Chapter Two
Ninja and Senshi
Not for the first time did Naruto wonder what he was doing here, standing outside of the classroom, far after the bell had rung, with a talking cat and the shyest girl in his grade. He could be doing other things with his time; finding a job, looking for trouble, checking up with his doctors, or asking for extra help.
But, no, he was watching out for people who may or may not spot the talking cat talking to Mizuno Ami. The cat had gone on and on for the past few minutes about something called the Dark Kingdom. Then it started talking about something even more ridiculous called the Silver Moon Kingdom. Honestly, it sounded like a bad fairy tale, and he was pretty sure Ami did not buy it. If a psychotic moron, such as himself, was skeptical, you can believe Ami would have nothing to do with it.
"Alright," the girl said. "I believe you."
Or not.
Naruto frowned at this. What possible reason could this blue haired nerd have for believing in this cat? Did it show any evidence? No. Did it show her any powers, aside from being able to talk? No. Did it even seem trustworthy? No. But Naruto guessed there was more going on then what the two of them were letting on. He was used to this: people hiding things from him. He would have to get used to it, being the only blond haired, blue eyed person in his neighborhood.
Unlike a lot of the males in Tokyo he didn't need to dye his hair, or wear colored contacts. Why need those when the coloring was natural? Add to his tanned skin and more than adequate physique, he stood out enough. Now he was going to have a talking cat and a girl who could do three digit calculations to worry about. Why? Because they had suckered him into visiting some kind of shrive tomorrow to investigate something.
"And people have been disappearing after their visits." The cat, Luna, looked at Ami as she said this. "It is up to us to discover what is going on."
"Are there any clues you can give us?" the girl asked.
"What sort?"
"Were they wearing identical jewellery, or things of that nature?" Ami asked.
Naruto thought about that as well. Weren't they having some kind of Charm sale at the Shrine? He only remembered because, despite the bad luck in his life, he was extremely superstitious. His Psychiatrist told him it was a side effect of his make-believe world called the Elemental Nations. He had this tendency to believe in the supernatural.
Things like the nine tailed fox demons, the tanuki, of ghosts, of Shinigami, and things of that nature.
But for some reason, or other, he couldn't bring himself to believe in this cat.
"I believe they wore something similar…I just can't remember what it was," Ami said.
"When you do, let me know." Naruto bent down, picked up his backpack, and turned away from the group. "I've got to go."
"Where are you going?" Ami asked.
"Part time job," Naruto said, shrugging.
"Oh…then we'll see you tomorrow."
"I guess so." Checking to see whether the storm clouds above would shatter, Naruto made sure his school uniform was on tight and left the school premise.
...
...
"He's an odd person." Luna looked at Naruto's retreating back.
"He's not that bad."
That was a lie. He was that bad, and probably more. After last night she didn't know what to think of him. How could he just kill that monster like it was nothing? She had seen it use telekinetic powers, but Naruto wasn't phased by it at all. It was like his body was already used to things like that, but that would be impossible.
Those powers, those unexplainable powers, were like magic. Magic, of course, did not exist, so what was it? Why was he the way he was? And, more importantly, should she tell anyone about this? She looked down at the talking cat. She could probably tell Luna about her hesitation to the boy, and the cat might give sage advice.
But then, it was just a talking cat.
"What's wrong?" the cat didn't look worried.
"Nothing."
No. Not a good idea to talk to the cat, even if Ami did believe in what the beast was saying. How could she not? After seeing the demon first hand last night some of what the cat said made sense. The creature was able to drain the energy of people it had under its thrall. And why would a creature like that need energy? Because it worked for something, or someone, so it needed to go under the disguise of humans to do so.
Still, that didn't explain what her role in all this was. She was supposed to be something called a Sailor Senshi, a Protector of Love and Justice, but she felt like anything but. She held no real love for humanity, and protecting people was not in her nature. How could you help people who bullied you? Why would you help people who will continue to bully you?
