disclaimer; I don't own either Naruto or Rosario + Vampire. I can fold my tounge though.
I've had some pairing shoutouts, and nothing is decided that I'm ready to reveal in advance.
Making friends
The sun was up, a harsh glare streaming in through the window and viciously assaulting his eyes. He tried rolling over, not quite ready to face the new day, then gave in. Naruto tried blinking, rubbed his eyes furiously to get rid of some gunk caught there and sat up. The alarm clock showed that the morning had started at the criminally early time of half past five. He was still dressed in the same clothes as the night before and the light was on. He had apparently been more tired than he had thought. He got up and walked over to the washstand. A few splashes of cold water forced him to start waking up, and then he stripped, collected a towel and soap and headed off to the communal shower of his floor.
It was an unsurprising white tiled room, the lack of water on the floor telling him that he was the first one awake. The showers were cubicles, so he stepped into the one closest to the door, threw the towel on to a small shelf inside and set to washing himself. While doing that, he decided to try one of the things he'd talked to Toshi about the day before, and started molding a tiny bit of chakra before sending it through his chakra coils.
"Good morning, my lord. Are you well? Was thy sleep sufficient?"The voice did not quite boom as it used to, nor did it give him a headache. "Yes, it was and how are you?" Naruto reflected briefly that the idea of having polite conversation with the Kyuubi was something that would have been deemed impossible, and even dangerous, just a few months back. "I am well also. What do you require of me lord? Has someone disturbed you and need to have their spleen removed by defenestration or perhaps get their nails pulled in a bath of vinegar?"
Naruto winced at the ideas, although he wasn't sure about one thing. "What's defeneration?" He could almost hear the daemon rolling its eyes. "That's defenestration, or murdering someone by throwing them from a large height, like out through a window on the twelfth floor."
"Ah, no, I was just anxious to try out the techniques that Toshi showed yesterday. I was also thinking of trying a manifestation. Can you take a human form?" He could feel Kyuubi reacting to that. "Aye, lord, if you command me to do so. Just, remember I'm not human and that I am still young for one of my kind."
"That's alright, I have an idea I'd like to try, but I'll need to see how you look as a human. Can you change your appearance too?"
"No lord, my way of metamorphism does not work that way. And I would also like to tell you that I would be most insulted if forced to assume any other animal's form."
"Okay then, let's try it!" With that, he increased the flow of chakra and split it, sending one part into the Rosario hanging from his neck and the other into a certain part of his stomach. Once the connections were made, he focused his eyes on the other side of the half-door of the cubicle. Then he felt a movement inside of himself, and his bonded daemon was following the thread of chakra. This wasn't the only way to do a manifestation, but it was easiest to use objects as mediums. Then a haze appeared above the tiles, and a red-orange blur formed, quickly assuming a humanoid shape. Then the colors withdrew.
Naruto stared. This wasn't even on the same planet as anything he'd been expecting. His blue eyes were staring into red eyes, no surprise there. He shifted his gaze upwards. Red hair, tied up in nine waist-long whip-like tendrils with white at the ends, well within the plan.
The obviously feminine face, the body of a woman in her mid twenties and the lack of clothes were, however, very much not part of anything.
"What the hell!" He yelled, feeling blood rush to his face as he whipped around, eyes wide and his pulse racing. "Kyuubi, explain yourself! And put some clothes on!"
"My lord, what's wrong? Is this not why you had me manifest in my human form?" He could feel an increase in the chakra moving along his coils. "There, I am decent. Now, what is it you would have me explain?" Naruto turned around, meeting Kyuubi's eyes and focusing on them, rather than the flimsy, white material that she'd draped around her body. He also ignored her much-too-victorious smirk.
"Next time, please come out wearing some real clothes, I almost had a heart attack! And since when were you a female?" He realized that he was actually growling. His, no her appearance had shocked him almost out of his wits, and he suspected that it had been planned that way. "That's what I want to know about! And why didn't you put on some Kami forsaken clothes!" Naruto realized that he was shouting, and rambling as well.
"My lord, you didn't know I am a female? How surprising. Then I must ask your forgiveness, I expected you to want to take advantage of me and simply came dressed for the occasion. You are after all a healthy young male, able to procreate. I'm sorry if my appearance doesn't please you." She lowered her eyes, and then smirk widened quite a bit. "Well, I suppose you're not really displeased with this form."
Naruto followed the direction of her gaze and then quickly whipped down his towel to cover himself. "I am not a pervert, and I am offended by the idea that I'd take advantage of you. Not to mention that I was thinking about letting you remain manifested for a while to see how much of a drain it really is, but if you're gonna be like this then fine! Get back inside and don't disturb me for a while!" He was fuming, anger almost strong enough to create a presence of its own.
The Kyuubi decided that this might not be the time to push her master, he didn't understand all the details on how their bond worked yet, and an unfortunately worded order could really put her in the deep end. Regretting her decision to try and second guess him, she simply bowed her head and started the process of dematerializing. "Yes, master, I am sorry." Then she was gone.
