[The Fox and the Hare] Chapter 39 - And So It Begins (Patreon)

They knew what was coming. After all, that’s the very reason why they made a show out of escorting Naruto on his way to school. They had expected it, but, as Rumi and Yua scrolled through CrossChat, they were still left speechless at the posts and comments that they were seeing.

Yua, in particular, was the most surprised between the two of them. While she wasn’t exactly unknown in the USA, people on the internet had never acted towards her like they were doing it now.

‘Are males in Japan thirstier than the ones in the States?’ she couldn’t help asking herself. But then she shook her head. ‘No, it’s not that. It’s because of Rumi.’

For Americans, Usagiyama Yua was a very attractive woman, but that was the end of it. There was no shortage of hot and beautiful women with exotic looks on the internet, and she wasn’t famous enough for everyone to know her name either.

Then, what was different in Japan? It was because of one simple reason: she was Mirko’s mother. The fact that the mother of the Number 3 Pro Hero in the country was such a babe, made the Japanese men (and not only) go crazy over her.

“Rumi-chan, look at this,” Yua said with a giggle and started reading the comment someone left under a post made by a News channel:

“LAWD HAVE MERCY!.”

That comment triggered a chain of reactions.

OneCrispyNut: “MILF! MIFL! MILF!”

RenjiNolimits: “Does Mrs Usagiyama need a dog? I can bark.”

07Tsukune: “Woof! Woof!””

SaidNumagom: “Swipe to the 5th pic for ass. Thank me later.”

Shinji82: “God, Buddha, and Allah. Thank you. I’m grateful to be alive.”

Random-post100: “I want to lick her ass until my tongue bleeds.”

Newmann: “Whoever could pull me out of her would be crowned King Arthur.”

Jamalx007: “Niggas would have to shake the fabric of time and space to remove my tongue from her asshole.”

RikuSorano: “Dawn bad today, aren’t we? Lmao”

SumTinWong: “I’d drag my dick through sandpaper just to hit that.”

Kuramoto: “I’d let her kick me in the face just for the slight chance of smelling her feet.”

TopG2104: “Oh god. fellas help me. im getting jungle fever.”

Smartzc: “@TopG2104 She’s not black retard she’s a dark-skinned asian.”

WholesomeChungus: “Filthy swine, all of you. You know not how to appreciate a beautiful woman like her. I’d love her and respect her. And I’d give her so many children. I can totally fix her.” *praying emoji*

Christianboy: “Amen, brother, I’d fix her and make a proper housewife out of her. I'd put those big fat mommy milkers to good use.”

Chadzilla: “@WholesomeChungus, @Christianboy I loled when you said ‘I can fix her’. Relax, bob the builder, she got 12 other dudes in the US who are tryna fix her too, y’all look like a construction crew out there.”

xXZumaXx: “I wouldn’t try to fix her. I’m all about supporting her. I can make her so much worse.”

Chadzilla: "@xXZumaXx Lmaooo"

Kazama1: “@xXZumaXx *chad meme pic*”

JiraiyaAtHome: “@xxZumaXx I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I wouldn’t mind being halfway on the train for her guehehe.”

Goysloppybj: “@JiraiyaAtHome Fr. I have no problem bumping uglies with someone if she let me drill for oil in her holes.”

ThugNasty: “I’d drag my dick through broken glass just for the chance to suck the dick of the last man who fucked her.”

Kazama1: “Pause.”

Goysloppybj: “...”

JiraiyaAtHome: “...”

Chadzilla: “You know it’s bad when even @JiraiyaAtHome himself is left speechless lmao”

Hinamori: “You guys are sick in the head. Seek help.”

YourThicccSenpai: “@Hinamori Stfu bitch. Go be a woman somewhere else.”

Hinamori: “@YourThicccSenpai Jesus, what an incel. Go out and touch some grass, sweaty neckbeard. I’ll just put you on ignore.”

