AN: So here is the second half of the 1st round of the tournament. This will be shown through Naruto's point of view most of the time, I mean him as a spectator not First person POV. I also have to thank Ignisha for letting me use a modified version of his scene for my chapter.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR NEGIMA!
"That didn't take as long as I expected..." Naruto said to Ku Fei after healing her arm. It did not take more than five minutes for him to heal her fractured arm. "Damn...I must be have something to do with all that chakra control training I did. Test out if it works well Ku. Throw a punch at me."
"Okay aru," the tanned girl replied. Ku stood up and cocked her healed fist back. Naruto stood up and put his right arm forward and nodded to her. When Ku saw him giving the okay she threw her punch at her blond teacher. As the fist connected, a shockwave went throughout the room and Naruto's hand had smoke coming from it. Ku looked back at her arm and saw that it didn't hurt when she did the attack. "Hey it worked. Thanks aru."
Naruto wasn't paying attention as he was staring at his arm. 'If I didn't apply any chakra to my arm, I would have the fractured body part,' Naruto thought. 'If anything Ku is catching up to Sakura-chan and Baa-chan's strength. Thank Kami she has the temperament of Lee and Gai or else me and Negi would be screwed if she ever got pissed.'
"Naruto-sensei let's go watch the fights ne?" Ku said tilting her head, which brought Naruto out of his reverie.
"Yeah let's go. We'll sit next to Kaede-chan." Naruto led the marital artist to where the ninja girl was sitting. When they arrived Kaede looked up to acknowledge that they had arrived. "What we miss Kaede-chan?"
"Nothing much Naruto-kun," the ninja said going back to the fight between Takane and some guy who could...shoot a laser out of his mouth.
"What the heck?"
"The man is a robot de gozaru," Kaede explained. Ku and Naruto scrunched up their brows at the thought, and then saw the robot, named Tanaka, fire both of his arms at Takane.
"Is that even allowed aru?" Ku wondered aloud. The trio kept watching as the Takane dodged multiple beams of lasers and rocket arms. It was safe to say the engineering club that made Tanaka had made put their time and effort into the machine. After a couple of more seconds, the beam hit Takane dead on, covering her in smoke.
"Kuso...Takane-chan!" Naruto shouted out in worry. Kaede raised an eyebrow when she saw him starting to worry about the girl. As the smoke cleared, Naruto felt a trickle of blood gush from his nose as the crowd went silent. In center stage was Takane missing most of her clothing. All that was left on her due to the attack was the top of her school uniform, from the shoulder up and her hat. A few tattered pieces of clothes flew away on the breeze that rolled through. 'I didn't know Takane-chan had a mole on her left br-ACK! Not the time to think these things, much less notice them.' Naruto thought to himself. After being announced the winner, Takane dashed off stage scarlet in embarrassment. "Hey girls save my spot. I want to see if Takane-chan is doing all right," Naruto said wiping the blood from his nose.
"Are you sure de gozaru?" Naruto nodded and walked away from his spot. He walked down the hall and as he turned the corner Naruto bumped into someone. At the speed the person was going Naruto ended up falling down. As he fell he reached out his hand and to grab something to stop his fall. Hearing someone gasp, he knew that he grabbed onto a person and was bringing him or her down with him. His back hit the floor with a thud, and he felt some weight hitting his waist. Naruto closed his eyes as he winced in a little pain. As he opened them, the blond ninja found Takane straddling him. Naruto's cerulean eyes began to inspect her body and took notice of her entire form. He stopped himself however before he got below the waist. 'So she does have a mole on her left br...damn. Not the right time to be thinking about this, especially since I'm in loose fitting ninja pants.'
Takane was beet red when she was looking down on Naruto. She didn't even try to move as she watched the blond's eyes rake over her body. She was clutching his shirt with both hands as she sat on top of him. The two heard a a sharp intake of breath, and looked to the doorway. The two blonds looked over and saw a blushing Mei, who was trying to cover her eyes with her hands. "O-onee-chan," she sniffed. "You're a liar! Tell people not to do vulgar things and you do them yourself!" she nearly shouted. Takane and Naruto used this time to get up from the floor and take a big step away from each other.
"It's not what you think Mei-chan," Naruto told the girl red haired girl. "Takane-chan just fell on me. Right, Takane-chan?" Naruto turned to the blond girl who was looking away, spouting out phrases such as 'Naruto-sensei needs to take responsibility' and 'No one will marry me now...' This had Naruto sweat dropping. Turning back to the sniffling middle schooler Naruto tried to explain his situation. "Look your Onee-chan is...uh...Having a little problem at the moment and is not herself. Can you take her put some clothes on her and have her sit down?" Mei stared at him for a moment before taking Takane away. Naruto had to look away from the two, as to not stare at the girl's behind. "I have to stop writing the new Icha Icha series...It's corrupting me," Naruto groaned. "Then again I told Ero-sennin I would continue his work, and I never go back on my word."
Naruto deciding that the matter with Takane had passed walked back to the two girls. "Welcome back Naruto-kun. How'd the talk with Takane-dono work out de gozaru?" Kaede asked.
