grumpywolf

[Orcbane] Chapter 3 - Zul'jin

AN: just reposting this chapter (you can also find it on FFN) because this website is bugged and the chapter isn't accessible anymore for some reason. I did contact the support several times, but it was useless. So I'm just reposting it altogether.

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Chapter 3 - Zul'jin

While he was debating with the bijuu whether he should rescue the captured person or not, the group of trolls had put a considerable distance between them and him.

Shinobi-running from one tree to another as silently as he could, Naruto rushed to catch up to them. However, by that time, the savages' village came into view.

'If I attack now, I'll have to deal with a hundred of these monsters or more. Damn it. What should I do?'

Undecided, he could only watch how the large group of monsters dragged the captive into their village.

'Should I make the maximum number of clones I can and swarm the village?'

One-on-one, his clones were much weaker than the moss-skinned monsters, but they could create some chaos and confusion while he escaped with the captive.

'And if we get out of this alive, maybe he'll take me to his village or to his country.'

After all, he was in a different world. He did not know this land. He did not know the countries in it. He did not even know the language. His knowledge was restricted to the intel he had gathered during his last two weeks of scouting: he was in a mountain range, stuck between the green-skinned monsters' nation who occupied the western side of the mountain range and the sea.

Alas, due to his argument with the demon fox stuck inside his gut, Naruto had missed the opportunity to attack the group of barbarians and rescue the captive. He could only watch how they took him into their village.

'Are they not eating him? What are they up to?' he wondered when he saw them taking the pale-skinned man into a distinct building.

Unlike the wooden huts that the rest of the village consisted of, this building was made of stone and it had three floors.

Ten minutes later, Naruto was still on the outskirts of the village, pacing around on a tree branch restlessly.

"He's probably dead by now. They must've taken him inside and butchered him. Maybe these monsters have the notion of preserving and drying food too instead of eating it all on the spot. You should leave. Take this chance to finally escape this dangerous forest."

Naruto scoffed.

'I thought you said you'd leave me alone. Why are you talking to me now?'

"Believe it or not, I want what's best for you. I want you to live, kid. My survival is tied directly to yours," Kyuubi said in annoyance, his voice rising as he spoke. Naruto just had a special talent for angering him.

At that moment, Naruto caught a peculiar movement in the village. It was a tall creature, a head or two bigger than the largest green-skinned monster he had seen until then. His wild mane of white hair made a stark contrast with the forest-green colour of his skin, and, unlike the rest of the barbarians around him, he was wearing something more than just a loincloth: a pair of red pants, some tough-looking footwear that protected his shins (but still left his feet bare for some reason), and a vivid purple shawl that covered his neck, shoulders, and the lower half of his face, only letting his ivory tusks visible.

Even without knowing who he was, a gut feeling told Naruto that this newly arrived monster was bad news.

His premonition was spot on because, a few minutes after entering the stone building, a scream of agony burst out from inside, as if someone was being tortured.

⁂

The hallucinations and nightmares had yet to end when a voice rang in Liadrin's ears:

"Da Light not gonna save you now."

Although her eyes were closed, the botched Thalassian and the strange accent of the speaker betrayed the fact that he was not a high elf but a troll.

"You be guilty. Guilty o' drivin' us outta our own land . . ." the troll spoke again. "Guilty o' killin' me bruddas and sistas-"

Despite the mental torture she was still suffering from, Liadrin had yet to lose her spirit entirely.

"You were the first to raise your blades against us! It was the trolls who attacked first, not the high elves!"

The large troll grabbed her by the chin, his three-fingered hand large enough to cover her entire head.

"Da elves came to our land. You thinkin' you own everything around you. But dis is Amani land."

The hallucinations faded by now, and Liadrin opened her eyes, looking at the fearsome beast whose long tusks were almost stabbing her neck. His unusual attire and appearance for a troll immediately led her to assume that he was Zul'jin.

She had heard many stories of the infamous troll leader who staged guerilla attacks upon the villages on the outskirts of Quel'Thalas, reaping the lives of many Farstriders and innocent civilians alike, and always managing to escape before the high elves' reinforcements arrived. He had been plaguing the kingdom for decades now.

Nevertheless, despite the fact that her life was literally in his hands, there was no fear in her eyes.

There was only hatred and disgust.

"Amani land? When the highborn elves arrived here 7000 years ago, there was nothing but snow-covered ruins. There was not a living soul in sight."

"Dey be Amani Sacred Grounds! Dey be our ancestors' land!"

"Your ancestors stole the land from the Aqir and then left it to ruin. The trolls conveniently remembered about it when the highborn exiles arrived. You do not care about land. The trolls never cared about the ruins of the Aqir. You are nothing but a horde of savage beasts, just looking for a reason to spill blood."

Zul'jin's heavy slap twisted Liadrin's head to the side.

"You think you better den us. Da Aqir tried to make our ancestors go away; da Night Elves tried to make us go away; da High Elves tried to make us go away, but we be like a bad dream dat just won't go away."

"Da Amani never give up! Da Amani never lose, da Amani never die! And since we won't go away, I think we should retake our land. Burn your pretty buildings. Send you running back da way you came. But it won't be easy. Da High Elves be tricky . . ."

The troll leader took out a very long and sharp dagger from his waist and started playing with it as he continued talking.

"Your Runestones make our own magic weak. Da High Elves magic be protectin' dey cities. But I been watchin', and I been thinkin' . . . I think you get your power from dat fountain o' light. You call it da Sunwell. I think it gives you power. Without da Sunwell, maybe da High Elves not dat strong after all . . ."

While the troll was speaking, Liadrin looked at her comrades, hoping that they were making some progress with their escape attempts. But Dar'Khan, the mage, appeared to still be tortured by the hallucinations, while the Galell, the young priest, was scrunching his eyes shut, looking as if he were praying.

Only the ranger could be seen making some minute, discreet movements, a sign that he had yet to give up.

Zul'jin started caressing the sharp blade of his long dagger and walked closer to the ranger, who was hanging upside down, tied from his ankles to the ceiling of the sacrificial room.

"I wanna know how to overpower da Runestones. I wanna know everything about da Sunwell and the High Elves cities' defenses," he spoke to Liadrin. "Your friend here, maybe he don't talk. He be a ranger, no? Dey a tough breed."

The troll's voice took on a deeper tone when he said next:

"But I show you how I skin him alive, and you hear him scream till he got no breath left, maybe one o' you talks."

He waited for an answer from Liadrin, but the high-elven woman just glared at him in contempt.

"Dat be no surprise to me. You, high elves, always be proud. But we be seein' now how long you can keep your pride up."

The dagger's sharp tip sliced open Lor'themar's leather tunic, revealing his pale skin.

"No! Get away from him!" Liadrin shouted in horror when she saw the troll slicing the ranger's belly open, dragging a bloody vertical line with his dagger.

To his credit, despite the cold blade cutting him open, Lor'themar gritted his teeth, not making even the slightest sound, and doing his best to focus his attention on getting his hidden blade out and freeing himself.

However, even the tough ranger could no longer bear with it when the troll trusted his fingers into the open wound, tearing it open wider. Lor'themar screamed in agony.

Zul'jin and the other two trolls in the sacrificial room were so absorbed by the torture of the ranger that they didn't notice that Galell, the young priest who had kept his eyes shut close up until that moment, had somehow freed himself from his bindings.

In the first place, they had never expected him, the youngest and most inexperienced among the captives and a priest, no less, to work his way out of the ropes. It was more realistic for the ranger or the mage to pull off something like that.

Before the trolls could react, Galell snatched one of the ceremonial spears hanging off the sacrificial room's walls.

Alerted by the sound (the troll's long ears were not just for show), one of Zul'Jin's subordinates quickly turned around. But, to his misfortune, Galell was already in position and thrust the ceremonial spear at him, stabbing him straight in the throat.

Despite being skewered by the spear, the troll's regeneration was formidable. Even with a spear piercing through his neck, the troll grabbed onto the handle of the weapon and desperately tried to pull it out. Maybe he could have even survived such a fatal wound if not for Galell suddenly twisting the spear in his neck, beheading him completely.

Startled by his own actions, the young priest froze for a split second at the sight of the blood bursting like a geyser from the troll's headless corpse.

He had been a greenhorn. He had never been in a real battle before. This was the first time he had killed anyone.

Alas, that short second of stupor was more than enough for the other troll to react and swing his own barbaric single-edged sword at the priest.

Galell instinctively parried his swing with the handle of the spear, but the force behind the strike of the physically stronger troll sent him tumbling backwards, slamming into the wall.

The troll raised his sword above his head to deliver the finishing blow, but, in the next moments, the moss-skinned creature inexplicably collapsed, his knees smashing hard on the stone floor while he was holding his head with both hands, screaming in agony.

It was because of Liadrin. Seeing her young protege about to be killed, she mustered her entire strength and cast a spell that a priestess of the Light like her would normally avoid casting at all costs.

It was Shadow Word: Pain. It was a spell one would cast with the sole intent of causing pain to torture.

Zul'jin stopped torturing the ranger and rushed at Liadrin, suspecting that whatever happened must have been her fault.

When he turned his back to the ranger, despite the gaping wound in his stomach, Lor'themar had managed to finally get a hold of his hidden blade and free himself.

Zul'jin violently smashed his massive foot into the slender woman's stomach, and the pain was so great that Liadrin lost her concentration and the Shadow Word spell that she had cast on the troll subordinate was broken.

Before he could turn around to check up on the ranger, Zul'Jin howled in pain as a scalpel-like blade stabbed deeply into the side of his neck, severing his carotid artery. It was Lor'themar.

However, the troll leader regeneration factor was not to be trifled with. Dizzy from the massive blood loss, the ranger was unable to react in time when the much taller and more muscular troll threw a back-kick straight into his eviscerated stomach.

The elf collapsed on the stone floor in a heap, the unimaginable pain making his sight go white for a few moments.

Liadrin was in despair as she looked at her comrades. Dar'Khan was still unresponsive, still tortured by hallucinations. Lor'themar was on the floor, a pool of blood around him. And Galell was pinned to the wall, held at swordpoint by the other troll.

This had been their last opportunity to escape. The trolls would be extra careful after that. It was over. They failed. They were going to die a terrible death.

She called upon the Light, praying ardently for a miracle. If the Light responded to her, Liadrin could teleport herself and her comrades out of there in a heartbeat.

The priestess was still in the midst of her ardent prayers when the thick and heavy door of the sacrificial room was opened with a bang.

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The moment he heard that scream of agony coming from the stone building, Naruto appeared to revert to his old self as he jumped off the tree from his hiding place and rushed into the village headfirst.

Some of the trolls nearby watched him bewildered, not knowing how to react; after all, what they saw was one of their own people (he was still disguised to look like them) sprinting towards them as if there was a pack of lions on his tail.

Naruto was only 15 metres away from the first troll when he formed a cross seal with his three-fingered troll hands and shouted:

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The large village was instantly crowded by the sudden apparition of over 500 shadow clones, all of them Henged to look like trolls.

The other trolls let out screams of panic at the inexplicable phenomenon, all of them shouting a word that Naruto could not understand - "Loa!".

Not having expected the trolls to react that way to his jutsu, Naruto did not look a gift horse in the mouth and took full advantage of their momentary shock, rushing straight to the stone building in the centre of the village.

He kicked open the door, making the four moss-skinned creatures inside jump to their feet startled. But they didn't even have the time to draw their weapons before Naruto and his shadow clones raised their waraxes and swung them at the trolls, splitting their bodies in half and splattering the blood all over the walls, floor, and ceiling.

Not bothering to wipe the blood off his face, Naruto burst into the next room hurriedly and kicked it open with a bang. It took him not even a second to assess the situation.

The male captive that he had encountered earlier in the forest was lying curled up on the floor in a pool of blood; another man with long blond hair was chained to the wall, seemingly unconscious; a woman whose face was all bloodied and bruised and crying while struggling against the ropes binding her; and a younger-looking male with brown hair was pushed against the wall and hit with the pommel of the sword in the temple, collapsing on the floor out cold.

Aside from those pale, long-eared human-like people, Naruto also saw a headless monster's corpse on the floor and two other green-skinned savages standing over the captives.

The tall and muscular troll with the purple cloth covering his lower face screamed something at Naruto, but the boy didn't understand their tongue, and he had no intention of talking to the green monsters at that moment either way.

He rushed into the room and raised his great axe above his head, swinging it at the largest troll he had ever seen with his entire might.

In the meantime, two of his shadow clones charged with their waraxes at the other troll, while the rest quickly went to the captives to free them.

Although Zul'Jin was much taller and much stronger-looking compared to Naruto's Henged appearance, his three-foot-long knife snapped from the clash against Naruto's waraxe. The great axe's blade sank deeply into the troll's shoulder.

Zul'Jin screamed something at Naruto yet again, but Naruto didn't understand a word. He pulled his great axe from the troll's shoulder and swung again.

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The priestess was still in the midst of her ardent prayers when the thick and heavy door of the sacrificial room was opened with a bang.

Zul'jin shouted something in the troll language, and Liadrin's eyes widened when a group of forest trolls burst into the room and one of them jumped into the air with an enormous war axe, swinging it viciously at Zul'jin.

'By the Light, what is going on?!'

Momentarily, she had a hard time wrapping her mind around what she was seeing.

Not only that Zul'jin was inexplicably attacked by one of his subordinates, but the troll, despite being a head or two smaller than his leader, actually got the best of him in a clash of strength. The troll insurgent's war axe snapped Zul'jin's dagger in half and wounded his shoulder grievously.

Liadrin's surprise turned into shock when one of the trolls who burst into the room also came to her and cut off the ropes binding her wrists and ankles, and the rest did the same to her other comrades too.

She let out a cry of surprise when the troll suddenly threw her over his shoulder and rushed towards the door. Thoroughly bewildered by the situation, Liadrin instinctively punched the head of the troll who rescued(?)/kidnapped(?) her from the sacrificial room.

A puff of smoke clouded her eyes, and the high-elven woman let out a yelp of pain as she fell on the hard floor, the troll from before nowhere to be seen. He had disappeared into thin air.

'Was that a Mirror Image?!'

Although she was a priestess of the Light, Liadrin was still a high elf. All high elves were deeply familiar with magic; furthermore, Dar'Khan, who was a Magister, was one of her close friends.

'Could it be that another Magister got wind of our capture and infiltrated the troll territory to rescue us?'

As if to confirm her thoughts, another one of the trolls who had burst into the room earlier came to her, dropped to one knee, and showed her his back as if to tell her to climb on so that he could carry her out.

She glanced at him suspiciously, unsure of whether to trust him or not.

'Why is he not saying anything?'

If he were an ally, he could at least converse with her.

But Liadrin's doubts took the backseat in the next moment because Zul'jin, cornered by his waraxe-wielding opponent, let out a war cry and his body suddenly puffed up, growing way beyond the proportions of a normal troll, and he hunched over until he was standing like a beast, on all fours.

The troll leader's green skin darkened, fur grew on his arms and back, and his head turned into that of a different creature. In the blink of an eye, Zul'jin had transformed into an enormous black bear, a beast so large that its head was touching the tall ceiling of the sacrificial room.

Losing all hesitation, Liadrin quickly climbed on the kneeling troll's back and shouted, "Run!"

⁂

Zul'Jin screamed something at Naruto yet again, but Naruto didn't understand a word. He pulled his great axe from the troll's shoulder and swung it once more. In desperation, the troll leader threw himself to the right, rolling away to escape.

In the next moment, Naruto was stupefied to see the green-skinned monster suddenly turn into a massive, vicious-looking bear. It was no smaller than an elephant.

At the same time, he also heard the woman shouting something. He didn't understand what she told him, but he could deduce what her words meant: "Run!"

The gigantic bear's roar made the entire building shake from its very foundations.

The shadow clones were the first to rush out of the room, carrying the captives on their shoulders, and Naruto was quick to run after them, giving up on any thoughts of fighting against that monstrous bear.

Ultimately, his purpose was not to fight a battle in the middle of a village of trolls but to rescue the captives from a terrible fate.

While running of the room with the captives, Naruto got flashes of memories from the shadow clones that he had left outside the building as they were attacked and dispelled by the other trolls.

It was the first time he was taking notice of that detail, but he decided to think about it at a later date and focus on escaping from his current predicament first.

With how enormous the bear war was, its size worked to its detriment because the door was too narrow for it to pass through. Thanks to that, Naruto and his shadow clones escaped together with the captives.

Coming out of the house, Naruto saw that his clones had thrown the village into chaos, with all the trolls fighting against each other, not knowing who was the 'evil loa' and who was not.

Strong gales of wind were stirred as Naruto and his clones broke into the fastest sprint that they were capable of. Liadrin felt the air leave her lungs when the troll carrying her took to the trees and started jumping from one branch to another through the forest at a speed that was making her dizzy and unable to make sense of her surroundings.

She heard troll roars and screams as Zul'jin and the rest of the trolls started pursuing them, but they soon faded into the distance as the one carrying her and her comrades ran deeper and deeper into the mountains.

A while later, the dizzying movement came to an end, and Liadrin opened her eyes to find herself on the shore of a narrow but crystal-clear mountain creek.

The trolls that had been carrying them laid them on the ground and disappeared into clouds of white smoke.

Remembering that Lor'themar was in critical condition, Liadrin quickly came to check up on him.

Having escaped from the sacrificial room filled with toxic fumes and having spent some time breathing in the clear air of the forest, Liadrin had somewhat recovered her bearings.

She kneeled next to the ranger and prayed, calling upon the Light. Her hands glowed with a bright, warm, yellow light, and Naruto watched in amazement how the fatal wound in the man's belly closed up at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed in wonder.

The sound he let out made Liadrin turn her attention to him. Her first intention had been to convey her words of heartfelt gratitude, but she became speechless when her eyes fell on him and she saw her rescuer's real appearance.

It was not a Magister. It was not a proud and powerful high-elven mage.

It was a boy. A human boy, so short that he was not even reaching her shoulder height.

"Am I still hallucinating?" came Dar'Khan's voice from her right, and Liadrin was happy to see that her old friend had regained his consciousness. "What is a human boy doing here of all places? How did we even escape from the trolls?"

"That boy. He saved us," she answered.

"Surely you are jesting," Dar'Khan said sceptically.

"He appears to be a mage," Liadrin explained. "And a skilled one at that. He made use of Transformation and Mirror Image spells to infiltrate and rescue us. He also fought against the troll leader to a standstill."

Done tending to Lor'themar's wounds, Liadrin stood up and walked closer to him. Bringing a hand to her heart, she bowed and spoke in Common, the language spoken by most humans in the Eastern Kingdoms of Azeroth.

"My name is Liadrin. On behalf of my comrades, I wish to express my sincere gratitude for saving our lives."

Naruto walked out of the stream (he had been washing the mud off his face) and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

The long-eared lady's voice was pleasant, melodious even, but that was all there was to it. He could not understand a word.

"Sorry, I don't understand what you're saying."

Liadrin and Dar'Khan exchanged a look. "Do you understand his words?" she asked the mage.

Dar'Khan was no less bewildered than her.

"I have never heard that speech before."

As a Magister, Dar'Khan was fluent in most of the languages spoken by the intelligent races living in the world of Azeroth. He even knew the language of the savage trolls.

Liadrin glanced at the boy again. The more she looked, the more confused she became. And it appeared that Dar'Khan was mirroring her thoughts considering what he said next:

"I know that humans' technology and level of civilisation is far below that of Quel'Thalas, but I believe not even they are wearing such garments in this day and age anymore."

After the trolls ripped his clothing and started cooking him over the campfire, Naruto escaped buck naked into the forest. Left with no other choice, he had fashioned some rough clothing and footwear for himself from the pelts of lynxes he had hunted. Compared to the four high elves who were wearing finely crafted leather armour and runecloth robes, he looked like a savage, not that different from the trolls.

Liadrin slowly walked closer to Naruto and extended her hand, showing him her open palm, trying to make him understand that she did not have any ill intentions.

'Kurama, do you sense any negative emotions from her?' Naruto asked, just to make sure.

"None whatsoever," Kyuubi confirmed.

When Liadrin smiled at him, Naruto felt his worries being washed away, and he took her dainty hand in his.

Brilliant light appeared in Liadrin's hand, and a feeling of warmth pervaded Naruto's body, travelling through his chakra pathways and reaching all the way to the Gate of Rest, the 2nd of the 8 Inner Gates, which was located in his brain.

In any other circumstances, Naruto would have freaked out about feeling a foreign power invade his body like that, but something about that light calmed his worries and filled him with a feeling of safety and comfort. Even Kyuubi, who was inside the seal, stopped growling and became quiet.

"Human boy, can you understand me now?" Liadrin's voice rang in his mind, and, this time, Naruto understood her.

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Zul'Jin

Lady Liadrin (as a Paladin)

[Living for tomorrow] Chapter 15 - A Deal (I)

Thanks to his use of Time magic, Sirius’ deeds went completely unnoticed. He managed to kill Snape and return to the stadium minutes before the deadline. To completely remove any possibility of suspicion, he waited until he saw his past self arrive in the side alley and use the Time Turner. After that, he rushed to the vendors selling drinks and bought butterbeer, soda, and some snacks too.

From Euphemia’s point of view, less than ten minutes passed from Sirius’ departure before he returned with his arms full of drinks and snacks.

The public at large never even got wind of Snape’s death. The authorities did, but the murder itself did not make it on the news. Not even the Daily Prophet took note of it. The only thing that the Prophet mentioned in passing was the news about Augustus Rookwood’s death. However, due to the secret nature of his occupation (he was an Unspeakable), the Ministry of Magic did not provide the reporters with any details about his death.

Nevertheless, Severus Snape’s death did reach Dumbledore’s ears, albeit quite late after the deed. It was only five days after not receiving an answer to his letters that the old Headmaster paid a visit to Snape's home and saw the yellow tape and the Muggle officers that were guarding the crime scene.

Although Dumbledore did not want to believe that the Potters were related to this case, he did try to ask them about it in a roundabout manner, just in case.

The Potters had an undeniable alibi: the murder happened during the Quidditch match between Puddlemere United and Montrose Magpies. Several reporters had photographed the famous family of the Boy Who Lived, and the pic of Sirius and the Potters happily celebrating the Magpies’ victory had appeared in the newspapers, too.

Unless the Potters had hired a hitman, there was no realistic way for them to have committed the crime. Dumbledore had not even considered the possibility of someone using a Time-Turner due to how closely guarded those artefacts were.

‘Who am I supposed to hire for the DADA teaching position now?’

Severus Snape’s unfortunate death put Dumbledore in trouble because it was August already. Only one month remained before the start of the new school year.

In his mind, he went over all the possible choices, but most of those people had already turned down the position, while others were former, unrepentant Death Eaters, or had no qualifications to teach others whatsoever.

He did not want a repeat of Gilderoy Lockhart ever again.

The old wizard felt like pulling at his beard in frustration. Until fifty years ago, retiring Aurors, famous Hit Wizards, and even Duelling Champions were competing over the position of DADA Professor at Hogwarts; that’s how prestigious and desirable that job used to be. Nowadays, however, being a DADA professor was synonymous with misfortune or even death. People wanted nothing to do with it.

⁂

Whereas Albus Dumbledore lamented the loss of Severus Snape, Euphemia and Fleamont Potter could not be any happier to hear about it.

Not only did the one who caused their son’s death finally get what he deserved, but with Snape dead, they did not have to talk to Matthew and Harry about the possibility of getting homeschooled or transferred to Beauxbatons.

The rest of the summer passed rather uneventfully for the Potters.

Much to both Harry’s and Matthew’s glee, the Weasleys returned from their holiday in Egypt. Though their happiness was for different reasons: Matt was overjoyed that he could finally go out and hang out with his friends, and Harry was finally free of his irksome little brother, able to practise his magic and study in peace.

The Daily Prophet did not have much sensational news to report either. Other than the disappearance of two more House Elves, nothing was worth noting. The Goblins had remained quiet, too.

Days passed, and soon, September came. Once again, it was time for him to leave the comfort of his grandparents’ home and go to Hogwarts for the new school year.

The previous year, Matthew had felt sad when the summer holiday ended, but this year was different. He had been crossing off each day on the calendar for the past month. A full week before the holiday was over, he had already packed his books and other belongings. When the first of September finally arrived, he was the first to wake up, the first to shower, the first to eat, and the first to get dressed. He was jubilant to the point where one would be tempted to think he had just been freed from Azkaban.

⁂

When the family of four Apparated on the 3/4 Platform, they were greeted by a team of four Aurors, among whom was also a pretty, pink-haired young woman. Due to her busy schedule as an Auror, the boys did not often get the chance to meet their cousin.

Unfortunately, being on duty, Tonks couldn’t joke around and have fun with them like she always did. She had to maintain her dignity and not bring shame to her fellow Aurors. Other than the initial greetings, she kept a serious and composed face, and she did not talk much, scanning the surroundings with great attention.

Not long after their arrival, the Potters were approached by reporters as well, their eyes shining at the prospect of a scoop. To their disappointment, the Aurors warned them sternly not to get close. After the assassination attempt on the Potters, they were not taking any chances.

Stifled by the Aurors’ intimidating presence and eager to finally meet up with his friends, Matt was quick to bid his grandparents farewell before dragging his big trunk after him and climbing into the carriage.

But Harry lingered, seemingly unwilling to part with them just yet. There was still some time before the train left. As he started telling them to always be careful of any ploys the Goblins may come up with and contact him immediately through their two-way mirrors should anything happen, Fleamont laughed.

“If only James could have seen you now!” he said, his voice filled with pride. “Look at you! Not knowing when, you’ve turned into a man! A dependable and filial young man. Now you’re the one taking care of us instead of the other way around. You’re making this old man feel happy he’d got to live for this long.”

“Stop joking around, Grandpa. You still got at least 50 years left in you!” Harry said, seemingly amused, but his eyes were serious.

“Ha! If I live long enough to see you giving me a grandson, I will consider my life complete. But, by the looks of it, Matthew might do that long before you do.”

“Gran!” Harry said, his ears reddening with embarrassment.

“Don’t tease the boy like that in public, you!” Euphemia admonished her husband, but she was also giggling.

Harry could only thank Merlin that Sirius hadn’t come to see them off. His godfather would have definitely jumped at the chance to make fun of him.

It was while the old couple was chuckling merrily at Harry’s expense that a sweet voice rang from the side, calling his name:

“Arry!”

Turning around, Harry was surprised to see another family of four standing a few metres away from them, mindful of the Aurors.

“Do you know each other?” his grandfather asked him quietly.

“Ugh, yeah. We’re actually roommates,” Harry said, his voice rather awkward.

Fleamont signalled to the Aurors that it was okay to allow the newcomers to approach them, and they did so.

Jean Delacour could not be considered an unattractive man, but standing next to his wife, it became all too apparent in Harry’s eyes whom Florent had to thank for his ridiculously handsome looks. The French boy’s mother had to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

And that seemed to be the thought of many other men nearby, not just Harry’s. Even one of the Aurors who were escorting the Potter family seemed to have forgotten about his duty and was staring at Apolline Delacour open-mouthed, stunned.

After introducing himself and his family to the Potters, Mr Delacour shook Harry’s hand, too, and said jovially:

“I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time. My son told me you’ve helped him many times over the past year.”

Mr Delacour’s English was unexpectedly good, his French accent barely noticeable. His wife’s English was not poor, but her accent was much thicker than his.

“Indeed. My son ‘as been talking about you ze ‘ole summer!” Apolline said, offering Harry a smile.

≪Mother! What are you saying??≫ Fleur squawked in French, mortified. ≪Don’t embarrass me in front of everyone now!≫

≪What’s there to be embarrassed about? He’s a handsome young man, and, from what you told us of him, his character seems to be good too. At first glance, I approve of him.≫ Apolline said, grinning teasingly.

≪Don’t say it in front of him!!≫ Fleur pleaded, a hue of pink colouring her pale cheeks when she sneaked a glance at Harry, who seemed to be listening intently to what her father and his grandparents were talking about.

Apolline giggled at her daughter’s adorable reaction.

≪Did you not say he doesn’t know French? He cannot understand us.≫

Harry tried his best not to show any reactions to what they were talking about, focusing his attention on Mr Delacour and his grandparents’ conversation, pretending that he didn’t understand Florent and his mother’s loud chatter in French.

Unbeknownst to the Delacours, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter actually knew French, too, and they exchanged an amused glance when they noticed Harry’s embarrassed expression.

The old couple understood then that, for whatever reason, Harry had not revealed to Florent the fact that he knew French.

It appeared that being mischievous ran in Potters’ blood because, barely holding in their amusement, Euphemia and Fleamont decided not to bring it up, enjoying the opportunity to hear what people had to say when they thought others couldn't understand them, when they had no filter.

On top of that, watching their serious and studious grandson squirm like he was sitting on needles was entertaining as well.

≪Even so. It’s not polite to talk about someone in a different language when they are in front of us!≫

As if she didn’t hear her daughter’s rebuke, Apolline studied Harry for a few seconds before turning to Fleur with a grin.

≪He’s not as short as you made him out to be. He’s actually taller than you!≫ she remarked.

≪He was way shorter than me three months ago,≫ Fleur muttered, her flushed cheeks turning redder when she sneaked another glance at Harry, and he happened to catch her in the act.

His body had gone through a serious growth spurt that summer. He was more than 10 centimetres taller than he was before the holiday.

“[...] Yes, we’ve decided to open a hotel in Araneshire, a small village on the other side of the Black Lake, very close to Hogwarts,” Mr Delacour talked excitedly with Fleamont.

“We are aiming our services especially at the parents of muggleborn students. Being apart from their children for almost one year is difficult. We’ve experienced that ourselves when we sent our son to Hogwarts. So we want to give parents, especially those who cannot Apparate around easily, a place to stay while they are visiting their children during their Hogsmeade trips.”

“The countryside where Hogwarts is located is fascinating as well. The Black Lake, the Forbidden Forest, Hogwarts itself, and Hogsmeade too. It is all so charmant!”

His grandfather appeared to be genuinely interested, and he was asking all sorts of questions about the star rating of the hotel, the services they were going to provide, and the matters concerning the safety of the Muggle parents so they would not get torn to shreds by a passing Dugbog or Thornback. The Wizarding World was not kind to the powerless.

It sounded all very interesting to Harry, too, but with Florent and his mother yapping uncaringly about him, he found it hard to focus.

When Apolline said half-seriously and half-jokingly that she did not want to become a grandmother before Florent finished his studies, Harry almost choked on his spit.

≪Mom, where is Matthew Potter? I’ve waited so long to see him!≫ Florent's younger sister, an adorable little girl with long, silvery-blonde hair and baby blue eyes, asked while pulling on her mother’s long brown coat.

Her question stopped Florent and Apolline from talking about Harry, and the boy let out a breath of relief.

Soon, the Hogwarts Express whistled, and Harry rushed to embrace his grandparents one last time. He also waved at Florent’s parents before turning to the French boy and saying:

“We'd better hurry up.”

“R-Right,” Fleur uncharacteristically stammered. It became apparent that her mother’s teasing had flustered her.

She hugged her parents and her little sister one more time before dragging her large trunk after her towards the nearest carriage. Taking out her wand and muttering the necessary incantation, she cast a Levitation Charm on it, making it fly into the carriage.

Glancing at his grandparents one last time, Harry smiled as he noticed how engrossed they were in their conversation with Florent’s father. He was happy to see that.

Fleamont and Euphemia had tried to hide it from him, but, just like Matthew, being holed up inside their homes, without any activity, had taken its toll on them, too.

They could not wander around without the Auror’s protection, and they felt bad about stretching the DMLE's already-thin numbers for unimportant tasks. In addition, they had also closed their little apothecary, too.

It was way too early, he was aware of that, but he hoped that this business endeavour in Araneshire might just prove to be the thing that would take his grandparents out of their funk.

⁂

The train appeared to be more crowded than the previous year, seemingly having more carriages, and most of the compartments were filled to the brim with students. From a rough glance, it appeared as though there were nearly twice as many first-year students as last year.

There weren’t any empty compartments even in the last carriage of the train. Harry and Fleur ended up joining a compartment with two boys, seemingly in their first year.

Intimidated by the much older Harry and Florent, the two first-years only squeaked out a hello before becoming silent and watching them.

“So, how was your summer?” Harry asked, trying to make some conversation to distract himself from his thoughts.

“It was nice,” was all that Florent said, his face still sporting a flush.

Then, they became silent, too, just like the other two occupants of the compartment.

The awkwardness was palpable.

After saving Florent in February from the Love Potion poisoning, the two of them became very close; much closer than ever before. However, in the present, they were acting as though it was their first time meeting each other once more. Fleur's conversation with her mother had greatly embarrassed the two teens.

After Harry did not reply to the letter she sent him that summer, Fleur had been planning on giving him a piece of her mind. But now that she was standing face-to-face with him, it was as if she had become tongue-tied.

Her mother’s teasing was still at the front of her mind, and the fact that Harry seemed to have grown more than 10 centimetres over the summer had flustered her. He was actually taller than her now; his face had become thinner, his jawline sharper, and the Hogwarts uniform looked especially good on his now taller frame.

Fleur could hear her own heart pounding in her chest, and she found herself unable to look at his face. Those green eyes of his seemed more vivid and expressive than she remembered. She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to look away.

As for Harry, his predicament was even worse than hers.

He had heard and understood everything that Florent and his mother had been talking about. The French boy’s uncharacteristic shyness was unsettling him.

‘And why was he using feminine pronouns when talking about himself?’ he asked himself.

Unlike in English, some pronouns in French had different forms depending on the gender.

‘And what was that about her becoming a grandma? It’s not like men can get pregnant!’

He felt like he was on the cusp of making an important discovery, but something was missing from the equation.

‘Maybe she was talking about Florent and other girls? Maybe it wasn’t about me and him.’

He reckoned he must have heard wrong. Or maybe his French had become rusty. It was not like he had many chances of talking in French with others. Other than the times he and his grandparents visited France’s Mediterranean coast, he did not have the chance to practise his French.

But then, a wild thought came to his mind.

‘What if . . .’

Looking at Florent, he studied his appearance intently. The French boy appeared not to have changed much, if at all, over the summer. His short, silvery blonde hair was still stylish, his shoulders still narrow, and his looks just as androgynous as before. He had not got any manlier, not one bit.

Unnerved by Harry’s intense gaze, Fleur felt herself break into sweat.

Why was he looking at her so intently? Did he, perhaps, discover something? And why was Harry letting his eyes roam over her body like that??

A mixture of nervousness and embarrassment washed over her. Her hands turned clammy, her face flushed like she had a fever, and, before she could stop herself, she blurted out:

≪Stop staring like that, it’s embarrassing!≫

“Huh?!” he gasped.

Fleur also squawked.

“What did you say?” he quickly followed up.

Fleur’s facial expression was a sight to behold. For a tiny moment there, she had feared that-

‘Non, non, non!’

She did not want to even consider that possibility! If Harry actually understood French and if he had heard what she and her mother had been talking about him, then. . . then there was no other choice for her than to open the compartment’s window and throw herself right out!

That was very much preferable to dying from shame!

“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” she said, her voice quivering.

However, no matter how much she was telling herself to stop thinking about it, the worry that Harry might actually know French kept gnawing at her.

‘This is killing me!’ she thought, screaming internally.

‘No, I have to make sure! I can’t ignore it!’

Her mind went into overdrive. If she just asked him if he knew French, he would obviously try to deny it, likely not wanting to reveal that he had heard her conversation with her mother. Just the thought of it made Fleur flush red anew.

No, she had to surprise him. She had to say something in French. Something that would startle him or provoke a visible reaction if he were to understand her words.

Making up her mind, she glanced up at him, her face a lovely shade of red. Heart hammering in her chest, she whispered:

≪I love your green eyes.≫

It took one second for Harry to react. But that one second made her feel as if time had stopped. It was just one second, but for Fleur, it felt like an eternity.

Time started flowing again when Harry tilted his head at her slightly, saying in a confused tone:

“Did you say something?”

His reaction appeared so genuine and unbothered that the relief that came over Fleur almost made her dizzy.

“Ah, don’t mind me. I am just talking to myself,” she said weakly, the release of tension having left her drained.

Feeling like she might actually die of embarrassment if things kept on like that, she said:

“The Portkey travel from France left me very tired. I will try to sleep for a few ‘ours. I ‘ope you don’t mind.”

“We won’t make noise, don’t worry!” the two first-year boys said nervously, reminding Harry and Fleur of their existence.

“Um, sure, go ahead,” Harry also said before standing up to leave. “I’ll go search for Simon and the girls in the meantime.”

The moment he got out of the compartment and slid the door shut behind him, Harry had to put his hand on the wall and lean against it for support for a few seconds.

‘Holy shit.’

He was shocked himself that he had had the presence of mind not to give himself away when Florent said in French that he loved his eyes.

‘What the hell was he playing at?!’

⁂

Thankfully, Harry was spared from further awkward interactions with Fleur after he found their group of friends. Simon, Elora, Elspeth, and little Luna had saved a spot for them in their compartment.

A few hours later, the group of friends was having a great time as they caugh up with each other, talking about they did during the summer. Harry did not have many interesting things to say about his summer but others were different. The motormouth, Elspeth, quickly become the centre of attention.

They spent the rest of the ride also talking about their OWL results, about Simon’s upcoming NEWT exams, and about their future career paths.

“I didn’t get any Os,” Elspeth said enviously when she heard that Harry got four of them. “But I did get Es in Charms and Transfiguration. . . thank Merlin I scraped an A in Potions. I honestly thought I was going to fail it.”

“Never thought I’d see the day where you get 7 OWLs,” Simon told Harry. “If I didn’t know you’re even better than I am at nonverbal casting, I’d be tempted to think your grandfather bribed the examiners.”

“No amount of money could bribe those old fellows," Harry said, chuckling. “It’s all about being organised and knowing what you want. I didn’t even bother trying to study for History, Astronomy, or Care. I failed History and Astronomy, and somehow passed Care, but all my effort was poured into Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, and DADA. I’ve always been good at Potions because Grandma has, well, she used to have an apothecary, and I liked helping her around. As for the other three, they’re vital for fighting and duelling.”

“You’re so full of shit, Harry,” Elspeth said in annoyance. “What we learn in class is useless; stop trying to sound important. As if knowing how to make teacups dance tangi or turn a white rabbit into a pair of red slippers would do you any good in a fight! Just admit you’re a nerd and that you had us fooled all this time!”

“Animating teacups won’t help me in a fight, that's true. But what if I did this?”

Suddenly, with a swish of Harry’s wand, the cloak hanging from a hook next to the door (it was Elora’s) came to life and flew at Elspeth.

“W-What are you doing?” the redhead shouted and yelped in a panic, instinctively going for her wand, but the animated cloak overpowered her physical strength and tied her wrists together above her head, pinning her to the wall.

Elora, the glasses-wearing red-haired girl, froze, making herself tiny in her seat; Fleur was stunned in disbelief; Luna dropped her newspaper, watching the scene, mouth agape; and Simon shot up from his seat, wand in hand, not knowing, however, what he was supposed to do.

None of them said a word, but, inwardly, they were all reminded of the fact that Harry had single-handedly killed half a dozen goblins last spring.

Noticing the strange mood that had been instilled in the compartment, Harry quickly cancelled the Animation Charm and levitated the cloak away from Elspeth, who was gawking at him now with wide, scared eyes.

“Being able to animate teacups precisely enough to make them dance tango means you’d also be skilled enough to animate various objects to help you in a fight, like I did with the cloak now,” Harry explained, hoping to dispel the uncomfortable situation he had accidentally created.

“As for Transfiguring rabbits into slippers and back,” he continued, “that skill can also translate into something like this.”

He waved his wand again, and the levitating cloak turned and twisted, quickly transforming into a living, hissing, dangerous-looking cobra.

“Imagine if I were to Transfigure someone's muffler into a snake and order it to bite their throat. The enemy would die before even knowing what happened," Harry told them, unknowingly making them even more scared than they were already.

He quickly cancelled the Transfiguration and turned the snake back into a cloak before hanging it on the hook next to the compartment door.

“Whoa!” Simon said, his voice sounding rough from the scare he had gotten, but also filled with admiration.

“Is that ‘ow you defeated the Goblins 'alf a year ago?” Fleur also asked in awe.

“Err, the Aurors told me not to talk about that incident,” Harry lied.

It was one thing for the Daily Prophet to claim that he had used the Killing Curse to kill the Goblins because most people, or at least those with a modicum of critical thinking, would take the news in the Daily Prophet with a grain of salt, not believing everything they read.

It would be an entirely different matter, however, if he were to say the same with his own mouth.

“I’m sorry, Elspeth, did I scare you?” Harry apologised.

The redhead let out a shaky laugh.

“I panicked a little when you bound my wrists, but it’s all good. You did drive your point across.”

“What would you do in that situation?” Simon asked. “I mean, how was Lizzie supposed to react to the cloak attacking her out of nowhere?”

“A Shielding Charm would have sufficed if she only wanted to protect herself,” Harry said. “But it’s important to always have your wand close. Nonverbal casting is an advantage too because it’s faster, and the enemy will have a harder time guessing the spell you’re about to cast.”

“The way you’re speaking implies you could do other things instead of casting a Shielding Charm,” Florent noted, making Harry turn his attention to him. “What else would you 'ave done?”

Harry smiled, visibly happy to talk about a subject that he was passionate about.

“The Shielding Charm isn’t a bad choice per se, but it limits your options and makes you a stationary target since you’ll have to hold the charm. But while you do that, the cloak will keep attacking you, and the enemy is also free to cast another spell at you since he doesn’t need to remote control the cloak; once the Animation Charm is cast on it, the cloak will continue attacking until it's destroyed or the magic of the spell dissipates.”

“Personally, I would’ve cast a Knockback Jinx on the cloak to blow it back and chained a second spell right away, a Severing Charm, throwing it at my enemy, likely catching him by surprise. These two spells have similar wand movements, so I could cast them both in less than a second. I would be defending and attacking simultaneously.”

“. . . Mate, why can’t you be our DADA teacher?” Simon said, with no hint of joking in his voice.

Simon had had 7 DADA teachers until then, and none of them had ever taught him how to duel like that. Dumbledore did teach the DADA class the previous year after Gilderoy Lockhart was arrested, but the Headmaster had been more focused on teaching the students the knowledge that the previous DADA professors had failed to impart.

But, most importantly, they all believed that Dumbledore was not going to teach them again this year. Surely, he must have hired a new teacher. Simons’ expectations towards new DADA professors could not be any lower.

Harry laughed and changed the subject abruptly because he had no desire to waste his time teaching other kids.

“What about you, Elora? You haven’t said anything about your OWLs so far. Got something to hide?”

Lizzie giggled at her. The two redheads were best friends; they never missed a chance to poke some fun at each other.

“Tell him, Elora. It’ll come out eventually anyway. Haha!”

Elora pushed her glasses up her nose and glared at Elspeth before muttering:

“I didn’t do great.”

“What was the problem?” Harry asked, curious.

“It was the practical exams. I barely got an A in DADA,” Elora said, embarrassed. “The written exam saved me.”

She wrenched her fingers, distressed. “I’m just not good in tense moments. Whenever something happens, I freeze, and it’s like my mind goes blank. It was the same in Transfiguration. I got an A there, too. My parents weren’t happy. . . Thankfully, I did well in other subjects. I got lots of Es, and I didn't fail any OWLs.”

To say that Harry was surprised by her admission would be a lie. He had known Elora for five years now; he had long since noticed that fact about her. The girl always froze like a deer in the headlights whenever a conflict or any other tense situation arose in front of her.

⁂

The Welcoming Feast passed without any unusual incidents taking place, and so did the first evening at Hogwarts, too.

If there was one thing of note, it was that Albus Dumbledore informed them that he would continue teaching the DADA class that year as well. The entire school was energised by his words, even the Slytherins, who were not his biggest fans, to put it lightly. The old headmaster was a legendary wizard, and his talent and skill as a teacher were undeniable after the previous semester.

Once the Welcoming Feast ended, the students headed directly to their dorms. Having gorged themselves with delicious food and being dead tired from the long train ride, Harry and Fleur fell asleep as soon as they hit the bed.

The following day, after having their breakfast, all the sixth years went to the office of their respective Head of the House and stood in a line, waiting for them to receive their schedule.

Considering that after the fifth year, students were free to drop any classes they did not want anymore, and that some professors only accepted students with certain results, sixth-year students would all receive different schedules, tailored to their own choices.

“Potter Harry,” Professor Flitwick called out.

Finally, it was his turn to receive his schedule.

“Seven OWLs, of which four were Outstanding. Most impressive, Mr Potter,” Flitwick said, smiling under his large bushy moustache.

“Thank you, professor.”

“So, have you given any thought to your future career? Which classes are you planning on attending for your NEWTs?”

“I’m going to drop Astronomy, History, and Care for Magical Creatures,” Harry answered. “I am thinking of giving up on Ancient Runes, too, but that would depend on what the new professor says. I mean the Alchemy professor. I’d like to apply for the Alchemy class.”

Flitwick’s eyebrows rose into his hairline.

“Alchemy?? Hm. . . it will be difficult.”

“Why?” Harry asked. “I got the maximum grades in the main subjects needed for Alchemy.”

The tiny professor waved his hands as if to dispel his misunderstanding.

“No, no, your grades are more than fine. They’re excellent. The problem is that there can’t be a class for just one student. There needs to be at least 10 applicants for Hogwarts to offer an Alchemy class.”

“. . .Oh.”

His disappointed face was so expressive that Flitwick felt bad for him. He added:

“I will speak with the Headmaster on your behalf. It would be a shame for a student as brilliant as you to be denied this opportunity.”

“Would you do that for me, sir?” the boy asked in surprise.

He had thought that the tiny professor never liked him all that much. Not that Harry blamed Flitwick, considering how many times he had gotten himself in trouble over the years for beating up those who tried to bully Matt.

Flitwick smiled.

“It is my duty as the Head of the House to support you. That being said, temper your expectations. I cannot guarantee you anything.”

Harry understood but nodded gratefully.

“Thank you, professor."

“Now, assuming that the Alchemy class won’t become available, will you still continue with your desired classes?”

He nodded.

“Yes. If I can attend the Alchemy class, I will let the professor decide if I should continue studying Ancient Runes. But if the Alchemy class isn’t available, well, I guess I’ll keep going to Runes for NEWTs too.”

⁂

It was the first actual day of school. The double Herbology class passed at a snail's pace as they had to physically fight against the Venomous Tentacula plants that were trying to strangle them. It was not just once or twice that Harry wondered during those two hours if it would be such a bad idea to drop out of Herbology, too. Only the knowledge that Herbology was needed for Alchemy was preventing him from quitting.

Eventually, the painful class came to an end, and the students headed to their dorms to take a shower or to the Hospital Wing for Madam Pomfrey to heal those who had been scratched, bruised, and poisoned by the violent plant.

Starting with the sixth year, some classes were shared between all four Houses, depending on the number of students who had applied for them. Herbology did not seem as popular that year, and it took only two hours for Harry to understand perfectly why.

With that said, it was a rather touching scene to watch students belonging to four different houses forget all about their rivalry as they dragged their tired and wounded bodies towards the infirmary.

Now, it was noon, and Harry was among the first students to arrive for lunch in the Great Hall.

After the intense physical effort during the Herbology class, he devoured his lunch like a man starved, stuffing his face with mashed potatoes and sausages. He felt like he could eat a whole cow.

It took half an hour for him to satiate his hunger, but when he stood up to leave, a small paper swan flew from the professors towards the Ravenclaw table and landed in front of him.

The paper swan unfurled itself, revealing the lines of neat, small, and elegant writing inside.

Dear Harry,

I have been informed of your desire to attend the Alchemy class. Unfortunately, as Professor Flitwick may have already told you, the current situation is not exactly favourable. So far, you are the only student who has applied for it.

However, there may yet be a solution. Should you be interested in hearing more about it, you may come to my office today at 4 pm sharp.

PS: I love acid pops.

[Hope in Ruination] Chapter 12 - Grey Harbour

It was the sound of gunshots that startled Naruto awake in the morning.

Had he been in any other part of the world, he would have immediately become alert and jumped out of the bed, his hand grasping his broadsword.

However, reminding himself that he was in Bilgewater currently, all his worries disappeared. People shooting each other was the norm in a place as lawless as that.

Glancing to his right, Ahri appeared still asleep, her head resting on his chest. But by the constant twitch of her cute fox tails, he could tell that she was on the verge of waking up, too.

Bilegewater was always noisy, but with the gunfight and the clanking sounds of blades grating against each other, it was worse than usual.

As he had predicted, a minute later, the girl’s eyelids fluttered open, and her slit, yellow eyes met his.

“Morning, Ahri,” he said, smiling.

Suddenly feeling shy, Ahri buried her face into his chest.

“Morning,” she mumbled.

Sensing the opportunity to tease her, Naruto grinned.

As if she could read his thoughts, Ahri unexpectedly jumped out of the bed and ran into the bathroom.

His chest shook with laughter. But then, he shivered; without Ahri’s warm body pressed close to his and with her fluffy nine tails no longer covering him, the chill of the morning bit at his skin.

Grinning at the idea he just got, he also got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. A few seconds later, Ahri’s surprised yelp echoed from the bathroom, followed by a splash of water and his amused chuckles.

The sounds that followed made it very clear they wouldn’t be leaving the bathroom for quite a while.

⁂

“This is entirely your fault!” Ahri said, jabbing an accusatory finger into his chest.

Her face was red, and she was glaring at him, her expression a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

“You’re like an angry cat throwing a tantrum,” he said, grinning, before taking a bite out of his chicken wrap.

The hiss-like sound she let out only made him grin wider.

Seeing that he wasn’t paying much attention to her, she suddenly grabbed his wrist and sank her fangs into his chicken wrap, tearing a huge bite out of it.

“Hey! You have your own too!” he said, quickly pulling his food away.

“You deserve to have all your food stolen and worse! If it weren’t for you, we’d be sitting at a table now and having lunch like regular people!”

The reason for their bickering was that, after their romp in the bathroom that morning, when they went down in the tavern to have lunch, they were greeted by a chorus of laughter and wolf-whistles.

Every single one of the people who were having lunch and drinking in the tavern that day had heard clearly what they had been up to.

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Was it really my fault? If I recall correctly, it wasn’t me who was shouting at the top of my lungs!”

“And why was I doing that? Because of you! I didn’t ask to-, to do that sort of thing in the morning, when everyone is awake!” she shouted, her face flushing harder by the second.

“What was it that you were shouting?” Naruto asked as if he didn’t hear her accusations.

His voice took on a high pitch as he tried to impersonate her.

“Harder! Yesss! Deeper!”

Several heads suddenly turned their way, and Ahri’s face looked like she was going to combust.

“Breed me! Spit in my mo-”

“How-, How vulgar! I DID NOT SAY THAT!”

His chicken wrap forgotten, Naruto broke into a run, jumping up on the rooftop of a nearby house and sprinting away, laughing.

The nine-tailed fox girl was hot on his tail, her eyes spewing fire, her snarling lips revealing her sharp fangs, and three large orbs of magic rotated ominously around her.

“Stop right there, pervert!” she yelled in fury, mortified with embarrassment.

But, knowing how quick her spirit rush was, Naruto didn’t dare pause his steps for even a second.

They chased each other like that through half of Bilgewater before Ahri finally caught him.

With a final Spirit Rush, she slammed into his back, sending them both tumbling down the rooftops onto the street below.

Though he did his best to protect himself, five minutes later, his arm, neck, and face looked like he had been mauled by a pack of feral beasts, sporting scratches and bite marks all over the place.

Hair ruffled and clothes dusty and dishevelled, Naruto lay spread-eagled in the middle of the street, still laughing as Ahri wrapped her white cloak around herself and left him behind, disappearing into the crowd.

⁂

They reunited half an hour later in front of the Grey Harbour. By then, most of Ahri’s embarrassment had subsided, and Naruto stopped making fun of her too.

Before stepping into the cursed area, he did one last check of his gear, and he also handed her a good number of his exploding tags. Since he had already taught her how to use the tags the previous day, he thought it would be better if both of them had access to them.

It was noon, the sun was shining bright, and the sky was crystal clear, with no clouds in sight, but the Grey Harbour ahead of them was, somehow, covered in dark mist.

With her sharp sense of hearing, Ahri also picked up the distant shrieks and roars made by the creatures lurking in the black mist.

Thankfully, the Grey Harbour was separated from the rest of Bilegwater by a tall and thick fence made of tree trunks sharpened at the tip and a large and strong gate that kept the ghouls and other creatures of the mist away.

A group of armed people was guarding a gate, barring the way for anyone who wished to pass into the Grey Harbour.

All signs of playfulness disappeared from Naruto and Ahri’s eyes at the sight of it.

Seeing as they were not regular people, the two of them didn’t feel the need to argue with the guards to open the gate for them. Ahri levitated herself over the fence, and Naruto walked on it like on the ground, easily climbing over.

The moment that they entered the Grey Harbour, the sun disappeared completely, and the light dimmed as if they were in the middle of the night.



A small fireball appeared in Ahri’s hand, and she willed it to float ahead of them to illuminate the way, serving them as a torch.

“It’s insane to think that people are willingly living next to this place of death and decay,” she murmured as they advanced further into the mist.

The air was thick, humid, hot, and stagnant, and an unpleasant stench, like that of rotten fish, wafted every now and then from somewhere.

The cobblestone streets were wet and slippery, the walls of the buildings were damp and covered in mould, and Naruto and Ahri could sense numerous gazes watching them from the cover of the mist.

His Negative Emotions Sensing couldn’t pinpoint the location of the enemy. Or, better said, there were too many of them. They were surrounded.

“They’re coming,” Naruto whispered, and his large broadsword was engulfed by bright crimson flames.

Ahri didn’t wait for the enemy to make the first move. Although she could not see where they were, three spheres of blue fire, even larger than her head, appeared in front of her, and she threw them in three different directions around her.

Loud wails and screeches echoed in the empty town, a clear proof that her fireballs had hit true, and, a second later, the ground shuddered from the steps of countless creatures rushing towards them.

A ghoul leapt out of the mist, throwing itself at them in a suicidal attack, but Naruto swung his broadsword, cleaving it in half. The fire coating his blade was so strong that the two halves of the corpse were instantly incinerated and turned into ash before they could even hit the ground.

“Let’s go!” he shouted, and the two of them started running together, staying close to each other so they would not accidentally split up and get lost in the black mist.

Preoccupied with the battle, they no longer had the leisure to calmly illuminate their surroundings, but the flickering lights coming from their magical attacks provided them with enough light for them not to stumble about blindly.



Chased by the horde of ghouls and evil spirits, Ahri threw a handful of exploding tags behind them, and, making a one-handed ram seal as Naruto had taught her, she detonated them.

A loud explosion rocked the street, demolishing two buildings and killing at least two dozen creatures, but even more were spawned fom the black mist, replenished their ranks.

Another horde cut their way to the front, but Naruto swung his heavy weapon in a large arc, and a massive blade of fire erupted from him, mowing down all the creatures in its path.

“Leave the front to me!” he shouted. “Just take care of our rear. Don’t let them get close.”

With his Fire chakra coursing through his blade and the Strength of a Hundred technique empowering his physical strength, Naruto was like an unstoppable juggernaut, tearing everything in his path.

Ahri was more than holding her own at his side. Thanks to the massive amount of life force she had drained from him last night, the fox girl was throwing one large fireball after another, each one of them raising mushrooms of fire and smoke when they exploded, obliterating their surroundings.

“They’re endless!” she shouted as she trailed behind Naruto for a few seconds and threw nearly 20 exploding seals at the streets and houses behind them.

She did not detonate them right away.

“Take more seals from my pouch if you need,” he told her as he jumped into the air and slammed his sword down.

The street ruptured, and a deep gorge was formed across the town square, making all the creatures caught in it howl in agony. The ghouls were obliterated by the force of the strike, and the evil spirits were incinerated by the wave of fire following the swing.

They started running again, and Ahri kept throwing Exploding Seals behind them without detonating them.

After taking another forty steps, she made a one-handed ram seal, finally activating all the exploding tags she had thrown until then.

The entirety of Grey Harbour was rocked by the massive explosion. Dozens of houses blew up, and a powerful shockwave momentarily pushed even the mystical black mist away, allowing the rays of sunlight to touch the cursed land.

“You must’ve taken out hundreds of them,” he said in praise when he looked back at the destruction they left behind.

It was a heavy enough blow that the horde of mistwalkers momentarily pulled back, ceasing their attack.

Unfortunately, even though the district was still burning, the black mist soon rolled over the previously cleared space, covering the Grey Harbour in complete darkness once again.

“Ahri?”

“Yes?” the fox girl asked while turning to look at him.

“I don’t want to be a downer, but I don’t think a group of regular people would have any chance of surviving in this place, be they pirates or not.”

She paused for a few moments.

“Let’s keep searching. It would be a shame to leave without looking around properly.”

“Alright.”

Ahri made another fireball to illuminate the way for them, and the blond walked by her side, sword in hand.

Half an hour passed as they moved in silence, their senses stretched out to react at the first sign of danger. There were no further attacks from mistwalkers in the meantime.

“I have an idea. Instead of avoiding the mist creatures, let’s seek them out. If there are any living people around, they’re bound to fight the creatures to stay alive.”

She did not have any better ideas, so she followed his lead, allowing him to walk ahead, guided by his Negative Emotions Sensing.

Minutes later, they discovered an enormous agglomeration of mistwalkers. Ghouls, evil spirits, and even monstrous creatures of the sea were huddled together surrounding Grey Harbour’s tallest building.

The creatures' bodies were almost invisible in the darkness of the black mist, but their glowing eyea shone like a swarm of giant fireflies.

“What the hell?” Naruto murmured.

Ahri was also startled to see that, despite their numbers, the mistwalkers did not dare get closer than fifteen meters from the building.

They were roaring and clawing at the ground, but they were too afraid to take a step forward.

“I guess we’ve found your pirates,” he said.

“Someone must’ve cast a powerful spell to keep them away,” Ahri said in a pondering tone. “If they have a magician of that calibre on their side, we better be careful.”

He nodded at her warning, and the two of them glanced at each other once before bursting forth.

The mistwalkers roared when they took note of them, but stabbing his broadsword in front of him like a spear, Naruto pierced through their ranks like a hot knife through butter, butchering everything in his way.

Ahri ran behind him, sticking close to him, and fired streams and balls of foxfire at anyone who tried to attack their rear.

The ruckus they caused alerted the occupants of the house, and one of them cracked open the door, only his head coming out to check the situation.

“Shit, bounty hunters!” he shouted to the rest of his mates before slamming the door shut again.

No sooner than he said that, the people inside the house opened the blinders covering the windows, and the barrels of their guns lit up as they opened fire, shooting at Naruto and Ahri.

A bullet grazed Naruto’s ear, almost nicking him, and he cursed under his breath.

“Ahri, fly!” he warned her, and the fox girl didn’t ask any questions, instantly taking to the air.

All of a sudden, he stomped his foot powerfully, and the ground cracked like a spiderweb in a radius of 20 meters around him before exploding.

Enormous boulders shot up in the air from his monstrous physical strength, killing all the creatures who happened to be nearby, and he let out a shout as she smashed the flat of his broadsword into the boulders as though he were wielding a club.

The chunks of earth shattered, and cries of pain and screams of fear came from the house as it got pelted with countless smaller rocks.

Whatever spell was keeping the mistwalkers away from the house did not stop physical objects from reaching it.

Despite the barrage of rocks he had launched at the house, the pirates didn’t stop their assault, firing bullets at Naruto and Ahri as quickly as they could.

Luckily, their flintlock guns took time to reload.
By the time they started reloading to fire a fourth salvo, Naruto and Ahri had pierced through the horde of mistwalkers surrounding the house and stepped into the safe area that the monsters couldn’t reach.

The blond didn’t even ask for them to open the door. He smashed his foot into the door like a thug, blasting apart not just the door but half of the wall too.

The moment they walked in, Naruto and Ahri found themselves facing nearly 50 barrels pointed at them. There weren’t 50 pirates, but quite a few of them wielded two pistols.

Acting as if he didn’t even notice the numerous guns aiming at him, the crimson fire surrounding his blade exploded in intensity as he stepped in front of them.

“Are you the Jagged Hooks?” he asked.

“Didn’t think that bounty hunters would have the nerve to come down here. Did Sarah Fortune send you after us?” the man who looked like their leader said.

With shoulder-length hair with streaks of grey running through it, a full beard with a long moustache, wearing a long, green coat and blue shirt underneath, and having a long, curved sword strapped at his waist and wielding two twin pistols in his hands, the man looked like an experienced and dangerous pirate, a bona fide sea wolf.

“We aren’t bounty hunters,” Ahri spoke up. “We came here to ask some questions.”

“You came to Grey Harbour and fought through endless hordes of mistwalkers just to ask some questions? Don’t play with us, little girl,” the leader of the pirates scoffed.

He turned his eyes towards the rough, one-armed man, wearing a long grey cloak with a mask covering his face and wielding a large broadsword that looked so heavy that even two men working together would struggle to lift it.

“I know a killer when I see one. That man, beside you, did not come here to ask questions.”

Ahri glanced at Naruto and felt like she couldn’t blame the pirate for his misunderstanding. The blond did look like the type of individual that even pirates would like to avoid. The massive sword being covered in crimson flames didn’t help his case either.

Left with no choice, Ahri’s amber eyes glowed and turned a magenta colour as she glanced back at the leader, casting her Charm.

But, to her stupor, for the first time in her life, her magic failed.

The pirate leader sensed that she had tried to do something to him, and he barked at his men:

“Kill them!”

Ahri’s nine tails unfurled and rose to protect her vitals from the bullets, but there was no need for that. Naruto flickered in front of her, shielding her smaller body with his.

Loud gunshots cracked in the room, and sounds of bullets scraping against metal were heard as Naruto used the wide flat of his broadsword to block them.

“No fucking way!” a pirate cursed, in disbelief at the fact that Naruto had single-handedly parried all their bullets.

Nine balls of fire suddenly appeared from Naruto’s back, and Ahri’s amber eyes glowed with her magic power as she threw those flaming spheres at the pirates.

Over fifteen pirates died brutally, and the others screamed in horror at watching their comrades being burnt alive.

“Wait! Wait!” the pirate leader yelled at the top of his lungs.

The woman who seemed like a frail and pretty maiden before looked like a terrifying demon in his eyes now.

“You said you have questions! Just ask! We’ll tell you what you want to know!” the pirate leader spoke quickly, fearing that the next time she attacked, all of them would end up killed.

Naruto, who had been about to lunge in their midst, stayed his hand, and Ahri also extinguished most of her orbs of magic, leaving only three of them to orbit around her, as if to not let them forget what would happen the moment they tried to pull any tricks.

“I’m looking for a sunstone. It is an ancient Vesani artefact. Don’t even try to lie to me. I know for sure that one of you has it. A black market merchant told me that a member of the Jagged Hooks bought it off him.”

The pirate leader shot a furtive glance at the man behind her and gulped when he saw his massive, flame-covered broadsword raised in the air threateningly.

“We don’t have it.”

When Ahri looked like she was going to fire her magic at him, he shouted in a voice tinged with desperation:

“I swear we don’t have it! Gangplank took it with him to the Shadow Isles!”

“Don’t lie to me!” Ahri shouted at him and grabbed him by the hem of his coat, her sharp claws almost tearing apart the cloth.

Despite her slender and delicate appearance, Ahri lifted him with one hand as if he were a stray cat, not a taller and much heavier man.

“He’s speaking the truth, Ahri,” Naruto told her.

His Negative Emotions Sensing did not detect any lies from him.

Ahri let go of the man, and he stumbled back, but she turned to Naruto, seemingly not wanting to believe his words.

“How can this be? That’s the very centre of the black mist! He couldn’t have gone there! It’d be no different from suicide for a mere pirate.”

Seeing the fox girl turning her back to him, the pirate leader’s eyes flashed with ferocity, and he drew out his sword, intent on cutting her down when she least expected it.

But Naruto’s senses detected his killing intent straight away. The pirate had yet to even draw out his sword when the blond threw a kick at his chest, hurling him back violently.

The man smashed into the wall at the end of the room with a loud thud and slid down bonelessly.

Faced with certain death, the still-surviving pirates ran out of the house, scurrying away like rats through open windows and the broken wall, abandoning their leader to escape with their lives.

The head of the pirates coughed a mouthful of blood as he tried to sit up, but he could not muster the strength to do so. Naruto’s kick had shattered half of his ribs, and the slam against the wall had injured his spine. He could no longer feel his legs.

His bloodied lips curled into an ugly grin as he pulled a peculiar-looking stone amulet from his neck and said menacingly:

“If this is the end for me, I’m not going down empty-handed. I’m taking you bastards to the grave with me.”

Laughing, he smashed the stone amulet against the wooden floor as hard as he could, and the trinket shattered.

“See you in hell,” the pirate said, grinning.

A moment later, a terrifying shriek and a chorus of roars pierced the silence of the abandoned town.

The spell that had been keeping away the horde of mistwalkers until then had been broken.

⁂

Not long after Naruto and Ahri infiltrated the Grey Harbour, two people approached the gates.

Had he been there to see them, he would have recognised them right away.

One of them was a very tall and incredibly muscular man with a bald head and a huge moustache. He was the one whom they had found floating on the ocean unconscious.

As for the other, it was a woman, not any shorter or less muscular than he. The dark skin, the tribal tattoos, and the golden, spherical skull-shaped idol she was carrying on her shoulder made her unmistakable. She was Illaoi, the Truth-Bearer, the woman who had started the big bar fight a day ago.

“The area is sealed off! Get away from the gates!” shouted the guards in warning.

As someone who was used to always getting her way, Illaoi didn’t listen.

