Chapter 1
"So young man, you're a new student of Youkai Academy, hmmm?" The bus driver asked casually, his hand motioned across the stick shift and shifted gears of the vehicle. The smell of gasoline was present in the air, even as he sped down across moving traffic. His glowing eyes which were hidden behind his heavily tinted shades were focused on the rear view mirror, and a small chuckle escaped his lips.
It was an unusually warm mid September day in Tokyo. The kind of day that made one forget that the off-harsh winter was on its way, just waiting around the corner, practically licking its lips and ready to pounce.
Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze sat casually into the seat of the bus as it drove at a relatively slow pace in downtown Tokyo's early morning traffic. Even as he stared lazily outside of the bus, his muscles were taut, his body prepared. The sounds of birds awakening, cars driving and the relentless, rhythmic beating of his heart swarmed his mind. He wished he could deny this day. He wished he could be reborn as something else…something…normal.
But deep down he knew that would be next to impossible. Knew that there was absolutely nothing normal about him, save for his appearance.
The very thought made his guts churn and his blood rush hot until the walls of his chest burned like the black flames of the Uchiha famed Amaterasu.
Naruto drew a breath—and held it.
All along the road, traffic multiplied in a scorched wave of colors and sounds and exhaust fumes. The bus driver smirked as his eyes lingered on his passenger, watching with interest as the young man was so deep in thought, so finely tuned into his own world that it was only after he asked the question a second time, was he able to uplift him from his thoughts. "Oh, yea, I am." He replied softly.
The driver smiled to himself as he turned the steering wheel as he entered into a tunnel. Inside there was a multitude of radiant and vibrant colors that seemed glow with an unnatural beauty that for any other person it would have been absolutely breathtaking.
Naruto didn't care.
The slightly violent wind ripped through his long mane of metallic blond hair from the tie at the back of his head, causing the wayward lengths and his bangs to slap across his face, stinging his dark eyes in the process.
Naruto didn't care.
"I should warn you, however," the driver spoke up after a long moment of silence between them. "Youkai academy can be a veeerrrry scary place" A lone creepy grin split across his face.
Naruto just didn't care.
He just took it all in stride and continued to stare into the multitude of colors that greeted him, the cold grated against cheek and it felt like it had gotten even colder. His eyes were a bit somber and even distant as he stroked his finger gingerly over the headband that protected his throat and the large gold pendant that pressed coldly against his chest. "I've seen and experienced scarier things," he simply whispered lowly as he placed his head against the glass and said nothing more.
After being dropped off at the bus stop, Naruto let out a weary sigh as he took a gander at his dreary; and depressing surroundings. There about four feet in front of him was an old beat up scarecrow in front of the bus stop, along with a billboard with the bus schedules stapled on it.
Naruto narrowed his eyes as he took a really good look of his surroundings and he could tell that a lot of things were really off.
The immediate areas looked completely desolate and barren at best. All the trees that were supposed to make up the forest were ink black with absolutely no leaves, though moss seemed to grow on the roots. Ravens, crows and owls seemed to be the only visible wildlife he was capable of seeing, and what put him off was the fact that they all seemed to looking into his direction. Hooting, cawing and screeching eerily, as if to tell him to get a move on.
Tombstones of different shapes, colors and sizes littered the ground in large supply. But despite the fact that it was all out of the ordinary, it did little to deter him from heading to his destination. He took a deep breath, exhaled and simply took his time before walking along the path.
"So this is the place huh," Naruto spoke to nobody in particular, catching his bearings of his current location and his environment entirely so he would do his best not to get lost. He'd been on the bus for more than several hours and a part of him felt a bit tired, but he quickly shook it off when the wind suddenly blew across where he stood. Though another thing he noticed was the smell in the atmosphere. It smelled like fear. Scratch that, it practically reeked of fear and something else… or perhaps something that sought to induce it.
He heard a sound, one that he wasn't sure that he could place and one that he assumed was an animal of some sort.
Naruto spun around only to find eyes staring back at him. Not an animal, a woman on a bike.
His eyes widened in surprise as it was too late to dodge and he got rammed head on, and they both fell to the ground and rolled together in the dirt, knocking the breath out of his chest.
Finally when he stopped seeing stars, the world stopped spinning and his vision cleared up, he suddenly felt a weight on his chest. He looked down and stared at the head pressed against his chest was a girl. She was beautiful, long hair that was a rich shade of pink, emerald full green eyes that hid behind exotic and silky eyelashes. A green top with a white shirt underneath that was unbuttoned slightly followed by a matching skirt. Around her neck was a black choker, with a thick silver chain the size of his fist attached to it, he had to narrow his eyes to know that it was real – real and precious if the scarlet stone and the quality in the center was a clear indication of that.
Moka pushed herself up slowly while trying to shake the dots out of her eyes and the cobwebs out of her head. She was tired; much more tired than she had wanted to admit given that it took her several long hours just to make it to Youkai Academy on time and early. But in her excitement she had forgotten to feed, to eat a warm hearty breakfast, thus resulted in her usual bouts of dizziness and fainting spells.
Moka remembered observing a waiter drawing coffee from a café. If only blood came and poured so easily. She'd initially thought on her rush to school. Yes, if it came warm and rich from a bottomless tap, then her tummy wouldn't clench in such agony and hunger at the mere idea.
She felt the ground beneath her head and found that it was really warm, hard and yet soft to the touch. Last time she checked, the ground didn't have a pulse, neither did it smell good and nor did it breathe. Moka allowed her gaze to traverse the ground only to find that she was touching a body. Or better yet she was on top of one. Her skin prickled at his nearness, like the air itself had turned to electricity and she felt utterly relaxed.
Up close she could make out that his features were even, masculine.
Moka's gaze studied him. His skin was richly tanned only to be covered by a large simple black shirt underneath an open, white coat, baggy black pants and boots. His blond hair was thick, long, and spiky, concealing half of his face, and whisker like markings that marred his cheeks. A strong chin complimented the sharp planes of his face, thin red lips, an attractive nose and his left eye was the deepest gray blue she had ever seen.
He was sinfully handsome, so much so that Moka had begun to wonder if perhaps he was some kind of fallen angel. It was possible. How could she rule out anything?
Moka realized where her trail of thought was heading, causing her to snap out of her stupor and shoot up like she had been scalded by something hot. Apologies one after the other rushed out of her like a dam overflowing with water.
Naruto shook his head, trying to calm her down. "Its alright I assure you. It was nothing more than an accident, I'm quite sure of that." He told her. Naruto made an attempt to get up, only to find a slim, slender hand in front of his face. The girl was offering him a hand up. A cute, gentle smile lit up on her face.
Naruto smiled back at her and took it gently before bringing himself up to his full height. Brushing the dirt off of his coat, he regarded her with a look. "Thank you for the help, but you're not injured are you? You took a really nasty crash into me."
"No I'm alright," She said before her eyes fell down towards the ground, embarrassment written plainly all over her face. "I'm really sorry for crashing into you, I'm anemic and I am prone to get a little dizzy at times and I—
Moka was surprised to find a single pointed finger pressed against her lips, cutting her off completely. Naruto shook his head at her and smiled kindly at her as he brushed the dirt off of her clothing to her embarrassment, shock and amazement. "As I said before I'm pretty sure that you didn't mean to crash into me, so don't let it upset you. Okay?"
That deep, resonating, and somehow soft spoken voice caused Moka to regard him shyly. It was a voice from dreams. It seemed to rub her from the inside.
Kami he stood taller than her by at least three or so inches.
Beneath the nice clothes, broad shoulders gave testament to incredible power. She noted his calm stance, his confident air and the warmth in his eyes when the smile on his lips reached his eyes. She had to admit to herself that he was very easy on the eyes and there was some kind of smell emanating off of him which caught her attention. It made her mouth water heavily and her stomach clenched from not having any blood in two and a half days it took to get here.
"You're…bleeding." She moaned softly. The smell sent pleasurable zings up and down her spine and she couldn't help but shudder in pleasure. Her face flushed even darker and her eyes glazed over as she laid her eyes at his bronzed neck.
Naruto looked at the young woman in confusion before he felt something wet on the side of his cheek. He swiped at it with the back of his palm and inspected with a small frown. It was red with blood. "Huh, guess I was bleeding. It's nothing to worry about." Naruto smiled lightly before it fell. The girl before him was tipping over, and he caught her before she could hit the ground. "Whoa, just take it easy for a little bit so you can catch your bearings. Okay?"
