Chapter 23: As Long as You're by My Side
( — 0.0.0.0.0 — )
Along the streets of Trost District, a small duo of children could be seen walking in silence.
Well, more or less in silence.
"Why did they attack me, Aetheria?"
Naruto asked his system the reason behind the attack against him.
[Well, Naruto, this was mainly due to your luck.]
Naruto tilted his head, unable to understand what Aetheria meant by his luck.
[It's simple, Naruto. As you slowly become the central axis of this world, things will begin to revolve around you.]
Naruto blinked a couple of times.
"Revolve around me?"
[That's right. Being the central axis of the world means that you will have both good and bad moments. Sometimes you'll be lucky and find something you need exactly when you need it.]
Naruto slowly nodded.
[But other times, the opposite will happen. You'll run into problems, enemies will appear out of nowhere, you'll encounter dangerous situations, and even things that, honestly, will be a little stupid may happen, like what just happened.]
Naruto tilted his head.
"Stupid?"
[For example, you could trip and accidentally end up involved in some problem that had nothing to do with you.]
Naruto remained silent for a few seconds.
"...That doesn't sound like very good luck."
[It isn't, Naruto. But it's part of it.]
Aetheria paused briefly before continuing.
[The central axis can't have only good moments. To counterbalance all that good luck, there has to be bad luck.]
Naruto looked at the road ahead once again.
[That's why, the more important you become to this world, the more situations will begin to occur around you. Some will be beneficial, others will be problematic, and some will be completely absurd.]
Naruto sighed.
"So... they attacked me because I'm important?"
[Partly.]
"And could something good happen to me too?"
[Exactly, Naruto.]
Naruto seemed to think about it for a few seconds before nodding.
"Then I guess it's not so bad."
[A rather optimistic way of looking at it.]
Naruto smiled slightly and continued walking.
For her part, the little Ackerman had heard the entire conversation between Naruto and Aetheria.
Although, from her perspective, all she had seen was Naruto talking to thin air.
Surely it was that mysterious Aetheria again, the one only Naruto could speak to.
Mikasa lowered her gaze for a few seconds, thinking about everything that had happened recently.
First, there had been that group that had been bothering them in Trost District. Then there had been the attack on Naruto.
And now there was that strange conversation Naruto had just had.
There was something that kept turning over and over in her mind.
When Naruto had asked why they attacked him, he had mentioned that it was because he was becoming someone important.
But the curious thing was that even he didn't seem to know what that meant.
Mikasa slightly furrowed her brow.
What did that Aetheria mean by saying that Naruto was becoming important?
She didn't know.
And Naruto probably didn't either. However, there was something far more obvious than any explanation.
His strength.
Mikasa looked at Naruto again. She had never imagined that someone could be so strong.
Until recently, to her, adults were the strongest people who existed.
Her father had been strong.
At least, that was what she had thought. But after meeting Naruto, that idea had begun to change.
She had seen things she simply couldn't explain.
Movements that were far too fast.
Physical strength that didn't seem to correspond to his small body.
And an ability that, even without knowing exactly how it worked, made Mikasa feel that the difference between them was enormous.
She had also discovered that she possessed strength and abilities she had never practiced.
She didn't know where they had come from.
They were simply there.
And although she still didn't fully understand what she was capable of, she supposed that perhaps it could be related to her bloodline.
Maybe to her father.
But even considering that...
Mikasa didn't believe she could compare herself to Naruto.
He was different.
Much stronger.
Much more skilled.
And, above all, mysterious.
Mikasa remained silent for a few seconds as she watched him.
A little later, she approached Naruto, before finally speaking.
"Naruto."
The blond turned his head toward her.
Mikasa remained silent for a few seconds. She wasn't used to asking as many questions as Naruto did, but there was something she needed to understand.
"Your strength..."
Naruto blinked.
"My strength?" he repeated, curious about what Mikasa meant.
She nodded slightly.
"Have you always been like this?"
Naruto remained thoughtful.
"I don't know," he answered honestly, looking at his own hand for a moment. "I've always been like this since I woke up."
He then looked at Mikasa again.
"Isn't it normal?"
Mikasa shook her head almost immediately.
"No. Not at all," she said, remembering how Naruto had easily stopped a man and sent him flying with a single punch. "No normal human can do that."
She remained silent for a few seconds.
"Now that I think about it... what were you like before, to have so much strength?"
The question made Naruto wonder about it as well.
He looked at his hands.
Those strange markings on his palms were still there, but he dismissed them as normal. Everything he did had always seemed normal to him. But if Mikasa was right, then he had never been an ordinary person.
"Aetheria, why am I like this?"
The artificial intelligence responded with her usual serenity.
[Because your body was already extraordinary before you lost your memories. The amnesia affected your memories, not your physical abilities.]
[Your strength, endurance, and the other qualities you possess are the result of everything you experienced before waking up in this world, including your time in Marvel.]
