6

Chapter Five – The Curse of the Sea Tub Clarabella

0.0

"And what's rule number one?"

"Above all, always listen to your orders," Wendy intoned absently. She had repeated the rule ad nauseum all day today, but Naruto wouldn't relent on drilling it deep into her psyche.

The moment they stepped into town however, she began to ignore him. Instead her attention was transfixed on the bustling activity all around her. This was the first time that she had stepped into a town, so it was understandable that she was a bit distracted by her surroundings.

It had always been her fondest wish to visit the port town of Diligeon, especially after hearing the far-fetched stories about the strange wares being hawked and the oddity of the city people from some of the members. Although back then, she was beginning to think that the others were merely over-exaggerating but now...

Wait?

Did that sign just read 'Ye Olde Chocolate Shoppe'? They had a whole store just for chocolate?

Oh, she was definitely stopping by there once they finished the request.

Speaking of requests, Wendy couldn't believe that Chief Roubaul finally allowed her to go on one. He had explained however that it was only because he trusted Naruto's judgement and ability to handle the prerequisites of the mission, and to protect her should things go awry.

It was one of the few times she had seen him so serious.

Her euphoria quickly died down.

Wendy couldn't help but fret anxiously after his admission, praying for the successful outcome of their first mission and for their safety. She came to an uncomfortable truth; a mission might not be as fun as she first chalked it up to be. She had always thought it to be an adventure, but what was an adventure without risks? They were being paid to risk life and limb for its successful outcome.

Would the client even care if one of them died?

It was bad enough that Chief Roubaul's unusually stern warning made her toss and turn at night; something that Carla had to address. As it turned out, the small cat wasn't angry, which made her blink.

Carla had always enjoyed her sleep.

Instead, the feline eased her anxiety by staying up late to talk (which turned into an odd sort of lecture), pointing out that no harm would befall them if Naruto stuck around. The Dragon Slayer didn't know that Carla's trust in him went so deep. That little fact alone calmed her down, ensuring that she had at least a few, decent hours of sleep before they began the trek south to Diligeon.

"Wendy, are you even listening to me?"

Wendy nodded, tearing her eyes away from the glorious cascading fountain of melted cheese in one of the display windows of the stores. Sadly, its name 'Ye Olde Cheese Shoppe' was kind of uninspiring.

Maybe it was a franchising thing.

"Mmhmm, I'm listening."

"Okay." Naruto eyed her with a frown, perpetuating his words, "What is it then?"

"Rule number two is to always remember rule number one."

"That was just a lucky guess..."

Wendy tuned him out as he continued rambling about his other rules, which were basically there to reaffirm the first. She wasn't one to be rude, but the two of them had experienced the full blast of his insanity during the full day's walk on the road to Diligeon.

It was obvious that the Naruto got bored easily. Coupled with his incessant attempts to try and 'speed up the process', well, it had grated on Carla's nerves. However, Wendy didn't get a chance to find out what he meant as the Exceed cut him off, rejecting whatever he had planned in his head.

"Look, Carla."

Wendy pointed to the small café down the street with the cute and frilly-pink concept. She knew it would pique her best friend's interest due to the cat's unholy fascination with tea.

"We're going there later," Carla whispered, glancing at the rambling blond who was now gesturing wildly with his hands.

Wendy knew what that look meant; the Exceed didn't want him to come along. She didn't want to be mean, but there was a chance that Naruto wouldn't like it. It was more of a girl thing. Besides, she could always sneak over to the chocolate store once they were done.

All that chocolate...

"Wait!" Naruto blocked her path with his arm, stalling her. His eyes darted up and down the length of the street, features grim. "This place looks familiar. I think I recognise this street."

"What are you talking about?" Carla asked.

"I remember that shop." Naruto gestured to a book store just a few stores down from where they were. "Back then, I thought it was weird that they had this cut-out cardboard figure that looked kinda like a ninja, but he was wearing this really strange black outfit that covered his whole body like a mummy."

"So?"

"So," Naruto said, sending Carla a displeased look. "That means that the Oasis café should be somewhere near—"

"You came back!"

The shrill scream pierced the stillness of the sleepy town, startling Naruto and interrupting him in mid-speech. Later, he would tell them that the act was reminiscent of when he first visited Diligeon just a week ago.

"What am I saying?" the woman said. "Of course you came back!"

A brunette in a skimpy bunny outfit rushed over to Naruto, who was too shocked to move an inch, sidling up next to him as she cuddled his arm against her chest. The woman rubbed her cheeks against his. It caused the blond to pull back sharply, blushing a deep shade of red.

"Were you rejected by that guild?" the woman asked, her honey-suckling tone sending shivers up Wendy's arms. "Did you decide to come back and work for Yue-chan, Master?"

Wendy looked away, her cheeks flushing. Body stiff, she marched up to a random store front and stared intently at the items on display window. She didn't know Naruto had a girlfriend—much less an older girlfriend.

She didn't want to be a bother.

"That's what you'd call a slu—"

Wendy clamped her hand over the cat's mouth before Carla was able to complete whatever she was trying to say. It wasn't right to badmouth his girlfriend. After all, they never met her before. Perhaps there was a reason why she was dressed like that. Taking a risk, she glanced back at the awkward couple.

Maybe there were some truths to what their guild members said about city people...

0.0

"Could you let me go now?" Naruto said, squirming.

Yue pouted, shaking her head against his; it caused him to splutter out some of her hair that got entangled in his lips. "Only if you come back to work for me, Naruto~" she continued in that awful sing-song tone of voice.

Seeing no other way, he used his hands to push her away from him, making doubly—no, triply— sure that he did not touch anything sensitive. People were milling around them and he could clearly make out the faint whispers from the small crowd.

It wasn't anything polite.

Also, who knows where Wendy and Carla had run off to? He had lost sight of them during his brief lapse of concentration. He shuddered to think what would happen if he came back without them.

Oh, Chief Roubaul would tear him a new one.

Yue wiggled her brows slyly. "Getting frisky are we, Master?"

"Please get off me. I need to go find my friends."

Yue did so, looking guilty. "Isn't that them over there?" she asked, pointing over to one of the shops nearby. The small crowd dispersed once it was apparent that their little intimate moment was over, but not before offering a few crude parting shots that Naruto ignored.

"Oi, Wendy! Carla!" He waved them over.

The girl in question glanced back at him before pulling her gaze away. From where he was standing, he could see that she was blushing, but the feline in her arms had no qualms about remaining ignorant. Carla narrowed her eyes at him, almost telepathically saying that he was going to get it from her later.

Sighing, he rushed over to them, with Yue trailing not far behind him. Wendy remained oblivious, even though his reflection came up in the shop window. He frowned at it, knowing that she could see it too as he poked her on the shoulders.

"You shouldn't run off like that," Naruto said. "Remember the rules? They're not for fun, you know."

His attempt at humour was shot down as Wendy ignored it. She smiled, though her eyes trailed wide to the woman that accompanied him. "Naruto, I w-was... wondering where you were." She wasn't a very good liar. "Uhm, who's your... friend?"

"This is Yue. We met when I first came into town about a week ago."

"I-Is that so?" Wendy nodded, blinking owlishly. "Well, Carla and I shouldn't be bothering you two. You must want to—uhm, catch up and everything. We'll just walk around town in the meantime."

She made the motion to leave, but he reached out to stop her.

"Where did you get the idea that you were bothering us?"

Two pairs of eyes peeked behind him, eyeing the brunette in the bunny suit. It was Wendy who blurted out a hasty reply, "We just thought you might want to spend some time alone with your girlfriend, so—"

"Girlfriend?" He didn't even dare to look behind at the supposed object of his affection. "She's not my girlfriend!"

"She's not?" two voices chorused in unison, though one in no small amount of surprise and the other in a slight drawl.

"I'm not?"

The restaurateur ducked her chin down, pouting. The crestfallen look on her pretty face was amplified by her trembling bottom lip and the small pool of tears that gathered at the corner of her eyes. It was the same trick that got him into her restaurant and that ruckus the last time he was here.

"I-I thought we had something special, Naruto," Yue choked out, hands flying up to cover her mouth as she bit back a small gasp. "When you saved my life back then, I thought t-that maybe... just maybe—"

"Cut it out!"

Just like that, the meek façade vanished as the woman stuck her tongue out at Naruto. "Seriously? You're no fun, Naruto." She pushed past him, crouching before the young girl with the white cat in her arms. "Ara, who do we have here? Don't tell me a guild actually accepted you already?"

"Of course they did!" Naruto boasted with a certain measure of pride in his eyes. "That's my apprentice, Wendy, and well, her pet cat, I guess."

His apprentice looked sheepish. "Partner, actually."

"More like a casual acquaintance..."

Yue stifled a laugh. "This one's a riot," she said, pointing at Carla. If Yue found a talking cat odd, she didn't comment on it. Turning her attention to Wendy, Yue tilted her head to one side, forehead creasing in thought. "You know, if you were just a little bit older, we could draw in the lolicon crowd. I'm sure it won't be that hard to find a costume to fit you."

"Argh! What the hell, Yue? Get away from her!"

"The nerve of this brazen woman!"

Wendy looked around in alarm. "A-Ah, what are you guys talking about?"

Naruto shoved Yue away from her—none too lightly too—as he shielded Wendy from the restaurateur. "It's nothing you need to know," he said to Wendy hurriedly.

"All right! Jeez! Maybe it doesn't sound technically legal, but forgive a girl for trying to gain a competitive edge!" Yue stood up, her umbrage giving way to her curiosity. "Besides, what are you guys doing in town anyway? Oh! Nice new digs by the way, Naruto. I forgot to mention that."

Naruto looked at her, still unconvinced. He was aware that she was trying to deflect and change the subject. "We've got our first mission," he said, reaching inside his poncho for their mission request and held it to her.

