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Chapter Two – Lechery in Mermaid's Cove

0.0

The haggard old man eyed Naruto from behind his desk, causing the blond to furrow his brows under the intense scrutiny.

"You were supposed to kill that critter," the man said, scratching his messy and equally fluffy beard. "You don't deserve the reward, I say, doing things half-assed like that."

Martha smacked the man upside his head, a scowl marring her pretty face. "Frank, give the boy his reward," she said, adjusting the dozing Tomato-chan in her arms. It seemed content with its new domesticated life. Turning back to Naruto, she reassured him, "Don't worry. You'll get the full reward. One way or another."

Naruto laughed as his hand snaked its way up to the back of his head. He didn't want to be a hassle, but he needed money if he was ever going to survive in this world. After the initial ruckus at the bar last night, things had settled down.

Sort of.

Instead of mass hysteria, the patrons were even more energised after the re-introduction of Tomato-chan. Cue music and more alcohol, well... let's just say that Martha was still clearing out the destroyed furniture in the bar. Thankfully, such a sight was a monthly occurrence, and the barmaid was always prepared for such an eventuality. Still, Martha had been kind enough to offer him a spare room for the night. It sure as hell beat camping out in the woods again.

"What kind of mage leaves the job half-done?" Frank, the mayor of Camoa, asked before brandishing a short sword in his hand. He had apparently hidden one under his table. "I'll do it myself so we don't have to waste treasury funds."

Sensing trouble, Naruto was about to move in front of Martha, who was still holding onto Tomato-chan, just in case the old man got a little too stab-happy.

As it turned out, the bartender was perfectly capable of handling herself. Martha side-stepped around Frank, evading the slow, awkward swing as the mayor followed through clumsily. Now positioned behind his back, she delivered a swift chop to the back of his neck. The heavy weapon clattered to the floor, with the old man following suit. He held his neck gingerly.

"Hitting an old man! How could you, you miser—"

"What was that?" Martha asked, digging her heel into the base of his spine. Gradually, she increased the pressure on his back, causing Frank to choke out:

"I said you w-were a miserable b-bitch!"

Unsure of what to do in such a situation, Naruto stood there, reaching a hand over to his arm to rub at it. Was he supposed to stop them or laugh at their slapstick comedy? He settled for just watching. Maybe it was commonplace to see these two going at it.

"Just shut up and give the boy his reward, you decrepit old fossil," she bit out, releasing her foot from the man.

Frank, however, recovered miraculously. In a moment's notice, he was seated behind his desk, his hands interlocked in front of him. He reached into one of the drawers and pulled out a modest stack of bills. "One hundred thousand Jewels for a—" he glanced at Martha who only nodded her assent, "—for a job... well done," the man said, folding his arms over his chest.

Relieved, Naruto pocketed his reward. The money would go a long way towards procuring some basic necessities in this world.

"Thanks," he told Frank.

"Now that the matter is settled, how would you like another job? It's a bit tricky, but I think you can handle it."

"What?!" Martha turned her furious gaze towards the mayor, stamping a hand on the desk as she leaned in. Apparently, she was well aware of the specifics of this other request. "I thought you were going to send that to the guild?!"

Frank snorted in derision. "Like I'd give in to that bitch. Besides, you said so yourself. The boy looks a perfectly capable mage. It'll be killing two birds with one stone. The folk in town are already up in arms clamouring for an answer, Martha. I managed to convince them that they're safe for the time being, but if we get him to do it, we can finally put this ugly business behind us."

"Yeah, I don't mind," Naruto said. "I think I could do with another mission right now."

Martha had other ideas. She was stooped over, her shoulders hunched, as her fringe covered her features. "No, not this one... this one goes to the guild. To hell with your little spat with the Guild Mistress! This is too dangerous!"

Naruto was hesitant to answer, "Uh, I'm not sure how dangerous it is, but I'm sure I could do it."

Frank eyed the desk in front of him, his pained expression reeking of regret and longing. "Aye, maybe she's right, boy. You might be in way over your head for this one. It's an S-Rank request. It might be too much for a rookie mage like you to handle." The mayor stood up, walking over to a bookcase adjacent to his desk. Pulling out a sealed letter, he offered it to the blond. "It might not be a mission, but I will pay you if you deliver this to Mermaid's Cove in the town over. Give it to an old hag called Agatha. She'll know what to do with it."

Naruto tried to hide his frown, but failed as he spared the older woman another worried glance. Seeing that he wasn't going to change their minds, he nodded as he took the offered letter.

"Yeah, I'll do it," he said, throwing another suspicious eye at the duo. "But can I ask what the other mission was about?"

The old man peeked at the silent brunette leaning against his desk. Turning back to Naruto, his face was grave. "A few days ago, a large section of the forest near our town was destroyed. Now, we're not exactly sure who or what caused this, but judging from the destruction it caused, it's dangerous—very dangerous."

Naruto felt something inside of him shut down. His gaze was blank as he felt the colour drain from his cheeks.

It was him.

They were talking about what he had done three days earlier. He did his best to keep his expression neutral. He couldn't tell them. How the hell was he supposed to? Not after they had accepted him into their town as one of their own. Naruto gripped his hands, feeling his nails dig deep into his palm.

So fearful of their reaction, he remained silent.

0.0

"Another man leaving me so soon after we just met," Martha said, pouting. "Do you find me unattractive, Naruto?"

"Pfft? What? No, of course not! You're kinda hot. I mean—"

She laughed. "I'm just kidding, Naruto. No need to get so worked up over it. Honestly, you do that a lot." Noticing his travelling equipment or lack thereof, she bit the inside of her cheek. "Are you sure you're ready to leave just like that? I mean, you didn't even bring a change of clothes, or anything for that matter."

"Nah, I'm good. I prefer to travel light anyway."

Martha sighed. She knew there was no way to stall him into staying in town for a few more days. Whatever Naruto had planned, he was determined to see it through. "Remember what I said about Dilligeon. Even if you can't join Mermaid's Cove, they should have an idea about another guild nearby, m'kay?"

"Why can't I join Mermaid's Cove? It'd be a lot easier to visit you guys."

"I don't want to spoil the surprise, Naruto. Where would be the fun in that?"

"Ah, you're mean, Martha-chan."

Martha patted his cheeks, surprised at the added suffix to her name. "Well, well, well... Who's the dashing charmer now?"

Even if she thought that Naruto was capable of handling himself, she couldn't help but feel worried for him. His decision to join a guild wasn't something she agreed with, but his decisions were his own. She had no say in the matter. The brunette put on a brave front as she smiled at him.

"Be safe, Naruto. Don't do anything you'd regret."

Naruto looked taken aback for a moment before mirroring the earnest smile. "I will. I promise." With his back now facing her, he turned to give her a small wave. "Take good care of Tomato-chan. Oh, and be sure to feed him lots of tomatoes so that he doesn't run wild again."

"Sure thing, hun. Don't be a stranger if you're ever in the area. Make sure to come visit us sometimes."

