Blue eyes met calm gold.

Boy meets girl.

Human and…

Human?

The male blonde stares unblinkingly, his mind trying to figure out who this person in front of him is. She looks human, at least human enough for Naruto. He hasn't seen a Youkai, so he doesn't really know how one looks like. But the miko did tell him that most Youkais took on human like appearance. So seeing a person in a place where there's most likely to be Youkais instead of humans, he is left with this kind of thought.

"Hello…?"

"Hi…?"

She responded, her voice clearly shows her age. She looks young, but probably older than him. Her eyes are just as curious as his, and her docile and doll like face aren't things that he get used to see. Over all, this woman is suspicious. Instead of him, what would a person do in this kind of forest anyway? It's cold, it's hard to walk due to the snow and he could get lost if it wasn't for his strong sense of direction.

Thinking is nice and all, however, he should put an end to this uncomfortable and awkward pause. This woman doesn't look like she'll say anything so he'll go first. "Eh, nice to meet you. I'm an… what is the term again… oh yeah, I'm an outsider." At the mentioning of the term, he could see the woman making a face of realization already. Are outsiders really that common here? "And if you don't mind me asking, where in the hell am I?"

To his surprise, the girl approached him and nodded in understanding. "We are in the Forest of Magic." She revealed. Her eyes observed him closer, face scrunching in doubt. "A pretty dangerous forest for outsiders like you… tell me, whatever business do you have here?" she asked. From her tone, Naruto could already tell that she was pretty concerned, maybe this forest is her home or something.

"I need to find a Gap hag. I don't know what or who this hag is but, from what the other blonde told me, she is a pretty awesome hag." The blonde boy said out in a wondering manner. "Do you know where can I find some Gap hags? Do they live in caves or something?"

The girl, who has just heard the explanation from the boy, took in a deep breath. She pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. Outsiders and their lack of knowledge of things… she was sure that there is a library that outsiders could visit to learn more about this place. Why didn't they just take their time and read? If she meets another one like this, then she will go crazy.

"First off, there are no such things as a gap hag. It's nothing but a term." The way she's correcting him is strict, akin to that of a teacher and a student. "Second, please follow me. I will answer as much answer as you want to later." She turns her back on him, walking several steps. Judging from her lack of words or instruction, she really wants Naruto to follow.

The blonde haired ninja shrugged, before following the woman wordlessly. The woman began leading him through the forest, it's almost as if she remembered where this place really is. It's no surprise if this woman is bringing him to her house. He really isn't going to be surprised if she's a Youkai to begin with. From the way he thinks about the things here, people are pretty normal about Youkais. When he was walking in the village, he overheard people talking about Youkai. Some talk about them being helpful, some talk about them being a pain in the ass and some are just too ignorant to talk. Maybe he's a hypocrite about the ignorant comment, but he can't help but see it that way.

This walk sure is long. He knows that he likes adventuring, but not so much in a climate like this. His body is already freezing as much as it could get, without him getting paralyzed, and his mind is just too… confused to think. While this place looks nice and all, he got his own set of troubles back home. He can't just stay in here and hide while his problems continue to get bigger and bigger. In short, he needs to really get back to Konoha or the Elemental Nation for all that matters. However, Marisa said that this Gap hag person is hard to find, so that's one thing he'll have to think of solving.

"Hey if you don't mind… what's your name?" he suddenly asked. He was thinking too much that he had forgotten to ask for this woman's name.

The woman hummed in thinking, holding her book closer to her chest. "I'm Alice. Alice Margatroid." The now identified as Alice introduced herself to the boy. "You can just call me Alice."

He bristled silently upon hearing her name. "Alice… huh… what a weird name. But hey, I've been experiencing weird things ever since I'm here…" the boy muttered to himself, but it was no use since Alice managed to hear what he was saying.

To prove her point, she spoke. "Oh don't worry, you'll get used to it." Alice doesn't need to turn around to see the surprised expression Naruto is making. "What about you? What's your name? I've said mine, and it's not polite when you don't introduce yours, right?" she half asked and half demand.

