Disclaimer: As I have said before, I own nothing related to either story.
As Naruto woke up, to put it simply, he hurt. A lot. Gin had really put him through the wringer last night. Keeping his eyes closed he recalled something both his mother and Jiraiya had said that he really should have remembered before his fight with Gin.
"In a fight never be overconfident. Always treat an opponent as dangerous. You never know what they may be hiding."
Nartuo grumbled in his head, 'I really need to get pounded into the ground more often. Maybe I should increase my gravity seal more and let Moka beat the tar out of me.'
As he had these thoughts, he pulled the comforting warmth of his girlfriend into his chest and nuzzled his face in her hair. A small sigh was heard. Naruto's thought processes ground to a halt as his eyes flew wide open. In front of his face was the back of a head with light blue hair, not the purple of his girlfriend. Warm instead of slightly cool. Warmth flooded his face as he realized exactly where he was holding the shorter girl. Slowly lifting his arm, so as not to wake the blue-haired succubus, Naruto tried to scoot away, but was pinned in place by another weight that was on the sheet that covered him. Turning slightly, Naruto was confused by what he saw; on one side was Kurumu and the other, Mizore. And for a moment, Naruto's previously halted train of thought was now wrenched from its tracks, spun around, and then thrown back in place but upside down, backwards, and inside out. He failed to notice what his traitorous tails had done during the night.
(At the same time in Succubus Valley)
Jiraiya woke with a start. He then shook his head trying to make sense of what he was feeling.
Ageha sleepily asked the white haired sage, "What is it?"
Jiraiya shook his head once more. "I feel like I should be proud of Naruto for some reason. But at the same time, I should threaten his life. I can't seem to understand why though."
Ageha merely pulled her husband back down. "Less talk more cuddles. We don't have to be anywhere for a few hours yet."
Jiraiya shook his head once more and complied to his wife's wishes.
(At the same time back in Naruto's dorm room.)
Kurumu was content. She slowly regained alertness to find herself held securely. She was about to tense up and scream when she remembered what had happened last night. Naruto was safe, and surprisingly, she felt safe, comforted, and oddly enough, empowered where she was at. She noticed two things right after her musings: first, the shirt she was wearing had ridden up in the night and she now had a comfortable belt around her waist of one of Naruto's tails and another few covering her legs. Second, Naruto's arm and hand were wrapped around her rather expansive chest. Kurumu bit back a squeak as Naruto's hand and arm flexed, tensed, and then pulled her closer to him. As she felt his face nuzzle her head, Kurumu let out a small sigh at how nice it felt. Now only if this could be duplicated without Mizore impaling her with ice or Naruto getting beat to a pulp. She pouted when Naruto's arm slowly lifted off of her and she missed the feeling it gave. Naruto shifted slightly and she felt his body tense. Kurumu then decided it would be better to act like she was still asleep for the time being. While this didn't allow her to see what happened next, she still heard it.
(Also at the same time)
Mizore was comfortable. While she was not in her preferred spot; where she was wasn't half bad either. She loved being held by Naruto's tails. They were getting stronger. One day he should be able to pick her up with them like she had seen Minato do to Kushina before. She snuggled in closer to her pillow of tails. As she became more aware of her surroundings she blushed lightly. Not only were Naruto's tails her pillow, but also her blanket. One had even worked it's was inside the shirt she was wearing and was acting like a furry cushion in between her chest and Naruto's back. Mizore decided that until Naruto woke up, she wasn't going to disrupt the status quo. It was too comfortable. Mizore just relaxed and relished in the feeling of being held by her boyfriend's tails. She felt Naruto shift slightly then freeze in place and she felt him go rigid. She sighed mentally; it was time to get up.
She whispered, "Naruto are you awake?"
It was a moment before Naruto shook his head slightly then whispered back, "Mizore, why is Kurumu in my bed? Why is she here? Does she know?" His nearing hysterical tone was silenced by Mizore placing her hand on his shoulder.
Mizore shook her head, "It's okay. She helped me patch you up. I used the seal in your first aid kit to revert you back to your yoko form. She spent the night here to help me keep an eye on you through the night. We didn't want to be caught breaking curfew. She watched you while I slept, then I stayed up until you wouldn't reopen any wounds."
"Did she freak out when you showed her what I was?"
Mizore nodded, "A little, but she got over it and ended up helping. Why do you ask?"
"Yoko and succubi are not exactly on the best terms. The yoko are jealous of their abilities with illusions. A powerful succubus can even fool a yoko with their illusions. So why did she sleep in my bed?"
"I am assuming that she thought it was better than sleeping on the floor. Judging by the look on her face while she was sleeping, she didn't find it too bad of a choice. You seem surprised."
Naruto nodded and whispered back, "She isn't a succubus-sicle. I was wondering why."
Mizore shook her head. "She did help last night. She also practically fell asleep the moment she laid down. I didn't have the heart to freeze her. That and I was so tired myself that I probably would have frozen you too and that would mean you would take even longer to heal. Besides, this is just her staying here after helping me."
Naruto raised an eyebrow in response knowing how jealous Mizore could be.
Mizore rolled her eyes, "Kurumu, until she finds her Destined One, has my permission to flirt with you. You caring for her as a friend is enough apparently to keep her powers stable. She told me that she isn't as strong as other succubi, but she is okay with that. But once she finds her Destined One, then she wants to stay friends. She said you were her first real friend. Besides, with what you have promised, you are mine and I don't intend to let you go. Unless your father and Jiraiya have found out if you will take multiple mates, then I'm not going to worry about it. What are the chances that you are her Destined One? She doesn't even know how to recognize that yet. That is why, as you put it, there is not a succubus-sicle in bed right now. She wants to be your friend. Granted, she is flirty, but that is just Kurumu being Kurumu."
"Do you think she will be angry with me at not telling her I am a yoko?"
"If what you say about enmity between the succubi and yoko is true, then I'm sure she will understand. She did have some questions about your tails that I didn't answer."
Naruto nodded. "Should we wake her up?"
Mizore looked at Naruto's alarm clock. "We should get up. Breakfast will be over in an hour, and I don't feel like eating ramen for breakfast."
It was then that Naruto realized he was naked under the sheet that separated him from the two girls. He blushed deeply. "Mizore, could you bring me some boxers?"
Mizore shook her head. "I am perfectly comfortable where I am. Get them yourself."
Naruto sighed and shook Kurumu gently. "Kurumu, can you get up, I need to get out of bed and you are keeping the sheet pinned down.
Kurumu had been mulling over what had been said, namely possible multiple mates, and was glad for the chance to "wake up."
She proceeded to act out her waking up, but her blush was real as she noticed the sheet separating them had bunched up covering only what boxers normally would. "Naruto! Mizore! I'm sorry I didn't wake up sooner." Kurumu quickly stood from the bed, as Naruto had shifted back to his fully human form and hiding the tails.
Mizore muttered dark things under her breath at the loss of her fox-fur bedding.
Kurumu, still blushing asked, "Naruto can you put your pillow over your head while I change back into my normal clothes?"
Naruto quickly complied due to embarrassment.
Kurumu quickly dressed and now properly attired; turned and faced a wall. "Naruto, could you put some clothes on too? I need to talk to you about a few things."
Naruto jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed into his training clothes. He began blushing when Mizore decided to get dressed as well. Granted Mizore had tried many times to have him see her in practically nothing, but Naruto knew that if he started acting like Jiraiya, his mother would kill him. His father would probably help. He suppressed a shiver of fear as he turned to Kurumu.
