Chapter 24 Part 1
At last, this day had come!
The thin blanket flew into the air and crumpled onto the floor. Springing up, Naruko nearly skipped to the bathroom, shedding her pajamas as she went.
"Brrrrkh!!!" She snorted, sticking her wet head out from under the faucet. "Fffuffh!"
Toweling her face off hastily, the girl stepped back a little and scrutinized herself in the mirror. She turned this way and that, examining herself from every angle. Her hands cupped her firm breasts, fingers prodding slightly; the girl focused on the sensation. Had they grown or not? Naruko squinted fastidiously, assessing her volume. It seemed... they'd grown? They'd definitely grown?! After all, as she'd overheard, boys like it when they're bigger.
Naruko frowned. She remembered how Kaoru had averted his gaze from Lee's chest when they'd first met. Did that mean he liked them big? She frowned harder. So unfair! They looked like they were the same age, and Lee's breasts were even bigger than Akashi's! Naruko had even started drinking milk zealously, having happened to overhear in the baths that it made your chest grow. But so far, she'd observed absolutely no results.
"How did she eat her way to those huge boobs, tebayo?!" the girl exclaimed in her heart, her expressiveness having "slightly embellished" her acquaintance's dimensions. Though, even so, Lee's chest was still bigger. "Mmou... Maybe... maybe I should talk to her about it? Eyebrows-chan is a little weird, but friendly. Maybe, if I ask, she'll reveal her secret to me?.."
Wandering deep into the thickets of contemplation, Naruko jolted when she heard her neighbor's voice from behind the door:
"Eeey? Naruko? I hope you're awake by now?"
"Y-ya-ya-ya-... I-I'm in the bathroom!" the girl shouted back, suddenly realizing that she was standing completely naked, and that only a single door separated her from Kaoru. A door that, in that moment, seemed to the girl utterly unreliable and nearly transparent. Making it worse was the fact that all of her clothes were outside. Absolutely all of them, including her underwear. "I-I'll be out s-soon!! I'm coming, K-Koru-chan!!!"
"Oh, sorry to bother you!" The young man's voice came from behind the door. "Anyway, since you're already awake, come for breakfast once you're done splashing around!"
"U-huh!!!"
Pressing her ear to the wooden barrier, the girl greedily drank in every sound. The rustle of the closing window was sheer manna from heaven to her ears. Exhaling in relief, Naruko managed to still her fluttering heart and, after waiting a few minutes, darted out of the washroom like a hare.
"Clothes-clothes-clothes!!!" the girl chanted, dashing around the room. Where were the damn clothes?! She'd specifically prepared them before bed, stacking a fresh set of underwear in a separate little pile. But where?! "Ah, Biju!!!"
Cursing, Naruko glanced down at what she'd tripped over and realized with surprise that she'd found what she was looking for! Wasting no time, she lightning-fast snatched up her most precious, lucky! panties (orange, with a white kawaii kitten), and immediately tried to jump into them. It went a little poorly, because standing and lifting both feet at the same time is simply physically impossible, unless you can fly. But, one way or another, Naruko managed it, and then fell upon the rest of her clothing.
Cinching her forehead protector into place, simultaneously yanking on her jacket and hopping on one foot while trying to shove the other into a pants leg that had suddenly turned rebellious, Naruko barely had time to throw open the window and came tumbling out into the street almost head-over-heels.
"Koru-chan, I'm here!!!" the girl exclaimed, her fussiness having subsided once she reached her "destination."
"You're energetic today, huh?" The young man smiled, immediately setting before the girl a table laden with appetizingly fragrant fish baked in rice with spices. Naruko's stomach loudly answered with an "Uurrk!", making the girl flush a little and swallow her saliva. Yes, this wasn't ramen, but Kaoru had made it! Kaoru always cooked amazingly delicious food, so the Uzumaki half-breed was ready (and did) to eat his cooking constantly. "Oh my..."