Martha watched, drawing her arms into herself as his figure gradually became a blip in the forested background. There was a lingering hint of melancholy in her smile as she drew her gaze upwards to the skies.

Naruto reminded her so much of another man she knew in what felt like a lifetime ago.

In more ways than one.

0.0

Diligeon was on par with some of the other major towns in the Kingdom of Fiore. It was widely regarded as a port town for passing ships to refuel on their way to its sister town, Hargeon. But in some ways, both towns acted more like rivals above all else.

Its trade activity was bustling. The harbour acted on a twenty-four hour basis as engineers and workmen toiled around the clock to service the in-bound and out-bound ships. Labourers loaded and unloaded valuable cargo onto the packed wharf, awaiting distribution to the local merchants. Such scenes were a daily occurrence. However, Diligeon was better known for housing Mermaid's Cove, a recently established guild led by a semi-renowned mage. It was their pride and joy; something which their sister town lacked.

This was a cause for jubilation, especially for the men of this town.

Diligeon was a good distance away from Camoa. What would have normally taken a few hours on foot, Naruto did under one. In the end, he was wary to enter such a large town. Its size was comparable to that of Konoha, but the civilians sure didn't act the same. It was as if everyone was in a rush.

To where?

Naruto wasn't sure, but nobody paid him any mind as he ambled down the main street that led out to one of the many entrances to the town, his attention darting back and forth as he tried to catch a glimpse of anything and everything that piqued his interest.

As it happened, Naruto accidentally bumped into someone, knocking the stranger off his feet. He winced, an apology already on the tip of his tongue, but that was before he caught sight of the stranger. The man was nothing short of eccentric. It was the way he styled his hair that reminded him of a... well, he couldn't express it in so many words.

Simply said, it looked really stupid.

The stranger with the abnormally large jheri curl groaned loudly, rolling on the ground as he clutched his abdomen, not caring that his white suit was getting dirtied in the process.

"Owww, that hurts..."

Naruto glanced around, noticing that they had attracted quite a crowd around them. "Uh hey, sorry about that. I wasn't looking where I was going," he said, offering a slight tilt of the head as an added apology.

"Oh, I need a doctor—" the man let out a dry, hacking cough, "—urgh! This is bad."

Not sure what to make of the situation, Naruto wanted to walk away after the man had completely ignored his apology. It didn't take a genius to know that the man was exaggerating—over-exaggerating, in fact. Just as Naruto was about to move around him, his lackeys arrived at the scene.

"Boss!" one of them wailed, rushing to the downed man. "Are you all right?"

Another lanky man, with heavily tinted sunglasses covering his eyes, pushed through the crowd and stepped up in front of Naruto. The thug leered at him, which remained unseen behind his sunglasses, and stuck his tongue against his cheeks. It was almost intimidating.

Sort of.

He brought his shades down half-way, giving Naruto a cocky stare down. "Listen, dipshit. You hurt our friend there bad. Real bad. You understand what I'm saying?"

"No," Naruto humoured him.

Back in the Elemental Nations, no one was dumb enough to confront a shinobi since their profession warranted a ' kill first, ask questions later' approach, especially one with a visible forehead protector, much like the one he was currently wearing.

"You dumb punk! That means you gotta pay up!" The lackey collected himself for a moment, sharing a glance with his downed patsy. "A hundred thousand Jewels," he said, grinning. "Or else..."

"Or else what?"

"Or else you'll taste the might of the Tora no Tsume clan, dipshit! Now, cough up the dough!"

"How about... no?"

"What!" the Yakuza thug roared. "How about I bash your stupid head in, blondie?"

"You could try, but you'd fail. So why bother at all? Honestly, I've got better things to do than deal with a couple of thugs so..."

His hands flashed through a series of seals. Using the whirling gust of leaves to cover his movement, he body-flickered to an alleyway some distance away. To the untrained eye, it looked as if he had teleported. No one had noticed his escape, judging from the shouts of confusion.

Good.

He wasn't in the mood to deal with such people.

Exiting through the other end of the alley, Naruto continued to explore the large town, surveying the stores to find a decent place to eat. The journey had racked up an appetite, and he hadn't eaten ramen for a while; his last being the time before he went to train at Mount Myoboku.

Unconsciously, he shuddered as the unpleasant memories of the assortment of bugs and insects he had eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner assaulted his senses. Honestly, he was surprised at what he had been able to put away where it got to the point that he began hallucinating that it was something edible.

Then again, would this world even have ramen?

"Are you hungry, Master?"

The sickeningly sweet voice sent shivers down his spine, snapping him out of his food-induced thoughts. Surprised, Naruto looked up. A brunette that could pass off as an older version of his Oiroke no Jutsu, without the whiskers, stared back at him. The woman leaned forward and winked, baring a small amount of cleavage in her skimpy maid uniform.

Naruto felt his cheeks redden. "I guess?"

He saw something unholy gleam in her eyes when he said that. She failed to conceal a sneaky grin. The older woman rushed over to his side, grabbing his arm and hugged it against her chest. If possible, his blush intensified. "Ne, Master... would you like to taste Yue-chan's cooking?" she asked, tilting her head down and pouting. "It took Yue-chan a long time to make it, but Yue-chan made it all for you, Master."

She followed up with a killer hook; something that even Naruto was unable to resist.

"Please?" she said, her voice meek.

The act was magnified by the transient tears tugging at the corner of her eyes as her bottom lip trembled.

"W-Why not?"

Cha-ching!

Naruto swore he could hear that ringing inside her mind as she smiled brightly at him. No traces of her meek personality remained as she detached herself from his arm, pushing him—roughly too—towards the entrance of the restaurant.

"Excellent! Excellent!" Yue said. "Since I'm sure this is your first time visiting, you should know that service is our number one priority here in Oasis café; your little slice of heaven in the unforgiving desert. Here, your needs are our needs. Your desire is our desire. Nothing will stop us in delivering top-quality service."

"Uhm, would you stop pushing me then?"

Yue waved Naruto off, shoving a menu into his hands. "Time is money, Master. You know that." Signalling to a waitress, she pushed him towards her. Her smile faltered when she saw the waitress in question. Wincing, Yue patted Naruto on the back. "One of our... lovely waitresses will be with you shortly. She's one of our finest and an actual mage to boot! So... that's an extra service charge! I hope you enjoy your meal, Master," she said, flashing him an uneasy smile.

"Minori!" Yue called out to the girl. "Make sure you take care of our newest customer!" Apparently satisfied with the arrangements, she dashed out of the establishment, intent on snaring more gullible customers.

Naruto knew this was a bad idea; a woman wearing a skimpy outfit always was. He stood at the entrance—next to an empty counter—awkwardly waiting for someone to direct him to a table.

Well, he was already here and all. Might as well go through with it.

He was hungry.