Before Naruto could say anything, Kurumu spoke up. 'Naruto, I kinda figured why you didn't tell me you were a yoko, especially given the relationship between our races, but I have a question to ask. We are friends aren't we?"
Naruto nodded, "Yes we are."
Kurmu continued, "Then why didn't you tell me? Don't you trust me?" Kurumu was close to tears. She was hurting over this lack of trust from her first friend.
Naruto saw that Kurumu was about to break down and wrapped her in a hug. "Kurumu, I don't know what Mizore has told you. My mother and father defied the wishes of their parents, who, ironically, are the heads of the fire and water yoko clans. Until I was born, and proved to be a yoko, they were hunted by the clans. All yoko were told to kill them on sight. Secrecy about our true nature was extremely important. When I was trained, I heard rumors that the two clan heads were furious about the fact that I am a yoko and by their own laws, which the council will not allow to be changed, are preventing them from removing 'the disgraces' from their family lines. They are no longer part of their clans, but the laws still hold since I was born before they were cast out. As long as I am alive, nothing can be done to my parents. I wanted to tell you, but I was told that unless I had my parent's permission I was not allowed to tell anyone. While I am sure they know that others will discover what I am, I still try to keep it close to my chest. I am sorry that I haven't told you before now, I really am."
Kurumu broke into tears. She felt horrible, Naruto was protecting his family, but he hadn't told her his secret. She understood, but something inside of her was still hurting. She was able to calm slightly before asking, "Do you trust me now?"
Naruto nodded. "Just like you trusted me when I accepted you for what you are, I trust you because you still are my friend knowing what I am."
It took a moment for Kurumu to regain her composure. "I have never heard of a yoko with more than one tail color before. Why is that?"
At this Naruto's stomach growled, followed by both Mizore's and Kurumu's.
Mizore asked, "Can we finish this after breakfast? I am rather hungry."
The trio laughed, and Naruto picked up a small folder and put an illusion over both girls as they followed him from the dorms so as not to be seen. Kurumu was tired and emotional and therefore didn't trust her skills.
Arriving in the cafeteria, they sat down and began their meals. Moka showed up partway through, having been looking for Naruto. Her stomach spoke for itself. "Naruto? I have drunk plenty of tomato juice, but it just isn't helping. Can I please?" The look on her face was equal parts pitiful and adorable.
Naruto nodded, "But only a little, I am recuperating."
Moka latched on and drank just enough to assuage her thirst. "Thanks. Tsukune switched his soap and the scent is making feeding from him kind of unpleasant. Can I sit with you three while you finish breakfast?"
The trio all nodded, and made small talk until Gin was seen storming into the cafeteria. He made a beeline for the group's table.
"Couldn't handle things all by yourself last night Namikaze? Had to have your girlfriend save you?" the werewolf growled out. Gin stood close to the table, but kept a safe distance from Mizore. He had stayed on the roof until almost curfew in agony over what had happened. "I will make you pay for what you have done."
Naruto pushed the folder towards Gin. "No you won't. If you harm me in any way, the contents of this folder will be made public to all girls, especially Miss Nekonome. Have a seat. Feel free to look over it."
Gin warily opened the folder, and blanched at what he saw inside. There were pictures of him peeping, blatantly. How were these taken?! He made sure there was no one around when he was pursuing his "interests." "How?" was all he was able to say as he saw the picture of him covered in purloined female underwear.
Naruto smirked. "Always have a back-up plan Gin. What I did to you was a direct result of trying to catch a peek at my friends. I will tone it down and not be as malicious if you back off. Just like you won't stop being a peeping wolf; I won't stop either. I hate perverts. If you don't back off, I will make these photos and the story behind them public. If something happens to me, this is set to go out regardless. You will be hounded until you graduate."
Gin thought it over for a moment. Last night, he had held the upper hand, but now Naruto had shown his hand. Gin knew he might be expelled if these ever came to light. He knew a truce offering when he saw one. "Deal." he grit out. The wolf was not happy.
Naruto nodded, "Good because I also have copies of those pictures you took with the trapped camera. Do you think the girls would be appreciative of you manipulating their photos like that? They would hunt you down. Quite frankly, you have a choice to make. Back down or be beaten within an inch of your life by enraged female Youkai. As long as you keep your side of the bargain those will never see the light of day either."
Gin shook his head dumfounded. Naruto just proved he had even more blackmail material than Gin thought was possible. He was fast, but without a full moon, he could not contend with an enraged female. It definitely wouldn't pay for any half-baked plans of retaliation to come to fruition. Besides, he may have beat Naruto physically, but in the end Naruto's offer of a truce was the only option to take.
Naruto simply continued, "Good. I was going to write a story about the new dress code that is trying to be implemented by the female portion of the student body, but I'm afraid after last night it will not be ready in time for Monday Gin."
Gin slowly stood and left the table, but as he did he smelled something as he passed Kurumu and Mizore. He leaned down close to Naruto as he passed and whispered, "Not a pervert huh? Funny, you three all smell like you have spent the night together."
Naruto turned and replied, "They patched me up last night mutt. Besides, they don't just tolerate my presence for five minutes before finding an excuse to leave."
Gin merely smirked and walked away.
Moka turned to Kurumu and handed her a letter. "I saw this in your mail slot. It hadn't fallen all the way in yet, so I figured I would give it to you when I saw you at breakfast. Why didn't you pick it up last night?"
Kurumu, keeping a perfect poker face, replied, "I must not have seen it. I was really tired after last night."
Moka nodded and then turned to Naruto. "How was last night?"
Naruto winced. "I need to spar more often with you and your internal duplicate. Gin is an S class werewolf."
Moka raised an eyebrow. "But you can hold your own for at least a bit before I win. Sometimes you can tie with me. What happened?"
Kurumu cut in, "Last night was a full moon. Even Scary Moka wouldn't be able to catch him. You, Naruto can at least stay on par with in speed and strength."
It was Moka's turn to wince. Even as strong as her true self was, she would still have to catch a werewolf, and she wouldn't be able to catch one during a full moon unless she got extremely lucky. "How did you get away? He looked rather angry with you."
Mizore spoke up in a detached tone. "Kurumu ensnared him with her wiles and I got him with something Naruto's mother showed me for dealing with perverts."
At this, Naruto looked up from his meal, face pale. "She taught you the Equalizer Art?"
Moka echoed "Equalizer art?"
Mizore nodded in response to Naruto's question.
Naruto turned to Moka. "It is an evil jutsu that all knowledge of it should be erased, the paper on which it was written burned, and the technique wiped from the minds of those that know it. But, I will ignore that for now. It saved me last night." He turned back to Mizore. "How many levels did she teach you?" Fear had crept into his tone.
Mizore replied, "All five."
Naruto paled even further. He thought that his father had made a deal with his mother to keep that art from being shared. His thoughts were cut short by Mizore.
"Your mother only agreed to pass that down to any daughters. I will be a daughter soon enough anyway. But if you don't tell your father, I will let you have ramen once a day until he finds out."
Naruto's response was immediate. "My silence has been bought. We shall never speak of this again."
Kurumu giggled, looking up from her letter. "Mizore, you know just how to handle him don't you?"
Naruto pointed his chopsticks at the succubus. "Don't knock ramen. Besides, I just don't want her to use that evil, horrific technique on me. From what I hear, level two involves not just a kick but also being thrown down onto tree branches from a great height, and the guy's feet miss. After level three there is a chance of castration. Level five has a ninety nine percent chance of castration and/or sterility. Is it any wonder I don't want it used on me?"