Justice, to Ami, didn't exist, and the less said about Love, the better. She hadn't ever fallen in love with anyone in her life, and she certainly wasn't about to now.
...
...
"Do you have any plans to take down the Dark Kingdom?"
The talking cat brought up a good point. Did she have any plans? Not really. So far it was just her, possibly Uzumaki Naruto, and the cat. They didn't have any other allies and if she brought this to the authorities it was likely they were going to send her to an asylum. Of course they couldn't be an illusion, could it? If Uzumaki was seeing this cat too that meant it was likely real.
She hoped, given his record, he wasn't that far over the edge to see this as reality. Ami couldn't know for sure whether or not she had been drugged by the mobster boy, not that he had ever joined a gang, he just seemed like the type the yakuza would recruit. Shaking her head she got ready to leave as well. If the girls that were bullying her found her now, with a cat, and no Uzumaki around, chances were they would likely pound her to the ground.
The fact that the girls carried their boyfriends around like they were stuffed dolls made it more dangerous. She knew perfectly well that if they dragged her into an alley, no one would come to her rescue. Why would they? It wasn't like they were superheroes, people like that didn't exist. At least they didn't exist in the real world. Maybe in some far off fantasy realm someone would come down and sweep her off her feet, but she was much too realistic for that.
Though she still chided herself for believing that cat so easily. Was it loneliness? Was that why she allowed the feline to trail her? Or was this a way to keep Uzumaki near her. She had noticed that no one tried to mess with her today. Not a single person took her book, tried to ask her to do their homework, or coerce her into doing something she didn't want too. The boys, oddly enough, seem to be a little more hostile to Naruto than usual, but that was a given. Maybe they thought the gaijin had gotten his paws on her? If so, why now? Why would the boys care now that she was under the protection of someone else? Did they want to play hero? Then why wait all this time? Stupid boys and their foolish reasoning.
Had someone helped her earlier she wouldn't need to be manipulating the local trouble maker to keep herself safe.
"Ami, I think we should investigate the grounds." The cat brought up a good point. "Do you want to go now?"
She did, and she wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Tomorrow they would make an attack, but right now she needed more information on who they were about to have a war with. So getting on the bus was the first step. The later steps would come later, but today she would make sure to talk to everyone in that Shrine. Fortunately for Ami no one in the bus tried to hassle her. An old man tried to grope her, but the cat clawed him when he got too near, that put a smile on the blue haired girl's face.
At least someone was looking out for her, even if that someone had their own ulterior motives. She doubted that the cat would care for her well being if she wasn't this Sailor Mercury who she kept claiming she was. The worst part was there were likely to be other Senshi, and combined they would take on the Dark Kingdom as a team. Would the talking cat need her then? Right now she was the only one, but when she had enough soldiers Ami didn't see why she would be so important. She wasn't even as useful as Uzumaki Naruto, and that boy seemed dangerous.
The bus eventually stopped in front of the Shrine and Ami got a good look at the place. It was creepy, as most Shrines were, and there seemed to be crows everywhere. Deciding not to doddle she made her way into the main stairs and started walking. Ami wasn't physically fit so it was very difficult to walk up all those steps, even with years of swimming under her belt. Swimming, as most swimmers will tell you, does not equate to high endurance or stamina. For one thing, water usually stayed at relatively cool temperatures and you didn't need to worry about sweating when you were in the pool. Now, having to walk so far up, she did, and Mizuno Ami did not sweat well.
"You need to be in better shape," the cat chided.
"I'll work on it." She really would, but right now she needed to see the Miko in front of her.
"Excuse me?" She called out to the Miko. The Miko, unlike Ami, seemed to be fine under the weather. She seemed more focused on her task than anyone around her. To be fair, however, it seemed that most people were ignoring her, focusing more on buying some charms from a nearby stall.
Ami called out to the girl again, and got the same response. Frowning she decided to get closer, close enough to at least get a better look at her.