A girl approached him. She looked to be roughly around his age, her head just reaching below his. A pair of cat ears peeked out from her long, purple tresses, framing her face. However, the cutesy effect from the head-wear was lessened as she eyed him with a deadpan stare. "My name is Minori, and I'll be your waitress today," she said lazily, tugging the hem of her scanty waitress uniform that left little to the imagination. It was clear that she was uncomfortable, but there was a sense of dogged resignation in her body language.

Naruto shuddered. It was as if the girl's unsettling yellow eyes were staring into the deepest, darkest depths of his soul, judging him for coming to such a place. He was trapped.

"If you would follow me, M-Master," she said through clenched teeth.

Minori directed him to a booth situated next to a large window overlooking the street. From here, he could make out Yue's special brand of advertising as she tried to promote the café. Hesitantly, Naruto took a seat, glancing at the picture-less menu. He wanted to sigh. If he was going to survive here, he had damn well better learn to read this strange language.

He took a shot in the dark.

"Do you serve ramen here?"

Her glare intensified. "Did you read the menu?"

"N-No. To be honest, I lost my glasses?" The upward inflection in his voice obviously didn't fool the girl.

"Well, we do," she answered briskly. "What do you want?" Her business-like tone left no room to negotiate. It was clear that the girl didn't embody the spirit of the workplace, judging from occasional cute squeals from the other waitresses in the restaurant.

It was just his luck too.

"Miso, please," he said.

Naruto released the breath that he didn't know he was holding as Minori walked away. Despite the lacklustre service, he was glad that they had ramen here.

It may not be Ichiraku's but...

He sighed, returning to his village was his top priority, but here he was, stuck in a strange, foreign land without the faintest idea of how he got here in the first place, much less return. After Martha had kindly explained the general climate of this world to him, he had decided that joining a guild—which he likened to that of a Hidden Village—was a reasonable decision. The promise of money and a base of operations were enticing, but maybe there was someone out there who had an idea about his current situation, but he wasn't holding his breath.

After all, how many people got sucked into a different dimension every day?

He was also wary about broaching the subject to others. Would they take him seriously or would they tie him to a stake and burn him alive? Naruto wasn't too keen on finding out the hard way, preferring to gather information first before deciding on such risky options. So lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice that the waitress had returned.

A bowl of Miso ramen was hastily placed in front of him, the broth whishing wildly as some of it splashed on the table. A pair of wooden chopsticks and a glass of water followed suit. Naruto kept his eyes down, muttering a quick thanks, and silently hoped that the surly girl would go away so that he could have his meal in peace.

However, it appeared that she had other ideas.

Minori plopped down onto the seat facing him, propping an elbow on the table as she rested her chin on it. "Eat," she said, her disdain apparent as she crinkled her nose at him.

"I'm fine. You can go if you want."

"That's totally not the way it works around here." Minori pointed towards the other waitresses in the restaurant. They were cuddling up to their customers, some spoon-feeding them bites, others preferring to hug their 'Master's' arms into their chest as they ate. It looked like the type of thing Jiraiya-shishou would have enjoyed. "Service is our top priority here at Oasis café; a little slice of heaven in the unforgiving desert. Here, your needs are our needs. Your desire is our desire. Nothing will stop us in delivering top-quality service," she intoned, not missing a beat.

"Yeah... I've heard that before." How else was he ever going to respond to such a thing? "But you really don't have to sit with me, you know. I'm sure you have other things to do."

"Do I look like I want to be here?"

Naruto paused as he split his chopsticks in half, suppressing the urge to split it horizontally instead of vertically. "Well, then what's stopping you?" he asked.

"If not, I'd fail the request and forfeit the pay." Minori reached over, poking a finger on his shoulder as she emphasised her words, "And. I. Won't. Fail. Again."

Unfortunately, Naruto caught sight of something else. The act of leaning over the table allowed the blond to catch a glimpse of the top of her breasts. It was a short peek, really.

Which... lingered into awkwardness.

"Y-You were s-staring." Minori leaned back into the seat, ducking her head down as her fringe shadowed her reddening features. She began tugging at the frill of her collar, crossing her arms over her chest. "B-Black Luck," she hissed, pointing at him with a shaky finger.

Naruto made a confused sound at the back of his throat, feeling something wash over him.

The girl still wasn't looking at him. "You okay?" He stopped to examine himself, unsure of what the girl had done to him. "What the hell was that just now?"

Minori glared at him, stamping her hands on the table. "Ricky, get your butt over here! We have a reacher!"

"Oi, what did I do?!" Naruto rebutted, indignant.

The sounds of clattering pots and pans resounded from the other end of the restaurant. Her actions had garnered the rapt attention of those inside the establishment. Then, a tall, muscular man came rushing out from the kitchen, the swivelling door swinging wildly on its hinges. He was a chef by the looks of his uniform, but Naruto couldn't be sure; no one was what they were supposed to be here, especially those in uniforms. The heavily-tanned man folded his arms when he reached their table, leering down at Naruto.

"Blacklisted," he muttered darkly.

Before Naruto even had a chance to explain himself, the chef cum bodyguard chopped a rubber stamp on his head; the harsh, unforgiving words: 'Banned for Eternity' was tattooed across his face in large, red letters. Not that he could understand what the words spelled out, but the stigma of having something stamped on his face was bad enough.

Ricky reached over the table, grabbing Naruto by the scruff of his jacket in one hand.

"W-Wait, I didn't even get a chance to ea—"

With the other, he grabbed the piping hot bowl of Miso ramen. Indignant, Naruto was subjected to being tossed out onto the street. Adding insult to injury, he had his meal dumped on his head.

Naruto didn't so much as wince as the steaming hot broth washed over him, soaking his hair and clothes with that distinctive Miso smell. He kept his head down, biting down hard on his quivering lips to stop himself from lashing out. He took a deep breath, unconsciously remembering his training back in Mount Myoboku.

Take a deep breath, Naruto-boy. Banish every thought, every emotion, every single memory from your mind,' Fukasaku's words echoed in his mind. 'In order for you to reach a meditative state, you must first separate your core from your physical body. Learn to embrace the natural energies all around you. Then, and only then, will you be able to start your path towards sagehood.

Slowly, Naruto detached himself from the world.

The voices around him were muffled to the extent that he could barely hear them; it was like he had escaped inside a soundproof chamber. He could hardly care that he was drawing laughter from the growing crowd that had gathered around the restaurant, and neither did he care to listen to the restaurateur's lengthy rant about paying for a meal he didn't get the chance to enjoy.

His mind was at peace.

In his haze of contentment, Naruto noticed a black aura clinging onto his form like a second skin. It wasn't anything harmful, but there was a negative, almost mischievous vibe emanating from the source. As he gathered the natural energy in the surroundings into himself, he felt the aura disappear. It was odd. He didn't notice it before, unless...

The waitress? Was that what she did to him back there?

"Well, well, well... look who we have here. If it isn't the littlest dipshit," the Yakuza thug, who had earlier confronted him, said. "I hate to admit it, but you got us good just now. You'd thought you would run away, did'ja? Now, look what happened. It's like the universe is screwing ya for not paying your dues."

