(Updated 6/14/18)

Hey guy and galls! I'm back with a revision of my entire HOTD story, one chapter at a time. I should be done pretty soon after I post this. I'm not entirely sure. But I needed to go back and read through the story again to continue it. Sometimes all it takes to get past the writer's block it to take a break from the story and come back to it in a few weeks/months (depending on the story of course)

Anyway this story wasn't up to par with my usual standard of writing so I decided a rewrite was in order. Keep in mind I'm not changing anying major. Just closing minor holes in the plot, spicing up the language… and cleaning up grammar…

So I hope to like!

(I don't own any part of Naruto or HOTD)

Prologue

INTRODUCTION OF THE DEAD

Kouta Hirano sat, uncomfortably as per the usual, in his science class. As a casual observer you might wonder why he was so uncomfortable. However to anyone in the classroom there was little doubt what the problem was. Three boys stood around his desk. A fourth sat on the top. The first of them was speaking, his tone friendly but his intentions far from benevolent.

"Hey Kouta... how ya doin? Seems to me like you did real well on the science exam... doesn't it boys?"

The others nodded, the boy on his desk shifting so he could pick up Kouta's science test. He examined it carefully as if memorizing a detailed list of answers. Others around the classroom observed the scene with mixed feelings. Some were indifferent while most wore looks of disgust. Yet disgusted or not no one so much as lifted a finger to help him.

The head bully smiled at Kouta, his lips twisting into a knowing grin. "So...Kouta? Do you mind if we borrow your eh...notes for a while?" He grabbed the test from the boy on the desk who slipped off to high five his friends. Students were shaking their heads. Even their teacher was disappointed. Kouta never stood up for himself. And it did no good to intervene. Professor Michael was an old science wiz from America. He was in his late seventies and in poor health. They often had substitutes. But even their normal substitute teacher Ms. Buma was unable to keep the bullies in check when they were on a roll.

Kouta kept his head down as Professor Michael declared, "Excuse me! If you're done torturing the poor boy we have a transfer student today that I'd like to introduce."

The bullies turned around a moment. The leader of them, a boy named Takado, grinned. "Yeah, whatever gramps. Go ahead and bring the new kid in. We're not gonna be long. Kouta is just helping us with his notes ya know."

Michael sighed. Sometimes he wondered if he should ask the kendo club to teach a harsh lesson to these boys... It wasn't a bad idea. But if that happened they would just harass someone else who couldn't cope with it. He turned to where there was a tall boy waiting in the hall to be called in. "Come on in and introduce yourself."

The bullies took the time to take a good first look at the new kid as he walked in. Everyone stopped what they were doing. He strode in like he owned the place. He was tall, just under six feet probably but he looked Japanese. Not only that but he was dressed all in a black uniform, yet with no tie and not wearing the proper shoes. He was wearing mat black combat boots. He stood straight and turned on his heel.

Sharp blue eyes looked out at them. They were so...exotic. His blond hair was spiky like a hedgehogs, but longer than a normal boy's. With his hands still in his pockets he said, "Hey, the name is Naruto Uzumaki. I'm not from around here and I just learned Japanese so cut me some slack if I don't always know what you're saying." He made very short bow to the class and tilted his head to the teacher. "Where do I sit sensei?"

Michael pointed to a chair behind Kouta. "That one there is free and feel free to call me professor young man. I'm not overly formal."

Naruto nodded and walked over. He had a small backpack which he slung off in preparation to sit. He walked toward the free desk, his hard blue eyes trained ahead of him. Then he stopped as one of the bullies with Takado stuck his foot out just a second before he was about to pass. The blond turned his head to look at the boy, giving him a cold glare. "Don't try tripping me again."

Then he highstepped over the offending leg. The bully who had been temporarily frozen by Naruto's glare grabbed him by the shoulder. He frowned dangerously at the new kid. "Hey don't give me that crap you dipshit. I'm the vice president of the student council! We're in charge here! So you give us some respect!"

Naruto turned back to look at the teacher. Michael looked away. He was embarrassed and guilty at his inability to deal with the situation. The class was still silent as Naruto turned back to the boy.

