Here's next chapter.

For those who also read my He Who Was Promised story, that will be released either in a few days to a week. Finishing it up a bit as it's basically "book 2" of the Prophecy Child story.

XIII

Caitlyn sat in her mother's study once more but this time she was worrying with her skirt. She fidgeted in her chair even as her mother just sat back with a cup of coffee and a report from the council. It was still early in the morning with the rays of sun barely peeking over the horizon.

The reason she was so anxious is because she was actually getting the meeting she asked for. She had not thought she would get what she wanted but here she is waiting for her mother's boss. A man that envisioned a unity of two cities, or so he says.

The only thing that was keeping her calm is the thought of her talk with Jayce the previous day. He was made the coordinator of the new hexgate technology that he created with the help of Viktor. He was talking about how Mel Medarda was funding all of it and working closely with him to set up this new "hextech" around the city.

It was weird to see him so cheery about something but she assumed that he was just happy he was being acknowledged for something. That his arcane science was not as disastrous as he was branded for at the council hearing all that time ago. His only gripe was that Viktor was being pushed to the background but instead of being upset the other boy was actually fine with it.

Apparently, Viktor was spending a lot of time ordering special books from other kingdoms and nations and was staying in the lab most days. Other than continuing arcane research, he was looking into something else without Jayce - who was starting to feel left out of a partnership he thought they were both eager to maintain.

She was stirred from her thoughts when, the moment the clock struck fifteen past six, there was a flash of light from behind her. A red and black light that was hauntingly familiar to the back of her mind but she had no recollection of why it made her shiver.

"Oh, Naruto, you're finally here. You're not usually this late."

"I'm sorry, my dear, I was getting some things situated for an educational trip with the kits."

Caitlyn turned around stiffly, her mouth open in shock, as she looked at the familiar man with that familiar voice. Then his dick flashed into her mind and she screamed.

"You!"

"Hello, again!" Naruto waved his hand excitedly despite her anger. "It's me!"

"Mom, you work for him?!"

"Please lower your voice, hun," Cassandra told her daughter but nodded her head. "Yes. This is Naruto, and he's a magical human."

"Hence for Jayce's successful ventures into the arcane," Naruto commented with a grin on his lips still. "Sorry again about that time. Didn't mean to ruin your innocence."

Caitlyn sneered at him. "Don't bring that up!"

Cassandra raised an eyebrow at her daughter's tone. "What happened?"

"Did I not tell you?" Naruto asked with a tilt of his head. "Your daughter found me in the explosion at Jayce's apartment. My clothes were burnt and I had regenerated my flesh so she saw my dingaling."

Cassandra snorted at that.

"It's not funny!" Caitlyn blushed a deep red as she whined at her mother. "I saw a boy's penis before my first kiss! I don't even like boys!"

"Hah!" Naruto yelled a laugh and pointed a finger at Cassandra's disappointed face. "I was right! You owe me that soda!"

Caitlyn's face was confused for a second before her eyes and mouth widened in shock and she looked at her mother. "You bet on my sexuality?!"

"We didn't," Cassandra sighed and shook her head. "I didn't care for your sexuality and remarked that you've said nothing about it so I assumed you liked boys. He said otherwise and betted on it but I did not agree."

"Your silence was agreement," Naruto chuckled. "Anyways, you wanted to meet me, Cait?"

"It's Caitlyn," she bit back as she didn't want this boy to give her a nickname. "Yes, I wanted to see what kind of person could get my mother to work for. I didn't expect you."

"And why not? Am I too handsome for the shadowy work?" Naruto's teasing grin made the girl roll her eyes. "Do you know why your mother works for me?"

Caitlyn crossed her arms. "She says you want to unite Piltover's uppercity and undercity into one union. That you have a vision of an equal future."

"More or less," Naruto nodded his head. "That's the extent that everyone knows of my plans. The reason is not because I don't trust anyone but because I believe that with how much my methods change I cannot waste time constantly updating everyone."

"There's also the problem of people sharing my plans, whether intentionally or by a slip of words," Naruto shrugged as he added the last part. "As the saying goes, loose lips sink ships."

"So you expect to just be followed blindly?"