Naruto stopped for a second. He then grins, scratching the back of his head in a sheepish manner. Resuming walking, he answers the woman's question. "Hehe… sorry. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. The most badass ninja you could ever find in your whole fucking life." He self-introduced proudly with his nose up high and a thumb on his chest.

This manner of action caused the woman to giggled, expressing her amusement. "Really? A ninja? What kind of ninja wears orange?" she joked while asking.

"Heh, the awesomest one of course." The so called badass ninja huffed with a satisfied smirk. "But in all honesty, I really like the color orange. It's… a mixture of two other colors that also happens to be my favorite." Naruto shrugged, saying it as honest as he can. "While it's weird for a ninja to wear orange, I want to have that sense of individuality. I want to be different in a way, from others."

His answer caused her to be silent for the whole minute. Thinking to herself, the answer that he gave was pretty much acceptable. There is a sense of selfishness and pride, as expected from a human. She too was a human herself, and she can't really say that much has changed ever since the day she became a Youkai.

The deeper they get into the forest, the colder it becomes. At this point, Naruto began to shiver, he rubbed and hug his own frame, doing whatever he can to keep himself warm. There are trees around him that could be useful to create fire. He knows a number of Katon jutsus, but he's not just going to run up to a tree, chop it off and burn it to keep himself warm. At least not with a girl watching him, that'll be weird as fuck.

But thankfully, he does not have to be in cold any longer, because they are approaching a cottage or house of some sort.

"This is my house, please, come in." Alice gestured to the door when they are near enough to the small cottage. For Naruto, the house looks comfy and warm, a perfect shelter for cold times. He's just glad to know that he won't have to stay in the cold further. He managed a small smile, feeling a little grateful.

"Sorry for intruding…" letting himself in, the ninja is greeted by the sight of a normal living room. There is a sofa, a coffee table, an arm chair and lights to keep the room bright. He can already feel the lack of cold upon entering, Alice walked passed him, walking to the kitchen or something.

"Please wait here while I get the tea ready." She said, gesturing to the sofa.

The other blonde replied by sitting on one of the sofa, sinking into the soft surface of the furniture. It has been a long time ever since he could rest his body properly. Tree branches and ground aren't the best place to sleep. He would take this sofa over those. He just can't imagine the faces of those ROOT operatives that are currently trying to search for him, not that they really have faces. Danzo is one fucked up motherfucker, the reason why he created his private army was for fucked up reasons as well.

Brain washing, ruthless training, child soldiers… those three terms are enough to summarize what ROOT really is. For him, all those things are fucked up. And if this whole ROOT thing were to be brought to court, Danzo could not hide the fact that he has been using child soldiers, brain washed them and use them for whatever diabolical or conspiracy he's planning. He is sure that the third Hokage knows of this, but what confuses him is why hasn't the old man done anything about Danzo?

The third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was the teammate of Shimura Danzo. They were buddies, but now, even the civilian council could sense the sense of rivalry and bitterness between the two old timers. He personally knows this, because he had been exposed to their arguments and disagreements many times.

…

…

"I'm sorry for the wait."

Soon later, Alice returned from the back carrying a tray full of cups and plates. The smell of butter and sugar hits Naruto's nose. He can already tell that she is also serving some sweet based snacks. But there is one problem… he can't stand sweets. Eating sweet is an equivalent of tasting salt water mixed with iodine solution. Or in other words, it's very bad. He cannot get rid of the bitter expression in his face, so instead, he mixed it with an awkward smile.

Alice, who has placed the tea and cookies on the table, noticed the expression that Naruto is making. "Hm? Is something wrong?"

"No, there's nothing wrong here Alice. Just…" his eyes slowly hinting at the plate full of cookies in front of him, something that Alice failed to notice. "Cold, yeah, cold."

"Ah… the heater will kick in soon, I ran out of firewood so I had to search for them." so that explains why she's outside… though it's weird, why isn't she carrying anything like a bag or something? Sitting on the other sofa that was placed opposite to Naruto, she claps her hands. Suddenly, small blur began appearing right around her. Naruto was too shocked to do anything, he can't react without doing anything reckless like hitting the table or something.

"Whoa!"

"Hm? Oh, sorry, I haven't told you about them have I?" Alice took a moment to let all of the floating… dolls to approach her. "These are my dolls, this is Shanghai," she gestured to the one nearest from her. "Hourai," another one, floating not far from Shanghai. "And Holland."