Kouta's jaw, along with several other students, dropped as he heard Naruto say, "Well, if that's how it is here..."

Naruto grabbed the hand on his shoulder and squeezed...hard. Everyone in the classroom heard an audible pop. The vice president screamed in pain and cradled his hand. As he flexed it there was another pop as his finger popped back into place. Naruto watched passively as the bully sank to his knees.

Everyone watched as Naruto growled. "I forgot to include in my introduction...I HATE bullies."

Takado took a step back as Naruto continued past him. Two steps later Naruto stopped by Kouta. Naruto looked at him and Kouta felt the glare lessen. Naruto wasn't smiling and yet he seemed to be ...It was just his eyes though. The look never reached his lips. "If you break someone's nose they'll generally try to avoid you from then on. It's worth the beating you might get."

Then Naruto handed him his science test. No one in the class had noticed him snatch it in the first place. It seemed as though it had magically appeared in his hand. Kouta took it with a quiet thanks. Naruto nodded slightly and took a seat behind him.

From that day on everyone knew who Naruto Uzumaki was...

It was a name to remember.

Ooo

-Three months later-

Ooo

Kouta made his way through the halls of the school to the lunch room. The room he considered to be the most dangerous in the school, at least for someone like him. So many ways to be targeted. And him especially. It wasn't enough that people thought he was fat. It wasn't enough that everyone thought he was a total nerd. But in the lunch room everyone was free to express just how they felt about it!

But there had been one positive development lately. A new student, a transfer from some other country. He was perhaps the most mysterious guy in school and every day at lunch Kouta sat at the same table. The same empty table as him.

Or well maybe empty was the wrong word. Shunned might have been a better description.

Kouta walked into the cafeteria and his eyes immediately tracked to the left. That's where all the big tables were. The big tables were NOT popular. Even the goth students had their own smaller table to themselves. The main three tables were where you went to sit if you wanted (or needed) space. Most of the losers and weirdoes went to sit there. In perfect... almost perfect... solitude. However the problem a large part of the time was the isolation it's self. If you were alone you were an easy target.

And that's why he and a few other isolationists, as they were sometimes called, sat with Naruto. The tall blond boy didn't abide bullying. So those who wanted to ply their trade did it far out of his sight and hearing. Naruto had lots of nicknames. All of them well earned one way or the other. One such nickname was "The Hound".

He'd earned that one because he could sniff out trouble almost anywhere. It was like had a sixth sense or something that told him when someone was in trouble. To this effect he was like a hero to all the outcasts. Those like Kouta looked up to them, not like leader, but more like a protector. If they sat at his table they didn't get bullied… period.

Kouta thanked his lucky stars that Naruto didn't mind the company… although he almost never talked. It was generally known among them that Naruto was a good guy. Rumors were always circulating about him helping other kids out, bullies or otherwise. Naruto had another nickname though. It was better earned than the first and equally feared by his fellow students. It had been a while since that incident. Kouta supposed that it branched from that first day at school, the day that Naruto had helped dispel the aura of bad luck around him, the day that he had almost broke the fingers of the student council's vice president.

It had been a cold Tuesday and about the same time as it was now. Lunch time. And it was about two weeks after Naruto's introduction to the school. Takado and his cronies had gotten together to pull a prank on Naruto. A violent prank that, had it succeeded, probably would have resulted in their expulsion.

Naruto was walking into the lunch room alone as he always did. He was usually a little early but today he had come later. At that moment the sliding doors to the lunch room had slammed together. Naruto somehow managed to get his plastic lunch container in between the two pieces of metal. His display of agility went further as he slipped out from them just as they crushed his lunch box.

After that Takado and his goons came out from the shadows. Somehow they had gotten their hands on a shock baton. Somewhat like a tazer, save for the fact that it was a melee weapon. They'd intended on trapping him between the two metal doors and then electrocuting him. Not lethally of course but it would have been very unpleasant.

