A/N: Well now, 20 reviews on chapter 1…clearly, I must be doing something right if I'm getting this many this quickly. With the addition of one PM for this story, and I'd say it's one hell of a head start. I will warn my readers, in order to make this story a bit easier to update, while still whetting your appetites, I will not be submitting chapters lower than 4-5k words for this (if the chapter is going to be important, I may spend more time on it). Otherwise, do read and review, would you kindly?

{Play: "Afternoon of Konoha" by Toshiro Masuda, from "Naruto"}

[Somewhere in Hi no Kuni─the next week]

It'd been a good week or so, and Naruto had come slightly better-prepared. In that time, he'd been trying to find a way to use the powers that Algol was capable of using; the ability to use those two crystal-things to help him fight. He remembered, of course, that the tentacle-monster (which he somehow knew was called 'Soul Edge') and the crystal sword (which was known as 'Soul Calibur') were both in his body now. He could tell because he felt stronger, and there was this strange sensation like electricity surging throughout his body and making his reactions faster. All in all, he was harder, better, faster, stronger, and that this would be permanent.

The only problem was that he had no idea how to call them forth like Algol did; or even how to use them. Either way, he still had the problem of going back to class right now. It was a good thing that whatever the two swords did to merge with him, it allowed him to run faster. I can always find out how to use them in my own time, he thought, but in the meantime, I've got to get to class. Hopefully, Iruka-sensei's not going to give us another history lecture.

In all honesty, he had nothing against Iruka-sensei; he just found the history lessons to be boring. Not so much because of the subject (he'd remembered what each Hokage did in their lifetime, as well as who came before whom), but because the way that Iruka taught the subject was a test of his patience. Seriously, it's way easier for me to catch more than forty winks with the way he teaches the subject.

Another reason why Naruto was not exactly looking forward to class was because of…

"EEK! Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto turned to see something he dreaded at this time of day: the fangirl stampede was coming. No, scratch that, they were already here and stomping their way towards him! The second they made contact with him, the girls knocked him aside. Naruto could've sworn one of those girls had punched him in the face.

As soon as he got back up, Naruto saw the very scene that made him sick to the stomach. All the girls were crowding around and cooing at the boy that stood not too far away from him. His charcoal-colored hair was done up in a spiky duck-butt, and his pale skin was indicative of his status on the upper-rung of society. A petty part of him wanted to hate Uchiha Sasuke, and it wasn't without reason: he'd got the best marks in class, beat everyone in taijutsu, and was overall a very popular student among the girls. Hopefully, today would change all that, and he would get to take Sasuke down a peg.

Naruto also noted familiar faces in the mob that were currently playing tug-of-war with Sasuke. On the one side was a pink-haired girl with green eyes, and dressed in a red qipao and headband; the other was a platinum blonde with dirty blue eyes and in a purple blouse. The former of the two was Haruno Sakura, a girl from a civilian family, and one of the few friends he'd made in his short life. Yamanaka Ino, who was the other girl pulling on Sasuke's arm, was another one. Both of them got along fine with him, and actually enjoyed spending time with him. That all changed when the three of them went to the academy together, and they both noticed Sasuke. And the most sour note in his opinion was that the boy didn't even make an effort to return the gesture…it's like the two of them just decided to drop all memory of him and their time together, and decided to spend all their time chasing after a boy that clearly didn't even like them.

He simply walked on to the school gates, and ignored the sound of the fangirls squealing at Sasuke. The worst offenders were Sakura and Ino, who were both fighting over him. I have no time for these shenanigans! thought Naruto, standing back up and dusting himself off, If these stupid fangirls want to die because they were fawning over Sasuke-teme, then so be it!

Naruto stopped for a moment as soon as he realized something. Wait a minute, why did I just think that?

Deciding it was nothing, Naruto continued walking on into the classroom. Hopefully, the teachers would be a lot more merciful on him than last time. Still, at least he had a chance in Taijutsu…he could feel the confidence surging through him as he looked forward to the sparring matches. Look out, School! It's time for a new me!

[Somewhere in Konoha Ninja Academy]

A pair of eyes looked down on one Uzumaki Naruto as he walked into the classroom. The emotion behind them was of outright hate and scorn for the boy. Fortunately for the person that looked at Naruto in that way, he was able to mask his hate with an enthusiastic expression on his face.

With any luck, his plans would work out, and he would be able to execute them flawlessly.