Naruto shook his head calmly under Caitlyn's scrutiny. "I expect nothing from anyone, let alone for them to follow me. To follow me is a choice solely made and held by those around me. Even your mother, should she say she doesn't want to be my fox anymore, has that right and I would not stop her."

His eyes flicked beyond the young girl and looked at her mother with a teasing smirk. "Although, I would be more sad to see her go than anyone else. Our mothers were friends, after all."

Cassandra's eyes flicked up at him and held his gaze for a moment. "Is this really the time for that."

"No, not at all, I just like reminding myself of the remnants I have of my mother's memory," Naruto said wistfully and turned back to the girl. "So, what do you think of me so far? I'm sure you can tell I've been open to you thus far, so you know I mean everything I've said."

"I still hate that you ruined my semester," Caitlyn glared at him before sighing. "But you are honest, but I also know that you could be being partially honest with me. I need more time observing you to know for sure."

"Is that so?" Naruto grinned as he gained an idea. "Cassandra, how would you feel about your daughter coming with me and my kits for the educational trip?"

Cassandra raised an eyebrow at that and Caitlyn perked up curiously at an educational trip. "Why do you ask?"

"I think I have the perfect environment for your daughter to get her impression of me," Naruto said before laying out the plan for her and Caitlyn to decide.

"I'm going to be taking all of my kits, my kids, on a trip to Ionia for a week starting today where we will learn about their culture, their philosophies, and other differences or similarities they have with us. I will be leading the trip with a bunch of my foxes and a guest. If it is alright with you both I offer the trip to you, Caitlyn, as well."

"Powder! Wake up!"

"Huh?!"

Bam!

"Ow!"

Powder winced as she rolled out of her covers that are tangled around her from her fall out of bed. She rubbed her eyes and scratched the back of her head, not noticing her bed head sticking up like a porcupine. She is wearing a comfy onesie printed with bowls of ramen and narutomaki, a gift from Naruto for her thirteenth birthday.

"Powder, I will come up there!"

"I'm up, sis!" Powder rolled her eyes and shook her head of the last remnants of sleep.

Looking around, she noted how different it was compared to a year ago. Now that she was a teen, she had her own room in the new apartment Naruto set her sister and her up with. He said they needed their own space away from the men - i.e., Vander, Mylo, and Claggor - where the two sisters can freely be girls.

While Vi remarked that it was sexist to think they needed their own space, he did not care and even brought up a good counterpoint. He simply said, "unless you want to explain the purposes of pads, feminine care products, and that flowery smelling bottle with a long nozzle to Claggor and Mylo then you need your own place."

He was right, of course, much to Vi's mortification of the boy's knowledge on the products she had to stash away and dreaded teaching Powder about. It would have only been time until the two boys found the products and asked their own questions or, worse, played with it while ignorant of the product's purposes. So with some convincing to Vander, who still had no trust in the blonde, they were able to work out a good two bedroom apartment close to the Last Drop so the man could check on them whenever needed.

And that's just how it's been for the last few months, with Vi working at the Last Drop and Powder going to learn with Naruto and his Foxes. She had even been getting along with Sevika as the woman was rough but a worrisome individual. It was like having that stern aunt that took no shit but knew when to relent.

Powder yawned as she reached the bottom of the stairs, having left her room for the dining room and kitchen for some breakfast and coffee. "Mornin' sis."

"Good morning," Vi said over her shoulder while cleaning the counter of whatever mess she made.

She always woke up first and earlier than Powder since she wanted to be there to help open the bar with Vander. She would work mornings for six to nine hours before she would go back to the abandoned arcade to practice with the boxing machine. Vander has also given her some tips on his free time and during slow periods but other than that she was left to figure out her own style.

Powder walked to the pantry cabinet and looked at their boxed and canned food. She eyed the oatmeal and pancake mix before settling on a bowl of wheat cereal, taking the bag with her to the counter next to Vi.

"Clean up after yourself," Vi rubbed her sister's head as she walked towards the front door. "Tell Naruto that Vander wants to talk to him. I don't know what for but he said to just show up sometime later tonight at the Last Drop."

Powder nodded her head. "Okay."

Vi looked back over her shoulder silently, looking at her sister's back from the front door. She wanted so desperately to tell her "love you" but the words couldn't make themselves available. The words were never able to be uttered between them, whether because of their rough relationship or because of some deeper issues.

