Then he summoned Sword from the seal on his right hand.
"Sword, quit sleeping. Go find that heartbroken little princess."
A thick black mist poured from Uchiha Hikaru's right wrist, flowing down to the ground before silently gathering. The fog coalesced into a silhouette—her figure gradually took shape, delicate jade-white toes landing softly on the dusty floor, scattering it like petals in the wind. Her heels and ankles were faintly pink.
Her calves were pale and flawless like carved jade. Above them, the hem of her black skirt shimmered with stars, interconnected in chain-like constellations, reaching up to the upper part of her dress. Wide sleeves hung loosely, concealing her hands.
With her graceful swan neck and a cute, childish face, she looked like a porcelain doll. Her long black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall.
But right now, Sword didn't look too happy. Her small mouth was puffed out in a pout as she put her hands on her hips and turned her face away.
"What a heartless man."
"The first time you summon me, it's just to look for some crying little girl? So boring!"
Still, despite her grumbling, her body acted on its own. Sword walked straight in front of Uchiha Hikaru and Naruto, leading the way forward.
Naruto's eyes went wide in disbelief, jaw nearly hitting the floor.
Even though he wasn't exactly innocent, Naruto—who wrote Make-Out Paradise sequels better than Jiraiya himself—had seen a lot. But even he was stunned speechless.
He pointed at Sword, then at Hikaru, stammering like an idiot when he saw the perfect, petite little girl standing there, who looked only eleven or twelve.
"Bro—Brother Hikaru! You, you—you actually sealed a little girl in your body…"
"She—she…"
"You're into this kinda thing?!"
"But she's so… so small…"
Clearly, Naruto's imagination had gone in very strange directions.
Hikaru just sighed, palm covering his face.
(￣ロ￣lll) "I should've known…"
He silently vowed that after this was over, he'd give Sword half of the dragon vein's chakra—if only to stop people from misunderstanding his tastes.
But in reality, Hikaru knew what Sword meant: she wanted to fight. She loved battle more than most Uchiha. She was annoyed because she'd been summoned but hadn't gotten a chance to slash anything.
At the moment, walking ahead, Sword was pouting inside too. Surrounded by the towering structures of Rōran and a gigantic puppet standing tall in the distance, her battle hunger surged.
The thing that pissed her off most? She hadn't recovered her full power yet. This was the only form she could manifest in for now—and it irritated her to no end.
Anything big just reminded her of how small she was right now.
Sure, small could be cute—but Sword knew damn well that Hikaru preferred big.
No one wants to fight with a dagger when you could be wielding a greatsword.
Cute might be fine for kids, but it wasn't good for combat.
For Sword, her priorities were simple: Hikaru first, battle second, devouring energy and rare metals third.
And now? She was like a starving blade. No wonder she was pissed.
Hikaru and Naruto followed her as she led the way. Before long, a soft, familiar singing echoed from the staircase ahead.
"The dragon vein must be protected…"
"Found her. I'm going back to sleep."
"Don't summon me again unless there's combat, got it?"
"I'm still recharging~"
With that, Sword's body dissolved into black mist, spiraled around Hikaru a few times, then returned to the seal on his wrist.
Hikaru touched his lips—they felt cold.
Naruto looked at him with undisguised envy.
"I really envy you, Brother Hikaru…"
"Unlike me, I've got a giant grumpy fox living in me."
"Wouldn't it be nice if the Nine-Tails turned into something like that…"
As he spoke, Naruto's imagination went wild—he pictured the Nine-Tails in the form of a voluptuous, busty older sister, with nine fluffy orange tails swaying behind her and sharp fox ears on her head.
Yeah… that would be awesome…
But before Hikaru could interrupt, Kurama stirred violently inside Naruto.
"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!!!"
"How dare you imagine me like that!?"
"Don't make me tear this seal apart!"
In his mind, Naruto casually stood before the cage, picking his nose and flicking a booger toward the bars.
"Hey, I was just thinking about it. Chill out. You're a male fox anyway."
"Why so serious?"
"Don't be so stuck up. I can use Sexy Jutsu too, y'know. You're such a feudal relic. Whatever, I've got other things to do."
And with that, Naruto ignored Kurama's furious roars echoing in his consciousness.
Hikaru glanced at him sideways.
(・_・;) "No wonder Jiraiya thought you were a genius…"
"To be able to write Make-Out Paradise sequels at this level..."
"But don't get it twisted. Sword is my weapon—not a tailed beast. It's a completely different relationship."
Then he turned and walked down the stairs.
Naruto was still muttering behind him.
"'Weapon,' huh…"
"So even that little girl counts as a weapon?"
He tilted his head and followed after Hikaru.
"I heard that song the first time we met," he said.
Sarai sat on the stairs, hugging her knees. She looked up at them with a rare, tender smile.
"My mother used to sing that to me."
Behind her, the mural of a woman holding a baby glowed faintly, echoing her words.
"Once, Mukade gave my mother advice."
"He wanted to use the power of the dragon vein to help the people."
"My mother's ability to control the dragon vein, combined with Mukade's talents, made Rōran bloom with towers overnight."
"But my mother died on the road. After that… only Mukade was left by my side."
"No one else. Just him…"
Naruto walked two steps down, the mural's light reflecting off his face.
"I never knew my parents either."
"But I had a master… the Pervy Sage."
"He's gone now too…"
"But I got something precious from him."
"That's my ninja way—never go back on my word. Once I decide on something, I follow through no matter what. That's what I inherited from him."
"I'm sure your mom left something important for you too."
Sarai nodded softly.
"Yes…"
Naruto stepped forward and placed a hand on the railing, gazing up at the mural.
"Then think hard about what your mother treasured most."
"You already know what you have to do."
"Do what you believe in, and never give up."
...
...
(Sword's setting: She's completely devoted to Uchiha Hikaru—he's her world. She lives for battle, craves energy and rare metals, loves teasing him, clinging to him, and is the only spirit to follow him through three lifetimes… (´,,•ω•,,)♡)
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