Kaoru beamed. Naruko was so amusing. And he was also deeply flattered by how vividly the girl reacted to his cooking.
"Koffmu... umg!" Swallowing the last piece, Naruko exhaled, satisfied. "Aaaahhhh~ I am filled!"
"Good, good." The young man nodded, giggling. Under the girl's questioning look, he lightly tapped a finger to the left corner of his own mouth, then watched with laughter as the blonde reactively scrubbed at her face, striving to eliminate every last crumb. "Nervous?"
"Umm... a little..." Naruko fidgeted slightly in place, staring into her empty bowl. Despite her outward confidence and bravado, in reality, Naruko was palpably nervous. The whole trouble was that the very word "Exam" sent vibrations of uncertainty through Uzumaki's soul. And there was a perfectly understandable reason for that, considering all the tests and assessments she'd failed throughout her entire Academy education. The exams the girl had managed to pass on the first try could be literally counted on one's fingers. And it wasn't because Naruko was stupid. The whole problem lay in the catastrophic carelessness with which the girl approached her studies, considering nine out of ten subjects taught at the Academy to be boring nonsense nobody needed.
"Just believe in yourself and be yourself!" The young man advised her sincerely, stroking her head. Naruko closed her eyes in contentment, feeling the little worm of anxiety vanish from her soul. Kaoru, as if knowing her hidden worries, had easily found the right words to encourage his neighbor. "Don't doubt yourself, and act boldly. You're a capable and smart girl, especially if you put in a little effort. And, even if something unexpected happens, you'll always find a way out. After all, improvisation and unorthodox moves are your strongest side, right?"
"Well... that's true, yeah! I'm awesome! Heh-heh..." The girl laughed proudly, flattered by the praise. "I, Uzumaki Naruko! I'll breeze through this stupid exam and become a chunin, dattebayo!!!"
"Good attitude, Naru-chan," the young man praised with a smile.
"Ah... aha..." Naruko flushed slightly, looking at that warm smile. To hide her embarrassment, the girl impulsively jumped to her feet. "Soooo! I'm ready!!! Time to crush this dumb exam!!!! Tebane!!!"
"Oh dear~" Kaoru chuckled merrily, quickly grabbing the backpack propped against the wall. "Alright, I'm ready. Shall we go?"
"Yeah!! Oh, Koru-chan, you're coming too?" The girl was surprised. "Didn't you refuse to take it?"
"Oh, no-no!" The young man hastily waved his hands. "Even if I won't directly participate, that doesn't mean I can't, shall we say, 'contribute' a little..."
"Eh? That's way too vague. I didn't get it, Koru-chan!"
"I'll explain when we see the rest of the team. Just be a tiny bit patient." Having still received no direct answer, Naruko could only scratch her head in puzzlement and, just in case, puff out her cheeks in offense. Looking at her, Kaoru only laughed briefly and once again marveled at the sheer quantity of cuteness Naruko radiated. Not only had he gotten to know Naruko well, but she, in turn, had gotten to know Kaoru. The little schemer had quickly calculated that if she pretended to sulk or gazed up at him with fawning eyes from below, she could multiply her chances of getting what she wanted many times over. At least, with Kaoru, it worked about four times out of ten. So the odds were quite high, but, in this particular instance, Naruko was out of luck.
Kaoru, perfectly seeing these innocent attempts at manipulation, simply continued to be quietly charmed while, nevertheless, refusing to let the cunning extortionist lead him by the nose.
"Naruko learns fast... What a little schemer," he thought with amusement, lightly pinching the girl's cheek. Squeaking, the blonde jumped aside and started sulking even harder, but now from failure. However, as always, she couldn't keep up the puffer-fish act for long; within twenty paces, the girl was already smiling wide and chirping about everything under the sun.
"Hey, everyone!" Nagisa greeted from afar, spotting familiar figures up ahead.