Naruto worked his yaw a bit before muttering a rather vile curse under his breath. He didn't feel good about his outburst, although he'd be damned before he'd apologize for it. Shaking his head at the whole situation, he turned off the water and got out, drying himself off before wrapping the towel around his waist and heading back to his room. School wouldn't be starting for quite a while yet, so he figured that he'd have time getting a run in and maybe a bit of meditation. Nodding to himself, he got out the school training outfit, choosing the trousers over the shorts, as the morning looked rather chilly. Then he headed out, aiming for a thirty minute run.
He'd been running for a while, nearing the time he'd have to head back. He'd seen a couple of other early risers out and about, but not for very long, as he was running almost as fast as he could. The idea that they'd find it strange to see a fast moving blur zooming past them never entered his mind. After all, he couldn't really train his conditioning unless he pushed himself. On the way back, he took a shortcut, passing through a relatively wooded area, although the only living growth were lichens and fungus.
Wondering idly about the reason for the dead greenery, his thoughts were interrupted by voices nearby. Following his natural curiosity and shinobi instinct, he veered towards the sound, pushing a bit of chakra into his system to speed up. He wasn't expecting trouble, but as he drew nearer he realized that the voices were shouting, if not very loudly. And one of the voices was female. That had him tone down his presence and take to the trees. Whether it was serious or not, he wasn't going to interrupt anything with a female monster involved. He was unsure of just how to handle civilian girls his age that could possibly decide to roast him for dinner. If he could postpone finding out about that he'd be extremely happy.
The scene greeting him upon getting close enough to eyeball was surprising to say the least. That girl Mizore from the day before was pushed up against a tree, a man standing less than a foot away and both hands on either side of her waist. He couldn't see who the male was, although something told him it was an adult. Mizore looked distressed, eyes wide and possibly shocked. Naruto strained his senses a bit and could feel that the girl was indeed shocked, as well as scared and starting to feel betrayed. It felt similar to how he had felt when Sasuke started hitting him for real a few months back.
The male was an emotional cesspit, amusement, excitement and lust boiling inside him. This was in contradiction to his voice. "-I promise you'll like it Mizore-chan, just trust me on this. You trust me right? You like me, don't you?" The voice was compelling, soothing and full of promises. Promises that he'd obviously wouldn't keep the minute they became a nuisance to him. Naruto almost growled, realizing that he hadn't met a slime ball of this caliber since Mizuki.
Mizore still looked unconvinced. "But sensei, it's so sudden, I mean I like you, I really do, but I-" She faltered, unable to voice her misgivings and feelings of unease. Naruto guessed that the frustration would send the "sensei" over the edge. Wondering who it could be that Mizore had an apparent crush on, Naruto crept closer, trying to get a sniff of the man's scent. An errant breeze of wind brought him a whiff of something he recognized, and pairing it with the clue of him being a teacher, decided that it must be that gym-teacher, Kotsubo-sensei.
Naruto was surprised, sure the man seemed to be recognized as a looker, but for him to actually try and seek a relationship with a student? Why would a guy with his looks lower himself to that level? His questions had to be postponed however. "Now Mizore-chan, I've been patient you know. Most guys today would expect to get something from the girl that's confessed to them, and you did that over a week ago."
Mizore actually blushed at this, not able to look him in the eyes. "I gave you a kiss yesterday, didn't I?"
Kotsubo leaned in close, his face a few inches away from her ear. "That was just a kiss, any real man would want to get the real thing from the woman that loves him, or are you just playing with my feelings?" By now, Naruto understood without a doubt what the bastard was after. 'May Kami strike down all perverts with great vengeance and furious anger!' He thought to himself, deciding that he'd heard enough. He knew that theoretically she might be a powerful monster of some kind, but he'd be damned if he let a girl face off against an adult on her own while he hid in the background.
Just as Kotsubo placed his hands on her sides, sliding them slowly inward and upward, Mizore saw a blur in the corner of her eye. Then the teacher was flying through the air, courtesy of a pissed off Naruto and his foot, which had hit the teacher in the head. Not wasting any time, he followed up with a few heavy slugging punches to the stomach, ending in an uppercut. The adult, who hadn't had time to touch the ground yet, smashed though a tree before stopping with a crunch against a grave marker.
Snorting derisively, Naruto turned to Mizore, gratified to see that she looked to be unhurt. "Um, hi. Sorry if I interrupted something, but I just couldn't take anymore of the bullshiting. I get allergic reactions from it." To his surprise, she spent a few seconds staring at his face. Then she spent a while looking over his body, as if she had a way to see through his clothes. Then it was back to his face again, only this time she seemed to focus on his eyes.
Then she walked up close to him, took out a lollipop that she had kept in her mouth the whole time and smiled a little bit. "Thanks Naruto-kun. I think we just might be friends after all. I was considering using you as a sacrifice when I get home, but I think I'll prefer keeping you around for a while." Her eyes briefly flitted toward the downed sensei before returning to his bright, blue eyes. "Good luck." Then she turned away and started walking in the direction of the school.
"Oi, wait up a bit there!" He couldn't let her just walk away after all that. He'd barely gone three paces however, before something attached itself to his leg and pulled. He fell forwards, twisting himself to end up on his back, an arm behind his head. A large, well, he guessed it was a tentacle, had wrapped itself around his leg. And now he was being pulled towards a few trees, a shape much larger than the man he'd booted there waiting for him. "What the hell? Bastard, let go of my leg or I'll kick your ass again!"
