Hi guys, I'm finally back after university exams, and I've got a couple of weeks until the new semester starts, so hopefully I'll be able to get some good writing time in! Remember, if you're ever wondering why I haven't updated for a while or just what's happening in my life at the moment, you can always check the bottom of my profile, which will usually have the low-down on anything that could potentially put my stories on hold- exams, going interstate/overseas, etc.

"Ragnarok?" repeated Miu in confusion, "What's that?"

Yuuka's eyes were grave.

"They're one of the biggest delinquent gangs in this neighbourhood. Their influence is huge… plus they've got countless underlings, and their top fighters are rumoured to be very strong."

Miu gasped.

"And you said they're targeting Naruto? How do you know?"

"My big brother's actually a delinquent," admitted Yuuka, "And when he heard about this he passed it down to me because he heard Tsukuba's next target was in my class."

"Tsukuba?"

"Saijo Tsukuba. He's a senpai that's in the karate club. I'm not sure if he's the captain or not, but he's a black belt, apparently."

A bang from the door caught their attention as it slammed open.

"Where is Naruto Uzumaki?!" roared a tall, broad-shouldered upperclassman.

There was silence as everyone in the room only stared at him. He growled and then grabbed a nearby chair with one hand and slammed it into the wall.

"Where is he?" he demanded again.

One of the nearby boys, wincing from the violent action, squeaked out an answer.

"H-He's not here," he said.

"Then where is he?!"

"I don't know… h-he didn't come to school! He wags a lot, sir!"

The hulking upperclassman snarled and tossed the chair aside. He then lifted his other hand, and unclenched it, letting small crushed fragments of rock drop onto the ground.

"Feh," he said, "Just wait, Uzumaki."

He left, slamming the door shut behind him.

There was again a hushed quiet in the room for a few moments after his intense departure, before a hurried, frantic whispering broke out like field mice racing across a paddock.

"Was that Saijo-senpai?" asked Miu, indicating the now shut door with her eyebrows.

Yuuka nodded.

"So nii-san was right," she said in a near whisper, "Well, tell Naruto to watch out, alright? He needs to be careful, because the gangs really are vicious."

Thinking back on her experience with Kouji Oshiro, Miu closed her eyes.

"Yeah, I know," she replied, "I'll tell him to be careful."

But… he's not going to listen, not to me.

Miu bit her lip as she walked slowly to school, the second time in so many days that she was alone. She sniffed a little as she remembered the events of last night. After all, they had good reason to be weighing so heavily on her mind- they were, after all, why she was alone again this morning.

Yesterday's dinner had been going great; Naruto had joined them and was in good humour. As a bright and friendly personality, he had quickly endeared himself to each of the masters that lived there and was now quite comfortable in their presence. Even the normally reserved Shigure seemed to have received him well, which probably actually wasn't that surprising given that the gifted katana that he had bestowed upon them that first day seemed to have become one of Shigure's favourites.

So as Naruto had sat at the dinner table, laughing and joking with the masters, Miu had thought it was an ideal time to bring up Yuuka's news. However, even though he listened attentively enough, Naruto seemed to dismiss her concerns, and brushed off the matter with a nonchalant comment.

Of course, the situation was exacerbated by Sakaki- who although having a heart of gold, was rather insensitive- roaring with laughter and telling Naruto to 'just beat them up'. Naruto being Naruto, he immediately accepted the challenge with gusto, although whether he was serious or not was beyond Miu.

She had tried to impress upon Naruto the importance of what she was telling him, and tried to tell him to be careful, but was then interrupted by Kensei and Sakaki having an impromptu pissing contest over who had beaten up the most punks in their youth. And Naruto, that blockhead, seemed to be paying more attention to the amusing back-and-forth argument, than to the serious matter that she was trying to tell him! She was worried for him, didn't he get that?

Not getting her point across, and not being able to bear the dinner table atmosphere any more, Miu had gotten up and ran to her room, humiliated. As she left, she heard Naruto call out her name, and the jovial, light-hearted conversation among the others petering out quickly, but couldn't bring herself to turn back and face him at that moment.

