Later
"It seems we made quite a disturbance. 16 casualties, every one of them were innocent patients. And it's all because of the meddling of Yakumaru Mako."
"Yeah...hey Kakashi-sensei, do you think something like this will ever happen again?"
"I'm not absolutely sure Naruto, but after all the things I've seen happen in this school, I'd say probably."
After the incident in the hospital, things had not been going the way everyone had been hoping. When they defeated Mako, the group hoped to interrogate her and learn the secrets of the Outcast Ayashi's organization known as ANTI-THESIS. With Mako incapacitated it seemed simple enough. Or so everyone thought. But then these guys in weird outfits suddenly appeared. Naruto and Kakashi had been ready to fight them but they said that they were taking Mako in for questioning and that they were the servants of the Board Chairman. Instantly, the two backed off. If the Chairman was doing the interrogating of the organization, then there was little for the two to worry about now.
A weary yawn then emanated from the jōnin. "Well, it's getting late. You guys better head off and get back to your dorms. I'll see you four in class tomorrow." Kakashi said before he turned and walked away, leaving behind the group.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Three days later, at the Hokage's office in Konoha
"Do you think that they're just binding their time?"
Kakashi nodded. "They probably realized that we are more of a threat than they originally believed us to be. And since they've seen what Naruto and I are capable of, we are no doubt seen as a higher threat now. As much as I wish to believe they simply gave up, I suspect they are formulating a plan against us."
Tsunade groaned. "Great," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. "First the war and now this.
After Mako's attack on the Newspaper Club three days prior, when he got back to his room, Kakashi noticed that he had received a letter from Tsunade. Written on the parchment was an order from her that he had to return to Konoha immediately to give her an update on Naruto's status. Kakashi scratched his head at that. Why couldn't he just write a letter back? It would be troublesome to go all the way back to the village. He shrugged. Oh well, Tsunade was the Hokage, she must have something important to tell him if he had been asked to return to the Hidden Leaf Village.
"What about the Chairman?" Tsunade asked. "Has he told you if Mako said anything?"
Kakashi frowned. "No, not yet. By now, she should have recovered from the injuries me and Naruto gave her. So if I don't get a report from the Chairman when I get back to the Academy, then it's either we did more harm to her than I thought, or she's that good at resisting interrogation, which is highly unlikely."
"But how do you know if the Chairman is even interrogating her?" Tsunade asked. "For all we know, that guy's not even doing anything just because he finally has a member arrested. Besides, what's he doing anyway? Looks to me like we're doing all the work."
Kakashi nodded his head. Indeed, Tsunade did have a point. They were in fact the ones that were doing all the work. What was the Board Chairman actually doing with this investigation against ANTI-THESIS?
"Regardless," Tsunade continued, lacing her fingers together, her expression serious. "You cannot allow yourselves to get careless. Who knows what ANTI-THESIS is planning? Also, concerning your report on the number of tails Naruto has shown, which was higher than I expected. I think it's time we got the whole team back together."
Kakashi perked up at that. "You're right. But are you sure that it's okay to pull them out of the front lines? They are needed in their respective divisions."
Tsunade shook her head. "They're commanders will understand. And I'm sure that they will be happy to see you and Naruto again." Then, a wide grin crept on her face. "Also, tell me about this girl, Akashiya Moka. Did you say that she claimed Naruto as her mate?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The next day
"EHHHHHHH!"
Inside the Newspaper Club's club room, the members of the club screamed in shock at Moka and Naruto's revelation. When did this happen? The vampire... had claimed Naruto as her mate, and the mark on the blonde's neck had proved just that. So now, the two were off-limits, for Naruto and Moka were now considered, in vampire standards, to be fiancés. The group could only stare at them, with disbelief etched on their faces.
The two smiled sheepishly, their faces red with embarrassment. They knew that once they told the news to their friends, it would be a big shock to them, especially to Tsukune, with Moka being aware of his infatuation with her. But still, after all that has happened, they decided that it was time to reveal this to them.
"But Naruto and I are lovers!" Kurumu retorted as she quickly grabbed Naruto's head and shoved it into her bosom. "Isn't that right, Naruto-kun?"
