Hanyou Trials

by Dragon Man 180

Sequel to Naruto the Kitsune Hanyou and first story A Dream Is A Wish. Naruto and Hinata have to deal with one of the biggest trials ever, surviving high school in Nerima with Naruto's evil cousins trying to kill him! Mega Xover including Inuyasha, Ranma 12, and Tenchi Muyo. Warning, OC heavy, but main focus is Naruto and Hinata. Naruto is well on his way to Super Naruto status.

10. Trial 9: Miss Nerima

I only own my OCs, I do not own any of the songs that are mentioned later aside from the ones I include in full in the story. Big thanks to JediMistress for all the little details about the Jpop industry I was clueless about.

Naruto opened his eyes and frowned as he looked at the pair of massive toad statues flanking a large cage. "Come on out!" he growled. A giant beast stirred within the confines of the cage and slowly walked towards the bars separating itself from Naruto.

"I was wondering when you would show up," said the figure as it resolved itself into a black five tailed kitsune with red eyes and blood dripping from its fangs and claws.

"Looks like reforging Nenshousaiga cut you down a bit," said Naruto as he scowled at the manifestation of his youkai rage.

Naruko appeared behind Naruto and glared at the dark kitsune. "You could have killed Hinata-chan and Ryeka when you forced your youki through me!" she yelled.

"Like I care about those mortal girls!" growled the kitsune. Naruko and Naruto lunged towards the cage, intent on ripping the dark kitsune apart, only to have their collars grabbed to bring them up short.

"Cool it you two, if you go in there he'll tear you apart!" said a voice the twins recognized. Turning their heads, they found a dark skinned and black haired version of their mother holding them. "Sheesh, I got locked out for a few months from a rush of youki and then get knocked out when I eat the first thing that comes into my domain because I'm starving!"

"Kyu-oba-chan!" said the twins.

"Hmmm, I'm not so sure how I gained this form, but I know that if you go in that cage you'll die," said Kyu as she set the twins down. They were surprised to see that she was wearing a very conservative ninja dogi, consisting of a sleeveless upper garment, baggy pants, and arm guards. Her footwear consisted only of cloth bandages wrapped around her shins, ankles and instep.

"Well… maybe you absorbed the wild chakra the aphrodisiac created… I do remember it vanished pretty abruptly," said Naruko.

"That would explain why right after waking up I passed out from a massive hormone overload and woke up like this," said Kyu with a sigh and a slight blush on her cheeks. She found herself enveloped in a hug by Naruto and Naruko as they led her away from the cage of the screaming dark kitsune.

"Brats, get back here!" roared the evil fox.

"Shut up, furball!" Naruto yelled back. "We'll deal with you later!" The trio made their way to a bright sunny forest where large mushrooms formed a table and chairs for them.

"It's great to see you again, Oba-chan!" said Naruto with a grin after each of them had taken a seat.

"And it's nice to see you too, Naruto. Though I have to wonder about how much mental damage you've taken if you've got an alternate personality running around in here," said Kyu.

"I went through a period, and then accessed that rage youki!" exclaimed Naruto as he waved his arms frantically in the air.

"I see," said Kyu before smiling at the twins. "Well, whichever one of you is not in control of the body can stay in here with me, I'll train you in kitsune jutsu while the personality in control does something else." Both twins hugged their auntie tightly before telling her all that she had missed while unconscious.

(0o0o0)

Naruto opened his eyes and stretched as he sat up from his bed. He was instantly aware of Hinata snapping out of a doze in her chair at his side and smiled at her. "Okay, good news is that Kyu-oba-chan is awake after passing out after Naruko was formed. She'll be training Naruko and me whenever we're not in control of the body. Another bit of good news is my rage is still sealed up thanks to Ero-sennin. Bad news is it's a nasty nogitsune that wants to get loose and eat us," said Naruto.

"Nothing is ever easy, is it?" asked Hinata with a sigh before standing up and stretching, giggling as she noticed how Naruto's eyes followed her assets. That reminded her of something and she activated a privacy barrier before sitting down with a serious face. "Naruto-kun, about the other night when I got intimate with Naruko-chan and you…" she started to say before finding a finger on her lips and Naruto staring at her.

"I admit, I wasn't planning for that to happen, but when you clearly wanted to do it I went along with you, Hinata-chan. I don't think we're ready to go farther than that for a while," said Naruto. Hinata smiled and hugged her fiancé. "Besides, now that we're mates, my urges have quieted down."

Hinata blinked before gently pushing herself away from Naruto so she could look him in the eye. "What do you mean we mated?" she asked.

Naruto started to sweat before gulping and saying, "Well, at some point during that night… Naruko or I gave you a nip on your right shoulder. We're still not sure who did it first since both of us remember nibbling there, but not who did it first. Regardless, by youkai custom… we're married, mates for life."

Hinata pulled out a small hand mirror and checked her right shoulder. Sure enough, there was a small mark there, if she looked closely she could make out two lines of red dots that looked like two parentheses with their curves facing one another. "What does this mean Naruto-kun?" she asked.

"Well… for me it keeps other kitsune from getting fresh with you unless they want me to rip them apart. Other species of youkai won't go for you in an intimate way unless they feel they're stronger than me. But they would have to defeat me completely to get me to submit and allow them to that close to you. For Naruko it means she acknowledges you as her superior in the relationship and she'll submit to you unless you ask her to take charge," said Naruto.

"I see," muttered Hinata. "I do wish you'd told me about this earlier, our parents are going to freak out about this."

"I've already got a will written up in case your dad lands a Jūken strike to my head before he hears the full story," said Naruto with a sigh. Hinata giggled and dispelled the barrier so the two could leave the room. They found Jiraiya and Rōshi studying Yun's swords where they rested on the table.

"Naruto, why did you grab these? Nenshousaiga is easily a better sword than these," asked Jiraiya as he gazed at the two teens.

"One of the rules in the battle for succession in the Kitsune clan is that the loser's sword goes to the victor," said Naruto as he pulled out a scroll and unsealed a rack that already held two blades. "The top one is Yun's double bladed sword that actually is two ninjato that join together, the one below it is Kuroten's Jadoku (Snake Venom)," explained Naruto as he placed Yun's swords in the third rack down.

"Just out of curiosity, what do you do if one of your foes has a thousand blades or something?" asked Rōshi as he sipped at his sake jug.

"I seal them in a scroll and put the scroll on the rack," said Naruto as he returned the case to its storage scroll.

(0o0o0)

"Nerima Group Idol contest?" asked Naruko a few days later as she examined the flyer by the classroom door before first period. Due to the emergency fire sprinklers getting set off by an early morning explosion from the chemistry lab where Urd was mixing her latest potion, the vixen had to endure the lusty gazes of the hormone controlled boys of the school as she walked with Hinata and her friends.

"Sounds like a fanboy magnet," muttered Ranko as she scowled at the cartoon picture of five girls posed on a stage with microphone headsets on.

"It might be fun," countered Miyuki, who loved singing and dancing.

"I foresee many girls going for sexy and ending up in skanky outfits," said Akira with a groan as the group took their seats.

"Alright, class, as some of you might have noticed, the city council is sponsoring a talent show for the girls of the ward," said Ms. Hinako. "Groups are encouraged, but single performers are permitted. Anyone who feels up to it can go to the auditorium after school. There you'll audition for a chance to perform at the beach during the summer break. That event is a fundraiser for the ward, with each ticket going towards improving public facilities. Winners get a book of coupons for local shops plus a few yet to be determined prizes. Now hand in your homework and turn to page 279 of your books!"

(0o0o0)

"Why are we here?" asked Naruko as she followed Hinata and the other girls into the auditorium. "And by we, I mean me!"

"Because Hinata won't do this without you!" said Miyuki with a grin as she flicked her gaze towards Hinata.

"Awww, is Naruko afraid of showing her feminine side?" asked Cinnamon with a smirk. The dragon phoenix princess had recruited Ranko to partner with Toshi and her as a trio. Kimiko, Hinata, and Miyuki had dragged Naruko along with them, much to the amusement of Akira, who was grinning at his friend, and Thyme, who was leaning against the auditorium wall and simply watching things with a grin on his face.

"Calm down, you two, they're about to explain how this will work!" hissed Kimiko, causing the two to quiet down as Nuku Nuku stepped up to the microphone on the stage.

"Nya! Hello, everyone!" exclaimed the eternally cheerful combat android. "I'm happy to see so many of you here today! To start, fill out your names on these entry slips and we'll call you up in your groups one by one. Skuld-sensei, Gosunkugi-sensei, and I will be the judges. Each school is only allowed a certain number of entries in the contest. Part of the vote will be the audience's reaction to your performance, the rest will be the three of us. Each member of the group will receive a color coded microphone. The judges will then choose an appropriate song for that group's number of singers and you will get a chance to sing karaoke style! Everyone, please do your best!" There was excited chatter as groups formed and filled out their entry slips. Some of the groups were good, like Kasumi and Keimei as they sang Call Me What You Like by Puffy AmiYumi, while others made everyone with advanced hearing wince in pain. The reaction of Ranko, Cinnamon, and Toshi singing Kacchoiize! JAPAN by Biyuuden had everyone on their feet clapping.

Finally, it was Naruko, Hinata, Kimiko, and Miyuki's turn. The four girls took their microphones and lined up on the stage as they faced a large projector screen that would show them their lines. A catchy beat started playing and Naruko, Kimiko, and Miyuki all felt their tails start to sway with the beat. Unconsciously moving with the rhythm their bodies were setting, the three girls started to move in synch with Hinata only a half-step behind them before she started flowing seamlessly into the mix as Hinoi Team's Play with the Numbers started playing. The four girls were so wrapped up in the words they were singing that they didn't realize they had started moving until the music stopped at the end of the song and they realized they had ended with a pose as the crowd leapt to their feet with approval. All four girls blushed and hurried off the stage, watching the rest of the girls make their performances.

(0o0o0)

A figure hidden in the rafters of the auditorium scowled as it watched the girls performing. "This will be more of a challenge than I thought," whispered the figure.

(0o0o0)

"And the three groups that will be representing Furinkan at the contest will be the duo of Kasumi and Keimei, Fire and Water, the trio of Ranko, Cinnamon, and Toshi called Silken Flowers, and the quartet of Hinata, Kimiko, Miyuki, and Naruko who have yet to submit a name," said Skuld. There was applause for the three groups, though a few of the girls looked jealous.

"There are a few additional things you need to know about the contest," said Gosunkugi. "First, each member of a group must take the lead for an entire song. Second, at least one song must be entirely in English. Third, dance moves are required for all songs. Fourth, if you feel up to it, you may submit a song you wrote paired with an already existing soundtrack or create your own for a bonus round to increase your chances. The use of magical enhancements and spells to influence voting is strictly forbidden, though you can use anything else to help your acts. Good luck to all of you."