Later, she heard him knock and enter her room as she lay in bed. He called her name softly, but she just pretended that she was fast asleep and didn't respond, not wanting to talk to him right then. Come the morning, and fearing the inevitably awkward confrontation, she had also gotten up earlier than usual, eaten breakfast and then immediately left for school, eschewing her usual routine of waking her blond housemate up.

Thinking back, she quickly came to the conclusion that she had overreacted quite a bit, and felt rather guilty, both for ruining the mood at dinnertime, and also for spurning Naruto's attempt at reconciliation. She hadn't known him for long, but they were quite close, and she knew enough about his personality to figure out that despite his brash and outgoing nature, he held his friends very close to his heart and valued them fiercely. Her ignoring him probably caused him a great deal of pain, especially because she was the one he spent the most time with.

I'll apologise today, she resolved to herself, I shouldn't have been so hard on him… he's not the type to shy away from confrontation so he was probably going to challenge Saijo-senpai to a duel anyway. I shouldn't have expected any different.

Although, and here she crossed her arms at the thought, he could have been more tactful about it!

Naruto stumbled his way over the footpath as he made his way to school. He was not in a good mood.

He hadn't been able to sleep very well after Miu had stormed out of the room the night before, and he had a sneaking suspicion it was his fault. The masters hadn't seemed to blame him- well, actually, all of the them with the exception of Akisame seemed just as stumped as he was, if not more so.

This guilt kept him lying in bed just wondering what exactly had set off his friend like that, and when he did fall asleep, he did so fitfully, tossing and turning all night. To top it all off, Miu didn't wake him up in the morning as she usually did, lending further credence to his theory that he had done something wrong, and he ended up waking up very late.

This all culminated in a rather annoyed Naruto making his way to school.

So when he came upon a grim looking upperclassman blocking his path with folded arms, he was not very amused.

"Get out of the way," Naruto said roughly.

"Are you Naruto Uzumaki?" asked the older student.

"I won't ask you again- move, before I move you for you," said Naruto.

"Fight me," said Saijo Tsukuba, for of course that was who it was.

Naruto didn't even bother to reply. Stepping in close to Saijo, he put his left palm on the taller boy's right shoulder, and the right palm onto his opposite number's left hip.

"Jyuuken: Hakke Kami no Michi (Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams: the Divine Way)," he murmured as he continued moving forward.

As Naruto walked forward, his arms moved quickly and efficiently to the side, and the bulky student who had been obstructing him was effortlessly blown to the wayside like a piece of trash in the wind. His arm movement only took seconds, and this left Saijo lying crumpled against the wall wondering what had happened.

In the blink of an eye, the young blond had thrown him… no, shoved him into the wall. With such a small build, and seemingly without exerting any effort whatsoever… impossible.

Impossible.

"Impossible!" roared Saijo as he regained his feet and rushed towards the smaller boy, "Fight me fairly, you cheater!"

Naruto half-turned.

"Goodness, you remind me of Sasuke," he remarked, "And you should note that fighting fairly is for competitions and duels… not for street fights like this one."

He was still half turned when Saijo's mad charge reached him. However, even in such a seemingly unguarded pose, Naruto was still prepared. He sidestepped Saijo's punch, and then pressed his own hip and shoulder against the other boy.

"Here's something I wanted to try out," he murmured, "Kireruho (Snap Step)!"

Naruto's dash technique was initiated, but braced as he was against Saijo, all it ended doing was thrust him against his opponent with blistering force. The impact, generated by the kinetic force of the speed technique and centered on the hard focal points of shoulder and hip bones, blasted against Saijo's unprepared body, and flung him back. The karate user hit the wall like a bullet from a gun, and was actually pinned up there by the force at which he had been propelled for a second, before it finally dissipated, and he was allowed to slide down with a flump, completely unconscious.