"Excuse me, do you mind answering a few questions?"
Right away Ami realized she had made a mistake. The Miko, who was a surprisingly short dark haired girl glared at her. Ami took a step back, despite being the same age as the girl. Unlike Ami she seemed hostile, angry, and powerful: not physically powerful, more like spiritually powerful. Ami could sense the strange supernatural aura around her, and for a brief moment she wondered why no one else felt it. Perhaps this was proof that she, herself, was some kind of senshi?
…
…
Naruto mopped the floor, without taking a break. He couldn't, not after being late for work. Fortunately his boss, Motoki, didn't seem to mind and even helped him out by handing him a fresh bucket of soap when he needed another. Motoki seemed like an okay guy, even if he was a bit too cheery for his own good. Naruto was surprised the teen was so nice to everyone, despite being so much older than the patrons who came to visit him.
For one thing, he never once yelled at Tsukino Usagi, a girl who annoyed Naruto to no end. It wasn't that Usagi was bad or anything, or that she made fun of him, or even talked about him in general. It was rather the opposite. Usagi never made fun of anyone, and was very nice to him, unlike the rest of his classmates. That didn't mean he liked her, he couldn't like anyone who was so carefree, so innocent, and so happy.
Happiness in other people made Naruto realize just how pathetic he was, and if there was one thing Naruto wouldn't be, it was pathetic. He had seen Ami in her stall, hoping against hope that someone would come and save her, and Naruto would rather die than become someone like that. But this wasn't time for thoughts like that. Now was the time to scrub the floor, wash the windows, and make sure no one stepped on the wet hall.
"Usagi, why did you run? You know there was a wet floor sign there." Never mind.
Naruto sighed and dragged himself to the spot Usagi had fell on. At some point the girl had gotten her drink all over the floor and Naruto knew he would have to clean it up before Motoki got back. It was his job, he was the janitor after all, and he personally didn't like seeing the arcade he worked in a mess. He liked working here, despite all the cheery people he found, and he didn't think he would find a better job.
He had an interview later at a radio station, doing some other janitorial work, as well as Naru's Shop, but he wasn't sure why Naru's mother would even hire a gaijin like him. It honestly didn't make any sense, but not much about his city seemed to make sense lately. First there was that new Radio Show with Jade Eyes, then there was a series of strange incidents where people would collapse in front of the Botanics Store nearby.
Then one he was personally involved in; the demon in the Cram School.
"You want to take a break, Naruto," Motoki asked. Naruto turned around. "You've been working nonstop."
Naruto frowned at that, but nodded to his supervisor. Motoki was an odd man. He, like Naruto, had blond hair. He, also like Naruto, had unusual colored eyes. Sometimes it would be green, other times brown, other times blue. It really depended on what type of contact he was wearing that day. There was also the fact that he was tall.
By nature the Japanese were not a tall race. He had seen Americans, Europians, Africans, Indians, and people from the Middle East. Japan was a popular tourist attraction, and the gaming arcade attracted many tourists visiting here. Most foreigners were heads and shoulders taller than the natives, and were far bulkier as well.
Maybe it was the larger clothes, or their larger bellies, or their jackets, but Naruto never understood why there was such a huge gap in size between the Japanese and other races, including Chinese, Philippines, and other Asians in general.
"Naruto, you're staring again." Motoki waved his hand over his eyes. "You're making the customers feel uncomfortable."
Naruto looked at who he had been blanking at. It was Naru and she seemed to be shivering. That didn't surprise him. Naru found him rather frightening, even if he hadn't done anything to her. In fact, he hadn't done anything to anyone but people felt the need to be afraid of him. Why? Many reasons of course. The fights, the shouting, the violence, his looks, and the medication he carried around in his pocket.