Yue stepped forward, putting her body in his path in an attempt to shield Naruto. Sadly, her intentions were less than charitable. "Hey, the kid owes my café three thousand Jewels! He ought to pay me first!"

"What's this?" the man asked with a less than wholesome smile. He gripped Yue's wrist, twisting and pulling her towards him as he eyed the pretty restaurateur. "You'll have your turn with me later, sweet-cheeks."

"Freaking perv," Yue scoffed, trying to wrestle out of the thug's firm grip. She raised one of her high-heel stiletto shoes and stomped down on his feet, hard. The man grunted, and Yue barely managed to escape his hold before he reached out to grab her once more. This time, he squeezed an arm around her neck.

"That hurts, you little bitch!" he hissed into her ear.

Yue winced, the pressure around her neck tightened as she tried to struggle against his hold. "Ricky, w-what the hell are you waiting for?!" she rasped out. "G-Get him!"

All eyes turned towards the stalwart bodyguard in the chef uniform. Ricky folded his arms around his large biceps and narrowed his eyes at the thug, but not doing much else. "It would be unwise to proceed with this course of action. We have a mage from our town's guild currently under our employment." He indicated towards Minori, who looked flustered by all the attention directed her way. "Your defeat shall be swift and painful."

The leader sneered. "Fuck if I care, we have numbers on our side."

As if reacting to some unknown command, his thugs swarmed in from parts unknown, rushing around him in a loose, protective half-circle. He glared at Naruto, who was still hunched on the ground, but remained a silent spectator. "That goes for your little teleportation magic too, dipshit. If you even think about escaping again, well..." he trailed off, ogling the squirming woman in his grasp.

It was at this time that Naruto pulled back into himself, releasing a small sigh as his perception reverted back to normal. Deciding that enough was enough, he stood up, discarding a stray piece of fishcake that was tangled up in his hair.

"I've had a really bad week, asshole," Naruto said. "Do you really want to push me right now?"

A bright light encased the leader's hands before it began to take shape. Within moments, the man held a sword in his hand, leaning the razor sharp edge against his hostage's bare neck. It drew a thin slice of blood.

"Whad'ja think?"

A pair of yellow irises glared at him. The leader shrunk under his unearthly gaze.

Looking around, Naruto had to force down a derisive snort. A shinobi did not allow his enemy a moment's respite; to do so would mean their death. Granted, the process of entering Sage Mode may have been cut down in this world, but they had allowed him to gather natural energy when he was just sitting there on the curb. It might have been a total overkill considering the calibre of his opponents, but he had been repressing a large portion of his frustration ever since coming to the conclusion that he was stuck in this world.

He had heard that letting loose in a proper medium was therapeutic.

"Remember, you asked for it," Naruto said, loosening his shoulders for the impending fight.

Suddenly nervous, beads of sweat trickled down the man's forehead. "No! No, wait... Listen uh, kid, I-I mean, S-Sir... Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. See it was just all a big misunderstanding—"

Sadly, one of the men bum-rushed Naruto before the leader had the chance to back down. The others promptly followed suit, screaming out war cries as they requipped a varying array of weapons, brandishing it around to the panicky screams and shouts of those surrounding them. The modest crowd dispersed, not wanting to be caught in the cross-hairs of the imminent battle.

Naruto didn't even bat an eye as he parried a clumsy sword swing with his palm. He missed the pure look of terror on the thug's face as the inferior steel shattered just by the slightest touch of his hand. Not wanting to completely shatter the man's jaw and kill him, Naruto intentionally missed, his soft right jab just trailing wide of its intended target.

The effect was not lessened, not in the least, as a fist-shaped indentation sunk the man's cheeks inwards, his eyes rolling upwards from the shock. The thug flew back, crashing into a group of his comrades. A mass of limbs were entangled in the human dog-pile. Weak groans and curses could be heard from the bottom of it.

He blinked.

Okay.

Maybe using Sage Mode really was overkill.

Naruto glanced around the street.

Minori had already joined the fracas as she tore into the enemy's ranks. She slipped through their attacks with the agility and nuance of a graceful dancer. She didn't seem like an experienced fighter, but she was holding her own. She had requipped a war hammer that was as tall as her, with the blunt edge on one side and the other in a shape of a claw. The weapon wasn't that bulky when compared to her size, allowing the purple-haired girl to manoeuvre the weapon around easily enough.

As Minori got deeper within the crowd of fighters, a thug managed to creep inside her blind spot, her attention seemingly lost amidst having to defend herself from countless attackers.

The man closed the distance, his expression twisting as he raised his weapon, poised to cut her down. Naruto was about to intervene. Suddenly, Minori whipped around, levelling the butt of her hammer and aiming a reddish-pink spell at her unsuspecting assailant.

The man only got in two more steps, his extremities suddenly turning into jelly, before he fell in a heap. Without missing a beat, Minori twirled the handle around and incapacitated him with the head of her hammer, before having to switch her attention back to the others.

That was when Naruto realised that her enemies were literally falling around her.

One guy had tripped on thin air and fell spread eagle right into the path of her hammer, knocking him out cold. Another was unfortunate enough to fumble the grip on his weapon, just as he was bringing it down in an overhead slash. The sword had dropped behind him and he was holding nothing as he carried through with the motion. His dumbfounded look was brief, as Minori jabbed the end of her hammer at his exposed throat.

Strange.

What the hell was that about?

Naruto decided to put the peculiarity of her ability in the back burner for the time being. He dove into the action, swerving in and out of his opponents' guard with unnatural ease. Not in the mood to drag out the battle, he delivered swift, glancing strikes that incapacitated them instantaneously.

Within seconds, the small army of thugs were decimated, their limp and unconscious bodies littering the street in a master-class display of strength and skill. Around him, on-lookers were staring in awe at the display of magic.

Naruto could only assume it was uncommon to see a battle, especially in a town like Diligeon.

He turned back to face their leader.

"S-Stay back, or the broad gets it! One more step and, a-and I'll slice her head off!" he shouted, squaring his shoulders.

Knowing that he was trapped, the leader took an unconscious step back as Naruto, with Minori at his side, rounded on him. The weapon in his hand trembled against Yue's neck and leaving another shallow wound.

Yue squeezed her eyes shut. It was clear that she was trying her best to remain calm despite the growing tension in the air, fearing that any sudden movements would only agitate her high-strung abductor further.

Naruto had to commend her for that.

Next to him, Minori bit her lips. "Any ideas?"

A curt nod of assurance was his reply. He already had a plan in mind—relying on his boosted strength and speed to catch the captor unaware. Then again, he was unsure how the girl next to him, who was just as desperate to save the restaurateur herself, would take it.

Would she be affronted by not being involved? Would she trust him enough to do it by himself?

Naruto couldn't let the the situation come down to the two of them acting independently and getting in each other's way.

"I do," he said. "But..."

"But what?"

"You need to stay back."