Blinking repeatedly, Naruto remembered that he is currently in a place where girls shoot projectiles and things like monsters exist. So knowing something like this shouldn't be surprising. That and also, something like this also common from where he's from. Puppetry, the art of using puppets, both organic and inorganic, to help you in combat. He learned the basics, but was never too interested in the art. He prefers his chains instead of strings, though chakra strings can be pretty useful sometimes…

"Aah… puppetry eh? Been a while since I saw someone doing it." The last time he saw people using it was in his stay in Sunagakure. He had attracted the attention of the Spec ops division of Suna, which is known as SAND. They're pretty similar with the ANBU, but a lot less diligent when it comes to border patrol.

"Oh? You know puppetry?" Alice asked with interest. Knowing that someone is familiar with what it is that she does is something rare. Even her fellow magicians are not familiar with the concept of puppetry.

"I learned the art, though just the basic. I learned on how to make the 'strings' and it took me weeks to realize that they aren't normal strings." The boy muttered at the particular memory. "Aside from that, no. I was not really interested in puppetry in the first place. And even if was, I doubt that it'll really help me, concerning what type of person I am…"

"I see… anyway, what do you wish to know?" Alice directed their conversation to the main topic. "I can only answer a few, but I suppose that it should be enough if you have decided to stay in Gensokyo."

"Let's see… hmm… how about you? Are you a Youkai or not?" the male blonde bluntly asked.

Alice, blinked. Seriously not expecting that kind of question from the boy. She however, knew that it would eventually come to this. Out of all the outsiders that she has helped, Naruto is the first one to ask of her… status. And being the honest woman she is, there is no use in lying. "I am a Youkai, though I used to be human."

"Eh? So Youkais were once human?" Naruto wondered.

"No, though there are circumstances… most Youkais are beings that are… naturally created, just like humans." She doesn't like the way this conversation is going, she needs to direct it somewhere else.

"Meh, too boring." The blonde boy waved the topic off. "Okay, second question, do you know where the gap hag lives? Or whoever this gap hag is?" if Alice was surprised before, she is again now.

Normally, outsiders would ask things like: 'Where is the nearest town?' or 'Is there any way that I could return back to my world?' or even 'Is there a way for me to defend myself?'. So hearing someone wanting to know the whereabouts of a certain Youkai is something new for her. Regardless, she needs to answer Naruto's question as per agreement.

"This Gap hag is a woman called Yakumo Yukari. She is a very mysterious woman, so no one really knows about her current whereabouts much more where she lives." Alice started, stating it as brief as she can.

"So how do people… communicate with her?"

"They don't." Alice said with closed eyes. "She is the one who communicates with people. And she has the power to alter with gaps, something similar to that of a portal that lets her to see, go through or even hear when one is placed nearby… I'm not really surprised if she is currently hearing our conversation right now."

"Ah… so this Yukari person is awesome after all…" Naruto muttered under his breath. "Anyway, is there really no way for me to find this Yukari lady? You made her sounds like a stalker and a shady person."

Alice giggled. "She is. It could be considered as a hobby, but the fact that she is mysterious remains unchanged." The tone of voice that Alice used is different from the previous one, it seems… serious. "Any form of interaction with her could only bring bad results… to the one who is dumb enough to interact with her. Even some of the well-known Youkais here try to avoid her as much as possible." Alice finished. But she can't help but ask. "Why are you so keen in finding her?"

Naruto took his time to sip from his cup of tea. "Do I really need a reason to? I'm an outsider, which means that I come from the outside. Which also means that I have a place to return to. Reimu and Marisa said that I could return back home because this Yukari lady could like transport or teleport to different dimensions and all that git. I know that dimension travelling is possible." Naruto said before Alice could ask. "It's the reason why I'm here in the first place."

At that last particular point, Alice shows her interest by raising an eyebrow. "You were transported by Yukari? How come…? I'm pretty sure she would at least made herself known to people who she brought along with her… what is that woman up to?" she knows what type of person Yukari Yakumo is. But as far as she knows, it could only be false. No one gets that woman, not even Reimu and Marisa themselves. The one who is closest to her is the Ghost Princess from the Netherworld, but she doubt that she'll be so keen in sharing a thing or two about her friend.

