Naruto: The Seraph Project

Chapter 23: Pushed to the Limit

To my great relief, we hardly encountered any ninjas or villagers. The few people weren't interested in us nor did they turn their heads in our direction. Good; less anxiety. After an hour of wandering around the village to make sure we don't run into anyone, I finally arrive at the building where my apartment is on the second floor. I notice that the sapphire-eyed boy started to stir once upstairs. I don't know if it's due to curiosity or fear, but since his heart is regular, I opt for the first hypothesis; ever since we left the hospital, he has remained relatively calm. Glancing over my shoulder, Naruto is alert and the exhaustion seems to have left him. Has the night refreshed him since he sleeps during the day or has he rested enough in my arms?

Maybe. I cannot say.

When we enter my small vestibule housing both the kitchen and a non-existent living room, I turn on the light by reflex. In response, the teenager arches his back and lets out a complaint, but nothing more. Although he can see in the dark, I can't; Naruto will have to get used to it, especially if I have to host him in my home.

"Sorry, but unlike you, I can't see in the dark," I tell him before bending down to lower him.

Eyes half-closed, Naruto does not complain. He unrolls his tail from my abdomen before leaving my back. Frowning, he sniffs and scans the place while keeping one arm raised to reduce the light bombarding his retinas. I'm relieved that he didn't try to destroy the light sources... With his lightning, he could well be able to cause a blackout throughout the building. He's photosensitive, of course, but that does not harm him.

For now, since he seems to be doing much better since he can stand up without misery, I want to settle the matter of his rather unpleasant and putrid body odour that has been simmering since his return to the village. Over time, I got used to it to the point of not having to pinch my nose anymore, but I don't need this nauseating perfume to anchor in my walls.

"Naruto, follow me. You're disgusting."

His tail twirls uselessly, expressing his displeasure at my choice of words, and I don't care. So as not to waste time or risk seeing him stay there, I cautiously grab his wrist to force him to follow me. Obediently, he complies. I lead him to my bathroom and since the light illuminates said room enough, I don't have to blind my student any further. I find a towel and I resolve to offer him my things as a change of clothes. It will be a little big for him, but I don't have anything else on hand.

"I hope you know how a shower works," I sigh. "You need it badly. You stink, Naruto."

Perplexed, the sapphire-eyed boy proceeds to sniff his own self. He doesn't seem convinced to me. I take off his worn and torn t-shirt with yet another sigh.

"Come on," I insist. "Stop relying on me. I'm not going to do everything for you."

As he lets me do whatever I want, a detail captures my attention. The mark on his chest is different; instead of the flame-like ripples that adorned the diamond, they gave way to ebony scratches resembling lightning bolts. Curiosity pushes me to observe it with insistence. Since Naruto started producing electricity to the point of perpetually giving me shocks of static electricity rather than being too hot and boiling, it makes sense that the mark changed if it transcribes his elemental affinity. However, I don't know why it changed...

Then the very obviousness hits me.

The nature of my chakra is lightning. Apparently, it seems that Naruto is imbued with the nature of the chakra he devours. But that also means something else... I'm not the first one to whom he ate the chakra since his nature is wind and not fire. This finding snatches a cold sweat from me. I will have to wait until tomorrow to confirm some of my doubts...