Haan: Hi all, we're back with another chapter.

Kurumu: Finally, you being such a lazyass must have made people worried.

Haan: Na, Kakashi is much worse than me.

Kakashi: You called?

Haan: No, it's alright Kakashi, I'm letting Kurumu handle the disclaming today.

Kurumu: Haan is too lazy and stupid to own either Rosario+Vampire or Naruto. Just as well really

Kakashi: Great, no need to dodge a mob of angry readers then.

Haan: Nope, I'm saving that for my next release of UD.

Kakashi: Damn.

Haan: Yup. Enjoy another chapter, and there may be notes at the bottom.

Problems of a bewitching nature

The day after the disturbance during the club recruitment day had the school buzzing with rumors. Naturally the truth was barely hinted at, as wild tales were spun from the on-the-spot creative thinking that was an inescapable side effect of mouth-to-mouth information sharing. Tsukune was spending the lunch break alone, but he never the less caught a lot of the gossip. Apparently Naruto had not only walked on water, he had also grown wings and flown (Which would annoy Kurumu no end when she heard about it), he'd fought against Moka, no with Moka. He'd killed the whole swimming club bare-handed and they were to be served the remains as a sushi buffet. Yes, the speed of the rumors was only outmatched by their lack of accuracy, and it pained Tsukune that Naruto was being talked about as some kind of monster.

He would normally have been slightly envious at all the attention the blonde was getting, but even these monsters were apparently scared of Naruto, which was just wrong. He had charged in to save everyone else, portraying him like this was so unfair that it made the otherwise shy and unassuming boy rather angry.

Tsukune was very surprised with the fallout from the chaos at the pool area. Or rather, the absence of fallout surprised him. He'd been expecting pointed questioning, teachers informing their classes and possibly suspended classes. Instead there had been a whole lot of nothing, not even a mention of those boys that had had something, Naruto had muttered about 'life-force', sucked or possibly eaten by a bunch of ravenous mermaids (Naruto called them 'Fishgirls', and Tsukune had spent almost an hour explaining mermaids and why he didn't know why they did what they did).

It was worrying to him. Apparently survival and justice were pretty much things you made for yourself by being stronger than your opposition. He'd never regretted leaving the school while he still had the chance as much as he did right then, although not only for selfish reasons. He could possibly convince some of his fellow students that certain actions were morally abhorrent, but the second someone didn't agree with him he'd be lucky to get away with his life.

"Unless Moka or Kurumu was around. They could protect me." As soon as the thought came to him, he was struck with guilt and shame strong enough to quench his anger completely. Not only was he weak and practically defenseless, he'd failed to do one of the few things he could for Moka. All she had wanted was a friend to trust, to talk with and a lot of other things you did with friends. And the fact that he was human was also important. She'd told him how she had been made to feel weird and unwelcomed in the human school she had gone to as a child, and one of the best things he could do for her was to prove, again and again, the same thing he' d proven to her the first time they'd fought together.

That humans and monsters could learn to trust eachother.

"Maybe I am nothing more than a weak human, but I can at least learn from my mistakes, and I'll never ever again make Moka cry because I betrayed her trust." His determination renewed, he could rationally understand that failing to return to Moka that time would have left her at the mercy of their despicable classmate, a troll who deeply believed that 'Might Makes Right', and had decided that a girl as beautiful as Moka should belong to him and him alone. Tsukune had managed to stop him by releasing the inner Moka, and although it was hard to accept, he had to concede that Moka needed him almost as much as he needed her. Both as a friend and as a protector. If he hadn't gone back, she would most likely have been assaulted by the low-life, and that thought alone made him want to throw up.

Before he had a chance to lose his cafeteria bought lunch, a slap on his back doubled him over. If he hadn't had his hands supporting his face he would most likely have broken his nose from having his face slammed into the table.

"Yo Tsukune! How ya doing man, had a good lunch?" Tsukune turned towards the familiar voice and stared a widely grinning Naruto in the face. "That damn geezer kept talking as if he was paid by the word."

"Hey Naruto, did you get into trouble with the headmaster?"

Naruto's smile managed, against all reason, to widen a bit more. "Nothing to worry about, I'm fine. He was a bit worried about me showing off so much, but when I explained that Kurumu and Moka had also been forced to transform, he decided to lay all blame at the swimming club."

Tsukune had a very odd feeling at Naruto's statement. He was telling the truth, yet at the same time he wasn't. Tsukune was much too modest to think he had any special gifts, but he was very good at catching how other people were feeling, and when they were lying. Right now Naruto was obviously faking a smile at him, and Tsukune couldn't help but worry.

"So, did you find any club to join?"

"Well, sort of. Maybe we can talk about that later, come to my room after school's out, okay?" Naruto's eyes suddenly turned a lot more serious as his smile dropped. "We need to talk about a few things."

Before Tsukune had a chance to reply, Naruto was off again. He had to swallow a bit of anxiety at the thought of talking to the blonde later that day, in his room no less. That look that Naruto had given him was not one he'd expected from his normally so cheerful classmate.

Sighing, he stood up, cleaned away the remains of his meal and then headed off as well. Afternoon classes were about to begin.

After the final bell rang, Naruto was out of the class room almost before the ringing had stopped. Moka hadn't been to class, which wasn't surprising, and that had left the field open for Kurumu to unhindered attempt to kill Tsukune in the best way there was. She'd let him go quite quickly however, as soon as she noticed Naruto walking to school just a bit further down the path. She wasn't embarrassed at being caught with the (probable) human's head pressed into her chest, but he was apparently a lot more interesting seeing that she'd shouted his name and actually jumped him, a first in the time he'd known the succubus.

It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the sensation of her body pressing into his, or the unusually happy smile she got when she saw him. He just wasn't prepared to deal with the affection right now. He'd spent his whole childhood trying to hide his pain at being alone and unwanted, only finding solace from a handful of grownups and a few casual playmates. Things had slowly begun to get better once he'd managed to become a ninja, his team and the others from his graduating year starting to create bonds of friendship from the toil and danger shared on missions. He'd even managed to impress some of the shinobi from Suna, not with flashy techniques but with his dedication to his friends and village. The fact that he actually was very private with his true feelings, as well as hated being called a liar, meant that very few knew just how much he'd risked and sacrificed for his beloved Konoha.

