Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Rosario+Vampire or anything else mentioned in this story. Everything belongs to their respective licenses holders. If I owned either series and the money that came with them, I'd build myself a nice little fortress... at the south pole! Why somewhere that excessively cold, you ask? Well, let me put it this way: State record heatwave plus extended electrical blackouts... Happy writer, this does not make.
Besides, having penguins for neighbors sounds pretty awesome.
Chasing Shadows
Chapter Three : Embodiment of Lust
"Are... are you sure this is such a good idea, Naruto?" Tsukune asked nervously.
"What? Of course this isn't a good idea! It's a terrible one!... That's why it's gonna be so awesome!" Naruto answered with a grin.
The two boys were currently inside the room of Naruto's neighbor, the blond having picked the lock moments before. Naruto still owed the bastard who lived here for keeping him from getting any sleep on his first day here, due to the inhabitant's ungodly loud snoring. It was time to get a bit of revenge.
No... Not revenge.
Naruto Uzumaki didn't believe in revenge...
He did however, believe in giving a slight nudge to the distribution of naturally occurring karmic justice.
A week had passed since Yukari and Mizore had been assimilated into their little group. During that time not a lot had happened, well, other than Naruto scaring the hell out of a few more bullies and him getting scolded for falling asleep during a few classes. The blond had also managed to make his training into a daily thing, which helped greatly in cutting down on his ever present boredom.
On his third day living in the dorms, the blond installed silencing seals on the walls around his room, to both keep noise out and to keep noise from escaping. In hindsight, he felt rather stupid for not doing that on his first night here, but he lamely justified to himself that he'd been rather tired at the time...
The only other noteworthy event had been when Tsukune had met Mizore...
x-X-x (Flashback) x-X-x
(The Next Morning After Naruto Met Mizore - Pathway To School)
"Oh I wonder where Mizore-chan is? She was gone from her room before Yukari-chan and I left the dorms..." Moka muttered worriedly to her gathered friends.
"I wouldn't worry about her too much, she struck me as the kind of girl that can handle herself when necessary." Naruto tried to calm the pinkett with a nonchalant shrug.
"Mizore?" Tsukune asked curiously, this being the first time he'd heard the name.
"Yes?..." A voice sounded from right beside the black haired boy, a purple haired girl stepping out from behind a tree and into the group's field of vision.
Moka and Yukari squealed in surprise, while Tsukune let out a shriek at a higher pitch than Naruto thought any man could ever produce and jumped nearly four feet in the air, which was fairly impressive for a human civilian, before landing flat on his ass.
Naruto managed to keep his own reaction to merely tensing and clenching his fists. 'How the hell does this girl keep getting the drop on me? I'm a ninja for crying out loud!' The blond mentally shouted. He could only theorize it had to do with the fact that she had no ill intentions towards him, so it wasn't nearly as easy for him to sense her as he would an attacker.
'This girl would definitely make for a good kunoichi with some training.' Naruto silently analyzed. After looking at her for a few moments, he blinked. "Somethings different about you..."
Yukari quickly chimed in, having immediately noticed the change. "Your hair is cut shorter!"
And indeed it was, Mizore's light purple hair was cut much shorter than before and stylized with two long bangs framing her face.
The ever bubbly Moka quickly supplied her own opinion. "It looks really cute!"
"What... what do you think Naruto-kun?" Mizore asked the blond shyly.
The shinobi grinned widely and gave the girl a thumbs-up. "It looks great Mizore!"
The purple haired girl blushed cutely and smiled contently while gazing at Naruto almost longingly.
Meanwhile, Tsukune didn't even bother to pick himself up off the ground yet, he simply sat gaping at the scene in front of him. 'No way! He seriously has another cute girl that likes him after only two days at this academy?'
"Please, won't you call me 'Mizore-chan' from now on? Since were so close..." The purple haired girl asked hopefully with her hands linked together in front of her chest and a tilt of her head.
Moka twitched slightly. 'Just how close are these two?'
Naruto blinked again. "Sure, I guess I can do that... Mizore-chan." The blond answered with an innocent smile.
Mizore looked as if she were about to burst from joy and Moka felt her jealousy spike to new found levels.
The pinkett kicked at the dirt below and looked at Naruto shyly from under her bangs. "Naruto-kun, would you also call me Moka-chan from now on?"
"Oh! Oh! Call me Yukari-chan too!" The little witch quickly interjected.
Naruto grinned widely and threw his hands back behind his head. "Sure thing, Moka-chan, Yukari-chan!"
Both girls smiled happily.
The blond then turned towards Tsukune, who was dusting himself off after picking himself up, and smirked mischievously. "How bout' you? You wanna be known as Tsukune-chan from now on?"
Tsukune shot Naruto with the dirtiest look he had ever mustered. "No." He answered flatly.
(Present Time – Boy's Dorm)
Tsukune had been slightly pissy with the blond for the rest of the day, but came out of his funk quickly enough when Naruto shared some of his special ramen from his hometown with the black haired boy.
Tsukune had to admit, that stuff was actually quite good. Not good enough to justify eating it everyday like the blond did, but still pretty good.