(0o0o0)

"So what are we going to name our group?" asked Miyuki as the quartet walked to the Masaki house after school. Ryeka was eager to whip up some practice songs for her friends and help them train.

"We need a name that is memorable," said Kimiko. "Kasumi and Keimei have their names that are similar; Cinnamon, Ranko, and Toshi have what sounds like an exotic dish, what do we have?"

"Three animal girls, two kunoichi, two miko, three martial artists…" muttered Hinata.

"To bad we can't make you a temporary hanyou Hinata-chan, then we could all be animal girls," suggested Naruko.

"You've already got Inu, Neko, and Kitsune…" said Thyme. "It might be easier to just make Hinata a costume that makes her look like she's not fully human. Maybe some wings?"

At that moment, everyone's danger sense went off and they leapt away from a bouquet of black roses that hit the ground where they had been stem first. The flowers released a cloud of pollen that had Naruko and Kimiko sneezing as they got a whiff of it, thought Naruko quickly used a burst of wind chakra to disperse the attack. "Impressive, so you were able to dodge that!" declared a voice above them. The friends looked up to see a girl the same age as Ranko looking down on them from up on top of a light post. However, she was dressed in a skin tight black outfit whose headpiece resembled a large rose (basically Rosemon from Digimon, but all black). "It seems I have found some worthy rivals!"

"Lady, I don't know who you are, but you're in for a world of hurt!" growled Naruko before she leapt towards the girl with Miyuki and Kimiko following. All three girls slashed with their claws, only to blink as their attacks simply sliced the overhanging part of the lamp post. The rose girl had leapt clear and lashed out with one of the thorny whips that she carried, striking Naruko's arms as the kitsune brought them up to protect her face. Naruko surprised the rose girl by grabbing the thorn whip and using it to yank her opponent into melee range. The blonde delivered a hard punch to the rose girl's stomach that ripped the vine in Naruko's grasp free and sent the mysterious attacker flying. The rose girl climbed to her feet and hurled a swarm of black petals at the group before dashing off. Naruko dashed after her with the rest of the group close behind, but their attacker apparently knew enough about the area that she was able to use one of the rose whips she carried to block off the alley she ducked into before they could catch her. The group took to the rooftops and dropped down into the alley, only to find the girl gone and a manhole cover ajar.

"Byakugan!" said Hinata as she activated her Doujutsu, only to frown and say, "I can't see her."

"Her scent is clearly going into the manhole," said Kimiko as she sniffed close to the opening, only to gag along with Naruko. "Ack, it smells horrible! There must be a leak down there!"

"No way we can catch her down there," said Thyme with a sigh. "Come on, let's go!" The teens left the alley, never noticing the small weed that started growing behind them as the last of them turned out of the alley.

(0o0o0)

"Inu, Neko, Kitsune…" muttered Miyuki as she worked on some math homework.

"Will you give it a rest?" asked Naruko as she tried to decipher some runes for Magical Awareness class. "We've got more important things to concentrate on right now than some stupid group name!"

"Calm down!" barked Kimiko as she set down a tray of snacks provided by Ryoko. "Arguing about things is pointless!"

"I agree," said Hinata as she set down the tea she had prepared for everyone. "I'm sure in two months we can think of something."

"You're right, Hinata-chan," said Naruto after using a bit of hot water to change back. The kitsune returned his attention to his text book before blinking. "Hey, these look like the seals I've used before!" he said as he put the book down on the table and pulled a scroll from his pouch. "See, these runes are very similar to some of the seal characters," he said as he opened the scroll and put the two texts beside one another. "If I'm reading these right, by combining the runes with the seals I can cause the chakra in the seals to grow as needed. With this, I can create some super seals! Just sealing a spark inside an explosive tag with the runes added and then in a month it's as strong as ten explosive tags!"

"Whoa," said Akira, having seen how much damage one of the tags could do. "But it would take a month to charge up that high, so you can't just use it in battle, right?"

"Yeah, but with this, I could create things like Baa-chan's Sōzō Saisei (Creation Rebirth) without having the massive amount of chakra control she uses!" exclaimed Naruto as he practically started bouncing up and down.

"That gives me an idea," said Hinata. "How much chakra would it store up after two months?" Naruto did some quick calculations in his head before double checking his work.

"Enough that you could probably call on a boss summons," said the blond with a grin.

"Can you apply the seal to my back?" asked Hinata.

Naruto gulped and said, "Not before having Ero-sennin check my notes, no way I will do this without permission!"

(0o0o0)

"I'm impressed, Gaki, this is genius!" said Jiraiya once he get a look at Naruto's proposed seal. "With these Konoha can become a super power beyond what we are today!"

"But is it safe to use on humans?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, no problem there," said Jiraiya. "With these we can give even our genin a Jounin level chakra source to draw from when needed."

"Very impressive, your father will be proud," said Rōshi with a grin.

"Thanks, now what is your idea, Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto.

"You're going to seal a pair of flaming wings on my back, I'll be a phoenix and complete the group. Phoenix, Inu, Neko, Kitsune, PINK!"

"Sounds catchy," said Jiraiya with a grin as Naruto groaned at having to do the act.

(0o0o0)

The next two months were a change of routine, with the three fulltime girls forcing Naruto to turn into Naruko so they could practice their song and dance routines as well as doing the usual training. The vixen reluctantly gave it her all, though it was clear she mainly enjoyed dancing and singing with Hinata.

A month into the training period, reports started appearing in the paper of a girl in a black rose costume attacking groups who were going to participate in the contest. Everyone knew it was their mysterious attacker, who they hadn't seen at all since she escaped them. Most of her victims were paralyzed but expected to recover fully, though a few suffered from minor broken bones.

"This bitch is playing dirty, by only targeting the girls coming to the contest she's clearly saying she's going to be there," said Naruto as the group read about the latest attack at the Saotome house.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say this was Kodachi, Kuno's crazy sister who was obsessed with claiming my male side and defeating my female side," said a currently male Ranma with a shudder. "I still hear her psycho laugh in my nightmares."

"What happened to her? You never mentioned her after you graduated and went to college," asked Miyuki.

"She assaulted a guy who looked like me and got herself arrested and sent to an insane asylum," said Ranma. "It was shortly after that incident that Kuno started regaining his sanity, apparently she'd been slipping him minor bits of drugs ever since they started middle school."

"So this girl is modeling herself after a psycho?" asked Naruto.

"Seeing as Kodachi never had any kids, it seems that's the most likely assumption," said Ranma.

"So we'll just have to stay on our guard and make sure Keimei and Kasumi do the same," said Naruto.

(0o0o0)

"So that's why you wanted to talk to us," said Kasumi the next day as the two girls met the group at the Nekohanten. "I have been sensing someone unfamiliar luring around, but I thought it was just a stupid neighborhood pet."

Keimei set her cup of tea down before adding her two cents. "My family's retainers report signs of attempts to get into our house showing up; I'll inform them they need to step up security."

"I just hope we can catch this bitch before she hurts someone," said Naruto.

After a few minutes of chatting, everyone got up to leave, only to leap clear as soon as they exited the restaurant as thorny vines erupted from the ground and attempted to skewer them. "OHHHHHHH-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-hoooo!" Everyone looked across the street were they spotted the source of the disturbing laughter, the black rose girl had returned. "All of my opponents in one place, how delicious!" she said before flicking her whip to send a rain of thorns at the teens.

Naruto leapt in front of the group and swirled his tails around himself as he cried out, "Hari Jizō (Needle Guardian)!" His fur and hair instantly hardened, forming a barrier that thorns couldn't punch through easily and giving his friends time to get clear. "Kitsune bi no tate (Shield of Fox Fire)!" yelled the kitsune, consuming the rest of the thorns in a burst of blue flame.

"OHHHHHHH-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-hoooo! It appears you have more abilities than I thought!" said the rose girl, only to have to leap away from a giant mace smashing into the roof where she had been standing.

"Crazy Ribbon Girl leave… you're not Crazy Ribbon Girl!" exclaimed Shampoo, who had grabbed her bonbori as soon as she heard the laugh of the Black Rose.

"OHHHHHHH-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-hoooo! The Chinese harridan has learned proper Japanese for once!" said the rose girl. A vein throbbed on Shampoo's head and she charged forward, only to stop as her great grandmother's staff landed in front of her with the old woman on top.

"Calm down Shampoo, this is not Kodachi," said the old woman. "Her aura is similar, but more like your aura is similar to your mother's."

"But Kodachi never had any children!" exclaimed Shampoo. "The medical exam before she was sentenced said so!"

"Indeed, but this girl is not entirely human," said Cologne. "She's more like a humanoid plant."

The rose girl scowled and said, "Aye, my mother was Kodachi, she cut her finger while working with some roses she'd just gotten from a shady supplier. They were actually from seeds exposed to the fallout from Hiroshima and then treated with magic plant growth formula. Adding her blood to the mix produced me, Briar Kuno. Mother trained me in all her styles, hiding me from my uncle and sending me off with a trusted maid to America before she was arrested. I've come back to reclaim her title of the Kurobara (Black Rose)!"

"And just why are you attacking us?" demanded Miyuki.

"Some of you are the spawn of my mother's rivals, which is reason enough! However, I recently transferred back here after my guardian's death and have enrolled at St. Bacchus School for Girls. Now I will take the idol competition by storm and get the glory my mother never got in her lifetime!" declared Briar.

"Yep, she's a Kuno alright, crazy as a loon," said Ranko with a sigh as she settled into a ready stance with her Shinai.

"Just what we need, another idiot trying to kill us," said Naruto as he drew Nenshousaiga. Briar glanced at him before smirking, sending shivers down Naruto's spine.

"Well, aren't you just a wonderfully handsome specimen of a boy!" said Briar in a flirty tone that caused Hinata's anger to spike as a small flame aura surrounded her, causing her waist length hair to whip around. Hearing Akira's snicker, Briar's eyes locked onto him and she licked her lips, causing him to gulp as he could practically feel her undressing him with her gaze. Her gaze then flickered to Thyme and the Dragon Prince started sweating as his instincts told him he was being eyed like a piece of meat. "All three of you boys are simply divine, I think I'll keep you as pets after I finish with the trash!"

To the surprise of anyone who knew her, Hinata didn't explode in anger, instead marching up to Naruto and pulling him into a kiss for a solid minute that left him panting and clearly happy. "Mine!" growled Hinata with a look in her eyes that screamed death for anyone who tried to touch her mate.

Briar's eyes narrowed and she scowled before she regained her composure and gave a haughty smirk before the petals on her head started to rustle. Pink spores started to float down from the petals and were carried by a small breeze to swirl around the three boys, whose eyes started to become glazed. "Come with me boys, and I'll bring you to a garden of mystical delights!" cooed Briar in a sultry voice.