Naruto tilted his head and lifted his right foot off the ground gingerly. He bit his lip as he carefully placed the ball of his foot onto the ground and rolled his ankle in a small circle, wincing in pain.

Is it sprained?

Yeah. Don't use your Kireruho as an attack again. It's a movement ability for a reason. The strain it puts on your feet is quite a lot, which is why, at the moment, you go flying when you try and brake. The way you locked your feet against the floor and your opponent while that insane force was generated just focussed it into your ankles, twisting them severely. Also, lift your arm.

Naruto raised an eyebrow but did as he told, lifting his left arm over his head.

Not that one, idiot! Your right arm!

Alright, alright… sheesh…

The blond started to move his arm as instructed, but yelped as he felt a sharp stinging pain from the joint.

"Yeee-owch!" he exclaimed out loud.

Nnngh… was that from ramming him with Kireruho too? he asked Juubi.

Aye. Improvising your own moves is all well and good, but you should know enough about the human body by now through your studies on the Jyuuken school of techniques to not do anything stupid like that. Shoulder rams and strikes can be effective when done correctly, like the Tetsu Toubu Jouheki (Iron Head Rampart), but not managing your weight or force correctly is a sure way of getting injured.

Naruto winced a little from the lecture inside his head.

Alright, you've made your point… can you heal me now?

No.

Excuse me?

I'm not going to heal the injuries that you sustained in a fight. Training, yes- in a real battle, no. Listen, if I used the full extent of my abilities, you would basically be immortal. There's no wound I cannot heal. Tsunade's Souzou Saisei (Creation Rebirth) itself is capable of regenerating most injuries. Add to that youki-assisted healing, and you would be invincible. Even reduced to a skeleton, the skin and flesh would continue growing unceasingly, blood produced endlessly, fibres and tissues and hair sprouting like weeds.

I am not going to live your life for you and I will not fight your battles for you. The entire shinobi world's skill is at your disposal, and you have only time to restrict you. Your tools are there, now it is up to you to prepare yourself.

Naruto was silent. Time. It really was an inconvenient factor. He suddenly felt as if he had such an obligation to learn as much as possible, and even then wouldn't have enough time to take it all in. He had taken giant strides in becoming proficient in Jyuuken, become quite adept at using the Byakugan, invented his own technique (Kireruho), and was almost at the point where he could complete Shireruho (Silverfish Strides) successfully as well. But it just didn't seem like enough. He was still weak.

What… what happens if I meet a hurdle I cannot overcome? he asked quietly, What if I am matched against opponent so beyond my ability that I have no chance, not with the half-completed Jyuuken I learned from Neji?

But to his surprise, the Juubi laughed.

I am not heartless, boy, he said, Of course, against someone you cannot defeat, I will assist you, but if you even have the slightest chance of beating someone with your own skill and valour, then I will not interfere. After all, that's how you like it, right? To overcome adversity with hard work and guts?

Naruto remembered back to his genin days, of adventure and fun and new challenges every day that seemed insurmountable, but gradually and steadily, became closer as time went on. He smiled softly, and clenched his fist subconsciously, affirming his resolve.

Yeah… he said softly.

And don't worry about the healing thing. You still have ridiculously fast healing, you know. Uzumakis' really did recover from almost anything within a week at most except for the most grievous wounds. One of them- a great uncle of yours I believe- was impaled though the stomach by a broadsword and only after four days was demanding to go out and eat barbeque with the rest of the clan.

The Kyuubi didn't leave your body untouched, either. Youki passively boosts your body's immune system so you don't die from the corruption, you know. So don't fret. A sprained ankle and a sore shoulder? You'll be fine before school ends.

"Hey! What happened here?!" came a loud shout.

Naruto blinked and his head snapped up. Seeing an angry man with a briefcase, he rapidly flicked on his Byakugan to assess the situation. Seeing the unconscious Saijo still lying on the ground, and realising he was the only one in the vicinity, he broke into a cold sweat.