Alice remembered something. "Wait, you've met Reimu and Marisa before?"

Naruto nods his head in affirmation. "Yup, they're weird girls. Especially the shrine bitch…" the way he addressed Reimu surprises Alice greatly. No one has ever dared to call Reimu in such illicit and profane manner. Not even her close friend, Marisa. Naruto continues. "The other one… she's fine. We didn't get to talk much, though I can already tell that she's actually a pain in the ass…"

"Please don't get the wrong idea about those girls…" Alice said defensively. "They may be rough right around the edges, especially Reimu, but they're all good girls." She stated.

The blonde male blinked. "You talk as if you know them personally or somethin'…"

"I do. I've known them since a very long time, and I could say that they're actually good friends. " The puppeteer said while nodding. "We have been working together in incident solving for a few times, they are also strong."

At the mentioning of the 'strong' part, Naruto scoffed. He crossed his arms, looking away. "Strong you say? She can't even take care of an oversized boar that has been possessed by an evil spirit or something. It took me and my royal awesomeness to do the trick." His bravado showing, the ninja shows no shame in in smiling. "Sure, what she did was awesome and all, but it looks like that isn't enough to stop an overgrown pig."

Alice hummed, thinking on how she could prove the young man wrong. She acknowledges her friends' skills greatly, she even respect them. But the thought of someone talking trash about her friend's ability is absolutely wrong to her. So she needs to prove him wrong… but how…?

Ah, Danmaku.

Finishing her cup of tea, Alice then smiles. The smile she's showing, however, is different than her usual ones. At least the ones that Naruto had seen on her face. "Then would you like me to show you how… awesome… danmaku can be?" her tone stretched out the word 'awesome'. In an instant, she has managed to get the attention of her fellow blonde.

Naruto, remained indifferent. His sign of curiosity is merely the raise of an eyebrow. "Eh? What do you mean?" was the intelligent reply that came out of Naruto's lips.

Alice placed her now empty cup back on the table's surface. She gestured by spreading her arms apart from her. "What I'm saying is that I, Alice Margatroid, challenge you, Uzumaki Naruto, into a danmaku duel. The person who surrenders first loses. Is that agreeable?" she tilted her head.

"I would love to accept your request doll face but one thing though…" a smile formed on Naruto's face. "I don't know danmaku."

Alice, however, remained unaffected by his reasoning. It's not a reason, actually. It was a fact. She knows that an outsider could not simply learn danmaku in a short period of time. "That's no matter. I will be using danmaku, and you will be using whatever tricks you have got underneath your sleeves."

Tension rise into the air. The atmosphere is getting thick and uncomfortable. Both blondes are trying their best from keeping their true intention from seeping out. In Alice's case, she is feeling frustration and mild anger. In Naruto's case, he is feeling annoyance and anger.

The male blonde speaks with his voice still as easy going as before. "I think that you might want to put more… advantages in your part, Miss Alice." He could see the slightest twitch of finger coming from the woman. "From what I've observed from Reimu, these… danmaku doesn't do much damage. A knife would do so much better in my case."

He's underestimating her… he'll regret that. Instead of showing her irritation, Alice agrees. "Very well, I will. I will give you all I have. And if I were to win… you will admit that you are wrong on danmaku being inferior."

Naruto raised his hands up. "Now now… I never did say that danmaku is inferior now did I?" his words caused Alice to gulp. Knowing that she had just indirectly forced words into Naruto's mouth. "Hm. But whatever, I'll go with this stupid rule. But if I were to win… let's just say that you'll have more questions to answer, okay?"

The moment he said his condition to her, Alice could feel that she was making a big mistake already. But there is no turning back. Turning back from this would be the same as turning back on her own words, and that would be the last thing she'll do. So, without any other choice, she nodded. "Deal."

Outside…

"So… how should we start this?"

"We will turn and take three steps each. Once we've taken three steps each, we will start."

"Good."