"Kaoru-san! Naruko!" Sakurai waved, friendly, though slightly surprised by the other young man's presence at the gathering.
"Hmph." The Uchiha gave a meaningful snort. The girl's black eyes swept carefully over the "useless monk's" figure. After all, despite his constant goofiness, Sasuko acknowledged that he was skilled and not all that annoying. At the very least, he didn't constantly hover around her, irritating her with stupid babbling, unlike Sakurai. Sasuko couldn't stand clingy people, and initially she'd only tolerated the presence of two (three) idiots on the team out of necessity. However, after some time, she'd been forced to admit that they weren't so useless, and that even the Loud Idiot could, in certain cases, do something useful. An astonishing discovery! What had made her life a little easier still was that lately, Sakurai had been too exhausted to pester her.
And, looking at Nagisa now, Sasuko couldn't shake the feeling that he hadn't come simply to politely wish them luck on the exam. For all his foolishness, the monk rarely did anything without a reason.
"Well, now..." Kaoru drawled, his businesslike tone essentially confirming Sasuko's expectations. "We all know why we're gathered here, so I won't waste too much of your time. I think you spent these last days productively, preparing for what's ahead. But I haven't been idle either! In short, I want to help you a little."
"What?.."
"Eh?.."
"Hmmm?"
"Um, wait-wait, Kaoru-san! You're saying you'll help us with the exam?!" Haruno's eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh?! Ooo! Koru-chan, awesome!" Naruko reacted brightly. "You're the best!!!"
"Hm, so that's how it is." Though Sasuko was also very surprised, the girl's rational mind quickly tuned her to a constructive wavelength. "Did you learn something?"
"That, too. Among other things." The young man nodded, satisfied with the effect of his words. "Well, first things first. Let's go over your equipment. You did prepare, right?"
"Stupid question," the Uchiha snorted dismissively, being the first to present her arsenal. With some hesitation, Sakurai and Naruko followed her example.
Kaoru carefully inspected all the genins' gear and could only mentally pat himself on the head for his own foresight. Essentially, the kits presented for his inspection differed only in small details: kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, wire. Sasuko had a bit more of everything, plus a couple of fuma shuriken; Naruko had less; Sakurai distinguished himself with a small box of medical salve and a pack of bandages.
"Mm..." Kaoru drew out, not wanting to deeply offend his comrades with sharp words. But even that single sound made the genin suspect something was amiss. "Well... I suppose... not bad. Hah..."
"What? What's wrong?!" Naruko fidgeted, worried.
"Um... What's wrong?" Sakurai echoed her question, feeling irritation build. Nagisa's dissatisfied face practically begged to be punched. Or, at least, so it seemed to Sakurai.
"Just say it already," the Uchiha threw out, glum, not hiding her own irritation. She could see the young man was barely concealing his disappointment, and it angered her.
"Hah... Well, how to put this. Standard equipment is good, but a little... unserious." The former monk finally spoke. "You're heading to an exam where shinobi from all the Villages will participate, and you've prepared... not at all. Though, don't rush to be offended at me, Sasuko-chan, Naruko-chan. You're front-line fighters, after all, in essence, you don't need all that much. The bulk of my complaints are directed at Sakurai."
"At me?!" the young man exclaimed, barely suppressing his indignation.
"As I said: the girls don't need much. Sasuko uses elemental ninjutsu and has the Sharingan, and Naruko's primary weapon is her shadow clones. But you, Sakurai-kun, you can't boast of anything comparable yet."
"Look who's talking, you smiling bastard!" Haruno nearly snapped, but held himself back. He could respect Nagisa for his talents, but that didn't stop him from regularly feeling irritated. First, he'd simply annoyed him with his lack of seriousness, then he'd started hovering around Sasuko, and now he'd outright called him weak! Haruno's stung ego demanded vengeance. In aggregate, Nagisa was even worse than Ino! At least with Ino, you could fight, whereas Nagisa never demonstrated aggression and never gave cause for a proper quarrel.