Takado decided to go ahead and attack Naruto directly. Everyone in the lunchroom, including the two cooks, saw Naruto grab the baton with one bare hand. There was a loud buzzing sound followed by a hissing pop. Naruto had yanked it out of Takado's hand, snapped it in two, then gave Takado the two halves of the weapon.

Takado had glanced down at the two pieces, then looked back up just in time to get a face full of fist. Naruto's blow knocked him cold on the spot. Takado was out like a light before he hit the ground and Naruto hadn't even been fazed. He'd returned to where his lunchbox was and picked up the two packages of ramen that fell out. Then he went to his usual place at the loser's lunch table. It was a good twenty minutes before Takado woke up, his friends having abandoned him.

Kouta smirked at the memory. It had been the best thing he'd ever seen. And that event, along with a few other examples, was why Naruto had earned the nickname "Shinigami"

Looking across the table to where Naruto ate his ramen, it occurred to Kouta that he wouldn't even look scary if he wasn't always glaring. In reality Naruto had a very friendly face. And every once in a while, if you were lucky, you might catch a glimpse of his rare smirk. It seemed to happen at the oddest times. Kouta didn't know if it was a reflex or a response to something Naruto found funny but it made the guy seem really… cool.

Kouta had never actually seen Naruto smile. Not a real smile anyway. Everyone thought that something horrible must have happened to him for him to be such a loner from the get go. And with the way he despised bullies… Some kids guessed he'd been beat up when he was little or that a friend of his committed suicide from it. They couldn't really see too many other good reasons why he would be so violently opposed to it.

Kouta sighed and opened his lunch but kept an eye on him. He liked to watch the blond. For several reasons. Naruto was like one giant puzzle and he liked solving puzzles. Another reason was Naruto's muscles. It wasn't that he was gay or had any interest in art. But Naruto had like... way too many muscles.

If you were to look at any other boy in school you would probably see a slim boy. If you looked at the boys who did sports everyday you might occasionally get a glimpse of a four-pack... and that was the boys who did martial arts. But Naruto... He had a six-pack, like a literal six-pack. Kouta had seen it in gym. It seemed Naruto had no body fat. Maybe 2%. When he flexed his arms the muscles corded out. But at the same time he didn't look like a body builder. He looked like one of those Olympic athletes... That is, if it were possible to be one at seventeen.

That was another mystery for Kouta. Naruto got straight A's in everything. And that was responsible for another of his nicknames. The girls like to call him the "Dark Genius". It came from the fact that he would come in on Monday and get all his homework and then come in the next day with every paper finished. It shouldn't have been possible for him to so much work in such a short amount of time. But somehow he managed and managed well.

The mystery in all of this was twofold. The first question was how on earth he could possible do so much work so quickly. The second was why he started a grade behind and didn't bother to advance. But those were both questions that only Naruto could really answer a he didn't have the guts to ask.

A while later lunch ended and Kouta left for his classes. Fortunately the day passed quickly for him. He had something special waiting for him at home. It was his favorite day of the year. The day happened to be his father's birthday. His mom was the kind of person who would buy anything. And she almost always bought a new firearm for his dad. Many were technically illegal, but that didn't bother him. Lately his dad had been taking him to the firing range to try out the new guns... if they were legal. (granted not many guns were legal in Japan but oh well…) And he might not look like it but he was a very good shot.

Walking home around 3:30 he took the same rout he always took. Straight to his left and down an alley at the end of the street. Some people might ask why he was so fat if he had to walk to school every day, especially since he didn't live very close to school. The answer was quite simple. His mom was an excellent cook and there were always seconds, or even thirds, at his house. Put this together with the fact that he never exercised and you had the perfect situation for a fat nerd. Which... if he was honest with himself... was exactly what he was.

Kouta said under his breath, "Yeah, just me... a fat boy walking home after school."

A jeering voice agreed from just to his left. "Wow... look who seems to understand his situation perfectly. Hey Jiro! Look what we have here!"

Kouta looked up, fear crossing his face. "Oh shit... oh shit, Not now... not today of all days. Please just let them rob me and let me go."

