Disclaimer: It's a tradition of mine to do at least one chapter in the following fashion, so don't blame me. Anyway, here's everyone's favorite Yuki-onna, Mizore!

Mizore: You do realize how pathetic this is, right?

Denim88: Enough, get the disclaimer over with already.

Mizore: You could simply just do it instead of thi-

Denim88: I'll melt you.

Mizore: ...Rosario+Vampire and Naruto are property of Akihisa Ikeda and Masashi Kishimoto respectively. Denim88 doesn't own anything from either series, and is pathetic at his disclaimers.

Denim88: You really are an ice queen.

Mizore: Only to idiots.

Rosario+Jinchuuriki
Chapter Four: Incognito

"If that photography club member asks me to join one more time, suspension be damned, I'll deck him in the-"

"Naruto, just ignore them. They can't force you to join." Mizore sighed as they tagged along with Kurumu, Tsukune, Moka, and Yukari.

"She's right, Naruto. Besides, there are better clubs to join, like the chemistry club, or the fortune telling club." Yukari beamed, "We can make awesome potions and read the future! That way I'll know how to get Moka-san to fall in love with-"

"Or we could keep looking." Kurumu interrupted, knocking Yukari to the side a little, "Naruto, why don't we go look at the baking or cooking clubs? I'm sure we can get lots of good recipes there!"

Naruto sighed as Yukari jumped onto Kurumu's back while stating that Naruto would never want to join a stupid club that she's not in. Naruto quickly moved around the soon-to-be-cat-fight, joining up with Tsukune, "What do you think, Tsukune? There's too many choices here...wait, what's salsa dancing?"

Tsukune simply shook his head, "I know what you mean. There's too many to take in. We can only join one club, too." He turned to Moka and smiled, "What club do you think would be fun?"

"W-well, Tsukune-kun, I'd be happy to join any club you want to join."

Tsukune felt his face heat up a bit, "Oh, ah...well, then maybe we should keep looking around, huh?"

Moka blushed, "Sure, Tsukune-kun..."

Naruto decided to give the two some space, though Yukari and Kurumu didn't feel that leaving the two alone was such a good idea. Naruto laughed as the blue haired succubus grabbed a hold of Tsukune's arm while Yukari hugged Moka's side.

"At least they won't lose each other in this crowd..." Mizore commented, "Any idea on what you want to do?"

Naruto scratched his head while giving a chuckle, "No clue whatsoever."

Mizore nodded, "Well, I think I'm going to go with Kurumu. She said that she wanted to see the aromatherapy club, and I want to see if I can find any scented candles from my hometown."

"Candles?" Naruto repeated, giving her a confused look, "Why?"

Mizore was quiet for a moment before speaking, "Ah, well...I-I remember my mother telling me once that the flowers that grow where we live have a very...um...intoxicating affect on people when mixed with lavender. I just wanted to see if it's true."

Naruto grinned, "Okay, Mizore-chan. I'll catch you later!" He flashed her a grin while giving her a thumbs up. She smiled while heading off to catch up with their friends,.

"Alright...if I was a cool club booth...where would I be?"

Naruto weaved around the crowds of students, passing by numerous other booths, all advertising their perks and activities for possible recruits. Naruto couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved as he passed by the groups that were predominantly female; hair care, perfume and cosmetics, fashion and design, and numerous others. Sure, there were male members in a few of them, but most of the men were around simply to flirt with the girls. Nevertheless, Naruto found numerous students—mostly girls—calling out to him.

"Oh, Naruto-kun, do you remember me? Gym class?" one redhead called out, "If you want, you can join our pottery club."

"Hey there, blondie, want to join the modeling club? We don't have many boys..."

"Ohh, he's a cute one! Hey, join our massage club!"

Naruto couldn't help but notice many of the boys around him giving him envious glares as girls continued calling out to him. He laughed nervously as he kindly declined their invitations (it took a good deal of willpower to turn down the lovely third year girl who offered him a free massage), and continued onward.

"Karate Club! Join now, learn the ways of unarmed combat! Sparring, technique, principles-all aspects are covered in this club!"

Naruto turned his head the moment he heard the word 'sparring', and looked to see a rather tall and well muscled male student shouting out to the crowds, drawing in a small audience. He sported a uniform of sorts, obviously a martial arts style, and had spiked hair and sharp eyes.

"Come on! You've got nothing to lose except a few weeks for rehabilitation if you get injured!" the student continued, "We'll even give you a demonstration! Any volunteers?"

Naruto grinned, "I will."

The student looked at him and grinned, "Haha! A first year with a pair finally speaks up!" He waved to Naruto, indicating that he wanted him to follow him to a clearing behind the Karate Club's booth where a fighting mat was placed.

Naruto stood on the other side of the mat while the man looked him over, "What's your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Naruto Uzumaki, huh? I'm Haji Miyamoto, the captain of this club." He grinned, "I've heard about you; you're supposedly one of the best first years in gym classes." Haji looked to one of the other karate members, "Funato, I want you to spar with him. Go easy on him."

Funato looked to be an upperclassmen as well. He had brown hair and brown eyes, and stood a few inches taller than Naruto. "Sure thing, Haji-taichou." Funato nodded before walking over to the opposite side of the mat, facing Naruto. He grinned a bit, "You have any experience?"

The blond shinobi shrugged, "I have decent experience with taijutsu." Naruto began to mentally panic; the term taijutsu was used in a very broad sense in his world. Shinobi often liked to keep the name of their combat styles a secret, so the word taijutsu was an interchangeable term. He knew of various styles, but he didn't have a real style that he used himself. With that being said, he wasn't sure if these people knew what he meant.

Funato looked confused at first, and as soon as Naruto opened his mouth to explain himself, the taller boy laughed, "I get it. When I asked if you had any experience, I was asking if you knew any particular styles of fighting, like Judo or Karate. I suppose grappling itself can be considered a style, though. Since we just want to see what you can do, you don't have to worry about serious injury or anything like that. Feel free to use whatever style you like, though I'm going to be using Karate."

Naruto tried to keep the relief he felt from showing on his face, then threw his green jacket on to the ground nearby before getting into a stance, "Heh, alright. Who makes first move?"

"I will. Let's see how you react." Funato replied. A moment passed before Funato ran at Naruto, striking out with an open palm. Naruto quickly slapped the palm aside and grabbed the extended arm before turning back and flipping him over his shoulder.

Funato landed on his back, quickly rolling to the side and laughing, "Okay, looks like I deserved that one. You're obviously not a novice." Funato changed his stance up, "Let's try this!"

Naruto ducked under a kick, and attempted to sweep his opponent off his feet. However, Funato quickly pulled his foot back. Naruto saw the heel coming towards him, and raised both arms to block.

A small audience had gathered now. A few murmured Naruto's name while others simply spoke in awe of how the 'first year' was putting up a fight against an experienced second year karate club member.

Naruto quickly jumped back before sprinting forward. He blocked a fist from Funato before palm striking him in the shoulder. Funato grunted, taking a step back. Naruto backed off a bit to give Funato a chance to recover, smiling, "So, where do I stand in rank?"

"Heh, you've got more than a few years of experience on your belt. You obviously know more than just grappling, though." Funato replied, "I can tell you're holding back, but so am I."

"That easy to see, huh?" Naruto laughed.

Funato quickly tried a grapple move of his own on, sweeping Naruto's feet from underneath him. Naruto reacted on pure instinct, using his sheer strength to throw Funato onto the ground to avoid being pinned by the second year. Naruto held a open palm in a striking position, mimicking what would have been the finishing blow, "Do you submit?"

Funato blinked before sighing, a bitter smile on his features, "I submit."

The audience clapped as Naruto helped Funato to his feet, shaking his hand, "Thanks, Funato-senpai. Sorry for...embarrassing you like-"

Funato waved it off, "It's fine. You're a good fighter, there's no shame in losing to someone who's good at martial arts." He laughed, "Looks like I still have a lot to learn."

"Excellent job, Uzumaki-san!" Haji spoke, "I think you've proven yourself a capable fighter here." He extended his hand, "We'd be honored to have you join us."

Naruto thought for a moment, "So you're Haji. I heard about you from other students." Naruto laughed, "They say you're a good fighter yourself."

Haji smirked a bit, "Well, I don't like to blow hot air, but I am good at karate. I still have much to learn though. Improvement is a big part of our program, and it takes a lot of dedication and commitment." He gave Naruto a serious expression, "We also take pride in our name. If you join our club, understand that you represent us both while wearing the uniform and not wearing the uniform."