{Play: "Oak Research Lab" from "Pokémon Reorchestrated: Kanto Symphony"}

[Classroom─five minutes later]

The class was noisy; this was especially the fact since Naruto had heard that the Sasuke Fangirls were mystified by the fact that the object of their affections had just disappeared. He had a pretty good idea where Sasuke would end up. And on cue, Naruto had wound up hazarding a glance to his right to see Sasuke sitting right next to him, and staring out the window, as usual.

Without missing a beat, Naruto watched as Sakura and Ino were running down the aisle. They stared each other down as they raced towards the very tier that he was sitting on. The two of them shoved and pushed until Sakura wound up running down his aisle. As soon as she got near him, she pulled him out of his seat, threw him out of it with a quick "out of my way!", and sat right down to chat up Sasuke.

{Play: "Nemesis" by Neil Davidge, from "Halo 4"}

As he stood up, Naruto had a very fierce snarl on his face. This has gone on far enough! he thought, turning his attention to Sakura. She was still distracted with Sasuke in front of her, still trying to chat him up. He quickly placed a hand at the side of her head, and gave it a very strong push to pin her head to the desk. The suddenness of his attack had frozen everyone in their places; Naruto, the boy who took everything that Haruno Sakura dished out on him while asking her out, had suddenly and actively struck her.

"What the hell are you doing, Naruto-baka?" she managed to get out, struggling to get free, "Don't you know I was talking to Sasuke-kun?"

"Shut up!" snapped Naruto, pressing slightly harder on her head, "I've had enough of this from you! It's always 'Sasuke-kun this' and 'Sasuke-kun that'! It's been like this since you first set eyes on Sasuke, and it's gotten old! I've tried to ask you out, not because I wanted to date you, but because I wanted to save our friendship. And what do I get in return? For no reason at all, other than just wanting to be your friend, you punch me in the face and call me a 'loser'! Instead of asking me to switch seats with you, you throw me out of my seat and sit down on it. Don't you feel guilty at all?"

At that moment, Sakura began to register exactly what was being said to her. Was she that focused on Sasuke that she turned into this monster? However, Naruto's verbal rampage was far from over, as he turned his attention to Ino, who was currently sitting with Chōji and Shika with an awestruck expression on her face. "You're not innocent in this either Ino. Sure, you do get it into your head from time to time to at least be nice to me, but do you stay to make sure I'm alright? No, the second Sasuke shows up, you just run with the crowd, and ignore me outright. I'm alright if we all grew apart, but do you both cherish our time together so little that you'd do this?"

Naruto let out a cathartic sigh as he released Sakura from his grip. She had not moved from her spot because she was still processing everything that he'd let out. "I'm done with this. I just pray that whatever friend you make in the future is willing to put up with what you two have been doing to me. I gave you both plenty of chances to keep our friendship alive the past two years; now, I'm all out of patience." He then turned his attention to Sasuke, who was just plain shocked at what he'd just witnessed. "As for you Sasuke, I'm tired of being your fangirl barrier. I mean, has it ever occurred to you that they would stop if you'd just be honest with them about how you feel? If you want them to leave you alone, don't ignore them and say something! Anything! Tell them you hate them! Tell them they're annoying! I don't care, just be honest about it!"

Having said his piece, Naruto left the aisle. Where did that come from? he asked himself, I mean, I understand Sasuke, but why did I just blow up on Sakura-chan and Ino-chan? What's happening to me? Naruto managed to take a seat a few tiers above Sasuke and Sakura. It was a mostly empty row, but at least it had a lot of peace and quiet…exactly what he needed right now. He needed to calm down and collect his thoughts with whatever amount of time he had left. It would've been a successful endeavor if he didn't have a feeling that someone was watching him. As he glanced to his right, Naruto found that he was seated next to Hinata. He then noted that she was staring at him. "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

"N-no, Naruto-kun," stammered Hinata, her skin taking on a deeper shade of red as she spoke, "N-nothing wrong…but…umm…I…I…"

Before Hinata could get a word out, Iruka had arrived with his aide Mizuki, with a dumbstruck look on his face as he noticed the students were staring at Naruto for some reason. "Huh, that's funny, normally I'd have to yell at the brats to get them to shut up."

"That's really odd."

Deciding it was nothing, Iruka decided to begin with the day's lessons.