"You've already reached certain conclusions yourself, haven't you?" Kaoru continued meanwhile. "Your combat metrics don't shine, so you work from behind and in the rear. You're squad support. But a couple of bandages and disinfectant salve?" He shook his head, showing his full attitude toward the situation. "In theory, you girls should have kits like these. Sakurai, as the squad's (future) medic, ought to have something more substantial. And therefore!.."
Abruptly cutting off his speech, the young man shrugged his backpack off his shoulder in one motion and deftly extracted several scrolls from it.
"Storage scrolls?" Sasuko asked with curiosity, accepting a pair without protest. After the brief reprimand Kaoru had delivered, Sasuko was forced to agree with him on many points. Taking his perspective into account, the girl could only lament inwardly with shame: she truly hadn't brought any medical supplies, fully confident in her own abilities. Again, after the "useless monk's" words, her entire arsenal seemed to the Uchiha shamefully meager; at the very least, she could have taken more supplies and, perhaps, a sword from the clan armory.
"Correct. This one, with the white ribbon, contains a small medical kit. Nothing special: a universal antidote, anesthetic, chakra pills for quick recovery, a weak combat stimulant... dressings, salves, and assorted small things. Notes and instructions are included." Kaoru waved a hand, vague. Sasuko was impressed, looking at the small scroll in her hand; this was even more than she could have hoped for! And he'd gathered all this for them?..
"Fine. Maybe he's not so useless after all," the girl admitted to herself, mentally awarding Nagisa a few ephemeral points.
"Next: the scroll with the blue ribbon," the young man continued. "Something tells me the exam may drag on a little, so I decided to make some small provisions. Inside is some material for various situations, plus several days' worth of food. I decided not to take weapons, since I figured your own metal would be sufficient."
"Koru-chan is so thorough and caring!" Naruko silently admired, hugging the scrolls she'd been given to her chest. The girl's soul was ready to ascend beyond the seventh heaven from the joy overflowing within her. Because someone was taking care of her!
"And, specially for Sakurai." Nagisa concluded, handing the dumbfounded young man his share of scrolls. "The first two have the same as the girls', just a bit more of this and that. In the 'white' scroll, you'll find specialized drugs, several types of antidotes, some consumables, and a set of stimulants. Everything's labeled, detailed, and so on... I made some of the preparations myself, so I guarantee their effectiveness. The 'blue' scroll contains, among other things, a set of barrier seals. The barrier's fairly simple, but useful: distribute the seals along a perimeter and activate them with a weak chakra pulse. If something possessing a large amount of chakra crosses the line, you'll know. Instructions, again, included. And now... the scroll with the green ribbon." Nagisa lowered his voice slightly, making it sound a bit eerie. "Poisons. And their antidotes. Liquid, volatile. Some act on skin contact, others when ingested by the target. The volatile ones form a small cloud that can hang in one spot for about a minute. Primary target areas: respiratory pathways and mucous areas like the mouth and eyes, but can also act through the skin, though slower and weaker. Mostly nothing lethal: paralytics, allergens, narcotics, hallucinogens. Each compound has a separate antidote, with a large supply; I advise taking it as a prophylactic before use and, naturally, upon exposure. The compounds are effective, they neutralize negative effects very quickly."
"K-Kami-sama!" Sakurai breathed out quietly, staring at the scroll as if it were the most venomous snake in the world. It was terrifying to imagine what else lay concealed in that seemingly small roll of paper.
