(NY)
"I feel like an idiot" Naruto said in a thick black combat leather jacket, orange shirt, and dark navy blue pants, he was currently drinking coffee with Elisa in his human form in the middle of the day "be glad I can switch this with my armor" he said to her as he had the ability to store things on his person for later use and could switch things like articles of clothing
"You look fine" Elisa said to him simply as it was her day off and she was showing Naruto around "gotta ask what's it like being stone?" she asked curiously
"It's like sleeping" Naruto said to her as it barely felt like any time went by when waking up
Elisa nodded as she listen and she had to admit Naruto now fit into the world perfectly with how he adapted "can I ask how it's going with the others?" she asked wondering how they were
"Watching tv like idiots" Naruto said to her as they quickly got absorbed in the hype that was television
"That's about sums up everyone….in the world" Elisa said as she liked tv as much as anyone but did it in moderation and enjoyed to read "so what do they watch?" she asked curiously starting conversation
"The Pack" Naruto said as it was an interesting show to watch on occasion
"Oh most if not all of those stunts are real" Elisa said to him simply
"Hmmm impressive" Naruto said as the moves that they pulled were impressive to behold
"There have been lawsuits about them in the past though" Elisa said as she did see on the news that they were very aggressive at certain events and appearances
"One of them gives me a real bad vibe" Naruto said as he got a sense of deja vu with one of them
"Just don't let the others get to influenced by that show" Elisa said as many children had been influenced to do dumb and stupid things and this time could still be a little overwhelming to the others
"I'll try my best" Naruto said to her as his brothers were thickheaded on the best of days
(few hours later)
"You know something I had my misgivings but something is up" Naruto said to Owen
"Oh and what is causing you issues Mr Wyvern" Owen said to him simply
"Xanatos hasn't ordered you to kill us" Naruto said to him simply "you could've with your guns easily even with how skilled I am you could've swarmed this place during the day when I'm human" he said to him as he hadn't been sleeping at all letting as he was afraid Xanatos would have them killed "Xanatos is studying us isn't he" he said to him
"Even if I was allowed to answer you you know I couldn't answer" Owen said to him walking away
"You know a lie or an answer can be found in certain responses like when someone dodges a question or refuses to answer shows fear or shamelessness or just not wanting to give others the satisfaction thanks for the response" Naruto said as he walked away
Owen had to admit that was impressive and well thought out way of getting answers
(later at night)
Naruto was worried about Lexington as he and his father were fighting and he had to agree that both were right and wrong on their points as they needed allies and more people to interact with but they needed to be careful of who they trusted and how much trust they gave. That mistake had cost them their clan and their home.
"So, how is it going with the beasts?" Brooklyn asked curiously
"It's… a work in progress. I can't hate them forever but, it's hard to forgive" Naruto said as he wanted to forgive them but knowing what they kept from him was hard
"Yeah, well we're going to watch the Pack, wanna come?" Lexington asked curiously
"I'm getting sick of that show for the past week it's been the only thing on the tv" Naruto said as he liked quality and the pack didn't really seem like true warriors he didn't doubt their prowess but didn't think they had the best motives and intentions
"It's not that bad" Broadway said to him not catching his meaning
"Elisa told me this, don't believe everything you see on tv" Naruto said
"Why not?" Brooklyn asked curiously
"Not everything you see on it is real" Naruto said as that was a universal truth
(Few hours later)
Naruto was enjoying a book as he sat on one of the columns when he saw the trio getting ready to take off "And where do you think you're going?" he asked
"We're going to see the Pack's live performance" Broadway said to him
"Don't be seen" Naruto said simply knowing he couldn't talk them out of it
"Yeah we know" Brooklyn said as the trio took off
"I got bad feeling in my gut" Shukaku said
"Sure it's not a stomachache from all those hot dogs?" Kokuo said as he stole hot dogs from a cart and they smelled old
"Trust in my gut, it's saved us countless times" Shukaku said as he put his hands on his belly making it seem bigger
Naruto silently agreed as he felt something bad was going to happen
(next morning)
"Oh god" Naruto said as he looked at his father and Lexington glare at one another as they were stone 'time to do some research' he thought to himself
"That's one way to avoid an argument" Elisa said as she checked in on them
"You have no idea" Naruto said as he did the same with his mother at times "wanna do some investigating?" he asked her curiously
"Why not?" Elisa said as she had to admit Naruto could've been a great investigator as he seemed to have the mentality of a cop
(1 hour later)
"You know you can bring them in and I'm sure you won't get sued" Naruto said as they watched the pack eating at a bar and grill some of them eating meat on the rare side also tripping over a waiter, scaring off, and a few nearby people
"Listen unless they directly assault someone I can't do jack tv stars have many lawyers" Elisa said as unless she saw them attack someone in broad daylight there was little she could bring them in for
"And knowing Mr. Ponytail those lawyers would be the best" Naruto said
"What?" Elisa said in surprise
"Xanatos is funding their tv show I watched an episode and saw it on the end credits" Naruto said to her as it was a one time thing but when he saw Xanatos' logo and company name he became weary
"Why would Xanatos make them?" Elisa asked as the man always had an angle in her opinion either for himself or to his personal advantage
"Maybe the Pack is meant to be more than TV stars, maybe he has bigger plans for them" Naruto said as maybe Xanatos had something special like he did with his robotic versions of his father
"Like I said all their stunts are real" Elisa said as she wondered how they got so good
Naruto had to admit he had a funny feeling about one of them as he seemed familiar and to add insult to injury he noticed that they were spotted by a woman with a blue fox tattoo over her eye "I'm gonna go get some coffee be back in a few minutes" he said to Elisa
(few minutes later)
"Have to admit I'm impressed" Naruto said in an alley as he stood there "you can come down I know you're there" he said looking upward as the woman jumped down from a tall building skillfully landing
"You must be Naruto" the woman said with a smirk
"And you must be Fox, from one fox to another, I gotta say you're kinda good" Naruto said
"I appreciate the compliment" Fox said to him "and you certainly are more than you seem" she said holding a picture of him human and another as a gargoyle