Her eyes skimmed through the request with practised ease. "Huh, I've heard rumours about that thing around town lately, but I never actually went over to see it."

"Oh? Anything interesting?"

Yue shook her head. "Not much. Some of the locals living near the harbour mentioned hearing strange wailing from across the waters. Creepy, but I don't think there's an actual threat for us in town."

"W-Wailing?" Wendy asked.

Even Carla looked worried.

"I'm sure it's nothing serious. After all, this is only a low-level mission," Naruto said. "As long as I'm around, the two of you have nothing to worry about." He smiled, messing up Wendy's hair. That always seemed to calm her down.

Instead, it got the desired effect from someone else.

"Hey," Yue said. "Whenever you're done with your mission, be sure to stop by the café. I'm sure that I could work out a discount for the three of you. You know, for how you helped out last time. It's the least I could do."

Naruto eyed her with suspicion. It was weird to see a reversal with this sudden giving nature of hers. In the brief time he had known her, she didn't look the type that would give without wanting something else in return.

"Naruto! Stop looking at me like that! Forgive a girl for trying to be nice once in a while!"

"Okay?"

Yue sighed. "Well then, I guess that settles it. I better get back to the store," the bunny woman said, making the motion to leave. "Oh, I forgot!" She snapped her fingers. "Minori was looking for you a couple of days ago."

"Minori?"

"Yeah, she said something about wanting to split the reward from the mission you guys did together."

"Mission?" Naruto asked. "I don't remember doing a mission with her."

"No, no. It turned out those thugs had a nifty reward on their heads, but since you guys technically stopped them without accepting the request, it was forfeited. Still, the client was more than happy to compensate you for your troubles."

"Really? That's great!"

"Yeah, give me a sec. She's back in the restaurant. I'll go get her for you."

Yue rushed back to the Oasis café, knocking on the large display window to get Minori's attention. She waved at the girl in question, pointing him out to her.

Minori was seated in the booth at the far left of the store, obscured slightly by a wall. She was looking bored and peeved as usual, her body language screamed defensive as she wrapped her arms around herself. She was tending to a male patron. The balding man was sweating as he ate, obviously perturbed by her presence.

Naruto could sympathise.

Her mood brightened when she saw him, not caring a bit as she walked out in the middle of her Master's meal. She spoke with Yue at the entrance before the restaurateur took over for her, tending to the balding man who looked much happier with the change in personnel.

"Hey!" Minori said, sounding miffed. "What's the deal with running out of town all of a sudden? You didn't even say goodbye to us. Rude, much?"

Naruto remained silent.

"You're a bunny girl now?" he said after much consideration. "I guess being a witch started being a little old for you."

"J-Jerk!"

Minori kicked his shin, which he didn't try to avoid. For the sake of the girl's pride, he faked a pained hiss. She covered her cleavage with her arms, but there wasn't much else to cover, really. The outfit was risqué, so it was pointless; from the exposed shoulders that cut off at her breasts down to the V-shaped opening that ended at her hips and the provocative fishnet stockings.

"This is for the waitressing gig, stupid. It's not like I want to walk around in a ridiculous outfit like this, do I?"

"I dunno. You seem to like walking around dressed as a witch."

"I'm doing this for you, you know!"

"Wait?" Naruto said. "What does this have to do with me?"

Minori looked away as she rubbed her arms. Naruto was aware however that she wasn't doing it from the cold, the weather was warm enough as it is. "Don't get mad, Naruto. You have to promise me this."

"What's this about?"

"Promise me!"

"The money?" Naruto's eyes were wide. He held onto her by her arms, shaking the girl. "Does it have to do with our reward money?! What happened to it?!"

She winced. "Not so much ours, but more like yours."

"What happened to my share?!"

"I... spent it. All of it..."

Naruto slumped lifelessly to his knees.

Minori patted him on his arm in an act of consolation. She sounded guilty as she explained, "Look, Naruto. I'm totally, totally good for it. I'm going to pay back every single Jewel I owe you. It's just going to take me a while, maybe another week, or a few weeks tops."

"That long? How much was the reward?"

"Well, as it turned out, everyone we beat up that day was from the Tora no Tsume clan; they're one of the larger Yakuza clans around the area, and as it turned out there was a bounty on their heads. We took out almost every one of them, except for their clan head, and he gave himself up to the Rune Knights the next day because there was no one else around. Can you believe that?"

"Trying not to," he said despondently. "And the reward?"

"Well, the client was so happy he gave us two hundred and fifty thousand Jewels. I didn't even know there was a request in the first place. Someone just showed up at the guild a few days later and gave me the reward. Actually, I've been thinking it over these past two days. The reward money is kind of suspicious. Rewards for these types of mission are usually much lower."

"Why?" Naruto asked, despondent.

"Why is it suspicious? Well, the guy who gave me the reward was kind of shady to be honest. I have my reservations, but I think he was from a rival Yakuza clan. I was digging around and asking about this mission request that they posted, you know what? There wasn't even one in the first place! That's totally shady, right?"

"No... Why did you spend my share in the first place?"

"O-Oh, you shouldn't have let me rambled on so much then." Minori looked sheepish, saying, "Well, I've been saving up for this enchantment for my hammer. When the reward came in, one of my guild mates said she knew a 'guy' who could get it for me at a discount—it was almost everything I had on me at the time, including the reward money. But he was only holding onto it for me as a favour to her. If I didn't pay up, he already had another buyer lined up, so... I bought it at an impulse."

She wrought her hands nervously, adding in a whisper, "Sorry, Naruto."

Naruto waved her off, his arm listless. "Nah, it's fine I guess. What's money between friends?"

"I'll totally pay you back! I'm taking every mission I can get my hands own, even this." Minori indicated at her attire, hissing, "And you know how much I hate this, right?"

"I remember having first-hand experience of how much you hate working there."

"Y-Yeah, sorry about that too. In my defence, you were totally being a perv!" she said that last part lowly, soft enough just for the two of them to hear. "But like I said, I'm doing every mission available. I even had my eyes on this mission in town, but someone else gypped it from me. I had to do this waitressing gig again because of it."

"Oh, wait..." Naruto showed her the mission request for the haunted ship. "You mean this? I'm in town because of this."

Minori snatched it from his hand. "That's the one! I can't believe it was you! I totally registered for it and everything. The next thing I knew, the mission got taken off the mission registry list and the accepted guild was left blank. I thought the client cancelled the request..."

"Huh? I don't know anything about that. Must be something glitchy on their end or something." Minori looked like she didn't quite believe him. "I wasn't the one who registered for it, it was my Guild Master."

"Oh," she said, crestfallen. "Just my luck, huh? That mission sounded like easy money."

Naruto considered for a moment, then sighed. "Well, you could always come with us. We could use your help with this, but your share will probably go back to me anyway. It's only fair."

"Us?" Minori questioned. "Who'd you come with?"

He resisted the urge to smack his head, forgetting the introductions. "Ah, right. I didn't get a chance to introduce my guildmates. I got into Cait Shelter by the way. This is Wendy and Car—dammit! Not again! Where'd they go?!"

0.0

The duo had apparently seen Minori in her bunny costume earlier, and fled much like with Yue before, wanting to give them space to 'catch up'. It took a while to explain and vehemently deny that Minori was in no way shape or form his girlfriend. Minori spluttered a few indignant responses about the nature of their relationship as well.

Wendy was mollified, but Carla still remained sceptical, questioning him about his supposedly torrid relationships with so many different women. She even demanded he tell them if he had any more friends of the female kind. He wisely kept his mouth shut about Martha. That was a bridge he would cross when it arrived.

"Right, let's get the introductions out of the way. Guys, you've met Minori. Minori, this is Wendy, and the snarky one over there is Carla."

"A pleasure," Carla said.

Wendy greeted Minori with a bow. "Nice to meet you, Minori-san. Sorry about before, we didn't mean to assume that you two were, you know... together."

"That's okay," she cooed. "Oooh, aren't you just the cutest little thing ever? How did a cutie pie like you get stuck in a team with this big lummox here?"

Wendy forced out a horribly mangled smile, choosing to stand there despite her uncomfortable state.

"A-Ah, thank you?"

"Nice, Minori," Naruto said, deadpan. "Stop torturing my apprentice."

He didn't know she had a soft spot for kids. At least, Carla couldn't find a fault with Minori like she had with Yue. Well, there was that brief argument about her supposedly risqué witch outfit at first.

"But she's totally cute!"

"U-Uhm, could you stop p-pinching my cheeks, Minori-san?" the younger girl asked. "It's starting to h-hurt."

"Okay, but you have to stop being formal with me. Call me Minori or... or big sis, 'kay?"

At this point, Wendy looked like she would agree to just about anything.

"A-All right."

Naruto continued to lead the way towards the docks as they exited the town proper. The request had stated for them to meet the client, one Captain Saab of the Sea Tub Clarabella, just outside the Sea Shanty, a bar overlooking the docks. It was a quaint little dive, popular with labourers and the odd-sorts of shady businessmen that traversed the sea routes.

Of course, their brightly-coloured clothes and general cleanliness was a sharp contrast to the rest of the denizens of the docks.

There were a couple of unsavoury men leering at them, particularly Minori but she brushed off their attention without a hint of emotion betraying her features. Naruto didn't have to worry about her, Minori was more than capable of handling herself, but he did feel wary about meeting in a place like this, especially with Wendy and Carla by his side.

"No wandering off," he whispered to the young girl beside him as they neared the bar.

Wendy nodded as she sped up closer to Naruto, to the point that she was hiding behind him. Her grip around Carla's waist tightened. The small cat smartly kept her sharply-worded comments about these men to herself, knowing that there was no point in trying a pick a fight with them.

