Fearful Symmetry

by Act 3

Both angel and human, both delinquent and hero, both tiger and lamb. Duality is defined as possessing the quality of being dual. An existence consisting of two parts, of two elements. Trapped somewhere between those elements, a young blonde seeks the truth. He is caught in duality, forced to draw lines, to pick sides, as he becomes further entangled within life's fearful symmetry.

1. I Bless the Rains

Tyger Tyger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

~.~.~

Fearful Symmetry

Chapter One: I Bless the Rains

~.~.~

Shutting the door as silently as he could, he sighed in relief, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Turning, he briskly moved over to the front gate and, unlatching it, stepped out onto the empty streets and began to head towards his destination.

Hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket, the only things separating him from complete silence—from complete isolation—were the sounds of his sneakers scraping against concrete and the occasional breeze that ran past his ear and blew his disheveled blonde hair from his eyes. Left alone in this near-silence, he craned his head back lazily to stare up at the nothingness of the night sky above, losing himself in his thoughts.

He had always preferred the sun to the moon, always been a morning person as opposed to a night owl.

When he was a young child, he would wake at sunrise and start his day alongside the burning orb in the sky, eager to begin a whole new day of fun and adventure. But as soon as the sun would dip down past the buildings and trees, the very second its sister would take command of the darkening skies from it, he would always be called back inside to bathe and sleep, two activities he liked far less than playing.

That had been the childish reasoning behind his dislike of the night when he was a brat. Now, as a young adult of seventeen years, he had a far different reason for his preferences.

Things changed when night came—it was a simple observation, one he had made when he was young and one that he couldn't fully appreciate until he was older. Take the street he currently walked on, for example. During the day, a mother might be walking her child to the store or an old man might be having a stroll with a beloved pet and companion. Children would run up and down the streets, laughing and joking as they made the most of their time out of school.

Now, during the dead of night, this street was empty, devoid of life except for its lone traveler.

But that alone was not the reason for his dislike of nightfall. Rather, his dislike now stemmed from the kind of life that did come out during the night.

Because it was at nighttime that pests came out.

As he reached the end of the block, he made a sharp right and found himself facing the darkened greenery of the local park he often visited as a kid. Under the illumination of the streetlamps, he crossed the road and set himself down the path leading into his childhood haunt. Reaching a bench, he sat himself down and pulled his hands from his pockets, now grasping a lighter and a cigarette. Biting down on the filter, he flicked on the lighter and held it over the end of the smoke before returning it to the confines of his pocket.

Taking a long drag, the blonde leaned back in his seat and waited.

"Well, holy crap. Dumbass actually showed up."

He didn't have to wait long. Lifting his wrist to glance down at his watch, he hummed—midnight on the dot. Sighing, he looked up at the stranger approaching him.

It was at nighttime that pests came out—all kinds of pests.

The person was maybe a year or two older than the blonde himself, with a dark pompadour that he was sure had to be larger than its owner's brain. Underneath said hairdo rested a red pair of shades that concealed their wearer's eyes, though for what reason anyone would need to where them at night was a mystery to the blonde. A white biker jacket with "Crazy Diamonds" embroidered on its breast and a pair of torn jeans completed the ensemble.

It must have been a more popular look than the blonde thought, because the fifteen smirking people behind approaching thug were garbed in identical clothes, carrying a variety of metal bats, steel pipes, and iron chains.

The blonde shrugged, not making any move to stand, 'Guess there's no accounting for taste…'

As he had observed them, he had no doubt that they were sizing him up as well and making their own judgments. They surely thought his blonde hair and blue eyes made him look foreign, that his orange jacket and white undershirt were stupid and overly-bright (they were wrong, of course, but he didn't have the time to properly educate them on the finer colors), and, while he couldn't think of one, he was also sure they had found some way to mentally insult his faded jeans.

"You are Namikaze, aren't you? Namikaze Naruto? The 'Undefeated Desperado,' the 'Indestructible Ironman,' the 'Orange Oyabun-in-Training,' and, let's not forget, the 'Blood Orange'?" the pompadour-adorned youth grinned as his band of goons chuckled at that last nickname. The blonde sighed.

"I never liked that last one…" the blonde, Naruto, groaned as he rubbed his temples. It was an unfortunate side-effect of being both the son of the infamous 'Bloody Habanero' and enjoying the color orange that had gotten him that little epithet. Shaking his head, he frowned, "Yeah, that's me. So, whaddya want? You know who I am. If you're looking for a way to kill yourself, throwing yourself down some stairs or playing in traffic would be far less painful options than picking a fight with me."

"Ha! That's good," the leader of the goons grinned, "Real good. But you're right—we know who you are. Everyone does. More importantly, do you know who I am?"

"Can't say I do," Naruto deadpanned, fixing the delinquent a blank stare, "Can't say I care, either."

"Exactly," the young man replied, spreading his arms out to gesture to his associates, "Us? We're nobodies. No one knows about us, no one cares about us. But you? You're different. People know you—hell, you're famous…"

'Infamous, actually,' Naruto corrected mentally, rolling his eyes, "So, you kick my ass and suddenly everyone knows your name, is that it?"

"You catch on pretty quick," the young punk pushed his sunglasses up his nose, nonchalantly flipping the blonde the bird as he did so, "Something like that, yeah."

"I've just been around this block before with other dumbasses like you," explained Naruto calmly, eying the group before him in much the same way a predator eyes its prey. If his opponents noticed this look, however, they either didn't understand its significance or had excellent poker faces, "But beating me? That's a tall order you have there. A lot of people have tried. None of them won."

"We realize that and we appreciate the opportunity all the same," the punk grinned, "Okuyasu, now!"

A chuckle rang out behind Naruto, whose visage remained unimpressed even as a chain descended down and wrapped tightly around his neck. While the faces of the goons and their leader lit with sudden joy and excitement over the prospect of their "trap" succeeding, the blonde bit back a sigh. Without wasting another second, the delinquents charged in, swarming Naruto while giving their most intimidating battle cries.

'Brilliant. Did they honestly think no one has ever tried this before?' Naruto wondered as he reached up and snuck the fingers of his right hand between the chain and his windpipe. Gripping the chain, he effortlessly pulled the metal back from his neck. With his free hand, he reached behind him and grasped his unseen assailant—Okuyasu, apparently—by the collar. With a simple tug, Naruto had pulled Okuyasu over the bench he sat on and flung him into the nearest member of the approaching gang.

Reaching down and picking up the chain that Okuyasu had dropped in the process of this, Naruto quickly flicked his wrist and whipped the end of the iron links into the face of the next punk that drew too close, knocking the bruiser to the ground. It was only after seeing three of their allies downed so quickly that the initial eagerness the gang had showed died off, their forward charge turning into a statue-like standstill as they eyed the blonde with newfound fear.

Finally standing up, Naruto cracked his knuckles and offered a toothy grin, "A bunch of bastards trash my locker, leave me some stupid note telling me to meet them at the park at midnight, and this is what I get? I'm tired. I had a bad day. I'm pissed off. Now, what do you think that means for you clowns?"

He received no immediate response.

It had begun to sink into their dense little minds, the blonde noted with a smirk. The realization that they had just picked a fight with the notorious gang slayer, Namikaze Naruto, had just set in. He was the person who had been smacking around entire droves of delinquents since he was just ten-years-old. He was the guy whose mere presence caused the citywide juvenile delinquency rate to drop by half.

They had walked into this situation as a newly minted gang, disbelieving of the rumors surrounding the blonde and looking for a quick way to establish themselves. Now they were quickly realizing their mistake. Some of them grew pale, while others started to shake.

'They're panicking…' Naruto resisted shaking his head at the pathetic sight before him. Instead, raising his arms towards them, he called out tauntingly, "Well? You're the bastards who called me out here. You wanted your chance? You have it, so come on. Try me."

If any of them had it in them to make a move, no one did. They simply stood there, staring at Naruto as if he had come straight from Hell itself. Silence reigned over the makeshift battlefield as Naruto leveled an expectant and impatient look at each of them.

Finally, either because his nerves were steeled or snapped under pressure, one of the thugs charged forward, metal bat raised over his head and screaming like a lunatic. Naruto held back a chuckle at the ridiculous sight, opting instead to stand absolutely still as his opponent drew closer and closer. The moment the delinquent had the blonde in striking distance, he swung away, holding nothing back as he slammed the blunt instrument down onto Naruto's forehead.

The force of the bat's impact ran up its wielder's arms and he shut his eyes tight when he heard the hollow hum of the metal colliding with its mark.

His screaming had come to an end, halted by the building lump within his throat that refused to leave him no matter how much he swallowed. Everything was quiet—even the slight breeze that had been the only relief to his heated skin had died down. Cracking his eyes opened, he at last relented to peek out from behind his shades and see the fruits of his work.

Namikaze Naruto was absolutely fine.

No bleeding. No bruising. No staggering.

The metal bat, still pressed against the blonde's forehead where the thug's swing had landed, was proof enough that the blow had been a clean hit. The fact that the hollow metal was dented and bent at an angle where it met Naruto's flesh only affirmed the fact that a mistake had been made that night by the members of the 'Crazy Diamonds.' A very large, very painful mistake.

The haunting stare of two blue eyes pierced through the bat-wielding delinquent's sunglasses, drawing a weak whimper from him as Naruto's iron-like grip encircled the makeshift club, a soft, nigh unnoticeable glow washing over the blonde's hand.

"Sorry, I'm not ticklish," Naruto muttered, his empty hand forming into a fist. Before another word could be uttered, that fist was dug into the chin of the blonde's attacker, who was launched back into the air from the force of the blow. He landed in the center of his allies; his prone form sprawled out on the grass for the frozen delinquents to stare at in abject horror.

"So…" Naruto drawled lazily, reaching into his pocket for another cigarette and his lighter, "You guys wanted people to know who you are, right?"

Naruto's voice drew their attention from their fallen comrade back to their prey-turned-predator.

"Well, don't you worry your pretty little heads about that one, guys. I have a good feeling that we're gonna become real close in these next few minutes," Naruto continued, lighting his cigarette. Pocketing the lighter, the blonde rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck before fixing his foes an even stare, "Alright, gentlemen…let's get to know each other."

~.~.~

Firmly locking the latch on his front gate, Naruto glanced down at his hand and grimaced—his knuckles, worn raw and thinly cut from the many jabs and hooks he had thrown that night, were a very clear and very noticeable sign that he had gotten himself into another scuffle that night. As if his ruined clothes, now sliced and torn where a few of his opponents had managed to surprise him with knives, weren't enough of a dead giveaway…

'Shoulda spent another hour kicking their asses around the park,' Naruto scowled. His head was swimming in a sea of frustration as he gripped the knob to the front door, his mood only darkened by the dull throb that plagued his noggin.

Yes, despite his earlier bravado and flair, despite his prior utter aloofness to the action, getting hit in the head with a metal bat at full force still hurt like a bitch. While he was well aware that such a blow would typically down any common man, Naruto would have been far more thankful for his miraculous resilience if it would also have stopped the massive headache that followed afterwards. With a groan, the blonde pushed the door open and slipped inside the shadows of his home.