"You smell… so good" She murmured, her voice came out thick and sultry as her arms found themselves wrapped around his neck, and she slowly began to pull him down on top of her. Her eyes stared deeply into his visible blue. Naruto was a bit surprised by the action itself, and he was pretty sure that anemic individuals were not supposed to act this way. He didn't have to be an ace medical ninja to know that, but still, he couldn't deny that the contact itself felt incredible. But something about the way she felt seemed a bit out of place. Really out place, like her temperature.
For some odd reason she felt cold. She was practically freezing cold. Being low on blood did that to her.
"Excuse me?" Naruto tried to figure out what she meant and why did she look like she was in some kind of a trance? His eyes furrowed slightly and he tugged her shoulders to get pull her out of this bizarre trance. She shuddered violently against his chest. Her fingers clutched his shoulders tightly till her knuckles turned white, her lips parted and her breathing deepened even more. "Hey are you alright?"
"I'm… so sorry," Moka sniffed at his neck, the pleasant and intoxicating aroma of his scent and his blood underneath his flesh was simply overwhelming on her senses. Even now she could hear his blood rushing through his veins, and it was doing strange things to her body. Unhurriedly, she brushed the headband from his neck and pressed her lips and tongue against his neck. A sharp spike of pleasure ripped through Naruto's very being and settled in his loins as her cools lips pressed against his neck, causing him to groan slightly.
Moka moaned and groaned from the small contact as well, one arm wrapped around his neck gently while the other wrapped around his waist, and she tugged the young man harder into her body, enjoying his warmth. "But I'm… a vampire." She murmured so softly that he had to strain his ears to hear her.
"A…what?" Naruto froze when he felt something sharp punctured the skin of his neck, not knowing what she said was some sort of bad thing or not. The bite stung, that was a given, but in the past he had suffered from injuries that were worse. Much worse.
After several moments the young woman's lips were gone, and Naruto found himself staring into a pair of impenetrably black eyes, smoldering only inches from his own. A flush tinged her high cheekbones, her lips subtly parted and her nails bit into his shoulders. She growled softly, black eyes blinking slowly as she stared at Naruto's lips. Her head then tilted to the side, almost quizzically, and her tongue dabbed at her bottom lip and left no question about what she was thinking of doing.
Naruto was left utterly speechless, and aroused as he brought his hand towards where she had bitten him. There was no wound present, but he could tell that the skin was swollen and a bit tender. The girl in front of him seemed to be staring at him, black eyes blinking uncomprehendingly, as if she couldn't quite understand what had happened herself.
Moka pressed a hand to her chest and exhaled a breath she didn't even know that she had been holding. Her cheeks became a bright, healthy rosy red. Her eyes turned from their black and shone a darker, richer shade of green than they did before. She felt uplifted and she felt completely and utterly satisfied. His blood made her feel lightheaded, giddy and content that she felt like she was going to burst with complete and utter joy at the unimaginable warmth that caressed her now full tummy.
Moka realized that the young man was staring at her in confusion and she blushed profusely at what she had done without his permission. "I'm terribly sorry. It's just that… you smelled so amazing that I…I couldn't help myself. You see, I'm a… vampire." She said weakly.
"A… vampire?" Naruto tilted his head to the side as the word rolled off of his lips. It was the first time he'd ever heard of such a thing, though he did note the worry and fear in her tone by the way she said it. Moka looked at him with evident fear in her eyes and her entire mood fluctuated again. She held her head in apparent shame. "Do… do you despise vampires?" her tone was choked with sadness and her eyes shimmered.
Naruto thought he saw silver flash in her glinting eyes. A swift tear dropped down her cheek.
"Why do you cry?" Women's tears had always wrecked him, but hers made him feel as if Sasuke had his arm elbow deep into his heart, it was as if a thousand knives twisted inside of him. When he brushed her hair back, he sucked in a ragged breath. Her ear was sharply pointed. Up close, he could see the smallest fangs.
Naruto didn't know what she was, and he didn't really care. All he wanted to do was calm and reassure this young woman that stood before him. "Please don't cry. I've never heard of a vampire before until today." He said and Moka was taken aback by the compassionate nature of his voice.
Never heard of a vampire before? Was that even possible? It was very peculiar and baffling indeed, because normally humans. Males and females would regard her, frowns in place, sensing something out of place, but unsure. Probably from some genetic memory from long ago that signaled that she was their wildest fantasy or their greatest nightmare come to life.
If only they knew.
She poked her fingers in embarrassment and blushed as she regarded him shyly. "Would you… umm….like to be friends… with me?" Moka said meekly as she looked at him. Her cheeks flushed as the back of his hand wiped away her tears and he looked at her with concern. She nibbled her bottom lip with a tiny fang and he couldn't help but think of how cute she looked.
"I see no problems with us being friends," Naruto allowed a huge grin to split across his face. "My name is Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, and you are?"
"I'm Akashiya Moka" She gave a huge smile as well, right before she had enveloped him into a huge hug. Naruto's eyes widened in alarm when she picked him off of the ground and held him up like he was some kind of lifelike teddy bear. Wow, she sure as hell was strong. Naruto was positive on that. "I was really worried that you wouldn't be my friend after what I did, but now I'm so happy!"
Naruto looked at her with surprise, all the while he couldn't help but wonder why someone so sweet and gentle natured as Moka find it hard to make friends. It seemed odd and figured that maybe there was something more behind the words she spoke. But he decided against asking prying as they had just met and he really didn't want to upset her.
Naruto's gaze riveted towards her bike and he couldn't help but wince inwardly. It was completely and utterly crumpled, as if a shark chewed it up and spat it out. But Moka ignored it completely, like it was the last thing on her mind and hooked her arm into hers and held it against her chest. It took a lot of restraint and self control on his part to groan in pleasure at the feel of her breasts pressing against his chest, and to stop his erection from pulsing.
Maybe coming here wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Youkai Academy was huge, a vast cavernous space that looked less like it had bee designed according to a floor plan and more like it had been created by a tribe of black clad Goths. It resembled an ageless cathedral that had obviously been pumped by some seriously deep pockets for years, and Naruto glimpsed several of the architecture on passing as he headed for his designated homeroom. Orientation was downright boring for him, having found it hard to stay awake, and he was really glad that it was finally over.
Naruto had to catch his bearings and focus after being separated from the bubbly, vivacious and gentle Akashiya Moka. He felt really glad to have met her, even under weird circumstances, but in his mind he had questions that only she knew the answer too. Why did she seem so hesitant when she told him that she was a vampire? Was a vampire a bad thing perhaps?
It was strange and foreign to him because he'd never heard of nor seen a vampire before, and the only thing that he found about her was when she drank his blood and her health instantly improved dramatically. And her strength was incredible, given that she lifted up a six foot two male who weighed a little over two hundred pounds flat like he was a freaking teddy bear.
Naruto found himself inside of a giant classroom, it wasn't overly huge. But it sure wasn't small in size neither in shape and seemed big enough to house at least fifty students easily. He watched as more and more students filed through the door in single file, followed by an older woman who wore a simple smile and waved as she entered the classroom.
The teacher was short with short blond hair, a spaghetti strap top and a short skirt that was well above her knees. A pair of glasses rested on the bridge of her cute nose and parts of her revealed a cute set of cat ears. Naruto saw a long cat tail poke out from under the hem of her skirt as she quickly sketched something on the blackboard.
Interesting Naruto hummed to himself as she quickly back away from what she was doing and turned around to face them.
"Good morning everyone and welcome to Youkai Academy!" she cheered brightly. Bringing equal cheers from the students on the classroom who seemed won over by her cheery disposition. "I'll be your homeroom teacher, Miss Shizuka Nekonome!"
Naruto paid rapt attention to her words as he silently tore several sheets of paper from his notebook, and mechanically allowed his fingers to work on it. If he had to be honest with himself, Naruto was very much against the very idea of going to school for a good number of reasons.
But one of the main reasons was because he was never really good at it. Having failed the ninja academy final exam three times in a row and having been labeled the dead last had been a shot to his confidence and his self esteem. Not to mention it had all been one of the most unpleasant experiences he'd ever had to deal with in his past.
But with some helpful convincing, he decided to give it another shot. Naruto was confident and had been assured that things would be a lot different this time around, very different.
If only he knew how different things would be.
"Now, as I'm sure you're all aware," Shizuka continued, pulling out a collapsible pointer from her pocket. "This school is a school for the supernatural!"
Is that right? Naruto thought to himself. His hands momentarily stopped what they were doing. He allowed his eye to slowly take in the reactions of his fellow student body and noticed that most of them were whispering in acknowledgment. Other simply grumbled along with what Nekonome was saying, but she simply ignored it and continued.
