FicWad

The Eastern Quadrant of ‘this world’, is named Sutare. A region that was dominated by desert wastelands, with some forested areas here and there. In this region, deep within the bowels of Staff, a fortified city along the Eastern Coast that was built into the mountains themselves, Rimuto addressed a man named Rubel, a smug smiling bald man in black, sporting a fedora and sunglasses that gave him a sinister appearance.

“So, what can you tell me about this Youma Hunter?” Rimuto asked.

“About as much as I already have, unfortunately,” the man sighed. “He’s about as elusive as they say he is; the fact that Windcutter Flora managed to catch up to him is nothing short of a miracle.”

“She has a particular expertise in tracking down people we want to find,” Roberto, who had just arrived, pointed out to them remindfully with a heavy frown. “I am frankly not surprised that she was able to handle it, though her ability to keep him in one place leaves much to be desired.”

Rimuto turned to the man and gave him a stoic look. “Keeping him in one place does not matter. As long as we have one of our own watching him we are bound to discover more about this elusive pest.” the man slightly narrowed his eyes to show the ever growing frustration he was having at the lack of intel on this boy. “I trust your charge has found more information about him?” it wasn’t a question.

“Yes,” Roberto answered, “Though the way she’s been getting is deplorable.” She’s a weapon, a tool, not a seductress. Tools have no uses in that area if he was to be completely honest. “But she got results.”

“What has she discovered about him then?” Rubel asked.

“The Youma Hunter, is human. She told me that much when I caught up to them in Lautrec two weeks ago. A week before that, I caught up to her in Wem where she informed me the Youma Hunter is utterly incapable of using yoki but is able to do feats that are beyond human.”

Rimuto’s expression didn't change. “Such as...?” he asked, his voice showing curiosity. Rubel was intrigued and wasn’t afraid to show it.

“The boy is able to accurately pinpoint who is a youma and who is not. As Flora travelled with the boy, he was able to point out how many youmas there were in the vicinity, where they are and even minute details on their positions. The boy has not elaborated on how he is able to achieve this to Flora. She even claimed to have seen him effortlessly dispatch a few that had tried to ambush him before she managed to catch up to him.”

“You’re sure no yoki was being used?” Rubel asked, probingly.

“Positive.” the man answered stiffly. “Flora has been tracking him for weeks, and even talked to people who saw him facing of youma. They never saw his eyes change when youmas are in the vicinity. He fought them by himself with no outside help. The boy is completely human,”

“Intriguing…” Rubel had to admit the more he heard about this Youma Hunter the more interesting he became.

“What else did she find out?” Rimuto asked.

“The Youma Hunter uses small, easily concealed weapons. Fitting for an assassin.” the man answered; he took a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing, “He has a pair of custom made knives with knuckle guards, and occasionally uses small shivs as throwing knives, and throws them with great accuracy. He…” he trailed off, Roberto had a feeling what he was going to say next was going to throw the Elder and Rubel in for a loop.

“...go on.” Rubel coaxed him to continue, his sunglasses hid his anticipation.

“What can you tell me of his skill level and fighting style?”

Roberto’s frown became a little strained. “I am sure Flora was exaggerating, but, she claimed the boy was capable of moving as fast as a single digit, and wiped out a fortified encampment of bandits and outlaws that were harassing the town of Barnet by himself in under a minute.”

Rimuto’s eyes opened up a slight tinge, “Impossible!”

“Impossible he can move as fast as a Single Digit? Yes. Him being able to wipe out an entire encampment by himself? Not so much.” Rubel corrected, “It is entirely possible the Youma Hunter infiltrated the encampment and killed them all.”

“Flora deduced he used some types of explosives or ignited something in the camp itself.” Roberto said agreeingly, “She also informed me the lacerations on the bandits’ remains and the ground where the encampment was once located imply that the blast wasn’t used to kill them.”

“Fitting I suppose.” Rubel chuckled, “The Youma Hunter was said to be an assassin, and uses hit and run tactics to even the odds in his favour.” then he looked at Roberto directly and asked, “How did Windcutter Flora achieve this information?”