Haha, this doesn't look good, he though with an anxious smile, realising he had been standing blankly in the middle of the pavement while conversing with the being inside of him.

He was quite close to school now, and was wearing the uniform. The man who had spotted him was running towards him, but didn't seem to be a teacher- just someone passing by. Nonetheless, if he got a hold of Naruto, or even got a good look at him, he could be in a lot of trouble from the administration. Not that he wasn't already, but… with the number of delinquents and gang members on school grounds, let's just say that Kouryou High's disciplinary measures left much to be desired, especially for a rather 'minor' troublemaker like Naruto.

However, still wanting to avoid unnecessary attention, Naruto just popped on a makeshift cheery smile and dived into the bushes next to the road.

"Gotta run, cya!" he yelled.

The older man, finally catching up, dropped his briefcase and shoved his hands into the single row of bushes.

"Hold up, young man! You've got some explaining to do!"

He parted the foliage, but to his bewilderment, there was no-one inside. It was a rather small bush, as well, with a clear view of a grassy patch behind it, so there was nowhere for the blond schoolboy to have gone, except if he had gone parallel to the sidewalk, underneath the entire row of bushes. But that was surely impossible, wasn't it? Not with the branches of the bushes growing out of the ground like that.

Slowly, the bespectacled man released the bush, allowing it to spring back into place. He picked up his briefcase, and then moved over to the unconscious boy lying next to the brick wall.

"Oh this is going to be a pain… and I'm late to work as well," he bemoaned as he looked anxiously at the nearby school.

"I guess I'll just go and tell them that one of their students is knocked out in front of their gates," he decided, "A real mean-looking one, too. Big brute of a fella. I'm glad I'm not a student at their school."

He moved off in the direction of the school, and as he left, a small toad hopped out of the bushes which he had just checked and found empty. It hopped onto the small stone ledge and looked around, croaking. The big, bulbous eyes rotated in their sockets slowly, and then with a poof, the toad turned back into a blond student with a conspicuous cloud of smoke.

Coughing a little, Naruto stood up, straightened out his shirt and brushed off a few twigs from where they were stuck onto his shirt.

"Wow, I didn't know you could do that, Juubi," he said aloud, "Jiraiya was holding out on me with the cool jutsu!"

He picked up his bag and then hobbled off the school, now well and truly late.

Naruto yanked the door to the classroom open.

"Yo, sorry I'm late," he said as he walked in.

At this point, the teacher was so accustomed to Naruto's tardiness that he just sighed and gestured for him to sit down.

"Just sit down and shut up, Uzumaki, please," he said tiredly.

"Yessir," said Naruto with a mock salute, although he did as he was asked.

As he limped over to his desk, he paused slightly in front of Miu's desk, seeing if she would acknowledge his presence, but she avoided his gaze and kept resolutely watching the board. Swallowing, he continued to his own desk and collapsed into it, burying his head in his crossed arms.

The teacher was going on about some kind of science theory from the sound of it, and Naruto was just not in the mood to even listen to it at the moment. But presently there was a scraping sound from in front of him as the person sitting in front of him, Yuuka, shifted her chair backwards.

"Hey," came the soft words, alongside a light tap on his arm, "You alright?"

Naruto looked up blearily, "Yeah, why?"

"You're looking pretty scruffy- like you just went for a roll around the compost heap or something. Not to mention you were limping quite hard. Doesn't take a genius to figure out you've been in a fight."

Yuuka reached out and plucked a twig from Naruto's blond hair.

"Wow, there's a lot," she said, continuing to groom him, "Did you get beaten up by Tsukuba?"

"How'd you know about that?"

"So you did fight him."

"Well, I didn't exactly 'get beaten up' like you said," complained Naruto with a frown, "I'd say I won, really."

Yuuka didn't look very convinced, but she patted his arm anyway.

"Good job, then," she said, "Just… look out… Tsukuba wasn't very high on Ragnarok's hierarchy anyway… he was in Valkyrie's group, if I recall correctly. They might still come after you."

