Chapter Three
GoGo
Let's take a quick assessment of my situation, shall we? More specifically I'd like to list the arsenals I have at my disposal. To my right is a talking cat that runs away at the first sign of trouble, on my left is possibly a hentai in a mask, carrying around roses in some place in his body.
I am tempted to ask where, but I probably don't want to know the answer.
"At least help has arrived," my cat says, though she doesn't seem to hold any confidence in our new ally. " I wish it were a Senshi." You and your stupid Senshi! What have they done lately? Did the Senshi save Naru? Did the Senshi fight a demon with crutches? Did a Senshi almost get mauled by a walking corpse?
"Look out," Luna yells, though for once it isn't me she is yelling at. "Get out of the way Tuxedo Mask!"
For a guy wearing dress shoes, he is pretty fast. He manages to dodge a blade the Youma throws at him, and lands onto the pavement with incredible grace. This was a feat in itself since it was a seven storey jump and he made it seem so casual. He stands tall in front of the demon, even if he is twenty or so meters away, and points his cane at the beast. "Your evil ways are about to end, Youma." In a flash the cane extends and stabs the creature in its chest , sending the Youma hurtling down the street and into another store.
The alarm on the shop starts to ring and I want to curse this idiot. Now the police are going to be here in the next ten or so minutes, so we are going to have to wrap up this fight by that time. Luna seems to understand that as well, since she glares at the Idiot Mask and tells me to pick up the blade and finish the Youma.
"Are you injured?" the masked man asks. He turns around and jumps at least twenty feet into the air and lands in front of me. He looks at my injuries and then at the cat. "Maybe you should get him to the hospital. That hand looks busted." I want to tell him his brain must be busted, since he just let the whole neighborhood know that we are fighting. "Get out of here, I'll take care of the rest."
Before I can tell him to fuck off, a screech from the store the Youma is in lets us know we are in for an even bigger fight. The creatures steps over the broken window, with more glasses covering its wretched body and gives the tall man a withering glare. I seem to be ignored and maybe I should take this time to get the hell out of here.
"You've ruined my operation. For that you must die," it says, its body shaking in anger. "Think to take me, human? I assure you that you will not be able to!"
Pretty sure I could have killed you a minute ago if tux boy didn't show up. I look at my cat, who seems to contemplate running away and then look at super butler, who doesn't seem bothered that his spear to the creature's stomach doesn't work.
He looks at me, and scowls. "Can you use that sword?" He shows me his cane and twirls it in his hand. "There is no sharp edge on this thing."
"Not sure, I've never used a sword before. A ninjato, but never a real sword." I make a slashing motion and he finds it satisfactory. "If I get in the right position I might be able to take her out, but other than that, this sword is more of a liability."
He nods, pulls out a rose from thin air and throws it at the creature, who was trying to sneak up on us while we are talking. The rose stabs the creature in the eye, and it falls to the ground screaming. Even if it can't bleed, it seems to feel pain. That's good, right? "We've got five minutes before the cops get here," he says. "Sorry, I thought I could finish it off with this cane, but it's a lot stronger than it looks."
I want to tell him that his apology is not accepted, but the creature is already pulling the rose out of its eye, and looks about ready for murder. I look around the place and think of a plan. Luna is gone, which doesn't surprise me, and Tuxedo Mask doesn't look like he can take a hit. He's tall, I'll give him that, but he is built like a lover, not a fighter.
"How many of those roses have you got?" I ask him. "Is there some kind of limit to the number you can summon?"
He shakes his head. "Honestly? I am not sure." He pulls out another two roses and flings them at the demon, hitting two on its legs, making it kneel on the ground. "But I don't want to find out. We've got four minutes left."
I sigh, and rub my temples. "Okay, that's no help." I look at my sword. Then look at him. "You got anything else that we can use?"
He looks thoughtful, frowns, looks constipated, and sighs. "Yes, maybe I do." He looks at something far away and nods his head. "Yes, that just might work."
I am tempted to ask the asshole what his idea is, but the demon is pulling the roses out of its body and is probably going to come after me in a second. "Alright, I'll provide a distraction." I channel Chakra into my legs, hope that it holds, and speed down the street with the jeweled Katana. It is blocked midway by the demon, and it slashes my stomach. I flip over once and slash down at the monster, and it dodges the swipe.
Bouncing on my feet I get a better feel for my balance and charge at it again. Three minutes and the cops will be here. I seriously hope Tuxedo moron isn't just going to leave me high and dry. Then again, that wouldn't make much sense since he is clearly here to save me, so he wouldn't be doing his job if he just left.
"Why are you just blocking!" an annoying voice says from a top a building. I look up to see Luna glaring at me. "Don't they teach you how to use a sword in Ninja School?" Not really, but they do teach us how to make traps, throw kunai, strange historical battles, science, philosophy, strategy, and how to blow shit up.
Looking back, it seems kind of strange that they never showed us how to use a sword, but then we aren't really samurai.
"How about you stop complaining and come down and help?" I ask it. "You've got claws, can't you use them?"
Luna sniffs, ignoring my plight and looks at something in the distance. "I am a thinker, not a fighter." It suddenly goes away, and I seriously consider throwing my sword at the kitten just to see if it hits.
"Don't turn your back away from the battle," the Youma screams. "You might find a hand in your chest." Sounds kind of sexy, or it would if it wasn't said by a corpse. "Die!"