“I am a Priestess of the Kraken. I go where I please, without anyone’s permission!”

“I don’t care who you are!” the guard barked back. “This gate is the only thing that’s stopping the mist creatures from getting through. Now get lost!”

“Maybe we should try another approach?” Illaoi’s companion suggested.

The priestess shook her head.

“We don’t have time for this.”

Turning her attention back to the guard, her idol started glowing with her divine power, and she said in a steely voice:

“Open the gate, or I will tear it down! I will not ask a third time!"

The guards glanced at each other before shrugging their shoulders.

“Fine, lady. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. It’s your funeral.”

The gates opened with ear-grating sounds, and Illaoi and her companion passed through.

“There, a more direct approach,” Illaoi said, a mixture of pride and amusement in her voice.

“. . . Not quite what I expected,” Braum laughed. “But effective.”

They barely took a few steps when a horde of five ghouls lunged at them from the mist.

“Braum, watch out!” Illaoi said, and three tentacles of water erupted from her idol, whipping half of the ghouls away.

Braum let out a shout, and he grabbed the door-sized shield off his back, slamming into the nearest creature.

The creature let out a choked cry of pain as Braum’s shield bash pulverised its insides, killing it on the spot.

Twirling around with a display of agility and dexterity unexpected from a man his size, Braum hit a second ghoul with the edge of his shield. He had struck it so hard that the ghoul’s head exploded in a mist of ash and dirty blood.

By the time he turned around, Illaoi had already finished killing the other three.

The men guarding the gates inside the tower gulped when they witnessed their strength, inwardly thanking the Bearded Lady that they hadn’t angered the priestess and the shield-bearer and had allowed them to pass.

“It seems that Sarah Fortune was speaking the truth,” Illaoi said gravely. “The mist walkers are stirring again in Grey Harbour. . . Our search did not take long.”

The two started walking ahead. The dreary scenery made Braum’s skin crawl.

“I see where this place gets its name from. . .”

“This place stagnates,” Illaoi said with a frown. “I can feel the spirits here. They are festering. I will allow no such thing. We will return motion to this place. The Light of the Bearded Lady will show us the way!”

Declaring those words self-righteously, she walked ahead, her idol in hand.

“Yes, of course,” Braum agreed readily. “Bearded Lady! Motion!”

But as he rushed to catch up from behind, he could not help muttering under his breath:

‘What have you gotten yourself into now, Braum?’

They did not walk long before they stumbled upon another anomaly.

Most of Grey Harbour was damp, hot, and stifling, but the place in front of them was boiling. The streets were charred and cracked, and the houses were in ruins and burning, like after an explosion.

“There was a battle here. A fierce one. And the traces are fresh,” Braum remarked.

“Indeed. Someone may still be out there, fighting.”

The two of them quickened their steps as they followed the road, and the scenery of destruction only got worse.

No other creatures of the mist had attacked them after that, but they were not surprised. They realised that whoever had passed through before them had annihilated everything in their path. The burning houses and ruptured streets were proof of their power.

Ilaoi and Braum also reached the devastating town square, but those were the last traces of battle.

“Do you think they had survived?” Braum asked.

“This destruction was not caused by the mistwalkers. They do not possess such abilities. I believe the people that came here before us are still alive,” Ilaoi said. “Someone with such great power could not have fallen to mere spirits and ghouls.”

The two of them lingered in the town square for a short while, inspecting the place.

They were ready to leave and continue their investigation, seeking the source of the corruption in the Grey Harbour, when a terrible chorus of roars and inhuman shrieks reached their ears.

Braum and Illaoi looked at each other momentarily startled before their faces hardened.

Not needing to verbalise it, the two of them instantly started running towards the direction of the roars.

As the roars and screeches of the mistwalkers grew louder, so did the temperature, too.
The normally damp, humid air of the Grey Harbour turned dry, and Braum and Illaoi felt a scorching gale of wind hitting them in the face, almost taking their breath away.

Finally arriving at the site of battle, their eyes fell on two people.

A one-armed blond man with a 2-meter-long broadsword, cleaving through ghouls and ghosts with his flaming sword, blades of fire erupting from each one of his swings.

Behind him was a female vastaya, a gumiho. Her white nine tails were burning with blue fire, and so were the tips of her fox ears and the ends of her long black hair. Fire and magic danced around her body, and rivers of blue fire burst from her clawed hands, killing dozens of mistwalkers with every spell.

They stood back-to-back, protecting each other’s blind spot, as they fought against the immeasurable horde.

Thousands upon thousands of mistwalkers surrounded them, each one of the savage, mindless creatures lunging at them in suicidal assaults, trying to bite and claw at them even in the moment of their deaths.

“We have to help them!” Illaoi shouted, but Braum burst into action before she even finished her words.

His massive body appeared to defy gravity as he launched himself in the air with a mighty leap.

He crash-landed into the middle of the horde and slammed his heavy shield down with all his power. The ground shattered under his brute strength, and more than five mistwalkers were obliterated.

But that was nothing compared to what followed next: sharp, enormous spikes of ice burst from the impact of his shield against the ground, skewering dozens of monsters at once.

Not one to be left behind, Ilaoi’s golden idol glowed with an aqua light, and a massive torrent of water burst from the skull’s gaping mouth, like a tsunami.

The enormous wave of water mowed everything in its way, and the divine power contained in it burned and exorcised all the mistwalkers it touched.

[Emissary] Chapter 38 - Make Up [NSFW]

AN: putting this pic here so you don't get flashbanged by nsfw if you happen to be in public.


⁂⁂⁂⁂
If Harry hoped that his Stunning Spell would keep Power Girl down long enough for him to treat her wounds, he was sorely mistaken. Kryptonians may not have any particular resistance towards magic, but that did not mean they were as helpless as regular people. Barely three hours had passed since she was knocked unconscious when Kara awakened.

Knowing that the only way out of the bunker was through teleportation and that Harry would not listen to her, she made a beeline for her spare phone in the bedroom to contact Cyborg. Thanks to Harry removing the Fidelius Charm on his bunker (all those other wards and protective spells were still in place), the Watchtower’s teleportation system could detect and teleport Kara away.

He tried to stop her, but she would have none of it.

“The Justice League is counting on me. How could I sit back when they need me? Spare me the rubbish! I have to go!”

“You go out there in your current state, and you’ll be easy pickings for the first criminal you’ll encounter.”

“I’m a Kryptonian. I’ll be fine!”

“No, the hell you won’t! Take a look at yourself, for God’s sake. You’re one big injury! It’s a wonder you’re still walking on your own two feet!”

Neither of them was entirely wrong. In any other circumstances, her Kryptonian powers would have healed her injuries in a matter of seconds, but the residual magic left in her wounds by Black Adam’s divine lightning was slowing down her regeneration to a crawl.

On the other hand, even with the residual magic left in her wounds, Kara would have still healed eventually. It would just take longer than she expected.

“Back off, Harry. I won’t say it a second time,” Kara said angrily while bringing her phone to her ear.

A pulse of magic, almost like a low-powered EMP bomb, came from Harry and Kara quickly distanced the phone from her ear due to the loud buzzing noise it made before going dead.

All the electronics in the bedroom went dead, with no exception.

Impulsive as she was, Power Girl threw her phone away with all her strength, making the walls of the bunker shudder and light up with blue glowing symbols, triggering the protective wards.

“I’m not made of glass! I don’t need your fucking protection! I’m a Kryptonian!” she shouted, her voice quivering with anger. “Why can’t you just leave me be?”

“Because I love you, goddamn it!”

His words made her freeze.

“How could I let you go out there like that?”

He ran a hand over his face and then through his messy hair, exhaling loudly.

“Look, this is my 7th life. I’ve lived for a long time, much longer than I would have wanted or expected to. Coming here, I did not need romance. I did not need love, friendship, and whatnot. I was perfectly content with just accomplishing my mission and then passing on. That was all I wanted.”

“But you barged into my life. I tried to turn you down. I tried to avoid you. But you didn’t take no for an answer. You made me fall in love with you. You made me care for you. You became my most important person. More important than my own life.”

“Put yourself in my shoes for a moment. You see me arriving home with 4th degree burns covering half of my body, bleeding, bruised, and battered all over, but, in spite of all that, instead of getting my life-threatening wounds treated, I’m trying to go back on the battlefield straight away. . . How would you react to that?”

Power Girl did not know how to answer that for a while.

“But my friends-”

“Are they more important than your own family? Would Astrid and Harry appreciate that you went and got yourself killed fighting crime instead of being alive for them? Is saving that pathetic and corrupt president more important than us?”

She bit her chapped, bruised lower lip in distress. Then, her shoulders dropped and she hung her head down.

He hated seeing her like that. Inwardly, he felt bad for his harsh words, but they were necessary. He could not bear to see her suffer more than she had already or watch her go out there in such a terrible state and get herself killed.

Harry also wished to see the Justice League triumph over the villains, but not at the expense of Kara's life. If he had to put in balance her life for theirs, the choice was clear to him. As for the president? He did not give a rat’s ass about him.

This time, Power Girl did not put up any resistance as he took her hand in his softly and led her back to the room where he had been trying to heal her.

⁂

As she lay on her stomach on a medical bed, Harry murmured quiet incantations, doing his best to remove the residual magic from her wounds. The burn on her back was one of the worst and most gruesome wounds he had ever seen on a living person.

Once he was done with that task, he cut open her ruined leotard and cleaned the area with care. Then, he started to slowly sprinkle drops of Murtlap essence over the burnt and charred flesh of her back. Keeping in mind the fact that magic potions were toxic for non-magical people, he only used a tiny amount, banking on her superhuman body to withstand the side effects.

Having already made a trip to the other dimension while she had been unconscious, he had bought all the necessary potions to heal her.

Thankfully, with the harmful magic being removed, her Kryptonian regeneration also kicked in. Harry reckoned he might not have even needed the potions to heal her. Merely removing the residual magic left by the lightning would have been enough.

The entire process took nearly 20 minutes, but Kara and Harry did not say a word to each other in the meantime.

This was probably the ugliest fight that they had ever had. Normally, the two of them were so in tune with each other that they rarely ever argued. They did have some disagreements once in a while, but as mature people who loved each other, they usually came to an understanding or made a compromise rather quickly.

This time, however, it was different. He had used his magic to subdue her. And she had screamed at him, and in the heat of the moment, she had attempted to use her heat vision.

With the large wound on her back taken care of, he used his magic to gently flip her body. Now that she was facing him, he could not put it off any longer. Before he started working on healing the rest of her wounds, he said:

“I’m sorry, Kara.”

Generally, people’s egos only grew bigger as they aged, and Harry had been alive for nearly five centuries. But he did not care about pride at that moment.

“It was wrong of me to use my magic on you.”

At his words, it was as if a dam burst and tears started rolling down her cheeks.

He was not sure how to react. He wanted to comfort her, but he thought it would not feel right when he was the cause of her tears.

“I should be the one apologising, not you,” Kara unexpectedly said as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

“You don’t have to-” he began to say.

“No, I have to apologise,” she said as she sat up.

Taking his hand in hers, she glanced down, feeling too ashamed to meet his eyes.

“You saved my life, you helped me heal from my trauma, you gave me back my memories, and you’ve always supported me in everything I did. With portkeys, with damage control, with the Justice League, with Astrid, with the Green Wall in Africa, and even now, you’re doing your best to heal me. . . but all I ever do is cause you problems. And now, I almost-, I almost hurt you!” she said, her voice quivering towards the end, fresh tears welling up in her eyes again.

“But you didn’t,” he said as he sat at the edge of the bed, close to her, and squeezed her hand in comfort. “And this wasn’t solely on you. I am to blame for this situation, too. Maybe I’ve been too controlling. Maybe I’m too overprotective. I’ll try my best to becoming more understanding.”

She shook her head, raising her eyes at him.

“If not for your enchantments, who knows what would’ve happened to me? Don’t change. I love you just as you are.”

Harry did not say anything else. He brought her into his arms, and Kara buried her face into his chest, embracing him.

She was Power Girl. With Superman gone, she was the strongest member of the Justice League. Everyone relied on her. Whenever things took a wrong turn, she was there to save the day. The amount of responsibility she carried on her shoulders could be overwhelming at times. And now, she had lost against Black Adam. She had not been strong enough to defeat him.

Hearing her sobs, Harry caressed the back of her head gently as he held her. He let her cry it all out, releasing all the frustration and stress from her system. She may have been a Kryptonian with godlike powers, but her heart was, in the end, not made of stone.

“Don’t worry about the rest,” he told her in a soothing voice. “Cyborg contacted me while you were unconscious. Things aren’t looking pretty at the moment, but none of the Justice League members died. And you had done all you could. Nobody is holding it against you.”

After a few minutes, her tears dried out, and she raised her head. He offered her a small smile and cupped her face gently.

“Let me finish healing you, okay? I’ll tell you all I know after that.”

She nodded at him, her face leaning into his hand, and his smile widened at her cute gesture. He pecked her on the crown of her head and then helped her lie down once more.

⁂

Kara closed her eyes, and a sigh of comfort escaped her lips when she felt Harry begin to wash her face with warm water and a soft sponge. Absent-mindedly, she wondered where all the water was going since they weren’t in the bathroom, but she chalked it up to him doing magic and left it at that.

She involuntarily sucked her teeth in slight pain when he touched the burnt parts of her face, gently applying the healing salve on her skin.

With his magic and her Kryptonian powers, her burnt and charred skin healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He kissed her on the forehead as if to signal that he had finished healing the wounds on her face, and Kara’s heartbeat quickened when she felt his fingers trailing lower, touching her neck and collarbone.

“Tell me if it hurts, okay?” he said as he gently massaged her nape.

Kara could only nod, not trusting her voice to speak, too afraid of letting out a moan instead. He was just applying medicine to her wounded body, but every single one of his touches was making her skin break into goosebumps.

She shuddered with anticipation when she imagined how it would feel once his hands started trailing lower, to her chest.

“Did I hurt you?” Harry asked, his voice sounding genuinely concerned, as he stopped the movement of his hands.

“No, everything is good,” she said, almost breathless.

A mixture of both relief and disappointment washed over her when Harry did not immediately go below, moving to her shoulders and arms instead, but not before pressing a soft kiss on her neck, just below the jaw.

She could not see her own face, but she was positive that she was flushing now.

‘What the hell is wrong with you?’she berated herself.

They had just had an ugly argument. How could her body get so worked up from a mere touch?

Her eyelids opened slightly, and she peeked at him through her long eyelashes. He had an expression of focus as he did his best to gently massage the bruises on her right arm.

His hands trailed lower, taking her hand in his, and Kara could not help intertwining her fingers with his.

"I love you," she said quietly.

Harry smiled softly as he massaged her palm, wrist, and fingers, and the expression of love and care he had on his face made Kara flush anew.

‘Rao, just kill me!’she thought, mortified when she noticed how stiff her nipples were.

Whether he noticed her reaction or not, she couldn't tell. He did not glance at her chest and moved to her left arm instead, washing it gently with warm water before rubbing the healing salve on her skin.

When he finished with her left arm, leaving a soft kiss on it, too, Kara's whole body tensed up. Where would he touch her next? Which part of her body would he work on now?

The waiting was torture. Her breathing grew heavy, and sweat formed on her forehead. She was tingling with anticipation.

“Hnng!” a short, traitorous gasp erupted from her chest when his hands touched her right leg, raising it slightly off the bed.

“Does it hurt? Sorry, I’ll be gentler.”

Kara gnashed her teeth, but she could not speak, torn between her feelings of embarrassment and her arousal.

‘Surely he must’ve noticed by now! There’s no way he didn’t realise what his touch is doing to me!’she thought, furious both at her overly sensitive body and at him.

Seemingly oblivious to her plight, Harry took off her boots. She bit her lip, and she almost clenched her thighs together when he started washing and massaging her foot.

“Are you okay, Kara?” he asked innocently.

“Yes,” she answered, hating herself for how breathless she sounded.

His hands moved up her leg, washing and rubbing her calf, then her knee, and up to her hip. She threw her arm over her face and bit her lip to stop another sound from slipping out when his fingers brushed the inside of her thigh.

She was so embarrassed she couldn’t even look at him. Her inner thighs were glistening, and it wasn’t because of the warm water he had cleaned her with.

When he pressed a soft kiss on her inner thigh, she found herself gripping the sheets. But he did not continue. The kiss was more like a stamp to signal that he finished washing, healing, and massaging that part of her body.

“Harry!” she whined as she rubbed her thighs together.

Even a blind man would understand what she was feeling then.

“Patience, love,” he said, smiling. “I still have one leg left and your torso as well.”

Until that day, Power Girl had never understood what it meant to be tormented with pleasure. By the time his hands reached the thigh part of her other leg, she was panting, her chest rising and falling laboriously.

Peeking through half-lidded eyes, Kara’s cheeks started burning again when she noticed the puddle of juices that had formed on the bed between her legs, a nasty, perverted proof of her little death.

‘This pervert! Why did he not vanish it with his magic like he’s doing with the water?!’

She had never thought of herself as a prude before; her daily outfits and hero costume suggested that, too.

But now, getting so utterly and desperately horny when he was doing nothing but massaging and healing her wounds, she was burning with shame.

“Please, Harry,” she whimpered when he slid his hands over her stomach and sides, carefully avoiding the place she wanted him to touch the most.

The skin over her entire body was tingling, she was aching between her legs, her nipples were stiff, and her heart was beating as if to jump out of her chest.

Alas, he seemed deaf to her pleas. He took his time feeling up her toned abs and squeezing her defined obliques, rubbing the healing salve to permeate into her skin.

They had been together for half a year now, but he never got tired of admiring the goddess lying before him. Her body was the perfect mixture of strength and femininity, of power and eroticism.

But what excited him even more was how she reacted to every little touch. Who would have thought that someone with skin so tough that bullets flattened at the contact with it would mewl and gasp from every brush of his fingers? Who would have imagined that the confident and serious CEO of Starrware Industries, Karen Starr, would arch her back and tremble like that underneath a man?

His right hand drifted down, and he ran two fingers over her mound, teasingly avoiding her slit, and only caressing the outer edge of her lower lips. Her strong thighs clenched around his hand, and she looked at him with eyes teary from pleasure and want.

“Kara.”

One glance and one word, spoken in a light warning tone, were all it took for her to spread her legs wide for him again and free his hand.

“Please.”

She was quivering with desire, and Harry decided he had teased her enough.

Her breathing quickened, and she gripped the bedsheet in anticipation when she felt the bed shake, and she saw Harry climbing into bed with her, lowering his face between her legs.

Being teased and edged for so long, he had not even had the chance to really touch her. Merely the thought of his tongue on her nether lips made her hips shoot up from the bed and her legs tense up and tremble as his body was wracked by another orgasm.

Seconds passed, and she was still shaking and shivering, but he had reached the end of his patience, too. The sight of her trembling body, wracked with pleasure, and the scent of her release were intoxicating. He could no longer wait. He had to taste her. He wanted to make this goddess cry out in pleasure again.

He wrapped his arms around her thighs and buried his face between her legs before running his tongue across her lower lips.

Still sensitive and overwhelmed, she tried to push him away with her hands, but without knowing when, two thick cords had been conjured and tied her wrists to the bed frame.

“Harry, wait!” she gasped. “I’m too-”

She choked, gasping, unable to finish her words when he slid one finger inside her and his tongue flicked her most sensitive part.

Her thighs clamped around his head, and if not for the multiple layers of protective spells he had secretly cast on himself beforehand, he would have died right there and then. Overstimulated, she lost control over her great strength, and he groaned in pain as she squeezed his head.

The cords tying her wrists to the bed snapped, and she brought her hands to the back of his head, pushing him hard against herself. She moaned, almost screaming, as she reached another peak, splashing his face with her release.

But even after her hips fell back on the bed, her orgasm did not end. Her Kryptonian superhearing caught a barely audible hissing sound coming from between her legs, and then, an explosion of pleasure turned her sight dark. She thought she heard herself squealing and moaning, but her sharp sense of hearing gave out. The pleasure was too much even for her.

She didn’t know how long she had been out of it, but when she finally came back to herself, Harry was lying in bed next to her, holding her close and smiling as he caressed her hair.

Hormones and feelings surging, Kara took his lips in a fierce kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He tried to break away and say something, but she tightened her hold around him and shoved her tongue into his mouth, not giving him the chance. Her tongue tangled with his as she kissed him deeply and sloppily, dominating him.

He had no choice but to obey, helpless in front of her superior strength.

She threw one leg over his and straddled his waist, never letting go of their kiss. A thrill of pleasure travelled down her spine when she got on top of him and sat on his dick. He was still hard and throbbing for her.

As much as she would have liked to turn the tables on him and tease him to the edge of insanity like he had done to her, she was too hot and too needy to deny herself.

She lowered one of her hands between them and wrapped it around his length, making him groan in her mouth.

Lining him up with her entrance, she didn’t wait a second more. She slammed her hips down, taking him fully, balls deep, in one go.

That first thrust made her tear her lips away from the kiss, an euphoric moan bursting out of her chest.



She paused briefly, savouring the feeling of having her insides stretched out before raising her hips and dropping them again.

He tried to sit up, but she pushed him down roughly.

"Don't resist, Harry. You'll only get me more excited," she purred before putting her hands on his chest and making him cry out as she smashed her hips down.

She drove herself down frantically, grinding and slamming herself on his dick like a woman possessed.

Feeling his bones start to creak from her merciless pace, he raised his hand, summoning a potion from the nightstand. It was an Edurus Potion that he often used whenever Power Girl went too rough on him, but before he could bring the vial to his lips, Kara unexpectedly smacked it away from his hand.

He looked at her, shocked, but she only grinned at him menacingly and slammed herself down even harder. If not for the fact that he had cast Unbreakable Charms on every single piece of furniture in the house, the bed would have definitely shattered then.

“This is payback,” she said through gasps of pleasure, confirming his thoughts. “I’ll fuck you until you can’t stand.”

She was going to pay him back tenfold for the pleasurable torment he had put her through until then.

He grunted in a mixture of both pleasure and pain as she not only slammed her hips down on his, but her walls also clamped on him, squeezing him like a vice.

It was hot and wet and so tight that he couldn’t hold back if his life depended on it.

“Kara!” he cried out her name, and the powerful woman moaned too as she found another release, her pussy squeezing him in a death grip.

Any thoughts of holding back disappeared then, and he spilled himself inside her deepest part, filling her to the brim, bucking into her uncontrollably.

Looking at the sweating and panting Harry below her, she grinned and caressed his cheek with a tenderness that contrasted greatly with how rough she had treated him before.

“Don't tell me you're done, Harry.”

“I hope you’re ready.”

“I’m going to ride you aaall day long~.”

He let out a tired laugh.

“Are you trying to kill me, woman?”

“So what if do? What better way to go than this?” she asked, grinning as she leaned down to press a lingering kiss on his lips.

“Even my Rune Magic and my shields won't be enough if you keep this up! At least let me drink a fortifying potion to enhance myself!”

She giggled in delight at his panicky face.

“Nope~”

“You’re not getting away scot-free for what you put me through earlier today.”

An evil grin crept up her face at the scared look in his eyes.

⁂

There was no light. There was no sound. He could not feel any wind, and he could not sense the temperature of the air either. All around him, there was only darkness. Nothingness.

He knew where that place was. How could he not? He had become quite familiar with it during his long tenure as the Emissary of Death.

But there was one problem:

“What the hell am I doing here?”

A gust of chilly wind blew, and Death’s cold voice suddenly rang from his side:

“That is exactly what I want to ask.”

Unlike their usual look as the Grim Reaper, Death had a different appearance that day. They looked like a young woman in her mid-twenties. She was rather thin, not too tall, and pale-skinned, and her long black hair fell past the middle of her back.

The black ripped jeans and black spaghetti-strap top she was wearing, coupled with her black lipstick and heavy black eye shadow, made her look like a goth girl from the 90s.

Death’s arms were crossed to her chest, and she was staring at him with an expression hard to put into words.

“I don’t know what happened,” Harry said, genuinely confused.

“You died, you idiot.”

He had had this thought before, but it seemed that Death became quite a bit more human-like in their language and emotions whenever they took the appearance of that young woman with black hair. He’d never heard Death cuss at him like that before.

"And don't you dare to blame this death on me."

“I died? How? Last thing I remember, I was in bed with Kara. We were. . .”

He trailed off, in disbelief. Then, his eyes widened in disbelief.

“My hips!! . . . No fucking way!”

“Yes, way,” Death spat.

“. . . Did I just die having sex?”

A look of disgust twisted Death’s pale face.

“You horny monkey.”

The absurdity of the situation made Harry burst into laughter. He shook his head as he kept repeating ‘No way’ to himself.

[Blue Lock] Chapter 18 - One Final Break

Ego Jinpachi had always been transparent about the criteria that he used to evaluate everyone at Blue Lock. One of the first things that he had told everyone during their first selection was,

“Your abilities have been quantified and ranked by me according to my arbitrary and biased decision-making.”

Did it sound petty and unreasonable? Most of the players at Blue Lock would immediately say yes, especially those who had been kicked out, unable to pass the selections. 

But Ego seemed not to give a damn about anyone’s opinions and complaints. By now, he had cemented in everyone’s minds the idea that no matter how much they cried about it, it would be useless. He did not care about their excuses. He only cared about results. He only cared about them scoring goals.

Therefore, after Uzumaki Naruto returned to Blue Lock and Ego gave him a spot on the starting 11 right away, Otoya Eita knew better than to make a fuss with Ego, despite the fact that he got relegated to a substitute.

That, however, did not mean that he was pleased with the fact that he would warm the bench during the match against Japan’s U20 national team. On the Tuesday of their final week of training, in the morning, Otoya challenged Naruto to prove that he was better. 

The last two weeks of training had been filled with intense physical training, but not only. A surprisingly large number of hours had been spent on Ego imparting his knowledge of tactics and football theory to them. 

With that being said, the Blue Lock players often played football matches against each other, too. Seeing as there were 35 people who had passed the final selection, they often made teams of 11 and competed against each other. 

Much to Eita’s surprise, the blond not only accepted his challenge, but he even looked happy about it. 

And that’s how Otoya Eita ended up less than half an hour later with a thousand-yard stare in his eyes, in outright disbelief as he watched Uzumaki Naruto score a second individual goal. 

“How the hell . . .?” Otoya muttered. 

Twenty minutes, 1 assist and 2 goals. 

Ikki Niko, who was one of the two CBs in Blue Lock’s starting eleven, was utterly helpless to stop him. 

Even Kenyu Yukimiya, who had stolen Isagi Yoichi’s spot in the starting eleven and was famous as the 1-on-1 Emperor, failed 3 out of 5 times to stop Naruto’s charge along the touchline. 

In contrast, the only thing Otoya had achieved during those 20 minutes was 1 assist to Itoshi Rin, who scored. 

The difference between their performances was so stark, he could not even bring himself to be angry anymore. He could only stare numbly at Naruto, who was celebrating his second goal together with Nagi and Nishioka. 

⁂

By 10 am, the match came to an end, and most of the boys left the pitch, going to have a shower and to relax. 

But Naruto stood behind. Going to the bench

“Naruto, are you not coming?” Nishioka asked. 

“You guys can go ahead. I’m staying behind to practise some more,” he said. 

Nagi groaned when he heard him. But, knowing how stubborn the blond was and how hard he worked, they did not try to change his mind. 

“Don’t overdo it,” Hajime Nishioka advised him. “If even that demon, Ego, is giving us rest days, then you better make use of them. Our bodies need time to rest and recuperate.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll stop after lunch,” Naruto said as he grabbed a basket filled with footballs and went to the edge of the pitch, not far from the corner. 

Nishioka shrugged his shoulders and was about to leave when he noticed the blond acting peculiarly. Curious, he stopped in his tracks and watched him. 

Grabbing a ball from the basket, Naruto took a few steps back before raising the ball above his head and throwing it in with all his strength. 

“Holy shit!” Nishioka said, eyes wide from shock. 

The blond had thrown the ball so hard that it flew from the touchline even further than the goal, reaching almost to the other end of the penalty box. 

“Hm, I threw it too hard,” he muttered before turning towards Nishioka. “Hey, can you help me out for a bit? Don’t worry; you don’t have to run or anything.”

Still amazed by what he had just witnessed, Nishioka momentarily forgot about his tiredness and walked to him. 

“Dude, are you a gorilla? What was that throw??”

Naruto snickered. 

“Stop overreacting and help me train my accuracy a bit. If you do, I’ll give you an assist like this during the match versus U20 Japan.”

The shorter boy waved him off. 

“Forget it. With my height, I’d never win an aerial duel against the likes of Aiku.”

They laughed together as they imagined that scene. 

“Then maybe you could stay outside the box and try a long-distance shot while they’re all cluttered together near the goal area.”

Nishioka shook his head. “I don’t have that brute power of yours. Save your throw-ins for taller guys like Nagi, Rin, or Kunigami.”

Nonetheless, he jogged to the penalty box, in front of the goal, and shouted:

“Alright, I’m ready; you can throw.”

Grabbing another ball, Naruto took a couple of steps back before throwing it again.

⁂

“Ego-san, you have to see this!” Anri, a young woman with short auburn hair, suddenly called out to Ego, who was, for once, seated and eating at a table instead of doing it on his chair. 

“What’s wrong, Anri-chan?” he asked as he walked over with his plate of curry in his hands. 

Turning his eyes to the large screen, even Ego showed a rare expression of surprise. 

“His throw-ins are like a cross,” Anri said in disbelief. “Are we sure he’s really just a high school student??”

“Technically, he dropped out of school a few weeks ago. But yes, he is only 18 years old,” Ego replied before sticking his spoon into the food and starting to eat again, his eyes never leaving the screen. 

For the next four minutes, Ego and Anri watched together as Naruto threw in nearly 30 balls, all of them reaching the goal area. 

When it looked like Nishioka was about to leave, Ego momentarily put down his plate of food and grabbed a microphone. 

“Uzumaki, Nishioka, hold on for a moment.”

The two boys glanced up in surprise towards the screen hanging from the ceiling of the stadium.

“Ego-san? You were watching us?” Nishioka asked. 

Normally, Ego did not bother the players during the rest days; he usually left them to their own devices. Resting, both physically and mentally, was extremely important for professional athletes. 

Ignoring the short boy’s meaningless question, Ego talked to Naruto:

“What’s your longest throw-in distance?”

Naruto scratched his temple. 

“I don’t know? I’ve never really measured it.”

“Then do it now. I want to see just how far you can throw. Try increasing your distance from the penalty area, bit by bit, until your throw-ins can’t reach it anymore. As for you, Nishioka, stay where you are.”

It was supposed to be a day of rest, not training, but Nishioka did not dare to say a word of complaint. He obeyed Ego’s instructions right away. 

As for Naruto, he was brimming with motivation. The fact that Ego Jinpachi seemed to pay attention to him and wanted to guide him even during their rest days made him happy. His improvement as a winger became downright impressive ever since he started training the way Ego had told him to. 

Ten minutes later, Anri and Nishioka were shocked to see Naruto actually go to the middle of the pitch. 

He used his own shirt to wipe the ball as well as he could and tested his grip on it a few times before taking eight steps back or so. 

He raised the ball above his head, gripped it tightly, and ran toward the touchline. Just before reaching the line, he did an outrageous front flip and hurled the ball with incredible force.

Leaving aside the fact that he was a teenager, even more than 99% of the football players in their physical prime were simply incapable of achieving something like that. It was a nearly 60-metre-long throw. 

“Reminds me of that time when Rory Delap struck terror in Ars,” Ego said, a wide, unsettling grin on his face.

“Are you talking about that time when the Ars manager was measuring the length of grass on the pitch and demanded throw-ins to be banned?” she asked, giggling at the reminder of it. 

That incident had become a meme and an iconic moment of the Premier League when a relatively minor team like Stoke City defeated a giant club like Ars in the 2010 FA Cup. Rory Delap’s long throw-ins had terrorised Ars, even leading to the scoring of one goal. 

Ego flicked her forehead, making her squawk in pain. 

“Think of the possibilities of such long throw-ins, Anri-chan,” he said, bearing the same unsettling grin on his face. “With that sort of strength, every single one of his throw-ins would be no different from an indirect kick or a corner kick. Do you know how many throw-ins are given on average in a game?”

Anri rubbed her forehead, which had become red. 

“I don’t know,” she said, pouting. 

“Between 30 and 60 throw-ins, of which 75% are in the opposing team’s half. To put it in simpler terms so that even someone like you would understand –”

“-Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” she interjected, offended.

“– Our team would get somewhere between 11 and 22 throw-ins in the opponent’s half. With Uzumaki’s long throws, that is no different from having between 11 and 22 indirect kicks.”

Anri had realised the potential of it too, but hearing it being put in actual numbers hit differently. 

“It looks like we need to adjust our tactics a little bit,” Ego said, grinning. 

⁂

It was noon. Having already taken a shower, Naruto went to the canteen. He was in the middle of wolfing down his food and scrolling through social media when his phone started vibrating. 

He groaned in irritation when he saw that it was not a number from his contacts. 

“Another phone call?” asked Isagi from across the table. 

“Man, you’ve been getting so many calls lately,” Nagi also said, not looking up from his own phone. He was scrolling through a manga. 

The blond stood up from the table and went outside the canteen so that he would not bother the others who were eating. He may have been an orphan, but it was not as though he had grown up in a jungle. He did have a modicum of manners, and he had begun paying attention to his behaviour a lot more ever since he started dating Saeko. 

Once he was out of the mess hall, he answered the call. 

“Hello?”

An old and familiar voice came from the other end of the call, speaking extremely fast:

“Naruto, please don’t hang up again! I got involved with some bad people. Please listen, I only-”

The blond instantly terminated the call and also blocked the number, too. The caller was none other than his godfather, Jiraiya. Although Naruto had threatened him with violence and told him he did not want to see him again, the old man had been pestering him with phone calls for weeks, calling him from a different number every time. 

‘Figures that a fucking scammer like him would have so many phone numbers,’ he thought in contempt as he returned to the mess hall. 

“Just another scammer,” Naruto told his friends as he got back in his seat. 

“Maybe someone is playing a prank on you?” Nishioka chuckled. 

“I’m tempted to change my number if this shit keeps up,” said Naruto in annoyance before taking a big bite out of a roasted chicken breast. 

He had no idea how Jiraiya had found out his phone number, but it was becoming increasingly annoying with every passing day. 

Soon, their lunch came to an end, and the boys headed back to their dorms. But while the rest just plopped themselves in bed tiredly from the exhaustion they accumulated over the previous days of intense training, Naruto changed into a different set of clothes. 

“Hey, what’s with the get-up?” asked Nishioka when he saw him not only dressing up nicely but even trying to fix his unkempt hair. 

“I’m heading out.”

“Does Ego know about it?”

“Of course.”

“. . .Damn, he’s really giving you special treatment,” he said in envy. “I forgot the last time I went out in the city to have fun.”

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, but he did not contradict him. Even he could see that he was being favoured by Ego. 

“See you guys later,” he said, and left in a rush. 

⁂

Thanks to the car sent by Mr Busujima, Naruto’s trip from Blue Lock to Tokyo had been smooth and uneventful. 

The driver often glanced in the rearview mirror at the athletic young man in the back curiously; as a long-time employee of the Busujima family, he was aware of Naruto’s identity. Alas, the young man was too absorbed by his phone to entertain any small talk. 

Even during this car trip, he was studying videos that analysed various world-class wingers from modern football. 

Currently, he was watching a video about a particular Egyptian forward who had joined Elverpool a year and a half ago, instantly becoming a sensation in his debut season by scoring over 40 goals. 

Time flew without his notice, and soon, they arrived at their destination. It was a very large building with an octagonal shape, resembling somewhat a Japanese temple. 

Its name was Nippon Budokan, the famous martial arts arena from Tokyo that often hosted all sorts of sports events. 

That day, Saeko was going to participate in a local kendo tournament, and Naruto came there to support her. Unfortunately, by the time he arrived at the arena, the event had already started; he could not meet her right away. Due to a traffic jam on the highway, he had arrived late. 

Dressed in their traditional uniforms and wearing their protective gear, it was very difficult to distinguish the competitors' appearance. If not for the announcements introducing both fights and naming the colour of the ribbons they were wearing, he would not have recognised Saeko when she stepped into the Shiai-jo, the competition area. 

The spectators seemed to come alive when Saeko Busujima’s name was announced. 

Over the next few minutes, he finally got to see for himself that it was not only her father’s name that had made Saeko popular. This was the first time he had watched a kendo competition in person, but even he, as a layman, could tell that his girlfriend was in an entirely different league compared to her opponent. 

“It’s like an adult toying with a child,” he heard someone mutter. 

“They should just let her compete with the men,” another spectator chuckled. 

⁂

“Saeko! Over here!” Naruto waved and called out her name to make himself seen in the large crowd. 

The girl’s face lit up, and, dropping her shinai bag and her duffle bag on the floor with a thud, she let out a squeal and jumped up into his arms. 

“You came!” she said, her voice filled with excitement. “When you didn't arrive on time, I thought you wouldn't make it!”

Saeko’s pure joy at seeing him was like an injection of serotonin for Naruto. He laughed as he hugged her back and lifted her off her feet. 

“Sorry, there was a traffic jam. But I gave you my word that I would come, didn't I?”

Due to his mixed ancestry, with his bright blonde hair and his strong and athletic body, Naruto naturally stood out like a sore thumb among the Japanese. Quite a few people glanced at him curiously as they passed by. Some of those looks, however, turned into frowns when Saeko jumped into his arms and didn’t let go for nearly half a minute. 

“People are starting to glare at us. We better get going,” he said with a chuckle, rubbing her back softly. 

Public displays of affection were generally frowned upon in Japan. In most circumstances, a quick hug, couples holding hands, and even a peck on the cheek were considered acceptable, all the more so in recent years. Anything that went beyond that, however, would draw other people’s displeasure, especially the elderly. 

“Let me carry these for you,” he offered as they walked to pick up her bags off the floor. 

Saeko smiled at him. 

“Okay, you can take the duffle bag. Leave this to me.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind carrying them both.”

“What kind of samurai lets others take their sword?” Saeko asked, a hand on her hip, making him laugh. “Besides,” the girl continued, “You need to have one of your hands free.”

“What for?”

“So you can hold mine, duh,” she said, as she took his free hand in hers and then quickly rose on her tiptoes, pecking him on the cheek. 

She giggled happily at seeing the faint blush on his face and pulled on his hand, dragging him after her. 

Now that the kendo competition was over, they were going to spend the rest of the day together, going on a date. 

Leaving her luggage with the driver and instructing him to go home, Saeko only grabbed her long umbrella and her purse from the car before taking Naruto’s hand and leaving. 

⁂

It was the 12th of February. Valentine’s Day was just around the corner, and shops all over Tokyo were filled with girls looking for gifts to give to their male friends, family members, and other acquaintances.

Since it was already close to 4 pm, they did not have enough time to wander around as much as they would have liked. Still, Saeko was not going to miss out on the opportunity to take Naruto to a chocolate shop.

The tradition of women giving chocolate to men on February 14th was so popular in Japan that there were shops dedicated entirely to chocolate and other sweets made from it. It was estimated that around 20 percent of Japan’s annual chocolate consumption happened on that single day.

He wasn’t crazy about sweets, but he did not mind having them once in a while. Even if he did, he would not have been able to turn down Saeko’s smile whenever she offered him chocolate. He was completely whipped.

When they stepped out of the coffee shop, it was raining. Saeko opened her elegant umbrella and happily linked her arm with his, walking shoulder to shoulder. 

That day, Saeko was wearing a rather simple outfit consisting of black heeled boots, a noir wool overcoat, and a dark green scarf, but she was so pretty that she made his heart flutter whenever he looked at her. 

“Where to now?” he asked.

Traditionally, the man was supposed to plan the date, but he was more comfortable letting her take the lead. He wasn’t used to hanging out in the city with friends, and she was confident enough to say what she wanted without hesitation.

“You have to be back at Blue Lock before 10 pm, right?”

“Yeah. I’ve got training again tomorrow.”

“Then let’s go to Tokyo Tower first.”

Thankfully, it was only a light drizzle, not a heavy downpour, so they were able to walk at a relaxed pace, having a great time chatting. 

They did keep in touch every day through social media, text messages, and phone calls, but talking in person was different. Due to Naruto always being away at Blue Lock, it was hard for them to meet, so they treasured every single moment they could spend together. 

“How was the kendo championship? Did you enjoy it?”

“Honestly, it was hard for me to keep track of who was scoring. Sometimes, they moved their swords so fast, it was crazy. But your fight was the easiest to watch. That other girl never stood a chance.”

She laughed as Naruto told her some of the comments he had heard other people make in the stands. 

“No wonder you beat up those drunkards to a pulp with a damn umbrella when we first met,” he said, snickering. 

“Hey! Don’t dig up my dark history now! Forget it! You should forget it right away!” she said, her face reddening in embarrassment at the reminder of that night. 

“How can I? You ruined the only hoodie I had!”

She pouted as she looked up at him, but Naruto smiled as he quickly leaned down, stealing a kiss.

⁂

“I haven’t been here since I was in primary school, and I’ve never been here at night,” said Naruto, his voice tinged with awe when they arrived at the Tokyo Tower and took the elevator to the highest observation deck. 

Considering that it was February and that it was past 5 pm already, it was dark outside. The sight of Tokyo’s bright cityscape spreading below their feet was breathtaking. 

Intertwining her fingers with his in a lover’s hold, Saeko smiled at him:

“I knew you would like it.”

She squeezed his hand gently as she gazed at him. This was just the first of the many trips they were going to go on together. She wanted to travel with him everywhere. She wanted him to be happy and enjoy his life as much as she did from now on. 

Though she did not say it out loud, her eyes spoke volumes about her feelings. At that moment, disregarding the unwritten rules about PDA in Japanese society, Naruto raised his hand to cup her cheek and pressed a lingering kiss on her lips. 

“I’m so lucky I met you, Saeko,” he said as they rested their foreheads against each other. 

“No, I’m the lucky one,” she said, raising herself on her toes to peck him on the lips one more time. 

The girl was positively jubilant, and she wanted to capture that moment of happiness forever. And she did just that, taking out her phone and snapping dozens of pictures and even filming some short clips together with him. 

It was around half past 6 when their tour of Tokyo Tower ended. 

To his surprise, a taxi was already waiting for them when they came out of the tower. 

“Take us to the Love Hotel Hill in Shibuya, please,” Saeko said.

The driver did not make a big deal out of her request, but Naruto was inwardly startled. It was evening, and Saeko was taking him to the Love Hotel Hill in Shibuya. . . it was not difficult for him to understand what the likely scenario was. He glanced at her, who was seated next to him in the back, but the girl averted her eyes, too embarrassed to meet his gaze. Her bright red ears, visible even in the semi-darkness of the taxi’s interior, betrayed how shy and self-conscious she must have felt. 

The trip by taxi had been mostly silent, as the two of them did not feel comfortable chatting in the presence of a stranger. Luckily, it was a relatively short distance, only five kilometres or so. 

When they arrived at their destination and got off, he glanced at her questioningly.

“Are you sure about it?” he asked, his throat suddenly becoming dry and his voice hoarse. 

Though she was still not meeting his eyes, Saeko nodded firmly. 

“Yes.”

The two teenagers were so embarrassed that they were completely quiet as they walked towards one of the many buildings decorated with vivid pink, red, and yellow neon lights. 

“Good evening. May I see your IDs, please?” the man at the reception asked. 

After the receptionist made sure that they were both 18, and Saeko brought her phone close to the card reader to rent a suite for 3 hours, the receptionist handed them a key card with a polite bow.

The elevator ride and the short walk to their room were so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Even after stepping inside and closing the door behind them, they just stood there, frozen, unable to even look at each other.

Saeko, in particular, felt like she was on the verge of fainting. She had been quite brave and daring in planning to spend their evening at a love hotel, but now that she was actually there, her heart was beating so hard that she felt dizzy.

In the end, it was Naruto who broke the ice. He stepped closer to her and tentatively wrapped his arms around her. 

“Saeko?”

“Yes?” she answered in a small voice. 

He raised her chin gently to make her look at him. Her flushed face and her trembling lower lip were so adorable that he found it impossible to contain his smile. He lowered his face to hers and kissed her softly. 

Minutes passed as they kissed slowly, embracing each other lovingly.

Soon, their nervousness faded, and desire took over. 

Saeko started unbuttoning her long black coat, letting it drop on the floor, and Naruto momentarily pulled back from the kiss to take off his jacket and his hoodie, throwing them aside haphazardly.

But when he glanced back at Saeko, he unconsciously uttered:

“Whoa. . . !”

The outfit that Saeko had chosen to wear underneath her long noir overcoat that day left him dumbstruck. He had never seen someone dressed in something as racy as that in real life. 

He swallowed hard, his eyes drawn to the black lace choker around her neck, then to her collarbone, and to the deep, voluptuous cleavage shown off by her tight black top.

Her midriff was bare too, her toned stomach and narrow waist making it hard for him to tear his eyes away. 

But when his gaze dropped lower, his breath hitched in his throat. She was wearing a black leather mini skirt that clung to her hips like a second skin, leaving little to the imagination. And just below it, thin garter straps held up a pair of thigh-high stockings, the black lace digging softly into the tender flesh of her bare thighs. 

"You're incredible," he said, his eyes lingering on the final piece of her outfit, a pair of mid-length black boots with high heels that highlighted her long legs.

Understanding how much thought and effort she had put in for the sake of this date, for his sake, Naruto felt, not for the first time, that he was the luckiest man in the world. 

‘Did I save the world in my previous life or something?’

His face looked like he could hardly believe that a girl as amazing as her had fallen in love with him. 

Saeko’s confidence soared at his honest, utterly awestruck reaction, but a moment later, his lips were upon hers. It was a hungry, ravenous kiss, and his hands started roaming all over her exposed waist, her ass, and her bare thighs, seemingly not knowing what he wanted to touch more. 

The girl moaned into his mouth, and one of her long legs coiled around his waist as she started pressing herself tightly against him. He made it easier for her when he suddenly grabbed her ass, holding her in his arms as he instinctively carried her to the closest wall for leverage. 

She locked her legs around his waist and wrapped her arms around his neck as she tilted her head and deepened their kiss. Her tongue slipped through his parted lips, and he started grinding with even greater need against her, her actions driving him mad with desire. 

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

AN: you know what comes next lol. But after the Culture stuff, we'll jump straight to the final match vs Japan's U20 national team.

Sorry for the long delay in getting this chapter out. I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time!

[Living for Tomorrow] Chapter 14 - Revenge

A loud sound of Apparition rang as Sirius Black appeared in front of the Potter home in Pitt-Upon-Ford. Walking to the entrance door, he didn’t bother knocking; he went straight in. The house was placed under a Fidelius Charm, and, especially after the attack of the goblins, Sirius had become an extremely frequent visitor, checking up on the old Potter couple every two or three days. 

“Hello~?” he said in a loud voice, grinning as he kicked the door shut behind him. “I’ve come bearing gifts today! Front-row seats to the Puddlemere versus Magpies derby in two weeks! It’s going to be bloody brilliant!”

But, just as he left the entrance hallway and was about to announce his arrival boisterously, like he often did, a scream erupted from the living room:

“That slimy RAT got my son killed!”

Sirius froze. It was Fleamont. He couldn’t remember the last time he had heard the old wizard raise his voice, let alone scream with such rage. 

Afraid of being discovered, he took out his wand and cast a Silencing Charm on his shoes to muffle the noise of his footsteps on the hardwood floor. He started walking sneakily towards the living room, but by the time he arrived there, Euphemia had already closed the door, not wanting her husband’s screams to startle the boys upstairs. 

‘Did they also cast a Silencing Charm on the door?’ Sirius wondered when he could no longer make out what was being discussed inside the room. 

Taking his wand out again, he brought its tip to his ear, and the handle enlarged like the bell of a trumpet as he eavesdropped on their conversation.  



“He’s the one who ratted out the Prophecy to the Dark Lord! It’s because of him that James and Lily were killed!” Fleamont shouted. 

Sirius’s eyes widened in disbelief. Nobody knew how the Dark Lord had gotten wind of the Prophecy. . . or at least that’s what he had thought until then.

‘They knew all along who it was?’

He was stunned. 

‘Why did they hide it from me?’

‘Why the fuck are they protecting him?’

There was a rather long pause before another voice, not belonging to either of his adoptive parents, answered: 

“Fleamont, I assure you that Severus Snape has my full confidence. He had played an important role in the previous war, and I trust him with my life. I guarantee that he will not lay a finger on your grandchildren.”

The longer he listened in on the conversation, the paler Sirius’s face became. 

“How could you bring that filthy Death Eater into the school?” Fleamont said, his voice quivering with anger. “You’re going to let him near Harry and Matthew, and you’re telling me to be calm and accept it? You want me to trust him?!”

“Severus Snape is a changed man. And I simply have no other solution,” came Dumbledore’s grave voice. “Everyone has heard the rumours of the Jinx by now. Nobody is applying for the vacancy. But if you know a better candidate for the DADA position - no, if you know any other candidates at all - I will gladly listen to you.”

“It is not my job to find professors for the school, Dumbledore. It is yours,” Fleamont growled. “You are the Headmaster. But if you think that is beyond your capabilities, ask for the Ministry to send one of their people.” 

“The day I let the Ministry meddle with Hogwarts is the day I retire,” Dumbledore retorted evenly. 

“Then maybe you should retire!” Euphemia spat sharply. “Maybe it’s about time that you gave your position to someone who actually cares about their job. It wasn’t enough that the Dark Lord possessed one of your teachers and tried to kill Matthew in his first year, but now you’re bringing an actual Death Eater into the school?”

“Don’t force our hand, Dumbledore, or we will pull the boys out of Hogwarts,” Fleamont threatened. 

Dumbledore and the Governors of Hogwarts had already had a meeting concerning Severus Snape’s candidacy, and most of them, with Lucius Malfoy at the forefront, had voted in favour of accepting him as the new DADA professor. Fleamont’s vote alone had not been enough to dissuade the others. 

Nevertheless, as the legal guardian and grandfather of the Boy Who Lived, his influence spread beyond his position as a Hogwarts Governor. He had other ways of making things very difficult for Dumbledore, hence why the old headmaster had contacted him now via a Floo call in order to come to an agreement before things escalated beyond control. 

“I am absolutely sure that Beauxbatons will be more than happy to receive them,” Euphemia went on. “Harry already speaks and understands French fluently. And Matt is a smart boy, too; he will pick it up in no time. The French Ministry would likely even hire a translator for him, if need be.”

Fleamont also added to his wife’s words: 

“I’m very curious to see what the Ministry and the Daily Prophet will have to say about the Boy Who Lived going to study in France, of all places, instead of Scotland. It will be even more entertaining if the truth about Snape’s deeds comes to light after that.”

Sirius did not stay to hear the end of the conversation. His great mood from before seemingly forgotten, he looked livid as he headed back to the entrance door, leaving without a sound. 

⁂ Three days later ⁂

“Aw, man, why couldn’t we go with them to Egypt, too?” Matthew said as he looked at a photo of the Weasley family on top of the tallest pyramid of Giza. The redheads were all wearing funny hats or sunglasses and smiling brightly at the camera.

Having won the Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw, Arthur and Molly Weasley decided to go visit their eldest child, Bill, in Egypt. Other than Charles, who was in Romania, they took the entire family and travelled to Egypt, where they were going to spend an entire month touring the country’s both Muggle and Wizarding tourist attractions. 

“The goblins have a strong presence around the pyramids. It was only a few months ago that they tried to kill us,” Harry explained in a fed-up voice. 

“I know, I know. . .”

“Then why do you keep asking?” Harry said in annoyance. It had to be the fifth or sixth time his younger brother had whined about that. 

Matthew put the letter and the photos on the desk and threw himself on Harry’s bed. Nearly two minutes passed like that, with the ginger staring at the ceiling silently, before he broke the silence again and asked:

“What are you reading?”

Harry raised his eyes from his book and glared at Matthew. 

“Alchemy,” he said curtly.

“Borrring.”

The older boy felt his pulse rising by the second. Exhaling loudly, he lowered his eyes to his book again, deciding to ignore Matthew. 

“Why do you even care about that stuff? I thought you only cared about fighting,” said Matt. 

“I already mastered most of the Charms, Hexes, and Curses that could be useful in a duel,” Harry replied. “Now it’s just a matter of practising them in combat. But I can’t fight by myself now, can I? I need Sirius’s help. But he can’t be here 24/7, so I have to fill my time with something else.”

It was not as simple as he made it out to be. Harry’s decision to start studying Alchemy was not just for the sake of passing the time. However, if he spoke in detail about the reason why he was interested in Alchemy, Matt would definitely use that opportunity to drag him into a session of useless chatter that wouldn’t end for at least half an hour. 

Several minutes passed in silence, and Harry inwardly hoped that Matt was finally going to shut up for good. Alas, he had celebrated a little too early. 

“Say, Harry,” the ginger began, only for Harry to explode at him. 

“WHAT do you want this time?!” 

He had long since reached the limits of his patience. 

“Why do you keep pestering me? Go do something with your time! Bloody hell, mate, have you got nothing better to do? Read a book, practise your spellwork, play some chess, or just go in the garden and beat up some gnomes.”

His younger brother had been bothering him like that since the beginning of the holiday, often coming to his room to hang out. 

In the past, Harry used to lock and soundproof his room with spells to prevent such incidents, but ever since his grandparents nearly died, he decided to spend more time with his family. One never knew when it was going to be their last day. 

However, there was a limit to his tolerance. This summer, in particular, Matthew had become downright obnoxious. 

“I’m just bored!” the ginger whined. “Ron and the twins went to Egypt, Hermione is in France, and Dean and Seamus live in the Muggle world, so I can’t really visit them. I can’t even go and play with the rest of the guys in the village or fly with my broom alone because of the damn goblins. There’s just nothing to do!”

Due to fearing that the goblins might try to ambush them again, Fleamont and Euphemia did not allow Matthew to go out and play without Harry’s or an adult’s protection.  

Putting his book down, Harry took off his round glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Fine. Let’s go for a fly.”

“Really??” Matt exclaimed, jumping up from the bed instantly. 

Hearing how excited he was, Harry felt pity for him. Although they were siblings, the two of them had different temperaments. Unlike him, who was used to being holed up in his room and studying or hanging around his grandparents, Matthew was a social butterfly. The redhead loved spending his time with his friends and going out. Having to stay locked inside their house the entire summer holiday was like torture for him. 

“Yes, really,” Harry said, sighing inwardly. “Now go get your broom before I change my mind.”

⁂

“Gran, I’m heading out with Matt for an hour or so,” Harry called out to his grandmother, who was in the midst of reading a rather heavy and large book on Restoration Potions. Contrary to what the name might imply, those potions were used not for healing but for reverting the effects of various spells on people or creatures.

“Take care of your younger brother, okay?” Euphemia said, smiling when she saw her two grandsons wearing Quidditch goggles and holding their Nimbus 2000 broomsticks in their hands. 

Her trust in Harry could not have been any higher. Not only had Harry saved Matt from Quirrell the previous year, but he had also saved her and Fleamont’s lives from the goblins a few months ago. 

“Of course,” he answered, nodding seriously. 

“And you listen to your older brother too, Matthew.”

“Yes, Grandma,” Matthew replied as well. 

Just as they were about to turn and leave, however, a large, chestnut-feathered owl landed on the living room’s windowsill and hopped inside through the open window. One flutter of wings later, the owl landed right on the low coffee table and hooted in Harry’s and Matthew’s direction. 

“The OWLs are here!” Harry exclaimed. 

“But I only see one-”

“Don’t be a smart aleck,” Harry said and pressed Matthew’s head down while he was snickering. 

Euphemia also stood up from her armchair and rushed at the owl to untie the letter it was carrying. 

The old lady opened the envelope with trembling fingers, and Harry and Matt ran to her side too, looking over her shoulders at the contents of the letter. 

ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS

Pass Grades:    
Outstanding (O)
Exceeding Expectations (E)    
Acceptable (A)

Fail Grades:
Poor (P)
Dreadful (D)
Troll (T)

Harry James Potter has achieved:

Ancient Runes: E
Astronomy: D
Care for Magical Creatures: A
Charms: O
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O
Herbology: E
History of Magic: T
Potions: O
Transfiguration: O

“Merlin’s balls, you got 4 Os?!” Matt cursed in amazement. 

Had it been any other time, his grandmother would have scolded him right away for his language, but at that moment, the old lady was staring at the piece of paper in her hands with a look of wonder on her face.

Leaving the letter in Matt’s hands, Euphemia turned toward Harry and pulled him into a tight hug. When she let go, she cupped his face and laughed with a mix of happiness and surprise.

“Four Os! Seven OWLs!” she said in admiration. “Fleamont, dear!” she called out brightly.

When he didn’t answer right away, she let go of Harry, took out her wand and pressed it to the side of her neck before casting a nonverbal Sonorous Charm.

“Fleamont! Come quickly! The OWL results just arrived!”

Less than a minute later, the tall old man rushed into the living room. He was wearing a dirty set of green clothes, and he stank of dragon dung, but he quickly snatched the letter from Matt’s hands to see it for himself. Half a minute later, he started laughing too. 

“You rascal, when Matt told me you weren’t studying, I was so worried you would do poorly in the OWLs. Look at you: 7 OWLs, of which 4 were Os!”

“You were snitching on me?!” Harry turned to his brother in disbelief.

“No! I didn’t!” the ginger answered quickly in a panic, his hazel eyes becoming the size of saucers. “I only told them that we played a game of Quidditch together! I swear!”

Before Harry could say anything else, the old man threw an arm over his shoulders and started shaking him with joy. Despite his age, Fleamont had yet to lose all his vigour. He shook the boy until he was dizzy. 

“Ah, Grandpa, you stink like hell, let me go!”

Euphemia laughed in delight at the two of them. 

“Os in Transfiguration, Defence, Charms, and Potions! Merlin, you gave me such a surprise!” Euphemia kept saying and snatched the letter from her husband’s hands to check the results again; it was as if she still couldn’t believe her eyes. 

Harry chuckled helplessly. He couldn’t blame them for their reaction. While his grandparents knew that he was a capable wizard, especially when it came to potion making and duelling, his grades in school did not reflect that. His grades couldn’t be any more average. 

But the two of them had never pressured him to do better. Aware of the trauma that Voldemort had left on his psyche and knowing that Harry had never forgotten the memory of his mother being murdered, the old couple had always had a soft spot for him. 

“What brought this about?” Fleamont asked, still grinning widely. 

“I just wanted to make you proud,” Harry said, scratching his cheek and looking to the side in embarrassment. “And I was also thinking about applying for the Alchemy class next year.”

“Well, you did make us proud. Four Os! I’m going to brag about you to all my friends!” Felamont chuckled merrily. 

“Alchemy?” Euphemia’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Are you sure? It is a very challenging subject.”

Harry nodded resolutely. “Yes, I’ve thought about it for months now. I heard Dumbledore is one of the best alchemists in the world and that Hogwarts offers Alchemy classes in the 6th and 7th years if there are enough people interested.”

Mr and Mrs Potter glanced at each other meaningfully. They had not told their grandsons that they might be forced to pull them out of Hogwarts. It was only the middle of July. There was still some time left until September. They were hoping that they would manage to change Dumbledore’s mind about hiring Severus Snape before that. 

“Will you have enough time?” Fleamont asked. “NEWT classes are far more difficult than what you studied in the first five years.”

“I’m going to drop Astronomy, History, and Creatures next year,” he replied. “Astronomy and History are useless for my field, and I’ve learnt all there is to know about Creatures. I might drop Ancient Runes too, depending on what Dumbledore suggests.”

“If you’re so good with creatures, then why did you get an A at OWL?” Matt asked with a laugh.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. 

“I couldn’t care less about what Unicorns like to eat or the proper way to brush puffskeins. I know how to deal with the dangerous creatures. That’s all I need.”

“Whatever you decide to do, we will support your decision,” Euphemia said, smiling. 

“Thank you, Gran.”

⁂

One week had passed since the OWL results arrived, and Harry, Matthew, and the two old Potters were sitting together in the middle of a roaring crowd on a hot day in late July, watching a Quidditch match.

They weren’t alone. Sirius sat beside them, and four Aurors were stationed nearby. One was in front, one behind, and the other two were on their left and right, watching the crowd with great attention. After all, they had been tasked with protecting the Boy Who Lived and his family. 

It was rare these days for the Potters to go out in public. After the vicious goblin attack on Pit-Upon-Ford back in February, the Ministry could not afford to risk their safety again. Matthew Potter was too important for Great Britain. 

Quidditch crowds were wild by nature, and with the added fear of a second goblin attack, letting the Potters attend without strong protection would have been too dangerous.

The game between Puddlemere United and Montrose Magpies was every bit as violent and exciting as Sirius had promised them it would be. There were only two weeks left of the Quidditch season, and, currently, those two teams were ranked number one and number two, respectively. Puddlemere and Magpies were heads and shoulders above the rest of the teams in the League in terms of points that year, but they were extremely close to each other. 

In other words, it would not be wrong to think of this Quidditch match as the Final, the match that would decide the winner of the British and Irish Quidditch League. 

Puddlemere United was a team from the southern coast of Great Britain, while Montrose Magpies were Scottish. Seeing as Pitt-Upon-Ford was located in Northern Scotland, Sirius and the Potters wore Montrose Magpies scarves and hats, cheering for them. 

While Euphemia was keeping a composed and classy appearance, as befitting of the Lady of an old, pureblood family, her husband and her youngest grandson were roaring expletives and booing like a bunch of sailors every time Puddlemere scored or committed a foul and screaming and cheering every time the Magpies scored.

Harry himself may not have been as fanatical as Matthew and Fleamont, but he was a fan of Quidditch too, and the atmosphere in the stadium was electrifying. 

For that match in particular, Matt had acquired a pair of vuvuzelas from Dean Thomas, his Muggle-raised friend. They were plastic trumpets of sorts that let out an infernal noise every time they blew them. Matt and Harry were blowing those hellish instruments every 10 seconds or so. It was to the point where the people around them had to cast a spell to muffle their own hearing lest they go deaf. 

Absorbed by the match as they were, none of the Potters had noticed how unnaturally quiet and subdued Sirius had been that day, even now, while he was watching the game. 

“Aunty, I’m heading out to buy some drinks,” Sirius shouted as he stood up. 

“I can’t hear you,” Euphemia shouted back, her voice barely audible over the crazy roars of the crowd and the deafening noise made by Harry and Matthew’s vuvuzelas. 

He laughed a bit and gestured in a funny manner that he was going to buy drinks and snacks. Once she nodded to confirm she understood, he left. 

Walking out of the stands, Sirius Black appeared to be heading towards the vendors at the entrance of the Quidditch stadium. . . but he did not stop there. He left the stadium’s premises entirely, passing through the gates. 

Once he was out, he ducked into a side alley, and, after checking out and making sure there was nobody around, he pulled a necklace out of his robes. It was a rather peculiar, spherical necklace with a small hourglass inside it. 

⁂

One hour before the start of the Quidditch match in Montrose between the Magpies and Puddlemere, a man with short brown hair and tan skin appeared out of thin air on the other side of the country. He wore a grey paddy cap, black trousers with large, baggy pockets, a grey shirt, and a neon green reflective vest, and he carried a large brown duffle bag. The place he arrived in was a dirty, abandoned street somewhere in the Midlands of England.

Two drunkards who happened to be nearby wobbled towards that little street to check the source of the noise, but then a thin stick slipped out from the man's sleeve into his palm, and he aimed it at them. He was a wizard. As he cast a nonverbal Confundus Charm on them, their eyes glazed over for a brief moment before they scratched their heads, shrugged their shoulders, and turned back the way they came from.

It was a sweltering day in July, and the concrete streets and brick homes with no green spaces anywhere in sight made it even worse. The man cast a Cooling Charm on himself, zipped up his vest, took out a clipboard and a pen from his bag, and stepped out of the alley.

He was in Cokeworth, an industrial, dingy town not far from Birmingham. It was the type of town that any person dreamed of leaving as soon as they could afford to. Drunkards, hoodlums, homeless people, and druggies could be seen all over the place, and most of the houses had iron bars on their windows and even on their doors.

"Fitting place for a dirty rat," he muttered in a voice filled with vitriol as he walked down the narrow street.

He schooled his face into a bored, impassive expression and adjusted his grey paddy cap before increasing his walking pace.

Five minutes later, he ducked into a street that looked even worse than the previous scenery. A rusty tin plaque barely hanging from one end onto the pole read "Spinner's End".

All houses on that street looked identical with their brick facades and tiny windows, but, eventually, that brown-haired man stopped in front of a particular door.

'Creepy bastard,' he thought when he saw the flickering light of candles through the dirty, stained curtains half covering the windows.

Nonetheless, his face showed none of what he felt inside. Walking in front of the door, he put down his duffle bag, held his clipboard and pen in one hand, and knocked on the door with the other.

The sound of a squeaky floor could be heard from inside as someone walked to the door and opened it slightly, revealing a long, pale, yellowy face and a curtain of greasy black hair. He was none other than Severus Snape.

"Who is it and what do you want?" the occupant of the house asked rudely through the crack in the door.

"Good afternoon. My name is Jack Willow. I'm from pest control."

"You're at the wrong address. I didn't call for any pest control," Snape sneered at him.

"The city hall sent me. But if you're certain you don't need our services, I just need your signature here, and I'll be out of your way."

Irritation flashed briefly on Snape's face. For a moment, it looked like he was debating whether to take out his wand and magically shoo him away or sign the paper like a normal Muggle would.

In the end, he reasoned that if he shooed this man away, the city hall would just send another guy, so he wouldn't be solving anything.