Mizore replied, blushing. "I happen to want to make use of that part of you Naruto. Damaging it would be counterproductive." This caused blushes from most at the table.
Naruto coughed, embarrassed. "So Kurumu. Any news, good or bad?"
"Good definitely. I will be meeting my dad. Mom and him are both coming to the school festival. Mom will be telling me how to recognize my Destined One then. Apparently, Mom convinced my dad to stay home from now on. I have my suspicions on who he is, but I'm not one hundred percent certain."
Moka, now hearing something new, allowed her curiosity to take over. "Oh? Why did your dad leave?"
Kurumu folded the letter. "Mom said something along the lines of he is securing the happiness and a positive future for many succubi." Her tone suggested that Moka not push the issue.
The conversation then turned to more benign topics.
The rest of the day was Naruto recuperating during which, Kurumu was brought up to speed on the how and why of Naruto's tails. Mizore spent this time laying on her makeshift bed of fox tails while Naruto and Kurumu had their discussion.
The entire student body was clustered around a billboard that had been set up in order to display class rankings. Kurumu groaned. "Great. Yet another chance to see how much I stink at tests."
Moka tilted her head. "What do you mean by that?"
Kurumu sighed. "I can usually do the homework, and if I can apply something to problems that I have had to solve in the past, then I can usually handle the test questions, but most teachers throw stuff in there that just makes me beat my head against the desk."
Moka frowned. "I'm sorry Kurumu. Do you want my help preparing for any tests?"
Kurumu smiled and replied, "Thanks for the offer, but no. I want to be a chef anyway. I'm really good at cooking so all I need is good enough grades to get into a good cooking school. From there, the grades I got here don't matter anyway."
The group walked along the message board. Kurumu sighed as she noticed she was still passing, but still in the bottom half of the class. Tsukune looked disappointed when they found his score. He voiced his disapproval. "I was hoping to be in the upper half of the class. I'm at 168. Naruto your training sessions really cut into my time for homework."
It was Moka who asked, "Training sessions?"
Naruto laughed weakly and rubbed the back of his head. "Just simple stuff like speed and agility drills. It is nothing too strenuous."
Tsukune only had one thought at this point. 'If training until I can't move and dodging the purple haired blade wielding crazy girl is just simple, I don't want to know his definition of strenuous entails.'
Naruto found something interesting when they reached where his name was listed in class standings.
He read aloud, "119 Naruto Namikaze, Mizore Shirayuki." He paused, then continued, "We are tied for the same spot?"
Mizore simply nodded. "It would not be proper for me to be anywhere else but by your side. I merely used my various skills to ensure that."
Naruto sighed and then whispered, "Cheating on the placement test can get you expelled."
Mizore whispered back, "I didn't cheat on the test."
Naruto just blinked a few times at that response.
Mizore continued matter-of-factly. "I snuck into the teacher's offices and adjusted my test answers to match yours. It was easier to do that than cheat on the test. Besides, I was just a place or two behind you anyway."
Naruto sighed and shook his head while all the others simply fell to the ground at the revelation.
Tsukune then asked, "So where is Moka ranked?"
Moka colored slightly, a little embarrassed she did so well compared to all the others. "I am usually in the top ten percent. I spend a lot of time studying. I just seem to be able to study better when drinking both your blood Tsukune and Naruto's." The crew continued along the board. At number three, they found Moka's name.
Tsukune gasped, "Number three?! Moka. That settles it. I am going to need a tutor for the rest of the semester to pass my classes. Can you help?"
Moka smiled brightly. "Of course."
The rest of the conversation was interrupted by a group of students crowded around and harassing another student.
"You make me sick you filthy half breed. You think you own this place because you are scored top in the class. Just because you skipped a few grades doesn't mean that you are better than us."
One of the boys had an armband on said, "That outfit hasn't been approved either you little runt. You shouldn't be here. You aren't a real Youkai anyway."
Mizore leaned in to Naruto. "Can you do anything? They shouldn't be saying those things."
Naruto smirked, and nudged Tsukune. "Watch these handsigns. There will be a test tomorrow. It is a simple Genjutsu. It will show them that the student they are harassing suddenly becoming something they fear."
The three taller boys started to back away slowly from the girl. They saw that she was a rather young girl with short brown hair and a hat that looked like a witch's hat.
Mizore sputtered "She can't be that much older than one of my sisters. How could they hurt her?"
Tsukune shook his head and muttered, "Bullies. They really don't make matters easier. I think we have all have been there."
Meanwhile the young girl had taken notice of the distinct feeling of what could have been a spell. 'There must be another boundary being around.'
She then heard the blue haired girl ask, "You ok? Those guys looked like they were bothering you."
The young girl nodded. She felt a whisper of a different type of energy then the magic that she used hanging around the group. Only boundary beings used it. A true Youkai would never degrade themselves to learn it. She would follow this group until she was able to discover who it was. Maybe she wouldn't be alone any more.
Their conversation continued as she walked after the group.
"So Naruto, do you have any more plans for Gin if he doesn't keep his part of the bargain?"
"Well he didn't promise anything if you think about it, we just agreed to not escalate things again. I told him I would continue to prank him as long as he kept up his perverted peeping ways. But he never set a limit on what I am allowed to do. All I said was he couldn't peek on you girls, otherwise the nasty stuff would start back up again."
As the group continued back to the cafeteria, Moka then asked Naruto. "Where did you learn to prank someone so thoroughly?"
Naruto quirked an eyebrow, "Do you really want to know?"
Moka nodded.
Naruto sighed. "My teacher is the self proclaimed world's greatest super pervert."
Kurumu interrupted, "Jiraiya? He never acts that way when he visits."
Tsukune asked, "You know his teacher?"
Kurumu nodded. "When Naruto went out on a training trip, he and Jiraiya stopped by my house. Jiraiya works for my mom's publishing company. That is all she has ever told me."
Moka queried, "Why did you prank your teacher?"
Naruto responded, "I was raised by my parents to be respectful of women. If I were to act perverted, my parents would beat the respect back into me." Naruto shuddered. "I don't want that to happen."
Mizore nodded, "His mom can be VERY scary."
Moka thought for a moment. "I guess a Kitsune like yourself would be a natural at pranks, huh Naruto?"
Kurumu frowned slightly at this remark. Then she realized that Naruto must have only shown his mid-form to Moka during spars. She resolved to remember what the vampire thought, and continue with that as the standard of Naruto's Youkai nature.
Naruto did nothing to correct the vampire. "Well, pranking someone takes practice. But hey, when you can prank an S-class Youkai, then there is no contest as to who is the best at it.
A voice spoke up, "I challenge you then."
The group turned and saw the little girl. She was standing there looking at Naruto. "I am a genius. You can't out-prank a genius." she said smirking. Inwardly she was thinking that this was a perfect chance to investigate the group.
She was disappointed when Naruto replied, "No."
"Why not?"
"I only prank people who I know and who deserve it."
"My name is Yukari Sendo. Now you know me. And if you need a reason for why I deserve it, here is one for you!" The star in her wand glowed and a washbasin fell, but was caught by Naruto.
"If that is all you've got, I'm not impressed. Like I said, I don't prank people unless they thoroughly deserve it. By the way, congratulations on your academic standing. Have a good day." With that he turned and the group resumed walking.
Naruto dodged all of the various falling objects that came along as the group made their way to the cafeteria.