YourThicccSenpai: “Ignore me all you want, it doesn’t change the fact that I’d suck the poop out of her colon.”

IamScoop: “God, the amount of shit I’d let Mirko’s mom do to me. Wanna peg me? Bet. Piss on me? Gladly.”

12Imanari: “STG, when I saw Usagiyama Yua on TV, it took me all my energy not to lick the screen.”

BonkBonk69: “I want her to crush me with her thighs.”

NijimaC4: “I want Mirko’s mom to ruin my fucking life. I want her to control everything I do and put a damn GPS on me. I’ll stay on my knees for you, Mommy.”

Miyakosan: “These guys are wilding lmao. Where are the mods? @HanabiReina @HanabiReina”

Nofapboy: “They must’ve given up. Even the mods can't do a thing when so many are afflicted with this infernal lust.”

Naruto himself was not left untouched by the storm. His CrossChat account was spammed with DMs. A few of them were from thirsty fangirls, but most of them were from jealous guys. Others even went as far as to make him exorbitant money offers for the sake of arranging for them a meeting with Mirko’s mother.

He decided to completely ignore social media for a few days and fully focus on his training instead. It was better for his mental health.

⁂

Days turned into weeks, and the end of March came, bringing Naruto’s second school year at UA High to a close. It was the spring holiday now.

While the public at large was distracted by the tabloids that the mass media was pumping out under the orders coming from the Hero Public Safety Commission, many of the Pro Heroes in Japan weren’t so easily hoodwinked.

“You know Fat Gum?”

“Who doesn’t? One of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I heard the damn villains ganged up on him and killed him.”

“Not so sure about that. Rumour goes it wasn’t the Villains.”

“Who else would it be if not them?”

“Does the name “ROOT” ring any bells?”

“You mean to say that the HPSC had him killed?! But why would they do that?”

“Not sure about the details but [...]”

There had always been rumours about HPSC being shady, but most Pro Heroes had never paid any mind to it. But it was different this time because too many people had stepped foot into the Headquarters of ROOT on the night of the disaster. Too many of them had realised that ROOT was, in fact, not just a rumour, that it was real, and that they had kidnapped Uzumaki Naruto.

It was impossible for HPSC to clean up their tracks and erase the existence of ROOT now, and it was just as impossible to change anyone’s perception of ROOT and paint them in a good light because of how many innocent civilians were killed when the squad of black ops agents attacked Uzumaki Naruto in Hiruya Town. Over ten innocent people died in the crossfire and many more were injured.

⁂

It was the first week of April, during the spring holiday, before the start of Naruto’s third year at UA High. For once, Naruto wasn’t training that day. Instead, he was doing the one thing he loved to do the most in this world: spending time with his family.

“Naruto!” Kushina cried out as she got out of the car and swept him into a tight hug, lifting him off his feet. She may have looked like a petite woman but, as a former martial artist, she was far from being physically weak.

“Mom!” he also said, embracing her just as tightly.

They had not seen each other in quite some time, and when they had finally been about to meet, ROOT ambushed Naruto and kidnapped him. His parents had been worried sick about him, especially Kushina.

“Naruto-nii-san!” Eri also cried out and hugged his legs.

Mother and daughter were both crying as they embraced him. Minato felt his own eyes become wet too as he watched his family reuniting.

“I’ve been so worried about you!” Kushina said after breaking the hug. She cupped his face with both hands, caressing his whiskered cheeks gently.

“Sorry, I made you anxious,” he said, noticing the dark bags under her eyes and her paler-than-normal complexion.

He realised that even though he had called his parents from Mirko’s phone once he escaped from captivity, his mother had not been able to rest properly until then.

“I knew what I signed up for when I encouraged you to become a Hero,” she said, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

Minato also came out of the car and grabbed Naruto’s hand in a strong handshake. He wasn’t exactly the type to show too much emotion in public, but Naruto wasn’t satisfied with just that and hugged his father too, just like his mother.

“Good to see you safe, son,” Minato said while patting the back of his head.