“Through making use of her seduction skills,” Roberto deadpanned. Was that not obvious? “It appears that he sees her as any other person, so she took it upon herself to take advantage of that. As a result, she managed to lure him into a romantic relationship. He won’t go anywhere without her, now... though if we ever do manage to confirm that she’s to blame for all those bandits disappearing, this may prove troublesome.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Rimuto assured.

“What about the activities we discovered happening in the North? Has it escalated?” Roberto asked.

“It is unknown as of now. As I speak Numbers 7, 12, 16, and 33 are on their way to Alphonse to investigate.” the Elder answered.

“It is a simple reconnaissance mission.” Rubel stated as he adjusted his fedora. “Eva’s ability to keep enemies at bay from a long distance should suffice in keeping them and any information they gather safe until they escape if worse comes to worst.”

“And what if worse does come to worst?”

Rimuto had a dispassionate look on his face as he answered. “They die, and depending on how bad the situation is, we either send a small or large response team over there.”

If it turned out to be very bad, then they can send all of their problem warriors and thensome over there to quell whatever was happening in the North. If they die, it wouldn’t matter in the long run, those women were but tools to be used and discarded whenever they had outlived their usefulness. And they had more than enough trainees to replace them.

“I see.” Roberto didn't care for those hybrids. They were less than human in his eyes. No, it would be more accurate to say they weren’t human at all. They were just tools, objects to be used and discarded when they are no longer useful and broken.

----

Meanwhile in Lautrec, as they continued to walk towards what was hopefully a settlement that Naruto sensed using Sage Mode, a cold shiver ran up Flora’s spine, though she knew not why. She frowned, thoroughly unnerved, but shrugged it off.

“Is there something wrong?” Naruto asked, looking concerned. He noticed how unsettled she looked and couldn’t help but worry.

Flora smiled appreciatively and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Just a bad feeling that something’s going to happen,” she admitted with a sigh. “No need to worry... as long as we stay vigilant, of course.”

Naruto frowned a bit under his mask, but nodded.

“I have to admit, the valley here is nice. There’s plenty to see.” The blond said as he took in their surroundings. It was simply breathtaking. There were plenty of places back home that was breathtaking to look at; but this valley, the trees; the mountains; the moss; he felt right at home here. He was reminded of the Hidden Leaf Village, even though this place looked nothing like it. He didn't know why, but Naruto was reminded of home.
“Indeed, there is.” Flora agreed wholeheartedly with him. Mucha had greenlands, mountains, and plains, but the woman had never been into a valley before. Until now that is. “It is simply breathtaking.”

Naruto smiled under his mask at that, and the two of them continued on their way to the town. They were still three days away from reaching it and Naruto was sure he is close to running out of food by this point.

----

Three days later

As they’re approaching their destination, Naruto and Flora were having a rather heated discussion.

“I’m telling you, it’s a real thing,” Naruto insisted, upon seeing Flora’s expression.

“I don’t believe you,” she told him with a look of mild disbelief. “Giant snakes I can believe; giant demons I can also believe; but being able to summon a god from the realm of divinity? That is where I draw the line.”

“It totally happened, though! I swear it did!” Naruto insisted once more.

“Okay, if you so insist that it truly happened then I believe, that you believe, it happened.”

Naruto threw up his arms; there was no convincing her was there? With an exasperated sigh Naruto decided to drop the conversation right then and there. She couldn’t be convinced that his dad summoned a god of death and split Kurama in two. His memories didn't go that far back, so Flora wasn’t able to see it.

He wasn’t there when Old Man Third summoned the same death god to deal with The First and Second Hokages, so Flora was unable to see that either.

Then again, he had to wonder if he could blame her.

“If and when I get back home and take you with me, I’ll just have to show ya,” he relented. Then after a moment Naruto really thought about it and was quick to decide against it. He really doesn’t want to kill himself. That was one of the prices for summoning the god of death. He would have to be an idiot to even think of doing something like that for no reason. “Actually, no, I’d better not… well, not the technique itself, at least, but proof that it’s been used.”

“Oh? And how exactly are you going to do that, hmm?” Flora wondered how he was going to do that.

“The instances of when it was used are well-documented, and instructions can be found in a scroll we keep in the village,” Naruto replied. “Though getting back is the hard part.”

