Disclaimer: I don't YuYu Hakusho, Naruto or Tekken
"Aw, man. My back hurts," Naruto complained, walking along the pavement in the new big wide city he found himself with the Ghost-boy, Yusuke, and the pretty-shinigami lady by his side. On such a hot day, the blond boy donned his ruined orange jacket around his waist as if it was a karate belt showing off his black shirt with a red six-like symbol printed on the front.
"Whaddya expect?" Yusuke asked rhetorically, floating alongside his new companion with his arms folded behind his head, "That you were gonna get the luxury treatment up in a homeless shelter?" He continued, sarcasm dipping into his tone.
"Can't argue with ya there," Naruto agreed, turning his head towards Yusuke to give the spirit a thankful grin, "Thanks for showing me to that place, Yusuke. I don't know what I would've done without it."
Yusuke blinked at the smiling boy with curious eyes, "Uhm. Well, don't mention it, kid," He returned, putting an indignant pout on Naruto's face for the nickname that got him to smirk, "Just returning the favour for you putting those douchebags in the trashcans bee-four they could put their filthy hands on Keiko."
Naruto's petulant sulky look receded at the mention of the pretty young woman whom he had rescued via his sheer awesomeness, "Yeah. I was awesome. I kicked so many asses that night it wasn't even funny," He giggled, "Man, I wonder if that cute girl is thinking about me."
"Don't get any ideas, squirt," Yusuke warned with a sharp tone, yet Naruto only gave him an innocent, blinking eyed look in return, "She's off limits."
"Woo. Do I hear wedding bells?"
"N-No. It ain't like that! She's my friend!"
"Oh. I get it now. So she is available. Good to know!"
"No! I told ya she's off the market!"
"Is that a warning?"
"Naw, more like a command, asshole!"
"Like you can tell me what to do."
"The hell I can't! I'll wipe your ass all the way over to Chinatown and back if you even think of double-crossing me bitch!"
"Oh! It's on now!"
"Bring it!"
A blinking-eyed Botan bizarrely watched Yusuke and Naruto scuffle it out on the sidewalk in a huge dust-ball of white smoke. Naturally, since Naruto was the only human who could see and interact with spirits in the immediate area, it made for quite the amusing spectacle, or worrying; depending on which side of the spectrum one was on.
All around him people were strangely viewing a small blond haired child fighting with, well for a lack of a better term, air, pure, essential life-nutriment; air. And he was yelling all sorts of weird taunts, as if he could see an invisible person no one else could.
"Those two certainly get along like two-peas in a pond!" Botan beamed, her chirpy tone holding a hint of sarcasm, before she cleared her throat to get the two fighting boys' attention, "Ahm. Isn't there something you ought to be doing young man, instead of giving reasons to the helpful workers at the mental asylum to look into admitting poor Naruto into their wonderful society?"
Naruto and Yusuke separated, glancing around them with varying expressions on their faces; a sheepish one on Naruto's, and an irritated, cross one on Yusuke's, the former rubbing the back of his head and the latter taking out a golden egg from his back pocket.
"Yeah, yeah, good duty, blah, blah, come back to life, bad deeds, yadda, yadda, equals first class ticket straight to the flames of hell," Yusuke summarized in a bored tone, "Ain't shit to do around this place. What do you want me to do about it? I can't magically make a problem appear outta thin air to spread my goodwill on it like a sprinkling fairy dust. Yay-. Not…"
"Well at least you made a decent start." Botan offered helpfully, putting a thoughtful look on Naruto's face.
"What do you mean? I don't remember Yusuke doing anything for good karma," Naruto said, trying to rekindle any significant event which could give his new found ally the good positive energy he would need to come back to life, as Yusuke had explained to him yesterday.
"It's means a certain blabber mouth oughta learn to keep her trap shut," Yusuke quipped, sending a glare at the blue haired reaper which she returned with one of her own.
"Well you've got to start somewhere young man." Botan said sternly, though it didn't hold up, as a jovial, yet mocking look appeared on her face, "Here's my impression of Yusuke; 'Help me, I'm burning, I'm burning'!"
"Ha!" Naruto guffawed, cutely clapping his hands together with little regard for his own reputation, e.g. if he looked like a crazy person or not, "She got you good there Yusuke!"
