A/N: REVIEW FOR IT FEEDS THE ENGINE OF CREATION~!

Gonna say this right now, if you don't know anything about Infinite Stratos, you're gonna be confused. Ahem, sorry about that. I DID say I'd only make two more new stories this year, didn't I? This is the second. The third...well, I know what it'll be, but that's a surprise XD

Also, I've had it up to HERE with dense main characters.

I'll grant an exception for some, but this guy? No. This one, oooooooooh this one took the sodding cake and ate it! Who do I speak of? Ichika Orimura from Infinite Stratos, that's who! A friend got me into the show, and I made it to the first episode of the second season before I lost my mind. I couldn't suspend my sense of disbelief anymore. Even an absolute BUFFOON would notice if five or more girls were gunning for him. Does this guy?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPE.

I'm going to say it right now, I don't even know if Ichika's going to be in this story as of this chapter. I intensely dislike him, but I suppose I can be persuaded...if the reason is good enough. I'll leave that up to you guys and gals. Let me know what you think, if he should be included in this story at all. Perhaps this was written in a fit of pique, but I aim to make it exceptional! Its also meant to make you curious.

What manner of Naruto is this, hmmmm?

Is he from this world? Or another?

This story will be more...wild than most, concerning certain themes.

If you don't like that sort of thing, then don't read.

Disclaimer aside, here we go~!

Sorry if its short, everyone!

"You're raising a kid."

"Yup~! Thought it'd be fun."

"Are you insane? He can barely speak!"

"He'll be able to do a lot more than that when I get through with him!"

~Chifuya and...?~

Wild

Needles.

He hated the needles.

His first memories were of the needles, and the last bastion of sanity inside him wondered if they would be his last. They were always taking his blood. On the rare occasion that they didn't, they forcibly injected him with drugs and fluids instead. He no longer remembered anything else. Always the poking and the prodding, the cutting, the slicing. Experiment after endless experiment. Innumerable tests. Break this. Destroy that. Kill them or kidnap that one, followed by more needles. Rinse and repeat. A hell without end. Without relent. Without respite. Without escape.

It was always worse when he tried to escape.

They boy didn't know the name of his captors. Frankly, he no longer cared. Rather, he'd been stripped of the capacity to care. But through the pain, through the experiments, he clung to one emotion. One that outlasted all others, through the pain, through the sorrow, the despair, and the fear. Even as they shattered his mind and began to whittle away at his very self, he held this feeling firmly in his grasp. It was all he knew. A promise of pain, of anger, of vengeance against them.

Hate.

Hate towards himself.

Hate at those who did this to him.

Hate for the world that had allowed this.

Hate, that he couldn't no longer remember his own name...

(...?...)

The boy was nearly feral when she found him.

In hindsight one could call it a miracle-or perhaps a curse?-that Tabane Shinonono discovered him to begin with; after all, she certainly hadn't been looking for him in the ruins of that base. Phantom Task was well-known for their misdeeds, but they sometimes left something useful behind when one of their bases was discovered and they were forced to retreat. Not always, but often enough to make the occasional a venture worthwhile. It could even be said that the genius was counting on that very eventuality. Otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered coming to Germany in the first place.

Finders keepers, as the Americans were so fond of saying.

She'd been hoping to lay claim to some materials for a new I.S. as it were, even if she didn't necessarily expect to find them here. One might think her delusion for venturing out into hostile territory so carelessly. Her presence in this ruined shell of a bunker was more on a lark than anything else. She hadn't come to save anyone. Indeed, she'd purposely timed her arrival well ahead of the authorities, and hadn't expected to find any survivors at all, let alone a boy. It was blind bloody luck that she stumbled upon him in the first place and luck again that she didn't perish outright in doing so.

"Jeez," she murmured, tracing her hand along a scorched wall. "This place is a mess...did they burn everything? Spoilsports~!"

Click.

Imagine her surprise then, when a portion of that very wall folded back at her touch.

As she looked on, it receded with a metallic clank.

A manic smile greeted the sight.

"Oho?!" she cooed, rubbing her hands together. "I found a secret!"

Without so much as a second thought for her own safety or otherwise, the creator of the I.S. advanced, humming a nameless tune beneath her breath. Heedless of the rubble crunching beneath her boots, the genius all but charged in. And why should she be? She'd never once faced something that could threaten her life in, well...her life. Perhaps that was arrogant of her to believe. She wasn't armed or armored; should she come under attack, she had only her hands and feet to defend herself. Nevertheless, despite that, or perhaps in spite of it, she waded into the dark room.

The light snapped on and her sole warning came in the form of a snarl.

Then something came at her.

"Oops!"

Her own body may have been modified and overpowered at the cellular level, but even then she evaded by a narrow margin. A rush of red filled her vision and by sheer instinct she jumped tucking both legs into her chest, dress fluttering with the forcefulness of her leap. Just as well. Her attacker shot past like an arrow loosed from a bow, clawed hand biting deep into the stone in place of the space she'd just vacated. The slightest trickle of pain flared across her face, and she realized with some amusement, that they'd managed to scratch her right cheek.

"Whoa, now!" she laughed, backpedaling. "You're a speedy one! Whatcha doin' here?"

Her attacker's only response was a hiss.