Ryeka's eyes narrowed and a visor much like Sailor Mercury's slid across her eyes as two antenna rose from around her ears from two small hearing aid like devices she wore behind her ears. "Increased hormone levels and neural activity… she's trying to brain wash them!"

Hinata formed the tiger, snake, and ram seals in rapid succession before saying, "Fūton: Kami Oroshi (Wind Style: Godly Wind from the Mountain)!" and breathing out while focusing her chakra and miko powers in her mouth. The breeze that sprang up was gentle and carried the scent of fresh mountain flowers, clean clouds, and spring rain. It instantly dispersed the spores that were starting to cloud the boys' minds, causing all three to return to normal. Naruto drew Nenshousaiga, Akira started glowing with ki, and Thyme summoned his spear with a flash of magic.

"Darn, you had to ruin the mood!" pouted Briar before lashing out with her vine whip at Hinata, only to have the kunoichi slap it away with a chakra infused palm.

"You'll have to do better than that," said Hinata calmly.

"Try some of these!" hissed Briar as she spun like a top, releasing giant razor sharp leaves at the group.

"Flare Bit!" exclaimed Cinnamon as she raised her hands and directed a stream of small fireballs to intercept the leaves, burning them to harmless ash.

Briar hissed in annoyance and leapt forward, vines twisting around her arms to form sharp needle like points.

"I don't think so!" yelled Ranko as she swung her shinai up and deflected the attack.

"LIGHT ILLUMINA ACTIVATION!" yelled Kasumi before a burst of light flashed out from something on her wrist and faded to reveal her in a silver sailor top, shorts, and boots. A silver headband with a star on each side held her hair back and she grinned as she aimed her hand at Briar and yelled out, "Starburst Beam!" and shot a beam of rainbow energy at the plant girl. What she wasn't counting on was for Briar to simply absorb the attack with a grin.

"I'm a plant idiot, I can absorb sunlight as easily as you breathe!" taunted Briar.

"What about fire?" asked Naruto as he appeared behind Briar and slammed a flaming fist into her back.

"Argh!" screamed the plant girl as the flames engulfed her. Lashing out with her thorn whip, Briar managed to rip the top off a fire hydrant and used the resulting geyser to extinguish the flames. "I'll be back!" screeched the rose girl before she unleashed a cloud of pollen and petals to cover her escape.

"Crazy bitch!" muttered the group as they watched her bound away over the rooftops.

(0o0o0)

The rest of the month passed with no sightings of the new Black Rose, but several times the Furinkan girls had to deal with bouquets of delivered roses that released poison spores and pollen when opened. It seemed the Black Rose had also stopped her attacks on other contestants, because no more were reported before the day of the contest finally rolled around. Between practicing for the contest and finals, the teens were eagerly awaiting the summer break where they could relax and pick up their training with some trips out of town to cool down. The only one who seemed to be thriving on the hectic schedule was Ryeka, who had demanded to do the special effects for all three Furinkan groups.

The contest was taking place at a beach side amphitheater and the weather had obliged by being nice and sunny, so the seats were packed with people from the district here to see the representatives of the various schools.

A man in a Hawaiian shirt and swim trunks took center stage and the crowd slowly quieted down for him. "Konnichi wa, everyone, and thank you for coming to this fundraiser. I'm Fujimoto Saburou and I'm the head of the Neriman Commerce Committee. The proceeds will go to improving the ward's parks, attractions, and general repairs. The winners will receive a book of coupons for various shops and restaurant around the ward. A portion of all profits from refreshments sold today by our local vendors will be going to improve the World Disaster Relief Fund. Now I'll introduce our four judges!" A screen behind the councilman lit up and revealed the silhouettes of four people at a table facing the stage. "First is Tsunku-san, producer of Hello!Project, most notably Morning Musume!" The first shadowy figure was illuminated and revealed a cheerful looking brown haired man in a floral print shirt and shorts. "Our other three judges have asked to remain anonymous for now, they are Ms. V!" Here the woman next to Tsunku was revealed to be wearing a white one piece bathing suit with an orange sash wrapped around her waist and right shoulder. Her features aside from long blonde hair were obscured from the shadow cast by a large straw sun hat and mirrored sun glasses. "Ku-san!" The next figure was dressed in a yellow two piece bikini with an open white over coat plus the same hat and sunglasses as Ms V. "And finally, A-san!" The last judge was dressed in a green sundress and the now expected hat and sunglasses.

Tsunku leaned forward and spoke into the microphone resting in front of him on the table. "It's an honor to be here, I look forward to hearing the next generation of talent!"

"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" exclaimed Ms. V with a big grin. "I just want everyone to know that everyone is a wiener in my story!" Hearing a cough from Ku-san, Ms. V blushed and said, "I mean a winner in my book!" before sitting back and burying her face in her hands.

"Konnichi wa, it is a pleasure to be here. I can't help but remember when I was starting out and I applaud these girls for having the guts to stand on the stage in front of everyone!" said Ku-san.

A-san had a blush on her face as she said, "I can't believe I'm here. When I got asked to judge an idol contest I was all, 'WHAAAAT?' in my agent's ear, but I'm eager to see how these brave girls perform."

Saburou smiled as the audience clapped for the judges before his face took on a more serious look. "Sadly, many of the contestants suffered accidents during the past month. We only have six groups performing today for you. Two teams from Kolhotz High School, one contestant from St. Bacchus School for Girls, and three groups from Furinkan High School. First of all, I give you the Sweet Sirens of Kolhotz High, Ayako and Ayaka!" there was a cheer from the Kolhotz section as a giant clam shell rose out of the stage floor before opening to reveal two girls lying inside the bottom of the shell. One had long flowing pink hair while the other had green hair in the same style. They were both in nearly identical outfits with a sparkly body dress, a necklace, and arm and leg covers. The pink haired girl wore a red dress while the rest of her outfit was a bright blue, and the green haired girl wore a sparkly blue dress with the rest of her costume being orange.

"Hello, everyone, I'm Ayako!" said the pink haired girl.

"And I'm Ayaka!" said the green one. "Our first song will be Gam's Amai Yuuwaku!" As the music started, the two sirens stood up from the shell and started singing while stepping down to the stage and then starting to dance.

(0o0o0)

"They're not human," muttered Kagome from where she was sitting with her family in the audience.

Inuyasha nodded before saying, "I'm getting a scent similar to that siren we met on our fifth anniversary cruise when she was the main act."

"Well, as long as they don't try anything fishy…" Kagome said, only to groan as her husband chuckled at her inadvertent pun.

(0o0o0)

The audience was clapping for the performance of the twins, the two were obviously used to working together and had been in perfect synch the whole time they were dancing and singing.

"Alright everyone, our next song is Twinkle Magic by Airi and Meiri!" exclaimed Ayako. The music for the next song started again and the audience watched as the two danced and sang together.

(0o0o0)

"They'll be a tough act to beat," said Miyuki with a grin from where the Furinkan girls were waiting in a changing room. "I'm starting to get excited!"

"I still can't believe I'm going to be dancing and singing on a stage in front of everyone!" grumbled Naruko. "Sasuke is never going to let us live this down if he finds out!"

"Relax, Naruko-chan, I won't tell him," said Hinata gently as she brushed the vixen's hair in preparation for their act. True to form, Naruko had only washed her hair that morning and needed to get it ready with expert help from her fiancée and a few charms from Cinnamon to get it to the perfect length.

(0o0o0)

"Alright, for our next song we're singing the theme from Kirarin Revolution, as performed by Koharu Kusumi and Mai Hagiwara, Hana wo Pu~n!" said Ayaka. Several cheers from younger kids throughout the crowd were heard, but the first notes had several adults and teens cringing. It was clear the song was not a crowd favorite. Nobody could deny that the two girls were in perfect synch, but it appeared they needed to anticipate the mood of the crowd a little more. The twins clearly felt the mood as they wrapped up their song and glanced at one another.

"Our final required song is our English one, Fergie and Koda Kumi's That Ain't Cool!" declared the twins at the same time. As the song started, the girls started singing back to back, with Ayaka singing Fergie's lines while Ayako took Kumi's parts.

At the judges' table, Ku-san's head could be seen bobbing to the song and when it was over she was the first person on their feet and clapping.

(0o0o0)

"Me likey!" said Cinnamon from where she was cuddling with Toshi on a bench in the dressing room.

"With those bodies you'd like them even if their voices were terrible," said Ranko with a deadpan look on her face. Cinnamon didn't bother to deny the accusation, simply enjoying the music.

(0o0o0)

"All right, let's give a big hand for the Sirens," said Saburou after the song had finished and the girls had made their bows. "The judges will now give a quick critique to the girls but their final score is withheld until the end of the competition.

Tsunku cleared his throat before saying, "While both of you are in excellent coordination and synchronize well, you need to remember to judge your audience a little better." Everyone knew he was referring to the girls' third song.

Ms. V was next and smiled at the girls before saying, "It's obvious you two have put in a lot of practice. Keep up that dedication and you'll go long! I mean far!" to chuckles from the audience and her fellow judges.

Ku-san took a sip of water before leveling a gaze at the girls from behind her shades. "I like the costumes, very well done and coordinated. Your entrance was a big hit," she said. "I like how you each stuck to one role for the last song, you blended together well for that."

A-san looked a bit nervous as she said, "I was very impressed with your dance moves, and it is obvious you've practiced your routines long and hard."

The twins bowed to the judges and exited the stage as the giant clam retracted into the floor. "Our next group is also from Kolhotz, please give a big hand for the three stars of the dance club, Three Wishes!" exclaimed Saburou.

The stage went dark before the tune of I Dream of Jeannie came over the speakers. A giant lamp rose up from the stage on a turning pedestal before the top opened and smoke billowed out before clearing to reveal three girls in genie outfits on the stage. All of them had the same dark skin, genie outfit, and accessories, with only their hair and the color of the outfit being the major differences. The first was a red head dressed in a red outfit with red jewelry and hair like fire that fell to her feet with a red jewel tiara resting in it. The second was in a blue outfit and jewelry with blue hair in a bang over her left eye and the rest in a ponytail down her back. The last one was clad in light green and had green hair that danced in an unseen breeze.

(0o0o0)

"Down girls!" said Ranko as she grabbed Cinnamon and Toshi by their collars to keep the two perpetually horny girls from running out of the room and onstage to ravage the new act.

(0o0o0)

"Hello, everyone!" said the three girls into their wireless microphones. "We're the Nejem (Arabic for Star) sisters!"

The redhead grinned and said, "I'm Atsuko (Warm Child)!"