Botan gigged at the fuming expression on Yusuke's face, "Alright! I'm getting to work. You have me a shut-up," Yusuke threw up his hands, looking up at Botan sitting contently on her oar as if she held all the answers, "So, 'chief', whom's the next sap who needs the good stuff?"
With a contemplative expression on her cute face, Botan reached into her assets to pull out her small, black notebook. Opening it up, the blue haired reaper scrolled through its contents, before shortly snapping her fingers, "Eureka! There just so happens to be a wandering earth-bound spirit nearby!"
"Then what the hell are we standing around here yapping our gums about? Let's make waste and go!" Yusuke suggested gleefully, eager to earn more positive energy for his spirit egg so he could come back to life, thus putting an end to his mother's and Keiko's tears.
"You sure changed your tune," Naruto noted with a smirk latched onto his face.
Yusuke levelled him with a deadpan expression of his own, "Well, duh. Case ya didn't notice I don't like not being seen?" He let out a heavy sigh of exasperation, "Gah, it feels like it's been forever since I've had a good cheeseburger."
Naruto nodded his head empathetically, "I know how that feels, man," His growling stomach reminded him of his one-true favourite meal he had been deprived of as of recently, making him rub his gut with a moan of despondency, "Aw, what I wouldn't do for a little taste of ramen."
Yusuke looked weirdly at Naruto, "Huh? That's all you want? Ya can stuff your face with all-the-noodles-you-can-eat down at the restaurant Keiko's folks own."
Naruto's expression brightened instantly, eliciting giggles from Botan who covered her mouth with her long sleeves, "Really, that Keiko-girl's parents own a ramen shop?"
"That's what I said," Yusuke deadpanned.
"Alright." Naruto grinned, "Lemme at that place right after I get myself some money," Although he could always just show-up, hoping for a free bowl of delicious mouth-watering noodles as a sort of reward for saving their daughter, Naruto knew showing up there without any money in his pockets wasn't wise since he didn't want to come off as some kind of freeloader.
"Though right now I got stuff to take care off," Naruto announced.
"Oh. Won't you be accompanying Yusuke on his latest quest, Naruto?" Botan asked with a slight frown on her face. She liked observing the two dim-witted, but ultimately good-natured boys in their 'neutral habit.' They were like an experiment. "Why, I thought the two of you were just beginning to form the ultimate tag-team, spreading goodwill to the gloomy spirits down on their luck!"
"Like a cheap imitation of The Hardy Boys," Yusuke quipped dryly, rolling his eyes, "Only instead of solving cases, we would be going around cheering up wandering ghosts down-in-the-dumps so ya can do your job, which is to guide their attached-asses to the big pink place up in the fluffy white sky."
"Exactly!" Botan chirped with a wink, gigging secretively, 'Though you couldn't be more closer to the truth there silly head!'
"Nah, I'll pass," Naruto said nonchalantly, shaking his head. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of folded up paper, "Gotta visit the neighbourhood office. Those guys who work at the shelter told me if I go there I should be able to get an apartment. So I figured,-" He shrugged absently, "-Yeah, why the heck not?"
"Well, yeah. If it gets ya a proper pad to crash at for the night instead of sharing a place with four other shady dudes, then by all means, lemme be your first guest when you happen to get it." Yusuke rationalized straightforwardly, getting a nod from Naruto, "It all makes sense now… your gratitude towards me that is."
"Yeah. You really helped a guy out there. Thanks again," Naruto said, spinning around, then lifting up his hand to toss a wave over his shoulder, "Anyway, I better hop to it. The neighbourhood office won't be open all day I bet. See ya, Pretty-lady, later Grumpy-pants," His mischievous bidding left a blinking eyed on Yusuke's face and elicited a gasp from Botan.
"Grumpy-pants? You son-of-a-."
Naruto snickered, blitzing away from the fuming Yusuke as if he had rocket shoes on.
"Oh my, he's quite the little charmer, isn't he?"
"Yeah. You'd say that 'Pretty-lady'."
"Aw, Is Mr Grumpy-pants sulking?" An groan echoed throughout the air, "You know, if you turned that frown of yours upside down you wouldn't get negative labels slapped onto you by cheeky little rascals now."
"Whatever. Let's just get to work."
"Oh. So now Mr Slacker wants to work?"
Yusuke shook his fist with a threatening look on his face.
