There really isn't much to say right now. I noticed that recently authors in this category have been updating like no tomarrow with at least one a day. Unfortunately, it means people browsing through there have little chance to see this after it's buried under eight other stories. Oh well.
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Disclaimer: Acolyte ventured further into the cave, shivering as he went. It just gave him a bad vibe, and he wondered if he should even be here. The barking of dogs reassured him in his decision to press forward. Suddenly, a luminescent being appeared before him. "Halt! Who art thou who dare desecrate a place a sacred as this?"
"Um… I'm Acolyte, and there are some guys out side looking for me, so if you could keep it down…" he left the statement hanging.
"Oh, my apologies. I sense your troubles lie within the lack of a disclaimer." The being received a nod. "Does thou wish to know where it went wrong?" Another nod. "Very well. Say the sacred words."
"I own nothing that grants me monetary value from this." The two disappeared in a flash.
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Chapter 7: GhostLazily, Naruto half opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was how incredibly white the ceiling is, and how the light seemed to be shining right in his eyes, causing him to close them again. As soon as he became a bit more accustomed to the bright hell of a room he was in, he reopened his eyes. Naruto reeled back further into the bed he was in, trying to get away from the scent that suddenly overpowered him. After a few moments, he relized it was an antiseptic.
As he shifted around, he found that his bed was giving him rather good support. In fact, if he could get some better sheets, the bed would make the light and smell more bearable. As it was, he just wanted to leave now. As he shifted about, he winced from the ache his muscles were giving off. Okay, screw ache, his body burned. Even the slightest movement sent waves of fire through him. After realizing it wasn't about to get any better ant time soon, he decided to just sit up and deal with the consequences later.
Those consequences came right after the fact, causing him to take in a sharp inhalation of breath. The sound was enough to alert the other person in the room to his conscious state. "Naruto-kun?" Naruto's head whipped around, causing him to gasp in pain from his neck feeling like it was being ripped apart from the inside.
When he stopped seeing spots, he was finally able to see who it was in the room with him. "Mizore-chan?" his voice came out rough, and it hurt his throat to speak, but he was surprised to see the purple-haired girl curled up in a chair across from his bed. From the looks of things, she had been asleep in that chair, waiting for him. That just made him feel worse, especially after what he had done… what he had almost done. He was going to need to talk to Kyuubi after this.
Mizore got up from her resting spot and approached his bed. "Please lie back down, Naruto-kun. It's obvious that you're not yet fully healed." Seeing genuine concern in the girls face, he did as she asked, wincing just a bit as he made contact. The pain was becoming more tolerable by the moment.
"Mizore-chan… I'm sorry about what happened, I…" Mizore placed a finger to his lips, asking him to be quiet. A bit shocked by the action, he quickly complied.
"Naruto-kun, I know you weren't in complete control of yourself, and, therefore, you weren't at fault. Besides, you were able to regain your senses before anything bad happened, along with being able to save everyone. You have nothing to worry about, and I'm sure the others would agree."
"But…"
"No 'buts', Naruto-kun." Mizore gave him an icy look, saying that the topic was closed and that arguing would be useless. He perked up a bit as a question came to mind.
"Hey, What happened after I blacked out, anyway? How long was I out?"
"Well, Gin-senpai was treated for some second-degree burns and was released shortly after. Tsukune had some less serious burns and a concussion, and has also been released. As for you, you've been out for about six-hours. If you're ready, the doctor said that you should be able to leave as soon as you regain consciousness. But, seeing as you're in pain, I wouldn't advise that."
Disregarding that last statement, Naruto sat up and tossed the sheets off him, followed by swinging his legs over the side of the bed and stepping onto the cool floor. He only had his rags for pants on, but that wasn't going to stop him from leaving. "Don't worry about it, I'm feeling better already."
"You sure?" Mizore received a nod of the head as a response. "In that case, there's a pile of clothing over there on the counter for you. I'm sorry, but we couldn't find your sword." She was a bit ashamed that she had to give him bad news, but he would have found out eventually, and it was best to get it out of the way now.
As Naruto approached the girl, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave a reassuring smile. "Hey, don't worry about it. It was probably resealed due to the influx of my energy anyway."
