I OWN NOTHING
Alright, it's about to shed some light and explain why some changes have been made as well as see how well we tricked you all.
XXXXXX
"So how long have you and Naruto-senpai been talking?" Eri asked from Kagome's left.
Yuka leaned in on her right, "Have you always had a thing for bad boys?"
Ayumi rested her chin on the top her head, "Is he the 'bad boy with a heart of gold' type?"
Kagome jumped to her feet and backed away whilst waving hands frantically, "Could I please have a little breathing room?" She was glad her friends weren't asking about what she was doing all that time she wasn't at school but their one-track mind on her love life was unnecessary. "Naruto-kun-"
"Naruto-kun?!" All three asked, flabbergasted. Ayumi was giddy unlike Yuka and Eri who were critical.
"Is a good person." Kagome continued cursing herself for adding the suffix, "IF I did have interest in him-" She stressed the 'if' part. She was blushing more as she went on and her friends gained more intrigue too, "Which I don't! ...he wouldn't be a bad choice." She finished with a calming breath.
The group was silent after that much to Kagome's relief. Eri raised her hand and Kagome nodded to her. "So... If one of us said we wanted to get to know him more...personally?"
"NO!" Kagome slapped both her hands across her mouth, her face now a cherry red. The fact all three of her friends were now laughing at her only made it worse. She could practically feel a vein bulge on her head.
Luckily, Ayumi saw this and decided to defuse the situation, "Sorry, sorry, Kagome-chan, we'll stop." she said through giggles, "Now, I don't want sound rude or anything, but who are those two ladies in the odd outfits standing atop the roof. And why are they staring at us? Or should I say, Kagome?"
The other three girls looked in the direction Ayumi was pointing at, 'Inuko! Yura!' Kagome was mentally groaning and nearly verbalized her frustration. "Those are some new friends of mine!" She answered, "The one dressed like a kunoichi is a hairstylist, really into her work, and the other one is a delinquent, kind of a moody one, too, but she means well... sorta."
"Okay... so, why are they dressed like that?" Yuka asked after having examined the duo with scrutiny.
"Cosplay! They're rather passionate about Anime and Manga!" Kagome quickly answered again and nervously.
Yuka hummed before she turned to Eri and Ayumi with a deadpan stare, "Remember when I said Hikikomoris were on the rise around our school? Case and point."
As Kagome wondered what she did to get in such a situation, the two supernatural females observed, "Hey, why are they looking at us like that?" Inuko asked.
"I don't know, humans are so weird." Yura commented, then spotted something odd, "It's that human again."
Inuko glared as she noticed Hojo talk to some girls, only to be shunned, "Does he ever quit? And what's with that smell?"
"Oh, I think it's cologne or perfume." Yura replied, "Apparently, humans try and use special scents to be more appealing."
"What? Now humans try to imitate horny insects?" the vulgar girl asked.
"Apparently, yes." She hummed, "Not that I could blame them, smooth, nice-smelling hair is needed to be attractive."
"Don't care, and don't look at my hair when you say such weird shit." The dog girl bared her teeth at the kunoichi, said hair demoness growling back.
"Hey!" the two turned to Kagome, who had gone to talk to them after assuring her friends nothing important would happen, "Can you two remain hidden?" she basically pleaded, "My friends already saw you two and if more people try to find out who you are, Naruto and I could get in trouble."
"So? I can kick their asses." Inuko's infinite tact, ladies and gentlemen.
"Or I can manipulate them." Yura wasn't much better, though.
"No! Just lay low!" the schoolgirl snapped in a harsh whisper, "Do me a favor, and just pretend to go through that door. Once in, leave without anyone seeing you."
"And leave master alone?" Yura retorted, "Not after that pathetic boy tried to challenge him."
"Y-You saw the entire ordeal with Hojo?" Kagome wanted the earth to eat her.
"Yeah, why do boys get so interested in some chick like you?" the dog hanyo asked annoyed, "I get it that you look like Kikyo, but she was dignified and had class."
"Why you!" Kagome wanted to tell her to sit, but her friends would've had too many questions to ask about magic, so she had to control herself.
"And you smell awful now." Inuko continued, though, then pinched her nose, "Ugh, in fact, what's that smell? You reek of rotten meat?"
"Hmm, it is faint, but I do smell it, too." Yura commented curiously.