{Play: "The Hive" by Glenn Stafford, Derek Duke, Russell Brower, and Neal Arcee, from "Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty"}

[Unknown location]

There was nothing but fire all around; the entire domain was a rocky wasteland with a substrate of ashen sand. Throughout the ground, one could see a slight orange glow that rose up from the cracks. Embers would constantly ghost into the air, and the air was distorted by the heat. From the distance, one could see a crystal tower piercing the heavens and illuminating the twilight with conflicting tones of bluish-white, and a fierce red.

Atop the tower was a woman with orange hair, and claret eyes gazing out into the sunset. Her unblemished, alabaster skin was pulled taut over a slim, curvy, and muscular body that was accentuated by a firm and generous bust. She was sitting slouched upon a granite throne with a snake motif, and inlaid gold patterns on the back. There was no sense of modesty about this woman as she sat with her legs spread out, her back reclined, and her head resting upon her right hand with an arrogant smirk upon her face. She balanced a sword with an eye near the fleshy hilt, with one hand on the pommel, and the tip being driven into the ground between her legs; her body language challenged any takers to come for the throne.

"Milady," came the voice of a blonde standing next to the arrogant amazon in the throne. She seemed to be in her early forties, but was no less stunning for it, and she was scantily clad in diaphanous white clothes that revealed her slightly more modest bust. In her hands, she carried a sword and shield made of blue crystal. Her face was obscured by a white mask with white wings at the sides. The angelic woman knelt down before the woman in a reverent manner. "What is your bidding?"

"Satisfy my curiosity, Elysium," said the amazon, periodically spinning the sword with one hand, and causing it to come to a stop.

The woman named Elysium looked upward in surprise. "Milady?"

"What would you have done with the boy?"

Even though her face was hidden away, the mistress of the tower could tell that Elysium was trying to find the proper words. "I would have taken over his body and used him to judge all mortals in this world before leading the rest to salvation."

"A zealot are we?" asked an amused amazon, feigned surprise in her voice, "And I assume your first act as the goddess of the world would be to kill your sibling Inferno?"

The one she spoke of was the animated suit of insectoid armor that was prostrated next to Elysium. All there was to see of the one called Inferno was a helmet, a pair of gauntlets, two-toed greaves, and a mass of fire that connected the five parts in a humanoid shape. While the flames obscured any identity within and constantly changed shape, it took on a clearly masculine form.

With a sigh, the amazon turned to "Inferno". "And I suppose you would've done the same…except you would've consumed every soul in your path, like the gluttonous little mongrel you are?"

There were no facial expressions to be seen on Inferno's 'face', neither were there any words to describe 'his' anger. But the slight fidget in 'his' stance said enough to the amazon. It wasn't so much as the insult towards 'him' that angered the construct, as much as it was the truth behind it. And there was nothing he could do about it because that 'bitch' was holding 'his' true body. "Now that I know what the two of you originally intended to do, what are you going to do now?"

"As we invaded his body, we saw through the boy's eyes that he'd had a glimpse into the past," answered Elysium, "now that we are both infused into the boy, and our former master has chosen him as his successor, we have no other option but to serve him on his path to kingship. You conquering us only helped speed the process."

"Interesting," said the woman, rubbing her chin in thought, "so how long until he manifests the ability to use you both?"

"We have had plenty of time to allow his body to assimilate us," bit out Inferno, "but he still needs time for the ability to use us both to awaken. We can only allow him use of his powers, but he must discover the limits of this ability for himself."

"So you two are in the same boat as I am?" asked the amazon, seemingly interested in the idea before she began to grin fiercely, "The only difference here is that I'm the queen of you two mongrels!"

"With all due respect, there is only one stipulation, Lady Kurama," interrupted Elysium, "while you are indeed stronger than us, your status is still little more than as regent of this kingdom. Until you prove otherwise in a battle for superiority, young Naruto will always be our future king."

The woman named Kurama simply snorted in derision. Naruto? Beat her? Ha! Those two mongrels obviously don't know how much more powerful I am compared to that little brat! she thought, as she turned her gaze back out to the kingdom of ash, Future King? Oh he'll be king alright; the king of nothing! In fact, by the time I'm done with him, that little mongrel will become the king of licking the feet of his queen! Although, I do suppose it gets lonely at the top…and I do in fact have an ancient itch that needs scratching. Eh, I'll cross that bridge when I get there…but for now, I'll be waiting for you to prove your kingship to me, Naruto-kun.