Nekonome indicated to the drawing. "As most of you already know, Youkai Academy is a school for the supernatural with the purpose of teaching you all how to live among the humans in plain sight without drawing attention to yourselves. Unfortunately, the humans have already taken over most of the world and the monster population has dwindled. Given their advancement in technology and overwhelming numbers, our only real hope for survival is peaceful co-existence!" Nekonome chirped, tapping a diagram she had drawn on the board showing a circle labeled Earth with humans, and the words coexistence circled numerous times. She looked forward at her class before she continued. "Most of you already know this rule, but I feel that there is no harm in reviewing. The school rules dictate that you are all to remain in your human forms to properly disguise yourselves. You are also forbidden to tell others what kind of monster you are at any point in time."
Again Naruto glanced around the room slowly, to see the reactions of the other students to mentally confirm his thoughts.
Nekonome regarded her students. "This is our first step to survive amongst the humans, to be seen and unseen in their eyes because they fear what they don't understand. Please do not reveal your true nature if you can help it on campus, not even to your fellow students." She implored them.
"Maa, can't we all just eat the humans and not bother with this whole co-existence shit." one voice asked, which prompted Naruto to turn his head to get a good look at him. He was broad shouldered with long brown hair, dark eyes and some serious looking piercings in his lips and above his eyes. A dark glint came to his eyes and a sadistic grin came to his lips. "As in the case where beautiful women are involved, I say we just fuck em and throw them away. It's not like they can do anything to us anyway."
A rally of guys gave excited cheers at the idea, while others simply snickered and outright laughed at the pure bluntness of the boy's words. The female half of the class couldn't help but feel visibly uncomfortable in their seats. If by the way they squirmed was a visible sign of what they were thinking. Even Nekonome fidgeted uncomfortably where she stood. Sexual harassment and lewd comments were as common as the very students that inhabited the school.
"You guys are nothing more than a bunch of filthy dogs." Naruto spoke coldly, his lips were curled in a sneer, and his face betrayed his disgust towards his fellow male student body as he got up from his seat and stared them down. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves for even allowing such a thought to run through your minds, let alone condone or laugh at something like that."
That made everyone pause from what they were doing completely, and they turned towards the speaker with a look of pure, unadulterated shock. The large male with the piercings spun around on his heels also, and he sure didn't look to happy by the input. "You didn't say what I think you said did you gaki?"
"I'm sorry, did I stutter? Naruto regarded politely, causing everyone present to be taken aback by the comment.
Saizou growled dangerously in his throat. "Do you even have any idea of who you're talking to you piece of shit?" He stood up from his seat, stormed over and looked Naruto dead in the eye. His face flush with apparent anger and his eyes seemed to blaze with fury. "I'm Saizou Komiya, and if you want to live long enough to see your next birthday you'll—
"Stop, please! Let's not fight on our first day here!" Nekonome spoke out. Her serious manner was gone; and in its place was worry and fear. Fear because even though she was the teacher, a part of her knew deep down that she didn't have the strength nor the power to stop them if a full blown fight was the escalate right here and now. Especially if there true forms were that of bloodthirsty super predators that were out for each other's blood.
Nekonome watched as the shorter of the two promptly ignored Saizou and instead focus his attention on her and was cutting a clear path towards her, his cape billowed behind him as he took one slow step after the other. She could see his eye were focused on her as he neared, unsettling her, because she felt like she was staring into the deep gray blue eye of a super predator, and at the moment she was his prey. For all she knew he probably was.
She could feel her heart literally wanting to rip out of her chest by how fast it was beating. Her mouth felt like someone had stuffed it with cotton and she hadn't even realized that she had been holding a breath when he stood looking down at her. It was then that she realized how small she was compared to him, and a part of her wished she could find a hole in the crack of the floor and just hide. Unfamiliar physical sensation wracked her. Her stomach knotted. As though a band had tightened around her chest, her lungs were desperate for breath. She didn't dare acknowledge the way her knees weakened, she could feel herself sway lightly and her stomach bottomed out.
Nekonome swallowed lowly and tried to reach out for something to steady her balance and nerves, and it was only then did she realize that her back was against the wall. She had nowhere to go.
Crap
"Neko-sensei," Naruto began, his words came out slow, deliberate and low enough for only her cat like senses to pick up. His hands tentatively reached out and curved over her upper arms, alarming her. Because the young man standing before her made her heart race. "Could you… forgive me?"
At his baffling words, her body inexplicably softened, relaxing. Her fear and terror of him was gone. Her claws curled, as if to reach out and clutch him to her, her tail wagged and wavered quickly behind her in a rapid pace. Her defenses remained dormant. She had been utterly terrified of him. But why hadn't her body been?
"It was never my intention to scare or frighten you." Naruto said, his features slightly apologetic, and Shizuka couldn't help but allow his voice wash over her body, and shiver slightly at the way he spoke to her and her heart continued to race. His hair gleamed in the light, clean and shiny. She'd never seen a man with such wonderful hair; she wondered how it would feel if she dragged her fingers through it. If she'd be able to thread her fingers through it as if it was fine silk. Her toes and fingers curled at the thought. "And for that I would like to apologize to you."
Shizuka was jerked from her thoughts when a thumb brush across her arm, turning her head she saw that it was her student looking at her with a concerned expression. She uncurled her fingers and gave him a small brave smile to let him know that she appreciated his support.
Naruto returned the smile with one of his own, though not before he reached out to grab her hand gently. Her pulse jumped when their palms met. Her delicate brows drew together as she weighed this. Her eyes seemed so expressive, yet he couldn't read her.
She took her hand back, though not before he placed her other freehand over it and shook it gently. Though as he did, she couldn't help but feel the soft caress and warmth of Naruto's skin against hers. "Please accept this token of my sincerity."
Shizuka seemed confused, and before she was even able to ask what it was, he had already turned on his heel. He walked away and made himself comfortable in his seat. Curiosity got the better of the young woman, and she couldn't help but open her hand. A gasp left her lips. Shock, awe and total surprise lit up in her eyes behind her glasses, and she couldn't help but feel her pulse jump again and her heart began to race even harder.
There within the palm of her hand was a lifelike and intricately made origami gardenia, it had to be one of the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her entire life, and she couldn't help but blush deeply in embarrassment and at the thought of receiving a gift and the hidden meaning behind the flower in the palm of her hand.
Shizuka Nekonome could only count on one hand the amount of times she had ever gotten a gift from anybody, and this was definitely her first time. Another warm blush spread across her nose at the thoughtfulness of the gesture and the kindness that had been bestowed to her by one of her students. Shizuka pressed the gardenia daintily against her breast and closed her eyes. Allowing the feeling of warmth of his words and caress and the strange feelings she felt from the origami flower wash over her like a tidal wave.
The female students were intrigued and surprised at what Naruto had done, and most importantly the response he got from their teacher. Some looked at him with interest, while others with slight curiosity and wonder. Though the same couldn't be said for the male students of the class, who in turn shot the blond boy dirty and hateful glares. But Naruto simply ignored them completely, and gave a pleasant smile.
A pleasant sigh left her lips before a radiant smile came to her face, her earlier fear and terror left her. And in its place was courage and bravery that surprised even her. "Now then on the topic of humans, you don't have to worry about finding any here. All the students and faculty here are all monsters, demons, spirits or any of the other supernatural beings of the lore. The school exists and is protected by a special barrier spell that will either knock out or outright kill anyone that is even remotely human on the outside and inside. Even if a human was able to slip through, which is highly unlikely in any event, humans with the knowledge of this world are to be put to death for discovering our secret and sacred realm. There are no exceptions!"
A sudden sliding sound that went with the opening of the door suddenly sounded off. And it closed just as quickly as it opened.
"Oh I'm so sorry!" a very familiar voice to Naruto apologized out loud. "I sort of got lost in the halls after the welcoming ceremony and I…well… apologize for my tardiness!"
"That's okay dear," Nekonome smiled reassuringly. "Just take any empty seat you find available."
Stepping into the classroom, Naruto immediately recognized that head of bright, vibrant, glossy bubble gum hair anywhere. Akashiya Moka. He smiled brightly as she came into full view, and the male students of the room began to visibly gape at her physical appearance. The way she glided down the aisles of desk with such fluid and graceful movements that it left men and women breathless at the mere sight.
"Damn… who is that?" one student remarked.
"Look at her hair" another student added with a glazed look in his eyes. "Its so… clean."
"Her eyes are freaking gorgeous!" a third gasped. "And her legs… there so… so,"
"ENDLESS!" the general male populous of the room cheered.