Kotsubo didn't seem to be too upset by the threat, white teeth showing off a wide grin. "Ah, Naruto the transfer student, what a surprise. You haven't even transformed and you're already strong enough to piss me off. I am impressed. Normally that would ensure you straight A:s for the rest of the year, but you won't live long enough to enjoy them. Can't have you and my little plaything run off and tell on me, now can I?" Now he was dangling Naruto upside down, obviously feeling in control and wanting to enjoy the moment.
Naruto swore as he felt himself whistle through the air, and gasped when he was slammed into a tree. He lost his breath, and felt that a piece of wood had pierced his lower back. Deciding that his opponent most likely didn't have any more cards to play, he drew a kunai and tossed it at the shape that was playing with him like a cat plays with its prey. The only reason that it didn't jab itself into an eye was that he was being jerked around so much that it was almost impossible to aim, especially without a breath to hold. Still, it did lodge itself into a shoulder, which earned him an impressive screech and go him dropped onto the ground.
Back at solid soil, Naruto felt the need to express his emotions a bit. Looking at the monster with several tentacles waving about, he felt that although words wouldn't be enough he'd have to start somewhere. "Holy crap, you look like something put together from a box of spare body parts. Did Kami run out of ideas when he thought you guys up and just threw a few things together? Or are you perhaps supposed to be a walking fried octopus dinner? And what's with the smell, is that your soul or did your mother just forget to teach you about bathing and deodorants?" Okay, so he was still a bit out of breath, but it did give him an incentive to be a bit more creative with the insults.
The walking monstrosity was obviously not happy with Naruto's remarks, and sent out four suction cup equipped limbs to get a hold of the situation. As well as crush it, wring it and toss it away to bleed to death if that was possible. Testing his ability to last as a wet rag was very low on Naruto's list of things-to-try-while-away, so this time he moved to avoid, the tentacles whipping past with just a couple of centimeters to spare. It could have been quite a lot more, but Naruto didn't want to demonstrate his greater speed without needing to.
Spending a few seconds just dodging and weaving away from the grasping attacks, Naruto felt pretty confident that he'd managed to root out all he needed to know about the teacher's strangely fitting monster form. He was thinking of ending it when his teacher actually gave him the opening he needed. "Stop dancing around and fight me for real you weakling! Get that monster form of yours out and let me crush you before I die of old age!" The shout followed with all available arms shooting towards him, dropping almost all defenses.
"As you wish!" Was the cheerful reply. Going into full kick-this-guy's-ass-so-hard-it'll-leave-permanent-footprints-mode, Naruto summoned a few clones, sending a few forward to keep the monster occupied, while another hung back and helped him form his favorite jutsu. As soon as it was finished, he rushed his opponent, using the few clones remaining as cover before diving towards his foe's chest. "Rasengan you ugly bastard!" Having given no warning of just how fast Naruto could move, Kotsubo was caught unprepared and the technique hit him, this time sending him over twenty meters, ignoring the presence of the trees and headstones that were smashed apart in his passing.
When Naruto checked his opponent, it became obvious that he wouldn't be getting up soon, although he was still alive. He'd decided to leave him there and get help, the power of a monstrous body apparently enough to keep him alive from the blow, when he felt people approaching. Soon both his homeroom teacher and the headmaster had arrived, the cat-look-a-like possibly there to aid her colleague while the eerie man with the weird eyes grinned his deluded grin and asked Naruto to walk with him.
"Ah, Naruto-kun, an eventful morning I expect? Barely been here twenty four hours and already thrashing my staff, and here I thought that you enjoyed Physical Education, was I wrong? " The man was grinning the whole while, and Naruto decided that the weirdo was withholding judgment until Naruto had at least tried to explain himself. They'd only moved a few paces away from the knocked out P.E. teacher.
Not feeling guilty of anything but a sound ass kicking, he replied without hesitation. "The bastard was trying to force himself on one of the female students, despite her repeatedly declining his sick suggestions. When he started grabbing her, I decided that he'd crossed a line and kicked him off her. I thought he was down, but he got me when I turned my back. You shouldn't eat that Nekonome-sensei, you don't know where it's been." The last was directed at his teacher, whose tail had come out again and was whipping back and forth excitedly.
"Hmm, and then you fought for a bit before you tired of playing the waiting game and knocked him out. Impressive. And never did you take off the Rosario either, huh? Well, as helpful as it is to have my staff losing any undesirables, I now find myself short of a teacher. That is your fault, and so you will have to solve that problem. Please come to my office at lunch today. On a side note, have you chosen a club yet?"
Naruto felt his mind take a misstep at the change of topic. "No sir, I have barely had time to unpack, let alone find out what clubs are available."
"Hm, of course. There will be a big club selection day soon, be sure not to miss it. Well then, I expect I should leave you and the young woman alone, I'm sure you have lots to talk about." His grin actually widening a fraction, the headmaster started walking towards the school. Naruto just stood, wondering what the weirdo was talking about, when he got a feeling he was being watched. He looked over his shoulder and saw Mizore standing behind a tree, staring at him.
Not really sure about why she was standing over there, he grinned and waved in her direction. "Yo, Mizore! It's okay, you can come out now."