"What's the game?" Naruto asked as she was here to clearly lay down the stakes and what the challenge was going to be
"Don't beat around the bush do you" Fox said smiling liking that attitude
"I know Xanatos made your pack, what for? To see how they stack against the best?" Naruto asked her wondering if this was about him or his family
"More like to see who is at the top of the food chain" Fox said as she appreciated it when things were of a fair nature and that the prey had skill of its own never liking taking down wounded or easy prey
"Hmph, I may be a fox but I'm also like a dragon, I eat whatever tries coming at me" Naruto said to her simply
"Are you saying we're your prey?" Fox said smiling even more
"Hurt my family and you will be" Naruto said as he walked away
Fox had to admit Xanatos wasn't wrong about him 'he'll be a truly worthy adversary' she thought to herself as she saw the look in his eyes the look of a warrior but also the look of a beast
(Back with Elisa)
"Where'd you go?" Elisa asked seeing him exit the alley
"To get coffee" Naruto said as he did in fact get coffee "the terms have been set" he said to her simply
"And they are?" Elisa asked wondering what the game Xanatos was playing
"To establish who is the hunter and who is the prey" Naruto said to her
"We got hours to kill till sunset" Elisa said as it was the afternoon
"Are you asking me on a date?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow and smirk
"Oh like you have anything better to do" Elisa said as she grabbed his arm
"True" Naruto said as when not patrolling the city he spent his free time in the library with his dad or spared with his mother or on the rare occasion watch tv "so what do you wanna do?" he asked curiously
"I think it's about time to show you a movie" Elisa said
"What is a movie?" Naruto asked
"Think tv but bigger and longer and popcorn" Elisa said to him with a chuckle being confused at popcorn
"Corn that pops?" Naruto said confused
"That confused face is adorable" Elisa said with a smile
(3 hours later)
"It was exactly how you described still prefer books though" Naruto said to her as he liked the movie very much
"A lot of stories for movies are from books" Elisa said to him
"Then people need to make them better" Naruto said to her
"Yeah it's more misses than hits a lot of times" Elisa said as movies and books varied on many areas and differed
"Anything else you wanna do?" Naruto asked her
"Well what did you do for fun back in medieval times?" Elisa asked wondering what he'd like to do
"Mostly drank with my rookery uncles and aunts to see who'd drop, mother and father didn't exactly like that" Naruto said chuckling remembering when he smelled like brewery and his mother beat so many of his uncles it was a nightmare
"Well I know this little diner, best cherry pie around" Elisa said
"they still have pies?" Naruto asked with a smile
"Yep, come on" Elisa said as she dragged Naruto off
(2 hours later)
"Can you not get drunk?"Elisa asked as she drank 3 pints and he was on his 12th
"Gargoyle metabolism is twice that of a human I can drink and drink and hardly get a buzz" Naruto said
"That must suck" Elisa said as she liked to have a good buzz on occasion rarely ever getting hammered
"You have no idea" Naruto said as he rarely saw the point to drinking besides liking the taste of certain drinks
"Probably need something stronger then" Elisa said as there were stronger drinks in the world
"Any stronger and people would die from poisoning" Naruto said as he had read up and had seen the improvements of alcohol
"Dang, well did they have jalapenos back then?" Elisa asked
"Hala what?" Naruto asked
"Here" Elisa said as she gave him a pepper which he instantly ate
"Ha, ha, hot, hot!" Naruto said as that was spicy
"I was about to say be careful" Elisa said as she handed him some water
"Besides my mouth catching on fire that was delicious" Naruto said with a chuckle "How do you eat those without writhing in heat pain?" he asked curiously
"I love jalapenos" Elisa said as they were some of her favorite things to eat
"Well besides the heat, it was good" Naruto said as he liked the taste
"Say weren't you gonna go with Goliath and Lex to meet the pack?" Elisa asked curiously
"Shit I'm late" Naruto said as he saw the time
"Sorry, I was having too much fun" Elisa said to him
"No problem, I just hope they're okay" Naruto said to her giving her a smile
(half an hour later)
Naruto was flying towards the Pack's studio when he heard explosions "Crap" he said realizing he was too late
He landed on a rooftop and saw that Goliath and Lexington were down and the Pack was closing in on them
"Time to finish this" Fox said only to be blindsided by Naruto
"Lets even up the odds" Naruto said
"This'll be fun" Fox said picking herself up
"I couldn't agree more sweetheart" Naruto said
"About time" Lexington said as he shook the rubble off of him
"What took you?" Goliath asked as he got ip
"Sorry I got caught up on a date with Elisa" Naruto said "Oh and I had to get mother" he said as Demona swooped in tackling Fox
"Finally, big game" Wolf said with a smile
"More like top dog" Naruto said as he changed back to normal "let's make this even" he said challengingly
"Let's go little man!" Wolf shouted as he rushed at Naruto both raising their fists slamming them into the others cheeks with boy men grinning. Wolf kneed Naruto in the stomach causing him to growl in pain before slamming a headbutt on the burly pack member's head.
"Come on pops, this is fighting not patty cake, step it up" Naruto said wanting his A game
"Yeah guess playtime is over." Wolf said grabbing Naruto and flung him to the ground
Naruto chuckled as he thrusted his fist forward into Wolf's stomach
Wolf hunched over groaning coughing slightly
"See it doesn't matter how many hits you land, land 'em in the right spot and anyone can go down easy" Naruto said as he kicked Wolf in the head sending him flying into some trash cans "Alright, who wants some?" he asked the rest of the pack
"Oh I like you" Hyena said having a glint in her eye and a bloodthirsty look
"Too bad you're not my type, but I know a racoon dog you might like" Naruto said with a chuckle
Hyena charged in a swiped at him only for him to side step dodging her attacks before he grabbed her by her arm and threw her in the air with a hip toss making her groan as her back hit the pavement
"You wanna avenge your sister try not to be so predictable" Naruto said as he did a backflip and stomped on Jackal's back slamming him into the pavement
Demona was facing off with fox both women eying the other for a clear opening to attack as they circled around each other.
"So you're the big bad female gargoyle I've been told about? Gotta say I respect any woman who can keep men in line." Fox said smirking
"I can say the same about you." Demona said before she picked up a familiar scent coming from Fox's body. "You smell like Xanatos. Are you and he…" she said seeing Fox's smirking face was all the answer she needed before the red haired woman kicked at her countering with one of her own. Fox punched at Demona who caught her fist only to flipped over Fox's shoulder.