Yukari huffed and realized she needed more information. She decided that this prank war idea was one of the best ways to be admitted into the group. The blonde, Naruto seemed to be the de-facto leader. From what she had read about group dynamics, the only way to be successfully admitted entrance into a small group was to gain the leader's acceptance. She had taken the first opportunity she was presented with. She frowned slightly. Just like with others she had met she was discounted because of either her age or the fact she was a witch. All Youkai were arrogant, and to be the leader he was either charismatic, strong, or both. Intelligence normally would be a factor, but given his grades, that could be easily ruled out. She was a genius after all, she could out think him any day of the week. Well, she would observe him discreetly until she had enough information to make him take her seriously.
Over the next few days she noticed two things. First was that the purple haired girl who, while a friend of Naruto's; was also his stalker. Second, was that because of the first fact it was impossible to garner information about the blonde. This was extremely frustrating for the young witch.
Ultimately, Yukari decided that, in order to get anywhere, she needed to talk to the Stalker, who, incidentally, she hadn't gotten the name of.
She walked up behind the purple haired girl and asked, "Who are you watching, and you really should be in class right now."
Yuakri was treated with a rather frosty glare and due to the ice creeping along the ground towards her, she guessed that this was a Yuki Onna. She continued regardless. "Tsukune or Naruto?"
This shocked Mizore. Even the densest person she had met knew she stalked Naruto and not Tsukune. The Anti-peeping Sorority knew who she observed Naruto, and she had never even met them. Mizore responded to the little girl's question. "I have no interest in Tsukune. Naruto is my boyfriend." The little girl probably wouldn't understand the nature of the promise that the two had made, so no sense in bringing that up.
"Does he know you stalk him?"
"Of course. He knows what I am. He makes a game of it to try to spot me throughout the day. It is good practice for the both of us. Today he has seen me seven out of ten times I have watched him. What do you want?"
She decided to get straight to the point. "Why did he not accept my challenge?"
Mizore responded, not looking at the girl. "He was being truthful. He doesn't prank someone unless he feels they deserve it. Besides, I told him that you remind me of my little sister. That is another reason. Anything else you want to know? My bathroom break time is almost up."
Yukari internally answered, 'Yeah, his weaknesses.' But outwardly she responded, "No, I was just curious. Besides, I'm too smart for him to win anyway. What is your name?"
Mizore responded, "Mizore Shirayuki." with that she walked away.
Yukari observed the group while they ate and noted two things. First was that the other boy in the group seemed to hold back slightly, and he seemed skittish around Moka, who was rumored to be a vampire. That would be something she needed to think about. Second was that Naruto ate a rather large bowl of ramen with every meal. When the blue-haired girl said something laughingly at it, he covered the bowl protectively. A light bulb went on over her head. That was the avenue she would take. She would prank his ramen until he agreed to a prank war. She would find out who the other boundary being in the group was if it was the last thing she did. She didn't want to be alone anymore.
(The next day)
Naruto sat down at the lunch table after dodging the obligatory washbasins from the witch who still hadn't given up her decision to start a prank war.
Tsukune joked, "She still hasn't given up has she?"
Moka giggled. "I think Naruto has made a new friend."
Kurumu giggled as well as Naruto deflected a teapot, coincidentally full of hot water, away from the table. "You do know if you accept her challenge this will likely be over quickly. She is a kid, what is the worst she could do?"
Naruto groaned, "Come on guys, you know how my pranks gradually get worse. I am not going to do that to a little girl. I would feel bad." At this he uncovered his ramen bowl and froze at what he saw. He lowered his head, shadows covering his eyes. His eyes, however were still visible as glowing red orbs that stared creepily at nothing. "She has gone too far. She has infringed upon the glory that is ramen." Naruto pushed the bowl away from him and the table was disgusted by what they saw. There was a fish head and frog legs put in the bowl and instead of the normal wisps of steam there was a putrid green fog that was emanating from the bowl. Naruto continued, "If it is a war she wants it will be a war she gets!" His glare towards the witch seated two tables down was returned by a stuck out tongue and laughter.
The girls and Tsukune were shocked, Mizore however, sighed. She leaned over to whisper to Kurumu, "This is why you never mess with his ramen. It might be one thing if this is cup ramen, but this was sent from home. Yukari just started something Naruto will finish."
Mizore then turned to Naruto. "Naruto, don't go above level two. She is just a kid after all."
Naruto turned to face his girlfriend. "Mizore! She committed sacrilege! This is Ramen we are talking about. She has committed an unthinkable act!"
Mizore shook her head. "Level two at most and today after class I will be in Kurumu's room while she makes your mother's recipe. We will be making a rather large batch. You can have as much as you can eat of it."
Kurumu whispered, "We are?"
Mizore responded, "It is the only way to keep this from getting really messy. You will be cooking. I won't get near your kitchen. Mine is still being rebuilt after the Macaroni and Cheese detonation."
Naruto fumed for a few minutes. "Deal, but if she goes above level two again, then so do I." with this, he stormed out of the cafeteria.
Tsukune asked Mizore, "Level 2? What are the levels exactly?"
Mizore replied, finishing up her lunch, "Naruto has levels of pranks ranging from zero to five. Gin 's worst pranks was a high level three, low level four. With level two there is minimal physical damage and usually negligible psychological damage. I don't want a little girl put through anything higher than level two."
Moka asked, "How is messing with Naruto's lunch above a level two then?"
"It is because it is Naruto's ramen. Not only that, but that bowl just came from home, meaning it is his mom's secret recipe. He got it as a reward for doing well on the midterm test. He is rather unhappy." Mizore sighed as she stood. "See you all in class."
(In Kurumu's room.)
Moka and Tsukune decided to leave Naruto alone for the rest of the day. He was rather grumpy and had been surly the rest of the day. Currently the only guests in Kurumu's room were Naruto and Mizore. Both were sitting on the edge of the bed. Naruto was salivating over the smells coming from the kitchen.
After his fifth bowl, Naruto had calmed down slightly. The three were chatting amiably when Naruto jerked suddenly. "I feel strange." If Naruto would have tried seeing or sensing Chakra, he would have seen or felt fine threads now connected to each part of his body, all trailing out the window and anchored in a small straw doll in the hands of a young witch.
Mizore stood to face Naruto, "You don't look sick. Where does it feel strange?"
Naruto's hand suddenly reached out and grabbed her cheek. Naruto and the girls blushed when they saw it was not one of the cheeks on her face.
Mizore leaned into her boyfriend. "I thought you wanted to wait until after the Snow White field for anything like this, but if you have changed your mind, who am I to say no?" She then leaned in and kissed Naruto rather forcefully, enjoying the feeling of Naruto's hand on her rear.
Suddenly Naruto's other hand shot out and grabbed the blue-haired occupant exactly where his hand had rested a few days previously when he woke up and then proceeded to squeeze.
Kurumu's squeal and Naruto trying to talk through the kiss made Mizore pull back. Before she noticed Naruto's hand, Naruto practically shouted. "My arms are being controlled." His hands then began to wander elsewhere.
Mizore channeled a bit of Youkai, this caused a cool mist to appear around Naruto. It was disturbed whenever his limbs moved. Seeing that the disturbances went out the window she made her way to the window and saw that there was a small figure sitting just below the windowsill. Mizore reached down and plucked the little doll from Yukari's grasp. This caused Naruto to jump up in the air and land, straddling Kurumu. Mizore stifled back a growl. There was a yellow hair, matching Naruto's tied like a belt. Once she broke it off, Naruto jumped in the air and ran over toward the corner of Kurumu's kitchen.