True to Naruto's guess, Minori was conflicted. Fearing that she would only drag her feet and prolong her indecision, Naruto made the move to go ahead. Before he could do so, Minori gripped his arm, holding him back.

"Wait... You're the best chance we have. If I have to take a wild leap of faith and put Yue's life in your hands, then..." She shook her head. "Yue might die if we don't do something. I'll believe in you... for now. But before you do, I need to cancel the magic I put on you."

Naruto was surprised by the surly girl's sudden reversal.

"Oh, you mean that thing you did to me back at the café? I already got rid of it." He smiled at her wryly, saying, "Don't sweat it, but let's make a rule not to do anything to each other until after this is over."

Minori looked flustered. "Oh. Okay..."

Naruto turned his attention back to the man. He wasn't sure how much conviction the head honcho had in his own words, but Naruto still considered the act of killing a taboo, not one he allowed to waver so easily, even if it the circumstances demanded it. Besides, if the leader killed Yue—not that he was going to let such a thing happen—what was going to stop him from utterly destroying the man afterwards?

No, the thug was stalling for an exit strategy; not that he was going to find one any time soon.

Naruto locked his feet apart, tensing as he prepared himself. All he needed to do was close in and switch Yue out before replacing her with a body double. It should be close, maybe a little too close for comfort, but he was bolstered by the power of Senjutsu.

"Not another step!" the leader shouted. "What part of—"

A sudden puff of cloud erupted in front of the man, obstructing his vision. Naruto felt the man give him a forceful shove, but his hands stopped short of budging him from his spot. When the puff of smoke dissipated, revealing his tuft of blond hair, instead of Yue's light brown, Naruto grinned tightly.

"Hey, dipshit," he said to the man.

Naruto grabbed the offending wrist that held the samurai sword, grasping it so that it didn't quite break the bone. With a quick thrust of his unoccupied palm, the tempered steel shattered like a block of ice. Twisting his body, Naruto delivered a glancing elbow to the man's abdomen, leaving him winded and hunched over. He followed through by flipping the man over his shoulders and down on the concrete pavement. With a final wheeze, his eyes rolled upwards before he succumbed to darkness.

Naruto was barely winded as he surveyed the damage from the short skirmish. Aside from the mass of bodies strewn around the street, not much else had been destroyed. He rolled his shoulders, easing the tightly-wound muscles as he relinquished his hold over his Sage Mode.

Naruto nodded, smiling.

He was able to work out his frustrations with minimal casualties to civilians and got a decent workout as well. Now if only—

"Hey!" a familiar voice cried out as the speaker got to her feet, swaying slightly. Yue grimaced, holding a hand over the wound on her neck, and with the other, pointing a finger in his direction.

"Come work for me!"

0.0

Naruto leaned back, bringing the bowl of ramen off the table and nearer to him as he slurped the last strands of noodles into his mouth. Yue was getting awfully close to his personal space. To be honest, it was starting to border on creepy. Her devilish smile didn't falter, not even for a minute.

"Come work for me~" she continued in that sing-song tone of voice, propping a hand up to lean her cheek against it. Thankfully, the small cut on her neck had been sterilised and bandaged. "I'll pay you above the standard rate for hired goons."

Naruto smiled, feeling his brows scrunch together at her offer. Was that supposed to be some kind of joke? He was grateful for the free meal and erasing the 'Banned for Eternity' tattoo (which he had admittedly forgotten about), but there was no way in hell he was going to work as a bodyguard in a costumed theme café permanently.

"I'm not really looking for a job right now."

Yue was not deterred, though the gleam in her eyes did fade a little. "No, come on~ I'll definitely make it worth your while," she said. "I have some big, big plans for this place, you know! Business is booming! And I'm never short on waitresses in this town." She motioned towards Minori, who voiced her unease. "Having a mages' guild like Mermaid's Cove in town is a godsend!"

"Totally not where I imagined myself working when I first joined a guild," Minori said, grimacing. "I was desperate for money, to be honest."

Yue nudged the girl next to her, scowling. "Come on, don't be such a downer! It's not like I'm paying you with table scraps, right? Tell him how good the pay is!"

"It is pretty good..."

"See!" Yue said, looking at Naruto almost accusingly.

"It's not about the money. I just don't—"

"Double," Yue cut in, raising two fingers. "I'll pay you double what hired goons get, and that's my final offer!"

Naruto was silent as he sipped the broth from his bowl. It was absurd to think that he'd accept her proposal after all the shit he had been through in her restaurant. However, as the silence lingered, her smile grew. It appeared that with each passing second that she had hired a decent bodyguard in him.

Then, Naruto crushed it.

"No," he said.

"Aww, come on!" Yue deflated, reaching over to grab his hand, but all that did was cause Naruto to lean back further in his seat with his bowl. "If you work hard enough, you could earn more than just a decent living here, especially with the tips." She wiggled her fingers out at Naruto, who remained just out of her reach. "Seriously, Naruto. I'm looking into expanding my business across the whole of Fiore. You know what that means? An actual franchise! In a few years, I could make enough money to rival the Heartfilia's! If you help me, I could make you the acting head of security for the entire kingdom!"

Yue whined. "Cooomeee on..."

"So... which guild are you from?" Minori interjected over the restaurateur's mocking sobs.

There was a lull in the negotiation process since Naruto had stopped talking, instead focusing more on his lunch. The question made him sit up and place his bowl down.

"Guild? I'm not actually with a guild. But now that you mentioned it though, I was thinking of joining that guild you were talking about, Mermaid's Cove or something? I—" Naruto didn't even get a chance to finish his sentence as the throaty and boisterous giggles from his two acquaintances drowned him out. "You know, a friend of mine did the same thing when I said that. What's the deal?"

He had to wait for their laughter to subside before Minori answered his question in between breaths, "Mermaid's Cove is... is an all girls' guild." She stopped for a moment to collect herself, staring at him in amusement. "I still remember when some idiot tried to barge into the guild and demanded a position in our ranks. Mistress Agatha totally ripped him a new one and dumped him out on the streets in nothing but his underwear."

"Hey, I know that name!"

"Of course," Yue said. "Mistress Agatha has garnered a lot of attention in Fiore for being one of the few Guild Mistresses in the kingdom, especially leading a guild that is only a few years old."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. He didn't know that the woman was a respected Guild Mistress. All he knew was that she was the recipient for the old man's letter. "Yeah, I'm sure I heard that from somewhere... but that's not what I was talking about." He paused, searching the inside pockets of his jacket. "I have a letter for her."

"Oh, who is it from?" Minori asked.

He waved the letter around. "Here, it's from the mayor of Camoa, Harkinson-san."

She frowned, now eyeing the letter in his hand warily. "Frank sent a letter?"

"Eh? You know him too?"

Minori winked before bunching up the left-hand sleeve of her waitressing uniform to reveal a purple coloured tattoo. The Mermaid's Cove insignia—a prominent 'M' with a swirling criss-cross that ran along the sides of the letter—was displayed just below her shoulder. "I've been a member for about a month. As for Frank... He's a sore subject for our Mistress. No one in the guild knows why though."