Letting out a loud sigh, he opened the door fully and said:

"Let me see what you want my signature for."

He snatched the clipboard from the Muggle's hands and glanced at it for a few seconds.

"What is this gibberi-" Snape began to say after seeing the papers were filled with meaningless stuff.

But he didn't get to finish his words because a Banishing Charm blasted him inside the house, seemingly out of nowhere.

The brown-haired man grabbed his duffle bag off the floor and walked inside the house calmly, as if he hadn't just violently bodied someone a second ago, then closed the door behind him.

Caught unprepared, the Banishing Spell had slammed Snape into the wall so brutally that he was almost knocked out cold. Barely holding onto his consciousness, he fumbled for his wand in panic, but a ferocious soccer kick in the ribs made him curl up on the floor like a worm, his mouth open in a soundless scream.

It was a perfect liver shot. It was as if his body had shut down. He was paralysed, his body unresponsive. He couldn't even breathe for nearly half a minute.

By the time he finally regained clarity of mind, Snape found himself on the floor, with the 'Muggle' from 'pest control' standing over him, his face twisted by rage.

"I should've killed you, Death Eater trash, back when we were in school," the man muttered darkly as he took out a large knife from his duffle bag.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" Snape asked as he crawled back in fear at the sight of the man walking towards him with the large knife.

"Don't bother looking for your wand, Snivelus," he spat when he saw Snape patting himself all over in search of his wand. "You won't find it."

Eyes widening, the former Death Eater hissed through gritted teeth:

"Sirius Black!"

At that moment, Sirius would have liked nothing more than to drop the Transfiguration spells he had cast on himself, but he knew better than to give in to his impulses. He had just barely dodged Azkaban after he tortured Pettigrew to death a decade ago. He knew that some Tracking Spells could summon phantoms and images of the past, so he didn't risk it.

Raising his wand, he also cast a Full-Body Binding Curse on Snape, paralysing him completely.

"To think that Dumbledore had been hiding the truth about you this entire time. To think that not only he'd keep human garbage like you around but that he'd even try bringing you to Hogwarts."

"A fucking Death Eater teaching students? The rat who got James and Lily murdered becoming Harry and Matthew's professor?"

"What a bad joke."

The more he spoke, the more furious he became. His jaw muscles were bulging from how hard he was grinding his teeth.

"Don't worry; I won't torture you like I did to that other rat 12 years ago. I'll give you a clean death," Sirius said as he crouched next to Snape.

Having already experienced the consequences of abusing the Cruciatus Curse when he brutalised Peter Pettigrew, Sirius had sworn to himself that he would never do something like that ever again. He did not want to end up like his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, who had become mad, addicted to inflicting pain on others.

For the sake of Fleamont and Euphemia, and for the sake of Harry and Matthew, he could not let himself go down a dark path. He would not descend into madness just for the sake of revenge. His family needed him, especially Harry, who was still bearing the burden and the trauma of having witnessed his mother being murdered in front of his eyes when he was a young child.

Gripping the large knife tightly in his hand, he stared straight into Snape's beady black eyes as he stabbed him in the gut with all his strength.

"This is for Lily," he said, his voice filled with cold fury.

Paralysed as he was by the curse, Snape couldn't even scream. Pulling his knife out, Sirius stabbed him once again, this time in the heart.

"And this is for James."

He watched him unblinkingly as life trickled out of Snape's eyes. It was only after he was completely sure that he was dead that he let go of his corpse and stood up.

Glancing around himself, he waved his wand and ransacked the place, summoning any valuables he laid his eyes on. He didn't need any of Snape's belongings. This was all for the sake of the Muggle police, in order to make it look as though it was a robbery.

Finished with that, he cast a Cleaning Charm on himself to remove the blood that splashed all over his clothes. Then, he grabbed his duffle bag, fixed his grey paddy cap, and walked out of the door calmly, as though he had not just killed someone in cold blood.

Still, he was not done. Not yet. He headed to the closest telephone box and called the Muggle police, reporting the incident while posing as a random passer-by who just happened to hear a man's dying screams.

'The police will be here in 10-15 minutes tops. With them contaminating the crime scene, even if the Aurors were to come and investigate the murder after that, their tracking charms would not pick up anything,' Sirius thought as he left the telephone box and headed to a side alley.

Thankfully, unlike London or other large cities, Cokeworth wasn't infested with CCTV cameras at every step.

Once he was out of sight, he Disapparated.

⁂

A few moments later, still bearing the same disguise, Sirius Apparated in London, straight inside a studio apartment that he had rented for the month specifically for the sake of this operation.

The apartment wasn't empty. Someone had been waiting for him there. It was a tall man with shaggy brown hair, an unkempt beard, and a bloated face.

"Here's the time-turner," Sirius said as he handed him back the precious artefact. "Put it back where you took it from."

"Yes, sir," the man replied respectfully.

"Now stand up and turn around," Sirius ordered, and the man obeyed without question. He aimed his wand at him and said, "Obliviate."

Throughout the entire process, the man never moved or tried to resist. He was under the effect of the Imperius Curse.

"You said there was a Veil of Death in the Department of Mysteries, didn't you? Anyone who touches it dies, right?"

"Yes," the man replied, still not turning around.

"Good. You know what to do."

At those words, the man Disapparated.

Twelve years ago, Igor Karkaroff had revealed Augustus Rookwood's identity as a Death Eater to the Ministry of Magic, desperate to avoid a life sentence in Azkaban.

Rookwood, however, had claimed that he had acted under the Imperius Curse and, like Lucius Malfoy and several other Death Eaters, he had managed to walk away free. Not just that, he had even kept his post as an Unspeakable.

The man who had once used the Imperius Curse as an excuse to escape justice was now truly under its effect, on his way to commit suicide by throwing himself into the Veil of Death.

[Hope in Ruination] Chapter 11 – Promise Of A Lifetime (NSFW)

Completely unaware of Illaoi’s clash against the Bloodharbour Ripper, Naruto and Ahri continued their day uninterrupted. The two of them made small talk and drew Exploding Seals for hours.

Though the fox girl was usually flirty and playful, she could also be serious and focused when needed. If those Exploding Tags were going to help them in their journey through the Grey Harbour, she had no intention of slacking off or distracting Naruto from his work.

As evening fell, their work finally came to an end, and they went down to the tavern owned by the inn where they were staying to have dinner.

Soon, their dinner came to an end, too, and they retreated to their room. Now changed into their sleeping clothes, Naruto and Ahri got into their respective beds.

Due to spending nearly seven years on the run, pursued by terrorists and special forces black ops, the blond had developed a skill of falling asleep whenever because he never knew when he would have to wake up and run again. The first few years of his life as a fugitive had been particularly difficult.

Whereas he fell asleep seconds after he hit the mattress, Ahri had trouble doing the same. Her fox ears gave her an excellent sense of hearing; it was a trait that she appreciated in her daily life and one that she had never really seen as a disadvantage because she had never lived together with other humans in large cities. Furthermore, she had spent the past century all alone, in the forest, away from humans.

But now, she was in Bilgewater, a very large and very rowdy city. It was a city that never slept. No matter the time of day or night, many taverns, pubs, and casinos were filled with partygoers.

Ahri flattened her fox ears against her head with her hands in a futile attempt to muffle the noise and curled up in her bed, sighing in annoyance.

Not being able to sleep wasn’t the only thing that bothered her at that moment; she was also hungry.

It wasn’t regular hunger; she had had dinner with Naruto three hours ago. No, it was a hunger that burnt her soul, one that consumed her from within. It was a hunger that she could satiate only by draining other living creatures’ life force.

⁂

The fox girl turned and twisted in her bed for hours, unable to sleep. The longer she remained awake, the harder it was for her to ignore her hunger.

Ahri was always hungry. She could be draining other people’s life force for days, and she would still have room for more.

Having lived for centuries, she had found a way to control her hunger somewhat and avoid killing people. However, ever since she had met Naruto and he had allowed her to feast on his life force as much as she wanted, Ahri felt her control slip, and she started reverting to how she used to be a hundred years ago.

Turning on her side, her eyes glowed with a deep magenta colour in the darkness of the night as she glanced at Naruto’s bed where he was sleeping.

She got out of her bed and walked slowly towards him as if she were possessed. Her hand raised to touch him, and she licked her lips in anticipation. But, at the very last moment, she stopped her actions and pulled back.

‘I can’t do this. Not again.’

She climbed back into her bed once again, inwardly wracked with guilt and tortured by the ever-present feeling of hunger.

The girl continued struggling against her hunger for another half an hour before she could no longer bear it. She got up, but this time, she didn’t go to Naruto’s bed. Instead, she grabbed her white cloak from the hanger, put on her red boots, and left the room quietly.

The moment she left the room, the sleeping Naruto opened his eyes. He had been aware of Ahri’s movements the entire time. As a shinobi, unless he was utterly exhausted, he usually slept with one eye open, as the saying goes. He was always ready to react in case someone tried to kill him in his sleep. The powerful negative emotions inside Ahri and the way she kept twisting in her bed had alerted him from the start.

Letting out a sigh, he got out of bed as well, and he also put on his grey travelling coat and his boots. Then, he grabbed his backpack with the Scroll of Seals (he never left it unguarded) and his large broadsword before leaving the room, following Ahris' tracks.

⁂

‘It’s not enough.’

‘It’s not enough!’

‘IT’S NOT ENOUGH!’

She had fed on the life force of eight people already, leaving them barely standing on their two feet, but her hunger had yet to abate. It was the opposite; it was as if she was only getting hungrier.

‘Maybe I should never have come out of the woods.’

‘I should never have left Ionia.’

Afraid of what she might end up doing if she kept feeding on random passers-by in Bilgewater, Ahri left the city and headed into the forest.



She was going to feed on the life force of various animals. It wouldn’t be that big of an issue if some monkeys and some birds dropped dead once she was done with them.

“Where are you going, Ahri?” a voice came from behind her, and the fox girl froze in her tracks. 

“I-, I couldn’t sleep. I was going for a walk,” Ahri said as she turned around to face him.

Naruto studied her for a few moments before asking:

“Were you going to disappear on me secretly, in the thick of the night?”

“What? Spirits, No! Of course not!” she denied it right away. She let out a heavy sigh. “I’m hungry, Naruto. Hungrier than I’ve been in many years. . . I feel like I’m losing control,” she confessed.

“If you were hungry, why didn’t you say so? Didn’t I tell you already? You can feed on my life force whenever you want. Just let me know.”

Ahri wrung her fingers in distress.

“I can’t. This is different. I’m afraid of what I might end up doing.”

She glanced at her feet, unable to look him in the eyes. Even when she wasn’t draining other people’s life force and feeding on their emotions and memories, Ahri could still get a rough idea of what someone was feeling. All she could sense from Naruto at that moment was concern for her. . . and affection.

He took a few steps towards her, but her pleading voice stopped him from getting too close:

“Please, Naruto, stop. Don’t come any closer. I don’t want to hurt you. I can’t control myself now. I don’t want to end up killing the person I love once again.”

Hearing her words, Naruto stopped hesitating. Despite her protests, he walked towards her again and wrapped his arm around her back, embracing her to his chest.

“It’s alright, Ahri,” he said kindly. “I don’t know what happened in your past, but everything is alright.”

Pressed so close to him and feeling his strong emotions of concern and affection, Ahri couldn’t hold back her hunger anymore. Her yellow eyes turned a deep magenta colour once more, and Naruto let out a small grunt as he felt his chakra being drained away.

Five minutes later, he softly pushed her away, and Ahri had enough self-control not to fight it.

“Let’s head back to our inn, shall we?”

Unlike earlier that day, he took the initiative to grab her hand as they walked back to their accommodation at a slow pace.

On the way back, Ahri opened her heart to him and told him about her past.

“In my earliest memories, I remember growing up with a pack of ice foxes in northern Ionia, in Shao-Xan. At first, I didn’t know I was a Vastaya. I was stronger and faster than the other ice foxes, but I didn’t know I was different until I fed for the first time on a human’s life force.”

“It was a man wounded by a stray arrow. He was dying when I found him. I followed my instincts and started feeding on his life force. I drained his spiritual essence, his emotions and knowledge of the Ionian language.”

“That feeling was unlike anything I’d ever experienced until then. I quickly grew addicted to it, and my hunger and greed increased with every passing day. I started feeding off humans more often. I gained their memories, their knowledge, and this human-like appearance too. . .”

Naruto remained silent, only squeezing her hand in a wordless show of support and comfort as she continued to tell him her story.

As Ahri kept on feeding on people’s memories and life essence, she became sapient. Eventually, she stumbled upon memories depicting how humans perceived her: a terrifying monster. She had already become infamous among the locals of that province.

It was at that moment that her never-ending fight against her nature had begun. Many years passed like that, with the fox girl slowly gaining a measure of control over hunger and magical abilities.

“One day, I met an artist. Unlike the rest of the humans, he wasn’t afraid of me. He offered me a deal: he would give me his life essence as long as I allowed him to paint me. Soon, we fell in love. . . but it did not last.”

As cautious as she had been, the painter was just a regular human. Not long after they became a couple, his body gave out.

“I told him that I cannot control my magic. I asked him to leave me. I begged him to go and not look back. But he didn’t listen. He refused to leave.”

Tears started rolling down her cheeks, and she quickly wiped them away with the sleeve of her white cloak.

“One day, I couldn’t hold back my hunger, and I drained the last of his life force. I killed him,” Ahri said in a whisper.

The anguish in her voice couldn’t be faked, and Kyuubi’s sensing ability told him that her sorrow and remorse were real.

“I don’t want you to end up the same, Naruto,” she said, fresh tears welling in her eyes. “It would be better if you left me.”

But even as she said it, she didn’t let go of his hand. She clung to it like a lifeline, as if she couldn’t bear the thought of letting him go.

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to wipe her tears and hold her close, to cradle her face in his hand and tell her it would be okay. But he only had one arm left. So instead, he pulled her in and held her tight.

“I’m not going to die on you, Ahri,” he said.

She released his hand and wrapped both arms around his back tightly, burrowing her face into his chest.

“And you don’t have to hold back with me,” he continued. “You can have all my chakra. All my life force.”

She raised her head from his chest, glancing up at him tearfully.

“But what if-”

He pressed his index finger gently on her lips, shushing her.

“Focus your senses on me. Really focus on sensing my life force. I won’t hide anything from you this time. Put your hands on my belly and feel the chakra coursing through my body.”

Simultaneously, Naruto also flared his chakra. Great clouds of dust rose in the air, the nearby windows and doors were slammed shut with a bang, and tables and chairs were sent flying. The passers-by on the street started running away in panic, screaming expletives and yelling about the appearance of a sudden typhoon.

That phenomenon lasted no more than five seconds, but it was long enough for Ahri to understand just how deep his power was and how vast, nigh unlimited, his life force was. She was a Vastaya, a being deeply connected to the Spirit Realm. Few mortals in Runeterra could compare to her.

Yet, when she sensed Naruto’s ‘magic’, his chakra, she suddenly felt small. It was on an entirely different scale from hers. She understood then how laughable her worries must have been in his eyes.

⁂

Eventually, they arrived back at their inn. After closing the door behind them, they took off their cloaks, and Naruto placed his backpack and broadsword against the wall before sitting down beside her at the edge of her bed.

“You can start, Ahri,” he said gently, smiling at the sight of her flattened fox ears.

Having opened up to him earlier and realising that most of her fears had been unnecessary thanks to the overwhelming amount of chakra he possessed, Ahri looked down at her hands in her lap, a red colour in her cheeks. She felt like a fool for overreacting.

“It’s not just because I was afraid of harming you,” she mumbled, still avoiding his gaze.

“Then what else ails you, dear?” he asked, barely holding back a snicker.

“Don’t make fun of me, you!” she whined, softly headbutting his shoulder with her forehead. 

He chuckled and raised his hand to caress her head, right between her fox ears.

“Letting me feed on your life force is just a band-aid solution,” she muttered. “What if you suddenly decide one day that you don’t like me anymore? What if-”

He lowered his hand from her head to cup her cheek, and he turned her face to him so that she would look him in the eyes.

“Ahri, I will never abandon you.”

Uncharacteristic of her, the girl looked down, her complexion reddening by the second.

“Is that a promise?” she asked shyly.

He leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss on her lips.

“Yes. It’s the promise of a lifetime.”

Her breath hitched in her throat, and her slit, fox-like pupils widened as she looked at him.

“Don’t be so surprised, Ahri. You were my first friend,” he said, smiling as he caressed the whisker marks on her cheek with his thumb. “Because of my tenant’s power, I could always sense other people’s negative emotions. It made me keep everyone at an arm’s length. But you broke past my reticence. You earned my trust, and then you stole my heart, too.”

“Are you trying to make me cry again?” she said, embarrassed at his heartfelt confession. His sincerity had caught her completely off guard.

“No, I want to make you smile. And, as long as you’ll have me, I want to protect that smile.”

His words made her let out a squawk, her face looking as though she was going to combust from embarrassment any moment now.

Naruto himself was not entirely unaffected either, but after the fox girl opened her heart to him, he saw no reason to hesitate anymore. He was not the type who hid his feelings from the person he loved.

Now that he was sure that she was the one, he told her exactly what he felt, unknowingly making Ahri fall for him even harder than she already had.

“Who is this playboy, and what have you done with the bumbling fool of a sellsword that I used to know?!” 

He leaned in and covered her lips with his once again.

It was supposed to be just a chaste kiss, but after he pulled back, Ahri's arms snaked around his waist, and her warm, soft lips left a trail of butterfly kisses down his cheek and jaw until she reached his neck. 

“Ahri!” he whispered her name breathlessly, and his eyes closed as he felt her sharp fangs lightly graze his neck.

Emboldened by the groan of desire that he had let out, Ahri threw one leg over his and straddled his lap.

Her large breasts squished against his chest as she pressed herself tightly against him, the fabric of their sleeping clothes the only barrier between their skin. The sensation of her soft, warm body moulding to his was almost too much for the blond to handle, and he moaned into her mouth as she kissed him.

He slid his hand down her back, tracing her svelte waist until his fingers reached the base of her fox tail. Ahri couldn’t hold back the shiver that coursed through her body and pulled back from the kiss, mewling softly against his lips.

Smirking teasingly, he wrapped his hand around her tail and pulled. The girl arched her back, and her tail twitched sharply in response. Annoyed with him, she actually hissed at him before suddenly leaning in and biting his nape, her sharp fangs almost breaking past his skin.

"Not my tail!" she whined. 

Her pleading, offended face made him want to bully her even more, but he reined in that urge. He decided to leave it for another day; what Ahri needed at that moment was love and comfort.

As they began kissing again, Ahri’s hunger returned with a vengeance, and her amber eyes turned a bright magenta colour. She broke their kiss to gaze at him one more time, but to her hidden relief, there was no hint of fear or hesitation to be found in his eyes. All she could see was affection, understanding and acceptance.

Leaning in, she cupped his face with both hands and pressed her lips to his. It was not a soft, tentative kiss this time. It was completely different. She kissed him like she was starving, like she was trying to suck his soul out. It was messy and hot, and a small trail of saliva slid from the corner of their mouths as her tongue slipped past his lips and tangled with his. She sucked on his tongue and drank his saliva as she drained his life force, feasting on his chakra.

The kiss grew more intense, and she started gyrating her hips against him, her hunger and lust making her crave his touch in her most intimate place.

Without breaking the kiss, her hands began to unbutton his shirt, revealing his strong core and sculpted chest. He did the same, slowly pulling her white nightgown down past her shoulders and revealing her voluptuous, milky white breasts.

But then, she broke the kiss and sat up, making his eyes widen in surprise.

"Ahri, you don't have to do this," he said quickly when he saw her dropping to her knees in front of him, between his legs.

“But I want to,” she whispered as he pulled at the string holding his pyjama pants. "Let me take care of you."

Her slit pupils widened imperceptibly when she pulled down his pants, and his cock sprang up, throbbing and looking like it was on the verge of exploding.

“You’re so hard for me, Naruto. So big,” she said as she wrapped her small hand around its base and pressed a kiss to its side as she gazed up at him.

She stuck out her tongue and dragged it on the underside of his dick, greatly enjoying the way his nostrils flared from pleasure and how he throbbed at her touch.



Naruto’s heart leapt into his neck when she opened her mouth and he saw her sharp fangs, but he forgot all about his fears when her soft, wet mouth wrapped around his cock, and she began to suck, her eyes never leaving his.

Her tongue traced the edges of the crown of his head and then teased the slit before she took him deep into her throat. Her cheeks hollowed, and her eyes watered, but she didn't stop, sucking and forcing her head down his dick until her nose reached his pubic bone. He couldn't believe the sight in front of him. That flirtatious fox girl who used to tease him mercilessly, the most beautiful being he had ever seen, was down on her knees in front of him, worshipping him with her mouth.

The pleasure was so intense that he unconsciously bucked into her mouth, his hand pushing the back of her head as hard as he could against him. It was unlike anything he had ever felt in his entire life. No geisha, no escort could be compared to her.

“Ahri!” he cried out in a strangled voice.

The fox girl’s magenta eyes glowed brighter as she felt his life force pulsing through his cock. She took him in deeper, her throat constricting around him, and she moaned obscenely as she started draining his life essence.

The sight of the fox girl moaning as she deepthroated him was simply too much. He came with a loud grunt, filling her throat with his hot, sticky seed.

Realising that he was suffocating her, he let go of her head in a panic, and Ahri pulled back with a gasp. He was still in the middle of his orgasm when she pulled back, and ropes of cum splattered all over her face and breasts.

He came so hard that he was breathless and dizzy. He thought he was completely spent, but when Ahri opened her mouth, showing him the cum pooling on her tongue, he damn near lost it a second time.



The post-orgasm clarity hit him hard, though, and, realising what he had just done to her, he quickly got down to her level.

“Oh my god, Ahri, I’m so sorry,” he said as he grabbed his own shirt off the bed and started cleaning her up. But it wasn’t going too well. There was so much of it, and it was everywhere; some of it even got into her hair.

Ahri stood up with a smile and giggled softly at him before pushing his forehead back playfully.

“Don’t worry, and just wait for me. Give me a few minutes to clean myself; I’ll be back right away,” she said as she headed to the bathroom, her fox tail swaying with every step she took.

He sat on the bed and let himself fall on his back, covering his face with his forearm. Daydreaming about the pleasure he had just experienced, almost ten minutes passed like the blink of an eye. He didn’t even notice the passing of time until he heard the bathroom door open, and Ahri actually used her Spirit Rush ability, seemingly teleporting on top of him.

“I’m sorry for earlier, I-”

“Shh,” she shushed him this time, bringing a slender finger to his lips. “Don’t apologise. I loved every second of it.”

He was about to protest, but she covered his lips with hers, taking his breath with a kiss.

“I loved it, Naruto,” she said, her voice like a purr. “I loved your thick cock down my throat. I loved the feel of your hot cum filling my mouth. I loved seeing you lose control.”

He thought that she had drained him with the last orgasm, but her dirty talk got him so hard that it was almost painful.

Feeling him poking her from beneath, Ahri stood up with a grin, desire burning in her eyes. She got in position, straddled him, her warm, wet pussy hovering just above the tip of his dick.

He had just had the most mind-blowing orgasm of his life, but all it took was one look at her thigh gap glistening with her own juices for him to almost lose it again. He was scared of how much control she had over him.

Ahri’s yellow eyes never left his as she lowered herself onto him, his cock sliding into her with relative ease up to a point. Despite how wet she was, she moaned in slight discomfort as she started pushing herself down deeper, and she gasped when he hit the very bottom of her inner part.

Naruto moaned helplessly at the heavenly feeling of her hot, wet pussy constricting around him like a vice.

Placing her hands on his strong chest for support, she started raising and lowering her hips slowly, her walls squeezing him in a death grip.

He wasn’t a virgin. After Konoha’s ANBU had almost captured him due to a purple-haired kunoichi who had seduced him, Naruto had made it his goal to build tolerance to such tactics. He was no stranger to the pleasures of the flesh.

However, in the present, to his great shame, less than a minute after Ahri started moving her hips on top of him, he spilt himself inside of her, unable to control his release. It was as if it were his first time all over again.

Her lips curled in a smirk of satisfaction, and her yellow eyes turned a deep magenta colour again as she locked her gaze with him. Outside of his own volition, under the effect of her Charm, his dick instantly hardened again, and she started riding him once more.

His hand gripped her ass, urging her to move faster, but Ahri kept her movements slow and constant, seemingly savouring every second of it. Her eyes never left his, oscillating between her usual yellow and the pink of her Charm as she made love to him.

"I love you, Naruto,” she whispered as she lowered herself on him, and a tingle of both pleasure and pain shook her body when the tip of his dick bumped against her womb.

“I need you.”

“I love you.”

“I want you.”

Every time she lowered her hips, she would tell him how much she wanted him and how much she loved him.

Her rhythm slowly increased in intensity, and her whispers gradually turned into moans and shouts as she started slamming her hips down on his, the sounds of their flesh smacking together filling the room.

Their neighbours, the other people sleeping in the room next to them, came knocking on their doors, demanding they be silent, but the two of them were far too lost to care about that.

They only had eyes for each other, and the only things they could hear were each other’s moans and grunts.

For the first time in her life, Ahri let loose completely, and she started fucking him with wild abandon.



Her eyes rolled in the back of her head as she drained his life force through his cock, through his mouth, through the touch of her hands, and even through the contact of her breasts with his chest.

She couldn’t get enough of him. His emotions of love and devotion were intoxicating her. She was drunk on his life essence and on the happiness that she could sense from him every time she drained his life force.

He, too, was lost in a haze of pleasure, unable to do anything but shake his hips and grab her ass in a bruising grip, pressing her as closely as humanly possible against him before spilling himself inside her.

He lost count of how many times he witnessed her shaking and collapsing on top of him, to say nothing of how many times he had released his seed inside of her.

It was only in the wee hours of the morning that the two of them finally stopped, with Ahri collapsing on top of him, exhausted. Despite how much life essence she had drained from him, her body was sore, bruised, and tired like never before. As for Naruto, for all his Uzumaki stamina and chakra reserves, he felt more drained than after training with 5000 clones.

“I love you, Naruto,” Ahri whispered one last time. “I love you so much.”

The fox girl closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep, her head resting on his chest.

A tired smile came on his face, and he kissed her on the forehead before embracing her more closely to his body.

The last thing he remembered before falling asleep was a feeling of comfort washing over him as Ahri’s nine fluffy fox tails draped all over them both, keeping them warm and cosy in the chilly air of the morning.

[Emissary] Chapter 37 - Black Adam (III)

An arc of lightning flickered through the air, and Green Lantern grunted as his shield was shattered into countless specks of light.

Before Ragman could even react, he found himself launched into the wall to the side, slamming into it violently.

“Good morning, Mr President. I’ve come to talk to you.”

Black hair, a very tall and muscular physique, sharp ears, a strong jaw, and wearing a black skin-tight suit with a large yellow lightning motif on his chest. He was none other than Black Adam.

Despite his words, Black Adam didn’t give the president a chance to speak because he caught him by the neck and started choking him.

Holding the president hostage by the neck, Black Adam turned to the rest of the heroes and said in a menacing voice:

“Nobody moves, or he dies.”

Despite his warning, dozens of policemen and special forces operatives immediately took out their weapons and shouted as they aimed them at Black Adam. The heroes, both those from the Justice League and those from Argus, all jumped up to their feet, while some women and children among the spectators started screaming in panic.

But Black Adam was not the only uninvited guest. Nearly 40 people among the spectators suddenly took out their daggers and grabbed the closest person to them, putting their blades at their necks, taking them hostage.

Furthermore, several other imposing figures dropped on the stage, right next to Black Adam.

A very tall and muscular man with shoulder-length white hair and, next to him, two identical, white-haired men who looked like his children. They were none other than Ares, the God of War, and Deimos and Phobos, his sons.

A rather tall and very beautiful woman with long, dark red hair wearing an outfit rather similar to that of Wonder Woman, but with a black cloak added to it. She was Circe, a powerful, legendary witch.

A muscular man wearing black armour and a helmet resembling a sea creature that covered most of his face except for the mouth and wielding a silver trident: he was Ocean Master, Aquaman’s brother.

And, lastly, a slender woman covered in light brown fur and possessing a cat’s claws, fangs, ears, nose, and tail. She was Cheetah, one of Wonder Woman’s most bitter enemies.

“It must be so nice holding an award ceremony here, in the capital of the United States,” Black Adam spoke while holding the president by the throat. “Patting yourselves on the back for what great heroes you are. Praising yourselves for the crime rate shooting down another per cent. . . While you are sending assassins, in secret, to kill me and my family.”

Wonder Woman stepped out of her seat slowly, with her hands raised, to show that she did not have any intentions to attack.

“I don’t know what happened, but you don’t have to do this, Black Adam,” she said, trying to calm him down. “There has to be another way –”

“Of course you don’t know,” Black Adam cut her off. “The Justice League doesn’t know anything. It does not know about the wars raging all across the Earth. It does not know about the injustice happening right under their very nose.”

“Then tell us. Put Mr President down, and we can talk about it. We can discuss it together,” Wonder Woman tried to reason with him. “You are the leader of a country, too. Don’t do something that you will regret. Think of the consequences, not just for yourself but for the people of your country as well.”

“You want me to talk?” Black Adam asked, his voice quivering with fury as he turned to face her fully. Lightning flickered in his eyes as he shouted. “Will talking bring my dead wife back to life? Will talking resurrect her? Are you capable of doing something like that, Wonder Woman?”

With his growing anger, the police and the special force operatives present at the scene grew anxious and started screaming at Black Adam:

“Put Mister President down right away!” 

“Put him down or we’ll shoot!”

But, in front of Black Adam, they were like dogs barking at the wrong tree. There could be a tank gun aimed at him, and he would not care, to say nothing of their handguns and rifles.

The beautiful sorceress, however, had had enough of their shouting, and she raised her hands at them lazily.

Under everyone’s disbelieving eyes, the policemen and the special force operatives were all transformed into pigs, their weapons falling to the floor with a loud clatter of metal.

“I see that 2000 years spent in Tartarus were still not enough to change your hobbies,” Ares spoke with a grin.

“What can I say, my lord? Old habits die hard.”

The heroes stood as though they were petrified, not knowing what to do. If it had been only the president’s life at stake, they might have been able to come up with a solution, but it was not just one life at risk: 40 other innocent people were being held hostage at knife and gunpoint.

Power Girl clenched her fists, her mind going into overdrive as he tried to come up with a solution.

‘Could I disarm those 40 criminals without harming the hostages before they could react?’

‘Am I fast enough?’

She had never moved as fast as that, not even when she had to save Flash from the bomb that Project Cadmus’s members had strapped to his wrist.

‘And then, there’s the president too.’

Even if she was fast enough to disarm all those criminals, the president was being held hostage by Black Adam, whom many believed to be the most powerful metahuman in the world.

“Now that the rabble is out of the way, let us continue,” Black Adam said. “You are probably wondering why I’m doing this. It’s all very simple-”

At that moment, a voice rang in Power Girl’s mind.

“Power Girl, this is Raven. Don’t react. Don’t talk. I can’t hold this telepathic link for long. Zatanna will cast a spell to make everyone drop their weapons. Flash and Shazam will incapacitate the criminals. You will use your heat vision on Black Adam’s hand and tackle him out of the way. Green Lantern will catch and rescue the president with his power ring. I will try to hold Circe at bay until Zatanna comes to help me. Starfire, Hawkgirl, and Wonder Woman will charge at Ares and his sons. Tilt your head to the left if you’re on board with the plan.”

Power Girl let out a breath of relief. Usually, especially over the course of the last half a year, since Superman fell into a coma, Power Girl was treated as the ‘muscle’ of the Justice League. She was the cavalry. Whenever things got too hard to handle, she was the one whom they called to save the day, just like it happened a few hours ago, too, with the natural disaster at the Vajon Dam in Italy.

It was comforting to see that the other members of the Justice League could also pull their weight when it mattered. She couldn’t have solved this situation all by herself.

After she tilted her head to the left as she was asked, Raven’s voice rang in her head again, and from the looks of it, it seemed like she was telepathically connected to all the heroes that she had chosen to break this deadlock:

“Everyone, Power Girl is on board with the plan. I will count to 5. When I say go, we all burst into action with no hesitation.”

“1. 2. 3. 4. 5. GO!”

Black Adam was in the middle of his monologue when Zatanna suddenly shouted:

"Enoyreve pord ruoy snopaew!"

It sounded like gibberish, but it was actually her way of casting spells by speaking backwards. What the incantation meant was “Everyone drop your weapons”.

Zatanna had yet to even finish her sentence when Kara’s eyes became red, and two crimson beams of light burst forth, shooting straight towards Black Adam’s wrist.

Black Adam cried out in pain, involuntarily opening his hand and dropping the president. He had yet to recover from his surprise when a shockwave destabilised everyone in the ruined building as Power Girl lunged at him, nearly breaking the sound barrier.

Simultaneously, Green Lantern caught the president with a construct of green light and pulled him away while the rest of the heroes from both ARGUS and the Justice League took action, but Kara didn’t register any of that.

A shockwave exploded, windows shattered, the walls cracked, and the partially destroyed ceiling collapsed as Power Girl slammed into Black Adam, tackled him through the wall, outside of the building, and crashed with him into a fountain.

Black Adam attempted to push her off himself, but the Kryptonian’s strength was monstrous, even beyond his, despite that he derived his physical strength from the Egyptian God, Amun.

“Shazam!” he shouted.

The sky instantly darkened, and a bolt of magic lightning came down from the clouds, striking Kara in the back.

A sound like glass breaking was heard as one of the protective enchantments that Harry had cast on her clothes (the one on her cloak in particular) was shattered. Nevertheless, it had achieved its purpose, protecting her from a lightning spell that could have otherwise injured her severely.

“Shaz-” he tried to call down the lightning a second time, but a fist smashed into his mouth.

The power behind her strike was such that a massive crater was formed under Black Adam’s head.

Power Girl immediately raised her fist to punch him again, but he had not lived for over 3000 years for nothing. His knowledge and understanding of martial arts were second to none. When she struck a second time, he tilted his head, dodging her punch, and then he used her momentum against her and made her lose her balance, thus rolling her off him.

She spun around quickly, but he was already up on his feet, and a bolt of lightning shot forth from his hands, smashing into her chest.

Despite the Rune Magic inscribed into her hero suit, Power Girl cried out in pain as a portion of his divine lightning bypassed Harry’s protective spells.

The lightning spell sent her skidding across the plaza, her high-heeled boots carving a trench into the pavement as she did her best to stop.

“Don’t get in my way, Power Girl. The last time I fought Superman, I beat him to an inch of his life, and he’s more powerful than you. You don’t stand a chance at stopping me and my allies.”

Power Girl flicked her short hair out of her face, not impressed.

"My cousin always holds back so he doesn’t accidentally turn low-lives like you into red mist. That’s the only reason you ever got a win over him. But I’m not Superman. I don’t have his patience. And I don’t have his restraint. Not after you and your crime buddies took hostages and threatened to kill the president.”

“I gave you a chance to live, but you turned it down. Don’t blame me for what happens next,” Black Adam growled, lightning crackling around his closed fists again.

The time for talking ended. Black Adam and Power Girl became nothing but a blur to the human eye as they charged at each other.

They collided mid-air, punching each other hard enough to rattle the surrounding buildings. Every single one of their hits created shockwaves that raised clouds of dust and shattered the windows of nearby cars.

A vicious uppercut from Black Adam sent Power Girl crashing through a statue, obliterating it, but she caught herself fast, and her eyes turned crimson as her heat vision shot out. Black Adam screamed in pain as he was blasted out and slammed into a building, leaving a human-shaped dent in its wall.

‘I have to take this fight away from the civilians,’ Power Girl thought as she grabbed Black Adam by the neck and threw him violently to the largest patch of green she could see nearby.

He crashed into a long rectangular pond, splashing a great amount of water all over the place. It was the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

The people visiting the memorial screamed in panic and started running away when Black Adam crashed into the water, and they saw Power Girl descending from the sky like a rocket, stomping him on the head with both heels.

“Shazam!” he screamed, and, a split second later, a massive bolt of lightning struck Power Girl in the head.

And with that, the last of the protective spells that Harry had cast on her clothes was destroyed.

Paralysed by the magical lightning, Power Girl was unable to react in time, and he grabbed her by the leg and threw her away with all his strength, launching her straight into the Washington Monument.

The colossal obelisk was unable to withstand the impact, and, other than the hole her body left in its outer wall, the entire column started tilting precariously, seemingly only seconds away from collapsing and reaping the lives of the two dozen tourists inside.

Left with no choice, Kara momentarily let Black Adam off the hook and rushed out, flying to stabilise the tilting Washington Monument before it reached the point of no return, before it could collapse completely.

“Evacuate asap!” she yelled.

However, thanks to her X-ray vision, she could see that the elevator inside the obelisk had gotten stuck with 20 people inside it.

“Damn it!” she cursed. 

As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours.

Realising that Power Girl was desperate to save the people who were trapped inside the Washington Monument, a malevolent grin twisted Black Adam’s face.

“I don’t know how you have withstood all my lightning spells so far, but I can tell that whatever it was, it has ended. The last lightning strike had affected you greatly. Your neck is charred, and your nose is bleeding. On top of that, you are also trying to protect those ants.”

“You are finished, Power Girl,” Black Adam said, and raised his hands.

The air grew heavy with static, and the black clouds above began to swirl, slowly turning into a massive, rotating storm. Even without a trace of magic in her body, Kara could feel it in her bones that something big was about to hit.

Before he could say the magic word and call down the lightning, Power Girl made a decision: she smashed her way through the obelisk’s wall and flew at the people who were stuck inside the elevator. She tore off the railing and the cables holding the elevator and blew up the other wall too before flying out with the elevator in her hands.

Afraid that the murderous criminal would call down the lightning while she was carrying those people, Kara only flew a few dozen metres before putting them down. She quickly broke apart the elevator, making space for the trapped people to come out, before rushing back towards Black Adam.

“Shazam!” he shouted.

The whirlpool of black clouds lit up, and a massive pillar of lightning shot down.

A large portion of her red cloak turned into dust, and so did the back of her leotard, too. Power Girl screamed in agony as her skin burnt and her flesh melted as the magical lightning burrowed into her bones.

She crashed into the ground like a cannonball, leaving a deep crater. She did not get up.

But Black Adam wasn’t done. The massive Washington Monument, which was about to collapse, a huge obelisk over 150 metres tall and weighing nearly 100,000 tons, was suddenly lifted into the air from its foundations.

He laughed like a maniac as he aimed the obelisk’s tip down and threw the enormous monument like a javelin at the collapsed Power Girl.

A massive cloud of dust rose in the air, and a deafening noise rang out as the gigantic building crashed down, getting destroyed beyond recognition.

Not content with waiting around for the dust to settle, Black Adam clapped his palms with great strength, generating a powerful wind pressure that swept all the dust away and revealed the large pile of debris that was left in the aftermath.

“I told you that this is how it was going to end. I gave you a chance to back off, to walk away with your life. The path to salvation was wide open, but you refused to take it. The gates of hell were closed, but you insisted on barging in. You only have yourself to blame.”

Saying those final words, Black Adam turned around, intent on heading back to the venue where the award ceremony was being held, where his allies and the rest of the heroes were likely still locked in battle.

But then, a massive ray of crimson light shot up in the sky, and the large pile of rubble exploded. 

“Were you about to hold my fucking obituary?” Power Girl said as she flew out of the rubble. 

Black Adam had been blessed with the Courage of Mehen, the Egyptian snake god, but as he watched the bloodied and battered Kryptonian come out of the rubble, her eyes glowing crimson, he felt chills travel down his spine.

He wanted to ask how in the world she had survived that, but just as he opened his mouth, a terrible pain erupted from his jaw.

For a moment, the world turned white. A noise of extremely powerful winds muted all other sounds, and his surroundings stopped making sense, transforming into a jumbled mess of lights.

He looked around himself, disoriented, unable to understand what was going on. Everything in his vicinity was completely different; moreover, his eyes and nose were leaking blood, and his entire face hurt as though it were on fire.

“Whas ih hoi-”

Hearing himself, Black Adam finally took notice of his state: he couldn’t speak. His jaw was shattered into pieces and bleeding profusely, his tongue was mangled, and most of his teeth were missing.

He let out a groan of agony as the intensity of pain hit him in full.

At that moment, the Wisdom of Zehuti, the Egyptian God of Wisdom and Knowledge, also kicked in and made him understand what had just happened: his surroundings were different because he was no longer in Washington DC. 

Currently, Black Adam was in Montreal, Canada.

The Kryptonian woman’s brutal punch had sent him flying for nearly 1000 kilometres, almost killing him in the process. The fact that his head had not exploded in a red mist or that his body had not caught on fire for flying at a speed of 2000 km/s was nothing short of divine intervention from his patron gods.

But he wasn’t given another moment of respite because the ferocious woman suddenly appeared on the horizon, stirring extremely powerful winds in her wake.

“Hajhah!” Black Adam instinctively cried out, trying to call down the magic lightning, but with his broken jaw and mangled tongue, he couldn’t pronounce the word "Shazam" properly.

His life flashed in front of his eyes as the bloodlusted Kryptonian woman lunged at him, intent on tearing his head off.

With the last shred of rationality he possessed, Black Adam gathered his magic and fired a blast of lightning from his hands. It wasn’t as powerful as the lightning summoned by calling the name ‘Shazam’, but it was the only thing he could do in his current state.

Power Girl didn’t even attempt to dodge, committing herself to tanking his spell head-on in order not to give him the opportunity to escape.

As the blast of lightning hit her squarely in the stomach, however, both Black Adam’s and Power Girl’s eyes widened in shock.

Another invisible barrier popped out, momentarily stopping the lightning attack, before the space twisted, and Power Girl’s body was whisked away.

What had just happened was the result of the final protective spell that Harry had cast on Kara’s clothes (and those of little Harry and Astrid as well).

It was something that he had started working on during his visit to Themyscira half a year ago, when Astrid was learning how to control her powers. It had taken him weeks of Arithmancy calculations before he came up with the perfect formula.

It was an enchantment that would rescue Power Girl and Portkey her away to safety in case of mortal peril. Unlike the first version of the spell, the one that had saved her during Cadmus’ assassination attempt, the current spell was designed to take account of her Kryptonian physiology and her superhuman stamina and durability, only activating after reaching a particular threshold.

Having withstood the brutal attack when Black Adam threw the building weighing nearly 100,000 tonnes at her, the spell was already extremely close to hitting the activation threshold. Black Adam's final lightning blast, right before she was going to destroy him, had been the last push needed to trigger the spell.

Power Girl glanced at her surroundings in disbelief.

⁂

Harry Potter had finished his conversation with Albus Dumbledore in the headmaster’s office quite some time ago, and now he had just slain the Basilisk deep beneath the castle, in the Chamber of Secrets. With both his children enrolled at Hogwarts, he was not going to let them face the same life-threatening dangers he once had. Little Astrid might have been very powerful, but even she could have died to a creature like the Basilisk.

He stored the enormous serpent’s still-warm corpse into his charmed briefcase, then cast his flying spell and rose from the chamber floor, heading back toward the castle above.

‘The Basilisk is dead. Quirrell, too, thanks to the tip I gave Dumbledore ahead of time. So... what’s next on the list? Should I go wipe out the Acromantula colony?’ he wondered. 

He paused for a moment in the wide pipe leading up to Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, thinking about it. Maybe it wasn’t necessary. Astrid was more than capable of handling them. With her heat vision, her Kryptonian speed and strength, and as long as she wasn’t caught off guard, the Acromantulas didn’t pose a real threat.

‘Besides, I lost count of how many times I nagged them about the dangers of the Wizarding World and the Forbidden Forest in particular. They wouldn’t go there alone. . . right?’

As his mind went back to his own time as a student nearly five centuries ago, Harry was suddenly not as confident that his two children would stay out of trouble as he hoped. If Astrid and little Harry were even half as mischievous as he had once been, then it was only a matter of time before they found themselves in a dangerous situation.

‘Maybe I should go thin down the spiders’ numbers after all.’

He had just arrived in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom and sealed the entrance to Chamber of Secrets when a Caterwauling Charm that only he could hear started blaring in his ears. Power Girl’s last protective spell had been triggered. Something had gone very wrong.

Regardless of the fact that he risked exposing the existence of alternate dimensions to Dumbledore by using his Rune Magic to disappear from the castle, Harry was too worried about Kara’s well-being to wait even a second longer. He teleported back to his bunker in southern France right away.

⁂

“Kara! What happened to you?” Harry asked, greatly alarmed when he took in her appearance.

Adrenaline still coursing through her veins, instead of answering his question, she shouted:

“Goddamn it, Harry, I had him! Why did you have to teleport me away??”

“Send me back!”

“Send me back right away!”

“Whoa, take it easy! Tell me what’s going on first.” He tried to placate her, but incensed from the battle as she was, Power Girl suddenly kicked a nearby chair, making it explode into wooden splinters, and shouted:

“I said, send me back, goddammit! Send me back before he escapes!”

The young woman looked like she was on the verge of hyperventilating.

“I’m not letting you go anywhere in your current state,” Harry said calmly.

“I don’t have time for games now! Teleport me back, or I swear I’ll punch my way out of this bunker myself!”

Harry built this bunker after Vandal Savage had killed him by firing a meteorite at New York City. At the height of his paranoia, he had dug 2 kilometres underground and created a magic bunker that would survive any cataclysm short of the very planet exploding. Wars, nukes, meteorites, volcano eruptions, earthquakes - nothing could destroy this place. It was the safest and best-guarded place on Earth.

However, Kryptonians also defied all common sense. He wouldn’t put it past Power Girl to somehow brute-force her way through all the charms, wards, and Runic Magic he had cast on the bunker.

“You’re severely injured. Even if World War 3 was about to start outside, I’m still not letting you out of here in your current state,” Harry said in a calm but firm voice.

Her nostrils flared with her anger, and she clenched her teeth, looking as though she was on the verge of exploding.

“Let me go, Harry. I won’t ask a second time,” Kara said dangerously.

“I won’t,” Harry said, and the Elder Wand slipped into his hand.

For some reason, his calm tone only served to make her even angrier.

“You’re going to use your magic on me?”

“If I have to stun you to let me treat your wounds, yes, I will.”

“I’m a Kryptonian, for fuck’s sake! I don’t need your healing! I don’t need your stupid spells! If it wasn’t for your stupid enchantments, I would’ve had him!”

Despite how much effort he had put into creating and casting those enchantments on every piece of jewellery and clothing that she owned, Harry didn’t take her words to heart. He had lived for a very long time. He knew that people often said things they didn’t necessarily mean when they were angry.

Above all, Power Girl’s current mental state was clearly not normal. She had never shouted at him like that before. She had never shown that frenzied, almost berserk look in her eyes.

Therefore, instead of arguing, he conjured a tall oval mirror so that she would see her reflection.

Her eyes were bloodshot, and half of her face and her neck were blackened from the magical lightning strikes she had endured. Her hero costume was in tatters, barely covering her modesty anymore, and revealing the purple and bloodied bruises and scratches covering her entire body.

Worst of all, the wound on her back was horrifying. Her skin and flesh had been melted away, down to the very bone.

But she completely ignored the mirror that he had conjured for her, only continuing to glare at him in anger.

‘She’s in shock.’

Understanding she was impossible to reason with at that moment, Harry aimed his wand at her. Kara instinctively reacted in an attempt to dodge, but the spell that he had cast was a nonverbal Body-Binding Charm. It was instantaneous, and it had no visual effect either. Kara didn’t even know when or what hit her before she collapsed on the ground, paralysed.

Her eyes lit up with a crimson glow, seemingly about to fire her heat vision towards the wall of the room, but a Stunning Spell hit her next, and she knew no more. She fell unconscious. 

[Orcbane] Chapter 13 - Robbery

The last rays of sunlight slowly disappeared behind the red and yellow peaks of Fairbreeze Mountains, painting the evening sky in brilliant gold and crimson lights.

Naruto and Liadrin were in the garden, sitting on a bench and watching the sunset as they drank a mildly sweet beverage made from flower petals.

Once every few days, the boy would sneak out of the Farstrider Enclave, leaving only a shadow clone behind, and come visit his mother in Fairbreeze Village. One year had already passed since she adopted him, but sometimes, it was still surreal for him that he actually had a family now.

As night fell, Naruto and Liadrin stood up, knowing it was time for him to return to the Farstrider Enclave.

“Good night, Alyndor,” Liadrin said as he kissed him on the forehead. “Travel safe.”

“I will,” he said as he embraced her in return, making the elf woman smile and caress the back of his head.

“Go now. You have a night patrol shift, don’t you? Don’t be late. The Ranger General does not take kindly to such behaviour.”

“You’re right,” Naruto said and broke the hug. “Can I come visit you again at the end of the week?”

“Of course you can; what question is that?”

As he turned to leave, Liadrin called out to him again:

“Naruto?”

“Yes?”

“I hope you’re going straight to the Enclave, without making any detours.”

“Of course. Where else would I go?”

“I don’t know, maybe to a certain village on the coast? Where a particular girl-”

“Mom!” Naruto said in a whiny voice, making her giggle. “Would you stop it? Why in the world would I want to go to Sylvanas now?”

“I didn’t say it was Sylvanas,” Liadrin returned with a grin.

Flushing slightly now, he shot back in annoyance, “Who else would it be if not her?”

“It could have been her elder sister, Alleria, too, could it not?” she said, shrugging her shoulders, pretending to be innocent. 

“I’m leaving,” he said, quickly turning around so she wouldn’t see how her words had gotten to him.

“Oh my! You have a thing for both sisters?!” Liadrin brought a hand to her mouth, pretending to be shocked.

“Stop teasing me. Ugh. I’m really leaving now,” he groaned and disappeared with a shunshin, much to her amusement.

⁂

Despite Lady Liadrin's request for him to head straight to the Farstrider Enclave without making any detours, Naruto had other plans that night.

Sylvanas and Alleria, the two Windrunner sisters, had gotten a leave for the next two weeks. They weren’t at the Farstrider Enclave currently (they were about to celebrate the birthday of their baby brother, Lirath, for the first time) so that was the perfect moment for him to sneak out because, without the two sisters to pinch his cheeks to make sure he wasn’t a Shadow Clone, nobody in the barracks would notice his original body’s absence, especially at night. 

He could not stop smiling when his mind went back to their punishment task from a week ago, as he shinobi-jumped from one tree to another at a fast speed.

“You better be grateful! If not for me, you’d be stuck as an ugly frog forever!” Sylvanas said, her head turned away.

He dropped to one knee in front of Sylvanas, took her hand in his, and kissed it gently.

“Thank you, Lady Sylvanas. I will not forget your sacrifice.”

“Anything for a comrade,” the girl muttered in a barely audible voice, unable to face him.

He started laughing when he remembered how red the tips of her elvish ears were.

‘My god, she was so damn cute!'

If only she didn’t have such a sharp tongue, chastising him every time he messed up.

‘If only she were a little more like Alleria.’

Unlike the bratty and combative Sylvanas, her older sister was more serious, more mature, and seemed less interested in annoying or provoking him. Other than the times when she teased him for having “cute whiskers”, Alleria was more pleasant company.

He almost missed a step when he landed on a tree’s branch as he recalled what his mother had asked him only a few moments ago:

“Oh my! You have a thing for both sisters?!”

He stopped for a few moments to recollect himself. It wouldn’t do any good for him to start thinking about Alleria’s long legs now or her-

“Damn it, get your shit together,” he muttered, frustrated with himself.

He didn’t really understand what was going on. It wasn’t like this was the first time he had liked a girl. He used to like Sakura years ago. But now, it felt different.

Lately, he found himself thinking about girls all the time. His eyes kept drifting without him meaning to, always pulled toward their chests, their legs, or the curve of their hips.

Alleria’s slim figure, alluring hips, and long legs in particular had a way of catching his attention, whether he wanted it or not. The fact that the beautiful she-elf often wore thigh-high leather boots and high-waist leather trousers didn’t help matters at all.

What Naruto didn’t realise was that this was normal. It happened to every boy his age when puberty started.

He ran a hand over his face and dropped down from the tree, heading to a nearby stream of water. It was a forest creek at the foot of the Fairbreeze Mountains. Kneeling at the shore of the small river, he took off his gauntlets and splashed some cold water on his face.

He let out a sigh of comfort and contentment as he also drank some of it. The darkening evening sky with its gold and crimson light glittering like auroras, the beautiful and vibrant trees with yellow and red leaves, the pleasant smell of the forest, the sounds that the animals made as they went to sleep, and the refreshing and cool taste of the river water momentarily brought him to a standstill.

Sometimes, he was afraid that this was all a dream and that he would wake up, only to realise that he was back in the Elemental Nations, back in Konoha.

‘I will protect this place. No matter what.’

He loved Quel’Thalas. He loved his mother, Liadrin, and his grandfather, Vandellor. He loved the Farstriders. He loved the tranquil forest and the peaceful village, Fairbreeze. He loved the Eversong Forest and his life here, in the world of Azeroth. He had never taken Liadrin’s love or his life in the kingdom of the elves for granted. And he had no plans of doing so in the future either.

‘I have to get stronger for their sake.’

‘If I want to protect this place, I need to be even stronger than I am now.’

Unfortunately, even with all his tenacity and a vast number of shadow clones, there was a limit to how much he could grow when he didn’t have a teacher, someone to guide him.

‘I need to learn magic. I need to learn a way to block the curses.’

He had never forgotten about the terrifying curse of the Blood Loa that the troll shaman had cast on him one year ago, in the battle at the Dawnstar Village, by sacrificing himself.

Moreover, the incident from a week ago, when the murloc turned him into a frog, had been a harsh reminder that he had yet to find a way to make up for his weakness.

⁂

A man of average height with long, pointy ears characteristic of the high elves crouched behind a neatly trimmed bush, not far from a tall, white tower. Dressed in black clothes and with his head and face covered by a black bandana and a black scarf, he looked no different from a thief. He was none other than Naruto. He was using a Henge.

“I’m strongly against this, Naruto,” came Kurama’s voice from inside the seal.

“Relax, nobody will catch me. If I could nick the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage’s home, surely I can sneak into Dar’khan’s tower too.”

“You, idiot, it’s not about that!” Kyuubi snapped at him, irritation seeping into his voice. “Did you forget what happened the last time you stole a scroll and tried to cast a technique unsupervised?”

“It’ll be different this time,” Naruto said confidently.

“Stupid men, and fat women. Nobody beats their confidence.”

“Hey, asshole, why are you calling me stupid?”

“Because you’re going to screw us both, that’s why! I’m sharing your body, too, you stupid brat! What if you try to cast some magic that will send you to some other godforsaken land again, or one that tears you apart? Did you learn nothing from what happened the last time?”

“Then what choice do I have, huh? Tell me, what am I supposed to do? I tried to study, and I learnt a lot, but Dar’khan still won’t take me as his disciple. Because I’m just not good enough with maths and books and shit. What else do you want me to do?” asked Naruto in a voice filled with frustration.

His shadow clones were not an all-powerful tool because he still only had one brain. The clones did help with learning, but there was only so much information that the human brain could memorise. In the end, most of the information that he tried to learn would end up being forgotten. It was like cramming heavily before exams and forgetting most of it a few days later… except that he had hundreds of clones. 

But, worst of all, he just was not good at maths. No amount of shadow clones and studying could make up for his inability to solve complicated maths equations and problems. And maths and physics were the core of Arcane Magic. Without them, Naruto had no future as a mage.

When Kyuubi didn’t reply right away, Naruto continued:

“You asked me if I forgot about the past. But I didn’t. It’s you who forgot that blood curse that tortured us both a year ago. Or did you also forget that a week ago, that murloc shaman turned me into a frog? What if we were on the battlefield? How would I have escaped with my life then? I wouldn't. We both would've gotten killed!”

“Why can’t you just buy some armour with anti-magic enchantments? The elven military has that, and you also have a blacksmith friend, don’t you? Why don’t you ask him to craft you some armour to defend against curses?”

The fox was talking about Ranis Moonforge, the dark-skinned high elf who had befriended Naruto a year ago.

“That’s just a band-aid solution that won’t help me out when I have to infiltrate the forest trolls' cities!” Naruto retorted. “How would I wear high elven armour when I’ll be disguising myself as a troll to spy on them?”

“Just tell your friend to make your armour look like it’s troll armour, idiot!”

“How many forest trolls have you seen wearing armour, you dumbass?” Naruto shouted back at him. “Most of them are half-naked; they barely have a loincloth! How would I look going around in full plate armour? You stupid fox!”

The bijuu started growling at him. He and Naruto had become friends, but the boy had a talent for getting on his nerves.

“Look, I’m not as stupid as you think I am. I developed my elemental jutsu just fine with shadow clones, with minimal help from you, didn't I? I will do the same with magic. I will use shadow clones to test the waters. I’ll be safe.”

Kyuubi let out a sigh.

“How do you expect to learn magic when you aren’t good at physics and maths? I focused my senses on Dar’khan the entire time, and he never lied to you about that. This Arcane Magic of theirs really requires the caster to be very intelligent.”

“I’m not going to steal a tome of Arcane Magic,” Naruto replied. “There are multiple forms of magic in this world. It’s not like our ninjutsu. I’m sure that other forms of magic don’t need me to be a freaking nerd. I mean, just think of the troll shamans who were casting lightning and lava spells or the murloc shaman who hexed me into a frog. Don’t tell me those savage monsters are some sort of geniuses. I could bet my yearly salary that murloc shaman doesn’t even know how to read and write.”

“. . . Fair enough,” Kyuubi admitted, but he didn’t give up even now. “But what makes you think that you’ll find that other different types of magic in this elf mage’s tower?”

Naruto jumped over the tall fence into Dar’khan’s residence and hid behind a fountain so that the Arcane Guardians, the tall golems with the glowing gems shining brightly in their waists, would not detect his intrusion.

“That day when the troll army invaded and I burst into Dar’khan’s tower, he was casting some blackish, dark-purple coloured magic. I didn’t realise it back in the day, but over the past year, I’ve become more familiar with the elves' magic. Now I know that that black, dark purple magic isn’t Arcane. I’ve never seen any other Farstriders or Magisters cast that type of magic before.”

“You’re betting on something that may not even exist. What if you get caught? Did you forget that these elves have Scrying Magic? Isn’t that how they found out that your little elf girlfriend drew on her sister’s face?”

“W-What girlfriend are you talking about!” he sputtered. “Sylvanas and I are just friends! Hell, not even that; she hates my guts, and I can’t stand her either! We’re rivals!”

“Right. You do know that my Negative Emotion Sensing works on you, too, right?”

“. . . Shut up,” Naruto groused at him in a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. “Look, that’s beside the point! Why do you think I cast a Henge on myself to look like a high elf thief? Even if Dar’khan uses Scrying Magic to see who broke in, he’ll see just a regular elf man, not me.”

“Grrrr….”

No matter how the bijuu tried to dissuade the boy, he had an answer for everything. It appeared as though Naruto had really thought things through this time. Understanding that it wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment act and that the blond had planned things out well, Kyuubi gave up trying to change his mind. Letting out a “hmpf” sound, he said:

“Do whatever you want.”

And with that, the fox turned silent.

Now that the bijuu stopped nagging him, Naruto could focus his entire attention on breaking into Dar’khan’s tower.

Mindful of the fact that Dar’khan could cast a Scrying Spell to learn the truth about the past, he didn’t walk on the wall like a ninja; after all, he was the only person in Quel’Thalas who was capable of that. His disguise would end up being useless.

He took out an enchanted grappling hook and, after winding it up several times, he threw it with deadly accuracy right next to the top window of the tall tower. Instead of having a hook at the end, this grappling tool had a suction cup of sorts that immediately glued itself to the smooth white wall.

‘Nice,’ he thought, pleased with the tool. With his shinobi abilities, he would normally have no need for such tools, but they were pretty fun to use.

Holding onto the rope, he started pulling himself up slowly, mimicking the way a regular person would scale a wall.

Two minutes later, he finally climbed up to the window at the top of the mage tower.

His hand went to his belt, and he took out a specialised knife with a diamond edge. Both the knife and this grappling hook had been bought from the Guild of Rogues, an infamous organisation which was located in the Murder Row, a rather dangerous street in an ill-famed district of Silvermoon City, the capital of the kingdom.

The Murder Row street served as a gathering point of sorts for all types of dangerous individuals and other people who walked in the shadows, skirting the law.

Holding onto the rope with one hand, Naruto used his diamond-edged knife to cut a small round hole into the window, just big enough for his hand to fit through and open the window from the inside.

That part went flawlessly. . . However, after he took out the piece of cut glass and shoved his hand through the window, a loud alarm started blaring.

“Oh, come on!” he complained.

It appeared that the mage had set up sensor spells to detect any intruders.

With the deafening alarm ringing, he could not afford to linger. The mage would wake up and catch him in less than a minute! He smashed his fist into the window, shattering it completely, and hopped inside the pitch-dark room.

Having already been inside that room two times, he was somewhat familiar with its layout. He turned on his magic lantern, and, still not forgetting to play the part of a regular robber, he started grabbing haphazardly every valuable thing he could get his hands on.

He stole some golden instruments, a magic dagger and two wands hanging on the wall, three spherical crystals of a deep, black-purple colour, a bunch of books that looked like they were valuable, and a couple of other things.

However, it was all just an act. He didn’t need most of that stuff. They were just a diversion, a way to fool the Magister and hide the fact that Naruto’s target had been one particular book, the one that had been lying on a pedestal.

Despite the numerous things that he had stolen and shoved inside his bag, it hadn’t changed its size or weight. It was a Runecloth Bag, a bag that was enchanted with a space-expansion and a weight-reduction spell. It was a precious item outside of Quel’Thalas and Dalaran, where magic wasn’t as common. Many adventurers, porters, and military personnel wished to own one.

“Stop right there, thief!” Dar’khan, wearing a blue nightcap and a purple nightgown, burst into the room screaming.

However, by the time the mage had arrived, he only managed to catch a glimpse of the elf man’s black robes as he jumped out of the window.

The Magister didn’t have his usual magic staff with him, but he did have a small wand, and he rushed at the window, firing a barrage of Arcane Missiles at the thief.

“Catch him!” he yelled at his Arcane Golems, and the large robotic golems started charging at the fleeing Naruto with great momentum, each one of their steps making the cobblestone street shudder.

Dar’khan also jumped out of the window and cast a Slow Fall spell on himself.

Just when it looked like the Arcane Golems were about to corner the thief against the tall fence, and the Magister began levitating towards him, the thief grabbed two small bombs from his pocket and threw them down.

“This blasted rogue!” Dar’khan screamed in anger when the bombs exploded, blanketing the entire courtyard with a heavy and dense cloud of smoke.

It was the bread-and-butter skill of any rogue worth their salt: Vanish.

But that wasn’t enough to escape from a mage as experienced as Dar’khan. The Magister waved his hand, and a vortex of cold wind burst from his wand, blowing the entire cloud of smoke away.

With a display of agility unexpected from a man as lofty and classy as him, the high elf Magister climbed over the tall fence instantly and started pursuing the thief.

Dar’khan’s silhouette disappeared as he used the Blink spell two times in a very quick succession, instantly teleporting 40 metres and catching the thief from behind.

Sensing Dar'khan's presence behind him, Naruto cursed under his breath. He shoved his hand in a small pouch at his waist, grabbed a handful of its contents, and threw it at his back, in Dar’khan’s general direction.

The Magister was caught off guard, and he let out a cry of pain.

Naruto snickered softly as he heard the Magister starting to cuss up a storm. What he had thrown at him was yet another favourite escape method employed by rogues: Blinding Powder.

It was a product sold by the Guild of Rogues, crafted by grinding Fadeleaf plants. It was rather expensive but definitely worth it. If caught off guard, even a Magister like Dar’khan would get blinded and be rendered helpless for a minute or longer without someone else’s help.

Leaving the yelling mage in the dust, Naruto ran into the forest with the magic bag on his back. He continued to run on the ground for another three kilometres before finally dropping the pretence and leaping up into a tree, proceeding to shinobi-jump travel from that point onwards.

⁂

Four days have passed since Naruto broke into Dar’khan’s mage tower. Word of the robbery had spread like wildfire because crime in Quel’Thalas was rare, and someone successfully robbing a Magister’s Tower was even rarer, almost unheard of. Even the newspapers in Silvermoon, the capital city of the kingdom, were talking about it.

But Naruto acted like it had nothing to do with him. He went on patrol missions, he participated in the Farstriders’ drills, and he even visited Ranis Moonforge’s smithy and placed an order.

‘I wonder, is it too early to try to sell the stuff I stole from Dar’khan on the black market in Murder Row?’ he thought as he trained, pouring his chakra into his kunai.

Thanks to his friendship with Ranis and with the help of his transformation technique, Naruto had managed to get the elven blacksmith to forge for him kunai. Unlike usual daggers, kunai had a loop on their handle where he could tie various things like smoke bombs or even vials filled with poison or paralytic gas. Kunai also had a different weight distribution compared to regular throwing knives. All in all, they were better suited than regular daggers for him.

A layer of sharp wind coated his dagger, and a large, skull-sized hole appeared in a rock when Naruto threw his kunai at it.

‘I remember seeing Kakashi-sensei use a jutsu that multiplied the shurikens once. . . I think it’s related somehow to my Kage Bunshin Jutsu. . . but I don’t know its hand seals.’

He made a couple of dozen shadow clones who started experimenting with various hand signs and moulding their chakra, like usual.

Every once in a while, he would grimace as he got the memories of a clone that died a particularly brutal death, getting burnt from within, or having their chakra network explode and destroy his nervous system.

His lack of relevant progress in this matter made his mind go to his other, more recent failure.