Mizore turned to the brown haired girl outside of the window, her hair had shifted to a mass of swirling purple snow, and her ice claws had some out of her sleeves. "While I enjoyed that, you still tried to hurt Naruto. I will give you until the count of three before I start shooting ice spears at you. One…
Before Mizore had said two, Yukari had pulled a broom from under her cape and flew off. She didn't get far enough as a large clunk of ice took her hat and pinned it to a tree.
Mizore turned and Naruto began apologizing profusely to the two girls.
Kurumu, with her face red, stuttered out, "Don't worry about it Naruto. That little witch will get what is coming to her soon enough." Internally she continued her sentence. 'A thank you card.' Her mother had told her that her breasts were sensitive, but not to the degree she experienced. She continued, "No harm done."
Mizore raised her eyebrow at Kurumu's response. She then walked over to Naruto. "It is fine Naruto. Besides, since you already did this to another girl, then there is no harm in doing it to your girlfriend, now is there?"
Naruto was about to ask what she meant by that when his hands were placed directly on Mizore's chest and she squeezed his hands, causing them to contract as well. Naruto tried jumping back but hit the wall. "Mizore, is that really…"
"Necessary, yes, I will not have my boyfriend groping another woman especially when I have not had the same pleasure yet." She then released his hands and stepped back as Naruto was threatening a nosebleed. "It wasn't your fault, but your hands are for my body."
Nartuo was dumbstruck. He knew from conversations he had in private with Mizore that she could be rather forward; especially once he got back from his trip, but this was the first time in public of her doing so. "Mizore, I…" his protests were cut off again by a rather soft kiss from Mizore.
"I know it wasn't you fault." she said, pulling back.
"I thought it was something else Mizore."
Mizore's eyes widened, "You mean the whole multiple..." it was her turn to be cut off with Naruto's hand.
Kurumu, who had partially had been paying attention, had her ears perk up at this. She filed it away to look into later. She looked away and busied herself in the kitchen cleaning up after cooking. She was able to hear snippets of the conversation, short as it was.
In the main room, Naruto re-iterated, "I wasn't in control and I didn't want to hurt you."
Mizore nodded. "I know. Come on. Let's just sit down for a few minutes. We will talk about this later."
"No. That girl is rather a vindictive little thing. But Kurumu is right, there was no physical harm done. But that girl wanted a war, so she will get one."
Naruto then decided to change topics. "I need to practice some higher level yoko attacks and defenses. Any attacks at the seven tail and higher levels are considered S class. If there is a werewolf, there might be another Yoko hiding out here. Knowing my luck we will run into one sooner or later." Mizore nodded. The couple then sat in silence for a few moments before Kurumu left the kitchen. "Well, it is all cleaned up. I hate to chase you out, but I have homework to do. That is, unless you want to resume our earlier activities. What do you say Naruto?" Kurumu had to dodge a few ice Kunai for that last remark.
Yukari woke up and got ready for her day. Her pranks yesterday on Naruto had definitely irked him. But she had had to wait for the ice to melt a bit before she could retrieve her hat. She had spent some time last night fixing the hole. As she got dressed, she decided that she would have to keep things simple today, such as brooms, mop buckets, and the like. As she began brushing her teeth, she thought over how things would have to proceed. Her thoughts were cut short as she felt an intense burning in her mouth. Dropping her toothbrush she placed her mouth under the faucet and began washing her mouth out. That just made it worse. It took Yukari a few rather painful minutes to realize what was happening. Once she did, she ran from the dorms towards the cafeteria. She didn't have any milk and that was the first place she could think of.
In the cafeteria Yukari had a rather large glass of milk and a few slices of bread to get the taste out of her mouth. While she was thinking about how to get back at the blonde she took a bite of her eggs. She was distracted and didn't see the red flecks in her eggs. After a moment she got up, tears streaming down her face, and ran to get more milk.
At Naruto's table Moka spoke up. "Naruto that was mean. You shouldn't do that to her. She is just a little girl."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "All I used was a Bird's Eye Chili. I didn't even do a Habanero or anything nasty. It is hot enough to get the point across, without long lasting effects. If I wanted to be mean; I could have used a Habanero instead. Or I could have done like I did to Jiraiya, used the Trinidad Morunga Scorpion."
Kurumu, the resident chef, voiced the question, "What kind of scorpion is that? I didn't think you could eat those."
Naruto chuckled. "It is a hot pepper that is currently number one in the world for spicy. It makes a Habanero seem tame." He then continued, "So, like I said, that was relatively easy on her. A little milk and bread and she will be fine. She messed with my ramen, so I messed with her food and toothpaste in return. It will stay at that scale until she decides to escalate things."
Kurumu caught the addition to his prank. "Her toothpaste? How did you sneak into her dorm room anyway?"
Naruto smiled mischievously, "A prankster never reveals his methods." In his mind he simply replied, 'Gotta love Shadow Clones.'
After drinking her seventeenth glass of milk for the day, Yukari realized she had underestimated her opponent. Either he or someone in the group was skilled enough to sneak into her apartment, get past her perimeter charms, and add whatever was so spicy to her toothpaste and then to her breakfast without her even knowing something had happened. She would have to ratchet things up in order to get him to admit defeat. Then she would graciously accept and humbly ask to join his group for lunch. From what little she had been able to observe, Naruto didn't seem like the sore loser type. She chuckled darkly to herself. In one of the spellbooks was a recipe for something that would definitely get him into trouble. She would have to check if there was an antidote before she did go through with her plan. It would be bad to prank him and get caught in the prank as well.
The next day as Naruto was leaving PE class; Yukari jumped in front of him and opened a vase with a smiley face on it directly in his face. A purple powder covered Narto from head to toe before disappearing. Coughing, he went to chase after the witch when she threw the vase down and muttered, "It didn't even work!" She then picked up the vase and sprinted away. Had Naruto seen her from the front, he would have seen the victorious smirk on her face.
Naruto, on his way to Newspaper Club, noticed that he was getting some rather blatant stares from the girls he passed. He thought nothing of it until a few started to follow him. Since the classroom for the club meetings took ten minutes to get to walking normally; by the time he got to the building there were now quite a few females following him. He realized that Yukari's failed prank may not have failed after all. He grumbled under his breath, feigning failure was merely a tactic to put the target at ease. He should have expected it of the little girl. He would get her for this. His walk turned fast, then into a jog, then into a full tilt sprint. He ended up taking evasive action trying to lose his followers. The girls all sped up as well, a few switching into various Youkai forms to keep up. Naruto had been running all over campus for at least twenty minutes from the crowd. Not even Shadow Clones would distract them.
He darted into the meeting room and slammed the door shut, locking it. His shirt sticking to his chest and beads of sweat rolling down his face, he leaned heavily against the door as it creaked ominously.
Gin turned and looked at Naruto, "Something wrong Naruto?"
Naruto grimaced, then panted out, "Girls, lots of them, outside the door. I think they are here to see you Gin. And before you ask, they didn't get the pictures from me or what I showed you."
Gin paled and then jumped through an open window and ran as fast as his legs would carry him.
Naruto then turned to Tsukune, "Yukari sprayed me with something…" His voice trailed off as the three girls in the club had stood and were sashaying over to his position of barring the door.
Moka grinned, "Naruto, you smell delicious today."
Kurmu murmured, "Naruto, your workouts are definitely starting to show an improvement. Not that you looked bad before, but now mmm..." Kurumu licked her lips as she stalked closer.
Mizore simply said, eyes shrouded over, "Naruto you and I need to have a long discussion in private about the physical side of our relationship."