"Huh? Well, I was just supposed to deliver this letter to her," Naruto said. "I was kinda hoping to ask about any of the other guilds in the area. Do you guys know any around here?"

"Guilds?" Yue voiced out in faux confusion. "You mean you really don't want to work for me?" She twisted her lips into a cute pout, but sobered up when two pairs of eyes stared at her blankly. "All right, all right... Unless you're picky, the only other guilds that come to mind are Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord. They're pretty much the two most popular guilds in the kingdom."

Naruto winced at the choices given to him. To be honest, neither sounded appealing. "Fairy Tail? That sounds... decent. Where is that?"

It was the lesser of two evils.

After all, Phantom Lord did sound rather ominous.

"Magnolia. You have to take a boat to Hargeon before travelling inland towards the town. Although, Phantom Lord is deeper inland than Fairy Tail. So if you're thinking of switching, you should know that they're both pretty far from here."

"A boat, huh?" Naruto said uneasily.

It wouldn't be a problem for him to traverse atop the water, but it was a general consensus among most shinobi not to, especially across such a large body of water. It was easy to get lost if you lost your bearings out at sea.

"Can't I just walk there? I'm tight on money right now."

"No," Yue said. "There's no direct route to Magnolia and you'd have to cross over the mountains. Although... I did hear about another guild that's pretty close to Diligeon, but I can't remember the name. Minori?"

The girl in question shrugged, lips curving up in an apologetic smile. "I've always wanted to join Mermaid's Cove ever since I first heard of it. I never thought to shop around," she told them, perking. "But I bet our Mistress might know. Aren't Guild Masters supposed to keep in contact with each other?" She made the motion to stand, but catching the amused smile Yue directed her way made the waitress pause. "Oh, right..."

Yue waved her hand glibly. "It's all right. Consider your shift over. It's the least I can do for you."

"The least you can do is to pay me extra for helping you out." Minori crinkled her nose. "Your request never said about anything about a fight."

"It comes with the job, sweetie! There's always excitement and adventure to be found working at the Oasis café!" Yue stopped, taking Naruto's hands into hers. "Are you sure that I can't change your mind? I'll pay you triple."

0.0

Naruto opted to wait for Minori outside the café as she returned her waitressing uniform, not wanting to be subjected to Yue's incessant negotiation tactics. It wasn't like he didn't find the offer tempting; thirty thousand Jewels a week and a free meal twice a day were nothing to scoff at. Also, Diligeon seemed like a pretty decent town barring the small incident with the thugs, but he didn't want to be stuck in a rut here; a guild could offer so much more.

He was sure of it.

"Hey, did you wait long?" Minori asked as she stepped out of the establishment.

Naruto raised a brow at her outfit as he gave her the once-over. "What's with the get-up? I thought you wanted to return your costume, not get another one."

"T-This isn't a costume. These... These are my normal clothes."

"You look like a witch!"

Minori adjusted her hat down over her eyes to hide the small flush on her cheeks. He tried to stifle a laugh, causing her to glare at him.

"But it is pretty cool," Naruto said. "It makes sense too, I guess. You know: magic—witch. Pretty obvious, but still... cool."

"Well, I'm glad you could see reason," she told him in mock haughtiness. "I can't believe I'm getting flak from a guy wearing an orange tracksuit with sandals. Do you wake up every morning wanting to look like a deadbeat bum? Or are you really incapable of dressing yourself?"

"A bum?" He made a dismissing noise under his breath. "Nah, I look good in orange. Always have. Ever since I was a kid."

"And the fool falls deeper into his delusion. Honestly, I'm wondering how you managed to shrug off my magic like you did. I kind of want to blame it on a fluke."

"Oh yeah, I've been wanting to ask what you did to me back there."

Minori faltered in her steps. "You mean you didn't even know? Then, how did you shake it off? You're like the first person I've met that could do that. Some of the people I've fought can't even sense what I did to them!"

"Well, for one thing you weren't being subtle. You did it right in my face."

"There's that..."

"And you could say I'm pretty in tune with my uh—magic. I kinda noticed your thing clinging onto me and I made it go away. It wasn't that hard."

Minori made a face; she looked put off that Naruto had dismissed her so easily. She snapped her fingers at him, walking ahead. Naruto made to match her pace, wanting to rephrase his poor choice of words, but as he stepped forward, he felt something catch his foot, making him fall to his knees in an awkward stumble.

He groaned at the obvious set-up.

"I must really suck, huh?" Minori had her hands on her hips, looking smug. She didn't deign to wait for him to get up. She walked ahead, leading the way to the obscure entrance of her guild. She was obviously pleased with her small victory.

"Yeah, you have no idea," Naruto said to her back.

His mischievous side was getting antsy. Minori still hadn't looked back once. Making a hand seal, a clone popped up beside him silently, flashing him a quick thumbs up. Naruto played catch-up, stepping in line to her right as his clone hung back, out of view.

"Cute. I bet you're proud of yourself."

"Proud? No way. My magic must be some silly child's play to you. Why should I be proud?"

"Because you managed to get one-up on me," his clone told her from her left. His other self smiled cheekily. "Not a lot of people get to do that. So you should be proud."

"S-Shut up!" Minori pushed them away, her gaze wary. "What's this supposed to be then? Don't tell me you have a freaky twin. Twins totally creep me out, you know. They're unnatural beings; monstrosities of nature even."

"Trade secret. Now, I wouldn't mind telling you, but first, you have to tell me what you did to me back there. Deal?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Hey, that's not fair! I'm sure you're hiding a whole bunch of other tricks up your sleeve, like the stuff that you did back then, during the fight. Any question I ask, you have to answer. I'll do the same. How's that?"

"Why not? You go first."

Minori faked a pleasant smile, saying, "Such a gentleman, aren't you? You better not gyp me after I show you, you know. I can do a lot worse that what I did back at the café."

Minori did something, and a purple seal appeared in front of her. It reminded him of Fūinjutsu in a way as she then pulled out her warhammer from the seal. With a satisfied smile, she stepped back and twirled the weapon around her body, allowing him to examine it closer.

"Neat," he said, whistling. "Bet you bonked some heads with this thing."

"Yeap. Now stay still..."

Minori made the motion to swing the hammer around and aim the end of the metal handle at him, like what Naruto had seen during the fracas earlier, but he moved a step faster. He closed in and stopped her using the sole of his sandal to block off the tall weapon.

"Hey! I never said I was going to be your guinea pig!"

She looked miffed. "Well? How else do you expect me to show you my magic?"

"You can do it on him; he's my clone. He's pretty much like me in every way except he's got only part of my powers. He's fragile, but I think he can handle getting a few shots in. Just try not to be so rough with him."

"A clone?" Minori shuddered. "That's totally freaky."

"Just show me already."

By now, a small crowd had gathered around them, thinking that it was some kind of demonstration from the local guild. Minori got a few mentions from the crowd for being the new 'Witch Girl' from Mermaid's Cove.