There was no shortage of problems following him around and he knew damn well there will continue to be more problems to come. Speaking of those medications he had to go to the washroom to take a few. Pulling out a few pills from his pocket, looking both directions to make sure no one looked, he made his way into the men's washroom and checked himself in the mirror. Slowly he put the pill in his mouth, washed his hands, then he palmed some water into his mouth.
He could have just asked Motoki for a glass of water, but he didn't have the time. He needed to take a dump anyway, so this would kill two birds with one stone. Zipping down his pants he made his way to the toilet to think ,and hold his stomach as the diarrhea effect of the pills kicked in. "Goddamn it!"
It happened again, memories of doing something similar. Back in his dreams of Konoha he remembered drinking a glass of rotten milk. That was the reason he never kissed his imaginary crush, Sakura, because he had to choose that day to drink expired dairy product. The boy laughed dryly at that. Even in his fantasy world he was a complete and total loser. No matter, he wasn't living in those illusions anymore. Flushing the toilet, putting his pants back on, and making his way out (without washing his hands) he picked up the mop outside of the washroom and continued with his work.
He was going to be busy tomorrow, and hopefully Ami would pay for the bus fee to that stupid Shrine where the next demon was likely to be.
…
…
Ami was at a loss how to handle this. Somehow her question had made the Miko angry. Those deep colored eyes glared into her own and she tried not to flinch. The girl was very pretty, far better looking than herself but her face was twisted in such a way that all she could see was the face of a demon. She had to take a step back, lest the darkette took that broom and swing it sideways.
The cat seemed to have picked up on this because she wasn't nearby. Ami had to sigh at that. Even in a situation where she was going out of her way to help someone, they find a way to screw her over. Maybe Naruto would find a way to as well, maybe even screw her literally, and that thought wasn't comforting at all. Shaking her head, and trying to think of a better solution to this problem, she focused on her next action. If she made the wrong choice, she was likely to get her ass handed to her.
"I…I didn't mean anything by it."
"Are you a cop?" The raven haired girl still hadn't put her broom down. "Because if you are-"
"I'm in middle school," Ami said.
The Miko glared. "So you are an informant?"
Ami didn't know how to answer that. She was a snitch, on some level, since she was going to go to Naruto about this. It wasn't like she could take on the next monster on her own. And she had come here hoping to find out anything that would give them an edge. So what could she say? Better yet, should she say anything.
A thought hit her. This girl could be working for the Dark Kingdom as well, so maybe, just maybe it would be a good idea to back off for now. Tell Naruto what she learned, which was that there was an odd vibe coming from this place, and let him know that there was a dangerous, hostile Miko working here. In fact the Miko could even be a demon. She knew this wasn't much, but any info he could get was better than nothing.
"Why aren't you answering me?"
"I'm just thinking."
The Miko took a step forward. Ami took a step back. The Miko took another step forward. Ami took two steps back. This continued until Ami couldn't take it anymore and she ran. The Miko, to the blunette's surprise, gave chase. Shouldn't the demon be guarding the temple? That's what Luna said they were likely to do. This was their base of operation and the more open they left it, the more likely they were to be discovered.
"Come back here, I'm not done with you!"
If that was supposed to make Ami run slower, the Miko had it dead wrong. With as much strength as she could muster the blue haired girl used the muscles on her theighs to propel her down the flight of stairs. She didn't look back to know that the Miko would have to slow down. Unlike Ami, the Miko was wearing robes. Robes did not constitute for good running wear, and it wouldn't surprise the little nerd to see the demon behind her fall down the flight of stairs.
Maybe if the demon did, it would save them the trouble of killing it. Then again, she was likely jumping to conclusions. The raven haired girl may just be a nosey person, not a monster at all, but Ami didn't want to take any chances.
When she finally got to the last step she took a dive toward the nearest cab."Taxi!" The cab, to her dismay, was already leaving and the girl groaned when she realized footsteps were approaching.
"I got you!"