"Ack! Kurumu-chan!" Naruto's muffled voice shouted.
"You're not lovers!" Yukari snapped at Kurumu, making a kitchen pot appear over her head. "I don't remember Naruto-san ever saying you were!" she then sent it down on the succubus's head, causing her to let go of Naruto, who panted for breath.
"Ow..." Kurumu winced before she slowly sat back down and remained quiet. As much as she hated to admit it, Yukari had a point. And that little witch had reminded her that so far she and Naruto had never done absolutely anything that would show them to be a couple. Sure he saved her from that disgusting slug guy but that was about it.
Meanwhile, with his head downcast, Tsukune didn't say a word. He glared his eyes over at the one person he considered to be responsible for all of this. Naruto. The blonde was the one to blame. He had known Moka longer and was always with her. Tsukune was willing to bet that Naruto did whatever he could after he let Moka drink his blood so that she would look only at him. Tsukune hated it.
Everyone else could see that things had turned a little tense thanks to Yukari's comments. Something was needed to change the subject now.
"Umm... yeah..." Naruto said, trying to lighten the mood. Just then, he noticed that Moka was looking right at him. The two's eyes made contact with each other and immediately looked away. Neither was aware that the other had a light blush on their face.
But someone else did. A certain human did. His hands clenched into fists and he sat straight up. It drew everyone's attention.
"Is something wrong, Tsukune-kun?" Mizore asked.
Moka looked over at Tsukune and saw a look on his face that she had never seen before. It looked like he was trying to say something but couldn't find himself to say it. It worried her.
"Tsukune-kun?" she asked kindly. "What's wrong?"
Instead of answering, Tsukune stormed out of the room.
"Tsukune!" Moka yelled. "Wait! ANIT-THESIS is still out there! You shouldn't-"
But in reply, Tsukune slammed the door to the room with a loud bang. Everyone was thrown off.
"What's wrong with Tsukune?" Kurumu asked, worried.
Naruto and Moka exchanged a look of concern with each other before looking at the door.
"Tsukune-kun..." Moka said sadly. She knew that Tsukune had eyes for her. But she had eyes only for Naruto.
Speaking of the blonde, he felt himself feeling bad. Naruto had a feeling he knew what was bugging the poor human...
...
...
...
He was jealous.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Currently, Tsukune was speed walking down the hallway, not caring if there was anyone else. Right now, he just wanted to get as far away from that room as possible.
'It's not fair!' Tsukune thought. 'What is it about me that Moka-chan doesn't like? Why does she prefer Naruto over me? Why?'
His thoughts led him to the roof of the school, where he could finally be alone and let out the frustration that he had been bottling up inside.
"Why can't you love me, Moka-chan?" Tsukune screamed in anger and pain. "What does Naruto have that I don't?" he grabbed onto the fence around the roof that was made so people wouldn't fall off. "Why... why can't it be me?" His eyes started to water up.
Just then someone chuckled behind him. "Do you really mean it? Those words just now. You say quite interesting things."
Tsukune spun around to see the one known as Kiria, who was leaning against the wall while reading a book.
Kiria just continued reading his book. But he did reply to Tsukune. "If you really meant those words just now... I can end the struggle between us Outcast Ayashi and you guys."
Tsukune instantly took a step back. 'Outcast Ayashi!' he thought. 'He's a member of ANTI-THESIS!'
"What are you talking about?" he demanded. "Why are you talking so casually even though you're our enemy? Especially after those dirty tricks Mako tried to pull on us!"
Kiria smiled a playful smirk at him as he jumped up and sat on the roof's fence, completely ignoring Tsukune. "Nice to meet you. I am from the Outcast Ayashi, Yoshii Kiria." Just then, Kiria's voice came from behind him. "Please treat me well, Tsukune-kun."
Tsukune started to turn around. 'What? When did he go behind me?' he turned around to face him... but he wasn't there. Then, he felt something leaning against him. It took him only a second to realize it was him.
"Well," he said. "After Midou-kun and Mako-san, it's probably impossible for you to believe me. But don't get me wrong. If I actually felt like it, I can immediately kill you guys, you know."