Shutting it gingerly behind him and quickly locking it, Naruto paused and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, 'C'mon, c'mon…'

Soon enough, where he was once practically floating in a veil of murkiness and silhouettes, he could now vaguely recognize every familiar edge and corner of the entrance of his family's home. Most importantly, however, he saw no one. He was alone and, hopefully, the only person awake in the house.

Untying and leaving his sneakers at the door, Naruto slowly lowered his foot onto the wooden floor as he stealthily began to make his way down the hallway. Passing by the entrance to the kitchen, his goal quickly reached his eyes—the stairs and, at the top of those stairs, his bedroom.

Grinning to himself and stifling a triumphant snicker, the blonde gave himself a mental pat on the back for a job well done as he neared the first step and…a pair of eyes fell upon his form.

He wasn't sure how long they had been stalking him in that dark hallway or how close their owner stood, but he was suddenly very much aware that he was not as alone as he had first hoped. His body, which had only just begun to relax and slacken a short while ago, quickly tensed up as primal instinct began to take rein over his movements and self-preservation flooded his mind. Before he could even fully comprehend what was happening, he ducked down low.

A fist sailed through the air, directly where Naruto's head had been only moments before, and crashed against the wall. Upon making contact, the wall caved under the power of the blow, the masterfully executed attacked piercing straight through the drywall to leave a fist-sized hole in its wake.

"Good morning, Naruto…"

A chill ran its way down Naruto's spine, mirroring the way that the blonde's heart sank down into the pits of his stomach.

If one believed the many, many rumors that were in circulation about Namikaze Naruto, one would assume him to be absolutely fearless. This was, however, untrue. The blonde had plowed through army after army of amateurish adversaries, made dangerous only by the pointed and hefty weapons they wielded, but he never faltered in doing so. In his frequent confrontations with the local cops, he spoke his mind calmly, never stuttering. He didn't fear the punks who came after him; he didn't fear the officers who held authority over him.

His true and only fear lied with a person far stronger, with skills exceedingly more polished than his own, someone who could judge him and back up that assessment with both their mouth and their muscles.

Above all else, Naruto feared the wrath of his mother, Namikaze Kushina, who now stood in the doorway of the kitchen, looking down at him.

"G-G-Good morning, M-Mom…" Naruto stumbled over his words as he replied, face growing pale as he stared up at her fist.

She stared down at him, violet eyes eerily void of emotion and an all-too-happy smile dangerously carved onto her face. Slowly, Kushina pulled her fist back from the wall, using it to flip a lock of her long crimson tresses back over her shoulder. Coolly, she glanced over to the clock that hung on the kitchen wall.

"You know, this is an awful late hour to be out, Naruto," Kushina's even tone belied a brewing storm that Naruto knew was approaching, "Mind telling your dear old mom where you had to be at one o'clock in the morning?"

"I-I…uh, I had to go…meet a friend…" Naruto mumbled out, wincing at how lame his excuse sounded, 'Nice to see I'm on top of my game today…'

"Is that right?" Kushina's smile twitched slightly as she pointed a delicate finger down at Naruto's hands and clothes, "And, somewhere along the way, your hands got torn up and the new clothes I just bought you got ruined how exactly?"

Naruto could've slapped himself—he had forgotten what he was wearing by the time he had snuck out of the house, his mind far more focused on introducing some idiots' faces to the ground. Blanching, Naruto decided that now was a good time to come clean before he somehow managed to dig his own grave any deeper, "I, uh…may have gotten into a little—a-and I mean really, really little—brawl on my way..."

The moment of silence that followed directly after his confession was almost unbearable.

Naruto broke out into a cold sweat as he heard Kushina inhale sharply.

"I see," Kushina muttered, "And what do you have to say for yourself, Naruto?"

"I…won?" Naruto tried doubtfully, quickly offering a disarming smile to his mother. Daring to glance up at Kushina, Naruto found, to his great surprise, that she actually seemed to be considering his answer, weighing it over carefully in her mind as she hummed in thought. After a few moments of deliberation, Kushina nodded and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, in that case, I guess it's okay!" Kushina grinned.

"R-Really?" Naruto blinked, disbelief overtaking his features.

"Of course! It can't be helped, right?" giving a light shrug, Kushina gestured upstairs, "Now, why don't you head upstairs and get some rest, sweetie? You must be tired."

Staring at his mother as if she had grown a second head, Naruto nodded slowly and cautiously. Pushing himself to a standing position, the blonde turned and gave his mother one last nervous smile starting up the stairs, "W-Well then, good ni—"

A pair of arms encircled his chest in a crushing hold.

"As if I would say that, 'ttebane!"

Before Naruto could grasp what had happened, the world had already turned upside-down and his head and upper back were slammed into the tiled floor of the kitchen. Kushina released her hold on her son, who crumpled to the floor, groaning in pain as he did so. With a huff, she stepped around her fallen son and made her way into the kitchen, grumbling under her breath, "Now let's get those hands fixed up…"

As his mother looked for iodine and bandages for his torn knuckles, Naruto grimaced from his position on the floor, 'It's one o'clock in the morning and I was just on the receiving end of a German suplex, courtesy of my mom. This day can only get better…'

A few minutes later, Naruto sat at the kitchen table after having taken more than a few aspirin, wincing as Kushina dabbed at his knuckles with a cotton ball she had doused in antiseptic. Every now and then, her violet eyes would shoot up to his own cerulean pair with a look of disappointment. Naruto, despite the stinging pain in his digits, would always sheepishly glance away, unable to meet her gaze. With a heavy sigh, Kushina set aside the iodine and reached for the bandages.

"How many times have I told you to stop doing this?" she questioned as she began wrapping Naruto's hands in the gauze.

"I lost count."

"Yet you keep doing it," Kushina chided.

Naruto shut his mouth.

He didn't have an answer to that. What could he argue? That he wasn't fighting droves of delinquents practically by the day? That his reputation wasn't that of an infamous, ruthless thug? That this would be the last time it would happen? He couldn't say any of that, because he did, it was, and it certainly wouldn't end anytime soon.

"I don't go looking for trouble, alright? It finds me and I take care of it the best way I know how," Naruto frowned, glancing down to his hands as his mother tied the bandages in place. Kushina stood and moved over to the cupboard to store away the medical supplies, sighing as she did so.

"Except you do go looking for trouble," Kushina accused, "Or did you forget all about the precocious little ten-year-old brat who took down the 'Silver Chariots'?"

Of course he remembered his first real fight.

The 'Silver Chariots' had been a particularly noisy and active biker gang that drove up and down the streets in the late hours of the night and early hours of the morning. They knocked over trashcans, broke windows, sprayed graffiti over walls and buildings, and weaved dangerously in and out of traffic at insane speeds. As a child, Naruto could ignore all that, however. It wasn't until his mother began to complain that the obnoxious noise they caused interfered with her sleep did the young blonde raise issue with the gang.

"I didn't forget," Naruto conceded, grimacing at the memory, "They were being assholes and I dealt with them."

"You chased them down, beat them within an inch of their lives, and trashed their bikes beyond all recognition."

"They were being assholes and I dealt with them," the blonde repeated, nodding his head, "Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same when you were my age."

The redhead, who was busy placing the bandages back where she had gotten them from, froze. Naruto watched as his mother began to tremble, shaking his head as he held back a groan. Suddenly, Kushina whipped around, revealing horror and embarrassment in her violet eyes and the fact that her face now matched her hair quite nicely. A blush that red couldn't have been healthy…

"T-That…Th-That h-ha-has no-nothing to do w-with this!" Kushina cried out, flailing her fists around in the air.

It was the same reaction every time her past was brought into question. Let it be known that Namikaze Kushina was certainly not proud of the fact that she was once the infamous and feared 'Bloody Habanero.' Why? Naruto wasn't sure—the fact that his mom used to kick serious ass and take names was pretty damn awesome in his expert opinion. Nevertheless, if one happened to mention the 'Bloody Habanero' or the all-female gang she used to lead, the 'Killer Queens,' Kushina would turn as red as her old namesake and fervently attempt to change the subject.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Why not? You were doing the same stuff I'm doing. Hell, you were even better at it than I am."

"I was not!" Kushina exclaimed, distress clearly showing in her tone, "I…I-I was a different person back then! A completely different person! B-Besides, I stopped doing all that stuff! If I hadn't, I wouldn't have settled down with your father, had you, and…and…"

"Mom…"

"Plus, what would the neighbors have thought if I was still such a little hellion? I'd never be able to show my face in public!"

"Mom."

"And can you imagine what everyone at the office would say? They'd never let me live it down! I don't even want to thi—"

"Mom!"

Naruto's calls finally managed to reach the ears of his panicking mother and Kushina stopped her tirade. Naruto offered the redhead a reassuring smile as she turned to look at him with a questioning gaze, "Relax, okay? I get it—you want me to stop getting into fights and I will…eventually. For now, though, what's the problem with me cleanin' up some trash around the city every once in a while? The bastards are practically lining up and askin' for a beating, so why not indulge them?"

Kushina groaned, slapping her forehead in exasperation, "No, you don't get it. I'm telling you to stop fighting, Naruto, before you get in serious trouble. If you keep getting into these fights of yours, one of these days, you're going to end up hurt."

Naruto snorted, smirking, "There's not a punk alive that could get the best of me."

"Naruto, I'm serious," Kushina frowned, walking over to her son and laying her hands on his shoulders, making sure he looked her in the eyes, "If you keep doing this, it's all going to catch up with you one day. You can't fight the world, Naruto, and you certainly can't punch away all of its problems without those problems punching back. I want you to stop before it's too late and you wind up in the hospital or even worse. Please."

Seeing the steadfast stare his mother fixed him and knowing it stemmed from concern for him, Naruto found himself unable to fully deny his mother's request, "I'll…try not to start trouble with delinquents, okay? But if they come after me, I'm going to have to fight."

Kushina levelled Naruto with an expectant gaze, "And…?"

Naruto sighed, head slumping forward, "And I won't break curfew anymore."

Almost instantaneously, Kushina grew a triumphant smile on her face. Patting her son's head with one hand, Kushina jerked the thumb of her free hand over her shoulder and towards the stairs, "That's my boy! Now, how about you head upstairs and get some rest? You've got school in the morning."

Naruto looked at his mother and then at the stairs before returning his gaze to the redhead, "…Promise you won't suplex me this time?"

Kushina's smile remained a bit too cheerful at the mention of that prospect, "Only if you break curfew again!"

Standing from the table warily, Naruto slowly inched away from Kushina, making sure to keep his eyes glued to her form the entire time. It was only when he felt that he was a safe enough distance away from his mother, who was giggling at his reaction, that he turned and ran out of the kitchen, bounding up the stairs while throwing back a quick, "Good night."

Once he had made it to his room, Naruto quickly slammed the door shut and locked it. Slumping back against the door, he released a tired sigh as the blonde ran his hands through his hair. Slugging off his jacket, Naruto tossed the orange clothing onto the chair that sat at his desk. Shortly afterward, his shirt joined it there while his belt and jeans were left resting on the floor. Stifling a yawn and now clad in only his boxers, Naruto made his way over to his bed, where he collapsed into a comforting softness.

As his eyes grew heavy, Naruto craned his neck and looked to his desk or more specifically, the picture perched upon it.