"Really?" Kagome temptingly sniffed her clothes, and found something in its scent, "But I haven't sweated, and P.E. isn't until later."
"No one's carrying that around here." Inuko commented, "So, are you being pranked on?"
"I wish I knew…" the girl whispered, then shook her head when hearing her friends approach, "Uh-oh, leave now!"
"Alright…" Yura sighed and pulled Inuko away, the dog girl glaring at the schoolgirl's friends before leaving.
"What was that about?" Ayumi asked curiously.
"Oh, just…them trying to get me into a theme for their costumes!" she lied quickly, laughing nervously, "I-I told them no, even if they wanted to make me Sailor Jupiter."
"Hmm…I'd say Mars." Yuka told her.
Inwardly sighing, Kagome tried to calm herself, 'Give me strength…'
XXXXXX
Once classes ended, Naruto was back to training and did so by running to build his stamina.
"Using this mask is a damn pain!" he grumbled through the breathing mask given to him to force him to control his breathing. At least the path he chose along a river was empty with the exception of a couple guys doing their cardio too. Adding to that a couple fellow students, all of them girls wanting to see the hunky boxing club captain sweaty in his gym duds. At least they couldn't catch up.
"Ah, Uzumaki-san, so fast… As if he's a dream just barely out of reach." One sighed dreamily.
"Yeah, and maybe more now than ever." Another groaned, "He's been fighting that Hojo for Higurashi Kagome."
"What, really!?" another asked, "Ugh, why does she have to be so hot!? We've waited long for his attention!"
"I know, right? But Uzumaki-senpai did scare Hojo off when he flirted with her." A fourth girl grumbled.
"Oh come on, it's not fair…" a fifth one whined.
And watching it was Hojo, hidden under a bridge the girls walked over to get to the other side, and he glared hard at Naruto's back, "Bastard, after I tried so hard to get attention with this face. Tch, I guess I cannot just stand by idly." He held his face, sneering, "I'll have to change tactics if I want to make that girl mine."
For Naruto, it would be a pain, but nothing like what he had planned, "Alright, looks empty enough." He looked around an empty lot in the middle of a district. The main idea was to make it a park, which is why an aluminum fence blocked it from the public. Construction hadn't begun, so the blond decided to get some extra practice with his breathing mask still on.
After climbing in without anyone detecting him, he looked at the empty area and grinned at the soft ground at his feet. He closed his eyes and tried to meditate, to replicate the feeling of the earth giving him the energy he felt before. Picturing what had happened, what he had seen, he attempted to feel that same energy come back to him. And it didn't come to him, but something else did.
"You called for me." The voice from before said, sounding amused in his head.
Opening his eyes, he looked around for its source, but didn't find the owner, "So, can you hear me? I'm not imagining you, am I?"
"No, I am quite real." The voice replied, sounding soothing, "So, you wish to learn how to channel chakra from the earth again?"
"Yeah, I can't let Inuko get ahead of me." He grinned under his mask, his eyes turning into U-shaped happily closed eyelids.
"Indeed." Voice chuckled out, "Well then, let me aid you. You used a fraction of that power, and your balance wasn't the best. It's like wanting to look right while looking left."
"Um…how does that make sense?" he retorted.
"Well, you once found a way to make it work."
"What?"
"Hehe, if you wish to know more, give it your all."
XXXXXX
"Goodness." Kagome breathed, slumping against an outside wall of the school's building.
The day was longer than it should've been. But it was finally over. Kagome had to create an explanation for her two companions who shouldn't have been there to begin with and had to deal with the many eyes of envious other students, mostly the girls. She thought she saw one of the female teachers even giving her the stink eye.
"Kagome!" Someone called out to her. A voice she didn't want to hear, the voice that belonged to Hojo.
Kagome wasn't in the mood for it, "Listen buster, I-"
"I wanted to apologize." He said loudly, somewhat urgently, "I-I said some rude things because I thought that's what girls my age liked to hear and I'm usually not good around girls so. I was just following instructions."
"Wait, what?" There were several things wrong with his explanation. One: Hojo literally had a fan club of girls dedicated to him. Two: Instructions? She needed him to elaborate, "What do you mean?"
"I...I watched videos on how to talk to high-school girls because I'm... Well, doing so directly is rather scary for me and I wasn't sure how to approach you." He said nervously, bumping his index fingers together.
