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The bell rang late, like it had forgotten its job until the last second and showed up just to say it tried.
Naruto slipped into the classroom before anyone could notice his shoulders hunched, hoodie up, eyes half-lidded in that "please don't talk to me" kind of way.
He moved like fog. Like if you blinked, he'd vanish into the linoleum.
First period. Homeroom.
The teacher wasn't in yet, and the room was steadily loud.
Not just loud but buzzing with nonsensical chatter.
Every desk, every cluster of students, every fidgeting teen in branded hoodies or oversized sweats was talking about one thing.
The Mech that fought Invincible.
Or more specifically, the beatdown it gave.
"Yo, that thing flattened half a street. My cousin was like, two blocks away, he said the ground shook like an Earthquake."
"No way. That was a whole military-grade bot. Not alien tech.
"Pretty sure it was some rogue black-ops experiment," one girl muttered, scrolling through her phone. "Look, here look at this clip. Invincible tries to punch it and gets yeeted into a nearby building."
Naruto slid into his seat near the back. Same spot. Second from the window.
He leaned back and listened.
The voices swirled like static.
"Okay, but did you see how Invincible handled it? Man took like, five direct hits and kept going. That's Omni-Man's kid for a reason."
"Oh please. Did you watch the fight? Dude was getting folded like laundry. He was one hit away from being paste on that robot's armor.."
"Don't disrespect Invincible like that. He didn't lose. He just got… tactically overwhelmed."
"Bro. The only reason he didn't get turned into a pancake is because of the other guy."
"Oh my God, yes hoodie guy! That mystery dude just floated down like he was stepping out of an elevator and wrecked that machine like it owed him money."
"Did he even say anything?"
"Nope. Didn't even pose. Just showed up and boom! Folded it like origami."
Laughter rippled through the room like static, sharp and unfiltered. The kind of laughter that tried to bury fear under jokes.
Naruto rested his chin against his palm, elbow propped lazily on the desk. His eyes drifted to the window.
The sky outside was the color of dry chalk, flat, pale, a little too clean. Bright enough to make the clouds look fake.
It was peaceful. In that artificial, glass-dome kind of way.
He didn't join the conversation. Didn't even shift.
He just listened.
Invincible versus Hoodie Guy. Who hit harder. Who saved the day. Who looked cooler on camera. Half the class sounded like sports commentators, the other half like conspiracy theorists trying to solve a mystery with blurry footage.
And Naruto?
He thought it was kinda funny.
Earth kids getting worked up about their favorite hero getting thrashed on a livestream. Their voices animated, fingers tapping at their phones, rewinding clips, trading takes like stock tips.
That was their worst problem.
Not extinction.
Not planetary war.
Not choking on ashes while your home burned beneath your feet.
Not screaming in your own head as a solar flare erased everything you ever loved.
Just… superhero gossip.
Debates over who punched better. Who was stronger. Who had the better superhero suit.
Honestly?
It was kind of sweet.
The door opened.
It creaked slightly on the hinges, just enough to pull a few eyes toward it.
Mark Grayson stepped inside.
Backpack over one shoulder, hoodie zipped, hair brushed with that careful kind of messiness that says I tried to look normal and stopped halfway.
A couple Band-Aids on his face with one over his cheekbone, another near his jaw and a faint bruise that peeked out from beneath a poor makeup job.
Someone had tried to make him look untouched.
Didn't quite work.
He looked like someone who'd just lost a fight with a meat grinder and tried to walk it off.
The chatter dipped for a moment. Not silence but hesitation. A glitch in the noise.
But nobody said anything. No gasps. No stares.
Because Mark was just… Mark.
Not Invincible.
He slipped into the empty desk beside Naruto without a word.
For a second, nothing happened.
Naruto didn't look at him.
Didn't greet him.
Didn't move.
Just kept his eyes on the sky like he was trying to count the clouds and figure out which one was real.
Then, quietly, just above the hum of the class.
Mark leaned in.
"…Who are you, exactly?"
Naruto blinked. Slowly. Like the words had to swim through molasses to reach him.