I fling myself to the side and flip in mid air, landing on a crouch like some cougar ready to pounce. The demon quickly changes direction and spears me into the ground, then straddles my chest. I channel chakra into my hands and smash it into its face. It screams and gets off, clutching its bone like face in agony. "How do you like that?" Score one for Naruto. "That's what a punch from a Ninja feels like!" One who failed the Academy exam three times.
The demon wobbles from left to right and I slash my katana at its chest getting a huge gash into its chest. It screams and I hack it like a possessed psychopath. I can't let it recover, I just can't. This thing has some incredible endurance, and I don't want to test which one of us has the higher stamina.
Two minutes left, I've got two minutes before the police arrive and I have to finish her off. Tuxedo bastard has left me for dead, and my cat seems to have given up on me. I can't rely on them, I am on my own. This is just like back in Konoha.
So what? I've had bad odds before. I'll probably always have the lower hand, always be the underdog, and always have a disadvantage. That's okay. That's life. People live, people die. But at the end of the day I am going to survive, because that is the kind of person I am.
With as much might as I can possibly gather I channel my chakra into the blade. My hand aches, and this is the first time I've put chakra into a weapon, and I hope I don't lose function on this arm. It stings, and I can't get a firm hold on it, but I know that if I use this sword right now, it will slice this demon in half.
"Die!" I scream, and bite down my tongue as my Chakra sizzles out of control through my hand and into the sword. "Go to hell you crazy corpse bitch!"
With one move I've taken out the creature's other arm and part of her chest. With a final play the she-demon takes a leap and extends her head to bite off my own. I can't block it, I don't have the energy to do so, its coming at me too fast, and this is it. I've tried, I really did. The only consolation I get from this is that I took her out while I was still injured.
How many other people can do that? How many others would put themselves against such bad odds? How many others would risk their lives to save other people? Not many.
But I would. And I did, and this is the result.
Before the creature can bite down on me, something fast latches onto its face and the creature is flung back. It extends its head like a serpent and starts to wobble from left to right trying to shake the black thing off.
"Luna," I gasp. "I thought you ran away!"
My cat doesn't answer, but instead bites down on the creature's nose. Before I can run at it, and take her off, she jumps off and then something amazing happens.
The demon gets lifted off the ground by a passing motor bike and smashes onto the road. Before it can get up the person driving the bike does a wheelie and runs it over like road-kill. Then he turns the bike around and proceeds to run it over a second time. Before the person can do this a third time the creature turns into dust and the person stops his bike halfway and looks at me.
"Sorry for the wait," he says, revving up his engine. "I had a problem with the motor starting." The bastard smirks under his white mask. "You don't look so good."
Fuck you. "I've been better." I look down at my form and notice the creature has done a number on me.
Sighing, I tear off a piece of my shirt and wrap it around my bleeding hand. Then I look at the worried expression on the masked man's face and realize something. Something that makes the bile in my stomach rise, something that I've been dreading since the guy came into the scene, something that is probably behind me.
"The police are here, aren't they?"
Instead of nodding he ducks as a hail of bullets shoot across the street. I fall to the ground and put my body over my shaking cat. Luna meows worriedly once or twice and I get the distinct impression that she's never had to face problems like this before. Sirens start to blast through the torn apart street and I hear police cars stop, and passengers get out. I look up to see a team of Japanese officers hold their guns out, ready to fire.
"This is the police, drop the weapon you are holding." I look at my right hand and notice I am still holding the Katana. This isn't good. I look at Tuxedo Mask and notice he is charging his motor cycle. The bastard is going to get out of this fine, but I am not. "We have you surrounded! I repeat! We have you surrounded!"
No shit. Can you please be a bit more obvious?
"Luna, don't move. I am going to turn myself in." I stand up, with my legs shaking, and drop my sword to the floor. My hands are raised high in the air, and my bleeding face looks neutral. I don't say a word as some of the armed men come my way, ready to arrest me.
It's pretty dark out right now, so I can't see their faces very well, and they can't see my bloody one that well either, but from what I gather they look apprehensive. Then I realize why, and I resist the urge to scream.
Tuxedo Mask has released a hundred rose petals into the air.
And the police take this as a sign to fire.
"Uzumaki!" Luna screams. "No!" Bullets pierce through my chest as if my body were made of glass, and shatter my ribs. I resist the urge to cry, and continue to stand. The problem is it's hard to stand when you're losing blood faster than a faucet loses water. My vision becomes dizzy, my head starts pounding, and I can hear the police run towards me with the intent to do harm.
This isn't fair. I did the right thing. I tried to be a hero. I saved someone. Why should I be the one to suffer? Why do I always get the short end of the stick? Why is life so unfair? Why couldn't I be like everyone else?"
As these thoughts race through my chaotic mind and I start to fall to the ground, something grabs my back and slams me against a seat. My legs dangle helplessly on the side and I notice the ground starts moving at rapid speeds. I look to the side to see the back of Tuxedo Mask and notice he has got half a dozen bullet holes on the back of his cape.
Something presses against my back and I realize that Luna is there. She bites down on the skin some of the bullets must have pierced through, and seems to be trying to get it out.
"Hold onto something!" Tuxedo Mask shouts. "I'm going to put this on full power." With one quick motion, one fast wheelie, one click of a nozzle, the bastard blasts through the road like some berserk speeder and leaves the rain of bullets in our wake. The rose petals that seem to come off his cape is covering our exit, and the giant moon in the night lights our way.
Police cars start to follow, and I can hear a helicopter in the air. I think I hear someone shouting for us to slow down or they will open fire, again, but Tuxedo Psycho isn't listening to them. "Is he awake?" he asks my cat. "I am going to speed up the bike. I need him to hold onto something!"