Naruto gave a nod, "I understand."

"Will you join us then?"

The blond mulled over the offer. He didn't know anyone in this club...but it'd be a chance to get to spar, and improve without hiding his skills in taijutsu.

"Count me in." Naruto spoke, shaking Haji's hand.

"That Tamao Ichinose sure seems to be getting comfortable with Tsukune-kun..." grumbled Kurumu as she waded near the edge of the pool where the Youkai Academy's Swimming Club was stationed.

Tsukune had suggested they go take a look at the Swimming Club after seeing the beautiful members calling out to the other students to join them in the pool. Mizore had quietly excused herself, stating she wasn't that interested in swimming, and would talk to them later, heading went off to see one of the other club booths. Moka seemed a bit hesitant to follow, but Kurumu and Yukari were all for the idea.

At the moment, the Swimming Club captain, Tamao Ichinose, was currently swimming alongside Tsukune, her arms continually wrapping around the younger boy's arms to guide him. She would occasionally praise his form and technique, and offer advice to improve. Tsukune wouldn't deny the fact that she was a beautiful woman, probably a few years his senior, but he was kind of disappointed that Moka had yet to join him in the water as well.

"Yeah...well, at least he's enjoying himself." Yukari replied. The young witch turned towards one of the tables where Moka was sitting, "Hey, Moka-san, why don't you join us? It's really warm in here, and-"

"Yukari-chan, I'd rather not. I'm not a fan of swimming." Moka spoke, cutting Yukari off.

Kurumu gave Moka a perplexed look, "Really? Why not?"

"I just don't!" Moka replied, her voice a bit stern, "Since Tsukune seems to be enjoying himself so much with the other swimming club girls, I'll just leave!"

Tsukune, who overheard the rosette shouting, swam towards the others, "H-hey, wait, Moka, that's not true at all! You don't understand, I just wanted to swim with you, that's all!"

Moka turned sharply to face Tsukune, "No, you don't understand, Tsukune! I can't-"

Before Moka could finish, she was splashed with water. The rosette screamed as she quickly backed away, looking to the culprit. Ichinose, who was beside Tsukune, just shook her head, "Moka-san, while you're free to visit here, I don't tolerate fighting. It's unsightly on your part, deters others from coming over here, and above all else, is simply childish."

Moka's eyes looked at the moisture dripping down her arms and hair, "N-no, water!" She quickly dashed off, leaving Tsukune calling out to her.

Kurumu turned towards Ichinose, "Hey, you didn't need to splash her. Aren't you supposed to be trying to set an example for your club, being the captain and all?"

Ichinose chuckled lightly, "Please, the last thing we need is an immature brat like her joining our club. Now, if you don't mind..." She wrapped an arm around Tsukune, "Tsukune-kun, let's continue swimming, shall we?"

"Ah...but..." Tsukune found himself being guided back into the deeper end of the pool while Yukari and Kurumu found themselves torn between going to Moka and staying with Tsukune.

"I'll go find Moka." Yukari spoke, getting out of the pool, "I'm getting a weird vibe from that Ichinose. Keep an eye on her and Tsukune."

Kurumu shrugged, "Alright."

Yukari quickly wrapped a towel around herself to dry off before heading towards the direction Moka had run off to.

Naruto grinned to himself as he held a white uniform in his arms. He felt a bit of proud of himself to be accepted so quickly into a rather reputable club. The fact that other students looked at him in mild wonder, whispering his name as he walked by, made him feel on top of the world. The shinobi within him, however, reminded the rest of his brain that he shouldn't let this go to his head, and that many older shinobi could easily run circles around the Karate Club. Gai-sensei, for starters, was easily the most physically fit man Naruto had ever met. Rock Lee easily placed second, but due only to being younger and not leading the same intense lifestyle for as long as Gai had.

"Wonder what Tsukune and the others will say..." Naruto thought.

"Naruto!"

The blond turned to the sound of his name being called out, only to see a familiar witch heading towards him, "Yukari-chan, hey! Check it out!" He held out his Karate uniform.

Completely ignoring the uniform, Yukari looked directly at his face, "Naruto, have you seen Moka anywhere?"

"Moka?" Naruto repeated, looking a bit perplexed, "No, not since I last saw her with you guys. Is something wrong?"

"Well..." Yukari scratched her cheek a bit, "I think Tsukune hurt her feelings...or something. She was with us at the swimming pool where the swimming club was having their station set up, and she didn't seem to like the idea of swimming, so she stayed out of the pool."

"Huh...go on." Naruto rubbed his chin a bit.

"So, she got mad when Kurumu asked her to come into the water, and she said that Tsukune was too busy with the other girls to care about her or something like that, so she was leaving. Tsukune called to her, saying he wanted to swim with her from the start, but then the Swimming Club captain began splashing water at her. She...seemed scared when she got wet." Yukari looked around in a worried manner, "Naruto, do you think she can't swim or something?"

"Don't know..." Naruto sighed, "Well, I'll go to the pool and have a talk with Tsukune. Maybe he can explain to Moka. You go find Moka, and we'll all meet back at the pool."

"Okay...oh, and Naruto...be careful of their captain, Tamao Ichinose. She...I don't know, but there's just something off about her."

"Besides the fact that she's a monster?" Naruto thought, "Got it, Yukari-chan. I'll see you at the pool." With that, Naruto headed towards the swimming pool.

As he reached the pool area, he could hear the sound of water splashing and voices of the swimmers.

"Senpai, what are you doing!!! What's wrong with-gaaaaah!!!"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow, and stopped walking. He quickly hid behind a row of hedges, and looked into the pool area.

"What...the hell?" Naruto murmured to himself.

There in the pool were more than a dozen fish...or...what were they? If Naruto didn't know any better, they resembled those pictures of mermaids that he saw in the few kids books he read when he was younger. Far less beautiful though, and much scarier.

These...mermaids, or whatever, seemed to be chasing the other students, which were almost all men, and biting them. What disturbed him the most though was that the students changed before his eyes as they were bitten. They seemed to age rapidly, as though they had the youth sucked right out of them.

"Damn it, just when I was hoping for a regular day." Naruto sighed as he pulled a scroll out from his pocket labeled 'suit'.

Tsukune watched in horror as he saw a boy drained of his energy by the two girls that had been swimming with him only moments ago. He had seen about enough; it would be best to get out of the water while he still had a chance, then go talk to Moka and fix whatever problems there were between them.

"Tsukune-kun...where are you going?"

Tsukune nearly froze as he felt scaly arm wrap around him from behind, "Ah-ah, I decided that I don't want to join this club, Ichinose-senpai. Thanks though, I do appreciate the time you-yah!!!" Tsukune flailed his arms while swimming back to try and distance himself between the swim club captain. She too, like the others, was a mermaid.

"Oh...that's too bad, Tsukune-kun..." Ichinose spoke, slowly making her way over to him, "You see...I never intended for you to leave. Ever since the day of the commencement ceremony, I've dreamed of getting a chance to meet you."

"Um...why?" Tsukune asked, paddling back while keeping a wary eye on the fish-like monster.

Ichinose giggled lightly, "Silly, it's because of your smell." She opened her mouth, revealing razor sharp teeth like that of a predatory fish, "It smells just like a human scent!! I just can't help but want to devour you!!"

"Tsukune!! Don't worry, I'm coming!!"

Tsukune looked over his shoulder to see Kurumu, now in her true form, wings flapping and nails extended. She made towards Tsukune, hand extended to reach out to him and pull him out of the pool.

"Stop her!" Ichinose cried out.

Kurumu didn't even have a chance to react as one of the mermaids jumped out of the water, slapping her with a giant fish tail. She cried out in pain before falling into the water.

"Kurumu!!" Tsukune called out to the Succubus. He swam towards the spot where she had fallen into the water, only to be stopped by Ichinose, who had swam out in front of him. She smiled lightly, her teeth fully visible to him.

"Don't worry, Tsukune-kun, we have no interest in devouring a Succubus like her. We'll simply let her drown. It'll be far less painless than getting eaten." The swim team captain swam forward, catching the teenager by the shoulders, "Now...just relax. You won't die; I'll simply drain you of most of your life!"

Tsukune could only watch as the jaws of Ichinose opened, ready to clamp down and drain him of his life force. He'd be an old man for the rest of his life, robbed of his youth by a mermaid. He couldn't help but think about his family, his friends, and Moka...

