't know." Naruto dragged his response out. "I already said I don't know how to use it."
Laura shook her head. "What did you feel before your house went down?"
Naruto thought back to it. The details surrounding the incident weren't very clear to him either and not even the professor had bothered to ask. "I don't know, it was like taking a sneeze but worse."
"Not very helpful," Laura sighed. "And the only guy I know who can use gravity is our enemy."
"We have enemy mutants?" Naruto asked.
"Yup." She looked around as if searching for something.
Great.
"Since you don't know everything you can do, much less how to do it," Laura tapped her foot on the ground. "We're going to go the usual route."
Naruto raised a brow. "Which is?"
"Sink or swim." She said and as if on cue, the danger room came to life. Robots sprouted out of the walls, the floors and the ceilings and men of all statures, shapes and wielding all sorts of weapons materialized out of nowhere. Naruto watched wide eyed as an army was raised against him in a second with Laura at the very front.
She flexed her hands and the same pairs of claws he'd seen shot out, the clean metal shining menacingly in the light.
Naruto stepped back and a mechanical whirring brought his attention to artillery on the ceiling and walls, all trained on him and following him as he moved. "Don't you think this is overkill?"
"Maybe," Laura shrugged. "But they've been set to stun so nothing here can kill you. They can still hurt you bad though."
"And you?"
She merely smirked and without another word, leapt at him with her claws poised to cut him to ribbons.
…
Naruto wasn't sure how he'd managed to survive the entire course, but he did. His entire body felt like lead, but he was alive.
Laura's tactic worked. Not only did he surprise her by sending her and the entire army flying with what turned out to be a gravitational push, they found out that he could make both himself and other objects as well as people float, as he'd used it to timeout Laura until he got dizzy and released her from a height that broke her legs. Just as he'd surprised her, she'd surprised him by healing them in seconds.
If there was anyone best to test your powers on, it was someone who would heal from whatever you could give out. He understood that, but it didn't make it feel like any less of an unfair matchup to him. Save for the few times where he managed to pull something new out of his ass, Laura had mopped the floor with him and Forge's minions had done the same to him.
The 'evaluation' had only ended when both Laura and Forge had decided he couldn't do anything else at the moment and the latter felt he'd been punished enough, leaving him a sweaty mess on the ground and too tired to sleep.
"Shit, but you can run," an equally sweaty Laura remarked. She sat beside his supine body, idly staring at his eyes.
"I've been in the track team since my freshman year," Naruto said.
"That explains it. Most newbies don't last half as long as you did," Laura said.
"How long did I last?"
"It's an hour till light's out," Forge's voice came out.
"Four hours." Naruto couldn't believe it.
"Yep." Laura nodded and got up to reach for him. "A word of advice? Don't call Forge's work anything it's not. He takes things like that personally, even if they're supposed to be a joke."
"You're telling me." Naruto grabbed her hand and let her lift him up. "God, I'm tired."
"I think you need physical conditioning more than you need to know how to control your powers," Laura said. "Our fights are usually very fast paced and drawn out. You could be going hard for hours with no lulls and mastering your powers won't mean shit if you don't have the stamina to use them for long or the strength to deal real damage with them."
"That bad, huh?"
"There's lots of people who don't want us around." Laura frowned. "And they don't want to hear anything we have to say. If you want to survive, Naruto, you've got to know how to fight."
"Right," Naruto nodded resolutely. "And I'm guessing you'll help me with that?"
Laura shook her head. "I'm not always around. Someone will though."
"Oh," Naruto kicked his legs out. "Well, I've got to head to the showers. See you when I see you?"
"I'm headed to the dorms too." Laura slung his arm over her shoulder. "I'll take you to the entrance; you look like you'd pass out on the way."
"I probably might," Naruto admitted with a wry grin. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it." Laura said.
Truth be told, she hadn't intended to go to the dorms at all. Touching the blond had felt…nice. It wasn't some overwhelming feeling like she'd gotten from some, but it was still good enough for her to want to feel it again. It was why she used carrying him as an excuse to hold his hand some more.
Not that the already tired blond noticed.
…
After downing a painkiller/stimulant Laura snuck him and spending a dozen minutes in the shower, Naruto trudged towards his room, determined to get a good night's rest when he saw someone loitering at his door. "Rogue?"
The girl in question quickly turned around to look at him. "Naruto?" She rushed at him to give him a hug that he hesitantly returned. After a few seconds, she drew back. "Oh my, you look terrible."