Shaking and afraid that I am going to fall off, I struggle to sit up straight, and, regrettably, I put my arms around the fucker's slim stomach. This is the most awkward position I've ever been in, in my life, which is saying something since I've made a habit of transforming into a naked girl when the mood takes me.
"We'll never speak of this, ever," he says, gritting his teeth. "You got it?"
I nod, my cat laughs (bitch!), and the two of us ride down the highway, with the giant Moon in the sky.
.
.
I wake to an angry alarm clock and groan as something hits my face. I open my bleary eyes to see Luna's worried red orbs. It's sort of comforting to know that someone cares about you, even if they are worried more about their mission than you specifically. "Thank goodness!" she says. "I thought you would never awake!"
I try to smile but my face feels so sore. "What happened?" I try to move my arms and legs. To my astonishment they move. Both sets of them actually move. I look back at my talking cat and notice she looks relieved. "The last thing I remember was…ugh, seriously I don't want to say." Yeah, riding with that hentai is not something I am ever going to talk about, again.
"Indeed," she agrees. "We have much bigger problems at our hand than some Romeo in a cape." Did she just make a joke? Interesting. So she does have some sense of humor, even if it's the insulting kind. "How is your body? Do you feel any pain?"
Everywhere. "No, not one bit." I remove the sheets from my body and notice that I'm undressed. "Luna, um, did you-,"
"No!" she shouts, blushing. "Dr. Mizuno made a visit and healed you." She looks down onto the bed sheets. "I heard that you almost died. You should have died. The bullets hit your lungs."
I pale. "Am I still in critical condition?" Please say no, pleas say no. "Am I out of the red?"
She shakes her head. "At one point you were way past that." She looks out the window, I follow her gaze and notice that the sun is about to go down. I sigh, and try to think how long I've been passed out. Luna answers my question for me."Four days, you've been knocked out for four days."
I nod, and look at my injuries again. They seem to be gone. My healing factor must have been working overtime. I look at Luna, who looks somewhat uncomfortable. "Luna, how did the Tuxedo guy know to drop me off here?" The question catches the cat off guard. "Did you tell him I live here?"
Luna shakes her head. "No, I did not. " She bites her lip, and thinks. "He just dropped you off on the curb, told me to take care of you, and blasted down the street, leading the cops as far away as possible."
I nod. The guy is an idiot, but at least he got me out of danger, and out of jail. I go to the drawer and pull out some clothes. Luna looks away as I change with a blush on her cheeks and I want to ask her why my naked body bothers her. I mean, she is just a cat. It's not like she is a human girl or anything. Plus, she is naked all the time.
"Hurry up and change," she says, still looking embarrassed. "And give me a warning next time before you suddenly start walking around naked." I smirk. The kitten is a major prude. I can use that against her. "Are you done yet?"
"Yeah, I am." I look at the clock and groan. "It's pretty late right now. Do we really have to go on patrol?"
The cat looks frustrated. "I don't like this either. You just woke up, but you haven't been active in four days. Who knows what kind of schemes the Dark Kingdom has thought up while you were asleep." I wasn't asleep you lousy bitch, I was bordering on the brink of life and death. "Put on some shoes and head out."
Careful not to step on the cat on my way to my sneakers, I grab a pair and put them on. There isn't a mirror in this room so I have no idea how I look. I probably look like a beat up hobo, but I don't have time to think about little details like that.
I have demons to worry about. Demons that want to destroy my new home. I still don't understand my role in this battle, if it can even be called that, but I know that without me someone would have died tonight. I saved someone, and it feels good. I got to be a good guy for once and even if I almost died, I at least didn't have to do it alone.
"Okay, Luna, let's go." I let the cat climb onto my shoulder. "But this doesn't mean I've agreed to be the Guardian of Tokyo, once you find those Sailor Senshi, I am out of the picture."
The cat meows once, and nods her head.
.
.
It turns out that the next Youma is located in some Cram School a block away from the orphanage. Luna says that she has some contacts that might help narrow down where exactly in the building the demon is located. I want to ask her how a talking cat has contacts, but decide against it. The more I know about this whole Moon Kingdom business, the more I am going to get sucked into her stupid world.
The morning after my patrol, if you can even call it that, I go to to collect a Doctor's note and she tells me to stay away from gang fights. I don't deny or admit that I was beat up by a gang because she's pretty good at spotting lies. I am just grateful that she is so busy, otherwise I would have a very interesting conversation about bullet wounds that go deep into my lungs.
"You should hurry up, you are going to be late for class," Luna says as I get ready. "Without those annoying casts you should be able to dress faster." I should, but I want to make sure that I don't look injured when I get to class. I can't let anyone know that I was in that street massacre incident last week.
After I am done getting my supplies I walk to Juuban Middle School and notice that the people in the neighborhood are reading the newspaper. It seems like everyone in the immediate area has their head glued onto the pages. I decide to grab a nearby paper and look at the headlines.
JUBAN PLAZA ATTACKED BY ARSONS!
On the front there is a blurry picture of me holding a Katana. Since I was wearing dark clothes at the time, my clothes blend in with the black street and you can barely see Tuxedo Mask. I try not to think what the newspapers have to say about someone like that. He doesn't exactly look like someone ready to blow up a district for no reason.
"What are you looking at?" A voice says from behind me. I turn around to see Usagi and Naru trying to look over my shoulder on their tip toes. "Oh! Not that again. That's all they ever talk about."
"Oh, why is that? It's not like anyone died." At least I hope no one died. "Plus it was only two people."