A creature of anger and instinct, a beast apart from the rest.

Wild crimson eyes glared out at her beneath a frazzled mop of blond hair, his whiskered cheeks lending him an almost bestial appearance. Clad in little more than dirty, tattered rags, he crouched on all fours like some sort of fell beast, shrouded in an eerie crimson relief. No, that wasn't quite right. If she had to give it a name she'd call it an aura, a veritable pall of scarlet energy draped across his body in the semblance of a beast. A lone tail of ruby malice thrashed behind him, boiling as though superheated from within by pure hatred.

"Grargh!"

A wordless snarl fled from his lips when she tried to approach him. His feral behavior didn't deter Tabane in the slightest. On the contrary! It made her all the more eager to get near him! Who was he? What was he? When had he gotten behind that wall? Where was what red aura coming from? Why was he so painfully thin? How had he managed to get the drop on her? Too many questions. Not enough answers. Nowhere near enough! This, this was the kind of mystery she lived for! She wanted to dive in, wrap her hands around its knot, and pull it apart!

Because it made her curious!

She wanted to know!

No, needed to!

"Say, boy." she sang, crooking her hand towards him. "You wanna come with me? I promise you won't regret it! I'll even let you call me Mama~!"

For a moment, she swore the feral boy actually deadpanned.

Wordless gibberish followed, and he lunged.

Tabane was waiting for just that.

"Ei!"

Laughing, she danced to the side and out of the way, bowing backwards as five clawed fingers roared past her face. Her hand knifed into the side of his neck before he could retaliate, taut digits crushing against a pressure point. The boy gurgled in wordless surprise and swept past her, his own momentum dragging him across the base in a tangle of arms and legs. Tabane watched his helpless flight with a giggle, one hand rising to shade her laughter as he slammed headlong into a wall with devastating crunch. Ouch. That looked painful. Had he broken his neck? Was he dead? No, no, no! Absolutely not! Not allowed!

That would've been an inordinately boring ending after risking her life!

Whatever that strange red energy was, it fascinated Tabane. No, that word was enough. It enthralled her. Could it be used as a shield? An energy source? A means of flight? Or better yet...could it power an I.S. core of its own accord? Oh, the possibilities were endless! Her mind was already teeming with ideas, but each of those ideas hinged on the boy being alive. Chifuyu would have her head for this. She knew it. Yet here, in this instant, this sliver of time, she simply couldn't bring herself to care what her old friend thought.

Her thoughts were decidedly elsewhere.

She knew she'd gotten lucky; for whatever reason the boy's captors hadn't fed him in ages, allowing her to take advantage of his weakened state. In his prime he could've overwhelmed her with ease. Yes, had the tables turned, had she been off by even a hair, this boy would've ripped her apart without hesitation. This was, by all accounts, someone she should kill. Not spare. Somehow that made it all more exciting.

Approaching the boy's prone form, she tentatively nudged him with her toe.

"Hello? Anyone home? Please don't disembowel me, blondie~!"

An irritated, but thankfully weak, growl was his response.

A mad smile blossomed across her fine features.

Slowly, carefully, she mussed his matted hair.

"Hehehe, I think I'm going to keep you!"

A/N: And there we go.

VOTE FOR THE NAME OF NARUTO'S I.S. IN YOUR REVIEWS!

I've got ideas of my own, but I'm more than willing to hear you out!

Flamers and needlessly negative comments will be deleted. Constructive criticism is welcome!

Oh, and a note, there will be none of that Ichika bullshit from Naruto. Nor is he going to be dense in this story for that matter. I'm sorry, but I absolutely can't stand when a character is written like that. From what I've seen Ichika's personality tends to border on the realm of willfully dense-which is absurd-or he's so thick in the head that nothing short of an absolute jackhammer's going to get through that skull of his. I'll grant that he can fight when he needs to, but his naivete and a dense attitude like that really irks me.

As I said before, this story will be lighthearted for the most part, but it'll have its moments.

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly?

And enjoy the previews!

(Preview)

"Who is he?"

"A boy can pilot an I.S.?"

"Isn't that supposed to be impossible? And why does he call it Infinite Tails?

"Huh? No, that's not it. I could've sworn that it was Last Stardust-eek!"

Their voices fell silent as a clenched fist slammed into the wall.

...oi."

A glowing red orb reappeared over his shoulder.

"By all means, keep talking. If you hold no value on your dignity, ya know." he hissed in a low voice that promised mayhem.

"Unhand me you filthy beast!"

...not until you apologize."

"Laura."

"Y-Yes, senpai?!"

Quick as a flash, the silver-haired girl bolted upright out of her chair and nearly knocked down her desk in her haste to stand. She began to salute out of instinct, only narrowly remembering to catch herself in time before she made an utter fool of herself. That was the past. Her fingers bit down against her wrist. If the blond found any fault with her actions however, he did little to show it. Mismatching eyes of blue crimson gazed down into hers for a fraction of a second, reflecting no emotion. None whatsoever. She braced herself for a scolding, or, barring that, stoic silence.

She wasn't at all prepared for what came next.

Certainly not when he took her hand!

Laura's mind turned to jelly.

'Uwah?! What is he doing?! I'm not ready! My body isn't at all ready! Medic! MEDIC!'

R&R~!