"A woman doesn't go bragging about her love life" Fox said simply
Demona chuckled. "Your right about that." She said before tackling Fox.
Naruto looked down at Jackal before raising a arm to catch one of Dingo's boomerangs before looking at the australian before crushing the boomerang in his hand "You need better material, mate" he said with a grin as he said in in an australian accent pissing him off
Dingo shouted as he charged at Naruto who leaned to the left dodging a punch before giving him a uppercut sending him flying
"I still think you should've faced them as a gargoyle" Demona said to him
"I know but they would've gone down with one finger, where's the sport in that?" Naruto said to her
Demona chuckled as she had to admit she made the perfect warrior with Naruto always taking risks seeking challenges and was ready to face them
Fox groaned as she looked up at them
"So… who's the prey now?" Naruto asked as he squatted down to her level
Fox's head just dropped as she lost consciousness
"Uh… why are we outside a photo place?" Naruto asked as he looked inside the building they were at and saw what looked like a photo op was set up
"Nevermind, they are down we must go" Goliath said as he could hear police cars coming
(few minutes later)
"Hey brother" Naruto said as he sat next to Lexington and saw the look on his face one of rage "I understand the feeling of betrayal I know how you feel but you can't let it consume you your entire life or let it restrict you from accepting others take this as a learning opportunity that trust is something that must be given from both ends" he said as they sat in silence waiting for the son
Goliath was perchered nearby and was proud of his son looking out for his family helping Lexington with his anger he couldn't have been more proud
(few days later)
Naruto decided to take a walk as he rarely did that nowadays and as he walked he was then tackled to the ground and looked up behind him seeing his now robotic uncle
"You've become weak nephew being with that human" Coldsteel said to him tauntingly and was then sent flying back as Naruto transformed
"Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you" Naruto said as he approached him "forget it I don't need a reason but maybe I should tear your goddamn head off" he said in anger
"We have been over this, I cannot die" Coldsteel said as he got up
"No head no body" Naruto said to him
"I still have my flesh this metal is on the outside not in" Coldsteel said to him
"Oh you have a heart than let me correct myself I will tear it out instead of your head"
"As fun as that would be, I have places to go, people to see. Later" Coldsteel said as he dropped a canister that made a bright light blinding Naruto
"Only person I hope you see is the grim reaper" Naruto said as he rubbed his eyes
"And I hope you see the error of your ways" Coldsteel said as he flew off
Naruto huffed as he took to the skies rubbing his eyes as they still stung from the flash
(2 hours later)
Naruto landed on the castle and saw Lexington and Broadway but no Brooklyn "Where's Brooklyn at?" he asked
"Riding the motorcycle I made" Lexington said
"Oh- wait what?" Naruto asked curiously only for him to return seeing he was a little heated "So fellow hog rider, how'd it go?" he asked trying to relieve some tension
"Please leave me alone" Brooklyn said
"If you want tips I can help, Elisa helped me get my motorcycle license" Naruto said trying to calm his brother down
Brooklyn just kept walking
"I thought you had a car" Broadway asked curiously as he scratched his head
"Eh I got both" Naruto said as he had time to kill
"He seemed mad" Lexington said
"Let's give him room to chill" Naruto said as he seemed like he needed some space
(The next day)
Naruto was enjoying his book when suddenly Isobu rolled into the room on his back
"Ack, little help?" Isobu asked curiously as he tried to flip himself back over
"What's the rush?" Naruto asked as he picked him up
"The Grimorum, it's missing!" Isobu said to him
"What?" Naruto said in surprise
"Hey Naruto, you seen Brooklyn, I can't find him anywhere" Broadway said
"Brooklyn… he wouldn't" Naruto said as with the sudden appearance of his uncle he had a bad feeling about this
(1 hour later)
Naruto sat with his father as the two looked at the city before seeing Brooklyn fly up to them
"I found this amazing place, it reminds me of our time, you gotta come see it, it's called the cloisters" Brooklyn said to him
"Sounds fascinating" Goliath said to him
Naruto would've said something as he heard metal footsteps "move" he said as he pushed his father as he was hit by a green blast
"What are you doing?" Brooklyn asked Coldsteel
"Fixing my nephew I must say you are predictable my boy" Coldsteel said the last part to Naruto
"Coldsteel" Goliath said roaring in anger
"You, you said you'd help him see the truth" Brooklyn said
"And he will. Naruto, humans are our enemies" Coldsteel said with a wicked grin
"Humans are our enemies" Naruto said in a almost robotic monotone voice as his eyes were completely green
"No, no no I wanted to free his mind not enslave it" Brooklyn said
"You wanted him to see the truth this was the only way" Coldsteel said
"Son" Goliath said in sadness before looking at his former brother
"He can't hear you, he's mine, take him" Coldsteel said to Naruto
Naruto looked at Goliath before backhanding him sending him flying
"Ooh home run hit" Coldsteel said laughing
"You tricked me!" Brooklyn said in rage
"Kid that's my favorite thing to do" Coldsteel said as he chuckled
"Snap out of it!" Brooklyn said only to get tossed by Naruto
"It's futile Brooklyn as long as I hold the book he is mine" Coldsteel said to him
"Than I'll have to rip it from you taking hands with it" Goliath said showing his rage
"Your welcome to TRY" Coldsteel said as he got tackled from behind by Demona "Naruto get her off me!" he yelled
"You will PAY dearly for what you did to my son all the pain you have felt will pale to the pain I will deliver" Demona said her eyes glowing the most brightest and furious shade of red
Naruto charged changing into his Gargoyle form as he smacked Demona off of Coldsteel
Brooklyn charged and tackled Coldsteel before getting kicked off
"Finish him!" Coldsteel said but Naruto did nothing "I hold the book you must do as I say" he said in anger
"You may hold the book but I hold the spell" Brooklyn said with a smirk "Naruto take him!" he said to his friend hating he had to command him
Naruto roared as he charged tackling Coldsteel down before getting kicked off
Coldsteel tore some pages from the Grimorum before flying off
"Oh brother what have I done" Brooklyn said to Naruto sadly
(30 minutes later)
"Is he gonna be like this forever?" Demona asked as she had a tear come down her face
"I looked over the book there was no counterspell" Brooklyn said as he looked through the book
"Wait we don't fight the spell we use it" Elisa said as she took the page "Okay Naruto, I hold the spell. I order you to live out the rest of your days as if you were not under the effect of a spell" she said to him as his eyes returned to normal