Usagi shakes her head. "That's not it. The thing is they had a high speed chase all across Tokyo, and the two bombers got away. It was the strangest thing I've ever seen. We couldn't get a good look at them since the guy driving the motor cycle wore this huge cape."
I laugh. Somehow that idiot's cape actually came in handy. Who would have thought? "What do you think of this?" I point to the paper. "You believe it?"
To my surprise it's Naru who answers. "I don't believe it." She looks at me strangely, and then shakes her head. "I think it was…something else." I can tell she wants to say more, but I don't push her. I can understand where she is coming from. Who would believe her if she told them that a demon pretended to be her mother and almost killed her?
"Oh no!" Usagi shouts. "We are going to be late!"
The next instant I see the girl run down the street like a cheetah and turn to see Naru sigh. "That girl, I told her we had to hurry and she stops here just to chat." She then follows the blond and runs down the street. I wait a few seconds then run into an alley and climb up the wall. Pretty soon I am at the rooftop.
I get a good view of the city and decide to run over rooftop to rooftop until I get to my school. It takes less time than using the street system, since there is no traffic and I beat the two girls to the front gates.
I turn around in time to see the gate's start to close and wave my hand at the crying Usagi who slams her hands against the rails, crying for the gate keeper to let her in. This is another thing I find strange about Japan. A lot of private schools have gates that close after a certain time period. There is the third bell that means that a person is late, and a fourth bell that means that the gates are going to close.
I guess it's useful since it keeps away trespassers, but it's damn annoying if you get into an accident on your way to school. Sure the gatekeeper will let you in, but he always gives you a warning to not do it again, and on top of that you have to serve out a longer wait in the hallway.
"That girl, how she manages to be late even when she runs ahead of us, I have no idea." I turn to see Naru, who frowns at me. "You aren't the only one who knows a short cut or two," she says.
I try not to smirk, since that would be mean to Usagi, but I have to admit she has a point. Pretty soon the two of us are in class, and Miss Haruna doesn't have anything to say about our tardiness. I guess she saves her anger for Usagi. "Class we have a new transfer student today," she says. "Please come in, Miss Mizuno."
Mizuno? I have a doctor named Mizuno. Is this a coincidence? I think not. From what I've gathered everything in this city happens for a reason. It's no accident that I found Luna, it's no accident that Luna found a person who might oppose the Dark Kingdom, and it certainly was no accident that Tux boy saved me.
"Ami, please come in," Haruna-sensei repeats. "Everyone is eager to see you." I look around the room and notice they look half dead. Most of them were probably staying up all night watching the news on the whole Plaza Massacre.
"Hai," a meek voice says from outside. "I'm coming in." Then a small girl with deep blue hair, a pair of thick glasses, and a pale complexion comes into the room. She is wearing the school uniform, and I have to admit that the blue uniform suits her very well. She looks at the occupants in the room that are mostly staring at her with disintrest, probably because she looks like your standard Japanese girl.
Haruna-sensei coughs once to let the shy girl know that she should start. The girl nods her head meekly and looks around the room, noticing that the class does not look particularly happy seeing her. I lean against my chair and don't question why. It probably has something to do with the gloomy aura she seems to produce.
I am guessing if a hot bombshell like Naru's mom were to enter, the class would have a much more interesting reaction. "Hello, my name is Mizuno Ami." She bows her head once and looks at the teacher, who continues to encourage her. "I am fourteen years old." Makes sense, almost everyone here is. For some reason some of the students look at me once before looking back at her. Bastards probably still remember my intro. "I live in Juuban with my mother, her clinic is nearby." Wait, doesn't Dr. Mizuno have her own private clinic, away from the hospital? "Please take care of me." She finishes her intro with a half bow.
Haruna-sensei shakes her head and continues for the girl. "Ami is also the number one ranked Junior Chess Champion of Japan, Captain of many Academic Teams, the Number One National Middle School Exam scorer, and has gotten a full scholarship to this Academy."
Haruna-sensei, you are an idiot.
The class's reaction to the new girl is startling. They look at each other, whisper harshly to one another, and have faces ranging from awe, shock, fear, and jealousy. Most of it is jealousy and that is the problem. The shy girl seems to pick up on this because she tries to say something, but our teacher tells her to sit down on a chair behind me.
Now this is strange. I wasn't aware there was a seat behind me. I look around and see, to my surprise, an empty seat. I shake my head in frustration. This is one strange school.
"Sensei, wasn't there someone sitting there?" Glasses guy asks. "Pretty sure he didn't' transfer out."
Haruna sensei doesn't answer his question, and Ami takes a seat behind me. I notice that the small girl is holding her bag tightly, as if someone is going to take it away. She sits down on her chair carefully, and tries to make herself look as small as possible. As she takes her workbook out, I can't help but notice that there are a lot of extra books as well.
It is then that she notices that I am staring at her, and looks uncomfortable, looks as if she has been caught doing something wrong. "Wasn't aware we had so many math text books," I tell her. This makes her look scared. "I am sort of new here too."
She relaxes, if only slightly, and nods. "These are the supplementary textbooks. If you are missing them, then it isn't a problem." I contemplate looking over one of them, but the class resumes and I have some catching up to do.
When the bell rings Miss Haruna steps out of the class and tells us to do some self-study. I take that moment to rest my head against the desk and try to catch some much needed rest. I am so tired, so weary, and the class was really intense. I never did statistics back home, and I am starting to really despise the subject.
