Chapter 37 - N

"You said you're a ninja, how so?"

"How so? I went to the Academy, of course. It was such a drag so I was always pulling pranks but now I'm one of the best ninjas in my village!"

Clementine gives him a look. "You went to the Academy to become a ninja?"

"Yup. I was the best on trap setting and stealth. Not so much on everything else."

Naruto thinks he hears her mumbling a confused 'trap setting?' before she asks, "You're out of the Academy then? Do you miss it?"

Grimacing, Naruto looks to the side, away from Clementine. "Do you miss the school thingy you mentioned?"

When he hears no response he looks down at her.

"Clem?"

"I do miss it. I had a couple of friends in there. And we always went to lunch together to eat and play… It was fun." She adjusts her cap before looking up at him with a small smile. "I don't miss Math, though."

"Tell me about it."

They're quiet for a couple of minutes until Clementine asks, "And what else do they teach you in a ninja Academy?"

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"Really?"

"Yeah, so now I'm worried about Kurama, he's the one who must be the worse of us. I mean, I don't care if my chakra control is shot off its axis. Though I do feel like some kind of time bomb, sometimes." He grabs one leaf that's falling and presses it against his forehead. Not a second later, it explodes. "Yep, chakra control sucks."

Clementine takes a step away from him but Naruto can see it's mostly for humor than because of actual fright. "You said he got bigger when he received, um, his both parts? Does that mean now that you've most of his power, he's small?"

Naruto stops dead on his feet and regards Clementine with a serious look. "I've not thought about it. He's probably really, really small," he murmurs, frowning as he looks towards the direction Kurama flew away.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" He nods absently which doesn't seem to satisfy Clementine. "What are you thinking about?"

Blinking, he finally looks down at the small girl walking next to him. It's been a couple of days but Clementine is already less guarded around him. He's not one for silence but Clementine is and he respects that. "I was just wondering how much time I'd have to hug tiny Kurama before he gets big and stomps me into oblivion."

Clementine giggles in the way little girls can only do.

"Want another story in which I save the day?"

"Is there going to be Sakura there, too?"

Naruto tilts his head, his hand going under his chin in mock thought. "Sure! Most of those stories involve her hitting me in some way but she's always badass."

She nods. "I wanted to be a doctor and she does sounds like an amazing doctor."

"She is! And damn strong, too."

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"You want to do what?"

Naruto nods, he's trying to take a bite of a couple of birds they hunted but their skin is not as tender as he remembers it to be. Probably his cooking is at fault. "Yeah. I want to help whoever I can while searching for my friends. And then see what I can do after I reunite with them. Then we'll try to look for a way to go back to our home."

"Like a comic book hero."

Now is Naruto's time to be confused. "What?"

"It doesn't matter. Do you have some idea how to do that?"

"Well, I was thinking of looking for a secure place first and then maybe do something like the village's walls of my home. That way the zombies couldn't enter. But some place secure enough to help people will suffice for now."

Clementine nods. "I don't know if there are secured places big enough for what you want. Maybe some secluded town or a fabric."

"I've some maps maybe you can help me search for good places? I can't read the language so I don't know what it says." Naruto opens his backpack, searching for the maps he put in a couple of days before. "I got them from the library. This world is big, I tell you."

"Um, that's another thing. Probably you shouldn't say you're a ninja. There are no ninjas here unless they're make-believe."

Naruto frowns. "Ninjas don't exist? There is no one with the kind of powers I have here?"

She shakes her head. "You'll probably sound crazy or scare some people if they see what you can do," she says looking at the scorch mark he made in one of the trees while trying to tree climb again.

Naruto remembers the towns he visited with Ero-senin. The ones that didn't have any ninjas around or were uncommon. He recalls how they moved away from them, scared about the feats they've been told they were able to commit. If this world is like one of those towns then he can understand. He wants to help people not scare them away.

"I understand," he says, giving Clementine the maps. "Just in case of emergencies then."

"Just in emergencies."

She receives them and smiles at him before opening the papers.

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Thank you for your support! And if you want to give even more support (Or read more chapters ahead), then go to my pa_treon/JorieDS

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