Sighing to herself quietly, she turned and opened the door to leave.

Powder, however, was not blind to the silence of her sister. She knew that it should have bugged her deep down as she was always wanting to see her sister proud of her but now… it just did not bother her. She just couldn't put in that effort anymore.

Naruto taught her to be happy about herself and her strengths; accept her inadequacies and forge her own path, damn the opinions of others. She and her sister were just too different and nothing could bridge that gap. Vi liked fighting, she liked tinkering. Vi looked up to Vander, and she looked up to Naruto.

That's not to say they didn't love each other because they so clearly do. You just wouldn't understand unless you had a sibling or other that you were connected to on an atomic level. The love for someone who knows so much about you but the obvious knowledge that you both are of two different worlds is the easiest way to describe it.

Deciding that she was no longer hungry, Powder put the bowl and cereal back in their rightful places before heading upstairs to shower. Today was the first day of Naruto's trip out of Piltover and Zaun so she needed to be packed and ready to go. He is taking all of the kids, including her and Ekko, with him to Ionia as a cultural-educational-learning-al thing for a week and they won't be back until the end of the next weekend.

Oh shit, the trip is this weekend. Guess Vander won't be getting that conversation until we get back.

Powder chuckled at that, musing on the reactions they will all have when they learn of it. She will leave a note for her sister, of course, as well as apologizing for not telling her but she just genuinely forgot about it until now.

"Okay kids!"

Naruto shouted out to get the young kids' attention on him. They were quick to quiet down, only hushed whispers really being heard but those were quickly washed away with wife excited grins.

"We will be going on the trip to Ionia where we will learn about their culture, philosophies, and way of life. You will be sticking into groups of six with one chaperone, and this will be your group for the remainder of the trip. Please do not wander off or else we will have an international incident. You don't want poor me to be on a wanted list because I lost one of my kits."

"No!"

Laughs and shouts came from the kids as they played to the old teen's joke. But the older kids and the foxes all knew that he was honest and meant it with every fiber of his being. He would burn that continent to the ground looking for any of them or if anything happened to them.

"Okay, all of you will line up in front of Sevika where you will get a bracelet with a number between one and twelve." Naruto motioned to the woman who held a large bag of what the kids assumed were the bracelets. "You will then go to your chaperone who has your number. Do you understand, kits?"

A chorus of yeses and other affirmations sounded off and Naruto nodded his head.

As his other foxes handled getting the kids into a line and with a chaperone, he turned to look at the odd one out among the gathering.

"You're very good with kids," Viktor complimented simply. "Weird to see you like this instead of the serious benefactor that funded Jayce's research."

"Because I care for the kids and want them to enjoy their childhood as much as possible," Naruto shrugged as he knew how differently he handled everyone.

The way he handled kids was not how he handled young adults, and how he handled young adults differed compared to older generations. Then you cannot compare how he treats Sevika to how he treats Cassandra or even Renata. Everyone had different temperaments, different ways to manipulate or coerce, but the kids were the ones he spared from that side of him.

"I have to ask again, just to make sure you know what you are getting into," Naruto looked at the brunette with a curious stare. "Are you sure you want to come with me to Ionia for a week? I'm sure you're still working with Jayce on those hexgates that he used my magic for."

Viktor winced at the drawl of the blonde's comment as he knew that the technology was not what he wanted from his magic. He wanted answers on his abilities, why his magic is unique, but that was why he wanted to come to Ionia with the blonde. He wanted to look into the Third Ruin and see if there was anything to be learned while there.

"Yes, I am sure," Viktor nodded his head to ensure his confirmation was understood. "I think it will be riveting to be on another continent and among a new set of minds. It will definitely spur more ideas, that's for sure."

Naruto knew immediately that there was more that the boy would not say. He was unsure if he should still agree or not as he didn't like the deception but there was no maliciousness in it. So he just sighed.

"Alright, but I'm not babysitting you and the kids."

Viktor smirked amusedly and scoffed. "Please. I can handle myself."

"Good, because you will be sticking with group five," Naruto pointed at the group that had Caitlyn joining. "Make sure to stick around the group as I will not be waiting around for anyone but my kits."