Strangely enough, the girl just stood there, staring at him while blushing slightly. After a few seconds of this, she got out from behind the tree and walked over to him. While she did, he got another look at her, checking for any wounds she might have tried to hide. Oh, and giving her a once over. Something he would be happy to do more often he reflected absently. Somehow he'd gotten into contact with three ridiculously pretty girls, helping two of them out of sticky situations, and it was only his second day.
"How did you do that? You never changed to your true form, and sensei is -was- powerful. And what was that blue shiny thing you used?" Once she started talking, it was like a dam bursting open (for her that is), and he realized he'd have to head this situation off. Naruto hesitated, he'd thought she didn't see the second part of the fight, and so he would be forced to come up with an answer on the spot. Or wait-
Closing his eyes and focusing inwards, he entered his mindscape. He couldn't see the Kyuubi right now, so he crouched in the shallow water and started to think. Hard.
Well, that didn't help much. Where was his unwanted bondsmate when he needed her? "Kyuubi! Where are you?" Well, apparently he can make echoes inside his own mind, but no daemonic servant. "Get your butt over here right now! I need help!"
"Master?" The fox's voice actually sounded sleepy. Then he heard shuffling, and a shape was moving towards him in the gloom. "My lord, I was not expecting you here, forgive me."The Kyuubi was back into fox shape, still no bigger than a rather small dog.
"Change to your human form foxy, those tails are giving me the shivers."
The daemon actually flinched at first. "Yes master. Any specific requests for my dress?"
"Don't care, as long as you are decent." The fox looked pissed off, as far as he could tell, and then it, shifted, or perhaps saying that it melted is more accurate. He looked away, vaguely disturbed by the strange sight. When he looked back the beautiful woman was standing before him, a short kimono in orange with a black and white lightning motif, covering things he'd prefer not to see. At least not on her. Strangely enough, she still seems extremely angry, a glare trying to burn through his eyes and into his brain. "What is it now? I really don't have time for you throwing a tantrum."
"I am sorry that someone as ugly as myself is bothering you, lord. I promise you do not have to worry about me causing a disturbance."She actually seemed to get even angrier at this, impossible though it seemed.
"Yeah right. Now I'm ordering you to tell me why you are angry."
"Fine then. I'm angry because you insulted my tails, and then you order me into this shape without giving a damn about how I look. I'm also angry because you seem to hate me so much despite the fact that I've been trying so hard to serve you." She looked ready to burst into flames at this point, a faint shimmer in the air showing that something was being held back by an astonishing self control. Barely.
Naruto groaned, hiding his face in his hands. Wasn't the mighty fox daemon supposed to have grown out of her childish-petulancy period by a few thousand years? "Okay, I think you and I are going to need to have a long talk later, but right now all I can say is that I'm sorry if I offended you and that I am very thankful for you not ripping me to shreds when the seal was taken away, as well as for all the help you've given me. Now, I wanted to ask you about something, but I think I've run out of time. I'll see you later in any form you want." With that he returned to the outside world, hoping that he hadn't been gone for too long.
"-ruto!" Mizore's face was almost touching his, a look of concern evident. He blinked, focusing once again on his surroundings. "What happened, you totally zoned out on me there, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just had something to think about. By the way, do you know what time it is?" He was slightly ashamed by his reply. Naruto was hoping to use her concern to sidestep her questions, and that didn't sit well with him, as she was a possible friend. But he didn't know just how far he could trust her, and so he had to at least down play his power. Not answering right now, so soon after this debacle, was probably the best option.
"Oh, well, I think we have about an hour before school starts." She looked slightly disappointed, but he guessed that her relief at him being okay would be enough to keep her from interrogating him right away.
"Ah, right. Well, I really need to go shower and change and so on. That okay with you?"
"Sure, but can we meet up and go together to class?" She looked away, blushing slightly. "I'd feel safer if I had someone with me."
"Okay, how about outside your dorm a quarter before classes starts? We should make it in that time, right?"
"Uhu, that sounds good." She gave him another of those long looks, before turning away and heading off towards one of the girls' dorms. Before she'd gone too far she looked at him over her shoulder. "We'll talk later, don't be late."
Naruto shook his head and, looking over at where his homeroom teacher and Kotsubo had been, he was unsurprised to find nothing but a few scattered spots of blood. This thing with everyone being a monster was something he really had to get used to soon, it wouldn't do to underestimate anyone at this place, and he'd gotten a nasty feeling that might made right at his new school. While setting off for his own dorm, hoping to catch some breakfast before he had to go to class, he pondered just what kind of monster the others might be.
Nekonome-sensei was sort of obvious, a kind of cat monster that seemed to retain the species' fondness for fish. Moka was wearing a Rosario too, just like him. He was unsure of whether that meant that she also had a bonded daemon or was just really powerful. He decided to try and find out soon, allies and friends were a priority. Tsukune however seemed awfully weak, constantly giving of an air of nervousness. It could of course be something else, but he liked the guy's personality and that made knowing more important as well. Kurumu and Mizore were kind of blank to him though. He had a suspicion that Kurumu had tried to do something to him the day before, but he didn't know what. Possibly he could get Kyuubi to share a bit, if she knew anything, at least about monsters in general.