A hand latched onto her arm. It was shaking, trembling, Ami could feel sweat but she didn't care. Immediately she swung at the hand that tried to grasp her, and she was rewarded by a yelp from the raven haired girl. Before the girl could do anymore Ami tried to bolt in another direction.
To her horror she felt arms wrap around her foot as she tried to sprint and promptly fell to the ground, crashing onto a nearby trash bin. Groaning, gasping, and shaking the blunette quickly tried to get up, but felt something wrap around her shoulders.
"Stop struggling! Now I know you're suspicious!"
Great, now she was the target of this monster, and what's this about suspicious? Wouldn't an angry Miko be a lot more suspicious? She was pretty sure Shrine Maidens were supposed to be nice, but this one was extremely mean spirited. Plus, with that strength, that power, and that rage, how did she attract customers? If Ami were a boy she sure as hell would not come to see this one.
"Let me go!" the youngest Mizuno yelped. "I promise I won't tell anyone!"
"Nice try! Tell me why you just ran like that!"
"You were going to hurt me, I know you were." Ami didn't like being hurt. Physical, mental, and emotional pain were not part of her menu.
"Hold on, hold on, stop struggling!" The Miko slowly loosened her grip. "Give me a second to think things through."
As soon as the Miko loosened her grip Ami took a chance. With her elbow she took a nice swipe to the Demonic Miko's face and got a yell. Ami was not a violent girl, not at all, but she was used to being picked on by groups of girls, groups of boys, and occasionally teachers. One girl, albeit one demonic girl, was bad, but after having gone through what she did, she knew when to take her chance.
"You bitch!"
And she also knew when running was the best course of action. So she did. And the Miko didn't catch up.
…
…
"Why did you take me here?" Naruto asked.
Naru shrugged. "My mom wanted to know if you still wanted the janitor position."
Naruto sighed at that. He was going to the interview the day after tomorrow, but figured this wasn't a bad time. No one seemed to want this job, even if it paid a lot. Stores like these didn't get many customers since most people weren't willing to cough up the cash to purchase high end jewelry, but lately the store had been busy.
A week ago the store kept having sales nonstop and it attracted more and more customers. At the time there weren't any janitors, but Naru's mother quickly made an offer to anyone on the local news. Many had applied and most of those people had a better schedule than Naruto, who not only had a few part time jobs, but was also a failed middle school student.
"Hopefully you won't faint like everyone else." Naru looked frightened being in the store. Something was off about this, and it wasn't just the lighting. This strange feeling, it reminded him of something but what? It was like the energy around him was being drained, kind of like that time he saved Ami in that Cram School
Naruto paused because this was exactly like the Cram School. He checked the clock and frowned. It was extremely late. Stores like these closed early to avoid robbers, but it was almost midnight and Naru's mom asked to see him now? That didn't make any sense and he was pretty sure Naru thought so as well.
"Okay, Naruto, I'm going home." Naruto didn't watch the red-haired girl leave. "I'l…I'll see you tomorrow."
Good, she was leaving. Now he would get a chance to look around. The first thing he did was walk up to the nearest counter and check the merchandise. He picked up a ring and immediately felt a tug at his energy. It was small, miniscule even, but it was there. Upon closer inspection he noticed that it gave off an odd purple glow. Yes. This was just like the Cram School. If only Ami were here to confirm this, he would get a better idea of whether or not this shop had been taken over by a demon .
"Ahh, I'm so glad you could make it, Uzumaki Naruto." A busty, elegant woman who looked like an older version of Naru walked out of the back.
Naruto took a step back to evaluate her. She was thin, attractive, and had decent curves. She wore a purple dress, and wore extremely expensive earrings. She didn't have any nail polish, something Naruto found very odd, as women her age, especially in her profession, tended to put on such esthetics. If the woman found his stare disconcerting, she didn't show it. Instead, she directed him to take a seat.
