[The Fox and the Hare] Chapter 40 - Besieged (I) (Patreon)

AN: There was quite a bit of fluff in the last few chapters. It's time for action to pick up again. Enjoy!

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Chapter 40 - Besieged (I)

“I’m going to miss you so much,” Kushina said as she took her son into a bear hug, squeezing him as hard as she could.

“Come on, mom, we’ll see each other again on Friday. Dad will bring me to you.”

His cheeks were red with embarrassment at how his mother was coddling him in public when there were tens of people with their cameras out, filming their interaction.

Currently, Usagiyama Rumi and the Uzumaki family were at the international airport in Osaka, and they were among the last people to make their way through the security check.

Behind them, dozens of reporters and ordinary people alike were filming their interaction. For all intents and purposes, Mirko and Naruto were famous nationwide, and their relationship was an endless source of gossip too. Considering how eye-catching their appearance was, it was almost impossible for them to go unnoticed in public.

“He’s right, dear. We’ll see each other even more often than before. We’ll be together every weekend from now on.”

Although Naruto had decided to stay behind and watch Mirko’s back, there was no reason for Kushina to refuse to immigrate to the USA once Minato revealed the fact that he could teleport. After all, their current life in Japan was far from ideal. They were fugitives, living in hiding with secret identities. Furthermore, if Mirko’s words were to be believed, a civil war was on the verge of breaking out too.

“I’ll never forgive you for hiding that you had such a convenient ability!” Kushina said, giving him the stink eye. If she had known Minato could teleport, they could have met Naruto a lot more often over the past two years.

But Minato smiled, knowing that she didn't really mean it. After all, she had had a secret of her own too. They had both forgiven and accepted each other’s past.

“There are only 30 minutes before our departure. We should get going.”

At his father’s words, Naruto bent down and picked Eri up in his arms, hugging her one last time. The little girl looked as if she was barely holding back her tears.

“I don’t want you to go…” she said, her voice quivering.

Although she was very young, she understood that it was for her own good to go with her parents to the United States. Nonetheless, in the end, she was still a child. The pain of separation overwhelmed her rational thought.

“I’ll come see you every week. And we’ll talk to each other through video calls, too. I’ll have you teach me English.”

“But I don’t know English.”

“You’re a smart girl; I’m sure you’ll learn it faster than anyone.”

“You think so?” she said shyly.

“Mhm. You’re much smarter than me. You’ll become an expert in English. Then you’ll be my teacher. How about it? Eri-sensei!”

The girl started giggling at his words.

“Promise we’ll talk every day?” she asked.

“Every day? He doesn’t talk to me every day, and I’m his girlfriend!” Rumi said.

“It’s not my fault you’re a workaholic who never gets home before midnight,” Naruto retorted.

“You should talk to Rumi-nee-san more often, Nii-san,” Eri chided him.

“Ah, you too, Eri?! I thought you were on my side!” Naruto said, faking a look of hurt.

Rumi suddenly snatched Eri from his arms, causing her to squeal and laugh.

But that beautiful family moment came to an end when one of the airport workers called out the Uzumaki couple’s names from the speakers, warning them that there were only 15 minutes before departure.

Giving Naruto and Rumi each one last hug, Minato, Kushina, and Eri said their final goodbyes and rushed towards their gate. Their destination: Florida, Marco Island.

⁂

Time passed, and the spring holiday came to an end. Now, he was in his third and last year at UA High.

The first four days of the week passed like a blur. It was Friday. Although the first week of the school year was typically more relaxed, most students couldn’t wait for the weekend.

If the first part of the week passed in the blink of an eye, time seemed to have slowed down to a crawl that Friday morning. By the time the lunch break came, Naruto felt as if he had been at school for 10 hours already.

‘Finally, the regular classes are over,’ he thought in relief while he was heading towards the cafeteria.

A feeling of dissociation washed over him as he walked alone on the school corridors. Even though it was going to be his third year with his classmates, he felt like a stranger among them.

His classmates had gotten really close to each other. Some of them, such as Izuku and Kyoka or Mina and Kirishima, had become a couple, while others forged close friendships. Even the initially aloof Todoroki Shouto could be seen smiling sometimes nowadays, and he appeared to have gotten rather close to Yayorozu Momo.

‘Kaminari and Sakura too?’ he thought idly as he glanced at the blonde boy and the pink-haired girl, who were walking side by side and chatting animatedly with each other.