Naruto remained thoughtful.
"Then, was I always like this?"
[Yes. Even though you've forgotten your past, your body still remembers it.]
Those words left him silent.
Naruto looked at his hands again.
"My body remembers..."
He repeated those words slowly. But he couldn't remember anything. Not even how he had ended up in that place in the Void, wearing those clothes.
All he had were his own sensations and that strange voice that accompanied him.
Aetheria.
She seemed to know many things about him. Far more than Naruto could imagine. However, he still didn't understand why he couldn't remember anything.
"Then..." Naruto raised his gaze. "Can I check?"
[Check what, Naruto?]
"My strength."
Aetheria remained silent for a moment.
[You can.]
Naruto looked around. He didn't want to destroy anything or attract too much attention, so he simply looked at the ground.
There was a small stone beside the road. He crouched down and picked it up, holding it between his fingers.
Mikasa watched him curiously.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to check something."
Naruto began to squeeze the stone slightly.
At first, nothing happened. But a second later...
Crack.
A small crack appeared on its surface.
Naruto looked at the stone, then at his hand.
Mikasa also stared at it.
Naruto squeezed again, causing the stone to break into several fragments.
"...Is that a lot?"
Mikasa looked at him.
"Yes."
Naruto stared at the small fragments in his palm.
"Ah."
He seemed genuinely surprised. To him, it hadn't required any effort at all.
Mikasa looked at him again.
It was strange.
Naruto could do things that anyone else would consider incredible and yet seemed unable to understand how extraordinary it was.
[Although that demonstration was extremely basic.]
Naruto slightly raised an eyebrow.
"Basic?"
[You didn't even use a significant fraction of your physical capabilities.]
Naruto looked at the destroyed stone.
"...I don't think I want to try anything else."
[A sensible decision.]
Mikasa once again heard that one-sided response.
Although she couldn't hear Aetheria, she knew perfectly well that Naruto was talking to her.
For some reason, that was already beginning to seem normal to her.
Naruto continued walking.
Mikasa remained by his side.
For several minutes, neither of them said anything.
Then Naruto spoke.
"Mikasa."
"Yes?"
"Do you remember your parents?"
The little Ackerman stopped for a fraction of a second. The question had been completely unexpected.
"Yes..."
Naruto looked at her.
"What were they like?"
Mikasa lowered her gaze slightly. For a few seconds, she didn't answer. Then she began to speak.
"My mother was kind," she began, before pausing briefly. "And my father was quiet."
Naruto listened attentively.
"We lived together."
Her voice was calm, but Naruto could tell that there was something different about it.
"We were a family."
Naruto remained silent.
"Do you miss them?"
Mikasa pressed her lips together slightly.
"Yes."
Naruto didn't know what to say. He had heard many words since he woke up. But that one was different.
Miss.
He didn't know what it felt like.
He had no one to remember.
He couldn't miss someone whose face he couldn't even remember.
Naruto lowered his gaze.
"I don't remember anyone."
Mikasa raised her head.
Naruto continued walking.
"I don't remember my parents, or what happened to them," Naruto said. "I don't remember how I ended up in that place or why I was wearing those ruined clothes."
Mikasa watched him in silence.
Now she understood that strange way of behaving a little better.
Naruto wasn't pretending to be strange. He genuinely didn't know who he was. He had no memories to hold on to.
Mikasa felt a small pressure in her chest as she looked at Naruto. She knew what it meant to lose someone. But Naruto had lost something different.
He had lost his entire past.
For a few seconds, Mikasa didn't know what to say.
Then Naruto looked at her.
"Is it sad?"
Mikasa blinked.
"What?"
"Not remembering."
Mikasa remained silent before finally answering.
"Yes."
Naruto lowered his gaze.
"I suppose it is."
Mikasa watched his face. For the first time since she had met him, Naruto looked truly lost.
Not weak.
Not afraid.
Simply lost.
Mikasa took a small step toward him.
"Then..."
Naruto raised his gaze.
Mikasa took a few seconds before continuing.
"You can stay with me."
Naruto blinked.
"With you?"
She nodded.
"You don't have to remember everything right now."
Naruto continued looking at her.
"Why?"
Mikasa didn't answer immediately. She herself didn't know exactly why. She simply felt that she didn't want to leave him.
After a few seconds, she answered:
"Because you shouldn't be alone."
Naruto looked at her. Then he smiled slightly. That smile made Mikasa look away.
"You don't have to thank me."
Naruto continued walking.
Mikasa followed him.
And for the first time since they had met, that small distance between them disappeared completely.
Not long afterward, Mikasa began noticing the looks from the people around them again.
Many of them landed on Naruto.
Some were from adult women who looked at him with interest or tenderness, while others belonged to younger girls who couldn't help but stare at him for a little too long.
She even heard a few whispers.
"What a cute boy..."
"His eyes are so pretty."