“You do realize ‘documents’ can be fabricated, right?” Flora pointed out to him rather blandly. “And if you intend for me to read these documents your city has, well... I cannot read.” She was more than a little embarrassed to admit that, but Flora had never been taught how. It might be different now that she really thought about it. She did see her ‘hubby’s’ memories, so it’s entirely possible she could have learned to read his language from that.

Due to what she is, and how people view those like her, Flora’s relationship with Naruto was the first one she ever had. The first she ever experienced for that matter. And being a wandering warrior, and going place to place for her assignments, she did hear the word ‘hubby’ being thrown around by young and adult couples.

She had no idea what it stood for and thought it was a term of endearment of some kind. Flora was going to be very surprised once she finds out what it actually means...

“Really?” Naruto was very surprised, “I would never have guessed.”

“Y-yeah. It’s rare for anyone to be able to read.” the woman told him with a sheepish smile, “It’s even rarer for people to be able to write, for that matter. The likely people you’ll find being able to read are those of nobility. Those who are likely to be able to do both are men of the cloth. It is very expensive to learn how to read and write.”

“I see… are any hybrids able to read and write?” Naruto asked.

“Write? None that I know of. Reading? Phantom Miria is rumoured to be able to read.” she admitted with a shrug. “It is very rare for any warriors in the Organization to read, let alone write.”

Naruto slowly nodded. It made sense to him. The memories he got from Flora showed the girls the Organization picked up were living in poverty, were homeless, or were the… pets of the very youma that murdered their family. Also, teaching them such skills wasn’t of any ‘use’ to the handlers, as it wasn’t a skill they needed to kill youma.

...Y’know, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to punch one of those handlers in the nose. Hell, many people from back home would tell him they deserved worse, but he preferred to be more merciful than that… for now, anyway.

If they truly were just trying to rid the world of youma, then he couldn’t really blame people for getting desperate, given their situation.

“Okay, then.” Naruto cocked his head to the side, “Huh… there’s a youma ah- no, not a youma. A warrior? The yoki is not as corrupt as a youma’s.”

“Can you tell how strong she is?” Flora asked. She learned to trust Naruto’s sensing by now.

“Pretty strong…?” Naruto sounded unsure. He cocked his head, squinting his eyes, “She’s stronger than you, though not by much.”

“I see.” The woman mused. So, a single digit then. The only ones who would be stronger than her, though not by much in Naruto’s words, would be Number 7 Eva, Number 6 Phantom Miria, and Number 5 Rafaela the One-Eyed Warrior.

There was also Number 9 Drillsword Jean, who had her beat in sheer brute force, but was lacking a number of number of qualities, hence her rank. Which one was truly stronger between her and Flora was ultimately quite debatable.

Of course, they would have to get closer for any of them to be confirmed.

“Do you think the other warriors would know about me by now?” Naruto asked.

“Most definitely.” Flora was very confident about that. “It’s been over a month since I was sent to locate you, and you have built a reputation during the three months before we met. Many of my comrades in arms wanted to see if you really are able to do what the rumours claimed.”

“Uh...Huh...I’ll keep that in mind, then,” Naruto replied with a nod.

“Don’t worry; as long as you don’t draw attention to yourself, you’ll be fine!”

“I always draw attention to myself, though.” Naruto pointed out. “Even the way I look without all of this on draws attention.” he added gesturing to himself. Then the blond let out an exhausted sigh, “I don’t mind finding a place to stay though... my feet are killing me.”

Flora smiled and was holding back the urge to laugh at his whining. He sounded like a wounded dog, if she was completely honest. She understood where he was coming from though. They’ve been on the road for over three weeks by this point, he was bound to have blisters by now. The fact he’s not walking funny, either tells her he’s got a very high pain tolerance or he hasn’t gotten them yet.

“We’re just a few hours away now, dear,”

“I know. I just hope that woman I sensed isn’t the type to cause trouble, or something. I had enough of that for one lifetime.”

“I’m sure she’s not.” The women that fit Naruto’s description were anything but troublemakers, after all. Granted, Eva was just a bit infamous for sticking her nose in others’ business and her morbid sense of humour, but that was about it.

----

It thankfully didn’t take long for them to reach the town and find a place to stay as Naruto plopped on the bed with a heavy, happy sigh.

“Oh, sweet mattress! How I missed you!” Naruto groaned as he kicked off his shoes and allowed his feet to actually breathe. It felt good to get out of those shoes!