After a full week had passed, Naruto finally saw an opportunity to prank his loud neighbor when the blond overheard the boy loudly agree to hang out with his friends at some supposed 'secret spot'. Was 'freaking loud' this guy's natural default?
Not that the blond was really one to judge on that front...
Once it was clear that the boy and his friends had left and would be gone for quite a while, the shinobi quickly gathered some of his old pranking gear, which he hadn't really had a chance to use in years, and made his way to his dorm-neighbor's room. How Tsukune ended up getting roped into the blond's scheme, the black haired boy would never know.
"Seriously Naruto, this is breaking and entering!" Tsukune reiterated in a worried whisper.
"Relax man, it's not like we're here to steal stuff. We're just setting up a few harmless pranks. Besides, we'll be long gone before anyone catches us. Now, please hand me that bag over there." Naruto answered absently while scoping out the room.
With a sigh, the black haired boy picked up a big bag of what appeared to be feathers and handed it to his best friend.
-x-X-x-
(Pathway To School)
"See, I told you everything would be fine. We got in and out in under ten minutes without anyone noticing us." Naruto said while patting his friend on the shoulder.
"I guess you're right... I still think doing that was a stupid risk though." Tsukune reiterated one last time before letting it go. They had gotten away scot-free after all.
"True enough." Naruto easily admitted. "But sometimes taking stupid risks yields the greatest rewards." The blond added with a grin, already imagining when his neighbor returned home.
Before The black haired boy could retort, the other males on the path in front of them began to speak up excitedly.
"Look! Look! It's the school's number one beauty!"
"Ah! Moka-san is so dazzling!"
"She's so radiant!"
Naruto sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Was he going to have to deal with this crap every single day? Without any preamble, Naruto rushed forward into the crowd and spoke up loudly. "Alright you hormone-driven morons, you should know the drill by now! Scram!"
Almost routinely at this point, the group of males quickly dispersed at the sound of Naruto's voice. The blond's reputation had only grown with time. Ridiculous rumors now claimed that he was some kind of super warrior who had been in battles with the fate of the entire world on the line.
Naruto inwardly found it highly amusing how close to the truth that actually was.
Once the path was clear, Moka quickly rushed forward. "Good morning Naruto-kun, Tsukune!" The pink haired girl greeted happily while giving Naruto a quick hug.
Once the group exchanged 'good mornings', they continued walking towards their homeroom.
"Um, Naruto-kun?..." Moka began shyly. "I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast this morning... and I was wonder if..." She trailed off.
Naruto merely chuckled and tilted his head with a small smile, exposing his neck to the girl.
The pinkett squealed in delight and brought her lips to the blond's jugular.
Off to the side of the crowd, a set of purple eyes narrowed calculatively and angrily at the scene.
-x-X-x-
(A Few Hours Later)
Naruto whistled a nameless tune to himself as he casually walked through the forest towards his training ground with his hands lazily thrown behind his head. He once again had a clone taking his place in his classes while he went to go get some training in. It cost him some ramen every time, but he had nearly a thousand cups of the stuff sealed in various scrolls, so he could make that small sacrifice.
That didn't mean It wasn't a painful sacrifice to make though.
'I think I'll work on the speed I can form one-handed rasengans today.' The blond mused to himself, before a noise caught his attention.
"Oooohhh... P-please! Someone help me..." A female voice moaned in pain.
With his plans for the day immediately being put on hold, the shinobi quickly began to seek out the source of the voice. When he finally found the origin of the noise, he felt his jaw involuntary drop.
A girl around his own age was on her knees with one arm on the ground supporting her, while the other arm was wrapped around her midsection in a pained manner. The girl had light blue hair that was tied back into a shoulder-length ponytail, but had two long bangs hanging free and framing her face. She had smooth light skin and her eyes were a deep purple. She was wearing the standard academy short plaid skirt and a yellow sweater vest.
Despite all that though, what caught his attention the most, and likely the attention of every straight man alive, was the fact that this girl was more... developed in the chest region than any other teenage girl he had ever seen. It also didn't help that the arm around her midsection was pushing her breasts up and making them even more pronounced and alluring.
'Holy crap, those puppies are big! I wonder if this girl is a distant relative of Grandma Tsunade?...' Naruto wondered to himself while doing everything in his power to keep his eyes on the girl's face.
He succeeded... mostly.
"Help me please... Please lend me a hand... I just suddenly started feeling ill..." The girl spoke when she spotted him, instantly knocking the blond from his staring.
After quickly rushing over, the blond helped the girl stand up. "Of course! Lets get you to the nurse's office." As the girl leaned against him for support, Naruto idly noticed she was pretty short. She was a full head shorter than himself.
"Oh thank you so much very much," The girl began weakly as they started heading to the school. "I've always had a weak body." The girl admitted. "My... My chest just started hurting all of a sudden..."
The girl pulled the blond's arm, that was around her shoulder in support, around her body almost forcefully. "Hold me tight. Like this." The girl said with a sudden and startling lack of fatigue in her voice.
"Bwha?" Naruto blurted intelligently, suddenly not sure what to make of the situation.