"Is this about my interview?" Naruto didn't want to waste any time. They were going to have a test tomorrow and he wouldn't fail. Not again. Not like Usagi, he would rather eat vegetables than have to do the math test a third time.
"It's about the interview, in a way…" The woman left that hanging. She gave him a smile and directed him to a television screen. "Would you mind turning it on?"
Naruto nodded and pressed the button. As soon as it turned on he saw security footage of something. The boy frowned because the scenery, despite being blurred, looked familiar. There were desks, computers, and a bunch of chairs lying around. After closer inspection, he realized where he had seen it.
"I take it you've been to that school?" she asked.
"I have."
"I also take it you've heard what happened there?"
"I have."
The woman's smile broadened. "I'll take it your involvement in the incident hasn't been mentioned din the news?"
Narutos' fists clenched. How much did she know? Wait, why did she know anything? Could she be one of the demons? It made sense, ever since this story opened more and more people had been getting sick. There weren't any police investigations, since no one would be able to blame it on energy sucking demons, but at least someone should have checked it out.
"What do you want?" Naruto asked.
"What do you think?"
"I think you want to know how…how I killed that thing." Truthfully he didn't know himself. He wasn't sure how he was able to move that fast, or that efficiently. He had never been able to do so before, but no one had ever challenged him like that creature did.
"Exactly." The woman put her hand on her chin. "My Lord wants to learn more about you."
That got a raised eyebrow from the boy. "Lord?"
"Yes."
"So you have a Master?" That made sense.
"Yes."
Okay, so now he had a Master Demon after him. This wasn't going well, and if they knew his identity it could spell trouble for not just him, but for Ami as well. As far as he knew Ami hadn't shown any amazing super powers, but if they held her hostage there could be trouble. He didn't particularly care for the girl, but he didn't save her just so she could be back under these thing's clutches.
"Alright, I'll play." He took a deep breath. "What do you want?"
…
…
The bus ride home had been a silent one. The talking cat, Luna, tried to console Ami that she hadn't been in any danger. The Miko wasn't a demon, nor was she dangerous. The blunette disagreed but decided not to argue, the cat had claws after all. Either way, she had better things to do like worry about Naruto. She had been calling him for the past few hours, and he wasn't picking up his phone.
Unlike many girls her age, Ami was fairly well off. She could afford a cell phone, and used it more than once to talk to her mother. Sure, her mother was busy most of the time, but not busy enough to NOT talk to her only daughter. After her father had left them, they only had each other. At school she was defenseless but outside of school she knew her mother would protect her, if only she came home more often.
"Ami, is that Uzumaki?" the talking cat asked.
Ami looked ahead of her because a boy was coming into the bus. He was tall, blond haired, and wore the same school uniform she did. She noticed that strange trait about him. He never wore anything aside from what he wore to class and that was somewhat disturbing. She did that as well, but she was constantly either at the library, at cram school, or getting extra help from her tutors. Naruto, on the other hand, had no reason to wear a uniform, unless he was part of some gang.
To the best of her knowledge he wasn't associated with any gang, so wearing that could only get him unwanted attention. Whether or not the boy knew this, Ami wasn't sure but one of these days she was going to call him on it. "Naruto, over here."
The boy looked at her, then at the cat, then nodded. His long strides made its way to her seat and he took a seat by her. A few of the males in the bus started backing away, probably because it looked like she now had a boyfriend, and many boyfriends were overprotective. The funny thing was he did look slightly overprotective, and the glare he gave to a particularly pesky individual behind her proved that point.
"Is something wrong?" His eyes seemed to be off today, though they were off most days. Probably dreaming in some medicated drug haze.
"Not sure, honestly, I've just had an interesting chat with one of the Dark Kingdom demons."
Luna looked interested. "What were you doing talking to those things?"
"Calm down, I didn't have a choice,"
Naruto proceeded to explain to her, and the cat, what was going on, and the girl didn't like the sound of it one bit. They had offered Uzumaki Naruto a deal. If he stayed out of their way, they wouldn't kill him. They hadn't gotten any footage of Ami, fortunately, but they were aware that she existed and that she got out of the academy without contributing any energy.