Well, at least he'd get Mizore to himself for a little while soon, perhaps he could get her chatting about something that would give him a hint. Wondering just how he could do that without having to answer some rather delicate questions himself, he headed into his dorm building, planning to set a new record in getting ready for the school day.
A short while after knocking, he could hear a voice bidding him to enter. Opening one of the large wooden double doors, Naruto entered into the dimly lit office of the monster school's master. It was quite big, built in an older style than much of the rest of the school, and was full of various strange and apparently necessary monster parnaphilia. Like skulls with candles stuck on top of them, a few bookshelves lined with dusty tomes and for some unexplainable reason a stuffed, really long lizard looking thing hanging from the roof.
Naruto turned his eyes to the man sitting behind a desk. The headmaster was leaning forward on his elbows, fingers intertwined loosely and the perpetually manic grin smirking at him from just above the digits. "Ah, Naruto-kun. Good that you're on time, I'm hoping I won't have to keep you from lunch for too long."
"No problem headmaster. What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
The headmaster stood up and walked around the desk. "Well, you see, I will need a substitute teacher until I can find a suitable replacement for Kotsubo. Now, seeing as how you have a willing servant with lots of experience of all sorts of things, I was just wondering how well you can manifest and for how long. Having your daemon train our young students could prove quite-"He paused, the grin growing wider. "Interesting."
Naruto froze, wondering just how he was going to start to explain the current situation with the Kyuubi. "Um, well. Ahh, there are a few things that might make that… troublesome." Oh, great, now he was starting to sound like Shikamaru. "I suppose I'd better do a manifestation. I don't want to leave her out of this discussion." He closed his eyes, sending his chakra swirling.
"Oy, foxlady, sorry to keep you from napping, but the headmaster wants to talk to us about something."
"Yes master. Please establish the link for me, and I'll be right out. What form should I take?"
"Your human one. Wear whatever takes your fancy, but I'd like to see a lot of green. If that's okay with you?" Naruto had to shake his head at himself, telling a practically immortal fur clad natural disaster what to wear seemed almost hysterically weird. And they still hadn't had that long talk that they needed for several reasons. The idea that his bondsmate might not be able to reason as a human would had struck him during the short recess between math and human history earlier. It would explain the rather bizarre reasons for her anger that morning.
He realized that he'd actually managed to establish the link without thinking about it. The familiar swirl of colors also took less time to resolve themselves than before. Soon Kyuubi was standing there, a green colored kimono easing the worry that Naruto had felt at giving the daemon free reign in choosing her clothing. He knew that he would sooner or later have to trust her, if nothing else there were the battles to fight with Orochimaru and that strange organization Akatsuki. It just wasn't easy.
"Ah, welcome to Yokai High, Kyuubi no Yõko. It's an honor to meet a representative of such a well renowned daemon family." The damnable old weirdo didn't miss a beat, addressing Naruto's bondsmate as if she was simply a relative of a friend dropping by unexpectedly. "I am the headmaster of this school, and I have a few things I'd like to discuss with you and your current carrier."
"Carrier sounds like a description of someone with an STD. I'm not a disease, Headmaster-san. He is my lord, or master if you prefer." Kyuubi was maintaining an air of indifference, the polite manner of her speech not betraying her emotions.
"Of course, clumsy of me, I would never suggest that about someone of your nature, I prefer my insides on the inside. Now, let's get down to business. Your master has deprived me of a decent teacher, and I need a substitute. Seeing as how your appearance as a human looks old enough, I would like to ask if your master and you could allow for you to extend me that service."
Silence filled the room, as Naruto and Kyuubi stared at the manically grinning man. Then they looked at each other, Kyuubi's blank stare somehow matching Naruto's dropped chin perfectly in expressed body-language-messaging. Then they turned back again, Kyuubi breaking out in a huge grin and Naruto, of course, going ballistic. "Are you out of your mind?! Do you seriously expect me to maintain a functioning manifestation for whole school days on end?" He got off to a quicker start, but was actually outclassed in volume.
"I'd love to! Yay! Wohoo!" Whether it was the reply in itself or the huge amount of girlie squeal filling the Kyuubi's response is irrelevant, as it still managed what would usually take several bowls of freshly made ramen. Naruto shut his gaping mouth with an audible click of teeth meeting teeth, before finding his gaze drawn inescapably towards the human looking daemon. Who was jumping excitedly up and down.
Naruto couldn't really help himself. A lot of new things had happened for him to adjust to, and getting a bit of his old pranking self out was probably necessary. "Oh, that's a gooood little fox." He said, putting his hand behind the ear nearest him and starting to scratch. This did not, however, make her slow down in any way, grinning and leaning into his hand. He withdrew his hand when he realized that it wouldn't be enough to get a rise out of her. He felt strange.
Rounding on her young master and grabbing his shoulders, the daemon that could level forests and shatter mountains gave him a look that could have melted stone, and, in a voice filled with honey, practically begged him. "Please master, can I? I haven't been out in the world for so long!" He stared at her, his mind finally catching to just what that strangeness he had felt had been all about. It was a chock so deep it almost made him shut down, mixed with something else, which he couldn't quite describe, but it was kind of warm and fuzzy.