It was a photograph of four people standing in the park the blonde had stood in just an hour ago, all of whom were flashing grins that seemed to exude contentedness. Standing to the left was his mother, Kushina, her crimson tresses unmistakable, and off to the right was an extraordinarily tall man, hair aged white and pulled back into a long ponytail. The white-haired man was slightly blurry in the photograph, having just run back into frame after having set the timer on the camera.

It was the man in the center of the picture that Naruto focused on, however. He was tall, standing an entire head above Kushina yet also coming up a head short when compared to the man on the right, and the blonde hair and blue eyes that he shared with Naruto easily marked him as being decidedly foreign. His leanly built figure was clad in the uniform of a police officer, the insignia on his hat gleaming brightly in the afternoon sun.

Upon his shoulders sat the last person in the photo, a five-year-old Naruto, who was grinning like he owned the world.

Naruto smiled at the picture and the man that stood in it, 'Good night, Dad…'

Shutting his eyes, Naruto let sleep overtake him.

~.~.~

Bags under his eyes, Naruto was in no good mood when he slammed the door of his shoe locker shut. Having gotten all of five hours of sleep last night before having to wake up and head to perhaps his least favorite place on earth had effectively birthed the death-glare he currently wore upon his face. It was that same glare that had scared off every single person who saw him walking to school that morning, so that by the time he had made it to school and walked through the door, his locker-neighbor got to be the first person to greet him that morning.

"Good morning, Naruto-san. I…are you alright?" Yuuto Kiba blinked as he noticed the disheveled state his fellow blonde was in.

'I started my morning by wasting my time in a park with a bunch of dumbasses and returning home to get suplexed by my Mom. Do you think I'm alright?' is what Naruto wanted to say, but he instead opted to shoot a deadpanned look to Kiba and mutter, "Don't ask."

"I…see," Kiba wavered slightly, bemusement showing in his eyes.

"It's nothing," Naruto emphasized his words with a wave of his hand, "Quicker I get this day over with, the better."

"Ah," Kiba's smile turned into a good-natured, teasing smirk, "So I take it you'll be cutting class again?"

"I'll sure as hell try to. Souna's been getting on my ass about missing class. She's been chasing me down every time I pull a disappearing act," grumbled Naruto, before his scowl shifted to a grin, "But I think I finally got the perfect place to hide where she won't look."

"Is that so? Well, I wish you the best of luck in slacking off, Naruto-san," Kiba chuckled.

"I don't need luck, Kiba. I am a trained professional," Naruto shot back.

As they walked up the stairs to the second floor of Kuoh Academy, where the second-years' homerooms were located, the duo ignored the strange looks and odd whispers their conversation attracted. After all, who would have expected a lady slayer like Yuuto Kiba, the 'Prince of Kuoh,' to befriend the chain-smoking, brawling delinquent that was Namikaze Naruto? Hell, Naruto himself was still a bit iffy on how the unlikely blondes had befriended one another.

It was only five months ago when a gang calling themselves the 'Moody Blues' had decided to jump him during class at his old school. After turning each member of the 'Moody Blues' black and blue and throwing themout of his classroom's second-story windows, Naruto found himself being expelled from his old school. After dealing with the heat from the school's principal and guidance counselor, questions from the police, and the terrifying, bottomless anger of his mother, the blonde smoker was transferred into the only school in the area that would take him—the recently turned coeducational Kuoh Academy.

As expected, Naruto had quite the cold reception upon entering into his new school—no one looked at him, no one approached him, and no one talked to him. They were all afraid, horrified by the thought that they might incur his wrath. The safest way for the students of Kuoh to hold onto their normal school lives while trapped in the proverbial lion's den with Namikaze Naruto was to act as though he didn't exist.

Naruto, of course, was just fine with this. He had been through this song and dance before at his old school. Such isolation was a lifestyle he had adjusted to, one that he thrived in. And so, for the first week of his life at Kuoh, the blonde got away with saying absolutely nothing to anybody.

That all changed one morning, when Naruto was greeted at his locker by the school's resident ikemen, and the blonde suddenly found himself at the center of attention. Any and all females at the scene were tearing up, scared at what unspeakable horror might befall their precious Kiba-kun, while the males suddenly began to cheer Naruto on, urging him to mess up Kiba's handsome face. Naruto, however, wasn't angered by Kiba's greeting like the spectators thought he was—no, Naruto was suspicious.

Naruto was absolutely certain that Yuuto Kiba did not have a locker next to him. Even during his short time here, Naruto was able to pick up on the fact that Kiba was always being swarmed by his fangirls. There was simply no way Naruto would've missed a crowd that size huddled next to his locker as they ogled the guy.

Still with no way to confirm his suspicions that something was going on, Naruto merely broke the tension by returning the greeting with a grunt and heading off to homeroom to sleep through his classes. After that day, Kiba took to regularly greeting the chain-smoker and, eventually, began to actually hold conversations with him. Over months of simple greetings and short conversations, Kiba had become the closest thing Naruto had to a friend in the school.

The fact that several groups of girls had taken to calling Kiba the "Beast Tamer" only irked Naruto somewhat (i.e. a lot).

"Try not to make Souna-san too angry, alright, Naruto-san?" Kiba gave a short wave of his hand as the pair reached their respective homerooms. Naruto smirked.

"I make no promises," Naruto returned the wave with a nod as he walked into his own class. As expected, upon his entering, most of the conversations his classmates were having died in silence. The sole exception to this was the trio of giggling young men, blatantly waving around their pornography and attracting several disgusted and hate-filled stares. He ignored both them and his silent classmates, walking over to his desk in the far right corner and planting himself in the seat.

Naruto sat there quietly and waited for the homeroom teacher to show up and take attendance so that he could cut class without being marked absent. Shutting his eyes and leaning back into his seat, the blonde decided on taking a short nap to catch up on his sleep while he waited. Sighing peacefully, the blonde felt his lack of sleep slowly wash away as he drifted off…

"Oi, Naruto-san, Naruto-san!"

Naruto groaned and cracked open his eyes, "I swear to god, Hyoudou, if this is about—"

The brunet grinned at Naruto, practically bouncing on his feet, "Is it out yet? Has he released it? Has he? Has your godfather graced us all with his next glorious work of art?"

Naruto decided now would be a good time to tune the perverted and cultish ramblings of Hyoudou Issei out. Honestly, the kid's obsession with his godfather's work was just plain creepy sometimes, doubly so given the subject matter of the works. Hell, Naruto still wasn't sure how exactly Issei even found out he was related to the author of the famous (or infamous, depending on who you asked) Icha Icha series.

Issei had used to be just like all the rest—terrified in Naruto's presence, unable to utter a word or even glance in his direction—and, to be quite honest, Naruto had no idea who Issei even was for the longest time, despite being classmates. Sure, he had overheard rumors of the 'Perverted Trio,' but seeing how everyone seemed to freeze up like a deer caught in the headlights when he was in the room, he had never actually seen anything too bad.

That was until somehow, someway, Issei found out that Naruto was related to the legendary smut writer known only as Jiraiya.

The look on Naruto's face when he walked into class one morning only to be bombarded with questions revolving around pornography by some weirdo was nothing short of hilarious. Issei had been adamant in asking Naruto to get his limited addition Icha Icha set autographed for him, requesting the scheduled release dates for the next issues well in advance, and even wondering if Naruto had any idea what kind of "erotic escapades" (yes, Issei had actually said that) the next book would feature.

Naruto had been both bemused and horrified that he would have to deal with a second Jiraiya at school.

It was as if all fear of the blonde had evaporated in Issei, leaving behind only hormonal instinct and a passion for porn, causing Naruto to severely question the brunet's priorities. Naruto had been too shocked to answer at the time, but sure enough, Issei was back the next day and day after and the next to inquire about Jiraiya's books. It seemed that witnessing their ally speak with Naruto had a similar sobering effect on the other members of the 'Perverted Trio,' Motohama and Matsuda, neither of whom really feared Naruto anymore. They didn't speak with him as Issei did, but they also no longer froze or clammed up at the mere sight of the blonde.

Having listened to Issei for roughly five minutes, Naruto caved and dignified the boy with a response, "Hyoudou, I haven't seen my godfather in months—he's in Italy. If I hear anything about your damn smut, I'll tell you, okay?"

"Smut!? It's not just smut, Naruto-san! Icha Icha Paradise is a beautiful and tragic romance betwe—"

"Hyoudou-san, get in your seat. It's time for homeroom to begin."

Luckily for Naruto, who realized that Issei had been missing the exasperated look that he had been shooting the pervert, the homeroom teacher had chosen that moment to walk into the classroom.

"Y-Yessir!" Issei nodded, returning to his seat so that the teacher could begin marking down absent students. Soon enough, the teacher had finished and left the room as the bell for first period chimed. Issei turned to Naruto's seat, determined to continue the conversation he thought he had been having with the blonde, only to find that the delinquent was gone, leaving no trace that he had ever even been at his desk that morning.

'Huh…' Issei blinked, 'I wonder where Naruto-san got to.'

~.~.~

Staring up at the clouds and sun, Naruto smiled contentedly.

No one ever came up to the roof of Kuoh Academy, not even during lunchtime. For what reason, Naruto wasn't sure, but in the end it worked to his advantage and so he didn't question it too hard. He had ducked out of class the second the teacher had left the room and, making sure to avoid being sighted, snuck up to the rooftop. He found it deserted, as he expected it to be—the perfect place to ditch class where the student council president, Shitori Souna, would not look.

The blonde fell back against the tiled surface of the roof and stretched out, releasing a satisfied hum as he heard several bones crack. A relaxing, cool breeze drifted across the rooftop as Naruto shut his eyes, turning off his mind and letting himself fall back into dreamland.

It was the sound of the school bell chiming to signal the arrival of lunchtime that woke him hours later.

With an unsatisfied grunt, Naruto reached up and rubbed his eyes, "Damn…that was a pretty good nap, too…"

Sitting up, the blonde yawned and smacked his lips. After rolling his shoulder, Naruto reached into his pocket and grabbed his lighter and a cigarette. Placing the cigarette between his lips, Naruto flicked on the lighter and...

"Unhealthy."

…Realized that he was not alone anymore.

Glancing over to the corner of the roof, Naruto found a pair of amber eyes staring at him or, more specifically, the cigarette and lighter he held. The owner of those eyes was a petite young girl, cute as a button while also displaying just as much emotion as one as well. Garbed in the standard female Kuoh Academy uniform, her shoulder-length, snow-white hair danced as another breeze ran over the roof as she pulled a cookie from the package in her hands and bit down on it.

Naruto blinked, eying the girl with a bemused expression, "…Cookies for lunch ain't exactly nutritious, girlie."

"Cookies don't smell like smoke. You do," the girl hummed in reply, fishing out another cookie.

Naruto looked at the girl as if she was insane. To say he was stunned was a vast understatement—he was absolutely floored.

Namikaze Naruto, the most feared person in the entire school, the one guy who everyone was too afraid to even talk to, let alone look at, was being told off by some girl who barely measured up to his chest. Entire gangs trembled in place when he walked down the street. Mothers told their kids to stay as far away from him and the trouble he attracted as humanly possible.