"So, which school did you go to before coming to Juuban?" someone asks. I don't bother lifting my head off the desk, partly because I don't care, and mostly because I am just too tired. "You think of joining any clubs here?" Damn these girls are annoying. "We have a study group going, you want to join?"
The questions are harmless enough, but each of them seem to have the same undertone to it: we want to know you, but mostly we want to know how much help you can give us. Maybe I am wrong, maybe they are just nervous talking to a smart girl like Mizuno Ami, but somehow I doubt it. Japan is a city of competition, school is tough, getting a job is tough, and keeping one is even harder. There are a lot of people in this city, and if you want to be successful in this country, you need to use every resource available.
If the resource comes in the form of one of the best students of Japan, heck, why not?
"Hey, why aren't you answering me?" one of the girls ask. "Did you hear me?" Pretty sure she did hear you, doesn't mean she wants to answer.
"I am kind of busy right now," the girl says, slowly. "I have cram school so I don't really have time for clubs or study groups." That's a terrible lie. Cram school isn't that long. "I also help out at the Clinic." Another lie, good show. Way to tell your classmates that you want nothing to do with them. "But I wouldn't mind, um, meeting outside of club activities."
Bad move smarty pants. You really don't know how to deal with people, do you?
I put my head up and look at the girls who watch each other. I am no expert at reading expressions, but I am pretty sure they feel somewhat rejected over the situation. Not surprising really. They tried to recruit someone way out of their league, and got shut out before they could make their pitch.
"I see," the leader says, slowly. "Sure, we wouldn't mind meeting some time." She turns to her girls and they all nod at once. "We'll talk later, Mizuno-san."
The girls walk away, back to their side of the classroom and start chatting. I look over at Ami, who has gone back to her work, and I am tempted to ask her why she is so afraid to form a study group. Maybe someone used her, maybe she can't handle people, maybe she's a bitch, maybe I am over thinking things. Somehow I doubt I am wrong, in all accounts, and I tap the girl's desk to get her attention.
She looks somewhat annoyed that I interrupted her and she asks slowly. "Can I help you..."
"Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto," I finish for her. "What are you doing?" I point to her work. "You finishing up our homework?" She nods and continues working. "Ara, ara, you got that question? I couldn't get it right."
She pauses, looks up, and sighs. "It's not that hard." She turns her page around and points to the most difficult part of the question. "See, you have to remember this rule." And then she proceeds to explain to me how to get the answer.
I listen raptly at her explanation, and lean against my chair. From the corner of my eye I can see some of my classmates look at me with apprehension, and I wonder why that is. Some of them are looking at my feet, and I realize, for the first time, that no one has asked me about my cast.
"Can I ask you a question?" Ami asks. I turn to her, and see that she looks suspicious. "Why do they keep looking at your feet."
I rub my hand on the back of my head, then catch it, shit, I still have that bad habit. "The last time they saw me, I had a cast on my leg." She looks like she is about to ask how I got it. "Accident, a very bad accident." The girl looks uncertain but closes her mouth.
The bell rings, signaling that class is about to resume and I turn back to my desk. Ami puts her books away, and looks out the window. For a genius student, she doesn't seem to make smart moves, since she doesn't seem to notice how the people in the class judge her. That's a problem with talent. People want it, people crave it, people obsessive over it. I know the feeling, I know it well. I was so envious of Sasuke, envious of his genius, envious of his success, and envious of everything he had.
Mizuno Ami is smart, is the daughter of a doctor, and an Elite. If she isn't careful she will cause a lot of misunderstandings among the student body.
"Okay class, we are going to learn about the Edo period." The teacher goes on about Daimyos and Emperors. All of it sounds like I've lived through it and I can't help but feel that it's the world that I belong in. Eventually the class breaks off into a discussion and the teacher calls on some students to answer a few questions.
All of this somewhat bores me, so I look out the window. "Uzumaki-san, I see you have been paying careful attention to my lecture." I turn my head around to face the woman. The teacher is short, frail, and somewhat cold. My eyes search the classroom and I notice that a few of the boys are smirking, while the girls look annoyed. I keep forgetting how serious girls take this class. "Perhaps you wouldn't mind answering why the Emperor would want the Daimyo's family close to the Palace?
I go over what I know about Daimyo and come up with the answer based on what I remember from Iruka Sensei's lecture on why the higher nobility keep the lower nobilities' families near them. "It's probably because the Emperor wanted to keep the Daimyo under their control." I say. The teacher gestures for me to continue. "By keeping the Daimyo's family near the Palace it lets them know that if they, the Daimyos, were to betray the Emperor, the Emperor would have their families, um, killed?"
I am unsure about this last part, but my teacher nods reluctantly. "Very good, can you explain to us what the Daimyos are and…" So the teacher asks me another set of questions, one that I am pretty sure was not in the lecture since I read over today's class, and after I am done explaining my answer I am allowed to get back to watching the window.
I notice that Ami seems to think it strange that I know so much Japanese History, but maybe it is just my imagination. Living in a Ninja village tends to make you paranoid and paranoia keeps you alive. It's one of the first rules of being a Ninja, it's too bad that I learned that lesson too late.
After the class is over Ami taps my shoulder. I turn around and see her aquarian eyes a light with curiosity. "I read the chapter…some of what you said weren't in our texts." This isn't good. "Do you have an interest in Japanese history?" Me? A Gaijin with an interest in the Japanese? Give me a break. "All of the things you said about the Daimyos, that was just so...graphic."
I shrug. "The Daimyos aren't good people, so I try not to make them sound so heroic." That's one of the annoying things about the Japanese, every historical figure from a noble bloodline seems to appear powerful, wise, and god-like.