Normally Tsukune would have feared for his life by now. And he could not deny that he was trembling by how casually this guy had talked about killing all of them. But still...
"I'm not afraid of you," he said, trying to control his voice. "Moka-chan and Naruto-san are way stronger than you. There's no way an Outcast Ayashi like you could ever beat them!"
Kiria raised an eyebrow of amusement at him. "My, how interesting. I wonder how I would do against the two of them. But... what about you? If I felt like it, I could easily kill you in no time flat."
Tsukune froze when he realized that Kiria had a point. He didn't know if he was even a match for this guy. He was fast, that was already proven. And since he was a member of the Outcast Ayashi, he knew what his powers were.
"But right now... I don't feel like it." Kiria said.
Tsukune looked at him in utter confusion.
"I prefer seeing how this will turn out," Kiria explained. "That's why I'm giving the rest of you a chance. That means if you can entertain me, I can let the rest of you off the hook, ya know?"
Tsukune felt himself break into a cold sweat.
"See?" Kiria asked. "For example, your friend, Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. I've seen him fight before. He's not a normal ayashi, correct? Go meet with him alone. Of course, keep it a secret from Moka-san. He seems rather interesting."
Tsukune couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What is this? You're telling me to 'sell' my friend?"
Kiria smiled at him. "Didn't you say it yourself? 'Why can't it be you?' for Moka? I'll be waiting for a good answer, Tsukune-kun."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tsukune felt like his feet was made out of lead as he began walking down the hallway to find Naruto. But it felt like his body was on auto-pilot. His mind was too busy reeling.
'I can't do this,' he thought. 'If it comes to this, I must hope that Naruto-san will be able to do something. If only Kakashi-sensei were here, he'd be able to do something about this. But... the others. If that dangerous person finds out that I told anyone... what would he do to the others?'
Tsukune felt so torn as he continued walking down the hallway until he came to the classroom where the others were. Trying to ignore the pit in his stomach, he walked back into the classroom where the others instantly looked to see who had come in. They were surprised, but relieved to see that it was Tsukune, who was okay. But they could tell that something was wrong, because it looked like something was bothering her.
"Naruto-san," Tsukune said, looking at the blonde. "Can I talk to you?"
Naruto looked at his friend. He was obviously confused but didn't mind talking to Tsukune. "Okay, Tsukune-san," Naruto said kindly. With that, he got up and followed Tsukune out of the room.
"Now what's going on?" Kurumu asked everyone.
"Maybe Tsukune-kun just wants to talk with Naruto-kun," Moka said, not wanting everyone to jump to conclusions.
"Are you sure?" Mizore asked her. "He was looking at Naruto-kun rather strangely earlier."
Moka gulped. The last thing she wanted to be was the cause of making one of his friend's killing another. Would... would Tsukune really go that far? No. It couldn't be. Tsukune was their friend. He couldn't want Naruto dead now. Not after everything their group had been through.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Naruto was a little confused. He thought that he and Tsukune would be talking outside or in another part of the school. Instead, Tsukune had led him all the way to an old tree on top of a hill. With several gravestones lying around, it did not give a pleasant atmosphere.
"Tsukune-san," Naruto curiously asked the human. "Why did we come here? Is something wrong?"
At first, Tsukune didn't say anything. He simply stood there like a slumped statue. Then all of a sudden he whipped around and punched Naruto hard in the face. The blonde did not expect that. The action caused Naruto to take a step backwards and rub his cheek in pain. "What the hell was that for!" he cried. "Huh? Tsukune!"
Tsukune trembled. He knew he had to do something fast. As much as he didn't want to do this, he had no choice.
"Why... why can't you go away?" Tsukune asked his rival.
This question caused Naruto to freeze. His eyes were filled with confusion from Tsukune's words. "Eh?"
"You don't really care about Moka-chan," Tsukune said hurtfully. "You called her your fiancé but she's really just a possession, isn't she?"
Naruto looked at Tsukune with disbelief apparent in his eyes.
"You don't really love her, do you?" Tsukune snapped cruelly. "You just think of her as your personal play toy. That's all Moka-chan is to you, am I right? Just something to make you look good and to satisfy your needs?"