Sure, Kiba and Issei may have approached him, but no one had ever had the guts to actually tell him off if they didn't hold some position of power that protected them. Yet this girl, this pint-sized little thing, was blatantly calling him out, with no protection and no witnesses around. Naruto couldn't help but stare at her.

The girl must have noticed his staring too, as her stoic face suddenly sprouted the slightest of frowns.

"Staring is rude."

The blonde could take it no more—he fell back, clutching his sides and shaking with laughter. If the girl was offended by Naruto's hysterics, she certainly didn't show it. She merely waited patiently for her fellow student to stop, quietly munching away on her cookies. When the smoking youth finally did cease his laughter, he sat back up, wiping a tear from his eyes and ending his tirade with a few dying chuckles, and met the girl's expectant stare.

"Something funny?" she asked with a tilt of her head, seeming to be genuinely curious as to what the blonde found so humorous.

"Nothing, nothing," Naruto waved off the question, pocketing his lighter and cigarette, "Man, I needed that. So, what're you doing up here, kid? I didn't think anyone came up to the roof."

"I'm not a kid," the girl's expression morphed into a pout, "I come up here for lunch."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "All alone?"

She shrugged, "Aren't you alone too?"

"Yeah," Naruto returned her shrug with one of his own, "But I'm a bit of a special case in that regard. You though? You don't exactly seem like someone people are gonna try to avoid."

"I like the quiet," she responded.

"Fair enough," Naruto accepted the answer the girl gave him with a nod. With the conversation apparently at its end, he laid back down, idly watching the clouds pass by as the roof-going pair fell into a comfortable, if not unfamiliar, silence. The girl, for her part, made no further attempts at starting up on a new topic, but every now and then Naruto would feel her amber stare fall upon his lazy form. That was how the two passed the rest of their lunch—just sitting there in silence, enjoying the pleasant breeze and the warm sun.

When the school bell sounded once again to order the students back to their classrooms, Naruto was the first to move from his position by standing up. Throwing his arms above his head and stretching them to the skies, the blonde released a final yawn before turning to the door and sluggishly heading for it.

"It was nice meeting ya, kid," Naruto tossed a wave over his shoulder as his goodbye, "But I'm getting out of here."

"I'm not a kid," the girl repeated, eying him as he moved, "Out of here? You aren't going back to class?"

"Who, me?" Naruto snorted, "Nah—I don't wanna be there and they don't really want me there. Besides, with everyone crowding the halls right now to get back to class, now's the best time to slip outta here without Souna noticing me."

"It's bad to cut class."

Naruto chuckled, opening the door, "So I've heard. But it's natural to be a little bad sometimes, ya know? We're only human."

"…I guess," the girl relented.

"Well, see ya around," Naruto tossed a wave lazily over his shoulder as he walked back into the building, leaving the snow-haired girl behind him. She stared at the space that the blonde had been occupying only a few short moments ago, her aloof expression unreadable. Standing, the girl hummed in thought as she too made her way over to the doorway.

"Namikaze Naruto, huh?" she murmured, "Yuuto-senpai was right—he is an odd one…"

~.~.~

"Order up! One large special with extra pork!"

Bliss was all Naruto knew as a large porcelain bowl was set before him, his eyes shutting in reverence as the mouthwatering aroma of the soup filled his senses. Opening his eyes, he gazed into the glossy broth and silky noodles, steam wafting up from the liquid to meet the hearty grin the blonde wore. This was not just a simple bowl, its contents no mere ordinary soup—this was his escape; this was his oasis in the desert that was day-to-day life.

This was ramen.

"Heaven in a bowl," Naruto exuberantly declared, his hands nimbly snatching a pair of chopsticks from a nearby container, "Thanks, Teuchi-jiji. It looks amazing as usual."

"Anytime, Naruto," from behind the counter, Teuchi chuckled, "Heaven in a bowl, huh? That has a nice ring to it. Might have to use that sometime."

Whereas the park by Naruto's home was his most frequented childhood haunt, Ichiraku Ramen was most certainly the blonde's favorite hangout since reaching young adulthood. So, when Naruto's stomach began to roar shortly after escaping the clutches of the educational system, the young brawler had made a beeline towards the ramen stand.

"I wouldn't—it doesn't do your cooking justice," Naruto stated appreciatively as he began to dig in. Teuchi let out another chuckle as he began to wipe down a few empty bowls.

"Well, it's nice to see my favorite customer hasn't gotten tired of my food's taste yet," the chef smiled, idly checking the clock that hung nearby before glancing back to his sole customer, "Not that I don't appreciate the business, but shouldn't you be in school right now, Naruto?"

"It's all about perspective, Teuchi-jiji," the blonde explained between slurping his noodles, "You see, from someone else's perspective, I'm cutting class to relax and eat ramen when I could be getting an education. From my perspective, however, I'm sitting here in good company and enjoying a fantastic meal when I could be sitting in a room with a bunch of people I don't know, listening to a bunch of crap I don't care about. Overall, I'd say I'm doing pretty well for myself."

Teuchi whistled, "You're lucky Ayame stepped out. She'd drag you back to school herself if she heard you say that."

"Then in the interest of my personal safety, I'd better leave a good tip today, huh?" Naruto smirked.

Teuchi laughed, pinching his fingers together like he was grabbing a zipper and dragging them across his mouth, "It might help keep this old goat quiet."

Soon enough, Naruto had flown through his first bowl and by the time his second was placed on the counter, his order for a third was already in the works. All the while, idle chitchat flew back and forth between the smoker and the chef, only breaking the flow of their conversation momentarily when a new customer arrived. He was a young man who couldn't have been older than twenty-five, handsome beyond compare, with striking red hair the likes of which Naruto had only seen on his own mother.

Without a word, the redhead pulled up a stool and took a seat at the counter, grabbing a menu from nearby and thumbing through it.

"Welcome!" Teuchi grinned at the newcomer, "What can I get for you?"

"I'll tell you once I figure that out myself," the man spoke in a polite, melodious tone, chuckling slightly as he did, "You have quite the selection and it all looks good."

Teuchi grinned, "Thank you very much. Take your time ordering. I'm in no rush."

"I will," the redhead smiled, "Thank you."

With the new customer attended to, Teuchi turned back to Naruto, who was just finishing his third bowl, "So, how're the plants doing? You ever get those lilies to grow?"

Naruto laughed, "You need to ask? There's not a plant my green thumb can't handle! My lilies and my aralia are growing like champions!"

"Good to hear. Ya know, you're still the only kid I've ever seen with that gardening hobby of yours," Teuchi noted, "How you of all people have the patience for that, I will never know."

Naruto chuckled and pulled his wallet from his pocket, laying a few bills on the countertop, "What can I say? I have a gift. Take care, Teuchi-jiji."

"Yeah, you take care too, Naruto," Teuchi waved the young blonde off, "Don't go getting into too much trouble, you hear?"

"Trouble? Me? It's like you don't even know me," Naruto snickered. As he turned to leave, however, the blonde caught sight of the redheaded customer, who was still sitting silently at the counter mulling over his options as he stared into a menu. Garbed in a sleek double-breasted suit that looked like it cost more than the ramen stand its wearer sat in, the redhead stuck out like a sore thumb. His clothes and the long time he was taking just to place an order almost made the blonde wonder if the redhead had ever been in a restaurant that boasted less than five stars.

Taking pity on the seemingly clueless man, Naruto stepped over and tapped him on the shoulder, "The special is amazing. I'd ask for extra pork, too."

The redhead blinked, glancing from Naruto to the menu, "The special? I see. Thank you very much, young man."

"No problem," Naruto brushed off the man's thanks and walked outside of the ramen stand. As he did so, the well-dressed man finally placed his order—one special with extra pork.

~.~.~

Cigarette hanging loosely between his lips and hands shoved deeply into his pockets, Naruto stalked aimlessly down the sidewalk of the city's electronics district. After departing from Ichiraku Ramen, he had allowed himself to get lost in the crowded streets of shoppers and pedestrians, passing by various stores and vendors welcoming their customers with open arms. His freedom secured and his hunger sated, the blonde now only had one question on his mind.

'What now?' Naruto frowned, checking his watch.

One o'clock.

He still had another six hours to kill before he actually wanted to head home and another eight before curfew, lest he risk another confrontation with his ferocious mother. That left him with a more than ample amount of free time that the blonde simply wasn't sure how to effectively kill. So, without any other truly appealing option coming to mind, Naruto found himself heading in the direction of a local arcade he'd been known to frequent.

'Guess I might as well school some scrubs at 'Trial by Fighter'…' Naruto shrugged. His destination now firmly set in his mind, Naruto turned and walked off of the sidewalk and into an alleyway. Cutting through the alleys was a simple shortcut, one that he had been using for years now. It wasn't exactly as if he had to fear getting mugged or anything anyway, so the blonde never thought too much about it.

"You got a permit?"

A familiar voice, distinct and slimy as ever, slithered into Naruto's ears, earning a grimace as the delinquent stepped deeper into the alley. Sure enough, only a few feet into the dark pathway, Naruto found himself bearing witness to a particularly unpleasant scene.

Naruto had many encounters with the police in his years—it came with the territory of being regularly ambushed by droves of thugs. He knew there were plenty of good cops on the city's police force. His father, Namikaze Minato, had been one such case. He had been good man, who both upheld the law to its highest standards and took the time to reach out to the citizens who lived under it. Umino Iruka, his dad's old partner and current detective, was another fine example. Iruka didn't jump to conclusions, didn't make split-second decisions with the authority he had—he made sure he had all the facts, heard all the viewpoints before he made a decision.

There were many good cops in the city.

Mizuki, however, was never one of them. He was the type of man who became an officer just to hold power over others, the type who signed onto the force just to be able to legally carry a gun. If rumors were to be believed, in fact, the man was as crooked as they came. Word had it that Mizuki had his hand in a number of shady dealings such as bribes, extortion, and blackmail. In summary, the silver-haired cop was an insult to the badge he carried.

And, seeing as Naruto had stumbled across him pinning a young lady to the wall in the back of an alley, the blonde was more inclined to belief the rumors than not. The officer had the lady pushed against the brick wall, arms on either side to keep her pinned down while he leaned towards her and spoke.

"Because you need a permit if you want to be handing out these," Mizuki smirked, waving a slip of paper with an odd design in front of the young woman's face. Judging from the panicked expression on her face, she didn't exactly appreciate being informed in such a manner.

The woman frowned, reaching out for the paper, "P-Please, I—"

"But I'm an agreeable man. I'm willing to do you a favor and just overlook this entire thing," Mizuki's smirk grew into a malicious, perverted grin, "Of course, that's only if you're willing to do a favor for me, in turn."

"I don't—"

"Don't be like that," Mizuki leaned closer, "It's nothing much, just a quick and easy favor. It'll be over before you even—grah!"

Mizuki recoiled, stumbling backwards as his hands reached up to clutch at his eye. With his arms no longer trapping her in place, the lady quickly backed away from Mizuki and put herself at a safe distance should she feel the need to turn and flee at a moment's notice. That done, she stood and watched silently as the scene before her played out. Mizuki glared down at asphalt, murderously staring at the offending projectile that had been flicked into his eye—the butt of a recently finished cigarette.