The cold winter evening in Gensokyo is truly unforgiving. People in the human village have the least thing to worry about since their strategic location is devoid from any natural disaster or calamities. The same cannot be said for the forest though. In the Forest of Magic, the climate tends to be worse than it is on the other remaining parts of Gensokyo. Maybe it is due to the high exposure or radiation of magic that this place is giving off.

But that is not a problem for both Alice and Naruto. Right now, all that matters, is about winning this fight.

Both blonde are tensed, seeing that none of them know what the other's skill looks like. Especially for Alice, since she hasn't seen anything out of the ordinary from the other blonde. Naruto knows that Alice uses puppets. He knows how puppet users fight, but this is a danmaku match here, he can't really tell what will happen. He swears, if things get a little bit out of hand… he'll be forced to use that.

Seeing that they both have made the first step, Naruto inched his hand closer to the kunai pouch that he had with him. Alice's fingers twitched, getting a little bit on edge. A gust of cold, freezing air blew pass them, intensifying the scene further. Then they make the second step, this time, Naruto is sweating a little bit from his forehead. Meanwhile, Alice is silently preparing a Spell Card out from her arsenal.

Then it is finally the third step.

"Blue Sign: Benevolent French Dolls!"

"Uzumaki: Kusari."

Alice turns around, her puppets shooting out red and green patterned bullets like projectiles. Her eyes widen when they see the boy. She saw him with his hands outstretched, chain links continuously coming out as if they are infinite. The chain is coming for her and she knows better than to get hit from an attack like that. She took it to the air, dodging the incoming chain by a hair's breadth. Naruto, however, isn't doing so well in dodging. He took the bullets straight on, but he isn't showing any signs of pain or whatsoever.

'T-This boy… what unique ski-" She was not allowed to finish her thoughts. An incoming strike from behind, revealed to be Naruto's chain, grazed her right at the arm. Alice winced, feeling an intense burning sensation right where she was grazed. 'Wha- What are these chains?' the puppeteer thought incredulously. An attack from a normal chain shouldn't have wounded her in the first place, but this chain is far from normal. Aside from the intense pain she's getting, she also feels her magic decreasing.

"Hey don't ignore me doll face!" the boy jumped, catching up to Alice in the air. He brought his hands together, balling them into fists. With a cry, he outstretched them to the woman. "Take this! Falling glutton!" more chains started to form from the boy's arms, all of them are aiming for Alice. He knew that the quickest and easiest way to beat her is to aim for her directly, a puppeteer is highly vulnerable when it comes to close ranged attacks after all.

Seeing the incoming danger, the puppeteer summons more puppets or dolls to her aid. "Hourai, Shanghai!" she called for her two famous dolls. She was aggravated by the fact that she is forced to even use her two most trusty dolls. Beating the boy is harder than what she thought. The two dolls' eyes shine a bright golden color, intimidatingly. Then a decent sized golden laser shoots out from the two dolls' eyes, taking Naruto's incoming chains head on.

"Tch… wasn't expecting that…" so this girl is also combat efficient… especially deadly with her puppets. He needs to change his tactics, charging in like what he had planned to do isn't going to work well now that he know that she can do something like that. Pulling his chains back, he later dropped down to the ground, dodging Alice's incoming laser along the way. The puppeteer focused her attention on the boy, her dolls are on standby.

"Let's see how you'll handle this doll face…" the shinobi muttered with a hint of attitude, his lips stretched to a battle manic grin. The chains that are wrapped around his arms grew redder, making it even more intimidating. They then multiply, almost like metallic tentacles that could rip someone to shreds just by grabbing it. Naruto vanished from the spot he was in, this sudden development caused Alice to be surprised.

"Impossi-GURK!" A knee was planted to Alice's gut, the doll maker spits out blood and saliva combined, her golden eyes wide in surprise and shock. 'H-How… this is…' but Naruto's sudden attack did not stop there. He turns and delivers a roundhouse kick to Alice. The kick connects, hitting Alice right in the face. The force of the kick sent the girl stumbling away, in mid-air. She tried hard to regain control of her flight, but to her fortune, she managed to keep flight.

Naruto dashed forward, chaining his attacks by delivering an incoming chain whip to the Youkai. But all of the times where she was forced to dodge Reimu's Fantasy Seal was put to action. She swooped down, dodging the chain whip. She soars up, her dolls shooting out bullet patterned projectiles at Naruto.