"...I guess this is what I get for ignoring Moka-san like I did..." Tsukune thought as he gave in to his fate.

"Here I come to save the daaaay!!!"

Ichinose turned around as the sound of a voice broke out, "What now-huh?!"

Ichinose caught the darkness of a silhouette falling down from the sky above. She swam away just as the figure crashed down into the water, sending a large wave in ever direction. A few of the mermaids screamed as they were tossed about from the figure's impact.

As the waves settled, Ichinose finally got a good look at their newest intruder. The mysterious interloper was dressed in an odd armor of sorts, a form-fitting suit almost. The person had a bandanna of some kind covering their entire head, and a mask covering their face from the nose and everything underneath. Piercing blue eyes stood out amongst all the gray and black he had on. What bothered her the most was that this person was able to stand above the water's surface! How was that possible?

The person was male from the looks of it, and the feminine part of her couldn't help but run her eyes over his form once before snarling, "Who the hell are you?"

The figure simply barked out a laugh, "I am the upholder of justice! The reply to all that cry out for help! The Arashi-Ninja!!"

Naruto didn't enjoy the odd looks he got from everyone around the pool area, Tsukune included. Ichinose raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"

The person shook his head, and put his hands into a seal, forming a single clone that looked like an exact replica of himself. He spoke a few words, and the replica dived underneath the surface while the original remained standing above the water. He pointed a finger at her, "Ichinose-san, by the power invested in me by righteous fury and justice, I will stop you and your club members from draining the life force from fellow students of Youkai Academy."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Ichinose replied, several mermaids surrounding her as she moved closer to him, "You're in our domain! We make the rules!"

Naruto simply laughed, "I wouldn't be so sure of that." He pointed to his feet, which emitted a soft blue glow as he stood above the water, "Your 'domain' doesn't seem to have much of an affect on me."

That seemed to strike a nerve with Ichinose, "That's it! Get that bastard, now!!"

Naruto got into a ready stance as the mermaids sped towards him, much like a school of piranha. The blond sidestepped the first mermaid as she dove at him. He quickly spun around once before delivering a power kick to the face of another one of the fish-beasts.

Meanwhile, the clone Naruto had summoned breached the surface, an unconscious Kurumu in its arms. The clone quickly got out of the water, pulling Kurumu up and laying her gently on the cement. He quickly checked her, and tilted her neck back a little. The clone pulled his mask down quickly and breathed into her. Almost immediately Kurumu began to cough, a small amount of water spurting out of her mouth. The clone quickly pulled up his mask as her eyes opened.

"Wh-what?" Kurumu looked up to the clone's face, "Who are you?"

Her masked savior seemed to smile as he spoke, "I'm a copy of the Arashi-Ninja. The real one's off fighting those mermaid girls or whatever they are."

Kurumu's eyes widened, "Ah! That's right, Tsukune-kun! Is he-?" She sat up quickly, but found the masked ninja's arm hold her in place.

"Whoa, easy." Naruto spoke calmly, "You nearly drowned a little while ago, just relax. I'll keep Tsukune from getting eaten, alright?"

"But-"

The clone placed a hand gently on her shoulder, "I promise."

Kurumu found herself unable to argue. She sighed, instead turning to the apparent 'original' ninja, who had just delivered an uppercut to an unfortunate mermaid, sending her out of the water and into some nearby shrubs. She looked back to the clone and then it clicked.

"...wait...clones?"

"Um..." the clone quickly dispelled, leaving a baffled Kurumu staring at a puff of smoke.

"But...he just...he seemed to be so much like Naruto..." Kurumu thought, "I'll just have to confront him about this when I get a chance." She coughed a little more water out of her mouth, "First I need to find out how I can help that Arashi-Ninja and Tsukune-kun."

"B-but Moka, Tsukune-kun seemed really upset when you ran off! I think he truly wanted you to join us in the pool."

Moka didn't face the young witch as she stood, facing towards the girls' dorms, "He sure seemed to be having fun with that Tamao Ichinose. I know that she was enjoying being around him."

"Moka..." Yukari sighed, "Please, just come back and at least tell Tsukune how you feel about the situation. I'm sure we can resolve all of this if we just talk."

Moka was quiet for almost a minute, Yukari fearing that she wasn't going to say anything further. Just when the witch was about to head back, the rosette spoke, "I'm not a big fan of water."

"Y-you're not?"

"No." Moka replied, "I..."

Yukari's eyes widened a little, "Oh...it's true, then, isn't it?"

"What's true?" Moka asked, turning towards the younger girl.

Yukari looked away, "Um...well, I heard rumors that you're actually a vampire. Seeing as water has powerful 'purification' properties, vampires tend to become weak when they make contact with it."

Moka gave a weak smile, and nodded once, "That's true. I am a vampire, and that's the reason why I hate water."

Yukari frowned, "Moka, please come back. I really think that Tsukune-kun was worried when you left."

The vampire girl gave a sigh, but smiled, "You're right. Tsukune-kun's my friend. That's what matters. Even...even if he joins the swimming club, I shouldn't ruin our friendship over something like that."

Yukari grinned, "That's right! We're friends! Besides, Naruto went and joined a different club too! I think he had a karate uniform."

The two began heading back to the pool area, "Karate? Naruto-kun?" Moka laughed, "Wow, Naruto-kun knows karate?"

"Super Ninja Punch of Justice!!!"

Another mermaid was sent flying out of the pool area, crashing into a table courtesy of a nasty right hook from Naruto.

Tsukune had managed to escape the dreaded waters of the Youkai Academy pool, thanks in part to Kurumu who had managed to grab a hold of him while flying. Though, had it not been for the distraction from the Arashi-Ninja, Kurumu doubted she would have been able to help Tsukune.

At the moment, Kurumu and Tsukune, along with a few of the students who managed to escape the pool right away, were watching the mysterious ninja take on about a dozen of the remaining mermaids.

"He's only one guy! We can take him!" one of the mermaids cried out. The others yelled in agreement before swimming towards Naruto.

The young shinobi simply got into a stance while running through a series of seals, "I guess now is as good a time to see if I'm good enough to use Suiton..."

A geyser of water shot out of the pool, spinning around Naruto and knocking a few of the mermaids back and halting the progress of the other attackers. Ichinose glared daggers at this interloper who had caused so many problems for her. Thanks to him, she lost out on her meal, and now he was beating the stuffing out of them in their own element! It was next to insulting!

Naruto managed to find himself busy as the mermaids finally seemed to get a legitimate plan going. One mermaid dived under the surface while the others circled around him at high speeds. Naruto prepared to attack one of the mermaids when two hands grabbed a hold of him from underwater.

"Crap!!" Naruto cried out, feeling himself get pulled down into the watery depths of the pool. He took in a deep breath just before his head sunk under the surface.

Naruto opened his eyes, feeling a light stinging sensation from the chlorine of the pool. He looked around him, expecting to see mermaids surrounding him from all sides. Instead, he was greeted by just the blurry blue of the pool water. No shadows or silhouettes of any of his attackers.

A tingling sensation in the back of his mind told him to turn around. He was able to barely catch glimpse of a set of jaws just as the clamped down on his arm. He let out a cry of pain before decking the mermaid in the face, causing her to immediately let go. Red rivulets began to flow into the pool water, and at least several more blurry figures emerged from the depths of the pool. Naruto drew a kunai, and the mermaids immediately stopped in place as they spotted the weapon. Naruto didn't want to use lethal force, but if push came to shove, he'd draw blood, even kill, if he had to.

Two more mermaids swam towards him, jaws open and webbed hands reaching out to grab hold of him. Naruto molded chakra into his weapon, and quickly rolled to the side as the mermaids swam past. One of the two gave a cry of pain as she gripped her arm, which now had a nice clean gash going down the side. Naruto simply held his kunai in front of him as the others watched him carefully.

"I have to resurface soon. I never really had much experience underwater...and fighting like this is taking away my oxygen faster than I expected..." Naruto closed his eyes, "Looks like I'll have to do this in one move..."

Ichinose pointed a finger at Naruto while giving out a gurgled command, "He can't breath in the water! Just keep him pinned and he'll drown!"

The mermaids swam at Naruto all at once, but the blond didn't move from his spot in the middle of the pool. He held out a single hand and began making circular motions, letting chakra flow into his hands as he put all his concentration into his next move...

Moka and Yukari arrived to the pool, surprised to see everyone standing outside of it in the swim wear. The students seemed to be focused on the pool though, which caused the two girls to also turn their attention to the water.