Mirko watched the touching scene of a family being reunited with a mixture of happiness and envy in her eyes. She could tell just how much they cared for each other. She wished that she and her mother had had that kind of relationship.

But she didn’t have time to wallow in self-pity because she found herself in Kushina’s embrace too once she let go of her son.

“Thanks for taking care of him, Rumi-chan.”

“I didn’t do much this time,” she said, smiling as she returned her hug.

“No, you were there for him when I couldn’t. I couldn’t be any happier that my son fell for someone like you.”

Rumi felt her cheeks heating up a bit at her sincere praise, but she didn’t refute her words this time. She allowed herself to enjoy the older woman’s embrace and affectionate words.

⁂

Now, the family of five (Rumi included) was having lunch at the outdoor terrace of a family restaurant in a small town with a great view of Mount Fuji in the distance.

While the three adults were having a nice chat, little Eri was all over her big brother.

“Nii-san, Nii-san, I lost two teeth this month! Tooth Fairy gave me 2000 yen!” she said with a wide, toothless smile, showing her two missing incisors. She looked so adorable that Naruto couldn’t hold the urge to pinch her cheeks lovingly.

The Tooth Fairy wasn’t a Japanese tradition, but it seemed like Minato and Kushina were dotting on their adopted daughter so much that they found all sorts of reasons and pretexts to give her gifts and spoil her.

“And I’m going to school next week! I’ll be a first-year! I can’t wait!”

Most children in Japan start primary school at the age of seven, but, due to Eri’s circumstances, she was going to start one year later. Nonetheless, the little girl wasn’t anxious about it. She was brimming with excitement.

And just like that, Eri bombarded him with all sorts of stories about her daily life. Even after all this time, although she never told anyone about it, Naruto was still her favourite person in the entire family. She had never forgotten the fact that he had saved her from a life of pain and misery and that he had even convinced his parents to take her in. Her current blissful life was possible only because he took pity on her. She may have been young, but, deep inside, the suffering she had gone through had forced her to mature beyond her years. Naruto's place in her heart was unshakable.

As for Minato and Kushina, they couldn’t stop smiling as they watched their children's interactions. Eri had been a huge blessing to their family, helping with alleviating (at least partially) the loneliness caused by their son’s absence from their lives. With how cute and obedient she was, it’s no wonder they fell for her charms like that.

But Eri lost the monopoly over her big brother’s attention when their mother started reading out loud the titles on the first page of a magazine.

Usagiyama Rumi and Uzumaki Naruto about to get married?

Find more about Mirko’s GORGEOUS mother, Usagiyama Yua, on page 6.

The Number 3 Hero snags the most popular up-and-coming hero, Uzumaki Naruto

A 10-year age gap? Love knows no boundaries

Uzumaki Naruto, a bachelor no more?

“What’s the meaning of this?” Putting down the magazine on the table, Kushina glared at Naruto with her hands on her waist and an “I-want-answers” look on her face.

“I can explain-” Rumi started saying, trying to come to his rescue, but Naruto answered his mother right away, boldly:

“It’s as the newspaper says. I’m going to marry Rumi as soon as I’m 18. I don’t even know why are you acting surprised about it.”

“I was expecting that, but don’t you think it’s unfair for me to hear it from a newspaper first instead of hearing it from your mouth? Eh?”

“Rumi-nee-chan will marry Nii-san?” Eri asked wide-eyed.

“What, you jealous?” Rumi laughed teasingly and pinched her nose.

“I don’t know what to feel about you marrying at such a young age,” Minato said, bearing a thoughtful look on his face.

“I don’t want to delay it. Rumi isn’t getting any younger, you k- Ow! What was that for!” he yelped when the rabbit girl poked him in the ribs for the dig he made at her age.

“You still have so much to learn, son of mine,” Minato said in mock disappointment, laughing at his misfortune.

“Did you at least propose to her properly?” Kushina asked.