"Tsukune-san..." Naruto growled menacingly, looking like he was about to pounce at any moment. "You better shut up now or-"
"I can't stand to see Moka-chan be treated like this," Tsukune stated. "She's my true love. And I bet that's more than I can say for you! What do you know about true love? Huh? Jinchūriki?"
Naruto flinched at that last word.
"Whatever," Tsukune said. "Just disappear. It's better if blockheads like you are gone. Just disappear!"
Unable to control himself any longer, Naruto lunged at Tsukune. In a fit of rage, he picked him up by the collar and proceeded to beat the daylights out of the human, and at the same time preventing the fox's chakra from leaking out of the seal. As this happened, Tsukune could only accept the beating as well as suffer the pain he had in his heart. 'I deserve this...' he thought.
"Hey now," a voice said. "That's different than what you promised. If you let Naruto-kun kill you Tsukune-kun, I wouldn't be getting that much fun."
Naruto stopped hitting the human while Tsukune painfully turned to see Kiria smirking at him.
"Kiria...!" he gasped in shock.
Kiria chuckled. "How awful, Tsukune-kun. Were you planning on having Naruto-kun kill you so that you could escape from me with your dubious act?"
Naruto looked at Tsukune in confusion. "What?" he asked.
Still smirking, Kiria snapped his fingers. "You shouldn't do that."
Naruto and Tsukune became aware of colossal thumping noises. And soon they saw what the cause was. Looming behind Kiria were two grotesque Cyclopes. They were wearing fancy clothes that didn't fit them and one had a large hammer strapped to his back.
Tsukune and Naruto took a step back as the pair of Cyclops slowly walked towards them.
"These friends of mine aren't related to the Outcast Ayashi," Kiria explained. "I only brought them here to test you guys. I won't let you escape, Naruto-kun."
"And we're not letting you escape!"
Naruto, Tsukune, Kiria, and the Cyclopes attention was drawn to the direction of the voice that shouted. Standing before the odd band was Moka and Kurumu. The vampire had a look of fierce determination on her face while the succubus was scowling darkly at Kiria.
"Moka-chan? Kurumu-chan?" Naruto asked, confused. He then dropped Tsukune down onto the hard ground.
"What... what are you doing here?" Tsukune demanded as he panted for breath.
"We thought something was up when you asked Naruto-kun to talk with you, Tsukune-kun," Moka replied.
"So we decided to find out what was going on," Kurumu replied, not taking her eyes off Kiria. Her eyes narrowed. "This sick game of yours isn't entertaining at all."
Kiria looked at Moka and Kurumu with interest. "My. I can see why you're jealous Tsukune-kun." His eyes then flashed as his smile slightly, ever so slightly, got bigger. "Well then, this should be interesting. Boys, take care of them."
Moka took a step back from Kiria's gaze. His face seemed disarming enough, but she knew that he was far from innocent. Kurumu, on the other hand, had released her transformation and lunged at Kiria with her claws, intent on skewering him. Kiria didn't budge and instead swatted her attack away. "You're not fit to be my opponent." He told her as he looked at her, tilting his head slightly. Kurumu couldn't help but feel belittled by his gaze. It made her feel as if she was a child that wouldn't learn her lessons. The thought alone was enough to get her mad and come in for another attack.
"How foolish. Please stop doing such boring things. I told you that you aren't fit to be my opponent." He said as a matter-of-factly when he simply caught her arm. Kurumu grunted as she struggled to escape his grasp, but he had a grip of iron and would not let her go.
Kiria turned his gaze somewhere behind Kurumu. "Aside from that, why don't we go sight-seeing some interesting things?" His semi-smile widened imperceptibly as Kurumu followed his stare. She gasped when she saw the two Cyclopes tormenting Moka by ripping holes in her uniform. She already had a huge hole that revealed her midsection that just barely exposed the bra underneath as multiple rips skittered across her uniform.
"Ohh! Her skin is so shiny!" the Cyclops with the bat let loose a grin that was filled with razor-sharp teeth. The other one wielding a hammer merely nodded as it began salivating. Then, the hat-Cyclops pointed at her as his one eye turned to face Kiria. "Hey Kiria, are you really gonna let us do what we want with her?"