"I'm Youko (Ocean Child)," said the girl in blue.

"Fūko (Wind Child) here!" exclaimed the green-clad girl, who seemed to be bouncing up and down with excitement, something the male members of the audience appreciated.

(0o0o0)

"I'm getting a bucket of cold water," growled Ranko as she watched Toshi and Cinnamon's heads bob up and down in time with Fūko's bounces. The two instantly stopped, knowing that Ranko had a short temper with their antics without the rest of the group around to lighten the atmosphere.

(0o0o0)

"Hinata-chan, what do you say you bring out that harem costume Xaria gave you again tonight?" asked Naruko.

"Maybe if you're a good girl," said Hinata, though her perverted side was cheering the idea on.

"Just put something on the door so we don't walk in on you two by accident," warned Kimiko, having already had the misfortune to walk in on Toshi and Cinnamon at the giant onsen connected to the Masaki house by Washu's portals. The dog girl didn't really mind until they tried to get her to join in as she turned to leave, but reminding the succubus she could purify her to dust caused Toshi to calm down.

(0o0o0)

"Our first song is Renai Sentai Shitsu Ranger by Nochiura Natsumi!" exclaimed Fūko before all three girls struck sentai-style poses. Tsunku leaned forward a bit, which wasn't too big a surprise to Morning Musume fans since Nochiura Natsumi had been formed from Hello! Project soloists, two of which—Natsumi Abe and Maki Goto—had been former members of Morning Musume. The upbeat music started and soon the whole crowd was clapping along to the beat as the three girls pranced on stage singing and making sentai poses.

As soon as the song stopped, the entire audience was cheering and the girls briefly bowed before Atsuko said, "Our second song is Nochiura Natsumi's other song, Love Like Crazy!" As the music started blasting from the speakers, all three girls started pumping their arms as they did a few quick dance steps before starting to sing.

(0o0o0)

"The girls in this school are pretty good," said Ryeka.

"Kolhotz has always been behind Furinkan and St. Bacchus in notoriety, but back in our parents' day, they had a legitimate claim to fame with their Golden Pair of Martial Arts Figure Skating. The male half Mikado Sanzenin was a woman chaser who stole dad's first kiss in female form," said Akira. Seeing the disbelieving looks on his friends' faces he grimaced and said, "Dad knocked him out so fast his body remained standing even after he was unconscious. The girl half was Azusa Shiratori, a kleptomaniac who stole cute things and gave them French names. She grabbed everything from fish cakes to Ryoga in his piglet form."

(0o0o0)

"And now, Aya Matsuura's The Bigaku, as stylized by Biyuuden!" exclaimed Youko before all three sisters started clapping their hands above their heads to the music while swaying back and forth before starting to sing. By now, many fans were bouncing up and down with restrained glee as the group's song really got going.

(0o0o0)

"Feeling nervous?" Kasumi asked Keimei as the two relaxed in their changing room.

"A little, I know we aren't the most active of the girls from our school…" said the dragon girl as she adjusted her kimono a bit.

"We put in the practice and the important thing is that we do our best," Kasumi said as she sipped some bottled water.

(0o0o0)

"Our last song from Japan is another Biyuuden hit, Kurenai no Kisetsu!" exclaimed Fūko. The catchy beat for the start of the song was echoed by the Biyuuden fans chanting along before they went silent as the girls started to sing.

(0o0o0)

"Those three aren't human," said Naruko, getting a nod from Kimiko and puzzled looks from Miyuki and Hinata. "They're putting off crazy magical auras, at the very least those three are magical girls, at the greatest they're physical embodiments of the elements based on their names."

"And imagine the chaos three angry elementals could cause if they don't win," said Kimiko with a shudder that Miyuki echoed as memories of pictures Gosunkugi had shown the Magical Awareness class featuring the results of an elemental getting angry. Erupting volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunami, and other natural disasters had left devastation in the wake of an elemental getting upset.

(0o0o0)

"Our English song is About a Girl as performed by the Sugababes!" all three girls said before a hip hop beat started playing.

(0o0o0)

"As a little treat for you, we've got our own original song," said Atsuko.

Youko smiled as she said, "This is the first time anyone has heard it,"

"We hope you enjoy Three Wishes!" finished Fūko before the I Dream of Jeannie theme stated playing, with all three girls starting to belly dance.

Lifting her mike and stepping forward as her sisters continued to dance behind her, Atsuko sang

So now you've got my lamp,

What's your wish champ?

Everything is fine and dandy,

Will you wish for candy?

As Atsuko stepped back, all three girls started singing

You got three wishes boy,

So choose them well,

Once you use one it's gone for good,

So think carefully before opening your mouth!

Fūko now stepped up and sang out

There are a few rules to keep in your head,

No wishing to raise the dead,

I can't fire cupid's arrow,

No extra wishes do you follow?

As the wind sister stepped back, all three sisters started singing the chorus again

You got three wishes boy,

So choose them well,

Once you use one it's gone for good,

So think carefully before opening your mouth!

Youko sashayed forward and smiled before crooning out

All it takes is a wink,

Followed by a blink,

Reality warps around you,

As your wish comes true!

Atsuko and Fūko stepped up beside their sister as they all finished up

You got three wishes boy,

So choose them well,

Once you use one it's gone for good,

So think carefully before opening your mouth!

As the music ended, there was a moment of silence before clapping could be heard throughout the arena.

(0o0o0)

"That was awesome!" said Naruko with a grin, clapping along with her friends even though they couldn't be heard by anyone else.

"They've got real talent," Kimiko agreed.

(0o0o0)

"Lovely synchronization, each movement was flawless," said Tsunku after he jotted a few notes down on a pad in front of him.

Ms. V, who had been humming the theme for I Dream of Jeannie ever since the sisters finished, grinned and added, "I liked the dancing and the original song, nice use of your genie theme."

"Your outfits strike just the right balance for all audiences," said Ku-san with a smile.

"I could hardly keep from dancing to the songs, very catchy," said A-san with a blush visible on her cheeks.

The three sisters bowed to much applause before exiting the stage as the giant lamp they entered in retreated down into the stage.

(0o0o0)

Naruko opened the door as Keimei and Kasumi hurried past towards the stage. "Go get 'em!" encouraged the kitsune, only to blink as Three Wishes walked past the two girls. The five exchanged nods, though the three sisters came to a stop upon seeing Naruko staring at them.

"Can we help you?" asked Atsuko.

"Kind of, I was wondering what three daughters of the elemental Djinn clan were doing in Japan?" asked Naruko, causing all three girls to start in surprise. "It was either that or elementals, but this close you all have the same scent, so you're really sisters and elementals can't be family except for their same type."

"Can we talk in private?" asked Fūko, motioning to the door to the Neriman group's dressing room where the rest of the girls were looking on curiously. Naruko nodded and lead the sisters inside where they all sat down in mid air Indian style.

(0o0o0)

"Our next entry starts off the Furinkan High entries, give it up for Keimei and Kasumi, Water and Fire!" exclaimed Saburou. The two girls trotted out onto the stage, with Kasumi dressed in a red yukata and obi and her brown hair unbound while Keimei wore a blue yukata and obi and her long red hair hung past her shoulders. Both girls wore sandals the color of their partner's yukata and carried two paper fans in that same color. Each girl was wearing a headset with a microphone to allow for more energetic dance moves.

"Hello everyone, are you having fun?" asked Kasumi with a grin as she waved to the crowd, who cheered happily.

"I'm Keimei," said the dragoness with a bow.

"And I'm Kasumi!" said the brunette with a bow of her own. "Our first song is Pink Lady's Pepper Keibu!" As the old disco tune started playing, the two girls started dancing while waving their fans in time with the melody.

(0o0o0)

"As some of you may have guessed, we are not human, we are djinn," said Atsuko. "We share the same father while each of our mothers was a different species. Mine is an efreet."

"My mother is a Naiad," said Youko.

"And mine is a sylph," chirped Fūko, once again regaining her bubbly and bouncy spirit from on stage.

(0o0o0)

Three rather gorgeous women in the stands all sneezed at exactly the same time, covering their husband with bits of food as he finished buying them a tray of snacks. "Bless you," muttered the dark skinned man as he removed a piece of popcorn from his beard and went to wash his face.

"It's probably…" said the red head after finishing the bite of the spicy hot wasabi covered hot dog she'd just taken.

"Our daughters…" continued the blue haired woman before taking a long sip from a water bottle.

"Talking about us," finished the green haired one with a giggle that the other two joined in on.

(0o0o0)

"And we certainly don't want to antagonize the heir of the kitsune clan," said Atsuko with a bow from her waist and hands clasped in front of her that her sisters mimicked.

Seeing the startled looks the Furinkan girls were giving them, Fūko giggled and said, "Your mother is very well known in the world of the spirits, many tribes owe her favors for past assistance and she sent out photos of you upon your graduation from the academy in case you had a mission outside the elemental countries. And we can sense Jusenkyo's magic on the two of you." This last part was said as she pointed at Naruko and Miyuki.

"Hey, they're starting their next song!" exclaimed Hinata, interrupting any further conversation as everyone focused on the monitor where Kasumi and Keimei were wrapping up their next song.

(0o0o0)

"Next up!" exclaimed Keimei once the applause for their first number had died down, "Is GAM's Thanks!" As the two girls started dancing to the beat of the song, they started tossing their fans back and forth between one another, adding to the visual display.

(0o0o0)

"Very clever, plus it has an original look," said Ranko.

Toshi merely nodded, not wishing to try the red head's temper with a comment that could be taken as perverted so close to their time to hit the stage.

"This does explain why they were reading all those juggling books and practicing whenever they had a moment to spare between classes," added Cinnamon.

"Still, fans are different than balls, pins, or other common juggling tools," said Ranko.

"I wonder if you could juggle dild…" Toshi started to ask, only to have Cinnamon smack her hand over the succubus's mouth before she could finish the sentence. The death glare Ranko leveled at the succubus was enough to have Toshi regret opening her mouth.

(0o0o0)

"Our last Japanese song is W's Koi no Vacance!" said Kasumi. There was a noticeable wince from Tsunku at the mention of the group, mainly because a former Morning Musume member had been part of it and caused several scandals, but he shook himself out of the melancholy mood as the music started.

(0o0o0)

"So far, I like those two and the genie trio the most," said Naruko as she watched the girls dance, sing, and toss their fans around.

Hinata nodded from where she was doing some stretches that caused Naruko's eyes to wander from the television. "Yes, they're very good, adding the fan routines just makes them more interesting," said the Hyuuga heiress, not noticing how Naruko was following her every moment as she bent over to touch her toes.