Rumi let out a long, suffering sigh. “That had to have been the least romantic proposal a man could’ve done.”

“What?!” Kushina raised her voice in outrage, making quite a few heads turn to their table and forcing Minato to apologise for their rudeness in her stead.

“He basically declared to my mother that he’ll marry me and make a football team’s worth of kids.”

When Rumi said those words, Minato choked on his soda as he burst into laughter.

Kushina looked as if she didn’t want to believe her ears. She had not raised her son to behave like that!

“Good job leaving out the whole context when I said that!” Naruto said in annoyance. “Her mom kept telling Rumi that she’s old and nobody would love her because she’s too much of a tomboy. And I couldn’t stand that. I told her right then and there that I love her daughter and that I’m going to marry her!”

Rumi giggled and, throwing her arm around his neck, she pulled her to him, planting a wet and loud kiss on his cheek. His annoyance melted like a miracle and he grinned happily at her display of affection.

“Ah, young love,” Minato and Kushina said at the same time. Glancing at each other, they started chuckling.

“But there are still a few months until we can marry… Before that, I want to tell you what Rumi’s mother offered us. How do you feel about moving to the United States?” Naruto said seriously this time, not joking around anymore.

“...That came out of nowhere,” Kushina said surprised.

“My mother has… connections with the upper echelons of the Hero Public Safety Commission,” Mirko said with a hint of distaste in her voice. “The information she let us know is classified. Even I didn’t know about it until she revealed it to us. And, mind you, I’m the Number 3 Hero in the country…”

“What information?” Minato asked, a focused look in his eyes.

“The Villains and the HPSC had been engaged in a sort of shadow war for nearly two years now. The casualties on both sides are far more than the mass media let everyone know. Mom’s contact in the HPSC is sure that the real war will start very soon. A war like Japan hasn’t seen since the apparition of quirks. And that’s why she travelled from the US to Japan, she wants to take us with her.”

“This is so sudden, I don’t know what to say,” Kushina muttered, wringing her hands.

The offer did sound very tempting in their current circumstances because they were already fugitives, hiding from criminals. On top of that, a war was about to break out, putting her entire family at an even bigger risk.

But on the other hand, moving to another country with an entirely different language and culture wasn’t an easy thing to do. How would they work there? Where would they live? How would their daughter adapt when she didn't know a drop of English?

“I think it’s a great idea,” Minato unexpectedly said.

“Minato?”

“We’ve been living off the grid for so long, dear. Aren’t you tired of it? You deserve a better life, and so does Eri-chan. And now that the Villains are going to start a civil war, what else is there left to think about?”

At his wife’s unsure look, Minato continued:

“I want us to be together, like before. All of us. I miss Naruto. I miss the times when we’d spend our evenings together. Eating together, laughing together, being a family.”

Hearing Minato’s passionate words, Mirko almost couldn’t bring herself to tell him that she had refused her mother’s proposal, that she was going to remain in Japan. But she couldn’t hide something so important at that moment.

“I will continue living here, in Japan,” she said quietly, interrupting their moment. “I can’t leave my country behind in these turbulent times. I want to protect the innocent. I want to do everything in my power to minimise the number of people that will get hurt as a result of this war. After all, I’m a hero.”

“Is it really worth the risk?” Minato asked her. “Even someone as powerful as you might not come unscathed out of this. You have faced All For One before so you should know how terrifying he is.”

Mirko grinned at his concerned voice.

“I live every day as if I'm not gonna see another one. That way, I'll have no regrets when I die. Of course, I won’t purposely seek to get myself killed. But I’m not one to cower from danger. If everyone tries to escape, who will face the Villains? Who will have the courage to protect the weak if even the Number 3 Hero runs away?”

Minato couldn’t find anything to retort against that. Having been brought up as an assassin for ROOT, he lacked the same sense of responsibility and desire to protect the innocent that a proper hero like Mirko had. The only thing Minato cared about was his family. However, he wasn’t as close-minded as to not understand her mentality.

