He wasn't here yet though. That left an old woman fuuinjutsu expert, the Hokage himself, and two others.
"His summoning is actually for something called the Faerie Realm," said Ui. "Right now he has us - the ones that aren't part of either side. Later that might change. No, it probably WILL change."
"'Either side'?" asked the Hokage.
"There's two sides in Faerie," said Ui, pouring tea. "The Winter Court rules ice and snow, they tend to be merciless and harsh. The Summer Court deals with fire and greenery, and is more friendly to humans, for certain values of friendly."
"They are at war?" asked the Hokage.
"If by war you mean like a human war - no." Ui paused in her handing out of tea. "In terms of the fae - yes. The war only occurs twice a year, when the reins of power are handed over. Even then it is more a tradition involving champions at this point - it HAS been going on for several millenia after all."
"A war going on for 'millenia'? Heavily structured? Perhaps something like the Chunin Exams," said Beniko, the fuuinjutsu expert looking up from her work briefly, then nodding a thank you for the tea laid out nearby.
"So you and that 'Sylph' are of a group that is not part of the two sides?" asked the Hokage.
"Right, we're more of a loose alliance," said Ui brightly.
"So, you're all Naruto can summon right now?" asked Beniko. "There can be only one?"
"Well, I'm the only Browny, but there are others he might be able to manage," admitted Ui. "He'll need better control of his magic though."
"Chakra control, understood," said the Hokage thoughtfully.
"So, what's that?" asked Choji, looking over the small sack that Naruto had brought in.
"Ui-chan made brownies," said Naruto, opening the lunch satchel.
"That's a lot of food," noted Shikamaru, thinking that preparing that much food would have been quite a bit of trouble.
Naruto brought out a plate of small brown squares. "Wanna try one?"
Naruto felt the eyes of the entire class upon them as Choji sat next to him, lifted the plastic film off to grab one of the snacks, then tentatively sniff the thing.
Choji popped the treat into his mouth and went completely still.
"Choji?" asked a worried Shikamaru after a moment had passed.
Tears began tracking from Choji's eyes. "It's - It's good."
"Hmm?" asked Shikamaru.
"Chocolate with a touch of hazelnut, walnuts," listed off Choji. "The texture! This is a true brownie!"
"Oh?" asked Shikamaru. "Who's 'Ui-chan'?"
"I did up a Summons, she's a fae," said Naruto.
"I don't see where her love life has any bearing on anything," said Shikamaru. "She a professional cook?"
"Don't think so," said Naruto thoughtfully. "I think she just likes to cook."
"She likes to cook?" asked Choji, eyes now locked onto the rest of Naruto's lunch.
"So you're 'Ui'?" asked Shikamaru. Somehow he'd expected someone older, and he'd expected Naruto's apartment to be a mess. Neither was the case. The girl was clearly in her late teens, while the apartment was as close to spotless as was humanly possible.
"Yes, the name I chose is Ui Hirasawa. Hello. Are you all friends of Naruto-kun?"
"See?" proclaimed Naruto.
"Yes, she is not imaginary," said Shikamaru. "I knew this would be troublesome."
"Well, I just made chocolate chip cookies," said Ui. "Would it be too troublesome if I offered you some?"
Choji whimpered.
Akamaru smacked his lips and prepared to argue that as a nin-dog he could handle small amounts of chocolate.
Kiba idly scratched an ear. "Maybe not."
It happened slowly, over the course of a few months but the changes were sufficiently gradual that day-to-day viewing wouldn't pick up on it.
The Hokage personally saw Naruto infrequently. Therefore, he noticed. "Is Naruto taller?"
"Uhm, I suppose," said Cat.
"He seems to be in better shape than is perfectly normal for an eleven year old," noted the Hokage.
"He's twelve now," noted the ANBU.
"Still," mused the Hokage.
Cat stirred for a moment. "Ui is making all his meals of late, plus he's getting training from others that he's able to summon for brief periods."
"Others?" asked the Hokage, thinking back to his reports. "Ah yes."
"He has been training until he is nearly ready to collapse from exhaustion," noted Cat. "Physical training, chakra control, studying fuuinjutsu, and maintaining summons mostly."
"It's had results," noted the Hokage.
"He has repeatedly stated his desire to become an exemplary ninja," noted Cat.
"That doesn't sound like him at all," commented the Hokage.
"Not the word he uses, but that seems to be the intent of the phrases he tends to mangle," said Cat.
"Ah, that sounds more likely," admitted the Hokage.
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(Posted Sat, 28 Jun 2014 17:01)
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