"Do as you please." That was all the confirmation the Cyclopes needed before continuing.
"Moka!" Naruto yelled out as Moka was nearly left shirtless now. His eyes immediately changed to that of the Sharingan as he snarled in contempt at Kiria.
"You disgusting little..."
"Moka...!" Tsukune wheezed as he attempted to stand up, only to fall back down to his knees. He then winced. The pain he had received from Naruto's beating was excruciating and his body felt extremely weak.
"Eh?" Kiria's voice sounded curious as he watched the struggling Moka. "Why isn't she changing into her vampire self?" he stared speculatively at Moka before he wondered out loud. "I wonder if there's a 'condition' that needs to be met."
'He knows about the Rosario!' Were the thoughts that ran though Naruto, Tsukune, and Kurumu's heads as the succubus tried even harder to escape his grasp. If he knew that much about them, then he was truly dangerous. "Let me go!" she yelled at him before pausing when she saw his features darken. Even that innocent semi-smile of his seemed more threatening.
"Really now? Why? Are you going to help Moka? Wouldn't Moka being out of the picture leave you completely free to be with Tsukune?" Kurumu narrowed her eyes. So he had been spying on them a lot sooner than she had expected. Worse, he knew she had seriously contemplated denying Moka. In her previous life, she would've let the Cyclops have their way with Moka to get rid of the competition. But this was not that life.
Just then, a chakra-enhanced kunai almost nicked Kiria's head. But he bent forward before he could be decapitated, releasing Kurumu from his grip. Knowing that it was Naruto who attempted the attack, Kiria swung his fist around at the blonde. But Naruto ducked and smacked the butt of the kunai right into Kiria's face. Naruto then spun the kunai in his hand before he brought it down to slice Kiria in two, but he managed to dodge again before it could happen.
"Kurumu-chan, go! Help Moka-chan!" Naruto shouted, worry apparent in his tone. Kurumu nodded before she flapped her wings and flew as fast as she could towards Moka.
"How odd," Kiria said as he looked at Kurumu, who had arrived just in time to stop the Cyclopes from completely ripping off Moka's clothes. "I thought she and Moka-san are love rivals. Didn't she actually wish for this to happen as well?"
Meanwhile, one of the Cyclopes chuckled with glee. "You can't escape now," the Cyclops with the hat taunted. "It's been my dream to lick girls all over. If you're not going to run I'll do it, ya know?"
But Moka still did not move from her spot.
"Alrighty then!" the Cyclops laughed as he lunged at her. "Thanks for the meal!"
But just before the Cyclops with the hat managed to do anything else, Kurumu dragged her claws across his face. The Cyclops stumbled to the opposite direction as he let out a bellowing yell as he tried to stop the bleeding with his hand. Three long gashes stretched from his temple to the bottom of his jaw. While all of this was happening, Kiria merely stared with curiosity as Kurumu positioned herself protectively in front of Moka.
"That's enough." Kurumu said. "Kiria, did you really think that I would betray my friends? I might've if it were a few months ago, but I've changed." Her bat-like wings then burst from her shirt as she brought her left claw in front of her with her right one raised behind her, ready to attack or defend, whichever one may be. "To lose sight of what is most important by your sweet words, my heart isn't easily that broken! Because those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are even worse than trash!"
Kiria stayed silent for a moment before he looked at them, a dull look on his face. "Oh great. What should I do now? You guys seem rather boring now. I really wish this hadn't happened." He then shrugged as he gestured with his hand. "Oh well. Please take care of them you two."
The behemoths were more than happy to oblige, especially the one who had gotten his face carved up. Both Cyclopes muscles tensed as they prepared an assault against the two girls.
"Moka!" Kurumu exclaimed. "You can't even fight, so what are you doing? Hurry up and run!"
Moka shook her head. "I won't run. Even I won't lose to you, Kurumu-chan. I also think of you as an important friend." She faced the Cyclopes with a determined look in her eyes as she got into what barely passed as a battle stance. Kurumu merely grinned as she faced her back to Moka's.