As everyone celebrated Demona had a small look of concern as certain spells had limits both based on power and on the user it was cast on she knew Naruto and the fact he didn't break the spell on her own worried her as it meant Coldsteel was now more powerful and with his intentions that was a scary thing 'get stronger Naruto' she thought looking at her son 'because I believe you are the only one capable of taking him down' she thought to herself
"I knew a race that has you as a member couldn't be all bad" Brooklyn said as he was very appreciative of her
"Uh thanks" Elisa said not knowing how exactly to respond
"Naruto I'm sorry everything he said it sounded so" Brooklyn said looking down in shame
"I know I could hear you all but couldn't do anything. His view of humanity is a half truth he's embraced thoroughly" Naruto said
"One he made me see for a long time" Demona said
"I'm surprised you didn't break free of it" Lexington said
"I almost did then Elisa did her thing" Naruto said with a chuckle
"Wait are you saying that you were literally just about to break free" Broadway asked in surprise
"Yeah thanks all the same" Naruto said as he grinned and rubbed the back of his head
Demona felt relief hearing that as it meant there wasn't a wide gap between her son and her brother
(2 weeks later)
"Well this is a surprise" Xanatos said to Naruto a bullet proof screen between them
"I don't wanna have to be here any longer than I have to" Naruto said to him simply
"What's wrong need to know how a credit card works?" Xanatos said teasingly
"A shipment of your weapons just got stolen and are on the streets" Naruto said to him simply seeing no change in Xanatos's expression
"And?" Xanatos said calmly
"Who would want to tick you off and why?" Naruto asked knowing there had ro be a motive
"I lot of people don't like me" Xanatos said simply
"Me among them" Naruto said to him
"But if you wanna try people try Tony Dracon" Xanatos said pointing him in a certain direction
"Never heard of him" Naruto said to him
"He's a criminal, ask your cop friend the two have a bit of a history together, Dracon would love nothing more than see Maza pushing up daisies" Xanatos said to him
Naruto lightly squeezed the table denting it
"Careful don't want any slips" Xanatos said as Naruto got up "wait" he said making Naruto stand still not looking back "Owen has some papers for you" he said to him
"For me? What for?" Naruto asked
"Easy police academy records" Xanatos said confusing Naruto making him sit back down
"Ok I'll bite what do you want" Naruto said wondering what the motive was
"Maybe I'm playing Cupid or maybe I'm just waiting for something Fox and Owen told me some information that you and the detective have gotten close" Xanatos said to him
"I don't know what game your playing but mess with her or my friends and family and you will wish Bronx got his fangs on you" Naruto said to him
"Life can be lonely without a partner, and honestly I think you need this" Xanatos said with a neutral look
"I don't need your charity, but… thanks" Naruto said as he walked away
(outside the prison)
"What he tell you" Elisa asked Naruto as Xanatos was more likely to see him than her
"He told me to look in the direction of a Tony Dracon" Naruto said simply "oh and apparently I'm a cop" he said to her simply
"Wait what? You don't even know how to operate a gun" Elisa said in surprise
"Thank Owen for making the paperwork" Naruto said wondering how the man was so skilled
"But why?" Elisa asked
"For some reason, he probably wants you to have protection, he said this thing with you and Dracon was kinda unhealthy in a way" Naruto said to her
"I've been trying to put Dracon behind bars for a long time Naruto" Elisa said as she hated the man with a passion
"Is he that bad?" Naruto asked wanting some details
"Worse" Elisa said to him "wanna pay him a visit" she said with a smirk
"Well I was thinking of going to your boss to make this official but okay" Naruto said as he liked to mess with his enemies
(half an hour later)
"Ugh, you could've mentioned this guy's cologne" Naruto said as he and Elisa were standing inside a hotel's lobby on some steps when the man in question walked down with some associates of his
Naruto could smell the cologne he was wearing and it was a little too strong for his sense of smell as it smelled old and crappy
"Elisa Maza conducting another pointless investigation" Dracon said with a superior grin
"I'm here concerning a stolen weapons shipment" Elisa said
"We had nothing to do with that" Dracon said with a smirk along with the rest of them
"Got an alibi?" Elisa asked
"Me and my friends here were hitting the town" Dracon said
"Let me guess you were all together with each other and no women wow you must be confident or unashamed that you and your friends enjoy each others company so much" Naruto said suggestively
Elisa covered her mouth to muffle a laugh before clearing her throat to get serious again
Dracon had a calm look and wanted to give him a strong glare but the man next to him shook his head silently telling him it wasn't worth it
As Dracon and his men walked past Naruto gagged as he backed up getting a really strong whiff of their cologne
"One of these days you'll slip up Dracon, and I'm gonna be there" Elisa said sternly
"I swear they might actually be screwing each other" Naruto said to her as his nose cringed "they all use that crappy cologne" he said making her smile
"Was it really that bad?" Elisa asked
"Like Gargoyle mead gone bad mixed with boar urine" Naruto said as he greedily took in the unfiltered air
(Outside in the limo)
"Hey Glasses take out Maza" Dracon said to his right hand man
"You sure?" Glasses asked as it was a big move as that particular detective was well known and liked and was investigating them
"It's about time she learned not to meddle in my business, make it look like an accident" Dracon said to him
(later that day)
"You know I suck at this cooking thing right" Naruto said with Elisa in her apartment making dinner
"Yeah I can tell." Elisa said as we was just about to burn the pork chop he was cooking
"You make all this seem so easy" Naruto said before shuddering as he looked down and saw a grey cat rubbing herself against his leg
"Cagney likes you" Elisa said as her cat was a bit temperamental with who touched her
"All animals like me" Naruto said as he attracted all sorts of animals
"Never got rubbed by a cat before" Elisa asked
"Only cat I've been around is the one with the flaming body" Naruto said as that was the truth
"Dogs?" Elisa asked as she didn't dislike the animal as she got along with Bronx swimmingly
"Oh we had a lot of hounds in the castle" Naruto said as he picked Cagney up and rubbed her body "She's vibrating" he said as he looked at Cagney
"Hmph, it's called purring." Elisa said with a small laugh
Naruto was soon alerted as he heard the sound of a small amount of glass cracked and when he looked at the window he saw a hole