"Now hold on just a minute!" She dropped her arms, releasing him. "Well, that shut her up at least." He thought, only to be treated to the one technique that even the old Hokage had feared. "Oh no, get those puppy-eyes away from me!" Her eyes only grew bigger at that, and the pouting lower lip started to tremble. "Okay, fine! We'll find a way to make it work! Now stop looking at me like that!" Naruto shivered with relief as she turned off the dreaded begging technique, grinning like the top of her head was going to fall off.
"So, what was it I had to do again?" Hearing that, Naruto had to slap himself on the forehead. She obviously hadn't heard anything except the part about being 'outside'. "She's so gonna hear about this for the next couple of years."
"Well, there is a rough outline of activities already prepared, you just have to follow it. You'll have three or four lessons a day, and it would be good if you could keep notes on each student's progress, so that there is something for the replacement teacher to use when the time comes for grading."
"Well, if you can control yourself, I suppose that won't be much of a problem for you, right?"
"No master. I'm sure I'll be able to serve satisfactory as a substitute teacher. Would it be okay to include a bit of combat training as well? My master will need to work on his skills while away from his normal sparring partners."
"Combat eh? Well, these are monsters, so there shouldn't be much in the way of objections. However, I insist that you only start that with the third years for now. Naruto-kun can train with Aoyama-san in the warded room. If you perform satisfactory I may decide to let you continue teaching while the two of you are staying at the school."
"That is if I can maintain a manifestation for a whole day you know. We haven't had time to try that, as well as a lot of other things."
"Ah, yes. Well, Kyuubi can use her own energy to maintain herself once she has been manifested. You should however try to develop a mind link. There might well be situations where she'll need your help. The Rosario will keep her from using any spectacular powers, and if the students realize this, some will undoubtedly try to use or exploit that. It is the way of monsters to constantly test the strength of others and continually resolve the issue of dominance. You should also be prepared to get a lot of attention if you decide to put your foot down. Both males and females will react to a strong presence, no matter how you might feel about it. "
"Oh great, my very own fan club, just what I needed."
"Don't worry master, I'll protect you."
"Hmmf, more like you'll become the chair. Please try to keep your squealing to a minimum around me from now on."
"Yes master. I'll save my squealing for the times when we are apart."
Naruto shivered internally at that. It was just so hard to tell whether she was being serious or not.
It was almost time to head to Toshi's next lesson, when Naruto was forced to witness a thoroughly bizarre and unexpected scene in one of the main corridors of the school. He wasn't certain what was going on, but just when he was leaving the classroom he saw Kurumu, Tsukune and Moka in something that seemed as though it had been gathered from a day TV show. The weird part for him, aside from the strange talk of using someone as food, was how many of the surrounding students, all of whom were boys, seemed to support the busty girl's opinions without any critical thought. Certainly, guys his age were renowned for seeing boob-size first and reason forty-third, but something seemed off about the whole thing. When Moka ran away in tears he glared at Tsukune, only to realize that the boy had a not-really-there sort of glaze over his eyes.
"Genjutsu? Was that what happened to me yesterday, fox?" He'd been using a bit of the afternoon to practice connecting with his bondsmate, and after a while had realized that it would require less effort on his part if he just kept the connection open all the time. It would take a bit of getting used to, but Kyuubi seemed to relish the experience of the outside world, even though it was filtered through his senses.
"It could well be, lord. Although I suspect the talent's base and systemic effect is a bit different for the students at this school, the process and end results would be similar. I do not know the how of her influence on Tsukune, but I suspect that she is a kind of monster that specializes in targeting males, preferably humans."
"Why humans? I mean, Moka is apparently feeding of Tsukune in some way, and he being human would explain why he's afraid of his own shadow. And why weren't I affected by her? I am human, right?"
"Well humans, for starters, produce a very pure and easily converted energy, even without a functioning chakra coil system. This makes them a prime target for most monsters, as it is easy to feed of them. I don't know if Tsukune is human, although your argument sounds plausible."
"What's that mean?"
"Plausible? Well, it's like believable or that it makes sense." Kyuubi had at this point accepted that she'd have to act as a kind of internal dictionary for a while. Naruto wasn't actually all that dumb, just horribly under stimulated. "Concerning why you weren't affected, I can only speculate, but it might be that her talent isn't able to cope with the existence of chakra. It is after all a powerful spiritual and physical energy, capable of being molded into a large variety of energies and shapes. A mind-disrupting power that doesn't take that into account would have little to no effect on you. And the sheer size of your reserves does mean that you have a relatively large passive molding."
"Passive molding? Damn it, why are there so many things I don't know about myself!"
"Easy lord, we are no longer talking about basic chakra knowledge. A person who is reasonably well rested would automatically mold a small amount of chakra to keep the system ready for use. It's akin to breathing, you don't have to think about it for it to work and it would never really tire you out on its own."
"I see. Well, enough chatter. Something about this stinks, let's follow Tsukune and Kurumu."
"Do you really expect me to concur lord? It is you who call the shots. I'm merely your humble servant."