"Well..." she said in a low tone, not sure how to feel about the matter. He said some rather disgusting things, but Kagome wasn't exactly the type of person to hold a grudge, especially on the socially inept. Still, she shook her head and glared at him, "That's no excuse for what you said to me. I mean, don't you have any common sense?"
He scratched the back of his head and he was avoiding eye contact, "I kinda lose it around genuinely cool people."
'Cool people?' That was nice, a simple compliment not linked to any romantics or sex. She hadn't been called cool before. "Be that as it may, you're lucky nothing worse happened. You know I could report that type of talk right?" she had to let him know he did something really wrong, like a parent lecturing a child on why eating glue is harmful.
He nodded, "I know... and I'm thankful you didn't, I owe you much."
"Not that much, just don't go around talking like that anymore." Kagome sternly told him, "Seriously, where did you learn that 'smooth' talk from?"
"A video by someone named the Super Pervert." he answered calmly, like there wasn't a problem with what he just said.
Kagome pinched the bridge of her nose then gave him a deadpan stare. "And you thought it would be a good idea to follow someone called the Super Pervert's example?" She had a feeling it wasn't the type of video based on realism so much as...fetishism.
"In hindsight, uh..." he looked around nervously and turned to his watch before gasping, "Oh no, I have to get home soon... hey, Kagome, can we walk and talk? I still feel the need to better explain myself and maybe show you the real me. If that's okay with you of course?" She thought about it. He didn't seem bad, just not very bright. There wasn't too much risk she supposed, she did fight demons after all.
And she didn't have a curfew, "Fine, but no funny business, promise?"
"Of course." He said, a genuine smile gracing his lips.
Meanwhile, two supernatural women looked on with disgust from the rooftops, "This nonsense again?" Yura hissed.
"And it looks like Kagome's going for it." Inuko snorted, "Talk about a lack of taste."
"Wow." Yura gasped.
"What?" Inuko grunted.
"It's just...I never thought I'd ever agree so much with a hanyo. It's weird." Yura whispered.
However, as they talked and Kagome turned, they didn't notice Hojo glaring at them from the corner of their eye. Unaware to them, the boy smiled when noticing they weren't following the dark-haired beauty. As he advanced, he tried to restrain himself. Observing Kagome did make him feel rather hungry. And once he had his fill, he had another target.
Thus, he tried to make conversation about it, "So, that Uzumaki…He's kinda scary, isn't he? He has so many fans, but…wow, he could easily get pegged for a thug if no one knew him."
"He's rather sweet when he wants to be." She smiled at the memory of him teaching Shippo how to box, "And reliable, too." Remembering how he helped her brother and dealt with everything that life threw his way, she couldn't help but admire the blond boy's tenacity. As well as the fact he had kept her alive.
"Still, I heard he's a boxer, but I got no idea what that's about." Hojo chuckled, "Never even paid attention to it until hearing about him."
"Well, he's a good puncher, and he never throws a kick with how good he is." She remembered all the fights he had and how he had gone through them using only his fists.
"Ah, so only his hands." Hojo commented under his breath, then asked, "Would you say he's supernatural? Many seem to think he is, and he does give that aura…" his words made her think about how to answer, a way to not tell him how right he was, "He wouldn't happen to be a kitsune in disguise like legends say, right?" he chuckled playfully to try to fool her into his act.
Sadly, she bought it as silly banter, "Yeah, he does look like one. But…I never thought you'd be this interested in him, especially after that incident."
"Oh, you know, I thought I'd try to get to know him better before we meet next." Hojo smiled softly at that, "Anyway, I'm, uh, kinda hungry…" he couldn't resist the sight before him as they doubled a street, going towards Kagome's house. For her such a comment sounded simple enough to fix.
"Well, we could split here, you could grab a Smile Burger." She pointed to a nearby burger joint which proclaimed to sell smiles with their meals.
Hojo chuckled nervously, "I, uh, don't have much cash, but don't worry, I can handle it…" he then aimed a finger forward, "Hey, who's that?"
Kagome turned, arching an eyebrow, "I think…" she gulped and stood off to the side, "He's yakuza, don't point at him!" she exclaimed in a whisper. As she averted her eyes from the man, said yakuza looked at her companion with an arched eyebrow. For a brief second, he thought he saw something wiggle out of the kid's mouth, and it looked like a…a beetle's leg?