"Naruto" Elisa said softly as she clutched her stomach and a large red wet spot appeared
Time seemed to slow as he turned around and saw Elisa drop to the ground with a bullet wound "No. No, no, no" he said as he turned the stove off "Elisa, Elisa!" he shouted as he clutched the wound "hospital" he said picking her up bridal style and went to the balcony and turned into a gargoyle and glided on the fastest wind current he could feel
(few minutes later)
"I need some help!" Naruto said now human running inside the hospital
The doctors began clutching the wound and asking him questions
"She, she's lost a lot of blood" Naruto said as he tried to stay calm and not have a panic attack as he had her blood literally on his hands and that frightened him as this was the blood of a friend
"She has a rare blood type are you a match" the doctor said asking his blood type and when he heard he was a compatible match "will you give her blood" he asked Naruto who nodded "we need to do a blood transfusion stat" he said calling a nurse
Naruto rolled his sleeve up "Take as much as you need" He said as when he looked over Elisa's police record he found her and his blood matched
(1 hour later)
"You know it's funny" Naruto said to Elisa who was still unconscious "back in my time sharing blood was a sacred thing it was meant for binding others, to make oaths, and all that" he said with a chuckle as she really effected him adjusting him to this new time
He moved a strand of hair from her face watching as she slept soundly, the only sound filling the room was the monitor beeping to show her heart was beating
"If only I was faster, if only" Naruto said growling as he held her hand "Don't stop fighting Elisa, come back to me. I vow to find the man who did this, and I will make him pay" he said as his eyes flashed white
The door opened making him quickly reel in his anger and he saw Elisa's family, her father Peter, mother Diane and her brother Derek, among them was the police chief Maria Chavez
"I heard you gave my daughter blood thank you" Peter said in gratitude
"Yeah, I was there when… I just had to do something" Naruto said sadly not wanting to be angry in front of Elisa's family
"So you're the Naruto my sister never shuts up about" Derek said joking trying to relieve some tension
"I know you're still recovering but do you have anything useful?" Maria asked him
"It was a sniper, a pro, I couldn't hear a gun go off so he must've used a suppressor" Naruto said to her
"Any ideas who?" Peter asked
"Dracon seemed kinda upset that Elisa was so determined to get him, wouldn't surprise me if he did it himself" Naruto said angrily
"I removed the bullet from the base of her spine the first hours of treatment have gotten her past a crisis point but she needs her rest" the doctor said to them
"Thank you" Naruto said to the doctor
"Thank yourself, if it wasn't for you giving your blood she might not have made it" The doctor said to him as it was a noble thing Naruto did
"Yeah" Naruto said walking out
When Naruto was gone he monitored Elisa and did one more check and as he left he didn't see the bullet wound close up slightly or that Elisa's skin tone changed from tan to an even lighter tan for a moment
When Naruto got outside he went into an alley and changed before taking to the sky
(with the others)
'Naruto' Demona thought as she could practically feel it in the wind feeling his bloodlust and soon it became even more real as she saw him in the distance
"Where have you been all night?" Brooklyn asked as Naruto landed
"Elisa's been shot they're still in the iffy stage if she'll pull through" Naruto said shocking all of them
'Someone is gonna die' they all thought as they could see Naruto's eyes glow red like his mother's
"Who?" Goliath asked impatiently not liking a friend of theirs was harmed especially when they had so few
"Only man I can think of, Dracon." Naruto said to them simply
"And where do we find him?" Hudson asked wanting a location
"Follow the trail of scum, someone will talk" Naruto said as he took to the sky
"Hudson, you and Bronx watch over Elisa, the rest of you are with us" Goliath said to his fellow gargoyles
"Aye lad" Hudson said as he picked Bronx up
"For once I'm glad we're stuck here" Shukaku said
"Why?" Gyuki said
"Because we'd maul that asshole to pieces" Kurama said growling
(The park)
A man pointed a high tech gun at another man before growling was heard as Naruto dropped on him letting the other man get away
"What is this? A new kind of gun, a new way to kill people?!" Naruto said as he crushed the gun in his hand "Where did you get it, who gave it to you?!" he shouted at the man
"A-A guy called Glasses, he's selling 'em" The man said
"Where?!" Naruto roared
"Canal Street down near the docks!" The man said before Naruto tossed him down before taking to the sky
(With Hudson)
Hudson's head shot up as a loud long beep was heard in the hospital room
"Code blue, code blue, ICU" A doctor said
"No" Hudson said as Elisa was flatlining
"Flatline, no pulse!" A nurse said
"Epinephrine" The doctor said as his assistant gave him a needle which he injected into Elisa
"Still flat" the nurse said
"Come on lass" Hudson said as he considered her one of them for the friendship and loyalty she displayed
"Get the paddles, 400 watt-seconds. Clear" The doctor said as the assistant used the paddles on Elisa
The beeping on the heart monitor returned
"Got her. Steady pulse rhythm" The nurse said in relief
The doctor sighed in relief wiping his brow
Bronx and Hudson sighed in relief as they laid down
(With Naruto)
Glasses was about to hand another man one of the laser guns they got from Xanatos' shipment but Naruto dropped onto the van behind him smashing it before he picked Glasses up by his head
"Where is Dracon?!" He roared making Glasses release every bodily fluid he had
(At a nearby warehouse)
Goliath landed on a rooftop as he followed Dracon out of the city with Demona before Naruto landed behind them
"I see you were successful in your way" Demona said knowing Naruto would've come as he learned from her about interrogation
"Where is he?" Naruto asked
"Inside" Goliath said
Demona smirked as this may have been considered family bonding but she felt it was bitter sweet as she like the others have come to like Elisa Maza
The trio dropped down
(Inside)
"Glasses calm down, you're not making sense, we better get this stuff moved out and what the hell, you smell like shit seriously" Dracon said before the trio of family tore through the side "Shoot 'em!" he said
Goliath looked at the breaker box for the building before he smashed it turning off the lights
Naruto landed in the middle of the group smashing a crate full of Xanato's weapons "You're mine! All of you!" he yelled before he backhanded Glasses knocking him out as he hit a steel crate
The men were shooting frantically as the light from the lasers was making light for them to see
Demona screeched as she tackled one
"Father!" Naruto said as he looked up seeing Dracon running up stairs