Naruto's eyes widened and he merely muttered one word. "Crap." It was not even a full second before he had followed Gin out the window. Naruto screamed as the horde of females continued to pursue him, spilling out of the building like an hornet nest that had been hit with a bat, "Feet don't fail me now!"
Gin stopped as he saw all the girls follow Naruto instead of him. When he realized that the girls weren't angry with him, but something else, Gin used his speed to get in front of the pack. "Ladies, my name is hurgle…" Gin, having closed his eyes for his introduction was trampled beneath the feet of the girls that were pursuing Naruto. Lifting his heavily battered form, Gin muttered darkly, "Some guys have all the luck."
Naruto had engaged the locking seals moments before any girl would come close to his dorm. He jumped into the shower fully clothed. After scrubbing heavily for a few minutes, he threw his sodden uniform on the bathroom floor. Wrapping himself in a towel, he peeked out the window and saw the crowd dispersing, most with confused looks on their faces. Apparently, water deactivated whatever he had been hit with. The three girls were still in the hall, Naruto peeked out, and said "I'll be out in a minute." All three barged in before the door could shut.
Mizore looked at the other two, "Why are we here at Naruto's room?"
Kurumu replied, "Does Naruto have some sort of really strong pheromones we don't know about?"
Naruto replied from behind the bathroom door, where he was changing. "No, the little witch sprayed me with something just after gym."
Moka tilted her head. "What did Yukari do to you?"
Naruto shook his head, "Something to make sure I had a rough day if I was caught. I think it will be time to step things up a bit unless she backs off. I'll have to make sure that uniform gets washed at least twice before I wear it again." He came out into the room wearing shorts, but no shirt. He quickly made his way to his dresser where he grabbed a shirt and pulled it on.
Kurumu and Moka shook their heads to re-focus on the situation at hand.
Mizore merely asked Naruto, "So how are you going to respond?"
Naruto looked at his girlfriend, "Because of our agreement Mizore I won't go above level two. But I will respond in kind. But I do need to get a few supplies first."
(The Next Morning)
Yukari slowly eased herself from the land of dreams. Her prank had worked better than expected. Naruto had been chased by the horde of girls throughout campus. While the spicy prank had been hard, it was nothing compared to what she had done. Soon Naruto would acknowledge her as the better prankster. She opened her eyes and blinked. She closed them again and reopened them. Her room was crisscrossed with string. There was so much that her dorm room looked like a spider web building convention. She sat up suddenly, but one of the strings emptied a bucket of slimy pond water on her head. Others caused books to be pulled from the shelves, and one activated a camera. Yukari reached for her wand to clean the mess up and grabbed nothing. Normally she kept it on her nightstand, but she noticed that, it too was gone. She then saw it, along with the camera, was hanging near the door along with her school clothes which were all duct-taped up to the ceiling. Yukari visually tracked the string holding her wand to one of two to go out the window. It was easy when there were only two colored strings. The other was wrapped around the camera. It looks like she could either choose the wand or the camera. She grit her teeth and stood, making her way across the room. She fumed and winced as books, pots, pans, even her frog habitat were all knocked over, or in the case of the frogs, their aquarium was opened and tilted so they could escape and multiple containers dropped from the ceiling with food enticing the frogs to leave their glass cage.
As she finally made her way to the door, now being covered in a bucket full of molasses, as well as the pond muck, she pulled on the wand to free it, and as it came down, two things happened. First there was a veritable deluge of feathers that coated her from head to toe, and second, the camera took one last picture and was pulled from the room before she could get a spell off to stop it. Yukari cleaned up most of the mess up rather readily, sighed before getting into the shower. After she got cleaned up, she stepped out the door to the bathroom but was greeted with pictures all over the walls of her as a mess and even one of Naruto smirking in the night as it was set up. She went to tear them off the wall when they exploded into smoke one by one.
"Illusions." She muttered.
As she walked to the cafeteria, random students would offer her a photo and ask, 'Will you sign this for me?" It was one of the photos that were on her wall. What Yukari didn't notice is that it was just one student who kept changing appearance over and over again. She ultimately started sending painful hexes that were all just dodged. This did nothing to improve her mood.
When she walked into the cafeteria, she was livid. How dare such an idiot get the better of her?!
When she saw the object of her ire, chuckling, no doubt at her, fury overcame her. She raised her wand and decided to embarrass him as he had done to her. She smirked as his outfit changed to a solid color, almost day-glow orange. Such a blow would surely hurt his pride. It was the most disgusting color she could think of. Her smile died on her face. He was actually smiling and laughing at the change. His girlfriend, on the other hand, looked at her and Yukari froze on the spot. Her body was held in place by a small ice barrier. The girl walked over and formed a knife right by her throat, the only place on her body not covered in ice, and said lowly. "How dare you do that?! I love Naruto, but he only wears orange on occasion. He would wear it every single day if he didn't know that it drives me up the wall and you go and change all of his clothes to that awful color! Change it by the end of breakfast or this will go a half inch deeper." With this the sharp ice bade passed over the younger girls throat, but did not cut the skin.
Yukari swallowed then blinked. She was suddenly able to move and the purple haired girl was back by Naruto. That was unexpected. Seeing as this would not be a good thing, Yukari changed his outfit to a frilly purple dress with pink polka dots. She was further enraged that it shimmered before being replaced by a picture of his uniform. She swore under her breath. Of course he could do illusions. She knew that already. She would have to think up something else.
(At lunch)
Yukari took her normal seat and glared at her foe. As insufferable as he was, he didn't get flustered by what she had done. It was so frustrating! Had she been a few years younger, she would have thrown a fit.
Suddenly her seat felt rather warm. The warmth then quickly spread to the rest of her body and her outfit morphed into a pink footed pajama outfit with purple dancing bears. There was even a large bottle and teddy bear that were attached to the sleeves. Yukari yelped in indignant protest. She stood from her table and made her way over to Naruto's table.
"What. Did. You. Do. To. Me?!"
"Yukari, since you originally changed my clothes to something I felt comfortable in, I figured I would do the same. But no, Mizore had to threaten you, and you changed my clothes into a rather atrocious dress. So I changed my mind and this is the result. But then again I can easily hide what you did to me after that. Can you say the same?"
Yukari muttered. She then examined the change that had been wrought. She was shocked by what she discovered. It was a mix of Youkai energies and a form of energy similar to what she used in her spells. The only thing she could figure out was that it was an unintentional amalgam of Naruto's. However, that conclusion made no sense. No Youkai would learn to use that energy, even if they did have the capacity to do so. It had to be completely accidental. She attempted to override the changes to her outfit, but her energy wasn't potent enough do so entirely. The pajamas were now brown and yellow and the bottle had gone, but the teddy bear remained. She grumbled and ignored what the other students were saying as she made her way back to her seat. Before she sat down, the light caught something that had been drawn on her seat.
As Yukari looked at it, she realized what it was and then gasped, "Fuinjutsu. But that is a lost art." Yukari then turned back to Naruto's group. "How?!" This revelation made things a lot more interesting. She HAD to get accepted into that group. All that remained among the witches of this great art were tales and simple runes for enchanting. But, if she could learn where this was from, she could revive the art and this could cause witches to be respected among the Youkai community. She copied the seal, making sure not to put any energy into it in case she made a mistake, before draining the seal on her seat the same she would do if it were enchanted. This caused her outfit to return to normal. Oddly enough, the teddy bear was still attached to her sleeve. Yukari muttered and walked away. She then decided to send the copy of the seal to her mother, who had enchanted her wand, she would know if it was actually Fuinjutsu.