Shaking off his head, the man kept walking, "I better find Majima before he sends his guys after that boy." Said the finely dressed gentleman in a gray suit with the red shirt and no tie. "Kids sure have weirder eating habits than I did back in my youth."
Kagome let out a sigh of relief, "How scary…I think he looked like that chairman… The Fourth Chairman of the To-" she blinked when hearing a crunching sound, "Hojo?" she turned to see the boy chewing and then swallowing something. He grinned at her like nothing was wrong and waved at her.
"Don't worry, I told you I could handle it." He lied.
"Alright, well, take care." She said and turned to another side, "Sorry, but I really need a break."
"Wait up!" he exclaimed, completely at a loss, "J-Just, um, let me make it up to you for what I did, yes!"
"If you put it like that..." she thought on it, then sighed, "I'll feel guilty. I'd rather see you admit your mistakes and learn from them with time, not forcefully apologize like this That's something that takes time. A lot of it." She took a deep breath, "Also, after all you said and did, I'd rather keep my distance."
"Then how about I fully walk you home?" he asked hopefully, but his forceful attitude put the girl on edge.
"Precisely because of what happened." The schoolgirl argued, "People could spread rumors I don't really need. I agreed to walk and talk, but I wanted to part ways. Also I'm tired, I need some time to relax home." After another sigh, she finally left Hojo to growl under his breath at her retreating back.
"Ugh..." he turned around, running to an alley, "This form can't last long... Dammit, this ends tonight..." Shuddering from head to toes, he made sure no one followed him or saw him as he walked to a manhole. Moments later, people found a schoolboy's clothes, shoes and suitcase near it, but no sign of the boy.
XXXXXX
"Finally, some alone time!"
Kagome's back hit her bed like a sack of bricks. A relaxed moan escaped the pajamas clad girl currently in a cute pink nightgown and slippers which she kicked off. Once her homework was done, her body fully and thoroughly bathed, and her mind soothed, she tried to close her eyes for an earlier sleep. She had just had dinner and Inuko and Yura weren't around, so her calm afternoon was welcomed.
"Kagome, your friends are here." And suddenly all good mood left her.
"Seriously?" she walked downstairs to see Yura and Inuko waiting, but they looked different.
"There you are!" Yura growled impatiently.
"About time..." Inuko waved dismissively.
Gears in the resurrected priestess' head stopped dead in their tracks, 'W-what...? Did they just...switch personalities?'
Yura's oddly rough tone switched the gears back to what was happening, "What the hell are you wearing, Kagome? You need to hurry and get dressed."
"Why?" Kagome practically whined, clearly wanting to simply sleep.
Inuko gave her a serious glare before stating, "Because Naruto-dono is in trouble."
Kagome gawked, "What?"
Yura rolled her eyes before snarling, "She said-"
"I know what she said Yura!" Kagome snapped, stomping on the floor. "It's the way she said it. Since when were you so respectable?" She then pointed to Yura, "And what's up with you? You're angrier than usual." Both demons visibly recoiled, as if they had made a mistake.
They glanced towards each other before Yura folded her arms and sighed, "Because we're on edge. Because you're standing here in your nightgown, not dressed, and wasting our time!"
Inuko nodded. "She's right, now hurry and get dressed." She ordered, starting sound like her usual self again as she spoke. Kagome groaned and decided to just go and get dressed. She was tired, confused, and guessing from the current situation, things must've been urgent for these to suddenly shift their personalities.
Meanwhile with Naruto...
He was currently exhausted and sprawled across the ground with sweat and dirt all over his body, "Damn..."
"Your physique is optimal, but your mind and spiritual harmony has yet to truly reflect your physical might."
With a groan, Naruto lifted his upper half off the ground and glared to the side, "Ugh, if I didn't know any better, I'd almost say you're insulting me."
"I simply state the truth. You will get better but for now you are lacking. We'll chat later, you have company upon you."
At the last part of the mysterious being's sentence, Naruto heard two presences land behind him with a soft thud along with a gasp bordering on a quick shriek, "Master, what's the matter with you!?"
Naruto couldn't utter another word before Yura set upon him... well, his hair really, "Yura, what are you doing?"
"Taking care of the most important part of your body because apparently you can't do it." Yura scolded while she set about removing the sediment from his hair and straightening it out, " Tell me exactly what you were doing which made you so neglectful of your treasure."