"We didn't even get to talk at all..." Naruto sighed.
After a couple of minutes he heard Kazumi starting speak again. "Now, on this side is the formidable school district instructor whose name is known to all the delinquent's, Takamichi T. Takahata!" Naruto heard the crowd go wild as that was announced. "In the other side is the child teacher of rumors who started working in Mahora last year! Negi Springfield!" The blond also heard the crowd go wild in response to his entrance. The two fighters ambled onto center stage and got to their respective spots."Just by himself, Takahata has suppressed the various disputes and fights in the school. The nickname given to him was 'Glasses of Death-Takahata! Surely he's the mightiest school district instructor! How will you fight child teacher?" Kazumi announced. "So for the bets have Glasses of Death Takahata with overwhelming popularity! Certainly the results of this fight is brighter than the sun!"
"So I'm guessing you guys gave him some tips before the fight huh?" Naruto asked the two girls standing/sitting next to him. The two girls blushed and looked away. "I guessed as much. Don't worry, as long as he does fine I don't mind. Things like that will not change my opinion of who I want to win." The three watched as the two got ready, Takahata put his hands into his pockets while Negi got into one of his stances.
"Who do you want aru?" Ku asked.
"Why Negi of course," Naruto smirked. He then heard Kazumi shout for the fight to begin. He saw Negi put his arms in an X shape above his chin and dashed forward toward Takahata. As Naruto watched, he saw a very quick movement coming from Takahata. A fist had quickly shot out of his pocket and hit the small barrier Negi put up. After that instant Negi was behind him. "When did he learn shundo?"
"Just recently Naruto-kun. He was here practicing while you went to speak to Takane-dono," Kaede replied. Naruto watched as the older teacher turn around and through a punch with his right hand that was full of Ki or magic, Naruto couldn't tell. Negi in return flash stepped again behind Takahata. Turning around, Negi attacked with his right palm, but Takahata blocked it with his left forearm. That didn't stop Negi, he followed up with by aiming his fist to Takahata's face. The older teacher brought up his other hand to block, but was surprised to see that it was just a feint as he elbowed Takahata in the gut, following up with an electrified punch.
"You taught him well Ku," Naruto whistled as he saw what had happened. "His fighting is better compared to when he fought Wilhelm." The girl smirked as they watch Negi and Takahata exchange blows, or rather Negi relentlessly attacking Takahata. "However..." Naruto paused as he saw Negi do an original move. The red head made three orbs of lightning around him, then transferring their power to punch, tripling the strength of the attack. The attack had sent Takahata out of the arena and into the water, steam covering the surface. Everyone, save for Naruto was speechless. "Even the move he just did, will not be enough to handle Takahata," Naruto finished his sentence. The Ku looked at him in confusion. Naruto just motioned to the water.
As the steam cleared, everyone saw Takahata walking on the water unharmed. "Contestant Takahata is safe! He is completely unharmed after taking that attack!" Kazumi announced. Takahata said something but Naruto couldn't hear it. The two teachers then began fighting again, but outside of the stage. Running across the area around the stage, the two exchanged blow again at unbelievable speeds. Takahata ended it however by kicking Negi onto the stage and away from him.
"Oh boy this is bad..." Naruto said.
"Why aru?" Ku asked.
"This gives Takahata-sensei a chance to use his moves de gozaru," Kaede explained. The crowd gasped as Negi was hit multiple times, without Takahata even getting close to him. "Things are going to get serious now." As she finished that sentence another hit had smack Negi, sending him sprawling onto the floor. Somewhere in the crowd, a man was explaining the technique, and said that the moves Takahata was similar to the style of sword fighting that one draws a sword out of its sheath faster than the eyes can see, but is using his fist and pockets in place of swords and scabbards. The technique was called iaiken. Another hit was heard as Negi hit the floor.
"He's getting desperate," Naruto said as he saw Negi attempt to use shundo to get behind Takahata. The older teacher tripped him up by sticking up his foot. Negi fixed himself and landed near the edge of the stage. "And within the small confines of the arena, Negi is going to be pushed to his very limits." Not to Naruto's surprise, Takahata appeared behind Negi. "That and Takahata isn't even serious yet." The two girls looked at him curiously. On stage Takahata was talking about fighting seriously.
"Magic in my left hand, and Ki in my right..." he heard Takahata say. "Combine!"
"Oh crap...He know how to use that?" Naruto asked no one in particular. His hands however were tightening around the railing, not out of worry but excitement.
"What are you talking about de gozaru?" Kaede asked.
"Watch what is going to do." On the stage Takahata did another punch but this one was different compared to the other attacks. It was strong enough to put a hole on the arena floor. Negi was trembling as he was on the floor kneeling, scared.
"If he keeps like this he won't be able to reach that level," Naruto sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.
"What level would that be aru?" Ku asked this time.
"The level at which Negi's father and Eva stand at. The amount of skill and power one needs to reach that level is unbelievable. If he keeps trembling from that small show of power...he won't make it there. Not in this lifetime," Naruto sighed.