"Moka!"

The rosette looked up to see Tsukune and Kurumu heading towards her, "Tsukune-kun, I'm sorry for-"

"No, I should be the one apologizing..." Tsukune sighed, "I didn't really pay attention to how you felt about the idea of swimming."

"None of us did." Kurumu added, "We're sorry, Moka."

The rosette smiled, "It's fine. I shouldn't have been so immature like that and just run off like that on you guys." She looked to Tsukune, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Besides, I'm not interested in this club anymore."

Yukari raised an eyebrow, "Why not?"

Kurumu let out a laugh, "The swimming club members tried to eat the students."

"What?!" Yukari and Moka both yelled.

"They're apparently mermaids." Tsukune shrugged his shoulders, "I was done for, but all of the sudden some guy in a weird outfit saved me. He called himself the Arashi-Ninja."

"...Arashi-Ninja..." Yukari repeated, "You don't say?"

"You heard of him?" Kurumu asked.

"Sort of. I heard that some person claiming to be a ninja saved a younger student from getting beat up by a bunch of bullies a night or two ago. He said he was fighting 'for justice' or something."

"That explains the horrible names of his attacks." Kurumu added.

"It also explains his weird clothes." spoke Mizore as she popped up from the bushes behind the group.

"Gah!!" the four cried out in surprise.

"Sorry." Mizore spoke as she pulled her sucker out of her mouth, "I heard the Arashi-Ninja has weird powers. I saw him make a clone of himself when he helped you out, Kurumu."

"You were here the whole time and didn't help?" Kurumu growled.

"I didn't want to get my clothes wet." Mizore replied.

"Well, where is this ninja?" Yukari asked.

Tsukune pointed to the pool, "He was standing on the water's surface, don't ask me how, but he was. The mermaids pulled him underneath the surface just a minute ago..."

The sound of waves splashing against cement drew the attention of the group once more. The pool was now a whirlpool that was spiraling towards the center.

"Whoa...do you feel that?" Moka spoke, a sudden heavy feeling washing over her, "It's different from the youki I've felt from other monsters...but..."

Boom!

The rosette's words were cut off as the water blasted out of the pool, raining down on those within the immediate area—Moka included, much to her dismay—and the last of the mermaids could be seen lying scattered among the wreckage.

"Ah, there he is!" Kurumu pointed towards the center of the pool where the Arashi-Ninja was standing. He had one open palm raised into the air, a ball of light with wisps of air going around it. It was emitting a bright light from the center, and gave off a high pitched humming sound. A light wind seemed to be emanating from the strange ball of energy.

The ninja looked around before tossing the ball of energy into the air so that it dissipated, then hopped out of the now empty pool. He looked around before looking to Tsukune, "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Tsukune blinked, "Oh! Y-yeah! Thanks for helping me earlier...um..."

"Arashi-Ninja...or Ninja works too." Naruto replied, "I've been hearing quite a bit about you lately. Trouble seems to follow you around, Tsukune Aono."

Tsukune's throat tightened; did this guy know about his secret? Did he know he was a human as well?

"R-really?" Tsukune asked, "I suppose I got mixed up with the wrong crowd early in the semester, heh. I don't mean to cause trouble around here."

Naruto waved a hand dismissively, "Eh, don't worry about it. I keep an eye on the place. If I see anyone causing problems around here, they'll have to deal with me." He turned to the other students who were watching from a distance, "Have no fear, students of Youkai Academy! I, the Arashi-Ninja, shall keep a silent watch over this place! Should you ever find yourself in peril, I will do everything in my power to protect you!"

Before anyone could give a reply, Naruto pulled out a small ball from a pocket in his suit, tossing it to the ground. It emitted a thick gray smoke, giving him enough cover to disappear. By the time the smoke dissipated, he was gone from sight.

Yukari rubbed her chin as the others looked to see if there were any traces of the masked vigilante, "Ninja...huh?" She smiled a bit, "Looks like I'll need to do some investigating on the matter."

Naruto let out a deep sigh as he sealed the last of his 'Arashi-Ninja' attire into his scroll after finding a quiet clearing in the woods nearby. He grunted in pain as he examined the bite marks on his two arms. Despite how he had managed to avoid major wounds during the fight, they still managed to catch him a few times in the fray.

"...I definitely need to get a training schedule going again..." Naruto thought aloud as he began to treat his wounds. He began to wrap the bite mark, and laughed, "Maybe also stop getting inspiration for my monologues from Gai-sensei, heheh."

A few days had passed since the incident with the pool and the mermaids. Nekonome had managed to talk Tsukune, Moka, Kurumu, and Yukari into joining the Newspaper Club, which didn't seem all that bad in Tsukune's opinion. He wasn't exactly a journalist, but he didn't see the problem with getting a simple article done for a paper once a week...

"Tsukune-kun, we should do an article together!"

"Neh, Kurumu, why would he want to write an article with a top-heavy cow like-ow! My hair, let go of my hair!!"

Tsukune groaned as Yukari and Kurumu got into yet another scuffle. Moka was busy looking over a possible entry for the paper entitled, 'The Masked Vigilante of Youkai! Who is the Arashi-Ninja?' Mizore was currently out getting some photographs of the campus for a 'start of a new school year' themed article.

"Hey, Tsukune, mind helping me with these boxes?"

Tsukune looked up from his own work to see Gin carrying a few boxes with paper supplies, "Oh, sure thing, Gin."

Ginei Morioka, the current president of the newspaper club, was a rather laid back individual. The first day of the club had proven that he was a bit of a pervert though after he caught the upperclassman trying to get a peek underneath the skirts of the girls when they were hanging up posters on the wall for their club. He had called Gin out on that, only for Gin to somehow find a way to make it seem like it had been Tsukune who was being the pervert. In the end, he had received a slap to the face from both Moka and Kurumu, a scolding from Yukari, and a rather icy look from Mizore.

As Tsukune hefted one of the boxes up, Gin walked over to him, speaking just above a whisper, "Hey, Tsukune...is it true that you and Moka are an item right now?"

"W-what?" Tsukune recovered quickly, "Er...well, I-"

"I'm just curious as to whether or not I'll have to work hard on getting her to fall for me or not, that's all." Gin laughed, "I'm afraid I've fallen for Moka Akashiya. Regardless of what it takes, I'm going to make her my woman."

Tsukune felt his temper flare a bit, "Well, I doubt she'll fall for a pervert like you."

Gin just grinned, "Heheh, as far as I can tell, she sees you as more of a pervert."

"...which by the way is your fault entirely." Tsukune added.

"Heh, yeah, sorry about that. Didn't mean for you to get slapped in the face."

The two walked in relative silence after that, heading down the rather quiet halls of the Academy during the after school hours. The eventually exited the Academy building, heading down to the gymnasium area.

"Gin, why are we heading down to the gymnasium?"

"Hm?" Gin looked to the gym, "Oh, well, I have a friend in the Karate Club, and he said he could hold onto some of our extra supplies in their locker room area, since we have zero space for use right now."

"Oh."

The entered the gymnasium, and headed down one of the halls. The sounds of people shouting as they played various sports could be heard echoing down the corridor, as well as the sounds of feet moving on wooden floors, basketballs being dribbled, the sound of weights clanking against metal.

Tsukune followed Gin into a room that had a padded flooring and walls. The people there were dressed in white uniform with belts tied to their waists, and none of them had shoes on. Among the students was a familiar blond.

"Oh, Naruto! Hey, over here!"

The blond was resting against a wall, a towel wrapped around his neck. He opened one eye and grinned when he saw Tsukune, "Tsukune? Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, well, Gin-sempai said that we can store some of the extra supplies for the Newspaper Club here."

"Gin?" Naruto repeated, looking over to the upperclassman who was conversing with Haji, his club's captain. When he laid eyes upon the guy, he couldn't help but chuckle, "Oh, I see."

"You know him?" Tsukune asked, only to receive a negative shaking of the head from Naruto.

"I've only heard of him." Naruto shrugged, "Haji-sempai says he's good friends with Gin. Personally..." Naruto looked around a bit before lowering his voice, "I heard he's a pervert, and that he's notorious with the upperclassmen girls."

Tsukune's frowned, "Not surprising. I caught him peeking under the skirts of Kurumu, Mizore, and Moka the other day."

Naruto's expression soured a little, "Really? What happened?"

"He blamed me for it!"