That also meant that instead of being praised by the villagers for defeating a rampaging demon, he was forced to listen to prejudiced civilians singing the praise of his teammate, whom almost everybody seemed to think had managed to defeat Gaara. It made him despair of ever being recognized for what he could do or who he truly was. "He did help a bit, but why does everybody always assume I'm just hiding in the background?"

He shook himself as he took his outdoors shoes out of his locker, changed and ran back home. He'd decided to try and get to the bottom of Tsukune's species as well as what he thought of the monsters he went to school with. And then, possibly, he'd dare to trust him with some of the truth about himself.

As he ran, Naruto felt something that he hadn't felt since before going after Sasuke, and he didn't need any mirrors to know that he had a huge grin on his face.

Once he got back to his room he created a kage bunshin and set it to do his homework on monster history and Japanese. Then he unsealed the hidden cache of scrolls and picked a blank one before restoring the genjutsu. He then sat down with his back to his rolled up futon and started to write a letter to send home.

It took him the better part of an hour to write his report, adding one part that was solely for Tsunade's eyes. He kept hesitating on whether to write something to his friends, but decided to just put in a general greeting, promising more personal messages later.

He bit his thumb, using the blood as he'd been taught to power the jutsu, started a well-practiced series of seals and soon a (relatively) small toad was sitting in the middle of the room. It was orange, with dark purple markings and a blue vest on. It was also the size of a small dog.

"Yo! Aniki, how ya doing? Gotten into trouble yet?"

"Well, sort of, but nothing I can't handle. I need you to take this scroll back to Konoha for me, and be ready to take a reply back to me as well. I'll have two bags of chips waiting for you if you do."

"No chips now? Huh, okay then. Daddy says hi by the way."

"Yeah, give him my best. Later Gamakichi."

"Later!" With that the summon saluted and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Shortly after there was a knock on the door, and Naruto went to open it. His clone transformed into an extra chair when he looked at it, and then he pushed the handle down. As expected, outside was Tsukune, a nervous look on his face.

"Come in." Was all Naruto said. He kept his face carefully neutral, only listening with half an ear to the ongoing commentary provided by his resident.

"Thanks."

"Something to drink? I've gotten my hands on a small refrigerator."

"Anything with bubbles."

"Well, that's all I have anyway." With the reply, he bent over, opened the fridge and took out two cans. Tossing one to Tsukune, he cracked open the other one. The wonders of this other world amazed him, like the mini-skirts and soft drinks.

"So, you wanted to talk?" Naruto took a sip before looking over at his classmate.

"Yes. I do. You and I seem to share some common traits, and I would like to know the truth of what you are." Noticing the signs of distress, Naruto pushed on. "I talked to Moka after she ran away yesterday. She was very upset and let some things slip. Do you have any idea what those things could be?"

"I-" Tsukune was obviously shocked at the implied revelation. It was obvious to Naruto that he had no idea what interrogation technique was bring used on him. "It's better if you say it yourself, I may have misunderstood, but remember I don't like it when people lie to me."

"Fine, I guess you can be trusted, you did help us yesterday." Tsukune caved almost immediately, which made Naruto suspicious at first, but he never the less leaned in closer, eager for the truth. "I like Moka." At that unexpected reply, Naruto felt his brain make an unexpected stop, all gears grinding together and threatening to explode.

"That's not what I'm talking about!" He almost shouted. "If you try playing with me…" With that, he produced a kunai from his sleeve, making it look as if it just suddenly appeared there to the untrained civilian. "We have ways of dealing with that where I come from."

"Okay, geeze, take it easy." Tsukune was astounded by his own bravado. He'd actually tried to deflect the question without thinking about it. Why he did, well, he'd have to think about that. At any rate, he felt that he couldn't postpone the inevitable any more. He'd known that he'd get caught sooner or later. "I'm human, okay? It wasn't my idea to go here, I had no idea it was a school for monsters. Nobody else knows, so you only have me to blame for it. The girls have no idea."

Naruto felt a brief burst of satisfaction. Tsukune refused to let anyone else pay for his 'mistake', even though he'd hinted that Moka had revealed his secret. And he even had the balls to try and play around with a classmate that was already well on his way to become the bad boy of his year, even though said vandal was holding a knife.

He let a small smile grow on his lips as he replied. "You've got guts trying to protect Moka like that Tsukune. You should know a little of what I'm capable of since yesterday, and still you try to defy me. I sure hope you're not suicidal, because that would ruin my plans for today." At the end his smile had grown into a grin, while Tsukune looked both confused and worried. "Well, I won't keep this charade going any longer. You!" As he shouted the last part, he opened a channel for the Kyuubi chakra, letting his features turn a lot more animalistic, while Kyuubi herself rolled her eyes at his theatrics. The effect on Tsukune was priceless, but he didn't give him a chance to react to the suddenly oppressive atmosphere. "Are not the only human in this school."

"Huh?"

At this point Naruto couldn't take it anymore and collapsed on the floor laughing. "Oh sweet Kami that was awesome! That look on your face! Now I know why Kakashi-sensei did that! Priceless!" As Tsukune did an impressive imitation of a statue, the blonde kept howling with laughter and beating on the floor with his fist. After a little while the worst of the laughter had subsided.

"Is this what you call getting serious?" Tsukune said weakly, before trying to sit in a chair. The chair immediately transformed into Naruto.

"We're not that close bud." With a shout of surprise and fraying nerves, Tsukune jumped out of the 'chair' and turned around, suddenly facing not one but two Narutos. At that time, it was the scariest thing he'd ever seen.

"Sorry, I'll get back to studying." The clone muttered, sharing an evil grin with the original.

"Well, then. Take a seat and treat the floor like your own." Naruto was grinning widely. Tsukune was incredibly rewarding to prank. Perfect.

Stamping hard on the floor, Tsukune sat down, and absentmindedly opened the can of soda. Luckily it was facing away from him, as a burst of bubbles shot out when the chance of freedom appeared, making a mess on the wall. "What the hell are you talking about?" He said as he dragged a shaking hand through his hair. The situation was weird beyond even the standards of Yokai High. "I know for a fact that I'm the only human here, it's a school for monsters!"