"Negi-bozu..." Ku whispered. Takahata let loose a barrage of punches while chasing after Negi. At one point he used one of his weaker punches and hit Negi in the face. The red head tried to shundo out of the way again, but Takahata appeared behind him and attacked again. As Negi dodge, Takahata threw another punch that Negi blocked with a magical shield. To the red head's dismay, the older teacher appeared before him and threw one of his strong punches...point blank. Negi managed to avoid being completely hit, but Takahata didn't back down and threw another punch sending him to the floor.
"No..." Ku mumbled, when Kazumi declared Takahata the winner. The crowd however was surprised to see that Takahata still wanted to fight. The crowd started to murmur about Negi giving up and all that irritated.
"SHUT UP!" Naruto roared while releasing some killing intent. This quieted down the crowd and got all eyes on him. Naruto looked towards Asuna and she gave him a small smile of thanks. She took in a deep breath and then-
"BAKA NEGI! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING? STAND UP!" Asuna shouted.
"NE-NEGI-SENSEI GET YOURSELF TOGETHER!" Nodoka followed suit. One by one His Negi's students, save for Chisame since it would be weird to do so, shouted for him to stand.
"COME ON NOW NEGI! GET UP! YOU WON'T EVER REACH HIM IF JUST LAY THERE YOU PUNK!'Naruto shouted his own input. The crowd cheered as Negi shakily got up, and Naruto smirked at the kid. As he got up, Negi got into his stance and made orbs of light appear around him. Naruto chuckled... "So he's going with an all or nothing attack huh?" Negi charged forward with nine glowing orbs, but was hit at the chin by one of Takahata's knees. The child was sent spiraling into the water, however the smug smirk on Naruto's face hadn't disappeared. "He's just like me back then..." Naruto said to himself as Negi jumped out of the water and landed on a lamp post.
"Takamichi! This if the final fight!" Negi declared loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Fine I accept. The next hit is the final shot!" Takahata replied with a smile. As they spoke more orbs began to appear around Negi. The red head then jumped and had the orbs of lightning converge on one spot, and used his entire body as bullet and shot forward. Takahata attacked with one of his stronger punches, but Negi broke through it with a shield he constructed at the last second, making him be able to ram into Takahata. When the two collided the arena was filled with smoke. When it cleared Naruto's smirk grew. Stand behind Takahata was Negi, more orbs floating behind him.
"It's Negi's win..." Naruto stated, as Negi delivered a punishing blow with all nine orbs. Takahata was then on the floor sprawled out on the floor just like Negi was a few moments before.
"C-contestant Negi's ultimate technique 'some-kind of-incredible-glowing-punch' HIIIITS!" Kazumi shouted into the mic. "Furthermore, what an intense strike that smashed right into the ground! A giant reversal. However the 15 minutes mark has elapsed and this match has timed out! Contestant Negi is all ragged and torn up too. Now then who wins? What about Contestant Takahata?" Kazumi then just decided to start the counting. But when she reached five, Takamichi sat up. The two exchanged words and as Kazumi reached the number ten Takahata fell flat on his back a smile on his face. "Contestant Negi wins! The ten year old teacher advances to the second round!"
"You should go down there to congratulate him," Naruto told the two girls next to him. "He deserves it."
"What about you Naruto-kun? Aren't you going down to congratulate him too de gozaru?" Kaede asked tilting her head, while Ku was already running down the halls.
"Nah...He'll get mine once he reaches the finals," Naruto replied. Kaede looked at him for a moment before going of to tell the teacher. From where he was standing he saw the students giving him their comments, and even Asuna punishing him for making her worry.
"Lovely bunch of kids aren't they?" Naruto heard Albireo's voice from behind him.
"Of course they are. I mean they are the student's of Nagi's kid after all..." Naruto replied without looking back. "However from what you told me, my respect for glasses grew. Being able to get that strong with a handicap as he had back then, heh, almost like me."
"Why don't we take our conversation to another area, it seems like Negi is going to be here any minute," Albireo suggested. The blond nodded and shunshin-ed out of the room followed by Albireo teleporting.
-NMAC-
A couple of minutes after his fight, Takahata could be seen walking in the sewage system of Mahora with a chibi-Setsuna. He had gone here to learn more about Chao's plans. "I didn't know that the drainage system was this extensive underneath Mahora," Takahata commented.
"Yes, I discovered Chao-san and her associates' room in the tower by the tournament grounds, but from there on there is a direct passage leading to this drainage system," C-Setsuna told him. "In the deep end of this, there is a giant space that looked like a hanger, and a room with lots of machinery."
"A research facility of some sort?"
"Most likely, but I'm not good wit machines so I can't say."
"By they way chibi Setsuna-kun, being autonomous means that you and the real Setsuna-kun are not connected right?" C-Setsuna nodded. "You give off a cheerful feeling unlike the real one...however that seems to be changing. Does it have anything to do with her new roommate?" C-Setsuna blushed and laughed nervously.