Moka seemed a bit surprised at how the entire classroom seemed to react to her entry alone. It never really occurred to her that she was an unnaturally beautiful girl. Still it was a bit unnerving for guys to look at that way, so she simply moved along with her head down. Avoiding their ogling eyes, she took one step after the other to look for a desk to sit at.
Suddenly a familiar smell wafted into her nostrils. One that had practically imprinted itself into her mind and sent delicious chills down her spine and body. She snapped her head in the direction of where that intoxicating smell had been coming from, like a hunting dog who found the scent of what they were looking for. Her eyes lit up with complete and utter joy as she found the owner of it. "Naruto-kun!"
Without a second thought she lunged forward at a rapid pace, ignoring the outraged looks of her peers and wrapped her arms around Naruto, pulled him out of his seat and squeezed him affectionately against her body. He was deeply surprised at the action, considering that this girl barely even knew him outside of their little…introduction a scant few hours ago. A warm, fleeting feeling filled his chest, and it took him mere moments to realize that he was basking in the comforting act, having not felt anything like this a very long time. It had been so long since he'd been touched in such a way. "I can't believe we're in the same classroom! Isn't it wonderful?"
Naruto couldn't help but give a pained smile. Despite the fact that he feared that if Moka persisted on continuing to apply more direct pressure on his back, he was sure that she would pull his spine out of alignment. But inwardly he was really glad to see her again, and she was in his homeroom nonetheless.
Very interesting indeed.
It was a bizarre and strange moment for Naruto. Here he was in a school which he had no doubt in his mind held a garden variety of different kinds of beings the likes of which people could only dream or imagine, and he was pretty sure that they were more than likely capable of ripping apart a human without even a second thought. And here he was being hugged by a beautiful girl he had only met several hours ago, and for the life of him; he just couldn't stop smiling.
When Nekonome dismissed the entire class for the rest of the day to get a feel of the campus, Naruto found himself in the halls of the academy. All the while being dragged by a very excited Moka, her arm hooked into one of his to the dismay and ire of his peers and student body. Her green eyes shone in complete delight and excitement as she looked at him. "So Naruto-kun, what do you think of this place so far?"
"It is a bit different from what I'm normally used to, but given some time to adjust I could get to like it here." Naruto admitted with a slight shrug.
At that Moka laughed. He couldn't help but notice that her apparent bright personality and eagerness was very contagious, especially when she smiled at him. They continued to walk along the hall, looking around at the new sights and Naruto couldn't help but notice looks of jealousy aimed at him at all directions. But he continued to ignore them, which further increased their ire of him.
They rounded the corner of another hall and Naruto was met by the sight of the tall, freaky blond haired guy with the piercing who made that disgusting remark about women. Instantly his visible eye narrowed as he approached them with confident steps. Naruto became aware that hallway had gone really quiet, and everyone was looking at Saizou in fear.
The boy gave a smug confident grin. "Hmmm, so you're Akashiya Moka," Saizou said, licking his lips in complete and utter delight as he eyed the young lady, and his eyes seemed to gleam in their sockets. "I'm your classmate Komiya Saizou, and I've been meaning to ask you…"
Saizou suddenly reached out grabbing Naruto by the rim of his coat and hoisted him up into the air without a second thought, before slamming him directly into a locker; causing it to cave in slightly. "What's a beautiful girl like you doing hanging out with a chump like him?" At that he gave a smirk that seemed feral, and made his eyes seem to glow with a menacing light.
Before Moka was even able to try and ask Saizou to let her friend go, he cringed and kneeled over in pain. Looking down he found a booted foot struck him square in the jewels, right before a knee smashed unmercifully into his nose, followed by a punch to the back of the neck. Naruto narrowed his single eye in annoyance right before he grabbed him by the neck, pulled him and roughly slammed him into the same locker Saizou had shoved him into; causing it to cave in completely.
"Isn't that your own biased opinion? Naruto asked softly, his face blank of all emotions as he applied more direct pressure to his throat, causing Saizou to grasp at his wrist, trying vainly to get him to let go. His claws cut into Naruto's arm like a scalpel, spilling his blood onto the ground of the academy.
"Naruto?" Moka asked in surprise.
But nothing changed. Naruto's grip held true.
Even with Saizou's claws digging furrows into his attacker's wrists, Naruto still had on his face a blank expression and did not offer the gratification of showing pain or willingness to let go.
"I will tell you this once, so listen to my voice very carefully." Naruto's grip on Saizou's throat tightened, forcing him deeper into cold metal.
"Y-you bastard!" Saizou tried to speak, but the pressure on his throat was increasing to monstrous proportions. He'd fought many an opponent but he'd never felt anything like this before, of this magnitude, and with such an unassuming ability.
It was as if this guy was holding him down without any special effort. It was incredible.
"For starters, I wish to speak to you about what you said this morning in class."
Saizou wasn't able to say a word. His hands flailed in panic as the slow push of Naruto's grip continued to move forward. Between Saizou's skull and the density and girth of the locker and the wall behind said locker, something had to give.
The locker slowly gave away with a terrible and sickening groan, one that sent shivers down the spines of various male students that were watching the spectacle with a mixture of awe and fear.
"I was very displeased about what you said about supposedly fucking women and throwing them away like their garbage. I can't help but feel that you intentionally went out of your way to make Neko-sensei and a lot of women in our class feel very uncomfortable with your callous and cruel words." Naruto spoke coldly, his voice and tone was dark. "I like to think I'm a civilized man, but even I have limits and I don't like being attacked or seeing someone I care about insulted or treated in a manner I do not like. I feel that it is only proper that I show you the consequences of your actions.
Saizou's arms clawed deep grooves in the wall behind him, pounding it away to try and create some kind of alternate route for him to escape, or at least get some leverage, but he couldn't find nor make any. Naruto twisted the young man's head in his grasp, shifting his body deeper within the locker, bending and twisting his body with ease as he might bend, twist or manipulate chakra.
"You have no regard for women, nor do you even have a hint of respect for them, perhaps you feel that inside of that back water world you call a brain that it's all fine and dandy, but here, I will not allow it. While I understand and respect the need to voice one's personal opinions out aloud; there are limits that need to be respected. Some of which are very simple to understand if you have common sense. For instance what I'm doing to you right now. That must feel very uncomfortable."
Saizou's hand gripped onto Naruto's wrist like it was a lifeline and tried desperately to claw his way through his flesh to let him go.
Naruto didn't move a muscle, if anything he was a bit annoyed but he didn't show it. "No, I didn't think so. You will stay away from Moka. You will not touch Moka. I don't even want you near Moka. If you see her coming down the same hallway as you, you move to the other side of the academy. Because if she even hints to me that your mere presence bothers her, I'll find you and the end results will not be pleasant for you. Am I clear?"
The other students gasped at Naruto's declaration, while Moka's eyes widened in complete surprise. Her lips parted. She thought she'd just caught a glimpse of how he thought of her.
And… she liked it.
Moka listened to the mere fierceness in his tone, saw the look in his eye and she couldn't help but blush at the way he was standing up to Saizou. It made her feel… wonderful.
Puffs of dust coming out of the wall where a deep imprint of Saizou's head had now become part of the wall was his only indication that he was trying to speak. His legs were kicking uselessly on the ground to get some kind of leverage to get away from his confinement, but the effort was wasted.
The loud muffle sounds that came from the wall became sickly wet and incomprehensible.
Saizou's legs started quivering in the most common way of someone being strangled in their last moments of their death by hanging.
"I'm glad that we can see eye to eye on this matter." Naruto said, and with a few simple motions of his hand holding Saizou, he moved his arm a bit back before he moved forward. Sending the young man through the wall and locker and buried him underneath concrete and rubble with a loud crash.
Moka gasped and Naruto simply pulled out a handkerchief and promptly cleaned up the mess that his blood had made when Saizou dug his nails into his skin to try and release himself. After doing so, while everyone was visibly gaping at the sight of what he had done, Naruto simply grabbed Moka's hand and led her away from the sight.
Finally they came out to stop a set of stairs where they were finally alone, Naruto released Moka's hand and ran it through his hair and took a breath and let it out slowly. The bloodlust and rage he'd held within his very being ebbed, and it took a lot of effort on his part not to tear Saizou a new one for that stunt he pulled. Internally Naruto battled with himself to be calm and collected about things, rather than cause a bloody spectacle of the boy such as ripping out his black, stinking heart and showing it down his epiglottis.
"Wow!" Moka looked at her new friend in relief and complete surprise. "I didn't know you were so strong Naruto-kun!"