"Having a stab happy girl and her merry band of robotic minions jump you tends to do that," he smiled wryly. "But enough about me, how long have you been here?"
"A little while," Rogue said. " Ah don't have your number and ah didn't want to miss when you came back."
"It's funny because I was thinking of asking for your number the next time we met." Naruto chuckled. "What do you need?"
"Oh, ah'm not sure, maybe tomorrow," Rogue bit her lip worriedly as she looked him over.
"With how long you've been waiting, I'd be an asshole to let you just leave," Naruto assured her. "What's wrong?"
"Well…" she licked her lips again. "Can we go inside?"
"Uh, sure." He fished out his key and unlocked the door before opening it for her. "After you."
She smiled at him nervously before walking in with him following. He closed the door and turned back to see her taking off her gloves. "Hey, is everything good?"
"Not really," Rogue admitted. "Hey, do you mind if ah touch you real quick?"
Naruto's eyes narrowed. He was all for holding hands, but there was a sense of urgency to her request that concerned him. "Are you alright, Rogue?"
"Yeah, ah'm fine…" she shook her head. "No, no ah'm not. Ah don't know why, but since the last time we touched, ah've been getting this tingly feeling in me…and this push to find you and touch you again. Ah don't know how to explain it but ah think of you and it just gets even worse so ah thought maybe if ah touched you one more time, it'd go away, you know? Can you help me? Please?"
That didn't sound good. Naruto hoped it wasn't a side effect of her coming into contact with him with her powers. "Of course, Rogue. Come here."
She nodded and all but ran at him before taking his hands in her own and closing her eyes as a relieved sigh escaped her lips. They stayed like that for a minute before Naruto asked, "Better?"
"Much better," Rogue said. "Thanks so much, sugah."
"That's great." He stared at her hands, specifically at the dark spots on certain parts of them. "What's wrong with your hands?"
Rogue looked at them. "What?"
"These spots," he pointed at one of them with a thumb. "What happened?"
Rogue eyed him concernedly. " Ah don't see anything."
"Really?" Naruto softly pressed one of them with his thumb and Rogue sucked in a sharp breath. "Did that hurt?"
"No, sugah." Rogue shook her head. "It felt…weird, but kinda good. It's kind of tingly but it spreads through my whole body."
"Right…" Naruto refrained from touching it again. "It's weird. Last person I touched also said it felt tingly."
Rogue jolted. "What?! Who said that?"
Naruto backed away from her. "Hey, calm down."
"No ah can't calm down," Rogue half yelled. "Don't you think she could be going through the same thing as ah am? Who, Naruto? Who told you that?"
"Her name's Kitty," Naruto replied. "Kitty Pryde. I'm not sure if you know her-"
"Oh God, Kitty." Rogue shook her head. "Of all the people. How did that even happen?"
"Turns out intangibility also doesn't work on me." Naruto said. "She bumped into me so hard she fell."
"Ah told her to quit that," Rogue scowled. " Ah'm guessing you're going to be doing this with her too?
"It won't come to that," Naruto assured her. "She was fine and even rushed to class."
When Rogue didn't respond, he brought a hand to her face. "Hey, look at me." When she did, he continued. "It's not going to happen with her."
"And if it does?" Rogue asked. "What's going to happen if she comes to you and wants you to touch her?"
Naruto frowned. "Rogue, what's this really about?"
She looked down at her hands. "... ah've seen her with guys, Naruto. She's all smiles and they all turn to putty in her hands when she turns up the charm. Ah know she's pretty, prettier than me…and ah'm afraid, okay? Ah'm afraid that if the same thing that's happening to me happens to her, she'll do the same thing to you that she does with all those guys and you won't even think of me."
"Ah don't want her to take you from me, Naruto." Rogue stared into his eyes, his eyes that glowed even in his well lit room. "You're the only guy ah've been able to touch in so long and if you leave, ah won't have anyone. Ah know we've only known each other for a day, but it still matters to me, you know?"
"Rogue…" Naruto thought of what to say as he stared at the visibly distressed mutant. "Do you know what I thought of you when I first saw you?" Rogue's reply came in the form of wordlessly shaking her head.
Naruto smiled slightly and his grip on her hands tightened a little. "I thought 'goth!' And don't think that's a bad thing cause few things get me going like goth girls."
Just like the previous day, her face lit up as he continued. "But I looked at you well and I decided it'd be unfair to just leave you there because you felt like you were more than that. And when you spoke? Shit, you might have as well held my heart and squeezed it cause I was hooked. Why'd you think I kept trying to get you to talk? I like hearing your voice."