"Earth training." He answered shortly.
"What?" Inuko asked, "And Yura, cut that shit out!" She growled, annoyed at her little hair maintenance on Naruto for numerous reasons.
Yura shot her quick glance and stuck her tongue out at her while Naruto tried to lean away from her grip, "You guys remember what I did to the older thunder brother right? I'm trying to feel what I felt back then." When they shot him quizzical stares, he decided to elaborate further, "A connection to the earth."
"Right, that. So... spiritual power?" Inuko guessed.
"Maybe. I think that's what it is." Naruto lightly smacked Yura's hand away, ignoring her dissatisfaction, and stood up, "Uh, so what do you guys want? If you're thinking about asking to sleep over, know that I don't have much space."
Inuko snorted, "That isn't the reason we came for you, dumbass."
Yura folded her arms and aimed a glare at the ground, "It's not like you and I couldn't share though," she mumbled.
"It's because Kagome's around the beta male again." Inuko answered.
Naruto seemed perplexed. "Beta male?"
"That Hojo child." Yura answered, "Kagome decided to entertain him by walking home with him this evening."
"Why?" Naruto asked.
"I heard him say something about an apology." Inuko answered, "Still, something isn't right. Ever since Kagome met him, she's started to smell like rotten meat. Like the beta male does."
"Rotten meat, huh?" Naruto muttered before musing more audibly, "Guy could just work in a meat locker. Either disposing old meat or a really bad one." She shot him a frowning glare that told him not to question her logic, to which he sighed, "We could check on Kagome-chan just in case."
Everyone walked to the Higurashi household, and walking down the steps was Kagome...along another Inuko and Yura.
For a second, time seemed to freeze.
Until Ma Higurashi walked down the steps, "Kagome-chan, here are some leftovers for Naruto-kun." She smiled sweetly when handing her daughter a box, and then turned to the blond, "Oh hello, Naruto-kun. And Inuko-chan and Yura-chan as well..." she paused, blinked, then turned to the doppelgangers, "Huh... I didn't know you had twins."
Putting two and two together, the boxer put up his fists, "Yura, Inuko, grab Kagome and her mom!" Naruto shouted, and the real ones did. Yura used her hair to swing herself up, grabbing the middle-aged woman and gently dropping her at her doorstep. Inuko dashed to the only schoolgirl and carried her bridal style. Knowing who the originals were with those actions, the pugilist leapt at the copies.
"W-wait, we're the originals and those are the copies!" the fake Yura cried, but the blond used a chakra enhanced punch.
"The real ones answered right at the start." He shouted as he stomped inches from her.
Clicking her tongue, the fake split in two, revealing a mass of rotten flesh which liquid form evaded the strike in a most disgusting display. The torso was diagonally separated in two, the head and right shoulder up and the left shoulder down. Fake-Inuko's body shook and morphed into an identical rotten blob which Yura's double was made off. Two became one as both jumped into each other and took form.
And there stood Hojo looking pissed, "Damn you!" he scratched his head, which started to rot, his body becoming a mass of decomposing meat along his clothes, "I've tried so hard to get that jewel! I've even gone to shady places to do research!" his body started to morph, and the face came apart to show a mask of a woman's face with scratches on it.
"Yura, is this thing like you or what?" the blond asked when he dashed back to keep his distance.
The kunoichi landed on a lamppost, crouching on it, "No, it's much different, but similar..." she narrowed her eyes, "You! What awakened you!?"
"I was craved by a powerful demon, a woman of beauty and unlimited power." The mask started, then aimed a gooey finger at Kagome, "My only task was to wait until you returned from the well in order to devour you. To take you and the cursed Inuko and Yura out before you truly set on your journey, before you were a thorn on my mistress' side!"
"Wait, what about me?" Naruto asked, furious, "What does this woman want with them?"
The mask's body shuddered, "She needs them out of the picture to get you." She answered, "Once I obtain the Shikon jewel, I can enjoy having a real body. Bringing you to my mistress after you seek revenge for a pathetic girl's death and devouring a filthy hanyo and that servant of yours is all I need to do to achieve it!"
"Hojo..." Kagome whispered still in Inuko's arm, then exclaimed. "D-Did you kill him?"