The blue haired girl wiggled herself to his front so that their chests were tightly pressed against one another. "Oh, my chest feels like it's going to burst!" The girl uttered in what could almost be considered a sensual moan as she firmly squished her large chest against Naruto.
Naruto face became completely red as his mind struggled to comprehend just what the hell was happening. 'What the hell is with this girl? One second she looked like she was struggling to breath, and now she... Oh god, her breasts are so big and they feel soooo soft...' The blond thought while drooling slightly, his mind officially signing out.
"Hey, look into my eyes Naruto-kun!" The girl spoke up again, looking up at him.
Naruto quickly regained his focus as this whole situation was set off warning bells in his mind. The fact that this girl seemed to know his name without him telling her in particular made him very wary. She could have just heard his name through the rampant rumors, but his instincts were screaming otherwise.
She was targeting him. But for what, he wasn't sure yet.
He met the girl's purple eyes with a light glare, but he'd already unwittingly fallen into her trap.
"I'm Kurumu Kurono. Please be a good friend to me, okay?" She asked with false innocence.
The instant she said that and Naruto's eyes met her own, he felt a sensation both very familiar and completely unknown wash over him. He struggled to keep his thoughts straight as his mind was engulfed in an undefinable haze.
'What the hell... This is almost feels like I'm under some kind of a genjutsu, and yet it also feels different! She activated this the instant our eyes met... God damn it! Why the hell does everyone seem to have some annoying doujutsu these days!' The blond mentally screamed in annoyance as he struggled valiantly to keep any sense of coherent thought.
The blond then saw, more than felt, as his own body picked the girl up off the ground and pulled her into an almost intimate embrace.
"Kya! What are you doing Naruto-kun?" The blue haired girl giggled playfully.
'That's what I'd like to know!' The shinobi mentally bellowed, forced to watch as his own body began to carry the short girl in his arms bridal style.
The blond's body kept walking methodically towards the school as the blue haired girl snuggled herself comfortably into his arms.
"Why aren't you wearing the academy uniform Naruto?" Kurumu suddenly asked curiously. It was a question that had been on her mind ever since she first set her sights on him.
"My set of the academy clothes were possessed by a vengeful spirit. A holy man had to douse them with a whole bucket of holy water and then seal the cursed clothes away for all of eternity." Naruto answered robotically.
Kurumu sweat-dropped.
-x-X-x-
(With Naruto's Clone)
"All I'm saying, is that givin' the right conditions, a toad could kick just about anyone's ass." The Naruto clone said boisterously, totally forgetting no one here was aware of summoned toads, which happened to be twenty stories tall.
Everyone within earshot sweat-dropped at that theory.
It was currently lunchtime, and the group of friends, excluding Mizore as they couldn't find her, were having their lunches on one of the outdoor tables that were set up near the edge of the forest. At some point no one could ever hope to tell you, the conversation somehow shifted into a 'who would win in a fight' scenario.
Tsukune decided to move the conversation along, not even wanting to know the blond's thought process for that last oddball comment. "Riiiight... Anyways, I've been meaning to ask you Yukari, but how exactly does your magic work?" The black haired boy asked curiously.
The young girl smiled and held up her wand. "Witches are able to cast magic by our ability to channel the power of nature." She stated informatively.
That caught the blond clone's full attention, he hadn't heard that little tidbit of information before now. "Show me." he demanded a bit more forcefully then he meant to if the surprised looks of his friends were anything to go by. "Sorry. Please show me." The clone asked in a much softer tone.
"A-alright." Yukari nodded, slightly caught off guard at the blond's sudden intensity. She brought her wand out before her and levitated a nearby chair into the air.
The clone frowned, he couldn't immediately sense anything.
The group watched in curiosity as the blond closed his eyes and became almost unnaturally still. It was actually kind of unnerving seeing such an active person become so unmoving.
"Naruto-kun, are you alright?" Moka asked worriedly.
The blond didn't answer and remained unmoving for several more seconds before opening his eyes and looking at Yukari intently. The little witch blushed at the look that could almost be described as awe that was on the blond's face.
In reality, the blond had gathered just enough nature chakra so that he could temporarily sense his surrounding with more clarity without actually entering sage mode. It was something Naruto had been working on ever since Mizore managed to sneak up on him so successfully more than once.
Speaking of which, what the hell was she doing up in the tree to his left?...
Anyways, what he sensed from Yukari is what really blew his mind. She was actually channeling nature chakra! She was using it in a very indirect manner compared to him, but she was definitely directing the natural energy. Were all witches capable of this naturally?... It was almost like a race of demi-sages!
Just as the blond clone was about to swarm the little witch with one of the many questions on his mind, he sensed something that caught him totally off guard. His creator was heading in this direction and had some unknown chakra signature in his arms. Wasn't the boss supposed to be out training? Did he seriously find another girl in trouble? Sometimes, even he couldn't believe his own luck. There was something weird about the boss's chakra though, almost like it was clouded or something...
Well shit... The boss had been trying to keep his abilities under wraps for as long as he could get away with it, and the sight of two identical blonds in the same spot would definitely raise a few questions...