"EEEEEEHHHH! Wrong answer! Tell him what he gets for that Kyuubi!" The shouted response from Naruto made Tsukune jump again, then he noticed that Naruto had his arm outstretched.

Even though Tsukune really didn't want any more surprises, he couldn't resist turning his head. Sitting just behind him was their new teacher, loosely dressed in a beautiful emerald green kimono. "Kyuubi-sensei? What are you doing here?" He wished that his voice wasn't so shrill, but at the same time he felt that the last few minutes excused his lack of manners.

"Sorry about this Tsukune-kun. I'm afraid my master has a lot of pent up frustrations to get out of his system." The sight of his teacher bowing her head demurely, and thereby accidentally (yeah, right) giving him an impressive view of her upper body, would have put any normal boy in a coma. Thankfully Tsukune had been aggressively familiarized with the female body the last few weeks, and could therefore escape with only a certain amount of light headedness, and a brief feeling that he should be having a nose-bleed, although he couldn't for the life of him understand why.

Even as the heavily confused boy tried to get his head around the rather surprising presence of one of his teachers, she looked over at Naruto. "If I may, master. I believe that Tsukune-kun is a bit too disoriented to fully appreciate your skill at bedazzling your friends." She turned to Tsukune. "You may want to get comfortable, Naruto-sama wants you to know pretty much everything."

Tsukune shrugged, indicating that he was fine where he was, and so Kyuubi began to speak. "First things first. Naruto is a human, like you. There are only two things that truly separate you, firstly, he can produce and control at type of inner energy that is known as chakra. Secondly…" She hesitated and looked toward her master, who waved her on impatiently. "Naruto is bonded to a greater daemon, a tailed one to be precise, whom due to an old promise is sworn to serve him. And, as you might have guessed, that daemon is me." Kyuubi smiled a bit. "Although I'd be grateful if you didn't confuse me with the demons that I've heard that other students think I belong to. They are ugly, almost completely controlled by their instincts and, more importantly, vastly inferior in all ways to me."

"And they're not half as humble either." Muttered Naruto, before ducking a pillow thrown at him.

"If I may continue without interruptions?" Kyuubi asked her master with a pointed look. As he nodded she carried on. "I will skip many of the details, as the bond between us is intricate, but I reside within Naruto-sama, only able to manifest in the outside world by his leave. As my presence would cause much disruption to the school as well as the monster world in general, the headmaster has provided us with a Rosario, to hold back my powers and thereby mask my existence." She paused again, measuring the effects of her words on the bewildered dark-haired boy. "Are you following me so far."

"Y-yeah, I think so."

"We won't be going anywhere for quite some time, so you can ask more questions later. There are of course other things that Naruto-sama would have you know, but I expect there is one question which needs answering right away."

Tsukune looked into the gaze of the self-professed daemon and asked that question. "Why me?"

"Yes, I would also want to know that. Master?" Kyuubi turned her gaze to her bondsmate. She would always be loyal to him, but she was curious as to his motives of entrusting a mere non-affiliated human with this information, especially after such a short time. It could well be construed as treason back in Konoha.

"Yeah, guess I have to come clean, huh? Fine. The truth is that I…shouldn't even be here. Me and Kyuubi are bonded due to what could best be described as an accident. Unfortunately the cause of that accident was someone who I believed was my friend. Now, I find myself in a new world, ordered to learn how to work with Kyuubi and get stronger." He paused, an unusual look of seriousness on his face. As he continued his gaze was focused on the floor. "I'm not sure I can do that alone though, and you and I are getting along just fine in school. Then I found out that you're human like me, trapped in an unfamiliar place. I guess I just thought we might be friends. Only this time I don't want to repeat the mistake of keeping secrets, at least those that are dangerous." He smiled bitterly. "I'm pretty sure things would have gone differently if Sasuke had known about Kyuubi before he tried to run away."

Naruto looked up after that, and found Tsukune staring right back at him, a warm smile on his face. "Hey, you know that won't be a problem! I mean, if I can play snack bag for a vampire, why not have a friend who walks around with a daemon inside him?" He furrowed his brow after that. "One question though, how old are you?"

"I'm going to be fourteen this October. Why?" Naruto was confused at the question, scrounging up his face as he attempted to guess the answer himself.

Tsukune stared at him, then shook his head. "Everyone in our class is either going to be sixteen this year or have already had their birthday. I can hardly believe that a thirteen year old went through those mermaids like that. Ithought you were maybe a year younger, being so short compared to the rest of the class, but thirteen?" Then he grinned. "You know, there are so many questions that I want to ask, so I thought I'd start with an easy one. And you say something like that as an answer. You're one surprising guy Naruto."

"Well I am the number one surprising ninja in Konoha! Believe it!"

"In spite of how corny that line was, I will. So- wait, did you say ninja?"

A few hours later Tsukune was wandering slowly back to his room. Naruto and Kyuubi-sensei had had a lot of things to tell him, and he was feeling rather overwhelmed. He was also giddy with the possibilities that he had been presented with. Apparently he could also learn how to produce and control chakra, although at levels that would best be compared to a five year old in Naruto's village. His 'coils', which were something like veins if he had understood it correctly, were very thin since he hadn't tried to work with chakra when he was younger. The most he could expect to do were some very basic techniques, or slightly enhance his body's strength and speed.

Kyuubi promised that it would still be worth the effort, especially if he ever got into trouble with humans back home. Although it would take time, he'd still grow in strength a lot faster than if he simply trained his muscles. Granted, the first phase would be frustrating in the extreme, but once he'd gotten the hang on how to produce chakra he would be able to use it to push his body further than other humans could. The idea of being able to hold his own against at least a few of the monsters in his school was very appealing, not to mention how much easier in the long run it would be to get a good physique.

Concerning the part that had his head spinning with confusion, well, having been told things that turns your entire understanding of the universe on its head and makes fun of its mother is never an easy thing to have happen to anyone. Thankfully Naruto held back on the joking once his servant (how completely weird wasn't that idea) had appeared, or 'manifested' as they called it. She apparently meant a lot to him, even though they'd only been bonded for a few months.