‘That robbery was a bust. . .’

He had not been caught; nobody even suspected that he was behind it. His act of pretending to be a regular rogue, a thief, had been convincing enough that Dar’khan’s Scrying Spells didn’t detect anything out of place. However, the grimoire on the pedestal, that large tome that he had seen glowing with a black-purple light, turned out to be useless.

‘Focus on my negative emotion? Despair, anger, hatred, loneliness, bloodlust, envy, apathy . . . what the heck is that even supposed to do?’

It was a tome on Shadow Magic, but all that book talked about was how to cultivate those dark emotions in order to summon the Whispers.

Due to his upbringing, Naruto had suffered much in the past. But he had never thought about weaponising his negative emotions like that. He was not the type to dwell on negativity.

‘What are those Whispers even?’

The tome said that if he managed to summon the Whispers, he would be blessed with untold powers, powers like he had never seen.

Four days later, however, he hadn’t achieved any success, regardless of how hard he and his shadow clones tried.

“Boo!” a girl suddenly shouted from behind him.

So absorbed had he been in his training and thoughts that he hadn’t noticed her arrival. He jumped away like a cat scared out of its wits.

“Goddamn it, Sylvanas!” he shouted when he saw who the culprit was.

The pretty, long-haired she-elf was giggling happily at managing to get one over him.

“If only you could see your face! Haha!”

“Sigh. What are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to have a leave?” he said in annoyance. 

“Did you hit your head, Froggy? Did you forget we have an appointment today?” Sylvanas asked.

“Hey, don’t call me that!” 

Sylvanas snickered at him.

“Froggy! Froggy! Haha! I’m going to keep calling you Froggy, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Then don’t get mad at me if I also keep calling you Twigs.”

Sylvanas shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t care. That nickname doesn’t affect me anymore. I’m not that skinny anymore, am I?” she asked, as she ran her hands over her hips and waist. 

At the age of 16, after one year of rigorous training with the Farstrider, Sylvanas’ physique became quite different from when she and Naruto had first met. Her legs had gotten thicker, her arms and her shoulders stronger, she had grown a few centimetres taller, and (Naruto secretly noted as his eyes involuntarily darted to it) her chest started growing too.

Afraid of getting caught in the act, he quickly looked away, busying himself with his kunai.

“Whatever,” he muttered. “So, why did you return when you’re supposed to be on vacation?”

“Hey, didn’t you say you’d introduce me to your favourite blacksmith?”

“Oh!! I really forgot about it. My bad, my bad,” he apologised twice. With how many memories he got from his Shadow Clones every day, it was easy for him to forget things.

“Hey, guys,” he told the rest of his shadow clones, “quickly grab all the kunai and clean up the training ground. We have to leave in five minutes.”

“Yes, boss,” they replied in a chorus.

“I’m so envious of that spell of yours,” Sylvanas said as she watched the large group of clones quickly repair the training ground.

“Well, I did want to show you how to do it, but your mother said it’s too risky.”

Naruto had offered to teach the Ranger General and the other elves how to unlock their chakra and learn his skills, but his offer had been turned down.

It wasn’t because of pride but caution. They had no way of knowing what effect a foreign power like chakra might have on their bodies. There was a chance it wouldn’t mix well with the mana that flowed through them.

On top of that, the high elves were a long-lived people who valued peace and stability. They disliked sudden changes. Unless something from the outside forced them to adapt, they rarely took the initiative to do it themselves. With the Sunwell fulfilling all their needs and more, they did not have a strong incentive to seek a new form of power.

Because of all those factors, the idea of testing Naruto’s chakra on other elves had been put off until he became an adult. For beings who lived thousands of years (some elves were even older than Quel’Thalas itself, having been alive 7000 years ago, when the elven kingdom was founded), waiting five or six years was no different than humans waiting a week or two.

⁂

A few minutes later, a fourteen-year-old human boy and a sixteen-year-old elf girl could be seen leaving the training ground together, heading toward Ranis’ personal smithy. Very few blacksmiths ever joined the Farstriders, so those who did were often given special treatment. But no one resented that. Even the regular Farstriders benefited from having a smith in their ranks. It saved them a great deal of money on repairs and on consumables like arrows and traps.

“Can he make frost and fire traps?” Sylvanas asked as they walked.

“I think he can. He once inscribed an Exploding Formula on one of my throwing daggers. I’m telling you, he’s really good.”

He then began describing how his dagger had blown up a boulder bigger than a carriage. Naruto’s animated storytelling and Sylvanas’ quiet giggles as she listened made a few passing Farstriders grin at the sight.

“For all their bickering, look at them. They’re always together, even when she’s supposed to be on leave,” one elven woman said, laughing along with her friends as they jogged laps around the training ground.

“They’re still children, so it’s fine. But I doubt the Ranger General would be happy if their friendship turned into something more,” said a male elf with long black hair tied in a perfectly styled man bun. “There’s no point in getting involved with a human. They’ll be gone in four or five decades. You’re just setting yourself up for heartbreak and suffering.”

“Speaking from experience, Zarenis?” another woman asked teasingly.

“Yes,” he replied simply, offering no explanation.

Unaware of what the others were gossiping about, Naruto and Sylvanas continued their walk without a care in the world.

“Did you make an appointment with him?” she asked when Ranis’ smithy came into view. “I don’t hear any hammering.”

“Ugh, I didn’t,” he admitted sheepishly.

“By the Sun, what am I going to do with you?” she sighed. “Didn’t Father teach you it’s rude to show up at someone’s home without notice?”

“I forgot, okay? Sorry. Just don’t tell your father again. I don’t want another lecture the next time I visit,” he said in chagrin.

When they reached the door, they saw it was shut.

“Hello? Ranis?” Naruto called out after knocking. “Oy, are you in there?”

Sylvanas let out a sigh.

“It’s locked, Froggy. He’s not here. No point in shouting.”

But then a faint sound made one of her long, elvish ears twitch.

“Wait, I think I heard something. It sounded like a cry,” she said and hurried to the window.

Naruto followed her, and the two of them pressed their heads together as they tried to peek through a narrow gap in the curtains. What they saw made them both pull back instantly, as if burnt. When another cry followed, louder and unmistakably feminine this time, both of their faces turned bright red.

They glanced at each other for a second before quickly looking away, even more embarrassed than before.

“Um, maybe we should go,” Naruto mumbled.

“R-Right,” she stammered.

They wandered aimlessly for nearly ten minutes without saying a word. Eventually, Sylvanas came to a stop and called out to him.

“Froggy?”

He was so flustered by what they had stumbled upon a few minutes ago that he even forgot about his annoyance at his new nickname.

“Yes?”

“Would you like to come to Windrunner Spire tomorrow?”

He glanced at her in surprise.

“What for?” he asked.

The girl tucked a strand of her platinum hair behind one of her long, elvish ears, and his stomach turned over when her bright eyes met his.

“It’s Lirath’s birthday. And there’s a festival in the village at the foot of our cliff,” she said, lowering her gaze shyly. "A goblin caravan is coming. . . I think it will be fun."

Naruto stared at her, open-mouthed, thrown off completely by her unexplainable behaviour.

To him, Sylvanas had always been pretty. Even a year ago, when they first met and he had called her ‘Twigs’, it had only been because she was so beautiful that he didn’t know what else to tease her about. But now, a year later, even that ‘flaw’ had disappeared.

More than that, the stubborn, combative attitude of hers that had annoyed him so much seemed to have vanished.

What stood in front of him at that moment was an incredibly pretty elf girl, talking to him in a soft and shy voice, inviting him to go with her to a festival.

“Mother gave her permission for you to take tomorrow off,” she added in a hopeful tone.

“I-, I, ugh-” 

“You can’t?” she asked, directing those bright, soulful eyes of hers at him.

Even if he had had some plans for tomorrow, at that moment, it would have been absolutely impossible for him to refuse her.

“Yes! No! I mean that yes, I want to come!” he said, almost shouting towards the end, panicking. “I just, I just didn’t expect you to, you know, invite me somewhere. . . I thought you-" he rubbed the back of his head "-didn’t like me all that much?”

The girl sneaked a glance at him before quickly looking away. 

“I gave you my first kiss and it was when you were a frog. . .” she mumbled, her cheeks reddening by the second. “Would I do that for someone I hated? Dummy.”

By now, the two teens were so embarrassed, they didn't dare to even glance at each other.

“Then… see you tomorrow?” 

“Yes.”

And with that, the girl left, disappearing like the wind, leaving only a slight scent of cherry flowers behind.

Five minutes after the girl ran away, Naruto was still rooted in his place, stupefied, his heart racing. Sylvanas’ attack had left him speechless.

[Ashwinder] Chapter 9 - Aftermath

“Captain!”

“We’ll fight together!”

“No, Captain!”

“We won’t abandon you!”

Dozens of soldiers spoke at once, trying to change his mind.

“I said GO!” Harry’s body shouted at them in an angry voice. “It’s an order!”

The Dax soldiers gritted their teeth, but, in spite of their unwillingness, they could not disobey a direct order. They took the tall, blue-skinned man with them and ran out of the corridor, leaving their captain behind.

As his comrades retreated, he turned to face the enemy. Over 30 eldritch monsters floated towards him. Thirty against one. . . The odds were overwhelmingly against him surviving that confrontation. He wanted to run. He wanted to escape. But his body wouldn’t budge. He had no control over it.

“Come,” she said in the same calm, low, husky, female voice. “Step forth. I’ll tear you all limb from limb.” (1)

⁂

As the violent battle came to an end, the female Dax stood hunched in the ruined corridor, surrounded by the broken bodies of 30 Sentients. Her Dax armour was torn in many places, slashed open by sharp blades and energy attacks, but it had held long enough to keep her alive. Blood trickled down her side where a deep gash had cut through her breastplate, and her left leg had a puncture wound that had gone straight through the thigh. Her breathing was harsh and heavy, and her eyesight began to darken. She knew that if she allowed herself a moment to sit and rest, her eyes would close forever. She might never wake up again.

Dragging her wounded and exhausted body, she started running after her comrades and the Orokin noble they were protecting. Her ragged breath and the clanking sound of her heavy armour seemed especially loud in the wide, abandoned halls of the majestic Orokin mansion.

The thought that her brothers and sisters in arms were ahead, struggling against the sentients, gave her the strength to push past the limits of her body, and Valkyr started running even faster than before.

She found them at the next junction, surrounded by sentients on all sides. Nearly a third of the Dax had already lost their lives, their bodies strewn all over the floor. The remaining Dax had formed a tight circle around the Orokin noble, the sharp tips of their slightly curved long swords aimed at the alien creatures who hovered menacingly around them.

For a moment, the two sides watched each other silently, not making a move. The stalemate was broken when Valkyr suddenly attacked the sentients’ rear, catching them completely off guard.

“Captain!” the Dax shouted in glee when she saw the red-haired woman stab her claws into a sentient’s back, tearing him in half.

With her arrival, the Dax soldiers got a second wind, and they threw themselves at the sentients with renewed vigour.

Their boosted morale, however, was not enough to make up for the discrepancy in numbers and individual prowess. The average sentient was more powerful and more dangerous than an average Dax.

“Don’t attack them alone!” Valkyr shouted. “Hold the line! Protect the noble!”

Her order came too late. A flying Sentient rushed straight at the Orokin from above, and the Dax, who had broken off their circle in order to lunge at the enemy, were unable to react in time.

The Orokin cried out in terror, his tall and lanky body flailing pathetically as he fell on his ass.

The sentient started rotating like a whirlwind of death, using his tongs-like limbs as swords, and the Orokin started crawling on the ground and screaming as he tried to escape. He got back up to his feet and ran at the closest Dax, the fear of death giving him wings.

Finally reaching the soldier, the Orokin suddenly grabbed her from the back of his neck with his big and long claw-like hand and pulled her back, throwing her between himself and the spinning sentient, using her as a meat shield.

The Sentient tore through the Dax female like she was made of paper, her mutilated body falling into pieces at the noble’s feet.

Everything stopped for Valkyr.

She didn’t feel the pain in her leg anymore. She didn’t hear the sounds of battle or the shouts of her comrades. Her hearing became muffled as though she were underwater.

Her vision narrowed, and a deep haze of red clouded her sight. Her bloodshot eyes locked on the Orokin. That same man she had nearly died protecting. That same man whom her brothers and sisters in arms were fighting to defend. After everything that they had sacrificed for him, he had just killed one of them with his own hands.

Something inside her snapped.

She let out a sound that didn’t sound human. Rage like she had never felt in her entire life exploded from within, and a savage scream came from her throat.

But she didn't charge at the sentient whose sharp, tongs-like arms had torn her Dax comrade apart. To the shock of not only her Dax comrades but also that of the Orokin, Valkyr actually charged at the Orokin himself!

It should have been impossible.

The Dax around him froze. Even the Sentients were momentarily stunned. Dax were bioengineered to be unable to defy their Orokin masters. It was impossible for them to disobey their orders, attack them, or show any sort of defiance at all. No Dax had ever done something like that before.

Yet there she was, right in front of her eyes: the red-haired Dax captain leapt like a tiger towards the blue-skinned noble, sinking her claws into his stomach. She lifted his large body above her head, and his scream of terror turned into one of desperate, agonising pain as Valkyr yanked her arms apart, tearing him apart at the waist and ripping his spine in half.

The Dax and the Sentients watched in shock how the blood sprayed across her armour and face as she tossed the two pieces of his body to the floor like garbage.

Soaked crimson from head to toe with the Orokin’s blood, Valkyr turned next to the Sentients now. Her bloodshot eyes burnt with rage, and for a moment, the Sentients didn’t move. Some of them even backed away. Her rage and hatred were almost palpable, her killing intent almost material.

⁂

Waking up, Harry let out a groan. Due to his transference to Valkyr, he had become accustomed to dreaming about her life from when she was a Dax soldier, many millennia in the past.

He did not dream of her memories in chronological order. It seemed more like whatever happened in the present would influence the memories he would dream about at night.

Sometimes, the dreams would be relaxing, showing him memories of her going on quiet patrol missions, training alone, or participating in drills with her fellow Dax soldiers. . . but other times, he would live through intense life-and-death moments and through gory and violent battles.

‘So that’s how she became a Warframe.’

His dream did not end after Valkyr killed the Orokin noble. The rest of the Dax continued to fight the remaining Sentients. . . but when the battle came to an end, Valkyr was apprehended by her own comrades.

‘What a messed-up world.’

When Command found out about Valkyr killing an Orokin, they ordered the other Dax to apprehend her. Due to their genetic engineering, the Dax could not disobey. They were forced to arrest their own Captain, the very person who had saved their lives, the one person they respected the most.

In a desire to understand just what had allowed a Dax, who should have been completely loyal to them, to kill an Orokin, the scientists of the Orokin Empire had performed all sorts of experiments on her. Unable to find an answer in a short period of time, and due to being in the middle of a great war against the Sentients, the Orokin Executor, Ballas, decided to turn her into a Warframe. It would serve as punishment for her actions, and the Empire would also gain an exceedingly powerful weapon at the same time.

Once he injected the infested serum into her veins, the female Dax turned into a monster. Her fair skin turned into an amalgam of tough hide and metal, her long, burning red hair fell off, her small hands grew claws like those of a tiger, and her sentience got buried underneath an all-consuming rage that made her unable to distinguish between ally and foe.

Harry moved his arm off his face and looked to his side when he sensed someone taking his left hand in theirs. The tough, cool, metallic claws told him who it was before he got to see them. It was his Warframe. She had been watching over him, kneeling at the side of his bed, the entire time.

But then, he sat up in bed with a start. Or, at least, he tried to. Pain, like someone had split his head with an axe, suddenly assaulted him, and his sight went white.

His cry alerted the Warframe next to him, and she stood up, flooding their transference link with her emotions of worry and anxiety.

Valkyr was not the only one who reacted to the sound he made. The automatic door of the room he was in opened as well, and a small drone flew inside the room before projecting out a familiar hologram. Considering that his head hurt so badly that he couldn’t even open his eyes, Harry did not see who it was, but their soothing voice was unmistakable.

"Harry Potter, you are conscious again. Can you provide a report on your-”

“Martialis! What happened to the colony?” he shouted, half-delirious from pain. “The Grineer Galleon! It was firing- I tried so hard to protect everyone. I-” he made another attempt to sit up, but it only resulted in another blinding bout of pain.

Due to the vivid memories he experienced through his transference with Valkyr, he had momentarily forgotten about the present, but once he remembered it, he started hyperventilating.

Yet again, he tried to sit up one more time, but this time around, Valkyr put her hands on his chest, immobilising him.

"You are experiencing the consequences of using the power of the Void beyond your body’s capabilities. Your condition is unstable. I advise against movement unless it is strictly necessary."

“What happened to Martialis?” Harry asked again. It was as though her words didn’t register in his mind. “What happened to the colony? The Grineer-”

"The colony is secure," Cephalon Suda replied. "Your efforts were not in vain. The survivors of Martialis have been successfully relocated to the Corpus colony on Alator."

As soon as she said that, he stopped struggling, and his body became slack.

“Thank God,” he muttered, his voice filled with relief. “I don’t remember much. How were they saved?”

The last thing he remembered was that he had been on the verge of falling unconscious as he poured his Void power into the Orokin Tower in a desperate attempt to protect everyone from the Grineer Galleon’s enormous artillery shells.

"The Tenno arrived moments after you lost consciousness," Cephalon Suda said. "My drones recorded the entire battle of Martialis. You will have access to the footage for study at a later time. Now that your immediate concerns have been addressed, please assess your current condition."

Harry opened his eyes slowly, preparing himself for another bout of pain, but it didn’t come. It seemed that as long as he lied in bed on his back, everything was alright.

Valkyr let out a low, growl-like sound, happy to see his eyes glancing in her direction. Cephalon Suda’s sophisticated-looking cube also seemed to shine brighter than usual when he opened his eyes.

“I feel tired and kind of dizzy. My head hurts. I’m thirsty.”

Cephalon Suda watched with great interest as, without anyone ordering Valkyr to do anything, the warframe picked up a bottle of water from the nightstand and carefully placed its flexible tube in Harry’s mouth, slowly helping him drink.

"Thank you, Valkyr. You’re the best," Harry said when he finished drinking, smiling at the Warframe, who responded with another low, tiger-like growl as she put the bottle away. To anyone else, that sound was downright frightening, but to Harry, it was comforting, adorable even.

With his immediate worries alleviated, he asked:

“What about Clem? Did he make it?”

"Yes. Darvo returned for him and extracted him from Martialis when the Grineer Galleon began its second assault on the Orokin Tower," Cephalon Suda answered.

The Cephalon proceeded to ask him a few questions about his mental and physical state before turning to leave, understanding that he needed rest to recuperate. When the Cephalon was about to leave his room, Harry called her name:

“Suda?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for the Osprey robots. The last one out of the ten Ospreys you gave me helped save Valkyr’s life. . . and. . . I’m sorry about that weapon you gave me. It broke during the battle.”

"I am pleased to have been of assistance. Your safe return was my highest priority. I look forward to our continued collaboration. For now, rest and recuperate."

As Suda’s hologram disappeared, the drone flew out of the room. Harry closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

Sensing Valkyr gently taking his hand in hers again, he opened his eyes and turned his attention to her.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Sensing the worry in his voice, Valkyr sent her emotions of content and happiness through their link and let out that chilling, tiger-like groaning sounds she often made.

He turned his body on his side to face her, and it was only then that he finally noticed the numerous scars marring her armoured skin. He squeezed her hand gently, guilt eating at him inwardly. She may have healed her wounds with her Hysteria ability, but the scars of the injuries she had received were still there.

“You’ve been through a lot,” he said.

When Valkyr took his hand and brought it to her own face, he found himself smiling as he understood her wordless request. He started caressing her armoured face with his thumb, and the cat-like Warframe purred like a mountain lion from his touch.

By now, having interacted with three different Tenno over the course of several weeks, Harry had learnt quite a few things about the common sense of the current era and about what was normal and what was not normal among the Tenno and their Warframes.

He knew that most Tenno were not that close to their Warframes. The very fact that Valkyr could move and think for herself was not normal; the only other Warframe that had shown such capability was Angie’s Excalibur Umbra.

Even so, Harry did not care about what others thought about him. To him, this Warframe had saved his life not just once but multiple times. Just the day before, she had given him her lifeblood, choosing to sacrifice herself for him. She wasn’t just a ‘meatsuit’ or a weapon of war to him. She was his closest ally in this time period, his closest friend.

“Thank you, Valkyr,” he said sincerely. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Remembering the cruel fate she had once suffered at the hands of the Orokin, Harry vowed never to let her endure anything like that again. He didn’t keep that promise to himself. As he gently caressed her armoured helmet, he shared his thoughts with her through both his words and their Transference.

The Warframe’s vocal cords were too large for human speech, but she understood him perfectly. A soft, mountain lion-like purr came from her, and that calming sound eased Harry into sleep while her feelings of contentment and happiness flowed into his mind through their Transference link.

⁂

Two days had passed since the battle of Martialis, and Harry had already made a full recovery from his lethargic state.

Thanks to the large number of survivors this time around (normally, the Grineer massacred or enslaved every living thing whenever they attacked a colony), Harry had become something like a small celebrity in Larunda Relay. With two million people having survived the ordeal, it was no wonder that the news of his exploits had spread so quickly. The fact that instead of escaping, Harry had resolved himself to sacrifice his life to protect the people of Martialis had left a deep impact on them.

Now, every time he left Cephalon Suda’s headquarters and went out for a walk in the space city, men, women, cyborgs, and even some Grineer defectors would stop him to shake his hand, some of them also asking for his permission to take a picture with him. Quite a few of them were actually people from Martialis who had taken refuge in Tenno relays after almost dying at the hands of the Grineer.

The boy was surprised, too, that he found himself not hating this newfound fame. Unlike his fame as the Boy Who Lived from his original timeline, this time around, it was for something that he achieved through his own deeds and sacrifice, not through his parents’ deaths.

Nevertheless, being stopped every ten minutes by random strangers to shake their hands quickly got old. Starting with the second day, Harry resorted to walking around by “hitching a ride” in Valkyr’s body with his astral projection while his real body remained inside Cephalon Suda’s quarters. Without him walking around in his own body, no one had the guts to approach Valkyr.

That being said, currently, Harry was inside Darvo’s ship, wearing a futuristic space suit provided by Cephalon Suda, on a flight towards Mercury. Naturally, Valkyr was with him as well.

Although the large space city, Larunda Relay, was orbiting Mercury, the planet itself was not under the control of the Tenno. It was Grineer territory. As was the case for most of the planets occupied by the Grineer, the terraformed regions were covered by large gulags where the Grineer clones worked tirelessly to mine the ores and various natural resources found in the crust of the planet.

Mercury was the smallest planet in the Origin System, just slightly bigger than Earth’s moon, so it was not an easy task to slip undetected past the Grineer’s network of satellites monitoring the planet. Thanks to Darvo’s help, however, Harry managed to land without any incidents. Darvo's invisible spaceship was too high-tech for the Grineer satellites to detect.

⁂

Whether he felt guilty for dragging Harry into the mess on Martialis a few days ago or he just wanted to forge a closer relationship with him after his display of strength against the Grineer, Harry was not sure which was the case, but Darvo had been extremely accommodating to him.

Not only had he happily agreed to give him a ride to Mercury on his invisible ship, but he also provided Harry with the location of a gulag that had been abandoned after the Grineer stripped the entire place clean of all the resources. It was the perfect place to experiment with the creation of Ashwinders.

Having prepared a significant amount of flammable junk beforehand, Harry used the power of the Void to levitate it out of Darvo’s ship and carry it to a fair distance away, into a narrow corridor.

“Incendio!” Harry chanted as he aimed his Amp at the pile of junk.

Darvo, who was standing next to him, watched the scene with mild interest. Valkyr was tilting her head at the fire curiously too.

“So you’re saying that a magical snake will be born from this fire?” the older man asked.

“I hope so,” Harry replied. “But we’ll have to go away. Please don’t leave any drones or other devices behind to record it, or our trip here now will be nothing but a waste of time. The Ashwinders won’t spawn unless it’s a magical fire that is left unchecked and unsupervised.”

“How long do you reckon it would take?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders.

“It could be anywhere from a couple of hours to a day or two. It depends on how quickly the fire will go down. The snakes are created not from the fire itself but from its dying embers. Let’s go back to the relay. We can check again tonight if you’re not busy or tomorrow morning.”

“But what if they disappear?” Darvo asked. “What if you can’t find them anymore?”

“The Ashwinders born from the embers will die very soon after being spawned. But, before dying, they will always lay eggs which will then start to burn and create another fire. So you can always find them by checking which place caught on fire because of their eggs. They could be very dangerous if left to their own devices. They could burn down entire towns and forests like that.”

As the three of them headed back to the ship, Harry received a holographic transmission on his wristwatch.

“Heyyy, Harry!”

If the young, chipper voice was not a dead giveaway, the bubblegum-pink hair certainly left no doubts about her identity.

“Hey, Angie. What’s up?”

“I came to visit you, but you’re not here.”

“Ah, I’ve made a small trip to Mercury. But I’m on my way back now. Did something happen?”

“Mhm,” she replied. But when she saw him getting worried, she added, “Don’t worry; it’s nothing bad. But I won’t tell you more through the transmission. We’ll talk more in person.”

“Alright, keep your secrets,” he said, smiling.

The girl grinned before terminating the call.

⁂

Upon returning to the relay, Harry said his thanks and bid his goodbyes to Darvo, heading straight to Cephalon Suda's quarters.

“Finally, you’re back!” the pink-haired girl said instead of a greeting, her arms crossed to her chest as she sat on his bed.

“It’s good to see you, Angie,” Harry said, smiling. “I can finally thank you in person for saving my life. Thank you. You saved us all.”

The Skykiller. The Fear Eater. The God King. Those titles that the people of Martialis started shouting when the powerful sandstorm swept over the colony belonged to the Warframe Inaros. The people of Mars had been worshipping Inaros as their god since time immemorial, from the old days when the Orokin Empire was still at the height of its power.

And Inaros was Angie’s Warframe too. The cute little girl pouting on his bed was the one who had single-handedly destroyed a 4-kilometre-long Grineer warship and killed thousands of Grineer troops in one fell swoop. Although he had watched the footage of the battle recorded by Cephalon Suda’s drones, it still felt surreal that Warframes were actually capable of such widespread destruction.

“At least you do have some common sense, mhm,” Angie said while hopping off the bed. “Come, follow me to the dry dock. I want to show you something super awesome!”

The girl grabbed him by the hand and started dragging him after her, walking as fast as her short legs could carry her. Harry did not fight it, following her without making a fuss. He was curious what had gotten her so excited.

Arriving at the dry dock, he had to squint his eyes as he was suddenly flashbanged by an explosion of pink, yellow, and blue.

“What the hell is that thing?”

That was the wrong thing to say because Angie kicked him in the shin for it. She would have probably done a lot more if not for the growl that came from behind them, reminding the girl of the fact that an extremely loyal and overprotective Warframe was following Harry around like a shadow.

“You’re really rude! You boys really have no taste. Or did you and Galen talk ahead so that you’d make fun of me? My ship has the best fashion in this whole relay!”

Harry glanced at her and then back at her ship. The bright pink paint with the various yellow, blue, and red kuaka and kavat floofs drawn on it made her ship stand out like a disco ball at a funeral. It almost reminded him of Umbridge. He shuddered in revulsion at the thought of that.

“Tastes are subjective. . . I suppose?”

Seeing her darkening scowl, he barely suppressed a snicker.

“No culture,” she said while shaking her head, her voice dripping with disappointment. “Come, follow me inside.”

As the spaceship’s hatch opened, Harry was relieved to see that the interior was not as obnoxiously pink as the outside. It looked relatively normal.

The three of them walked together until they arrived in front of something that looked like a coffin of glass and steel.

“Is that-”

“Yes,” Angie replied before he could finish his question. “It’s a Warframe cryopod. It’s the cryopod that the Corpus governor from Martialis tried to hide. The thing that lured the Grineer to attack the colony. And now it’s yours.”

“What?!” Her statement caught him completely unprepared.

“It’s yours,” Angie reiterated. “This crypod belongs to you.”

“Are you serious?”

“How many times do I have to repeat myself?” Angie asked, annoyance seeping into her voice.

“I just didn’t expect you to give me a Warframe.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” she said, offended.

“I mean, you kept going on about how I ‘stole your Valkitty’ and such.”

A hue of red appeared in her cheeks at his words.

“Why do you have to dig up my dark history from the long-forgotten past? If I say this Warframe cryopod is yours, then it’s yours!”

Harry looked at her with a deadpan. She was talking as though several years had passed when, in fact, it happened only a few weeks ago.

Dropping the playful and pouty act, Angie said in a serious voice:

“Listen, Harry, what you did in Martialis two days ago was nothing short of a miracle. Me, Galen, the Lotus, and even that clown, Karim, used to have our reservations when it came to you. We thought you could be an agent of the Man in the Wall. But you went ahead and showed us your pure heart.”

“That other Tenno that was with you in Martialis ran with his tail between his legs, thinking it was a lost cause. And it was. He wasn’t wrong for escaping with his life. . . But you stayed behind. You were ready to lay your life down for their sake, for strangers that you’ve never interacted with before. And you fought until the very end to protect those people.”

Harry felt himself getting embarrassed at the frank way she was praising him.

“But if it weren’t for you, everything would have been lost. In the end, I failed. You’re the one who saved everyone in the end,” he said.

“But if it weren’t for you, there would have been nobody left alive for me to save,” Angie retorted. “You saved two million people, Harry. You are a hero. And we, the Tenno, believe that one should be rewarded appropriately for their deeds, be they good or bad. The Lotus also told me that you refused to kill this Warframe and the Corpus who were guarding her. If there is anyone who deserves to have this cryopod, it’s you.”

By coincidence, his holo-watch started ringing at that moment, signalling an incoming transmission.

“Go on, answer it,” Angie said. It looked like she had expected him to get that call.

When Harry picked up the call, the hologram of a 17-year-old boy with a crew-cut hairstyle and a rather eye-catching set of black scars on his neck and jaw appeared.

“Hey, man. How’s it going?”

“Hey, Galen. I’m good. . . But I’m actually in the middle of something now. Could I call you in one hour or so?”

“Ah, you and Angie are about to defrost the cryopod, aren’t you?” Galen said knowingly.

“Huh, you knew,” he said in realisation.

“Of course I did. I actually called you for something related to that. You see, word of deeds on Martials reached the Tenno Councillors. And they decided to give you a helping hand now, as a reward.”

“Help me with what?” Harry asked, not sure where this conversation was going.

“Well, you can’t really expect to be loafing around in Suda’s syndicate forever, can you?” Angie said.

“She’s right,” Galen supported her. “You’re a Tenno now. You’re one of us. Our brother in arms.”

Not for the first time that day, Harry felt embarrassed and inwardly touched.

“I-, I don’t know what to say,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

“Don’t expect this to be a common occurrence,” Galen continued as if he couldn’t see his awkwardness. “In the future, you will have to acquire the resources and credits you need on your own. But now, in the beginning, it is only right that we give you a helping hand. In the end, nobody but us, the Tenno, can give you an Orbiter with a fully functional Helminth room.”

Harry had no idea what was so special about the Tenno’s Orbiter or what a Helminth room was, but he could tell from the way that Galen was speaking about it that it was quite a big deal.

“Thank you, guys. You’ve been helping me out a lot from the very moment I arrived. If there’s any way I could pay you back, just let me know.”

“Since you’re offering, we could use an extra pair of hands in this damned war. . .”

“Galen!” Angie said in reproach.

“Come on, Angie, surely you see it too. From the footage we got on Martialis, his Valkyr is incredible. She’d be unstoppable in one-on-one encounters. And we could really use some help here, especially now that I’m bedridden.”

“Bedridden?! What happened?”

“He’s not actually bedridden,” Angie explained. “But his Warframe was killed in combat. He’s suffering from Transference Static now. He needs to sit out and wait for a few hours before he can use his Transference on another Warframe again.”

Harry couldn’t help asking:

“Who would even be able to kill a Warframe? . . . Like, how is this war dragging on for so long? It’s been more than a week already, hasn’t it? Angie, you’ve singlehandedly obliterated that four-kilometre-long spaceship in Martialis and killed thousands of clones instantly. How in the world are the Corpus and Grineer able to fight against you for so long?”

He couldn’t wrap his mind around it. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed. The Tenno and their Warframes were almost like demigods. If there were thousands of Tenno and they were all capable of similar feats to what Angie had shown on Mars, it felt ridiculous that anyone or anything could stand in their way.

“It’s not that simple, Harry,” said Angie with a sigh. “Not all Warframes are capable of such feats. And even Inaros, he can’t do things on such a scale all the time. I had the home advantage now since we happened to be in the deserts of Mars. . . That said, it’s not the Grineer or the Corpus who give us a hard time. It’s the-”

“It’s those damned LOOT GOBLINS!” Galen suddenly shouted, startling Harry. “Those fucking assholes! Those lawless, spineless, credit-grubbing pieces of shit!”

His screaming rant left Harry at a loss for words. He had never expected Galen, the serious and capable Tenno, to blow a gasket like that.

“Loot goblins?” he asked, befuddled, his mind going to the Goblins from his own timeline.

“He’s talking about other Tenno,” Angie said, snickering slightly, seemingly amused at how Galen lost his cool. “His Excalibur got assassinated by an Ash.”

“I’m afraid I’m not following,” Harry said, his confusion growing deeper.

Having got his anger under control, at least for the moment, Galen answered:

“The reason why this war keeps dragging on forever is because it’s not a simple Tenno vs Corpus or Tenno vs Grineer. It’s more like a free-for-all battle royale where each camp has Tenno on their side. The Tenno aren’t one united entity. Most of us have full autonomy. We can choose to follow whichever syndicate or organisation aligns with our motives and beliefs. . . We don’t have a real government or a true hierarchy of command. . . “

“But what about the Lotus and those Tenno Councillors that you guys mentioned?”

“It’s about time for the Councillors to step in, but who knows how much good it’ll do? Unless the Lotus herself says something, it’s unlikely for this to end anytime soon.”

“But Lotus never orders us to do anything,” Angie also explained. “She gives us suggestions and tells us what would be the optimal way to complete our missions, but she never acts as our conscience.”

Harry was momentarily silent, seemingly thinking hard about his decision.

“I can help you in this war,” he said eventually. “But don’t make me kill innocents, regardless of whether they’re Corpus or Grineer.”

Feeling as though his definition of “innocent people” may not be the same as theirs, he added, “If you need me to protect the civilians from getting caught in the crossfire, you can always count on me. But don’t ask me to break into a facility and kill random people for no reason. . . “

“I can work with that. It’s exactly what we need. Too many Tenno joined the side of Grineer in this war. Fucking mind-boggling. Imagine joining those butchers just because of a damn microwave gun. I swear, if it were up to me, I-”

“Alright, Galen, we’ll talk to you later,” Angie cut him off before he started going on another rant. “Harry and I are going to defrost this cryopod now.”

“Sigh. Right. We’ll catch up later. I’m also curious to see what the Warframe sleeping inside is.”

As the holographic transmission came to an end, Angie and Harry turned their attention to the Warframe cryopod. Having already tried to dissuade her once and failed, Harry understood that the girl was dead set on gifting it to him, so he stopped trying to change her mind.

“Ordis, you can start the defrosting process,” Angie instructed her ship’s Cephalon.

“Understood, Operator. Ordis will begin immediately.”

While they were waiting for the ice to thaw, Harry couldn’t help teasing the little girl:

“Say, Angie?”

“Yes?”

“What if. . . Well, what if it turns out that it’s a Prime?”

Angie froze, looking as though she had never even considered that possibility.

“Argh, I hate you, Harry!” she shouted, making him burst into laughter.

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

AN: Sorry for the delay. I should’ve posted this chapter early in the morning but I couldn’t. I have actually proofread it now, while I’m at work 😅 I hope there aren’t many typos.

(1) See chapter 4 for the full dream

[The Nexus] Chapter 10 - Réunion

Golden footsteps that only he could see appeared on the ground, and Harry broke into a run, doing his best not to slam into any other people in his rush.

Following those footsteps, he took a turn into a side alley, and he suddenly found himself face-to-face with the barrel of a laser gun.

“Who the hell are you?” Jackie asked, her index finger right on the trigger. “Why are you following me around?”

Harry froze like a statue.

‘Should I jump to the side? Or try to go for my wand?’

If it were a regular human pointing a gun at him, he might have tried that. But this was an android. Their reaction time, decision-making quickness, and aiming capability were incomparably better.

He raised his hands slowly so as not to startle her.

“I don’t have any bad intentions, I swear,” he said, doing his best to sound calm in spite of how hard his heart was hammering in his chest. “I overheard you talking about Yorha in the pub-”

“You were eavesdropping on me?” she said, her eye narrowing as she pushed the barrel of her laser gun into his forehead. 

“Eavesdropping? Lady, you were shouting loud enough for half the Bazaar to hear you,” Harry snapped at her in annoyance, surprising not just her but himself too.

“So? Why were you chasing after me?” the woman asked, not taking her finger off the trigger.

Androids were forbidden from using their weapons inside the city unless it was in the arena, against the machines. Whoever started a fight with weapons would immediately find themselves apprehended by the proctors or even killed on the spot. The androids weren’t messing around when it came to order and discipline. When all was said and done, they were all members of the military, and they lived as such for the most part.

Nevertheless, with Jackie’s unstable emotional state, Harry didn’t want to bet on the possibility of her not actually going through with her threats. He only had one life. With the barrel of a laser gun aimed at his head, his mind went into overdrive.

“I’m an archaeologist,” he said quickly.

“You’re a what now?”

“Humans of old had a profession dedicated to studying the past based on ruins, relics, old tech and other things they found,” he explained. “As an android, I’ve always wanted to understand more about our Creators. I’ve dedicated centuries to studying humans, their culture, and their history.”

It became apparent then why the Sorting Hat had wanted to sort him into the Slytherin House several years ago. He lied as easily as he breathed.

She narrowed her eyes. “Are you one of those nutters with too much time and not enough directives?”

Harry didn’t even seem to register her insult. He pressed on with his story and the real reason why she followed her:

“I believe that YoRHa is the closest link to the humans. I want to meet them. If there’s any way I can meet the humans, it has to be through them.”

The woman let out a sigh and took the gun off his forehead. The relief after brushing past death was so great that he almost lost the strength in his legs.

“So you want to meet YoRHa? Just like that? What are you going to do even if you meet them? Are you just going to walk up to them and say hi?” she asked.

“I’ll even sing and do a handstand if I get to meet the humans through them.”

Jackass snorted. “Alright, Mr Archaeologist. You said you studied humans, didn’t you? Answer me this: what’s a swimsuit for?”

Momentarily, he didn’t answer; he looked at her dumbly, not knowing if she was being serious or if she was messing with him.

“Is that all that your centuries of research on humans amounts to? You don’t even know what a swimsuit is?” Jackass mocked him.

“...No, I was just expecting you to ask a harder question. Swimsuits were for sunbathing and swimming.”

She let out a snort. “Show off. Well then, you wanted something harder, right? What’s a hammock? And what was it used for?”

“It was a piece of fabric tied between two posts. Some humans used to sleep in them, especially those who travelled by sailboat.”

“You do know your thing. . . alright, one last question. What is a piñata?”

Harry didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. The female android was acting as if the questions she had just asked were supposed to be tough to answer, as if it was some niche information that most androids had never heard about.

Once he gave a perfect answer to that question as well, Jackass studied him for a few moments before finally putting her gun away, back in its holster.

“Well, I’ll be damned. You’re not lying… or at least you’re a damn good liar.” She said, crossing her arms to her chest. “Look, I can’t get you in contact with them. My channel with Commander White is one-way. She contacts me only when she feels like it.”

“Damnit”, Harry muttered, more to himself than her. “Almost got my brains blown up, and I have nothing to show for it.”

Sensing his deep disappointment, Jackass let out a sigh.

“I can’t call the YoRHa for you to talk to them. . . but I could tell you where you might be able to meet one.”

When he visibly perked up, she added:

“Don’t expect me to just give this information away for free. Anything Yorha-related goes for a crazy price.”

“You want Gs? How much?” he asked, readying himself to take out his electronic device for transferring currency.

“I don’t want money,” she said, waving it off. “You said you’re an archaeologist or something, right? Give me information about humans. Things that you can’t normally find in Memory Hold’s database.”

Harry thought about it for a few moments.

“Memory Hold’s database is vast. . . But I do know something that doesn’t exist there. Have you heard about that human monument that the androids discovered in the Indian subcontinent?”

“I seem to remember something about that. It was a few decades ago, wasn’t it?” Jackass replied. “But they couldn’t get inside. Even our tech couldn’t open it. Afraid of destroying it by mistake, the Council of Humanity decided to cease all operations.”

“Yep, that’s the one,” Harry confirmed, “But I found a way in. I managed to open it not long ago. I found hundreds of coffins with human remains and other creatures that our database never had.”

“. . . Holy shit, are you for real?”

“I swear. You can always go there and check for yourself. Hell, we can go together if you want, as long as you have a private plane or something.”

The androids could not travel around easily. As previously stated, they were all, technically, part of the Army of Humanity. All androids were assigned to a particular city or to strategically positioned camps and participated in one way or another in the war against the machines.

“As a matter of fact, I do have my own plane,” Jackass said, a hint of pride in her voice. She had been alive for centuries, and she was also great with tech. She loved to experiment with machines and weaponry. “But I have to ask. . . why didn’t you let the Council of Humanity know?”

If news that a monument filled with human remains and other relics from the past had been discovered, the androids would have been thrown into a frenzy.

“You could have been promoted. You could have earned a position of leadership or even become an operator or other non-combatant position.”

“Sit at a desk and not be able to explore the world in search of things that humans left behind?” Harry countered and shrugged his shoulders. “No, thank you. Now, it's your turn. Where can I find the Yorha?”

She scratched her cheek, seemingly in thought. “We haven’t verified if your information is true just yet . . . but the situation is a bit more urgent on your side.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“If we go to confirm the veracity of your intel first, you may not be able to meet with Yorha anymore. They are gearing up for a major operation tomorrow.”

Harry leaned in slightly. “Where?”

“Réunion.”

“...Where is that?”

Jackass looked at him strangely for asking that question, but she answered nonetheless.

“It’s an island east of Madagascar.”

Harry may not have heard about Réunion before, but he had heard about Madagascar. It was one of the biggest islands in the world, and he remembered it because it looked like it had been broken off from the coast of Africa.

“How the hell am I even supposed to get there?” he muttered. 

He didn’t know the exact distance without looking it up, but he was sure that he would not be able to reach Réunion in time.

‘Even if I were to Portkey back to Egypt now, there’s still like 4000 kilometres or more. . .’

He could not Apparate or Portkey to places he had never been to before. That meant he would have to either Apparate at the edge of the horizon hundreds of times, or he would need to get there by flying on his broom. The flying broomstick he had created, however, was not meant for long-distance travel, and it wasn’t that fast either. It was incomparable to the Nimbus or Firebolt broomsticks from his time.

“I know that look on your face. Don’t even think about it. I may have a ship, but I’m not crazy enough to fly you into the heart of the machine territory,” Jackass said. “But I could put you in touch with someone who does this for a living. . . it will cost you quite a bit of money, though. And I will need your word that you’ll keep your mouth shut about it.”

⁂

A group of 16 flight units, four-metre-tall, highly advanced mech suits capable of flight and equipped with sophisticated artillery and a long plasma blade, flew out for the Bunker’s docks, the large orbital station serving as the Yorha organisation’s headquarters.


(the Bunker)

Girlish sounds of awe could be heard on the radio line shared by the flight unit pilots as they approached the Earth.

“Whoa!”

“Is that the ocean?”

“It’s so beautiful!”

“I wonder, how is it on Earth?”

“It will be like in the simulations, won’t it?”

“I’m so excited!”

“We’re in the middle of an operation,” came the Yorha Commander’s cutting voice from the Bunker. “Stop the idle chit-chat.”

But, as they got closer to the planet, their merry chatter came to an abrupt end as a hail of massive laser beams broke through the sea clouds. Many of them didn’t even have time to scream. They were obliterated instantly.

Those who survived the first wave of guided laser attacks engaged in evasive manoeuvres, but the anti-aerial artillery of the machines was relentless. Lasers and missiles were being fired continuously. At their Commander’s orders, the Androids deployed their energy shields and also brandished their flight units’ long plasma swords, cutting down any missiles that slipped past their shields. Things seemed to stabilise for a short while, but an EMP bomb followed afterwards.


(flight unit)

It was hell.

The operators and the commander in the Bunker could do nothing but watch and listen to the androids’ death throes scream as their flight units were destroyed one by one. The girls, who had been chatting excitedly about their first descent to Earth only a few moments ago, were being killed ruthlessly by the machines.

⁂

When No 2 opened her eyes, the scene in front of her made her think she was having a nightmare. As far as she knew, androids didn’t dream, but nothing else could explain the situation in front of her eyes.

Wrecked flight units were strewn all over the place from their violent crash against the ground. Moreover, her comrades were lying on the ground lifelessly, some of them unrecognisable. Even the strong and reliable No 1 android, their captain, the one whom everyone in Yorha respected, was also dead, her eyes wide open but empty, and the lower half of her body was missing.

No 2 looked around herself in a stupor. Even the black blindfold she was wearing could not hide the shocked look on her face.

“Get your shit together, No 2!” another girl’s shout startled her.

No 2 glanced at her, still out of it. The girl had long purple hair, which was tied in a bun, and, just like every other Yorha model, she was wearing a black blindfold too. She was Number 16, a Gunner. 


(YoRHa Type G No.16 - or, in short, G16)

“Status?” No 2 somehow found the presence of mind to ask.

“They got half of us before we could land. Only seven are still alive, of which four are doing well, including you. The other three are near death.”

“What about the Number 1?” No 2 asked. 

The Gunner led her to No 1’s corpse, showing her the mutilated remains of her body. No 2 bit her lip, on the verge of crying. No 1 had been the cream of the crop, the best out of them all when it came to both battle and tactics. No1 had been their captain; she had never expected her to be among the first to die.

“What should we do, Captain?” asked No 21 as she closed their dead Android's eyes.

No 21 was a girl with shoulder-length brown hair, a generous bust, and a serious face. Unlike the other Yorha units, she did not carry any weapons. She was a Scanner model.


(YoRHa Type S No.21 - or, in short, 21S)

No 2 was startled when No 21 addressed her that way.

“C-Captain? Why me?”

“With the death of our captain, Number 1, the title of captain has been transferred to Number 2.”

“Oh, but I-” No 2 tried to refuse.

“Then I’ll do it,” the Gunner said. “I have higher combat capabilities.”

“We can’t just do that!” the Scanner shot down her proposal. “We have rules and regulations for a reason. Number 2 has to do it.”

“What are we going to do now?” Number 4, a girl with very long silvery hair tied in a ponytail, asked. She was an Attacker type, just like A2, but, unlike her fellow Yorha units, the blindfold she was wearing only covered one of her eyes.


(YoRHa Type A No.4 - or, in short, A4)

“And these guys, too, what are we going to do with them?” 

No 2 switched her attention from the bickering No 16 and No 21 to the three Androids who were lying on the ground, barely breathing, and groaning and moaning in pain.

Momentarily, No 2 did not know what to say. She was still frozen, overwhelmed by the situation. She had never thought that she would have to become the captain of their squad. Number 1 had been such a skilled and reliable captain that No 2 had never expected her to die and leave everything on her shoulders. Compared to her, No 2 considered herself average in every way. Her mentality was not as good as that of No 1, nor were her tactics and combat skills.

However, at the sight of her dying comrades, No 2 gritted her teeth and gathered her resolve:


(YoRHa Type A No.2 - or, in short, A2)

“Yorha soldier, Attacker Number 2, confirming transfer of the Captain’s right. I will continue the operation with the seven remaining units.”

“These guys too?!” No 16 asked in disbelief.

“I can’t abandon allies who are still alive!” No 2 shouted.

“We could leave them sheltered somewhere. You can’t expect us to fight properly while carrying them on our backs!”

“We don’t know where the machine lifeforms are coming from. We can’t do that!” No 2 retorted. 

Then, under everyone’s eyes, A2 grabbed one of the wounded Androids from the ground and put her on her shoulders before walking ahead.

“We’re supposed to go to the Snow Peak, but we’ve landed so far away. And we also have the injured to carry with us. Are we still going there? Shouldn’t we ask for reinforcements?” Number 4 asked.

“We’re going!” A2 said resolutely. “I will make a request for reinforcements to Command as we proceed. Please patch me up with Bunker,” she told the Scanner model.

“The EMP bomb severed our communications. I haven’t been able to make contact with the Bunker yet.”

As they walked with the wounded on their backs, heading towards Piton de Neiges, the androids couldn’t help noticing the beauty of nature on the island. The blooming flowers, the lush jungle with its enormous trees, and the myriad birds and insects flying everywhere. The paradise-like scenery was a big contrast to their hellish circumstances.

To make matters worse, at that moment, A4 called out her name:

“Number 2, these guys. . . they’re already. . .”

A2 bit her lip, unable to reply. She had noticed it too. She had also noticed that the person she was carrying had stopped breathing a while ago. 

“Number 2!” G16 shouted. 

No longer able to ignore it, A2 stopped and laid her lifeless comrade on the ground. Her other squadmates brought the other two dead androids and laid them down next to the first.

But they didn’t have the luxury of burying them. Not while they were in the middle of a warzone. Not when they didn’t know when the machines would attack them.

At that moment, a powerful explosion boomed, and the loud screech characteristic of machines echoed over the island.

“Sensing machine lifeform sources!” S21 said quickly. “A larger number than expected is heading this way. We have been discovered!”

“They’re going to be here any moment now! Number 2, snap out of it already!” G16 shouted while grabbing her rifle and running ahead.

“But-”

“We couldn’t save any of them. You understand that, don’t you? We can’t protect their corpses either. We have to go!” A4 also said while grabbing her long sword off her back.

“There are roughly 128,000 enemy units,” S21 informed her. “It won’t even be a battle with our numbers. They will surround us at any minute. What should we do? Captain!”

As they climbed up on a nearby hill, A2, A4, G16, and S21 became speechless at the sight in front of their eyes.

The entire slope of the mountain ahead of them was covered by a swarm of grey and brown steel. Hearing there were 128,000 enemies was one thing, but seeing them was entirely different.



“This is impossible. . .” G16 said in disbelief.

“I agree. We can’t complete the mission with just the four of us.”

“We should return to the bunker. This mission has failed from the start.”

At that moment, S21 spoke up:

“The laser communications are back online. Should I patch us through to the Command?”

“Yes, do it,” A2 confirmed.

“Command, this is Number 21. We are unable to continue the mission. Of 16 units, only four survived. We are facing an army of 128,000 machines. It is impossible to continue. I request the cancellation of the mission.”

“Command to Yorha,” came the answer from the Bunker. “Your request has been denied.”

“What?!”

“But we can’t—”

“This mission will succeed with minimum personnel.”

“But this is suicide! How can we go against 128,000 machines with just the four of us?!” A2 shouted.

“These orders are final. No future changes will be made to them,” Commander White said coldly. “Laser communications over and out.”

“Command!” A2 shouted, but the line was dead already.

“Goddamn it! Twelve units have died already! What the hell is Command thinking?” G16 shouted furiously as she threw off her blindfold.

“Number 16, you’re breaking military regulations,” A4 said. “You’re not supposed to take off your visor during the mission.”

“To hell with military regulations!” G16 shouted and threw her blindfold down. “And I don’t want to hear that from you, of all people! You have no room to talk!”

“But I am wearing mine. All I did was customise it so it only covers one eye. Plus, I wanted to have more hairstyle options,” A4 said, only for G16 to blow up at her:

“Hey! Are you being for real now! Do you even realise what sort of mess we are in right now?!"

Their bickering came to an end as the spider-type machines all started crawling down the mountain, charging at them.

⁂

Several hours earlier, thousands of kilometres away from Réunion, Harry Potter just returned to his wooden cabin in the Alps.

He was alone. The two girls remained at the Android city in Japan, Steelgate.

‘Luckily, I didn’t have to struggle too much to convince them to stay behind.’

It appeared that the girls’ maintenance would take until tomorrow. It seemed like it wasn’t just a simple check-up. They said that they were going to change various body parts. It was only in moments like this one that Harry was reminded of the fact that the girls were not actual humans but Androids. 

He had left them both a Portkey that would take them home once their maintenance ended. He also told them he might not be there when they returned. He didn’t hide the fact that he was going to fly to an island on the other side of the planet to meet the Yorha, but he had conveniently left out the part that he was actually heading into a warzone.

‘I bet they would’ve left everything and insisted on tagging along if they heard what kind of place I’m heading to.’

It’s why he did not tell them the full truth. Their healing ability may have come in handy on a battlefield, but Harry did not want them to risk their lives.

‘If worse comes to worst, I can always just teleport away.’

Devola and Popola meant too much to him. In a post-apocalyptic world where he was the last human alive, the two sisters were like family to him.

Harry spent the next hour or so packing and preparing himself for his expedition. Seeing as he was heading into a warzone, Harry packed a good amount of food, his flying broomstick, several Portkeys, a GPS device, a change of clothes, and a few other things he might need.

Lastly, he went to check up on the Phoenix egg in the fireplace and renewed the Fire Making Charm in the hearth and the spell that prevented the fire from growing uncontrollably before Portkeying himself back to Steelgate.

⁂

Jackass’ contact, the person who was going to fly him over the Indian Ocean, was a tall white man with a sturdy-looking body. Most of his appearance was hidden by his thick camo clothes, headgear, and goggles, but from the sound of his voice, Harry got the impression that he was an affable person.

“I’m saying this again as a warning, but the place we’re going is most likely a warzone.”

“I heard you the first three times you said it; you didn’t have to repeat it a fourth time,” the Android said, groaning.

“Sorry, I just want to make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to shoot us down the very moment we appear on their radar. We could easily die.”

Getting fed up with Harry’s nagging, the man said:

“Listen here, pal. I’m a deserter and a smuggler. It’s not only the machines who are trying to kill me, but the Council’s headhunters too. Both the machines and the androids want my head. But I’ve survived like this for decades. I know what I’m doing.”

Harry stopped annoying him and climbed up in the aircraft. It was a rather large but very modern, futuristic-looking aeroplane. A look of wonder surfaced on his face when he saw the aeroplane take off vertically. He had never flown with a commercial aeroplane, to say nothing of this incredible aircraft.

The young man’s surprise only increased when the smuggler piloting the ship pressed a button, and he saw the aeroplane’s wing becoming invisible.

“That’s the secret to my success and longevity in this field,” the Android said proudly when he noticed the look of amazement on Harry’s face. “Now hold on. Make sure you tighten your seatbelt, too. My ship is lightning fast.”

The android’s warning was not for no reason. Harry felt the air abruptly leave his lungs as the aeroplane suddenly accelerated at a crazy speed, leaving loud booms behind as it broke past the speed of sound.

Most of the trip was spent in silence, as it took Harry all he had just to remain conscious. Once they were within one thousand kilometres of Réunion, the smuggler began to slow the aircraft.

“As you asked, I’m going to drop you off in Mauritius,” the android started the conversation.

“Yes. I think it’s a safer drop-off point than Réunion.”

"I just don’t get why you’d want to come to this island of all places, especially if you’re so sure it’s crawling with machine lifeforms."

"I'm an archaeologist," Harry said, giving him the same lie he’d used on Jackass.

 "What the heck is that?"

 "It's a profession humans used to have. They dug up ruins and old relics to learn the truth about their history and where they came from. That’s what I’m doing too."

 "Is it worth it?" the android asked.

 "Of course. The more I study our Creators, the closer I get to understanding them," Harry replied, keeping up the act of a curious android fascinated by humans.

 "Bah. What use is that? What did humans ever do for us?"

Harry didn’t answer, and the android kept going.

“We’ve been fighting this goddamned war against the machines for thousands of years for humans to reclaim their planet . . . but it’s all for nought. Millions of us died over the years, but we’ve yet to win, and the humans have not even once shown their faces to us. They’ve never visited us. They’ve never spoken to us face-to-face. We’re sacrificing our lives for them, yet they’ve never shown even a glimpse of gratitude to us.”

He let out a bitter chuckle.

"I used to be on the front lines, you know? I was assigned to a Resistance Camp in the Indonesian Archipelago... but I couldn’t take it anymore. The war, the killing, the machines. About a century ago, our camp got overrun. We begged for reinforcements, but the so-called Army of Humanity ignored us. Never even picked up the call."

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Harry said in a subdued voice.

"My bad. I know this has nothing to do with you. I just don’t get many chances to talk about this stuff. That’s the price of deserting, I guess: loneliness. Still better than taking orders, though. I don’t regret it. That day, when the camp fell, I lost everything. I watched my brother get torn apart by the machines, and my wife. . . she shoved me out of the way of a laser beam. She died saving me."

“Those bastards from the Council of Humanity. . . From the beginning, we were nothing but sacrificial lambs for them. The humans don’t care about us. They left us there, all alone, to die.”

Silence settled in the aeroplane after the android finished talking about his frustrations. Time passed, and eventually, the island of Mauritius appeared below them.

“Whoa. . .” Harry let out a gasp of awe.

The island looked wild and untouched. Thick green forests covered the hills and mountains, their sharp rocky ridges jutting out of the ground. What stood out the most, however, was the beautiful, crystal-clear, blue water of the lagoons around the island. It was a sight like he had only ever seen on TV before.

However, at that moment, a feeling of danger washed over him. Was it because of his magic? Or maybe it was the sixth sense he had developed after all the times he had brushed past death? Whatever the reason, Harry suddenly shouted:

“Watch out!”

The smuggler had not noticed anything amiss, but at Harry’s shout, he reacted on instinct and yanked the controls. The plane rolled hard to the left just as a blinding beam of red light tore through the sky and sliced off the entire right wing.

“Fuck!” the android shouted as the ship shook violently.

Harry’s heart was hammering in his chest. If he had hesitated for even a second, and if the pilot had not listened, they would have been dead. That laser would have cut straight through the middle of the plane.

“We’ve been hit! We’re going down fast!” the android cried out as the aircraft started to spin wildly, the ocean below growing closer every second.

“Take off your seatbelt!” Harry yelled, gripping the armrest as alarms blared all around them. “Oy, you hear me? Take it off!”

Maybe it sounded too insane, or maybe the android just could not hear him over the chaos, but he did not try to unbuckle his seatbelt. Harry cursed under his breath, pulled out his wand, and cast a nonverbal Relashio on him. The seatbelt clicked open just before Harry pulled out from his pocket one of the emergency portkeys he had prepared ahead of time and threw it at the android, teleporting him away to safety, just outside Steelgate, in Japan.

As much as he wanted to keep his identity a secret, he could not just sit back and watch how other people died when he could save them.

A few moments after he teleported that android away, Harry took off his seatbelt, focused, and Disapparated from the aeroplane as well.

And it was not a second too late. Right after he reappeared in the air outside, his stomach twisted, and it was not because of the fact that he was in a free fall, several thousand metres above the ground. It was because another massive laser beam burst from the ground and tore through the aeroplane like a hot knife through butter, obliterating it.

‘Fuck, even my strongest Shielding Charm wouldn’t be able to stop that.’

Afraid that he would be next, Harry immediately Disapparated one more time, teleporting himself right on the beach below. Thankfully, teleporting had removed the momentum of his falling body, so he didn’t become a smear of blood on the ground when he Apparated.

Not wasting a second, Harry quickly jumped up to his feet and cast a Disillusionment Charm over himself, turning himself translucent, almost invisible. Then, he grabbed his flying broom from his charmed backpack and, after casting an invisibility spell on the broom too, he hopped on it and flew away from the island towards the sea.

[Eclipsed] Chapter 14 - Debate

Knowing when to push ahead and when to pull back, Naruto instinctively cancelled the Electromagnetic Murder and backflipped to avoid his wild strike.

“You miserable rat!” Mongul screamed, and despite the shameful state of his nakedness, he charged at Naruto like a rhino.

However, just as the brutish alien smashed his huge fist into Naruto’s face, the blonde tilted his head, letting the punch brush past his ear, and slammed an Oodama Rasengan into Mongul’s chest.

The alien was hurled back violently, rotating through the air like a spinning top before smashing into the large screen in the middle of the arena, blowing it into smithereens.

Despite the massive Rasengan hitting him straight in the chest, Mongul stood up and jumped down from the broken screen, landing with a powerful stomp that cracked the podium below. Faster than one would expect from someone his size, the alien grabbed an enormous chunk of the metallic podium and threw it at a group of shadow clones that were charging at him.

Two other clones burst from the curtain of smoke with a Rasengan in their hands, but Mongul abruptly turned and backhanded them, swatting away their Rasengans and killing them.

Dozens of Vacuum Bullets and Fireballs came from the clones hidden in the dense curtain of smoke all around him, but he brought his hands together and slammed them powerfully into the ground. The floor of the arena was shattered, sending immense chunks of concrete and steel into the air and blocking the bulk of the ninjutsu attacks. As for the attacks that did land on Mongul, most of them didn’t even scratch his skin.

‘What is he made of?’ was Naruto’s thought as he and his clones started going through a long series of hand seals.

Mongul did not merely wait for him to attack. While Naruto was in the midst of forming the necessary hand seals, Mongul suddenly clapped his hands powerfully, generating a shockwave so strong that it instantly blew away all the smoke in the arena.

Losing the cover of the smoke, the blond and his clones found themselves surrounded by over a hundred flying robots with laser rifles for hands. As the robots opened fire, many of the clones were dispelled, unable to finish their techniques. Those who did dodge the laser beams were forced to cancel their techniques.

As for Mongul, now that the enemy was finally in the open, he charged at them like a mad bull, each step leaving deep footprints into the shattered ground. Each one of his punches generated shockwaves that dispelled two or three clones at a time, and, from his red eyes, powerful heat beams exploded, incinerating everything they touched.

For Naruto, it was as if he was fighting a Kryptonian, but Mongul was, somehow, even more durable, withstanding with minimal damage most of his jutsu. He did not have any particular vulnerability to mystical attacks. He was like an unstoppable juggernaut.

“Focus on the robots,” Naruto shouted at his clones before bringing his hands together and making another 50 shadow clones to attack Mongul.

‘I can see only three jutsu putting this guy down.’

Rasenshuriken was the most obvious choice. However, that technique could even cripple Naruto’s own hand. Furthermore, he didn’t have Kurama and his super healing anymore.

The second option would be Hell Stab, but that jutsu could not be cast by regular shadow clones because it required too much chakra.

Mongul was far too powerful and too dangerous in close-quarter combat. Without Kyuubi to enhance his strength and heal him in case of injury, Naruto could not fight as recklessly as he did against Darkside. There was no guarantee that his Hell Stab would kill Mongul in one strike. If Mongul did survive, the blond would be in grave danger.

As for the third option, it seemed like the least risky one, but on the flip side, it was also the most taxing on his chakra. Though he still had enormous reserves of chakra compared to other shinobi, Naruto’s chakra was not as vast as when he used to be Kurama’s jinchuuriki. He had to be more mindful of his fighting style now.

In the end, he settled for the third option. Oodama Rasengan Barrage.

The 50 shadow clones that he had just summoned all raised their hands, and enormous balls of blue chakra coalesced in their palms, growing as large as their own bodies.

‘If this doesn’t kill him, nothing will.’

A powerful war cry came from the chests of Naruto and his shadow clones as they launched themselves in unison at Mongul.

The alien’s red eyes started burning, and his heat vision instantly obliterated half a dozen clones, but there were simply too many of them, and they were too spread out.

But just as they closed the distance—

BOOM.

A deep, rumbling tremor came from below, and the entire colosseum shook. Then a massive stream of fire burst from the ground, like the eruption of a volcano.

There was no time to react. No time to flee.

The sky itself turned white, and a mushroom cloud of dust and flame rose from the facility underneath the coliseum, killing everything in its range. Robots, shadow clones, spectators in the stands who had yet to leave the arena. . . and even Naruto and Mongul did not escape. Everything was reduced to ash and molten rubble.

⁂

The massive explosion and the powerful shockwave that erupted afterwards obliterated most buildings within a radius of two kilometres around the arena. As he watched the devastation, Green Lantern was reminded of the video he had watched about the atomic bomb dropped by the USA on Hiroshima.

The commotion shook the unconscious Superman awake, too, and he looked at his surroundings in confusion, momentarily not remembering where he was and how he had gotten there.

It only took a few words from his comrades for the Kryptonian’s memory to be jolted and understand what was going on.

“My God. . . all these people died. . .” Superman said as he looked at the ring of destruction around the arena.

He was not the only one who was shaken by the massive loss of life. Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter were sombre too. Only Big Barda did not look any different from usual. As the former Captain of Darkseid’s Furies, she had seen much worse things in her past.

“Did Darkseid’s son create all this destruction?” asked Hawkgirl. 

“I wouldn’t bet on that,” Green Lantern answered while using his power ring to create a pair of binoculars. He was studying the epicentre of the explosion.

“It doesn’t look like it,” Superman also answered while observing the surroundings with his microscopic vision.

Despite that he had been in a brutal fight only a few minutes ago, he was back to top form. If not for his ripped and burnt hero costume, there would be nothing to remind others of the damage he had suffered.

“Superman, where are you going?” Big Barda asked when she saw him taking flight and heading towards the arena.

“I think I saw something at the bottom of the crater.”

“Impossible!” John Stewart exclaimed. “Nothing could have survived an explosion like that!”

Despite his words, he flew after Superman, curiosity getting the better of him.