"Do you remember your every meal?" the mask chuckled darkly, angering the blond. "Kekeke... Doesn't matter. All I did was to lure you out since you hold the power of the Shikon Jewel. It would have made me a truly powerful demon to devour those my mistress despises easier. But now..."
"STOP TALKING!" Naruto roared after finally losing his temper. Throwing a chakra empowered right hook, he forced the mask to hide in the sludge its body was made of.
"Ha, you can't hurt me! I am-" and then, the punch blasted the ooze like a shotgun, dispersing the rotten blob and making its mass much smaller, "-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?" it screamed and slithered as fast as it could away from him, "H-how did you touch me without melting!?"
"Melting...? You mean you're acid?" Naruto gasped in surprise, then looked at his fist, "Alright, chakra kicks ass..." he whispered in awe.
And it pissed off the mask, "Y-you must be joking! I've planned everything to be made fun of!?"
"Alright, let's break that smile!" Naruto exclaimed and ran at it, but the mask leapt to the air, landing on the Higurashi roof, looking as they ran at it.
"Hahaha, nice try!" it cackled and looked around the windows, "I'll just help myself to a good meal!" it was about to enter through one, but Inuko also had enough listening to it.
"Stop talking so much, your voice is goddamn annoying!" Tessaiga cut through the air, forcing the mask to sink into its mass to avoid being cut in two, "Hold still!" the dog girl landed on the roof and bared her teeth. After her jump, she charged and continued to slash through a good chunk of the gunk, but it didn't do anything as the wounds sealed themselves and the mask remained protected by her liquid shell.
"Got you!" a recently arriving Yura exclaimed as her hair dug into the defensive slime, only to cry in horror as her precious treasure and weapon was digested, "No! No, no, no!" she retrieved what little hair remained, horrified by an entire second the mask needed to counterattack. It shot tendrils which went for Kagome just as the girl finished climbing up the stairs!
However, they gripped Inuko's body and pulled her in with a scream, "Run!" she yelled as the disgusting blob tried to eat her inside its main body, her arms and legs bound by it. Luckily, her half-demon side prevented her from being assimilated and her clothes were made of a material as resistant as her. Sadly, she still felt pain and was starting to drown.
Landing on the roof himself, Naruto was both disgusted and pissed off, "Let her go!" he shouted and swung in for an uppercut, but the mass wiggled out of his fist's way!
"Try and hit me!" it mocked him, "I can easily devour you, but I'll need to drown this brat first before I get a decent meal!" it then moved so its prey's sword stuck out and forced Inuko's arm to aim it at Yura. "But I can also do this!" it jumped at the kunoichi and swung the large blade, trying to slice her in two. The hair weaver was much more flexible and still had material to spare to pull herself out of harm's way.
Inuko ground her teeth and struggled, 'Dammit, this hurts!' she watched as bolts of electricity, actual demonic energy, tried to disintegrate her whole body. She gasped for breath, but air bubble escaped her as the mask crushed her ribcage to speed up her drowning. 'Fine... You want me...? I won't let you have Tessaiga, then!' she willingly dropped her weapon, the sword reverting to its rusty form.
"Heh, nice sacrifice, but you're done for..." the mask giggled as the others were at a loss.
Clenching his jaw, Naruto felt desperate, "How do we even hurt this thing?"
Voice returned, snapping his eyes wide open, "Your chakra protects you, don't you remember? Do as I taught you: let it flow through your body."
Getting the idea, Naruto gulped, "Alright, but this better work..." taking a deep breath, he ran at the mask, throwing a hook. Once again, the main body wiggled out of his way, but it didn't jump or dash away. The people who knew Naruto couldn't tell if he was stupid, brave or a genius or all three at the same time when he did what he did: he dived into the dark gunk.
"What're you doing!?" the mask growled as he extended an arm desperately inside its body to grab Inuko's wrist. She felt relief as his hand touched her, his chakra glowing around his entire body to keep the acidic effects of the demonic mask's own body from consuming him. But, "Fool, I'll just have you pass out!" the mask screamed as its body morphed into that of an octopus to swallow the boxer too.
"Oh no you don't!" Kagome yelled as she finally climbed her way to the roof, bow and arrow already fired!
"Gah!" the mask yelped and dodged the arrow by floating over its amorphous body, "Damn little brat! I should have just done this already!" it split vertically in half, showing two sets of teeth on either half. It flew straight at the schoolgirl, who could only scream as she hurriedly readied another arrow.