Naruto frowned.

"Why do they keep annoying me anyway? And how do you know so much about them?"

Yuuka gave an embarrassed chuckle.

"Well, my brother is actually in a gang…" she said.

Naruto nodded.

"So why are they after me?"

Yuuka twisted her lips.

"The thing is, Naruto, what you don't understand about this area's gang culture is that it is incredibly serious and well structured. And by well-structured, I mean there's a level of… I dunno, professionalism? in the system… with the caveat being that the whole thing is run on strength and power. Even money and influence is less impactful here. It's like a world out of time with the rest of us, y'know. 'Might makes right' and all that. So being able to fight well- fight dirty, survive, and destroy the enemy without a hint of mercy or care- is paramount.

So when you arrived on the scene, not giving a fig about authority, picking a fight with a policeman… they wanted you. The first few are just tests to gauge your strength. You beating them only makes them want you more. Soon, they'll send stronger and stronger opponents to try and recruit you into their fold. So, like I said, be careful. Maybe it's best if you joined of your own free will… that way you'll at least avoid the beating."

"Wow, you know a lot," smiled Naruto, not seeming very concerned with the gravity of what Yuuka was saying.

"Izumi! Uzumaki! Care to share what you're chatting about with the rest of the class?" snapped the teacher from in front of the class.

Yuuka's head snapped to the front of the class, and she went a deep red as her gaze lowered to the surface of the desk.

"N-no, sir," she said softly.

Naruto looked at her, a little confused over the sudden change in demeanour. Deciding that it was none of his business, however, he just shrugged and leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the table.

"Hey Glasses, what club thing are you in?" he asked softly, as the thought struck him.

Yuuka didn't answer straight away, seemingly trying not to incur the teacher's wrath so soon after catching it already. However, she did slip him a note as the teacher had his back turned while writing something on the board.

I'm the president of the Gardening Club, it said, if you're interested, come along to the greenhouse behind the sports building after school.

Naruto crumpled the note up and stuck it in his pocket while looking thoughtfully at Miu. She was still looking intently at the teacher… or perhaps still steadfastly ignoring him. He frowned, but ripped a piece of paper from his own book. He scribbled a quick 'OK' on it and lobbed it onto Yuuka's desk with a flick of his thumb, the balled up paper inscribing a perfect parabola as it sailed through the air.

He also wrote a quick note to Miu not to wait for him after school, as he would be making his own way back, and slid it over to her desk. She seemed not to notice, even as Naruto gave the table a quick tap to get her attention, but next time he looked over, the paper was gone.

It seemed to be his imagination but did her features somehow seem more severe after reading the note?

Maybe he really had fucked up yesterday?

"I'm surprised you showed up," said Yuuka, bending down to fill up the watering can from the small tap affixed to the wall, "No offense, but you didn't really seem like the kind of person who would be into gardening."

Naruto shrugged and started to walk around, admiring the many types of plants and flowers scattered around the small greenhouse.

"You'd be surprised," he said, "I always did enjoy looking after plants back… back home. But I didn't have the opportunity to have many because I… was out of the house for long stretches of time, y'know? Some low-maintenance pot plant stuff was all I could afford to keep, really."

He lifted up the drooping head of a vibrant purple flower and parted its petals lovingly.

"Plus, I needed to join a club anyway, and this seems to be the best so far," he continued.

"I would have thought you would have joined the Karate Club or something," said Yuuka, lifting up the pail with a strained heave.

"What with idiots like… like… I forget his name, but there was that one guy who came into the class, remember? Anyway, I wouldn't want to be in a club with people like that- no way, no how. And besides, why would I join some other style when I'm still learning on my own?"

"I see," said Yuuka, putting the filled watering can onto the table and giving her arms a shake.

"Say, who are the other members of the club?" said Naruto, looking around.

Yuuka looked very sheepish at this.

"Um, it's only me and you at the moment," she said softly, poking her fingers together apologetically, "Guess I should have said something like earlier, right? Sorry."