When they arrived at the place where the arena had once been, they realised that a seemingly bottomless chasm had opened underneath. The walls of the crater and those of the chasm were still red and burning, looking almost like lava, but with their superhuman durability, Green Lantern and Superman were not affected.

They flew down nearly 300 metres into the burning chambers, in the remains of the underground facility, before Superman stopped.

“Jesus Christ!” John Stewart shouted in shock and turned his head away.

Floating atop a lake of molten rubble were the remains of a human body. Everything below the waist was gone, and so was a good chunk of his torso and even half of his head.

However. . . that thing was alive.

Superman was no less shocked than Green Lantern, staring at the thing floating in the lake of fire, stupefied.

“John, could you scoop him out of the fire with your power ring?”

Green Lantern forced back the bile rising in his throat as he turned his attention back to the mutilated remains of that human body and used a green construct of light to pick it up.

John’s and Superman’s shock only grew after that. Taken out of the molten rubble that had been continuously burning it, the mutilated body started regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It was like something out of a horror movie.

The half-melted head grew a brain, then the skull closed up, the eyeballs were regenerated in their sockets, and a layer of skin appeared on the exterior of the head. Even his hair grew again, reverting to how it had been before: spiky, wild, and golden blonde.

The regeneration didn’t stop there. His obliterated heart grew back, as did the missing portion of his spinal cord, his ribs, and his muscles... it was almost like watching a video in reverse. Less than one minute later, his missing legs grew back, too.

Getting over his shock, Superman took off his ripped cloak and put it over his body in an attempt to cover his state of nakedness.

“What the hell did we just witness?!” Green Lantern said in shock as he and Superman flew out of the burning chasm with Naruto’s body in tow.

“That’s not something you get to see every day, alright. Kara told me many things about him. . . I knew he had a regeneration factor, but I had no idea it would be to this degree.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. I’ve never even heard of someone regenerating from something like this,” Green Lantern said. “No, wait. There is someone like that.”

Superman nodded. “Yes. Vandal Savage.”

Vandal Savage was a notorious criminal, an immortal metahuman. The US government had tried to give him the death penalty multiple times after World War 2, but nothing had worked. He simply couldn’t be killed. He did not age either. He was eternal. In the end, Vandal Savage escaped from prison and disappeared. Nobody had seen or heard anything about him for decades.

“Could they be related?” asked John.

“I doubt that. To my knowledge, Vandal had never left the Earth. As for this man, he’s from a part of the Universe that even your Guardians don’t know,” Superman replied.

His cousin, Kara, had talked to him about Naruto so much over the past few months that Superman could say that he knew the blond alien almost as well as she did.

Returning to the surface, they left the unconscious young man in Martian Manhunter’s care before joining Hawkgirl and Big Barda, who had flown away and started searching for survivors among the rubble of the houses that had been demolished by the explosions’ shockwave.

⁂

Even with Superman’s x-ray vision and Green Lantern’s ability to easily move away large piles of debris with his power ring, scouring the entire area would have taken many hours, if not days. Martian Manhunter would have loved nothing more than to help save the innocents who had been caught by the explosion, but, weakened as he was by Warworld’s atmosphere, he could not do much.

Thankfully, one hour into their rescuing work, the three heroes were unexpectedly joined by nearly 1000 identical men; they were Naruto’s shadow clones.

Only a few hours later, the heroes and Naruto’s clone had dug out all the survivors who had been trapped underneath their collapsed homes.

Warworld may have been a den of poverty and crime, but in the end, the planet’s inhabitants were still people. Many of them were just unfortunate people who had been pushed by the regime into a lawless life. With that being said, despite most of them being rough individuals, the heroes’ efforts in rescuing the injured had not gone ignored. The people had gladly offered them shelter for the night and food at no cost.

Currently, Superman, Big Barda, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl were in the middle of a rather heated debate inside a room. The conversation was not only among the four of them. Thanks to Big Barda’s Mother Box, the holograms of three other heroes were also present in the room. They were having a real-time video call despite being in a different galaxy from Earth.

“Are you out of your mind?” Batman’s hologram shouted. “How could you even suggest bringing someone like him to Earth?!”

“There is no need for shouting,” Wonder Woman said, frowning as she glanced in Batman’s direction.

“He wants to bring to Earth a mass murderer who is strong enough to kill Darkseid on his own. Someone who is even immortal by the looks of it. What do you call that if not crazy?” Batman shouted at her.

“I have nothing against you, Superman, but I have to agree with Batman on this,” John Stewart said. “That guy is dangerous. Extremely dangerous. Even the Guardians of Oa are wary of him. And you’ve seen with your own eyes. He’s also unkillable. And his cloning ability and the ability to transform into other people? Could you imagine the chaos he would bring on Earth if he were to go rogue?”

“Uzumaki Naruto is not an evil person,” Martian Manhunter spoke in his defence. “I have seen his inner thoughts. I have entered his consciousness. Before Darkseid invaded his planet, he had been a devoted soldier to his people and even a hero. Although the government had turned him into a human weapon, he had never resented them. He had never sought vengeance against them. All that he had ever wanted was to protect them and to be acknowledged.”

The fact that a telepath and a stoic person like Martian Manhunter spoke in favour of Naruto made Batman’s glare lessen somewhat, and Green Lantern adopted a thinking expression too.

⁂

While the Justice League were in the middle of a debate about him, Naruto was in a different room sitting cross-legged on a bed, his hands alight with a cyan-coloured chakra. He was healing a young woman with his medical ninjutsu.

Her tall and athletic figure, the long, crimson red hair that reached her ankles, her glowing green eyes, and the exotic, orange skin made her unmistakable: she was Starfire, also known by the people of Warworld as the Fire Princess.

He was silent, and his facial expression would make one think he was at peace as he healed the young woman, yet, in his mind, there was an uncontrollable storm. All sorts of conflicting thoughts and emotions created a whirlpool that he could not stop.

He had watched Starfire almost die in her battle against Superman. He had been terrified for her safety. But just after he rescued her, when he was about to kill Mongul and make him pay for what he had done, a massive explosion had obliterated everything.

‘I was going to die. I am sure of it.’

However, his spirit did not leave for the pure lands. It clung onto his remains stubbornly. Even as the explosion melted off his legs, half of his head, and a large part of his torso, he did not die. Even as the molten rock and metals burnt his flesh and bones, he remained awake, feeling that agony the entire time.

‘Is that how I also survived after unsealing Kurama?’

‘When the hell did I get this kind of healing power?’

It was beyond logic and reason. Even Kurama’s regeneration couldn’t compare to what he had just experienced.

“It’s alright, Naruto. I am all healed up now,” came the young woman’s warm voice.

When he did not stop his medical ninjutsu, she softly took his hands in hers.

“Dearest friend? I am fine. I promise,” she said, smiling as she got up in a sitting position and tightened her hold on his hands just a bit.

As he met her green eyes, he felt pained deep inside. Something in his facial expression must have tipped her off because her smile receded, and she asked worriedly:

“Are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere? Or, perhaps, are you exhausted?”

Naruto bit his lower lip briefly, unable to answer.

“You took care of me and healed me. Come, I will do the same for you now.”

He did not have the strength or the will to oppose her as Starfire leaned with her back against the bed’s headboard and pulled him to her.

She pressed down on his shoulders and positioned him to lie down with his head resting on her thighs. Due to her clothes being ruined in the fight against Superman, Starfire was wearing a simple white dress made from a material similar to that of the linen from Earth. Her long, thick red hair flowing down her shoulders and her orange skin made a stark contrast with her dress. At that moment, he couldn’t imagine anyone more beautiful and pure than her.

As she started running her hands softly through his short spiky hair, her gentle, comforting touch made it increasingly hard for him to hold back his emotions.

“Talk to me, dearest. I am here for you. Always. Your worries and your fears, you can tell me everything. I will never think any less of you,” Starfire said, her hand caressing his cheek now, her thumb going softly over his whiskers.

“Can you read minds?” he asked, trying to make a joke.

“I do not possess this ability. But you look sad. . . You look like you want to cry.”

When Naruto turned his head to hide his eyes, Starfire didn’t stop touching him. Her fingers stayed gentle on his face.

“It’s never good to bottle up your emotions. On Tamaran, our emotions are like our skin. Always out in the open for all to see. If we are happy, we laugh. If we are sad, we cry. If we are angry, we fight.”

“That’s not normal outside of your planet,” said Naruto. “People hide their feelings. They rarely speak what’s on their mind. They keep secrets. They are plotting. They are lying.”

He wasn’t talking about others. . . he was talking about himself.

“I will never do that to you. You are my dearest friend. You are the person I love. The person with whom I wish to be together forever.”

Unbeknownst to Starfire, her words were like twisting the blade in his wound, making it even more obvious how filthy and undeserving he was of her affection.

Even now, he could not muster the strength to tell Starfire about his real identity. And he hated it. He hated himself for his cowardice. For hiding things from her. For lying to her.

Yet, knowing that he might never get to feel her touch, that he might never hear her joyfully call his name, and that he might never taste her sweet and passionate lips again made him hesitate.

Starfire raised his head off her thighs and shimmied down the bed, lying down on the mattress next to him now. Now on the same eye level as him, she cupped his cheek and leaned in, planting a chaste, short kiss on his lips.

She smiled and leaned in again, kissing him softly one more time. Pulling away, their faces were only a few centimetres apart.

Being so close to her, he felt his heart lurch with his yearning for her. He could feel her sweet breath on his lips and the natural warmth that her body radiated. Those bright, lovely green eyes never left his, and her hand never stopped caressing his cheek.

“I like you, Naruto,” she whispered and kissed him again. Pulling back, she smiled and pressed her forehead against his.

“I do not know why you are hurting deep inside. But I wish to help. I wish to comfort you. When I was at my lowest point, you were like a ray of sun in my life. You gave me hope. You gave me your friendship. And you helped me regain my freedom.”

“I adore you,” she said emotionally and kissed him again.

Faced with her heartfelt confession, he could no longer hold back his feelings. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body flush to his.

Starfire threw her leg over his waist and moved on top of him. As the pleasant weight of her heavy breasts settled on his chest and her long, thick red hair cascaded over his head, all he could feel and smell – all he could think of – was her.

She tilted her head and made a small, needy sound as she kissed him deeper. Her long tongue slipped into his mouth, wrapping around his, embracing it, and caressing it, moving with slow, eager passion. Her soft lips moved against his, wet and full, and he could do nothing but let her have her way with him.

Her scent, her warmth, her taste, and her passion. They were intoxicating. It was just a kiss, but the pleasure was so much that it made him light-headed.

However, when her hand started trailing slowly down his chest and reaching for his belt, a flash of lucidity that he did not know he still had suddenly cleared the haze of pleasure clouding his mind. Unexpectedly, he grabbed her wrist and pulled back from their intense kiss, his breath coming out in gasps as he said:

"We-, we can't."

"Why?" Starfire asked, utterly confused.

She leaned in to kiss him again, trying to pick up where they left off, but he pulled back and hurried out of bed. He knew that if he didn’t stop her now, he wouldn’t be able to resist her anymore.

He walked over to the chair by the window and sat down with a groan, burying his face in his hands as his elbows rested on his knees.

"I’ve been keeping a secret from you, Kori. . . I can’t do this to you. You deserve better. You deserve to know the truth."

[...]

⁂

Completely unaware of what was happening in Nauto and Starfire’s room, the Justice League continued their intense debate.

“Look, I wondered myself whether I should bring him back with us. I’ve thought about it the entire time while we were digging up the people buried in the rubble today,” said Superman. “I, too, am worried about the risks of bringing him back, but I want to believe that he is not evil.”

“Of course you do. You always try to see the best in everyone!” Batman retorted.

“Look, I don’t want to be that guy, but I have to admit I’m kinda worried too,” Flash said. “You’ve seen what he did on Apokolips. Can you imagine if he has one of those episodes in the middle of Metropolis or in New York City?”

“We talked to him today,” Hawkgirl chose to speak at that moment. “He didn’t seem like an unhinged psycho. We saved the lives of hundreds of people today with his help.”

“Big Barda, what do you think? You’ve known him the longest. What is your opinion on him?” Wonder Woman asked.

“What I think wouldn’t be relevant to the matter at hand. The person I used to know is different from the person I met today,” Barda replied.

Superman let out a sigh.

“I want to help him.”

Seeing as everyone remained silent, listening to him, he continued:

“You all know that a few years ago, I was in the exact same position he is now. Darkseid brainwashed me. I conquered planets in his name. I shed innocent blood with my own hands. It's because he had altered my memories and made me believe I was his son. He made me think that I was fighting for peace, that I was bringing order to the universe. And in the end, he turned me against Earth.” He looked down at his hands, which were now clenched into fists.

“Even after I snapped out of his control and fought back, my deeds remained. Everyone hated me, and for good reason. Good people lost their lives because of me. I regret that. Not a day passes without thinking of what I have done.”

“It was difficult making people trust me again. But at least I had my parents. They supported me. They gave me the strength to persevere. Even when the media was writing articles condemning me, even when the very people whose lives I saved walked out in the streets protesting and shouting for me to be arrested and prosecuted, I persevered. I had the strength to endure because of those who supported me.”

“But this young man has nothing left. His homeland was destroyed by Darkseid, and everyone he had ever held dear is dead now. I want to be there for him. I want to help him. I want to support him just like my parents supported me. I believe he deserves a chance. And so does Kara. She deserves to have a family. I want to do this for both of them.”

Faced with Superman’s impassioned speech, the rest of the Justice League members did not know what to say. Except for Batman.

“You would risk the lives of thousands just for him? That’s your idea of giving him a second chance?”

“I will take full responsibility for him,” Superman said. “Should he ever step out of line, I will put a stop to it myself. No matter the cost. You have my word.”

Sensing that their conversation had come to an end, Martian Manhunter spoke:

“All in favour of allowing Uzumaki Naruto to come to Earth?”

At his words, Superman, Martian Manhunter himself, Hawkgirl, and Big Barda raised their hands.

“All against?”

This time, Batman and Green Lantern raised their hands.

“Flash, Wonder Woman? What about you?”

The speedster palmed his forehead.

“I get this whole second chance thing. I mean, Superman and Big Barda got a second chance, and they turned out great, right? But I haven’t met this guy in person. I mean, the reformed version of him. So I don’t know what to say. I can't make a decision without having met him. I’m abstaining from voting.”

“I'm on the same page as Flash,” Wonder Woman replied.

“Four in favour, two against. The vote has concluded,” Martian Manhunter spoke.

Such was the system of the Justice League. There was no actual leader in the Justice League. Whenever they had to make a difficult decision, all members would vote. Everyone’s vote held equal weight.

“Don’t come to me for help once this blows up in your head,” Batman spat in his usual tone. “I did my job and warned you. When this goes haywire – and it will – it will be on your heads.”

And with that, Batman’s hologram disappeared as he ended the call.

⁂

Superman wore a pensive expression as he made his way to the room where Naruto and Starfire were staying. If it hadn't been for Starfire’s injuries, Naruto’s insistence on healing her, and the Justice League's need to decide whether he should be allowed to return on Earth, they would have departed in the Javelin immediately after finishing rescuing those trapped beneath the rubble.

That being said, none of the heroes had mentioned anything to Naruto about coming to Earth.

‘What if our earlier conversation was all for nought? What if he doesn’t want to come?’ Superman thought.

In the end, having gone through the same experiences in the past, Superman had a pretty good idea of what was going on with Naruto at that moment.

‘What if he doesn’t feel anything for Kara? What if their relationship had been something that Darkseid created?’

The Man of Steel had not spoken about it with anyone until now, but several years ago, before Big Barda became a Fury herself, when he had been brainwashed by Darkseid, he had also slept with Lashina, the whip-wielding woman among the Furies. But after snapping out of Darkseid’s control, anything he might have felt for her disappeared. Fortunately, nothing had come out of his tryst with Lashina, but it was different for Naruto and Kara.

‘Even if he doesn’t feel anything for her. . . even if he doesn’t love her, he should at least come to Earth and be by her side for the sake of their son, if nothing else,’ Superman thought as he arrived.

He raised his hand, just about to knock on the door, when an unmistakable feminine sound reached his ears. If he had any doubts the first time, they all vanished when he heard it the second time. It was the sound of a woman who had surrendered to pleasure.

Almost instinctively, his X-ray vision activated, and what he saw left him frozen. The blond shinobi sat in a chair, and the red-haired princess was straddling him. Her nails dug into his shoulders as her body moved with fierce intensity in his lap while his hands clutched her firm, curvy rear, steadying her rhythm. They were both completely naked.

[Samsara] Chapter 8 - Evil Spirit (II)

“Waiter, more booze!” a man wearing a black shihakusho and an armband with “Second Division” written on it shouted.

His spiky blonde hair was standing in all directions, his cheeks and nose were red, and his blue eyes were slightly unfocused; he was plastered. But, despite how drunk he was, he grabbed a hunk of fried meat in one hand and a bottle of soju in the other before jumping on top of a table and starting to sing a drunken song about food, women, and booze.

The lyrics of the song were terrible, and his singing voice was an affront to the ears, but the other partygoers were just as drunk as he was. They started cheering and laughing their asses off at his actions.

For the first time since he started living in the Soul Society, Uzumaki Naruto was having the time of his life, partying like the world was going to end tomorrow.

A few strings of reiatsu came out from his fingertips and wrapped around a black-haired woman’s thin waist, suddenly pulling her up onto the table next to him. She was Suwa Ume, the leader of the Onmitsukido's Detention Unit, who had served as the overseer for his test when he joined.

She let out a squawk of surprise at being grabbed out of nowhere, but her gasp was swallowed by Naruto’s mouth as he suddenly covered her lips with his in a sloppy kiss. When the woman got over her surprise, she wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her head, deepening the kiss and earnestly starting to make out with him.

The other shinigami in the tavern broke out into shouts and wolf-whistles as they watched their new Lieutenant and the Fourth Seat swallowing each other’s faces. Those cheers, however, turned into hollers of laughter when the table tilted and the two drunkards who were kissing on top of it fell down on the floor like two sacks of potatoes.

⁂

It was in the wee hours of the morning that Naruto wobbled out of the tavern, a goofy grin and half a dozen red lip marks on his face.

‘Yeah, man, that’s what life is all about!’ he thought, giggling and burping as he walked towards the Second Division’s barracks.

The longer he walked, the more he felt like throwing up. He had lost count of how many bottles of soju he had downed.

‘But it was so much fun!’

He had not had such a good time in more than a decade. Ever since he had come to the Soul Society, he had never partied and hung out with others. He had missed having friends, companionship, and having fun. Even before that, in Rukongai, he had been forced to live alone due to his high spiritual energy making other people sick.

‘Should I cure my drunkenness?’ he asked himself when his nausea started getting worse. He didn’t want to end up vomiting all over the street.

His healing kido could purge his inebriated state quite easily. But on the other hand, he loved the buzz, that feeling of intoxication.

‘I’ve been missing out on so many things all these years.’

‘The old me is gone.’

‘From now on, I won’t hold back anymore.’

He giggled perversely as his mind went back to his sloppy make-out session with the prim and proper “Ume-chan”. Though she was not as glamorous as other ladies in the Court of Souls, that rigid and serious side of hers had its own charm, especially when her polite facade broke.

Inebriated as he was, Naruto almost didn’t notice the dark-skinned shinigami who had been waiting for him in front of the Second Division’s gates.

“Yo, Naruto.”

“Oh, Captain. Wazzup?” he asked, hiccuping.

Shihouin Chika studied him intently for a few seconds.

“We haven’t seen each other much lately. Just wanted to check up on you.”

“Is something the matter? If it’s not urgent, we can talk tomorrow,” he said, and his cheeks bulged as he almost threw up. 

“You’ve become quite the party animal over the last few weeks, huh?”

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and grinned.

“A drink or two never hurt anyone. And, what do you know, the ladies seem to like me a lot more after I drink too. Bwahahah!” he threw his head back and laughed out loud, his voice echoing in the silence of the night. 

The Captain blew out a sigh.

“I’m glad you’re having fun. . . How is your bankai training going?”

“Oooh! My bankai. Hm. I made contact with my zanpakuto spirit, but he’s a stubborn one. It may take longer than I thought at first. I believe-” he had to bring his hand to his mouth and stop talking lest he lose all control and vomit all over the place in front of the captain. 

“I see. You look like you need some rest, so I won’t hold you anymore. Good night, Naruto.”

"Good night, Captain.”

A few moments after the blond walked past him, Chika called out his name again:

“Naruto.”

“Yes, Captain?” he asked, stopping in his tracks.

“Is everything alright with you? Are you okay?”

Naruto turned so that Chika would see his face, and he smirked as he answered:

“Never been better.”

Despite his Lieutenant’s reassurance, Shihouin Chika was not convinced. Since when was Naruto the type to party and get himself piss drunk? Since when was he the type to mingle with his squadmates and hook up with women? In the 10 years since he had joined Gotei 13, the blond had never done that. He had hated the shinigami for the longest time and avoided interacting with others unless his duties required him to do so. He had been a loner, and he had never shown any interest in becoming friends or romantically involved with anyone.

‘He’s like an entirely different person,' Chika thought.

He didn’t need to be a genius to realise that Naruto's abrupt change in behaviour was somehow related to his Bankai training. However, so far, the blond hadn’t broken any laws, nor had he created any problems with his Shinigami work. He was always sober during work, and he fulfilled his duties as the Lieutenant of the Second Division and as a member of the Detention Unit properly.

Therefore, Chika did not really have a reason to complain. Nonetheless, he decided to keep a close eye on him. He did not know exactly what was going on behind the scenes, but he was certain that something was not right.  

⁂ 

A clang of steel clashing reverberated, and a reiatsu shockwave burst forth, destroying a nearby building and making the walls of other buildings shudder and crack. Cries of pain came from the people who had been trapped under the collapsed house. 

“Control yourself, you stupid animal. You’re going to get us both thrown in prison!” Naruto shouted in anger. 

“Like hell if I care!” Zaraki screamed, and, holding his jagged zanpakuto with both hands, he chopped at Naruto with all his strength. 

Three weeks had passed since Naruto's attempt at gaining Bankai. Three weeks since Akuryo, the Evil Spirit, had taken control of his body. Three weeks since Zaraki, the unhinged killer of Rukongai, had been imprisoned in the Maggots’ Nest. 

Now, as soon as he was released, he made a beeline straight to Naruto, to the Second Division’s training grounds.

“Oy, Captain, if you don’t control your dog, I’ll put him down where he stands!” Naruto shouted, transmitting his voice with the use of his reiatsu over the entirety of the Second Division’s barracks. 

But he did not receive an answer. Shihouin Chika was already gone; he was visiting Captain Unohana that day.

“That damned skirt-chaser,” he cursed as his zanpakuto clashed heavily against Zaraki’s blade once more. 

“You have time to think about others while you’re fighting me?” the boy shouted in anger, and his reiatsu spiked. 

The other members of their squad all started running away in panic as Zaraki’s monstrous reiatsu clashed against that of Naruto. 

“Run for your lives!”

“Run away!”

“Those madmen are fighting again!”

A haze of bright yellow and pitch black clashed, and the entirety of Squad Two’s training grounds and adjacent buildings started shuddering from their foundations, seeming unable to withstand their spiritual pressure.

“That’s more like it!” Zaraki screamed in glee as he chopped at Naruto with all his strength. “Wahaha!”

Despite the bright and beautiful colour of Zaraki's reiatsu, the more he fought, the more it started to resemble a skull, like a manifestation of his boundless killing intent.

Even as Naruto’s blade dug into his body and slashed him across the chest, arms, and shoulders, Zaraki never retreated. He threw himself at Naruto like a relentless zombie, not caring in the least about the wounds he received, all for the sake of not allowing him even one second to release his shikai. Zaraki knew that the moment the blond released his shikai, the fight would be over.

As for Naruto, he didn’t get away unscathed from their clashes either. His shihakusho was stained with the blood coming from a gruesome shoulder wound, and his left bicep had been stabbed through. Zaraki was so unhinged and fast with his attacks that not only did Naruto not have the time to activate his Shikai, but he couldn’t use his healing kido either.

A cold killing intent rose within him, and reiatsu flared, its pitch-black colour threatening to engulf the entire Second Division barracks.

“I’m sick of you, lunatic,” Naruto screamed as he clashed his sword against Zaraki’s. “I’ve spared your life too many times. But that's it. You’re going to die today.”

Sensing the change in his reiatsu and hearing his words, the boy actually grinned even wider and laughed out loud.

“Fight me, Naruto! Kill me if you can! Fight me like it's your last day!” 

The clash of their swords rang so loud that people from all over the Court of Souls heard it. Right after their swords locked in a contest of strength, Zaraki unexpectedly lunged in and suddenly sank his teeth into Naruto’s nape, biting him like a savage beast.

Holding back a yell of pain, Naruto said through gritted teeth:

“Hainawa!”

A golden rope of light wrapped around Kenpachi’s body, but that hastily cast low-level kido disintegrated like nothing, unable to bind him.

Kenpachi yanked his head back, pulling a whole chunk of flesh out of Naruto’s neck and shoulder, and spat it on the ground. His mouth stained with the blood of his opponent, and with his clothes in tatters and soaked in his own blood, the kid looked no different from a demon.

“Ahaha! Hahaha!” he laughed as he started slashing at Naruto wildly, his sword moving faster than most shinigami’s eyes could perceive, delivering dozens of attacks per second. 

As their swords clashed against each other, Naruto let one of his hands go. Zaraki, who was wielding his blade with both hands, won the contest of strength and pushed Naruto’s zanpakuto down, straight into his shoulder.

But that had been Naruto’s plan all along. A sphere of dark energy coalesced into his free hand, and he thrust it into Kenpachi’s chest.

The kid abruptly pulled back, not trying to press his advantage because Naruto had used that chantless kido ball attack several times against him before. By now, he was well aware of that trick.

Pulling back, however, allowed Naruto a brief respite.

“Seal, Aku-” he began to say, but Zaraki lunged at him with the desperation of a dying man. Except that the beastly kid wasn’t actually afraid of dying. He was far more afraid of the fight ending. He wanted to keep on fighting.

His blood racing, the clangs of swords, the sounds of steel tearing into flesh, and adrenaline pumping in his veins: that was what made life worth living for him. He couldn’t allow Naruto to release his shikai. In his eyes, the fight ending was worse than losing his life.

Faced with Zaraki’s reckless attack, Naruto was forced to parry the hit, interrupting his shikai release. Frowning, he changed tactics. Not all kido spells needed hand seals or a certain posture, like the activation of Shikai. Some kidō spells only needed verbal incantations.

An idea came to his mind, and he started chanting very fast in spite of the fact that Zaraki was repeatedly hacking with his zanpakuto at him, swinging his blade wildly to cut him down. 

"O sun that lingers in the heavens, lend me your enduring grace - Flash from cloud and coil from sky - Wrap my flesh in sacred brilliance, unbroken and unburned - ”

“What the fuck are you doing?” Zaraki screamed, sensing that something bad was about to happen. 

But Naruto ignored him, focusing on defending against his strikes while chanting the rest of the incantations. 

“ - Fang without flesh, breath without flame! - Let light be my armour and radiance my shield - Strike swift, tear loud - Bakudō #52: Kōmyō no Tate! - Hadō #42: Inazuma no Hebi!" (1)

At first impression, the incantation made no sense. But that was Nijū Eishō. It was a kido technique of mixing the incantations of two different spells and casting them simultaneously.

As his words ended, a golden barrier of light enveloped Naruto’s body like a second layer of skin, and the tip of his zanpakuto started crackling with a pale blue light before a large serpent of lightning burst out.

Due to being held in a parrying position, the tip of Naruto’s sword was facing upwards, and the blue lightning serpent shot up, nowhere near close to hitting the enemy. However, after flying up for a few metres, the lightning serpent did an abrupt U-turn, homing in on Zaraki.

“You’re crazy!” Zaraki shouted and laughed when he realised what was going to happen: due to how close they were standing with their swords locked against each other, the blue serpent of lightning was going to hit them both.

However, the boy had miscalculated something. As the blue lightning serpent struck them, he was the only one who shouted in pain. Thanks to his dual casting, Naruto had preemptively cast a barrier spell on himself; the serpent of blue lightning could not harm him.

“Get back here!” the kid screamed when he saw the blond disengaging and shunpo-ing backwards after the blue lightning serpent faded away.

He tried to chase after Naruto with a flash step, too, yet to his surprise, his body did not listen to him momentarily. He was numb. He couldn’t feel his limbs.

That state lasted for only one second, but that brief moment was all that Naruto needed.

Holding his zanpakuto horizontally in front of him with one hand from the upper part of the blade and with one hand from the handle, Naruto spoke the chant of his shikai release:

“Seal, Akuryo.”

“NOOO!” Zaraki screamed as he shook off the temporary paralysis and threw himself at Naruto.

However, it was too late. Naruto’s regular katana transformed into a simple, straight, double-edged sword with a black handle and a black blade. It was a Jian, a traditional Chinese sword.

⁂

Shiouin Chika, infamous among the women of Seireitei for his charm and playboy lifestyle, became the talk of the entire Soul Society when he suddenly changed his ways several weeks ago.

At first, many thought that his affair with Unohana was just one of his whims, a flavour of the month type of thing. That he would grow bored of her and move on to other women in a matter of days. However, as days and weeks passed, they began to realise that the Head of the Shihouin Clan had truly fallen for the Kenpachi, for the worst killer of the Soul Society.

Other than the times when their Captain duties required their presence in their divisions’ headquarters, the two of them could often be seen walking around, dining, or enjoying a cup of tea together. Such was the case in the present as well.

“You seem distracted. Is there something troubling you?” Unohana asked while pouring him a cup of tea.

Her posture and mannerisms were so elegant that one would have a hard time imagining who she really was had they not known her identity.

“I have a nagging suspicion that I forgot something. . . something important,” Chika said, a troubled look on his handsome face.

Not long after he said that, two powerful reiatsu signatures washed over Seireitei. Shihouin slapped his forehead.

“I forgot to tell my Lieutenant that the mad dog was going to get released today! Yachiru-san, we have to stop them,” he said, standing up to leave.

But Unohana grabbed him softly by his haori.

“Why not just leave them be? It’s not like it’s their first battle.”

She was not wrong. Their battles were so frequent that nobody in Seireitei was unaware of them by now.

“Something is different this time. Uzumaki, my lieutenant, has changed. I’m afraid one of them will die if they fight today.”

Going by the unimpressed look on her face, he could tell that she could not care less about either one of their deaths.

“They are important to me,” he explained. “Both of them. They are key pieces that I cannot afford to lose.”

⁂

Shihouin and Unohana weren’t the only ones who had noticed their battle. Somewhere near the centre of the Court of Souls, in the Shiba Clan’s residence, a tall and burly man with wild brown hair and bushy sideburns sat in a seiza pose, listening to an elderly woman speak. Her elegant black kimono, neatly tied bun, and silvery hair gave her an air of elegance and dignity.

His large, muscular frame looked out of place in that position, and his overall presence didn’t quite fit with the refined atmosphere of an aristocratic household. Judging by the look on his face, he felt just as uncomfortable as he appeared.



When he sensed the sudden spike of reiatsu in the distance, the woman’s voice faded into the background, going in one ear and out the other.

“Danjiro-san? Danjiro-san! Are you even listening to me?” she snapped, slamming her closed fan on the low table.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m listening, you old hag, quit whining already!” he said in a fed-up voice.

“Old hag?! Is that any way to talk to your venerable mother-in-law?” the woman shouted, suddenly jumping up from her seiza and stepping over the table to grab him by the collar of his white Captain’s haori.

The prim and proper image she had projected just moments ago seemed like a complete lie now.

“You do look venerable right now, with your foot on the table and grabbing your son-in-law’s chest like you're trying to shake some money out of him.”

His sarcasm was not lost on her, and the old woman became even fiercer. Yanking him by the collar, she slammed her forehead against his. 

But Danjiro was not one to take such acts lying down, and he also grabbed a fistful of her kimono, looking like he was about to start beating her up.

“You wanna have a go at it, punk?” she yelled at him.

“Just do it, you old witch. I dare you to start it!” he goaded her. 

“When I was beating thugs like you, you were still in your father’s ballsack, you wet-behind-the-ears brat!” the old woman screamed.

At that moment, the sound of a door sliding open was heard, and a tall and busty woman with long brown hair entered the room.

“Mother, Dear? Were you fighting again?” she asked in a disappointed voice. 

“Fighting? Who? Us?” Danjiro asked innocently.

“You worry too much, Kana-chan,” said the old lady, smiling amiably.

Although they had been at each other’s throats less than two seconds ago, the very moment they heard the door sliding open, the two of them rushed back to their spots, sitting down in a seiza, and acting as though nothing had happened at all.

The young woman, Shiba Kana, let out a sigh. Her mother and her husband may have tried to hide it, but how could she not see the wrinkles left by how they pulled at each other’s clothes?

“Dear, we’ve been over this before. . . I know you don’t like it, but you need to learn our etiquette. The Shiba are one of the Five Noble Houses. We cannot let the other nobles look down on us.”

“You’re right, Dear,” Danjiro said, grinning foolishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

“You, too, Mother, you should have more patience with him, especially because you know exactly what he is going through right now. You had married into the clan just like him, and you also had a hard time learning how not to act like a savage.”

“Oy, you little girl, aren’t you a bit too harsh on your mother?”

“That’s because you should know better than acting like a hoodlum, Mother!”

While the two women started quarrelling, Danjiro Obana’s expression changed. Eventually, even the two women stopped mouthing at each other because the spiritual pressure they were feeling was already in the realm of Captain-level shinigami going all out, just shy of releasing their Bankai.

“I cannot ignore this. I will go take a look,” Danjiro said as he stood up and grabbed his zanpakuto from the floor.

⁂

As chance made it, Danjiro Obana, Shihouin Chika, and Unohana Yachiru arrived at the scene of the battle just in time to witness how the Second Squad’s Lieutenant stabbed his blood-red shikai through the young boy’s neck.

Zaraki collapsed on the ground, blood pouring like a river from the gaping hole left in his throat, but he couldn’t even attempt to cover it with his hands because his arms had been paralysed beforehand.

Naruto narrowed his eyes when he saw that it wasn’t just one but three captains who had unexpectedly come to the Second Division’s training grounds.

However, to his surprise, he could not sense any anger from any of them. Shihouin Chika was the only one showing some negative emotions; he felt exasperated. But Unohana was indifferent, even as she rushed (due to Chika’s urging) to Zaraki’s side and her hands started glowing with a cyan light, healing the fatal wound in his throat. 

“Damn it, Naruto, you could’ve killed him,” said Shihouin irritated. “If Captain Unohana wasn’t here to save him, he would’ve died.”

“Yes. That was the entire point,” Naruto said coldly. “How many times has he attacked me until now? Five? Or Six? I kinda lost count. I keep beating him up and throwing him in the Maggot’s Nest, and you keep releasing him after every 2-3 weeks. If you had trained your dog, I wouldn’t have needed to put him down.”

Knowing that it was his negligence that had led to his scenario, Shihouin did not refute his words. Unohana, on the other hand, was not quite as understanding. Finishing healing Zaraki’s wounds, she turned her attention to him.

“That is not how you should speak to your Captain, Uzumaki-san.”

Sensing the bloodlust smouldering underneath her calm exterior, Naruto understood that no matter what he said, she was going to attack him next. He was familiar with her tendencies by now. After all, their healing kido lessons until then had been less about healing and more about fighting against each other like a bunch of maniacs, just short of killing each other every time.

“Don’t try to talk to me about manners, Captain. If you want to fight, just say so,” Naruto said indifferently, his blood-red Jian sword turning black again as he released the paralysis seal on the unconscious Zaraki on the ground.

Unohana’s killing intent exploded as she drew her zanpakuto. 

However, before she could make a move and before Shihouin could step in to de-escalate the situation, Danjiro Obana, the Captain of the Fifth Division, held his sheathed zanpakuto in front of him and shouted:

“Grow, Ruyi Jingu Bang!”

As his words ended, his sheathed zanpakuto turned into a two-metre-long black iron staff capped with golden bands on both ends. He let out a loud shout, and his staff abruptly increased its length, stabbing towards Naruto faster than the speed of sound!

Despite the sudden attack coming from Danjiro, Naruto wasn’t caught off guard. His negative emotions sensing alerted him of Danjiro’s lust for battle, and he swung his black jian upwards, in a diagonal arc, batting the staff away.

‘Heavy,’ was the first thing he thought after the clash.

Simultaneously, Unohana’s killing intent soared.

“He is mine to kill. Don’t get in my way, Danjiro-taichou.”

Danjiro laughed out loud as he retracted his staff and swung it at Unohana next.

“Come at me then!”

Chika ran a hand over his face, groaning in disbelief as the training grounds of his headquarters suddenly became the battlefield of 3 Captain-class shinigami. 

‘Whose side am I even supposed to take?’

He didn’t care about Danjiro Obana, but he was torn between Naruto and Unohana. He was infatuated with Yachiru, but Naruto had been his friend for over ten years now. He could not easily make a choice because, regardless of whose side he took, he would offend the other. 

As he stood there hesitating, powerful shockwaves exploded from the clash of the three Captain-level shinigami. Danjiro’s shikai was extremely powerful, his staff gaining ridiculous weight whenever it increased in size, and making even Naruto and Unohana need to use their full strength to parry his hits. But on the other hand, the Fifth Division Captain’s reiatsu was lower than that of Unohana and Naruto, and his shunpo was slower as well. Luckily for him, Unohana seemed more intent on attacking Naruto instead of Danjiro.

Shihouin Chika scratched his head with both hands, at an impasse. He had never been put in a situation like that before. He had never really cared about other people enough to want to save them, let alone to be torn between two of them.

“Hadō #78. Zangerin!” (Cutting Flower Ring)



As Naruto shouted that incantation, he slashed with his sword, and a golden ring of light appeared around him. In the next moment, it burst outward, slamming into Danjiro and Unohana at the same time.

A cold, fierce grin appeared on Unohana’s face as she blocked the blade of kido with her sword, but Danjiro didn’t fare as well as she did, and despite the fact that he had also parried the blade of light with his staff, the force of the attack slammed him back violently, sending him rolling and crashing, demolishing two nearby buildings before his body finally came to a stop.

Even though he had been slammed rather painfully through two buildings, his body bruised and battered all over, Danjiro Obana crawled out of the wreckage and let out a hearty laugh.

“I’m all fired up!” he shouted and slammed his staff down, stabbing it into the ground. 

He had always known that Captain Unohana was powerful: even now, the Kenpachi was still fighting with her sealed zanpakuto, but Danjiro had never expected the Lieutenant of the Second Division to be that strong. 

'That kid earlier was fighting against this Lieutenant all alone? Where did Shihouin find these two monsters?'

Danjiro pulled out 2 hairs, one from each of his sideburns, and let out a wince. It was not the physical pain of pulling out his hairs that made him grimace, but the thought that those two hairs would never grow back again.

“But I can’t have the youngsters get a big head now, can I? Besides, it’s been years since I last properly stretched my bones.”

Holding the two hairs between his fingers, Danjiro grabbed his staff and spoke:

“Bankai: Shen Wai Shen Fa.” (Body Beyond The Body)

A white cloud enveloped him, and a moment later, two men identical to Danjiro down to the tiniest detail appeared at each of his sides. They even held an identical staff in their hands.

Sensing the immense spike in reiatsu, Unohana pushed Naruto away and flash-stepped back. She ran her palm across the blade of her zanpakuto, slicing it open and letting her blood coat her sword.

“Bankai: Minazuki.”

The blood pouring from her palm formed a deep crimson pool at her feet. Even her zanpakuto transformed, becoming a blade of blood. The air turned heavy and suffocating as Unohana cast aside her calm and graceful exterior, revealing the true face of the first Kenpachi that had been hidden underneath.

‘Oh shit,’ Naruto thought when he realised that the two Captains he had been locked in a battle royal against had activated their bankai.

When a Shinigami released their bankai, they not only gained a special, powerful ability, but their reiatsu skyrocketed as well.

While the two Captains were still in the midst of releasing their Bankai, he started reciting a kido spell’s incarnation. Shihouin Chika, who had spectated the fight until then without choosing any side, decided to intervene at that moment, and he unsheathed his zanpakuto, preparing himself to release his Bankai too.

Before Chika could release his bankai and before Danjiro and Unohana could throw themselves into their free-for-all battle, however, a towering spiritual pressure washed over the entirety of Seireitei.

The world seemed to come to a standstill as a middle-aged man walked on air towards them. The moisture in the air disappeared, the ground dried up and started cracking, and the Second Division’s buildings that were still standing collapsed under the tyrannical spiritual pressure coming from him.

It was none other than Genryusai Yamamoto, the Captain-Commander of Gotei 13.

His strong body was bathed in flames, and the sword in his hand became engulfed by fire too, as he spoke:

“Since you seem to be raring for a fight, come.”

“Turn everything to ash. Ryuujin Jakka.”

His mere spiritual pressure was enough to destroy the environment and set most beings aflame, but when the other Captains heard Yamamoto speak the release command of his Shikai, a cold chill travelled down their spines.

Despite that he had just released his Bankai, the battle-junkie Captain of the Fifth Division suddenly turned tail and broke into a mad dash, running for his life, his two clones following right behind.

He wasn’t the only one. Shihouin Chika made use of his famed shunpo skills to rush to Zaraki’s side and pick up the unconscious boy off the ground.

“Yachiru!” he shouted.

At first, the crazy Kenpachi appeared as though she would have liked nothing more than to fight Yamamoto in his currently enraged state, but, in spite of her lust for battle, Unohana made a decision that even surprised herself: she actually listened to Chika and started running away, too. 

But the Head Captain was not going to let them escape that easily after all the problems that they had caused. Letting out a shout, he swung his zanpakuto in a wide arc, sending four devastating tornadoes of fire after them.

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
AN:

(1) Both spells are made up. Despite there being more than 100 Hado (destruction) and 100 Bakudo (protection) spells in the canon, we are given the names for only a handful of them, and even fewer have an actual incantation. Kido is a rather neglected part of Bleach, unfortunately.

That said, these are the full names and incantations of the made-up spells that I have used

Bakudō #52: Kōmyō no Tate (Shield of Radiant Light)

Incantation: “O sun that lingers in the heavens, lend me your enduring grace. Wrap my flesh in sacred brilliance, unbroken and unburned. Let light be my armour and radiance my shield.”
Effect: envelops the user in a protective membrane of yellow light. 

Hadō #42: Inazuma no Hebi (Lightning Serpent)

Incantation: “Flash from cloud and coil from sky. Fang without flesh, breath without flame! Strike swift, tear loud.”
Effect: a serpent of pale blue lightning comes out from the tip of the sword and homes in on the enemy, electrocuting them. The spell wounds the enemy, numbs them, and makes them move slower than usual for a brief moment.

[Living for Tomorrow] Chapter 13 - OWLs

The goblins’ attack on his grandparents had pushed Harry to train harder than ever before. But he was not the only one who got a feeling of urgency. Sirius had been shaken badly by that incident, too. Seeing them almost dying at the hands of the goblins had been like a wake-up call for him because Euphemia and Fleamont Potter were even more important than his biological parents.

While his mother and father burnt him off the family tapestry and shunned him when he was a child, the old Potter couple took him in, raised him, and treated him like their second son without asking for anything in return. As years passed, he became no different from James in their eyes; they loved him as if he were their own, and in exchange, Sirius loved and respected them too. The two of them meant the world to him.

Now, Harry and his godfather were in the midst of honing their Transfiguration skills in battle, training for a second clash against the goblins. They both knew that it was not over. It couldn’t be. The goblins were infamous for their violent and vengeful nature. They would surely not let this matter rest.

Due to their enchanted armour and shields, goblins were difficult to deal with. Unless someone used the Unforgivables, most curses could not easily bypass goblin silver. However, Dark Magic was dangerous. It could have irreversible effects on the caster’s psyche, especially the Killing Curse and the Cruciatus Curse, which required hatred and a strong desire to kill or to hurt someone.

It had not been only Dumbledore who had advised Harry against going down that path; Sirius had taken him aside and given him examples that he had seen firsthand of what effects Dark Magic could have on those who used it. After all, half of his family had been Death Eaters. If there was anybody who could talk about it, it was him.

With the Unforgivables being a last-resort option that could not be used lightly, they had to find another way of dealing with the goblins and their armour.

One method was to make heavy use of Transfiguration and Conjuration. Goblin silver armour may have been capable of defending against most spells, but that did not mean it was all-powerful. Venomous snakes and insects, poisonous substances, traps, strong physical attacks, and Transfiguration spells that ensnared the opponent were all valid ways of dealing with heavily armoured enemies.

Now, two months after that incident, Harry and Sirius were chasing one another through a thick and dark forest, locked in a peculiar magical fight. They were not throwing Curses, Hexes, and Charms at each other, as was the norm. Instead, they seemed to be focusing mostly on Transfiguration. In spite of that, the magical battle was not slow-paced in the least. For the two combatants, not being allowed to cast Shielding Charms made the whole thing more nerve-wracking than usual.

The leaves on a tree branch turned into a flock of birds that lunged at Harry’s back, but he pointed his wand over his shoulder, and a very large net shot out, capturing them all in one go.

“Come on, Harry, you have to attack too. You can’t just react to what the enemy does and defend; you have to retaliate!” Sirius shouted when he saw Harry throwing himself behind the thick trunk of a large tree.

“I’m trying, damn it,” Harry shouted back. “What’s with you lately, anyway? Did you pump your arse full of steroids?”

Sirius snickered at his question while casting a mental Revealing Charm to check the area ahead of him.

“I just stopped drinking myself into a coma every week. I’m surprised myself how much more energy I have now that I’m not nursing a terrible hangover every other day. Not just that, but –"

Sirius’ words died in his throat because the leaves-covered ground started shaking all over.

“Bollocks!” he cursed.

Harry hadn’t been idle while hiding behind his tree. More than 20 snakes were slithering towards Sirius now at a great speed.

A ring of fire erupted from his godfather, incinerating the dry leaves on the ground along with the snakes and even setting two trees on fire.

“Hey! I thought we weren’t supposed to use Charms!” Harry shouted from behind his tree while secretly conjuring several wooden bear traps with rubber teeth; they were for the sake of inconveniencing Sirius and slowing him down, not tearing his legs apart.

“Give me a break, will you? You see two dozen snakes charging at you; you tell me you’ll keep your calm?” Sirius yelled while conjuring a stream of water to put out the fire before it got out of control.

Taking advantage of that moment when his godfather was unable to attack, Harry sprang from his hiding spot, breaking into a run.

“Goddamn it!” Sirius muttered, and after extinguishing the last spark of fire, he started running after Harry.

He let out yet another cuss word as he almost stepped into the bear trap that Harry had conjured and dropped in his passing. Thankfully, it wasn’t the first time that they had fought using only Transfiguration, so he knew the boy’s usual tactics; he knew what to expect from him.

He stepped over the bear trap and over the next two that he saw, and laughed out loud. 

“You’ll have to do better than th- Yeowch!” he suddenly yelled as the bear trap that he had avoided unexpectedly jumped up from the ground and snapped shut around his foot. Harry had cast an Animation Charm on it!

“Oy! You said no charms!” Sirius screamed after Harry before casting a mental Finite on the bear trap.

“You were the first to start it! And, as long as it’s cast on the environment, not a direct charm against you, why not?” came the boy’s laughter. 

Sirius got up to his feet, preparing himself to start running after Harry once again, when the blades of grass on the ground suddenly turned into ropes and wrapped around his arms and legs.

It turned out that Harry hadn’t left. He had been planning on catching him with that charmed bear trap all along. But when he stepped closer to him, Sirius’s silhouette abruptly shrank, and the ropes tying his legs and arms came loose as he transformed into a dog.

Harry’s eyes widened, not having expected Sirius to make use of his Animagus form in that manner.

Not liking his chances in a head-on battle against his godfather when it came to only Transfiguration, Harry quickly threw himself behind the closest tree, taking cover. A second later, his body suddenly disappeared, and a flutter of wings filled the air as a raven took flight, escaping.

Sirius instantly switched back to his human form and threw a spell at a tree’s bough ahead of the raven, casting an Animation Charm on it. The tree bough seemed to come to life, and its branches, branchlets, and twigs suddenly moved to block the raven’s way, catching its wings in the foliage.

Not even two seconds later, a weighted net was shot from Sirius’ wand and captured the raven, making it unable to move even an inch.

“I cast the Charm on the environment, not on you, so it counts!” Sirius let out a bark-like laughter as he levitated the immobilised raven down from the tree.

Seeing the captured bird, unable to do a thing as it lay on the ground, trapped by the net, he grinned with a look of superiority on his face.

“Still got it. You’re a decade too early to be pulling one over on me, haha! Well then, what are you waiting for? Turn back. Or are you too embarrassed?” Sirius said, grinning, as he aimed his wand at the raven, intent on forcing him to revert to his human form through the Animagus Reversal Spell. 

However, Sirius’s handsome face revealed an expression of surprise when his spell didn’t work.

“What the heck?” he muttered, confused. 

At that very moment, a wooden stick jabbed him softly in the back, and a familiar voice came from behind.

“Don’t move.”

It was Harry.

For a few seconds, Sirius couldn’t find his words.

“How?” he asked, raising his hands in surrender as he turned to face him. “I saw you turn into an Animagus myself!"

“Did you really see me turn?” Harry asked with a smirk, greatly enjoying his reaction of disbelief.

“...No way,” Sirius muttered as realisation dawned on him. “What sort of ninja shit did you pull?”

Harry burst into laughter at his godfather’s choice of words.

“Yes, way,” he nodded proudly to himself. “When I hid behind that tree, you saw my body disappearing and then the raven flying away, right? But I didn’t transform. I just turned invisible and then conjured a raven before letting it loose. Look,” he said, and aimed his wand at the raven, Vanishing it.

“You totally hoodwinked me this time. You little shit, I never saw it coming!” Sirius said, as he looped his arm around Harry’s neck and gave him a noogie.

A few minutes later, Harry and Sirius got rid of all the things that they had conjured and cancelled the effect of any charms they may have cast, cleaning the area before leaving.

“How did you come up with something like that?” Sirius asked, still thinking about their fight.

Harry shrugged his shoulders.

“It was on the spur of the moment, to be honest. But it didn’t come to me out of nowhere either; I’ve been planning all sorts of strategies for many situations. It’s all I’ve been thinking about ever since the goblins attacked us. This time, we were lucky that it was just goblins and not a group of Death Eaters. But what if the attackers were people as skilled as you or Flitwick, or if it was Voldemort himself who attacked... what could I have done in that situation?”

Adopting a serious look, Harry continued:

“I can’t even beat you or Flitwick in a fair, face-to-face duel, to say nothing of a whole group of Death Eaters or Voldemort himself. . . so I have to fight dirty, like I did against the goblins when I used the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. It’s the only way for me to level the playing field.”

“If only James could see you now,” Sirius said wistfully and ruffled his messy hair. “You did great. Truly. But maybe you should save these tactics for when you’re facing an enemy. Don’t bully your godfather, who is trying to help you train. You see, the Gryffindor in me doesn’t approve of such scummy tactics-”

“You’re just mad that you got pranked,” Harry said, grinning.

“Is that so? Okay... Just you wait. I’ll be employing similar tactics next time. We’ll see then how much you’ll like having one of the Marauders as your opponent.”

Harry wasn’t intimidated.

“Give me your worst, old man. You see this pouch here?” he said, showing him a small leather pouch strapped at his waist. “I got a bag full of tricks. Like this one.”

Sirius’ eyes widened as Harry shoved his arm up to his elbow into the small pouch before pulling out a cabbage the size of a bowling ball.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, don’t do it, Harry. I mean it,” Sirius said as he took out his wand.

“Haha! You better start running.”

⁂

It was a warm Sunday in May, in the afternoon, and dozens of students from all houses were outside playing, walking by the lake, flying on their brooms, or competing in various outdoor games. Alas, despite the beautiful weather, the fifth and seventh-year students were nowhere to be seen; with the OWLs and the NEWTs just around the corner, they were all holed up in the library or their dorm rooms, studying. These were the most important exams of their lives; it would not be an exaggeration to say that their results would dictate the course of their future careers, so their level of stress was through the roof.

Nevertheless, not all fifth and seventh years were the same; there were always a handful of students who simply did not care about their exams or a select few who were supremely confident in their knowledge and skill and did not feel the need to cram before exams.

Harry Potter was part of the latter. While Florent, Elora, and Elspeth looked like they were on the verge of crashing out, muttering various incantations or magical laws and theories on repeat, as though they were possessed, Harry was on the rooftop of the Ravenclaw Tower, sitting on one of the stone benches and reading a newspaper, seemingly with no care in the world.

If the Slytherins were proud of their underwater common room that opened into the Black Lake, the Ravenclaws prided themselves on the fact that they were the only ones with access to a terrace on the rooftop of their tower. No other house had anything like it. Harry was not the only Ravenclaw there; at least a dozen other students were around, many of them loud and boisterous as they laughed or played games.



Still, they all gave him a wide berth, careful not to get too close to him. Several months had passed since he killed that group of goblins in Pitt-Upon-Ford, but that incident, along with his earlier exploits like putting those seventh-year Slytherins in the hospital and allegedly playing a part in Professor Quirrell’s death the year before, had left most people afraid of him. It was as though the floor was lava in a radius of two metres around him.

Despite the fact that the Charms OWL was going to take place tomorrow, Harry was taking a rare moment to relax. He sat quietly, enjoying the fresh breeze drifting in from the Forbidden Forest and the gentle warmth of the sun on his skin as he sipped on a cold glass of orange juice.

‘Ah, this is life,’ he thought. ‘If only there were no Voldemort or a bunch of murderous goblins after my family.’

Speaking of murderous goblins, the newspapers were still talking about it, or at least alluding to it, every time the goblins made it in the news for one reason or another. It was as though the journalists were trying their hardest to link anything negative about the goblins to the attack on the Boy-Who-Lived’s family.

‘Now they’re saying the goblins are most likely increasing the taxes because I wasn’t punished for killing their scummy brethren, huh?’ Harry thought as he went over a new article with a sensationalistic headline.

It was an article reporting Gringotts’ decision to increase taxes on all operations conducted through the bank, including monetary transactions, deposits of money or objects, withdrawals, currency exchange, and more.

Exhaling loudly in annoyance, he flipped the page of the newspaper and moved on to the next article.

French Businessman Acquires Plot of Land in Araneshire

He was about to skip it, assuming it was just another one of those “Brits vs. French” articles, when his eyes caught a familiar surname.

‘Delacour?’

His curiosity piqued, he began reading from the start. Apparently, Jean Delacour, a wealthy French wizard, had purchased a sizable plot of land in Araneshire, a quaint, picturesque hamlet located only a few kilometres from Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, just across the Black Lake, on its eastern shore.



The article raised questions about the legality of foreign wizards acquiring land in Great Britain (especially French), and even included an interview with an elderly witch from Araneshire who was voicing her disapproval of the situation.

‘Could he be related to Florent?’ Harry wondered.

What were the chances that a French boy transferred to Hogwarts and, less than a year later, a French man bearing the same surname bought a plot of land nearby? If it had not been for the fact that Florent was studying just as hard as everyone else at that moment, he would have definitely gone to him to ask him about it.

‘I better not bother him now. It can wait until later tonight.’

He flipped the Daily Prophet to the other side, turning his attention to the next page.

Selwyn Family’s Two House Elves Gone Missing.

He frowned as he read the headline. Was this the seventh or eighth case already? He had lost count. Over the past school year, house-elves had started going missing all over the place, but mostly from the old pureblood families. He had asked Remy about it two or three times, but his family’s house elf didn’t seem to know anything about it. And, after everything they had been through together, Harry had no reason to doubt him anymore.

‘If not for Remy coming after me, Gran and Gramps would have died.’

The page of the newspaper crumpled as his hand clenched into a fist at the memory of that. He was in the midst of remembering that terrible day, the newspaper article forgotten now, when a familiar voice suddenly whispered in his ear:

“Boo!”

Harry jumped as though he had been burnt and threw himself forward with a roll, instantly turning around, his wand already in his hand.

His housemates gave him a weary look as they backed away, but the one who had scared him burst into laughter.

“Ah, damnit, you got me good this time,” Harry said in chagrin, but he smiled as he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart.

The culprit was none other than his brother, Matthew, who was sporting a shit-eating grin on his face as he hovered on his Nimbus, right outside the rooftop terrace.

Matt wasn’t alone; next to him were also the three Weasley brothers and half a dozen more of his friends from Gryffindor.

“It wasn’t enough that you won the Quidditch Cup; now you come to gloat too?” said Harry, pretending to be annoyed. 

“Maybe we wouldn’t have lost if you had been our Seeker,” piped in a sixth-year Ravenclaw who happened to be on the rooftop at that moment.

“Simon?” Harry asked, surprised. “What are you doing here? I thought you were helping Lizzie?”

“Just came out to get some air. I’ve been helping her study for half a day now.”

Harry had to give it to him: despite the fact that he had to compete with a ridiculously good-looking French boy for Lizzie’s heart, Simon had not given up. He was nothing if not determined. The best part? The lively redhead had actually started opening up to him lately.

‘Him helping her study for her OWLs surely must’ve earned him quite a few points in her books.’

“But shouldn’t you be studying for OWLs too?” asked Simon. 

Harry shrugged. “It’s Charms. Other than not showing up, it’s almost impossible to fail. Anyway, what are you up to, Matt?” he asked, turning to his younger brother.

“We’re about to play a game of Quidditch. Wanna come?”

Harry glanced at him with an unsure look on his face.

“I don't think that's a good idea…” he asked in a hesitating voice. 

“Don’t worry, they’re all okay with it,” Matt reassured him.

“Come on, Harry. Who in their right mind would pass on the chance to say that they’ve played Quidditch with a future Dark Lord?” said a redheaded boy with a wide grin on his face. 

“Oy, George!” Matt rebuked him in annoyance.

“You’re right, my handsome brother. I can’t wait to tell my future children and wife how I toppled Dark Lord Harry Potter off his broom with a bludger,” Fred piped in, too.

Harry found himself smiling at their banter. “Well, if the children want me to teach them Quidditch, who am I to say no? Haha. Just let me get my Nimbus, and I’ll be right back.”

With Fred and George making light of the situation and with half a dozen other Gryffindors seemingly having no issue playing Quidditch with Harry despite his reputation, a young Ravenclaw girl who happened to be on the rooftop terrace at that moment gathered her courage and asked if she could also join. It was a third-year girl of Asian descent; Harry didn’t know her name, but it appeared that Matthew did.

“Cho? O-Of course you can join if you want to,” the redhead said, his face turning pink.

“Brilliant! Just wait for me!” she chirped before running inside to get her broom.

“My, my, Matthew. You’re not content with Hermione; now you’re going for Cho too?” Seamus flew to him and asked, shoving him playfully with his broom.

With Cho breaking the ice, half a dozen other Ravenclaws decided to join in on the fun.

Fifteen minutes later, nearly forty students showed up on the Quidditch pitch, some with their personal brooms, others with the brooms provided by the school, and started an impromptu game of Quidditch, but without a golden snitch. Seeing as there were so many teams, they did not want the games to last too long, so they could rotate quickly.

⁂

Days passed. It was Thursday, the fourth day of exams. As was the case every year, the theoretical exams were held in the morning and the practical ones in the afternoon.

Now it was evening. Done with the practical OWL example for Defence Against Dark Arts, Harry was having dinner together with the rest of his housemates in the Great Hall.

Although they were barely halfway through the OWL exams, one could feel a sense of relief emanating from the students in the Great Hall. The reason for that was that the bulk of the difficult exams had already passed.

The Charms OWL was on Monday, Transfiguration on Tuesday, Herbology on Wednesday, and DADA that day, on Thursday. The only other difficult exams left were Potions and Arithmancy. However, Arithmancy was not a popular elective; few students had chosen it. 

“You’re never going to live this down! Ahahaha! Hahahah!” Lizzie was laughing with tears, holding her sides from pain.

She was not the only one having the time of her life; Simon and Harry were snickering too, and even the quiet girl, Elora, was laughing so hard that her big, round glasses had fogged up. 

Only Fleur could do nothing but hide her face in her palms, not even feeling like eating anymore.

“Stop it, you!” she muttered, unable to look anyone in the eye. “If you don’t stop laughing, I’m going to leave and ‘ave my dinner in the kitchens, with the ‘ouse elves!”

Despite her threats, the others couldn’t easily stop giggling.

Fleur let her forehead fall on the table with a thud, rattling the plates and the cutlery with the strength of the blow.

The reason for this entire scene was that, during the practical DADA exam, Fleur Delacour and Elora Dunn had been tested together; the students were called in alphabetical order of their surnames, in groups of five or so at a time.

As was the case in all recent years, students were asked to show their expertise in identifying curses and their Counter Curses, casting Defensive Charms, and various offensive spells at a dummy.

As chance made it, however, that year, the examiners also brought a boggart to test the students. And that was the source of Fleur’s plight.

Fleur’s Boggart had turned into a ridiculously pretty girl with long silvery hair... a captivating, bewitching girl with an inhuman charm. It was a Veela. It was none other than her own appearance when she was not disguised as a boy.

Fleur had easily dispatched the boggart, but the fact that Florent Delacour’s biggest fear was a beautiful girl had made her the butt of all jokes.

“I’ll never forgive you for this, Elora!” Fleur muttered darkly.

“There, there, don’t cry now,” Harry patted Florent’s shoulder, snickering. “If you see any beautiful girls coming for you, just send them my way! I’ll deal with them myself!” he said self-righteously.

“Et tu, ‘Arry?” Fleur said dramatically before starting to laugh together with everyone else.

Nevertheless, other than having some fun at Florent’s expense, Harry and the rest didn’t make a big deal out of it. The fact that his boggart was a beautiful girl didn’t raise any eyebrows, especially for Harry, who knew that someone had slipped a Love Potion into Florent’s drink a few months ago, during Valentine’s Day.

“Laugh all you want, Elora, but as zey say, it is those who laugh last who laugh best! It shall be my turn to laugh when I see ‘ow you barely scraped an Acceptable in your DADA OWL! Hmph!” Fleur snapped at the giggling redhead, her annoyance making her speech fall into a thicker French accent.

“And what are you laughing at?” Fleur barked at the sniggering Harry, too.

Unfortunately, that was all that she could say. At that point, nobody had any doubts that Harry would get an Outstanding in his Charms and DADA exams. Not only had he become infamous for his battle against the goblins in Pitt-Upon-Ford, but his ability to cast all spells nonverbally had put him in a league of his own.

⁂

It was summer. The 1992-1993 school year ended, and, just like usual, Albus Dumbledore was faced with the ever-present dilemma: who was he going to hire for the position of DADA professor?

By now, it was an open secret that someone had placed a powerful jinx on the Defence Against the Dark Arts position. There was hardly anyone in Britain who hadn’t heard the rumours. The way no teacher had lasted more than a year and the fact that so many of them met with misfortune once their time was up had more or less confirmed what people already suspected.

Finding qualified people to teach DADA was not difficult. Finding qualified people who were willing to teach it, however, was another thing altogether.

‘I’ve been advertising the DADA vacancy for five weeks now, but no candidates have contacted me. . .’ Dumbledore thought, frowning as he sat at his desk and did some paperwork.

He let out a sigh.

‘Do I have no choice but to bring Severus in?’

He had taught Gilderoy Lockhart’s class after the sleazy scumbag had been arrested, but he could not keep doing it the next year as well. He wasn’t a spring chicken anymore, and his duties as the headmaster were rather time-consuming too.

However, he was hesitating. It was not his lack of complete trust in Severus Snape that made him reticent. No, the biggest reason why he was hesitating was that Fleamont Potter was one of Hogwarts’ governors. And the old wizard knew that Severus Snape had been the one to snitch the Prophecy to Voldemort. 

‘He only holds one vote, but if he loses his head and reveals the secret to everyone, it would be a disaster.’

The old Potter couple could be rather impulsive and unpredictable at times. Dumbledore was afraid not only that the secret of the Prophecy would become widespread but also that everyone would learn of the part that Severus Snape had played in it.

‘I should meet up and discuss this matter with Fleamont privately before I suggest Severus' candidacy to the Board of Governors.’

Summoning a piece of parchment, the Headmaster dipped his quill in the bottle of ink and started writing a letter.

He was halfway through it when the fireplace suddenly roared to life, despite it being August, and a human head appeared in the flames.

“Dumbledore. I need to speak to you. Urgently.”

It was Lucius Malfoy. Unlike his usual manner of speech, this time around, he didn’t put up any airs. With how sharp he was, Dumbledore instantly noticed his agitated state of mind.

The Headmaster’s wand lit up briefly, and a wave of magic washed over the office before he said:

“You may Floo over if you wish.”

Green flames erupted in the fireplace, and a tall, handsome man with long, platinum blonde hair stepped inside the office. Not even bothering to say a greeting first, Lucius Malfoy stated:

“Barty Crouch Junior has broken out of Azkaban.”

Dumbledore was not one to easily show his emotions on his face, but the news he had just heard made his eyes widen in surprise.

“How did he escape?”

From the very day of its creation, nobody had ever broken out of Azkaban. Furthermore, Barty Crouch Junior was one of the most vicious and heinous followers of Voldemort. He, alongside Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers, had tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom to insanity.

As Malfoy sat down in the chair across from the desk, Dumbledore could see more clearly now that his forehead was damp with sweat and his face looked pale.

“He did not tell me that. . . we-, we did not sit around and chat. I was ambushed. He held me at wandpoint the entire time. He does not have a high opinion of me, to put it lightly. The fact that I had not ended up in Azkaban like he did enrages him.”

“How did you walk away unscathed?” Dumbledore asked.