Flora found the whole thing to be hilarious. Her boyfriend made a good impression of a slob right about now. A good looking, exotically dressed slob. “You adorable, young man,” she giggled.

“Make fun of my misery why don’tcha..”

“Oh, I’ll make it up to you,” she cooed.

Oh, he knew damn well that she would… that woman had become quite skilled at draining his balls dry over the course of their relationship. But not right now. Right now, all he wanted to do was rest. He earned that!

“Not now, dear, I am really tired,” he chuckled; then he leaned his head up to look at her and smiled, “I don’t mind cuddling you though.”

Flora beamed at that and immediately got to work in shedding her armour. Once she was in her two-piece bodysuit the woman leapt onto the bed like an excited cat, and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend.

Naruto chuckled warmly at her enthusiasm and hugged her tight, giving Flora a peck on the cheek in appreciation. If there was one thing he felt was becoming an addiction, it would have to be cuddling with his girlfriend. Flora was much the same way. She just loved getting her cuddles from him. Never in her life had she been so happy as when she became his girlfriend~!

It didn’t take long for the couple to drift off a bit and a few hours later, they were well-rested. When they woke up both blonds realized the yoki they felt on their way to the town was now directly underneath their room. She seemed to be waiting for them due to her lack of moving.

“Well… that might be a problem,” Naruto muttered.

“Perhaps, perhaps not,” Flora replied. She got up off the bed and got her sabatons on. “I will go down and see who it is. You, stay here.”

Naruto sat up and looked at his girlfriend with a worried frown. “What if she asks about me? If the other hybrids know about me, then it would make sense they know you’ve been sent to keep an eye on me.”

Flora had gotten her sabatons fitted on her feet. “I will come up with something if the situation calls for it, don’t worry.” She reassured him and turned to look at her boyfriend with a calming smile.

Seeing that, Naruto exhaled and gave his girlfriend a nod and a smile. He’ll trust in her ability to sort this out. But if she’s in trouble…he’ll go down there and bail her out. He will use his ‘ninja skills’ to shadow her, just in case, though. Flora smiled back at him before she turned and left the room to confront the warrior on the ground floor. Hopefully she’s the friendly, non-probing sort. If not, then she’ll make due.

If nothing else, Naruto got one out of two, as Flora found herself face-to-face with Phantom Miria - a friendly enough woman, though there were few who probed and prodded around for more information than her.

“Oh, hello, there,” Flora greeted, immediately recognizing the woman’s personal crest. “What brings you here, Phantom Miria?”

The woman in question had a razor-shad cut hairstyle, with her hair being a pale, sandy brown. She had a feminine, angular face, a noticeable forehead and had a stern, nonsense look about her. She was sitting by herself, next to the staircase Flora had came down from, sipping on a pint of local ale. Despite this town’s ale having a reputation for being particularly strong, though, she wasn’t feeling the buzz thanks to her youma half filtering it out.

“A certain young man that is known as ‘The Youma Hunter’,” the woman answered after she set her mug down on the table. “The Organization is very interested in him.”

“I know that,” Flora said with a roll of her eyes. She didn't need to be reminded of that. Those old guys on the council were trying to find out as much as they could on him. They sent her after him for that reason. “But why are you here specifically?”

Miria sighed and crossed her arms as she regarded Flora with an even look. “I told you: your companion; The Youma Hunter.” She leaned forward in her chair and gave the Number 8 a look, “I want to know more about him. Just the basics, nothing too complicated. What’s he like? What motivates him?”

Flora quirked an eyebrow at that before pulling up a seat just opposite Miria. “Very well, I don’t see any harm in that.” she crossed her arms and crossed her leg, while thinking of a way to begin. She decided to get the easiest part out of the way first, “The Youma Hunter - Naruto, that’s his real name - is very kind. He’s one of the rare kind of humans that doesn’t see us hybrids as monsters that should be kept at arm's length, but as living, breathing humans with feelings and treats us like we’re ordinary people.” she smiled rather fondly at that, something that Miria took note of and filed away for later. “As for what motivates him…” Flora just shrugged. “It’s hard to put it into words, but from what I garnered, he’s motivated to help people whenever they need it. No ulterior motives or anything else of the sort. He’s just very swee- Uh... c-compassionate.”