That thought didn't sit well with her. They, the enemy, could track them down, knew their identities, and they, her and Naruto, didn't know a single thing about them. Luna seemed to be thinking the same thing because the feline was worried. Ami patted the creature's back and tried to sooth it, but she herself needed soothing. She was tired, afraid, and more than a little vexed.
She didn't like the idea of having to fight these things, even when Luna said that when the time came she would be more than ready. Ami didn't believe that she was capable of being the Princess of Mercury, as Luna so eloquently said she was, and she knew damn well her martial arts skills were null. Naruto, on the other hand, might fit that roll well. If there was a Prince of a Mercury Kingdom, he would certainly be it.
His twin blues, deeper than the ocean, pierced into her mind every time he looked at her. That rage, that anger, that desire to protect was intense like some tsunami, the way he wore the blue school uniform, and it look so frightening in a story made him appear like a cyclone of power. Herself? Nothing. She was just a girl with books, great grades, and a mild fascination in chess.
"What are we going to do?" she asked.
"I don't know," he answered. "I just don't know."
"Don't give up so easily, you two," the cat said. "We just need to come up with a plan."
"No, we don't," Naruto answered.
"Why is that?" Ami asked.
"Because they don't know your identity, Ami, they only saw me killing that thing with a ballpoint pen."
She felt somewhat sick. That wasn't the best memory. The image of his slit like eyes appeared in her mind: his fanged teeth, his thickening whisker marks, and that aura around him. It was like he had lost control for a second. It was like something was calling to him, as if he was summoning his true nature. He was a dangerous teen, and they both knew it.
He would make a great fighter in the Dark Kingdom.
She quickly squashed that thought from her mind. No need to second guess her allies, that could wait. Now was the time to find a way to save Naruto from these things that would likely come after him. Ami had a head, inside that head was a brain, and that brain was better than ninety percent of the people in this city.
Her mind raced through plans, strategies, tactics, and ideas they could use to get rid of this problem. Get rid of it before the cops get involved at least. Somehow, and for good reason, Ami believed that many of the police were being paid off by their enemy. It only made sense, and if that were the case she didn't know what she could do, aside from get a Lawyer, to help the blond.
"You look worried," Naruto said.
"I am worried."
The boy nodded. He turned away from her and stared outside. Midnight and the two of them were on a train straight home. She would get off in the next stop and he would get off in a few stops after that. she could go back to her nice home, filled with astoundingly beautiful furniture, while he entered his run down apartment complex.
They had such different lives;
Before she goes to sleep Ami will do her homework. Before he goes to sleep Naruto will take a few pills. Both were from different worlds, one perhaps from a completely differently reality, but for now they were united against an enemy that might tear their city apart. "Tomorrow we're still up for it, yes?"
"Pardon?" Ami asked.
"We're still going after the Shrine Demon."
"Oh…yes…I suppose we should take care of it anyway." She hated saying the last part. "Even if it puts you in danger…"
"I'll be okay." He shrugged.
She wasn't sure about that, but didn't say anything. Deciding to ignore the intense aura around them she stared out into the distance. There was a full moon out tonight and it glowed so bright that she had to avert her eyes. Behind it were thousands of stars, planets, and systems just waiting to be explored. There was a light fog in the air, as if expecting trouble from the mortals below, and she could see the Tokyo Tower from the bus.
"I think this is your stop."
"I think so too," Ami answered.
…
…
Naruto looked at the collection of weapons in front of him. There were three kunai, a dozen throwing stars, and a pack of scrolls with odd kanji. These were the things they found him in, right before they brought him to the hospital. He tried, not for the first time, to open the scroll. It just wouldn't open. It seemed that nothing short of cutting the thing would open up this scroll. To Uzumaki Naruto, a boy who could make people fly, that was bizarre.