“He wants my help. He demands I help him bring the Dark Lord back,” said Malfoy and ran a shivering hand through his hair. “He claims that he has met him already. . . and I cannot find it in myself to doubt him.”

He unbuttoned the sleeve of his white shirt and rolled it up, showing Dumbledore the black tattoo of a skull and snake on his forearm. It was the Dark Mark, and it was almost as clear and vivid as it had been in the days when Voldemort was alive.

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
AN: I posted some screenshots from the game, but you could also search for some videos on youtube if you're interested in seeing more of Hogwarts. There are quite a few who did walkthroughs, exploring the castle for those who cannot play Hogwarts Legacy themselves.

[Hope in Ruination] Chapter 10 - Illaoi

Previous chapter

The entrance to the pub was through the gaping maw of an enormous skull of a sea serpent. Next to it, painted on a wooden plaque, was the name “Captain’s Pub”.

Naruto groaned. “You just can’t help yourself, can you? Always looking for trouble.”

Ahri shot him a playful grin.

“You know how it goes. Me looking for trouble is like you chasing after my tails. We just can’t help it~”

She snickered, very pleased with herself, as she strolled inside the bar, leaving a sputtering Naruto behind.

⁂

Although Ahri was wearing a long, hooded white cloak that covered her entire body, her arrival in the pub still turned quite a few heads. Sometimes, one could just tell someone was a beautiful woman just by the shape of their silhouette and by her gait, and Ahri was the type of woman who oozed sex appeal.

That being said, the presence of the rough-looking, masked man with a huge broadsword on his back walking by her side prevented most of the pirates and drunkards in the pub from trying to strike up a conversation with the girl.

Having exchanged their money earlier that day into Bilgewater’s currency, a scene where the person behind the counter refused their coins did not happen again.

“Two mugs of ale,” said Naruto as he put two silver serpents on the counter.

Rather than taking their mugs and then going to enjoy their drink privately at a table, he pulled a barstool for Ahri, helping her sit.

“My, what a gentleman,” the fox girl said, giving him a coy look.

“What can I do for you two, lovebirds?” the barkeeper said with a grin, revealing a few gold teeth.

“We’re looking for some information,” said Naruto as he put a gold coin on the counter. “What can you tell us about the Grey Harbour? And the Jagged Hooks.”

“I can tell you all you need to know about the Grey Harbour; it ain’t much of a secret. But I’m afraid that coin ain’t enough for me to spill the beans about the Jagged Hooks.”

Naruto didn’t argue and placed another golden kraken on the counter. It was not his first or second time that he had bought information from barkeepers. He knew how things worked.

⁂

Done with asking for information, Naruto and Ahri took their drinks and ordered a meal too before heading to an empty table.

A few minutes later, a skimpily dressed waitress brought their food and two more mugs of ale.

“Is there anything else you need? Anything I can do for you, handsome?” the woman asked with a sly smirk, putting her hands on the table and bending over so that her deep cleavage was on the same level as Naruto’s eyes.

“All is good,” said Naruto, not giving her more than a cursory glance.

“Are you sure?” she asked, slightly pushing her chest forward with her arms.

“Mitts off the table, hussy!” Ahri burst in annoyance. “He’s not interested!”

The vitriol in her voice was such that the waitress recoiled, backing off in a panic.

“The nerve of her to make a move on you when I am right here, next to you!” Ahri spat once the woman was gone.

“It’s a pirate city; what else did you expect?” said Naruto, seemingly unbothered as he started eating.

“Of course you’re all composed. You didn’t seem to mind having her tits hanging out in front of your face!” Ahri said, stabbing her fork angrily into her sausage.

“Aww, is someone being jealous right now?” Naruto cooed teasingly.

“Of course I am!” she burst at him, her hands clenched into fists. “How would you feel if some other guy came here now and tried to make a move on me?”

He chuckled softly as he put his rough, calloused hand over hers.

“How could I have eyes for other women when you’re right in front of me?”

“You sure have a silver tongue. You player,” the fox girl muttered as she averted her eyes from his, a red colour appearing in her cheeks.

“Besides, even if I were alone, I wouldn’t take her up on her offer. Look around at the other tables,” he said.

Glancing at the rest of the customers in the pub, Ahri realised that the waitress from before didn’t single out their table. Other waitresses were doing the same and even pulling men by their hands, leading them with saucy looks into an adjacent room.

In a lawless city like Bilgewater, prostitution happened in broad daylight, literally everywhere.

“I’ve been into some rough cities and countries before, but never in a place like this,” said Naruto, seemingly impressed by how debauched it was.

Understanding the state of affairs didn’t mean she also had to like it. The fox girl rested her chin on one hand, a pout on her face as she started eating her sausage and mashed potatoes.

“I’d like to make some preparations before we head into the Grey Harbour,” Naruto said after a while. “If the information we bought is to be believed, even the two of us won’t have an easy time.”

According to the barkeeper, a few years ago, a terrible Harrowing washed over Bilgewater.

Sarah Fortune, the leader of Bilgewater, and Illaoi, the Truth-Bearer, the Champion of the Buhru people, had joined hands to fight against the Black Mist. By invoking the power of the Bearded Lady, the sea deity that the Buhru people worshipped, they managed to drive off the mist and cleanse most of the city. However, the Grey Harbour, the easternmost district of Bilegwater, had remained tainted until this day. It was a cursed place where ghouls, ghosts, and other creatures of the Black Mist frequently spawned, attacking any living being in sight.

But Ahri appeared not to be too worried.

“We did pretty well when the Black Mist attacked us while we were at sea.”

“I still think it wouldn’t hurt to be more prepared,” said Naruto.

“But what if we can’t find that pirate who took the sunstones anymore?”

Naruto frowned before saying seriously.

“Ahri, I don’t know about Vastaya, but I only have one life. I can deal with ghouls, demons, and giant monsters just fine. But ghosts and evil spirits? That’s another thing altogether.”

Sensing a fluctuation in his emotions, a foxy grin came on Ahri’s face, revealing her cute fangs.

“That’s an awful lot of words just to say that you’re afraid of ghosts.”

Naruto gave her a look. “I’m not afraid of ghosts. I just don’t like fighting things you can’t punch properly.”

Ahri grinned, resting her chin on the back of her hand. “Mmm, that sounds like fear with extra steps.”

“It’s called being cautious. A good shinobi always prepares. We were ambushed by the Black Mist when we were at sea; we had no choice but to fight it out somehow. But now that we know what we’re up against, it would be dumb not to prepare so that we have an edge.”

The girl laughed in delight, her white fox tail swaying under her cloak.

“I can’t believe it! The mighty and fearsome demon hunter Ifrit is scared of ghosts!”

“I said I’m not! Oy, did you listen to a word from what I said?!” he shouted at her.

“Don’t worry, dear Ifrit. The beautiful, brave, and dependable Ahri will hold your hand if the spooky ghosts pop up once we arrive at the Grey Harbour.”

“Goddamnit, Ahri!”

The fox girl giggled, having the time of her life poking fun at him. And she continued to tease him mercilessly until the doors of the pub were opened widely and a peculiar person stepped inside.

“Damn, that is one big woman,” said Naruto in genuine amazement at the sight of her.

It was a nearly 2-metre-tall woman with dark skin, a mane of wild, long brown hair, and a thick, muscled body covered in tribal tattoos. She looked like a grizzly bear given human form.



“Paylangi stink? Hmpf. Why must my people be so stubborn?” Ahri, with her sensitive hearing, picked up the large woman's muttering despite the loud atmosphere in the bar.

Seemingly not caring about the looks she was attracting from everyone, the tall, black woman walked to one of the men drinking by the counter and said:

“Little man. Tell me, where can I find the Blood Harbour Ripper?”

“Who’s asking?” the man said in annoyance as he turned to face her.

The woman replied proudly:

“I am Illaoi, Truth Bearer of Nagakabouros, champion of the Buhru people.”

The man scoffed.

“Heh, sure, lady. And I’m the River King, Tahm Kench. Buzz off, I’m trying to relax.”

It was a reasonable reaction. Nobody wanted to be disturbed by random strangers while they were trying to relax and unwind after a hard day of work. That’s why Naruto had gone to ask the barkeeper for information and why he paid for it.

But the woman did not look like the type to take ‘no’ for an answer.

“Perhaps a display of strength will change your mind?” she insisted.

“Sorry, I try not to get into fights with strange women in bars,” the man said.

“So, you’re unworthy. Or just afraid?” Illaoi goaded him.

The man’s companions let out a collective “Oooh” sound and laughed, instigating him from the sidelines.

Faced with their peer pressure, in an attempt to save face, he puffed his chest and said:

“You see this sword? I’ve run it through hundreds of men, most bigger than you. So how about you go on home?”

That was all that Illaoi needed, and she made the first move. Her massive punch smashed into the man’s gut, making him fall down to the floor, gasping for air.

But that may not have been the wisest thing to do at that moment because no less than a dozen people stood up from their tables at once, surrounding Illaoi.

“Now that looks more like it. This should be fun! Haha!” the woman laughed.

At the sight of them, Naruto let out a sigh.

“Damn it, they’re going to start a bar fight.”

Unlike him, who seemed fed up, Ahri’s amber eyes were glittering with excitement.

“You were hoping for this to happen when you dragged me here.”

Ahri grinned. “Guilty as charged.”

“Yare yare,” he said in his native language, shaking his head.

The fox girl clapped her palms like an excited child who had gone to the circus for the first time when Illaoi and the dozen men started fighting each other.

But that simple bar fight turned into something more after Illaoi beat the crap out of them all.

“Is that all you have? I was just starting to enjoy myself!” Illaoi said, laughing.

Realising they stood no chance against her in a fistfight, the men tossed aside their pride and took out their pistols and unsheathed their daggers and swords.

“I only need some information. But if you want to feel more pain before you tell me, so be it,” Illaoi said and grabbed the large, spherical golden skull from her back.

As was often the case for bar fights in this pirate city, a mere brawl had escalated into a deadly fight, one that spread to the entire bar. In no time, it was not only Illaoi and the dozen men who were fighting; many other drunkards were pulled into it. Once their food was disturbed or a stray bullet found its way to them, the other customers would jump into the fight too.

Deafening sounds of gunshots and screams of people being cut down and stabbed rang in the bar.

All of a sudden, Naruto jumped up from his seat and moved so fast in front of Ahri that it looked as though he had teleported.

The fox girl’s eyes widened in the next moment as the blond caught two stray bullets in his right hand. Ahri’s surprise only increased when Naruto grabbed those bullets one by one and finger-flicked them back at those who had fired them.

“By the spirits!”

She had always known that Naruto’s physical strength was monstrous, but what she had just witnessed was simply absurd. Leaving aside the matter of catching bullets barehanded, finger-flicking them back faster than most pistols could shoot them was ridiculous.

The two men who had fired in their direction collapsed with bloody bullet wounds in their legs when Naruto sent the bullets back to them.

“We better get out of here,” he said as he unsheathed his large broadsword.

In the end, he was a sellsword, and he had the mentality of one, too. There was no merit in fighting against others when he was not being paid for it.

Seeing as they hadn’t finished their food, he took out a sealing scroll from his backpack and handed it to Ahri.

“Unfurl the scroll and put the plates on top of it. Then, channel your magic into it, and the food will get sealed,” he told her while he kept his position to protect her.

Another drunkard was sent flying in their direction, but Naruto easily stopped his momentum and pushed him away.

A few moments later, Ahri finished sealing their food. Naruto grabbed his mug of ale from the table and downed it all in one go, feeling like it was a pity to leave it behind.

Ahri laughed and followed his example. She grabbed the large wooden mug with both hands and gulped it down in one go, just like he did. He didn’t know if it was because he was starting to fall for her, but she was so cute that everything she did made him smile. When she finished, he burst into laughter at the foam moustache left around her mouth.

Still grinning, he leaned his sword against the table and reached out, cupping her cheek with one hand and gently wiping the foam from her lips with his thumb. But as his finger brushed past her mouth, her lips suddenly parted, and to his surprise, she took his thumb into her mouth. A sultry, smouldering look appeared in her yellow eyes as her cheeks hollowed in and she sucked on his finger for a few very long seconds before letting it go with a soft pop.

Momentarily, he even forgot about the mayhem in the bar, staring at her, gobsmacked, mute with surprise.

Her amber eyes never leaving his, Ahri stuck out her small tongue and ran the tip along the length of his thumb once, inwardly giddy with laughter as her sensitive hearing picked up the sound of his racing heart.

A stray dagger whirred above their heads, and Naruto was brought back to reality, jerking his hand away from her mouth as though he had been burnt. His face now boiling with embarrassment, all he could do was thank the stars and every god above that he was wearing his long grey cloak at that moment, keeping his dignity intact.

“I’ll get back at you for this. I swear,” Naruto muttered darkly as he grabbed his broadsword and walked ahead, leaving the pub with Ahri following behind, her twinkling giggles barely audible over the noise of the fight.

⁂

Not long after Naruto and Ahri slipped out of the bar, sensing that the situation was getting out of hand, Illaoi decided to stop playing around.

The large, golden skull in her hand started glowing with a blue light, and several tentacles of water came out of it, instantly wrapping around everyone who tried to attack her, immobilising them in their tracks. She was the Truth Bearer, and the large golden object in her hand was Nagakabouros’ idol, a unique, priceless artefact.

The pirates may have been a lawless bunch, but power was ultimately what struck order even into the most unruly of them. Furthermore, everyone in Bilgewater had heard about the Truth Bearer before, even if not all had seen her face. The tentacles of water and the magical artefact in her hand were proof enough of her identity.

“Now tell me what I want. Where can I find the Blood Harbour Ripper?” Illaoi asked.

Finally understanding who they were up against, the pirates no longer tried to withhold their information.

“No one I know has actually seen him. Rumour is he stalks the alleys around the warrens… They say he ain’t alive. Not really.”

“Not alive…” Illaoi said in a questioning voice.

The pirate explained:

“He has skin like a corpse. Cold. And his eyes are empty. Like a body pulled up from the sea… or so I heard.”

Illaoi made a humming sound.

“A creature trapped between life and death. An affront to the Goddess.”

“He has a thing for Captains,” the pirate continued. “Find a Captain, and the Ripper won’t be far behind, they say.”

“Thank you, little man,” Illaoi said, as though she hadn’t just beaten up half the bar before obtaining that piece of information.

After pulling the tentacles of water back into the idol in her hand and she turned around to leave, the pirate that she had just conversed with called out for her.

“Hey. You, uh, want to stay a while? I never drank with a Priestess before.”

Illaoi laughed good-naturedly.

“You break too easily,” was all she said before hoisting the golden idol on her shoulder and leaving the bar behind.

⁂

While the Priestess and her followers started scouring the Warrens district of Bilgewater in search of the Blood Harbour Ripper, Naruto and Ahri returned to their inn and started preparing for their trip into the Grey Harbour.

As much as she liked to poke fun at Naruto for his alleged fear of ghosts, the fox girl had been alive for a long time; she did not underestimate the importance of being thoroughly prepared.

Now, she and Naruto were in the middle of cutting the pages of several notebooks into smaller paper slips about the size of her palm.

“Sorry for making you do this,” he said. “I’d normally take my time, but we’re in a rush.”

“I don’t mind it. You’re making these for my sake after all.”

After cutting several hundred paper slips, Ahri watched curiously as Naruto pulled out a bottle of ink and two fountain pens from a sealing scroll before starting to draw a formation of interesting symbols on a paper slip.

“This is a sealing formula from my homeland,” Naruto explained as he drew kanji on the paper tag. “Back on my continent, shinobi used Fuinjutsu for a lot of things, from something as simple as storing goods in a scroll to turning children into human sacrifices to be used as weapons of mass destruction in the wars between villages.”

“But one of the most common uses of fuinjutsu was to make exploding tags. Regular exploding tags are about as strong as a stick of dynamite. This is one such tag. You can tie it to a knife and throw it, or stick it on a surface and trigger it to explode with your magic after that.”

Ahri nodded and listened with rapt attention. Naruto didn’t often speak about his homeland. She was always curious to hear more.

“I don’t often use these Exploding Tags because my strength is more than enough to deal with most things. But the black mist and those ghosts are troublesome. Physical attacks don’t do much against them. Exploding tags should have a much better effect.”

Ahri grabbed Naruto’s spare fountain pen and started drawing on a paper tag, copying the same symbols that Naruto had drawn on his. She took much longer than him to finish hers, but Naruto appreciated her help nonetheless. In the situation where he didn’t have shadow clones, every extra pair of hands mattered.

“Be very careful to copy the letters perfectly, or else it might not work, or it could end up blowing up in our faces. Double-check and triple-check.”

“Okay~”

Half an hour later, the girl had got the hang of it and was relaxed enough to even hold a conversation while drawing the seals. She didn’t understand the meaning of those kanji and the principle behind drawing them, but she didn’t need to as long as she just copied them perfectly.

“Thank you for coming along with me on this journey, Naruto,” she said after a while. “You’ve been a great help to me so far.”

He smiled.

“What are you saying? Is there a need for thanks between us now?”

Ahri grinned mischievously. “Does that mean you’ll give me a discount?”

“Hell no.”

“Aww, come on! I thought you meant I don’t have to say thanks because we are a couple now.”

“I meant that you don’t need to say thanks because you’re paying me,” Naruto replied, snickering.

His answer made Ahri bare her fangs at him, which only made Naruto laugh harder.

“You’re so cute,” he said, pulling down his mask to plant a kiss on her cheek.

Outwardly, she acted annoyed and let out a “hmpf” sound, but with the swaying of her fluffy fox tail, she wasn’t fooling anyone.

⁂

While the two lovebirds were in the middle of drawing a large number of exploding tags, Illaoi and her two companions were still roaming the labyrinth-like district of the pirate city, searching for their target.

As a Priestess of Nagakabouros, Illaoi strived to uphold the will of her goddess. And Nagakabouros was a goddess of motion. The Bearded Lady liked seeing the mortals go about their way and chase their desires, be they good or evil. But the Blood Harbour Ripper had been terrorising Bilgewater for weeks now.

The fear that this serial killer had brought into the pirate city made most people afraid of even stepping out of their homes at night. The Blood Harbour Ripper’s actions caused stagnation; people no longer chased their desires, too afraid for their lives. And that was how the serial killer ended up becoming the Priestess’ target.

Hours into their search, Illaoi and the other two Buhru people finally found him. The advice that the pirate at the bar had given her – “Find a Captain and the Ripper won’t be far behind” – turned out to be the key to tracking the Blood Harbour Ripper down.

When they caught him, he was in the middle of killing another person.

“Please! Don’t…” the pirate begged, on his knees.

In front of him stood a bald, grey-skinned man looking exactly as the people at the bar had described him: “skin like a corpse. Cold. And his eyes are empty. Like a body pulled up from the sea”.

If Naruto had been there, he would have recognised him right away: he was the very person who had assassinated the captain of his ship, while they were at sea.

“So afraid… So alone… But soon, Captain, you’ll be crossed off my list,” the killer spoke in a very deep voice as he played with his jagged daggers. “And you won’t feel a thing ever again.”

“What list?! I’ve never seen you before in my life!” the pirate shouted desperately: "I-I’m not even a captain anymore! I haven’t sailed in years! Please!”

It was at that moment that Illaoi and her companions arrived:

“Abomination! Face the Kraken Priestess, if you dare!”

Turning to look at her, the killer made a hmming sound.

“Hmm, killing you… would be fun, but meaningless. No.”

Before anyone could react, he suddenly kicked the kneeling man off the bridge, sending him flying into the bottomless chasm below.

“Forsaken one, do you think I am offering you a choice?” Illaoi shouted before leaping into the air with great strength.

Her golden idol lit up with a blue light, and she smashed it down with a powerful cry.

But the killer disappeared, leaving only a phantom behind.

“Nagakaborous, heed our call and bless us with your divine grace!” the priestess’ two followers cried out, and their hands lit up with an aqua-blue light.

And it was not a second too late. A loud clang rang as the killer thrust his jagged dagger at the neck of the woman, stopped only by a thin barrier of translucent blue light.

Illaoi spun around, and four tentacles of water spurted from the mouth of the golden skull in her hand, forcing the undead killer to back off from her followers.

In an inhuman display of reaction time and agility, the serial killer backflipped and dodged the wildly attacking water tentacles, and he even had the leisure to throw his jagged dagger at Illaoi’s face.

The priestess blocked the dagger throw with her idol, but the undead retrieved his weapon by pulling onto the rope attached to the dagger’s handle.

Nevertheless, the other two Buhru people were not there just for Illaoi to protect them. They were capable warriors in their own right.

Turned with his back to them as he was, the killer didn’t notice the man and the woman dropping their protective barrier. A second later, the man charged at the killer’s back, and the woman chanted a prayer, a whip of water appearing in her hand.

Preoccupied with dodging the violent assault of Illaoi’s kraken-like water tentacles, the undead killer didn’t see the water whip that suddenly wrapped around his ankle. Furthermore, just a split second later, the physically imposing Buhru man slammed his shoulder into his back with all the strength and momentum he was capable of.

He let out a grunt of pain as he was pushed to the ground, but even in that situation, as he was falling, he twisted his body and threw his jagged dagger at the Buhru man.

Unfortunately for the killer, his aim was off, and he missed the man’s throat by an inch.

He had yet to stand up when Illaoi retrieved her water tentacles into her idol before lunging at him. She let out another cry as she smashed the golden skull idol into the undead's bald head, cracking the wooden bridge they were on with the strength of her strike.

Half unconscious, he could do nothing as Illaoi raised her idol and shouted

“Now face the test of the Mother Serpent! You will not survive her judgement!”

A large amount of water came from her idol, and the serial killer was engulfed in a sphere of water. He struggled as though he were drowning, flailing his arms and legs, but it was only for a brief moment.

A few seconds later, the spell ended, and the killer fell to the ground, on his knees.

“What. . . did you do to me?” he asked.

“This cannot be!” the priestess said, shocked. “You are found worthy?? But you are a monster!”

She was still filled with disbelief when a vision, a divine message, came to her mind, and Illaoi collapsed.

Taking advantage of Illaoi’s situation and the fact that her two followers had rushed to her side to make sure she was alright, the killer jumped up to his feet and threw himself off the cliff, into the abyss.

[Orcbane] Chapter 12 - Froggy

AN: I added a few more pictures

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
Chapter 12 - Froggy

It was a sunny and humid day in summer, but, regardless of the season, the weather was always pleasant, like in late spring, in Quel’Thalas.

The dockworkers at the Sunsail Anchorage momentarily paused their activity and shouted merry greetings when four people passed by, and they recognised their armour: they were Farstriders.



(high elven port)

Among the four Farstriders, three were high elves and one was human. They were none other than Naruto, Lor’themar Theron, Sylvanas, and Alleria Windrunner.

Lor’themar waved his hand back at them just as merrily, and Naruto did so too; the boy loved how much people respected the Farstriders.

Unlike them, the girls didn’t even glance their way. Their faces twisted by deep frowns, it was as though they hadn’t even heard them as they stomped ahead.

“Cheer up, ladies; you’re acting as if it’s the end of the world,” Lor’themar said with a grin.

“Easy for you to say that!” Alleria burst in indignation. “You’re not the one who will be cleaning up sludge off the beach!”

“Hey, I don’t see Alyndor complaining like you do. Look at him; he’s all smiles.”

Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s not that bad. Considering how pissed Lady Windrunner was, it could have been a lot worse. I once had to scrub the paint off an entire mountain, all by myself,” he said, grinning, conveniently leaving out the part that he had been the one to vandalise it in the first place.

Soon, the four of them arrived at their destination: the Golden Strand. It was an uninhabited strip of land on the western coast of Quel’thalas, right next to the Sunsail Anchorage, one of the bigger ports of the elven kingdom.



As the sea breeze brought over a putrid smell of fish and blood, Naruto covered his nose and let out a groan.

“Ugh, I take it back. . . this is terrible.”

The golden sands of the beach were stained with blood, and dozens of murloc corpses were strewn all over the place. Broken huts made of wood and algae littered the coast, and all sorts of wreckage could be seen lying around.



“Well, you know what you came here to do,” Lor’themar said with a snigger and equipped an enchanted mask to block out the terrible smell before walking into the shade of a tree and sitting down on the grassy ground. He opened a book and started reading without a care in the world, completely ignoring them.

Alleria, Sylvanas, and Naruto stared at the disaster they had to clean up, none of them willing to be the first to step up. Naruto stood with his hands on his hips, squinting at a pile of something green and suspicious that was oozing into the sea. Next to him, Sylvanas looked like she wanted to set the entire coastline on fire. Alleria had her arms crossed and was staring straight ahead, a vacant look in her blue eyes.

“This is beneath us,” Sylvanas snapped, finally breaking the silence. “We are Farstriders. Not janitors. Why aren’t they using golems for this?”

“They do use golems,” Alleria muttered with a frown. “That’s the point. This is a punishment.”

Sylvanas scoffed and kicked a broken murloc spear away.

“You have no room to throw tantrums, dear sister. This is all your fault,” Alleria said sharply. “Both of you.” She turned to glare at them. “Before you came along, everything was quiet.”

“Hey! I didn’t do anything this time!” Naruto said, throwing up his hands. “I slept the entire time! Sylvanas is the one who drew shit on your face!”

“But you’re the one who started it in the first place!” Sylvanas shouted at him. “You’re the one who snuck into my barracks and turned me into a circus act! And then you and Mother,” she said as she turned her attention to Alleria, “and the rest of the Farstriders laughed at me. You didn’t even try to punish that midget!”

Naruto groaned and rubbed his forehead. “That was two days ago! And it was just a joke! Why did you have to involve Alleria? This was between us!”

Although one year had already passed since Naruto and Sylvanas joined the Farstriders, their rivalry had yet to end. The two of them were at each other's throats at every opportunity.

Two days ago, at night, while everyone was sleeping, Naruto had snuck into the female section of the Farstriders’ barracks and used a special type of war paint to draw on Sylvanas's face. He had given her a moustache, a clown nose, and a black eye. Traces of his drawing still remained on Sylvanas’ pretty face, despite her repeated attempts at cleaning it off.

Suffice to say, Sylvanas immediately suspected him and demanded that he be punished. Unfortunately for her, she had no proof it was him. Nobody had. And Alleria had copious amounts of fun at her little sister’s expense.

Wanting to get back at Naruto and angry at her elder sister for making fun of her, what did the cunning girl come up with? She snuck into Alleria’s room and drew on her face just as Naruto had drawn on hers, knowing that nobody would believe it was her.

And she had been right on the money. The blame fell on Naruto’s shoulders, despite how much he tried to deny it. In the end, their ruckus reached the Ranger General’s ears, and she called a mage to cast a Scrying Spell, revealing what had really happened.

And that’s what led to the current scenario: Naruto was punished for his prank on Sylvanas and for starting the whole thing. Sylvanas was punished for doing the same and trying to pin the blame on Naruto. As for Alleria, she was punished because she had not been able to keep the two teenagers in line.

It was rather unfair for Alleria to be punished together with them, but, due to being her firstborn daughter, the Ranger General was extremely strict with her. Lireesa punished and scolded Alleria every time she felt she did not live up to her expectations. Someone who was going to inherit the mantle of the Ranger General had to be perfect. Average was not going to cut it.

Hearing the three of them beginning to argue, Lor’themar cleared his throat loudly and said.

“Whether you finish in one day or five, you won’t be assigned a different task until the beach is spotless. But if you prefer to inhale this dreadful smell for an entire week instead of finishing as quickly as possible, it’s all up to you.”

The Ranger Lieutenant meant every word he said. Supervising the three of them was actually not a bad deal for him. He got to sit in the shade of a tree and relax while reading a book instead of going on patrol duty.

All three of them fell silent.

Naruto let out a groan and walked ahead, but Alleria suddenly grabbed him by the forearm.

“Wait. Come here first,” she said seriously.

Knowing what was coming, he groaned.

“I’m not a clone; it’s really me –”

But Alleria didn’t listen and grabbed him by his cheeks with both hands, pulling them apart.

“Ow, ow, ow! It hurts!” he cried out and tapped her hands repeatedly, begging her to let go. 

“Yes, it’s supposed to hurt!” Alleria said when she finally let go of him.

“I told you it’s the real me!” he said in indignation.

“You fooled us one too many times. I had to make sure,” Alleria replied.

Due to how often Naruto had tried to skim on his duties by using a Shadow Clone over the past year, both Alleria and her mother, the Ranger General, had started pinching his cheeks to make sure he was the original body, not a clone. If he had been a clone, he would have dispelled.

“Bullshit, you enjoy doing this!”

“I never said I disliked it, did I?” Alleria grinned. “Those whiskers of yours are really cute.”

“I-I will go deal with the corpses,” he said and turned around with a huff so that she wouldn’t see he was embarrassed. He hated himself for how his voice had cracked.

What he said brought Alleria and Sylvanas back to the present, and they grimaced as they looked at the disgusting remains of the murlocs.

Murlocs were creatures that looked like humanoid frogs but with sharp claws, fins, and fangs. A species of amphibious creatures, murlocs were seen as vile pests by most of the people on Azeroth. They were virtually impossible to exterminate due to how quickly they bred underwater, and, unlike one might be tempted to think based on their appearance, murlocs could be extremely dangerous.

Though they had the height of children, murlocs lived in large groups. In addition, they knew how to use weapons, and they loved to smear poisons on their blades. Worst of all, despite their low intelligence, murlocs could use magic.

Seeing as nobody lived on the Golden Strands, the high elves would be content to leave the murlocs to their own devices, but, unfortunately, if left unchecked, the murlocs would expand and start attacking the nearby settlements or sinking the ships of fishermen. Murlocs could not co-exist with any race. They were violent and hated everyone not belonging to their own tribe. Every month or so, the Farstriders had to be sent to the coast to thin down their numbers.

“I’ll deal with the huts,” said Alleria, not debating Naruto’s choice. She sighed loudly as she started walking towards the broken remains of a hut.

“Then, I’ll collect their weapons,” said Sylvanas, and she glanced down, a look of guilt flashing on her face.

It was not lost on her that Naruto had volunteered to take the worst task and that Alleria took the second-worst one, too. Collecting the weapons was going to be the easiest job.

‘Lady Sun,’ she thought. Even though Alleria was angry at her, she was still acting as Sylvanas’ elder sister and tried to protect her even now.

Sylvanas decided to collect all the weapons as quickly as she could so that she would help her sister with her task.

“Oy, Lor’themar, why don’t you just let me use my Shadow Clones? We could be done with everything in less than an hour,” said Naruto, annoyance seeping into his voice. There were over a hundred murloc corpses on the beach and dozens of huts. With only the three of them, they might not even finish in a day.

“No can do, Naruto. That’s why Lady Windrunner sent me here to keep an eye on you. The main goal today isn’t for you to finish fast but to be punished,” Lor’themar said, repeating the words that Alleria had said not long ago. “You are Farstriders, yet you acted like children, all three of you. That has to change.”

With Lor’themar’s refusal, Naruto didn’t insist. Although he had yet to curb all of his troublemaker tendencies, the blond understood the importance of discipline and that of listening to the superiors’ orders when it mattered. Therefore, he went back to his work without saying another word.

Around two hours later, the boy finished dragging all the murloc corpses into one huge pile. The stench of blood and decaying fish was so bad that he felt like throwing up even though he was wearing a bandana tied around his mouth and nose.

Taking off the bandana, the blond formed six handseals: Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger. He struggled not to gag as he took in a big breath, and then a massive fireball came out of his mouth, engulfing the big pile of corpses.

Feeling as though that fireball would not be enough to incinerate the entire pile of dead bodies, he made another series of hand seals: Ox → Dog → Rabbit → Snake. He took in a big breath again before spewing a large amount of wind chakra from his mouth. It was Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.

The fire doubled in intensity, and a strong smell of flesh being roasted spread over the entire beach.

Naruto had not been idle over the past year. With Dar’khan Drathir refusing to take him as an apprentice, he returned to his roots. He was a shinobi; he was not helpless without someone’s guidance. Though Kyuubi had never really cared for learning the handseals for human techniques (he was a bijuu; he had no need for that), the blond was nothing if not determined.

Even though he did not have a teacher, he started experimenting with handseals and chakra manipulation by himself. Naturally, he did not do it with his original body because the risk was too great. If something went wrong, he could cripple his chakra network or even end up dying in the process; therefore, he made full use of his shadow clones.

Now, one year later, the boy had gained a moderate level of proficiency in Fire and Wind techniques, and he was beginning to work on his water elemental affinity now. He could not cast fancy techniques shaped like dragons and whatnot, but relatively simple things like wind blades and fireballs were a piece of cake.

Once he was done burning the murloc corpses, he went to help Alleria and Sylvanas, who were in the midst of collecting the wreckage.

“How the hell is human armour here?” he wondered when he noticed a tower shield bearing the crest of the Lordaeron Kingdom.

The closest Lordaeron settlement was more than one hundred kilometres away. Moreover, humans rarely ever set foot in the kingdom of the elves. Only high-ranked dignitaries had the chance to do so.

“Murlocs are hoarders,” explained Sylvanas as she struggled to drag a large wooden beam from a big hut. “They like to collect many things even if they won’t use them.”

Straining herself to the limit to pull the beam from the hut, the girl lost her balance and fell on her butt when the beam finally gave out.

“Lady Moon, are you alright?” Alleria quickly walked over and asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

Alleria and Sylvanas were not as frail and gentle as other girls and women their age; they were Farstriders. But they weren’t used to this sort of hard labour either. After all, they were the daughters of the Ranger General. They had never had to do manual labour in their entire life.

“Thank you, Lady Sun,” Sylvanas said as Alleria helped her up to her feet.

“You have some dirt on your neck. It’s gotten in your hair, too,” Alleria said while helping her clean herself. 

“Thank you,” the younger girl said again. “And sorry.”

Sylvanas glanced down and busied herself with brushing the sand and algae off her blue thigh-high boots. She couldn’t meet her sister’s eyes as she continued to apologise.

“It’s my fault we got ourselves into this mess.”

As much as Alleria’s relationship with her mother was growing worse, her behaviour was, unknowingly, becoming more and more like Lireesa’s. Not only was Alleria the spitting image of her mother, but lately she had grown colder and more serious and showed affection far less often.

So when Alleria unexpectedly wrapped her arms around her, Sylvanas stiffened in surprise. After a moment, she returned the embrace, holding her sister tightly.

Lor’themar momentarily raised his eyes from his book, smiling softly at the scene of the two sisters embracing each other lovingly.

“Hey! Look what I found!” came Naruto’s yell from inside a still-standing hut, a dozen metres away. 

The two sisters broke their embrace, and Alleria patted Sylvanas on the head, over her blue hood. Then she turned her attention to the boy who came out of the hut holding a peculiar stick in his hands.

“I’m starting to think you actually like digging through all this junk,” said Sylvanas.

She wasn’t being mean. He had already collected a shield with Lordaeron’s crest on it, a damaged music box, and now this.

“I think it’s a magic staff. How much gold would I get for this if I were to sell it?" he asked, showing them the stick he found.

“It looks like a murloc shaman’s staff,” said Alleria.

The staff was a knobby stick about a metre long, and it had a mummified seahorse glued to its head.

“If you go to a merchant with that, they’ll probably pay you to go away,” Sylvanas said, snickering.

“I think it looks cool,” said Naruto.

Suddenly, a peculiar cry came from the sea, and a spear whistled through the air as it was launched at him.

“Watch out!” Sylvanas cried out, but Naruto reacted before she could even finish her words.

He spun around and drew the dagger at his waist in one smooth motion, easily parrying the javelin heading towards him and swatting it to the side.

Alleria and Sylvanas did not have their bows and quivers on them (they had left them with Lor’themar so they could work), but they did carry a pair of twin daggers on their persons, and they unsheathed them immediately.

“What do we do?” Naruto asked as more than 20 murlocs emerged from the sea.

Had it been the old him, he would have lunged at the monsters by himself, but after spending one year as a Farstrider, he had learnt to stand back and wait for the orders of his superior first.

Lor’themar Theron also noticed the appearance of the murlocs, and he jumped up to his feet before grabbing Alleria's and Sylvanas’ bows and quivers and rushing towards them. 

“Alleria, Sylvanas, you and I will stand back and provide cover fire. Alyndor, don’t let any of the murlocs get to us. Be wary of their poisoned weapons. Don’t engage in close quarters yourself; send your clones.”

“Understood.”

Despite being vastly outnumbered, Lor’themar’s voice was calm, and his instructions were easy to follow. They were the standard tactic of making the archers stay at range and using melee fighters in close quarters.

⁂

To their surprise, it appeared that the murlocs were not there for revenge. Although the bulk of them started attacking the high elves, five murlocs ran towards one of the huts as fast as they could.

With Alleria and Sylvanas’ elite marksmanship and Lor’themar’s experience in dealing with these pests, the murlocs didn’t pose much of a threat. Moreover, even their numerical advantage disappeared once Naruto created two dozen shadow clones.

“Don’t let those five escape, or they’ll call reinforcements!” shouted Lor’themar as he notched two arrows in his bow and let them loose.

One of the arrows lodged itself deeply into the back of a murloc’s skull, its tip coming out the other way, through its forehead. The second arrow, however, did not hit its intended target because one of the murlocs raised its shield and jumped to protect its comrade.

Nonetheless, Naruto heard Lor’themar’s order and rushed at the escaping murlocs with four of his clones.

The murlocs were only four metres away from the sea now, and Naruto and his clones were five metres behind them. Realising that they could not outrun the human boy, the four murlocs turned around to attack him.

Two spear-wielding murlocs charged at Naruto with their peculiar, garbled warcry, while the murloc with the shield and the sword positioned himself in front of the last one to protect him - the last murloc was a caster. 

It was then that everyone saw what the murlocs had been trying to recover from their huts, even at the cost of their lives: it was a wooden pole sculpted in the image of a murloc, with many strange symbols carved on it and five human skulls dangling from its top section. It was a totem.

The murloc stabbed the totem pole into the ground. Then, his hands glowed with a green light, and a gibberish-like chant came out of his mouth.

With their speed, however, Naruto and the clones were immediately upon them. With agility far surpassing the murlocs’ ability to react, the clones stabbed their daggers into the throats of the spear-wielders.

Another clone blasted the sword and shield-wielding murloc with a chakra-enhanced punch that shattered his shield and caved his chest in, killing him on the spot.

As for the original Naruto, he threw himself at the last murloc, intent on killing him before he could finish his chant.

(Murloc Shaman)

His twin elven daggers sliced through the murloc’s thick, muscular neck like a hot knife through butter, sending its big, ugly head flying several metres away.

Unfortunately, just before he had decapitated him with his daggers, the murloc had finished his incantation.

A plume of grey smoke engulfed him and, all of a sudden, the world seemed to have increased in size by more than ten times.

“What the hell?!” 

At least that’s what he had tried to say. The words that came out of his mouth weren’t in Thalassian. They weren’t even actual words. The sound he made was –

“Ribbit!”

⁂

Lor’themar, Alleria, and Sylvanas gathered around Naruto, looking down at him with various expressions on their faces. Lor’themar was barely suppressing his laughter, Alleria was frowning, and Sylvanas was in disbelief.

“What just happened?!” Sylvanas asked.

“He’s been hexed,” Alleria said with a frown. “That murloc was actually a shaman.”

“Oh, no! Is it permanent?” asked Sylvanas. She had heard about Shaman’s hexes, but she had not expected a murloc of all things to be capable of that.

“Ribbit. Ribbit.”

The bright and boisterous blond boy had been transformed into a frog.

Lor’themar and Alleria exchanged a furtive glance.

“It might as well be. . . unless one of the Grand Magisters steps in. But you know as well as I do that they never leave Silvermoon and that it’s difficult to get an audience with them,” said Alleria.

In the meantime, the frog Naruto stood on his hind legs and tried to use his webbed forelimbs to make a hand sign. He wanted to cast a “Kai!” in an attempt to release the transformation like he would have done with a Henge.

His behaviour looked so cute on a frog that the corners of Lor’themar’s lips twitched and he started grinning, unable to keep a straight face anymore.

“There is another way to break this curse,” the Lieutenant said, seemingly hesitant to continue.

“Wait, if it is a curse, should it not have ended after the caster was slain?” Sylvanas asked, remembering now what she had learnt from her tutors.

“Not always,” said Alleria. “Sometimes, shamans can even sacrifice their lives to cast a spell. So, obviously, the effect will last even after they die.”

“Then, what’s the other way?” Sylvanas asked, frowning.

“The legend goes that a freely given kiss can break the curse,” Lor’themar said.

“Lor’themar, you think I’m stupid?” Sylvanas shouted at him.

“I’m not lying. It’s true, I swear it on my honour as a Farstrider. No matter how strong the hex is, nothing can stand against the power of love.”

“Are you being serious? You can’t seriously expect me to kiss a frog! There’s no way I’ll do that!” the girl burst in indignation. 

“Come on, Lady Moon, it’s not like you’ll die from it,” Alleria said with a grin.

“Then you do it! Why don’t you kiss him, Lady Sun?”

“I’m going to be the Ranger General one day. Can you imagine the gossip if they heard the Ranger General went around kissing frogs?” Alleria said in a self-righteous voice.

“Even so, I wouldn’t want to kiss that midget even when he’s a human! But a frog? No way! I won’t do it!” Sylvanas said, outraged.

“You can’t make such a small sacrifice for a friend?” asked Lor’themar, smirking.

“You want me to give my first kiss to a frog? Lor’themar, stop messing around!” 

“Eh? But I thought you two liked each other.”

“W-What?! Whatever gave you that impression?! I don’t like anything about that midget!”

“I don’t know about that~” Alleria also piped in, grinning.

“Are you two teasing me on purpose?”

“I was being serious,” Lor’themar said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I mean, think about it. You taught Alyndor how to use a bow. You scold him when he’s not wearing his armour properly. And you’re always seen together.”

Cheeks reddening by the second, Sylvanas sputtered in denial:

“That’s because we were assigned to the same team! I don’t keep him around because I want to!”

“Is being part of your team also the reason why you taught him how to mind his manners when eating?” Alleria asked with a shrewd look in her eyes.

“Lady Sun, you should know that Father asked me to keep an eye on his manners!”

As he had promised, Verath Windrunner had not taught Naruto only how to speak the Troll’s and the Human’s language, but he had also made sure to teach him manners too.

“What about that time he got stung by a Spindleweb Spider and you personally cleaned the venom in his wound?” Lor’themar asked.

“Would you have wanted me to let him suffer??”

“You could’ve just let one of the priests heal him when we returned.”

As the two continued teasing her by pointing out various things that she had helped Naruto with over the past year, Sylvanas finally reached the limit of her patience and exploded at them:

“I’m not kissing this ugly frog, and it’s final!”

Lor’themar shrugged his shoulders, still chuckling.

“Well, suit yourself then. I’ll go back to my reading.”

“Wait, do you mean we’re still going to continue cleaning this beach? Just Alleria and I?!” Sylvanas asked incredulously.

“Of course. The Hex isn’t a lethal curse. Naruto doesn’t mind waiting until you are done, do you?” Lor’themar said before turning his attention to the frog to ask him.

It appeared that Naruto was in full control of his body and that he understood their speech too, despite the fact that he was a frog now.

“Ribbit!” he said and jumped straight on Lor’themar’s shoulder.

Sylvanas and Alleria glanced at each other, crestfallen. The murlocs’ weapons and their corpses had been cleared out, but the most time-consuming task, that of tearing down their wooden huts and burning them, was only halfway done.

“By the Sun, with only the two of us, we will surely not finish today!” Alleria bemoaned.

Sylvanas clenched her hands into fists.

“What if-,” she began before stopping.

“What is it?” Lor’themar asked.

“What if I give him a k-kiss,” she said, involuntarily flushing. “I could do it… …but ONLY if you allow him to use Shadow Clones so that we can finish this fast!” Sylvanas said as she pointed her finger at him, her face beet red now.

It took Lor’themar and Alleria a godlike amount of willpower not to burst into giggles at that moment.

Despite his amusement, Lor’themar contemplated her offer seriously. On one hand, the purpose of their task was for them to be punished. But on the other hand, the boy being turned into a frog and the teen girl having to kiss said frog were already much worse punishments than cleaning the beach.

After a few seconds, the high elf Lieutenant answered:

“Alright. We can do that. But even if you finish cleaning quickly, we still can’t return too early.”

“That's okay, I’ll do it,” the girl said, gritting her teeth.

A shit-eating grin came on Lor’themar’s face as he held frog-Naruto in his hands in front of Sylvanas.

The girl bit her lower lip in distress. A normal girl her age would have never even considered the possibility of actually breaking the Hex like that. That being said, although she was a tomboy herself, Sylvanas was also not keen on kissing a frog. If not for how difficult it was to finish cleaning the bleach with just the two of them, she would have never consented to something like that.

“Just so you know, I’m not doing this because I like you!” Sylvanas said and poked the frog’s head with her index finger. “So don’t misunderstand, you hear me? It’s only because I want us to finish this heavy work quickly! That's all there is to it!”

Faster than she could react, the frog thrust out its long tongue, touching Sylvanas’ finger, and the girl squawked before making a huge jump backwards, landing over six metres away.

The teenage girl flushed anew when Alleria and Lor’themar both started snickering at her reaction. Even the damned frog seemed to be laughing!

“Stop laughing! You’re both being so annoying right now!” she snapped at them, but it only made them laugh harder.

It took a while for things to settle down.

Taking the frog from Lor’themar’s hands, Sylvanas mentally sighed in relief.

‘At least it’s not wet or slimy,’ she thought.

She glanced at the frog for nearly 10 seconds without doing anything. It seemed like she couldn’t muster the courage to do it.

But, eventually, she brought the frog closer to her face, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Then, she pressed her lips on the frog’s head.

A plume of smoke obscured everyone’s vision, and Sylvanas dropped the frog from her hands as Naruto’s body returned to normal.

The human boy and the elf girl stared at each other as if they were transfixed for a few seconds before quickly distancing themselves from one another.

“You better be grateful! If not for me, you’d be stuck as an ugly frog forever!” Sylvanas said, her head turned away.

Her long, platinum-blonde hair obscured her face like a curtain, making it impossible to see her expression, but her cute elvish ears poking out of her hair were so red, they looked like chilli peppers. She was mortified with embarrassment.

Sylvanas, Alleria, and Lor’themar had expected Naruto to shoot back another one of his smart-aleck replies and make fun of the girl. Instead, to their utter disbelief, the boy dropped to one knee in front of Sylvanas, took her hand in his, and kissed it gently.

“Thank you, Lady Sylvanas. I will not forget your sacrifice.”

It appeared that Verath Windrunner’s lessons in manners had not been wasted on him. The blond did know how to behave like a mild-mannered person now. He simply chose not to bother most of the time.

Sylvanas stood frozen, mouth open, clearly caught off guard. Her sharp tongue, always quick to lash out, was nowhere to be found. She snatched her hand back from his grasp as if it had been burnt, and she quickly turned around.

“Anything for a comrade,” the girl muttered in a barely audible voice, unable to face him.

She pressed her hands to her chest, trying to calm her pounding heart, but it was no use. Her face felt hot, her ears were burning, and she was suddenly very aware of every part of herself. She could not bring herself to look at Naruto, but she could practically feel his gaze on the back of her head. That thought alone made her stomach twist.

“Then, I will get started with the cleaning,” said Naruto quickly.

Sylvanas’ reaction to his gesture had made him just as flustered, but he could tell through Kyuubi’s Negative Emotions Sensing that the girl was not angry at him. She was just embarrassed.

“Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.”

The wide beach was suddenly filled with over 400 clones of the boy.

“Sylvanas, Alleria. You can leave this to me. . . In the first place, I’m the one who got us all in trouble,” he said, letting out a short, awkward chuckle towards the end.

[Emissary] Chapter 36 - Black Adam (II)

Previous chapter:

It was at the crack of dawn in the Middle East when a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.

From the beginning until the end, he never suffered even the slightest scratch. Bullets, RPGs, rocket missiles, and even airstrikes proved to be useless. He was like a juggernaut. He was an unstoppable force.

That morning, the leaders and the governments of both sides of the war were killed brutally.

That afternoon, all the military were massacred.

That evening, the war came to an end.

He did not care for who was right and who was wrong. He did not listen to anyone’s reasoning or attempts to negotiate. Anyone who stood in his way died a violent death.

Tens of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of politicians lost their lives at his hands on that day.

In a matter of hours, one man brought two countries to their knees.

In less than a day, Israel and Palestine ceased to exist. They were annexed to Kahndaq.

⁂

Just as Roger Williams, the Head of the CIA, had predicted several months ago, the ARGUS initiative had proven to be extremely successful and popular with the public. Following that, Patrick Miller, the former Vice President of the USA, won the presidential elections.

Due to the work of ARGUS and the incredible drop in the organised and violent crime rate Patrick Miller was enjoying a rarely seen popularity for presidents in modern times.

Alas, that idyllic period did not last long. Only a few months into his tenure, the first major problem had arisen: Black Adam.

The president stood with his elbows on the desk and his interlocked fingers in front of his mouth as he listened to the CIA director’s report on the situation.

At that moment, there were only three people in the Oval Office: the President, who sat at his desk; the CIA Director, who stood opposite him, arms folded behind his back, expression cool and composed; and the Secretary of Defence, who sat nearby, a visibly tense expression on his face.

"Sir, the entire world is watching us now. China and Russia, especially, are keen to see how we will react. Other than Israel and Palestine, Black Adam also destroyed four of our military bases and killed over 500 of our men.”

Officially, the public only knew about the existence of one US military base in Israel. It was a radar installation to detect incoming missiles from Iran. However, the reality was different from what the public knew.

"We can’t afford to appear weak," the president muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "But we also can't send our troops against someone who can level a country before breakfast. It would be no different than telling them to commit suicide."

The other two men in the room could not contradict his words. It was as he said. The emergence of metahumans had shifted the balance of power and even changed geopolitics.

Located in the Sinai Peninsula, Kahndaq was a country roughly the size of Croatia or West Virginia. A small country with a low population and a small and poorly equipped military would have never held any sway a few decades ago. But now? Solely due to Black Adam’s existence, Kahndaq had become the strongest country in the Middle East.

He paused, letting the words sink in before continuing.

"I wholeheartedly agree,” said the Secretary of Defence. “If we show weakness now, Russia and China will take it as a green light to expand their sphere of influence even further. East Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East. . . we could lose it all without firing a single shot."

The president leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly.

At his silence, the CIA Director said:

“Mr President, I could handle it. Just give me the word, and I will remove this thorn from our side.”

Patrick Miller let out a frustrated sigh. “We can’t possibly send ARGUS after him. Think of the consequences, goddamnit! If we break the Hague Convention, the entire world will turn against us!”

The Hague Convention, signed in 1994, was a worldwide treaty that banned the use of metahumans in military operations outside a nation's own borders. Under its terms, every country had agreed that while metahumans could be deployed for national defence, they could not be used as weapons in foreign conflicts. The reason for it had been simple: everyone feared that a single superpowered individual could destabilise the world more easily than any nuclear bomb ever could. Even rivals like the United States, Russia, and China had found common ground in that fear, and for once, the entire international community had stood united.

Naturally, the secret services of any country still tried to make use of metahumans, but everything was done covertly. Not even the US dared to do it in the open because breaking the Convention would not just mean political backlash; it would mean economic sanctions, military isolation, and the collapse of the alliances that the United States had spent decades building.

“I never had any intention of getting our metahumans involved,” Roger Williams said firmly.

The Secretary of Defence walked to the desk and placed a wide tablet down in front of the President.

“What’s this?” asked President Miller as he looked at the strange devices on the screen.

They looked like a swarm of robotic spiders. As he watched the clip showing off their capabilities, the president paled. Each robotic spider was no bigger than 10 millimetres.

“Most radars can’t detect them,” the Secretary of Defence explained. “Despite their size, they are extremely powerful. They can burrow into people’s skin and dig through their bones and flesh effortlessly. They are also small enough to crawl through people’s ears or nostrils, not alerting them until it is too late.”

The president appeared to be frightened as the clip showed one of those robotic spiders crawling into a sleeping man’s ears. When the man’s head exploded messily, he flinched so hard, he almost fell off his chair.

“We tested them on living people,” said Roger Williams calmly, as though a man’s brains had not just been splattered all over the place. “This was one of the terrorists we apprehended four years ago in Washington.”

His heart beating as if it was going to jump out of his chest, the president broke into a cold sweat. Even a layman like him could tell that they were not of Earth origin. Unless he was seriously behind the times, as far as he knew, they did not possess that kind of technology. No, it was alien in origin.

“This is the key to solving this entire mess,” said Williams, the CIA Director. “Even someone like Black Adam has biological needs. We already have his residence under surveillance. All we need is your approval.”

"And what if it fails?" the president asked, his voice heavy. “What if he’s too durable and survives?”

A cold smile appeared on the CIA director's face.

"It does not matter. If they fail, we still win, politically. We show strength. We show action. We show the world that we responded. And should Black Adam retaliate... well, like I said, the moment he crosses our borders, ARGUS and our metahumans will annihilate him."

"You’re that confident?”

"I’m pragmatic," the CIA director answered. "We have contingency plans for domestic threats of all kinds, including alien invasions and rogue metas. The moment Black Adam sets foot on US soil, he’s dead.”

The president stayed silent for a long moment. Then, finally, he nodded.

"Very well. Authorise the operation.”

⁂ One week later ⁂

On the other side of the globe, in southern France, the Potter family went about their day peacefully.

Harry had opted to take some time off; that day, he would not go back to Africa to work on the Green Wall. Power Girl had taken a day off from her company as well, and she had also informed the Justice League that she would not be available that day.

It was a special day for them: their two children, Astrid and Harry, were going to start attending Hogwarts. Therefore, they wanted to spend as much of their last day together as possible.

They had started off their day by cooking and eating breakfast together. Then, until noon, they visited Atlantis, the underwater kingdom of Aquaman. Little Harry and Astrid were left dumbstruck to see the city at the bottom of the sea. Even for the older Harry, it was not exactly a common sight, despite his long life.

Now, the four of them were back in France, somewhere in the hills of Provence.

Little Harry and Astrid were playing at the river, competing in a game of skipping stones. With her Kryptonian powers, Astrid would have won easily, but they were only using their magic, so it was more even.

As for Harry, he was sitting in the shade of the trees with a look of concentration on his face as he painted on a canvas. Every once in a while, he would close his eyes and dip his hand in a round stone bowl next to him. It was a Pensieve, and inside it, a silvery cloud-like substance was rolling incessantly.

Next to him, Kara was just sitting quietly, resting her chin in her palms, and smiling as she watched him paint.

She had seen his magical paintings before: he had paintings of a hippogriff named Buckbeak, a phoenix named Fawkes, a white owl named Hedwig, a large green anaconda snake, and so on. But he also had portraits of people. A portrait of Dobby, a house elf; one of Sirius Black, a handsome man in his late 30s with black hair and blue eyes; one of Hagrid, a mountain of a man with a kind face and an enormous beard; and many more. Among those, two particular portraits stood out the most in Power Girl’s memory: Bellatrix Potter and Fleur Potter.

Unlike in the past, however, there was no jealousy toward them in her heart anymore. Since she and Harry had opened their minds to each other and he had helped her heal from her trauma, restoring her lost memories, their trust in one another had grown beyond anything words could express. Kara now understood that, as beautiful as they might have been and as much as they might have once meant to Harry, Bellatrix and Fleur were only memories from a distant past, from lifetimes ago.

But just as important was the fact that Harry showed what his feelings were for her and for the children every day. Though he was not the type to often voice out his emotions, his actions spoke for himself.

He had put aside his conflict with the Justice League for her sake; he had spent weeks researching and working on creating enchanted jewellery and clothing for Power Girl and the children; he supplied her and the rest of the heroes with Portkeys and property damage restoration for months. In the present, he was also in the midst of a titanic task, running himself ragged almost every day to complete the Green Wall of Africa, something that he was also doing because he wanted to help her.

And now, he was making a beautiful painting of their family.

From what Harry had told her about his other works, it appeared that everything that he had ever painted had left a mark on his heart. Hagrid had been his first friend and the one who introduced him to the world of magic; Sirius was the first person who showed him a resemblance of what it felt like to have a father; Buckbeak had helped him rescue Sirius from a fate worse than death; Dobby had sacrificed his life to rescue Harry and his friends; Big Head and Hedwig had been his beloved familiars. And so on and so forth. The fact that he was now making a painting of Kara, Astrid, and little Harry spoke volumes about their importance to him.

The more she thought about it, the more her feelings for him grew.

Harry’s concentration was broken when, all of a sudden, two arms wrapped around him from behind and a pleasant weight settled on his back.

“I love you, Harry,” Kara said, resting her head on his shoulder and pressing her cheek against his.

Harry smiled as he continued painting, not minding Kara’s weight on his back now.

⁂

Evening came, and it was time for them to get ready for their departure. Having already visited the Wizarding World several times, Kara no longer tried to stand out with her modern and provocative clothing.

“How do I look?” Kara asked.

Seeing his eyes light up and his pupils dilating slightly, Kara smiled in a very self-satisfied manner.

She was wearing a red turtleneck with a long camel coat on top, culottes pants with a checked pattern, and a pair of black, high-heeled, mid-calf boots. Her outfit was completed by a black leather crossbody bag and a beige newsboy cap.

“You’re so beautiful, even a newsboy cap looks great on you somehow.”

His answer turned her grin into a growl. “Hey, are you insulting me or praising me?”

“Yes.”

He was forced to turn his body into that of a wraith in order to escape when she suddenly lunged at him.

“Asshole,” she said, pouting.

Harry Apparated behind her back and embraced her.

“I was joking. You look fantastic," he said, chuckling.

“You’re just saying it.”

“No, I mean it. You always make me feel underdressed.”

“...That’s never my intention,” she muttered, turning in his arms to face him.

With her short bob-cut blonde hair and the beige newsboy cap on her head, Kara looked especially cute at that moment.

“You’re adorable,” he said and covered her lips with his before she could fire back any retorts.

“I’m not—”, he kissed her again, “adorable! I’m—” and again, “I’m Power Girl! I’m a strong-", and again.

He wouldn’t let her continue her words in peace, interrupting her every time with a kiss.

“Ugh, they’re kissing again,” said little Harry, grimacing.

“Just get a room, Jesus,” Astrid said too, making a similar face.

Harry pecked Kara one more time before grinning at his kids.

“Overdramatic much? Or, perhaps, are you jealous again? Do you want a kiss too?” he asked teasingly.

“Who is jealous? I’m not jealous! Who wants your kisses? Hmpf. Not me-” Astrid said, but she let out a squawk as Harry suddenly pulled her into his arms with his magic and kissed her on the cheek.

Little Harry suffered a similar fate as Kara embraced him for all he was worth.

“Alright, are you ready? Did you pack up all your belongings?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“You didn’t forget your trunks, I hope?”

“No, look,” little Harry replied, taking out a small trunk from his pocket.

Astrid followed suit, showing her magically shrunk trunk as well.

“Alright then, let’s-”

At that moment, Kara’s phone vibrated, and a man’s voice rang out without her even answering:

“Power Girl, this is Cyborg. I’m sorry to hack into your phone, but this is extremely urgent!”

“Cyborg, I told you beforehand not to count on me today! I gave you a three-week notice!" Kara said in a fed-up voice.

“We need your ice breath-”

“Then just call Supergirl!”

“Supergirl is not even on Earth right now. She went to help Queen Maxima on Almerac yesterday. I’m sorry, but we really need your help this time, Power Girl. A massive landslide occurred in Italy at the Vajont Dam. A tsunami wave over 200 metres tall was triggered and 50 million cubic metres of water were displaced, spilling over the dam. Thousands of people are about to be killed! Hal is there now, doing all he can to stop the water with his Power Ring, but he won’t last. He has one minute left of power tops!”

“Damn it!” She complained, but she instantly changed into her Powergirl costume, faster than Harry’s eyes could perceive. “I’m ready. Teleport me there.”

“Astrid, Harry, I’m sorry,” she said, glancing at them with an apologetic look on her face. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

That was all she had time to say before her body blurred like a hologram and she was teleported away. It was the Watchtower’s new teleportation system. Thanks to Cyborg and Mr Terrific, the Justice League no longer depended on Emissary’s Portkeys to teleport around. Now, being able to teleport their members at will, anywhere on the globe, the Justice League’s efficiency in dealing with crime and natural disasters was many times greater than in the past.

As his adoptive mother disappeared, little Harry was reminded of the words that his father told him only a few days ago:

”Your mother and I are doing our best. We both try to help in the way we can; I’m helping with my magic, and Kara is helping with her company and with her Justice League work. But we are not gods. . . And I have a life too. I can’t spend 24/7 tending to others. . . I want to be with my family too. I want to be with you, with Astrid, and with Kara. As much as I like to help other people, you three are far more important to me.”

Ever since they had that talk, it became a lot more apparent to him how hard his parents were working and the sacrifices they were making for the sake of making the world a better place. Now, Kara had to give up on being there with her children and seeing them off to their boarding school because the Justice League needed her. Because people’s lives were at risk.

It was not the first, the second, or the third time something like that happened. It was a common occurrence. It was also one of the main reasons why many heroes did not have a social life outside of the Justice League work.

⁂

Once the teleportation ended, Kara found herself flying above the Venetian Prealps, in northern Italy. It took only one glance at her surroundings for her to understand how dire the situation was.

“Power Girl, you’re here!” Hal Jordan exclaimed, his voice a mixture of exhaustion and relief.

Beads of sweat marred the Green Lantern’s forehead as he was single-handedly stopping an utterly enormous wave of water by himself.

Cracks started to appear in the dam-like construct of green light that Hal had conjured, and Kara did not waste a second. She left a small shockwave behind as she burst with great speed towards the colossal amount of water, and her chest rose as she inhaled. A powerful gust of wind burst from her mouth, and the immense torrent of water froze instantly..

Hal finally let his construct of light dissipate, and he fell on his butt, exhausted.

“Oh, man, this was a close one,” he said, and he let himself fall on his back. “I was afraid I’d pass out.”

“Weren’t you supposed to be fearless?” Powergirl asked, grinning.

As on cue, Hal sat up and glared at her.

“I’m so annoyed with this misconception people have about the Green Lantern Corps! Just because I’m a Green Lantern, it doesn’t mean I don’t feel fear. I’m still human, not a robot, you know? Being a Green Lantern means you have the power of will to overcome your fears!”

Kara giggled at his outburst.

“Do all space cops have such fragile egos?”

Instead of replying to her, Hal touched his earpiece, calling Cyborg.

“Hey, man, why couldn’t you have sent Supergirl instead of her?”

“Supergirl is off planet. What’s wrong with calling Power Girl instead?”

“I simply can’t deal with her, man.”

“You just don’t have any banter game,” Powergirl said with a grin. She was goading him.

“But I thought you liked her,” came Cyborg’s amused voice. “Especially her b-”

“She has super hearing, you dumbass!” Hal burst at him, cutting him off before he could finish his words.

When Kara and Cyborg started laughing at the same time, Hal Jordan had to massage his temples with both hands.

“Did you guys make a pact to mess with me?”

Still laughing at his expense, Power Girl said:

“Not in the slightest. You’re just a low-hanging fruit, Hal.”

“PG, I’m ready to teleport you. Should I send you back home?” Cyborg spoke into Power Girl’s earpiece now.

Kara shook her head.

“It’s too late now. They already left…”

“I’m sorry, PG. I didn’t know who else to call. Other than Supergirl, you’re the only one who could have dealt with this catastrophe.”

“Don’t sweat it; I understand,” she said. “What do we do about his huge chunk of ice now?”

“We could let it melt naturally and have the authorities deal with it, or maybe you could take it and fly it to the North Pole. If it’s too difficult, you could also just take it to the sea nearby and melt it with your heat vision.”

⁂

Half an hour later, Kara found herself in the Watchtower’s lobby, socialising with her fellow heroes. She was chatting and laughing with them, but her mind was somewhere else.

Normally, she would have gone home straight away after solving the incident, but now, she would return to an empty apartment. Her children were now on the Hogwarts Express, heading towards their magical school, and Harry would likely spend quite a bit of time talking with Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster.

A chorus of excited murmurs broke out, and Kara turned to see what the cause was for that.

A fit woman with red hair and two large angelic wings had appeared on the teleportation platform.

“Hawkgirl!? You’re back!”

“Oh my God!”

“Girl, it’s so good to see you back!”

“Are you alright now?”

Over a dozen heroes mobbed the Thanagarian woman, bombarding her with questions. But she smiled widely, inwardly touched to be welcomed back with such warmth.

She spent the better part of ten minutes talking with the heroes before she flapped her wings and flew to Power Girl. Hawkgirl wasn’t the mushy, sensitive type of girl, but, at that moment, she unexpectedly took Kara in her arms, hugging her dearly.

“Thank you so much, Power Girl. You and Emissary saved my life.”

Kara returned her hug, smiling.

“We were happy to help. It took him a while to find a potion that would not hurt you. Unfortunately, most of his magical remedies are too toxic for regular people. Luckily, you’re a Thanagarian, so your constitution made you tougher than the rest.”

“It’s more than enough. Even if I had survived, it was unlikely that I would have walked on my own two feet again, let alone be able to fly with my wings. Thank you, truly,” Hawkgirl said sincerely.

Cadmus’ assassination attempt had left her severely injured, on the brink of death. She had been shot dozens of times all over her body, and she had bled so much that she had fallen unconscious standing.

She had been in the hospital for months, in a critical state, with the doctors not knowing whether she would make it or not. Even if she survived, they didn’t know if she would ever be the same after the severe physical trauma she had endured.

But Harry’s magic potions had saved her. Potions such as the Skelegro would be no different from lethal poison if given to Muggles, but Hawkgirl was a Thanagarian. Thanks to Death, who had led Harry to the other dimension where the Wizarding World existed, he was able to acquire the necessary potions to heal her. Animal Man had received Harry’s help, too.