As for the revelations, Naruto being a ninja, his village being a ninja village, the fact that he could turn into a busty blonde girl or that he apparently came from another dimension to name a few, Tsukune felt that he'd try to sleep on it for a few days before trying to make the story make sense.

Naruto swore that he hadn't lied, nor had Kyuubi-sensei, but he did admit that there were a lot of things that he hadn't told yet. And there were also a lot of details to share. Some would come naturally while they trained in Naruto's own special training area under the school, other things would just have to come when it seemed important or natural later.

They also asked him to keep quiet for now, as Naruto wanted to reserve the right to tell those he felt could be trusted.

Heading into his room, Tsukune wondered if he'd be able to get any sleep at all that night.

"Master, are you sure that this was wise?" Naruto caught the kunai he'd been juggling by the handle, before turning his attention to Kyuubi. Tsukune had just left, convinced of the truth of what he'd been told, and confused enough to possibly mistake his own name.

"Well, what should I have done instead? Kill him because I've told him too much?" Naruto's flippant reply did not fool the redhead for a second, he knew just as well as she did that his decision to reveal so much to an outsider he barely knew was risky, if not downright foolish. If, when, Tsunade found out about it Kyuubi wouldn't be surprised if she came running before she'd finished hearing about it to take her errant good luck charm to task. Which would probably end with her working overtime healing whatever remained after the current Hokage had finished vent- err, educating him.

"How about settling for the information gained, use it to ensure his and Moka's loyalty and be satisfied with having increased the chances of your survival? The school might be extraordinarily good at tending to the results of this dog-eat-dog pedagogy, but that doesn't mean that you can haphazardly throw away useful allies." Kyuubi would have continued, but her master turned at her last remark, anger evident in his eyes.

"He's a friend, not an ally! I'm not going to use other people just to stay safe, nor let them fight my battles for me. Unless you want to be restricted to teaching and training, you better remember that!" Naruto wasn't quite shouting, he'd made a lot of noise earlier in the evening and didn't want any more attention drawn towards him from his neighbors. He was however speaking in a tone of voice that would not stand for objections, and Kyuubi didn't voice any.

"Yes master, I will remember that. So you will use the time we have, to train ourselves into an unstoppable juggernaut against all comers, to teach some random human from another dimension how to start using chakra? I cannot countermand your decisions and you will always get my best effort, but I must ask you to consider the priorities of your mission. Even I would prefer if we didn't have to face Hokage-sama's wrath anytime soon."

"Well, I have considered my responsibilities, and I stand by my decision. Konoha shinobi have always stood by their comrades and always promoted working in teams. As I am currently lacking a team, I'll take what comrades I can get, but I won't toss them into the deep end when things turn ugly just to save my skin." Naruto hadn't lost his serous façade since he started glaring at her, but now he let a small smile form. "Besides, if I can make at least one real friend here, it'll be worth the price I might have to pay later."

Kyuubi fought with her emotions, both to decide what they were and to keep them from betraying her as she replied. "If that is your choice, Naruto-sama, then I will do all I can to help you." She paused. "Do you want me to seduce Tsukune-kun? I'm sure I could turn him into an excellent comrade if he's enslaved by my sexual prowess." As Naruto turned an interesting shade of purple, Kyuubi idly mused that a master that was so easily embarrassed almost made up for the whole life-long servitude thing. She had little leeway in how she treated Naruto, but as he was a prankster extraordinaire, she felt that he'd appreciate her teasing. Not that she wouldn't do it if he decided that it would be a good thing, his word was her way of life, and the dark haired boy did have potential if groomed properly.

She just wished that…

"That will not be necessary you pervert! And don't go flaunting yourself to him again, the poor guy has it tough enough with Kurumu pushing herself on him, without a full blooded sex bomb like you turning his head as well." Naruto's blush intensified, as he realized just what he had said.

"Oh master, thank you!" Kyuubi pounced on her young lord, using the accidental comment as an excuse to embarrass him further, as well as getting a hug. "You make this lowly servant so happy when you compliment her like that. Would you like me to show you my gratitude?"

"Eh? No! I'm fine!"

"Aw, master, you really shouldn't be turning girls down like that you know, it makes them sad!"

"Well, you're not just any girl, and I'm only thirteen you cradle robber."

"Aw, so master doesn't want some ramen then?"

Naruto gave Kyuubi a flat look. "You're evil, you know that right?"

"Thank you master."

"Shut up and get me my food."

"Hm, now I'm confused. First master doesn't want it and then he does. Oh well." Noticing the dark look Naruto was giving her, Kyuubi decided to stop teasing for now. "By your leave master." She said, before transforming into her master and heading off to the floor's communal pentry.

Naruto shook his head, wishing that his daemon wasn't such a tease. Or that he was older, a thought he hoped wasn't his own. Then he rolled out his futon, figuring that he might as well get ready for bed while Kyuubi got him a snack. He'd promised Tsukune an introduction on chakra before classes, as the first steps would pretty much be solo training.

Changing into his sleep wear, Naruto silently hoped that he wouldn't live to regret sharing his secrets with his newfound friend and pupil.

A few days later found Naruto sparring with his servant in the warded cellar once more. They tried to keep variation in their training, sometimes fighting together against clones, sometimes against each other supported by clones and sometimes one on one. The seal was off, as Kyuubi needed to practice as well. She may be an awesomely powerful daemon, but she had just spent a few decades sealed into several different people, and therefore needed to freshen up her skills. It was also a good way for them to develop combo jutsus and attacks.

Off to one side Tsukune was sitting cross legged, meditating in an attempt to unlock his chakra. He would need to start from the very beginning, trying to feel his own body and how his chakra moved through it. It wouldn't take much once he made first contact, chakra manipulation being a completely natural process, but the road to that point was much longer than for a child being taught by trained shinobi. Naruto and Kyuubi would be there for an extra hour, as they'd been late getting to practice.