"Oh dear, oh dear. You ended up coming to a place like this? Are you sure that you are okay from those attacks during Negi-sensei and your battle?" Takahata looked at each end of the tunnel he was in and saw Chao and Mana standing at opposite ends.
"What's the meaning of this?" Takahata asked.
"It's my job," Mana replied.
"I'm here to make sure that you will behave properly from now until the end of the festival tomorrow," Chao explained.
-NMAC-
Naruto stood upon the roof next to Albireo and watched with mirth at how the girls the girls in the class who were watching swarmed the poor boy with questions and praise. All of a sudden he felt chill go down his spine. The blond stood up and looked around as if something was wrong. "Is anything the matter Naruto?" Albireo asked.
"I don't think so. I just had the feeling something bad just happened..." Naruto mumbled. "I'll catch you in a bit. I need to talk to Setsuna-chan and Asuna-chan. Gotta wish them luck you know."
"Ah...covering both of your bases like that Naruto? I didn't know you were such a player," Albireo smirked.
"Comes with being a super cool teacher of course," Naruto joked before jumping off the roof.
-NMAC-
Deep in the sewers where Takahata and C-Setsuna were last seen, all that left that they were ever there was a packet of cigarettes that spilled on the floor.
-NMAC-
As Naruto was walking near the contestant area he was about to open the door but stopped when he heard Asuna and Setsuna discussing something. Deciding to wait for a minute and listen, he leaned against the wall and put chakra into his ears. "... That kid doesn't even care which one of us win." He heard Asuna say.
"That's not true, Negi-sensei isn't a kid like tha-" Setsuna was interrupted when Asuna replied.
"Nuh uh, even if he doesn't notice it himself, he's definitely like that! If he's not like that, then he wouldn't be getting stronger by himself! In the end that kid plans to do everything himself! He's surrounded by everone that much, but he doesn't even look one bit at who is there. I think the only person who would willingly ask for help from is fishcake or Eva." Naruto raised and eyebrow at that. "I mean he doesn't even notice how much training I did to help him, even asking Setsuna-san for help." Naruto heard a pause then blushed when he heard, "Huh? We have o change underwear too?"
'Thank Kami I didn't walk in just then. They would have killed me,' Naruto sweat dropped. Naruto kept listening as they talked about Negi being a gentleman, his goals and trying to reach his father and about not giving up. 'Seriously that Negi is starting to remind me of myself it's scary...' His train of thought stopped when he heard the next sentence.
"Asuna-san, you really love Negi-sensei after all do you?" Setsuna asked. Now Naruto was interested.
"Why did it come back to that! Even though I told Setsuna-san over and over again!"
"Well, it's just that you understand him so well..." Setsuna mumbled.
"I don't like him like that! Seriously...besides what would Naruto-kun think if he saw me liking a little ten year old brat?" Asuna asked.
"'Naruto-kun?'" Setsuna asked curiously. Even though Naruto couldn't see it, he knew at that moment Asuna was blushing red at the slip up, and that Setsuna had a twinge of jealously in her voice. "When did you stop calling him fishcake and started using such an affectionate suffix with his name Asuna-san?"
"I didn't mean to say it like that!" he heard Asuna defend herself. "It just came out that way...Yeah! It just came out that way." It sounded as if Asuna was just trying to convince herself that instead of Setsuna. The conversation went on for a couple of seconds, and Naruto saw Kazumi walk by.
"Hey Kazumi-chan," he greeted her.
"Hello Naruto-kun. What are you doing here?" the reporter turned announcer greeted back.
"Well, I was going to wish the girls luck but it seems like they weren't done changing," Naruto replied. "How about you?"
"The crowd is getting restless. I'm here to get the girls." Naruto nodded and watched as the girl opened the door next to him. "Hey, what are you doing? Hurry up and change you two! The audience is waiting!" Naruto took this chance to look inside and see the girls. What he saw made him quickly grab his nose to stop from bleeding. Standing in the room were the two girls in were both in a white camisole with flower patterns. Setsuna had on matching white shorts, while Asuna had matching underwear and stockings held up by a garter. He had to quickly look away as not to be caught. After a three minutes Asuna and Setsuna walked out and saw Naruto.
"Fishcake! What are you doing here?" Asuna asked surprised. He looked at them giving the two a sweet smile that made them blush. He noticed that both of them were in maid costumes. Setsuna had her hair down and had black neko ears in her hair, while Asuna had a hat.
"Just wishing you two luck that's all," Naruto replied. "Oh Se-chan, can I speak to you alone for a moment?"
"Sure Naruto-kun," Setsuna replied confused. He went to her and took her by the hand and walked down the hall and around a corner. Once they were out of sight Setsuna asked. "What did you want to say Naru-mph! Mmm..." Setsuna moaned as Naruto gave her a deep kiss. His hands gripped her waist, while she held his shirt. He went on for a moment before breaking off. "Wh-what was that for Naruto-kun?" Setsuna asked as she caught her breath.
"My way of saying good luck to my girlfriend," he smirked. Unknown to the two, Asuna had seen the entire thing. Her eyes stung with tears and her fists were shaking in both anger and sadness. She furiously wiped away the tears from her eyes, but it didn't stop the heaviness in her heart as she walked away.