"Are you Captain Saab?" Naruto asked, stopping short before a lavishly-dressed individual.

The middle-aged captain laughed, lifting the brim of his tweed cap as he uncovered his unsettling green eyes. Saab stood up fully, dusting off the back of his red coat. "Aye, laddie. That'd be me. You the mages I hired for this shindig?"

"That'd be us. We're from Cait Shelter."

That got a small laugh out of Saab. "A smart ass, are we? We had a lot of those under our previous captain," he said, grinning slyly. "Too bad none of them ever made it this far with us!"

Just as Saab opened his mouth to howl another hearty laugh, a hitch of breath caught his attention. Saab snapped his head towards the young girl cowering behind Naruto.

"You brought a child with you on a mission? You must be dumber than you look, lad."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man. "The four of us are more than capable of handling it. You just worry about your ship afterwards. We can't guarantee what condition it'll be in if there's a battle."

"Fine, just don't come bawling to me when the girl's dead, yeah? The state of my ship will be the least of your concern when that happens."

Wendy gripped onto him tighter.

Minori who was lagging at the rear, spoke up, "You know, you're totally hamming up this whole 'Arrgh! I'm a mean, evil captain' role of yours. It's getting pretty an—"

"Quiet, sweetheart. Men are negotiating business."

"And there it is... I was wondering when the chauvinistic pig angle would come into play. What else have you got for me?"

Saab gave her a look. "Didn't I just ask you to keep your pretty little mouth shut? Our business has yet to be concluded. We'll have time for your petty insults later."

The witch was about to tell him off when Naruto stopped her, mirroring the scowl on Minori's face.

"Ignore him, Minori. The mission?"

Saab shrugged before pointing out towards the sea, at the stranded boat about two kilometres off the docks.

"That'd be the Sea Tub Clarabella, a fine ship with a damn fine crew. About three days ago, just as we were about to sail into the harbour, this, this—" he gestured with his hands, "—apparition appeared right before our eyes and started chasing the crew off the deck. Fortunately, none of my men were seriously injured. We tried getting back on, of course, but the thing just swatted us off again. It was like whatever it was didn't want us to dock.

"So we swam to shore, put up a request at the registry and here we are, waiting for the lot of you mages to clear that bloody thing off my ship," Saab said, sighing. "I was waiting the whole bloody day for you to arrive. That's just poor service on your end. I'm planning to dock part of the reward as a penalty."

"That's ridiculous!" Minori crossed her arms over her chest, drumming her fingers on her arm. "The agreed upon reward cannot be changed unless we fail to satisfy the prerequisite of the mission. Stop trying to gyp us."

Naruto was glad that he brought her along. He would have been at a lost otherwise.

"Time is part of the prerequisite. My time is money," he explained to them. "I find it strange that you're protesting so much. After all, the client's word is law. I have perishables aboard my vessel and your unfortunate delay has cost me dearly. Had you arrived earlier, perhaps this unlikely scenario would have never occurred."

"Then, you should clearly indicated on your mission request that it was time-sensitive. You left your request open to all guilds in Fiore, I saw that much on the registry. Whose fault is that?"

"Did I now, missus? My goodness, I really should have been more careful when I did that. I am still inexperienced in dealing with your kind. Sheesh, so hung up on technicalities." Saab held his hands up. "It was my mistake, and I shall own up to it. We shall proceed with the agreed upon price. That is, if that's all right with you, laddie?"

"That's fine," Naruto said curtly. "Is there anything else we need to know about your ship? This mission?"

"Can't think of anything at the top of my head." The captain sighed, his eyes drawn towards the horizon of the port town. "Can't honestly say that I feel assured with your services at the moment. I was expecting to see those mages from the women's guild in this town, but then I got the three of you and your pet instead. Although, one of you is easy on the eyes. But you'll forgive me when I express my displeasure at seeing some random backwater guild handle my mission request when I could have the renowned services of those from Mermaid's Cove."

"Actually, I'm from Mermaid's Cove. Does that make you happy?"

"Are you now?" Saab asked, grinning. "Whadd'ya say if I were to dump the services of these adorable 'Cat Shelter' mages and hire you and your esteemed colleagues instead? I could definitely make it worth your while, and you mine."

Minori scoffed. "Try it. We'll blacklist you personally and see to it that your ship remain out there for months. Try complaining about your perishables then."

"Cheeky, cheeky." Saab slowly spread the tip of his tongue over his lips; the provocative act was a contrast to the glare Naruto sent his way. "That's very underhanded of a guild many people hold in high regard, myself included. Why, just hearing the tales of your guild's exploitations alone has left me feeling hot and bothered under my collar. Is is true what they say? That your members offer added incentives to their clients for hiring your guild?"

Minori's lips thinned in response and her eyes narrowed, choosing not to dignify that with a reply, but Carla had no such qualms.

"You vile man!" Carla's features scrunched up in anger and revulsion. "Have you no decency? Watch what you say in front of a child!"

"Oh, and what do we have here? A talking cat?" Saab tried to lean in on the cat nestled in Wendy's arms, but Naruto blocked him off, pushing him back roughly. Saab dusted off the imaginary speckles of dirt from his jacket, where Naruto had touched him. "Come now. I was just having a look-see. I don't appreciate getting manhandled by my own help," he said, a touch angry. "I am paying you after all."

"We're not being paid to be looked at, right?"

Saab tutted under his breath, wiggling his finger. "Right you are, lad. But I was merely trying to present a business proposition." He ducked down, regarding Wendy.

The young girl hid herself fully behind Naruto, peeking out to look at Saab.

"Now I presume this here talking cat belongs to you. How 'bout I buy her from you? People would pay a pretty jewel for something so exotic. I'll even give you an honest and fair price. Captain's honour."

"You uncouth ape! I am not a toy to be bartered! Yo—"

"N-No," Wendy said, interrupting the irate Exceed. "Carla's not for sale."

"You sure? She's got quite the wicked tongue. I wouldn't mind going up to fifty or even sixty thou, because you're such a lil' cutie. How 'bout it?" Saab stood up, staring into a pair of furious blue eyes. "Maybe you could persuade her, lad. It's good money, you know."

It was as if Saab was trying to egg him into starting a ruckus right here, in full view of the burly and equally surly sailors lounging around the docks, but Naruto showed surprising resilience by forcing himself not to.

Naruto was clenching his jaws tight, forcing out his question through gritted teeth:

"Where can we find you once we're done?"

"That's a no sale then." Saab let out a tittering laugh. "But seriously, I doubt the lot of you will survive, lad. Though if you do, I'll be waiting over there—" he pointed towards the Sea Shanty, "—having a nice, relaxing pint as I pray for the best. You see if you do get my ship back, but unfortunately die in the process, I won't have to pay the reward now, do I?" Saab leaned in closer to Naruto, losing the deranged grin as their foreheads touched, his features suddenly now cold and calculating.

"So good luck, laddie."

Naruto shoved him back forcefully, glaring at Saab, who fell in a rough tumble. The wily captain merely shrugged it off as he stood up and dusted his coat. He sauntered over to the bar, all the while, a crescendo of laughter bubbling from his lips.

Next to him, Wendy tugged at his poncho. "N-Naruto," she mumbled, seeing that his gaze never left the man's back. "M-Maybe Chief Roubaul w-was right. I don't t-think I'm ready. Not for a mission like this... I-I—"

Naruto placed his hand atop her head, the act forcing her to duck her head down, and tousled her hair. "Hey c'mon, I promised everything will be just fine before, didn't I?" He smiled down at the two of them. "I always keep my word. Besides, we got Minori coming with us, so you guys got nothing to worry about."

Minori was still lagging at the rear, her back to them, as she stared at Saab's retreating form. She snapped her fingers, locking them into a gun with her forefinger and thumb held out, at Saab just before he entered the establishment. She mumbled something under her breath.

Turning back to them, Minori smiled. "Yeah, ignore that stupid jerkface," she said. "We can handle this no prob."

Naruto furrowed his brows at her, asking, "Did you just do what I think you did?"

Her tone was challenging, "And if I did?"

"He's still our client, no matter how much of a bas—jerkface he is. Don't get me wrong, I was this close to hitting him." Naruto held out his fingers apart. "But... Ah, screw it. He deserves any bad luck coming his way."

"Totally, right?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Wendy asked.

Naruto quickly waved her off. "Nothing. We're just complaining about jerkface." She didn't look convinced. "C'mon," he said, dragging the young girl towards the edge of the docks. "The sooner we get this stupid mission done, the sooner we get to eat, and Minori can go back to her waitressing job."

"Hey! Uncalled for, much?"

Naruto continued the back and forth with Minori to alleviate the tension in the air and raise the morale of his two roommates. He wasn't so much worried for Carla. Wendy was his main concern. The Dragon Slayer was obviously intimidated by Saab; it was probably the first time she dealt with such a character. For a second, he noticed her nod as she squared her shoulders.

He couldn't help but smile.

There was some hope he could pull her out of her shell. He had his misgivings about bringing her along for this mission, but it was for her sake. Besides, having another familiar face in the form of Minori helped.

Naruto held back a sigh.

Maybe he was just over-thinking things.

As he continued to drag her towards the edge of the docks, Wendy began to resist, as if scared that he would accidentally fall into the sea.

"Ah, Naruto, where are you going?"

Confused, he motioned towards the ship.

Carla leaned out of the young girl's arms and stared pointedly at the choppy waters. "Aren't you forgetting about that?"

Wendy raised her hand, like a student trying to correct her teacher's mistake. "Uhm, Carla could fly me over there, but I don't know whether she could do it for you and Minori." She paused, giving them a once-over. "Minori should be fine, but you're kinda big, Naruto."

This particular fun-fact made him blink. He didn't know cats around here could do that.