Naruto saw Yukari copy the seal. He mused, "I wonder why she did that?"
Naruto sat his glass of orange juice down, but Mizore had tripped, spilling her breakfast. He went and helped to clean it up.
Yukari, walking by, substituted a glass of orange juice that she had prepared. It was three-quarters 150 proof vodka, a hint of a special ingredient and just shy of one-quarter Orange Juice. What she didn't notice, was that Tsukune picked up the glass and put it on his own tray.
When Naruto got back to his seat, Tsukune had just finished downing the large glass.
"Tsukune. Was that my juice?"
Tsukune's face now sported a reddish hue and his eyes were half closed. "Nope." He replied, popping the p. "It'sh all miiinnee."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, and was about to retort when a washbasin appeared and brained Tsukune.
Yukari was fuming. It wasn't until she had gotten back to her seat and saw that the brown-haired boy start drinking orange juice, and the glass she had left for Naruto was missing. It wasn't hard to add the two facts together. She summoned a washbasin to try to get the other boy to shut up. As she marched over to the table, the star in her wand glowed brightly. She quickly lost all composure as everything finally came to a head.
"You idiot! That was for Naruto to drink not you!" She was about to continue her tirade when she was brought up short by a chuckle.
Naruto grinned at the younger girl. "You don't have the experience to match pranks with me."
Yukari retorted, "You really think you are smarter than I am?!"
Naruto merely smirked. "You may have an edge in the classroom, but in the real world; I have more experience. That and I am just better than you."
The little witch flinched as if slapped. Her eyes filled with unshed tears, she turned, and then ran.
Yukari could barely see through her tears as she ran from the cafeteria. She bumped into another student then kept running.
The trio of students all shared rather malicious grins and followed the younger girl.
(Back in the cafeteria)
Mizore looked at her boyfriend. "Naruto. You shouldn't have said that."
Naruto looked at Mizore, "But I do have more experience than she does."
Moka rolled her eyes. "Naruto, what you said hurt her. She probably was highly insulted. Your tone was such that she likely felt that you were insulting her because she is a witch and you aren't."
Naruto shook his head. "I don't think that about her."
Moka continued, "She doesn't know that. I'll bet she also thinks that you look down on her because of her age. I'm going to go find her." With this, the pinkette stood and left.
Mizore nodded her head. "She is likely right. That, and the ramen aside, what she did wasn't all that bad."
Naruto nodded begrudgingly. "Fine. I will apologize." Naruto helped Tsukune stand. "Come on you may be hammered but we just can't leave you here. How much alcohol was in that anyway?"
"Naruto," slurred Tsukune, "You a bash… bash… You are mean. You hurt that little girlsh feelingsh." The alcohol was really doing a number on the human. He tottered after Naruto as the group left.
The weather was rather wet, with a heavy fog that blanketed the ground. Naruto noticed that his nose had difficulty following the trails so he opened his senses further and felt a Youkai spike to the left of where he stood. He also noticed a Chakra fluctuation coming from Tsukune that felt extremely odd. Shaking his head, Naruto pointed to the left. "The girls are over that way."
As Naruto made his way over, Tsukune bobbed and weaved. The pair entered a small clearing where Moka was talking to Yukari and three rather irritated students who had transformed into rather large lizard men. One even had an eye twitch at being ignored. Naruto felt movement go by and suddenly Tsukune was leaning on one of the Lizard Men.
"You know, you shoulnnt be sho angry. It dampens youthful flames that mights burn in yoursh heartsheses."
Naruto shook his head. Tsukune, apparently, was very affected by what he had drunk. Naruto gasped as he saw the brown-haired boy bend at almost an impossible angle to avoid the lunge of his opponent. He then stumbled and bumbed into Moka.
"You know, for a blood-shucking bampire, you are pretty. I jusht wisht you didn't shee me assh jusht a shnack." With this Tsukune then fell forward with Moka's Rosary in hand. He pushed off the ground with his free hand then flipped and landed in the shoulders of one of the Lizards. Grabbing the hair of the one he was on, he yelled, "Ride 'em cowboy!"
Naruto took the opportunity, while Moka was undergoing her transformation, to sneak up behind one of the Lizards and knock him out with a well placed knee to the side of his head. Once Moka's transformation was finished, she dispatched one of the others and watched in shock as Tsukune dodged around the final opponent's strikes.
"Ha ha you misshed." Once a hit was landed, however, it knocked Tsukume into the tree above Yukari. Tsukune fell, head landing in her lap, "You are cute. If you were a few years older I would date you. But I need to be your knight in shiny armor firsht."
With this he launched himself at the remaining Lizard and attacked with a flurry of punches and kicks that Naruto could see were targeting weak points. Suddenly Tsukune dove into a handspring and hit the remaining Lizard with both feet as he pushed off and knocked out his opponent.
Yukari hugged Tsukune. "My hero."
Tsukune merely gave a thumbs up with a shiny, toothy grin and said, "Youth!" as he passed out from the alcohol.
Inexplicably, this caused all three of the lizards to twitch violently.
Inner Moka walked over to Naruto. "I was not expecting that. He can certainly fight; however, he positively smells atrocious now." She raised a thin eyebrow. "Is this your doing?"
Naruto merely asked, "Why would this be my doing?"
"He was drunk."
"Hey! His training may be a bit rough, but I wouldn't get him drunk."
Inner Moka took the opportunity to get a drink from Naruto's throat. When her Mizore threat sense kicked in she pulled off. "You know what? After using your seal for the Rosary, it makes the normal Rosary removal kind of painful. Make sure the pink version of me keeps out of trouble."
Naruto nodded. "I'll do my best."
Inner Moka picked up the Rosary from where Tsukune had dropped it. When she replaced it, Moka fell into Naruto's arms and started snoring.
Naruto sensed both Mizore and Kurumu enter the clearing, but held up a hand to have them hold back for a minute. "Are you ok Yukari?"
Yukari looked shocked at what happened, this broke her from her stupor. "Why did you come and help me? Was it because of Moka?"
Naruto shook his head. "No. It was pointed out to me by my friends, that while I meant nothing malicious, what I said was taken as such."
Yukari raised an eyebrow at his statement. "How else should I take it?"
Kurumu chose this moment to butt in. "Naruto is a Kitsune. You can't out-trick a trickster." Since Moka, and likely Tsukune, already thought that it wouldn't do any harm to tell that little lie.
Yukari's eyes widened. "But how would you know Fuinjutsu?!"
Naruto answered, "That is not for you to know just yet."
Yukari hung her head. "There is no way I could have beat you if you used seals and with your abilities, I concede defeat."
Mizore smiled at the little witch, "Just ask Ginei Morika about his experience with the school hot springs. I made Naruto go easy on you."
Yukari paled, she had heard a few girls gossiping about what had happened. She had wanted to start a prank war with someone who had done that on a rumored S class Youkai?! Suddenly her knees felt weak.
Naruto continued what he wanted to say. "I wanted to say I was sorry. I meant that since I was older than you, and my experience helped keep the upper hand, I was better than you at pranks. That is all. I meant no slight at the fact that you are a witch. I apologize if you took it that way. That was not my intention."
Yukari held out her hand. "Yukari Sendo. Friends?"
Naruto Nodded and shook her hand. "Naruto Namikaze. Friends."
Suddenly there was a bright flash of light and Yukari looked a few years older, only one of two years younger than the rest of the group. He was shocked by this, as was the rest of the group.