Was his strength not enough to open this sheet of paper? He frowned at that. His power was one of the only things he had. He was neither smart, happy, cheerful, charismatic, or even sane. To have this roll of paper tell him that it couldn't be open was a blow to his already delicate ego. Deciding to try another day Naruto fell to the floor and started washing his weapons. His eyes slowly trailed to the black metal contraption and tried to understand the dynamic of this kunai.
He just didn't get why his twelve year old self would go around carrying something so odd. It was not particularly sharp, or particularly light. In a battle It was down right useless and he was pretty sure he could find better quality metal nearby. The black metal, though a bit exotic, rusted easily and he asked a few construction workers what the thing could be made out of.
The answers they gave him varied, and some thought it was something he had found in an Anime Convention, which, given his fantasy world, made a lot of sense. Uzumaki Naruto, the orange clad Ninja and his useless weapons…there was a certain irony to it.
Smiling at his own twisted joke, he threw the kunai at a dart board and, not to his surprise, it hit a bulls eye. For some reason he could never hit a bull's eye with darts, but with this strange metal thing he could. Perhaps his crazy self liked to throw this thing a hundred times a day.
Shaking his head, trying to clear out those ridiculous memories of having throwing matches with some kid named 'Sasuke,' he pulled off his school uniform, then his shirt, then his pants, and walked into the bed. Immediately, he slumped onto the bed and heard it creek. It wasn't a bed designed for someone of his size and girth, neither did it support his weight, but it would do. He wasn't the tallest person in this complex, but given his age, he would likely be in the future, if the landlord didn't kick him out that is.
It wasn't that the man was racist, it was more that he forgot to pay rent last month. That was an odd time for him, as he tried to enroll in a place called Konoha High nearby, and then looked for any people in his memories.
He got no one, found no one, and the principle said Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Nenji, Rock Lee, Haruno Sakura, and list of friends he had, never attended there, never had any records here, and probably didn't even exist. "But why can't I stop thinking about them?" It hurt so much. "Better take another."
He reached out for another suppressant when his hand stopped. He was so close, so very close. He could just put another pill in his mouth an not have to worry about those odd memories, not have to wonder if this was reality, or the world before. He would be normal, as normal as he could get, and he could focus on school, getting a job, maybe a girlfriend, losing his virginity, or attending Tokyo U, like all the other kids his age.
But he stopped. "I might die tomorrow." He sighed. "Maybe I can live those memories one last time." So he did. He allowed his thoughts to go forward, and lived them again, and again, and again.
He was Naruto the boy who would one day become the Hokage, he was Naruto the boy who was the vessel of the Kyubi, and he was Naruto the boy who had tried to save Uchiha Sasuke, and then he was the boy who had unleashed the Kyubi during a training trip with Jiraiya and….that's where his memories stopped.
He opened his eyes and breathed out. His eyes darted left and right, up and down, and his heartbeat quickened. Shit. What happened after that? What happened after he had used the power of the Nine tailed fox? Why did his make belief memories stop after that incident? Why was he here of all places? Why did this place speak the same language as his dream world? Why did he understand this culture but look like he belonged in America.
Getting angry at himself he palmed his face. "No time to worry about that." Time to worry about what he was going to do to the Dark Kingdom." He got off the bed, as it made a creek, and walked toward his weapons. "These are real." Very, very real. "And I can use these." He knew how to use them. "And I'm in trouble." So very much so. "So let's pretend, for just a second, that I'm a Ninja."
He looked to the dartboard, looked at the throwing stars, kunai, wires on his hand, and smirked. "There are three demons in this city right now. " He got into a stance and got ready to throw. "After tomorrow, there will be two."
He let the weapons fly and they hit the bull's eye.
Every. Last. One.
Next Release Date: January 2010. Sorry for the late update. Life's been hard, so. I'd appreciate any comments or complaints.