-NMAC-
"Thanks for waiting everyone!" Kazumi announced as the two girls appeared on the stage. Everyone, even some girls, blushed at the girls in their costumes. "They are the flowers of this tournament, Contestant Kagurazaka and Contestant Sakurazaki!" At that both Setsuna and Asuna blushed and sweat dropped.
"Wait a minute Asakura!" Asuna shouted.
"Thanks to the appearance of the two incredibly cute girls in maid costumes, the crowd will go wild with a different kind of anticipation!"
"What's with these costumes!" Asuna demanded.
"Well, you guys don't have the pulls like being 'last year's champions' or something of the sort. SO I'm told to make you guys cute, it's Chao's orders."
"Well, at least give me back my tights! If I move around with this people will see my panties!" Asuna stopped talking and looked at Naruto who was talking to Ku:nel. Naruto looked toward her and smiled causing her to blush. But then Asuna remembered the scene between him and Setsuna, making her frown and look away.
"Ara? Did you do something to upset her Naruto?" Albireo joked.
"Shut up man. I didn't do anything," Naruto responded with a confused expression. The two then heard the other warriors expectations of the match and said that Asuna would lose. This made Naruto frown. Even though he was Setsuna's boyfriend that didn't mean he wouldn't expect Asuna to win. Hell he actually didn't know who to cheer for. "I take it you are going to interfere now?" Naruto asked looking towards Albireo. The cloaked man chuckled before, leading the two forward.
"It's tough de gozaru, isn't it. Even though she worked hard in her trainings de gozaru..." the two heard Kaede say as they approached.
"That's not necessarily true," Albireo stated. This caused the group of girls to look at him and Naruto. Asuna looked behind her and saw the two men behind her. She was startled when Albireo began ruffling her hair. The action made Naruto scowl but covered it up quickly.
"Wa-wa-wait a minute! What the heck are you doing all of sudden!" Asuna demanded while blushing. Eva's eyes then widened as she took notice of Ku:Nel up close.
"Wha- Y-you're..." she stuttered. Albireo didn't give her time to finish and began talking to Asuna.
"Fufu...Even if I look at you this close, I still can't believe it Asuna-san," Albireo stated. "You look just like a doll. For you to grow up into such an energetic and lively girl. You also seem blessed with so many friends and one..."
"Say one word and I'll slice you up," Naruto threatened, as a small trace of a blush appeared on his face. This confused some of the students especially Asuna.
"Fufu. Whatever you say Naruto," Albireo chuckled. "Gatou Kagura Vandenburg was right in entrusting you to Takamichi-kun. Don't think about anything. Try making yourself into nothingness, Asuna-san. If you do just that, you should be able to do it."
"W-who are you?" Asuna asked.
"Listen when you receive Negi's magical energy don't think about anything and turn yourself into nothing," Albireo continued on completely ignoring the question. "Doing that you should be able to do the same thing that Takamichi did earlier."
"Takahata-sensei?"
"Really now?" Naruto muttered. "You never told me that you were going to tell her that Ku:Nel."
"Fufu sorry about that Naruto. I forgot to tell you." Naruto sighed in response and whacked him on the back of the head mumbling the word teme.
"O-oi! Why are you here right now aren't you being sought out by a lot of people!" Eva asked Albireo. Turning to Naruto she pointed a finger at him. "And you how do you know this idiot?"
"Heh. Funny what you can find in libraries," Naruto replied. "Hey Ku:Nel I'm going to get some good seats now. And Asuna-chan," Naruto turned to the girl and smiled "...good luck." Asuna had to beat down her blush before looking away with a huff. Naruto was still confused by this but didn't think much of it. After that he hirashin-ed onto a roof. A couple of minutes later, Ku:Nel appeared next to him. "What you say to them."
"I just told Evangeline that somethings are better worth a secret and that I'm one of Nagi's friends," Albireo explained as he stood next to the blond. Naruto watched as Setsuna walked onto the stage with a broom in place of her sword and Asuna had her harisen. Since Naruto had decided to get a seat much closer to the stage this time he heard what the people were saying, and when Asuna started shouting he grew confused.
"Wait a second! Don't suddenly talk to me in my head! I can't even understand all that confusing stuff," Asuna shouted. A couple of seconds later she said "I-if it's blanking out, I'm good at that but..." Naruto looked towards Albireo and sighed.
"You're helping her aren't you Al..." Naruto sighed.
"Why? Do you want your girlfriend to win over Asuna-san?" Albireo asked with a smile.
"No! Wait I mean yes! Wait...AGH!" Naruto shouted frustrated. He stopped shouting as the fight began. Asuna had deflected the blow from Setsuna, surprised everyone. The two then ran across their attacks with each other. Both of them blocked, parried and evaded each other's attack. "Hmm...She's gotten better." Naruto then looked over to his right. "I guess it should have something to do with you." He heard Albireo chuckle and Naruto rolled his eyes. When he went back to the match, he saw Setsuna shundo to surprise attack Asuna but Asuna managed to block again. Asuna pivoted on her foot, and brought her harisen towards Setsuna's head. Setsuna ducked downward, with her feet on the back. Using the momentum of the dodge, she brought her feet up and kicked Asuna into the air.