"Heh," she said. "I won't care what happens to you. If you're serious about this, I'll accompany you to the end, Moka."
"Kurumu-chan," Moka said softly.
"Well then, let's give them a beating they'll forget. With our powers combined!" Kurumu said as the Cyclopes surrounded them and were ready for an attack. Soon they lunged and all hell broke loose.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Kiria, on the other hand, was staring in awe at the sight before him. Currently, Naruto was flaring large amounts of his chakra into the air and was no longer holding a kunai, but a spinning blue ball of spiralling energy that began to glow with a bright, white light inside as blades began to form around the swirling mass.
"How interesting..." Kiria said. "How very interesting!" he charged at Naruto.
But suddenly, Naruto disappeared in a burst of yellow light, surprising Kiria, and reappeared beside him.
"Fūton: Rasengan!" Naruto cried as he slammed the jutsu into Kiria's side.
The orb did devastating damage to Kiria as he felt the right side of his body be cut up by numerous, invisible, wind blades courtesy of the Rasengan. He screamed in pain as blood erupted from his mouth.
As Naruto continued to push the jutsu into the Outcast's side, his arm was outstretched and his hand was balled into a fist. So distracted was Kiria from the attack that he wasn't able to dodge Naruto's fist colliding with his face. The blow, mixed with the Rasengan, sent him crashing into numerous gravestones before he stopped 30 metres away from where he originally was.
In a flash, Naruto reappeared at Kiria's location and looked down at him coldly.
"That's what you get for messing with my friends," Naruto told Kiria, his face void with emotion.
"How... how interesting..." Kiria said weakly, his smile still on his face. "I should've known that you would have been entertaining to fight. That's exactly what... he said."
Naruto raised an eyebrow as he lifted Kiria up by the collar. "He?" he seethed. "He who? Answer me!"
Kiria smirked at him. "I look forward to seeing you again... Naruto."
Suddenly, Kiria vanished.
Naruto growled in annoyance, that jerk of a guy got away.
"He'll be back for sure," he muttered quietly. "And when he does, I'll be ready."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Naruto didn't know where to be happy... or disappointed. Kurumu had done fine, but Moka...
He didn't know what to make of it. The fight, if he could call it that, had been rather pitiful.
Moka had somehow stolen the hammer from the Cyclops and had comically chased him for a while with it before finally bonking him on the head with a 'ferocious' yell. The Cyclops went down and would probably wake up with a case of amnesia. Naruto sweat dropped when he found Moka standing triumphantly over the body of the Cyclops. He smiled. Well, at least it all went well.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The next day
After apologizing to Naruto for the hurtful things he had said the day before, Tsukune and the rest of the Newspaper Club were suddenly called up to the Chairman's office for the Chairman had something very important to tell them. Thinking that it was information concerning ANTI-THESIS from Mako's interrogation, the group hastily made their way through the hallways of Yokai Academy until they soon found themselves standing in front of the door to the Chairman's office.
"Heya guys."
The group turned to the sound of the voice to see the familiar masked face of Hatake Kakashi.
"Yo," he greeted with a wave.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cried cheerfully. "You're back!"
Kakashi nodded before he looked the group over. "Great, looks like you're all here," he said as he walked over and put a hand on the doorknob.
But just before he was about to open the door, however, Naruto asked. "So what did Tsunade baa-chan want that had you go all the way back to Konoha, Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi looked at his student and smiled, knowing already what his reaction would be when he sees the people waiting
inside. "You'll see..." he said. He then opened the door.
As he gestured the group walked in, the first thing they noticed were the eerie eyes of the Chairman looking at them expectantly. The next were two figures sitting on the chairs in front of the Chairman's desk. One of them was a boy who had short, ink-black hair and extremely pale skin while the other was a girl with bright, shoulder-length pink hair, green eyes, and fair skin. The girl looked similar to Moka, only the vampire was more beautiful.
Suddenly, the girl turned her head to see who had come into the room and her eyes widened when she saw the blonde shinobi.
"Naruto?"
Naruto's eyes then followed suit.
"Sakura-chan?"