"Hinata, stop before Naruko passes out from blood loss…" warned Miyuki, only to groan as the kitsune fell to the ground with a grin on her face and blood dripping from her nose. "Too late…"

"I swear, sometimes I'm sure Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya-sama have corrupted Naruto beyond hope," sighed Hinata before she worked on reviving the vixen.

(0o0o0)

Kasumi took a moment to catch her breath before saying, "Our English song is Like Whoa by the duo Aly & AJ, we hope you like it!" As the two girls started singing, the screen behind them turned on and showed the two girls cruising in a car that quickly shifted to the two of them riding a rollercoaster
Ryeka had created with CG for them.

(0o0o0)

"Good job on the CG, Ryeka," said Thyme as they watched the girls. As the girls danced, the view shifted from a front view to the view of riders inside the rollercoaster as it whipped through turns, climbed hills, shot through loop de loops, corkscrews, and skimmed above a giant pond.

"It was easy for the second greatest scientific genius in the universe!" declared Ryeka as Ren-oh-ki let out a happy "Miyahhh!" while waving a set of small flags in her paws.

(0o0o0)

As Kasumi and Keimei wrapped up their dance, the crowd gave them a round of applause before a fast tune was heard and a catchy beat started playing as Kasumi and Keimei tucked their fans into their obi and started swaying back and forth while their hands imitated rabbit ears. The crowd quickly got into the act as Caramelldansen started playing with the girls singing the song in English. "As soon as the applause for the final song had finished, the master of ceremonies stood up and said, "Excellent job, girls. Our judges will now give some feedback…"

Tsunku took a sip of water before saying, "Well done, especially the juggling acts you incorporated to the dances."

"I agree," said Ms V, "It was new and exciting to see the fans being tossed, especially when you did it so smoothly."

"You show a high degree of practice for this contest with the juggling in addition to the songs and dancing," said Ku-san with a smile.

A-san looked up from where she was scribbling on a pad of paper and blinked for a moment until Ku-san nudged her with an elbow. "Oh, I like your outfits, they match but don't hinder your movements, good choices."

Saburou smiled as the audience clapped before saying, "Before our next group goes we're going to have a break for lunch since we're halfway through our contestants, in the mean time please help yourselves to food, drinks, and using the restrooms!"

(0o0o0)

"Dang, we have to wait for an hour!" said Ranko as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"And we can't go out of the building, I don't want to get our outfits dirty," said Cinnamon.

A knock on the door interrupted any further discussion and Ranko cracked it open to see a smiling girl. "Saburou-san asked me to bring you girls a set of menus for the restaurants in the building so you could get something to eat."

The three girls were quite happy to get some food and quickly looked through the menus.

(0o0o0)

"Ne, Hinata-chan, do you think we could make pizza popular in Konoha?" asked Naruko as she took a big bite out of the sausage pizza the four girls had split.

"Maybe, there are enough variations that it should be popular, especially if they were to sell by the slice for people wanting a quick bite," replied Hinata before giggling.

Miyuki lightly poked the giggling girl and asked, "What's so funny?"

"I was imagining my father eating pizza with extra cheese only for the cheese to snap back and cover his face." Naruko immediately started chuckling, being the only one present who knew how stoic Hiashi could be and his likely reaction due to a past prank that involved a large amount of glue, one of his wife's underwear drawer, and culminated with Hiashi chasing Naruto through the streets of Konoha with a bra for a hat while Hikari laughed on the sidelines.

Suddenly, the door opened to reveal an angry Ranko clutching a bag containing a burger and fries to go with the large soda in her hand. "I can't believe those two!" growled the red head as she shut the door behind her and took one of the spare seats so she could eat.

The four friends shared glances before Naruko nervously asked, "What did Cinnamon and Toshi do NOW?"

"They both started playing with their food. Cinnamon had a giant hot dog that she was apparently trying to swallow whole while Toshi was sucking on a pair of giant pork buns!" exclaimed Ranko as she savagely took a bite out of her triple patty burger with cheese. Like her brother's female form, Ranko could eat tons of food and burn all the calories away.

"Well, maybe they were just really hungry…" suggested Miyuki, only to let out an "Eeepp!" as her aunt glared at her and caused the cat girl to dive behind Naruko for protection.

"Cinnamon, maybe, but Toshi probably knew what she was doing," muttered Ranko before a knock was heard on the door. Opening it, she found a frowning Cinnamon standing there.

"I'm sorry, Ranko, I was hungry and didn't notice Toshi was playing with her food," said Cinnamon before bowing to the red head. "I'll punish her tonight and make sure she behaves for the rest of the day."

"Alright, but I'm still mad, so I'll take a quick walk to cool off after I finish this," said Ranko before tearing another chunk out of the poor burger.

"Thank you, just remember we only have fifteen minutes left," said Cinnamon before she returned to her group's room and glared at Toshi, whom she had hog tied and spanked so hard the succubus wouldn't be sitting down for a while. "I hope you're happy, Toshi, Ranko is not very tolerant of your antics and we're lucky the other girls calmed her down so she'd listen to me. If she hadn't calmed down she could have walked out on us!"

"I'm sorry, Mistress," said Toshi before she found one of her half eaten pork buns put on a plate in front of her face.

"Eat up, you'll need all your energy for the performance and your punishment tonight!" ordered Cinnamon.

(0o0o0)

"Alright, everyone, our second entry from Furinkan is Silken Flowers!" declared Saburou before the sound of an Erhu being played filled the auditorium. As it did, Toshi, Ranko, and Cinnamon walked onto the stage, each girl holding a silk parasol in her hands and open so it prevented the audience from seeing more of the girls than their feet. As the music started to pick up its pace, the parasols started to spin before they were lifted up to reveal Ranko, Toshi, and Cinnamon before each girl placed their parasol in a large can set up for them at the center of the stage. All three were wearing the same style of slinky dress that clung to their bodies with a slit that showed a bit of leg, shoes that matched the dress's color, a pair of gloves, and a small golden tiara with a gem on the top. Ranko was dressed in a pink dress, shoes, mauve gloves, and her tiara had a sapphire on it. Toshi had her wings out and wore a red and black dress, red shoes, black gloves, and a tiara with a ruby. Cinnamon's wings and tail feathers were only outmatched by her hair, which seemed to be on fire, including her eyebrows while her dress and shoes were a dark copper, her gloves a dark gold, and an emerald in her tiara. All three wore the same microphone headset that Kasumi and Keimei had used.

"Alright everyone, here is Biyuuden's Koisuru Angel Heart!" exclaimed Ranko before the music started playing.

(0o0o0)

"Phew, I thought their coordination would be a bit off thanks to Toshi's antics," said Naruko.

"Well, I guess Cinnamon apologizing for her behavior helped, you know she doesn't do that often," suggested Hinata. It was true, Cinnamon rarely apologized to those she embarrassed with her antics unless someone got hurt, like the time she tried out her expansion potion by putting it in Hinata's drink and treating everyone to the girl's already sizeable assets increasing rapidly and tearing her shirt. The fallout had been most of the boys in the hospital either from blood loss or being beaten up by Naruto for commenting on Hinata's hooters.

(0o0o0)

As the song ended and the crowd cheered, the girls took a moment to catch their breath after the dancing and singing before Toshi stepped forward and said, "Our next song is Biyuuden's Aisu Kuriimu to My Purin!" As the music started, it was easy to see a blush forming on Ranko's face as she had to do the dance that involved lots of emphasis on cheesecake poses, wiggling, and hip shaking.

(0o0o0)

"That explains why Auntie always looked so flushed after practicing her dance routines on her own," said Miyuki with a chuckle. "While she's nowhere as much a prude as mom was during high school, she's still not very confident in her body and she'd have to use a mirror to make sure she was doing the dance right."

"Given the stories you've told us about your father's antics in his cursed form, I wouldn't be surprised," said Kimiko. "They're practically clones of one another except for the hair style."

(0o0o0)

Cinnamon grinned as the trio dropped the last pose at the end of the routine and listened to the clapping of the crowd before saying, "Our last Japanese song is Hare Hare Yukai!" As Cinnamon started doing the part of Haruhi Suzumiya from the anime's closing, Ranko and Toshi prepared to jump in right before Cinnamon started singing. Toshi took the part of Mikuru Asahina, leaving Ranko, whose throat was a bit sore, the nearly silent role of Yuki Nagato.

(0o0o0)

Ryeka grinned as she fiddled with the sound board for the stage before sitting back and watching. "Excellent, perfect sync."

"I'm more worried about the next song," said Akira. "I seriously doubt Auntie can keep from passing out from mortification from singing that song." The pigtailed boy gestured to where the song list was waiting to be qued up by Ryeka.

"So we should be standing by to run out there and pull your aunt back as she tries to slaughter Cinnamon and Toshi for choosing that song?" suggested Thyme, to which Akira could only shrug.

(0o0o0)

"I hate you two so much right now," Ranko muttered under her breath as Toshi stepped forward to announce the last song.

"And now, from the US of A, Bootylicious by Destiny's Child!" exclaimed the succubus. Many of the guys in the audience cheered even as Ranko's face started turning tomato red, though from rage or embarrassment was hard to tell.

(0o0o0)

"Ack!" gasped Naruko as she nearly choked on the water she was drinking at the title of the song.

"How did they get Ranko-chan to agree to sing that?" asked Hinata.

Miyuki grimaced as she said, "They called her afraid of her own feminism, which she denied only to put her foot in her mouth worse than dad ever did and say she'd do a sexy song and dance routine with them."

"Oh man, no wonder she's been so angry lately," said Kimiko with a shudder.

(0o0o0)

"And now, the judges will give their input," said Saburou-san.

"I'm always glad to see more Hello! Project influencing creativity," said Tsunku, "Especially since I worked with Rika-chan so much. You three do the group's songs proud!"

Mrs. V, who had been humming Hare Hare Yukai theme under her breath grinned and said, "I liked the Hare Hare Yukai song, good coordination on the singing and dancing."

Ku-san sighed and said, "I really like the costumes and your coordination, but tone down the sexiness just a bit, it doesn't do to look slutty." The look Ranko flashed Cinnamon and Toshi could have killed and both winced at the knowledge that their next sparring session with Ranko would go badly for them.

A-san nodded in agreement with her fellow judge before saying, "I do think the parasols were a nice touch." All three girls bowed before walking off the stage, Cinnamon and Toshi trying to make sure they didn't run from Ranko as she walked behind them.

"Our last group is also from Furinkan High, please welcome Hyuuga Hinata, Kamiya Kimiko, Saotome Miyuki, and Uzumaki Naruko!" exclaimed Saburou to much clapping from the Furinkan supporters.