There were three men there. Two were Japanese. One was covered in tattoos from head to toe. He had a chain wrapped around his wrist and Kouta saw a gun holster... a nine millimeter from the look of it, stuck in his belt. The second guy, the one who had been spoken to, had a colossal mohawk. It was at least a foot tall and colored purple and green. This man, whose name was apparently Jiro, chuckled. "Okay okay, let's see what the little boy brought to his nice uncle Jiro..."

His grin was feral as glanced to his right. The third member of the gang was a scrawny black kid, barely older than Kouta himself, but dressed to the part. A street thug to every inch. The only thing that made him seem less fearsome was his diminutive size. Well that and when he smirked Kouta could see braces.

Kouta tried to back away from them. "I don't want any trouble! H..here's my wallet! Just let me go okay!"

"Yeah, yeah...we'll see. Show us what you got kid." He drew a long knife from his pocket and flicked it open with one grimy finger.

The black kid snickered. "Fool coming down our alley. Shoulda damn well known better." He crossed his arms as Jiro motioned to the wallet that Kouta had already produced. Mr. tattoo took the black wallet and opened it up. Kouta stood stock still as the man sorted through it.

The tattooed man smiled widely and snapped the wallet shut. "Well he wasn't loaded but there's more than lunch money in this thing. Not from this neck of the woods I'd say. You can go kid... Just you make fucking certain that you never saw us. If some asshole asks you were your wallet went you just tell him you accidently lost it... got it?"

Kouta nodded quickly and ran out of the alley as fast as he could.

He ran all the way back home ignoring the killer cramp in his side. When he got home he ran up the stairs without speaking to his mother. And then we was in the safety of his room, his room, his secure place where no one encroached? Then he fell on his bed. His warm… soft bed. He thanked the gods that he hadn't been shot or stabbed. He also cursed that asshole Jiro. He had fifty dollars in his wallet that day. Not to mention his student ID and other stuff.

Kouta whispered to himself, "I should've kept an alternate wallet just like my dad said. That way I could have at least saved some face when I tell dad I lost all my identification and cards. Shit… Why does this stuff always have to happen to me?"

It was well over two hours before her went down for dinner.

Ooo

-Next Morning-

Ooo

Kouta took a seat in his home room class. He looked around. Every seat was full save for the class rep and Naruto's. It was a minute before the class rep came in and took a seat. That left Naruto's seat empty. Kouta thought it was a bit strange. The Shinigami was generally early.

Then the door opened and Naruto stepped in followed by the teacher. Naruto walked down the row of seats towards Kouta. It occurred to him that Naruto didn't have the seat behind him in this class. "Why is he walking past me to his science class seat?" Then Naruto stopped in front of his desk.

Kouta looked up at Naruto. He was wearing his usual black uniform but he had a burnt orange shirt underneath. They locked gazes for a moment but he was unable to keep eye contact with Naruto. Those blue eyes were very intimidating sometimes.

He looked away but then Naruto spoke. "You accidently lost this. I found it yesterday evening on the way home." Naruto had reached into his shirt to withdraw a black wallet. Kouta's eyes went wide as Naruto set it on the desk and then turned to go to his own seat.

Kouta looked around. It seemed that a few people had heard the exchange. Behind him and to the left he heard a contemptuous voice say, "Jeeze, can't even keep track of his wallet, what a klutz." He knew that voice it as Saya the resident rich girl and coincidentally the most stuck up girl in the school. But he supposed that could be expected seeing who her parents were.

He looked back to his wallet, which had been miraculously transferred to him though the mysterious hands of the Shinigami. Kouta looked across the room to where Naruto had just seated himself. He didn't even glance back at him. It was unnerving. Had Naruto really passed by and picked up his wallet? And he had really bothered to bring it back to his owner?

He sighed. "Well at least I don't have to get a new wallet and IDs." Then he opened the wallet...