"You can fly?" A disbelieving tone seeped into his voice, feeling indignant that Carla would leave out something like that about her. "You never told me that!"

"Hmm, you never thought to ask," Carla said simply. "Though, it looks like you have to swim over to the ship by yourself."

A small twitch of the lips was the only indication that she was amused by his predicament. He was kind of put out that the cat wouldn't elaborate further, but there was always time for that after the mission.

All of a sudden, Minori laughed boisterously.

"Lucky! I knew that buying that enchantment now was totally worth it! What are the odds of something like this happening?!"

"What are you on about?" Naruto asked.

The witch shot him a mischievous smile. "Ufufu! Check out the spoils of your generosity, Naruto!"

She requipped her magical hammer then straddled it like a broomstick, the head of the hammer positioned at the back as she gripped the handle tight between her thighs. Naruto didn't have to think about what would happen next.

Minori had some serious issues about becoming a full-fledged witch.

Her take-off was shaky at best, but she managed to rein it in, controlling her pseudo-broomstick with jerky movements. It seemed that she was still learning how to use it. "Ahaha!" She yelped, her ride dipping to one side, almost making her fall off. She steadied it at the last minute. "Ha! Isn't this just the best ever, Naruto?"

"Spoils of my generosity?"

"It kinda is."

Naruto shook his head, his disbelief making way for excitement as he smiled. "Well, to be fair, that thing is really cool. You have to let me ride that thing later! It's seriously unfair that all of you can fly!" He levelled a betrayed look at the young girl. "Even you, Wendy..."

"E-Eh? But I can't fly, it's only because of Carla!"

Naruto patted her on her head. "Well, that's okay because even if you guys can fly... my way's faster!"

He scooped Wendy into his arms (and Carla because she was in hers) before they even had a chance to think twice, leaping off the wooden pier as he jumped into the sea. Their frightened screams, particularly Carla, because she had never screamed before, would forever be engraved in his mind.

It was that loud.

They landed atop the surface of the water with relative ease, not even making a splash as they traversed across the sea at speed unimaginable to the average man.

"Wait for me, Naruto!" Minori shouted behind them, shakily chasing after them on her flying magical hammer. "How in the world did you do that?! Stop hiding so much about yourself!"

He laughed aloud.

"I'm not wet? I'm not wet..." Carla repeated in his arms, almost like a mantra.

Their loud screams had attracted the attention of a large number of sailors and labourers back at the docks. They were obviously curious that someone had finally came to deal with the haunted ship. Although, what caught their attention was the figure that was running over the surface of the water.

In an instant, rumours began to spread among the crowd: ridiculous tales about how he was a powerful water mage that, with a small snap of his fingers, could summon a gigantic tidal wave that could single-handedly destroy a town. Others had loudly proclaimed him to be the son of the mythical Poseidon, the God of the Sea and the Bringer of Storms.

While the rumours of the blond's origins may have been largely unknown and stories may have differed between parties, the large crowd, together as a single collective mind had resolutely decided on the title for the obviously powerful mage.

He was a 'God among Seamen'.

"H-How are you doing this?" Wendy shouted into his ear.

Naruto couldn't help that small bubble of laughter at hearing the question.

"Magic!"

0.0

A fog rolled in the moment they stepped on the deck and Naruto was instantly on alert. It was unnatural. The sunlight from outside was barely reaching in as it shrouded their vision of the harbour and the townscape with a thick cloud of mist; it was if the fog had cut them off from the outside world, trapping them forever within the confines of the allegedly haunted Sea Tub Clarabella.

"Whoa... Creepy vibe alert. How thick is this fog? I can't even see the sun," Minori said nervously, inching closer to him and the others. She held her magical hammer at the ready, shivering as a sudden draft that blew past them.

"Yeah, I guess we better stick close together." Naruto suddenly turned to her, alarmed. "Wait, are you scared?"

"S-So what if I am?"

His eyes widened in disbelief. "You're a witch!" he said, almost accusingly. "I brought you along because of that! You know, witches—ghosts! You see the connection here? Aren't you supposed to be an expert on supernatural stuff? Don't you curse people for a living?"

She balled her fists around the tall handle of her weapon, hissing, "Naruto, stop putting your foot in your mouth and think! How does that even make sense? I'm not a real witch, stupid! My magic just makes me look like one! I don't know a thing about the occult! I don't even understand tarot cards!"

His response faltered, "Well... I didn't know that. You should have explained it clearer back then. Besides, I thought you said this mission was supposed to be easy money?"

"Because it looked simple enough and the mission was in town. It was 'easy' as in I didn't have to spend unnecessarily travelling to another—"

The ship suddenly groaned in protest at their intrusion. A strange, melancholic wail echoed around them.

Minori made a small squeak and hurried over to the group, who were now huddled together in fright. She latched onto him and Wendy, cowering. Wendy meanwhile had gripped onto his pants as she peeked around him, staring around the deck through squinted eyes, already prepared to close them at a moment's notice.

"O-Okay... Let's all stop fighting and not make any loud noises," Naruto said, looking around warily. "I think something knows we're here."

He led them forward to examine the deck of the Sea Tub Clarabella.

The state of the ship was beyond comprehension. Whatever happened here could not be explained logically, but it had aged beyond the relatively short span of three days since it was abandoned. The wooden structure was decayed, as if it had been submerged underwater for decades. Fungi seeped into boards, turning the normal brown shade into a dull green and grey as the algae spread throughout the ship. The rotting stench of decayed carcasses assaulted his senses. There were no obvious signs of the origin, but the smell was just as strong wherever he moved.

Something was seriously wrong here.

Naruto couldn't help but shudder as a spider dropped in his line of sight, hanging onto the end of its web before scurrying back up again. It was worse once they got further in, as every step they took, he couldn't shake off this feeling that they were being watched.

When Wendy stepped on a particularly squeaky floorboard, she let out a surprised whimper and even Naruto couldn't help that his breath hitched too. Give him a dangerous S-class missing nin any time of the day and he'd gladly trade it for this mission. He just couldn't deal with the scary stuff, and who could blame him?

This ship was as creepy as hell.

G̶̛͙̼̖͖̼̺̭̹̟̻̪E҉̷̡̥̙̜̭̪̳̯̩͎̤̹̰̮̭̭͇͓͟ͅt̼͍̺̹̬̣̜́̀͢ ̸̧̡̡͙͖̥̙̕

Ǫ̶̡̻̦͔̩͟u̩͙͎̻̫̻͓̭̘̕͞ͅT̵̶͓̱̗̪͍͈͓͖́

.

The voice was faint, as if the voice was coming from one of those old radios with bad signal, leaving the hauntingly eerie static backdrop as a constant reminder of its otherworldly presence.

"̸̧̢̡̦͓̯̬̣͇̜̱̣̫̩̯ͅN̴̢̨̨̻̹̦̥͖̦̬ͅ

ń̷̳̺͔̼̩͕̠̭͚̫̭̪̲͠Ǫ̡͍͚̞͙̯̣̜̭̀͘w̸̢̛̦̖̗̲̪̤̘͔.̵̭̼͎̟̼̩̰͚̖̺͈̼͈ͅͅ.̴̧̣̹͈̜̬̻͖̺̼̳͍̺̕.͈̙͔͖̲̠̼͝͡ͅ"́͠҉̧̟͍̹̭̲͝

.

"Kyaaa!" Wendy screamed.

The girl squeezed her eyes shut as she pressed her face into his back, her nails digging into the skin. Carla was doing marginally better; one of her paws was holding onto Wendy's leg as her eyes darted around the deck, doing her best to keep the fear from showing.

"That's totally not cool at all." Minori's back was pressed against his own, as she kept a lookout for his blind spot. "Do you see where it's coming from?"

"It sounds like it's coming from everywhere," he told her. Reaching down, he tapped Wendy on her shoulders, coaxing her. "Wendy... Wendy, we need your help. Can you pinpoint where the voice is?"

She shook her head against his waist. "N-No..."

"̷͚͟T̫͚̜͙̝͚̦̹r̹̠̣͖̗̟̱͚͘r҉҉̡͈̞̜̻̦e̵̵̮͇͕̞s̶̻͚̹̦̫͕͚̰s̡̨͕̬̜̟

P̺͉̯͓̘̠͇á͟͏̰s̲̗͖͓̀̀Ş̗̬̬̙̘̭̟s̸͚͙̞̞̫͔e̡̩̻̘͢r͟҉̙̯̹̣̼͍̳r̷̖̳̤͘s̭̼̖͎s̯̦̘̹̣̹̙̱͢͟͞.͉͟ͅ.̵̱͕̦͎̯̼̫́͢.̦̫̱"̢̠̙͈͓͇͎̙͙͎͘

.

Frantic, Minori tapped his back, stopping short of full-on hitting him. She was as white as a sheet, her voice panicked, saying, "N-Naruto... There was a face in t-that window."

"Where?"

She pointed out the door to him. "There..."

As if on cue, the wooden door to the lower cabins buckled, like there was someone on the other side trying to knock it off its hinges. The noise caused all of them to snap their head towards the disturbance, but it died down upon attracting their attention. Eerie silence stretched for an eternity, before the floorboard creaked eerily once again; this time, more pronounced as heavy footsteps resounded near the steps leading up to the bow of the large ship.

"̥͙͔͝L̟̻̤͢e̛͍̳̼̪͕͘͠a̶̳͓̼̗̯̣

V̷̹̗͡è͓̪̲́.̹͓̘͓̼.̢̰̗̱͎̙͕͖̟.̶̧̙̙̟"̴̛̼͈͇͇͉̳̣̖͔

.