The ninja dodged them while he was falling, doing whatever dodging maneuver he could do. Of course, this doesn't mean that he is safe from being grazed or even hit from Alice's attacks. The shots have actually started to sting. Naruto winced, but refusing to show that he is in pain. Landing on a nearby branch, he crouched instinctively, dodging an incoming doll. He looked back and was graced by the sight of explosion.

"These things explode…" he muttered. Having no time to be in daze, he quickly aim for the puppeteer once again. His chains extended, Naruto went for Alice. The Youkai was doing a good job on avoiding Naruto's incoming chains, she flies in a pattern, while shooting off bullets to fend off the chains in any way she could. But whatever method she tried are useless. The chains won't break, nor they show a sign of stopping. It's as if Naruto has full control of his chains. Almost making them an extension of him.

Alice was busy dodging the incoming chains that are after her, she failed to notice another chain suddenly aimed in front of her. With no time to react, she could only tilt her head sideways, avoiding critical damage. But was struck right at the shoulder blades, causing a rather deep gash. Alice bit her lips in pain, feeling blood seeping out from her back rapidly. The wound is deep, and the fact that she was hit by those chains of his leaves her weakened.

"What are these chains…? I felt weak suddenly…" the blonde doll maker managed to gasp out, her figure heaving. She is panting hard. This is the second time she was hit by Naruto's chains. It looks like those chains are draining her energy out from her, this is dangerous. If she were to reach zero, then there's no guarantee that she will win this match.

"Come on… is that all doll face? You got anything else?" the Uzumaki taunted with a cocky smirk. He said it before and he'll say it again, pissing his opponent is something he's good at. This works for all people, even the level headed ones like Alice. He has faced different types of people before. Some are annoying, and some are twice as that. But they all have the same thing: They're practically a bitch when they're angry.

Angered by the fact that he is not taking this seriously, Alice thinks that it's time to take this up a notch. Her puppets assemble close to her, all are on standby in an almost army like position. Then, weapons like lances, swords, mallets, knives and other thinkable weapons, are being hold by the dolls. Naruto narrowed his eyes, his guard steadily going up. It seems that she's no longer holding back…

"Doll maker's death!"

In an instant, all dolls began to lunge at him with terrifying speed. The fact that they are carrying both sharp and blunt weapons, adds up the scary factor. Naruto clicked his tongue, this is going to get ugly. He dodged back, taking a short retreat to the trees. Underneath the cover of a tree is where he'll be safe. The dolls will be having a hard time trying to kill him like this.

At least that's what he thought.

A doll with a knife managed to pierce him right in the shoulders. Naruto ignored the pain, but another door, this time with a lance as big as a kunai, pierced him in the other shoulder. Soon later, the blonde ninja finds himself to be stabbed, injured, by the dolls like a pin cushion. It's amazing that none of the dolls hit his vital areas like the heart or jugular vein. If so, he could be in major shit right now. His legs are immobilized, meaning that he can't use it when dolls are sticking their knives into them.

He bit the urge to scream, seeing that it won't help him. Not to mention, he's used to feeling this kind of thing.

Alice, slightly worn up and bruised, floats down near the immobilized teen. Her breathing ragged and stomach hurting, she really wasn't expecting someone, who is not an Oni, to hit that hard. That kick that he delivered was somewhere near Suika's level. "Do… you… give up…" the blonde doll maker asked, more puppets appear behind her, trying to convince the boy to surrender.

But unfortunately for dear Alice, she doesn't know what type of person Naruto is.

"Like hell I will."

"Wha!"

Massive power outburst bursts out from the blonde human. Alice was forced down to the ground, hitting the rough ground hard. The energy that hit her is like fire. It burns, yet it does not sting. It's… vile. Evil. Almost like poison to her. She looked, her form shaking while maintaining her eyes on the boy. Her dolls are melting as if they were ice, just what manner of power is this!? Even for an outsider, this is too much. No, this is too much for an outsider!