"I'm glad that you feel that way, Moka-chan, Naruto nodded softly. His single eye peered out of the window, which gave an outlook of the south side of the campus. "I do not care much for bully's; especially the ones who fit in Saizou's category. I'd be a complete and utter fool to simply stand there and watch him speak and treat you in a manner I believe to be unfit and do absolutely nothing about it. It's not in my nature to stand by and do absolutely nothing."
His eyes widened slightly in surprise when he felt a pair of slender arms wrap themselves around his mid-section, one on his chest while the other was on his waist. Moka pressed her head directly into the center of his back, listening to the calm hum of his beating heart. "Thank you, that really means a lot to me, Naruto-kun." She murmured softly.
Naruto felt heat throughout his body by the mere contact and he allowed himself to close his eye, and enjoy the peace and tranquility with this bizarre and strange young woman that took a shine to him. "You're welcome." He spoke softly, and for some reason he could feel her smiling against his back, and he couldn't help but feel his body warm up even more at that.
When Nekonome dismissed the class for the day to get to know the lay of the campus a bit better, Naruto and Moka exited the gothic style school and decided to follow their sensei's advice. The dark orange tinge of the sun shone over the horizon as the evening came upon them as they walked along the deserted path. Crows, owls and other beings of the forest watched with interest from their places as Naruto and Moka passed them by without a backward glance.
Curiously, Moka turned to Naruto and wanted to learn more about him. "So Naruto-kun, before you came to Youkai Academy, did you go to school where you came from?" Moka asked, because Naruto acted more like a human rather than a super natural being of the lore, so she assumed that he lived and grew up in the human world at some point of his life.
Naruto was quiet for a moment, before he decided to answer. "You could say that I went to an academy for a time, but to really honest with you I failed the year end graduation exam three times in a row, and I never really had friends to call my own for as long as I could remember."
"I can sympathize with you on that." Moka gave a nod of understanding and a look of sadness wept over her features. "You see, I lived among the humans for years, going to a human Primary and Middle School. Everybody there picked on me, laughed at me, made fun of me and treated me cruelly and coldly because I was so different and because of that nobody wanted to be my friend. Not even my own teachers wanted to be around me."
Naruto looked at the girl beside him with concern. "Moka…" he spoke softly, and he couldn't help but sympathize with her, as he knew what it had felt like to be seen as a freak of nature. Having been the former Jinchuriki host to the Kyuubi no Yoko, he knew that feeling all to well. Even now as clear as day he could recall parents ushering and pulling their children away from him as he walked along the street in bone-grinding agony, the cold looks and unnerving stares he got from parents and shinobis alike sent cold chills down his spine. It was so bad that for years Naruto used to question if he was even worthy enough to even be classed as a sub human.
Moka had her head cast down, and Naruto could make out the faint droplets hitting the grass. Her hair cast over face, shadowing it from his view. He gently brushed away the strands of hair from her face, and one look at her heartbroken made his own heart sink like a stone thrown in water. Deciding to comfort her as best as he could, Naruto raised his right arm and wrapped it around Moka's waist and dragged her closer to him; he thought about using both arms, but he feared that it might make her uncomfortable to be embraced fully by a stranger.
A soft sniffling sound coming from his shirt indicated that Moka was shedding more tears. "They were always saying that monsters weren't real… that they didn't exist and that I was a silly and stupid girl to believe in such things. They hurt me Naruto-kun; they hurt me so bad and made me a social outcast amongst them. For years I took their verbal and emotional abuse and… I grew to hate them. I hate humans so much for what they did to me, and how they made me feel." She confessed.
But even as she poured out her emotions and feelings, Moka couldn't help but notice that Naruto had stiffened slightly in her embrace. A cold chill ran down her spine as she lifted her head and noticed a sad expression was on his face. His visible eye seemed to stare out into space. "N…Naruto-kun?"
"I… understand" Naruto said, the look of sadness washed away and it its place was a look of understanding and compassion. He noticed the look in her eyes when she gave him a brief history of her past. He had seen the look in her eyes whenever he looked in the mirror, more often than he cared to admit and more often than anyone else would ever know.
Deep down he knew that this was going to be the proverbial slap to Moka's face, and it pained him to do it; but knew that it needed to be done. Naruto brushed away the tears from her eyes and cheeks, cupped her face gently and spoke in a gentle tone as he looked into her eyes. "Moka, I need you to answer me honestly. If… If I was partially human, in anyway would you consider me a friend? Me, a hated half human being the only friend you ever made?"
What.
Looking at him incredulously Moka couldn't help the look of surprise that became visible in her eyes as she disengaged herself from his arm. "You're joking, right?" Moka asked nervously, and Naruto shook his head softly.
Naruto recognized her disgust, recognized the sentiment and it truthfully angered him slightly.
He'd shared the same look about himself since he'd changed. "No Moka, I'm not joking."
"How… how is that possible?"
"My story is too long to tell in one sitting, Moka." Naruto sighed tiredly; his hand reached up and rubbed his neck. "Far too long, but long story short my parents, both of them were humans and in turn I was born a human as well. But because of events that were far out of my control and my power from the day I was born, up until this point I became something worse, something that I'm admittedly ashamed of but something I wholeheartedly embrace nonetheless because it is who and what I am now."
Naruto noticed the pale look on Moka's beautiful face, no doubt taking the news that he had been mortal to heart and he couldn't help but shake his head and turn his back on her. "To be completely honest, I envy you a great deal Moka, I envy you because at least you're not ashamed of what you are. That must be a nice feeling."
As he started for the opposite direction of the forest, he could sense apprehension building up in her.
Moka couldn't even begin to describe what she was feeling at that exact moment. So many different emotions flew through her mind at the speed of light. Tears blurred her vision as she fought not to sob. The sorrow within her ached unbearably as the first friend she had ever made in her entire life turned his back on her and began walking away.
She started moving forward, hoping to get the chance to apologize, desperately afraid that she may have lost her first friend because of her mistake. "Naruto, please try to understand." Moka pleaded as she attempted to get near him, but Naruto kept his back facing her for a moment.
"I do understand you, Moka-chan." Naruto spoke, turning around to face her. "I understand that deep down you are just a young woman who just wants friends to love and to be loved in turn. You're scared and insecure, and the only reason why you feel the way you do is because of the fear and hatred you hold deep within you heart towards humanity because of the way they treated you in your past. I understand in some ways that humans are quite often worse than monsters. When they feel threatened by something they don't understand or by something that makes them feel inferior, it is normal for them to band together and take up arms against such things so they can quench those fears."
When Moka didn't answer back, Naruto took that as a cue to draw in a calming breath to stop his eyes from blinking rapidly and his lips from trembling slightly. "Humans are limited to their physical bodies, barely even to be able to see a hundred years if even that with the exception of a few, they are close minded and desperate to diversify themselves to the point of self genocide than any other species I have ever seen. But despite their frailties and their limitations, they are a complicated race with big hearts and even bigger imaginations when they are not conformed to the ideals of their fears. They can have an amazing amount of courage, compassion, humility, determination and the ability to endure, to hope and even to love despite all odds. That is a strength that mere physical dominance and power can never overcome. It is a strength that has defined and made the man I am today. Even though my body and even my mind may have changed, my soul and my heart will always be that of a human."
When he looked at Moka, he may as well have driven his arm through her gut. His eyes presented every available emotion she never thought she'd see in someone like Naruto; sorrow, grief, pain, sadness and hurt were the ones that stood out. With that, he became quiet, and even seemed unable to say anything else. Moka saw black tears of ink run down his face.
Naruto looked at her with a forlorn expression on his face, his hand reaching out to touch her. Moka's eyes filled with tears, her hands reaching out for the young man who she had only met and known for several hours of her life. Just from hearing his voice, his words and the expression on his face told her just how badly she had hurt their budding friendship.
But she was suddenly stopped in her tracks by the sound of caws and deafening noises. Black crows swarmed around him in a hurricane of black, the sounds of their wings fluttering madly resonated in her ears as they formed what appeared to be a barrier between them.
Naruto took Moka's eyes and gave her the warmest smile she had ever seen before in her entire life, and it was all directed at her. "I… I'm not angry with you for telling me that you hate humans. I never was. I do feel a bit hurt by what you said, but it's not enough to turn me away from you. I just wanted you to accept me as I am, flaws and all; the same way as I accept you. Fangs and all. In such a short period of time you've become someone I hold near and dear to my heart, you've become precious to me… Akashiya Moka. And because of that I can find it within myself, to forgive you."
At that the crows dispersed and he was gone without a trace, leaving the only friend he had ever made in the entire school.