A tall, shadowed being appeared before them. There was no defined shape to the shadow, but it barely resembled a human form. The being began to alternate between long and wide, making the shadow to appear disjointed as it trudged down the steps, its arm-like appendages swaying in front of it in a hypnotic manner. It was like there was a certain rhythm to its movement as the pool of shadow—its body attached to the ship—crept forward, nearer to their position. A breathless moan escaped from the large mass as its head lolled around its bulky shoulders.

A kunai found its way to its centre, parting the mass of shadow aside like water as the projectile harmlessly passed through the being.

"Damn! What gives?!"

All of a sudden, it stooped over just a few metres away from them, its arms slowly beginning to merge with the pool of shadow beneath it. Its form jerked around, as if the rest of its body was resisting the force that was trying to assimilate it into the darkness. The shadowed being screeched as it raised its head up to the heavens. With a final tug downwards, it disappeared into the floor, not leaving a single trace of its remains on the deck.

"Y-You did it!"

Wendy's reaction was instantaneous. She brightened, like a huge weight had been removed from her shoulders.

"Yeah, nice one, Naruto... I think." Minori patted his arm in a show of encouragement. "Not too sure what you did there, but at least you killed that thing, right?"

"I'm not sure."

"No, it's probably not dead," Carla said, remaining alert. She missed the glimmer of happiness extinguishing in Wendy's eyes. "It didn't look like physical attacks worked there. Look at it this way, if that really was the ghost, then didn't it feel too easy? The captain said that it drove everyone in his crew off the ship. Then how could Naruto's knife kill it? The attack wasn't anything special."

"Huh," Minori said. "I suppose so."

"Ugh, ghosts—it just had to be ghosts in this mission. How... troublesome," Naruto said. "C'mon, we better start searching around. It might still be here."

Naruto locked his hands into seals. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A small cloud sprung around their position as five copies surrounded them in a protective circle. Their eyes were grim as they reached into their pouches to pull out a kunai.

"Spread out. Look out for anything suspicious."

Minori shuddered. "Creepy..."

Naruto wasn't sure whether the tension was getting to her or it was just her aversion to his clones, though she refused to look in his direction.

The resultant search was largely fruitless, except for a few peculiar signs that the group couldn't make heads or tails of. Naruto was starting to get restless at the inconclusive results, dismissing his clones abruptly.

"We should head downstairs," he said. "Chances are we'd probably find something down there."

Nobody argued with his logic as they made their way to the door to the lower cabins, the prior disturbance now gone. The lower levels were in surprisingly good condition compared to the aged wreck they had seen above. It didn't take them long to cautiously manoeuvre past the narrow passages and nondescript cabins and storage areas, finding nothing of note except for a few strange wares that caught their eye. They finally came to the last door towards the end of the hall.

"I think this is the Captain's Quarters," Carla said, indicating towards a small mark 'CQ' carved into the wooden archway. "Do you think the captain is hiding anything inside?"

Minori huffed. "Well, Saab does looks the part of an illegal smuggler. He's probably hiding all kinds of nasty stuff."

"Only one way to find out." Naruto tried the handle, hearing the soft click of the latch, but it wouldn't budge. "Nice... Guess I have to break this down." Taking more pleasure than he should have, he stepped back and smashed his foot into the door, almost tearing it off its hinges.

"Oops..."

Saab's quarters was much bigger than any of the other cabins they had seen earlier. The furniture inside was lush and there was ample space to move about. They were inside his main chamber, which came equipped with a dining table. The room was lavishly designed and clean; a stark contrast to some of the rooms outside. Saab certainly prided on crafting an eccentric image of himself. There was a short and narrow entryway that led into an antechamber, his office cum bedroom.

The group broke apart to explore the oddities in his quarters.

Naruto whistled, picking up a deformed skull belonging to some weird creature. "He's a lot richer than I thought. How's a guy like that get so rich and afford all this rubbish?"

"I told you he was up to no good." Minori hung back, peering over his shoulder to look at the skull in his hands. "I bet you half the stuff in this room are stolen."

"Not going to argue with that... But what in the world is this supposed to be?"

"Some exotic monster, no doubt." The purple-haired girl poked a finger through its empty eye socket. "No doubt, laddie," she drawled in a mocking tone. "I'd sell it to ya for a fair price. Arrgh! Captain's honour, I say."

"You really hate him that much?"

Minori gave him a funny look. "Says the guy who was 'this' close to bashing his head in."

"Fair enough," he told her, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Come on, I'm sure we can dig something up about this ghost around here somewhere."

As if on cue, Wendy called out for them:

"Over here! I think I found something!"

The duo proceeded into the narrow entryway, cramming their bodies in the tight space to peer inside the small antechamber—his bedroom. He allowed Minori to stand in front of him, seeing that he was slightly taller. Wendy was kneeling to the side of his bed, ducking her head down to look under the wooden bed frame.

"What did you find?" Carla asked, having squeezed her way in between Naruto's legs to jump ahead of the queue.

"Look," Wendy said, holding up a small jewellery box that fitted inside the palm of her small hand. "It was just lying there on the ground, and I found what was supposed to be inside! It's a locket! It's right here under the bed!"

"Wendy, wait!"

She reached under and took hold of the object just as Naruto tried to stop her, but it was too late.

Her irises rolled upwards, leaving the white of her eyes exposed. She was then thrust backwards by an unseen force, slamming her frail form into Saab's hardy mahogany desk. Her body contorted unnaturally as her back was moulded over the edge of the desk. She spat out a glob of blood, over Saab's pristine white bedsheet.

"W-Wendy!" Naruto screamed, trying to push a shell-shocked Minori aside to get to her. "Get out of the way! She's—"

Suddenly, Wendy floated a few feet above the ground as something seemingly guided her body—still locked in that unnatural angle when she had collided against the desk—just in front of the entryway.

Everyone stilled.

She barrelled into Minori like an unstoppable cannonball, knocking her aside which caused the witch to topple on top of Naruto, pinning him under her body weight. Wendy was dragged around like a ragdoll as she exited the Captain's Quarters, her body thrashing against any and every obstacle on the way out.

Naruto pushed Minori off him none too lightly. "Shit! I'm going to stop her!" he said, as the clamour of Wendy being tossed around continued to resound in the empty corridors of the ship. "You two go find out what the hell that was!"

He didn't give them time to rebut as he dashed out of the room, intent on finding his wayward teammate. He chastised himself. If only he had acted faster, things wouldn't have gotten so monumentally fucked. He continued after her wake of destruction in a dead sprint.

Whatever entity was haunting this ship was certainly getting restless... or stronger. The doors to the others cabins rattled dangerously, slamming open and shut as he sped past. He didn't pay it any mind. Turning a sharp corner, Naruto caught a glimpse of Wendy just as she floated out of the door leading up towards the deck, the door slamming shut behind her.

Naruto acted on instinct, pooling chakra in his palm. He destroyed the door with a half-formed Rasengan, without pausing in his steps.

Wendy was hovering in the air just in front of the ship's mast, arms held out to her sides like she was pinned to a cross. Her head hung listlessly. The locket in her hand started to bleed a mysterious black substance and mix together with her blood, coagulating the fluid. Thick black smoke arose, clinging to her person.

Naruto stalked forward, his senses on edge for the slightest hint of disturbance. He reached out for Wendy's foot and tugged her down. Her body was surprisingly compliant as she floated down to the deck.

The blond grabbed her by her shoulders, kneeling. "Wendy... can you hear me? "

Wendy looked up, smiling. Her eyes were unfocused.

"I'm okay~ Why~?"

"No reason," he said, wary. "I just wanted to see how you were doing. Could you show me your left hand for a sec?" Seeing no reaction from his question, he tapped her left fist, the one that was holding onto the accursed relic. "Wendy? You have me to show me that thing you found."

"Awww, why~?" She collapsed forward, clinging onto him like a child as she shook her head against his neck. "I don't wanna~"

"Come on, don't be stub—"

Wendy lifted her head back and bit down on his neck, hard. Naruto disappeared into a cloud of white smoke, reappearing behind her. He subdued her by gripping an arm around her neck, saying:

"I thought I told you to not to be stubborn."

She struggled against his hold. "Lemme go! Let me go!"

"Naruto!" Minori shouted, bustling through the broken remains of the door he had destroyed. "We figured it out!" She stopped short at the sight of them. "What... happened here?"

"She tried to bite me," he said curtly, struggling to contain the younger girl without actually hurting her. "Quick. Tell me what's wrong with her."

Minori rushed to kneel in front of them.

"She's being possessed. We found a log Saab's been keeping, and to keep a long story short, we were totally right about him being a smuggler. That locket is cursed, and whatever that demon or ghost that's haunting that thing has been terrorising the crew ever since he brought it aboard. It started out small at first, but the closer they got to Diligeon, the worse it got. This thing has been messing with their minds!"

"So you don't know what it is?"

"Well, Carla's trying to figure it out. Saab has this monster encyclopaedia in his room. We're not the only ones who've been trying to find out what it is."

"No, I'm sure he knew what it was." Naruto grunted. "Figured he'd try something underhanded like this." Wendy clawed at his arms, but he held firm. Minori tried to stop her but the possessed Dragon Slayer kept kicking out at her. "Pin her legs down and grab her left hand," he told Minori. "Use something to get the locket away from her. Don't touch it!"

Cautiously, Minori gripped Wendy's wrist tight, prying open her fingers which she had balled into a fist. The locket had seared itself into her palm, leaving the skin around it swelled in an angry shade of red with painful blisters circling the wound.

"H-How do we get it out?" Minori asked him.

Naruto's face was grim. "I'll... I'll do it. Just help me hold her down."

They shuffled around awkwardly, as Minori held the younger girl down, leaving Naruto with his hands free. He summoned a clone by his side, and the clone took over his position. Squaring his shoulders, Naruto relieved his kunai from his holster and held Wendy's fingers steady to keep her palm exposed.