Hagiography is truly a tragedy.
"I am sure they weren't that bad." Yes they were. Maybe in this world they didn't employ Ninja, but can you say Samurai can't be as dangerous? "Besides, not all history books are accurate. Perhaps you read the sources wrong. You make them sound so…bloodthirsty." Oh, you have no idea.
I shrug, not wanting to explain to her that I've seen Daimyos before and they are utter bastards. Monsters who use the poor, and use Ninjas to do their dirty work, but that would blow away my cover. That's another thing that I find frustrating. More and more I am remembering what I learned from the Academy. I am so desperate to remember. Every lesson taught, every classroom demonstration, every word of advice, they are coming back to me.
Because I need them now more than ever. I need them now to survive.
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Eventually its lunchtime and I find myself sitting by myself. It is only when glasses guy, who is really named Umino, Usagi, and Naru sit beside me that things get interesting. Umino asked me if my legs were all better since I no longer have my cast on, and I told him that they work fine. He says that I'll have to come to gym class, and I grin at him for his comment.
"So, what do you guys think about the new girl," Umino asks. He lies back on his chair and looks at Naru. For some reason he always asks Naru these types of questions. Wonder if he likes her? The two would make a strange couple. "I think she's sort of cold."
"Definitely," answers Naru, she looks at my face a second and continues. "I tried to talk to her, but she brushed me off and returned to her book." She folds her hands over her chest and looks annoyed. "It's like I was not interesting enough for her or something."
You probably weren't, but I decide not to comment." Maybe she is just shy," I try to point out. After all, Naru is sort of pretty, while Ami is a bit bland. "You are kind of intimidating."
Naru looks annoyed and sniffs. "Well excuse me for being beautiful, Uzumaki, I wasn't aware that being a strong, independent woman was a crime." She turns her head away and returns to her lunch. She's got a serious problem with me. Ever since I saved her from the shop she's been acting strange.
"Right…anyway, maybe one of us should invite her over?" Usagi asks, looking hopeful."Don't you think she looks lonely?" I look at Ami, who is sitting alone on a lunch table near a vending machine. It's the worst possible spot someone can have lunch, but it's the best place if you have nowhere else to go.
"I don't know," Naru says.
She turns to a chubby girl who hasn't stopped looking at Ami with jealousy ever since she learned of her.
I don't think this fat bitch approves of me either, and before you say that I am a cruel asshole because I called her 'fat', then I'll tell you right now that fat, skinny, short, or tall, I like girls of all shapes and sizes.
It's just that I really, really hate Naru's friend. "I don't like her." See what I mean?" I think we should stay away from her. She probably thinks she is better than the rest of us." She returns to her food and eats her sorrow away. After she is done she turns to Usagi and tries to convince the blond. "You should stay away from her too, I heard she doesn't like non-smart people."
What the hell? She insults her friend without even knowing it? Why does Umino let this girl hang with them? She then turns to me, looks me dead in the eye, and says, "What were you doing talking to her?" Meaning 'I don't approve of you, Gaijin, associating with those far, far out of your social standing.'
I want to tell her it's none of her business, but I decide against it. She may be harsh, mean, spiteful, and quick to temper, but she is still a girl, and girls can make a guy's life hell. "We were talking about Japanese History." Fat bitch has the gall to sneer at me, like I don't know anything about history. "She seems to know a lot about everything," I finish.
"Makes sense," Umino says, picking some food off Usagi's plate, causing said girl to bash him over the head with a spoon. "Damn it Usagi, you don't have to go that far! Anyway, she's reading a book right now. Probably the class lecture notes. If I studied like that I would know a lot too."
"But it's not just that," Naru says. "She is also the top scorer on the National Exam. That's pretty big."
Usagi looks up from her plate, just starting to realize what we are talking about. She's a nice girl, god bless, but she is really, really slow. "What! Wow, she is so smart." Usagi, I should stab you. "Maybe we should ask her to join our study group?"
Fat bitch slams her hand on the table and turns her face away. "No, we are already crowded as it is." She sneaks a peek at my direction to let me know that I am also not invited to their study group. Umino looks like he is about to say something, but the chubby girl cows him down.
Naru then glares at Fat bitch, causing the little shit to look meek. "I think we have room for at least one more person," she says, then directs her angry stare at my direction. "But you probably don't need it, do you?"
Probably not, but it could still be useful. Higher grades means a higher position in this world. "Yeah, I am good at math, physics, anything with problems, but I am crap when it comes to some of the other courses."
Naru nods and Usagi looks uncomfortable. She stares at the lonely blue haired girl and returns to her meal. I can tell she really wants to invite her, not sure why, but she does. Maybe it's because she is a good person, maybe Usagi sees something in her, maybe it's because Usagi has a habit of picking up strays, or maybe it's a whim. In any case, she doesn't move.
It's then that Taro and his gang enter the lunchroom and I get up from the table. They spot me as I walk away from my group and I can see their scowls from my direction. If this were Konoha Kiba would probably call me out right now, but this is Japan. You don't just come up to a guy at lunch and tell them that you are going to kick his ass. Not when there are teachers watching.
Outside, before school, is one thing. Inside while the Principle is nearby is another matter.
They sit down on their own private table that most people stay clear of and start talking. I avoid them and try not to get in anyone's way. It's hard not to do that since I have a slightly wider body than the rest of these guys.
But that's not my fault. I've been training to make myself stronger for as long as I can remember. I've been channeling Chakra since I was eight, and I've made my muscles strong enough to endure the kicks and beatings the upper classmen occasionally gave me in the park while their parents watched in the background. The only consolation was that the parents didn't join in, that would have been a whole new level of pain.