Moka couldn't help stare in shock and disbelief at where he had been standing moments ago; and now he was gone, simply gone. There wasn't even a trace of his scent anywhere to be found. Moka bit her lower lip, trying to stem the tears that continued to spill down her nose and face, but to no avail. She couldn't help herself as she looked into the evening sky and cried out in an anguished and pained voice. "NARUTO-KUN!
Naruto sat down against a tree lazily as he stared out into the distance of Youkai Academy, and he was pretty sure that he was about a mile and a half away from where he left Moka. It amazed Naruto that he found someone who lived an equally harsh, cruel and lonely life, one that he could sympathetically relate too.
It saddened him a great deal to learn that about Akashiya Moka, to learn that she had to deal with prejudice and loneliness when she was nothing more than a child. No doubt it made her harbor hatred, anger and rage for humans in her heart, because she'd never been given a chance and because people feared and hated her for something she had no control over.
Naruto couldn't help but turn his head towards the horizon and close his eyes, while his mind was deep in thought.
For years Moka had always wondered what it was like to have a friend.
She had never experienced it, never felt the word's of another affect and ring so soundly in her mind. In a short period of time you've become someone I hold near and dear to my heart, you've become precious to me… Akashiya Moka. And because of that I can find it within myself, to forgive you."
Moka walked down the beaten and worn path lonely, and friendless. Her eyes were filled with a deep sadness, her shoulders were slumped and her face was still wet with tears. She'd driven off the only friend she'd ever made in the entire school, and to say that she felt broken was a complete and total understatement. She felt torn, cold and numb on the inside, and her heart felt like lead in her chest.
Do you… hate vampires?
How can I hate something I've never even heard of?
Moka flinched at the memory of his words, and the smile on his face he looked at her in such a way she had never actually experienced before. She had never even really suspected that Naruto had started out as a human, though she wished she had seen signs earlier before she unknowingly went out and shot things to hell.
Even though my body and even my mind may have changed, my soul and heart will always be that of a human. Moka couldn't help but contemplate those words, but quickly she dispelled the thoughts. No. It didn't matter to her what Naruto was, whether he was half human or something even more unnatural at all. It didn't matter to her anymore. He was able to accept her for what she was, despite it all and now she wanted to do the same.
All she wanted to do was find him, to wrap her arms around him, and tell him from the bottom of her heart just how sorry she was. She wanted to accept him, just as he was able to accept her. Akashiya Moka refused to let go of one of the greatest opportunity's that life had presented to her just up and vanish into thin air; to disappear without a trace. Not if she had anything to say or do about it.
Moka was so deep into her own thoughts that she had been taken by surprise when a large hand reached and clamped down on her wrist. "Hey beautiful, what's a pretty thing like you doing out here all alone?"
"S…Saizou" Moka tried to pull her arm out of his grasp. But his grip held true.
Saizou held a dark look in his eyes as he gave a huge bloodthirsty grin, one that sent an uneasy feeling in Moka's stomach and set off alarm bells I her head. "What say you and I have a little fun… Moka-san" he sneered.
Naruto walked through the forest heading towards Moka's last known location. After finally contemplating the situation he finally came to decision that it was time to face Moka.
A feminine scream, followed by a sudden terrible wave of something evil and primal suddenly hovered over him.
BOOM!
A loud explosion was heard somewhere beyond his position. The sounds of trees and stones being crushed by stamping feet rang soundly in his ears, and the color nearly drained from Naruto's face before he sprung into action as he took to the trees. "MOKA-CHAN!"
Moka gasped as she pulled herself out from underneath a fallen tree that she had been slammed painfully into by Saizou. Her uniform was ragged, scratched and torn in numerous places; shallow cuts criss-crossed her skin resulting in a faint red lattice of marks across her arms and legs. She had definitely been put through the wringer.
She slowly got up to her feet, despite the fact that spots danced in front of her eyes and she felt very woozy.
A very large shadow loomed over her frame. Her eyes widened in shock and her face paled considerably as she beheld Saizou's terrible form
He was vastly large, equaling the size of a five story house, and was more than twenty times Moka's size. His skin was rough, thick, volcanic rock grey, his arms were fashioned into wings which also worked as thick, powerful forearms. His mouth was obscenely large, taking half of his face and was filled with razor sharp, serrated teeth that were smiled cruelly at Akashiya Moka and her plight. Komiya Saizou was a Tigrios.
He sneered at Moka and chuckled lowly in his throat, which sounded like scraping stone against metal. "By the look in your eyes and the scent coming off of you in waves, I can tell that you thoroughly terrified. That's good, that's very very good. It'll make killing you all the more satisfying and delicious, then after I'm through with you I'll go after that blond haired punk that humiliated me this afternoon!"
Saizou gave a deafening roar, and charged with terrifying speed that seemed unnatural for his size and body weight. Moka could only stare in frozen terror as he came closer and closer, his feet practically shook the ground underneath her and his fangs gleamed in the moonlight. Her eyes were wide in shock and she had an expression of a deer that looked to be staring into the headlights of its demise.
At this Saizou simply laughed at her effort and continued to approach her as a blur of motion. His mouth simply watered at the scent of her fear and terror tickled his senses and he roared in triumph at having won this game.
Or so he thought.
A black blur rushed him from his blind side and buried its fist right in the middle of his large snout, which sent Saizou flying backwards through a large number of trees and rock before he came to a brutal stop across the field.
Moka was surprised and looked up. "Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed. Despite her bodies protest her arms quickly found there way around his neck, and she buried her face into his chest. "I'm so sorry I…I…" Moka gasped, choking back on the sobs that she had built up until now.
Naruto gently pulled Moka deeper into his body, his arm wrapped around her shoulder for comfort. "It's okay Moka-chan; everything is going to be alright. You hear me? I'm not going anywhere." He said soothingly, his voice was calm and controlled. "It's going to be alright. Look at me, Moka-chan; that's it, look at me."
Naruto framed her face in both of his hands and regarded her. "I won't let anything bad happen to you, and I mean that. Do you understand me?"
Moka nodded softly and did as she was bid, while Naruto turned his attention where it was needed.
Saizou growled loudly as he pushed off the trees from his body and stood up to his full length, his nostrils flared and his eyes began to glow a dangerous yellow when he located his surprise attacker. "You bastard! How dare you interfere with my game!"
"Moka-chan, I need you to get out of here" Naruto looked at Moka and motioned his head, telling her to get out of here. She gave him pleading eyes to let her stay, but the stern expression on his face told her that arguing would be moot. With one last look at Saizou, she took off away from the area.
Naruto kept his eyes on Moka to make sure she made it without a hitch before moving his eyes back onto cause of Moka's pain and gave a vicious glare as he started forward. "You made Moka-chan cry and you've endangered her life, that's more than enough reason for me to butcher you. When I'm done with you there won't even be enough pieces to bury you into a shoe box; Saizou." With that he flicked his wrist which caused a small poof of smoke before a kunai blade found itself within his grasp, just before he rushed forward and tucking his arm at his side preparing his assault.
He's fast. Saizou thought, before he jumped upwards while dodging as Naruto stabbed forward. Spinning as he passed over, Saizou lashed out with his spiked tail and Naruto simply dove to the left while dodging the spines that were sent at him as an attack at his grounded form and sent a fist crashing into Saizou's mouth, the force was so strong that it sent him across the ground and turned the place to rubble, even dislodging trees from their very roots.
Saizou found himself buried underneath a series of fallen trees and stone.
Not wasting a single second, nor even minding the fact that he had shards of Saizou's teeth in his fist, Naruto thrust his weapon into the ground in front of him before he began to run through a series of handseals. His mouth filled to the point of bursting before he opened it, shooting out a violent spray of oil, mud and ink where Saizou had landed.
He made another seal which formed a Kage Bunshin and both men ran through their respective seals.
Katon: Shiroi Gōkakyū No Jutsu!
Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku!
Naruto and his bunshin's fire and wind ninjustu had combined and caused a major white light of fire in the form of a giant white spinning bullet that blasted out onto the area where the oil, mud and ink had been laid in place. Vaporizing the already barren landscape utterly, and leaving it lifeless and scarred with cinder.
"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" Naruto rid the general area around him and his clone of all the smoke and charred debris scattered about from their collaboration attack. "It's a good thing I thought ahead and got Moka out of the blast range." He said as he wiped the soot from the heat off of his face.
His clone, covered in soot, cleared its lungs out with a few coughs. "Did we get em boss?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, he's still alive alright" He peered through the leftover smoke as he kept himself on his toes. "He's injured, really badly I might add, but he's not dead yet."