She ignored them.

"Jolly-Jelly Hex!"

Naruto tried to rein in his laughter, but his clone wasn't laughing. Being the unfortunate test dummy, it took a moment for her hex to take effect. Suddenly, his hands started to droop, his limbs elongating as if he had lost all the bones in his arms.

"Try walking," she instructed the clone.

He did, but couldn't get in more than three steps before the same thing happened to his legs. The clone dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. The small crowd lapped it up, clapping and hooting loudly.

"Break!"

The effect wasn't instantaneous but the clone was able to stand on his feet after a few moments. He stared at his hands and feet, frowning. "That felt really, really weird," he said. "Never do that to me again."

Those in the crowd laughed as if it was the punchline. "C'mon, Naruto. I have tons more spells I could use on you. Don't be that guy. Do it for the crowd!"

They roared louder.

Naruto made a shooing motion with his hands, making his clone dispel in a cloud of smoke. Minori looked surprised. "The show's over, folks!" Naruto said to their temporary audience.

The group deflated at the abrupt ending, but slowly began to disperse.

"Be sure to ask for Mermaid's Cove if you ever have a job!" she shouted at them, exquipping her magical hammer. "We accept any and all requests!" As the attention died down, she turned back to Naruto. "Thanks! I think I managed to drum up some business for the guild. Always helps to have some good publicity, even if it's in our own town."

"Glad I could help," Naruto said. "So that's your magic, huh? Can't say I really understand what it is that you can do. I don't remember not having bones back at the restaurant."

"No. I curse people, Naruto. That's my magic, Curse. It debilitates; it weakens; it brings misfortune to those that I order it to. That's what I did to you back then. Black Luck. It's an ability that manipulates causality to a certain extent. It redirects and stacks up all the negative effects that could happen to you—happen to you.

"I'm not really in control, but I can manipulate the severity of the curse. From there, it's a gamble—a matter of probability, chance, luck, I dunno. It might or might not happen. It's unpredictable really."

"So you gave me bad luck? That's messed up."

Minori gave him a half-hearted glare. "There's no point going in detail for you, is there?"

"Not when there's a simple explanation for it." Naruto pointed a shaky finger at her. "Witch!"

"You better watch it. Curses can be subtle and I can make it so much worse than just you tripping over your feet. How'd you like a piano to fall down from the sky and crush you to bits? I could totally do that, you know!"

"Says the wicked witch." Minori whacked him on his arm. "Doesn't hurt. Unless... this is a diversion for you to place a curse on me. If so, then stop it."

Minori huffed, saying, "How about you? You haven't explained to me what you could do. I've never seen a mage capable of using actual copies of himself." Her cheerfulness dimmed. "That begs the question: how come you're not in a guild? You're not some evil mage from a dark guild, are you?"

"Nah, I'm one of the good guys," he said. "I—uh...Things started to get a little hectic back where I was from, and I ended in Fiore with nothing except for the clothes on my back. When I was wandering around, someone told me that I could make a pretty decent living if I joined a guild. So I thought: why not?"

It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a total lie either.

"Okay then, glad to know that you're not some born again dark mage. What about your magic? Spill it."

Naruto rubbed his arm, finding himself at odds on how to answer her question. He had agreed so casually to her demand that he regretted it now. He wasn't sure how much of his abilities he could reveal to her.

Naruto could tell there were many similarities between magic and chakra, but where did the differences lie? He didn't know what was considered normal in this world. If he slipped up and revealed a bit too much, well, he didn't want it to come to that.

"Well I can make solid clones of myself," he said, biting the inside of his cheek. "Uh, I'm not sure what else."

Minori was not deterred. "Then what about your eyes? During the fight, it was different. You had these orange things around your eyes, and your eye colour was different; yellow, kinda like mine. Was that transformation magic?"

"Yeah, it's a kind of transformation magic."

"What does it do?"

"Not much. It's more like a power boost."

"Oh, that's it? I was kind of expecting more," Minori said. "But you're still pretty powerful. If you were a girl, you could have easily joined our guild. Who knows, in a few years, maybe you could have even gotten up to S-class or something."

"Is that so?" a feminine voice answered Minori from her left.

Minori whipped her head towards the voice. "Hey, buzz off. We're trying to have a private conversation he—" she quickly fell silent, only to let out a confused squeak.

Naruto couldn't help the smile that crept on his lips. He had ordered his clone to transform, disguising himself into the busty female form that had bested two living legends back in Konoha. He was, however, sensible enough to have the disguised clone to transform into his tacky orange tracksuit.

She glared at the original. "Is this your doing again? How in the world do you have a freaky girl twin too?!"

Naruto shrugged.

His female twin ignored her, saying, "It's hard to stay in this form longer than I have to, but I guess I could go join your guild pretty easy now, huh?"

"W-What?! No!"

His clone pouted as she fiddled with her pigtails. "But you said if I became a girl there'd be no problem." Sighing, she added, looking down at herself, "Now, that I think about it, orange really doesn't go with a girl's body."

"Ah, that's blasphemy!" Naruto said. "Orange looks good on you, and it looks good on everyone regardless of gender."

"Really?! Thanks, boss!"

Minori gaped at their interaction.

"Ah Minori, let me introduce you to my clone. Naruko-chan, this is Minori. She's a mage from Mermaid's Cove."

Naruko was about to cheer out a greeting, but was interrupted when she was grabbed by a shell-shocked Minori. "You're real? You actually managed to transform your clone into a girl?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Apparently, Minori was still sceptical about his transformation abilities. It was weird that she found the most basic technique in his world to be the most fascinating. Then, he frowned as the young woman did the only thing she could think of to test the authenticity of his creation.

"A-Ah, Minori! That t-tickles!" Naruko said breathlessly, her cheeks flushing as she tried to shove the taller girl away.

"You can feel that? How about this?"

"Kyaaa! Don't grab it so hard!" The clone shared a helpless glance with Naruto. "B-Boss, I'll pop if you don't stop her!"

Minori turned to him, her hands still preoccupied, but she glared at him with a look that promised pain and a lifetime's worth of Black Luck. Her face turned red, in equal parts embarrassment and anger, as she realised that her inappropriate actions had attracted quite a following; mostly the male variety.

"P-Pop?! Is that some kind of sex lingo? I knew you were a pervert, but I didn't know you were a sick bas—"

Obviously the pressure exerted on his clone's...

Well, she popped, just like any other clone. That was the important thing.

Sadly, Naruto still had to deal with the memory that his clone just transferred to him. It was safe to assume that Naruto would have trouble sleeping later.

0.0

Thankfully, the rest of the journey was uneventful, even as an uncomfortable air settled between him and Minori. It was something the two were not yet ready to mend. They couldn't even look at each other without blushing, let alone carry out a simple conversation.

Soon, they arrived at a short cliff overlooking a cove near the edge of Diligeon, a good distance away from the busy harbour and major shipping lanes. Naruto could finally see why the guild had been named as such.