The blond clone abruptly stood up, much to the surprise of his friends.
"I have to pee." The Naruto clone lied bluntly in a deadpan voice before quickly sprinting off without another word. Once the clone was out of sight, it promptly dispelled. The boss could handle whatever was going on.
Everyone sweat-dropped.
"I... I guess he really had to go?" Moka asked, more than a little bewildered.
Tsukune wordlessly nodded, still looking in the direction the clone had ran off.
"Moka Akashiya!" A haughty voice suddenly called.
The group turned to find a blank faced Naruto emerge from the forest with a short blue haired girl held in his arms bridal style.
The group simply stared at the scene in various states of shock and confusion for several seconds.
"What the hell? You just left in that direction!" A very confused Tsukune pointed in the opposite direction the blond and blue haired girl had came from.
Naruto's blank face didn't even twitch.
The blue haired girl ignored the black haired boy's outburst and all the curiously strong reactions to her presence, and continued her speech to Moka. "You're a vampire, right? At least that's what the rumors claim... My name is Kurumu Kurono and I am a succubus." The girl narrowed her eyes. "I have come to defeat you."
Temporarily putting all of the odd events that had just occurred out of her mind, Moka posed a question. "Isn't it against school rules to give away your true form?..."
"I can't stand it anymore!" Kurumu continued, pointing at Moka dramatically and totally ignoring the girl's question. "You're the biggest eyesore in the way of my great plan!"
"Plan?" Yukari asked, finding this whole situation almost surreal at this point.
Kurumu began chuckling to herself haughtily. "Yes, my plan is to make ever male student at this academy completely become my willing slaves! The Youkai Academy Harem Transformation Plan!"
Everyone sweat-dropped and stared at her in disbelief. That was her master plan?
Naruto mentally face-palmed, because he still couldn't do it physically at the moment. 'Did I really get tricked by this idiot?...'
"My plan was perfect! I should have had every guy at the academy a slave to my beauty right from the start!" Kurumu began glaring at Moka at pointed at her again. "However, the boys at this academy are dreaming about you rather than me! I'm not letting you get away with this! I could never lose in a battle of feminine charm!"
The blue haired girl then smirked as she began to rub a hand up and down Naruto's chest. "That's why I've decided to prove I can defeat you... I'll show you I'm better than you! And I'll do it by claiming Naruto-kun here away from you!" The girl then proceeded to grab the back of Naruto's head and shove his face into the valley between her breasts.
Moka was surrounded by a dark aura and you could practically see the jealously and anger rolling off her in waves.
A few feet away, a tree was inexplicably flash-frozen.
Tsukune and Yukari simply stared at the unexpected scene with nosebleeds.
Naruto himself was on the fence about the situation. He didn't like being used like this, but he also wasn't about to complain about the new home his face had apparently found.
"Besides, he's just a food source to you isn't he? Is his blood delicious?" Kurumu asked mockingly.
Caught off guard and a little hurt at that accusation, Moka weakly defended herself. "N-no, Naruto-kun is my friend, I'm-"
Kurumu cut her off. "I don't care whatever your excuse is. Naruto-kun is mine now!" The blue haired girl brought her mouth next to Naruto's ear and whispered something the group couldn't hear. The girl then turned back to the group and winked. "I'm going to go make him mine forever, ta-ta for now!"
The blond suddenly turned on his heel and began to rapidly make his way back into the forest without a word.
"Wha! Naruto-kun what are you doing?" Moka shouted after his disappearing form in confusion. The blond wasn't acting like himself at all just now.
"What do you suppose she meant by 'make him mine forever'?" Tsukune posed the most prominent question on his mind after seeing all of that.
"I can think of a few possibilities..." Yukari trailed off with a nosebleed. Apparently the little witch was a bit of a pervert...
'You need to act fast, Naruto is currently under the effects of a charm.' An elegant voice suddenly reached Moka's ears.
"What?" Moka looked around rapidly, not recognizing the voice.
The others looked at her strangely. "What is is Moka?" Yukari asked.
"Didn't you hear that voice just now?" Moka questioned back, still looking around.
The rosary on Moka's chest visibly rose a few inches and a slitted eye appeared on the red gem in the center. 'Charm is a work of sorcery which turns the opposite sex into your willing slave.'
Moka looked at her rosary in shock. "What's going on? A voice coming from the rosary?..."
'I am another you.' The voice calmly explained. 'I'm using the rosary as a medium through which to talk to you from deep within your own psyche.'
"Another me..." Moka muttered awed.
'The succubus is a monster that seduces males. A charmed male who receives a kiss from a succubus is doomed to be her willing slave for all of eternity.' Inner Moka explained seriously. 'While I sensed Naruto was slowly regaining control of himself, it will be all over if he receives a kiss before he breaks free. You need to hurry and find them.'
Moka nodded understandingly and turned to her friends only to find them looking at her very oddly. They had only heard her side of that conversation.
"No time for me to explain it all, but if she kisses him, apparently Naruto-kun will become her slave for all of eternity!" Moka hurriedly elaborated.