As if on cue a roar of pain and complete and utter aggression bellowed loud enough to shake the ground. "YOU BASTARD!"
Saizou stood up on his haunches with deep bloody cuts all over his burnt face and all over his body. His scales, needless to say was shredded beyond belief, the spines on his tail were completely unnoticeable due to the incredible amount of damage his body had taken. Blood was pouring down heavily from his charred scales and from somewhere on his face which he'd kept covered as it was just pouring down freely.
Saizou's growled deeply and angrily, gritting his fangs as hard as he possibly could, either in anger or pain; Naruto couldn't tell. The tigrios was holding his massive claws over its face, trying to keep the blood from streaming freely from whatever wounds he had as if he were keepings his claws over a loose faucet.
He removed his claws from his face to reveal that Naruto had completely decimated his face with third and fourth degree burns. "I… am going to kill you! Do you hear me, you filthy son of a bitch! I'm going to tear you limb from fucking limb! His scales began to glow a violent crimson and his body spoke of murder.
"You can try, but it won't work out in your favor." Naruto pointed his kunai blade at Saizou. "I'm actually quite surprised that you were able to survive that the way you did. I guess you are one of the stronger monsters this school has in store for me. You should be proud of yourself, you're the only person I've ever hit with a collaboration jutsu of that magnitude that actually didn't die outright, though I guess that armor of yours is more than just show."
Saizou, despite the pain he felt prickling his very being slowly loped towards Naruto, dead set on tearing him a new one before he ate him it was the last thing he ever did.
Naruto chuckled darkly as he strode out to meet Saizou head on. "Looks like you still have some fight left in you, you're not a coward. I admire that. But that still doesn't change the fact that you will still die by my hand."
"Shut up!" Saizou yelled as he took a swipe at Naruto and his clone with his claws that seemed to glow with an eerie purple, one which Naruto didn't trust and given that his aggressive nature only seemed to increase by leaps and bounds didn't really help. Especially when said claws slammed into his clone that had tried to pick apart at his weak points, pinning it to the tree and taking it out in mere moments it as they both melted with an audible hiss, followed by an acrid smell. Poison, great, freaking fantastic.
Naruto took a giant leap and turned in the air making hand seals before his hand began to glow with lightning chakra. "Raiton: Jibashi!" From Naruto's hand flew a giant volley of sparks that pummeled into Saizou's badly damaged body, with further enraged the transformed student. He spun in mid air right before he threw his kunai blade with all of his might, but Saizou motioned to the right and retaliated by smashing his spiked tail into his ire's body. The twisted look of pain on Naruto's face melted as he burst into smoke, revealing himself to be a kage bunshin.
Saizou smirked in victory as he waited to see what had happened, though inwardly he knew better than to just let his guard down. So imagine his surprise when the kunai blade that had been thrown at him from earlier poofed into a Naruto that had a cold expression on his face as he reared his fist back.
"Raiton: Raida!" Naruto shouted as he thrust his fist at Saizou's side, his fist crackled with lightning that wrapped around his arm like a shell. The shell broke right into and through Saizou's scales, sending several thousand volts of electricity through his body.
The hole that Naruto had made when he plunged his fist into Saizou's side exploded in a shower of sparks and electricity. Saizou was sent flying backwards as the blast destroyed three quarters of his armor like hide, black blood poured heavily from his exposed flesh. He landed several feet away from Naruto.
Saizou growled angrily as he gradually fought to get back to his feet, glaring hatefully at the cause of his anger and his rage. He looked at himself and saw that he was a complete and utter mess. How he'd managed to get to his feet and continue fighting was a miracle, even to himself and his body was spilling blood slowly; despite the fact that his body was regenerating the injuries that he'd accumulated. But it couldn't be helped.
His nostrils flared as the familiar scent of perfume assaulted his senses. Yellow eyes spun around and took a glance to find that Moka was standing on the outskirts of their battle field, quivering in fear and a sinister idea came to mind. One that put a sneer on his face and allowed a feral chuckle to escape his jaws as it bent its knees, right before it shot up and dove for Moka. Jaws opened wide.
His movements were all a blinding blur to the young vampire's eyes and for a moment, everything seemed to move to a crawl. And in that crawl death looked like it had been streaked in grey and black.
This…is how I die?
A deafening roar was heard and in an instant, blood splashed everywhere…
All was quiet, for Saizou turned his head towards the young man with enough guts to stand before him as an equal and as a nuisance. No one could believe what they saw. It was a flash… a crimson flash.
"You… You… WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!" growled Saizou as he looked at him with complete and utter contempt, disgust and hatred. More so than anything he'd ever experienced or felt before in his entire life.
Moka slowly opened her eyes, only to find herself staring at a face that she had longed to see more than anything in the whole world.
Her lips trembled as she gazed upon him. Nails dug into the palms of her hand and tears anew spilled heavily down her cheeks. Simple words couldn't describe just how distraught she felt at that very moment. She just stared at Naruto, disbelief, horror and confusion coming together in her eyes.
"Na…Naruto…"
He tilted his head to the side, before he gave her a simple, eloquent smile. "Guess I made it just in time, hmmm…"
Moka began to shiver, fear completely and utterly overwhelmed her, regret and melancholy filled her very being as she bit her lips and the urge to reach out and touch him became unbearable. But… she stood rooted to her spot, unable to move and unable to speak.
Naruto merely smiled. "Your trembling, Moka-chan." He spoke quietly in her ear.
"How?" Were the only words that were capable of leaving her lips, her nose was runny, and tears filled her eyes as she gazed at Naruto. "How can you be so calm?"
Naruto sighed, before whispering gently into her ear. "It's as I said before, Moka-chan, in such a short time you've become so precious to me. And I always protect what's precious to me. Besides that…this is just a flesh wound."
"You saved my life," she continued in that hollow tone, the words floating in the air. "You came for me. You came back for me, and saved…my…life."
Naruto said nothing. His throat was hot and his stomach was so cold. Fire and ice; he'd felt them before. Together. He watched as her hand came up and was touching his face. No doubt trying to make sure that all of this was real.
Moka grabbed the empty jagged sleeve that was currently flapping freely in the breeze, her hands trembling. "Why did you do that…what about you arm… YOUR RIGHT ARM! She yelled at him.
"As I said before it's just a flesh wound." Naruto said in a calm manner, as if he was shooting the breeze. He wrapped his left arm around her waist and pulled her closer to his chest. She could feel his blood soaking her clothes, soaking her skin; but at that moment she didn't give a damn. "You foolish girl, your life is more valuable and more important to me than a stupid arm, I'm just glad that your safe and in once piece."
Moka's heart melted at those words. The tears just kept falling, the shock and pain was too much for her to endure. Once again he saved her life, but the sacrifice was too much.
"Moka-chan, I need you to turn around and leave this place. I have a job to do, and I'm not leaving until I see it through."
"No!" Moka cried, finally snapping out of her stupor as looked at him incredulously with fierce green eyes. Fear and worry were plainly written all over her face. "No I won't leave you here alone to get hurt again! How dare you ask me to do such a thing after what you did for me!"
"Well, isn't this touching," Saizou said mockingly, he moved with a slightly masked limp. His skin and armor was still badly flayed and cracked, but some of the damage had mended on its own. "I hate to interrupt this lover's quarrel, but need I remind you that I'm your opponent blondie. Don't you dare think I'm going to let the both of you escape with your lives, especially not after what you did to me!" he bellowed with a snarl.
Naruto growled lowly in his throat in fury and had motioned to push Moka out of the way to continue his confrontation. But his fingers accidently grabbed at the Rosario around her neck, and with an accidental tug pulled it off.
"What the," Naruto blinked as he stared dumbly at the silver cross in the palm of his hand. His ears perked up when he heard Moka gasp before her entire body was bathed in a black and red light.
Suddenly the ground began to tremble and shake.
While he couldn't see what in the world was happening to Moka, but he could sense it. He could sense the well of power within her that had been restricted for who knows how long, and now it had been unleashed. The supernatural power washed over Moka like a torrential wave, the ground underneath his feet began to split open from the mere density of it all. His eyes began to grow accustom to the light, and before his eyes he watched as Moka's all around physical appearance change before his very eyes.
Moka's pink hair, which had been a vibrant color, paled to a silvery tint. Her chest was a bit larger and her hips more pronounced. The vampire now no longer held herself in the same manner as before. Instead, she had a distinct air of aristocracy and the arrogance that goes with it. When she opened her eyes, they were red and with black slits in their sockets.