"So sorry, Officer. It just slipped right out of my hand," Naruto smirked as he stepped forward, "I hope I didn't interfere with any official police business."

Mizuki growled, "Namikaze…what the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, just passing through," the blonde shrugged as he fished out another cigarette from his pocket, "Thought I'd hit up an arcade, but hey, saving a damsel in distress was next on my list of things to do anyway."

"Damsel? You mean criminal," Mizuki scowled, slowly lowering his hands and keeping his stinging eye shut tightly, "She was handing out flyers without a permit and we can't have that, now can we?"

"And the punishment for illegal advertising is dealing with you? Talk about cruel and unusual," Naruto shook his head in disgust.

Mizuki stepped forward and ran a hand through his silver locks, chuckling darkly, "I wouldn't be running that mouth of yours, Namikaze. You're hands aren't exactly clean either."

"They aren't?" Naruto cocked his head to the side, his tone mocking.

"School won't be out for another three hours. You think you can cut class in front of a cop?" Mizuki clicked his tongue in disapproval, "Stupid, very stupid. And underage smoking, too? No, no, this just won't do. I'm going to have to place you under arrest, Namikaze. Who knows? You may even get expelled from that damn academy of yours."

"I'd rather not. Mom wouldn't be too pleased if I manage to get expelled again," Naruto shrugged, eying Mizuki tauntingly, "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll avoid jail today."

"Oh?" Mizuki's hand came to rest on his gun, "Am I to understand that you're resisting arrest, Namikaze?"

Naruto's taunting demeanor faded as he saw Mizuki reach for his pistol. His gaze sharpened, his hands clenched into fists, and his form crouched slightly, legs bent and ready to leap forward at the first sign of danger. The blonde frowned, "So you take me in and then what? You think I won't tell them about your charming way with the ladies and trigger-happy negotiation skills?"

"You really are a dumbass, aren't you?" Mizuki smirked, "You think anyone on the force will believe a burnout like you over me, an officer of the law? You think anyone in this entire goddamn city is going to believe you!?"

"Well, I never was much of a people person…" Naruto conceded with a light shrug.

"That's putting it mildly," Mizuki laughed, "They'll give me a fucking medal for putting a little piece of shit like you behind bars! Hell, I could plant a bullet right between those eyes of yours and no one would question that it was completely in self-defense! Well, no one except for your whore of a mother, anyway."

Naruto froze, "…Care to repeat that?"

"Ha! Did I hit a nerve?" Mizuki sneered, "She was such a bitch back in the day, running up and down the streets with her stupid gang, acting like she owned the entire town. And what does she end up doing? She drops her pants and settles for the first blonde bastard that comes along."

The blonde's face was on fire, his fists trembling.

"And then what does that dumbass go and do? He goes and gets his brains blown out!" Mizuki chuckled, "Good riddance. Bastard was always looking down on me, even back when he first joined up with the force."

"Draw your gun."

Mizuki frowned and narrowed his eyes in confusion, "What?"

"Draw your fucking gun!" Naruto snarled, "And you'd better pray you don't miss."

"Ha!" Mizuki laughed, pulling his firearm from its holster, "You're gonna regr—gah!?"

A crushing grip enclosed around the officer's wrist, so intense that Mizuki almost believed his hand would be snapped off at the joint, and his pistol slipped from his fingers. Mizuki hadn't even had the time to point his gun before he was disarmed—Naruto had cleared the ten foot gap between them before he had the chance. A stomp that felt like it held the force of an avalanche fell upon the policeman's foot, keeping him from dodging as a faintly glowing fist rocketed towards his face.

Mizuki's eyes widened, his mind racing in panic, 'H-How is that little shit this fast!? And why is his fist glo—'

His nose shattered and caved in with all the ease of an empty aluminum can, blood squirting into the air and dribbling down his face. Mizuki opened his mouth to release a pained cry—a mistake. The next blow hit his mouth, knocking several teeth out and sending them down his throat, floating on a fresh cascade of irony crimson. As he coughed and sputtered, another devastating hit met its mark against the side of his head, knocking him off his feet.

Mizuki smacked roughly into the brick wall, which he weakly clutched in a poor attempt to gain his balance as he gasped for air. His vision was clouded with tears, his eyes burning and swelling as his senses were overwhelmed with pain. He dared glance up, just in time to catch the savage visage of a beast rearing back its fist like a hunter readying an arrow. With the same deadly accuracy, Naruto let his fist fly forward.

The hit shattered his jaw and slammed the back of his head into the wall. The next dug deeply into his gut, knocking the wind from his lungs. The next struck against the only eye that had thus far gone untouched in their encounter, sealing it shut with bruised swelling.

Blow after blow after blow after blow, Naruto rained his rage-filled fists down upon Mizuki's quivering form.

This wasn't a fight.

When Naruto took on punks with egos too large for their lacking skills to carry, he was fighting. During those times, he sought to defeat his opponents as quickly and efficiently as possible. He took no pleasure or joy from the pain he brought them, only from the satisfaction of utilizing the reflexes and skills he himself had honed over years of experience and practice. And when he was done, when he had won, he simply walked away, moved on, and left them to pick themselves up.

This however?

This was survival of the fittest. A lesser animal had stumbled upon a sleeping tiger and, in its ignorance, awoken the slumbering behemoth. The tiger had merely followed its instincts, leaping upon the prey that had so carelessly insulted the beast by treading in his domain. This was not a fight. This was not even a massacre. This was simply nature and, just like in nature, the predator did not walk away, did not move on, and did not allow the prey to pick themselves up.

A cathartic jolt ran along his arms as his knuckles collided with the fool who had dared to insult his family, both sickening the blonde and urging him to carry on.

So he did.

For a solid five minutes, Naruto laid into Mizuki. For every word the crooked officer had slung and for every insult, Naruto made absolutely sure that the silver-haired man felt nothing but pure, concentrated pain. Because the tiger didn't allow the prey to insult him, because all Naruto wanted in that moment was for Mizuki to hurt.

Finally, Naruto ceased and the faint glow that had enveloped his hands abandoned them.

Panting and gasping from the sheer anger alone, Naruto stepped backwards and simply stared at the fallen man before him. He looked down upon Mizuki, not speaking, not thinking, until he finally glanced away. Turning, Naruto left him lying there without another word and continued down the alleyway. The woman, who had surprisingly stayed to view the entire encounter, was still there, kneeling on the ground and trembling as her gaze ran between Naruto and Mizuki. She flinched when Naruto came to a stop next to her, when his stony blue eyes stared down at her.

For the first time, Naruto actually took a moment to observe her. She had her glossy brunette cut short in a bob cut, her heart-shaped face done up with dark eye shadow and ruby lipstick. Her lithe body was hidden under a thin red blouse and short white skirt. The black decorative bat wings that sprung from her back were the most noticeable oddity about her, aside from the strange flyers she clutched tightly.

"I wouldn't stick around here for much longer if I was you, Miss," Naruto spoke in a surprisingly even voice, "But if you plan on hanging around, do me a favor. When he wakes up…if he wakes up, tell him that next time, he should just shut his mouth and shoot."

Naruto ghosted past her after having said that, ignoring the shaky words of thanks the woman offered as he left the alley behind him, leaving Mizuki behind him. Because when the tiger has its full, it leaves the carcass for the scavengers.

~.~.~

"This isn't up for debate, Umino!"

"But Kurosawa-san, he—"

He leaned back on the small cot that was provided with his holding cell, sighing as he shifted around in a vain attempt to get comfortable. Was he surprised to be here, to find himself in the exact situation his mother had warned him about for years? No, he wasn't. Naruto snorted, 'I beat the shit out of a cop. What else was going to happen?'

It didn't take long for the police to track down the blonde—in fact, an hour and a half after his confrontation with Mizuki, Naruto was in the back of a squad car, being driven to the station. Apparently, his damsel in distress had called for help, explained what happened, and promptly vanished into thin air, like she never existed at all. She had existed, however, because she had been there to give the police all they needed to know who to look for—a physical description of her blonde savior.

"He attacked an officer of this department! Or did you forget that in another few hours, Mizuki will officially be labeled as comatose!?"

"But Naruto-san isn't just some wild animal! If Mizuki was doing what Naruto says he was, then—"

After answering some brief initial questions, the blonde had been thrown into this glorified cement hole in the wall. He had been left here for what felt like ages with nothing to do by sit and wait. Naruto simply passed the hours by listening to the faint voices of the officers in the room down the hall argue over what his fate would be.

"Whether or not Mizuki was engaging in such conduct needs to be looked into and I will personally see to it that it is, but it can't justify that boy's excessive actions! The fact of the matter here, Umino, is that he didit! He admitted to assaulting and hospitalizing an officer of this department! Our department!"

"I understand that, but—"

"Enough, Umino!"

Naruto wasn't sure why Iruka was so adamant in defending him. Maybe it was because he was his father's son, maybe Iruka just wanted to get all the facts straight, or maybe the officer honestly thought the blonde was a good kid—Naruto just didn't know. Regardless, Iruka had been there the second Naruto set foot in the station, trying to make the process as smooth and painless for Naruto as possible.

It was the least Naruto could do for the man to be honest when they asked him if he did it or not.

'Not that I wouldn't want the credit,' Naruto growled, 'Bastard had it coming for a long time and I'd be more than happy to go down in the books as the guy who finally knocked him down a peg.'

Naruto felt his pulse quicken and head burn. Shaking his head, he breathed deeply and calmed himself—getting angry now wouldn't do him any good. Besides, he had other concerns now that took precedence over the silver-haired asshole. His anger towards Mizuki put aside, the blonde turned his focus to the more pressing matter at hand.

'Mom's going to murder me!' Naruto groaned, slapping his hands over his face, 'Damn it, damn it! W-Well, maybe it won't be too bad! A-After all, I promised to try and tone it down fighting delinquents—I never said anything about not fighting cops!'

Naruto paused, looking over his logic and weighing the likelihood of its success in his mind.

'I'm so fucking dead,' Naruto concluded with a wince. With a defeated moan, the blonde dropped his hands back to his sides, "Well, maybe I can at least get Iruka to break the news to her gently…"

"Sounds like you're in a bit of a predicament."

The blonde sighed, "You don't even know the half of—huh?"

Naruto sat up in his cot, eyes darting to the cell door to find a familiar face standing just outside of it, smiling in at him from behind the bars. His long crimson hair was unmistakable, with a sleek, spotless black double-breasted suit worn flawlessly and matching leather shoes, shined to perfection. When Naruto's sapphire eyes finally met his sky-blue eyes, a cheerful smile came over the young man's handsome face and he offered a friendly wave, "Greetings."

"You…you're that guy from Ichiraku," Naruto frowned, bemusement flashing in his eyes.

"That I am," the redhead grinned, "Thank you again for the suggestion, by the way. You were absolutely right—the special was amazing."

"Right? I've had a lot of ramen, but nothing can compare to the way Teuchi…" Naruto shook his head as he trailed off. He could gush about the finer points and qualities of ramen later, but for now he needed to focus, "What are you doing here? How'd you even get back here? I didn't think they let just anyone back here."