"Watch where you are going," someone says, trying to knock me back as I leave the lunch room. I look to my side to see one of my upperclassmen rub his shoulder. He is a bit taller, a bit fatter, and probably weighs a bit more than I do. "Sorry," I say, while trying to be polite. "I was kind of distracted."
He looks like he is about to say something harsh when his expression changes midway and he nods. "Just watch it, okay?" He takes a step back. "I may think you did it on purpose next time." He turns away and walks to the seats near Taro.
Well, what do you know? Not everyone in Taro's little group of assholes want me dead. It looks like factions are divided, and loyalties as well. But then that makes sense. It's not often you'll find a group of people who hate equally. Some hate less than others, while some hate more.
The problem is, they all share one thing in common, and you can probably guess what that is.
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"So you sure this is the right place?" I ask my talking cat. "Doesn't look like anything evil is going down at that particular building. I even saw Ami walk in there about a minute ago."
"I am positive. This Cram school is full of dark energy. Can't you feel it? Can't you feel all of the positive energy being sucked out of everyone here?" No, not really. But I nod my head anyway, the stupid cat is going to give me no end of shit if I do otherwise. "Anyway, I am not wrong, and are you sure you are prepared to do battle?"
The cat is assessing the clothes I have on. I follow its gaze and frown.
I am still wearing my school uniform. "Don't worry, I have a plan," I say.
We are standing outside of the Crystal Cram School, and there is a shop that sells masks nearby. Well, it doesn't only sell masks. It sells toys, trinkets, porn, booze, and possibly drugs. I ask the vendor how much for the mask on the far left and he tells me it isn't for sell. I tell him he is bullshitting and he smiles.
Since I don't have time to get the mask I want I just tell the guy to give me the one that I can buy for a couple hundred yen. He hands me one that makes me cringe but I grab hold of it anyway, and proceed outside.
Luna looks at the mask and laughs. "You are really going to wear that?" Wonder if killing a talking cat is considered murder? Maybe I'll find out. "Oh, heavens! This is rich."
"Bite me." I put the mask on my face, take off my school jacket, take off my school pants, put on my gym shorts, roll up my sleeves, put my stuff into a bag and shove It behind a nearby dumpster. "Okay, let's do this. I got a test on Japanese History tomorrow and I want to get some studying done."
"That's one thing I approve of, young man." Luna says. "You always want to do your level best."
"It's not like I have a choice. I don't have enough money to pay for full tuition, so I need that lousy scholarship." I shake my head. "Forget it, the more time I spend arguing with you, the less time I have to study."
I walk into the entrance and look around for security. For some reason there isn't any and I am amazed that not a single guard is around. "Yeah, something fishy is going on." I continue to walk down the hall and realize that everything is dark. "Kind of spooky. Why the hell does Ami go here every day?"
"Who is this Ami you speak of?" Luna asks curiously. "I noticed you mentioned her at least twice today."
I shrug. "No one special, just this really smart girl in my class." I duck behind a nearby wall as a student comes down the hall of the first floor. "She's supposed to be one of the best students in Japan."
"She sounds like a lady of class." How the hell does grades determine what class a girl is, you small minded cat? "I approve of you associating with her." Since when do I need your approval?
"Now that Tuxedo Mask! Oh, I really do not trust him," she finishes. "He just seems to know too much about our enemy."
"How do you figure that?" I ask, I am kinda curious. "I don't think he could have taken down the monster without me there."
"Because he knew that he was fighting a Youma, and knew that it was evil." For some reason, I think the cat is over thinking things, but I keep my mouth shut. Luna likes to believe that she is the smart one among the two of us. "The next time you see him, apprehend him!"
I nod, not really caring about her advice. Don't get me wrong, I sort of respect Luna. Injured, and battered she went out of her way to save a bunch of people from the Dark Kingdom.
Heck, being the size of a giant rat she managed to give me enough time to fight off a demon, and even if I continue to make asshole-ish comments at her, she doesn't seem to insult me too deeply, or talk about my character in a way that belittles me.
There are a lot of things wrong with me, but Luna doesn't seem to care.
As long as I can help her, she wants to help me. In this city where people care so much about appearances, so much about fitting in, Luna is the one thing that stands opposite to everything this society believes is normal.
For Kami's sake, she's a fucking talking cat.
"Okay, take the stairs to the sixth floor. You will find your next enemy there," Luna explains pointing her paw at a set of stairs. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
I shake my head. "Couldn't I just take the elevator? It seems faster." Luna glares at me. I sigh. "Alright, we'll do this the Ninja way."
I let Luna climb onto my shoulders, transform myself to look like Mizuno Ami and run up the stairs using the Chakra under my foot. Fortunately I've been training for the past few hours to get a better feel for my current strength and am surprised to note that I got at least half of my original skills back.
I still have a bit of trouble with my throwing, but nothing short of practice can cure that.
"Slow down, I am getting dizzy," Luna says, I see swirls in her eyes. I stop and put her down. She wobbles to a nearby wall and vomits sardines. Gross. I turn away. "This is all your fault." Right, I am the one who didn't want to use the elevator?
After she finishes cleaning up herself I get her to get on my shoulder and we walk to the room where the Youma is supposed to be. "Now I want you to be very careful not to hurt any of the other students there." I nod, but don't particularly care for that part. "Make sure that no one gets hurt. We want to save these people, not cause a scene like we did last time." That's true. The police are still after me. "Do you hear me, Uzumaki?"