"Let me guess; Moka and the others beat the snot out of you for it?"

"Er...well, Moka and Kurumu slapped me across the face. Yukari just got all weird and Mizore gave me a scary look."

Naruto sighed, "Huh...well, if he does anything like that again, try to make sure you've got proof to show for it."

Tsukune just shrugged, "Well, I'll just have to be careful around him. He seems to have an interest in Moka as well."

"You don't say?" Naruto looked to see Gin laughing with Haji over something funny. The blond shinobi gave Tsukune a pat on the shoulder and smiled, "Heheh, don't worry. Gin's bound to slip up sooner than later, right? Besides, Moka's a smart girl. She wouldn't just fall for a guy based on looks."

"Oi, Tsukune, drop the stuff off here. We've got to get some photos taken for the newspaper then." Gin called, cutting the two boys' conversation short.

"Right, be there in a second." Tsukune looked to Naruto, "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later, Naruto. Um, Moka mentioned something about studying for the math exam coming up later this week with Yukari."

Naruto grumbled, "Oh, right...math." He scratched his head, "I might not be able to make it to the study group."

"Huh? Why not?"

"I got stuff to take care of."

Tsukune gave Naruto perplexed look, "What stuff?"

Naruto cracked his neck a bit, "Just stuff that needs my attention. I have all week to study, right?"

"Naruto, you and I are both about as ill prepared for math as possible. We need to study." Tsukune argued, "Is it that important that you have to miss studying?"

"Tsukune, don't worry about it, okay? I'll see you later."

Tsukune was still frowning as he bid Naruto farewell, and after setting the boxes of newspaper supplies in the Karate Club's spare storage locker, they headed out to get some photography done.

The rest of the day had gone by rather uneventfully for Naruto. He had managed to defeat two more members while sparring, and even got a free meal from Haji for his efforts.

Now it was close to nine, the sun having long dropped below the horizon. A cool wind whipped through the blond's hair as he took in a deep breath. He pulled out his bandanna and covered his head, then tied his hitai-ate around his head.

Tonight he had some time to spare. He wasn't lying to Tsukune when he had stated that has stuff to take care of. That stuff wasn't academically related though. Naruto needed to sharpen his skills. He may be a student, but he was a shinobi, first and foremost.

Naruto walked into the opening where his training field was set up. He looked around once before walking towards a small shrub. A single wire was tied around one of the branches, barely visible to the naked eye. Naruto untied the string, and let it go. Several seconds passed before several targets dropped down from the surrounding trees, and about a dozen training dummies popped out of the areas where taller grass was growing.

"Well, no time to waste." Naruto said to himself, weaving his hands into his favorite hand seal, summoning close to fifty clones. They all looked to him before getting into a fighting stance. Naruto drew a kunai and just grinned underneath his mask.

It was close to eleven at night when Naruto decided to take a break. He untied his bandanna and headband, letting the cool air of the evening hit his sweaty scalp. He plopped onto the ground, letting his muscles take a well deserved rest.

This was the feeling he had been missing. Exhaustion. The feeling of having driven himself to the point where his heart was drumming in his chest, and his muscles strained move. He missed this feeling, but probably what he missed most of all was having someone to spar with. He was, as far as he was aware, the only human with powers like his in both this world and Tsukune's. Tsukune seemed to be just like Tsunade had said; unable to draw upon the chakra in his system and not as powerful because of it.

"Maybe I could teach him...?"

Naruto chuckled at the thought; he was hardly qualified to teach the ways of the shinobi to a person, let alone someone who missed the most critical years to develop their chakra coils. He could probably teach Tsukune basic taijutsu, but that was it. Genjutsu was out of the question, and he wasn't certain on what he could teach Tsukune in the field of ninjutsu. Fuuinjutsu was still gray area for Naruto; he was an apprentice-level seal master at best, but if he just applied some time to studying the notes from Jiraiya, he could improve greatly.

Staring up at the night sky, Naruto couldn't help but admire the beauty of the moon, "Huh...full moon..." Naruto began to pick up his gear and clean up his training ground, "Guess that means I'll have more light for patrol tonight."

Naruto was done cleaning up in no time at all, and decided to get a quick bite to eat. Digging into one of his pockets, he pulled out one of the cereal bars he had bought at the Academy earlier that day. They weren't as filling as the ration bars back in Konoha, but they sure tasted better.

About three minutes after taking the time to eat and drink from a canteen he had brought, Naruto jumped off into the canopy of the forest.

"Gin-senpai...are these real?"

Gin gave a frown, nodding as he chuckled, "Yeah, pretty pathetic, huh? Tsukune seems like an okay guy, but to peep on the girl's locker room..."

Moka looked at a picture of Tsukune standing on a pile of crates while looking into what appeared to be the girls' gym locker room. She honestly didn't know what to think; she had seen Tsukune getting chased by girls earlier...and they did seem upset, but...

"This can't be true. Tsukune isn't like that." Moka looked to Gin, "I can't believe this...I need to talk to Tsukune about this first before I make up my mind."

Gin shook his head, "Moka-chan...I understand that you must be distraught, but trust me, he's a pervert." The second year student wrapped an arm around her, "I'm here to console you, Moka-chan..."

Tsukune knew something was up when Gin lead him to the worst place to get 'a good view of the campus'. He should have never climbed up and looked into that window, but how was he supposed to know that there would be more than two dozen girls getting dressed in there?

Now he was locked in a storage room with his arms tied around his back. No way out. He would have to wait until tomorrow morning for the janitor to arrive when he came to get the cleaning-

"I think he's in here!"

Tsukune's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of voices outside a window high above his reach. It sounded like...

"Tsukune? You there??"

"Yukari?"

"Ah! He's in there! Kurumu, help me up!" A pointed hat poked up from behind the window, followed by the face of none other than Yukari Sendou, "Tsukune, don't worry, we'll get you out of here!"

"How did you find me?" Tsukune asked as the witch and Succubus entered the room.

Kurumu winked, "Well, I was curious as to where you and Gin were heading off to, so-"

"You were following Tsukune so you could get him alone with you." Yukari corrected.

"...as I was saying, I was curious as to where you and Gin-sempai were going, so I followed. Well, I saw what happened, and luckily I had a camera with me!" She held up some photographs of Gin pointing to the window and pretty much all the proof they needed to prove Tsukune innocent.

"Great! Now, we just need to find Moka and let her know as well."

Kurumu smiled, "We sent Mizore off to find Moka a little while ago. She said she saw her on the roof of one of the Academy buildings a little while ago." Kurumu extended her claw-like nails and quickly cut through the rope holding Tsukune's arms together.

"I think Moka may be in a bit of trouble as well. Gin-sempai said he was going to try and make Moka 'his girl'." Tsukune spoke, "We better find Moka quickly."

"Gin-senpai, stop it!!"

"What, I'm just holding you gently. What's the big deal?"

Moka slapped his hand away, "You just tried to feel me up!"

"Ah...well, heheh...you see, there's a full moon tonight." Gin waved a hand up to the bright orb in the night sky, "The moon has a strong effect on me, especially when it's full like tonight. I tend to lose myself to my more...carnal desires." He gave a disarming smile, "It's beautiful, isn't it? The moon is a strange and powerful force in the world of us monsters."

"That doesn't mean you can go and do such things!" Moka backed away from him, "Just leave me be. I want to talk to Tsukune before I go and jump to conclusions. I believe in him, and I know he wouldn't do this without reason!"

"Still caught up with that dweeb?" Gin frowned, "Look, Moka, if you don't want to be my girl...I'll just have to make you submit then, won't I?"

Moka let out a gasp as Gin's nails became claws. His teeth sharpened, and hair began to grow on every inch of his body. His overall body frame grew, not as much as when Saizou transformed, but it was a difference.

"Wh-what are you?" Moka asked, taking a few more steps back.

Gin grinned a toothy grin, "A werewolf. A child of the night; a master of speed and agility." Gin began to approach Moka, "Now, just stop struggling will you? I promise I'll be a greater man than Tsukune could ever hope to be with you."

"No, leave me alone!"

Gin stopped short as the sound of an object whizzing through the air caught his senses. He ducked as a sharp projectile flew over his head. He looked to the edge of the roof to see a figure standing there.

"I would stop bothering Moka-chan if I were you. It's really hard to pretend to miss a target."

"Ah, M-Mizore-chan!" Moka spoke, "What are you doing here?"