Dracon whimpered as the stairs shook as Goliath roared chasing after him
As Dracon got to the upper floors he aimed only to see nothing before getting grabbed by Naruto and lifted up
"I should throw you down to your doom!" He roared
Goliath and Demona looked at Naruto as he held Dracon over his head
"But… that's not what she would've wanted" Naruto said as he calmed down but still punched him in the face before dropping him only to wrap him up with the guard rail
"I would've killed him" Demona said as she got a hard look from her husband
"Gargoyle justice isn't human justice" Naruto said
A few minutes had passed as the trio looked at the restrained criminals before the doors opened and Owen walked in
"Of course you're the buyer" Naruto said
"Mr. Xanatos had to get the guns back somehow" Owen said
"Are these all the guns?" Goliath asked
"No, 37 are missing. I did the inventory report when I heard about the theft. That means a lot of thugs out there got some bad guns" Naruto said to him
Goliath grabbed a cannon
"What are you doing?" Owen asked curiously
"Making sure these guns don't fall in the wrong hands" Goliath said as he blasted all the guns destroying them before snapping the one he had in half
Naruto smiled as he respected him very much for this reason
"What are you doing?" Dracon said as Goliath dropped the two halves in his lap
"Making sure the police link you to the stolen weapons" Goliath said
"Mr. Xanatos will not like this" Owen said
"I'll take it up with him personally, now come along. We have sick friend to visit" Goliath said to his lover and son
(next day)
"Hey sleeping beauty" Naruto said as Elisa began to stir
"Heard you saved my life" Elisa said as she was in and out of it mostly but caught a few things
"I did nothing special" Naruto said to her as she lightly punched him in the arm
"You brought me here and gave me your blood that is special" Elisa said to him as they talked and laughed
"Gave us a good scare there for a minute" Naruto said
"Didn't think anything scared you being a knight and all" Elisa said with a small laugh
(outside)
The clan made a collective sigh of relief seeing Elisa was alright before taking off to go back to the castle
"You know in the old days sharing blood was a sign of marriage" Demona said to Goliath with a chuckle wondering how they'd react
"Don't start on that I don't think he could take it" Goliath said chuckling as well
(prison)
"How is she?" Xanatos asked Owen
"Perfectly healthy" Owen said to Xanatos simply
"Keep an eye on her" Xanatos said as he was thinking intensely "Naruto's blood is more valuable than the cells we got from Goliath due to his nature it'll be interesting to see what sort of developments will happen in. miss Maza" he said as he thought there was more to Elisa's quick recovery than 'quick healing'
A bearded man walked wearing a prison uniform
"I do believe I still have 20 minutes" Owen said looking at his watch
"Take all the time you need, I'm here with a offer for Mr. Xanatos" The man said as he sat down in a chair
"I'm listening" Xanatos said raising a brow wondering what someone would or could offer him in jail
"I hear you have a small pest problem, for a small fee I could take them off your hands" the man said
"I see and how will you go about this, Mr..." Xanatos asked leading on wanting a name
"Call me Macbeth" the man said
(At the castle)
Elisa was using crutches to go up some steps
"Crutches such a weird invention" Naruto said as he watched Elisa use them
"Weird? They suck" Elisa said as she hated them as they were tiring to use
As the two reached the top they found Macbeth standing there
"Hey" Elisa said not knowing who this was
"Hello madam" Macbeth said simply
"Who are you?" Naruto asked wondering why he was here to begin with
"They call me Macbeth" he said
"Like the guy from the book?" Naruto asked as he read that particular story
Macbeth chuckled a little
"Let's continue this inside" Elisa said
"Oh you protect no secrets madam, I know all about these creatures" Macbeth said gesturing to the gargoyles
"Oh" Naruto said getting in front of her
"And I know about you as well Mr Wyvern" Macbeth said to him
The sun went down and the Gargoyles began to wake up
"Macbeth" Demona said in surprise
"It's been a while Demona" Macbeth said
"Ok now I'm confused" Naruto said wondering how this man knew his mother
"I've come with a offer, leave this drafty castle and live with me at my estate" Macbeth said
"I'm afraid we must refuse" Goliath said as he was in no way giving up his home
"And I insist I wouldn't stoop so low as to attack you as you slept, but now" Macbeth said as he opened up his coat to show his weapons
"Stop" Demona said to him getting between them
"We have a truce Demona I will not break it for now but those terms don't apply to them" Macbeth said to her
"You will have my brother but the offer extends to my son am I clear" Demona said growling and hissing at him her eyes glowing a crimson red almost daring him to say otherwise
"Can someone please, explain what's going on?" Naruto asked wanting answers
"Meet me at this address tomorrow during the day" Macbeth said as he handed Naruto a slip of paper with an address "but since I came all this way I'd love to see you in action Goliath I've heard so much" he said cracking some bones looking at the colossal gargoyle
"Leave" Goliath said growling as he put a hand on Macbeth's shoulder before getting tossed
Goliath got back to his feet growling
"Okay let's stop this before someone gets hurt, and by someone I mean me" Demona said getting between them
"Fine. See you tomorrow, fellow knight" Macbeth said as he left
"Okay that was weird" Broadway said
"Isn't that your entire lives?" Elisa asked raising a brow wondering what normal was for them
"Touche" Lexington said
(next day at noon)
"You have the same look your mother has" Macbeth said as they drank some tea
"Thanks" Naruto said choosing to take that as a compliment
"I used to be friends with her, but life took a dark turn I may dislike her but I despise Iago more" Macbeth said
"Enemy of my enemy is my friend" Naruto asked him curiously
"That's why we called the truce, we both hate him" Macbeth said
"How did he become what he is"
"A magic spell, just like the one that was placed on myself and Demona, only it slowed his aging even more" Macbeth said to him "he has enhanced himself using alchemy always keeping up with the times wanting to be one step ahead of us" he said to him as he had to admit it was a difficult work around in the ages
"What's this spell that you mentioned?" Naruto asked him curiously
"Ancient sisters bonded our life forces, myself and Demona are immortal, no one can kill us except the other and in which means we both die" Macbeth said
"You are him the three sisters of fate" Naruto said realizing this was the genuine Macbeth
"Fate… I've grown to hate that word in all my years" Macbeth said
"Same" Naruto said as he thought fate was crap leaving people with no freedom or choice
"Why do you hate it?" Macbeth asked curiously
