Okay, got another chapter done and ready to update. Woo! Looks like I'm getting back into the swing of things.

Hope you all enjoy the chapter!

(Marshalanime does not own Naruto or Monster Girl Encyclopedia)

"Can I ask you something?" Rae asked the blond accompanying her as the fierce blizzard outside rattled the old windows that lined this section of the castle.

"Sure" the boy told her without skipping a step. They had been wandering for what seemed like an eternity to the young boy but still he continued on without a second thought. Even if Aria had been a jerk there was no way he could just let her wander around on her own.

"It's something I've had on my mind for a while," the holy mage began with a slight nod, "but you said you met her in the Demon Lord's palace, correct? Could you tell me how that happened?"

"Oh, that?" Naruto asked with a big grin as he looked over his shoulder and back at the teen following him. "Old man Hokage was showing me a bunch of old scrolls that weren't suppose to do anything but had to leave when one of the mask wearing guys showed up. He said he'd be back real quick and so he let me look through the rest of the scrolls on my own when I found one that was REALLY old!" the boy exclaimed as he turned around to throw his arms out, starting to walk backwards as he faced the mage. "I opened it up and like all of the other ones it was filled with scribbles and lines that made no sense but as I looked at it I got this weird feeling in my stomach. I didn't know what it was but the next thing I knew was that the ink on the scroll started to glow and then POOF! I was in this big fancy castle with Aria standing on the balcony!" Naruto summarized the events that transpired hat day, making grand gestures with his arms as he did.

'So he was transported to the Demon Lord's palace? Where did he originate from? He said was looking through scrolls so that could narrow it down, but he also mentioned there was some age to them. So scrolls might not be a big form of logging information in his homeland and he was just skimming through old relics. And about this 'Hokage'. The word itself isn't familiar to me. Could it be a part of the local language?' the thoughts started running through Rae's mind like water down a river. She could ponder that small bit of information for hours and not come to any definitive conclusions. Fortunately it seems like Naruto has no issue answering anything she'd ask of him.

"So you just appeared in front of your friend? That must be some powerful magic, and to be held in a single scroll no less" Rae commented with a gentle smile. Folding his arms behind his head Naruto's gaze tilted up as a thoughtful expression came over his face. 'Did I say something strange?' Rae wondered as she watched the blond's reactions.

"...Is chakra magic?" Naruto finally voiced his thought after a moment to think it over.

"...Chakra...?" Rae repeated with arched brows. If she recalled correctly there were a handful of philosophies that used that word in their teachings. She had encountered such information during her studies but brushed it aside in favor of more pressing matters. Perhaps that was a mistake. Regardless, she felt it was safe to assume that the energy they referred to as chakra was simply the spiritual energy that flowed through every living beings, aside from the corruption they call monsters. 'Another clue' the teen thought before opening her mouth to reply. "I believe they're the same, or at the very least they have overlapping princables" the girl told him. Without a clear grasp of what chakra was she couldn't say anything with certainty but if she went with the premise that it was just spiritual energy then she could confidently say that it was used for magic. Then again t would be false to say that spiritual energy was magic since it only served as a source of power for magic and was not actually magic itself, but perhaps she shouldn't go into the details and specifics. If she did that then they'd be there for hours without her learning anything else.

"Okay!" the blond chirped with a firm nod. "So that old scroll had a lot of magic or what ev-" Naruto was in the middle of saying when a loud grumble from his stomach cut him off.

Seeing the boy stop in place Rae watched as his face heated up in embarrassment before a moment later he had spun around so that his back was facing her and his flush face was facing away. It was adorable. Bringing her hand up to cover her mouth Rae attempted to stifle a giggle, too less then satisfactory results.

"I suppose we have been been walking for a while now" Rae remarked as she walked forward, and as she passed by the blond her hand reached down to take hold of his smaller one. As he watched her pull him along, his eyes darting back and forth between her gentle expression and their joined hands Naruto heard her tell him, "I know where we can get some food."

Elsewhere in the castle.

"This is humiliating..." Stanmore grumbled with his arm cross at his current predicament. It was impressive that they stayed ahead of Kioko for as long as they had but it was only inevitable that the woman would catch them and now he was being held at her said, her arm wrapped around his midsection allowing his body to hang limply like a sack of flower.

"For once we agree" Luna remarked from her similar position in the woman's other arm.

"Find yourselves fortunate that I'm in a lenient mood" Kioko told the two children she held as she calmly followed behind Aria. She should've went immediately back to the room upon catching them but then they'd just complain that they didn't see Aria to her destination.

"You shouldn't have" Aria breathed out sarcastically with her arms crossed over her chest much like Stanmore held his. She had no desire for these strangers to be present when she apologi-er had Naruto apologize. Yes, Naruto would apologize. After all she had nothing to say sorry for, NOTHING AT ALL!

"We can walk on our own!" Stanmore barked out in annoyance as he started to squirm around in the kunoichi'a arms.

"That's correct. Are legs are unharmed and perfectly capable of transporting us" Luna added.

"Royalty or not I will will not tolerate insubordination. Consider this your punishment" Kioko told the two children.

"Man, this is such a pain in the ass-Ow!" Stanmore was complaining when Kioko's tail swung up and stuck him across his behind. "What the hell was tha-OW!" the boy was shouting when another tail lashing fell upon him.

"A prince should not speak with such foul language" Kioko told the boy.

"And what about Luna? I din't see you smack her when she called me a dumbass!" the prince complained with small tears welling up in his eyes from the sting still lingering on his cheeks.

"I am a tiny, delicate flower. One should not use physical punishment on one such as I" Luna commented with a sideways glance at her brother, accompanied by a smug smirk.

"Damnit! Don't go playing favorites like tha-YAOW!" the boy was complaining when yet another swing of Kioko's tail pulled a pained yelp from him.

"If only you'd learn" Luna remarked as she turned her gaze away from her brother, her smirk staying as she did so. Meanwhile Stanmore settled for muttering angerly about annoying little sisters and unruly servants.

All the while Aria had been watching from over her shoulder. 'Well at least they're not boring.'

"How did you know about this place?" Naruto asked as he searched through a wooden cabinet build beneath a dark stone counter. They were currently in a kitchen that looked like it could comfortable fit twenty workers with multiple counters ready to prepare food at, unlit fire pits with large cooking pots kept over them by mettle platforms, many cabinets, and many more utensils hung from the wall along with a large set of wooden doors connecting to a walk in pantry. Aside from the entrance they came in from was another hallway that connected to the dinning hall. Being deeper within the castle there were no windows to provide light, for as little as that would've helped, and instead the barren sections of the walls were lined with torches.

"I found it while I as exploring last night" the teen answered as she pulled out a small satchel from one of the cabinets she'd opened. Had Naruto not been so hungry or a bit older he might have questioned how she was able to lead them here so easily when before they'd been walking around in circles. "Found something!" the girl said after checking the contents of the satchel. It was just a bit of dried meat but it should be enough for them.

"Awesome!" Naruto cheered as he pulled his head out of the cabinet he has looking in, nearly avoiding a hard hit to the top of his head as he did so. "What is it? Whoa!" Naruto asked as he stood up and turned toward the girl only to be nearly blindsided by the tossed satchel.

"Eat up" Rae told the boy around the strip of meat she held in her mouth. Tearing a chunk off the teen gave him a wide smile, "I have plenty of questions I want you to answer."