Mizore looked to Moka for a moment, "I was following you. Kurumu and Yukari said that I should keep an eye on things while they went and looked for Tsukune..." She pointed a knife of sorts at Gin, "This guy framed Tsukune. We have evidence."

Gin growled, "Damn...why do I always have to deal with interruptions like this?"

Mizore walked over to Moka's side, and the temperature around the trio dropped significantly, frost developing on the roof where they stood, "Gin-senpai, leave Moka alone, and also clear Tsukune's name of the accusations against him."

"Ha! Like hell I'll do that! That guy had it coming with how he never sticks up for himself!" Gin chuckled, "Looks like I'll have to deal with two unruly women, won't I?"

Mizore gave a chilling smile, brandishing the clear, crystalline-like knife. If Moka were to hold the knife, she would have realized it was actually made of carved ice. The purple-haired girl took a step forward while turning to Moka, "Moka-chan, stay back. I'd rather not get you caught up in this by mistake. My powers tend to have a wide range when I get caught up in the heat of a battle."

"Mizore-chan..."

"Moka! Mizore!"

The two girls, along with the werewolf, turned to another voice. There, coming up from the stairwell entrance to the roof were Kurumu, Yukari, and Tsukune. Gin's eyes widened in surprise before he got into a stance, "Ha! Even if it were ten to one, I'd still win this fight!"

"Don't be so sure of that." Mizore spoke, her voice no longer calm and soft, "I won't let you have the chance to move another step."

She chucked her ice knives at the werewolf and quickly slammed her hand to the ground. Splinters of frost crept out of her hands, which now were more like claws made of ice. Gin quickly dodged the knives, then jumped over the sheet of ice that formed over the roof.

"He's fast!" Mizore spoke, raising both hands and blasting a wave of subzero air at the wolf-like beast. Gin simply faded from view, Mizore hitting nothing but air.

"Hey, over here." Gin called out. The entire group turned to the railing on the opposite end of the roof where Gin stood, grinning cockily, "Perhaps you're not aware of a werewolf's speed? You see, when the moon's full and bright, that's when my powers are at the peak!" He disappeared from view, reappearing behind Mizore, "No matter how much you try to freeze me in place, it won't do you any good if you can't keep up with my speed."

Gin prepared to deliver a quick slash with his claws to Mizore, but felt something grip his wrist, "What the-?" Looking over his shoulder, his expression became one of shock, "Y-you!!"

Holding onto Gin's wrists, not moving in the slightest as Gin struggled to yank his arm free, was the Arashi-Ninja. Naruto made sure to change the tone of his voice as he spoke, "Gin, I warned you to stay out of trouble."

"Y-you're that ninja guy from a few days back!" Gin growled, "How did you get behind me like that?"

The others were just as curious as to how he suddenly appeared out of seemingly nowhere. The ninja laughed a little before looking up.

"I thought I told you; I'm a ninja. It's what I do."

Naruto had an inkling of a feeling that he should do a patrol around the Academy buildings first tonight. It just turned out he had made the right choice. He watched as Mizore explained the situation involving Gin framing Tsukune, and then watched the fight start. He had to admit, he was a bit surprised to see Mizore manipulating ice; it reminded him of his fight with Haku so many years ago...the way she could control and create ice from thin air.

Naruto felt Gin tug to free his arm again from the grip of the young shinobi. The blond didn't budge, however, "I'm not letting you go, Gin. Not until you decide to stop this and turn yourself in."

"No way!" Gin decided to stop holding back, and quickly delivered a kick to Naruto's stomach. Naruto managed to barely soften the blow by jumping back a bit.

Landing on his knees, Naruto grunted in annoyance as his abdominals throbbed in pain; that guy could kick! Naruto scanned the area, and much to his dismay, Gin was gone from his sight. Cursing himself for losing sight of the enemy, Naruto got up and drew a kunai before turning to the others, "All of you, get out of here. I'll take care of him and turn him in, alright? I don't want you all getting caught up in this if I can help it."

The only response Naruto got though was a shout from Yukari, "Ninja-san, behind you!!"

Naruto spun around and lifted an arm, the braces on his suit blocking the claws of Gin's hands. Naruto grit his teeth as he pushed the werewolf back, "Damn, you almost got me there."

Gin laughed, "I have to admit, you're pretty good to block me like that. Keeping up with a werewolf, even a little, is something to be proud of."

"Tch, don't patronize me." Naruto pocketed the kunai and grabbed Gin's arm with both hands before pulling him in and kneeing him in the gut. Naruto didn't give him a chance to recover, and quickly threw the werewolf over his shoulder. Gin managed to land on his feet, growling a bit from the pain.

"You hit pretty hard...heh." Gin spit some blood before continuing, "That's definitely going to bruise..."

"I warned you; you don't want to see what I'm capable of in a fight. I'm going easy on you, namely because my full power would be too much for such a small battleground."

"Is that so?" Gin grinned, "Guess I'll have to take advantage of that."

Naruto saw Gin blur away, a second later he raised a knee to block a foot to the gut, only to be punched by a clawed fist from the werewolf. The blond flew into the air before hitting the ground, but quickly got to his feet, shaking his head.

"That was a freebie, bastard. Next one won't be so easy to get."

Gin and Naruto disappeared, the two moving at high speeds, the sound of metal and sharpened claws clashing with each other. The other five could do no more than simply watch helplessly, unable to tell where the two were.

"I...I can't seem them moving around."

Mizore's icicle claws twitched a bit, "That guy is pretty fast. I guess he really is a ninja then, isn't he?"

The two suddenly reappeared in midair, feet blocking each other from hitting their target's jaws. Naruto couldn't recall the last opponent he faced who was this fast, other than Lee, but he never got to spar with him that much. Sure, he dealt with numerous shinobi, but...humans are only capable of moving so fast for so long. It was only because of his monstrous chakra reserves and amazing stamina that he was able to keep up with Gin.

Naruto quickly drew several shuriken and threw them at the werewolf, and just as he expected, Gin dodged. Naruto used the attack as a distraction, running ahead to meet Gin and deliver a snap kick to the jaw.

"Take this! Arashi-Ninja Kick!!!"

Gin, while caught off guard by his opponent's speed, managed to dodge the kick by moving to the side. He caught Naruto's ankle, and quickly slammed the boy on his back.

"Gah!!" Naruto felt the air leave his lungs as he struggled to get to his feet. A foot landed hard on his chest, pinning him to ground. Naruto looked up to see Gin's padded feet holding him in place, "Damn it..."

"Heh, serves you right for trying to take on a werewolf during a full moon!" Gin pressed down harder on Naruto's chest, causing Naruto to grunt in pain.

"I'm...not...finished..." Naruto reached for the kunai in his pouch, and moved to stab Gin in the leg. Gin however, saw the ninja's arm move, and instead pinned his forearm to the ground, effectively causing Naruto to drop his weapon and cry out in pain as he felt his bones reaching the brink of fracturing.

"Look, kid, I don't want to hurt you anymore than I have to. Give up and never bother me again, and I'll let you go."

Naruto simply raised his one free hand, and pointed behind him. Gin gave him a puzzled look, but looked behind him. At the same time, a sudden chill rand down his spine as he lay eyes upon a bright pink aura that seemed to shoot off into the sky.

"Wha-what is that?" Gin asked, a sudden weight crashing on his chest causing his breathing to hitch for a moment. His instincts were telling him to run, but he squashed down the idea immediately.

As the light disappeared, a single figure stood before him. Yukari, Tsukune, Mizore, and Kurumu had all stepped back to the opposite end of the roof. Gin wasn't sure why, but Tsukune was giving him a sympathetic look, as though he had done some great evil against Gin.

"Ginei, I recommend you remove your foot from the shinobi."

Gin turned to see what looked to be Moka, though with a few drastic changes. She appeared to have silver hair now, red irises, and a slight alteration to her body's frame, making her appearance more mature.

"Y-you really are a vampire." Gin stated, "I thought it was just a rumor. You're even more beautiful than before! Haha!"

Moka yawned a bit before she looked to Gin with an almost mocking smile, "So, the high and mighty werewolf can be scared after all." She got into a stance that Naruto couldn't help but mentally praise, "Well, I do recall you stating that you wished to 'make me your woman' not too long ago. Why don't you try?"

Gin just laughed, and lifted his foot from Naruto's chest. The werewolf faded from view, reappearing behind Moka. The vampire quickly spun around to knee him in the gut, only to hit air.