"A senile old man tried to manipulate my life to turn me into his child of prophecy" Naruto said
"I like you lad from what Demona said about you is true I would've gladly like to have known you in our time" Macbeth said as he respected Naruto's views and respected him as a fellow knight
"Once a knight always a knight, even if said knight lost his shield" Naruto said
"A knight is not dictated by the weapons or armor he wields but what he fights for" Macbeth said to him
"I know but I loved that shield" Naruto said with chuckle
"Just so you know….we don't know what'll happen" Macbeth said to him
"Immortality has a cost in it somewhere" Naruto said as he caught on "if the spell is undone you could turn to dust or time will resume for you" he said knowing that certain spells and curses had limits and costs
"Magic always a tricky thing" Macbeth said
"If we kill Coldsteel….we may also kill my mother" Naruto said calmly
"Yes, he found that little back up plan delightful" Macbeth said as he was fine with death but he didn't feel right taking away someone who in a short time he'd come like mother away
"So why did my mom stop the fight? She said she'd get hurt" Naruto asked him
"We feel the others pain, whatever happens to her happens to me when we're close" Macbeth said
"So the same for Coldsteel but since he has less of a body it's minimal" Naruto said to him thankful his mother and Macbeth wouldn't suffer
"Knowing him he's probably found a work around for that, he's not immortal no, like I said the sisters merely slowed his aging down even more. It's why he needed a new body" Macbeth said as they had a lucky break then
"His original body was reaching its end" Naruto said a little glad he had gotten screwed over
"Yes and apparently this new body doesn't have the spell of bonding to him" Macbeth said as he smiled at Naruto's smile
"I'll see what I can do" Naruto said to him "about the spells on all of you" he said to Macbeth seriously
"Now how well are you with your sword?" Macbeth asked as he had been itching for a good sword battle
"Pretty good" Naruto said with a challenging smirk
"We shall see" Macbeth said as he pressed a button showing a arsenal of weapons, one of which was a sword
The two grinned as they charged at each other
(12 hours later)
"I will kill you" Demona said banging Macbeth's head on the floor as she strangled him feeling the pain herself
"Your son is definitely a knight I would've liked to have back then" Macbeth said as Demona stopped trying to strangle him
"He won?" Demona asked raising a brow
"Oh no but he did better than most have did against me" Macbeth said happily
Demona sighed as she looked at her unconscious son with an idiotic grin on his face as he had some bruises and the floor and walls were covered in his and Macbeth's blood "Sometimes I wonder who has the harder head you or your father" she said
(1 hour later)
Demona and Naruto were flying home before they looked down to see the gang on a rooftop
"What are you doing?" Goliath asked as he just arrived as well
"I've found you a new home" Elisa said to them with a smile
"What?! How dare you, I told you that castle is our home!" Goliath yelled
"No Goliath she's right it's suicide to stay there" Broadway said
"Father you know they're right, it's just a place of stone and wood, home is much more than that. It's where all of us can be together and safe" Naruto said
Goliath made a loud roar of frustration before sighing
"Come on lad, let's go" Hudson said
"Give me one minute" Goliath said as he flew towards the castle
Naruto followed after him
(Inside the castle)
Owen was in the process of cleaning up the shattered glass from the cover that once held the Grimorum
"We have a message for your master, we're leaving. But we'll be back, we'll be back to claim that which is ours" Goliath said as he walked away
"Bet on it" Naruto said following his father
"I'll pass along the message" Owen said
Goliath and Naruto stood on the edge of the castle taking in one last long look before diving down through the air
(few hours later)
The gargoyles looked around the clocktower that was attached to the police precinct
"I bet I could get this working again" Lexington said looking at the bell
"Why would you want to?" Brooklyn asked as it seemed like a dumb idea
"Yeah seriously that's a headache just asking to happen" Naruto said as it'd go off every hour and ring the number of time it hit
"Yeah leave that clock alone" Shukaku said deadly serious
"It's not so bad, there's room over there for a television" Hudson said
"Yeah throw a couple rugs down, a lot of cleaning, it'll be home" Kokuo said
"A whole lot of cleaning" Kurama said coughing as he kicked dust up
"Alright I know it's a fixer upper" Elisa said knowing it wasn't the best but it was something
"As long as we are safe it is home" Goliath said
"Sun's coming up and after my little sword match with Macbeth I could use some stone sleep" Naruto said rubbing his shoulder and soon transformed into a gargoyle
The gargoyles took their positions on the terrace and as the sun rose they turned to stone
Elisa smiled knowing that they were safe as she left and as she left she stretched as her shoulder blades had been hurting as she felt like it was poking her skin it felt a little weird at times but she smiled in relief feeling of tension disappear as she stretched
(few days later)
"So how are you doing?" Naruto asked his mother on the very top of the clock tower
"Fine as one could be" Demona said having a far away look in her eyes
"I miss the castle too" Naruto said as he knew his mother was being less vocal than his father but shared the same opinion as him a rare sight if there ever was one
"If only there was a way to make him feel like we feel right now" Demona said referring to Xanatos wanting to make him suffer
"If it makes you feel better I stole a lot of his furniture" Naruto said as when night came he stole most of the comforts like chairs and the tv from Xanatos
Demona covered her mouth as she chuckled as that did cheer her up slightly
"I also stole the grimorum" Naruto said to her as there was no way he was leaving that with Xanatos
Suddenly Lexington flew up to them "It's Elisa she got something for us" he said
The trio flew back down and landed on the balcony before walking inside
There they saw the others looking at the small TV Elisa brought them yesterday looking at security footage
They saw what looked like a Gargoyle taking a priceless jewel, The Eye of Odin
"That's metal" Naruto said as he could see the glimmer from when small lights hit it
"The steel clan? I thought we wrecked all of 'em" Broadway said as he whined
"Clearly he made more" Goliath said as he was angry that there was something that had his face still walking around
"I don't understand why donate the jewel only to steal it back?" Elisa said not seeing a motive
"Insurance scandal" Naruto said as Xanatos couldn't be faulted or have his tax deductions taken away due to the museum losing the thing