Alarms were going off in Naruto's head now. He could no longer hear the arguing voices of Iruka and his superior. Considering the fact that they had been going back and forth for a good few hours, Naruto was fairly certain they wouldn't have just suddenly clammed up.

"Hm? Oh, the door was open and no one else was here, so I just let myself in," he chuckled, running a hand through his crimson locks, "As for what I'm doing here, well, I'm in town to check up on someone very important to me. Of course, she's a bit headstrong, so I have to do my share of sneaking around while I'm here, but—"

"I'm not asking why you're in town!" Naruto snapped, "I want to know why you're here talking to me! And what do you mean no one else was here? Where's Iruka!?"

"Sorry, my mistake. Like I said, we're the only ones here, so I'm certain this Iruka fellow must have gone home," the man nodded at his own logic, "And I am here talking to you because I am going to break you out of prison."

"…Oi, Iruka!" Naruto called out at the top of his lungs, "Might want to get back here! Some crazy dude is sayin' he's gonna bust me out! Iruka!"

Naruto received no answer.

"There, see?" the redhead smiled, "We're alone."

"What did you do to Iruka!?" the blonde growled, storming up to the bars to stare the man down, "If you hurt him, I'll—"

"Please do calm down. I assure you that he, along with his fellow officers, is asleep in his home and completely unharmed. They will all be up and about tomorrow morning with no memories of this evening's events," the man promised, holding up his hands defensively, "Though I suppose it will cause a bit of confusion over the man you hospitalized."

"Bullshit. How could you have gotten them all asleep and in their homes?" Naruto frowned, "And how do you know about Mizuki?"

"I have my ways," he replied cryptically, "You shouldn't be surprised that I know about your bout with Mizuki-san, however. I know about it because I saw it happen."

"You mean you were stalking me?" the blonde accused, glaring at the man as he chuckled sheepishly.

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think? I didn't plan on following you, but like I said, I'm in town checking up on a certain someone and by chance I just happened to step into that ramen stand today," the man shrugged, "I couldn't help but take notice of your latent potential—it is staggering, you know. I couldn't very well let you walk away without at least seeing what you were capable of. It was just luck that you happened to end up coming to the aid of an acquaintance of mine."

"Potential? What do you think this is, an RPG?" Naruto scowled, "Wait, so you knew that chick back at the alley and you stood around and did nothing?"

"Well, I don't know her too well. She's…well, let's just say she's an employee of someone very dear to me," the redhead smiled, "I would've intervened, but you seemed to handle the situation quite thoroughly. I even got a glimpse at your capabilities, so it all worked out very well in the end."

Naruto stepped back, rubbing his temples as he growled in frustration, "Dealing with a guy like you is just what I needed right now, you know? You're not making any sense. You're telling me that you stalked me for half the day because you see some damn…potential or whatever in me, you stood around like an asshole while a friend of yours almost got molested, you followed me here and magically teleported every police officer home, and now you're gonna bust me out of jail?"

"I believe that sums up everything quite nicely, yes."

"Lovely," Naruto turned and shuffled back to his cot, collapsing into it, "Look, just…I dunno, just go away, okay? This might be a dream or maybe you're just bullshitting me, either way, I'm not in the mood to deal with this crap."

The stranger blinked, "So…you don't want to get out of prison?"

"Why do you even want to bust me out in the first place?" Naruto grunted, "It's not like there's any doubt that I did it—you saw it yourself and I'm not denying it. You and I both know I'm guilty as charged. So why even bother?"

"Think of it as repayment for the ramen and for helping my acquaintance," was the man's smooth reply.

Naruto snorted, "I helped you decide on lunch and saved someone you barely know. I haven't exactly done enough to warrant a jailbreak…at least, not unless there's some kinda catch."

Without warning, the redhead burst out laughing, apparently no longer able to contain the chuckles that Naruto hadn't even noticed the man was holding back. The blonde eyed the stranger warily as he doubled over and clutched his sides. He ceased his laughter a few moments later, straightening himself out as he wiped a tear from his eye, "S-Sorry, sorry, it's just that it's been awhile since someone has seen through me so clearly."

"So there is a catch," Naruto concluded.

"A small one—almost insignificant, really," the man smiled, "I just have a favor to ask of you. It won't take but a minute and once it's done, you'll be free to go."

"…Let's say you did manage to knock out all the cops in here. Let's say you somehow got them all back to their homes and, for whatever crazy reason, none of them are going to remember tomorrow that I beat the shit out of that bastard," Naruto sat up in his cot, "Either way, I don't see you holding any keys and you don't look like you can rip through these bars with your hands. How are you even going to get me out?"

"How?" the stranger blinked, "Why, by opening the door, of course. It's not locked."

"What?" Naruto stood up. Approaching the door, the blonde stared at his would-be freer with a look that clearly questioned the man's intelligence, "Of course it's locked, you idiot. Why wouldn't they lock it? Hell, I saw Iruka lock the damn thing myse…"

Naruto trailed off when he finally reached the door and gave the barred barrier hearty shove. To his surprise, it flung open, leaving nothing between him and the outside world but a few feet of empty space. Naruto stared at the lock on the door—he was absolutely certain that he had seen Iruka lock it; just as he was certain that he would've noticed the strange man unlock it. His gaze shot from the door to the man, who merely smiled down at him.

"Just who are you, exactly?" Naruto finally inquired.

"So glad you asked!" the man extended his hand for Naruto to shake, "You may call me Sirzechs. And you are?"

"…Like you don't already know," Naruto shook his head, but didn't reject Sirzechs' handshake, "Namikaze Naruto."

"I see. Well then, Naruto-san, shall we step outside?" Sirzechs ignored the blonde's accusation and gestured to the exit with a sweeping motion, "I think it's best if we continue this outside, don't you?"

~.~.~

A wave of heat struck Naruto the very moment he set foot outside the police station. It was humid, the blonde noted with a grimace, to the point that just standing in the sticky, moisture-filled atmosphere was an uncomfortable act. Above them, dark clouds gathered, churning and twisting as they swarmed together. It was only a matter of time before a downpour would begin, something the youth had no interest in getting caught up in. With that notion in his mind, he turned to Sirzechs, who seemed to be surveying the street before them. It was as empty as it was going to get at this time of night—no pedestrians, with only a few cars passing by.

"Alright, so what's this favor of yours? You said it'd be quick," Naruto glanced down at his watch, frowning when he noticed it was already eight o'clock, "And I gotta be home in an hour if I wanna avoid the beating of my life."

"That shouldn't be a problem, then," Sirzechs nodded his head, "We should be able to take care of it right here and now."

Sirzechs walked further down the sidewalk, putting a fair bit of distance between Naruto and himself. When he seemed to be satisfied with the space between the two of them, he stopped and turned to the blonde with an expectant look, "I want you to fight me, Naruto-san."

Naruto blinked, "…I'm sorry, but what did you just say?"

"I want you to fight me," Sirzechs repeated.

"Yeah, that's what I thought you said," Naruto sighed, slapping his forehead, "You saw what I did to Mizuki, right? You understand that I'm not exactly a pushover when it comes to fighting? That I don't exactly know how to pull my punches?"

"I did and I do."

"Then trust me when I say you don't want what you're asking for," Naruto spoke, crossing his arms over his chest as he did.

"Please don't worry about me. I'm actually a bit stronger than I look," Sirzechs chuckled, "Now, let's begin. I'm ready when you are."

"You aren't even listening to me, are you?" Naruto muttered, "Fine then. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Bending his knees, Naruto sprung forward, his guard up and ready as he began to close the distance between them. Sirzechs' cool gaze observed every move he made, from the grandest gestures to the slightest twitches. As the blonde drew closer and closer, the well-dressed man simply stood there, his posture limp and relaxed even while facing the impending onslaught that was his opponent's fists. Once he was within range, Naruto threw a devastating uppercut at the redhead, fully intent on ending the fight in a single bow.

Sirzechs merely stepped back, watching with genuine curiosity as the blonde's fist sailed up to meet the space his chin had occupied only moments ago.

Naruto growled in frustration, following up the assault with a straight punch that Sirzechs deftly dodged by twisting to the side and taking a step back. Naruto, unable to stop the momentum behind his fist, slid next to Sirzechs. Deciding to use the positioning to his advantage, the blonde shot his elbow out, looking to land a heavy blow to his opponent's chest.

Sirzechs step backwards yet again, forcing Naruto to overshoot himself and stumble.

Perhaps it was because he saw an opportunity or maybe it was just to prove a point, but Sirzechs chose this moment to counterattack. With a thoughtful hum, the man brought up his leg and, in a surprising show of force, drove his knee into Naruto's stomach. The power behind the blow was obvious to its recipient, who slid back as the joint pushed against his body.

The blonde grunted in pain, staggering backwards to reevaluate his foe. Naruto's glare met Sirzechs' smirk.

"So you see that you are in no risk of causing me any great injury. Please, do not hold back on my account," Sirzechs spoke evenly, "I need you to come at me full-force."

Naruto snarled in response, rushing ahead with a jab that Sirzechs quickly smacked away. Bringing his right arm back, Naruto snapped forward to deliver a hook aimed at the redhead's cheek, only for the man to reach out and snatch the blonde's wrist.

Eyes wide, Naruto struggled to pull himself from Sirzechs' shockingly vice-like grip. The odd man, for his part, showed no great effort on his face or movements as he pulled the fighting blonde's fist closer towards him. Determined to get out of his enemy's grip, Naruto threw his left fist forward, poised to strike the man square in the jaw.

"How curious," Sirzechs didn't so much as glance in the direction of the attack as he raised his free hand up to catch it as well. Now, with both of Naruto's hands caught, the redhead seemed far more focused on observing them than he was on the growling blonde he had trapped, "You aren't holding anything back, are you, Naruto-san? You are trying, correct?"

"Don't…fuck with me, you…" Naruto grunted out as he fought against Sirzechs' hold, "Son of a…bitch!"

"I'll take that as a 'yes' then," Sirzechs hummed, "How odd. I was certain that I felt an impressive amount of the holy element when you were fighting the officer earlier today…"

Sirzechs turned his gaze from Naruto's fists to the blonde himself, staring into the blonde's eyes with a sharp, calculating look. While Sirzechs did this, Naruto continued to attempt to pry himself free, to no avail until, suddenly and for no apparent reason, Sirzechs just let go. Clearly not expecting this, the end result of Naruto's struggling was that the blonde tripped backwards, landing onto the pavement below. He was just about to stand and attack again when Naruto found himself halted by Sirzechs' words.

"Timeout."

"…What?" Naruto blinked, bemusement flashing over his features.

"Timeout," Sirzechs stated again in a matter-of-fact tone before motioning for Naruto to come closer, "I need to check something. Come here, Naruto-san."

"You expect me to buy that?" Naruto gave Sirzechs a flat stare, "Besides, you wanted one favor and that was a fight. What do you want now?"

"You have my word that I won't strike you until we're both ready again and I assure you that all I want is to fight you," Sirzechs gave a winning smile as he spoke, "But I want to make sure of something before we continue. Now if you'd please step this way, I promise this won't take long."