Naruto had gotten there later than usual because of his after-school activities. He had been forced to enter a club of the headmaster's choosing after failing to stop the swim-club from hurting several students - an obvious excuse which smelled bad enough to make Naruto want to hold his nose. He was now a secret member of the school Wardens, an elite rapid response team that handled a lot of human-monster conflicts, usually by going somewhere in a country called Japan and beating the snot out of a monster that had let its instincts get the better of it. They were also the headmaster's bodyguards.

He'd been told that there would be more to it though, as there were groups pushing for much less tolerant policies towards humans. Obviously the headmaster would accept challenges to the current status quo just after he'd accept Naruto coloring his school uniform orange.

Naruto had also been forcefully entered as a member of the newspaper club, the same as Tsukune, Moka and Kurumu. Kurumu had joined the club mainly to keep up the one-sided rivalry with Moka, who couldn't really understand that they were enemies, but her near ecstasy at hearing that Naruto would join the club as well wasn't missed by anyone except the blonde himself. Tsukune was relieved however, as it might give him a bit of space to get closer to Moka.

She'd come back to school after a day of absence, quickly making up with Tsukune and also making a point of thanking Naruto for the blood, as it had boosted her recovery. He'd waved it off, although he asked her not to let the other Moka out anytime soon in return, as that persona had him dreaming nightmares (Well, mostly). He didn't deny that either Moka was very beautiful, but one was pretty much addicted to Tsukune, and the other kept giving Naruto a feeling of being hunted.

Moka didn't seem to mind, and then their club president had arrived. Morioka Ginei was apparently this school's very own super pervert, as he'd barely entered the room before presenting large bouquets to the new female members. Naruto had wasted no time in making his life a living pervert hell, fooling the easily led "Gin-sempai" into all sorts of traps. The president wanted to spend the whole of the club time trying to look under the girls skirts. Instead he ended up falling out of a window (Ohh, volleyball girls having a waterfight!), jamming his hand in a door (What a draft sempai!), jamming his other hand in a drawer (Is that porn sempai?), smashing the top of his head into another drawer (Can't find it in this drawer either sempai!) and, the crowning point for Naruto's anti-pervert crusade, introducing Gin's crotch to a metal fence when trying to get into the pool area (The swim club is going skinny dipping!). It's possible that Gin had his suspicions about all the "just" missed opportunities, but his craving for female skin and flesh wouldn't let him miss any possible nakedness.

Naturally their collective dimness prevented the rest of the club from noticing anything, although Tsukune realized just what kind of person Gin was when he set Tsukune up and took snap shots of the trusting boy peeping into the girls changing room. That he'd somehow gotten pictures of Naruto wrestling with a scantily clad Kyuubi-sensei in his room, and could after a sleepless night swear that she stayed there the whole night, led to a situation during the night of the next full moon that almost sank Naruto's reporter career before he'd gotten it started.

School roof, two days after club selection day.

"Naruto! Can you explain this?" A livid Kurumu had cornered him on the roof of a school building, having just witnessed Gin get kicked through a fence, that was supposed to stop people from falling down, by Moka. Thankfully he'd been transformed, therefore surviving. Although no-one was very fond of the werewolf, they didn't want him dead either. Well, not that much anyway.

Naruto was blushing, of course. Kurumu had managed to get an impressive tear in her shirt during the fight, and was apparently unaware that she was giving Naruto a memory for life.

"Umm, photoshop? Hey!"

"Don't even try to deny it! I can't believe this!" She grabbed his head and pushed it into her generous cleavage. "She's abusing you, isn't she? She is forcing herself onto you, doing all sorts of naughty, adult things to your pure, sexy body. Is it because she's a teacher? Is she threatening you with lousy grades?" Kurumu was clearly very upset, although Naruto couldn't help wonder at the way she was panting as she talked.

"N-no! I promise, that's not it at all! She's just a friend from back home, she didn't want anyone to think that she was treating me differently so we haven't said anything about it."

"Well, what about those photos? If that's not treating you 'differently', then what is?"

"It's just for laughs! Honest! She thinks it's hilarious to tease me 'cause I'm so much younger."

"It's not a joke if it can be sold as a centerfold! She's clearly molesting you, and not even inviting me!" Kurumu's common sense, often forced to take a back seat to her feelings, finally managed to get a word in about just how much she was revealing, how it made her look, and how it was ruining her professed 'Destined Love' with Tsukune.

Tsukune, realizing that there was a small window of opportunity to stop Kurumu from learning something that was supposed to be secret, immediately threw a wrench into the conversation. "Kurumu, you do know that you doing something like that with Naruto would be against the law, right?"

"What?"

"Well, you are basically saying that you want to, err, get closer to Naruto. And since your sixteen, and he's only thirteen, I'm pretty sure that would be illegal, even if he'd consent."

Naruto braced himself, knowing that Mount Kurumu would most likely erupt at hearing that little tidbit of information. Putting his hands over his ears, he regretfully closed his eyes. That tear in her shirt was extremely alluring.

"WHAT?" The shouted question was echoed by Moka, but it was Kurumu that provided the larger amount of decibel. Dropping a temporarily shell shocked Naruto to the ground, she almost teleported into Tsukune's face, grabbing his jacket and demanding an explanation.

"Oh, so you didn't know? It's not exactly a secret. In Naruto's village they don't divide classes by age but by skill. That's why he's here while still so young. But don't worry Kurumu, if you wait till October he'll be fourteen, and then he can probably be forc- err, convinced, to do anything you want."

Kurumu visibly calmed herself, then sighed a little. "That was just a joke Tsukune, my Destined Mate. And you! Don't you dare come near me until you're legal. And stop looking so adorable!" Having said her piece, ignoring the incredulous looks she was getting, Kurumu retreated to her dorm.

"Hey Tsukune." Naruto waved his friend over.

"What Naruto?"

Leaning in close, Naruto whispered to the teen. "Do you think I should tell her that I'm considered an adult in my village ever since I became a genin?"

"Do you want to get chained to a bed and raped repeatedly?"

"Good point. Do you think I still have to take her out for that date on Sunday?"

"I think it's either going on that date, after you let her calm down and talk to her a bit, or me visiting your funeral. I know she keeps pretending to like me, but I wouldn't be surprised if she'll be crying herself to sleep tonight. She really likes you, you know."