Naruto was about to open his mouth to say something when Kushina asked:

“Let me guess: you’ll stay behind with her.”

“...You know me so well,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. “I can’t leave Rumi all by herself. I want to be by her side and support her. With how reckless she is, she'll need someone to watch her back."

Sensing that due to Naruto’s desire to remain by his girlfriend’s side, Kushina started leaning towards not wanting to leave the country either, Minato decided that there was no time like the present for him to come clean about his real ability. If he revealed to her that he was capable of teleportation, the fear of separation would no longer be a factor since distance would lose its meaning. Even if Naruto and Rumi were to continue living in Japan while the three of them lived in the US, they could meet and spend time with each other every day.

“Naruto, Rumi, can you take care of Eri-chan for a few minutes?”

“Um, yes?”

“Don’t be surprised by what happens next. Your mother and I will be back shortly. I just need to explain something to her.”

“Okaaay,” Naruto said slowly, confused by his father’s words.

That confusion, however, turned into disbelief when Minato and Kushina suddenly disappeared from their chairs.

He wasn’t the only one startled by it; Rumi and Eri jumped up to their feet too and even some of the guests in the restaurant who had been secretly peeking at them due to Mirko’s and Naruto's eye-catching appearance were shocked by the couple’s disappearance.

Naruto took his ear mufflers out and focused on his sharp sense of hearing right away, all the while looking around in a state of panic.

“What’s going on? Where have they disappeared to?!” he shouted.

“Get a hold of yourself! You’re scaring Eri-chan too!” Rumi scolded him while embracing the startled girl to her chest to give her a feeling of safety.

“My parents! They-”

“Your father just told you that they will be back. Calm down and think rationally,” she told him calmly.

Her composed attitude worked like a charm to make him come back to his senses.

“...Sorry,” he muttered when he realised the truth in her words and sat back in his chair.

But Mirko didn’t continue nagging him. After all, it wasn’t long ago that Naruto had been poisoned, attacked, and kidnapped from the middle of a town. She understood that he must’ve been left on edge after the incident. Learning about the civil war that was about to break out had not helped with decreasing his level of anxiety either. Seeing his parents inexplicably disappear like that had almost made him snap.

“I’ve got to say, though, your family is full of secrets, isn't it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, first, you and your mother had had an unregistered quirk that nobody knew about. Then, there’s Eri and her amazing quirk that very few are aware of. And now it looks like your father’s quirk wasn’t just a simple Perfect Memory Recall quirk.”

As he remained silent, Mirko continued:

“If I’m not mistaken, your father has a super rare quirk: teleportation.”

⁂ One week later ⁂

A very wide and tall underground amphitheatre was packed with a large number of people of all shapes and sizes.

“What is going on?”

“Who is that guy with the strange mask?”

“Why have they gathered us here?”

There were hundreds of them, all talking restlessly among themselves. The semi-darkness present in the amphitheatre further amplified the feeling of uncertainty eating at everyone at that moment. Only the stage was illuminated brightly.

A tall, long-nosed man wearing a striped black suit walked onto the stage and spoke up:

“Liberation warriors! I’m Re-Destro of the Metahuman Liberation Army!”

“From this moment on, the Liberation Army recognizes All For One as the grand commander, the one who will usher Japan into a new Era. An Era of freedom and prosperity, with a society where people would no longer be judged by the quirks they were born with. An Era where the Heroes will no longer suppress those who were born different. An Era of equality where everyone will be free to use their quirk as they wished.”

Despite his fervent words, the crowd of people below the stage didn’t start cheering right away. Instead, a wave of murmurs came from them.

“All For One was real all this time?”

“I thought it was just an urban legend.”

“Is he the guy with the mask?”

When All For One took a step forward on the stage and glanced at the people below, they all became quiet, as one. AFO’s intimidating aura was enough to cow them all, even though he was only one while there were hundreds of them.