"In that case, I'll give you some privacy." With that, Mizore left the room. True to her words, Naruto found a new uniform for him on the counter, along with his pendant. He quickly got dressed and exited the room. Out side, he found Mizore propped up against the wall, waiting for him.
"You ready to go?" he asked, drawing the girl's attention.
"Sure. By the way, while you were out, the chairmen stopped by. He wanted to see you in his office once you got out. You should probably get over there right away."
Naruto gave an affirmative nod. "Sure, I'll see you in class tomarrow, Mizore-chan." The girl gave a small smile and began to walk Naruto to the exit. After he checked out and they got out the door, they started to go there separate ways. Before they got to far away from each other, Naruto called back to her. "Oh, and Mizore-chan," she looked back to him, "thanks for helping me."
She gave another smile. "No problem, Naruto-kun." She began on her way again, but another call from Naruto stopped her."
"Wait." Naruto jogged over to Mizore as she turned to him completely. What happened next, not even Naruto expected. "Thanks for being my friend." With that Naruto embraced her. After a few moments, she also gave him a hug. They stood like that for a few moments before Naruto broke off, a bit flustered. "Umm, I should probably go. I'll see ya, Mizore-chan."
The girl just watched the blonde's retreating back, blushing over what just happened. "Naruto-kun." She smiled and continued to watch his back. He truly was her best friend in this school, and maybe he could eventually be more. She stopped that train of thought right there, figuring she was getting ahead of herself. Then again, it was nice to think it could happen.
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As far as Naruto was concerned, it was by sheer luck that he found the chairman's office. First off, he barely knew his way around the school. Secondly, he didn't encounter anyone he could ask for information. Finally, he couldn't seem to get out of his mind the encounter he'd had with Mizore earlier, despite his efforts to think of something else. It was almost like someone in his head was watching a show and had one of those damn DVRs, so they could just keep rewinding back to that one part in the show only they find amusing.
Deep in Naruto's subconscious, Kyuubi laughed in delight as he once again watched the tender moment between friends, especially enjoying as the two got flustered. Yes, life was tolerable for the Bijuu as long as he had moments like this.
Anyway, getting back on topic, Naruto stood before the massive slabs of wood that the chairman called doors. Hesitantly, he reached up and firmly raped his knuckled against the thick oak a few times. There was a few seconds of silence, before he heard a voice on the other side call him. "Yes, come in."
The blonde was surprised at how light the doors actually were, but, since he wasn't expecting that, he ended up stumbling through after a heavy push. Quickly regaining his equilibrium, he took this time to survey the office.
In all actuality, it was incredibly bleak. He spotted several skulls on the desk alone, a few being used to hold candles. In fact, besides the giant windows behind the chairman, which gave a rather nice few of the school grounds, candles were located around the room as the only light source. There were also impressive bookshelves on either side of the room. Naruto didn't get the chance to investigate further as he heard his name called.
"Ahh, Uzumaki-san. I've been expecting you. Please, take a seat." The boy did as the creepy chairman asked, sitting in a chair right in front of the desk. Before Naruto had the chance to ask why he was there, he was once again interrupted. "Now, do the two of you understand why you're here?"
'Wait, two?' for the first time, Naruto relized that he wasn't the only one in the room, bar the chairman. Standing right behind him was a certain bi-coloured giant. "Zetsu? When did you get here?"
"I have been here since before you arrived, Naruto-san. As for your question, chairman, I presume it has to do with both of our clubs."
'Both of our clubs? I thought he was in gardening club. How did he get in trouble with that.' Now Naruto was really confused, and he could restrain his curiosity no longer. "Wait a second, I can understand how my club could land me here, but what about Zetsu's?" Naruto felt as if the chairman's glowing eyes were attempting to look into his soul and burn it, cooking him from the inside out. After a few seconds of awkward silence, his question was answered.
"You see, Zetsu-san here was part of a club that grew a certain illegal controlled substance in their greenhouse, where they then proceeded to sell it for a profit. When he caught wind of what was really going on, I was informed and promptly shut the club down. As such, both of you are without clubs, which leaves the question, what do I do with you?" explained the headmaster.
"Well, do we really need a club? It seems like a waste of time."