His money...was still there. Not a dollar was missing. Kouta blinked and then looked through his wallet. Nothing was missing. Not even the spare change in the side flap was gone. But there was something else there. A note. Kouta pulled it out and unfolded it. It wasn't a note at all. It seemed to be a quote from a manual of some sort

"-Shortcuts always have a drawback. You should always be aware of the risks one takes.-"

He reread it six times. He was sure. Naruto had somehow taken his wallet back from those guys in the alley. That was the only thing that made sense. And now Naruto was warning him not to use the alley again. But how the hell had Naruto, a teenager, taken down three armed thugs? And even if he hadn't fought them, how could he had stolen it back or talked them into returning it? It didn't make any sense. It just didn't make sense...

Meanwhile, as Kouta stared at his wallet completely dumbfound, a girl at the back of the class twiddled her fingers… watching Naruto.

Her name was Rei Miyamoto and Naruto always sat in the seat in front of her somehow. In science she sat behind him and he sat behind the fat otaku Kouta. In Literature they both sat in the middle row with Naruto squarely in the middle of the classroom. In the homeroom they both sat by the window but she still sat behind him.

As such she had ample opportunity to observe him. And from what she had seen of him in three months... he was still just as much a mystery as anyone else in the school combined. He was smart, fit, handsome, and at the same time anti-social. He didn't make friends with anyone. But he didn't seem to have an aversion to making enemies. As it was just about every boy in the school hated him... Why? Because just about every girl in the school had a secret crush on him.

Herself included. He was so dark and cool and… had she already mention how fit he was? He was like the perfect athlete not that he did any sports that she knew of. Not only that but he was tall… with broad shoulders and a slim waist. He had strong legs and arms but he wasn't buff as some girls might call him. He was all lean muscle although it was rumored that he had a six-pack. But since the boys and girls sports rarely mixed she'd never seen evidence of this though she wouldn't have doubted it.

Her eyes burned into the back of his blond head as she pondered what to do. "If only I could get him to join one of the martial arts clubs. He has the perfect body type for just about anything besides Aki-do. He's too tall for that. I just wish he wouldn't ignore everyone. He's worse than Takashi sometimes.'

Rei grimaced. Thinking about Takashi made her irritable, which in turn made her want to vent her feelings to someone. And that always led to her getting flustered. Mainly because the only person she felt comfortable talking to was Takashi and he was what she wanted to complain about! His lazy nature and his non-committal...everything. He was probably the most boring boy in school!

Quickly becoming lost in thought Rei started imagining how she might get Naruto to join Kendo club. He seemed more the kendo type. She didn't think he'd go for spear work for some reason. It was just a hunch but she was usually pretty good with her hunches.

The problem was she never had any good feeling about how to ask or suggest to him that he join any club, much less Kendo. It wasn't as if he was particularly approachable. She never saw anyone openly asked him out or request anything from him but she knew girls did it and all the time too. He was the best of both worlds, a bad boy and a good boy. All the girls liked his mysterious aura and how at the same time he stood up for everyone. Those few girls who didn't like him… well they said they did to fit in.

Rei wondered if it was true that the head of the Student Art committee had asked him to model. It was an interesting rumor. She couldn't think of anyone brazen enough to ask Naruto to pose nude for a classroom. And a class made up entirely of girls on top of that.

Behind her, her friend Mika asked, "Hey Rei, what are you thinking about?"

Her friend's voice was a bit too loud. The teacher silenced them with a stern look. Rei pulled out her notebook and wrote in the corner. "Trying to think of a way to get Naruto to join Kendo." She tore off the corner and passed it to her. Mika took a moment to read it before passing it back with a message written on the back.

"I would ask him for you. Maybe at Lunch huh?"

Rei turned her head and nodded once. Mika could always be counted on to do what needed to be done. (mental giggle) But then again, seeing how Mika didn't take any combat related electives it would be strange for her to ask Naruto...unless she was planning to join it right afterwards. Thought if Rei considered her own situation she wasn't in kendo either so she had nothing to say really.

The scraping of a chair drew her eyes to Naruto again. He had stood up and silently moved to leave the class room. She looked at her watch. Yep it was time for lunch already. The class had seemed to pass so quickly.

That was another thing. Naruto didn't stay in the class even a second longer than mandatory. Rei turned to Mika behind her and said, "Well, let's get to business shall we?"