"Whoa! T-That's—"

"—what's necessary," Naruto said. "We need to take the locket away from her. We can't be sure what would happen if we leave it on her for too long."

"W-What are you guys doing?" Wendy asked, no longer fidgeting. She started to tear up. "N-Naruto? Minori-san? S-Stop! Get... get off me!"

"Naruto, I-I think she's back to normal. Should I—"

"Don't." Naruto shook his head, ignoring the look of betrayal etched on Wendy's features. "She did this before. It's a trick."

"N-No! It's not a trick! Please! Please listen to me!"

Minori looked conflicted; he could see her gnaw on the inside of her cheek. "Can't you do something first just to be sure?"

Naruto held her gaze, then sighed, planting the kunai into the ground. "Fine. Give me a minute."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He pulled into himself, finding that elusive centre to enter a meditative state, but it was harder than he thought. He clenched his jaw. He couldn't reach out to the natural energy in the surroundings without losing it abruptly.

Naruto slammed a fist down on the deck.

"Shit!" he hissed.

"N-Naruto, please... please stop this. All I r-remembered was being in t-that room and blacking out. The next thing I know, you guys are doing this," the meek voice cried out from underneath him, sniffing. "It's me..." Wendy tried to smile. "I don't know how I can show you that it's me, but please... you have to b-believe me. Please?"

"Naruto..." Minori said.

His voice was low, remorseful, "If it is really you, I know you're going to hate me for this. You're probably never going to trust me again, but... I'm doing this for your sake."

Naruto plucked the kunai from the ground, and inched the blade over the locket.

"Urgh!"

Minori shivered, releasing her hold over Wendy as she clasped her hands over her ears. She clenched her eyes shut as a terrifying, anguished scream tore from her throat.

"Shit, Minori!"

Wendy managed to wriggle one of her legs free and kicked out at Minori, catching the witch on her nose. Minori tumbled back as Wendy continued to rain down kicks on the older girl's body.

His clone tried to stop her, but his eyes began to unfocus, before he collapsed to the ground and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto's vision began to waver as his mind processed what his clone had experienced.

Dark spots appeared in his peripheral vision, which stretched and morphed into these shadowed beings with hollow eyes. The skies twisted, plunging the area into darkness as ominous clouds loomed above him. In an instant, they appeared all around him, crowding him as they clung onto his body, pulling at his limbs as if they were trying to tear him apart.

Their presence was suffocating.

There was a gut-wrenching screech as the shadows opened their mouths wide in unison. It was deafening, the intensity increasing to the point that the ground beneath him began to shake. It continued for what felt likes hours before he heard a voice calling out for him; it was distant due to the intensity of screams ringing in his ear.

"Naruto!"

There it was.

"Naruto!"

It was barely there.

"Get a hold of yourself, you idiot!"

Louder now.

"You have to save Wendy!"

Finding himself momentarily, Naruto found the voice familiar, demanding. Damn, he had been careless. Feeling his fingers gripped around a cool metal surface, he jerked his hand up and stabbed down on his thigh.

Opening his eyes sharply, Naruto felt clarity being restored.

The small form of Carla hovered before him, her paw held back in mid-swing; she had taken to beating his cheeks to a pulp. "Finally," Carla said. She pulled her attention away from the wound he had inflicted on himself. "Now, go do something about that imp!"

Wendy had managed to sneak away when he was under. She was perched atop the ship's main mast, her legs swinging loosely under her. "Teehee," she said, waving down at them. "You were right before by the way. I was faking it."

There was something else floating just above her shoulder. A small bat-like creature beat its wings, attached to the back of its misshapen body, to propel itself further into the air. Its horribly sunken cheeks and horn-like ears made it seem all the more devilish, as it snarled and gnashed its sharp and crooked teeth at them.

"And just what the hell is that?" Naruto asked.

"It's an imp!" Carla snapped. "Quickly now. There's not much it can do once its illusions have been broken. It's siphoning Wendy's magic to regain its form. That's why you can see it! It won't be long before it drains her completely! Destroy it now before it kills her!"

Naruto didn't need to be told twice.

He quickly made his way towards Minori, who was still struggling to break free from the illusion. Minori was writhing on the floor, grimacing as she whimpered in pain. He sent a surge of chakra through her body, but nothing happened. He tried again but to no avail.

Damn.

Maybe chakra didn't work on her... Or was it that the nature of the illusion was fundamentally different compared to back home? Did that mean that he couldn't apply the same thing to himself?

Dismissing it, he turned to Carla.

"Stay out of reach," Naruto said. "We can't risk you being put under its illusion." He motioned towards Minori. "You need to take her with you, maybe the illusion might break if she's far enough from the source."

"Where exactly does that leave you? And what about Wendy?!"

He smiled, reassuring her, "Don't worry. I'll deal with it. Just go help Minori first."

The feline appeared conflicted but complied nonetheless. Her face was stern as she said, "You'd better." She regarded the possessed girl. "She's counting on you. We all are."

With that, Carla swooped down and grabbed Minori before flying off towards the harbour, her flight unsteady, probably because she was unaccustomed to carrying someone heavier than Wendy.

Just as Naruto was about to act, the imp floated down in front of him. He didn't hesitate to quickly cut it down in its place, but his attack phased through its body. It cackled impishly (the irony lost on the creature) as it twirled in the air, clapping its small claw-like hands in delight.

"What the hell...?"

He had seen something like this before, likening the creature's abilities to that of the masked nin from Akatsuki back when the man confronted their team to stop them from reaching Sasuke.

"Teehee," Wendy said from above them, the imp screeching in tandem as if it was speaking through her. "It's futile to resist. This host is going to die." She lifted one foot off the ground, over the edge, as she balanced on uneven footing. The drop was roughly ten metres. The intent was clear. "One way or another. Maybe you should just run away like your friends there."

"Come on," Naruto told her. "You know me better than that."

Standing before the mast, he lashed out at the thick, circular wooden beam with a chakra-enforced kick. The mast came crashing down, and Wendy along with it, but he was on hand to snatch her from the air even before the possessed girl could process what had happened.

Naruto relished the surprise and horror that played across the creature's face.

Wendy tried to wrestle her way out of his grip, but Naruto held firm, managing to manoeuvre his way to pin Wendy under his body weight by kneeling over her mid-section. "Stop. Fidgeting. So. Much," he groused, trying to restrain her hands as she tried to swat his face.

Above them, the imp went into a frenzy.

Naruto could feel the illusion start to wash over him as his vision wavered. However, he was prepared. Even if he was unsure about the implications of magic and chakra in this world, he knew that pain would prevent him from being enthralled.

That much he was certain of.

Twisting the kunai still embedded in his thigh, the dark spots disappeared. Naruto continued to apply pressure to the wound. He then relieved a spare kunai from his pouch before cutting into the skin around the locket seared into Wendy's palm.

The young girl beneath him screamed; a piercing, blood-curling scream that sent shivers down his spine. The skin on her hand started to cauterise as if the locket had been superheated, damaging the epidermis and blackening the skin around it.

Naruto cursed.

"Stop!" he screamed at the imp, his voice hoarse. "Fuck off! You're hurting her!"

The imp snapped its mouth at him.

Noticing that Wendy was locking her jaw, Naruto blanched. He tried to force open her mouth before she bit off her tongue. Naruto didn't even so much as wince as she bit down on his hand. At least she wasn't hurting herself.

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

Wendy's scream got increasingly desperate, muffled as it was with his fingers jammed into her mouth. She tried to grab at his face, in particular his eyes, in an effort to get him off, but Naruto pushed her back down. He gripped her bloodied hand around the wrist and held it away from her, trapping it under his forearm. She struggled to kick him off, but he was just too big for her.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said quietly.

Steeling himself, Naruto dug the kunai deeper into her palm. There was no finesse or tenderness in his actions; just a single-minded approach to separate the cursed jewellery from Wendy. It came out after much difficulty, the young girl beneath him sinking into unconsciousness the moment it did.

His hands bloodied and shivering, Naruto used the kunai to move the locket away from her, before plunging it straight down the middle with vicious stab. There were no outward signs that the possession had been lifted, but he experienced a strange calmness when he destroyed the accursed relic.

The imp had used the distraction to flee, but it was still within his sight.

Standing, Naruto channelled the kunai in his grip with chakra, the translucent blue-ish energy forming over the bloodied blade. With a simple flick of his wrist, the kunai sailed toward its target in an arc before being buried in its skull. It careened through the air before plummeting into the sea.

Naruto sighed.

He proceeded to scoop the unconscious girl tighter into his arms, taking extra care not to bump into the wound on her hand. It was no longer bleeding as badly as before.

"Let's... Let's get you off this stupid ship."

0.0

Naruto's thoughts were jumbled as he made his way towards his destination, his strides purposeful and hurried.

Carla had refused to talk to him. The feline didn't even deign to look at his general direction as she hovered over the healer's shoulder.

It had left Minori to fill him in on what little she knew, just to erase the stifling silence lingering in the room. Minori didn't try to play peacemaker at least. Naruto was thankful that the witch didn't butt in nor did she try to stop him when he left so abruptly.

From what he had been told, it was not known when or how imps first came to form, but many years ago, they were feared and heralded as the 'Undying Nightmare'. They were such notoriously hard creatures to kill due to their unique make-up; they had to possess an item before it could manifest its true form. The process was made much harder given that the item had to first hold sentimental value to someone on their deathbed before it could corrupt the emotions imbued within and take it as its own.

Thankfully, imps were such rare creatures that they were hardly dealt with anymore; their case sadly being the exception.

Still, it didn't make up for the fact that Saab had lied to them.