As they kept exchanging blow in the air Naruto kept watching in awe as the two girls kept fighting. That and tried to avoid watching their panties and tights. After a couple of seconds they cam back down and landed on the floor. "This is unexpected!" Kazumi shouted. "The maid-uniform-wearing high school girls are fighting way beyond everyone's expectation! It seems that the intensity from the previous matches has not dropped at all! It's obvious, but the male crowds who are seeing this are applauding with praises!" When Naruto heard this, his head snapped up and saw that most of the males were blushing and had nosebleeds. His anger, from a scale of one to ten, went up to eleven when he heard what they were saying.
"I saw you their panties!" one of the guys said.
"I wish I had a camera so I could take pictures!" another one said.
"Hopefully their clothes come off during the fight!" yet another man said. At this point Naruto's fists were clenched so tight that they became white. His chakra was flaring unreasonably high and the tiling on the roof started to break with the pressure. The killing intent coming off of him, made everyone pale at the feeling. Even those who don't have powers were literally holding onto things as not to fall under the pressure.
"Naruto, you need to calm down," Albireo stated to him putting a hand on his shoulder. "If you don't you are going to end up hurting someone."
"Hurt someone? Hurt someone!" Naruto demanded. "Those idiots are thinking with their lower heads instead of their regular ones! I'm going to murder these idiots for thinking of Se-chan and Asuna-chan that way!"
"Naruto...calm down. The girls wouldn't like it if you hurt those innocent people, what will they think?" Naruto growled but agreed nonetheless. Suddenly Eva appeared next to them.
"Idiot what was that killing intent for!" Eva shouted. Naruto was breathing deeply as he ignored her trying to get his anger in check. Turning back to the match he tried to calm himself down.
"Naruto is having a bit of an anger issue at the moment," Albireo stated.
"YOU!" Eva shouted. "You had something to do with this didn't you!"
"What are you saying Evangeline?"
"You have something to do with her being more physically able to do these kind of things! What did you do?" Albireo chuckled.
"All I did was give her a little push." Albireo then went back to watching for a moment as the two kept attacking each other. "How about a little wager Evangeline. I will bet on the victory of Asuna-san."
"Oh? What will you put up then?"
"Information on Asuna-san."
"Hmph...fine. It doesn't matter what you did, I can't imagine that girl defeating Sakurazaki."
"That mean's the bet is on then right?" Albireo smirked. "Then just in case the Shinmei-Ryuu girl lose. I will have you wear this school swimsuit in your next fight!"
"What!" The two stopped talking when Naruto stood up, his hand clutching a bundle that was as big as himself. They also noticed that his hair had dark blue streaks in them, and his teeth had all became sharp fangs not unlike those of a shark. Before Naruto could jump, Albireo used some of his magic to hold Naruto down.
"Let me go Al! I'm going murder these people if this keeps going on!" Naruto roared as he grabbed the thing on his back. "I'm willing to bet Samehada wants some blood at the moment!"
"Gigigigi!" the thing on his back laughed. This got a surprised look from Eva.
"I never saw him use this form before..." she muttered.
"Fishcake!" Asuna shouted making Naruto stop his struggling and look at her on the stage. The girls stopped fighting and she was staring at a moment. Naruto looked at her specifically, his cerulean eyes meeting her heterochromatic ones. "I'll show you that I'm a better choice than her..." Asuna said as she pointed at Setsuna. This got confused looks from everyone.
"Oh is this be a brave confession right in the middle of a match!" Kazumi shouted in the mic. Naruto also noticed a twinge of jealousy in the voices of both girls. Asuna's face blushed so much that she rivaled that of a certain Hyuuga.
"You're wrong! I didn't mean it like that!" Asuna defended. Naruto however was glad for what she just said though, it made all the guys looking at her murmur and look at him. When he glared at them full with his shark teeth and grabbing Samehada, they quickly looked away. This helped Naruto calm down ten fold.
'At least I can now watch the match in peace,' Naruto thought. Naruto heard the sword on his back start laughing. Naruto then smirked as he saw Asuna do what Takahata do. "Kanka huh?" Naruto mumbled to himself.
"Gigigigi!" the blade laughed manically.
"I know, I know...closest thing to chakra we've felt in a while right buddy?" his smirk growing even more. "Maybe we should ask Asuna-chan or Takamichi to let us have a bite no?"
"GIGIGIGIGI!" the thing practically roared and Naruto let out a crazy laugh. This made Eva cringe but blush at the same time.
'Why do I find him cute when he looks a crazy like that!' Eva thought as she looked at him. Naruto then ignored completely ignored the explanation of kanka since he learned it when he had to make Ki for his sword style. Naruto smirked as the two in the arena fought more seriously trading even more blows to each other.