"I spent the whole day hoping I'd get to see you again so I could collect your number because I didn't want to only see you whenever circumstances decided it. So when I saw you standing outside my room, I felt great. Tired, but great ."
"I like you, Rogue," Naruto said. "I don't know you all that well but I like what I do know. I think it's cute how you're so easy to embarrass and you're sweet even if you don't think so. You're hot as love." He said the last part with a southern accent that made her giggle.
He absently rubbed her hands. "And you might not like your powers but just being able to hold your hands and do it knowing that anyone else would have kicked the bucket makes me feel special. With you, I feel like I matter, like I'm better than I actually am."
"I feel happy being with you, Rogue," he smiled at her. "And I think what we have, even if it's just non-lethal hand holding, is special. And it's going to take a whole lot more than a girl named Kitty Pryde to take that away from us."
"Really?" Rogue asked, her voice little more than a whisper.
It was sad, Naruto thought. She'd gotten so attached to a guy she barely knew for a day merely because she could touch him without killing him. He couldn't say he was much better either. After a lifetime of being told and treated like he didn't matter as an orphan, to know someone wanted him was different in a way he liked a lot.
"Really." He nodded. "Shit, I'm pretty sure you'd have guys falling over themselves for you if you didn't have life sponges for hands."
"Not sure how much ah'd like that," Rogue muttered and yawned loudly.
"You really waited a long time, huh?" Naruto asked.
"Mhm," she nodded. "My back kinda hurts a bit."
"Standing on a spot for hours will do that to you," Naruto chuckled. "You want me to help you out with that?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Like a backrub?"
"If you want," he replied and wiggled his fingers. "I've been told I have magic hands."
"Who told you that?"
"I told myself." He grinned.
"Gaslighting yourself?" She chuckled. "That's a new one."
"Anything can become the truth if you repeat it to yourself enough times." Naruto nodded sagely. "Well? How about it?"
She hummed before shrugging. "Alright, Mister Magic Hands. Try not to break my back, okay?"
"Trust me, I'm a professional." Naruto assured her and as she lay on her belly, he made a show of putting on imaginary gloves.
"Sure you are," she replied while rolling her eyes.
"And uh, Rogue?"
"Hm?" She turned to look at him as best as she could.
Naruto scratched his head with uncertainty as he said, "don't take this the wrong way, but I can't really do much if you keep your top on."
"You…want me to go topless?"
Naruto waved his hands. "No, no. You can keep your camisole on. I'm just asking if I can lift the mesh top so I can touch your back properly."
Rogue inhaled deeply before nodding. " Ah don't see why not."
Naruto nodded. It was touching knowing that she trusted him as much as she did. He slowly raised the mesh top, rolling it up as he did to keep it from falling back down and stared at Rogue's milky white back. "In the absence of oil, I'm going to have to utilize a different technique."
Rogue gave him a suspicious look. "You're not going to spit on your hands, are you?"
Naruto squeezed his face. "Hell no. Who'd do that? I mean I'm not going to be rubbing you, I'm just going to have to chop your back and poke it and stuff."
"Oh." She let her head rest on his pillow again. It smelled nice, in her opinion.
"Right." Naruto took a deep breath and placed his hands on her back. He'd given massaged people a few times in the past, but he was far from good at it. The only thing that worked to his merit was that he always knew where to touch, at least according to the people he'd done it to.
To be honest, he'd just been touching certain spots and lines on their bodies. And as he stared at Rogue's exposed back, the same markers became visible on her. He'd yet to recognise what the pink lines meant but he'd been able to identify red as pain, precisely the parts that hurt with the intensity being determined by the brightness of the color just as he'd been able to identify black as numbness. The last person he touched in the leg claimed they lost all feeling in it for minutes on end.
Rogue obviously kept in good shape since hours of constant standing hadn't done anything more than give her a mild ache in her lower back. He let his fingers trail over the flesh and graze the pinkish spots, an act that made her breath hitch. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, ah'm fine," Rogue replied. "Just keep going."
Naruto nodded and began his ministrations in earnest. The trick was to try making the red dimmer but it was a lot easier to do when he touched the pink as well. He let his hands slide over her skin, occasionally pressing down on and letting his fingers circle around whenever he felt a knot. He repeated it multiple times before going on to gently chop her back from neck to waist and back up.