If he had been the same person as the boy he used to be before the Sludge Incident nearly 3 years ago, he might have felt regretful at having become so distant from his classmates, but his current self couldn’t bring himself to care.

In his past life, he wanted to be surrounded by his friends and used to revel in their attention. 

But in his current life, Naruto didn't need other people's acknowledgement or their attention because he had a family: his parents, his little sister, his lover, Rumi, and more recently, his soon-to-be mother-in-law. His mind was always occupied with thoughts of them.

‘I don’t belong here.’

It wasn’t the first time he had told himself that. Mentally, he was two times older than his classmates. Furthermore, he had no interest in school because, at this point, he had become so strong and proficient with his Quirks that even the hero course classes were no longer of any use in helping him improve any further.

“What a waste of time!" he muttered softly and let out a sigh.

“Then why don’t you just quit?” Kurama's voice came from his back. He was hidden underneath his shirt, not showing himself to the others.

“You know I can’t do that. I can’t become a Pro Hero without the diploma.”

“Humans’ customs in this world are so damn troublesome,” said the fox in annoyance. “If it were in our past lives, no one would care if you graduated from the academy or not, as long as you were strong. You’re already the strongest in this entire school, even stronger than your teachers.”

“People have a saying: when in Rome, do as Romans do. I live in a society. I have to follow the rules, as stupid as they may be. And I’m not sure, I don’t know if I could beat All Might.”

“You're being too modest. If anything, I think your friend has already surpassed his teacher. What do you say? Could you beat him now, after he unlocked his other quirks?” Kurama asked.

He was talking about Midoriya Izuku. After the beating that Naruto put on him nearly 3 weeks ago, something seemed to have changed in the boy. Not only that he appeared with fresh bruises on his face and arms every day (a proof of how hard he sparred with All Might in their private training sessions), but he even started to show new abilities.

The one-sided loss at the hands of Naruto had been like a wake-up call for Izuku and made him realise how far he was lagging behind the blonde.

“Even if he got new abilities, the gap between our fighting experience is too vast. Also, his green whip is like my chains, but weaker, and he won’t have time to use that buff-like quirk in a fight against me because I’m too fast. As for that Float Quirk of his, it’s really good, but I can fly too with your help. So I’m not any worse than him anywhere.”

⁂

“Oi, Naruto, pass me the coke,” Kurama said in a whisper.

“No, it’s mine. You drank my coke yesterday and even stole my cupcake!”

“If you don’t hand it over willingly, I’ll take it myself,” the fox growled.

“Quiet, you asshole,” Naruto shushed him.

He was trying to keep Kurama’s existence a secret from the others. Aside from Mirko and his family, nobody knew about him. He hadn’t used Kurama in any of the practical Hero classes at school so far, and he hadn’t used his demonic transformation either. As far as the outside world knew, his demonic transformation was only something that occurred when his quirk went berserk. Nobody, aside from Mirko and his family, knew that he could control it now.

After everything he had been through, Naruto thought that it was wiser for him not to reveal the full extent of his ability to others. Kurama and his demonic transformation were going to be his trump cards, the Aces in his sleeve that he would not reveal until a critical moment appeared.

That being said, knowing the blond’s intentions, the fox often took advantage of him and blackmailed him to get his way. It was the same in the present as well. Naruto could do nothing but compromise. He grabbed the can of cola and took several big gulps, drinking almost half of it. Then, he took a quick glance around to make sure that nobody was paying attention to him before bringing the can down.

Kurama’s small arms extended under the table, and he grabbed the can with both hands before retreating under Naruto’s shirt. If not for his five golden, large fox tails providing a decent cover, the Kurama's existence would have been revealed a long time ago.

Soon, the lunch break came to an end, and the students of the 3-A class all went to their lockers to change into their Hero Suits. Now, it was time for the Hero Course classes.

The appearance of his Hero suit didn’t change much from the first year. His pants were still black with an orange lining, and his jacket was still black and had a large, fierce nine-tailed fox printed on its back. As for his ANBU-like mask, he had swapped it with a transparent mask that covered his lower face and functioned as a rebreather that protected him from harmful gases.

The main thing that changed about his suit was the fabric that it was made of. Since his demon transformation always melted his clothes, Naruto chose to have his suit made of a kevlar-like material that had a high degree of resistance against corrosive substances.