"Hey, you disgusting pile of filth!" Yura yelled as she held up one hand with hair attached to it and Naruto's still non-consumed ankle, the other holding Tessaiga which painfully shocked her, burning her hand for holding it, "You and your mistress don't have the right to touch a single hair of my master's! That's my job!"
Yanking the two out, the hair demoness threw the sword with a pained grunt, which Inuko caught, "Die already!" she yelled as Naruto threw her with all his might.
All the mask could do was fly out of the sword's way, "Gh..." and get shot from behind by Kagome whose arrow pierced the left eye!
It remained floating midair, stunned while the girl cheered up, "Now, Inuko, Naruto!"
Seeing the two come at it with its only good eye, the mask tried to split itself to escape, "No, my body... I'll get my-"
"Shut up already!" they shouted in unison as Inuko's glowing Tessaiga cut the right side horizontally. Naruto dashed off to the blind side and split it in two with a burst of chakra. Azure flames of raw energy blew up from his fist and obliterated the mask. Both destroyed pieces crumbled into countless splinters, which were blown into the wind like dust to never be seen again.
Panting, Naruto fell flat on his butt as he and Inuko recovered their breath, "Nice shot, Kagome-chan... And thanks for the save, Yura-chan."
"You're very..." Yura started, then stared.
"Uh, what's the matter?" he asked innocently. Turning for answers to Kagome brought up a new one, "Kagome-chan, why are you blushing?"
If he had paid attention, she'd have heard her mutter, "Sweet sexy abs..."
Inuko turned her face away from the others, "Put a shirt on." Looking down, Naruto noticed his upper body was nude, his chiseled bare torso bare for Kagome to stare in a trance. The mask couldn't eat his body with his chakra surrounding him, but his clothes were another story. The dog girl would not openly admit he was an appealing male for a human.
Blushing too, the blond chuckled, "Um, you don't think your grandpa has some shirt I could borrow, do you?" he prayed the old man did.
Mostly because of Yura, "But master, you should get examined." She smiled brightly as her hands massaged his shoulders.
"STIFFEN!" and in came his immediate response when her fingers slid down.
X-X-X-X-X
And that's my rap!
A big thanks goes to my beta for all his support even if he's had little free time with real life being what it is for many people. At the very least we're having fun while doing this and he's keeping me somewhat sane so I don't do anything too silly. For now, know that we will NEVER spoil anything about this fic, so don't bother asking who's the mistress of the mask.
Now, something you wanted to see.
-Omake: Dragon meets Fox-
"Is that…?"
Kazuma Kiryu was a man that somehow attracted trouble without even trying. Usually said trouble found its end by getting curb-stomped by the large former yakuza. He was built like a brickhouse and had the skill of a true master. Even as a 48-year-old, he was a force to be reckoned. Sadly, all sorts of thugs, yakuza, assassins and corrupt power-hungry people found ways to bother him. They never won, though.
"Ugh, what a monster…" groaned a man in a fancy suit with a pin he recognized.
"You're with the Majima Family, what happened?" Kiryu asked the man as he breathed raggedly with bruises all over his face.
"Fourth Chairman?" the yakuza gasped in surprise, "Ow… Oh, dammit, that stings…" he sat up and stared at the man with a wince.
"Is someone plotting to attack the Tojo Clan again?" Kiryu asked. "How many were there to do this to you?"
"Just one…" the yakuza answered, "He was like a maelstrom, hitting and moving around like one. Before I knew it, I was eating concrete… What a demonic right hook…" he nursed a sore jaw.
"Did you see what family he's associated with?" the tall man asked.
"No, he's just a punk the boss is intrigued with." The yakuza answered, "Sorry… Head's spinning… Let me gather my thoughts…" Kiryu helped him to stand and waited for an answer near a vending machine, "Okay, so, Boss wanted us to check this new hotshot who's been mopping yakuza around. Since you've been gone, he's been bored."
Kiryu gave the man a dull stare, "It's terrifying how Majima-no-nii-san gets when he doesn't get to beat someone's face in."
The yakuza nodded, "You tell me, last time he made us do a choreographed show of his favorite song, Get To The Top… It was kinda kickass, but too damn weird."
"So…" Kiryu wanted him to continue.