Halfway through the third time, he paused when Rogue moaned and felt his face grow hot. "You don't get this often, do you?"
"No," Rogue admitted, her voice deeper and rougher than usual. "Ah don't know what voice in your head told you that, but it's right. You do have magic hands."
"Told you," he smirked and resumed. "You've got an awful lot of knots in you. Had you left them any longer, they might have become cramps."
"G..gee, t-thanks," Rogue stuttered out and bit her lip as her eyes closed partly. "You're really good at this."
Whatever Naruto's reply was was lost to her. She wasn't sure if he was doing it on purpose, but whatever technique he was using on her was doing more than relieving her ache. Every touch he placed on her sent tiny, pleasant jolts up and down her spine that only increased in intensity as he went further until she felt her toes curl and a dull warmth begin to form in her nether region.
She bit her lip even harder to keep from moaning out as the blond pressed his thumbs against her lower back, both digits pushing against something that almost made her eyes roll back. She wasn't sure Naruto had noticed yet, but she felt her leggings dampening from her growing arousal.
It had been a while since she'd touched herself last and here he was, all but doing it for her. With the way he moved his hands on her back, he might as well reach even lower and stick a finger or two in her. A part of her wanted him to do it, even though she knew he wouldn't. It didn't matter anyway. She could already feel the familiar swelling deep inside her. God, it was hard to keep herself from rubbing her legs together.
Naruto was almost done with his routine when Rogue suddenly grunted, shivered and gripped his pillow hard enough for her nails to tear the fabric they dug into. "Hey, what happened? Rogue? Rogue?!"
Rogue ignored him as her spasms continued for a quarter of a minute, leaving the concerned blond to watch her and wonder if he'd done something wrong. However, her spasms died out and she rolled onto her back and pushed herself to sit up.
"Oh Gawd, ah've never felt anything like that before," she gasped out while taking deep breaths.
Naruto frowned. "What?"
She stared at him disbelievingly. "What do you think?" She pointed downward, letting Naruto follow her finger's direction till he saw the damp spot on his bed underneath her spread legs. "Helluva magic hands you got. You made me cum."
"Oh," Naruto muttered, still staring at her crotch. A moment later, her words registered. "Wait, I did what?"
Rogue absently reached down into her hiked up skirt and gasped as her fingers grazed her swollen clitoris, which had been covered in her own fluids, before withdrawing her hand and giving the two the sight of her soaked fingers. "Ah don't think I've ever let out this much before."
Naruto's eyes widened as she gave her fingers a tentative lick before placing them in her mouth and sucking them clean. "You really ate it…"
He'd heard of some women who became entirely different people when they were horny. Apparently, Rogue was one of them.
"It doesn't taste bad," Rogue said, her voice a deep purr that made him shiver. "We have to do this again."
"That good, huh?"
"Oh, ah could get addicted to it real fast," she gasped at him before looking down and saw a noticeable tent. "You're hard."
Naruto hastily covered his erection with a hand. "It's a natural reaction. Do you know how hot what you did was?"
She shrugged. "Ah kind of just felt like it. S-"
A chime from Naruto's clock felt like cold water being poured on them both. Rogue jumped and quickly grabbed her mesh top to reclothe herself well as smoothed out her skirt.
"It's lights out already?" She said. "Ah've gotta get to my dorm fast."
Naruto looked disappointed. "Why can't you stay? I don't mind."
"Oh sugah, I'd love to," Rogue replied. "But ah've got people expecting me and they're going to get real testy tomorrow if ah don't get back tonight."
"Oh," Naruto sighed. "At least give me your number before you go."
"Sure thing." She quickly took his phone and typed in a set of digits. "Here."
"So, I should save it as Rogue?" Naruto asked.
Rogue blinked. "Ah didn't tell you, did ah?"
"Tell me what?"
"My name's not Rogue," she said. "It's Anna. Anna Marie."
"Anna Marie," Naruto repeated. "I like it. It fits you nicely. You're a real southern belle, aren't you?"
"That I am," she looked hesitant for a moment before leaning in and pecking him on the lips. "We're going to do this again and maybe then, ah'll see what ah can do for your pecker too. How's that sound?"
Naruto grinned. "That sounds like something I can't wait for."
"Me neither, sugah." She smiled as she went out of the door. "See you tomorrow?"
"See you tomorrow," he nodded and closed the door and listened to her footsteps recede until he was left alone with damp sheets and a raging boner.
What a girl.
See you in the next one.