Other than that, he still had his ear mufflers, two kunai pouches strapped to his thighs, and a utility belt with numerous pockets carrying smoke and flashbang grenades, and several rolls of ninja wire.

⁂

If anyone asked any Hero Course student, regardless of year, which was their favourite class, 99% of them would answer straight away: the Foundational Hero Studies class, All Might’s class.

Not only was All Might still revered as the Number 1 Hero in Japan (despite his recent inactivity in the field), but, after two years, he had become a competent teacher too. His popularity, his experience as a Hero, and his newly acquired skills as a teacher made his class the most popular class in the entire school.

Currently, All Might took the 3-A class to the Gamma Training Ground again.

“The theme of today’s class is pursuit.”

All Might smiled at seeing how his students burst into excited murmurs.

“As you have undoubtedly experienced during your internships already, oftentimes villains will resist arrest. Sometimes, they fight head-on against the Heroes, while other times they take hostages or just run away.”

“Today, we will be focusing on the scenario where the villains try to escape. The goal of today’s exercise is not only to catch the villains but also to be mindful of your surroundings and cause as little property damage as possible. You will be graded at the end of the class based on three criteria:

• Whether you managed or failed to capture the villain.
  
• The time you took to capture him.
  
• The amount of property damage you have caused to your surroundings.”
  

“Now, I shall split you all into two groups. First-”

All Might’s words were cut off as an ear-deafening alarm suddenly blared all across the UA High campus.

The streets and buildings shook like during an earthquake as a huge metallic wall rose from the ground. Simply saying that it was enormous didn’t do it justice. The wall was even taller than the main school building.

Then, Principal Nezu’s voice rang from the speakers installed all over the campus:

“UA High is under attack by the League of Villains. All students head towards the closest shelter and lock the doors behind you, just as you have practised before. Third-Year Hero Course students who have obtained their Provisional Hero Licences are allowed to stay behind and defend the school against villains if they so desire. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill.”

Hearing Nezu’s words, Izuku and All Might were the first to rush out of the training ground.

All Might headed towards the edge of the campus and jumped on top of the tall, metallic wall. Momentarily, he was stupefied at the sight below.

Unlike his mentor, Izuku used his Float quirk to fly up and get a bird's-eye view of the situation.

“My god…”

Four large purple portals were opened on each side of the UA High, and villains were pouring out endlessly. There weren’t only humans; dozens of monstrous humanoid creatures were mixed among them too, and more were coming out as well.

Having followed All Might, Naruto also rushed to the top of the wall and glanced at the army of villains surrounding the fortress that their campus had become once Principal Nezu activated the new UA Barrier.

‘It’s gotta be over a thousand of them.'

There were so many of them that the woods outside the UA campus were starting to look crowded.

“Sensei, we have to do something about the guy who is controlling those portals.”

“Don’t be reckless, Uzumaki,” All Might said seriously.

Taking on over a thousand villains and dozens of Nomu creatures wouldn’t have been easy for him even if he was in his prime, much less now.

“Don’t leave the safety of the UA Barrier. No matter how many of them arrive, it’s impossible for them to destroy these walls. The only way to bypass them is by flying. But flying isn’t a common Quirk so we don’t have to go outside. We’ll wait for the flying types to attack and we'll defeat them from the safety of our walls. Time is on our side. The longer this battle drags on, the more Pro Heroes will arrive to our aid. Our purpose isn’t to defeat all these villains but to buy enough time for Principal Nezu to evacuate all the students.”

Only a moment after All Might stopped speaking, the walls, the buildings, and the streets all started shaking once again.

Naruto’s mouth was half-opened in incredulity when he looked back and saw how the entire UA High campus was divided into countless symmetrical squares, like a chessboard. Then, entire plots of land and the buildings on top of them started sinking into the ground.

It was the new defence system designed by Principal Nezu for the sake of keeping his students safe in case of a villain attack. It was a colossal project that cost an unthinkable amount of money and took nearly two years to build. (1)

Suddenly, a bestial cry rang in the distance.

Then, the sky was filled with more than 50 flying creatures. Grey, green, yellow, and bluish skin colours, pterodactyl-like wings, and beak-like mouths filled with shark-like teeth.

“Nomu!” All Might said and clenched his fists.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t all. All Might’s hopes that they would only have to confront the flying-type enemies were dashed right then and there as a massive platform of ice rose in the air, above the huge metallic wall. A silver-haired young man wearing a thick, furred winter jacket controlled an enormous amount of ice, carrying hundreds of his comrades with him to pass over the wall.