Naruto found himself standing in front of the Sea Shanty, hesitant to enter as he clenched and unclenched his fists. The decision was made for him however when a patron exited the bar and gawked at him, blocking the entryway.

"Po-Poseidonson?" the drunk asked.

"What?" Naruto said. "You know what, never mind. Just get out of the way."

The drunk did so, staggering away from him as if his presence was larger than life. "Y-Yes! Of course," he mumbled, slurring his words. "The kingdom shall hear of your heroic exploits, Son of Poseidon... God among—"

Naruto slammed the door shut behind him, the bar deathly silent by his loud entrance.

Slowly, Saab stood up, seated amongst the sea of burly and unsavoury men as the captain regarded Naruto. He clapped, taking an extra-long look around the bar, feigning confusion as to why the others weren't following him.

"The hero returns, lads! Might I introduce the mage that saved all of our hides, a mister...?"

Naruto didn't reply, causing Saab to frown.

"Now, don't be a wet blanket, lad. I know you're a bit sad about that young girl dying and all, but didn't I warn you that might happen? How about I add a little extra to the reward, maybe you might even forget about this whole unpleasant mess. Granted, the reward will, of course, be docked due to your reckless and total disregard for my property. Actually, the mast alone that you destroyed cost more than the reward I was offering. I'm not even counting the damages to our cargo, or my quarters in particular, but—"

In the blink of an eye, Naruto wrapped a hand around the man's throat, squeezing it tight. He wondered how Saab could invoke the same amount of revulsion inside him as Pain had back then.

This man sickened him.

"You knew what it was?!" Naruto hissed into his ear. "And you didn't tell us? What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

Had he wished to, Naruto could have crushed his neck. Instead, he forced Saab's mouth open and stuffed down the remains of the cursed locket down the man's throat. It was only fitting that he returned it to its proper owner.

Saab tried desperately to struggle out of his grasp.

The man clawed, kicked and trashed in an attempt to pry his steel-laden fingers off his neck, choking as the remains of the cursed relic blocked off his airway. His eyes darted around the bar. Most of the patrons chose to ignore his anguished and muffled screams as they looked on the scene with small amounts of awe, fear and blood-lust.

"S-Stop!" Saab said, forcing the mangled word from his mouth, driving his fingers into Naruto's face.

His grip around Saab's throat tightened.

I know you can do it.

Naruto's blinked, eyes widening as he remembered the words his father had uttered to him before.

Was this how he honoured the legacy of his father and Jiraiya-shishou? Sinking down to his level and taking a man's life for mindless vengeance? Was this how he showed his promise? To the only member of Team Seven whom he had sworn to stop in his deluded quest for revenge?

Naruto clenched his free hand.

Slowly, he decreased the pressure on Saab's neck. However, Saab, sensing his chance to pull free, lunged forward to swing an awkward punch. Naruto tilted his head as the punch soared well past him, striking back with his own swift jab to the man's trachea. Saab bowed down, choking out blood and the remains of the locket from his mouth.

Naruto bent down to his level, tugging at the captain's ear. "Don't ever come back to Diligeon or anywhere even remotely close to here. You got me?"

Saab glared up at him. "F-Fuck you—"

Seeing that his warning was unheeded, Naruto turned his body to deliver a crushing roundhouse to the abdomen. Saab crashed into the table he had been sitting in, toppling it over as drinks and shattered pieces of wood flew through the air. The small scuffle ensued a small free-for-all melee, as the other patrons took it as a cue and joined in on the action.

"Remember what I said, Saab!"

Naruto shook his head as he walked towards the entrance, ducking down to avoid a mug that shattered against the wall beside him. Guilt seeped into his conscience. Well, he felt guiltier, to be precise.

He shouldn't have come here looking for revenge. His team should have been his main concern right now.

Well, at least taking all of Saab's Jewels was a small comfort.

0.0

Minori was seated outside the ward when he returned, raising an eyebrow at his sudden re-appearance.

"You were gone for quite some time," she said nonchalantly.

Naruto scratched his temple, taking the empty seat next to her. "Yeah," he said. "Had to get some fresh air and get my head sorted out. Any news from the healers?"

"Nothing good. There's lots of bruises to her body, and she may have fractured her spine. The burns on her hand were a nasty piece of work. There was some kind of complication when that thing possessed her. They're saying that the wound is cursed or something, and when you cut into her hand, it actually made it uhm, worse..."

Naruto urged her to continue, his face solemn.

"Right, so they can't heal it completely now. She's gonna have some trouble using that hand for a few days, but she's totally going to recover! That's good news at least! It just might take a while—not that long mind you, just you know, a while."

He slumped back in his seat, relieved. "Great," he said. "Is she awake yet?"

"They gave her something to let her sleep it off. She's out cold. It might probably be a few hours before she wakes up."

Naruto nodded. "All right." He pointed at the bandage over her nose. "What about you? You okay there?"

Minori laughed off his concerns, touching the bandage gingerly. "Besides feeling and looking totally stupid? Yeah, I'm fine." She sniffed, looking down. "I'm just really bummed about all this. I let you down back at the ship, didn't I?"

"What?! No way! You did fine. If anyone let you guys down, it's me."

She sighed, smiling. "You're a nice guy, Naruto." Just as he was about to rebut, she continued, "Really, you are. But I'm not an idiot, and I definitely don't need to be molly coddled. I know how I did back there, and plainly speaking, I was useless. You don't need to mince words with me."

"How about we both agree that we sucked?"

"Uggh..." Minori made a face at him, saying, "Your humility can be very annoying."

Naruto blinked. "No one has ever said that to me before."

Minori rounded on him. "Well, it's totally true. Jeez! Just how nice can you be? Do you go around helping old ladies with their groceries? The next thing you know you're gonna tell me that I don't have to pay you the reward money I owe you. Because you're just so nice!"

"Haha... Nice try. I'm never going to forget—"

"Excuse me!" a nurse whispered sharply from behind the counter. "Please keep your voices down. Our patients are resting."

Embarrassed, they both offered their apologies.

"That one was your fault," he told Minori out of the corner of his mouth. He was smiling stiffly to reassure the stern-looking nurse. "You talk loud."

"What?!" she whispered back, her voice strained. "No, I don't." She elbowed him in his ribs. "Shut up." Once the nurse had left to resume her patrols, Minori spoke up again, "Hey, what ever happened to the wound on your leg?"

Naruto looked down. He had forgotten about that. She must have noticed the blood stains that had seeped around his pants.

"Nothing, it's fine. I didn't cut it too deep."

"Really? From what Carla told me, you really stuck it in there. You should probably get that checked out. You might have nicked something in there. Here..." She reached over and pulled his poncho to one side. "Lemme see."

"Oi!" Naruto hissed, as the girl leant down over him. He pushed her away, before anyone else walked past them. "What gives?!" For someone who once called him a pervert, Minori was oddly comfortable with invading his personal space.

Upon noticing the lack of a wound, Minori sat up sharply and gave him a deadpan look.

"I honestly don't know what else to expect from you, Naruto. Don't tell me you have some kind of healing magic as well? Look, it's miraculously healed, and not even a scratch," she said, almost accusingly.

"It's not like that," Naruto said. "I can heal myself for the minor stuff—cuts, bruises—that sort of thing."

"Right..." Minori said slowly, standing. "I can tell that you're a secretive guy, Naruto, but maybe you should be open about yourself to some people—people you're close with. I'm not saying with me, but Carla mentioned a few things about you when you left. Well... you know." The witch was quiet for a moment. "I honestly don't mean to pry into your relationship, I just thought you should know. They are your teammates. That's important, right? "

"Yeah, of course it is," he said quietly.

Minori shook her head. "Sorry." She squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment. "I really didn't want to butt in." She motioned with her hands towards the exit. "I should probably go now."

"I appreciate you telling me, but you don't have to leave if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay. I need to head back to the guild anyway. Mistress Agatha wants an update about Saab's ship. Apparently, it's causing a slowdown at the harbour."

"Right," Naruto said, clearing his throat. "Thanks by the way, you know, for just about everything today."

"Don't sweat it." Minori winked before her mouth formed into an 'O'. "Are you planning to stay in Diligeon after Wendy's been discharged?"

"For a few days at least. Just to let her recover a bit more."

"Then you could stay at my place!" Her cheeks coloured. "I mean, Wendy and Carla could bunk with me, if they don't mind. You have to take the couch in the common room though. It's the least I can do for you guys. It beats having to halve your reward money paying for an inn."

Naruto brightened, surprised at the offer.

"That'd be great!"

Minori smiled at him. For some reason, the distance between them felt awkward. "I'll come back to pick you guys up later. Uhm, see you till then."

He waved her goodbye, scratching his head when she left.

That was... odd.

"Kids these days," he heard an elderly woman say, hidden behind the newspaper she was reading. It was obvious she was listening in on their conversation rather than browsing the articles. "So forward..."

0.0

Wendy blinked as she stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling. It was stark white; cold and pure—sterilised.

Where was she?

She felt lethargic, her limbs heavy like lead, but a numbing sensation clouded her senses. Why was her throat so sore? And her hand unbearably itchy? She tried to wiggle her fingers, to get the blood flowing again, but found herself unable to do so. It felt too stiff to move.

Weird.

Propping herself on her elbows, Wendy found the small form of Carla nestled close to her side, her nose scrunching up in that familiar grumpy expression of hers whenever the feline was cold. The young girl instinctively tried to pull the cat into her arms but before she did, she noticed the bandage wrapped around her hand.

Since when did that get there?

The mission!

She bolted up from the bed, accidentally waking the cat beside her. What happened during the mission? The last thing she remembered was the locket and...

"Wendy?" Carla said sleepily.

She choked, feeling bile rise up in the back of her throat.