"Kidding, kidding. No need to blow your jets, silly-head! Your helpful guide Botan will lead you to your next client!"
"Humph. You better."
A Soldier in the Wilderness
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TWO
Square off, David and Goliath
XxX
(Sarayashiki Junior High School – With Keiko)
XxX
'Why can't I stop thinking about him?'
One Keiko Yukimura thought to herself, staring out at the window from her position on her desk.
She didn't even mean her childhood friend Yusuke Urameshi either. No, the one illustrating in the recess of her imaginative mind was that heroic boy clad in ragged orange – the one who had swooped in heroically to rescue her from a group of thugs without asking for anything in return.
Why was this concept so hard for the young woman to come to grips with? A stout-hearted guy, a mock Spiderman if you will, had saved her, no payment required.
Having lived in a neighbourhood frequently inhabited by wannabe thugs with no sense of right or wrong morals, the young straight-A student found it incredibly difficult to come to terms with anyone lingering so discernibly on the while side of the good vs evil spectrum that even a baby could tell he was a decent guy.
Even Yusuke was only a whisker away from falling completely into the black area, but that was one of the reasons why she desired to change him. Only now the blond-haired young man's appearance had complicated things for her.
She wanted to shift Yusuke into the white area once he literally became of age again, but she had her doubts that she would even like such a character change.
Wouldn't it be better for her to go with someone who fit her tastes nicely? She didn't want to date the teen since there was so many things she wanted to find out about him, one of those being his name obviously, but at this point in this time she was more intrigued to explore intimate couple-related activities with a hero clad in orange than a villainous badboy clad in green.
"Miss Yukimura!"
"Yes," Keiko flinched with a blink of her eyes, looking forward to see the impatient form of her teacher.
"I've been trying to get your attention several times now," The strict hulking figure of her homeroom teacher said, drawing a blush from the girl. Had she really been that out of it? How embarrassing, "I expect better from you, as class representative, Miss Yukimura."
"Sorry, Iwamoto-sensei, it won't happen again."
"See that it doesn't."
The rest of her school day had continued in a similar pattern; people, friends, seniors, and superiors alike, all attempting to bring her out of her own little world, the world where she monitored the boy clad in tattered orange.
Just who was he?
Why was he in tattered clothing?
Did his clothes get ruined from another heroic task he was undergoing?
So many things regarding him were surrounded in mystery.
And Keiko wanted to find out more about him.
Come the end of the school day Keiko wasn't surprised to hear the concerned call of her friends followed by their approaching footsteps.
"Oh. Hey, guys?" Keiko asked with a forced smile at the two nondescript girls, "Is everything okay?"
"We wanted to ask you the same thing?" The blond-haired twin pigtailed girl asked.
"Yeah, you've been acting really weird today," The brown-haired bespectacled specified.
"Oh, really?" Keiko asked with feigned idle contemplation, staring off into the distance, "I didn't notice."
Her friends shared a blank glance to each other.
"Coming?" Keiko wondered, starting up on her trek again.
Shaking off their initial confusion at Keiko's unnatural neutral behaviour to the oddity of herself, her friends joined her at her sides, "We thought you would," The twin pigtailed girl insisted.
"It's not usually like you to drift you off in classes, you know," The brown-haired girl added on.
Smiling ruefully, Keiko acquiesced, "I guess."
"Is it about Urameshi?" The bespectacled girl pondered, causing the unofficial leader of their little do-gooder group to stop in her tracks. It wasn't until the two got a couple of feet ahead that they realized they were missing someone of their little trio, "Keiko?" Looking over their shoulders, they found her staring up at the sky as if seeing something only she could.
"No," Keiko clarified in an eerily calm tone of voice, sauntering forward once again.
"Uhh. Okay!" The brown-haired girl said awkwardly, matching Keiko's stride once the de-facto leader took her place in the centre of the trio.
"But…"
Their ears were wide open at Keiko's continuation.
"It is about a boy, though."
This time it was their turn to slam on the proverbial brakes.
"Huh?" Keiko stopped, manoeuvring her body around to see the blank expressions on her friends' faces, "Are you two okay?"
"Keiko-."
"Has a boyfriend-."
"That's not Urameshi-."
"No wonder she was acting weird today. It all makes sense now!"