"Yeah, great. An eight year old natural catastrophe as a servant. Wonderful. Hmm, better not let her catch me." With that thought Naruto jumped up and latched onto the ceiling. Kurumu and Tsukune were heading towards the nurse's office, and there weren't many students around that area. The position of the sun and the peculiar architecture of the school gave him an ample amount of shadows to move around in.
"Would it be too much to ask you to forget about my earlier episode lord?"
"Oh hell yeah, I'm gonna make sure you hear about that for as long as I'm able to remember it. You gave me quite a scare there. Just think of it as payback or something."
By now they were just outside and above the door to the room where Tsukune and Kurumu had gone after the buxomly girl's 'fainting spell'. Naruto carefully opened the door a fraction, peering in. Seeing that the others were behind a screen, he slipped into the room quietly, couching like a spider in a corner of the room where he had a good view of what was happening.
At first Naruto wasn't sure just what was happening, Tsukune was just sitting like a statue with bad stature on a chair and Kurumu seemed… happy. She actually grew a tail after a while, wagging it like a dog in joy. "Any thoughts on this? I'm feeling a bit lost, why did Kami make girls so hard to understand anyway?"
"Ahem, well, I've been meaning to ask the same thing to a boy about males. Anyway, there seem to be something about all this that rings a bell, I'm just not getting all the dots to fit together just yet. Something is definitely wrong though, you were quite right about that master. It might just be that she is using Tsukune somehow. Probably against Moka. It would help if I knew just what kind of monster she is, there isn't enough energy leaking off of her for me to recognize it."
"Tsukune…" Kurumu had apparently had enough of celebration and was now addressing her schoolmate. She turned towards him and buried his face between her breasts, possibly ignorant of the danger of suffocation that she was threatening the young boy with. "I know you're feeling down Tsukune. I'm sorry… let me hold you and make it all better."
"Wow, this sounds like something Ero-sennin would write." Naruto was frowning, not comfortable with intruding at the rather intimate scene, yet certain that he shouldn't leave the two alone. Tsukune had seemed both depressed and confused at the same time, which might mean that what had happened hadn't been so much a genjutsu thing as a puppet or possession technique. He was both intrigued and a bit amazed. Kurumu hadn't done any seals or really shown any sign of using her power, yet had seemingly turned quite a large number to do her bidding. Trying to make this fit together with what happened the day before was difficult, except for the part where she had wanted to avoid his classmates at lunch.
"Do you think this might be a planned move of some kind?"
"Yes lord, that does seem likely, there is no hesitation on her part and she is certainly taking all the initiative. Oh dear, what is she doing now? Hmm, this could be interesting to watch if there weren't so much clothing in the way."
"What the-"
"Just kidding master. I don't think that young boy has much of a physique to show off yet, he is too young and untrained. Unlike a certain fitness maniac I know, who is certainly hiding a real treat for the young women here underneath his school uniform."
Naruto's brow furrowed at that, distracted from the happenings that were now taking place on the bed, Kurumu straddling Tsukune after a move that even Naruto had trouble following. "Who the hell are you talking about?"
"Never mind master, I think we might have to do something soon. Letting them kiss seems too dangerous to me for some reason."
"Huh? Is that all you're worried about? Whoa, that quite the hug they're getting into."
"No master, but monsters don't know about tenketsu points, so the mouth is a common entrance for many very powerful techniques. I think I remember what she might be, and if I'm right we must keep them separate. They'll both suffer from her mistake otherwise."
"Hmm, that shouldn't be too hard- whoa! What the hell is- wings?"
"Damn! Lord, she's a succubus, we must absolutely keep them apart, she's very dangerous to males in general and humans in particular!"
"Hmm, well that shouldn't be- where the hell did those claws come from!"
"Now I'm mad! Whatever she loves, I'll destroy!" Kurumu was, at this point, what Naruto would call 'Two-fingers-angry', referring to the angriest he'd ever managed to get the current Hokage. Anyone else might have been using terms as 'bat-shit-crazy' but either would work quite well in describing the now apparent succubus' mood. It seemed obvious that she was just about to carve various interesting pieces out from inside of Tsukune, that he'd really prefer to keep inside.
"Stop!" Naruto couldn't help but feel that he just might be part of some kind of B-movie, as Moka charged into the ward at seemingly the last possible moment. "Get away from him!" Even as she was shouting, Moka enforced her own command by shoving the other girl away from Tsukune. It's quite possible that she didn't know her own strength, as Kurumu flew away from Tsukune, across the room and through a window. There was a brief lull, which Moka used to quickly explain what was going on to the still confused and shocked Tsukune. Then Kurumu reappeared outside the window, demanding that the two of them came out and faced her. When they complied Naruto wasn't sure what to think.
Naruto took a position by a window, and when they started moving away from the school, he jumped out and followed. "Why did they give up the advantage of being inside? That's just plain weird." When he saw them next, Kurumu dived at them, just missing and instead cutting down several trees as if they were made of paper. Instead of trying to run away however, Tsukune started pulling at the Rosario hanging from Moka's neck. "Strange, it's not coming off?"
"There's probably a reason, but we can ask about that later."
"Right" As Kurumu came around for a second pass, screaming bloody murder, Moka turned her back on her, shielding Tsukune. "Kurumu!" He was moving as fast as he could to intercept the not-entirely-stable monster-girl, when suddenly a burst of what he first thought of as chakra exploded out of Moka. There was a strange light emanating from her, making it hard to see what was happening.