"…I swear if you sucker punch me, I'll gut you like a fish," Naruto grumbled under his breath as he stood and brushed himself off. He stepped forward and waited as Sirzechs began to look him over, an impatient yet expectant look upon his face. Leaning down, Sirzechs stroked his chin as he stared at the youth before him. The pair spent a good few minutes standing like that in complete silence, with Naruto finally breaking the quiet.

"Satisfied?" Naruto questioned.

"Just about—I think I see the problem here. Hold still, Naruto-san," Sirzechs requested calmly as he placed his palm flat against Naruto's forehead. Naruto stiffened at the sudden contact, but found himself unable to step away, unwilling to reach up and slap the man's hand away. Something inside Naruto, some primal part of him, was roaring its approval at what was about to happen and it would not be denied. Still, this did not prevent Naruto's mind from voicing its confusion at the situation.

"W-What are you—"

"Release!"

It was heat and pain, flowing into him like hellfire and damnation, burning him, eating away at him from the inside and reducing him to cinders—that is an apt description of the sensation that washed over the blonde. Naruto screamed in agony, his body convulsing as he collapsed to his knees. The heat worked its way through his body at a tormenting slow pace, leaving his form ablaze with pain in its wake. Tears brimmed in his eyes as he clenched them shut, his mind blank and unable to bear the torture a second longer.

Sirzechs did not let go, nor did he flinch or falter as he saw Naruto's suffering. With a stony visage, he kept his palm pressed to Naruto, even kneeling down when the young man collapsed to make sure it stayed in place. He did not speak, he simply watched.

Finally, he lifted his hand and stood.

"Sorry about that. I suppose I should've warned you that it might sting," Sirzechs apologized, "I didn't think the seal would be that difficult to remove, though—it put up quite a fight. Whoever placed it clearly knew what they were doing. Anyway, how do you feel now?"

Gasping for air, his body still trembling from the sheer pain he was engulfed in not seconds ago, the blonde looked up and glowered at Sirzechs, "H-How…do I feel? How do I feel!? You complete and utter bastard! You do…whatever the fuck that was to me and then you ask me how I feel!? I'll tell you how I feel, you son of a bitch, I feel…good…"

Naruto paused, confusion clear in his tone as he pushed himself up onto two shaky legs. For some reason beyond his comprehension, his body felt lighter than it ever had before. His vision was clearer, his senses of smell and hearing more pronounced than they had been when he awoke this morning for school. Naruto stared down at his hand, clenching it into a fist as he realized that he even felt physically stronger.

"No…better than good. I feel great," Naruto spoke, amazement in his voice.

Sirzechs smiled, "Excellent. Now, I want you to listen to me, Naruto-san."

"O-Okay…" Naruto nodded numbly, still confused as to what was happening to his body.

"Close your eyes," Sirzechs waited for Naruto to do so before continuing, "I want you to picture the inside of your body as an empty vessel. Can you see it?"

Naruto could see it. It was as if his body was hollow and only a yawning, gaping emptiness existed within him. It stretched on for as far as he could see in every direction, never ending, and as vast as it was, it was also almost completely dark. Inky, boundless blackness swept over the entire expanse, swallowing nearly everything into its clutches.

"I think I can," Naruto muttered, "B-But…it's not completely empty. I dunno what it is, but it's bright—really bright."

Yes, floating there in this void was a brilliantly shining light, burning brighter than the sun itself. Its presence demanded to be seen, to be known. It refused to fade into the darkness of the void, rejecting the notion of compromising itself to the will of its surroundings.

"Good, very good," Sirzechs couldn't hide the excitement in his voice, "You must reach out to it, Naruto-san. Grasp it with your own hands, take hold of it and assert your will. Turn the light into your strength, your power—it must become an extension of yourself."

Naruto did so. He moved closer and closer to the light, his hands outstretched and pointed towards its warm embrace. It called out to him, welcoming him and urging him to take it and make it his own. So he did. Naruto reached out and took hold of the light, cradling it within his hands as it began to glow brighter and brighter within his grasp. It lit up the void, driving away the darkness and swallowing everything, even Naruto, into is radiance.

Naruto's eyes snapped open.

"What was th—whoa!" Naruto jumped back in surprise. Both of his arms were entirely engulfed by the same golden light he had pictured in his mind, glowing so fiercely that the blonde had thought he was on fire. Naruto gazed at his hands and arms in wonder, turning and twisting them to see that they were indeed completely covered by the light, "W-Why are my arms glowing?"

"Astounding," Sirzechs mumbled, "Such potent holy Light…"

"Sirzechs stop gawking and tell me what the hell's going on," Naruto snapped, "I have glow sticks for arms and I'd like to know why!"

"Ah, yes, of course. You see, Naruto-san, you seem to be in the possession of an astounding affinity for the holy element of Light," Sirzechs explained, "It is currently manifesting itself by channeling through your arms, resulting in your current appearance. I thought I sensed a good amount of the element from you earlier, but I never imagined you'd have enough to visibly display it like this without willing it a form..."

"Light?" Naruto frowned, waving his arms to emphasize his point, "Since when have I had that? Because, and trust me when I say this, I think I'd have noticed if my arms ever turned into light bulbs!"

"Well, I would assume you were born with it. It is only appearing now because, when I placed my hand on your head, I removed a seal that kept it contained and separate from your consciousness," Sirzechs frowned, rubbing his chin in thought, "Though why you possess so much of it is beyond me. Perhaps it is simply a mutation, in the same vein as albinism? But then why seal it away?"

"Who cares!? I can't go home like this! I'm a walking LED!" Naruto groaned, "How do I turn it off?"

"Turn it off? You misunderstand, Naruto-san. I said it earlier, didn't I? The element is an extension of yourself. You can't turn it off any more than you can turn off an arm or a leg," Sirzechs gestured to Naruto's arms, "If you want the glowing to stop, you have to will it to. Focus. The Light is your tool now, Naruto-san, and you must choose the shape it takes."

"Will it?" Naruto stared down at his arms, silently commanding them to return to normal. After a few moments of concentration, the glow began to fade before dying out completely, much to Naruto's great relief. Naruto released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and turned back to Sirzechs, "So what can this…Light do, exactly? I don't know what to make of any of this—it seems like something straight out of a video game."

"The holy element is a tool that is molded into shape by its wielder. If it helps, you could think of it as an element from an RPG—it has certain qualities and specific characteristics that make it excel in combat," Sirzechs expounded, "As I said, you ultimately decide what form your Light takes, Naruto-san, through force of will. It is you and you are it."

"It's me, huh?" Naruto glanced at his arms, "I always wondered what it'd be like to have superpowers. Would've preferred flight or time control, but this works too, I guess."

"It's a gift," Sirzechs gave the blonde a reassuring smile, patting him on the shoulder, "One that many would desire were they aware of it. Use it wisely, Naruto-san."

"Right," Naruto gave a firm nod of his head, "So, about our fight…"

"Hm? Oh, that's quite alright," Sirzechs shook his head, brushing off Naruto's concerns with a wave of his hand, "My intentions in fighting you were to trigger the holy element within you. When I saw you use it subconsciously in your fight with Mizuki, I thought you needed to be fighting to wield it, but it seems all that was needed was to remove the seal inhibiting the Light. You must've been quite angry with that Mizuki fellow to draw upon a noticeable amount of Light despite that powerful seal."

"Yeah…" Naruto trailed off, scowling. He'd rather not think of that asshole at the moment.

"Anyway, take this, Naruto-san," Sirzechs retrieved a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to the blonde, "It's my number. Feel free to call me should you have any more questions about your abilities."

"Thanks, Sirzechs. I will," Naruto took the paper and slipped it into his pocket, "But, uh, if you don't mind me asking, just who are you? Ordinary guys aren't dabbling in this kinda stuff, are they?"

Sirzechs laughed, "I'm no one of importance, Naruto-san. Besides, rather than worry about me, shouldn't you be worried about getting home? You said you needed to be back at the turn of the hour, right? In that case, you only have twenty minutes."

"Huh!?" Naruto checked his watch. Sure enough, the redhead was correct. Cursing, Naruto turned and took off running down the street, calling back to Sirzechs as he did, "Thanks for everything, Sirzechs! I'll be sure to call if I got any questions! See ya later!"

"Take care, Naruto-san!" Sirzechs laughed as he waved the youth off. Once Naruto rounded the corner and disappeared from sight, however, Sirzechs' smile dropped in favor of a gloomy, downtrodden expression. Glancing up to the stormy skies, Sirzechs frowned as he watched a bolt of lightning dash across the turbulent clouds, followed by a deafening crack of thunder. Raindrops began to hit the pavement, one by one, as the sky began to weep.

Giving one last pensive look in the direction Naruto had ran off in, Sirzechs sighed and began to head in the opposite bearing, 'Forgive me, Naruto-san, but if sacrificing your future means protecting Rias', then it's a sacrifice I have to make…whether or not it is mine to make in the first place.'

As he walked off, he ignored the sickening feeling that overcame him as the skies churned. Above the clouds, hidden behind a cover of lightning and rain, a blinding light descended. One word chanted over and over in its mind as it hovered in place, peeking out at the entire city from cracks within the brewing storm.

"Nephilim…"

~.~.~

'Of course I would get caught in the storm! Why wouldn't I? My luck's been so fucking great today!' Naruto released a frustrated groan, glancing down at his watch, 'Well fuck it! As long as I make curfew, I'll call it today a good one and, with ten minutes left, I should just be able to make it!'

The heavy storm that Naruto dreaded would come earlier broke shortly after the blonde had left Sirzechs outside the police station. While the rain was anything but pleasant for the blonde to be running in, it also came with the advantage of clearing out any pedestrians that would still be out and about on the sidewalks at this time of night, meaning he was free to run at full speed without fear of bumping into someone. Utilizing this, the blonde had made it to the park in record time, which he was currently cutting through as a shortcut back home.

A grin broke out on Naruto's face as he saw the exit of the park come into view, even in the heavy downpour, 'Almost there! I'm gonna make it!'

"Nephilim…"

Naruto froze on the spot as a chill ran up his spine, one he certain wasn't due to the cold rain striking down upon his body. He quickly turned left and right, searching for the source of the voice he had heard. The blonde found no one in sight, but came to a different, startling realization by doing so, 'The rain…stopped?'

That is not to say that the rain had ceased and the storm was over. No, the rain had literally stopped—millions upon millions of droplet hung suspended in the air, unyielding to the calls of gravity. Naruto glanced around, quickly observing his surroundings. The winds that had carried the storms on their backs had stopped howling and the dark clouds above had ceased twisting against one another—everything but Naruto seemed to freeze.

'It's like someone hit pause on a movie,' Naruto noted, looking down at his watch. As the blonde suspected, the hands that once busied themselves with spinning were deathly still—time itself had come to a grinding halt. For what reason, Naruto was unsure, but he was just about to go looking for answers when his blue eyes happened to catch sight of the storm clouds parting above the park. Light filtered through where the billowing grey masses had split, with a single orb of golden radiance slipping through and descending.

It was large, large enough to enclose a car within it Naruto observed, and as it plummeted and drew closer to the ground, the blonde also found that it wasn't empty. He could see something moving within the light, something churning behind a thin veil of blinding luminescence, but he could not make out what it was.