"Come on you two, don't jump to conclusions!" Keiko pleaded with an awkward wave of dismissal of her hand, "I don't," Keiko's voice lowered, her eyes now down-casted, "-Even know his name."
"But you do know him right?" The pigtailed girl probed, ambling forward in sync with the brown-haired girl, prompting Keiko to restart her journey once the two were at her sides once again.
"Not unnecessarily," Keiko murmured with a shake of her head, "He heroically came to my aid yesterday when I found myself cornered by a group of thugs," Her girlfriends squealed.
"Just like in the movies!"
"How romantic!"
They continued on their fan girl visionary phase for several moments until finally stopping to notice Keiko wasn't basking in the lovey-dovey implications of the boy's courageous play-by-play knight rescues damsel-in-distress act of her.
"I'm really confused."
"Why?" Keiko found both of her shoulders clasped warmly by her friends' hands.
"Because," Keiko started with a deep inhale, "He didn't even ask for a reward for the job of saving me that he accomplished. It's like he had no interior motive."
"But is that really such a bad thing?" The pigtailed girl winced from Keiko's deadpanned look, "Right. I almost forgot."
"Everybody around here has an interior motive," The cynical girl grumped momentarily, sighing afterward to release her pent-up sulkiness, "Though just once it would be nice to find someone who isn't just out for themselves," She looked into the distance. She seemed to be doing that a lot recently, "Someone capable of performing heroic acts selflessly, no payment for their services required."
"Who's to say he isn't like that? I mean, he did save you for free after all."
"Yeah! That has to count for something."
"I just don't know," Keiko said with uncertainty, pausing her step when she found an enormous shadow actually managing to eclipse her and her friends, "Oh, excuse me…" Her voice completely derailed off course as her now wide eyes took in the huge form of a teenager. She could only differentiate him from an adult due to his school uniform.
"This her?" The giant of a schoolboy echoed deeply, sounding more like a man in his twenties than a teen boy going to school. He had short brown hair perched on his head, impassive brown orbs, and a wide hulking posture. His uniform consisted of a terribly messy white dress shirt not tucked into his torn blue jeans with a crest on his right pack, and black shoes on his feet.
"Yes, boss," Keiko felt her blood turn cold hearing a familiar voice. As if confirming her fears, a head poked itself from the big guy's arm, "That's her, the kid's accomplice."
"I see." He boomed with a simplistic voice.
"What do you want with us?" The brown-haired girl stuttered, shaking nervously, actions that mirrored the pigtailed girl's ones perfectly.
The muscle-boy growled, "Russell has no patience or time for weaklings," The now known Russell said, pointing a giant index finger at Keiko, "His business is with her."
"But I've done nothing to warrant your attention though," Keiko explained hastily, shrinking only slightly, which was made redundant by the giant teenager closing the small space she put between them instantly.
"Do not lie to Russell."
"Yeah don't lie to our leader, girl," Another one of the thugs from late night appeared from Russell's other side, "You had your boyfriend attack us the other night when we only wanted to talk with you."
Keiko didn't know what she was more appalled about; the fact that these goons had the audacity to downplay their attempted rape of her or call that boy her boyfriend. They were both annoyingly juvenile in their own rights.
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Keiko argued with a stomped foot. "It was you jerks who were harassing me! He was only doing the right thing."
"So you do know that worm," Russell said, smacking his giant fist into the palm of his other hand threateningly, making Keiko's friends shrink back behind her, "Tell Russell now so he may grind him into dust with his hands!"
"Yeah!"
"That'll teach that little shit to mess with us!"
"I don't know where he is!" Keiko hurried, "So just leave us alone!"
"Wrong answer," Russell snarled.
"Oi!" Russell turned a disdainful look to four boys moving protectively in front of the girls, though his attention was focused primarily on the ginger one. Beside his different coloured uniform distinguishing him from his posse the tall-shouldered boy had an angular-shaped face and his pompadour-styled ginger hair gave him an eighties look.
Unlike his three friends whom wear dark blue coloured military school uniforms, his one was all light blue.
Although they all stood before him with their finest auras of bravado, the beads of sweat rolling down their cheeks revealed their anxiety.
"Leave 'em alone," The ginger-nut said, playing spokesman for him and his team, "And pick on someone your own size jerk."
"You request Russell to pick on someone his own size, yet you oppose him with zero amounts of power!?" Russell boomed, chuckling deeply, "You funny. You keep Russell entertained. He might just keep you around as a comedian."