Just as the silver-haired villain was about to bring his pals over the metallic wall, his quirk unexpectedly stopped working and the large platform of ice under his feet crumbled like sand. The villains screamed in terror as they plummeted to their deaths.

“Nice job, Eraserhead!” All Might shouted and gave him an excited thumbs up.

Recognising the danger he posed, the flying Nomu dove towards Eraserhead, who was on the rooftop of a dorm building. But the mindless creatures barely got within a 10-metre distance from him before someone shouted:

“Flashfire Fist: Hell Spider!”

Five threads of fire burst from Todoroki’s fingertips and sliced through the incoming Nomu like a hot knife through butter.

Midoriya Izuku and Uzumaki Naruto were not the only 3-A students who decided to stay behind and fight. The entire class did, even Sakura, who was only a medic.

A huge metallic net appeared out of nowhere and trapped another half a dozen Nomu, courtesy of Momo (who created it) and Ochako (who removed its weight and threw it). Sero followed up with his Tape Quirk too, binding them completely. But the Nomu weren’t finished yet. They didn’t know the meaning of giving up. Using their fierce talons and fanged beaks, they started ripping the metallic net trapping them, string by string.

Before they could free themselves, a calm voice was heard:

“Desert coffin.”

A large amount of sand suddenly engulfed the trapped Nomu from all sides. It was Gaara. Keeping the same calm, unbothered attitude from before, he raised his right hand in the air and clenched it into a fist before saying:

“Desert burial.”

His classmates involuntarily turned their heads away as an obscene amount of blood and gore burst out from Gaara’s ultimate move. As the sand slowly returned to the large gourd strapped to his back, the others felt queasy at the sight of the brutally crushed remains of Nomu.

The 3-A class wasn’t the only one who remained behind; the 3-B class stayed too, together with their teachers as well.

Between the two classes of gifted Provisional Heroes and their experienced and powerful teachers, the flying-type Villains and the bioengineered Nomu didn’t stand a chance, despite their superior numbers.

Things looked promising so far. Most of the students had already run to the shelters, which were now in the process of travelling underground and evacuating.

A powerful roar suddenly shook the skies, and then a titanic being rose from behind the huge metallic wall.

‘Damn it! I shouldn’t have listened to All Might! I knew things were only going to get worse!’ Naruto thought when he saw the tall man stepping out of the portal and quickly transforming into a giant over 30 metres tall.

“Gigantomachia!” All Might recognised him.

The giant in question let out another thunderous roar before he cocked his enormous fist back and smashed it into the UA Barrier, creating a huge fist-shaped dent in it.

“Midoriya! Prepare your Fa Jin!” All Might shouted before throwing himself off the wall at Machia, intent on stopping him from destroying their fortress walls.

“Detroid Smash!” he screamed as he threw a punch with his entire strength at his gigantic chin.

Gigantomachia groaned loudly in pain as he stumbled back from the force of the hit. But All Might didn’t celebrate his small success.
‘It barely hurt him.’

It wasn’t the first time he had fought Gigantomachia. Whereas he had defeated him without much difficulty back in the day, the gigantic being wasn’t an opponent that even the prime version of himself could take lightly.

‘This isn’t good,’ he thought as a drop of blood trailed from the corner of his mouth.

He had given One For All to Izuku more than three years ago. Although he had stopped his Hero Work almost entirely and focused on mentoring Izuku, his powers continued to grow weaker. Someone as tough and durable as Gigantomachia was the worst match-up possible for him in his current situation when he couldn’t fight a battle of attrition.

“Uzumaki!” All Might cried out in worry when he saw the blond unexpectedly jump off the UA Barrier, straight in the middle of the army of Villains below.

Despite the fact that he had fallen from a height of over 30 metres, his body didn’t even register the recoil from landing.

When his feet touched the ground, time seemed to have come to a standstill for a second as the villains gawked at him in disbelief, never having expected a student to be crazy enough to throw himself in their midst like that.

Four golden chains burst from his lower back and the villains came back to their senses.

“Kill him!” they roared.

But his chains were faster than their reaction time. The four golden chains whipped all around him like the Grim Reaper’s scythe, killing people like cutting grass.

“Don’t get in my way!” he said in a dangerous tone.

A sonic boom startled the already-frightened villains around him and made them back away in terror.