“I know many of you have doubted I was real, thinking I was just an urban legend. But just like many of you, I had been forced to lay low for many years and hide myself because of one individual: All Might.”

All For One’s deep and calm voice had everyone entranced as he spoke.

“From the day he rose to fame, he had been a thorn in my side. From the beginning until now, he was my archenemy. I despise him with every fibre of my being.”

“The masses glorify him as the Number 1 Hero, not knowing how many people he had crushed under his fist. One by one, my comrades perished at his hands. A father. A mother. A lover. A son. He took everything from me. But nobody cared about it. Nobody cared about my people. After all, we are Villains. Instead, they praised him for it. All Might rose to his position and built his glory as the 'Symbol of Peace' by stepping on a mountain made of my loved ones’ sacrifices.”

He could feel that his words were resonating with the crowd below.

“The moment this society brands you as a Villain, your life is over. Nobody is willing to hire you anymore. Schools no longer accept your children. Even hospitals turn you away from their doors. Because you are a Villain, you stopped being human in their eyes. You are nothing but a dangerous animal that is better off locked up behind bars or put down for good.”

Clenching his fist and raising it in the air, All For One spoke louder:

“But I’m going to change all that! I’m going to create a new order! A new society!”

“There will be no discrimination. A society where there will be no Heroes and no Villains.”

“A world made just for us, for metahumans, to thrive.”

“You may be wondering what makes me think I will succeed now after all the times I’ve failed. What gives me the confidence to win now? All Might has grown weak. And we have grown more powerful than ever before. For every defeat we suffered at the hands of the Heroes, we survived and came back stronger, and wiser. For every sacrifice of our friends and comrades, our desire for vengeance and justice became more fierce.”

“All these years, I have bid my time and grown my forces. The fact that so many of you have gathered here today is proof of that.”

“Now, the time has come for us to stop lurking in the shadows and step into the light. It is time for us to fight.”

“So tell me now. Will you continue to hide with your tail tucked between your legs? Or will you stand tall and join me as I create a new world order?”

Hundreds of people cried at once, making the entire building shake with their roars.

All For One didn’t interrupt their cheers. He was an expert when it came to dealing with people. He knew when to push and when to pull. He let them shout to their hearts’ content. Their cheers and shouts continued for a long time.

He smiled widely under his industrial mask. Their rage and their thirst for vengeance were palpable. He could almost taste their anger and their ferocity, their desire for violence.

But he would not let himself be influenced by their mood.

‘Emotions and feelings are fleeting.’

In the heat of the moment, they might be ready and willing to do anything, but once they separated and everyone went to their homes, their rational thoughts would come knocking on their minds. Therefore, All For One knew that appealing to people’s emotions was only half the journey. The other half was to appeal to their sense of reason as well. He had to give them a real cause and a just reason for them to be willing to stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

Once the crowd finally ran out of steam and calmed down, he said:

“There is one thing that you all need to keep in mind: do not be like the heroes. Do not let yourself be clouded by anger and prejudice. Do not turn your strength against the innocent. Do not become the very thing that you swore to destroy.”

“Our targets are the Heroes who wronged us, the Hero Public Safety Commission who had pitted the Heroes against us, and the corrupt government that created this miserable society that we live in.”

“We do not seek to merely destroy and kill. We will kill and destroy the cancer eating at our country and build it anew. This society that has rejected us - we will tear it down and create a new one!”

“My people and I will purge this country of its sickness. Even if we were to stand alone against the entire world, we would not back down. And we will start with the so-called Symbol of Peace first. We will take his head off and mount it on the gates of his beloved school for him to watch from the afterlife as we raze UA High to the ground.”

“Who among you will join us in our crusade? Who wants to share my burden and my glory? Who will help me create a new world?”

The ground and the walls shuddered with the crowd’s roars.

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

AN: As people have been asking for a while now, I decided to finally make a discord server. You can join me at https://discord.gg/SaURfaGY if you're interested.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Until next time!