Naruto, completely unaware of all of it, continued walking while thinking about his mysterious past and that strength which, according to Mikasa, wasn't normal.
She, on the other hand, noticed it.
And without understanding why, a strange feeling began to grow inside her.
It was a new sensation.
Difficult to understand.
Every time another girl looked at Naruto, a strange discomfort appeared inside her.
Mikasa didn't know what it was.
She didn't understand why it bothered her.
She only knew that she wanted to be closer to him.
So, without thinking too much about it, she quickened her pace until she was right beside him, reducing the distance between them.
Then she glanced at the girls who were still watching the blond.
Her expression remained serious.
When they noticed the little black-haired girl's gaze, they looked away and continued on their way.
Mikasa looked forward again. She didn't even understand why she had done that. She only knew that getting closer to Naruto had made that strange feeling disappear a little.
Beside her, Naruto continued walking normally, completely unaware of what had happened.
After a few minutes, Aetheria spoke.
[Naruto.]
"Yes?"
[An increase in Mikasa's emotional bond toward you has been detected.]
Naruto blinked.
"Emotional bond?"
[Correct.]
"What does that mean?"
[It means that her feelings toward you are increasing.]
Naruto tilted his head.
"Why?"
[Probably because you make her feel safe.]
Naruto remained thoughtful.
"Is that good?"
[Not necessarily good or bad. It is simply an emotional change.]
Naruto slightly furrowed his brow.
"Sometimes you're difficult to understand."
[I could say the same about you.]
Naruto let out a small laugh.
Mikasa glanced at him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Naruto smiled.
"I was just talking to Aetheria."
Mikasa nodded.
She was already getting used to that answer.
A few moments later, Naruto noticed something different. He glanced at the distance between them.
They were almost pressed against each other. It wasn't that it bothered him or anything. It simply caught his attention.
"Mikasa."
The little girl looked up.
Naruto discreetly pointed at the small amount of space between them.
Only then did she realize how close she was.
She lowered her gaze in silence. She didn't know what to say. She didn't even understand why she had acted that way.
After thinking about it for a few seconds, she came up with an explanation.
"There's... a lot of people."
It was the first thing that came to mind.
Naruto looked at the streets filled with people.
Then he looked at Mikasa.
He simply accepted her answer.
"Ah."
He nodded.
"Then that's fine."
Mikasa let out a small sigh of relief. She didn't know why she had tried to justify herself. She only knew that she wanted to remain by his side.
After walking around the district for a while, Naruto raised his gaze toward the exit of the wall.
The enormous gates were some distance away. Beyond them was the outside world.
A place Naruto still didn't know.
"Mikasa."
The little girl looked up.
"I think I've seen enough of Trost."
Naruto paused briefly before continuing.
"I want to leave the district."
Mikasa looked at him in surprise.
"Leave Trost?"
Naruto nodded.
That took her by surprise. But thinking about it, there was no reason to stay any longer.
So she simply nodded.
"Okay."
Naruto responded with a small nod. Without saying anything else, they changed direction and walked toward the exit of Trost.
As they approached the gate of Wall Rose, a gentle breeze carried with it the scent of the grass and forests outside.
Naruto slowed his pace slightly.
He took a deep breath.
The smell of the earth.
The grass.
The trees.
The wind.
There was something about that combination that felt strangely familiar to him.
Naruto closed his eyes for a moment. A warm sensation appeared in his chest. It wasn't a memory. At least, not one he could recognize.
It was simply a feeling. As if some part of him recognized that scent. But no matter how hard he tried to remember...
Nothing.
Naruto opened his eyes again.
"Is something wrong?"
Mikasa was watching him.
Naruto slowly shook his head.
"No."
He looked toward the outside.
"I just feel like I know that smell."
"Do you remember it?"
"No." Naruto smiled slightly. "But I like it."
Mikasa looked outside, then back at Naruto.
For some reason, she felt that this moment was important. Perhaps because they were both leaving the district behind. Perhaps because Naruto was beginning to discover the world. Or perhaps simply because she had decided that she didn't want to be separated from him.
Mikasa took a small step toward Naruto. Then she gently took hold of the edge of his sleeve.
Naruto lowered his gaze.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Mikasa didn't let go of his sleeve.
Naruto watched her for a few seconds before looking ahead without saying anything. He simply began walking.
Mikasa walked beside him.
They both slowly passed through the gate. In front of them stretched the fields and forests outside.
A completely new world.
Naruto didn't know what he would find there. He didn't know what he had done before losing his memories. Nor who he had been or why he possessed such strength.
And he also didn't know what kind of future awaited him.
But there was something he was beginning to understand.
Maybe he didn't need to recover all his answers immediately.
He could discover them little by little.
As he moved forward, getting to know the world and the people in it.
Naruto glanced at Mikasa, who was still lightly holding onto his sleeve, before looking ahead again.
And so, the two of them continued walking toward the outside world.
( — 0.0.0.0.0 — )