"Well, Uzumaki-san, that depends. Do you wish to graduate?" the blonde fell silent at that. The chairman grinned as he stood up from his desk and turned to face the window. "I'll take that as a yes. So, I guess that it is lucky for you two that there is one club that has yet to meet a proper quota of members." The chairman turned back to his desk and scribbled something down on a scrap piece of paper. He then handed it to Naruto. "I want you both to report to this room tomarrow for club activities. I'm sure you'll both have a wonderful time. And if not, too bad, this is non-negotiable. Now, go get some rest you two. Your new science and homeroom teacher arrives tomarrow." With that, the two were shooed out of the room, where the doors slammed behind them.
"I suppose I will see you tomarrow, Naruto-san. Goodbye. Also, it is good to see that you are well." With that, Zetsu went off to do whatever it was that he did when he was alone.
"Yeah, see ya." And so, Naruto also went his own way, wondering, what club he was now in, who this mysterious new teacher was, and what had happened with Mizore.
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As Naruto walked to school the next day, he couldn't help but here the talk of several students. Seeing as he had been in a cell for the past few weeks, he was a bit curious about what the current talk around school was. "Hey, did you here someone took out Kuyou?!?" asked a boy in an exited whisper to three of his friends.
"You mean Kuyou as in head of the Student Safety Committee? No way, that guy's unstoppable!" argued one of the friends.
"No, it's true! Didn't you feel that energy spike yesterday? Apparently that was from the guy who did it! And it even caused the entire base to collapse!" he argued, trying desperately to get his friends to believe him.
"I think he's telling the truth. I heard something similar." said another friend.
"I still say both of you are full of shit." Was the harsh answer from the second guy.
"I agree. That power spike was too strong to be natural. It was most likely an influx in the earth's natural youkai levels. It was a coincidence that it was concentrated at that area." This came from the third friend of the guy who brought the conversation up in the first place.
"Fine, don't listen, but that's not the point! Apparently it was a freshman who did it!" said the exasperated kid.
"Okay, now I know you're full of bullshit."
"Yes, please don't expect us to believe that."
"Quiet frankly, I find that an insult to my intelligence. I'll believe everything you said besides that."
Even the friend who had yet to say anything nodded. "B-but… you know what, forget it. Why do I bother?" said the guy, utterly defeated.
Naruto was slightly annoyed that the only thing these guys were talking about was him. He was about to move on when the last guy finally said something.
"Okay, moving on. Did you guy's here about Yakasu's replacement?" for obvious reasons, this caught Naruto's attention.
"Yeah, he starts today, don't he?" said the second guy.
"Holy fuck! Hell, I saw him, and I feel bad for anybody who has him." said the original guy.
"Sure you did." The fourth guy said, rolling his eyes.
"No, I'm serious! He's this big ass fucker and-and, I hear he's a hybrid, and-oh he took on a vampire and won!"
"Okay, who told you that, seriously?" asked the fifth guy. It was quite obvious he was growing tired of his friend's antics.
Naruto himself was growing tired, and at this rate he would be late for class, so he went on his way. He would find out for himself what this guy was like. He heard one last bit of information as he left. "I heard one of the faculty call him Amami-sensei…"
'Amami-sensei, eh? But really, did that guy expect anyone to believe his shit? I guess I'll find out for myself how much is true.' Naruto arrived at the classroom and took his usual seat in front of Mizore, who was one of the first to arrive. He, on the other hand, was usually one of the last.
There was no talking between the two, which Naruto was slightly thankful for, yet left him kind of disappointed at the same time. On one hand, he wouldn't have to deal with the awkwardness that came with the friendly hug. On the other, she also seemed to not want to talk about what happened. He was suddenly distracted as the tone sounded.
In the moments afterwards, soft footfalls could be heard from down the hall, approaching the door. The class awaited, eager and with bated breath, for everyone was curious as to whom this mysterious Amami-sensei was. Within moments, the footstep stopped outside the door, and a silhouette was visible from the other side of the tempered glass of the door.
Everyone, some trembling in anticipation, watched as the doorknob slowly turned. With an audible click in the silent room, the door swung open. For Naruto, that click reverberated throughout his very being and pounded in his head for what seemed to be an eternity, for the figure who walked through the doorway was the last person he either expected or wanted to see.