"Then I guess we just have to prevent that from happening." Mizore's voice suddenly intoned calmly but dangerously as she dropped from her hidden perch in the tree and landed between Tsukune and Yukari, scaring the hell out of both of them.
Exchanging short nods with one another, the group took off towards the forest.
-x-X-x-
(In The Forest)
"Let Kurumu make you feel all better Naruto-kun..." The blue haired girl cooed as she rubbed her breasts against his chest. She was currently strattling the blond's lap and caressing his face almost lovingly while the boy had his back against a tree.
Naruto's body was twitching periodically as he was slowly but surely regaining enough movement in his body to put an end to this farce.
"Ya know, now that I see them up close, these whisker marks on your face are actually pretty cute." The girl muttered distractedly with a small blush as she softly caressed his cheeks. Kurumu could feel a small difference in his skin, while his cheek was mainly soft; the marks were rougher, making them almost feel like real whiskers.
Despite the situation, Naruto felt his own face heat up from the combination of her soft hands caressing him, causing his heart to speed up, and the unexpected compliment. He was pretty sure no one had ever complimented his facial marks like that before. People usually associated the whiskers with Kurama, given their very fox like quality, thinking they were a physical mark of his stigma, or that they thought they were simply clan markings. Which were so common back in Konoha that the weren't even worth mentioning. Either way, no one had ever said anything about them before as far as he could remember.
Kurumu began speaking again. "I definitely made the right choice in picking you to be my first kiss... Now, lets do this." With a racing heart, the girl cupped the sides of the blond's face and began bringing her lips towards the male's own.
Naruto mumbled something unintelligible causing Kurumu to blink and back off for a moment. "What?"
"I said..." Naruto practically growled. "I'm nobodies damn tool!" Naruto roared as he finally managed to bring his hands together behind the girl's waist and form the ram hand-sign. "Release!"
The next thing Kurumu knew, she was flat on her ass with a pissed off shinobi glaring down at her.
"Wah?... How did you break free like that?" The shocked blue haired girl asked.
"I was slowly whittling away at that damn genjutsu ever since you first used it on me. I only just now regained enough focus to form the damn release seal." Naruto grumpily answered.
While she wasn't sure what a few terms the blonde just spoke had meant, the girl understood the gist of what he was saying. "Why are you fighting against me like this?... Do you hate me that much? I promise I could make you happy!" The girl honestly seemed to think she could bring him joy.
Naruto raised an eyebrow and silently studied the girl for a few moments. After apparently finding whatever he was searching for in her eyes, his whole body visibly relaxed.
The blond sighed and ran a hand through his hair before looking at the girl sadly. "I don't think you're actually a bad person... You're just kind of a dumbass." He spoke bluntly and unapologetically.
"What!" The girl squawked at the blond's sudden lack of tact, quickly jumping to her feet and sending the boy a death glare.
Naruto continued, completely ignoring her glare. "You're going about this in completely the wrong way. Think about it, do you really want a love that's only based off of some dumb compulsion?" He asked seriously. "I don't know about you, but there isn't anything in this world that matters to me more than bonds." Naruto looked downwards and his eyes seemed to cloud over with countless memories. "All the wonderful memories I've shared with my precious people are what helps drive me to keep moving forward everyday."
The blond raised his head and looked at the blue haired girl dead in the eye. "The thought of something that special, being based solely off some fake feeling provided by a charm like that... That just sounds like a hollow hell to me..." He finished with a sad shake of the head.
Kurumu took a step back and looked at him with wide eyes. She had never really thought of it that way before. From a very young age she had been taught how to effectively win over men, and of the importance of doing such, as her entire race was slowly dying out. With the possibly impending fate of her kind always on the back of her mind, the blue haired girl had always thought the ends justified the means so as long as she found her Destined One. But now, after hearing the blond speak so passionately about the subject, she was beginning to question her own methods and what she really wanted...
Naruto leaned forward and cupped a hand on the side of his mouth, catching the blue haired girl's attention and breaking her from her thoughts. "Also, just between you and me, I'm not exactly known for my world class intellect either." Naruto admitted in an over dramatic whisper, actually drawing a small giggle from the girl.
The blond leaned back and extended a hand to the girl with a smile. "Listen, I don't really know anything about the romantic kind of love, but I can offer you my friendship... You're gonna have to apologize to the others that you antagonized first though."
The girl simply stared at his extended hand for a several seconds before a smile slowly began to form on her face. She began to extend her own hand towards the blond's and opened her mouth to say something when a shout filled the air and interrupted her.
"Get away from Naruto-kun!" A pink blur screamed as it rushed into the clearing.
Kurumu turned and was caught like a deer in the headlights as Moka rushed to the blue haired girl and shoved her away from Naruto hard as she could.
Kurumu went flying at least fifteen yards and beyond some trees, putting the blue haired girl out of their line of sight.
Naruto simply gaped for a moment. He didn't think he'd ever get used to the fact that Moka had Sakura's crazy gorilla-like physical strength. Where did these girls get all that freakish strength?
Maybe it was the pink hair?...
"Oi! There was no need to do that! I pretty much had the situation resolved." Naruto finally voiced once he got over his surprise.