"Right, sorry. Let's see… He sent us to find this punk, but other families have their sights on him. Apparently, he's not easy to scare and has been punching them to crap every time they start trouble. Hmm… I think he's around a high school here. Other yakuza try to stalk him, but all they've done is end up with broken bones."
"You're basically describing a typical day of mine…" Kiryu thought out loud, then frowned, "Are you sure it's not me?"
"Kiryu-san, you've punched my face one too many times to know not to mess with you." The yakuza answered, "This punk may not curb-stomp us, but his punches make me wish he did… At least I'd pass out from the pain easier." He thought some more, but frowned, "Dammit, I think that's all I remember. He really scrambled my brain there."
"You mentioned a high school, I'll look for one." Kiryu said.
"Wait, you'd really bring him to the boss for me?" the yakuza asked hopefully, then froze in horror, "No, wait, that'd make him mad that I slacked off and had you do the job."
"Don't worry, I'll warn him about you and try to talk with Majima about keeping heat off him." The large suited man said, "I may also talk with some of those families bothering him." He thought out loud and made his way forward. Not too long after that, he found a school whose students were already leaving, but caught notice of a group of girls at the entrance.
"Uzumaki-senpai looked so cool beating that bag today." One swooned.
"Don't get your hopes up, you heard he's being friendly with that little brother of Higurashi." Another said.
"Wait, really? Dammit, lucky her, getting to be close to him…" the first one whined.
Kiryu observed the exchange carefully, 'I guess gossip doesn't change… But this kid they're talking about… No, it couldn't be. What yakuza would go after some kid?'
"Hey old man…" some yakuza growled behind him, grabbing Kiryu by the shoulder, "If you want a shot at the kid, get in line. His ass is ours."
'Did I hear that wrong…? Yeah, I must have. I was called a kid when I was in my twenties.' Kiryu turned around and faced the large yakuza who was a head taller than him, "Are you looking for someone who's been beating you up?"
"W-what's it to you!?" the large thug growled.
Kiryu took a stance as he kept his right fist near his heart and his left one in front of his hips, "If that's the case, I need to find him so he doesn't get harassed by an acquaintance of mine. No psychiatrist could prepare him for that." He spoke from experience. However, he didn't pay attention to another yakuza pulling a switchblade behind him.
"Tough guy, huh? Well, you can join the brat in Hell!" the thug growled and cracked his knuckles…
"Hey!" shouted a young voice and soon the yakuza that had tried to sneak up on Kiryu was sent flying to a wall. "How about you pick on someone fair and square?" asked a blond teen in a black tracksuit with an orange t-shirt underneath. His bandaged hands signaled he was a boxer, and he was already in a tightly guarded stance near the older man the yakuza tried attacking him.
"Ah, there he is!" the largest yakuza exclaimed.
"You think I'm dumb enough to accept an invitation to meet your boss!?" the blond asked, "If this Majima wants me, tell him to come himself!"
Kiryu was shocked, 'This is the kid giving them trouble!?'
"Wait, Maijma…?" the yakuza gasped in fear, then shook his head, "No point trying to scare us, punk! You're dead meat!"
"Hey old man, get out." The kid told Kiryu as he readied himself for a fight, "I can take care of these guys."
Shaking his head, Kiryu smiled, "I like your moxie, but I think I owe you for helping me with that guy…"
"Fine, I could use a breather…" the blond smirked.
The two glared and as one shouted, "Bring it on!"
A full minute of punching and curb-stomping later, and the yakuza regretted living.
"Not bad for an old man…" Naruto commented, "Hmm, perhaps I could use some of that for my training…"
"Just make sure to stay out of trouble." Kiryu said, "You're gutsy, but you can bring people into your mess if you're not careful."
"I know, but these guys won't quit and they haven't after I beat their boss for trying to scam some of my friends." The blond sighed tiredly at that.
Kiryu hummed, 'So that's it…' he then told him, "I could put a word for you, I know some people. Just tell me your name."
"Naruto Uzumaki, and yours?"
"Kazuma Kiryu, a pleasure."
"Just keep your word." The blond said, then grinned, "Also, next time we meet, how about a spar? I'd like to test my fists against yours."
Kiryu chuckled, "Fine, but don't complain if I don't hold back."
"I'd like that." The boy grinned and left.
Kiryu looked up with a nostalgic smile, "Perhaps I could teach him some of Bacchus moves…" and with that, he left.
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Swordslinger out!