'It's as if Asuna took a level in badass,' Naruto thought to himself. When he heard Eva scream, he finally looked over to the two people next to him and saw Albireo holding up fake cat ears, a sailor suit and glasses. In his eyes was a dark glint. "Hehehe, Al you will never get over that fetish of yours. When will you ever give that photo album of yours that is full of her in embarrassing clothes like that by the way?" Naruto asked. This made Eva glare at him as he smirked back, still in his Kisame transformation.
"Ah only if you give me the one of the black labels from your Icha Icha collection," Albireo answered.
"You mean one of these?" Naruto asked producing an Icha Icha book with black bindings, with the words "Jiraiya Special edition' on it.
"Yes. Volume 5 would be nice," Albireo told him. Naruto blushed at the mention of what volume.
"What is wrong with you idiot?" Eva demanded.
"N-nothing. It's just that..."
"That volume stars Naruto in it," Albireo finished. Eva let the words sink in then blushed. 'A book that shows the sexual exploits of the idiot...I think I want to read it,' the vampire thought. She then turned her attention back to the fight as once again the two girls stopped jumped away from each other. Asuna stopped moving for a moment, but then attacked as Setsuna got closer. Naruto noticed that her movements were more refined and that there was no wasted move. Asuna had shoved Setsuna with her shoulder and then placed her fan at her neck.
Setsuna stood up by spinning on her back and pushing away Asuna's fan. "Those were incredible move's Asuna-san," she said. The two continued to fight again but Asuna seemed to be catching up her. The orange haired girl ducked down and spun, letting her harisen hit Setsuna's broom shaft.
"Oh?" Naruto wondered. His eyes then widened with realization. "OHH!" Naruto stood up and took Samehada off his back, and hit Albireo on the head with it. A little blood spilled out when he did this.
"Ara? Naruto what was that for?" Albireo asked chuckling.
"Stop giving advice, it won't be fair to either side."
"You were giving Kagurazaka advice!" Eva fumed. The vampire then jumped onto Albireo's shoulder and began to choke him. "You better win Sakurazaki! If you lose something embarrassing will happen to me! If you dare lose-I will make you do something just as bad, no worse humiliation then me! I will see to it that your precious ojou-sama see it as well!" Eva finished the sentence as a dark aura engulfed her and was sweating like crazy. Naruto tried to imagine what she would do...a goofy smile appeared when he did.
'File that later for Icha Icha use...' Naruto told himself.
"Ku:Nel-san I don't need advice so uh please stop!" Asuna said.
"Why?" Albireo replied.
"Because it's unfair!"
"Wasn't there a reason for you winning this match?"
"A-anyway there is no meaning in this if id don't fight with my own strength! If I don't show my seriousness, I feel like I won't be able to face those two idiots...so Let me do this myself!" Asuna shouted.
"Heh," Naruto smiled. "Makes me proud to be her teacher."
"Is that all right with you then?"Albireo asked Asuna. "If you don't you will lose..."
"Shinmei-Ryuu Ougi, Zankuushou San! (Air cutting palm, Scatter)" Setsuna cried as she fired multiple Ki shots out of her blade at Asuna. This attack made Asuna fall to the floor. Naruto noticed her eyes seemed to glaze over as something occurred to her.
"Crap...Al, look into her mind and let me look into it as well," Naruto told his friend.
"Why?" the mage asked.
"Just do it!" Naruto told him. Albireo nodded and continued to chant some spell. Naruto switched his rings going from Kisame's ring to Nagato's ring. Turning on his Human Path abilities he grabbed onto Albireo and saw what was happening in Asuna's mind.
-Asuna's Mindscape-
Naruto found himself floating in the air as he was in the forest somewhere looking around he saw a group of people. An old man, a younger man who looked familiar to him and a young... "Is that Asuna?" Naruto asked himself.
"Yo Takamichi, can you give me a light? This is my last smoke..." the old man grunted. The old man took a drag from the cancer stick. "Ah-sweet. Go on now I'll mange here somehow." That was when Naruto noticed how severely injured the man was. The old man turned towards the young Asuna and chuckled a bit. "What's wrong little lady? Are you crying? Showing your tears...That's a first. Hehe I'm happy."
"M-master..." the young man stuttered.
"Takamichi...," Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the young Takamichi. "About her memories, erase the parts about me will ya?"
"Wha-What are you talking about Master!'
"She won't be needing it from now on..."
"N-no. Nagi is gone Now Ojiisan is too..." Chibi Asuna cried. The old man patted her head and smiled at her.
"Live a happy life little lady. You have that right..." Naruto had to turn away from the heart breaking scene as it was too much for him.
"You can't Gatou-san! I don't want you to die!"
After that the images in Asuna's mind started to storm around in confusion as Naruto kept watching. He was surprised as all the emotions of sadness and anger latched onto a scene that made his eyes nearly pop out of his sockets. The kiss between him and Setsuna only minutes before the fight. That was when he was forcefully thrown out of her mind.
-Real World-
Naruto shook out of his reverie and quickly turned back to the match where he saw Asuna's harisen transform into a large bladed weapon and sliced Setsuna's broom in half. Setsuna jumped back and threw away the broken broom. "Oi Asuna that isn't allowed!" Kazumi shouted.