Mizore, Yukari and Tsukune arrived in the clearing just in time to catch that comment.
"Wha? But I thought... and she was... weren't you charmed?" Moka asked the blond, suddenly even more confused with the situation.
Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, she did charm me, but we ended up talking and it turns out she's really not all that bad after all. In fact, I think-" Was all the blond was able to voice before a scream of rage tore through the clearing.
Kurumu flew back into the clearing, literately, and she was looking quite pissed. The girl now had large bat-like wings sprouting from her back, extremely long and dangerous looking nails, elongated pointy elf-like ears, and a long thin tail coming from the base of her spine. The tail was slipping out from under her skirt and had what looked like a spade at it's tip.
"Alright Akashiya, you wanna go? I have no problem showing you who the better woman is!" Apparently the conversation she'd just had with Naruto was put on the back burner in favor of kicking Moka's ass.
Kurumu plummeted down in a low flying swoop towards the pinkett.
Before a hit could be landed, the succubus's claws were intercepted by similar ones made of ice. "Unfortunately for you, shes not the only one you have to contend with." Mizore informed coldly, standing between the succubus and her friends.
Naruto stepped forward and waved a hand. "Seriously there's no reason for you all to fight anymore!" The blond fruitlessly voiced, only to be promptly ignored as the girls engaged one another in a game of claw versus claw.
Naruto face-palmed. Maybe these girls were like him and Sasuke back in the good ol' days? Maybe they needed to beat the hell out of each other a little before they would ever listen to reason?
"Tsukune!" Moka worriedly called. "Please remove my rosary so I can help Mizore-chan!" She pleaded, rushing to the black haired boy.
"Oi! Now that's seriously going too far!" Naruto voiced a bit worried, the silver haired Moka was waaay to much for Kurumu to handle.
Unfortunately, Tsukune had complied with Moka's request before the blond's words had reached him. The black haired boy turned to the shinobi and mouthed an apology as he held up the detached rosary.
Youki exploded throughout the clearing, bringing a sudden stop to all action and forcing everyone's attention towards the pink haired girl. In the same process as last time, the girl's hair turned silver, her eyes turned red, and her body became even more alluring.
Moka had transformed into her 'Inner' persona.
Yukari, Mizore and Kurumu stared in complete shock of the amount of youki the now silver haired girl was producing. This was their first time seeing this transformation.
Naruto noticed something he hadn't the first time. 'Her power... It only stays at that massive level during the initial release of her seal... Once the youki stabilizes, she's actually only using about half of her full power, if that.' Naruto glanced over at the rosary in Tsukune's hand. 'Is the seal somehow still affecting her even though it's no longer attached to her choker?' The blond considered asking Moka about it, but asking the prideful teen something like 'Is your power normally this low?' didn't seem like the wisest idea...
It sounded like a good way to needlessly get his ass kicked.
'Her power still completely dwarfs every other monster I've encountered though...' He mentally admitted as he watched the silver haired girl stride forward confidently.
Kurumu stepped forward and shouted. "Don't mess around with me, there's no way I could loose!" The blue haired girl yelled in false bravado, trying not to let it show just how unnerved the massive youki in the air was really making her. She then foolishly took to the air then swooped down towards the silver haired girl.
Moka merely smirked. "You dare bare your fangs at me?... You frail egotistical woman..."
As the blue haired girl was nearly upon her, the silver haired girl rushed forward and spun on one of her feet, bringing up her other leg with the intent of landing a devastating roundhouse kick to the airborne succubus's midsection. "Realize your place!"
Faster than anyone in the field could follow, an orange and yellow blur appeared between the two girls.
Kurumu blinked as she realized her arms were tightly held against her body and that she was being held under someone's arm like a piece of luggage.
Moka found her own eyes widening at the sight of Naruto standing before her with an arm raised. The silver haired girl's eyes then narrowed, the blond had just managed to stop her kick with his forearm. 'He is definitely not a normal... The force of a single one my strikes is enough to take down most monsters, let alone a human... For him to stop my kick so simply...'
Unknown to her, despite the fact that his face remained calm and unchanging, the blonde was actually in a lot of pain at the moment. 'Fuck! It feels like she nearly snapped my arm into two just now! Note to self; never, ever, block a strike from her directly ever again!...'
After silently pushing the pain to the back of his mind, the blond spoke. "That's enough girls." He said calmly but firmly, never breaking eye contact with Moka.
"What are you doing Naruto?" Moka asked, staring at the blond intently. Although she was annoyed at him stopping her attack, the simple fact that he could made the boy suddenly much more interesting.
"Stopping this fight, I thought it was obvious." Naruto said as he helped Kurumu down and let the girl stand on her own two feet.
The silver haired girl raised an eyebrow. "What are you playing at? Was this not the woman who attempted to use you like a tool for her own ends?" She asked, gesturing towards Kurumu.
Said blue haired girl was looking rather ashamed of herself at the moment.
Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "As I was trying to tell you before this entire pointless fight began, I already forgave her for that."
Moka's other eyebrow shot up. "Really?" She asked amused.