"Nah, it's fine," said Naruto, "I don't mind. They'd probably avoid me like the rest of the student body, haha."

Yuuka began to water the plants, and explained which varieties they had and what type of care they needed to receive while Naruto followed her, watching. Yuuka reached up and started to water a fern in an overhanging basket, but accidentally got the watering can caught in one of the metal hooks that adorned the wall. It wrenched the pail from her grasp as she tried to move it, and this resulted in the can's contents spilling over her as it tipped backwards.

"Kyaaah!" Yuuka shrieked as the cold water soaked through her shirt.

Moving quickly, Naruto grabbed the heavy metal pail with one hand and supported Yuuka with the other as she recoiled backwards, preventing her from crashing into him.

"You alright?" he asked as he placed the watering can onto the table.

Yuuka seemed to have gotten her second wind after that initial shocked cry, and seemed to have calmed down.

"Thanks for catching me," she said, "But damn, I can't believe that happened. I'm so clumsy, ugh… silly Yuuka…"

"Say," said Naruto, noticing something, "You act a lot differently in private than you do in public… you're so shy in front of the teacher and our classmates."

Yuuka looked around in shock.

"Do I?" she said, and then, in sudden realisation, "Oh my god, I do! Oh… um… if I had to explain it though, I'd have to say it's you, actually. You remind me of my brother. I guess that's why I act differently around you. You two are really similar. You have this fearsome reputation, but inside you guys are actually really kind. You have the same aura, I guess."

Naruto gave a nervous laugh.

"Ah ha… that's nice and all… but… um… Yuuka? I can… uh… see everything…"

He turned his gaze away deliberately, and this was when Yuuka realised that in turning around, she had bared her front to him, which was covered in a shirt that was now unfortunately (or fortunately depending on whom you ask) clearly transparent due to its sodden nature, revealing pink skin and a dark-coloured bra.

Going a deep red, she quickly turned back and covered her chest with her arms, retreating a little instinctively.

"S-sorry," squeaked Naruto, turning around himself.

"N-no, it's o-okay," stammered Yuuka in reply, "I-it was my bad."

"You want my shirt?" asked Naruto, "It's dry."

"U-um… that would be good, I guess," said Yuuka, utterly embarrassed, "I don't have my gym clothes today…"

"Well, I'll try not to look," said Naruto, unbuttoning his shirt, "I'll just hold it out behind me."

Yuuka gave a quick peek behind her, and seeing her classmate taking off his shirt, did the same shyly, putting the wet clothing on the table next to the pail. Naruto, suddenly aware of the tense silence between them, punctuated only by the rustling of cloth, went red as he realised that Yuuka was currently behind him, half naked. His adolescence in his old world had been brutally cut short by the advent of the war, and his sexual experience was actually quite small- featuring only by some seduction resistance lessons facilitated by a very eager Anko Mitarashi.

"H-here you go," he said, doing his best to distract himself while holding out the shirt.

Yuuka, herself a very introverted individual, had never been exposed to any situation this charged with sexual tension herself, and unable to really bear any more of the assault on her unprepared psyche, also turned around- for whatever reason- and tried to retrieve the shirt with her own back turned.

Perhaps she was embarrassed by the sight of a boy's bare back, but it was for this reason that the exchange of clothing was a lot more awkward and clumsy than it needed to be. With both of their backs turned, Yuuka was forced to make strange grasping motions as she tried to make contact blind, while Naruto was just wondering what was taking so long.

However, when Yuuka finally touched something with her hand, it wasn't the shirt, but rather, Naruto's hand as he held it out. Feeling warm skin where she expected cloth made her give a surprised squeal as she immediately made more distance between them. Hearing the surprised scream, Naruto turned around, shirt in hand.

And it was this easily misunderstood situation was the scene that a concerned Makoto Himeno walked in on.

A teenage girl hummed a few bars of some catchy tune stuck in her head as she walked towards the greenhouse behind the sports rooms. She secured the straps of her shinai case on her shoulder as she walked, making sure it didn't hang too heavy.