"Arrogant jerk," The pompadour-haired teen muttered sourly.
"You think we've got a chance of beating him Kuwabara?" One of the ginger's followers addressed their leader, short and robust.
"No choice Okubo," Kuwabara said, lgnoring the tremble in his legs as he stared the mammoth down, "As faithful members of the code of honour we will not just standby and watch helplessly as someone gets bullied into submission. Even if that bully is a gigantic fucking Godzilla, we won't just do nothing!"
"What'd you call Russell?!"
"He called ya a stupid ape boss."
"Dat's right! What that scumbag said! I called ya a stupid butt-ugly Godzilla, punk!" Kuwabara yelled bravely, only to immediately regret his choice of words when he found his face ensnarled in a powerful grip, "Uh… can we talk about this, please?"
"Kuwabara!" His friends yelped, mirroring Keiko's and her friends' horrified expressions.
"Puny inspect! Russell squash you like the inspect you are!" Russell said, crushing Kuwabara's head with a mere grip.
"Get him boss!"
"Yeah teach that motherfucker a lesson!"
'This is awful. Won't someone do something!' Keiko thought helplessly, watching Kuwabara's face begin to turn purple from the immense pressure of the giant's grip.
Fortunately, fate strolled right into the open.
"Alright! I'm gonna get myself a flat!"
Russell's crew winced simultaneously, blenching at the cheery voice resonating from behind them, "It's him!"
"Eh?" Kuwabara's posse was left stupefied, as were Keiko's, while the girl felt a wave of relieved euphoria flow through her at the sight of her hero clad in orange.
"It's you," Keiko sighed.
Hearing a familiar voice, Naruto turned his head, donning a smile at the sight of Keiko, "Hey, I know you… kinda," He chuckled sheepishly, "You're that girl I saved."
Keiko giggled despite the situation they were in. She couldn't help it. The boy's cheerful nature was infectious, "That's me. Only I never got your name sir."
"Naruto," Naruto introduced himself, "Naruto Uzumaki. Yours?"
"Oh. I'm Keiko Yukimura."
"Wonderful," Naruto said satirically with a clap of his hands, now taking notice to the big guy and the other nondescript goons, noticing the undistinguished goons flinching at his patronizing stare, "And what can I do for you today, Keiko? Lemme guess, these jerks bothering you again?"
"Uh. Not quite." Keiko hesitated, drawing a blank look from Naruto.
"Me, Russell, need a word with you," Russell clarified for the young lady, getting an effortless, idle nod from Naruto.
"Okay," Naruto said blandly, already guessing the guys he beat up for Keiko's safety called this big oaf to come and do the same to him. 'Come to think of it this guy's got a heck of a presence about him. He's gotta have some kinda energy to be able to utilize killing intent this proficiently.'
"You're gonna get it now you little shit!" One of the thugs bragged, earning himself a bland stare from his recent tormentor, followed by a backhand that sent him flying miles away.
"Ahhh! See Boss! He's a bully!" One of the other thugs cried, cowering along with the rest of his group.
"Whoa. That kid's strong," Sawamura, another member of Kuwabara's crew, murmured in shock.
"I know," Kirishima, the last of the three members of Kuwabara's group, whispered much in the same manner, "I didn't think anyone other than Urameshi could hit that hard. Hey, you think he can beat Russell?"
"I hope so," Okubo said, looking worriedly at their trapped leader, "Otherwise Kuwabara's done for, you guys."
"I know," Sawamura gulped, weighing the consequences of jumping Russell to get Kuwabara free of his grip, ultimately deciding on waiting until the kid made his move, "Get him man."
"You," Russell fumed.
"I'm me." Naruto replied flippantly, crossing one arm around his torso while using the other one to dig out his ear.
"How dare you attack one of Russell's boys?" His grip tightened on Kuwabara's head, eliciting a loud cry of agony from the ginger delinquent which drew multiple gasps from his own posse and Keiko's.
"Kuwabara!"
Racing forward, Naruto danced underneath a wild swing from Russell, smashing his heel with enough potency into his wrist that he instinctively let go of the ginger-delinquent.