'No.' That one thought echoed as Naruto took inventory of the man that looked no more than twenty-six. He was an impressive 6'7 and was dressed in black slacks, shoes, a white undershirt, and a white lab coat that reached his knees. He had short brown hair that made him look as if he had just woken up. A small scar was located just under his left orange eye. A black eye patch obstructed the view of his right eye. From his unmovable line if a mouth hung a lit cigarette, eliciting coughs and ridicule from the class. It was also worth noting that the sleeve of his right arm was pinned up.
Quiet murmurs ran rampant throughout the room as the man took a seat at his new desk. "What the fuck? He looks terrible!"
"He's smoking… in a classroom… with kids in it… and he's our teacher?"
"He is kind of hot though. You know, in that rugged, mysterious kind of way."
"You think it's true what they say? That he killed a vampire?"
These were just some of the remarks the students made as Amami surveyed the room with his one visible eye. Naruto barely paid attention to them, though. The blonde was pale, and sweat was slowly dripping down his brow. He was thinking but one thing. 'No. Is it possible? He's… he's dead. Is it… can it really be? You son of a bitch… why are you here, Konjyoyaki?'
As soon as he thought that, Konjyoyaki's eye landed on Naruto. As it stayed there, Naruto felt his disbelief and fear ebb away, only to be replaced by hatred and… shame? Why shame? Before Naruto had time to ponder this, Konjyoyaki spoke in his quiet, calm, yet powerful tone, but there was an accent there that Naruto couldn't remember him having before. "Class, as you very well know, I am Amami-sensei, and I shall be addressed as such. Now, I'm aware that you have been without a science teacher for quite some time, so we will get to work right away. I will work you like dogs if I have to, just to get you caught up on what you missed. Now…" he turned to write something on the board behind him. Naruto tuned him out for the rest of class, opting for staring at his desk instead. He needed time to digest this new situation.
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Naruto, along with Zetsu, stood in front of the door of the club they were assigned to. Reluctantly, Naruto eventually knocked. When the door opened, they were met with the sight of a blonde woman with glasses. A tuft of hair stood out on either side of her head, resembling cat ears. In fact, her whole demeanor was cat like. She cocked her head to the side and asked, "Yes, how can I help you?"
"Umm, hello, we've been assigned to this club from now on due to some recent events resulting in the closing of our original clubs."
The woman had a smile on her face ads she heard this. "O, I was told about you! You can call me Nekonome-sensei. I'm the facilitator of the newspaper club. Come on in!"
The moment Naruto heard newspaper, his mind started racing. He didn't have much time to think as when the woman stepped away, he was met with a handful of familiar faces. He twitched a bit as he stepped into the room. "Of course. Today is just full of surprises."
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It's not that Naruto wasn't glad that he was in a club surrounded by friends and acquaintances. It was just that he had a lot on his mind, and most everyone seemed to pick up on it. To ignore them, he engrossed himself in scanning articles, searching for errors and thinking of how to make them more appealing.
Eventually, Mizore pulled him into the hall outside the room so they could talk. "Naruto-kun, you're acting strange. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. It's probably just from sitting in that cell for so long. Trust me Mizore-chan, I'm fine." Mizore let out a sigh as she fixed Naruto with a look.
"I know when you're lying, Naruto-kun." Both were silent for a moment. Before Naruto was about to speak, Mizore did first. "Look, if this is about that hug earlier, don't worry about it. I… I enjoyed it, but I don't want that to make things awkward between us." Mizore turned her head away to hide her blush.
Naruto himself was blushing but quickly hid it. "That was on my mind, but that's not it. It's… it's Amami-sensei. I… I know him…knew him… from before." Mizore gave him a surprised look.
"But I though you were from a different world? How is that possible?"
"I don't know. But that's not what worries me. You see… he's supposed to be dead."
"Okay, but that doesn't exactly explain who he is."
"You know how I told you certain people were stronger than normal civilians?" he received a nod. "He was by far one of the most powerful people I have ever encountered. And each time I fought him… he was just playing with me. He…" Naruto was cut off as a presence made itself known.
"It's not nice to talk about people behind their backs, Uzumaki." Both teens jumped and looked to see who had interrupted them. It was Konjyoyaki, cigarette lit and hand shoved into his coat pocket. "Follow me, and I'll tell you all you want to know." With that the man turned around and started walking. After a bit of hesitation, Naruto followed, who was followed by Mizore.