"Not chakra lord, daemonic energy." The girl was changed when he could look at her again, her hair turned to silver and fangs protruding from her upper jaw. When she opened her eyes he had a hard time to look away. Although they were red and the pupil turned into a slit, they were also vaguely compelling. "She's very powerful, and I'd expect not even the same person. Be careful of angering her."
"You know I'm bad at taking advice." As Kurumu and this transformed Moka faced off, he did what he'd always done in a dangerous situation. Got into the thick of it. "Okay, that's enough I think." He announced, landing in between the two girls. "Kurumu, I'm very disappointed in you, forcing people to like you is no way to get real friends." The two girls stared at him as if he had grown two heads.
"Who are you to get in the way of my lecturing this little girl?" That was Moka, suddenly acting very differently. "Don't make me hurt you."
"Naruto, this isn't for you to get involved in. Get out of my way." Kurumu was glaring death-by-mental-daggers at him.
"Meh, I don't think so. I'm not sure just what the two of you are fighting over, but I'd rather not let two of the few people I know here kill each other, so give it up already. Otherwise I'll have to get serious."
"Shut up Naruto, I need to do this if I'm to find my destined mate, and she's in my way."
"And how would allowing oneself to be captured by your power prove that a guy is the right one? You had Tsukune make Moka cry, something I'm certain he wouldn't do otherwise. If you force this 'mate' of yours to act against their will, how would you be able to trust them later?"
"I'm getting tired of you two prattling my time away. I have to teach her to know her place." The other Moka seemed to be getting irritated.
"No, I won't let you two fight over this, it's silly. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Putting his hands in the prescribed seal, he quickly produced a few clones, some surrounding Moka and two latching on to Kurumu and forcing her to the ground. "You can put your Rosario back on, I'll deal with Kurumu-chan. And Kurumu, calm down, I won't let this other Moka hurt you."
"Impressive technique, are these actually solid? What's your name blondie?"
"Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you."
"Well, as nice as it is of you to want to avoid bloodshed, that doesn't work with us monsters. You should know that, if you're a monster yourself that is." With that she destroyed his clones, moving almost too fast for him to see.
"I agree with her Naruto. It's nice of you to want to help, but stay out of this." Kurumu also got rid of his clones, shredding them with her claws. Then the two girls were going for each other.
Kurumu gained height before diving once again at Moka, who was just standing there, a small smile on her face. "You need to learn not to get defeated before cute boys, that Naruto guy probably doesn't respect weaklings."
"Shut up bitch! I'll get-ahh! My tail!" Moka moved at that insane speed again, and it was only because he'd seen Lee fight that he had any chance of following what was happening. She'd somehow gotten behind her opponent and taken hold of her tail. Now she turned around in mid-air and slammed Kurumu down on the ground, creating an impressively sized crater.
"Well, that was much too easy, did you enjoy it? It's the last time you'll get defeated after all, I don't like to leave alive enemies." Moka was smiling, a powerful aura full of bloodlust filling the air around her as she advanced on her struck opponent. Then she stopped, as Tsukune stepped in between and Naruto appeared just next to her, a kunai at her throat.
"I know I've said it before, but no more fighting, or I'll get mad. Tsukune, you're Moka's best friend, what do you think?"
"That you and I think the same. Moka-san, I don't want anyone to get killed, okay?"
"Are you sure Tsukune? She did try to kill you."
"Yeah, but I'm sure we can be friends, especially if Naruto's gonna be around to look after us. I've never seen anyone that doesn't shake in fear when you've taken of your Rosario after all."
"Ah , yes. Naruto, what do you think I'm going to do to you for holding a knife to my throat?"
"Oh yeah, sorry, it's a reflex." He grinned apologetically, spinning the kunai in his hand before returning it to the special sheath he'd sewn into the arm of his jacket. "And before you get any ideas about hanging me from my intestines, remember that I'm still wearing my Rosario. I can take a love-tap though, I'm sure your pride won't let you leave me be anyway."
"Very perceptive of you." She replied, before sending him flying into a tree, a large palmprint on his face. Then she turned to Tsukune and retrieved the Rosario. "As for you, remember that I'm only doing this to keep my blood, I'm not like the other Moka." Then she fastened the Rosario in its place, and promptly passed out.
"Oh, this is gonna sting for a while. Hey, what's the time? Crap! I'm late for class!"
"Naruto wait!"
"Huh? What is it Kurumu-chan?"
"Well, I'm- I'm sorry, you were trying to protect me, and I-"
"Ehh, no sweat, that's what friends do right? Help each other? I've gotta go, Toshi will kill me otherwise. Bye Kurumu-chan, Tsukune."
Then he was off, moving faster than the two conscious teens could follow.
"Wow, what a guy." Kurumu sighed dreamily.
A/N: Okay, that's a wrap, I'll be in my trailer if anyone wants me.
I won't say sorry for the slow updating lately, I've never really promised any set time for that. But still, sorry. I kept getting distracted while putting this together.
Hope the fight scenes are okay, I'm not sure they really work, so a few pointers would be appreciated.
Till the next update (no, still not promising anything).
Ja ne.