Ooo

Ooo

Rei and Mika sat at a table with a few other girl and two boys. They weren't focused on their food though. They were concentrating on working out a plan that was guaranteed to get Naruto into the Kendo club.

Rei leaned forward, speaking in a hushed voice. "If he thinks we're just hitting on him then he's going to shrugged us off. So we need to do it together."

Mika nodded. "Yeah, but I bet he does something to keep in shape. He must have some sort of gym membership or workout that he does like every day, three times a day, with that body."

Rei had to agree. He didn't do sports as far as she knew so he must have had some kind of daily exercise. With his body type... it also must have been something awfully strenuous. "He might do par-core. Do you think with a body like he has, that might be it? No... He doesn't seem the type now that I think about it."

Mika jerked her head to the side. "Hey look, there he is. Let's go get to him before his table starts filling up with the weirdoes."

Rei nodded and they stood up. They brought their plates with them and moved to his table where they sat down. Rei could hear her other friends asking her what she was up to but she ignored them. She had a boy's heart to steal... In that aspect she and Mika were definite rivals.

Naruto glance up as they sat down across from him. They didn't try to sit next to him. That was just asking to get brushed off as fangirls. He didn't speak though, merely continued eating. Rei and Mika shared a glance. This was slightly harder than anticipated. Now that they were sitting across from him it seemed like there were gags in their mouths.

Five minutes passed and neither of them had asked him anything, nor started in on their lunches again. The silence wore on… becoming more and more awkward with each passing minute. Eventually though the tension was broken as Naruto sighed and put down his fork. He looked up and his blue eyes were questioning. "Okay... I'll admit this is a creative use of the silent treatment. If you wanted me to feel uncomfortable you've succeeded. Now is there actually something you two wanted?"

Mika nodded, silently thanking whichever god had answered her prayers, and smiled. "Well, Naruto-sempai, we were wondering if you wanted to join the Kendo club." She attempted to sound chipper but it came out as nervous.

Naruto raised one eyebrow. Rei coughed lightly to hide her smile. She'd never seen him even raise an eyebrow before. And it was funny to see Mika so flustered. The blond blinked slowly as if digesting this. Then he grunted and returned his attention to his food. "I don't need to take any martial arts classes." He bent his head as if dismissing them.

Rei blinked. "Wow, I've never imagined he'd be this hard to crack. I guess I thought that all the other girls were just being incompetent... At least he has a sense of humor." She gathered her nerve and plunged boldly on. "But no one knows what you can do Naruto-sempai. You're like the biggest mystery in school. Going to kendo would be great for making some friends."

Naruto's tone all but dripped sarcasm at this point. "Is this where you tell me that you'd even be willing to take Kendo with me? And that it would be really great for my health?" His gaze settled on her with something akin to distaste. "What good is kendo class exactly? I'm not allowed to carry a katana around. So when am I going to use what I learn in Kendo? Do you think I'm interested in the international kendo tournaments? Well I'm not. And I'm not interested in being popular or being cool or even being uncool. In reality I don't really care what anyone thinks of me. So... Miyamoto-san... give me a good reason why I should take kendo."

Rei smirked, thinking she had the perfect answer lined up and ready. "Because it's fun and you obviously don't have any other way to spend your time seeing how you don't take any electives. And incase no one told you, fifteen elective credits are required each year to pass."

At that his expression finally changed to something resembling surprise and he leaned forward slightly "Did you say that I'm required to take an elective?"

She nodded. "Could it be possible that he doesn't know that? That's weird."

Seeing her nod Naruto sighed. He scratched his cheek with one finger. Her eyes were drawn to his whisker marks. This was really the closest she been to seeing them up close. They made him look exotic and she imagined that they would be cute if he smiled.

"I guess… I'll take Kendo then. It's better than art or music. And seeing how you're so insistent why don't you help me get enrolled."

Rei mentally cheered for her success. "Okay Naruto, I'll take you to see Saeko-sempai. She's the head of the Kendo club. She'll set you up."

She saw Naruto nod once then he inhaled the rest of his lunch. Once second it was there and the next it was gone. She had to blink to make sure she'd seen that right. Naruto stood up. "If we're going then let's go now. I want to get this over with."