He turned his head just enough to meet Mark's eyes.
"I told you my name is Naruto Uzumaki."
Mark gave a crooked smile. "Yeah, well I know that. I mean… what are you? You're obviously not normal."
He glanced around the room, like someone might overhear even though they were whispering.
"I've seen what you can do."
Naruto didn't answer right away.
He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, eyes drifting up toward the ceiling tiles like maybe the words he wanted were hidden up there somewhere.
Then he said it, soft. Almost too soft to hear.
"…I'm someone who wants to be left alone."
Mark stared at him, trying to read his expression.
But there wasn't one.
Just a stillness that didn't fit a sixteen-year-old kid.
"…You saved me," Mark said after a moment.
Naruto shrugged.
"Cool, but I didn't do it for you."
Mark's mouth opened like he wanted to argue, but then shut again. He didn't know what to say to that. Didn't know how to fight someone who wasn't fighting.
"Still, thank you for saving me."
He turned back to face the front as the teacher finally walked in.
Naruto went back to staring outside the window.
Outside, the clouds drifted lazily by.
Like nothing had happened.
The rooftop was quiet.
Naruto lay on his back, arms folded behind his head, staring up at the sky like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
His hoodie was zipped halfway, the breeze tugging at the hem. A plastic sandwich bag sat unopened beside him.
The sky stretched wide above, endless, empty and soft.
It reminded him somewhat of home.
Or atleast what was left of it.
Footsteps sounded on the concrete behind him. Not heavy but familiar nonetheless.
Mark dropped down beside him, cross-legged, breath catching slightly like he still wasn't used to pretending he wasn't sore.
He pulled out a half-crushed granola bar from his pants pocket and stared at it like it might fix the pit in his stomach.
"Are you always up here alone?"
Naruto didn't respond.
Didn't have to.
Mark took a bite of the granola, chewed, then coughed slightly.
"Should've gone with the peanut butter one," he muttered, then glanced sideways.
Naruto still hadn't moved. Still staring at the clouds like they were more interesting than anything the planet had to offer.
Mark hesitated.
Then spoke.
"You know, it's weird. Having powers, I mean."
No response.
"I didn't get mine until a few months ago. Thought I was gonna be a normal guy. I mean, how do you even prepare for that? One day I'm just some kid in gym class, and the next I'm punching holes in concrete by accident and throwing trash bags into the atmosphere."
Naruto closed his eyes. The sky felt heavier now.
Mark kept talking.
"My dad always said it'd kick in eventually. Said even Viltrum has late bloomers." He let out a small sigh. "For a while, they thought I might not get powers at all. Guess that worry is behind us now."
He hesitated, then added, "He's Omni-Man, by the way. But... I'm guessing you already figured that out."
Naruto nodded slightly.
"I'm not supposed to tell anyone, obviously. Not even my best friend knows. But I guess you're… not just anyone."
Mark let out a breath. Like saying it made the whole thing more real.
"I've always felt like I've been living in my dad's shadow. In every part of our lives."
He paused, then added, "Even his public identity is famous. Nolan Grayson. He writes fantasy books, memoirs, all kinds of stuff. But really? He's been Earth's protector since before I was born."
Mark glanced out at the horizon, squinting like he was trying to see something far beyond it.
"He's told me a lot about where he's from. Viltrum. Says it's this incredible place. Advanced, strong, united. According to him, they're a peace coalition traveling to other worlds to help them grow. Protect them. Guide them."
Naruto opened one eye. Just a little.
He glanced at Mark, curious. Then looked away again.
What was there to even say to that?
'Peace coalition, huh…'
The image flashed uninvited and burned into his memory.
White skin tight suits. Their large ships glinting like ice in the sun. The war-worn woman who wove her weapon into their hair like a trophy. The Viltrumites falling from the sky like judgment and tearing through the Centaurian clouds in waves of fire.
'Your dad wasn't sent to guide Earth', Naruto thought. 'He was sent to conquer it.'