"Finally!" Yukari yelled. She danced around for a bit but then stopped when she saw the stares directed at her. She blushed slightly before continuing. "My parents put a rather complicated illusion over me, and a slight block on my powers until some conditions they had were met. They said I needed to get my head out of books so much and experience life. They said until that happened, I would look like a twelve year old. I guess whatever happened, met their qualifications." She sighed again, "I will likely have to keep up the illusion until summer break. Ugh! Why couldn't they have just let me come as normal, I only skipped one grade, not four.
It was at that moment, Tsukune rejoined the world of the waking. He spat. "Naruto did you give me more of that awful red stuff? I think I have that twice dead rat taste in my mouth again."
Naruto shook his head.
Yukari handed Tsukune a small vial. "That would be my fault. I added something to the vodka to make it more potent, I didn't think it would work so well with your Youkai species. Most Youkai wouldn't even be phased for more than a few minutes with it. Drink this, it will help."
Tsukune eyes the neon green vial warily. "This won't make me sprout a second head will it?"
Yukari gave Tsukune a small hug and a kiss. "No it won't. Now drink up."
Tsukune blushed and drank the green vial just as Yuakri finished.
"As long as you aren't a boundary being like myself; that should just flush the little potion I put in to Naruto's drink out of your system."
This caused Tsukune to cough and look at the witch with wide eyes. "What will happen if I am?"
Yukari adopted a slight thinking look. "Nothing too major. But according to the book, side effects include: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, decreased libido, irritability, hallucinations, dizziness, depression, seizures, heart palpitations, priapism, schizophrenia, increased risk of blood clots, blurred vision, discoloration of secretions, night sweats, rash, possible tendon rupture, fainting, and heart attack."
Tsukune paled and passed out.
Yukari giggled. "He can't take a joke can he?"
Mizore caused a small rain of snow over Tsukune's head in an attempt to wake him up.
Naruto laughed at Yukari's comment. "So what did you add to the side effect list?"
Yukari giggled, "It would never cause a heart attack. That would qualify as a black potion. My family doesn't do those."
Naruto facepalmed. "Tsukune is a boundary being. Like you."
Yukari paled. She quickly fished out a white vial. She poured it in his mouth and massaged his throat to induce swallowing. Within a few moments Tsukune woke up. Yukari sighed in relief. "That was a neutralizer. That should help you out."
Yukari blushed. "I never said a proper thank you for saving me." With this she kissed the prone boy. "I'm a little older than you were led to believe, so yes, I'll go out with you." She then walked over and kissed Naruto on the cheek. "Thanks to you too Naruto. I eek!" Yukari had to duck a flurry of ice knives from Mizore.
"You just agreed to date Tsukune. What do you think you are doing coming close to MY boyfriend?!" Mizore's eyes were now glowing a solid blue and her hair was currently ice, but rapidly shifting to snow.
"I didn't mean it that way! I mean…" Yukari stuttered out.
"One.."
Yukari paled and started running, and pulled out her broom as she ran.
"Two…"
Yukari dodged among the trees and fled towards the safety of her dorm.
Mizore finished. "Three." A white light seemed to coalesce around Mizore when suddenly it flashed.
In the distance was a high pitched shriek.
Mizore shifted back from her Yuki Onna form. "That should keep her away from you in the future Naruto. "Does Moka need another trip to the Nurse's Office?"
Naruto chuckled. "Nah, just a nap." Changing topics, he continued, "Tsukune. Good for you on getting a girlfriend this soon in the year."
Tsukune shook his head. "I have no idea what happened. Last think I remember before that girl kissed me was stealing Naruto's juice. What did I miss?"
This caused all present to laugh rather hard.
"No seriously. What did I miss and why do I now have a girlfriend?"
AN: As the astute reader noticed the red vial activated in-story. It was due to a conversation with IAmTheMilkman that I decided to make that happen. (There was only a 75 percent chance of no relapses as stated in chapter seven) Now, this likely will not be happening regularly, but it did allow me a flexibility in chapter planning that I didn't have before, so I went with it. The Red-vial Omakes, because they are enjoyed by many reviewers will likely continue. The first Omake is one such Omake. It is inspired by IAmTheMilkman, and it has been mentioned by other reviewers as well. Omakes two and three are scenes that both my beta and I loved, but felt needed to be changed for one reason or another. They were to good to let fully die, so I included them for your reading pleasure, and hopefully, laughs.
Omake 1
The Lizard trio all shook their heads groggily. The last thing all three remembered was telling the little halfbreed that she wasn't welcome here and demanding she know her her place. Then there was a green blur. They looked around. They were in the woods, but could see the roof of the school through the trees. They turned, startled by the voice that rang out. They noticed a figure in the shadows of the trees.
"Your actions are not youthful. You would treat one girl so horribly merely because she is different from you. Such an act is the antithesis of youth."
Although the trio could not make out the face of the figure, they could see rivers of tears glinting in the diffuse sunlight.
"Why would you go against your youth in such a fashion?"
One of the lizards piped up, clearly weirded out by this individual thought it best to play along. "Um, it was a youthful mistake?"
While the answer seemed to placate the individual under the tree, what happened next would scar these three Youkai for life. Multiple hours of therapy would be required for them to come to terms with what would happen next.
The forest seemed to shift to rocky beach and a setting sun appeared behind this man. A wave even crashed upon the shore behind him. His silhouette was the only thing visible; his face still obscured. "That is what youth is for! Learning! You must stoke your fires of youth! Let them burn within you! Let their flames cleanse you of these unyouthful thoughts and actions." He then started to job towards the trio, tears running down his face, and arms outstretched and only one word echoed in their ears. "YOUTH!"
Before they could be grabbed by whatever this was in a teary hug, they all ran like the very demons were on their tails, shuddering once they were safe.
Tsukune shook his head. "Why do I feel like I am at the beach? Ah ha! I thought I saw evidence of the battle of purple gnomes and their evil enemies the yellow-legged snipes controlled by the headmaster here. The lunch lady must have again taken their supply of sporks the gnomes use for defense. I'm coming little friends!" With this, he ran off into the woods.
Omake 2
Yukari woke up to a rather pleasing aroma. "Must be the neighbor cooking. Need more sleep." It was then that she noticed she was cocooned rather tightly in her blankets. So much so that it felt disorienting. She tried to wiggle free but was unable to. She was about to grab for her wand when she felt her hair fall out of the cocoon. It is never a good sign when it falls away from your face in a direction that the ceiling was supposed to be. She was able to free her head and shrieked at what was found. Her bed and been attached to the cafeteria ceiling and she was tied in place rather effectively. A note was tied to her blanket and dangling just in front of her now freed face. After she read it, she became rather angry. The note read that this was in payment for the capital offense of destruction and desecration of homemade ramen. Naruto would pay for this! "Now how the heck do I get down?" she muttered.
Omake 3
Naruto was rather excited about the change to orange. He had to limit his wearing of his favorite color because everyone thought it was an eyesore. He then noticed that Mizore was threatening Yukari. Naruto sighed. He knew that Mizore didn't mind a little orange, but a full outfit of the color offended her female fashion sense. He sighed when Mizore was back at his side. He knew that the change would not last. After a few moments it changed into a slinky black dress. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the witch. Naruto made a single handsign as he stood. His form shifted into a rather buxom blonde. As he sauntered over to the witch he saw her jaw practically unhinged in shock. Naruto paused to lean down and whisper in her ear. "You are just jealous that a guy like me can be better endowed than you. Aren't you?" He smirked as he left the cafeteria. A scream of indignation echoed through the building.