Naruto looked at Kurumu. "She's just a girl who made a mistake..." The succubus struggled not to noticeably fidget under the intensity of the shinobi's gaze. It made her feel like a naughty child being looked at by a disappointed parent. "Making mistakes goes hand in hand with being alive." The blond continued in a tone that conveyed far more wisdom than one would ever expect from a teenager.
Naruto released a dry chuckle. "I know that I've certainly made more than my fair share of mistakes in my lifetime." He then smirked and began in a lighter tone. "Besides, some of my best friends started out as my enemies when I first met them! Hell, I can't think of a friend who hasn't tried to kill me at some point!" The blond finished with a over dramatic flourish of his hands.
Everyone sweat-dropped at that casual admission.
Moka silently studied the shinobi for several seconds before responding. "I've said this before, but I feel it needs reiteration; you are a very odd man... I don't believe I've ever met anyone else quite like you." The silver haired girl's eyes narrowed. "I honestly can't tell if you're wise, or if you're extremely foolish... It's rather vexing really..."
Naruto grinned widely and threw his hands behind his head in response. "It's definitely the foolish one!"
Despite herself, Moka found the corners of her lips twitching upwards in amusement. "Hmph, indeed." The silver haired teen then proceeded to wordlessly retrieve her rosary from Tsukune before half-turning back towards the blond. "Till next time, Naruto." She uttered in a voice that almost had a hint of fondness in it.
She reattached the rosary and reverted to the pink haired Moka, falling forward into a startled Tsukune's arms.
Naruto sent the black haired boy a short nod and turned to succubus while unconsciously rubbing his sore arm. "Are you alright? You didn't get hurt in that little scuffle did you?"
Kurumu looked at Naruto in a awe. "N-no, I'm fine... I'll be fine. Thank you for asking." She said in a tone more subdued than he had ever heard from the girl.
The bell marking the end of the class period reached their ears from the school.
"Oh! We need to hurry and get back or we're going to be later for class!" Yukari shouted, already running back towards the school.
Mizore, Naruto and Tsukune exchanged looks and decided they should probably follow the little witch's lead.
Naruto turned to follow but hesitated. "Are you gonna be okay on your own?" He asked the succubus.
The girl was touched at his concern. "No I'll be fine. I think I'm gonna stay out here a while and think about something." She said while giving him a look he couldn't quite decipher.
"Well, alright. I'll see you later, okay?" The blond nodded before running off after his friends.
The blue haired girl watched him until he was out of sight.
"My Destined One..."
-x-X-x-
(A Few Hours Later)
"So you have an alternate personality, and the voice of that 'other you' has started talking to you through your rosary?" Yukari asked, making sure she understood the situation.
School had ended a few minutes before and the whole group was walking together back towards the dorms.
"Yeah..." Moka nodded somewhat hesitantly. "It's strange isn't it? I wonder if this means that the seal is weakening?..." She voiced somewhat worriedly.
Naruto looked at the rosary on Moka's chest contemplatively. 'I wonder how exactly that seal works? I'm not on Pervy Sage's level when it comes to fuuinjutsu, but I know a lot more than most shinobi. Maybe I'll take a look at her seal sometime...'
"Naruto-kun." Moka called, drawing said boy's attention outward. "If it comes to the point where the seal doesn't work anymore... you would still like me... right?" She asked him shyly.
Naruto smiled softly. "Moka-chan... You're stuck with me till the end. Not a damn thing in this world, especially something as trivial as your seal breaking, is going to change that fact." He declared unwaveringly.
With tears welling up in her eyes, Moka glomped Naruto with a big hug. "Oh Naruto-kun!"
Mizore had to fight to control her annoyance and jealousy at the scene.
The group walked in companionable silence for a few seconds after that.
"By the way Naruto, how did you move so fast in the forest earlier today?" Tsukune asked partly in awe and partly in bewilderment.
Naruto stared at him for a moment before answering. "I simply channeled a bit of my inner-awesome." Naruto answered blandly.
Everyone sweat-dropped.
Before Tsukune could press for a real answer, a voice shouted, catching the group's attention.
"Naruto-kun!"
The group turned to find the succubus that had caused so many problems earlier in the day, standing in front of them with a small basket filled with cookies in her hands and a big smile on her face.
"Eh! What are you doing here?" Yukari shouted, drawing her wand getting ready for a potential fight. Similarly Mizore quickly formed her ice claws and took a defensive stance.
Tsukune and Moka stared at the girl warily, waiting for an explanation.
Naruto simply stared at her with a smile, idly wondering what those cookies must taste like.
"Would you like some cookies that I baked, Naruto-kun?" Kurumu asked with a cute tilt of the head
"Hell yes I would!" He agreed happily.
This girl must have read his mind!
"Why are you doing this?" Mizore asked the blue haired girl with narrowed eyes.
Kurumu glanced at the purple haired girl and all the others around her, her gaze stopping on the blond for several seconds before looking down at her feet.
Said blond was currently shoveling cookies into his mouth at an alarming rate.
"Us succubi seek a 'Destined Encounter' among the men we tempt..." The blue haired girl began. "In order to keep our small species from dying out, we must carefully pick one man from out of many to be our one and only 'Destined One'.