Mark chuckled to himself, like he could feel the weight of it and was trying to carry it anyway.
"But I guess I got lucky. Growing up with a dad like that. And my mom Debbie, she's amazing. Grounded. Sharp. She always made sure I didn't get a big head about the whole superhero thing before I got my powers. Kept me normal."
Naruto finally spoke.
Voice low and distant.
"…Sounds like she's the truly strong one."
Mark blinked.
Then smiled.
"Yeah. I guess she is."
Mark sat with his legs stretched out, arms behind him. Still chewing on whatever was left of his granola bar. Still thinking about his dad, probably. About legacy. Hero stuff.
Naruto hadn't moved in minutes. Just lying there. Hoodie drawn up, eyes open now, watching clouds with the kind of stillness that felt too deliberate. Like if he moved, something might break.
Mark glanced over.
"So… what about you?"
Naruto didn't answer right away.
Mark hesitated. Then tried again.
"I mean you've gotta be from somewhere, right?"
Naruto's eyes stayed on the sky.
Then, after a pause, his mouth opened.
Voice low. Almost quiet enough to lose to the wind.
"Centauria."
Mark blinked. "Is that like a… country?"
Naruto let out something like a breath. Not a laugh. Not quite.
"No."
He finally sat up, elbows on his knees, eyes fixed somewhere far past the skyline. Far past this planet.
"It was the name of our planet. Small. Green. Quiet."
Mark's brows lifted. "You're serious?"
Naruto didn't look at him.
He kept going, voice calm and detached.
"It's much different from Earth... There are no metal towers. No cities scraping the clouds. Just forests. Rivers. Mountains that stretched for miles, covered in silver-leaf trees that glowed when the wind moved through them."
Mark opened his mouth, then closed it.
"I was born to a woman named Kushina. A princess in my home world."
"So… you were like… royalty?"
Naruto didn't move. Just blinked slowly.
"I guess."
"You guess?"
Naruto shrugged.
"I didn't care about the honors and titles. The elders did mostly."
Mark tilted his head. "What was she like?"
Naruto was quiet for a long time.
"She was… loud and very beautiful."
Mark blinked. "Loud?"
Naruto almost smiled at the thought. Almost.
"Stubborn and smart. She used to argue with birds. Thought they were bad omens. Said they were spies for the wind spirits."
He closed his eyes again.
"I used to think she was crazy. Now I think she was right."
Mark chuckled softly. "Sounds like a lot."
"She was," Naruto said. "But she loved our world. All of it. Every tree. Every storm. Where I'm from… the planet isn't just dirt. It's alive. It remembers. We believed the wind carried the voices of our ancestors. That the rivers could speak to you, if you let it."
Mark looked at him sideways, quiet now.
"That's… beautiful.." Mark said, "Does she know you're here?"
Naruto didn't answer.
His voice was calm when he finally spoke again.
"Nope."
Mark's face fell. "Oh."
Naruto nodded faintly.
Mark was quiet.
"Why?"
Naruto didn't respond right away.
When he did, it was soft.
"Because staying there felt like being in a haunted house full of ghosts."
Mark swallowed.
He didn't know what to say to that.
Naruto turned his head slightly, looking at him through the haze of light.
"But I didn't come here to save anyone," he said. "I didn't come to fight either. I just wanted to be somewhere else."
Mark nodded slowly.
"…Do you miss it? Your home?"
Naruto blinked up at the sky again.
"Of course."
The wind moved gently across the rooftop, rustling his hoodie.
"I miss the silence," he said. "Earth's loud. Even when it's quiet."
Mark looked down at his hands.
"I always thought I was alone in this. The powers. The secrecy. The weight."
Naruto didn't move.
"The world's a lot bigger than you think, Mark Grayson."
The clouds above them shifted, slow and silver in the sun.
And for a while, they said nothing else.
Just two kids, sitting in the sky, carrying entire worlds on their backs.
Author's Note:
Want to read ahead?
Check out my patreon at banmido for advanced early access chapters and bonus content.
If you're enjoying the story, it really helps me keep writing!