The stage went dark before a giant screen came on to show Hinata. However, what caught everyone's attention was that she was flying through the air on feathered wings that looked like they were made of flame. She was also dressed in a purple kimono that hid her body from view but showed off her figure and purple and black boots with a low heel. The crowd watched her do a few loops and barrel rolls before she turned and waved to the camera before banking. As the camera followed her, the audience saw an overhead view of the stage and looked up to see Hinata folding her wings before diving towards the stage. The bluette pulled up into a vertical corkscrew just before she hit and hovered for a minute facing the audience before landing and yelling, "Phoenix!" into her headset mike while posing with her hand in the air.

The stage stayed dark except for the light from Hinata's wings and the screen, which now showed the outside of a shrine and Kimiko in a miko outfit sweeping the grounds. She suddenly looked up as a red and blue oni charged her with kanabo raised. The young miko spun gracefully around the blows and hurled ofuda at the two youkai, causing them to cry out before disintegrating. Kimiko picked up her broom and swept the dust out of the shrine, then stepped through the shrine tori and on to the stage after tossing her broom away and calling out, "Inu!" into her headset while holding some ofuda like a fan in front of her face.

The screen now showed a tropical jungle, whose only inhabitant seemed to be red and white blur. It rushed up a tree and paused at the top, revealing Miyuki in a cave girl bikini over a red tiger fur striped suit that made her look more catlike while red kung fu slippers covered her feet. Miyuki surveyed her jungle domain for a moment before leaping right at the camera and appearing to pass through the screen and land on the stage on all fours. Raising one paw into the air she said, "Neko!"

The audience was eager to see the next act and they weren't disappointed as the screen showed a castle courtyard with a cloaked figure surrounded by twenty samurai with swords drawn. The cloaked figure tossed the cloak away to reveal Naruko in a sexy red top and bottom combo that ensured her body would distract any male opponent though a tight black shirt and pair of pants kept her from showing an inappropriate amount of skin. The kitsune girl exploded into a blur of punches, kicks, sword strikes, and thrown kunai that quickly left her the only one standing in the courtyard. Forming the ram seal, Naruko vanished from the courtyard in a puff of smoke only to reappear on the stage beside Miyuki. "Kitsune!" yelled Naruko.

"And we are PINK!" exclaimed all four girls together to massive applause for their impressive entrances.

"Our first song is Hinoi Team's Now and Forever!" said Hinata with a smile before the music started.

(0o0o0)

"Are we absolutely sure Naruko can't synch with people like she can with machines?" asked Akira as he watched the girls do their dance routine.

"Well, with Hinata they've known one another for a long time, so the synch is kind of expected," said Ryeka as she adjusted the level of the back ground music a tad lower. "And your sister is nothing if not adaptable."

(0o0o0)

Kimiko smiled at the applause their first song had gotten before saying, "Our next song is another Hello Project hit, Def. Diva's Suki Sugite Baka Mitai!"

(0o0o0)

"They're doing a great job, aren't they?" Inuyasha asked Kagome as he leaned in to whisper over Haruka, who was happily singing along to all the tunes she had supplied for the three Furinkan groups due to her massive Hello!Project collection.

"With Haruka ready to list every mistake they make as soon as they're done? Of course they are," said Kagome with a smirk at her mate.

"I'm just glad I convinced this big lug to come," said Lina from where she was sitting with Sesshomaru behind the couple. "I seriously need to get a Karaoke system for the castle, I can power it with my powers. Rin's been begging for one ever since Shippo took her to one for their last date." The Demigoddess was dressed in a simple sundress, while Sesshomaru was wearing a dark blue shirt that left his chest bare and black swim trunks. Rin and Shippo were watching the Higurashi shrine for Kagome and Inuyasha was filming the whole thing for them to see later.

"But I prefer you giving me private concerts!" said Sesshomaru, trying to use puppy dog eyes on her, only to have Inuyasha gag at the sight as Lina smirked.

(0o0o0)

As the girls wrapped up their second song, Kimiko stepped forward and said, "Our next song is also by Hinoi Team."

"Ike Ike!" exclaimed all four girls at once as they posed for a second before starting to dance.

(0o0o0)

"How much Para Para have those four been doing to get so good?" asked Ranko from where she was watching in Silken Flowers' dressing room.

"And when did they have the time?" Toshi added.

"Naruto did mention something about using seals to create a training room where time moved faster…" muttered Cinnamon.

(0o0o0)

"Alright!" exclaimed Miyuki once the music had stopped and the rest of the girls were suddenly facing away from the stage in a line. "Next up, Hinoi Team's King Kong!" The catgirl started singing the opening lyrics of the song without music and the rest of the girls started joining in as the music started.

(0o0o0)

"The crowd loves them!" said Ryeka with a grin as she glanced at a monitor showing most of the audience clapping along to the catchy beat of the music.

"I'll say," said Akira, who was tapping his foot to the music along with Thyme.

"Looks like they're wrapping up," said Hiryuu as the girls were coming to the end of the song.

(0o0o0)

Naruko took a deep breath and stepped forward as the rest of the girls turned their backs to the audience. "Our next song is Hinoi Team's Dancing and Dreaming!" said the kitsune hanyou before she took her place at the end of the line before the music started.

(0o0o0)

"At least she managed to get her line out," said Jiraiya with a sigh. "I've got to decrease that brat's fear of public performance." The toad sage was dressed in a loud green floral print shirt and trunks while sipping a soda next to Rōshi, who had a yellow version of the same outfit and was enjoying some popcorn.

"Wait, you're telling me the kid who painted the Hokage monument in broad daylight is afraid of public appearances?" asked Rōshi.

"Naruto hates having to show off in stuff like this, for his pranks he's fine since he's showing his own skills with no judges, but for a contest where he's being judged he's always needed Sasuke or Hinata to talk him into doing whatever it is since he's afraid the judges will be giving him a high score due to his parents. He never did any talent shows in the village or art contests like the other kids. Naruto hates being given stuff just because his dad is Hokage, so I'm really surprised Naruko agreed to this." Jiraiya explained before gesturing for Rōshi to focus back on the stage where the girls were wrapping up their dance.

(0o0o0)

To the surprise of the audience, panels in the floor slid back as a drum set rose onto the stage while Akira, Thyme, and Hiryuu brought out three electric guitars. Hinata took a seat behind the drums, while Naruko took the bass guitar while Kimiko and Miyuki took the normal guitars. "Alright everyone, we've got our English song for you, and we all felt we needed some live music accompanying this song," said Miyuki with a grin as she quickly tuned the guitar. "

"And so, here is I Love Rock N' Roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts!" declared Kimiko before the three guitarists started playing the opening riff of the song. This time, the lyrics of the song appeared on the monitors in Japanese as Kimiko clapped her hands to get the audience to sing along with the chorus.

(0o0o0)

"Okay, when did they have the time to learn how to play instruments?" demanded Cinnamon.

Ranko thought for a moment before narrowing her eyes. "Maybe Miyuki sought out a Martial Artist Rock 'n' Roll master for training?" she suggested.

"But for all four of them to get to a decent level in just two months?" Toshi exclaimed as she watched the audience chant along with the chorus and bounce up and down in their seats from the beat of the song. The girls were also switching off singing the parts of the song besides the chorus, Miyuki had started out, then Kimiko, then Naruko, and finally Hinata, with all four joining together for the chorus of the song.

(0o0o0)

As the song ended, the audience went wild with applause, as all four girls set their instruments down and stepped forward to give a small bow before taking quick sips of water from bottles Akira tossed them.

"And last but not least," said Hinata with a smile, "We have our original song, Kemonomimi!" A catchy tune started up as all four girls made cute poses before starting to sing.

We are Kemonomimi, that is what we are!

Ears, tails, wings, and claws have we!

Part animal, part human, hundred percent girl!

Hinata stepped in front of the rest of the girls, singing her part of the song and image of her with her flame wings played on the screen showing her tending to a bandaged Naruto in a hospital room.

Phoenixmimi is kind and gentle,

Always ready to help anyone,

Her heart burns bright as her flames!

As Hinata stepped back, the rest of the girls joined in singing the chorus.

We are Kemonomimi, that is what we are!

Ears, tails, wings, and claws have we!

Part animal, part human, hundred percent girl!

Kimiko now took center stage as the screen showed her in a shorts and a tee shirt sniffing down a hiding Haruka in the park.

Inumimi is a strong hunter,

Sniffing out her prey,

Then running it down!

Kimiko gracefully stepped back to join her friends as they started the chorus again.

We are Kemonomimi, that is what we are!

Ears, tails, wings, and claws have we!

Part animal, part human, hundred percent girl!

Miyuki practically bounced forward as she started singing and the monitor showed her in various cat poses with balls or yarn, a bowl of milk, chasing a mouse, and eating a fish.

Nekomimi likes to stalk her prey,

Climbs around up and down,

Prowling all across the ground!

Miyuki executed a backwards flip in midair that put her back with the rest of the group for the chorus.

We are Kemonomimi, that is what we are!

Ears, tails, wings, and claws have we!

Part animal, part human, hundred percent girl!

Naruko did a high flip forward, landing and starting to sing as the monitor started showing her doing an infiltration of the castle featured in her intro.

Kitsunemimi is sly and crafty,

Blue fire in her hands and swishing tails,

Makes her beautiful and deadly!

Naruko then used Shunshin to rejoin the group for the chorus.

We are Kemonomimi, that is what we are!

Ears, tails, wings, and claws have we!

Part animal, part human, hundred percent girl!

Now, all four girls sang the last part of the song together while images of them at home and school showed on the big screen.

Kemonomimi are just like other girls,

We have to go to school,

Deal with homework and chores,

We only look a little different,

But that doesn't change who we are!

We are Kemonomimi, that is what we are!

Ears, tails, wings, and claws have we!

Part animal, part human, hundred percent girl!

The girls came to a stop and there was silence for a minute before the Furinkan supporters started clapping, followed by most of the audience.

(0o0o0)

"I have to say, I am impressed," said Saburou with a smile as the judges conferred before a member of his staff ran up and handed him a piece of paper. The man quickly read the message and his eyes widened before whispering into the messenger's ear before the man ran off.

"I loved it," said Tsunku, "especially the instruments, it's easy to see you practiced a lot for that song and your original one."

Ms V grinned and said, "I've been to England and learned to enjoy Rock there, you four did a good job with the instruments."

"I love the outfits and intro, you girls really embraced your theme," said Ku-san.

"Good dance moves, though you could have tried to do more groups for inspiration," said A-san.

All four girls bowed one more time before leaving the stage.

"Alright," said Saburou as he walked onto the stage. "Now our last contestant is from St. Bacchus School for Girls, Briar Kuno!"

(0o0o0)

Up in the stands, Tatewaki Kuno spat out the soda he'd just sipped, drenching Shugo in the carbonated beverage. "That's impossible!" growled the head of the Kuno clan as he whipped out his cellphone and called for his staff to sort out this mess. "Sasuke, we've got a situation," he told his faithful ninja retainer.