“It’s amazing what magic can do,” said Black Canary. “Even the scars left by bullets are gone.”

“That’s actually an ointment that Emissary created,” said Powergirl. “I also used it last year when I had problems with my powers, and I was frequently getting injured. In fact, this healing salve can be used by non-magical people too. The FDA is performing human tests with it now; we’re just waiting for them to approve it before releasing it on the market.”

“Wait, seriously??”

Quite a few other girls among the heroes became interested in that. If that cream could even heal Hawkgirl's gnarly bullet scars and Powergirl's severe bruises in the past, it was like a pharmaceutical wonder for women.

⁂

Half an hour after Hawkgirl’s arrival, the heroes present at the Watchtower stood up and headed towards the teleportation platform.

“Power Girl, are you coming with us?” asked Wonder Woman. Her sword and shield were strapped on her back, and her Lasso of Truth was hanging at her waist as well. She seemed ready to go too.

“It could be fun to watch the circus from a first-row seat, I guess,” Kara replied, making Diana chuckle.

“It’s an interesting way of looking at things. But, unfortunately, I am not going to attend ARGUS’ awards ceremony for the fun of it. I have a feeling things may become dangerous today. The villains have been too quiet lately.”

“Is that goddess Athena’s wisdom speaking?” Power Girl said teasingly.

“No, it is just an educated guess.”

The Kryptonian and the Amazon walked together towards the teleportation platform, with Kara trying to get a reaction out of her and Diana doing her best to keep a straight face.

⁂

ARGUS was the abbreviation for the "Advanced Research Group Uniting Superhumans". In the eyes of the Justice League, ARGUS was just Cadmus 2.0, but in the eyes of the American public, ARGUS was what many people had always wanted the Justice League to be. They were an organisation of heroes who weren't afraid to kill the criminals when they endangered lives. It was a superhuman police force under the control of the government.

A large part in pushing that propaganda was played by the “Hero of the Month” award that the US government had come up with after the creation of ARGUS. Publicly, it was a ceremony to give heroes an award and recognition for their hard work while also igniting their spirit of competitiveness to put even more effort into protecting the innocent.

However, in the eyes of the Justice League, that award was nothing but a way for ARGUS to push their agenda. Since the creation of the award several months ago, nobody in the Justice League had ever won it. The winner had always been a member of ARGUS.

“If Cyborg or Mr Terrific don’t win this month, this shit is rigged,” said one of the Justice League heroes.

"Why would Cyborg or Mr Terrific win it? They're almost never out there in the field," answered another.

“Mate, there’s more to contributing to people’s safety than punching villains in the face. Cyborg and Mr Terrific created the Watchtower’s teleportation system, which drastically enhanced the Justice League’s ability to react to crimes and disasters.”

“The fact that both of you are ignoring Emissary altogether is wild. How many times had he fixed the demolished buildings, towns, and cities in the wake of metahumans' fights? And look at the humanitarian work he’s doing every day in Africa. Can’t believe that the government is completely ignoring him.”

“Maybe this award is just for American heroes? As far as I know, Emissary is from the UK?”

Hundreds of heroes and spectators were debating in the stands as they waited for the ceremony to begin.

“What does Emissary feel about this?” Diana also asked Kara, curious.

“Grandpa doesn’t care one bit about this award,” she said, making Wonder Woman giggle at the nickname she used for Harry.

At that moment, the very President of the United States, Patrick Miller, came onto the stage and started giving a speech.

But Kara and Diana continued talking to each other in a quiet voice, not paying much attention to his words.

“How are the children? We don’t often get the chance to catch up,” said Diana.

“I wish I could have more time, but it’s been so busy with the company, getting the healing salve approved by the FDA, Justice League work, and also with the Green Wall of Africa. It’s to the point where I’m starting to miss my family. I was supposed to go with them together and send them to their boarding school. . .”

Kara let out a sigh when Diana unexpectedly patted her comfortingly on the leg.

“Stay strong. It’s going to be better. But if you ever need any help, just let me know. I promise I will do all I can to support you.”

“Thank you, Diana.”

Suddenly, loud murmurs broke from all the heroes around them.

“Ragman?”

“Who the fuck is that guy?”

“Never heard of him.”

“Hahaha, I knew it. This whole thing is corrupt as hell.”

Kara and Diana turned their attention to the green-cloaked man who walked on the stage. It appeared that he was Ragman; his patchy suit lived up to his name. He was the winner of that month's "Best Hero Award".

Just as Ragman came to the microphone and cleared his throat to give a speech, a massive tremor shook the entire building.

The regular people in attendance cried out in a panic as the ceiling caved in and massive chunks of concrete started falling down.

Luckily, John Stewart happened to be there (he was accompanying Hawkgirl) and he reacted immediately. A dome of green light encapsulated everyone in the great hall, protecting them as the ceiling collapsed.

However, an arc of lightning flickered through the air, and Green Lantern grunted as his shield was shattered into countless specks of light.

Before Ragman could even react, he found himself launched into the wall to the side, slamming into it violently.

“Good morning, Mr President. I’ve come to talk to you.”

A very tall and muscular physique, sharp ears, a strong jaw, and wearing a black skin-tight suit with a large yellow lightning motif on his chest. He was none other than Black Adam.

Despite his words, Black Adam didn’t give the president a chance to speak because he caught him by the neck and started choking him.

Holding the president hostage by the neck, Black Adam turned to the rest of the heroes and said in a menacing voice:

“Nobody moves, or he dies.”

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

AN: Things are about to get difficult for Power Girl. Hope you enjoyed the chapter

Harry’s paintings were mentioned a few times in the previous chapters, like when the Justice League visited his house to recruit him or the paintings of Bella and Fleur in his room at the watchtower. I didn’t make a big deal out of them in the story, so I wanted to remind you of it in case you have forgotten.

As for the Vajont Dam Disaster, it actually happened in real life, in Italy, in 1963. It’s one of the worst dam disasters ever recorded. You can watch more about it on youtube if you are interested https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k06c8LduVog . There are also animated simulations of what had happened.

[Orcbane] Chapter 11 - Test

Naruto and the two high elves were inside the mage tower’s guest reception area, with Dar’khan serving Lady Liadrin and Naruto some refreshments. Although they visited his home uninvited, and Naruto had all but broken in, Dar’khan Drathir and Lady Liadrin had been friends for over a thousand years. 

However, upon hearing what the favour that Liadrin and Naruto wanted to ask of him was, Dar'khan's answer was an instant “No!”.

“Why not? Don’t be a stick in the mud, Dar’khan. Do me a favour this once.”

The Magister pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Liadrin, you know me better than most people. Did I ever strike you as the type to take disciples? In the thousands of years since we’ve known each other, have I ever shown the inclination to do so?”

“I am not close to any other Magisters.”

“That’s not my problem. I don’t have time to babysit random human children.”

“Alyndor saved your life. He saved all our lives. Without him, we would have both ended up bleeding to death in the Amani’s sacrificial chambers,” Liadrin said emphatically. 

Hearing those words, Dar’khan sighed before explaining in a voice that betrayed his irritation.

“He showed bravery and cunning when he saved us. I am grateful for that, and I showed it when he burst into my home out of nowhere and told me that the trolls were going to attack. But that and becoming a mage are two different things. To become a mage, you need knowledge, intelligence, and a deep understanding of the world. It takes decades of studying and research to become half-decent. Look at him; can you tell me this goof possesses all that?” the Magister said, gesturing with his head towards the boy. 

Following his gesture, Liadrin glanced at Naruto, who just happened to have finished picking at his nose. Now, he was staring at the booger on his finger, seemingly thinking of finding a place to stick it. When he realised that the two grown-ups were staring at him, the boy grinned and tried to secretly wipe his finger on the underside of the sofa’s armrest, acting all innocent.

The veins on Dar’khan’s temples started pulsing with his annoyance, and the priestess felt her face flush with embarrassment on Naruto’s behalf.

“E-Even so, he’s still young. He has plenty of time to learn!” 

Sensing that Lady Liadrin was going to pester him for hours at this rate, Dar’khan said:

“Fine. Let’s do it this way. I will give him a quiz with 30 questions. If he answers at least 70% of them correctly, I’ll take him in. If not, he should forget about being a mage.”

And with that, Dar’khan left the room, heading to his office.

The Magister returned 10 minutes later with a stack of papers and handed them to Liadrin. 

“Take a look first and confirm the difficulty of the questions. I don’t want to hear any excuses if he happens to fail.”

The priestess took the papers and started reading them with attention.

“Most of the questions are common knowledge. You can pick any random high elf from a village and ask them, and they should be able to answer at least 80% of them,” Dar’khan said while she was reading the papers. “The bar should be a lot higher for a mage apprentice. I made the questions easier out of consideration for our relationship.”

Once she was done reading, Liadrin had no choice but to confirm his words.

“You’re right; these should not be difficult to answer.”

⁂

1. Match the region to its correct climate type:

Stranglethorn Vale Alpine Tundra climate
Dun Morogh Subtropical climate
Hillsbrad Foothills Volcanic/semi-arid climate
Searing Gorge Highland temperate climate

2. What kind of weather is common in Loch Modan?

a) Snowy and cold
b) Wet and temperate
c) Hot and dry
d) Cold and arid.
.
.
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13. Describe the effect of the Sunwell on the flora of Eversong Forest. How does sustained exposure to arcane energy shape the forest’s ecosystem compared to a mundane woodland like the Silverpine Forest?"

14. What environmental safeguards did the high elves employ to prevent the Sunwell’s arcane energy from causing unintended mutations in nearby wildlife? How effective do you believe these were?"
.
.
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21. A magic staff costs 76 gold. A spellbook costs 63% of that. How much do both items cost together?

22. An alchemist wants to buy a potion brewing kit for 200 gold. The cost of ingredients for one potion is 12% of the kit’s price. If the alchemist buys the kit and 5 potions' worth of ingredients, what is the total cost?
.
.
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29. Solve this equation, step by step: 3(2x+4)−5(x−3)=2(3x+1)+4.

30. This is a map of Quel’thalas. Draw the main ley lines crossing through our land.

⁂

Naruto stared at the papers on the desk with a stupefied look on his face.

‘What… what the heck is this??’

Climate types? What was that even? He had never even heard of half of those regions, to say nothing of their climates.

‘And why are there letters in an equation?!’

He was getting Chunin Exams flashbacks, being reminded of the time when he had handed in his paper completely empty.

In the end, what he had feared became reality. Other than the questions where he could circle the correct answer or draw arrows, the rest of the paper was left empty. He had no idea what most of the things asked in the test paper were. It took Dar’khan Drathir less than three minutes to grade his test. The score he received was horrendous.

“Even a bloody troll would get more correct answers than you, yet you want to be a mage?”

That’s what Magister said and laughed mockingly before telling both Naruto and Lady Liadrin to go away and stop wasting his time.

The trip to Fairbreeze Village on the back of a Dragonhawk had been silent. Dar’khan's words hurt Naruto far less than the fact that he had disappointed Liadrin.

⁂

Days passed, and Lady Liadrin finally received a letter from Prince Kael’thas with an answer to her request.

Adopting Naruto went without a hitch; it wasn’t even something that the prince had to concern himself with personally. But the matter of binding the boy’s life to the Sunwell didn’t go as well.

Prince Kael’thas’ letter was lengthy, going into great detail about the discussion that he had held with the Convocation of Silvermoon, the governing body consisting of the Seven Grand Magisters of Quel’Thalas.

‘In the end, it boils down to them thinking Alyndor does not deserve it,’ Liadrin summarised the contents of the letter in her thoughts.

The priestess thought that the Grand Magisters would be worried about the presence of the “Wild God” inside Naruto’s body, but, despite being informed of Kyuubi's existence, they showed little concern for it. Instead, the main object of debate was whether a human boy deserved to have his life bound to the Sunwell or not.

‘I was hoping that the prince’s word would be enough. . .’ she thought, sighing bitterly.

In the end, it appeared that allowing Naruto to join the Farstrider as soon as he did may have worked for the best in the long run. It would give him more time to climb through the ranks and earn merit.

“Mother? Is everything alright?” Naruto asked when he sensed the spike in her negative emotions.

She smiled at him. “I really can’t hide anything from you, can I?”

Her smile dropped a bit as she continued, “I’m afraid the matter of binding your life to the Sunwell will have to wait for a few more years. They think it’s too early for that. . . Admittedly, the high elves had never given a human or any other race this honour.”

Naruto was not surprised to hear that. At the end of the day, he had been in Quel’thalas for less than two months. In addition, he was a human, not an elf. Although he had played a big role in the defence of the country in the latest war against the forest trolls, more time needed to pass for them to accept him as one of their own. 

“Don’t worry. I’m sure it’ll work out,” he said, giving her a sunny smile. “I’ll make them acknowledge me in no time!”

Liadrin found herself smiling too at his sky-high confidence.

⁂

It was on a Saturday at noon that a young man wearing brown leather armour and a green hooded cape showed up at their door on the back of a Dragonhawk. His attire, the daggers strapped at his waist, and the longbow on his back betrayed his identity: he was a Farstrider.

Liadrin herself was not home; she was busy with her duties as a Priestess of the Light. But Naruto was at home, and the Farstrider was treated to the sight of nearly 100 identical children sprawled all over the courtyard, lying on the grass, in trees, on chairs, and on benches, all of them holding various books in their hands. 

After the shame he went through during Dar’khan’s quiz and feeling terrible for disappointing his adoptive mother, the blond had resolved himself to never let it happen again. He had never really cared too much if others called him dumb before. He even accepted it somewhat that he was not the brightest.

‘But if I look dumb now, they will laugh at her too.’

As much as he hated studying, he would do it for her sake. After everything that she had done for him, he wanted to make her proud, not ashamed of being related to him. 

“Guys, I’m going to leave with the Farstrider. Continue studying until 3 or 4 o’clock and then dispel, okay?”

“Yes, Boss,” they all replied in a chorus.

Though inwardly weirded out by the scene, the Farstrider didn’t comment on it.

“Bal'a dash, Alyndor. I am Ranis Moonforge, a Farstrider. I have been tasked by the Ranger General with bringing you over to the Windrunner Spire.” (1)

Naruto glanced at him in surprise. It was a dark-skinned high elf, the very first one he had ever seen. Not that he was any less good-looking than the rest. Even Naruto, as a boy, could tell that he was a handsome guy. His short red hair and bright blue eyes made a pleasant contrast with the dark colour of his skin.

“Surprised at my appearance?” Ranis asked with a soft laugh, dropping the formal tone from before.

“Ah, a little, yes,” said Naruto while rubbing the back of his head, which only made the elf chuckle harder at his borderline rude honesty.

“Let us go. The Ranger General is waiting for us. We can talk more on our way there.”

⁂

Unlike the impression he had given when he greeted him, Ranis was an easy-going man, and Naruto had fun chatting with him.

“It’s been years since I last rode on the back of a Dragonhawk,” the young man said. “It’s not often that I get the chance to see Eversong from so high up.”

“That long?” asked Naruto, surprised.

They were riding the same Dragonhawk, with Naruto sitting at the front and Ranis behind him. As always, thanks to the high elves’ Runestones and their use of arcane magic, the sky was crystal clear, the weather was warm and pleasant, and the yellow, orange, and red leaves of the Eversong Forest’s trees glittered like gold in the sunlight.

“Well, it’s not like I need to, do I? Dragonhawks are mostly for emergencies or for people with important positions, like a Ranger Captain or higher. They’re quite expensive,” Ranis said.

“Oh. I didn’t know that.”

He had travelled on the backs of Dragonhawks so many times lately that he had forgotten that most people didn’t get the chance to do it as often. Most elves commuted and travelled on hawkstriders, those colourful, ostrich-like creatures. Unicorns, white horses with a sharp, long horn on their forehead, were quite popular among the upper class as well.

“But I have to say, you are a lot younger than I thought. I did hear you were a child, but I never expected you to be so young.”

“I get that a lot,” said Naruto, laughing. He could feel from Kyuubi’s sensory ability that Ranis had no ill will towards him. “How old are you, by the way?”

“Well, how old do I look?”

“It’s impossible for me to tell. You elves could be 1000 years old and still look like you’re 20,” said Naruto. 

Renis laughed, filled with pride.

“That is true, indeed. Well, I’m quite young. For my people’s standards, at least. I’m just barely getting to 100.”

“Sheesh,” Naruto exclaimed, making the elf laugh again. “For how long have you been a Farstrider?”

“Five years,” Ranis replied. “I’m actually not the adventurous type, you know? I’m a blacksmith. It’s in my name too – Moonforge.”

“Really?” the boy asked curiously. “Then why did you join the Farstriders?”

“Family tradition. My family has been producing blacksmiths for thousands of years. It is like a rite of passage for us to serve as Farstriders for 10 years before advancing from Expert to Artisan in our profession. We believe that wielding weapons and wearing armour ourselves for a long time and testing them in combat gives us a deeper understanding of our craft.”

“So you can make weapons yourself?” asked Naruto. He had never interacted with a blacksmith before. “Can you make knives and swords?”

“Of course. Take a look at this. I made it myself,” said Ranis and handed Naruto one of the daggers at his waist.

“Looks awesome! Maybe I will come to you when I get my first salary to craft me some weapons.”

⁂

Soon, their trip on the back of the butterfly-like creature came to an end, and they landed in front of the stables at the Windrunner Spire.

Built atop a tall cliff overlooking the North Sea, the Windrunner Spire, with its majestic towers and spires, had been the home of the Ranger General for thousands of years. Due to the Sunwell's magic, even the buildings in Quel’Thalas did not grow old or deteriorate with age.

Naruto sighed quietly in awe as he took in the scenery. The Windrunner Village at the foot of the cliff, with its artistic white buildings and their gold and crimson roofs, looked like it was out of a painting. But with the high elf walking ahead, he could not admire the scenery for more than a few seconds; he quickly followed suit.

Ranis snickered quietly to himself when he saw the human boy gawking at his surroundings. Witnessing his childlike awe and innocence, it was difficult to imagine that this boy had played a pivotal part in the war against the forest trolls several weeks ago.

Eventually, they arrived at their destination: it was an elegant and luxurious study room with ceiling-tall bookcases, a dark oak desk, and a large and comfortable chair. Sitting on the chair was a handsome and refined middle-aged man. There was a soft glow in his blue eyes, as was common for high elves, and his long white hair was tied in a high ponytail that day.

“Bal'a dash, Lord Verath. I have brought Alyndor,” Ranis said as he performed a Farstrider salute with a closed fist over his heart.

“Thank you, Ranis. Lireesa has already left for the Farstrider Enclave. She left word for you to return to your patrol duties at the Suncrown Village. You may travel there by Dragonhawk.”

“Understood.”

Performing the Farstrider salute once more, Ranis left the study room.

Lord Verath was about to stand up from his seat when Naruto asked:

“Um, who are you, old man? I was supposed to meet the Ranger General.”

The high elf froze in the midst of his motion, staring at Naruto as if he couldn’t believe his ears.

“Old man?!”

“Well, you look like you’re about 30? But you’re a high elf, which means you should be at least fifty times older than you look,” said Naruto. 

“You really don’t mince your words, do you?”

When the blond laughed, the high elf let out a sigh.

“My task was to teach you the language of the trolls, but I think a lesson about manners should take priority. Haa… Shall we start from the beginning? My name is Verath Windrunner. I am an advisor to the King. The Ranger General, Lireesa Windrunner, is my spouse.”

“. . . Oh. Nice to meet you. I’m Uzumaki Naruto. Well, the prince also gave me the name Alyndor.”

“I’m pleased to make your acquaintance,” Verath said with a smile, and he shook Naruto’s hand before sitting back in his chair.

Interlocking his fingers and leaning forward over the desk, he said:

“From today onwards, I will be teaching you two languages: the Amani dialect of the Zandalari language, and Common, the language of the humans. Prince Kael’thas and the Ranger General wish to use your skills for the sake of scouting and espionage. To that end, being able to understand and speak the language of the Amani is vital.”

Naruto dropped the joking attitude from before and nodded seriously.

“Correct me if I am wrong, but anything that your Shadow Clones see and learn will be transmitted to you once you cancel the spell, right?”

“Yes.”

“The potential of this spell is, truly, boundless,” Verath said, sighing to himself in amazement because he understood all the possibilities. “We shall start first with the trolls’ language. Once you become proficient in it, we shall move on to Common. You will send a Shadow Clone here three times a week, and I will instruct you. Naturally, you will also do individual studying. Any questions?”

“You said you will also teach me the language of the humans. . . How are the humans in this part of the world?” asked Naruto. “I’ve never met any humans here.”

Verath let out a hmm-ing sound before replying:

“Lireesa did tell me that you hail from a different, unknown continent. . .  Though it would not be wise to think all humans are the same, there are some traits that can be observed in the majority. The humans I know are resilient, innovative, ambitious, hard-working and possess a deep thirst for knowledge. If they were to unite, they could achieve great things. Alas, humans can also be greedy, selfish, and warlike. Just today, I received a report informing me that the Kingdom of Alterac and the Kingdom of Stromgarde had declared war on each other [...]”

Verath Windrunner and Naruto spent the better part of the afternoon together, with the high elf explaining to him the geopolitical situation of the Eastern Kingdoms.

It was a difficult conversation for the boy because he didn’t understand many things. But Verath was remarkably patient and walked him through everything. In the end, Naruto understood the gist of it: 

Quel’Thalas, the Kingdom of the High Elves, was in the northernmost part of the Eastern Kingdoms continent, and it had two neighbouring nations: the Kingdom of Lordaeron, the strongest human kingdom, and the Amani.

While the high elves did have an amicable relationship with the humans, they were not particularly close. The quel’dorei kept mostly to themselves, living isolated in their paradise-like magical kingdom, concerned only with defending their territory against the invasion of the forest trolls.

Therefore, due to its remote location on the continent and its powerful magic and fortifications, the Kingdom of the Elves was largely untouched by the tumultuous events transpiring among the human kingdoms.



The Kingdom of Dalaran was a city-state, a neutral nation led by a council of archmages. Though its diplomatic influence was not to be ignored, the Kingdom of Dalaran seldom engaged in conflicts with its neighbours. That, however, could not be said about the rest of the kingdoms.

Similar to Dalran in its neutrality was Kul Tiras; it was a nation at sea, removed from most of the struggles happening on the continent.

Nevertheless, the relationship between Gilneas and Lordaeron was often strained, while Stromgarde and Alterac had armed conflicts against each other every few years.

Finally, there was also the Kingdom of Stormwind, but Verath only told him that it was a kingdom located very far away, in the south of the continent; thus, it was not relevant for them.

Unbeknownst to Verath, by the time he finished explaining the relationship between the kingdoms close to Quel’Thalas and started teaching him the basics of the Amani dialect, Naruto had long since substituted himself with a Shadow Clone and slipped out of the study room.

It was not the mere fact that he had grown sick of listening to political talk; it was the mental fatigue that was getting to him because his clones had started dispelling themselves. He had left over 100 clones at home, all of them studying and memorising the contents of dozens of different books. The influx of memories and the fatigue he received from his Shadow Clones sapped him of his energy and made him drowsy.

While his sole remaining Shadow Clone continued studying the Amani dialect together with Sylvanas’ father, Naruto sneaked out into the garden and lay down on the grass with his hands behind the back of his head, hiding behind a bush. 

The warm weather of Eversong and the cool sea breeze lulled him to sleep in no time.

Little did Naruto know that an extremely curious young girl had been watching him from a distance all along. As curious as she was, however, the little girl was also terribly shy. It was only fifteen minutes after Naruto fell asleep that she mustered the courage to walk closer to him.

A quiet sound of wonder came from her mouth as she knelt next to his sleeping form and studied his appearance. It was the first time she had seen a human. His hair was shaggy and messy, and his ears were round and really small compared to hers. Furthermore, those marks on his cheeks-

‘Do all humans have whiskers on their face?’ the little girl wondered inwardly as she slowly raised her hand, unable to rein in her impulse to feel them. 

But, just as her hand was about to touch his face, Naruto suddenly opened his eyes and caught her by the wrist.

The girl let out a startled squeal and tried to pull back in a panic.

“Shhh!” Naruto shushed her hurriedly. “I’ll let you go; just don’t make any noise, please!”

Fortunately, the girl quickly became quiet, seemingly not wanting to attract the nearby people’s attention either.

“Who are you?” asked the girl.

“I’m Alyndor. I’m a Farstrider.”

The girl’s big blue eyes widened in awe.

“Really?? But you're not an adult!”

“Of course. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“My mother and my big sisters are also Farstriders. And when I grow up, I’ll be just like them too!” she said, filled with determination and pride.

Her words, her presence at the Windrunner Spire, and the fact that she bore a striking resemblance to Verath Windrunner had tipped Naruto off that she must be his daughter, but he still asked:

“Who are your sisters?”

“Alleria and Sylvanas. But I call them Lady Sun and Lady Moon, and they call me Little Moon!” the little girl said.

“And your name is?” asked Naruto, involuntarily grinning at her because of how adorable she was.

The little girl, seemingly no older than 5, had big blue eyes, long pointy ears, and her white hair was styled in a short bob-cut haircut. Naruto wasn’t exactly the best when it came to interacting with small children, but even he had to admit that she was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.

“My name is Vereesa Windrunner.”

At that moment, the voice of a young woman rang in the garden:

“Vereesa? Where are you?”

The little girl showed a panicky expression and broke into a run on her small legs, quickly hiding behind a tree.

“You skipped your afternoon nap again! Lady Lireesa will be angry with both of us if you don’t come back!”

“Vereesa!”

“Is that your babysitter?” asked Naruto in a very quiet whisper.

“I’m not a baby!” she retorted hotly, but that had been a mistake.

The elf lady’s sensitive hearing picked up the noise, and she headed straight to them.

“Ah, no, it’s your fault, Alyndor!” Vereesa whined in chagrin.

Just then, her babysitter reached her hiding place and put her hands on her waist in disappointment.

“Why are you giving me such a hard time today, Little Moon? Come, your mother won’t like it if she hears that you skipped the afternoon nap again. Leave that little fox, and let’s get you to bed.”

“What fox-” Vereesa began to say, only for her to gasp when she realised that, without her noticing, the human boy whom she had been talking to had been replaced by a small red fox.

The girl could only watch in a mixture of confusion and amazement as the fox dashed into the bushes, disappearing.

⁂ One Year Later ⁂

Although he had been living in Quel’Thalas for a year now, to Naruto, it felt as though that time had passed like the blink of an eye.

Seeing as the Kingdom of the Elves was magically locked in a state of perpetual spring, there were no seasons. Furthermore, there had been no other troll attacks ever since their crushing defeat at Dawnstar Village.

Every day felt the same, but Naruto did not dislike it. Not one bit. The past year had been the happiest period of his life.

Before arriving in the world of Azeroth, Naruto had never experienced the feeling of belonging to a place. He had been an orphan and a jinchuuriki to boot. Not only did he not have a family, but the rest of the village ostracised him too. He had always been an outcast.

However, things could not be any more different in this world. The prince of the high elves himself had acknowledged him. Instead of being treated like a curse, the elves called him their champion – that’s what the name 'Alyndor' meant. Moreover, he had also made many friends, real comrades with whom he laughed and had a great time every day. He was on great terms with all the Farstriders he came in contact with.

Above all, in this world, he had obtained something that he had always wanted: a family. He had a mother in Lady Liadrin and a grandfather in High Priest Vandellor.

And Naruto had done his utmost to make Liadrin proud of him, to never shame her like he did during Dar’khan’s test. Over the past year, thanks to his Shadow Clones, the blond had learnt the Amani dialect and the language of humans, Common, to perfection. In addition, he had also started to learn Dwarven.

Furthermore, while he may never be a scholar, he had stopped being ignorant about the world. He had learnt about the history of Quel’Thalas and the high elves, the history of the human kingdoms, and the Troll Wars from 2800 years ago.

High Priest Vandellor had even taught him the secrets of the long-gone past, about the cataclysmic event following the War of the Ancients from 10,000 years ago, the Sundering.

And that was also how Naruto learnt about the threat of the Burning Legion, the demonic powers looming in the shadows, seeking to destroy their world. Lastly, Lady Liadrin decided to tell him the contents of the Vision that she had received from the Light.

It was because of all these reasons that, even after one entire year of peace in Quel’Thalas, Naruto never became complacent. Not one day passed without training and honing his skills, both alone and with the Farstriders.

⁂ 

It was a cool morning in June. The sun had yet to fully come out from beyond the mountains, but the Farstriders living in the Barracks at the Farstrider Enclave were suddenly woken up by a shriek.

With that being said, Naruto was, in the end, not even 14 years old yet. At the end of the day, he was still a child. The rivalry between the human boy and the Ranger General’s second daughter had long since become the talk of the Farstriders, but, for once, it was not the two of them who were kicking up a ruckus in the morning. 

Unexpectedly. . . that shriek had come from Alleria, the eldest, no-nonsense Windrunner sister.

Half a minute later, Naruto heard a loud banging sound from the door of his bedroom, and he was shaken awake. His roommates, two high elves, were also startled awake, their hands instinctively going to the daggers they kept on their nightstands.

“Open up, I said! This is an order!” came Alleria’s shout from beyond the door. 

“What did you do this time?” one of his roommates asked.

“Nothing!” said Naruto, just as surprised as they were. At their sceptical faces, he insisted, “I swear, I really didn’t do anything this time!”

It appeared that whatever had happened had lit a fire under Alleria because, a moment later, the door was blown off its hinges and the furious she-elf stomped inside, her face twisted from anger.

However, at the sight of her, before he could even stop himself, Naruto burst into laughter.

“Bwahaha!”

If he had not been abruptly woken up and if his brain had functioned at full capacity, like during the day, Naruto would have tried to control himself. But in his current state, it was impossible for him to do so.

Alleria Windrunner, the next in line to receive the position of Ranger General, a stoic and serious Farstrider, had a black circle drawn around her right eye and a black moustache under her nose.

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

AN: "Aerie Peak" that you see on the map I posted in the chapter is Dwarven territory.

(1) Bal’a dash = a Thalasian expression that means “Greetings”, “Hello”. 

This is a map of the full Eastern Kingdoms continent:

And this is a map of the entire world of Azeroth:

[Ashwinder] Chapter 8 - The Skykiller

Previous chapter

“Your sweet and beloved Valkyr - I can save her. I can give you the strength to save her and the 2 million people who are still alive in this colony. You can save them all."

His voice abruptly lost its light-hearted tone, becoming deep and terrifying as he continued:

“But you have to want it.”

Returning to his previous, light-hearted tone, his doppelganger said:

“So, how about we make a deal?”

As they shook each other’s hands, a blinding light came out, sealing their deal and flooding Harry with the power of the Void.

⁂

His eyes glowed with a bright cyan light, and his body levitated as the power of the Indifference washed over him. Paradoxically, the side effects of overusing the Void disappeared after the Man in the Wall shared his power with him willingly. 

His paralysis disappeared, his mental exhaustion vanished, and a power unlike anything he had ever felt coursed through his veins.

Of the twelve Grineer who had assaulted them, two had already been killed by Valkyr. However, the valiant Warframe could not deal with the remaining ones because sharing her lifeblood to bring Harry to full health from the verge of death had exhausted her. 

Faster than the Grineer could react, he flew at Valkyr with a Dash. The main reason he had accepted the Indifference’s deal was so that he could save her life.

The power of the Void flared. In that moment, Harry instinctively reached into a deeper layer of the Void, something all Tenno knew how to do but something he had never been taught.

Conceptual Embodiment.

Thoughts, memories, emotions, and even abstract concepts could be manifested and given a physical form through the power of the Void. 

Responding to his will, a blinding flash of light erupted from his body, and the ten Grineer surrounding them all let out cries of pain as the powerful rays of light burnt their retinas, blinding them.

He was not aware of it, but the ability he had just used was called Void Radiance. It was one of the skills taught by the Madurai Focus School.

With the Grineer crying out in shock and bumbling about, he stopped worrying about them and knelt in front of Valkyr, who was on her hands and knees, breathing out heavily. 

Her skin was strange to the touch, a mixture of metal and soft tissue, but he did not pay it any mind. He raised her head softly and pressed his forehead against hers.

‘Thank you, Valkyr.’

It was not just his words. His feelings and emotions were transmitted to the Warframe through their Transference, and with it, so did the power of the Void. 

Valkyr let out a soft growl. Her vocal cords made it impossible for her to talk, but Harry could feel her emotions through their link. It was joy, relief, and something that he had never felt from her clearly until then: affection. As much as he would have liked to explore the new level of their Transference, that was not the time; they were in the middle of a warzone. Two seconds later, the two of them parted and stood up.

As if they could read each other’s thoughts, the re-energised Valkyr threw herself at the blinded Grineer, and Harry left with a Void Dash. 

⁂

Twenty minutes after taking the Man in the Wall’s deal, a sudden transmission stopped Harry in his tracks.

It was the Lotus, and, going by the way she was talking, the transmission was not directed specifically at him but at all the Tenno who happened to be in the colony’s vicinity.

“Tenno, this is an emergency. Our spies have unravelled an extremely distressing piece of information. The Governor of Martialis had secretly acquired a Warframe cryopod from the Old War. But, unfortunately for them, a traitor among the Corpus had sold that intel to the Grineer for an exorbitant price. That is why this Grineer Galleon ship had left Gradivus, the main battlefield of this war.”

“We suspect that the Warframe in the cryopod is a Prime. We cannot allow the Grineer to get their hands on it, but we cannot leave it in the Corpus’ possession either. Your task is to infiltrate the territory protected by the Orokin Tower at the centre of the colony and destroy it. No matter the cost.”

“The Corpus have abandoned the civilians, and they focused all their forces on the defence of the Orokin Tower. Should the Corpus discover your intentions, you will be met with heavy resistance. Both the Corpus and the Grineer will turn their weapons against you. Be careful, Tenno.”

Harry let out a curse of frustration.

‘So that’s why I couldn’t see any Corpus anywhere around!’

Everything that Lotus said checked out: the absence of troops in the military base from where he rescued Clem, civilians being left to die, and even the fact that one of Corpus’ people sold them out for profit checked out too – Cephalon Suda had told him beforehand that no deed was too sinful or off-limits for the followers of the Cult of Profit.

His Void Power flared, and a telekinetic wave burst from his hand, moving away an enormous pile of debris and broken pieces of concrete, revealing a group of nearly 20 people who had been trapped underneath.

“Thank you!”

“Thank you so much!”

“We’re saved!” they cried out in gratitude and relief. 

“Those of you who can stand, take the injured with you and run towards the big tower. I have to go search for others!” he told them in a rush before Dashing away.

Despite the fact that he looked like a boy no older than 15, none of them dared disobey his words. No, maybe it was precisely because of his young appearance and his supernatural powers that everyone listened to him. There were no people in the entire Origin System who had not heard about the Tenno before.

Four Grineer dropships appeared at the edge of his vision, each one of them carrying half a dozen troops or more, and Harry showed no hesitation as he flew straight at them.

The Lancers opened fire, emptying the clips of their Grakata rifles on him, and the Bombards shot their grenade and rocket launchers, but all bullets, grenades, and rockets bounced off his Void cloak harmlessly, not deviating his flying trajectory by even a millimetre.

Cloaked with the Void, Harry Dashed through the dropship like a hot knife through butter. A human-sized hole was left behind, and a violent explosion followed, killing all the Grineer on board.

Still in mid-air, Harry instantly switched his target to the closest drop ship and proceeded to do the same thing he did before: he Dashed through it, blowing it up and killing all the troops it was carrying.

After taking the Indifference’s deal, his control over the Void was incomparable. Nothing could hurt him. Nothing could stop him. Nothing could survive even one hit of his Void Beams. With the seemingly limitless power of the Void, he felt almost like a demigod.

Another half an hour passed like that, with Harry rescuing over 100 civilians and killing dozens of hostile Grineer, but things were starting to slow down. 

Now, he was Void Dashing all over the place, searching for people who might be trapped underneath the demolished buildings or needed rescue from the Grineer, but several minutes passed without finding anyone. Even the Grineer were becoming sparse. 

A new transmission arrived at that moment, and the Lotus’ voice rang in his head:

“Harry Potter. According to Darvo, the two of you had split up, and you went to fight against the Grineer on Martialis.”

“Yes, I did,” Harry replied in a defensive tone while flying through the air with a Void Dash, searching for survivors.

“It is not in my intention to reprimand you for your recklessness. Your courage has saved many lives today. And your presence in Martialis may yet prove even more useful for our cause. My Tenno operative could use your help.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t help him. I can’t abandon the civilians,” Harry said, and, just at that moment, he happened to stumble upon a squad of Grineer Butchers and a Heavy Gunner who were fighting against a group of people armed with rifles, handguns, and plasma blasters.

They were not Corpus. They looked like civilians who had picked up discarded weapons from the battlefield and banded together to survive. Unfortunately, unlike the Grineer, who were wearing thick, reinforced armour and had superhuman strength, agility, and durability, the civilians were regular people. They were barely holding their own by hiding behind broken apartment buildings and firing their weapons with wild abandon.

“You are not abandoning them. By destroying the cryo pod in their possession, the Grineer will no longer have a reason to continue their attack on the colony, and the Corpus will stop protecting the cryo pod and switch their focus to defending the civilians,” the Lotus reasoned with him.

On a rational level, he understood that the Lotus was probably right.

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” Harry said in a rush as he Void Dashed towards another district of the city. “I can’t leave these people to die in front of my eyes.”

His Void Beam tore through two Grineer who were flying in the air with jetpacks, and then he flew in the midst of a squad of Butchers and Scorch units. Two Void Blasts erupted from his palms, and the power of the Void bypassed the Grineer’s thick armour, destroying their internal organs. Blood started pouring out of their eyes, nose, ears, and mouth, and they collapsed on the ground, spasming, dying a horrible death.

“You are losing sight of the big picture. Many more people will be saved if you-”

“I told you I won’t abandon them!” he cut her off with a shout. “I watched one of these monsters set a father and his son on fire, killing parents in front of their children, and ripping children’s limbs apart in front of their parents. You want me to abandon them now? I don’t give a damn about your missions or you cause!”

On the other end of the transmission, the Lotus became silent at his outburst. But she did not take it to heart.

‘He’s probably in shock. As someone who had been a civilian himself until a few weeks ago, he couldn’t have been used to seeing death on such a scale,’ she reasoned. 

Therefore, the next time she spoke, her voice was calm, with a hint of concern in her tone, even:

“Okay. Let’s do it this way: I will help you locate the rest of the survivors of this colony. Then, you and your Valkry will help my Tenno operative destroy the Warframe cryopod.”

Her suggestion made him pause. If he was directed straight to the survivors and stopped wasting time searching for them, he would be able to save more people.

“But why do you want to destroy the Warframe cryopod?” Harry asked while Void Dashing to the 25th floor of an apartment complex to save a dozen people who had been trapped inside. “Warframes are people, too. My Valkyr has thoughts, memories, feelings, and even a will of her own. She's not just a meatsuit like your Tenno told me.”

Just a few minutes ago, Valkyr had given him her lifeblood, exhausting herself in order to save his life. Harry had not asked her to do that. Furthermore, he had ordered her desperately to escape because he had not wanted her to sacrifice her life for him. But Valkyr refused to obey his command and fought against the Grineer until the end.

“We cannot dispatch an extraction team at this moment. Currently, most of the Tenno are either on Gradivus, locked in the war between Grineer and Corpus. Or they’re fighting to contain the Infestation at the edge of the Origin System, which has started showing increased levels of activity, as though it knew that this would be the perfect moment to strike when the three main powers of the system are embroiled in a war on Mars.”

“Our only option is to destroy the cryopod. No matter the cost, we cannot allow either the Grineer or the Corpus to own a living, fully functional Warframe.”

Harry clenched his teeth at her answer, but he couldn’t really argue against it.

“I understand. Help me rescue these people, and I’ll help you after that too,” he said, his voice not betraying what he felt inside.

For the next hour, the Lotus switched between managing the Tenno participating in the war on Gradivus, instructing the operatives fighting against the Infestation, and sending Harry to various locations of living signatures she could detect on Martialis.

She could not watch him constantly, but every time she opened a transmission to send him a new location, she would catch glimpses of his battle against the Grineer.

‘Angie, Galen, and Karim never told me that he could display such power.’

If not for the lotus-shaped helmet covering the upper part of her face, one would have been able to see how surprised she was. As far as they all knew, the time-travelling boy was not supposed to be as powerful as a real Tenno. As far as they knew, Harry Potter was just touched by the Void. He was not a full-fledged Tenno. 

Little did the Lotus know that what she feared had already happened: he had already met the Indifference. And the two of them had made a deal.

⁂

A Grineer Butcher swung his plasma machete at a Corpus Crewman, but his brutal melee weapon was actually stopped by the Crewman’s energy shield, and, a second later, his body was riddled with holes from the Corpus’ Crewman’s Dera rifle. . . only for a long whip to suddenly wrap around the Crewman’s ankle and yank him out through the air. It was a Scorpion. The female Grineer pulled the Crewman out of the formation, and his energy shield couldn’t save him when the other clones started tearing into him.

A Bombard fired his Ogris, and three Crewmen were blown to bits, only for a Drover Bursa to deploy its riot shields and fire a hail of 10 mini rockets back at the Grineer.

Scenes like these were happening everywhere. The Grineer had superhuman strength, durability, and agility, but the Corpus were more than holding their own with their energy shields and sophisticated technology.

Nevertheless, while the Corpus cared for their lives and ultimately had no true loyalty to their superiors, the Grineer were different. They were clones, an endless army of superhuman soldiers who knew no retreat, creatures that had been bioengineered to kill, destroy, and obey their two Queens' orders unconditionally. Even if they were ordered to march to their own deaths, they had no choice but to obey.

Faced with the Grineer’s undaunted advance, the Governor of the colony was forced to reveal all his cards.

“Deploy all the MOAs!” came his command.

A chorus of robotic shrieks rang throughout the city, and the ground quaked as over 2000 MOA robots were deployed at once. Then, the sky was filled with beams of light as the army of MOA started firing their plasma weaponry in an orderly fashion, raining hell on the army of Grineer.

‘How many people would have been saved if they had deployed those MOAs from the very beginning?’ Harry asked himself.

The entire Corpus military in Martialias was positioned around the Orokin Tower. There were hundreds of Corpus Crewmen and thousands of robotic units, all of them doing their utmost to stop the Grineer from advancing.

‘If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that they’re doing all this to protect the Orokin Tower.’

Those gigantic, thousand-metre-tall golden towers were sentient structures of Orokin origin that were capable of terraforming even the most hostile environment. The Orokin had terraformed even planet Uranus, making life possible on what was, essentially, an ice giant.

Alas, after Lotus told him the truth, Harry knew that the Governor wasn’t doing it for the colony and his people. With the 4-kilometre-long Galleon ship looming above the colony and its numerous cannons the size of apartment buildings, Martialis was already as good as gone. The only thing that the Governor cared about at that moment was safeguarding the cryopod. That living Warframe sleeping inside was far more valuable to him than leading ten colonies, let alone one.

Recognising the fact that the Tenno were on their side in this particular conflict, the Corpus didn’t shoot at Harry and Valkyr when they came into their line of sight.

Harry let out a sigh as he and Valkyr walked past the Corpus army’s frontline and went to check the underground bunker.

As was the case for most colony cities on the terraformed planets, such as Mars or moons like Europa, there was an underground city located below Martialis as well. Most of the civilians who had escaped from the Grineer had taken refuge there.

“Are you here to help us, Tenno?” the Governor asked.

He was a tall and skinny man wearing the typical attire preferred by the Corpus magnates. His shaved head, tattooed black circles around his eyes and chin (reminiscent of a Panda), the large, golden headgear that looked like a chandelier and the long, luminous blue robes decorated with glowing, neon ornaments made for an absolutely ridiculous appearance in Harry’s eyes. Electric human futuristic panda boogaloo. But he was from 20,000 years in the past; who was he to judge?

“I’m here for the people,” Harry said curtly.

He had never been one to worship authority figures, and this Governor was certainly not worthy of his respect. Not after how many people lost their lives because he had abandoned them.

“Well, of course, as am I. It is so reassuring to have the Tenno on our side!” the Governor said in a servile tone.

Seeing as Harry didn’t bite on his flattering words, the Governor cleared his throat.

“Now then, I shall not tarry. My troops need my guidance!”

The Corpus official looked almost like an NFL mascot as he swaggered away, clearly having difficulty moving around in his gaudy, heavy attire. Fred and George Weasley had once told Harry, “if you die, that’s your ghost outfit forever”. It appeared that this Corpus Governor shared similar beliefs.

As the saying goes, comfort is temporary, but drip is forever.

Harry was about to leave in order to meet with the other Tenno operative when the Governor suddenly turned and spoke in the same honey-laced, servile voice from before:

“If I may ask, Tenno, can we expect you and your Warframe to join us on the surface? Of course, my Corpus are more than capable of putting those Grineer dogs in their place, but your presence will be a boon to everyone’s morale.”

“Yes, I’ll fight against the Grineer again.”

And with that, Harry and Valkyr left, not waiting for the Governor’s answer.

But the Corpus leader didn’t seem to mind his behaviour. Harry wasn’t aware of it himself, but most of the Tenno acted just like that too. Hardly any of them cared about manners and decorum.

The underground city was rather dark and gloomy, with red and green neon lights being the dominant colour at a glance. Most buildings were low and square-shaped, built from thick panels meant to survive cave-ins and other disasters. Thick metallic pipes ran along the ceilings and walls, leading to the sewer located a level below the underground city.

The city felt cramped, the air was cold and damp, and the smell coming from the unsealed sewer below was terrible. It looked just like one of those slum city districts from the sci-fi movies that Harry had seen as a child.

On top of the already dreadful appearance of the city, thousands of people were crying over the loss of their loved ones, and many others were wailing in agony from having their arms or legs torn apart or blown to bits by the Grineer.

Doing his best to ignore the whispers and the stares of the crowds, he rushed towards the place where he was supposed to meet Lotus’ Tenno operative. Soon, Harry and Valkyr arrived at their destination: it was Mesa, the female Warfarme that Valkyr had rescued a few hours ago.

At the sight of Harry walking with Valkyr, outside his Warframe, the Tenno also sent his astral projection outside his Mesa, materialising his body.

“Whoa! How is your Valkyr walking by herself?” was the first thing he said instead of a hello.

He was a boy, seemingly younger than Harry if his physical appearance was anything to go by. He had short, spiky blue hair, and his eyes were orange. In addition, the side of his neck and his left ear were blackened, a mark left by his exposure to the Void. That said, Harry wasn’t fooled by appearances. All Tenno were several centuries old or more.

“Hi. Let’s leave the small talk for another time,” Harry said. 

He wasn’t trying to be rude now, but that was hardly the moment to make light-hearted conversation. Millions of people had lost their lives in the Grineer massacre, and the war had yet to end.

“Ah, right, sure,” the Tenno said. “I’m Axel, from the Gladiators Clan. Who are you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before. Which class were you part of on the Zariman?”

Luckily, Lotus’ transmission popped up for both of them at that moment, cutting off Axel’s chatter.

“Tenno, breaking through the Corpus’ armed forces guarding the building would be challenging but not impossible. However, it appears that the force field surrounding the cryopod can only be broken through the power of the Void. One of you will have to go outside their Warframe and deactivate it, while the second will protect the other.”

“I have already accessed the plan of the building and located the cryo pod. I will guide you step by step, the entire way.”

“You must not let the Governor and the rest of the Corpus forces find out about our plans. There are 87 Corpus Crewmen guarding that facility. Exterminate them all before they can sound the alarm. Leave nothing alive.”

“Understood,” Axel said before dematerialising and sending his consciousness back inside his Warframe. 

But Lotus’ order brought Harry short.

“Wait a minute, you never told me anything about starting a massacre.”

“In this instance, both the Corpus and the Grineer are our enemy-”

“But these people haven’t done anything wrong!” Harry cut her off. 

It was one thing to kill the Grineer for the atrocities they had committed, but these Corpus Crewmen were just people who had been hired to protect an objective.

“Killing all the guards will ensure that the Governor does not find out about it. It is the safest and most efficient way to accomplish our goals,” the Lotus explained.

“Bollocks! I won’t do that shit,” he cursed and turned around to leave.

He was already extremely hesitant about helping the Lotus kill the sleeping Warframe from the cryo pod. In fact, his plan had been to use his Transference on the sleeping Warframe and wake it up, preventing the Tenno from following through with Lotus’ orders. 

“Come on, man, what’s it with you? What are you getting cold feet now for?” Axel sent a transmission from inside Mesa. 

Lotus spoke to him at that moment, too:

“I helped you locate and rescue all the civilians. I have held up my end of the bargain. Now it is time for you to do the same.”

“Are you kidding me? You people want me to kill nearly 100 people - innocent people - in cold blood? Are you out of your mind?” he shouted at her. 

All of a sudden, the distant sound of an explosion was heard, and the entire underground city was shaken by a powerful tremor.

Large pieces of concrete started falling from the ceiling, the large pipes carrying the sewage ruptured, deafening alarms started blaring, and the civilians began screaming and running in terror.

One minute later, another explosion rang, and the underground city shuddered from its foundations once more.

“Tenno, you have to get out of there as quickly as you can!” the Lotus’ hurried voice came through a transmission.

“But what about the Warframe’s cryopod?” asked Axel.

“There is no time for that. This colony will be destroyed. Sargas Ruk had just ordered the Galleon to open fire on the Orokin Tower once again.”

“What?! Didn’t they attack the colony just to capture this Warframe? Why would they want to destroy it now??”

Previously, the Grineer had used their Galleon ship only to destroy the force field surrounding Martialias, leaving the Orokin Tower and its separate force field untouched. At the end of the day, the Grineer were planning on using it themselves after they conquered the place; Orokin Towers were a precious commodity.

Even as he asked that, Axel controlled his Mesa and started bullet jumping and gliding towards the exit.

“The two of you have tipped the scales in the Corpus’ favour. The Grineer command must have reasoned that, with two Tenno fighting against them, their ground forces would find it impossible to acquire the cryo pod. Therefore, they decided that if they can’t have it, they won’t let the Corpus have it either. They are going to destroy everything.”

Fortunately, Harry, Valkyr, and the Tenno managed to escape from the underground city before the Galleon ship fired its third shot.

Coming out of the elevator, they arrived on the surface just in time to see one of the ship’s apartment building-sized cannons light up, and the force field around the Orokin Tower was destroyed with a loud sound of glass shattering.

The Grineer troops had long since been given the order to retreat so that they would not be eliminated needlessly in the crossfire. After all, this colony had no way of retaliating against the Galleon ship.

As the shield around the Orokin Tower was destroyed, many Corpus Crewmen lost strength in their legs. Some fell to their knees, others dropped their weapons, while others stood and watched petrified as the 4th cannon of the immense ship prepared to fight – the Galleon had 9 immense cannons on each side. The reason for that large number was that it took a long time for the barrels to cool down after firing a charge. Therefore, if they wanted to shoot right away, they needed to switch to another cannon.

Understanding the situation, Axel immediately took control of his Mesa and broke into a sprint.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Harry shouted after him.

“What does it look like? I'm escaping," came Axel’s transmission. He never stopped his sprint, trying to put as much distance between himself and Martialis. “I’ve done all I could for this colony. But I have no way of stopping that Galleon all by myself. Maybe if I had a different Warframe equipped, I could’ve tried something. But my Mesa can’t deal with that thing.”

No sooner than his words ended, Harry saw a Liset, a small landing craft, coming down from the sky and landing in front of Mesa before taking her in and flying away.

Harry looked around himself, filled with helpless anger and panic.

‘What can I do? What should I do? There are nearly 2 million survivors left in this colony.’

The Galleon was over 4 kilometres long. It was humongous. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how one would go about destroying that behemoth of steel.

In desperation, he called out to the being that had given him their power before.

“Hey! You said you’ll save them!” he shouted. 

Faced with imminent death, nobody around him paid him any attention. He wasn’t the only one who was shouting or acting as though they had gone mad, either; many others were doing the same.

“We had a deal! You promised that you would save everyone! You said you’ll give me the strength to rescue all these people!”

His doppelganger appeared behind him like a phantom and put his arm over his shoulder as though they were old pals.

“Do I really have to spell it out for you? Use your head, kiddo.”

Harry pushed his arm off his shoulder furiously.

“I have no time for your riddles! The next time it fires, everyone is going to die!”

The Man in the Wall never lost his creepy grin, even after his shout, but he did give him the answer he was seeking.

“Use the Orokin Tower. The force field broke because it ran out of energy. Pour your Void Power into it. Act as the tower’s battery, and you may yet live.”

The moment that his words ended, Harry Void Dashed away, leaving his giggling doppelganger behind.

He landed at the base of the enormous tower and placed his hands on its golden outer wall.

He let out a shout as he poured his Void power into the tower with all his strength. The immense, thousand-metre-tall structure gained a cyan hue as the power of the Void flooded it, and a cyan translucent shield of light came into being in the Orokin Tower’s proximity once more.

It was only a few seconds later that the Galleon fired its 4th cannon, and an immense projectile of fire smashed into the force field.

The Corpus Crewmen and the civilians screamed in panic, but their shouts became ones of wonder when the seemingly all-powerful cannon was stopped.

A feeling of weakness came over Harry, but he forced it back through sheer will and poured even more of his power into the Orokin Tower to reinforce its shield.

⁂

Valkyr’s anxiety and worry bled into Harry’s mind as she watched him kneel and gasp for air. A small puddle of sweat formed beneath his head from the drops falling off his forehead. His lower lip was bleeding from how hard he had bitten it in his struggle to pour as much of his Void power into the Orokin Tower as he could.

He had managed to protect the colony from 2 devastating cannon attacks, but it looked like he was on his last legs now.

“This isn’t enough to protect them all, goddamn it,” he said in frustration.

Valkyr let out a low growl, and Harry understood what she was suggesting. She was telling him to escape. With his Void Dash ability and her help, they could definitely escape Martialis before the Galleon fired its 7th cannon.

“I’m sorry. I can’t. I can’t leave these people to their fates,” he told Valkyr, and a new wave of frustration and anger came from her.

“But you can leave. There’s no need for you to stay.”

Valkyr growled, and, in a human-like display of anger, she kicked a nearby rock, pulverising it with her strength.

“Tenno, how are you holding on?” the Lotus, who had gone radio silent after telling him and Axel to escape, unexpectedly sent him a transmission. 

“I’m still alive. Somehow.”

“One of my Tenno heard about Martialis and wants to leave Gradivus, the main battlefield, to come to your rescue. But she will need approximately five minutes to disengage and travel to your location. Can you hold on until then?”

Harry let out a shuddering breath.

“I don’t know. They’re firing one cannon every minute. . . I think I can stop about 2 more shots.”

A deafening boom made the ground and the buildings quake as the Galleon ship fired its 7th cannon.

The impact made the cyan barrier of light tremble, looking dangerously close to breaking apart, and a scream ripped from Harry’s throat. It was as though he had felt that hit himself.

“Tenno, you have to hold on! She is heading your way as we speak! Don’t give up. Three more minutes and she’ll be there!”

He was too exhausted to reply. 

Unbeknownst to him, the tremors had made many of the people hiding underground come out to the surface. Some of them escaped the city while they still could, but others saw no hope in surviving the hostile environment of Mars on their own. They could do nothing but pray to whatever deity they believed in and cheer on the Tenno who was trying to save them.

His exhausted visage was not lost on them, and they started shouting words of encouragement and pleas to save their lives. They were praying and shouting his name as though he were their god.

Alas, none of their voices registered in his mind. His hearing was muffled as though he were underwater, and a severe feeling of vertigo made it difficult for him to keep his eyes open. Even maintaining his balance became difficult despite the fact that he was kneeling on the ground, on all fours.

A minute passed like in the blink of an eye, and another explosion boomed, an 8th massive missile exploding against the force field.

It was the last straw. Harry's eyes rolled in the back of his head, and he lost consciousness. 

However, the force field didn’t go out. The cyan membrane of light that had protected them until then was still shining in the skies above Martialis. In spite of falling unconscious, he was unknowingly still pouring his Void energy into the tower until the end.

Some people tried to come closer to Harry and check up on him, but a threatening growl from Valkyr was all it took for them to give up on that idea. Even so, they could tell that he was no longer awake.

Anxiety rose within their chests anew. The force field was still holding on for now, but with the ‘Tenno’ losing his consciousness, was there any guarantee that it would hold out after the next cannon strike?

Fear started gnawing at their hearts, and low cries and loud murmurs started filling the air again.

It was while they were starting to sink into despair again that, all of a sudden, the horizon in the west turned a dark shade of brown.

At first, only a couple of people noticed it. But then, the darkness grew, and more and more started taking note of it.

A whisper came from a little girl’s mouth:

“It’s the God King.”

But her mother, who was holding her hand, did not hear her.

“Mom,” the girl called out and pulled on her hand. “It’s the God King! It’s the Fear-eater! Look, over there!” she said, louder this time, as she pointed with her finger at the sky. 

At her cry, the people around the girl looked up to the sky too and, unexpectedly, quite a few others gasped and called out that name too:

“The God King!”

“The Fear-eater!”

Their shouts grew louder and increased in number as the darkness grew closer. It was no mere dark cloud. It was a massive sandstorm, a sandstorm like nothing anyone there had ever seen. 

The sky was covered by a curtain of black, swallowing the sun, and a powerful wind blew. The sandstorm crashed into the force field with a howl reminiscent of a ravenous beast as it engulfed the colony. Martialis, an enormous city-state home to millions of people, sank into a darkness blacker than the night.

Entire buildings were flung into the air, and immense skyscrapers crumbled like sand as the cataclysmic sandstorm raged across the land. Steel beams snapped and shattered like glass, the roads cracked open, and the beautiful lake was buried by sand, becoming unrecognisable.

A powerful tremor shook the entire city as the four-kilometre-long Galleon ship of the Grineer crashed into the ground. Even its massive body could not withstand the force of the cataclysmic sandstorm. The behemoth of steel, the pride of the Grineer Armada and one of their main weapons of mass destruction, was brought down as an explosion tore through it from within, its reactor unable to survive the shock of such a brutal impact.

The shockwave of the explosion made the Orokin Tower’s force field tremble precariously, and a massive wave of fire and sand washed over the city.

Chunks and pieces of Grineer soldiers slammed into the force field brutally, all over the place, but, to everyone’s horror, they realised that there was no blood left in their remains. Their mutilated corpses looked as though they had been mummified, sucked of all vitality and life before being torn apart.

It looked like the end of the world had come.

One by one, the people surrounding the Orokin Tower fell to their knees. Men, women, children, and the elderly prostrated themselves on the ground, beginning to shout at the same time, as one:

“Our God King!”

“The Fear-eater!”

“The Skykiller!”

“Our God, Inaros!”

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

AN: Example of extravagant fashion for Corpus
As ridiculous as it looks, believe it or not, there's a human inside those clothes lol.

[The Nexus] Chapter 9 - A New Lead

“Our little cabin is already filled to the brim with stuff,” Harry said, laughing softly.

“Maybe we can sleep the night in Memory Hold?” Popola suggested.

“That. . . would not be a bad idea. We’ll get some rest first and then go back home to sort out all our stuff.”

That had been their initial plan. They would rest for one night in the Androids’ city, in Cairo, and go back to their cabin the next day. Unfortunately, things didn’t go their way.

“Goddamnit, Reiner!” Harry said in frustration when the Androids guarding the elevator suddenly tried to catch him and the girls.

Harry, Devola, and Popola were all disguised with spells to look different, but somehow, they had been discovered.

Having Disapparated, the three of them reappeared a few dozen kilometres away, on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.

“Why did they try to capture us?” asked Popola in surprise.

“Reiner must’ve shown the other Androids the letter I gave him, so they were probably on guard,” he replied. It was the only thing that made sense, especially since it happened yesterday. “What I don’t get is how they knew it was us.”

Harry waved his wand over her and her sister, chanting a Finite in his mind. The Indian and Japanese ladies in their 20s and 30s, respectively, disappeared, and two twin girls with red hair and green eyes appeared in their stead. Harry returned to his original appearance as well: a lanky 17-year-old boy with messy black hair and green eyes.

“The guard at the entrance must have been a scanner type,” Devola reasoned.

“What now? Do we go back to the Hearth?”

Harry couldn’t help smiling when he heard her calling their home that.

“Well, no other option.”

“But didn’t you say our cabin was full?”

“I’ll try to shrink some stuff with my magic. Just enough to make space for our beds.”

⁂

A few minutes later, Harry and the girls were busy trying to make some room inside the house. The main problem was that, in order to fit the bookcases, Harry had already charmed most of the furniture that could be safely shrunk.

“Could you shrink the bookcases, maybe?”

“I can’t risk it because they’re too valuable. My Shrinking Charm isn’t good enough, and I could make a mistake. I’m afraid I’ll damage them.”

Popola made a humming sound.

“How about we put as many things as we can in one room and sleep together in the other?” she suggested.

“I… don’t think that’s a good idea,” Harry said awkwardly.

“Why not?” Devola quickly piped in.

“I’ll conjure a sleeping bag and put it here, on the floor, between the bookcases –”

“We can’t let you sleep on the floor!” the sisters protested at the same time. “It’s winter! It’s cold! What if you get sick?”

“That’s right! You should take better care of yourself, Harry! Why do something like that when there’s a much better option?”

“It wouldn’t be right,” he began, but he dropped it and let out a sigh. They were girls; if they didn’t want to make a big deal about it, maybe he shouldn’t either. “But if you say it’s okay, alright.”

Devola and Popola glanced at each other and smiled.

⁂

Having spent the entire day exploring the old temple, the three of them felt the need to wash themselves first. They also ate some leftovers before changing into their sleeping clothes.

‘If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they’re actually looking forward to this,’ Harry thought as he followed the two girls inside their bedroom.

When he stopped at the door, seemingly hesitating, Devola and Popola grinned before grabbing his hands and pulling him inside.

Two minutes later, Harry lay stiffly on one side of the bed, with his back to the girls, on the very edge of the mattress. He had enlarged the bed to be more than spacious enough to hold three people, but, even so, he kept a fair distance between himself and the twins.

“Is it not uncomfortable staying on the edge like that?” Popola asked, breaking the silence.

Harry turned his head slightly to reply. “Not really; it’s all good.”

The room became quiet again, and only the sound of powerful winds and snow pelting the window was heard in the room. Harry curled up and buried his face under the heavy blanket.

It was winter, and their cabin was in the mountains of Switzerland. Furthermore, due to how crowded the living room was, they did not light up a fire that evening.

“Harry?”

“Yes, Devola?”

The girl giggled softly. “You recognised me just by the voice?”

Harry turned around to face them.

“Of course. We’ve been living together for weeks now… And I had two friends before who were twins. Also redheads, just like you, but they were boys. They looked so alike, even their mother couldn’t tell them apart sometimes. But what did you want to say?”

“Well, you look like you’re cold. Come closer to us.”

“Yes, it’s freezing. Let’s share our body warmth. We have to keep warm,” Popola said, too.

The girls were grateful that the blinders were down and that it was dark enough in the room that Harry couldn’t see how red their faces were now.

“I can cast a Warming Charm,” Harry said quickly, reaching for his wand on the nightstand.

“But that won’t last the entire night,” Popola retorted. “Come closer, Harry. We don’t bite.”

“Unless you ask nicely,” Devola whispered teasingly.

“Devola!” Popola squawked, mortified with shame before bursting into giggles.

The two sisters squealed and laughed together for a while, leaving Harry to steam alone in embarrassment, too. To think that those once meek and overly apologetic girls were teasing him like this now!

“Who are you, and what did you do with the shy and soft-spoken girls I used to know?” he muttered and turned his back to them.

But that had been a mistake. The moment he turned around, Devola snaked her arms under his blanket, suddenly pulling him towards her.

“Hey, wait!” he began, flustered, as he was pulled to the centre of the bed.

To make matters worse, Popola hopped out of the bed and ran to the other side before climbing back in. One second later, he found himself sandwiched between the two sisters, who pulled the blanket over them and pressed themselves closely against him.

His words of retort died on his lips as Devola slipped her arms around his waist, embracing him to her chest.

“Not fair, Devola, I want to hug him too!” Popola whined, and she tried to wrap her arms around him, too, while pressing her chest flush against Harry’s.

“Girls, you’re-!” he started, but then let out a strained breath. “You’re too heavy! I’ll get crushed at this rate!”

The two sisters may have looked pretty and dainty, but they were Androids. Devola and Popola were both over 150kg. Together, the two of them weighed 300 kg. One of their arms alone was around 10-15 kg.

But the girls didn’t want to let go of him. As though she had anticipated this problem, Popola had grabbed his wand from the nightstand when she climbed into bed the second time.

“Just cast a weight reduction charm on us, like you did on your backpack,” Popola said, while handing him his wand. “Are you a wizard, or not?” she asked teasingly.

Despite his embarrassment, Harry found himself chuckling. It looked like she still remembered the story that he had told her about that time when Hermione forgot that she was a witch and tried to search for wood to start a fire.

“I’m a wizard, alright. But I didn’t think I’d need my wand just to survive a cuddle,” he muttered under his breath, but his wand hand was already making the motion.

The mattress rose as the twins’ weight became three times lower, and now Harry found himself lying on his back, with Devola and Popola hugging one of his arms each.

“You’re so warm,” Popola muttered as she scooted closer to him.

Devola not only followed her sister’s example; she went beyond that. Harry’s heart started pounding in his chest as Devola lay her head on his chest, her wavy hair only inches away from his nose now. She smelt so nice. He couldn’t recognise what flower it was, but the scent of her shampoo and the feel of her soft breasts pressing into his side made him forget all about the cold.

