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After breakfast, Naruto followed the twins up to their room.
The room itself was extremely clean even in the morning. Every surface was meticulously dusted and every corner squared away.
On Nanako's side, the walls were covered in brightly colored posters of pop idols and fashion trends. A small table sat under the window, cluttered with cheap lip glosses, hair clips, and the latest trendy cell phone accessories. On Mimiko's side, the bed was entirely overtaken by plush toys and hand-stitched dolls. The bookshelf on her side held dark fantasy books, volumes of manga, and strange gothic memorabilia.
In the center of the room was a framed photograph of Suguru Geto with the girls when they were younger.
Naruto glanced around the room. "Mimiko, did you make all of these creepy dolls?"
"Yeah."
"Awesome. But why don't you two get separate rooms?" Naruto curiously asked as there were a lot of rooms in the house.
"That's none of your buisness. What do you want help with?" Nanako asked . Her tone made it clear that she wanted this conversation over as quickly as possible.
"Hey, what's your problem?" Naruto asked, his own temper flaring at the attitude he was getting.
"Wow. You hurt one of our family members and you expect us to just go back to normal?"
"It... was... an... accident!" Naruto said. He kept his emotions in check, but the frustration inside him was bubbling over. "If you want to blame someone, go blame Negi!"
The twins gasped.
"Yeah, I said it! If Negi hadn't used his explosive tags and that fireball, I would've never used the Rasengan," Naruto shouted, standing firmly behind his actions. "You know what? Blame the referee for not stepping in when we both went too far!"
"Wow. I really thought you were better than this."
"Really?!" Naruto's anger completely boiled over. "I know I took it too far! That's why I wanted to buy a gift to apologize to Negi-san!"
The twins were taken aback by the revelation.
"But you guys are just making me out to be the villain," Naruto said, his voice dropping from angry to deeply hurt. "I thought you were better than that. I thought my friends would at least try to see my side of things. Guess I was the only one who actually thought we were friends."
Before the twins could utter a single word, the boy jumped over the window sill and vanished into the dense canopy.
Mimiko broke the silence. "Sis... I think we messed up big time."
"...Yeah," Nanako whispered in shame.
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Naruto trudged through the unfamiliar streets of Tokyo. His hands shoved deep into his pockets as he pondered what to get Negi. If no one was going to help him, fine. He could do it himself. That was always how his life had been back in Konoha anyway. If you wanted something done, you relied on yourself. Feeling completely lost in the urban maze, the boy decided his first priority should be fuel. He walked up to a passing pedestrian. "Hey, where can I get some ramen around here?"
The man looked confused at what he was saying.
"You know what ramen is... right?"
"Um... sorry! I... don't... know... ... ENGURISHU!"
"What are you even talking about? English?"
"He can't understand you," a familiar voice chimed in from behind. While the japanese salary man left. Naruto turned to find the twins standing a few paces away.
"Why are you two here?"
Nanako mumbled something under her breath.
"What?"
Mimiko sharply elbowed her in the ribs.
"Okay, don't rush me!" Nanako hissed at her sister. To Naruto's surprise, both girls bowed their heads in unison. "We wanted to apologize for our behavior."
"Huh?"
Someone actually apologizing to him was a completely alien concept. Back in Konoha, whenever adults or kids were cruel to him, he just had to suck it up and take it. He never got an apology. Never. That's was why he always found ways to fight back with pranks.
"Look, you were right about a lot of the stuff you said," Mimiko spoke up.
"Yeah. Negi-san went too far. You just responded back," Nanako added, repeating the boy's own words. "And the referee should have definitely stepped in. Like it's wrong of us to just blame you after all of that."
Naruto nodded slowly.
"For that, I'm sorry," Nanako said.
"Me too. I'm sorry," Mimiko echoed.
A bright, genuine smile broke across Naruto's face. He lunged forward and threw his arms around the two girls in a big hug. "Still friends?"
The twins blinked in surprise at the sudden display of affection b ut they hugged the boy back. "Always."
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"So, why didn't that man understand me earlier?" Naruto asked a little later, looking over a menu.
As a proper peace offering, the twins had taken him to a local ramen stand for lunch.