(0o0o0)

A giant black rose seemed to grow out of the floor of the stage before bending over and resting against the stage for a moment before the petals opened to reveal Briar in a dress made of leaves and grass, ivy boots and gloves, a giant red rose cape, and a garland of black roses in her hair plus one clutched in her teeth. "OHHHHHHH-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-hoooo! Rejoice, peasants, the lovely Black Rose has arrived to grace you with the voice of an angel," said Briar, only to blink as Saburou pointed at her while talking to a man in a uniform. "What is the meaning of this?" demanded Briar as several security guards hurried onto the stage to surround her and the rest of the contestants moved out from the backstage.

"Madam, recent evidence has just been brought to me, two different victims who would have been in this contest say without a doubt that you are the one who attacked them. A search of your dressing room when we couldn't find you and feared you had been attacked revealed the costume you wore to attack the other girls. You have also attacked numerous contestants before the contest and reduced the number of competing schools from seven to three, limiting the amount of funds this event can raise," explained Saburou as he gestured for security to take the crazy girl away. "As such, you will not be performing and need to come with the guards to the police."

As soon as the guards grabbed Briar, vines exploded out from her and tossed the men away. "Keep your hands off me, peasants!" shrieked the girl as smaller vines tore apart her costume and left her in the leaf bodysuit, boots, and gloves while thorn bracers grew on her arms that could be used for stabbing. One more vine grew into Briar's thorn whip and she snapped it aggressively. "Feel the fury of the Black Rose!" yelled Briar as she sent the whip towards Saburou, only to have two other whips snag it out of mid air. Following the whips, she found Cinnamon holding the ends and smirking.

"I knew you might try something, all the stories Ranma-sensei has told us about Kodachi Kuno made it clear she couldn't stand losing and you're no different!" said the phoenix dragon girl before she channeled some energy into the whips. Runes and seals etched into the leather started to glow and one of the whips gained an icy tip while the other burst into flames.

Cinnamon was not the only one to be prepared, Naruko produced Nenshousaiga from the sleeves of her outfit while Kimiko pulled her bow from the special seal bracelet Naruto had created to hold it. Ranko had already produced a shinai from hammer space and advanced with Naruko while Kimiko stepped back to provide support. Hinata, Toshi, and Miyuki had all assumed fighting stances and acted as a defensive screen for the other contestants. Akira, Thyme, Hiryuu, and Ryeka ran out of the sound control room, putting themselves between Briar and the judges.

"All of you will pay for this insolence!" screamed Briar as she discarded her captured whip and grew a second. With a pirouette, Briar sent thorns flying fast enough to puncture the concrete of the stage. However, a wall of fire sprang up from Atsuko's hands before spreading to cover the audience as they started panicking and running from the amphitheatre.

"I don't think so," growled the Ifrit girl as her hair when from red with orange and yellow highlights to living flame. Her sisters underwent a similar transformation, with Fūko's hair becoming swirling green wind and Youko's becoming rippling water. Each of the girls began gathering their element between their hands before forming their personal weapons. Atsuko had a flaming flamberge sword, while Youko had a katana made of ice as well as a shield, and Fūko had two ninjato crackling with electricity. In addition to the weapons, each girl gained a set of shoulder guards set with the same stones as their head bands.

"Careful, she seems to absorb light based attacks and can probably suck up water," warned Naruko at Atsuko and Fūko moved up to join the other weapon users, allowing their sister to fall back with the defenders.

"Then we'll do this the old fashioned way and kill her with fire!" exclaimed Atsuko as she charged forward with her blazing sword. Naruko quickly followed, the two trying to catch Briar in a pincher attack. Briar frowned and a wave of thorns shot up from the ground, aiming to skewer her attackers. However, a wind blade from Fūko sliced the thorns up and allowed Naruko and Atsuko to do a cross slash that neatly chopped Briar in half at the waist. As Briar's top half fell to the ground, the two attackers turned to rejoin their friends, only to spin around as vines grew from each half and made two clones of the original Briar, only for the one formed from Briar's legs to have lost its flesh tone and be appear to have plant material for skin, thorny purple vines for hair, and two wing like protrusions that resembled the flaps of a Venus Fly Trap. Spores started drifting from this new growth, and Naruko only needed a single sniff to tell how deadly they were.

"Get back, she's using poison spores!" yelled the kitsune as she jumped clear with Atsuko following. Fūko waved her hand and a barrier of wind surrounded the stage, keeping the spores from spreading to the fleeing audience. Youko spun in a circle before stabbing her blade into the ground, causing a geyser to erupt from the center of the stage. The resulting shower of water caused the spores to fall to the ground, rendered harmless.

The mutant Briar clone dashed forward, multiple thorn vine whips shooting from her wrists to snag her opponents. Only Atsuko and Hinata avoided being grabbed, Atsuko by creating a fire aura and Hinata by using chakra blades to slice the vines heading towards her. As Atsuko freed the other captives, Hinata darted forward and engaged the mutant clone in close quarters. Hinata twisted, flipped, and bent around vine whips, thorn bracers, and a barrage of thick pollen balls that burned like acid the one time she brushed against one. A barrage of fireballs from Naruko and Atsuko joined with plasma blasts from a pair of Covenant Plasma Rifles Ryeka summoned reduced the mutant clone to charred bits as Hinata leapt clear of the attacks thanks to her Byakugan. A Flare Arrow from Cinnamon finished off the mutant before it could regenerate, but Briar had vanished.

"Byakugan!" said Hinata as the veins around her eyes bulged, causing Youko to take a step back from her fellow bluette. "Uh, I think we have a problem," said Hinata. "Remember how there was that tropical garden next door?" Upon getting nods from everyone, Hinata continued, "Well, apparently Briar slipped over there and is absorbing all the plants." At that moment, a giant rose erupted over the amphitheatre wall and opened to reveal Briar protected by flaps of hardened sap that protected her but allowed her to see through and closed over her.

"Not good," said Ryeka as she tossed her plasma rifles aside and switched to the UNSC Spartan Laser. "This bad boy should be able to lay some serious smack down on her."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't she just absorb light based attacks?" asked Ranko.

"That's because the chlorophyll in plants is best at absorbing the blue and red portion of the electromagnetic spectrum," said Ryeka as she showed the focusing lens for the laser was green instead of red.

"Less talking, more fighting!" yelled Miyuki as she struggled against vines that had erupted from the stage and were grabbing anyone near them. The cat girl managed to claw herself free and leapt away from a pollen cloud that Naruko and Fūko blew away from the stage. Ranko and Ryeka quickly joined in, using their boken and energy blade respectively to cut their friends free and keep the vines trimmed.

"Incoming!" yelled Atsuko as a bunch of giant seed pods rained down from the giant rose. The pods cracked open and revealed more of the mutant Briar clones.

Youko suddenly turned towards the sea with her mouth wide open as a giant water elemental rose out of the ocean. Inside, resting on a giant seashell that put them at eye level of the elemental were Ayaka and Ayako, now in mermaid form with tails that matched their hair colors and a white seashell bra each. The giant elemental slammed its massive fists into the huge rose, causing it to stagger. Ayako clutched a giant shell shield and an elaborate trident in her hands and replicas of them formed in the hands of the elemental just in time to block a pair of giant vines that sprouted from the rose and flailed at the elemental. Ayaka was holding onto a coral staff with an orb at the top and chanting, obviously the one in control of the giant elemental.

"At least they're keeping that thing too busy to sprout more of these," said Naruko as she chopped off a mutant's head with Nenshousaiga. As the pod clones were 'killed' they reverted to stuff suitable for a compost heap, only to be torched by Naruko or Atsuko to be sure they wouldn't grow back. "I'm starting to see why Sasuke hates fighting me when I use my clones," said the fox girl.

"Alright, I'm sick of these freaks!" yelled Fūko as she hacked another mutant in half. A look with her sisters had all three jumping into the air and landing so the remaining clones were trapped in the triangle the sisters formed. "Delta Storm!" yelled all three girls as they combined their fire, ice, and lightning magic to form a rotating pyramid of mystical energy that destroyed all the clones.

Naruko and Hinata took this chance to run towards the giant elemental. Since it was made of water, it was easy for the two of them to run right across the sea and up the elemental's body to its shoulders. "If I give you two an opening, do you think you can help Hinata-chan do a sea powered water jutsu to destroy that thing from the inside?" Naruko asked the two sirens.

Part of the elemental's head swirled away to reveal the twins. "I believe so, as long as she maintains contact with the surface of the elemental and uses the arm to shoot off the attack," said Ayaka as her sister fended off some more giant vine attacks.

"Great," said the blonde as jumped down to the ground and gathered wind and fire chakra around Nenshousaiga. "Kuuchuuhottokattohou (Hot Cutting Method)!" yelled Naruko as the wind and fire chakra reached the size of a zanbato. "Uzumaki Kenjutsu Ougi: Climhazzard!" yelled the blonde as she charged at the base of Briar's giant rose and landing a blow before leaping onto the giant stem and digging her blazing blade in and running up the stem to the rose top, where screams of pain from Briar were heard. The giant stem parted easily to Naruko's attack and as she slashed open the rose, Briar was revealed crouching in the middle of the rose with her protective flaps covering her. "Now, Hinata-chan!" yelled Naruko.

Hinata had been speeding through the hand signs for her jutsu and formed the bird hand seal before yelling, "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!" as the giant elemental thrust its hand forward. The hand erupted into the giant water dragon and plowed into the smoking breach Naruko had carved in the giant rose's stem. Briar shrieked in pain as the salt water was instantly absorbed into the plant's tissues, poisoning it. As she raised her eyes to glare at Hinata, a green dot appeared on the protective flaps in front of her.

"Hey, Poison Ivy Wannabe, have some light!" yelled Ryeka as she pulled the trigger of the massive laser cannon. What came out of the focusing lens could only be called a Wave Motion Gun as the massive beam was bigger than the focusing lens and tore through Briar's shields in an instant, though the plant girl had used the brief reprieve they gave to dive out the back of the flower.

As Briar fell towards the ground, the same strange growths on the backs of her mutant clones sprouted from her back and grew to a size that they allowed her to glide to the ground. However, as she landed, Kimiko dashed forward and slapped an ofuda on the plant girl. Briar screamed as her form started to waver. She quickly started mutating into a more degraded version of her clones, with her hands and mouth being replaced by venus fly traps and multiple red postulate eyes sprouting from her face. The last thing to change was her legs, which turned into root like tentacles. "Ugh, and you smelled bad already!" exclaimed Kimiko as she fought to keep from gagging at the stench Briar was releasing.