"As a rule, medics are unremarkable fighters, Sakurai-kun," Kaoru continued, earnest, in the same insinuating voice. "Since they're more focused on saving lives, they have far less time for combat training. That's why iryo-nin must resort to numerous tricks, and poisons are the foundation of their arsenal. With luck and skill, you can bring down an opponent with a multi-fold superiority in strength. One wound. Just one... tiny... scratch. And the enemy is defeated. Hssss!" As his monologue progressed, Nagisa grew increasingly frightening, slowly leaning toward the now-nervous genin and, specifically, toward Sakurai in particular. And then, ending with an unexpected serpentine hiss, he abruptly straightened and gifted them his usual serene smile. "Well, something like that! What's the matter with you all?"
"Koru-chan... scaaaary," Naruko exhaled quietly. What was surprising, Sasuko nodded silently, confirming the blonde's words.
"Ha-ha, don't be so tense! It was just a little joke, ne?" Nagisa laughed merrily, and the genin were somewhat "released."
"Stupid monk," the Uchiha muttered quietly under her breath.
Naruko immediately smiled again, hearing the word "joke."
Only Sakurai didn't relax, continuing to clutch the fateful scroll, with its entire arsenal of chemical warfare agents, gingerly between his fingers.
"With that, let's finish up." Kaoru concluded, having distributed all his preparations. He felt proud; after all, he'd assembled all these kits himself! Some things were ready beforehand, but others had needed to be created specifically for the exam. Time had been short, so the young man had been forced to skip sleep several times, striving to finish everything as quickly as possible. He'd also had to dig into his own stashes and gut them thoroughly. But, in Kaoru's opinion, it was worth it: he was now far more confident that the genin would survive the exam's second stage without incident. Still, there was one more thing to do: "Hah, nearly forgot!... Here, take these."
The genin wordlessly accepted the small objects into their hands, only to be surprised once again. Because instead of something expected, their fingers closed around... small velvet pouches.
"A good-luck charm?" Haruno asked, genuinely surprised.
"The real thing!" Kaoru declared proudly. "Keep them on you. You can never have too much luck!"
"Yayyy! Now I'll be invincible!!!" Naruko exclaimed, inspired. She now officially felt perfectly happy.
"Hf... What nonsense," the Uchiha snorted dismissively. But, even so, she almost absently slipped the gift into her chest pocket.
"One last thing. I want to give you some advice. Or a parting word?.." Affecting a brief look of pensiveness, Nagisa put on a beatific face and began speaking in an earnest tone. "Keep courage and firmness in your hearts, and keep your minds cold and discerning. Believe in yourselves. Be on guard and expect trickery, always expect trickery. And beware of red."
"You know something!" Sasuko was suddenly struck. The young man's tone was so pointed and meaningful that it practically forced one toward such a thought.
"Well, Sasuko-chan..." Smiling, Nagisa lightly patted her on the head. This triggered a brief flash of Uchiha irritation: taking advantage of his height, and that mysterious smile too, the bastard. "Let's just say, he who has ears, let him see."
"Ears?.. See?.." The girl's brain stalled for a moment, trying to process the absurd phrase. "What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Umm!!!!... Why is Koru-chan petting that... that!.. Hedgehog?!!" Naruko was quietly jealous, which caused her to completely miss the young man's words.
Sakurai finally began showing signs of awareness, noticing that Kaoru was once again "dangerously close" to Sasuko. But by the time Haruno had fully returned to himself, the impudent monk had already vanished without a trace.
"Alright. Enough standing around here," Sasuko spoke, deftly tucking the scrolls into her hip pouch. "We're already late. Move it, you clumsy oafs!"
"Aarrr! Who're you calling a clumsy oaf, hey!!" Naruko instantly snapped back, though she was already positioning herself to the left of her rival.
Sighing quietly, Sakurai hurried to catch up to his comrades, taking his place at the Uchiha's right.
Team Seven set out for the Chunin Exam!
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Thanks for reading the chapter!
I started a new translation and I would be very happy if you decided to check out my new translation for a rather rare fandom. It's a fic based on Honkai: Star Rail.
Honkai Star Rail: Herta's Assistant Wants to Blow Up Nous
https://www.webnovel.com/book/36823191000494605