"Why you?" Asuna asked the swordsman, completely ignoring the announcement. Setsuna stared at her and saw that her eyes were lifeless but Asuna's face was contorted with rage and depression. "I don't see why he chose you..."
"Huh?" Setsuna asked. Asuna slowly stalked forward her blade readied at her side.
"I have a better figure than you, I am just as athletic as you, I even met him first. You are only better than me at kendo and smarts. Heck he didn't even bat an eye at you until the Kyoto trip," Asuna said as she got closer. This got everyone murmuring about who they were talking about. "Yet he chose you... How long?"
"What?" Setsuna asked confused.
"HOW LONG HAVE YOU AND THAT IDIOT BEEN DATING!" Asuna boomed as she brought her blade down onto the girl.
"SETUNA!" Everyone shouted at the same time. However Naruto kept quiet, already knowing what was up. He wasn't worried for Setsuna. He knew she could handle herself. Just to prove him correct, Setsuna dodged to the left, grabbing Asuna and flipping her over and pinning her. Naruto slunk away while everyone was cheering at how Setsuna won, the less then spectacular thirty second match between Eva and some random person, as well as a recap of all that had happened up till now. However as he walked away, he heard the recap and was thinking one thing over and over again. 'Chao is getting what she wants. Everything is going to be exposed.'
-NMAC-
"That was so cool!" Yuna shouted as the class was watching the fights being streamed online. "Can't you believe it? Our senseis made it the quarter finals!"
"Negi-sensei was so cool and magnificent," Ayaka said with a loving sigh. Ako stared at the screen a smile on her lips.
"You're really strong Naruto-kun..." she mumbled to herself. Misa had her eyes glued onto the screen when they showed Naruto again.
"Why does he have the same clothes as the guy who saved me?" Misa asked aloud.
"Who?" Madoka asked.
"Naruto-sensei..."
"Maybe they are one and the same?" Sakurako suggested. That made Misa look up at her with wide eyes.
"Why didn't I think of that."
"So you're willing to cover for me Zazie-san!" all the girls heard Ayaka shout.
"Us too!" they all shouted simultaneously.
"Wha-Are you telling me you want to leave Zazie-san here by herself to do all the work?" Ayaka asked. Zazie just made a shooing motion saying that it was okay. The girls thanked her one more time before running out.
-NMAC-
As Naruto saw Asuna walking by, he grabbed her and dragged her into a secluded room. "Eh? Fishcake what are you doing!" she asked as he closed the door.
"Did you or did you not see me and Setsuna kiss?" Naruto asked seriously. Asuna blushed and looked away, tears were forming in her eyes. This made Naruto's eyes soften. He walked up to her and held her chin to make her look at him. "Asuna-chan..." She swatted his hand away.
"Why don't you go see if your girlfriend is okay fishcake," she mumbled refusing to face him.
"I'm worried about you at the moment, Asuna-chan." He put a hand on her shoulder and she tried to shrug it off, but he then hugged her. As he hugged her Asuna was struggling in his grasp. "Please tell me what is wrong Asuna-chan..." he whispered to her. As he said that she seemed to stop struggling.
"How long have you been dating..." she asked.
"Just recently, yesterday to be exact," he told her while still hugging her from behind.
"Wh-why didn't you tell me?" Asuna asked as she clutched his hands. Naruto felt her hands trembling as she gripped them.
"I was going to tell you Asuna-chan believe me but all this hype over the tournament made it hard for me to talk to you." He felt Asuna nod, but he still held onto her. After a couple moments of silence he heard her give out a small sob. "Asuna-chan?" Naruto asked turning her around. When he looked down he saw tears falling from her eyes. She began pounding her fists on his chest and he let her.
"Why? Why? Why?" she sobbed as she pounded her fists. "Why her!" she asked crying into his chest after her arms got tired. Naruto reached up and stroked her hair.
"I would have asked you to be my girlfriend Asuna-chan," Naruto told her as he continued trying to comfort her. "I really would have. But that would be unfair for both me and you..." he told her.
"What do you mean..." she hiccuped.
"I didn't want you to choose between me and Takamichi. I know you still love him and I don't think I can take that spot in your heart if he's still there. I also don't want to be in a relationship where you are torn between me and someone else..." Naruto explained. She was still crying but not as much anymore. By now they were sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall. Asuna had her head still in his chest. He lifted her head up to make her look at him again, and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Asuna-chan...when you find your answer...we'll talk more about this..." With that Naruto stood up, but helped her up as well. Asuna sniffled a bit.
"Will you leave Setsuna-san if I do choose you? If you do I will kick your butt..." Asuna threatened. This caused Naruto to chuckle.
"I'll tell you what I told her on the day she became my girlfriend, if and when you do choose me Asuna-chan," Naruto said with a smile. "I'll even wait forever if I have to." With that Naruto Hirashin-ed out of the place leaving Asuna to think about what he said.
-NMAC-
AN: Well there's the chapter. Read and review.
NEXT CHAPTER: THE EXCITING QUARTER FINALS!