At that, Naruto fell silent. He knew he had heard Tsukune correctly, as his bondsmate was jumping around in his head waving flags with 'Victory' written all over them. He was just completely unable to believe it. To him, having a friend was something that he'd fought for his whole life, and the idea of Kurono Kurumu, one of the school's hottest girls, caring that much about him was so far off his mental map that he'd need a galaxy atlas to find his way.

As Moka checked Tsukune over for damages, Naruto sighed and stared up at the moon. He already knew that there would be no sleep tonight, and that he'd need to talk both to Tsukune and his daemon about what had happened.

It was the next day, when the results of the first round of tests came back, that another head strong character decided to make Naruto's life and mission even more difficult. He'd done quite well, ending just above the 77 percent mark, and had felt that he'd earned some celebratory ramen for lunch. On the way to the cafeteria he'd been interrupted however.

"I love you!"

The shouted comment, coming from under a large pointed hat, caused quite the commotion. Moka had been talking civilly to a small child, and suddenly the two were hugging like nobody's business. Naruto was kind of distracted right then, arguing with Kyuubi about the pros and cons of eating ramen all the time. He did notice Moka's uncomfortable look, and once he got some informative comments from his resident, decided that he'd better intervene.

Grabbing the collar of the tiny tick, Naruto pulled the younger girl away from his classmate. "Oy!" He yelled, getting the girl's attention by pushing his face in front of her. "No pervert behavior in the halls, think about Moka's reputation you little weirdo!"

The young girl, who had introduced herself as Sendo Yukari, gave him an impressive glare. "Who are you to get between mine and Moka's love? With her body and my brains we would be invincible." Then she waved a strangely shaped piece of wood around.

As Naruto felt the air shift above his head, he moved to dodge the assault. The fact that some kind of pot had fallen from the sky made him pause, at which point Yukari got away from him. "If you try to get between me and Moka I'll make you regret it!"

"Oh, yeah, why don't you try to think about Moka's feelings first you little leech!"

"I am, she just doesn't know that she loves me beyond all else yet! We'll be doing adult things as soon as I've shown her the beauty of girl-girl love, and then we'll transform Yokai High into a paradise for young horny women!"

Tsukune, who had being fighting tooth and nail with his pride and libido to withhold from exploding at the little girl, finally decided to voice his concerns. "Um, but what if Moka doesn't return your affections?"

"Anyone trying to separate us will be punished!" Another copper tub suddenly appeared, and proceeded to hit Tsukune on the head.

"Tsukune, I've told you again and again. Practice your dodging!" Naruto's comment went unnoticed, as an irate Tsukune and an unapologetic Yukari squared off.

"Little girls should play with their equals."

"Idiots shouldn't sully genius with their presence."

"Perverts shouldn't taint the pure."

"Weaklings shouldn't hide behind the strong."

"Unpleasant people remain lonely." Tsukune was getting really mad, and unconsciously used his ability to understand people to, quite possibly, cause hurt for the first time. Yukari wasn't put down that easily though.

"That's fine by me, I've always been alone."

The young witch, having dropped yet another piece of brass on her opponent, stormed off. Naruto was torn, his friend was hurt and needed help, but that little girl was feeling the same thing that he had felt, and still did unless he was wrong.

Seeing Moka rush to Tsukune's side, Naruto looked Kurumu in the eye and nodded at the knocked out boy. The succubus reluctantly moved to help her rival, leaving Naruto free to follow the retreating witch.

He found her a few minutes later, but seeing as how she'd returned to her classroom he decided to postpone the talk they were going to have. He did spend a minute or two looking at her, noticing how she acted like she was alone in the room, and how her classmates ignored her presence. It was disturbing to him, and he resolved to see if there was a way to change that.

Sighing, mind far back and away, Naruto walked off towards his own classroom. There were a lot of similarities between her and his life, although he couldn't be positive about the reason for people to shun her. Sure, she was loud, annoying and kept making things appear from thin air and on people's heads, but was that really reason enough to threaten her or pretend she didn't exist? He'd been a master troublemaker as a child but that had never been the cause of all the resentment aimed his way.

At least she should be safe for the time being, he'd backed up Moka when she stopped a couple of boys bullying the little witch, and his reputation was already enough to at least cause some concern. He didn't necessarily like his reputation, but it was better to scare people off than having to beat them down.

After classes the next day, he headed over to a small outlying building, taking a seldom used path behind the school. He'd been ordered to check if there were news regarding an organization they were currently investigating, and the two-way communication with the investigating team was set up in the Wardens base, which was mostly hidden underground. He didn't know why he had to go and check, as it had forced him to leave classes a bit early, but the Monster in Monk's robes running the school had him by the balls. If it was decided that Naruto needed to play gofer, Naruto played gofer. At least he should be able to join the News club in time today.

As he walked, he tried to decide what to do about Yukari. The little witch had spent most of her waking hours harassing both him and Tsukune. Naruto was experienced enough to know that the little girl was just trying to grab attention, any attention, but Tsukune had never purposefully tried to harm anyone. That had led to the normally even-tempered boy to lost it and start yelling at her. Although she tried to be brave about it, Naruto had no problem seeing that Tsukune's words had hurt.

Now he had to figure out a way to reach the lonely witch before she got herself into some real trouble. According to Kurumu, who had been talking very loudly to Tsukune about the school's youngest student when she heard that Naruto was curious, the witch had been on a collision course with several students, partly because of her endless pranking and partly because of her status as a boundary being. Apparently witches were half-human, half-monster and reviled by both. That any of them were left rested solely on how powerful they were. Witches used magic, focused through various items, to control, confuse or destroy their surroundings. It was a deadly power and not one he could afford to underestimate.

He wondered at how similar their backgrounds were. In Konoha, she could have said that it was a special form of jutsu and blended right in with the crowd. Here, she was an outcast, while he could unleash a bit of demonic power at the school and most likely get away, but in Konoha he could barely move without getting a few resentful looks.

His musings were cut short when he heard a muffled scream. He wasn't absolutely sure who it could be, but thought the voice sounded feminine. And familiar. "What a coincidence." He thought with heavy sarcasm. Apparently his temporary leader was playing him like a chess piece.