"And if he rebuilt the robots, he clearly would have them upgraded" Demona said as Xanatos wouldn't send the robots out unless there was some sort of upgrade
"Great I'm looking forward to healing from blaster burns again" Naruto said sarcastically
"First he steals our home, now he steals our very identity!" Goliath said angrily
"I am not looking forward to this" Brooklyn said as the steel clan was very hard to fight
Goliath headed towards the balcony
"Where are you going?" Elisa asked in worry knowing one shouldn't act on anger
"To have a chat with Xanatos" Goliath said in a low threatening voice
"The city is on alert, I don't think that's a good idea" Elisa said as many people had their eyes on the sky tonight and her brother had informed her that he and many others would be on standby
"He's still going, hard headed father" Naruto said as Brooklyn, Lexington and Broadway left with him
"Where did you think you got it from?" Demona said raising a brow wondering why he left himself out
"Come on" Elisa said as she grabbed Naruto
"Where?" Naruto asked spreading his wings
"To try and stop them" Elisa said seriously
"Wouldn't be much of your partner if I didn't go with you" Naruto said as he put the papers Xanatos put to good use becoming Elisa's police partner despite being so new
"I still do not understand the concept of partners, is it like marriage partners?" Demona said feigning ignorance
Naruto faltered in a step "Mother!" he said blushing brightly as she chuckled
(15 minutes later)
"I swear I get all the bad drafts" Naruto said as he was the last one here
The two suddenly heard blaster fire and when Naruto looked down he saw two of the steel clan robots with a red and black one and the trio was looking down at the group
"Bet the red one's the leader" Elisa said as no one made just one member of the group special without some kinda purpose
"They don't know I'm up here, let's sneak up on them" Naruto said with a grin
Naruto adjusted his hold of Elisa, shifting her to one arm and blasted the trio of robotic gargoyles with a lightning blast from his free hand
The trio of metal gargoyles dropped to the roof with the others as the red one looked at Naruto and Elisa
"I don't think that's a robot" Naruto said to Elisa
"What do you mean?" Elisa asked
"Look how it moves" Naruto said as he looked at it as it looked at him noticing the subtle human twitches "Xanatos" he said with a glare
The other two robots eyes flashed as they got back up
"Clearly he wants to find out where we live now" Naruto said as Xanatos didn't want to be left in the dark
"Please tell me you have a plan." Elisa asked him
"Yeah it's called follow the leader" Naruto said as he took off in a direction as Goliath, Lexington, Broadway and Brooklyn followed him
"Where are we going?" Goliath asked him wondering what Naruto's idea was
"There" Naruto said pointing at the statue of liberty "Sorry Elisa, gonna need both hands" he said as he dropped her off on the torch
"This is not funny" Elisa said in both anger and annoyance knowing Naruto was probably/definitely smirking
"Okay when they get close, split" Naruto said to the others
The red one charged and tackled him making the two land on the statue's head
Lexington went up as one chased him while Brooklyn dove down as the other one chased him
Broadway saw how Brooklyn was flying before coming up with an idea, he tore off a piece of the statue and molded it into a bat
"Broadway!" Brooklyn said as he was heading in his direction
As Brooklyn went past Broadway, the blue green gargoyle readied himself "Batter up!" he said as he swung knocking the robot right into the book of the statue smashing it
"Home run!" Brooklyn said as the two high fived
Lexington saw the robot was keeping up with him "So you can keep up, let's see how well you move" he said
Lexington began doing loops and other maneuvers before diving down towards the statue, he smirked as the robot increased speed before he spread his wings out slowing down "What goes up, must come down" he said as the robot slammed into the statue exploding
Naruto and the red robot were in a arm lock trying to out muscle the other "you know most people would pay a lot for this kinda thing" he said to Xanatos
"A robotic exosuit wearing billionaire fighting a gargoyle knight, sounds like a movie scene" Xanatos said jokingly
"A awesome one" Naruto said before he flipped back tossing Xanatos back "also I was referring to beating the living hell out of a parent" he said cracking some bones as he beat the robot version of his father
"Don't I know it" Xanatos said off handedly referring to his own father having wanted to take many swings at him in his early life
"It's only you now" Goliath said as the trio landed around Xanatos
Xanatos looked to see the remains of the other two robots "All that work, down the drain. Oh well back to the drawing board" he said flying off
"Come on we can get him" Broadway said
"Later, news choppers incoming" Naruto said as he went to get Elisa "Hey" he said as he picked her up
"About time" Elisa said glaring at him not at all pleased at being a damsel
"At least the views great" Naruto said looking at the city
"Can't argue with that" Elisa said as she pressed her head into him enjoying the flight
(Back at the clocktower)
"Beat Xanatos, stopped his tinkertoys, and now the city thinks the gargoyle thief was a robot. Clear times now" Naruto said with a chuckle
"Yes but this means Xanatos is upping his game, robots can be rebuilt" Demona said knowing this wasn't over not by a long shot
"Yeah and something tells me they're gonna be tougher than the ones we faced tonight" Brooklyn said rubbing the bruises he got
"Well it's almost morning, and I am beat" Elisa said feeling tired
"I'll take ya home" Naruto said picking her up again
"What is with you picking me up so much" Elisa said giggling as she teased him
"Force of habit, I used to have to do this to the princess a lot" Naruto said
Elisa became slightly jealous at that mention but then remembered that the princess was long dead
"Yeah poor lass always was in the worse places when attacks happened" Hudson said as he remembered one of their first meetings when her father was poisoned
"So you always had to carry her to safety?" Elisa asked raising a brow
"Well I am a knight and it was my duty to protect her. No matter how many times she hit me when I did" Naruto said as the princess was a real piece of work at times
"Try not to have too much fun" Demona teased
"Mother we're just friends!" Naruto said with a dark blush on his face
Naruto then flew off with Elisa to her apartment
(20 minutes later)
"I think I'll crash on your balcony" Naruto said as there were minutes if not seconds till sunlight and when he was hit he turned to stone to heal from his fight with Xanatos
Elisa just smiled kissing his cheek and as she went to her bed and lied down she didn't see as her skin became a lighter shade for a moment she seemingly turned to stone momentarily not that she noticed in her exhaustion as she then appeared to be normal