Thyme suddenly plunged down from the sky with a blue aura surrounding his spear. The impact of the attack tore off one of Briar's fly trap hands and sent her flying back to crash to the ground. "This is too easy," he said, only to groan as the claw reformed from roots that sprouted out of Briar's wrist and the severed claw started to grow and become a large venus fly trap monster that attacked him. As he avoided the tentacle vines that tried to pull him into the plant creature's maw, Thyme tripped over a root that sprouted from the ground and grabbed his foot. Before the creature could pull him in, Cinnamon's whips flashed in and coiled around its center stem body.

With a pulse of magic, the fire and ice tips of the whips sent their elements surging over the plant, burning and freezing it at the same time. And when Cinnamon yelled, "Mono Volt!" and sent an electric impulse into the mix down the two whips, the plant monster was obliterated in the ensuing elemental explosion. Briar had been keeping the melee fighters at bay with more of the same monsters threatening to overwhelm them if it hadn't been for Naruko creating a clone to pair up with each of the other fighters. Cinnamon grimaced as Briar's laugh echoed over the battle field before the phoenix princess took to the air. Raising her hands, Cinnamon started chanting, "Oh, source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand. Fireball!" before firing a barrage of fireballs at each of the plant minions. The plants screeched as they were burned and Briar appeared to be ready to retreat, only to have Naruko, Ranko, and Atsuko burst through the charred remains of their opponents. Ranko and Naruko went for a crossing strike in an X pattern while Atsuko dashed forward up the middle. Briar was split into four pieces, only for each one to rapidly grow into a clone of her, still in her deformed state. Before the gruesome foursome could make a move, the arm of the giant water elemental moved over them with Youko having joined the twins. The elemental's fingers started to freeze and became giant icicles that rained down on the plant women. Two were skewered right away and the icicle suddenly expanded to cover them in a foot of ice on each side, while the other two avoided the attack or used giant thorns to deflect the ice.

Fūko grinned from the side as Hiryuu and Kimiko finished charging a set of ofuda before hurling them into the gust of wind she sent around the remaining Briar sisters. The tags managed to catch one as it avoided being entombed in ice and the plant girl shrieked as holy power shocked her. She quickly became compost, leaving the last quarter of Briar facing the whole group. Ryeka had already charged up an energy blast since the Spartan Laser was too risky to use at this point, while Kimiko had an arrow ready to go wrapped in ofuda from Hiryuu. Hinata was clutching several shuriken and kunai, while Naruko had a ball of fox fire in each hand ready to throw. The genie sisters had each formed a ball of their respective element above their heads, while the siren sisters had their elemental stretch over the whole group to prevent any escapes by air. Thyme, Ranko, Miyuki, and Akira were all charging Ki blasts, and Cinnamon had just finished chanting a fireball spell. Briar's multiple eyes widened at the sight of so many attacks and she would have moved if Cinnamon hadn't tossed a dagger at her shadow with a cry of "Shadow Snap!" Like the Nara clan techniques, the spell bound Briar in place and she could only curse as all the attacks slammed into her from every direction. The resulting explosion as the energy blasts fed the elemental and fox fire blasts reached high into the sky in a pillar of elemental chaos. Briar's form was visible for a second as her regeneration struggled to save her, only for it to lose to the elements tearing her apart and she was reduced to her component atoms before even those were blasted apart.

"Well at least that crazy psycho is gone," said Naruko as she surveyed the ruined stage and auditorium as the adults cautiously made their way into the arena now that the barrier of thorny rose vines blocking the entry and exit ways had died as Briar disintegrated. "Now we just have to clean up the mess she left behind."

(0o0o0)

On a large yacht several miles out to sea from the auditorium, three figures stood in front of a monitor showing Naruko creating a clone army to help clean up the mess. "Well, the brat has more skill than I thought," said the first one as she turned off the monitor.

The middle figure, whose height implied a male figure nodded and said, "Indeed, I will have to adapt my training simulations to ensure I am prepared for him if he gets past you, sister."

The last figure finished sharpening a knife blade and sheathed it as she moved from her place by the wall. "The two of you can train all you want, I can tell only our eldest brother or I have the skill to match our cousin."

"In physical terms yes, but in our own fields we will crush him," said the first woman with a smirk as she lit a cigarette in a long holder.

(0o0o0)

"Alright everyone, now the moment you've all been waiting for!" exclaimed Saburou as he stood in the center of the amphitheater with the five groups behind him. Thanks to the fact that all janitors in Nerima were trained in Martial Arts Clean Up the auditorium had been restored to decent shape quickly. "The judges have made their decisions and I will now read the results. In fourth place, the Sultry Sirens!" There was much cheering from the Kolhotz audience as the twins accepted a cash card for a small shopping spree in any Neriman store. "In third, PINK!" The four friends all bowed before accepting a book of coupons each plus a group cash card, though each of the girls tore out the coupons for ramen restaurants and stuffed them into Naruko's hands, making her pull Hinata in a hug as she knew it had been the Hyuuga girl's suggestion as compensation for going through with the whole thing when she'd have preferred watching Hinata from the sidelines as Naruto. "In second Place, Silk Flowers!" Cinnamon, Toshi, and Ranko all bowed as they accepted a cash card each and the book of slightly better coupons. "And finally, we have a tie, Fire and Water with Three Wishes!" said Saburou as the three genie girls, Kasumi, and Keimei all blinked and found themselves pushed forward to accept their coupon books, cards, and an all expenses paid vacation at a nice hot spring spa.

(0o0o0)

"Ugh, what a day, I'm glad I don't have to use clones to practice the songs and dance routines anymore in addition to whatever else I'm doing for training," said Naruto as the group rode the train home.

"Speaking of training, how did you master the instruments as well as the singing and dancing parts?" asked Toshi from where she was snuggled up by Cinnamon.

"Ah, I used several tiles engraved with the runes for a Time Stop spell in my underground training chamber. It allowed us to get four hours out of every hour we spent in there. I got the idea when I first learned the spell and how it makes the caster faster than everyone around him. The seals I used in the chamber limited the spell to inside it, so since none of you came into the chamber you never saw everything we were doing," explained Naruto.

"That does explain why you four were eating so much after a training session," said Ranko with a grin.

(0o0o0)

"Ah, home sweet home," said Jiraiya with a grin as the four ninja entered the home, each one carrying a bag of take out from a very good hamburger joint run by a cook who had grown up in America and moved back to Japan to take over his uncle's restaurant.

"Hey, Gishou, we've got food!" yelled Naruto as he looked for his little fox friend, only to hear a crash in the kitchen. Hurrying into the room, Naruto's eyes widened as he took in the sight of Gishou with four tails lying in the middle of the floor with several plates and glasses in pieces around him. "Gishou, what the heck happened to you? You only had two tails when we left today!" yelled Naruto as he helped the now much larger kitsune to his feet.

"I got my third tail today… but as I was wandering in the yard getting used to it I went into your training room and suddenly found myself growing my fourth one," said the kitsune with a groan. "I stumbled out and found myself so hungry I couldn't help myself and ate whatever I could in the refrigerator."

"Gah, the Time Stop tiles must have absorbed your newly released Youki and sped up time even more for you," exclaimed Naruto as he ran towards the training bunker and grimaced as he sensed the swirling temporal energies inside. Pulling a small metal soccer ball from his supply pack, Naruto tossed it into the room and hastily erected a super thick stone door with a cry of, "Doton: Doryūheki (Earth Style Wall) no Jutsu!" to seal the entrance to the bunker. A loud explosion from inside the bunker had Naruto tensing and waiting for a few minutes before the wall he'd created split apart to reveal the entire bunker's inner wall covered with kunai bearing seals with the kanji for cancel attached to the handle. "Phew, Seal Disabler Bomb is a success," said Naruto as the temporal energy had faded away.

"You're never using those seals again, got it?" said Jiraiya sternly from where he was watching from the side porch. "It is pure luck I taught you how to make that bomb so you could toss it into the middle of a barrier to disable it from the inside the other day."

"You don't have to tell me twice, Ero-sennin, no more meddling with the flow of time like that for me," said Naruto as he picked up some of the kunai and grimaced at the rust on them. "Just a few minutes in that temporal flux and these things are rusted beyond use, I'll have to melt them down and reforge them later."

"You can do that later, brat, Hinata's stabilized Gishou and we're all hungry," said Jiraiya as he led Naruto into the house.

(0o0o0)

"Hey, look at this!" said Hinata, distracting Naruto from the scroll he was reading after dinner. Following Hinata's gaze, Naruto saw three women on the TV talking to a reporter.

"You three were at the Nerima Idol Contest today as the mystery judges, what did you think Ms Aino?" asked the man.

"Well," said the blonde as a picture of her in her Ms V outfit appeared in the top corner of the image, "All the girls had great talent, if they go on to join the music industry we'll be having a boom from all the business they'll generate." Smiling, she looked at the camera and flashed a peace sign, the white cat in her lap looking up with a pout as she stopped scratching his ears.

"Thank you Minako-san," said the reporter before turning to the middle woman, a brunette. "Ms Kumi?"

The woman smiled as Ku-san's picture appeared beside her for a moment, a sharp contrast to the business suit style dress she was wearing with lots of plastic jewelry before saying, "I was really happy to see so many girls trying out, it's kind of like watching your younger sister imitating you and then blossoming into her own talent."

"And Hamasaki-san?"

Dressed in a long white dress, the last woman took a deep breath and said, "I enjoyed it, the girls were all amazing, it took lots of guts to step onto that stage and perform in front of everyone."

"Aino Minako, Koda Kumi, and Hamasaki Ayumi, fresh in from judging the Nerima Idol Contest, thank you ladies," said the man with a bow before the scene shifted back to the typical big desk with the anchor people behind it shuffling papers.

"We were judged by them?" yelled Hinata. She had developed a liking for Koda Kumi and Ayumi Hamasaki's works early on when they arrived in Tokyo. "Mou… I didn't get autographs…"

"Sorry Hinata-chan," said Naruto before blinking and grabbing a large envelope Saburou had given each contestant before they left from where he'd tossed it on the table in his hurry to deal with the time jutsu seals. "I forgot about this," he said before opening it and letting several glossy papers spill out. Picking them up, Naruto suddenly grinned before passing them to Hinata, who squealed as she found herself holding a signed picture each of Minako, Kumi, and Ayumi, plus a picture of each popular Hello Project! Group with signatures from the girls on the back.

(0o0o0)

From where Briar's giant plant had grown, a small flower pushed up through a crack in the concrete and opened to reveal a single red pustule eye in the center that glared around.

Ugh, this chapter was a pain to write. I got writer's block several times even though I knew how I wanted things to go. The next chapter should be easier, it's mostly fights. I'm never doing a chapter like this one again.