Why he was needed to help the little witch became painfully obvious as he silently landed behind a tree. Over a dozen monsters had gathered around Yukari, growling menacingly and glaring with hate filled eyes. They were completely focused on the girl and currently debating what to do with her.

"Let's just eat her, she may not taste very well, but that's just something we'll have to endure to rid the world of this little nuisance. And without the body there will be no evidence either."

"Well, that's presuming there aren't any witnesses, idiot." Having heard enough a lot sooner than he'd expected, Naruto tensed as he prepared to go to Yukari's aid, when every plan he'd made was tossed out the window. Watching with disbelief, Naruto was shocked to see Tsukune rush in, closely followed by Moka.

Tsukune grunted as he took a hit to the head. "Now, repeat after me. 'I am not invincible'. Say it."

"I am not invincible. That hurt you-ow!"

"Next, 'I desperately need more training before trying to fight multiple enemies.' Say it."

"I desperately need more training before trying to fight multiple enemies."

" 'Naruto-sama is much cooler than me.'"

"Naruto-teme is a jerk-ow! Stop hitting me!"

"Why the hell should I? I was just about to take those idiots to the cleaners, when suddenly the most suicidal guy on campus decides to rush in! Couldn't you at least unleash Moka-san-" Naruto shivered, and glanced in the vampire's direction. She'd refused sealing up just yet, wanting a word with him. "-if it wouldn't trouble her too much, of course, before jumping into a fight someone like you can't survive, much less win? Is it too much to ask that you try thinking once in a fucking while-ow!"

"No swearing around a child Naruto-kun." Naruto felt a chill go up his spine, realizing that he'd somehow angered Moka and now she was standing just behind him.

"Sorry, sorry Moka-san, just trying to lecture my idiot student." Grinning as innocently as humanly possible, Naruto looked over his shoulder at her. He would have loved watching that beautiful face for a much longer time, if he wasn't so scared of her. It wasn't just the mature sexy behavior, the body fitting the former or her ability of kicking pretty much anybody's ass. No, it was the eyes, both the part that made it impossible for him to read her intentions and the color and shape, reminding him of how he was balancing on a knife's edge living at the school.

It could also be the fact that, just like him, she could turn into someone else. Someone vastly more powerful and much crueler. It reminded him too much about how he'd almost given in to the Kyuubi when he was younger, only her change wasn't permanent. It could well be that he was simply fearing something that would never happen, that the changes in personality had no bearing on how she'd react toward him, but she'd never spent even a second talking to him without giving off an aura of barely suppressed malice. The feeling of being prey toyed with by the predator wasn't helping one bit either.

"Are you trying to avoid talking to me, Naruto-kun? Are you purposefully ignoring one of the most powerful monsters in existence under the cover of lecturing?" She didn't sound angry, but she was stroking his cheek with the back of her hand, an excellent way of measuring the distance from her shoulder to his face. She'd never miss if she decided to hit him now.

"No! Why would I ever do something like that? Where did you get such a crazy idea?" Lying through his teeth, Naruto wondered how she'd managed to figure that one out already.

"And now you call me crazy." She replied with a hint of sadistic pleasure, making Naruto sweat in places he'd never sweated before. "Well, you did get between me and those low-lives, so I suppose I owe you a little something." As she leaned in, Naruto shut his eyes and braced for the bite. Instead he felt a feathery touch of something at his lips. Eyes shooting wide open, Naruto looked at Moka's face. Her eyes were closed as she enjoyed stealing a kiss from him, soft lips lightly merging with his own.

As she released him, he could only stand there in shock. "There, I also heard that you're a bit young for more, but it should be enough of a reward. In fact, I think I'm due a bit of change, it must be a bit too rewarding getting such a boon from me." Then she smiled wickedly and went for his throat.

"AHHH!"

"Does she like Naruto-sama?" Yukari asked of her shocked savior, watching as the sexy vampire drank her fill, moaning and groaning in between small sips.

"Not sure, she's always really rough feeding from him, and he's terrified of her for some reason."

"Hmm, strange. Do vampires have sex by feeding?"

"W-what?"

"Well, She does seem to enjoy Naruto-sama's blood a whole lot more than she should. Do you think we could get her to do that when we have our threesomes later?"

"Threesomes? What are you talking about?"

"Why, the beautiful love triangle that you, Moka and me are going to be living in soon. Oh, I was so touched when you rushed in to save me, taking that hit for me and sweeping me off your feet." Yukari looked at him, and for a moment Tsukune could swear she had tiny sparkling stars in her eyes.

"Um, not that I want to put you down or anything, but you're twelve."

"Yeah, but I'll grow out of it with time, and I promise not to tell the police if you want to satisfy your curiosity of the female body with me."

"How about you promise not to do anything we'd both regret until you're eighteen?"

"Aw, come on Tsukune-sempai. Don't you want to feast on the wonders of an unspoiled, petite and very willing body?"

"I'm not even gonna dignify that with a reply, now let's get Moka and Naruto out of here, I don't want to be anywhere nearby when these assholes wake up."

"Of course my love."

"Stop saying that! People are going to get ideas!"

"Okay, how about stud?"

"No way!"

"Fucking machine?"

"The hell's wrong with you? NO! Tsukune-san will be close enough."

"But not very fun."

"I've already got enough fun to last me two lifetimes."

"Ohh, you're that big?"

"What? You know, I think I'm gonna have to talk to your parents, little girls shouldn't know this much about adult things."

"So, I guess that means I can't start sneaking into your room at night?"

"Don't even think about it, now stop clinging to me, shut up and help me get them back before-"

"Tsukune-kun, here's Kurumu-chan coming to the WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT LITTLE GIRL?"

The day of Naruto's first ever date had arrived, and Naruto was silently wondering just why guys put up with it. Kurumu had spent every minute in his presence before the date giving him dirty looks, doing her level best to pretend he didn't exist and constantly harass Tsukune, embarrassing both him and Moka. He'd barely managed to ask her about the date she'd demanded from him, and she'd blushed seven shades of red before gritting out an affirmative. Then she proceeded to push Tsukune's face it her bountiful bosom again.