There would be time for her to fight Naruto for ownership of the throne, but now was not the time. The legitimacy of her claim would be contested if she destroyed him at this point, and her 'subjects' would have no respect for her. For now, she had to wait, and watch as Naruto got stronger. And when the day came that he became strong enough to fight for the throne, Kurama would come out on top and dominate him as his queen.

{Play: "Song of the Ancients: Devola" by Okabe Keiichi, from "Nier"}

[Streets of Konoha]

It was very fortunate that the first day of every new session had no homework. This would give Naruto plenty of time to experiment, and find ways of using the power he'd gained from the two swords being stored away into his body. Well, assuming of course, he'd be able to use their power in the first place. I really hope I get the ability to use them soon, he thought, if I don't, then I'll be sorely disappointed.

As he walked down the desolate streets to Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto began to have a strange feeling tingling up his spine; like someone was watching him. He turned around to hazard a glance behind him. From the corner of his eye, there was a slight blur of indigo that vanished behind a lamp pole. Eh, I've got some time before I get to Ichiraku's, might as well see who decided to follow me around.

Naruto decided to walk down the street before turning a corner. The second he saw a portal, he leaned against the wall and waited. When he heard the sound of footsteps rounding that same corner, he reached out and grabbed his pursuer by the shirt and pulled them in with a loud squeak. He then pushed the person against the wall, but he could barely contain his surprise when he let out the name of his pursuer: "Hinata-chan?"

It was indeed Hinata, with her eyes wide in surprise and her skin tone flushing into a very deep red. She gave him the image of a cute little mouse that was terrified of him. It only served to make her even more adorable as she shivered, while she choked on her words. "H-h-hai, Naruto-kun."

"What are you doing here?"

"Ummm, I…I…wanted to make sure you…you…you were fine when you got home."

Naruto was touched by her concern for his welfare, but he had a feeling that she wasn't being entirely honest with him. After a moment's consideration, he finally settled on one thought. "Well, I'm going to the Ichiraku's stand before I go home, and I think the Hyūga compound is along the way. Might as well take you home while I'm at it, eh?"

"Uh, s-sure, that would be lovely."

For the next fifteen or so minutes, the two children walked down the streets hand in hand. Hinata had nothing to say, but Naruto had managed to make her laugh with several of his tales of his past pranks. He didn't think that anyone would laugh about his most recent prank: the man he did this to was a big-shot businessman with green hair and yellow eyes by the name of Yūki Terumi. The man pelted Naruto with rocks whenever the two crossed paths, and even threatened to cut his face with those weird-looking knives of his.

In revenge, Naruto followed Terumi to his home near the outskirts of town, and observed him for a few days. When he was confident he knew the man enough, Naruto made his move: he went to the park, and found a certain plant in the park that he roasted, dried, and ground to a fine powder. When the guy got out of the bath, he was sneezing and swelling up because he was in the presence of every cat in Konoha, and he had allergies.

Even now, Hinata could not help but chuckle at the plight "Naruto-kun, did you put catnip in Yūki-san's bath salts?"

"Yep," admitted Naruto proudly, "and because he would not stop hitting me with rocks, now he's going to be followed by cats every hour of the day. Let's see how he likes that!"

The two of them let out a hearty laugh at that. In addition to his throwing of rocks at Naruto, Terumi was rumored to have connections in the underworld. That, and he was also said to be sick in the head.

After a moment of silence, Hinata decided to speak. "Um, Naruto-kun, you mind if I ask what that was about in class?"

I had a feeling that would come up, thought Naruto, before sighing. "What about it?"

"I've never seen you t-that angry before," she said, seemingly working up the courage to say those words, "T-th-the way you really tore them down really scared me."

"Yeah, well, I gave them plenty of chances to be good friends. If that's how they're going to treat me, might as well drop them here and now, and be done with it," he responded, depression in his voice.

"I'm not disagreeing with you on what you d-did," stuttered Hinata, "i-i-it's just I…I…I think you were too harsh on them."

"You really think so?" asked Naruto, glancing at Hinata with a searching look in his eyes, "I'd been trying hard the past two years to try and get them to come with me so that we could really be friends. Like we did before we got to school, and they started fussing over Sasuke almost every hour of the day."

"And I understand. It's just that I think you could've taken them aside, and told them gently about what they've been doing."

Naruto began to think about what she just said. Is she right? Could I have told them about me trying to fix our friendship in a better way?