"Face it, as long as the full moon shines bright, this fight is mine!" Gin laughed. He slipped underneath a rising kick by the silver haired beauty, and quickly ran behind her. Moka turned around once more, missing his face by several seconds, her fist going through an afterimage.

To Gin, she seemed to be moving in slow motion. He could have ended this battle already; he just wanted to drag it out a bit longer. He wanted to prove that just because she was a vampire didn't mean she was superior.

He continued to sprint circles around the vampire, who was struggling to keep up with his movements. He grinned to himself, "I think it's time to end this now. She's as good as mine!"

The werewolf changed his course, fist cocked back to knock out the vampire from the back of the skull. He threw his fist forward, the grin never leaving his face.

Thwack!

Crunch!

For a moment, Gin thought he had hit her. Then he looked again, only to see his a few of his knuckles bending in odd directions. His brain caught up with the rest of his body, and he looked to see the hand of none other than the Arashi-Ninja, who had stopped Gin's fist with an open palm, effectively breaking several digits in the werewolf's hand.

"Gaaaaah!!!!" Gin cried out, retracting his hand and holding it tenderly, "How did you manage to catch me like that!!! Damn it!!"

Naruto simply laughed, pointing up to the sky. Gin looked up, and his facial features changed from anger to shock. The clouds were out, and had blocked out most of the moonlight. Without the moonlight, he wasn't nearly as fast as before!

"Don't think that it's over! I'll show you what I'm-"

A blur of silver and green appeared in front of him, and he saw stars as the foot of Moka Akashiya met the side of his head. He flew several feet through the air before flying off the railing of the roof and onto the ground below. The four other spectators ran to see the figure of Gin, motionless and groaning in pain.

"I doubt he'll be getting up from that." Yukari spoke, "That's at least three stories that he fell down, not to mention he got kicked by Moka..."

Naruto decided to make take his leave while the others were focused on the downed werewolf. No need to have them getting curious about him; especially Kurumu. She seemed to recognize him, and he almost blew his cover.

"Hold it."

Naruto was just about to jump off when he heard Moka speak. He cursed himself before turning around, "Yeah?"

He barely had time to react as Moka appeared before him, her hands around his arm. He bit down the pain as she tightened her grip, "I have a tendency to not trust those who hide behind masks." Her crimson pupils locked with his sapphire.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he forced back the desire to pull his arm away. Moka was easily much stronger than he was. Well, at least stronger without having to draw upon any further power, and doing that might only provoke her. He managed to laugh a little as she kept a steady gaze on him, "I go and help you and this is the thanks I get?"

"For all I know, you have some ulterior motive to helping us." Moka explained, applying more force and cause Naruto to wince a little, "You're definitely a capable fighter, that much I can tell. However, judging by the fact that you have superhuman abilities while in a human form, I'm guessing you're either a boundary being or very good at holding a disguise while drawing upon your true powers."

"Heh, nothing escapes you, does it?" Naruto's comment was rewarded with a slight twisting, "Ow, ow, ow...look, just trust me on this one. I'm not a bad guy."

"Vigilantes tend to believe that they're doing good. That doesn't mean that they're 'good deeds' are good for the public." Moka kept her steady gaze on the ninja's blue orbs, "I saw you at the pool the other day. While you did save many from being fed on by the mermaids...you also arrived at a rather convenient time, at least that's what Tsukune said. Saved him in the 'nick of time' as they would say."

"What are you getting at?" Naruto asked.

"Are you stalking us?" Moka questioned, "If you lie to me, and I find out..." She let the threat hang in the air, her suppressing aura doing the talking for her.

"Okay, you want the truth?" Naruto looked away for a moment before sighing, "The truth is that I don't like how things are being handled around here. Too many students deal with problems, some of which they shouldn't have to worry about to begin with, like getting beat up by upperclassmen, getting their lunch money stolen, or having people steal their belongings."

Moka's eyes lowered to his torso, where Gin had stepped on his ribs, then settled onto his arm, "Are you injured?"

Naruto waved his free hand, "Eh, I heal up faster than most. I'll be fine. I've had much worse beatings than that."

Moka seemed to be done with her impromptu interrogation, letting go of Naruto's arm. The shinobi quickly backed up while giving a nod, "Take care now."

"Until we meet again, Naruto."

The ninja had already started to turn around, before he stopped suddenly and looked back at Moka with wide eyes, panic etched into his masked features. "H-How did... When did you figure it out?"

Offering him a small smile, she idly brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face while walking back towards him, "Your physique is quite similar to that of Naruto, and you both have the exact same eye color as well. Not only that, but Naruto is the only one of our group of friends that isn't here. I simply connected the dots, and your reaction confirmed my suspicions to be true."

Naruto looked over Moka's shoulder at the rest of the group; they were still checking out the area where Gin had gone over the railing and chatting amongst themselves. Turning his attention back to the white haired vampire, he begged, "Please, please Moka-chan... keep this between us? I want to help people, but I'm also doing this to keep up with my training. I really don't need others constantly nagging me about what I do. Besides, this could cause problems if I make enemies and others know who I really am." He seemed to be sincere with his request, "Please!"

Moka's red eyes squinted as she gazed at him, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I'll agree, but only on one condition."

Feeling wary, Naruto simply nodded slowly at her, urging her to continue.

Moka continued, "You're powerful, I can tell that much just from what happened here tonight. I'm curious as to just how strong you are. I want to spar you sometime this year before school ends. I desire to keep my own skills sharp, and you're the closest thing I have to a friend that has worthy strength."

Part of Naruto was happy at her offer, if he could practice with her, she would make an incredible sparring partner. On the other hand, seeing the damage she did to Gin with just a single punch, it would be just like sparring with a Sakura that didn't pull any punches. It would hurt.

"Fine," Naruto scratched the back of his head while exhaling deeply, "I promise we'll spar. Just let me know when you want to." Moka smirked at Naruto and gave him a little 'shoo' gesture. The blond immediately disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kurumu noticed the smoke from the corner of her eye, belatedly realizing that the ninja had disappeared, "Hey, wait!"

"Don't bother Kurumu...he's already a good two minutes running distance from us." Moka spoke as she rejoined with the group.

Tsukune gave the vampire a quizzical look, "You can tell?"

"Barely. His aura is suppressed now, but that technique he used to disappear gave off the faintest trace of energy. I'm guessing it's a sort of teleportation ability."

Yukari nodded, "I remember reading in a book somewhere about shinobi once...it said that they're a step under boundary beings." She scratched her head in thought, "I think it said that they differ from witches in regards to how they draw upon their power. Witches harness the energy of the environment around them, but ninja draw energy from within them."

Tsukune shook his head, "So...you mean to say that this 'Arashi-Ninja' is more or less a superhuman of some sorts?"

Yukari smiled while laughing a little, "I guess that's an easy way of putting it. There's more to it though. I'll have to see if I can find anything else on shinobi in my spare time."

Moka eventually retrieved her rosary from Tsukune and reattached it to her chain. The group then decided it was best to call it a night, considering it was nearly on to one in the morning.

"Mizore?"

The purple haired girl looked to her side to see Moka walking beside her, "Hm?"

"Thanks...for helping me earlier." Moka looked away for a moment, "I won't tell anyone about your powers."

Mizore smiled, "That doesn't really matter to me, but thank you."

"Hey," Kurumu began as they began walking down the stairs to the ground floor, "What do we do about Gin?"

"Oh...he's still unconscious, isn't he?" Tsukune asked.

"All in favor of leaving him and spilling the beans on what happened in the first newspaper, say aye." Yukari spoke, grinning a little.

"Aye." came the chorus of four girls and one boy.

"Then it's decided," Yukari laughed. Almost as an afterthought, she continued, "Hey, Naruto's in the Karate Club. Maybe we should get him to beat up Gin as retribution for what he did to Tsukune-kun!"

Naruto crawled to his bed, groaning in pain as he slowly lied down. Taking a look at his body, he saw a few bruises on his chest, and one on his wrist. He'd be fine by morning, but it didn't do anything to help with the pain throbbing through his body.

Still, it sure beat a punch through the wall from Sakura or Tsunade any day.

He took a quick look at his alarm clock, and sighed. Five minutes past two in the morning, and he was just starting to get some sleep. He'd have to be up in less than six hours, and while he was used to having little sleep, he was also used to being on missions and being active. Sitting in classes for a good six hours a day wasn't exactly what he called being 'active'. Therefore, it wasn't necessarily a surprise to him when he would sometimes find himself dozing off in the middle of a lecture about trigonometry.

