Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Hesitation
Grunting, Naruto told him reluctantly, "I'm about a quarter of the way through. My deadline isn't for six months. Then it will probably take a month or two before it hit's the shelves."
"Seven or eight months?! That's too long! Please, let me read what you have. I can give you expert advice on it," Motohama quickly declared as he grabbed Naruto's legs while crying pitifully.
"Geh. Get off me you perverted leech," Naruto grunted out as he tried to kick off the pervert, who proved Naruto's insult to him by sticking like a leech.
Once Naruto finally managed to remove him, he said bluntly, "No way. The publisher is strict on me letting people read it before the release, not that I would have showed you anyway.
And advice? You're still a virgin, so you certainly can't give me 'expert advice.'"
With Motohama now joining Matsuda in the corner, Issei stepped up. Realizing Naruto didn't like them touching him, he just leaned close and informed him with a perverted leer, "Hey, Naruto-sama.
We're going to go peep on the kendo club. With a match coming up, they're practicing during the lunch periods. It's a beautiful sight. Wanna join us?"
Naruto gave him softer look than he had the other two, since he at least seemed to realize he didn't like them touching him.
He still told him bluntly, "No way. I don't peep." That's a bit of a lie, but Naruto was far more subtle about it.
He never got caught on the rare occasions he does, unlike the Perverted Trio who are caught every time. The claim also has helped heal Naruto's reputation around the school.
They just think he's a total pervert in the sack instead of the type that constantly has sex and boobs on his mind.
Issei deflated slightly before arguing while shaking his head, "That's a shame, Naruto-sama. The female form is the most beautiful thing in the world. Peeping is simply a way to worship it as it should be worshipped."
"No, it's a way for guys who have no chance with girls to sate their lust for boobs and asses," Naruto deadpanned.
Not completely true since Jiraiya used to peek, and Jiraiya was surprisingly smooth when he had actually wanted to seduce a woman. He just claimed to enjoy the 'art of peeping.' Naruto personally believed he just liked getting caught and beat up.
Icha Icha Slave was a bit too detailed and heartfelt for Naruto to believe Jiraiya didn't have a huge masochistic streak in him. Back in the real world, Naruto's direct statement about their lack of success with girls seemed enough to send Issei to the corner with the other two.
Naruto's kind nature quickly seeped through though since he honestly liked Issei. He was the one that reminded Naruto of Jiraiya the most. A good guy with way too much lust, and way too little control over it.
So Naruto pat Issei's head with a sigh before telling him, "Sorry. I'm just a bit stressed today. I'm sure your luck with women will improve someday, Issei."
Issei's attitude quickly changed, and he looked at Naruto with stars in his eyes. Naruto wasn't surprised by it.
Strong emotions in this world seem to result in sparkles, stars, shapes, and other stuff to form around people.
It was weird like that. Usually they were better looking people than Issei, but Issei's perversion was strong enough to make up for that.
…Why is Naruto's mind wandering like this? He really is stressed.
Back to Issei, who still had the sparkles in his eyes. He quickly asked, "So you think I'll eventually get my harem?"
That made Naruto sweat drop. Issei and his harem. You at least had to admire the kid for being upfront about it.
It isn't impossible either. Naruto probably would have ended up with a harem if he had managed to stay in his own world during the final battle with Madara.
Sure, he may have been a hero, but he had been a loser and pariah as a kid. Who's to say Issei might not become a hero in the future.
This world seemed a bit more against that sort of thing, but it still isn't too out there. Just rare…Very rare.
"It is…possible," Naruto told him hesitantly.
Issei clearly didn't notice, or didn't care about, the hesitation in Naruto's statement. He just fist pumped while declaring loudly, "Yes. With an Ero-God like you on my side, I'm sure to eventually succeed."
"I'm not an Ero-God," Naruto muttered, but was ignored. So he just sighed and stood up. He then started stretching as he claimed, "There's another reason I can't peep with you."
Issei looked at Naruto stretching before asking in resignation, "Who did you prank?"
Naruto grinned before answering gleefully, "The football(soccer) club. They are also practicing during the lunch period since they have a match coming up. I put some press and stick photos of men posing naked on their sports balls. Permanent photos."
"That's just disgusting. You would have had to special order those. What did you do? Search the web for pictures of naked men?" Issei questioned with a sweat drop.
"Yep," Naruto answered without hesitation. Seeing the disgust on Issei's face, Naruto rolled his eyes before claiming, "Oh, grow up. They're just dicks.
You see one every time you go to the bathroom. I'm confident in my sexuality, and confident with what I was born with. Very confident in the latter. I don't need to shy away from seeing a naked man for my own self-esteem."
"Hey! I'm confident in my sexuality and tool too," Issei announced, clearly insulted by Naruto's insinuation. He then finished while shivering, "It's not lacking confidence. It's disgust. Men are just plain disgusting to look at."
"True that," Naruto admitted, acknowledging that point. He then continued, "But plenty in life is distasteful to do. Just bear with it like when you eat your veggies."
Tilting his head slightly, Naruto commented, "ETA…14 seconds. Time to go." Naruto moved to the window and opened it. He then jumped out, uncaring of the fact that they were on the second floor.