“No fair!” Popola pouted, and she also lay her head on his chest. In an effort to outdo her sister, Popola also intertwined one of her long, slender legs with his.

Silence descended into the room, and Harry stood as though he was petrified.

“Your heart is beating so fast,” Devola whispered, and Harry felt his temperature rising by at least 5 degrees Celsius.

With their crimson red hair and emerald green eyes, Devola and Popola were two of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. Other than Fleur Delacour, nobody he had ever seen could be compared to them; but Fleur had never hugged him like that. She never embraced him while lying in bed together, like the twin Androids were doing now.

“I can’t help it,” he muttered. “I’ve never been this close to a girl before.”

His failed relationship with Cho Chang, if it could even be called a relationship, had not prepared him for something like that. All he ever did with her was exchange a short kiss while she was crying.

“Hehe,” the twins giggled softly and rubbed their faces on his chest.

Despite his embarrassment, in the end, Harry was not a coward. With the two sisters showing their consent, he mustered his courage and brought his arms around them too.

The twins melted into his arms, and Harry found himself relaxing in their embrace, too. His flustered state of mind gradually vanished, and his eyes grew heavy, the tiredness of having teleported so many times that day finally catching up to him.

⁂

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months.

It was the beginning of March now. One year and a little over eight months passed since Harry time-travelled to this post-apocalyptic future.

As far as he knew, he was the last human alive. Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Tonks, Hedwig, Dobby, Dumbledore - everyone he had ever known or cared about had died a very long time ago. Even Hogwarts was gone, too.

The first half a year had been terrible, and the following year had been depressing as well. However, it is human nature to adapt. Eventually, he came to terms with his new reality.

In the present, Harry would even go as far as to say that he was happy. He was happier than he had ever been in years. . . or maybe forever.

He smiled and tightened the muffler around his neck as he flew over the Alps. Back in his time, the Alps were still covered in snow at the beginning of March, but now, ten thousand years in the future, the climate was different. As far as he could see, there was only a sea of green.

‘I could never go anywhere when I was younger.’

He had always been at Hogwarts, and, during the summers, he had to stay with his hateful relatives. But now, nothing stopped him from going wherever he wanted.

A strong gust of wind started blowing, and Harry was forced to lower his altitude. The broomsticks he had found in the wizarding temple were not usable, but, thanks to Devola and Popola, who had found and translated the books with the necessary spells in them, Harry had managed to recreate a flying broom.

It was nowhere near as fast and as stable as his Nimbus 2000, to say nothing of his Firebolt, but just being able to fly again filled him with joy.

Half an hour later, Harry landed in front of his cabin and cast a spell to remove the moisture from his clothes due to the clouds of fog he had passed through.

“Devola, Popola! You’re back!” Harry said when he noticed the girls’ coats hanging on the coat rack.

“Harry!” the girls greeted him happily, too, their voices coming from the kitchen.

“Look what I bought!” Popola said when he came to them, and she twirled around, showing off the pretty blue apron she was wearing.

“I bought one too!” Devola said so, too. “Ta-da! How is it? Does it fit us?”

Harry took a few seconds to admire them before saying, “It’s brilliant!”

“Hehe, see, Popola? I told you he’d like it.”

“You were right. Say, Harry, other than looking good, don’t we also look a bit like human housewives?”

“Um-”

“Haha, just kidding!”

The girls started giggling to themselves, leaving Harry at a loss for words.

Ever since they shared a bed two months ago, Devola and Popola seemed to have made it their mission to make him fall in love with them. They were beautiful, kind, cute, and wholesome. His only other romantic interaction had been with Cho, an emotionally unavailable girl whose boyfriend had just died. Suffice to say that Harry never stood a chance against the twins' advances. The two sisters had charmed him almost effortlessly.

If they had been regular humans, Harry would have long since folded under their assault. But the fact that they were Androids prevented him from responding to their advances.

‘How do I know that they truly like me? How do I know it’s not just their programming that drives them to do everything they can to please me, a human?’

It was this thought that stopped him from following his desires. He was, after all, a 17-year-old boy, and the two redheads were gorgeous. He, too, was surprised that he had been able to withstand their advances for so long.

“How was it in Weavehold? Any problems?” he asked.

“None whatsoever. But news of your existence has spread over there as well,” Popola said while flipping a wild duck wing in the pan.

“I think that in a year or two, you might be forced to come out in the open,” Devola also added while chopping neatly some leaves of ramson.

“Maybe we can switch to the new city in Japan next?” Harry mused.

It wasn’t a ‘new’ city per se; it was new just to him. Over the past two months, after it became impossible for them to sneak into Memory Hold, Devola and Popola helped Harry find other Android cities. So far, they had found two more: one in South India (Weavehold) and one in Japan (Steelgate).

Harry found out that the names of the Android cities were rather telling. These three Android cities were very similar to each other. They were built underground, they had an almost identical layout and the same form of government, but each one of them had something specific that could not be easily found in other cities.

For example, Memory Hold, the Android city in Egypt, had a massive data centre.

Weavehold, the city in South India, had a factory that produced clothes, shoes, and other things that the Androids needed.

As for Steelgate, the city from Japan, it had a factory that produced Android parts and weapons.

“That would be brilliant,” Popola replied. “Actually, Devola and I have been thinking about going there soon.”

“Is something the matter?”

“Well, not really. . . I mean,” she trailed off, seemingly not sure how to continue.

“We need to get some new parts for ourselves,” Devola came to her help. “Our bodies, um, require some changes from time to time."

"That's right! Our healing magic is not all-powerful.”

Their hesitation reminded him of when they went to Memory Hold, before Christmas. They had acted shifty-eyed back then, too. However, by now, Harry trusted them with his life, so he didn’t probe any further. He knew that the girls would never do anything to harm him.

“Sure, just let me know when you need a portkey. Better yet, I could come with you, too.”

Finding the bookcases with magic tomes in the wizarding ark two months ago had been a life-changer for Harry. Ever since he ended up in the future, he had often cursed his past laziness and lack of interest. Due to not applying himself in school, there were numerous spells that he was not familiar with. But now it was different.

Over these past two months, Harry had made more progress in magic than in any other period of his life in the past. For example, he had learnt the Space-Expansion Charm to increase the size of his cabin. He had even created a rudimentary (but perfectly usable) flying broom, and he had also learnt how to make Portkeys; nowadays, he did not need to side-Apparate multiple times with the girls in order to reach the Android cities. They could teleport anywhere they needed in one go.

And that was all thanks to Devola and Popola, who had worked hard to translate the books for him. Furthermore, without them, he might have never discovered that wizarding temple.

They had not known each other for even half a year yet, but to Harry, they were already a vital, irreplaceable part of his life. He couldn’t imagine going back to living alone again, to the days when he returned to an empty home, without the joyful twins to brighten his day.

⁂

With the coming of spring, and due to Devola and Popola’s suggestion, Harry decided to try raising livestock. The idea of eating fried eggs and omelettes was too good to pass up.

Before capturing feral chickens and wild ducks, he had to build a shed for them and a net to prevent them not just from escaping, but also to protect them from birds of prey, wolves, and other beasts.

And that’s how Harry started working on building a tall fence around the cabin, making ample use of his magic to cut trees, dig holes, and conjure nails and other materials needed for it.

With Devola and Popola at his side, he rarely noticed the passing of time. There were so many spells to learn from the books salvaged from the wizarding temple and so much work to do around the house that he never got the luxury of being bored anymore. In addition, Harry had never forgotten about his goal of trying to make the Androids’ lives better, either. He just needed a little more time to finalise the work around his home.

He was in the middle of fixing a thick fence pillar into the ground when a sudden weight landed on his back and two hands covered his eyes.

“Guess who?”

“Popola?”

“How did you know?? I even made my voice sound perfectly like that of Devola!”

Harry grinned. “It’s classified.”

“He’s definitely using magic,” came Devola’s voice from behind.

“Or maybe that’s just how much I care about you.”

“Eh?!” the two girls exclaimed, a pink hue slowly colouring their cheeks.

Realising what he had just blurted out, Harry laughed awkwardly.

“R-Right,” Devola stammered, “Come have a break inside. We have orange juice!”

He smiled as he followed the flustered girls inside. They spent the next fifteen minutes resting on the sofa and savouring their beverage.

The juice was made from wild oranges. They weren’t as sweet as Harry remembered them, and there was no sugar either, but to them, it was one of the tastiest things in this post-apocalyptic world.

‘I miss pies. I miss chocolate,’ he thought absent-mindedly as he gazed at the blue egg burning in the fireplace. ‘I miss ice cream. I miss butterbeer. . .’

“No matter how many times I look at it, I’m amazed that the egg isn’t harmed by the flames,” said Popola when she noticed where he was looking.

Shaken off from his thoughts, he replied:

“Of course, it’s a phoenix egg. You saw it in the book yourself, didn’t you? It has a long incubation time, and it needs to be bathed in flames continuously. It’s a creature of fire.”

“This is so exciting,” said Devola, resting her chin on her hands as she watched the phoenix egg in the fireplace. “I can’t wait to see what will hatch from it.”

“It’s one of the most beautiful birds I’ve ever seen. And they’re incredibly smart and loyal.”

“How smart is it? Does it understand actual human speech?” asked Popola.

“I think they do. They can also sense your emotions,” he answered.

“Once it hatches, you’re going to be a father, Harry,” said Popola.

“Then, if he’s the father, does that make us the mothers?” Devola asked slyly.

Harry palmed his forehead.

“Is that what you learnt from the data centre when we went to Memory Hold last time? Techniques to tease teenage boys?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about~” she sing-sang.

As much as he liked to pretend he was exasperated at their flirting, deep down, Harry could not be any happier than he was. When he had first met them, they had been ridden with guilt and depression. They had been used to accepting abuse from others as though it was a natural part of their life. They were apologising even when they were hit and spat on. To see how much they had changed filled him with warmth.

⁂

Seeing as the Earth was tidally locked, on half of the planet, it was always day, and on the other half, it was always night. That being said, Japan was always in a state of late afternoon. It was 8 hours ahead of London, where Harry had arrived after time-travelling.

Maybe it was due to the distance between Japan and Egypt, but the waves Harry’s existence had made in Memory Hold seemed not to have reached Steelgate just yet. At the very least, the Androids guarding the elevator leading to the underground city did not even spare the three of them a glance.

This was their second time visiting Steelgate, so Harry was somewhat familiar with it. Moreover, the layout of the Android cities bore a striking resemblance to each other; therefore, it was not difficult for Harry to find the main places of interest, such as the Bazaar, the Arena, the Barracks, and so on.

Devola and Popola parted ways with him, heading towards the factory producing Android parts and weapons.

In the meantime, Harry headed towards the Bazaar to take a look at the various wares people were selling.

Most of the things were of no use to him; he did not need cables, wires, oil, metallic limbs, or human trinkets such as notebooks and pieces of jewellery.

‘No, wait. Maybe the girls would like it,’ he thought as he stopped in front of a stall with simple tribal-looking bracelets. Merely imagining their joy at receiving a small gift brought a smile to his face.

He bought a pair of identical bracelets for the girls and then walked away, continuing to wander aimlessly through the stalls. And that’s how he found himself in front of a shop with a neon light sign depicting two pints filled with beer.

‘A pub? Now that’s interesting.’

⁂

The barman looked at him weirdly when he heard the Asian-looking Android order a glass of water, but he didn’t make a fuss about it. If people wanted to buy overpriced water from his pub, who was he to stop them?

Ignoring his strange glances, Harry took his glass of water and sat at a table near the wall that happened to be empty. After all, he could not drink the stuff that got the Androids drunk. It wasn’t for humans. He only came to the pub to pass the time and maybe get some information from people’s discussions.

Once he was seated, he took out his wand and hid it under his forearm, as he brought its handle to his ear. At the same time, the other end of the wand, its tip, took the form of a trumpet bell. It was a spell that allowed him to hear everything people were talking about in the pub.

“[...] twenty-three Androids died last month in the attack on the Machine factory [...]”

“[...] the Machines have started attacking the human buildings in the desert [...]”

“[...] I heard that human from Africa hasn’t shown up in Memory Hold lately [...]”

He took a sip from his glass of water, pretending not to care about his surroundings while he eavesdropped on the others’ conversations, but then he flinched hard and almost dropped his glass as a yell was heard over all the noise in the pub.

He cussed as his ear started ringing, and he moved away the wand lest he become deaf.

“You said that we would talk it over, White! You said that we will make a decision together, damnit!”

It was a skinny white woman with short, dark hair, wearing the same military outfit that most Androids wore. She was in the middle of a video call with another woman, but it was too far away for Harry to see the other person's appearance clearly.

“I’m sorry, Jackie. But you know that this is for the good of-” came the voice of a serious, mature woman from the hologram, but Jackie cut her off with another shout:

“I don’t care about the majority! Don’t give me that bullcrap again!”

The woman on the other end of the call let out a sigh.

“This is why I avoided talking to you in person.”

“Is that also why you haven’t even tried to contact me in several months? Huh? Was what we had together nothing? Did our friendship mean anything to you?”

“. . .Of course it did. How can you ask that?” the serious woman asked. She sounded hurt.

“Then why would you leave me?” Jackie asked, her voice sounding like she was on the verge of crying now. “Is that Yorha organisation more important than me? Than us?”

“We are Androids. Our duty comes before our feelings. I’m sorry, Jackie. . . Take care.”

And with that, their video transmission came to an end.

The short-haired woman stood up and stomped out of the pub furiously, crying angry tears.

“Hey, the bill-”

“Just leave her be,” the barman told his assistant. “I’ll put it on her tab. She’ll come back and pay it once she calms down.”

Once the young woman left, the rest of the customers returned to their previous activities with no care in the world. Drinking, laughing, flirting, and so on. Scenes of Androids breaking down in the pub were fairly common, so people didn’t bat an eye whenever they happened.

But Harry glanced at Jackie’s retreating back with an expression of concentration on his face.

‘Yorha. . . yorha. . . where did I hear that name before?’

Eyes widening in realisation, he quickly drank the remaining water in his glass and stood up in a rush, heading straight to the bar counter. Once he settled his bill, he almost ran out of the pub.

But the woman was already gone, lost among the hundreds of Androids swarming the Bazaar.

‘Revelio.’

At his mental chant, a pulse of magic went out from him, washing over the bazaar. Following his intent, the spell omitted all details except for the pair of footsteps that left the pub half a minute before him.

Golden footsteps that only he could see appeared on the ground, and Harry broke into a run, doing his best not to slam into any other people in his rush.

Following those footsteps, he took a turn into a side alley, and Harry suddenly found himself face-to-face with the barrel of a laser gun.

“Who the hell are you?” Jakie asked, her finger right on the trigger. “Why are you following me around?”

[Eclipsed] Chapter 13 - At Death's Door

Hawkgirl was in the middle of searching for the signal of the lost Javelin on the Watchtower’s supercomputer when Green Lantern entered the control room.

“How could this happen? You were supposed to be monitoring the situation!” he shouted.

“Listen, I followed the protocols-” Hawkgirl replied.

“-And now, two of our men are out there injured, maybe worse,” he cut her off in an accusing tone.

As fate would have it, a call came through the supercomputer just then, and the face of a serious, strong-looking woman appeared on the screen.

“When it rains, it pours,” Hawkgirl muttered before picking up the call.

“This is Hawkgirl. Is there anything I can do for you, Barda?”

“Hello, Hawkgirl. I was wondering if Superman happens to be around. We were supposed to meet an hour ago.”

“. . . There’s been an accident,” Hawkgirl began, then let out a frustrated sigh.

Ten minutes later, Big Barda appeared inside the Watchtower through a portal. Thanks to her Mother Box, she could travel anywhere with a Boom Tube as long as it had power.

When she arrived, Hawkgirl and John Stewart were having a heated argument. After their expedition to rescue Kara Zor-El from Apokolips a few months ago, all the fellow members of the Justice League understood that the Green Lantern and the Thanagarian warrior were more than just teammates, but the way they butted heads and argued about every little thing on a daily basis made it hard to believe they were a couple at all.

“Will you two stand there and argue the whole day? I’ll go search for Superman alone if I have to.”

⁂

Thanks to Green Lantern’s power ring, tracking Superman was not difficult. Space might be vast and empty, but every ship left an ion trail behind. After arriving at the last known location of the Javelin, John Stewart stepped outside and used his ring to track the ion trail.

“Finally, some peace and quiet,” Hawkgirl said in relief once he was gone, and she was left alone with Barda. “He’s been on my case for almost two hours straight.”

Barda, not one for idle chatter, stayed silent. Hawkgirl, on the other hand, was anything but quiet.

“By the way, Barda, you told us that you want a quiet life, but you’re still carrying around your old weapons and armour, huh?”

It was as she said: the tall woman was wearing her old Apokoliptian gear, holding her golden shield on one arm and a long golden spear in the other.

“Of course. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared at all times. And besides, how could I just sit back when Superman might be in danger?”

Hawkgirl’s bird-shaped helmet did nothing to hide the teasing smirk on her face.

“Heeh~ is that so?” she asked, giving Barda an insinuating look with her eyebrows. "Is that all there is to it, or have the two of you—"

“Superman and I have not partaken in sexual intercourse yet.”

Hawkgirl nearly lost control of the ship.

“I didn’t need you to tell me that!” the Thanagarian girl sputtered in embarrassment. “I was just curious if the two of you were dating.”

“I’m not familiar with Earth’s customs,” Barda replied, her voice unsure. “But Superman wanted to show me the zoo of rare creatures he keeps in his Fortress of Solitude.”

“Oh, wow,” Hawkgirl said, amazed. “He doesn’t invite just anyone there, you know?”

“Is that so?” Barda asked, her expression unreadable.

“Mhm. Well, it’s a good thing if you ask me. I like you a lot more than that other woman.”

For the first time, the former Captain of the Furies showed a different facial expression.

“What other woman? Is he courting someone at the moment?”

Hawkgirl let out a small snicker.

“Not that I know of. But that reporter from the Daily Planet is all over him.”

“You don’t appear to like her very much,” Barda observed.

The winged woman shrugged.

"She’s a reporter. Nosy, always acting like she’s smarter than everyone, and she has zero sense of self-preservation. I’ve lost count of how many times she’s gotten herself in trouble and needed Superman or one of us to bail her out. So I do like you a lot more."

“I see. That’s… reassuring. Thank you, Hawkgirl,” Barda said, a small smile softening her features.

The redhead grinned at her.

“I’m rooting for you. If there’s anything you want to know about Superman, just ask. I’ve got a wealth of information to share.”

⁂

Half an hour later, the three superheroes could be found inside a dingy pub on Warworld, asking around for information. Or at least that had been their purpose. Mere minutes after their arrival, Hawkgirl’s act of snooping around devolved into something entirely different.

When John Stewart went to the toilet, things were peaceful. But five minutes later, when he came out, Hawkgirl and Big Barda were in the midst of a rough bar fight, with dozens of drunkards jumping on them from all sides.

He groaned and palmed his forehead.

‘Jesus, it’s like I’m babysitting problem children.’

He had to duck because Big Barda’s punch sent a scaly alien flying in his direction, almost hitting him with his body. Another two lunged at the tall woman, one with a knife and one with a club, but she didn’t attempt to dodge or parry their blows. They couldn’t even scratch her armour. Two slaps hurled the men back, through the air, unconscious.

Hawkgirl also kicked a green-skinned man across the counter and smashed away another three with her spiked mace.

John was perfectly content with just watching them… until someone pulled out a plasma rifle. With such destructive weapons coming into play, he could not remain a spectator anymore. He quickly used his power ring to blast that guy away and joined the fray.

“Let me guess, it was something you said,” he told Hawkgirl while making a green shield of light to defend himself against the barstool someone threw at him.

“Oh, shut it!” Hawkgirl snapped at him. “And we don’t need your help. Barda and I can handle them.”

Ticked off with her attitude, John took his frustration out on the drunkards. Ten tendrils of green light grew from his power ring and wrapped around the waists of the aggressors before throwing them into the walls of the pub.

“We’ve got more important things to do than beating up bums in a pub! We have to find Superman!” said Green Lantern.

Moments after they cleaned out the pub, a loud siren rang across the city. Stepping outside, they were stunned to see thousands of people flooding the streets of Warbastion, all rushing towards a massive coliseum-like structure at the city’s centre. Intrigued by their actions, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Big Barda decided to follow them.

When they finally arrived in the arena, they were greeted by the sight of people screaming hoarsely, roaring and cheering as they watched a violent, brutal battle on the large screen in the middle of the arena.

A very tall woman with long red hair, armed with a sword and shield, lunged at a man dressed in a blue suit with a red cape.

“Superman!” the three of them exclaimed at once.

⁂

While Superman and Starfire were having a fight with their lives on the line, Naruto’s shadow clones were watching the fight with bated breath – there were dozens of them scattered among the thousands of spectators in the stands. Every once in a while, one of them would make another clone before dispelling them in order to let the original know about the progress of the fight.

Every time the original Naruto received his clones’ memories, his feeling of urgency increased, and he started running faster along the corridors.

‘Where’s that green piece of shit?’

He tried to find him by making use of his Negative Emotions Sensing, but with how many people were imprisoned and tortured in the laboratory, he could not pinpoint the Psion’s location.

Ducking out of the security camera’s line of sight, Naruto put his hands in a cross seal and made 50 shadow clones. Then, he pointed his finger at the camera from beyond the corner, and an arc of lightning shot forth, disabling it.

“Spread out and free all the prisoners.”

“Yes, Boss!” the clones replied before scattering in all directions.

If he couldn’t find the Psion the regular way, he would have to smoke him out by creating chaos. Once he saw hundreds of prisoners suddenly breaking out of their holding cells and torture chambers, the Psion was bound to explode with anger.

His deduction was spot on; just one minute later, a harsh, squeaky voice started screaming from the speakers installed all over the underground facility.

“Intruders! All military personnel, find this rat for me immediately!”

“Don’t let my test subjects escape, you stupid mammals!”

“If even one of them gets out, you will be the one to take their place!”

His threats sent the red-skinned bodyguards and assistants running in a panic to subdue the mass breakout of the prisoners that Naruto and his clones had triggered. The rest of the robots in the facility followed his commands too, opening suppressive fire on the escaped prisoners.

However, it was not that easy to quell the chaos. Although some of the captured people were weakened by drugs or torture, others were more than capable of putting up a fight, and they were far stronger than the red-skinned species serving as bodyguards. Furthermore, the doors to their cells had been obliterated by Naruto’s Rasengans, so it was not easy to lock them back up either.

The underground facility had transformed into a warzone.

With the growing chaos, Naruto and his clones focused harder on their Negative Emotions Sensing ability in order to find the Psion. Along the way, they also knocked out or killed any of the Psion’s subordinates and destroyed all the robots that they encountered.

“Take the children and the incapacitated prisoners out of the facility,” Naruto said as he made an additional 20 Shadow Clones. “Lead the rest of the prisoners outside and kill anyone who tries to stop you.”

An aura of lightning engulfed his body, and he started running in the opposite direction from the clones.

Nearly 10 minutes after the start of the chaos, most of the prisoners had escaped with the second group of clones’ help, while the wardens, the robots, and the Psion’s assistants had been either killed or knocked unconscious by the first group of clones.

With the facility emptied out, Naruto was finally able to pinpoint the Psion’s location. The crackle of the cloak of lightning surrounding his body increased in intensity, and Naruto raised his hand in front of him before pointing his index finger in front of him.

“Hell Stab.”

Lightning flashed, and he seemed to vanish from his spot. He tore through reinforced blast doors and thick steel walls like they were nothing, each impact leaving behind a charred, man-sized hole in his wake. His Hell Stab jutsu was simply too powerful. He was like an unstoppable juggernaut.

⁂

A small, frail, and ugly humanoid lizard jumped in his spot from fear when the blast door in the control room was obliterated, and a red-skinned man, someone who looked identical to the species of people serving as his assistants, stepped inside.

“What’s the meaning of this, Geron?” the Psion shouted while his robots aimed their plasma rifles at the intruder. “Are you out of your mind? The Mongul will never forgive you for siding with that Tamaranean woman!”

‘How did he know?’ Naruto thought in shock.

He and Starfire had never discussed their plans of breaking her out in the presence of others. Furthermore, his appearance was disguised with a Henge. The Psion should’ve had no way of knowing who he really was.

‘No. . . maybe he actually doesn’t know. He called me Geron. That’s the name of the guy whose keycard I stole.’

As Naruto remained silent, the Psion’s confidence returned. A malicious grin spread across his ugly face, and he let out a shrill giggle.

“Your tiny, underdeveloped brain is probably wondering how I got wind of your betrayal,” said the lizard. “You’re looking for this, are you not?”

He became rooted in his place when he saw the Psion take out a small remote from the inner pocket of his chest.

“One little tap and she dies,” the Psion said, moving his long, knobby finger threateningly over one of the remote control’s buttons.

His narrow shoulders shook with maniacal laughter again at seeing the stunned look on ‘Geron’s’ face.

It took a few seconds for the Psion to get his laughter under control.

“Tell me first, just what did that Tamaranean woman do to convince you? Was it money? . . . No, she wouldn’t have any money. She’s a slave. Did she, perhaps, sell her body? According to my data, her appearance greatly appeals to most humanoid races.”

When Geron still remained silent, the Psion interpreted it as him being at a loss for words. Drunk on his feelings of superiority, his creepy little sniggers filled the room again.

“That idiotic look on your face! I can’t get enough of it, hahaha! In fact, you don’t need to answer any of my questions because I already know everything!”

“Every single word those two little lovebirds had exchanged over the past month, I heard it all! How stupid do you all have to be not to realise that the chip in her neck was not just a bomb but a monitoring device too?”

“Did you think you could conspire against me? You imbecile. You cretin. Did you think you could take me by surprise?”

Letting out one final laugh, the Psion barked an order at his robots:

“Kill him! Vaporise him!”

The robots’ plasma rifles lit up, but unexpectedly, a flash of lightning lit up the room, and, a split second later, the Psion felt a gale of wind blowing in his face.

The evil little gremlin gawked in surprise toward the remains of the broken blast door where 'Geron' had once been, and the robots began acting confused as well, glancing around in every direction to find the 'traitor' who had somehow vanished from right in front of them.

For a moment, there was only confusion.

Then a shrill scream tore through the air. The Psion staggered back and clutched his shoulder with a horrified expression. His murky yellow eyes widened in disbelief as he looked down.

His right arm was gone.

Blood poured from the stump, splattering across the floor and painting the nearby robots crimson too. He fell to his knees, howling, his face twisted in pain and confusion.

Naruto stood behind the Psion with his severed arm in his hand. He grabbed the remote, and an arc of lightning was discharged from his fingers, reducing it to ash. Then, he threw the filthy limb carelessly on the floor and Body Flickered in the middle of the group of robots who had started firing their lasers at him.

“Raiton: Electromagnetic Murder.”

A lightning nova exploded from him, and the robots were paralysed and short-circuited, with the Psion dying a violent death too.

‘Thank God,’ he said in relief, feeling as though a weight had been lifted off his heart.

He did not know if God existed – an actual God, not the likes of Darkseid – but he couldn’t help thanking the heavens that he had managed to find the Psion and kill him before he could detonate the chip in Starfire’s neck.

He made a shadow clone and dispelled it, sending his memories to all of his other shadow clones who were above the ground, in the stands, spectating Starfire’s fight against Superman.

‘It’s time to put an end to this.’

And with that, he dispelled his clones and broke into a lightning-fast run towards the surface.

⁂

The arena was on fire, and the spectators were on their feet, screaming as though they were in a frenzy. What they had just witnessed was not a fight between aliens or monsters; it was like a battle between gods.

As the two unconscious warriors were teleported back onto the stage and the medics rushed to them, the deafening cheers and shouts increased even more in intensity.

Mongul himself was standing in front of his throne, clapping his hands, excited. As much as he was a cruel tyrant, uncaring for the plight of his people, he was also a passionate fan of this bloodsport.

The fight between the last man of Krypton and the former princess of Tamaran was unlike anything he had ever seen.

‘I’ll never let these two slip out of my hands.’

Even if it weren’t for the sake of appeasing the impoverished people of Warworld with good fights, he wanted to keep Superman and Starfire in his service as gladiators for many years to come.

‘I’ll build them up again with fights against other creatures. And then I’ll have them face each other again. And again.’

An ugly grin twisted his face.

‘I had been planning on punishing her severely for her plans of escaping. But I’ll let it slide for now. I’ll pretend not to know anything.’

The Psion had also informed Mongul of her plan to escape. Mongul did not spend his time listening in on Naruto and Starfire’s conversations himself, but his subordinates did. So he was fully aware of what had transpired between the two of them. Nevertheless, the performance that she had just put on in the arena had wiped all her ‘sins’ in his book.

While Mongul was daydreaming about the amazing fights he was going to witness in the following weeks, a large number of smoke grenades suddenly exploded in the stands.

⁂

Watching the violent, life-and-death battle between Superman and the tall female warrior had not been easy for Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Big Barda.

“Let me go, John,” Hawkgirl said when he grabbed her by her forearm. She sounded as though she was just barely restraining her anger.

“Don’t be reckless,” he said in a subdued voice. “I want to save him, too. Trust me, I do. But we can’t. We don’t even know where the fight is being held.”

“So what do you suggest? You’re just going to watch him die?” she shouted at him. “Let me go, and I’ll smash that yellow freak’s bald head to bits with my mace!”

“It’s Superman we’re talking about,” Green Lantern answered calmly. “Trust in him.”

That was all that he needed to say for Hawkgirl to realise she had been overreacting. It was as John Stewart said: it was Superman whom they were talking about. Unless there was Kryptonite or powerful magic at play, they had never seen him struggle against anyone in a fight. He was the strongest member of the Justice League.

At that moment, Green Lantern felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned around sharply, his power ring lighting up as he instinctively got in a stance to defend himself from an ambush. But his eyes widened in surprise, and he exclaimed in a mixture of joy and surprise:

“J’onn?!”

His shout made Big Barda and Hawkgirl turn around, too, and their reaction was no different from his.

“You’re safe!”

“We’ve been so worried about you!”

“What happened to Superman? What happened to you guys?”

Martian Manhunter let out a weary sigh.

“The asteroid’s explosion knocked us both unconscious. A group of slavers captured us while we were out of it, and they brought us to this place. Superman helped me get away from our prison, but a force field prevented him from escaping together with me. Now, he was teleported to the battlefield with that raygun in front of the stage, and he was forced to battle another gladiator.”

The other three heroes couldn’t ask any other questions because, at that moment, the fight between Superman and Starfire became even more intense and more savage than before, and their eyes became glued to the screen.

“I wish I could’ve saved him,” J’onn said, his voice filled with helplessness while watching the ongoing battle with an anxious look on his normally stoic face. “But something in the atmosphere of this planet is sapping my strength. I can’t even shapeshift anymore, let alone fly. I’m too weakened.” (1)

The four of them continued to watch the battle with bated breath, worried for Superman’s well-being for the first time in years. Other than Darkseid, they had never seen anyone else push him that far. When Starfire choked him at the end, if not for the rising and lowering of his chest letting them know that he was still breathing, they would have panicked, thinking that she had killed him.

However, all four of them had received formal training in martial arts and other combat-related matters. Hawkgirl was a lieutenant of the Special Forces on planet Thanagar, Big Barda was the former Captain of the Furies (Darkseid’s Honour Guard), John Stewart had been a marine on Earth, and J’onn J’onzz had once been a law enforcement officer on planet Mars. Therefore, they could tell that Superman was only unconscious; he was still alive.

“Get ready, everyone,” Green Lantern said.

“I’ll go straight for Mongul,” Big Barda said, reading her shield and spear.

“What do we do with the girl?” asked Hawkgirl.

“We take her with us,” Martian Manhunter replied. “She’s just another victim of Mongul’s cruelty. We have to save her, too.”

The three of them had heard Starfire’s shouts during her fight with Superman, so they didn’t protest against the Martian’s suggestion. They knew that she had been forced to fight against her will.

Just as the unconscious fighters were teleported off the battlefield and the Justice League prepared to act, a sudden barrage of smoke grenades exploded throughout the arena stands.

⁂

Rushing out of the underground facility, the original Naruto arrived at the coliseum only moments before the end of Starfire’s fight against Superman.

Knowing how things worked on Warworld, Naruto had planned his course of action beforehand.

‘It’s perfect that I managed to kill the Psion before Mongul got wind of it. . . but if the Psion found out about our plans, most likely Mongul knows about it too.’

As he thought of that, he realised that Mongul must have surely taken a number of measures to prevent Starfire’s escape.

‘But I still have the element of surprise on my side. Just like the Psion, Mongul also doesn’t know who I really am or what I’m capable of.’

Once the unconscious Stafire and Superman were teleported onto the stage, Naruto gave his clones the signal, and dozens of smoke bombs erupted all over the arena.

Making use of the cover of the smoke, Naruto cast his Lightning Armour Jutsu. With the immense boost provided by the Raiton chakra coursing through his pathways, the blond blitzed across the arena, arriving at Mongul’s back in the blink of an eye.

Simultaneously, noticing the smoke bombs going off, Mongul immediately became alert, and his hand went straight to his belt. His fingers just opened the small pouch where he kept the remote control when he felt two hands touching his back.

During his time as Apokolips’ general, due to Darkseid’s desire to conquer Warworld, Naruto learnt a thing or two about Mongul. He knew that the tyrant of Warworld was a very powerful alien and that he might not be able to kill him in one hit. Therefore, he made it his purpose to instantly disable his remote control instead of assassinating him in one go. Starfire’s safety came first.

“Raiton: Jibashi.”

A thunderclap boomed, and Mongul screamed in agony as a charge of 500 million volts tore through his body. His clothes were incinerated, his yellow skin blackened, and the remote control holding Starfire’s life hostage was destroyed, too.

If Mongul had been so easy to take down, others would have killed him a very long time ago. But he was made from far tougher stuff than that. Despite the terrible pain and the numbing brought by the lightning, he suddenly turned, throwing a spinning back fist at his attacker.

Knowing when to push ahead and when to pull back, Naruto instinctively cancelled the Electromagnetic Murder and backflipped to avoid his wild strike.

“You miserable rat!” Mongul screamed, and despite the shameful state of his nakedness, he charged at Naruto like a rhino.

However, just as the brutish alien smashed his huge fist into Naruto’s face, the blonde tilted his head, letting the punch brush past his ear, and slammed an Oodama Rasengan into Mongul’s chest.

The alien was hurled back violently, rotating through the air like a spinning top before smashing into the large screen in the middle of the arena, blowing it into smithereens.

⁂

“What the hell just happened?!” Hawkgirl shouted.

Flapping her large wings, she burst from her place ahead of everyone, rushing towards Superman, despite the dense clouds of smoke obscuring her vision.

Due to the stampede of panicked people who were running away in terror, the three of them were forced to take flight. Green Lantern picked up the weakened Martian with his power ring, and Big Barda used her high-tech golden spear to take flight, too, as they rushed after the Thanagarian woman.

“You?! What are you doing here?!” they heard Hawkgirl’s voice, filled with disbelief. 

Due to the dense smoke filling the air, they couldn’t see even 10 metres in front of them. It was only when they arrived next to Hawkgirl that they realised the reason for her reaction.

Superman and the Fire Princess were lying on the ground unconscious, with Hawkgirl at one side of them and a young man at the other side, a man whom they had seen only a few months ago on Apokolips. 

“General Uzumaki,” said Big Barda in a weary voice, her hands tightening on her shield and spear.

“What are you doing here?” Green Lantern also asked in a tense voice.

They knew that Martian Manhunter had broken Darkseid’s brainwashing over Naruto, but after witnessing his violent rage against Darkseid, the three of them couldn’t help feeling on edge.

Anxiety was not a feeling that Big Barda often experienced, but standing in the presence of the young man who had once been her General, she felt nervous. Nonetheless, irrespective of her inner thoughts, Big Barda didn’t back down.

“I’m not your enemy,” was the first thing Naruto said, not keen on starting a fight at that moment. He was just a shadow clone. The original was fighting against Mongul at that moment, so he could not afford to be dispelled. “I was going to rescue Superman and my friend. But if you’re here for him, I won’t stop you.”

Hawkgirl’s mace crackled with electricity, and Big Barda stood guard with her shield and spear, wary of Naruto, while Green Lantern picked up Superman’s unconscious body with a green construct of light.

Once they rescued the Man of Steel, the four heroes took a step back, allowing Naruto to do the same with Starfire. The four heroes could not help noticing how gently he picked her up and cradled her body to his chest.

“You should get out of here. Things are about to get messy and violent very soon,” clone Naruto said before his body blurred out and he disappeared with Starfire in the clouds of smoke filling the arena.

The heroes understood what he was referring to when they flew out of the arena and noticed the large number of robots heading towards the smoke, towards Mongul.

⁂

Clone Naruto ran for nearly four kilometres before stopping on the rooftop of a low-rise building and casting a small Genjutsu so that aliens and robots alike would ignore his existence.

Placing Starfire on the ground, a look of worry flashed on his face when he realised how badly injured she was.

‘At least she’s alive.’

He didn’t know what he would have done if she had died. He couldn’t lose her. Other than her, he had nothing else. No home, no country, no family, no friends. Even though they had known each other for only one month, Starfire meant the world to him.

A cyan light appeared around his hands, and he placed them above Starfire’s head to heal her cracked skull. Medical Ninjutsu wasn’t exactly his forte; he had never had a good reason to put effort into mastering that craft because Kyuubi always healed his injuries. Even so, thanks to his shadow clones, he did gain a measure of skill with the Mystical Palm Jutsu. It was, after all, a technique that Darkseid had gifted him. Seeing as he had been brainwashed at that time to obey the God of Evil, he had sought to make him happy.

Thanks to his Mystical Palm Technique and Starfire’s superhuman constitution, the redhead actually showed signs of stirring up only half a minute after he started healing her.

Her eyelids opened, and the blond found himself smiling as he met her beautiful green eyes.

“Naruto?” Starfire asked in a weak voice. “What happened?”

“Shh, it’s alright,” he said, smiling kindly at her. “The Psion is dead. Mongul will be dead soon, too. My original body is fighting him in the arena as we speak. You’re safe now. You’re no longer a slave. Everything will be all right now.”

“Oh,” she said feebly. “Thank you… Thank you so much…”

She wanted to say many more words, but suddenly, a massive explosion lit up the sky. An enormous fireball erupted from the arena in the centre of Warbastion, and a look of shock appeared on clone Naruto’s face before he was dispelled.

“Naruto! Naruto!” Starfire cried out, but her small voice was drowned by the massive shockwave that burst forth from the arena, demolishing the nearby buildings and shattering all the windows for miles.

When the shockwave passed, Starfire let out a moan of pain as she forced herself to sit up. She tried her hardest to stand, but the broken ribs made it impossible for her not to cry out in agony with every small movement she made.

Despite the terrible pain, the redhead crawled to the edge of the rooftop and pulled herself up to take a look at what had happened. Her face stiffened, livid with shock when she looked in the direction of the arena.

“No!” she cried out. “Naruto!” 

Previously the tallest and most impressive building in Warbastion, the arena had been razed off the surface of the earth. Nothing but a deep smoking crater had been left behind.

What neither Naruto nor Starfire had anticipated was that, before Naruto burst into the control room to kill him, the Pison committed one final act of malice and cruelty. He had ordered the artificial intelligence overseeing his laboratory to destroy the underground facility.

The Psion's reasoning had been rather simple: if he had lived, he would have cancelled the self-destruction command by himself, but if he died, he would at least take his enemy to the grave with him, regardless of how many other innocents were to be caught in the crossfire.

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

AN: 

(1) J’onn J’onzz being weakened by Warworld’s atmosphere happened in the animated series, too. 

Regarding the Naruto/Danmachi fic idea

You can see the initial idea here https://www.patreon.com/posts/poll-are-you-in-123393330The . But some people have been suggesting me that Naruto could be born or reincarnated in Danmachi instead, and I was thinking that maybe it could work that way too?

What is your opinion?

1. Should Naruto arrive there, in the dungeon, during his fight with Kaguya and lose his chakra, surviving off magic stones until he joins Athena's familia? (like in the initial concept)

or

2. Be reborn in the Danmachi world as a regular villager - still no chakra at all. No powers until he goes to Orario, becomes an adventurer, and joins a familia

PS: regardless of the option, there will be no chakra in this fic. Only the falna/status points. Giving him chakra would make him too overpowered for the world of Danmachi.

[Samsara] Chapter 7 - Evil Spirit (I)

A strange, fierce creature roared as it pounded with its claws and fists against a purple wall of light, but despite its giant size and ferocity, its attacks could not leave a scratch on it. As the walls of purple light started closing in on the monster, the creature began struggling in desperation, going as far as to slam its head into the wall, using the hardest part of its body (its white bone mask) in an attempt to break out.

That monster was a Hollow, and the walls of purple light trapping it were a Sealing Kido spell. As Naruto formed a different hand sign with his fingers, the walls of purple light took the form of a cube, which trapped the Hollow so tightly that it could no longer move an inch.

The cube of purple light started levitating, carrying the trapped Hollow inside a special cell. Once the doors of the cell closed, he cancelled his Sealing Kido, freeing the Hollow.

“Good work, Uzumaki-fukutaicho,” a female Shinigami said respectfully. “You have passed the test with flying colours. Welcome to the Detention Unit!”

“Thank you, Suwa-san. I’ll be in your care,” said Naruto.

Although his enrolment meant that Suwa was going to lose her position as the leader of the Detention Unit soon, the woman did not dare slight him. After knocking out the entirety of the Second Squad with his reiatsu alone, nobody questioned his strength anymore. Now, he was the lieutenant of the Second Division.

With the test over, Suwa became his guide, showing him around and telling him all there was to know about the Detention Unit.

Onmitsukido (also known as the Stealth Force) had five branches, with each branch having one leader who took direct orders from Shihoin. Each leader of the Stealth Force’s five branches was also a seated officer in the Second Squad. Suwa, the female Shinigami who had just tested his aptitude for Sealing Kido, was the 3rd Seated Officer of the Second Squad.

Known as the third branch of the Onmitsukido (the Stealth Force), the Detention Unit was responsible for the imprisonment and supervision of all the criminals in Seireitei.

With that being said, Naruto had no plans of taking Suwa’s position anytime soon. In the present, the most important thing for him was to start his Bankai training in earnest. Becoming the leader of the Detention Unit came with a set of responsibilities that would cut into his training time, so the blond asked the Captain to not give him the leadership position until he achieved Bankai; that could take years or even decades.

By the time his tour of the Detention Unit’s facilities came to an end, it was noon. Saying his goodbyes, he left and headed back to the Second Squad in order to have lunch in the mess hall.


⁂


Done with his meal, Naruto went over his plans for the rest of the day in his mind.

‘Let’s see, what else do I have scheduled today? First, a visit to Captain Katori to check up on the progress of the anti-invisibility device. Then, Healing Kido training with Captain Unohana, late in the afternoon. As for the evening, I’ll go to the lowest level of the Maggots’ Nest and try to materialise my zanpakuto spirit outside.’

He frowned as he thought of the evil spirit dwelling inside his zanpakuto. He had interacted with him before. . . and it had not been his favourite experience, to say the least.

‘Why is that bastard my zanpakuto spirit?’

Zanpakuto spirits were a part of the Shinigami’s soul, and their appearance and abilities were a reflection of the Shinigami too.

‘Then why is my reflection a demon?’

The release command of his Shikai was “Seal, Akuryo!” (evil spirit), and its main ability was to seal.

‘My shikai having the ability to seal makes sense. I had a tailed beast sealed inside of me once. Sealing jutsu turned me into a human sacrifice. . . but why is my zanpakuto spirit such an evil dickhead?’

If Naruto was calm and composed, his zanpakuto spirit was angry and aggressive. If he tried to maintain a modicum of civility when talking, the zanpakuto spirit swore and cursed like a sailor. If he wanted to talk peacefully, the zanpakuto spirit wanted nothing but to fight.

So absorbed he was in his thoughts that he almost didn’t notice the sharp spike of anger and lust for violence coming from behind him.

A loud clang of swords clashing against each other was heard as Naruto turned around, drew out his zanpakuto, and parried the attack aiming for his spine.

“Oh, for God’s sake, you again?” he said in irritation when he saw the appearance of his attacker.

He was none other than Zaraki, the unhinged killer from Rukongai.

While their swords were locked in a battle of strength, Naruto kicked the boy in the stomach, sending him skidding backwards for more than ten metres.

“Seal, Ak-” he started saying the release command of his Shikai, but Zaraki lunged at him with wild abandon, forcing the blond to parry his hit, thus preventing him from activating his Shikai.

It was the fifth time that Zaraki started a battle against Naruto ever since he was brought to Seireitei. Having lost miserably three times in a row due to the sealing ability of his Shikai, Zaraki had made it his mission to not allow him even one second of spare time to release it again.

The two clashed their blades against each other more than 50 times in less than a minute, each collision sending a shockwave that made the doors and windows of the Second Squad’s buildings rattle.

But that reckless style of fighting on Zaraki’s part did not come without a cost; less than two minutes later, the young boy’s body sported a number of gruesome, bone-deep sword wounds. Nevertheless, he was laughing like a madman, his reiatsu only growing stronger the longer the fight continued.

If not for their location, Naruto would have bombarded him with Kido, but, wary of destroying his surroundings, he was limited to just Hakuda and Zanjutsu.

“Sho!” Naruto suddenly shouted, forgoing the number and the type in the chant, only saying its name.

A telekinetic blast shot forth from his index finger, and Zaraki was unexpectedly hurled backwards uncontrollably, smashing so hard into a nearby building that he left a human indentation in it.

“You won’t escape!” Zaraki shouted as he jumped up from the rubble, charging at Naruto like a lunatic once more.

However, this time, just before he could reach him, the blond threw down a small marble. A dense cloud of smoke burst from it, covering the entire training ground.

“Fight me like a man, coward!” Zaraki shouted, and he flared his reiatsu, instantly blowing away all that smoke. . . only to realise that Naruto was no longer there.

A shout of anger and frustration came from the boy when he sensed the blond’s reiatsu well over half a kilometre away. He had run away with a flash step.


⁂


Naruto let out a cuss under his breath as he Shunpo’d as fast as he could, trying to get away from the crazy kid.

It was the 5th time Zaraki attacked him, and, after every defeat, the kid came back stronger than before. His rate of improvement was monstrous.

‘One of these days, I might end up killing him.’

It wasn’t that he wanted to put him down for good, but Zaraki’s strength increased so quickly that Naruto reached the point where he could no longer hold back when fighting him. He had to give it his all, but in doing so, accidents could happen.

‘This little shit. Why the hell did Chika let him out of the Maggots’ Nest?’Naruto swore again.

Dozens of Shinigami came out of their barracks and flew up in the sky, curious what was the source of the commotion as Zaraki chased Naruto all over the Seireitei, screaming and flaring his reiatsu in anger due to not being able to catch up to him.

‘This isn’t going anywhere. I can’t shake him off my tail.’

If running wasn’t an option, he went with plan B. Without warning, Naruto dived down and rushed into a random building whose door happened to be open. It turned out to be a dojo, where two young men were in the middle of a sparring match, exchanging strikes with wooden swords as they practised their Zanjutsu.

His sudden arrival made both of them stop and turn toward him, startled. Naruto quickly put a finger to his lips, shushing them.

“Uzumaki-fukutaichō?” they said in surprise, recognising him as the newly promoted Lieutenant of Squad 2. His act of knocking out his entire division with the sheer force of his reiatsu had made him infamous in Seireitei.

“Please pretend I’m not here,” he begged, and before they could reply, he cast a peculiar Barrier Kido.

The air shimmered, and both men’s eyes widened as his silhouette vanished completely from view. He became invisible. A split second later, even his reiatsu disappeared.

The two exchanged a look before the brown-haired one suddenly lunged at the other, thrusting his bokken forward.

“Oy, Shunsui! That’s not fair!” the white-haired man complained as he barely sidestepped the stab.

“No one cares about fairness on the battlefield!” Shunsui laughed and came at him harder, swinging his wooden sword in a sharp diagonal cut.

But the white-haired man angled his parry just right, letting the bokken slide past. Then, closing the distance in a flash, he grabbed Shunsui by the front of his white gi and threw him down with an impressive display of grappling technique.

“Aw, man, I almost had you!” complained Shunsui.

“You were overeager,” the white-haired youngster laughed softly and offered Shunsui his hand to help him stand.

At that moment, a kid covered in bloodied sword wounds and wielding a long, serrated zanpakuto suddenly burst inside the dojo and shouted:

“Oy, you two! Have you seen a man with blond hair and three bitch-like marks on his face?”

The young men exchanged a glance before shrugging their shoulders.

“Sorry, you must’ve gotten the wrong place. This is the Kyoraku family’s compound,” Shunsui said in a laid-back voice.

Zaraki narrowed his eyes at them dangerously.

“Are you sure? This is the last place I sensed his reiatsu. . . if you are lying to me-”

The kid didn’t get to finish his words because a soft voice suddenly rang from behind him:

“Bakudō #61: Rikujokoro!” (Six Rods Prison of Light)

“Fucking hell!” Zaraki swore as six rods of light suddenly slammed into him from all sides, immobilising him. The space behind the kid twisted as the invisibility barrier dropped, revealing the blonde-haired Shinigami.

“You fucking coward!” Zaraki screamed in a rage. “Fight me fair and square! Fight me like a man!”

In his fury, he flared his reiatsu with such strength that the entire building started shaking, and cracks appeared in the light pillars of the spell that was paralysing him.

Naruto didn’t waste his time replying to him. Instead, he rushed at the kid, and his zanpakuto turned into a blur as he slashed both of the kid’s Achilles tendons and also stabbed him twice in each shoulder, effectively rendering him incapable of any movement.

Zaraki screamed, but that wasn’t a scream of pain. It was a scream of frustration at being outsmarted and defeated again.

“Stupid kid. You’re not getting out of the Maggot’s Nest for at least three weeks. I’ll make sure of it,” Naruto said in annoyance.

Following that, he cast another Bakudo spell that wrapped Zaraki in bandages from head to toe like a mummy, not even leaving space for his eyes to see.

Now that he had finally captured that little lunatic, he turned towards the young men and bowed slightly.

“You saved me just now. Thank you.”

“. . . Where did you find that monster?” asked Shunsui.

His family and acquaintances often called him a prodigy and anticipated that he would have a bright and glorious future as a shinigami, but Zaraki just now left him at a loss. Shunsui had never seen someone as young as Zaraki possessing such powerful reiatsu. It was even stronger than that of some captains!

Naruto sighed.

“We captured him in Rukongai for causing a bloodbath over there. Personally, I think we should’ve killed him right then and there, but Captain Shihouin had other plans for him. . .” Naruto said in chagrin.

“Nevermind that. Sorry to cut this short, but I’m running late. I have to drop this stupid kid in jail. Thanks again for helping me out. But, before I go, at least tell me your names.”

“I’m Kyoraku Shunsui,” the brown-haired man said.

“I’m Ukitake Jushiro,” the white-haired young man also introduced himself.

“It’s nice to meet you, guys,” Naruto said as he shook their hands. “I won’t forget this favour. If you ever need anything, just come to Squad 2 to find me. I promise to repay this favour.”

And with that, he grabbed the mummified kid from the back of his neck and started dragging his screaming ass to the Maggots’ Nest.


⁂


After leaving Zaraki in the hands of the shinigami in his division and ordering them not to release him from his bonds until the next day, Naruto used Shunpo to head toward Squad 8’s barracks.

‘Hope she’s not mad I’m late,’ he thought as he landed in front of the Eighth Division’s gates.

But the moment he stepped inside, he froze.

“Captain Katori?!”

He had not expected the captain herself to be waiting for him outside.

“Uzumaki-fukutaicho! You should never keep a woman waiting!” Katori said with a frown, her hands on her hips.

She was probably trying to act angry, but her exaggerated pout was so cute that he was having a hard time taking it seriously.

“I’m sorry, Captain,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Did you get into a fight again?” she asked when she noticed the dishevelled state of his shihakusho.

Naruto's fights with Zaraki had become so frequent that even captains from other divisions, such as Katori, had taken note of them.

She sighed, walked up to him, and began adjusting the collar of his uniform without a word. But when her hands moved down to his white sash, Naruto suddenly grabbed her wrists.

“What are you doing?!” he asked, startled.

“O-Oh!” Katori stammered, quickly stepping back.

Her face turned a deep shade of red as realisation dawned on her.

“I only meant to fix your shihakushō! No impure intentions, I swear!” she said, flustered.

It was this kind of airheaded behaviour that had mentally exhausted Naruto the last time he came to speak with her. He would have preferred a brutal sword fight with Captain Unohana over spending a full day with Captain Katori.

She cleared her throat and pushed her big, round glasses higher up her nose in an attempt to appear more serious.

“R-Right. So, I figured out how to use your Sealing Kido! And I also devised a special solution that could be used for tracking! Come, follow me to my laboratory!” she said, suddenly becoming excited and walking ahead.

Naruto followed without a word, but as they walked down the long corridor leading to Captain Katori’s lab, he found his eyes drawn to the only thing in his line of sight: her long, braided hair that swayed with every step she took like a pendulum.

Consequently, he also noticed that, for some reason, the Captain was not wearing her customary white haori that day. Involuntarily, his eyes fell on her narrow waist and trailed down the sinful curve of her hips. The shihakusho worn by shinigami was a loose garment, not meant to flatter one’s body, but the fabric of her uniform was straining to contain her hourglass figure.

‘It’s a crime for an innocent airhead like her to have this killer figure.’

Lost in the hypnotic sway of her hips, Naruto didn’t even realise he was staring until Katori unexpectedly glanced back at him over her shoulder. Her lips curled into a subtle smile when she noticed what exactly he was looking at, but she just slid the door to her quarters open and walked inside, not commenting on it.



Naruto, however, felt like wanting to dig a grave and bury himself alive.

He couldn’t understand his own behaviour. It wasn’t like he was a horny teenager anymore to stare so openly at someone’s body, but something about this woman just seemed to turn him into a fool.


⁂


Later that evening, Naruto spent a long time in the bathroom trying to cool off. Not even the intense, borderline violent sword fight or the healing Kido training session with Captain Unohana had been enough to take his mind off Squad Eight’s Captain.

But eventually, it was time to head out. He couldn’t afford to waste time, not when there was an invisible killer out there, hell-bent on taking his life.

Soon, he arrived at the Detention Unit and descended to the lowest level of the Maggot’s Nest, which was designed specifically to suppress reiatsu. Because of that, although its original purpose was to imprison exceedingly dangerous criminals, the lowest level of the Maggots’ Nest also happened to be the perfect place to train Bankai since none of the reiatsu fluctuations would be felt outside. After all, no Captain-level Shinigami was allowed to release their Bankai within Seireitei itself.

Naruto sat down cross-legged, resting his hands on his knees, adopting the same posture he used to take in his past life when entering Sage Mode.

The blond no longer had the ability to enter the Sage Mode in his current life, but focusing on becoming entirely still was a great method to clear his mind of any miscellaneous thoughts.

Following Shihouin Chika’s instructions, Naruto focused entirely on summoning his zanpakutō spirit. He poured all his willpower and spiritual energy into forcing it to materialise in the outside world.

Due to his eyes being closed, he did not see it the moment it happened, but his Negative Emotions Sensing did warn him of the sudden rush of anger and disdain coming from behind him.

Running on instinct, Naruto rolled to the side, just barely dodging a sword slash that made the floor light up with numerous glowing kanji and other mystical symbols.

“You’re never going to change, are you?” said Naruto, frowning as he drew out his zanpakuto as well.

They had interacted in the inner world of his consciousness before, and his zanpakuto spirit had attacked him on sight back there, too.

“Why did you summon me in real life, loser? Wait, don’t tell me; you think that’ll help you to achieve Bankai?” his zanpakuto spirit said and threw his head back, laughing out loud.

Following that, the two of them stared at each other for nearly half a minute without saying a thing. Naruto, in particular, was still struggling to come to terms with the concept that that psychopath was his zanpakuto spirit.

Judging by the body type and by the voice, the zanpakuto did resemble Naruto somewhat. The zanpakuto spirit was also wearing a shihakusho, and their weapons were identical as well. However, whereas Naruto’s hair was blonde and his eyes were blue, the zanpakuto spirit had black hair, red eyes with black sclera, and a white mask similar to those worn by the ANBU of his past life covered his face.

“Well, aren’t you going to say anything? Are you just going to stare at me the whole day? I don’t swing that way, you know?”

“What the hell are you on?” Naruto asked in a deadpan tone.

Seemingly ignoring him, the zanpakuto spirit continued on his own,

"Then again, that bitch today was basically begging you to fuck her, and you, limp dicked loser, were too scared to even look at her properly. If it were me, I would've fucked her brains out. I would've pounded that ass into a coma."

A look of anger flashed on Naruto’s face briefly.

“You really are an utter piece of shit.”

Loud, obnoxious laughter came from the zanpakuto spirit at his words.

“You do understand that you’re insulting yourself now, do you? You’re so stupid, hahahah!”

The blond’s first intention was to retort that Akuryo was doing the exact same thing, but he decided to drop it.

“Look, I didn’t bring you out here so that we could throw insults at each other. Tell me your name. Your true name.”

“Nope. I won’t say it. You’ll have to beat it out of me. . . That is if you can,” said the zanpakuto spirit in a malicious voice.

“So, in the end, it all comes down to a fight.”

“Of course it would be a fight, retard!” Akuryo shouted. “Did you think you could win me over by talking? Who do you think I am, Obito? Fucking idiot. Hadō #88. Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho!”

A massive beam of blue light exploded from Akuryo’s hand like a cannon, but Naruto chanted quickly:

“Bakudō #81. Danku”

Despite how powerful and violent it looked, Akuryo’s massive energy attack fizzled harmlessly against Naruto’s transparent shield.

In the blink of an eye, Akuryo’s body vanished. His flash step was so quick that Naruto would have been caught off-guard if it hadn’t been for the Negative Emotions Sensing pinpointing his location.

The blond successfully parried his vertical sword swing, but when their swords locked together, a bright orb of energy unexpectedly appeared in the spirit’s left hand.

Naruto’s eyes widened in shock, but they were too close to each other for him to dodge. The Kido Rasengan slammed flush into his face, sending him hurling violently through the air.

A scream of pain erupted from his mouth when he crashed into the enchanted walls of the underground prison.

“How?” he could not help muttering as he picked himself up from the ground with difficulty.

“I told you we are practically the same, retard!” Akuryo sneered at him, his voice filled with disdain.

A cyan glow engulfed Naruto’s hand as he started healing the mangled flesh of his face with Kaido.

“Don’t fuck with me,” said Naruto in a harsh voice, the obliterated portion of his nose and mouth making it difficult for him to talk. “You and I are nothing alike!”

Akuryo charged at him with another flash step, not wanting to give him the opportunity to finish healing his wounds.

Due to using one hand to heal himself and wielding his sword one-handed, Naruto was at a disadvantage against Akuryo, who was hacking his own zanpakuto at Naruto with wild abandon, all the while constantly mocking him.

“How can it be? - I bet that’s what you’re thinking,” he said as he stabbed his sword at Naruto’s navel to disembowel him.

The blond flash stepped backwards, but Akuryo pursued him and even overtook him before axe-kicking him in the shoulder, his shunpo apparently superior to that of Naruto.

The entire floor shuddered from his body’s powerful collision with it, and Naruto let out a moan of pain.

“There’s no way that dickhead is me,” Akuryo spoke in a whiny voice, doing a horrible imitation of Naruto.

He took his time, walking slowly to his collapsed form, creating bright sparks as he dragged the tip of his sword against the floor.

“I could never be sooo evil. I am a hero. I am the protector of the innocents!” Akuryo spoke mockingly again when he arrived at his prone body and stabbed him in the leg.

However, instead of hearing another scream of pain coming from Naruto, Akuryo felt his sword hitting nothing but empty air. . . the body lying on the ground was an illusion!

“Shit-” Akuryo let out a curse.

Fooled by the Illusion Kido that Naruto had cast, he had been caught unprepared. Sensing the real Naruto’s arrival at his back, Akuryo abruptly turned his body in a desperate attempt to escape.

His efforts were not for nought. Due to twisting his body at the very last moment, Naruto’s stab missed the back of his head.

Nevertheless, while Akuryo did escape with his life, he did not get away unscathed either. The blond’s stab left a deep cut into Akuryo’s cheek and shattered half his mask too.

“Slippery piece of shit,” Akuryo swore vehemently as he flash-stepped away, distancing himself from Naruto.

But, unlike Akuryo, the blond did not chase him. No, instead, it was as though he became petrified.

As Akuryo’s broken mask fell off his face, even despite the torn and bloodied right cheek, it was impossible for Naruto not to recognise his face.

From the tanned skin and the shape of his chin to the three pairs of whisker marks and even the worry lines between his eyebrows... ...Akuryo looked identical to him.

He felt like he was staring at his shadow clones in his past life, with the only differences being that Akuryo’s hair was black and his eyes were red, while his sclera was black.

“Finally convinced now?” Akuryo asked while also activating his healing kido to regenerate his disfigured face. “Or, perhaps, did you forget me?”

“I don’t understand,” Naruto finally said, at a loss for how to react.

Akuryo sneered.

“What’s so hard to understand? I am you. I am the part of you that you hate. I am the part of you that you tried to erase.”

“Cut the crap already!” Naruto shouted back at him. “If that were the case, I would have never become a perfect jinchuuriki!”

Having finished healing his injury, Akuryo spat on the floor the remaining blood left in his mouth before readying his sword.

Naruto did not wait for Akuryo to attack. He was the one who initiated the assault this time. But, unexpectedly, Akuryo’s physical strength seemed to have increased enormously out of nowhere, and the blond almost dropped his sword, his entire arm having become numb from the force of their clash.

“If you truly accepted me, then why am I a separate entity now?”

A chant came from Akuryo's mouth, and a serpent of purple fire burst from his palm, forcing Naruto to cast another Barrier Kido to shield himself.

While his barrier did stop the flaming serpent, it couldn’t withstand Akuryo’s following sword strike. A second Rasengan appeared in Akuryo's hand, and Naruto could only conjure a hastily cast Enkosen Kido Spell to defend.

Unfortunately, his second shielding spell was not enough, and the Rasengan shattered it with relative ease before nailing Naruto in the right shoulder.

“Tell me, Naruto, if you accepted me, then why are you so weak?” Akuryo shouted.

He flash-stepped at Naruto’s back and swung his sword at his neck. The blond raised his sword to parry, but the force behind Akuryo’s strike smashed the blond back as though he had been hit by a truck.

"Why am I beating the living dogshit out of you now?"

Blood burst from Naruto’s mouth as the repeated slams against the walls and the floor finally injured his internal organs. He got up with difficulty, using his zanpakuto as a cane to stand.

“If we are the same, you should know my past,” said Naruto. “Before I became friends with Kurama, I met my darker half at the Waterfall of Truth. I accepted who I was. I accepted you.”

“You didn’t accept shit,” Akuryo screamed. “If you had accepted your darker half, tell me, where was your anger when you found Obito, the one who murdered your mother and pushed your father into committing suicide? He was the reason you were turned into a human sacrifice. He was the reason everyone hated you. He was the one behind the Akatsuki, the reason why you were chased around for years like a stray dog. He was the one who started the Fourth World War. All the suffering in your life can be traced back to him, so I ask you now:"

"Where was your rage?”

“Where was your thirst for vengeance?”

“Why did you not kill that worthless sack of shit the very moment you saw him?”

“Tell me, Naruto!” Akuryo screamed and lunged at Naruto, his black and red eyes filled with wrath.

Seemingly empowered by his anger, Akuryo discarded his sword and put a brutal beating on Naruto with his bare hands.

“You didn’t accept me! You never accepted me! All your life, you thought about others!” he shouted as he smashed his fist into the blond’s face, turning it into a bloodied mess. "Others' happiness always came first, not yours!"

“Your father turned you into a weapon and cursed you to be a jinchuuriki. What did you do? You forgave him.”

Grabbing him by his blond hair, Akuryo dragged his face against the walls viciously before throwing him violently into the other side of the prison room. Sickening sounds of bones breaking were heard as Naruto’s ribs shattered.

“Pain massacred everyone you’ve ever held dear, and you forgave him, too!”

“That Uchiha lowlife shoved a lightning fist into your chest, and you still called him your brother! You even knelt in front of that trashy bastard from Kumo, begging him to spare him.”

"As for Obito? You called him the coolest guy? You fucking retard!"

By the end of his screaming rant, Akuryo was breathing laboriously, and tears fell from his dark eyes uncontrollably.

“What about me?” Akuryo shouted himself hoarse. “When was the last time you thought about me? About US!”

“You never do. It’s always about others. You never follow our desires. You never put ourselves first.”

A string of spiritual energy grew from Akuryo’s index finger, and he controlled it to grab his discarded sword off the floor and pull it back into his hand.

"And that's why I am stronger than you. Because you never tried to accept me. You always rejected half of your soul."

“But that ends now. I've had enough of that. It’s time that I follow my desires.”

“It’s time that I put myself first.”

Saying those final words, Akuryo sank his blade into Naruto’s chest. It was not an illusion spell this time around. A wet, squelching sound was heard, and a large amount of blood pooled on the floor as the evil spirit’s blade pierced the blond’s heart.



⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

AN: Don’t worry, this isn’t a pretext to turn Naruto edgy lol. This chapter is actually extremely important for Naruto’s character development. It will also make a lot more sense why this chapter was necessary once the ability of his Bankai will be revealed.

I apologise if there are many typos. I have proofread this now, while I am at work.

Hope you enjoyed it. Until next time!