"Damn...I don't have homework due tomorrow, do I?" Naruto asked himself aloud. He quickly flicked on his light, and walked over to his desk. Looking at his math book, he opened the page he had bookmarked, and sighed.

"Son of a..." Naruto plopped into his chair. He had another sixteen problems to go, and he recalled hearing that this homework would be graded. He rubbed his eyes, grabbed a pencil, and set to work.

Bam, bam, bam!

"Naruto! Hey, Naruto, wake up!"

Bam, bam, bam, bambambambam!

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, and yawned. The first thing he noted was that he was in his chair. Second of all, he looked at his clock.

"Twenty to eight...huh..." Naruto's slowly widened, "Aw crap!!!"

"Naruto? Are you in there? You're going to be late for class!"

Naruto ran to his door, and opened it to reveal Tsukune standing before him, "Ah, Tsukune! Thanks for waking me up, heheh. Looks like I forgot to set my clock..."

"No problem; you usually have your door open in the morning before you leave for school, so I figured you were still sleeping." Tsukune looked to see his homework still on his desk, "Rough night?"

"Ugh, yeah. Look, give me three minutes and I'll be with you." Naruto shut the door and quickly threw on his uniform and grabbed his books and backpack. No more than two minutes passed before he was leaving his room, locking the door behind him, "I kind of forgot to finish the math homework for today, so I stayed up a bit later..."

Tsukune nodded, "Yeah, I hear you. Weird stuff happened last night with our club...luckily that ninja guy showed up."

Naruto made sure to feign surprise, "Ninja? You mean that 'Arashi-Ninja' that everyone's been talking about?"

"Yeah...turns out that Gin-sempai is a pervert, and he was trying to hit on Moka. One thing lead to another, we all arrived in time to see Gin-sempai fighting with Mizore and that ninja. Turns out he's a werewolf."

"A werewolf?" Naruto chuckled, "Huh. It was a full moon out last night too. Was anyone hurt?"

Tsukune shook his head, "Not too badly. Moka reported Gin to the faculty this morning, and we're printing out an extra of our newspaper on the incident. It's clearing up my name too, heh."

"That's a relief."

The two eventually reached their homeroom just as the bell rang. After the greetings from the teacher to the students, Nekonome began her lecture on 'Monsters in Human Literature'. About five minutes into the lecture, however, the classroom door opened, and everyone turned to see an upperclassman girl holding a piece of paper. She looked in the classroom, then to Nekonome.

"Um...is there a Naruto Uzumaki in here?"

"Yes, Uzumaki-kun is here." Nekonome replied while pointing to Naruto. The girl turned to Naruto and nodded to herself.

"Uzumaki-san, I was asked to call you to the Chairman's office."

Immediately the room was filled with whispers and hushed gasps. Naruto simply raised an eyebrow while getting out of his seat, "Okay. Um...right now?"

"It sounded important." The girl replied. Naruto picked up his book bag and headed towards the door. He noted Mizore and Moka giving him worried looks while Tsukune looked almost terrified. Naruto himself didn't know what to think; did they find out he was the Arashi-Ninja? He was pretty sure that the Chairman knew he was a human, so what did he wish to speak to him about?

"Uzumaki-kun, be sure to read pages fifteen through twenty-eight from the book." Nekonome called out to the blond as he left. Naruto gave a nod before closing the door.

As he followed the upperclassman girl through the halls of the school, he continued to mull over the possible reasons for this request of his presence. He was drawing up various conclusions, none of them sounding any good. He vaguely recalled seeing the Chairman during the ceremony on his first day in Youkai, but that was it. He pretty much had no idea who this man was.

The girl eventually reached a set of large wooden doors, and stopped, "Well, the Chairman's waiting for you." She gave a bow before heading down the hall, leaving the blond alone in front of the ominous set of double doors.

He knocked once, and much to his surprise, the doors opened. He took a step back, his shinobi instincts kicking in for a moment. He unconsciously reached to his side, but then realized his kunai pouch was back in his room.

"Enter."

Naruto jumped at the sound of the eerie, yet calm, voice that emanated from the room. He was hesitant to abide by the voices command, unsure if he could fully trust it with so much unknown to him.

"Naruto-kun, I assure you that there are no dangers in here. Enter, please."

Naruto noted the voice sounded slightly more comforting, though it still sent a shiver down his spine. Exhaling deeply, he walked into the room, and took a look around.

The first thing he saw was the large wooden desk on the opposite end of the room, a giant window behind it that let the early morning light in through a crack in the curtains that were pulled halfway shut. Second was that there were shelves upon shelves of books on either side of the office, and several oddities like a candle placed on top of a human skull, a strange book in a display case with runic symbols, and various things he wasn't able to identify.

"Welcome, Naruto-kun. I trust you were able to find my office alright?"

"Er..." Naruto faced towards the desk where the Chairman was seated. He was a strange person, Naruto decided. He wore a cloak of sorts, a hood shadowing the upper portion of his face above his nose. His eyes, however seemed to be glowing, which Naruto didn't think was normal.

Then again, considering where he was, he ruled out most logical things that humans would take for granted.

Second of all was the necklace he had, bearing a cross of some sort. Naruto, being a human with sensitivity to chakra and other similar energies, was able to tell one thing was certain about this man.

He was powerful.

"Well, regardless, please have a seat." The Chairman pointed to a chair in front of his desk. Naruto did as he was asked, and faced towards the cloaked man.

"So...um...Chairman...sir...what is it you wished to speak to me about?"

The Chairman's eerie smile never left his face as he spoke, "It would appear that some incident has occurred recently...one that you can relate to directly."

Naruto's face managed to hide his nervousness, "To me?"

"Correct." The Chairman replied before continuing, "It relates to Konohagakure, and the group known as Akatsuki, if I'm right."

Naruto's eyes widened, "Akatsuki? What happened? Did they attack my village? Is anyone hurt? Are they looking for-" Naruto bit his tongue as the Chairman raised a hand to silence him.

"I think it would be best if someone else explained all that to you..." The Chairman looked to a door on the right side of the room, "You may enter now."

The door opened slowly, Naruto guessing that there was a smaller study in that room for the Chairman to go to. That was important to him though. He was more concerned with who could possibly be behind that door that wished to speak to him.

As the door opened fully, Naruto's jaw went slack. He bolted up, sweat pouring down his face, "K-K..Kaka..."

There, in the doorway, being supported by two crutches, both legs in bandages while a good portion of the head wrapped being wrapped up as well, stood Kakashi Hatake. The man looked beaten and haggard. His face showed that he had been through hell and back, well, at least the portion that Naruto could see anyway.

The Jounin looked up to Naruto before giving him a weak smile behind his mask, his visible eye closing a bit, "Naruto...I'm glad to see you're doing well..."

Naruto reached his old sensei in less than five steps, "Kakashi-sensei....wh-what the hell happened to you? You look like you've had your ass beaten by Tsunade-baachan six times before Sakura-chan had a go at you."

Kakashi chuckled a bit as he placed a single arm on Naruto's shoulder, "Well, that's not what happened, but I wish that was the case..." The silver haired man's features darkened considerably before he continued, "Naruto...I don't know how else to go about saying this..."

The blond bit his lip as he saw Kakashi struggle to speak. That was definitely not a good thing, considering what the man had been through in his lifetime. Most of the dangers of the shinobi world didn't have such a strong effect on him, as far as Naruto could tell at least, "Kakashi-sensei...?"

The Jounin took in a deep breath, exhaling and looking Naruto, the weariness and trauma from whatever he had been through showing clearly in his eyes, "Konoha's gone, Naruto...all of it's gone..."

End of Chapter Four- Dun dun duuuuuun! What could Kakashi possibly mean? Konoha gone? Why? How?! Well, that will have to wait until next chapter for an explanation. Updates have been a bit slow lately; this is possibly the busiest semester I've had in college thus far. I have weekends, but 48 hours a week is only so much time, heheh. Well, I hope you all really enjoyed this chapter. I know I enjoyed making it. Not much to say really; Naruto's trying to keep his alter ego hidden while maintaining the facade of being a monster. Not exactly an easy task. With this new bombshell being dropped on him, expect a lot to occur for our blond haired protagonist.

Well, until next time, keep on reading!

On a final note, a HUGE thanks to my trusted beta, Paradox Jast, who has managed to make this chapter great. He really pulled out all the stops this time. I couldn't have done it without him.