"What!" Russell's widened eyes helplessly watched Naruto move Kuwabara and Keiko several feet away from him. The former was on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and the latter's hand was in his own. Of course the friends of Keiko and Kuwabara didn't stick around to be caught in the headlights, they followed after their respective de-facto leaders, 'He freed that fool with one puny kick. That concept shouldn't even be conceivable, unless…'
"Wow," One of the Russell's boys murmured.
"That gaijin swiped that ginger-nut from the boss so easily."
"What is he?"
"Kuwabara," Sawamura said after Kuwabara was placed down on his rear by Naruto, "You okay? Ya got squeezed pretty good there man."
"Yeah… I think," Kuwabara struggled, trying to shake off the cobwebs with a hand placed on his forehead.
"You'll be alright now, pal," Kuwabara ceased altogether with his soothing of his pain at the serious assurance of his saviour, gazing up at the blond who still had a hold on Keiko's hand, "As long as I'm here anyway."
"You really think you'll be able to beat Russell, dude?" Kirishima asked unsurely, stealing glances at the mountain of a schoolboy, "He's like the toughest kid on the block."
"Yeah," Okubo said, "Not even Kuwabara and Urameshi go near him if they can help it."
"I can see why," Naruto admitted with a mutter, "But I'm not 'em. I'm more than capable of taking this overgrown mammoth to the cleaners before leaving his butt out to dry," Kuwabara's and Keiko's friends winced at Naruto's audacious quip.
"You wanna die?" Russell asked.
"You can ask yourself that when we duke it out tomorrow," Russell raised an eyebrow, "Don't play deaf, you heard me loud and clear. We can butt heads tomorrow after we've found a secluded area, then we can really cut loose without risking the safety of others who could potentially get caught up in the crossfire."
"Keh. You make a good point," Russell acknowledged, crossing his bulky arms over his chest.
"Gee. You think?" Naruto said sarcastically.
"Fine. Russell accepts your challenge," Russell said, much to the shock of his posse. Watching his adversary let go of the girl's hand to approach him without fear, Russell tried to clarify, "If you chicken out on Russell-."
"Trust me," Naruto cut him off, never changing his leisured stride until he was standing directly before Russell, gazing up at the big young man with a smirk playing on his lips, "I wouldn't even dream of it."
The suffocating tension made one of Keiko's friends gulp.
"Good," Russell said, watching Naruto lift up his hand for a handshake, "Huh? You want to shake Russell's hand?"
"It's what any good sport would do," Naruto explained smoothly, "So don't leave a guy hanging."]
"Hahaha." Russell chuckled deeply, wiping the excess off of his visage with a quick inhale to firm grab Naruto's small hand in his own huge hand, feeling the young man squeezing, 'Good grip.'
"No way, he actually challenged Russell," Sawamura whispered.
"He's either really brave-."
"Or wants to die."
"Let's just hope it's the latter," Kuwabara muttered, watching the two break apart before Naruto began making his way back over to them, "Though Short stuff is gonna need more than just bravery to beat that gorilla."
"So," Naruto said with an inhale, "Can I chaperone you ladies home?"
While Keiko's friends looked at each other, Keiko smiled brightly, "Sure thing, Naruto." Offering the young lady his arm, Keiko inclined, intertwining her arm around Naruto's, "That would be lovely."
"Let's roll," Naruto grinned, sauntering past Russell, briefly locking eyes with his opponent.
Kuwabara and his friends just watched the short stare off blankly, actually lost for words how smoothly the boy had negotiated with Russell of all people. Eventually, they snapped out of their daydream when they realized as soon as Naruto was out of the distance they would be left alone with Russell.
"Hey! Wait for us!"
"You sure it was a good idea to let them leave boss?" One of Russell's boys asked him as Kuwabara and his cre took after Naruto.
"Yes. Russell has a hunch a fight with him will be more difficult than he originally assumed. He does not wish to crush any innocent inspect. Tomorrow, tho, when we battle in a sequestered area Russell will crush his bones into dust with his bare hands."
"Yeah boss!"
"That'll teach that little shit to mess with our crew!"
And an Tekken-induced Russell from the Bully game is in this. lol.
I had to add him. He's epic and he'll make good foil for Naruto, not to mention a good friend. Besides that this version of Keiko's definitely going to take more of a proactive role in the story in the upcoming arcs without being relegated to just main's girl only like she was in the original story. Might have to do a timeskip, but hey, at least that'll give the others time to hone their skills too.