Miria quirked an eyebrow at Flora’s slip of the tongue. So the rumours of the Youma Hunter having a ‘claymore’ lover were true, then? Though a small part of her couldn’t help but be a little jealous, the Number 6 pushed it aside. “Compassionate, you say?” Miria smiled. “People like that are sadly becoming a rarity, these days. Quite sad, really, but they tend to be the first ones who get killed.”

Flora gave Miria a smug little smile that was unlike her. “Considering he fought off several youmas by himself without help, before I caught up to him? He’ll be just fine.” Not to mention he’s got powers that are completely beyond them. If he wanted to, Naruto could solo everything the Organization sent at him. “Besides, he can move just as fast as we can, despite being incapable of using yoki.”

“Very interesting…” Miria muttered thoughtfully.

“Oh, hi Naruto!”

“Hi Flora.”

Miria almost jumped right out of her skin when she heard an unfamiliar voice from directly beside her. She snapped her head to her right and Miria grew wide eyed when she saw the very person they were talking about was practically leaning over her! How did he?! When did he get there?! She never heard him come down the stairs and she’s practically next to it!

Now that he was here Miria gave him a look over. Dark clothes, a dark red coat with flame-like patterns on the hem. A black facial mask that kept the lower half of his face hidden, and wore a piece of cloth tied to his forehead that had a horned metal plate with some strange writing engraved onto it.

He sounded young too. Around his 16th cycle if she had to guess.

Naruto took in her features as well before turning his attention to his girlfriend. “So, who’s the beautiful brunette? Someone you know?”

Despite retaining her composure, Miria felt her cheeks burn at that. “I am Number 6, Miria,” she answered, introducing herself with a friendly smile.

“I am pleased to meet you, Miria. I’m Naruto, as you no doubt learned from my girlfriend over there.” he said, nodding his head towards the now flushed and lovingly-smiling Flora. “So, what brings you here?”

“You apparently,” The still smiling Flora answered with a shrug. “It seems the infamous ‘Youma Hunter’ is drawing all sorts of attention. The Organization is very keen on finding out as much as they can about you.”

Suddenly Naruto was beside Flora making Miria look between where he is now and at the spot the blond previously was. He was just there. She didn't see him move! Miria now realised Flora was not fibbing, Naruto really could move as fast as them.

Hell, that was faster than she’d ever seen one of them move!

“It’s not my fault trouble follows me wherever I go. But I can understand why.” The masked blond said with a shrug. “I’m just that awesome.” Naruto was joking on that last part. He wasn’t so condescending as to think he’s god’s gift to Earth. He can however act smug about it though.

Flora easily saw through that and lightly elbowed him on the waist. “No acting smug, you.”

Naruto chuckled at that and pulled her into a one-armed hug. “Yes, dear,” he chirped, drawing a blush and smile from his girlfriend.

Miria gave the two of them odd looks. “You’re really…”

“A couple? Yes.” Naruto finished and answered her question. “Because of our relationship, I even know you girls have that gash on your front. If I’m completely honest, it’s not that bad. I’ve seen worse.”

Miria didn’t quite know how to feel about that last bit of information… What could possibly be worse than an unhealable gash that can only be closed by crude stitching?! “Duly noted,” she replied uncomfortably.

“No need to look to uncomfortable Number 6,” Flora said with a wide smile, “He’ll change your world after staying with him~” she teased with a hint of suggestiveness.

Poor Miria promptly turned beet red at that. She knew damn well what Flora was implying.

Naruto did too as he gave his girlfriend a deadpan stare, “You’re not trying to pimp me out to other hybrids, are you? I fucked Lucia because you dragged me into it.”

“If I recall, you were the one that started flirting with her.” Flora shot back with an impish smile. “And then, she was the one dragged into it, after you took my innocence… from behind, like a rabid beast, no less~!”

“I don’t remember that!” Naruto was quick to say, prompting Flora to smirk even more impishly than before. He totally did.

Miria, meanwhile, shifted uncomfortably. If this kept up, she’d find herself sitting in a damn lake of her own arousal! Like a lot of hybrids, she was rather… neglected in that regard, thus resulting in the poor woman’s water works having a bit of a hair trigger. Unfortunately, the conversation only got more awkward from there...