By the time they gathered their wits, he was long gone. They were momentarily horrified as they looked at the aftermath. It took him only one second to kill over thirty of their comrades; their bodies were all split in half from the waist or decapitated.

Another deafening boom rang in the distance, and many Villains gasped when they saw a green-haired boy kicking Gigantomachia so hard in the face that the giant was knocked down on his back, crushing nearly ten unsuspecting people to death with the weight of his enormous body.

“Do not give him any time to catch his breath!” All Might said before jumping very high up in the air and screaming as he plunged towards Gigantomachia:

“Texas Smash!”

The shockwave of the punch colliding against the giant’s sternum was so powerful that it flattened all trees within a 30-metre radius around them and sent all the nearby villains flying. But the giant’s endurance was otherworldly.

Before All Might could catch his breath from the powerful hit that he had thrown, Machia’s large palm collided against his body, swatting him away like a fly, and smashing him violently into a residential building opposite the UA High, way outside the woods.

“All Might!” Izuku yelled in fear for his mentor and flew as fast as he could towards him.

But then his Danger Sense quirk flared, and Izuku just barely raised his left arm to guard his head before someone’s foot smashed into his forearm.
*bang*

A deafening gong-like sound reverberated as Izuku crashed painfully into the UA Barrier, his body actually sinking into the metallic wall, leaving a human imprint in it.

Picking himself up with difficulty, Izuku felt chills go down his spine as he raised his head and looked at the 4 black Nomu creatures flying above him.

⁂

On the other side of the battlefield, Naruto left a trail of death and destruction in his wake, turning any small-fry villain who tried to bar his way into mincemeat with his Adamantine Sealing Chains.

‘They came here in a group of over a thousand to attack the school. They are ready and willing to even kill children.’

He had absolutely no intention of holding back. Ever since he regained the memories of his past life and after he and his family had suffered so much at the hands of the Villains in his current life, Naruto lost any sort of goodwill or tolerance he might have had for the villains. 

He wasn't like the rest of the Pro Heroes who looked at Villains as if they were misguided people who might be able to change. Naruto was looking at villains as if they were rabid animals that had to be put down. He wasn’t fighting to capture like he did at USJ against the riff-raffs. Not anymore. Now, he was fighting to kill.

Nevertheless, he wasn’t going out of his way to kill everyone. He only killed those who tried to stop him. His purpose was to find the villain who was controlling those portals. Even after two years, he had yet to forget the villain who had facilitated the League of Villains’ attack on the USJ.

Speeding around the battlefield and killing villains by the dozens, Naruto found his target at last. It was a humanoid creature that seemed to be made of purple mist, a villain named Kurogiri.

Another sonic boom exploded as Naruto threw himself at Kurogiri at the fastest speed he was capable of. Turning his nails into vicious claws, Naruto sliced at him, fully intent on ripping him to shreds.

Kurogiri was simply incapable of reacting to that inhuman speed but, at the very last moment, someone jumped in front of him, protecting him with his body.

Naruto’s clawed hand tore through the newcomer’s flesh and bones, severing their right arm clean from their elbow, but, alas, Kurogiri managed to escape death by hair.

“It… HURTS!” the one whose arm he had torn off screamed.

Naruto’s eyes grew the size of saucers when he saw the stump of an arm start wriggling and suddenly become whole again, regenerating instantly. Looking up at their faces, he paused in his tracks momentarily. He recognised their face.

‘Isn’t this the League of Villains’ ringleader? The one who led the terror attack on USJ two years ago?’

It was, indeed, Shigaraki Tomura (not that Naruto knew his name). However, unlike the strange young man wearing bizarre hands attached to his body that Naruto remembered, Shigaraki was hard to recognize these days.

Shigaraki Tomura's hair was still white, and his face was still pale, but the rest of his body was extremely muscular, and his skin was entirely black… He looked like a Nomu.

“I… I will kill you… destroy… DESTROY EVERYTHING!” Shigaraki let out an unhinged scream.

The ground under his feet exploded when he lunged at the blonde, a dark grey light flickering around his clawed hands.

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

AN: you can think of Kurama’s current appearance as being very similar to Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow, except that it's red, and it resembles a fox.

(1) If you want to refresh your memory about the new UA Barrier, rewatch the first few minutes of episode 25, Season 6 where Nezu explains the changes he had made to the UA Barrier and the evacuation system he had created.