"We're here." said Hinata, bringing Naruto out of his thoughts. As he looked beyond the gates, he could see the entire compound. The place looked like a small fortress, and had a few gardens that he could see. The majority of the Hyūga clan lived in this giant mansion, and there were times when he was curious enough to wonder what it was like in that place, particularly the gardens he'd heard so much about. Maybe one day, he'd find a chance to sneak in; if only to have a better look at all the plants there.

As the two of them neared the gates, Naruto saw that there were two guards stationed there. Both of them were Hyūga with their foreheads covered, and each of them was wearing hard leather cuirasses and gauntlets, as well as greaves. Their faces were locked in an eternal deadpan as they looked at him and Hinata. "Hinata-sama, welcome home." said one of the guards.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," laughed Naruto, stepping away nervously from the guards, "I'll see you in school tomorrow, Hinata-chan."

"Goodbye, Naruto-kun!" she said.

Once he was certain that Hinata was safe and sound, Naruto made a run for it. Even though their eyes were white because of their dōjutsu, he had a feeling the guards would've killed him if he stayed any longer. Best not overstay his welcome, and get out as soon as possible. Besides, he still had ramen to eat before he went home.

{Play: "Sole Regret" by Darren Korb, from "Bastion"}

It just so happened that the Uchiha district was not too far from the Hyūga Compound. As far as he remembered, whenever a Hyūga was chasing him after a prank, Naruto would always make a dash for the Uchiha district, and they would end the pursuit there. Come to think of it, ever since the Uchiha Incident, the entire district was said to be haunted by the spirits of the Uchiha clansmen, and so not even realtors would be caught dead in that area. However, because its appearance was not too different from a ghost town, it gave Naruto a good place to lay low after a prank. And even if he had some people brave enough to set foot into the district, there were a lot of hiding places he could use to trap his pursuers and escape.

As he walked down the streets of the Uchiha District, Naruto began to calm down to catch his breath. All he had to do was to cut straight through, and he had a shortcut that would take him to the Ichiraku's ramen stand. And yet, he could not help but to look at the buildings as he passed them by, remembering some of the good times whenever he found himself in the district. As far as he was concerned, he had a so-so relationship with the Uchiha clan at best. Rarely did he ever find anyone that actually liked his company, as a good number of the clan seemed to hate his guts; people like Itachi-nii, Mikoto-obasan, and that weird Uchiha girl were among the few Uchiha that fell in the former category, with most being okay with his presence. Shame that a lot of them died in the Uchiha Massacre.

With every step he took, Naruto could not help but feel that for the second time today, he had eyes on him. It was always like this whenever he crossed the Uchiha District after the Massacre (which led to his fear of ghosts). He never did notice the shadows in the windows above him…

[Somewhere in the Uchiha District]

A pair of onyx eyes had followed Naruto's movements from a second-story window above a grocery store. The slimmer frame, the wide hips for her age, and her soft features marked this person as a young girl. The watcher had slicked-back raven hair that was held up by a navy blue bandana. Her alabaster skin had spoken volumes of her standing as an upper-class citizen, and she was wearing a midnight blue shirt with off-white shorts.

She honestly didn't know why she did this, considering what he just did today; just that she always wanted to see him. Every day, he normally made a trip through the Uchiha District to go to that ramen stand he liked to eat at every day. This made it easier for her to find him, considering she knew this place like the back of her hand.

Unlike Hinata, the watcher was a lot stealthier when it came to stalking Uzumaki. She always kept a far enough distance away that he would never notice her. This normally meant that she would get up on rooftops to follow him; preferably from three-story buildings.

As she watched him walk down the sunset towards the ramen stand, the watcher could not help but wish for the day that the Uchiha clan was avenged for what Itachi did. When that happened, and it was safe enough, she would drop the lies. She would walk on up to Naruto, and enjoy a bowl of that ramen he liked to eat so much. But above all, to tell him that she wanted to be his friend; anything that came after that, be it marriage or children, would have to wait and see.

But for now, she would follow him home, watch him do several things in his apartment, slip in through his window to watch him sleep, and then go home to sleep in her own bed. After all, tomorrow was likely to bring new surprises.

A/N: As far as Mizuki goes, what Russell Peters's dad likes to say should apply: "Somebody gonna get a hurt REAL BAD." If you want, I can reveal how each Soul Sword has integrated into Naruto's body in the next chapter.

Vocabulary:

(None today)

Cameos/References

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger─Daft Punk

Yūki Terumi─Blazblue