Then, when they finally met for the date, she'd barely said hi before pulling him off to go plundering shops for clothes. There hadn't been very much talking, but his resident had given him some tips, which would prove to give amazing results.

"Come on Naruto, keep up." Kurumu called over her shoulder. She had a bag in one hand containing a sweater, to go with the half dozen articles of clothes that Naruto was carrying for her. Since this was the first chance he had to give a response she couldn't ignore off-handedly, he decided to try Kyuubi's idea one last time.

"Sure thing Kurono-san." Naruto's voice was polite, as was his address. He'd used it before, but she'd either not heard him or just pretended that she didn't. Naruto was pissed, and almost hoped that Kurumu wouldn't acknowledge him, so he could finally vent a bit of how he felt about her actions towards him, treating him like a servant.

He was also put off by her constant hitting on Tsukune. If he was her Destined One, why bother Naruto? He didn't care whether she wanted multiple partners or not, since he barely understood the concept, but trying to pursue two rabbits at the same time usually ended with no catches made at all. And a Destined one sounded like there would only ever be one, which meant that his bond would be worthless as soon as she'd forced herself enough on Tsukune.

"Stop acting like a stranger, Naruto."

"Yes Kurono-san."

"Gah! Stop it you little runt!"

"Whatever you say Kurono-san."

"Enough!" Stopping in her tracks, Kurumu almost made Naruto walk into her back, before rounding on him with a strange gleam in her eyes. "I am sorry okay? I know I've been acting very badly towards you, but I really wasn't expecting you to be that much younger than me. It threw me off, and I've been wondering if I can trust you. I guess your patience has won over my worries. Please Naruto, can't you let my mistakes lie?"

Naruto blinked. Someone apologizing to him, except for Kyuubi who sort of had to, was pretty much unheard of. He could feel Kyuubi's disapproval at the girl, as well as her annoyance with him, and his inability to give Kurumu the finger for good. Apparently the succubus didn't match up to Kyuubi's standards, and since she was a pragmatic daemon he was forced to endure her musings on mating and the results thereof. Apparently she was worried that any offspring between her master and the busty school idol would be in danger of very low intelligence.

"And your ongoing attempts to seduce Tsukune? You're messing up his life as well you know. It isn't fair that you use him as a weapon against Moka and calling him your Destined One kind of makes it impossible to believe there could be anyone else."

Kurumu hanged her head a bit. "Yeah, I know. I'll try to leave him be."

Naruto sighed. "Fine, I guess we're friends again. Just try to control your instincts, okay?" Kyuubi rolled her eyes, sending the image of her doing it to him.

"Even when it comes to you?" Kurumu almost sounded like herself again, making Naruto more nervous than he'd been since saving Yukari.

"Heh, you really deserve your heritage, succubus."

"That's a no, isn't it?"

"No, I'm still not that trusting of you to try anything like that, and you don't want to upset baa-chan by seducing her favorite underling. She's famous for drinking too much, never winning a bet and her ability to level a building with one punch. Let's just be friends for now. It'll make surviving easier for us all." Realizing that one of the boxes in his arms was slipping, Naruto took his eyes of the seductive girl in front of him and righted the pile of purchases.

"No way." Kurumu moved quickly, taking advantage of Naruto's distraction to get inside his guard and grab his shoulders, incidentally pushing all of the packages to the ground. Then she planted a kiss on his cheek and bounced back, giggling at how he'd started blushing all over.

"I'm not going to settle for just being your friend Naruto. I may not get everything I want right now, but that simply means that I'll have to keep you interested in me until I can. I'll prove that I'm good enough for you, just wait." The succubus was smiling at him, packages and bags scattered about forgotten. He'd never seen her so intense or focused, and couldn't decide whether he was scared or impressed by her behavior. She obviously cared however, and he could feel the pull to take her, to dominate her and make her his. Then he mentally smacked Kyuubi's nose and the lewd feelings disappeared. The succubus was now very much within the standards apparently, and he wondered what it was that had made Kyuubi change her mind.

"So, wanna go eat lunch, Kuru-chan?"

His words, acknowledging her efforts, coupled with the happy and vulnerable look in his eyes were enough to set her face on fire. Trying to control her emotions (and her blush) Kurumu decided to get closer to the blonde as soon as possible. Whatever anyone might say, Naruto didn't really look all that young, he acted a lot more mature, and his power, even if it was sealed (yeah, even she had noticed that) was formidable. Telling her mother about her new-found truer love would be easy, and if there were any negative comments about them not producing babies yet, she would stand against the imposing senior succubus with confidence and a law book with the part about under aged sex bookmarked and highlighted. Even her mother would have to respect her not wanting to break that particular law, even if it was human law.

Snapping her gaze around, Kurumu realized that an open street filled with holiday shoppers might not be the best place to continue resolving their conflict (although Naruto had had all the resolving he could take). Smiling sweetly, Kurumu loaded up the troublesome blonde with her purchases and pulled him with her. Some lunch would be nice, and there would be plenty of time cementing her presence in his heart back at the dorms. After lunch the next stop would be her room. She might not be able to use her mind-controlling techniques on him, but she would damn well give him all he could take to prove what he meant to her. Some kissing and teasing should be okay even to him.

Both were unaware of the cold eyes watching their interactions.

A/N: Aaaand cut! Awesome, take five and then we'll shoot the next chapter.

Can you believe something messed up my first round of editing this, losing all my first notes and revisions? I hate when that happens!

I've tried to make things happen in this chapter, and happily we're getting closer to a full set of actors. I bet a few are wondering about Mizore, and she's texted me that she'd fine and will be back in short order.

I'm sure there are some things you'd like to ask. Yes, humans have chakra, all of them. No, monsters and witches don't, they have demonic energy. Yes, Tsukune will get a fair bit less useless in a fight, but it won't be easy.

Also worth mentioning is that the girls will all have a bit of feelings for both boys. It's not that their crazy (mostly) but that both boys are just that awesome. I hope, at least, that that will happen. Writing a weak Tsukune so that he can compare to Naruto isn't easy.

I'll be starting on the next update soon (possibly right away) and hopefully I'll get another chapter out faster once again. Damn my stubborness and 10k word goals.

Until next time (When- ah, you know)

Ja ne.