Wendy could still feel the malevolent presence of that entity lingering inside her mind, tormenting her endlessly from within. It was the violation of being kept prisoner inside her own body that made her shudder. She had felt so utterly helpless, writhing alone in that suffocating, inky black abyss it had trapped her in, with no one to save her; it had felt like she had been trapped there for ages—in a bad nightmare.

She didn't realise that she had started crying.

A faint shushing sound greeted her as Wendy felt someone pat her back to comfort her. She looked up to find Naruto as he put a finger to his lips. Picking up on his actions, Carla hopped onto her lap as the feline wiped away the tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Naruto...?" she wheezed out in between sobs. "Carla?"

"It's all right," the older boy said reassuringly. It felt good to hear his voice; it made her feel safe.

"I-I... The mission?"

"You don't remember what happened?" he asked her.

"N-No... I remembered picking up the locket a-and... and—"

Naruto shushed her. "Don't cry. It's all over." His expression tightened, as he forced a strained smile. "You don't have to worry about what happened. I took care of it, okay?" he explained glibly. "That thing won't ever hurt you again."

Wendy looked away, his words having brought up more uncomfortable memories. She glanced towards the open window, noticing that the sun was already setting. It must have been a few hours since they boarded the Sea Tub Clarabella. Had she been asleep since then? She gripped the soft covers of the comforter. Maybe Chief Roubaul had been right to not allow her to go on a mission.

She was regretting it already.

She should have just stayed back at the guild. After all, she was a liability... and she had dragged Naruto into her childish desires. She was always getting in his way. He was a strong and reliable mage made to babysit her. She—

"I'm sorry."

Wendy looked up, surprised that it was Naruto who had uttered those words.

"I ended up breaking my promise to you guys."

Wendy vehemently shook her head. "N-No, I should be the one apologising. You could have done it alone, but I forced you to take me with you. I should have j-just listened to—"

"Stop it!" Carla said harshly, interrupting her. Carla'sr outburst had frightened and alarmed the two of them into a stupor, leaving their mouths gaping slightly. "Pathetic!" the Exceed huffed before she breathed deeply and turned away. "Look at you two, outdoing each other to get on the pity parade. I don't see the need to apologise. We finished the request, didn't we?"

"B-But I—"

"Wendy, enough of that! What's important is that we're a team now!" She levelled a strong glare at them, daring anybody to object to her statement. "And what do teammates do for each other?"

"We watch each other's backs?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," Carla said. "We protect one another, work together, and above all, always be honest—no matter what." She levelled a pointed look at Naruto. "Do we understand each other?"

The room was silent for a moment before Naruto broke it:

"Heh," he snickered softly. "Another team, huh?" Naruto chorused her sentiments with a sad sigh. "All right, I'm up for it," he said, looking up towards the ceiling as he crashed down onto the bed. "Wendy?"

Gripping the covers, Wendy felt conflicted, her anxiety not totally leaving her just yet. There was no way a few well-meant words would rid her of her worries, but she wanted it. It would mean the world to her if they could be an actual team.

"I... I want that," she whispered.

It afforded her security, companionship and warmth—like a family; a much closer bond than the one she shared with her fellow guild members in Cait Shelter.

Even if she had her misgivings, Carla was right. Teammates had to look out for each other. There was no way she could protect them if she remained like this—a foolish child to be coddled. Ultimately, they couldn't keep using Naruto as a crutch. A time would come when it was his turn to rely on them. No matter what, she had to learn to stand up on her own two feet.

She was going to—No, she had to get stronger.

For them.

Wendy had started crying again, but she was smiling too. "I really want that."

Naruto laughed, reaching out to tousle her hair. It didn't help her resolve to no longer be seen as a child, but she left it alone.

It felt nice.

"Honestly," Carla said, sighing. She hopped down from her lap to return to her previous position under the covers. "Now, get some rest, Wendy. They're going to discharge you in a few hours and you're going to need it. We've all had a very tiring day and I, for one, am exhausted."

Soon, a brief silence descended on the room, before Wendy spoke up, "Ah, Naruto..."

"What?"

"You're sleeping on my leg."

Naruto propped his arms up on the bed, half-lidded eyes staring down at the sheets in confusion. "Am I? Well, I can't help it. Maybe you're getting kinda big, Wendy."

Despite being heavily medicated, she kicked out against the covers.

"Ow."

0.0

"Naruto."

He felt someone prod his arm. Groggily, he opened his eyes to find Minori hovering above him, her body bent over the backrest of her incredibly comfy couch. He leaned back into his pillow, putting some distance between them.

"Minori?" he asked sleepily. "What...? What time is it?"

The witch was dressed in a grey sweatshirt that was several sizes too big for her and figure-hugging tights. She had her long hair tied back in a loose bun. It was odd seeing her dress so casually. Even last night, when she wore that pyjamas with those ducks, he had wisely kept that opinion to himself.

"Just after six. Come on, I need to talk to you. Not here." She gestured to the door. "Outside."

Minori left before he could say anything.

Naruto buried his face back into the pillow, groaning, then reluctantly made to follow after her. When he stepped outside, the sun made itself his mortal enemy as he shielded his eyes from its glare. It didn't help that Minori's apartment had an unblocked view of the sea. Still, she had an incredible view from her doorsteps.

"Over here," Minori called out to him.

He made his way down to her. "You made me come out here to run with you?" he asked, finally noticing the shoes she had on.

Minori frowned at him. "I went to my guild just now and saw Mistress Agatha again."

"And?"

"She received reports about the ruckus you pulled at the bar near the harbour. They knew it was you. You're kinda famous now." Minori pursed her lips further, narrowing her eyes at him. "It wasn't a smart thing to do, Naruto. Is that where you left yesterday to 'clear your head'?"

Naruto laughed, messing up his bed hair. Was that what this was about?

"Yeah, I know it wasn't the smartest thing I could have done. To be fair, I was angry." He snorted, scowling. "Why? Did he lodge a complaint against me or something?"

Minori massaged her forearms, obviously troubled. It made Naruto do a double take. "He's dead, Naruto."

That sobered him up.

"What?!"

"They found him an hour ago. A couple of fisherman pulled him out of the harbour, near the bar. I didn't see the body, but I heard he was cut up pretty badly," she explained. "The Rune Knights came to the guild asking questions—about the mission, us, you in particular. They were quite interested in you."

"Look, he was alive when I left the bar, and I've been with you guys ever since we left the clinic. You can't think that—"

"Jeez, Naruto!" The purple-haired girl shook her head. "Of course I know it wasn't you and I told them that. Mistress Agatha thinks it was his crew that did it." She laughed spitefully; it sounded strange on her lips. "They stripped him clean, took his Jewels, valuables and that damn boat of his that was stranded out near the docks. I'm not sure how they managed to get it moving when their mast was broken." She sighed. "Oh, he already gave you the reward money, right?"

Naruto blinked, stiffening.

He resisted the urge to reach for the man's Jewels in his pockets. It wasn't like Saab had given him the reward willingly.

"Yeah, he did."

There was an uncomfortable pause.

"Uhm..." he heard her say, her voice hesitant. "Do you think he died because of me?"

"You? What does this have anything to do with you?"

She was fidgeting with the end of her sweatshirt, wriggling the fabric restlessly. "I cursed him, remember? Back at the bar? Before the mission?"

"Does your magic work that way? Could it really kill someone?"

"I don't know?! Maybe!"

He held her by the shoulders to calm her down. "Relax. You met the guy. You can only imagine the sort of company he keeps for his crew. And he said it himself, didn't he? They killed their previous captain just because he was a smart ass? If your magic really did play a part in it, and I'm not saying it did, it would have just been a matter of time before someone he knows tried to do something to him. He's not exactly the nicest guy around."

Her shoulders sagged. "I keep telling myself not to lose too much sleep about it. I mean, I hated that bastard. He was a pig, but I didn't want him dead. What was the point in wanting him dead anyway? People like him come and go like the wind. There's always someone else out there to take his place," she said, whispering the next part, "I'm sure someone already has."

And that hatred, that monstrous hatred, will eventually give rise to a new pain.

It stunned him into a stupor. It had all but reaffirmed his father's words.

"Kinda like a never ending cycle of hatred?"

Minori eyed him strangely, finding herself mulling over his words. "Yeah, I guess you can say it like that." She looked away, staring out into the horizon. "You're a pretty deep guy, huh?"

"Nah, I'm not. It's just what a great man once said to me. He told me I had to end that cycle of hatred for good."

"That sounds... hard." Minori made a face. "Are you sure he wasn't just saying it figuratively?"

The blond shook his head, smiling at his female companion. "I really think he wants me to finish what he started."

"All right, if you say so." Minori sighed again. "Crooks and thieves, they lead such colourful lives," she said. "Thanks, Naruto. I... I needed to hear that."

Naruto didn't know why the girl had come to him in the first place. Didn't she have anyone to talk to back at her guild? Someone she was closer with? He chose not to question it so much.

"Oh, guess what?!" Minori said suddenly. "The people around the docks gave you a nickname after seeing you in the last mission."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She started giggling into her hand. "You're the God among Seamen." Seeing his puzzled look, she asked again, "G-Get it?!"

"Get what? It sounds awesome!"

She burst out laughing, drawing curious stares from passers-by. "Seriously? I'll let you sit on it and think, Naruto. There's a dirty joke in there somewhere." She turned around, her face still red from laughter. "By the way, you're planning to stay here for another two days, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason, I just thought Yue might like to know that she's got a new bodyguard for her café for the next two days." She started jogging in place. "No buts," she told him happily. "I'm not gonna have you be a bum and laze around my house while Wendy recovers."

"Oh come on! You know how that woman gets around me!"

Minori ignored him and started her run. "Can't hear you! I'll come around when our shift starts later. You better not run away!"