It was not until the orb was only perhaps fifteen or twenty feet from the ground that it shattered like glass to reveal its contents that Naruto glimpsed what moved inside of it.

A pair of pearly wheels, both the size of a full grown adult and bathed in a captivating brilliance, nested within each other hovered before Naruto. They spun at a consistent slow pace, never pausing for a second, even when the eyes began to open. Yes, eyes. Thousands upon thousands of eyes all came to life at once, blinking into reality along the outer rims of the wheels, every single one burning with the glow of a candle. Every time an eye would close, it would fade away back into the wheel, disappearing as though it had never existed to begin with, only for a new eye to open up and take its place moments later.

It hung there in the air for a moment, as if taking a second to gather its bearings, as Naruto looked on in shock and awe, unable to move. Finally, it acted. Every one of its many burning eyes turned and locked gazes with Naruto, who suddenly felt as though he was staring down an army.

They simply stared at each other, appearing as though they were trying to comprehend and grasp the meaning and reason behind the other's existence. The silence was broken, however, when, despite having no visible mouth anywhere on its person, it spoke.

"Nephilim…" its voice was that of a thousand whispers, all thundering within Naruto's mind at once.

Assuming the creature was addressing him, Naruto chose to speak, "W-What are you?"

It seemed to find no reason to deny him an answer, as it responded almost immediately.

"Many are the names that have been bestowed upon us. 'Ophanim,' 'Ophde,' 'Galgallin'…those are the names that mankind has given us. We answer only to the name He allowed us, however. We are Throne of the Chariot, bearers of His Justice and protectors of His Harmony…and you are Nephilim."

Naruto was still trying to wrap his head around this. He realized, somewhere inside of him, that he should be panicking a lot more than he was right now, but for some reason he wasn't. No, for some reason, this felt familiar. Maybe the oddness that had just taken place at the police station had placed him in the right mindset to handle this or maybe he had gone crazy—Naruto wasn't sure. Right now, as he stood talking to what had to be an angel (albeit a strange looking one), he wasn't sure of anything. All he knew was that he had to steel his nerves and prepare for what was about to happen, whatever it may be.

"I-I see…" Naruto frowned, "Why are you here?"

Again, its reply came immediately.

"We once basked in His Presence, chanting His Name and His Glory at the Birthplace of Creation, dwelling within Power under His Divine Immanence. We were His Reach, we were His Eyes. We held the honor of carrying His Most Holy Form as bearers of Merkabah. Our humble existence was exalted then, when we stood by His Side, now no longer, now no more. We exist now only to uphold His Most Righteous Law, to maintain His Glorious Order. We have descended to bring His Will, His Judgment, to the tainted and the earthly. You are the reason for our presence, Nephilim."

"You keep calling me that—Nephilim," Naruto muttered. For some reason, the word felt as though it left a rancid taste in his mouth, "What does it even mean?"

"Nephilim—he who is born of human and angel—exists as a 'Son of God' unchosen by His Will, but chosen by the subjects of His Kingdom. Forge in heresy, tempered by apostasy. You, Nephilim, are blasphemy incarnate, for He has not ordained your actuality. You, Nephilim, must be eradicated."

Naruto felt his heart drop into his stomach, "What?"

"Your being is an insult to His Divinity. You must perish."

"I have to die just because I was born!? That's bullshit!" Naruto roared indignantly, outrage overtaking his shock and fear.

"You dare question His Will?"

"You're damn well right I do!" Naruto shouted, "I'm not even this Nephilim you keep bitching about! I'm the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, dumbass! A cop and an editor! Not angels!"

"You are proof of Zadkiel's betrayal. Zadkiel fell from grace and assumed the form of a human—your father, the one you declare to be Namikaze Minato. Hiding behind an innocent, your mother, he stowed away from His Divine Wrath and escaped His Fury for a time. "

Naruto's world crumbled. His father was an angel, an angel that…had lied and used his mother as a way of escaping death. Images of his father's soft smiles and proud grins, memories of his deep laughter and joyful utterances—they all came rushing forward to the forefront of Naruto's mind…and shattered, one by one, burning away like photographs tossed to an inferno.

"T-That's…not true. That's not true," Naruto muttered, tears leaking from his eyes and voice growing louder with each denial, "That's a lie! That's nothing but a goddamn lie, you son of a bitch!"

But what reason would it have to lie? What could it possibly gain from fibbing? That was the dreadful question that planted itself in Naruto's mind, one that shook his very form with its mere presence as he glared daggers up at the angel.

"Whether you accept the truth or not does little to change it. All Nephilim not ordained by His Will must be annihilated."

"Fuck you and fuck that!" Naruto howled, "You think I'm just going to accept that I have to die because God didn't approve me!?"

"Kneel, Nephilim, and acknowledge His Will. You will bow and accept your fate."

"I'm not about to just roll over and die!" Naruto growled, falling into his normal fighting stance. In a flash of light, the holy element engulfed his arms. Naruto wasn't sure how to use it, but Sirzechs had mentioned it to be useful in combat and now seemed like a good time to learn, "I don't even know if you have an ass to kick, but I'm not gonna bow down without a fight!"

"You misunderstand, Nephilim. Our words were not a suggestion."

The many eyes of the Throne widened in unison, thin rays of light shooting forth from their pupils like arrows descending from the heavens. The threads of light twirled in the air, coalescing into a single beam. The beam tore through the atmosphere, hurdling towards Naruto at inhumane speeds. With no time to dodge, it was all the blonde could do to lift up his forearms in an attempt to block the brunt of the blast. Bracing himself, Naruto shut his eyes and grit his teeth.

He never felt anything.

Had the angel missed? Had the heavenly being had a change of heart? Confusion wracked Naruto's mind, with neither hopeful theory seeming likely. Opening his eyes, Naruto looked down at himself.

The beam had not missed.

Though he felt no pain from the attack, the blonde now sported a hole at least a foot in diameter in the middle of his chest. Where his arms had reached up and made contact with the beam to shield his body from the blow had also been sliced cleanly through, leaving the telltale soft curve of the blast carved into his flesh. Blood erupted from his wounds and, before Naruto could so much as utter another word, he collapsed backwards onto the pavement of the park's walkway.

"All is well. May your soul find your way to His Side."

And just like that, the angel had vanished. In the blink of an eye, it was gone. The rain once again to heed gravity's demands, the winds began to race once more, and the clouds twisted and churned above Naruto's fallen form. The dying boy was now the only evidence that the angelic being had ever graced the earth at all.

With heavy eyes, Naruto stared up into the stormy skies, blood leaking from his lips, 'So…this is how it ends…heh…I wonder how many people can say they got shot by an angel.'

Naruto's blood began to pool around him, mixing with the rainwater as it stained the concrete. The blonde shook as he coughed up crimson and saliva, shaking loose the slip of paper Sirzechs had given him from his pocket. It fell into the pool of his blood, drifting along the ripples caused by the rain hitting the irony puddle. A sudden thought occurred to Naruto, his eyesight growing hazy as he craned his neck to glance down at his watch.

There was only one minute until nine o'clock.

'Damn…s-sorry, Mom, but it looks like I'm not gonna be making curfew tonight…' Naruto chuckled weakly, 'She…s-she's gonna be pissed.'

Naruto's eyelids became too heavy for him to hold up any longer, tears leaking out as he thought of his mother's happy smile. He shut them.

'That's right…Mom…I…I'll never get…the chance to ask…a-about Dad. That a-angel…it s-said all those things, but…' Naruto frowned, "…I…wish…I had the ch-chance…to l-learn the truth about Dad…"

Unnoticed by Naruto, the blood-soaked paper shimmered softly as he whispered those words. The odd design that rested on it, the very same intricate markings that were on the slips of paper belonging to the women he had rescued early, began to glow.

'But…it's been a long day...and I'm tired…' Naruto decided, a cold sensation gripping his form and a small, relaxed smile breaking out on his face 'Mom…Kiba…Teuchi…Iruka…hell, even Hyoudou…I'm sure…they won't mind…if I just…take a quick nap…'

The clock struck nine and, with a smile on his face, Namikaze Naruto died.

~.~.~

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

---

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or High School DxD

Would you believe I actually thought I could fit all of that into 10,000 words? Well, there you have it—my first work of fan-fiction here at . Just to give you an understanding at how picky and choosy I am as a writer, I spent a good day and a half on each and every single scene before I was satisfied enough to move onto the next. Anyway, I'm just going to address the elephant in the room that I'm certain several of you are about to comment about.

Aren't you ripping off A Demon Among Devils by having Naruto be a Nephilim? It's kind of sad that I have to address this, but I'd rather do it preemptively then have several commenters cussing me out for it later. First off, I fucking love A Demon Among Devils, so go check it out when you're done here because it's brilliant and far more deserving of your attention than this story. Second off, no, I am not ripping it off. For starters, the concept of a Nephilim is biblical and has been used in fiction multiple times. Hell, I didn't even get the idea of making Naruto a Nephilim from A Demon Among Devils, I got it from the only Nephilim that showed up on Supernatural. I saw that episode and it got the hamster wheel in my mind spinning and so I made this. What's more, and this is speculation, but it seems as though A Demon Among Devils is making the concept of Nephilim a more spiritual thing, as in Minato is not literally the son of an angel. In this story, Naruto is indeed the son of an angel and being a Nephilim is more of a physical concept, just like being an Angel or a Devil. It gives him certain powers, but the title isn't reflective of his personality or his actions…if any of that makes any sense.

There. The elephant in the room is (hopefully) thoroughly shot. Moving on.

Chapter length? This one was a doozy, wasn't it? Close to 18,000 words. Hell, that's three or four chapters worth of content for some stories. They won't always be this long, of course—I just had a lot I wanted to establish in this first chapter, from Naruto's reputation, to his relationships, to his abilities, to his death and existence as a Nephilim. That's not to say that my chapters will ever be super short, either. I will not post a chapter that is under 10,000 words. I just won't. So, expect at least a bare minimum of 10,000 words with every chapter.

Naruto got his ass stomped by the angel? Yeah, he did. He sure as hell did. Naruto has, up to this point in his life, been completely unaware of the supernatural. He is stepping onto the scene at level one—of course he would get his ass kicked. But I know some of you are going to be accusing me of making him too weak, so I have to address this anyway. Naruto will get stronger, I assure you. It will not come instantly, but it won't take an ungodly amount of time either. He will progress at a healthy pace and take on stronger and stronger opponents until, one day, he will be able to kick the ass of an angel like that.

Naruto's powers as a Nephilim? These will be expanded upon in the next few chapters. I did drop some hints already, the most obvious being that he is going to have control over Light, but also other hints. He will generally be more durable, faster, and stronger than a human being, but being a Nephilim has less obvious advantages as well.

What about Chakra? Yes, chakra exists in this story and yes, I have plans for it. I won't be saying anything more than that, but rest assured that it will play a role.

Okay, I think that's everything. For those of you who were able to catch the references to JoJo your first read through, let me congratulate you and tell you that you're awesome. Well, that's it for my first work, so please leave a review and tell me what you think I did right or what I horribly messed up on. How am I doing with the pacing? How are the characters and their relationships to Naruto? How was my writing? Please let me know so that I can either improve or stay the course.

That said, have a good one everybody and thanks for stopping by.