Rei stood as well wondering at his sudden desire to make things go faster. He was usually pretty chill. "He's enthusiastic at least, but not in the same way as I had hoped. Oh well. At least I succeeded where no other girl has." She couldn't help but smile as she heard people at other tables whispering about them. However her gaze remained fixed on the blond. "Okay Naruto-sempai follow me. Saeko is probably eating in the sparring room."

Ooo

Ooo

Rei opened the door to the kendo room a few minutes later. Naruto looked around as if scoping out this new location. It was honestly kind of cute how cautious he seemed. Rei walked up beside him. "You never watched any of the fights?"

"No, I watched one, but it was lame so I didn't bother coming again."

Rei cringed inwardly at his blunt statement. She hung back to watch with Mika as Naruto walked fully into the room. It bore a great resemblance to a large dojo. It had traditional paneling and furniture, even dummies in the corner. Naruto didn't see any Shinnai or Bokken lying around. All he saw was two neatly folded pairs of Kendo padding with the helmet on top.

Mika asked quietly, "What is he looking for?"

Rei put a finger to her lips. "He's just checking the place out. No need to worry."

Just as she spoke a stealthy figure materialized out of the shadows on the other side of the room. Rei recognized her. She had long straight hair of a deep purple, which hung down her back and over her eyes in a V shaped bangs. Her clear blue eyes were evidently focused on Naruto. She wasn't wearing any armor as she stole cross the floor towards the blond.

Both Rei and Mika kept quiet, nervous tension filling them. Was Saeko attempting to test Naruto or had she heard his comment about lame fights? They stood silent as she approached.

Across the room Saeko Busujima scowled as drew in close to her target. She was within spitting distance on the blond. And boy was he going to get a nasty surprise if he thought he could insult her club's honor. Calling her fights lame! He had some nerve. If she had her way he would be walking out of here with a large lump on the back of his head. She clutched her bokken tighter and took one more step, exhaling silently as she did so. Then she pulled back her arms and took aim for his spiky head.

She smiled as she put around half her physical power behind the blow. At full power she could kill him. As it was it would only stun.

The wooden sword came swishing down through the air.

And Naruto reached up behind his head without looking and casually caught it. There was a meaty slap of wood on flesh. Saeko' eyes widened in astonishment as she felt the wooden sword ripped from her grasp. She attempted to hold on, but instead of keeping her hands on her weapon, she stumbled forward.

Regaining her footing quickly she straightened then gasped. She found herself standing nose to chin with him. He'd turned around and was holding her bokken by the hilt. His gaze pierced her through, expression hard… but there in his something in his expression. Something like amusement or intrigue, their matching blue eyes forming a solid line between them.

Naruto moved the sword between them, offering it to her. She gripped it and then glanced back up at him. He took a step back and inclined his head ever so slightly. Then inexplicably he smiled. Not a big smile but it was very good. It changed his whole demeanor instantly. He went from brooding and hostile, to mischievous and friendly. The corners of his lips stretched out to curl the ends of his whisker marks… giving him a definite vulpine aspect.

Saeko took in his features. The spiky blond hair, tanned skin, deep blue eyes. His white teeth, unusually sharp canines, and three diagonal lines on either cheek. Then her gaze fell downward. He was very tall and he was well proportioned with an athletic build. Over all he was a handsome young man. He looked her same age too.

Saeko started as he extended a hand. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I'm here to join the Kendo class." Dropping her sword to her side she shook his hand.

She decided that school might actually be interesting this year.

Ooo

Ooo

So there is the prologue. So my readers, please tell me what you think so far. I don't have much to say for this first chapter as I'd like to keep things...mysterious. Anyway please review!

(Updated 6/14/18)

Yes… Naruto is acting like Sasuke. No… he will not continue to act like Sasuke much longer. This is an act people. Read my other stories… I have never written a story in which Naruto acts like Sasuke for any length of time. With the possible exception of the Dark Naruto personality in Sealing Twilight. But that doesn't count.

So… again as always… please review!