It seemed appropriate and pretty obvious, considering.

Naruto marvelled quietly as he entered the hall through the massive wrought-iron gates. They had converted the interior of a large cave into their current headquarters. Every inch of the guild hall was decorated in a tasteful modern theme. What would have been a gloomy and dark cave was now replaced with a more lively and relaxed setting.

But it was, in Naruto's personal opinion, slightly girly. Although, the glares he was receiving from some of the occupants of the hall could be done without.

Could women hate men to such a degree that they would completely isolate themselves and blanch at any form of contact with the opposite sex?

He didn't know anyone who acted in such a way in Konoha, maybe except for Kurenai-sensei back home. But that was before he found out that she was carrying the late Asuma-sensei's child.

As it turned out, she just really hated perverts.

"Minori-chan," a large burly woman greeted her, but glared at him out of the corner of her eyes. "Welcome back, though may I ask what—" she paused, pointing a ridiculously thick forefinger at him, "—it wants?"

Naruto was affronted. His lips twisted into a small frown as he looked up at the burly woman.

"I'm a person, you know, not a thing."

"Shut it, you despicable waste of man-flesh! I didn't ask you to talk!" the towering woman hollered, unknowingly attracting the attention of the entire guild hall.

He shirked back, not expecting such a violent outburst. Just as he was about to retort, Minori stepped in—apparently sensing where the impending argument was headed. "Sarah-san, he's just an errand boy I met along the way," she said with a flippant wave of her hand. "He's supposed to deliver a letter to Mistress Agatha."

The she-hulk, or Sarah-san, perked up. "A letter for Agatha-sama-sama." She stuck her hand out; it was far larger than an average man's or even Naruto's for that matter. "Give it to me. I must screen it for Agatha-sama-sama's sake."

"No need for such a thing, dear. I'm far more capable than you think me to be."

The voice came from the shadows of the second floor. The figure took slow, measured steps down the stairs, and Agatha Bagsby, the Guild Mistress of Mermaid's Cove, came into view.

The elderly woman carried herself in a way that conveyed strength beyond her years. A few strands of black hair stood out in the sea of white. There was an inexplicable look of weariness in her brown eyes, which spoke volumes of the trials she must have went through in her career. She smiled at him, the deepened wrinkles adding a few more years on her features.

"You said you have a letter, young man?"

"It might be booby-trapped, Agatha-sama-sama!" Sarah-san said, holding a hand out to stop her beloved Guild Mistress.

Agatha tutted under her breath. "Nonsense dear, and even if it is, as your Guild Mistress, I am adequately capable of handling such a simple case of sabotage." She turned back to him. "Now, the letter please?"

"Yeah, it's from the mayor of Camoa, Harkins—"

He didn't even get the chance to finish the sentence as Agatha snatched the letter from his grasp and ripped off the seal. She frowned, skimming through the content of the letter with a trained eye.

"It's definitely from that bastard," she said darkly. The woman's demeanour then reverted back to normal. "Well... I believe I owe you a fee for delivering the letter, yes? If you could just wait a moment." Agatha motioned to one of her mages, speaking in hushed tones before she handed the letter to her subordinate. The younger mage passed a small stack of bills to the Guild Mistress before rushing upstairs.

Agatha held out the fee to him. "Thank you for your service, dear."

"You're welcome." Naruto glanced at Minori, motioning for her help.

Minori took a hesitant step forward.

"Uh, Mistress... Naruto here actually has an ulterior motive for delivering the letter. He's thinking of joining the guild." Minori paused, as the statement was met with derision from her fellow guild members. Naruto saw Minori try to conceal a sneaky grin.

That was a low blow.

"Ha! This puny punk thinks he can join the Cove?"

"—haven't had a challenger for quite some time now. Think they're finally catching on?"

Minori cleared her throat, capturing the attention of the occupants in the hall once more. "Yeah, but I told him that it wasn't the wisest decision, so he's thinking of joining one of the other guilds in the area, maybe you could help him?"

Agatha eyed Naruto with disapproval. "Is that so? What do you want? A letter of recommendation?"

Naruto scoffed, not for the first time today, at being underestimated. Although, being heckled by a gaggle of rowdy females was a lot worse. "I don't need a stupid recommendation! I bet any guild out there worth its salt would gladly take me in."

Even if he wasn't sure how a prospective member was judged to be worthy, it felt nice saying that out loud. Besides, he could pass some stupid test. Maybe not a written test, but anything else was just fine with him.

His statement caused another small uproar amongst the mages in the guild. Truth be told, their incessant peals of laughter were getting tiresome. Minori made a motion with her hands discreetly, asking him to cut it out, to which he ignored. She closed in the distance between them, slapping a hand over his mouth. Scrunching up her face, she hissed out in his ear:

"Stop! You're making me look bad in front of Mistress Agatha." Naruto wanted to argue back that she was the one who instigated the whole thing, but Minori hastily added, "Please."

Naruto begrudgingly conceded defeat.

"Oh? Will they now?" Agatha asked.

Minori turned back to her Mistress, releasing her hold over Naruto. "Actually, Naruto is a very powerful mage. I'm sure they would."

She shared a look with him, and Naruto could only assume that it was her way of apologising.

"Hmph, that all remains to be seen, Minori. But if he's not here for a recommendation, what exactly does he want help with?"

"Well, we heard that there was a guild somewhere near Diligeon. Is that true?"

Agatha's eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh, you must be talking about Cait Shelter. Though that reminds me, it's been a while since I talked to Roubaul..."

Naruto raised a brow, smiling.

"Cait Shelter, huh?"

That could work.

Mermaid's Cove — Mages Guild Card

Name: Minori

Age: Seventeen

Magic: Curse

Likes: Halloween and the word "totally"

Dislikes: Twins (Because they're freaky...)

Notes: A recent addition to the ranks of Mermaid's Cove, Minori has always dreamed about joining the women's only guild. It was mostly driven by her desire to work alongside the esteemed Guild Mistress, Agatha Bagsby. Not much is known about her first mission, but she has acknowledged that she was way above her head to do a high-level mission request alone. In the end, she failed miserably. Now, she only takes low-level mission requests to assuage her strange obsession about the hundred percent success rate for all her future missions. She hopes to take a higher-ranked mission soon, but is more concerned about forming a suitable team first.

~I. Won't. Fail. Again.~

Side Note: So there's the hook in my story. Although, it appears that some of you may have already hinted about it happening. I wanted to change up the game plan from the usual path these types of crossovers usually take.

Also, thanks for all the reviews, constructive criticisms, and support.

Summons: It is a pitfall that is hard to explain, but think of it as a computer partition. Anima is the boot-up screen and the summons are the applications. You can't use your applications in Vista if you're in XP and vice-versa. I know it sounds a bit dumb, but it would be harder to explain how he could summon the toads but not reverse-summon back to Konoha.

Next Chapter: Welcome to Cait Shelter…