The burst of energy coming from the boy ended, leaving Alice in a shocked aftermath. Now free of the dolls, Naruto glared at the puppeteer with the eyes of a shinobi. It caused the reaction that he wanted. He figured out earlier that, since this place is bound on using this non-lethal method of fighting, they are not really accustomed to killing or being killed. So being a horrible jerk he is, he'll use that as his advantage.

Those eyes that Alice saw changed. Gone was the friendly and bright cheerful blue. They are replaced with a murderous, if not cold, and deadly eyes. Even if she's a Youkai, killing does not sit very well in her books. It does make sense as to why people kill, but it just feels wrong to do it without a proper reason. From just looking at those eyes of his, she could already see that this person is a killer. A deadly killer. Maintaining a firm front, Alice stood up to her feet, her dolls on standby behind her.

"I've underestimated you doll face, I really have." The male blonde started, his voice serious. "It looks like that I'll have to show you how sorry I am, huh?" red energy seeped out from his very being. Soon, the energy started to become thicker, and thicker. It began to look like he's being covered by a crimson cloak of death. "I won't kill, as per the rule of this fight. I don't really like doing that anyway. What I will do, however is…

He raised his hands, head lowered causing his expression to be shadowed.

"…surrender this match." Then he flops down to the ground.

…

…

"Eh?"

Alice heard a rumbling noise coming from the other blonde's stomach. To prove her point, the shinobi clutched his stomach, a painful expression on his face. "H-Hungry… need… food…"

"Eh... EEEEH?!"

Today is the most eventful day of her life.

Somewhere in Gensokyo, two figures are having a conversation amidst themselves. Their presence are well hidden, it takes the skill of a skillful sensor to be able to even feel where they are right now. The sky is slowly changing into night, the moon is just about ready to shine its light upon the calm and peaceful land. But… trouble is nearer than the shortest of sticks.

"Report Captain. The Rogue is here."

"Hm. Search the area, I want the Rogue brought here as soon as possible. Search the whole land if you have to."

"Yes Captain."

The other voice, male, ends, signaling his leave. Only one figure is left on the tree top, a figure with a blank white mask and a black scarf to hide his neck. The figure is no doubt a male, his hair and figure could easily show that. He is dressed in a uniform type of clothing, complete with the armor and pouches. A sword, judging from the length, it could be a ninjato, is strapped to his back. His scarf, the embodiment of darkness itself, billows under the chilling and cold night of winter. The cold is the least of his worries. All his and his subordinate's priorities are only one. The Rogue.

"Hm. Uzumaki Naruto…" the man's voice trailed out, almost calling. "I'm afraid that I will need to bring you home. Danzo-sama doesn't take too kindly on absentees." He then faced the sky, the slowly night changing sky. "I will find you, even if it kills me. After all, you can't just easily cut the root of your problems."

Just like a shadow enveloped in light, he disappeared.

A/N: Wow… this is… this is. It's short as fuck. Not much happened, except for Naruto and Alice's fight and that little plot twist in the end. I'm starting to think that trouble will definitely be better if it arrives sooner than what most people expected. This also means that I'll have to make more actions scenes. This will be fun… for the readers, not for me.

Anyway, an important announcement here. For the next few weeks, I will be taking a break on writing. I'm in my important year of high school and IGCSE is something that I must focus on. Not to mention, I will also need to take the exam that my school is giving off. But on one condition: I must at least work six hours a month in order to take the exams, if I don't, I won't be taking the exams. School is really a bitch.

I really hope that college is better.

Anyway, aside from my ranting and the important announcement, the next chapter release will be either my Narutouhou series or Flandre Scarlet is in my house. Just tell me in the reviewers section which one do you guys want to see more. Other than that, I'm happy to say that I've been getting positive views from you guys. It's totally awesome knowing that someone is appreciating your works.

The emails that I've been receiving about this chapter are crazy. I'm also interested in these types of stories, been a while since has ever had a good Naruto Crossover… I really need to focus on other things instead of Touhou right now. What do you all say? Me , Naruto, and Type-moon? Or maybe, Me, Touhou and Castlevania? Please PM me if you're interested in the idea and if you have any suggestion for plots and other related things.

Anyway, it's time for me to go now. I have… things… that I need to do. See ya, have a good day/night!