"W-what does that have to do with Naruto-kun?..." Moka asked warily, a feeling a dread welling up in her stomach, already having a guess where this was going.
The succubus cradled her cheek in a hand as a blush began to stain her face. "After everything that happened earlier, I've decided, that without a doubt... Naruto-kun is my Destined One!"
At the declaration, several things happened simultaneously:
The air suddenly became several degrees colder around Mizore.
Yukari actually dropped her wand in surprise.
Moka locked the blue haired girl with a glare that could burn through metal.
Tsukune began to choke and sputter on one of the cookies that Naruto had handed him.
Naruto dropped the now empty basket and the cookie in his hand was completely crushed as he stared at the succubus with wide eyes.
The blue haired girl then rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Naruto's torso, burying her face into his chest. "The things you said to me... the way you stood up for me and protected me... I've totally fallen for you!"
Moka and Mizore felt their jealousy and annoyance reach new levels and were about to let it be known, but something stopped them cold.
Naruto's body language was practically screaming that something was wrong.
The blond's entire body tensed and his hair shadowed his eyes.
After a moment the blond placed his hands on the girl's shoulders and gently eased her off of himself. "Kurumu." The blond began softly.
"W-what is it?" The blue haired girl asked almost fearfully, something about his demeanor was really worrying.
"I'll happily be your friend until the end... But I can't give you what you want. Especially If you only get one of these 'Destined Ones' in your entire life. I'm just not the right choice." The blond said in an almost remorseful tone, suddenly having a very haggard appearance.
"W-what? Why not!" She asked with tears welling up in her eyes. Not tears of rejection, but tears for him. Something about him right now was just so very... sad, and it was really getting to her.
"Because I-" He suddenly stopped as if something was caught in his throat. "Look, it's just not a good idea." The blond said, looking like he was mad at himself.
"B-but..." Kurumu began, with tears now leaking from her eyes, only to stop as Naruto gave her a pat on the shoulder and began to walk away from the stunned group.
"Just forget about me and move on." He said with a wave over his shoulder. "I'm not worth it..."
A deafening silence filled the air as everyone stood rooted in place as they watched the blond walk away.
"Wha-what was that all about?" Yukari asked, trying to dissuade the tension in the air.
"I don't know." Tsukune said oddly serious. "You all saw it though, right?"
The girls all turned to him, obviously wanting to know what he meant.
Tsukune sighed. "I'm not sure why he said all that... but I've never seen such a sad look in his eyes before. He almost looked... haunted."
The group looked in the direction the blond left.
'Naruto-kun...'
-x-X-x-
(With Naruto – Boys Dorm)
Naruto tightly shut his eyes as unbidden memories assaulted his mind.
"I want you to promise me Hinata... promise me you'll find someone to love you. Someone who will make you happy..."
"B-but Naruto-kun..." The girl spoke weakly.
"Hinata, thank you. Thank you for telling me that you loved me. I'm sorry for never really saying that before now... But you know why we can't ever be together anymore... Now... please... promise me you'll find yourself true happiness."
With tears falling from her eyes the girl nodded solemnly. "I... I promise Naruto-kun..."
The blond pulled the sobbing girl into a hug. "I... I'm sorry you and I will never get a chance to ever try one of those 'date' things... I guess I really am just a screw up in the end..."
The girl shook her head and spoke into his ear with surprising firmness. "No. Never blame yourself Naruto-kun... You did what you had to... I'll always believe in you. Just make sure you continue to believe in yourself..."
That had been the last time he'd seen her since the war.
Naruto truly hoped she had moved on, it had been nearly half a year now...
This whole thing with Kurumu left him in a foul mood. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt the girl, but he just couldn't give her the future that she wanted...
Not even the sight of his loud dorm-neighbor running down the hall covered in feathers and maple syrup screaming something along the lines of 'monkeys everywhere!' was able to knock him from his current funk.
He knew he had made the right choice.
He made the right choice with Hinata back then, and he made the right choice with Kurumu here and now. At least that was the mantra he kept telling himself...
Then why did he feel like such a bastard right now?...
AN: Now you know what I meant about the romance situation being more complicated than it seemed at first glance. It's not just that multiple girls are gunning for him, but Naruto himself has his own issues in the way as well.
I did say it would eventually be Naruto/Harem.
I'm half expecting a shit-storm of negative reviews from this particular aspect of the story, but it was part of the plot I planned from before I ever started the actual writing. Let me just say a few things before you crucify me:
First, this will be the last major aspect of the story I'll be this secretive about. Second, Naruto has a valid reason for his actions, and I promise it's not something stupid, like a 'Jinchuuriki don't deserve love' mentality (I actually read that in a story once XD). And third, have a little faith. I think I've proven I'm not a completely crap-tastic author by this point. If you've liked my story so far, then you'll probably still keep liking it. My writing style won't change and the group's dynamics won't be altered that significantly either.
Exactly why Naruto is acting this way will be revealed later on. I've actually already left several subtle hints for his actions, but like I said, it will be blatantly revealed later in the story.
Anyways, have a nice day folks.
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