"We can only understand you because the fish curse releases a constant pulse of cursed energy whenever you speak," Nanako explained, snapping her chopsticks apart. "But the vast majority of people can't perceive or use cursed energy. Because of that, your voice just sounds like gibberish to them."
"Oh. Okay," Naruto muttered, staring down at the table. He didn't realize just how incredibly isolated that curse made him from the rest of this world.
"Anyway, what should we actually get Negi-san?"
"Shoes, maybe," Mimiko suggested.
"He doesn't really use technology, so I can't just look up his Instagram to see what he likes," Nanako sighed. She caught Naruto's expression and spent the next few minutes trying to explain what social media and Instagram actually were.
"Should I get a phone?" Naruto asked when she finally finished. He used the tablet Suda lent him from time to time, but having a personal device sounded pretty good.
"I actually have an old one you can borrow," Nanako shrugged, taking a sip of her water. "Like try it out before you go spending your own money on a new one. See if you even like it."
"Wow, thanks!"
"'Guys, we're getting off-topic," Mimiko interrupted. "Negi-san. Gift. What are we doing?"
"A box of ramen cups! That always fixes things for me."
"What about a headband?" Nanako added. "Negi-san is like the only guy I know who wears one of those regularly."
"Do they make custom headbands?"
Naruto's mind went to the idea of making a konoha headband for himself. It felt weird not wearing one in so long.
"They do."
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"How are you feeling?"
"You didn't have to come, Geto-sama," Negi said, glancing past him toward Suda and Larue.
"I can tolerate the presence of these monkeys for a short while if it is for you," Geto replied. "I will simply take a thoroughly long shower when I get home."
Negi let out a weak laugh. The fact that Geto was willing to step foot inside a placed filled with non-sorcerers just to check on him... that spoke volumes about his devotion to his family.
"Toshihisa, what exactly were you thinking in that spar?" Suda asked.
"I don't know," Negi confessed. "That kid... he was just so strong that..."
"You got jealous."
"Larue!" Suda said incredulously, shooting him a warning look.
"That's just the truth, darling," Larue said. "Why else would Negi try so incredibly hard in a simple spar? He felt threatened that a random kid was going to come in and change the entire hierarchy of this family. Such a shame. Rather than celebrating the fact that our family just got stronger, you tried to do something entirely stupid."
Negi kept his eyes glued to the floor, unable to deny it.
"Play stupid games, win stupid prizes," Larue added, completely bashing the younger man without missing a beat.
"You weren't exactly friendly with the boy either when he first got here."
"Yes, which is exactly why I must rectify my own mistakes," Larue conceded with a dramatic sigh.
"Toshihisa. Congratulations on hitting a Black Flash."
"Yes... thank you, Geto-sama." The young man was profoundly relieved that Geto wasn't angry with him.
"I hope all of these experiences help you mature," Geto stated. "Naruto is not your enemy. He is the youngest member of this family. And the youngest should always be protected."
"Of course, Geto-sama."
The heavy atmosphere among the adults was suddenly interrupted by a knock.
"Come in."
The door opened to let the lids inside.
"What are you three doing here?"
Naruto didn't answer. He just went to the side of the bed holding out a box toward Negi.
"I should've stopped before using my strongest attack," Naruto said. "I thought you could take it. I'm sorry for hurting you, Negi-san."
Negi slowly took the box from Naruto's hands. "No... I'm the one who is sorry for escalating things. You are a child, Naruto. You are bound to make mistakes. I was the adult in that ring. I should be taking the responsibility, not the other way around."
A relieved smile finally broke across Naruto's face.
"So, how exactly do you do that seal of reconciliation?" Negi asked, placing the present to the side. This was more important.
Naruto was taken aback.
"'When you're done, you do the Seal of Reconciliation. It means we're still comrades, no matter what happens in the fight.'" Negi repeated the boy's exact words back to him.
Naruto's eyes lit up.
After the demonstration, Negi mirrored the gesture. He extended the index and middle fingers of his own hand and firmly pressing them against Naruto's corresponding fingers.
"Next time, let's train together for real, Negi-san," Naruto said, his enthusiasm fully returning.
"Of course."
The young blonde gave a dazzling brilliant smile at the promise.
Oh, how Naruto would miss these simple, bright days. Because life after the special grade accident... was never the same again.