A little walking later led the trio to the roof of the school. Konjyoyaki still had his back turned, staring out to the sky. Naruto finally spoke. "Why are you here."
He received a shrug. "I'm hard to kill."
"That's not what I asked."
"Think about it. As far as I know, there's only one way to travel across dimensions. I think it's quite obvious that I somehow found a portal." With that he turned to face the kids. "However, I'm more concerned as to why you're here. Shouldn't you be taking care of Haku?"
Naruto looked down as his hands clenched into fists and shook. Konjyoyaki saw this and had his eye narrow a little. A slight frown marred his face. "I see. Do you know who did it?" Naruto shook his head.
Suddenly, Mizore spoke up. "Excuse me, but who are you exactly? How did you know this Haku? From what I understand, she was Naruto-kun's girlfriend."
Konjyoyaki seemed to examine her a bit before he nodded to himself. "Nice choice Uzumaki." Both teens were confused by what he meant. "To answer your question, Shirayuki-san, my name is Amami Konjyoyaki. I was the uncle of Amami Haku. I was also a master swords man and, for a time, hired assassin. I was then part of a certain organization focused on Uzumaki-san here. In truth, I was a double agent convinced to help him anyway I could by someone who wanted him safe. There was someone else who was also employed by this man. You can come out now, Zetsu-san." Both were shocked as Zetsu just seemed to appear out of nowhere behind them.
"Zetsu, how do you know Konjyoyaki?!?"
"That's the best disguise you could come up with? Drop it." Zetsu listened to Konjyoyaki and shifted to his true form. His right side lost its mouth and its eye shifted to a perfect yellow circle. The left side's teeth became pointed. He grew a few feet until he was taller than Konjyoyaki, and plant-like extensions sprouted from his shoulders. "Does he seem more familiar now, or do I really need to tell you?"
In Naruto's head, the story of how Konjyoyaki met Hidan replayed in his head over and over. He keyed into a spot where he mentioned someone who matched Zetsu's current description. "You're with Akatsuki." It was a statement.
At Zetsu's nod, Konjyoyaki smirked a bit. "I'm surprised you didn't relies earlier. Hell, I even gave you his name."
Naruto just growled. "Shut up. Zetsu, how did you get here?"
"I was sucked into the rift you opened up when you met the cloaked man." The explanation was short and sweet, as Zetsu answered in a deadpan.
"Oh. Now, why are you here, Konjyoyaki?"
"I found a lead." Naruto didn't quite know what he meant, but it wasn't that important.
"Are you going to harm my friends or me?"
"No."
"Heh, I've heard that before."
"Listen, I didn't even know you were here Uzumaki. I swear I will try to keep you out of this mess. Someday, I'll tell you everything, but not now." With that, he walked away.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier." Naruto turned to Zetsu, who was now back in his disguise.
"It's fine, I guess. Come on, the others must be worried." As the three walked down the halls, Mizore spoke.
"Well, he seems nice."
"Don't believe anything he say's Mizore-chan. He may seem nice, he may seem disabled, but back home, they called him the Yuurei no Kiri. He can kill you and you wouldn't even know it. Just… please just be careful." With that, they reentered the clubroom.
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Back on the roof, Konjyoyaki looked out over at the setting sun. Suddenly, he launched into a massive coughing fit. He was forced to his knees as he gasped for breath, wiping the blood off of his chin. He wearily stood up as he once again looked out to the sun.
"Sorry I couldn't keep my promise, Uzumaki, but the opportunity is too good to pass up. You will serve me one day, whether you want to or not, if only to keep another promise. But, if it means my goals are met, I will feel no remorse if you lose somebody close to you. I'm sorry you're just so vulnerable.
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Yeah, feel free to hate me. I won't blame you. Really, I'm sorry, but Konjyoyaki's the first OC I really got into the head of. I couldn't just kill him. Besides, he's vital to the future plot. In other news, my new project, 'The Natural Biotic', is now also out. Go read it.
Who exactly can Naruto trust? Is Mizore his only hope in retaining some sense of self? And why does his life seem to be going to hell? Stay tuned to find out! This chapter 4,497 was words long!