I am kind of pissed. "Loud and clear," I say cheerfully.
I drop the Ami Henge, but not before feeling my boobs, which gets a swipe from Luna, and take a deep breath.
I need to conserve all of the Chakra I have in my body, so I let my body get back to normal. I've got my gym shorts, a mask on my face, and my white dress shirt from school. One of these days I am going to go to a store to buy some casual clothes.
I reach into my pocket, pull out two small knives from Home Economic class and twirl them in my hands. I take a look to my left, take a look to my right, look up, and down, and grin underneath my mask. "Luna, you said not to hurt anyone right?" Luna nods, but doesn't like the tone of my voice, if her frown is any indication. "As long as I save them, that's the most important part right?"
Luna nods, again. This time scowling. "What are you up to, Uzumaki?" She backs away as I build power on my legs, and her eyes widen. "No, don't!"
I release a bark of laughter, lift my right feet off the ground, put Chakra into it, bend it towards my stomach, hold it there to collect elastic potential, and slam my feet against the door like a battering ram, breaking the large double doors off its hinges.
It sends the doors spiraling through the air like a throwing star, causing several students to duck, and the teacher to jump out of the way as the giant doors slices its way through a window. "Holy shit!" someone shouts. "Guys, run! There is some crazy fuck at the door..and the what the hell is up with that mask?"
The two or three dozen tired looking students take a look at the busted window, a look at me standing out where the doors used to be, a look at Luna (I have no idea why) and run like a pack of wild animals, as they topple on top of each other to escape.
The smarty-pants are literally clawing at their neighbors for the exit and I shudder to think what would happen if there was a fire in this building. They would probably be too busy trying to kill each other to be the first one to exit, than escaping the inferno itself.
The only person who is not trying to escape as Ami, who actually seems more concerned for her teacher. The naïve girl is helping out the woman who seems to be growing in size with every passing moment. I have no idea whether Ami realizes this, and I don't wait to find out.
Putting more Chakra through my feet, lifting both my blades on each hand, and readying myself for a charge, I prepare to spear the bitch if need be.
"What are you waiting for!" Luna shouts. "Do it!"
"Sure thing, Captain!" And I blast.
Mizuno Ami looks like a kind girl, but she does not seem to be a self-sacrificing idiot, like yours truly. The Four eyes takes one look at me, a look at my mask, a look at my knives, and jumps out of my way.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the blunette knocks her head against a nearby desk and I don't turn back to see whether or not she's unconscious and, honestly, I don't care.
The teacher transforms into a seven foot tall, spiky giant that resembles Satan wearing a incredibly sexy black dress, and opens her maw to reveal several rows of sharp yellow teeth.
If it weren't for the tooth she would actually be extremely hot. Sadly, that isn't the case, so I feel no guilt jamming my knives into her chest, using my body's momentum to slam it through the giant windows behind her, and hack at her like a block of wood as we both fall towards the ground.
"Naruto, get off her now!" Luna screams from the seventh or sixth floor. "Now you fool!"
I flip off the creature, using its body as a board and land on the ground a few meters from her. I miscalculate and accidently slip on some garbage on the road, and smash my head against a nearby trashcan.
Luckily my ridiculous looking mask provides some level of protection, so I manage to get back up okay.
Even if I see visions of Ramen bowls swirling around my head.
"It's getting up!" I hear Luna shout. I shake my head and, behold, the thing is slowly wobbling back to life. "Do something!" Thank you for your sound advice Luna, it's so refreshing to get such incredibly thought out strategies from you.
Kami help the Sailor Senshi you find, cause I am sure as hell not going to stick around after we find them.
"Duck!"
Well, at least she is good at warning me when to fall to the ground before I get my head cut off. She would have been pretty useful back in Konoha.
"Who are you?" The thing does not look happy. It's large maw is dripping venom, its demonic eyes are bloodshot, and I see steam rising from its ears. Yeah, it's pissed, real, super pissed. "Wait, I've seen you before..but where?"
As I stand on my wobbly feet, shake the pain off my head, and get into a fighting position, I hear the voice of a little boy in the background.
"Mom, mom!" He says. I grit my teeth. I know what's coming. Luna is likely somewhere in the background laughing her furry head off, and there are probably a bunch of reasons why this is one of the most ironic masks I could possibly wear.
I've seen the TV show this mask comes from, I've seen the characters, and I really, really hate their guts.
"Mom! It's..it's..oh my god! It's the Yellow Ranger!"
Ladies and gentleman, let me introduce you to one of Japan's most bizarre, addictive, tragic, heroic, interesting, and possibly most perverted invention: Ninja Sentai Kakuranger.
Also known as 'The Mighty Morphing Power Rangers.'
"Mom!" the boy continues, looking like he's won the biggest Pokemon lottery in the universe. He keeps jumping up and down, pointing to my cheap plastic mask. "This..this is incredible! I knew they were real! You told me it was just a show, you told me I was just imagining things, you even made me see a psychiatrist, but they are real!" I think he just wet himself. "The Power Rangers are real!"
I resist the urge to slam my head against a nearby telephone poll.
Before the creature decides to attack, I let out a sigh because I really, really should have coughed up the extra yen for the Optimus Prime mask...
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Please Review: Keep reviewing guys, and I'll keep writing. Reviews make me write faster! Sorry, no beta. No, this isn't a power rangers crossover. Just Sailor Moon. Interesting joke though. I'll answer reviews when I have time. Wouldn't you rather have updates instead?
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Sailor Moon.