Her calves had the warm tingle that followed rigorous exercise, and she could feel the slight moistness of sweat on her skin that had been wiped since with a towel, but Makoto Himeno smiled anyway.

It's a good feeling, Makoto reflected, to be sore from hard training.

She moved a few strands of hair from her face and tucked it into the headband that she wore across her head, looking out the window at the setting sun to try and gauge a reading on the time.

She was going to meet her best friend, Yuuka, who was also the sole member of the Gardening Club, which incidentally was where Makoto was heading now. The two friends frequently went home together after school- they were childhood friends and lived quite close to each other.

Makoto shook her head as she rounded the corner; perhaps Yuuka wouldn't be the only member in the club if only she was a little more outgoing- as shy as she was, Makoto couldn't see Yuuka approaching anyone to ask them to join for anything.

You'd think the little sister of a feared gang member would be a sight to behold, thought Makoto, but sweet little Yuuka is anything but.

Luckily, that docile and timid sheep was best friends with a defiant lion, and no one ever managed to bully or otherwise take advantage of Yuuka's meek nature if they didn't want to also face Makoto's wrath- the fury of a nationally ranked kendo practitioner that had won many titles in competitions all over the country.

Makoto reached the greenhouse door and pulled it open- there would only be Yuuka in there, after all- only to stop dead in her tracks.

Her best friend- vulnerable, defenceless Yuuka, was cowering away, her upper arms and torso bare to the world. And across from her, seemingly with the shirt that he had just ripped off her still in his hand, was the infamous blond delinquent, Naruto, himself half-dressed and looming over Makoto's best friend.

Naturally, Makoto's mind jumped into overdrive, and screamed out rape. Reeling in shock and outrage, she hastily pulled out her shinai and drove it forward in a smooth motion, aiming to pierce at the leering blond's unprotected throat. Normally, in a kendo match, the heavy headgear would be sufficient to protect against the legal strike, but here, with Naruto without even a shirt to provide the merest of cloth shields, the lunge, thrown with such protective desperation, might seriously injure or even kill the boy.

Makoto's mind blared this out at her just as she was throwing her whole body into the motion, even as her mouth formed the cry of "Bastard!", but she was already too committed to hold back her power now.

Seemingly in slow motion, she saw Naruto's eyes widen in surprise, and saw the reflection of the tip of the shinai approaching in his cerulean eyes, but that was all it got to before time sped up again. There was a blur of motion, an explosive shift in gravity and movement, and then her own perspective, so grounded and controlled, was thrown into violent disarray. Something wrenched at the shinai as it was still moving through the air, and forced it down and to the side with such strength, such irresistible weight, that Makoto was forced to release the weapon lest her wrist be dislocated.

"Whoa!" cried Naruto as he jumped back from the girl who had just tried to skewer him with a wooden sword.

Makoto, having lost her balance when she dropped her weapon, snapped her gaze up to glare at the blond boy who had disarmed her.

"You!" she snarled with vehement rage, "What do you think you're doing?!"

But Yuuka was soon there in between the two to try and desperately dispel any misunderstandings that had been construed.

"No, no, no, Makoto! It wasn't his fault! He didn't do anything! It was my fault! I was clumsy, he was trying to help me! Calm down, I'm fine, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay!"

Watching Yuuka try and explain the situation in the span of ten seconds in a mass of babbling, and very aware of the wary glare that the new girl was throwing at him, Naruto put the shirt he was still holding onto the table.

"Here you go, Yuuka," he said loudly, "Just give it back to me whenever, I guess. I think I should go now, before your friend there tries to kill me again, judging by the not-so friendly look she's been giving me… I'll see you tomorrow, then."

He quickly walked out of the room, heedless of how Makoto continued to suspiciously watch his back, and then, when he left, shift her attention to where the hardened bamboo of her heavy shinai lay, broken in two from the force of a mere palm.