Naruto could only stare in awe at Moka after her transformation. She looked completely and radically different than she did before. Different to the point that she looked almost like a completely different person, she looked sensual, arousing and more dangerous than ever before. She exuded a kind of confidence and sexual aura about her that would make grown men fall to their knees and beg to kiss her feet.
He blatantly studied her, his eye lingered over her features and he knew then and there, without a shadow of a doubt. This girl, no, he wouldn't dare call her a girl. This woman was as dangerous as they come.
"Incredible! Those crimson eyes, that silver hair and the incredible demonic aura!" shouted Saizou who lumbered up and growled deeply. "I recognize that power anywhere, the power of an S class elite. A true vampire!"
Naruto took in the words describing his silver haired friend. He knew that she was a vampire, but to hear that she was that powerful? That was something new and intriguing to him indeed.
Moka breathed in a deep breath before she let a pleasant sigh roll across her lips, before she looked at him with her crimson eyes.
"Uzumaki" She said in a deeper voice that sent a tingle down his spine. "I thank you for going out of your way to protect my body, but I'm going to have to ask you to sit this one out. Your injuries-"
"Is nothing to worry about." Naruto cut her off with a tone of finality, which surprised Moka to no end. He pulled out a black sealing scroll and wiped some of his blood from the stump of his arm across it, causing a poof of smoke to shroud his form.
The smoke cleared to reveal Naruto resting a massive broad sword on his shoulder, the blade was almost as tall and as wide as he was, and resembled that of a butcher's knife. It had a hole carved into it near the top of the blade and a smaller semi-circle looking like it was meant for an exact purpose down closer to the handle grooved into the blade itself.
Moka looked at the large blade in utter shock Incredible, even with only one arm you're capable of lifting such a massive weapon. She was even more shocked at how it seemed to appear our thin air.
"As I said before I am very much capable of finishing what I started, injury or no injury." Naruto gave a smirk after he gave a few test swings. "Besides that I always finish what I started."
"A tough guy, hmm?" She gave a smiled that showed off her sharp canines. "Very interesting indeed."
Naruto turned silent before he turned to look at Saizou. The tigrios was a bit surprised at seeing the new and improved Moka, but his courage never waned. His claws bit into the earth as he readied another attack for the duo, his tail shook giving off a strange, ominous rattling sound.
Saizou growled as he charged at full steam, and swung his tail with all of his might. Attempting to smash the annoying duo in one fell swoop, but his eyes widened as she caught his tail underneath her arm. Shifting and using his momentum against him, she gave a giant toss, one that was more than capable enough to send him across the rocky field with ease and into his own crater.
"What's the matter tigrios?" Moka walked away from Naruto, heading towards her already battered and bruised prey. "You were so intent on taking advantage of me and proclaiming that you were so strong that I should be grateful to have been choose by you."
Her eyes gleamed and dark and a sadistic smirk came to play on her lips as she smiled. "Now then, why don't you come and give me a kiss?"
Saizou responded immediately with a burst of green flames, roaring and growling as he pushed everything he had into it. Moka disappeared out of his line of sight, fast enough to avoid being turned into a pile of ash and broiled rock.
"Damn it, where'd yo— Saizou began after stopping his attack, his eyes took to scan around the field, but he saw nothing. Suddenly, out of nowhere a foot found itself lodged into his chin with terrifying force, enough that it jarred the teeth inside of his mouth. The blow sent him flying into the air, gaining some serious altitude by the height alone.
"I'll show you your place!" Moka simply crouched before she took to the air, followed by Naruto who held a serious expression on his face
Moka dropped a serious side-winder kick to Saizou's face that kick started his descent, and Naruto followed up with a powerful charge in mid-air while spinning. Building up more than enough momentum, speed, velocity, he slashed down with his sword with chakra flow going through the weapon. Burying it into his chest and sternum. Saizou's eyes went wide and he let out a gasp as they both collided into the ground with earth shattering force and power, kicking up dust and dirt in a large explosion.
Moka landed on her feet casually, and her eyes surveyed the damage made by her partner in crim. And she had to say that she was impressed, very impressed indeed. There standing in a ninety feet deep carter was Naruto who stood over the remains of Saizou. There was nothing above his waist. All of it was just a bloody smear that coated the ground.
Naruto noticed that Moka couldn't tear her eyes away from Saizou's remains so he jumped from the crater and stood by her side, all the while he ran over a few handseals and placed his fingers over his lips. "Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu." Naruto incinerated Saizou's body to simply get rid of him.
With the crisis that was Saizou already dealt with, he was able to look at his silver haired friend more closely now.
She was exquisite, her features finely wrought, dangerous and yet so erotic at the same time. She looked divine and yet her presence was slightly intimidating but Naruto had dealt with much worse than her so it was bearable. This Akashiya Moka, was a living, breathing Angel of Death, and there was no doubts about that in his mind.
"You're… an interesting one, Uzumaki." Moka strode over casually, and Naruto couldn't help but feel that the polar opposite of the Moka knew was somehow inspecting him as if he was some kind of prospective produce or something. He didn't move when her hand palmed against his back, shoulders, neck, chest and facing making sounds of… approval? "But I can't help but be curious, what exactly are you? I can tell by your scent that your part human, but what of the other half?"
Naruto said nothing as planted the zanbatou into the ground in front of him, right before he closed his eye and focused his attention to the stump where his arm had been with gritted teeth. Moka watched in shock as a black energy was released from his body and began to shroud his form, releasing yokai energy in flickers of flame. Naruto's eyes opened, revealing black scleras and red irises as his whisker marks began to thicken and a growl left his throat.
The hairs on the back of Moka's neck stood on end, and goose bumps found their way on her skin. She looked at him in pure shock. The power that was emanating from him was just as unreal. The oppressive aura was not lost to her, and yet she couldn't help but feel that there was a little something else to it that she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Naruto growled in agony as he felt the black chakra suddenly burst, the ground under him splintered and cracked. Then bones shot out of Naruto's stump, forming the shape of an arm and hand as blood splattered everywhere. Youkai began to cover the bony appendages, the black energy flowing over it. Moka watched in a mixture of shock and awe as muscles began to form along the bone, crawling and writhing like a ghost. When the muscles had finished forming new skin began to crawl over his arm, starting at the shoulder straight down. 'What remarkable healing capabilities'
"Sorry, Moka-chan." When the pain finally ended, Naruto sighed in relief before moving his hand in front of his face and clenching it to test his nerves. "I didn't mean to surprise you like that. I'm so used to using a lot of power to do a lot of things. Its hard for me to gauge whats a lot and whats a little to others, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Inner Moka evenly, deep down she knew that she was anything but fine. "You just caught me off guard, that's all. But you still didn't answer my question."
"Its personal." Naruto answered simply.
"Very well," Inner Moka said, looking Naruto up and down. A frown marred her features, showing her displeasure, there was so many questions she had that needed answers. But she would have to relent for now, after all there was more than one way for her to get her answers; lots of ways for her to get her answers. Inner Moka gave a nod. "I wish to thank you, Uzumaki."
"Thank me, for what?"
"For going out of your way and protecting my outer self," Inner Moka explained. "You've been nothing but kind, gentle and protective of her, even going as far as sacrificing your own arm just to make sure that she was protected." Then she got closer to him and she brought a hand up and stroked his whiskered cheek. "And you have such delicious blood; it's like fine wine to my lips. You blood is quite… intoxicating."
Naruto breathed lowly as she continued her machinations, and he couldn't help but gawk when pulled her hand back and place a finger that had a hint of his blood on it and traced her tongue lavishly across the digit.
"I'm still so very tired," Inner Moka explained, a pleasant sigh left her lips as a tingling sensation crept down her spine and ended up into the pit of her stomach. "Until we meet again, Uzumaki. Take good care of my other more sentimental self."
With that she hooked her seal in one fluid motion, and in a flash of light Moka's powers were suppressed back inside of her body. Immediately her crimson eyes turned back to their bright, vibrant green, likewise her silver hair turned back to its natural bright pink color. Moka was exhausted beyond mere words and slumped forward and Naruto caught her before she was able to fall to the ground.
He held her close to him, and tentatively ran his hand through her hair as he held her close to him. The whole experience dealing with Moka's other side was very different, almost as if he was talking to a completely different person, evident by the way she referred to herself as 'The other Moka' Does she… have split personalities or are they two different people altogether?
"Moka-chan?" He asked. "Moka-chan?"
But she was sound asleep. The peaceful expression on her face put his mind and heart at ease.
"Get some rest, Moka-chan" He spoke softly and pressed a light kiss on her forehead. "You've more than earned it."