De-raz: (lying down on a bed, covered head to toe in bandages except for eyes, nostrils, and mouth) h-h-hey…there…everybody.
Naruto sitting next to the bed
Naruto: Hey…De-raz, you feeling okay?"
De-raz: O yea, I'm perfectly fine…just a few ruptured organs, broken bones, and a sore spot in the place where the sun don't shine…but besides that I'm perfectly fine. I'm well enough to post this chapter, right?
Naruto: yea, good point.
De-raz: just wish they would've given me anesthesia during the operation, you know? Too bad Haruka was threatening all the doctors.
Naruto's skin is mysteriously replaced by Orochimaru's:
Note to self, never get caught alive by Haruka.
De-raz: Anyways, time to do the disclaimer, right?
Naruto: O yea! Anyways: DE-RAZ DOES NOT OWN NARUTO OR SAILOR MOON! OTHERWISE HE WOULD NOT BE IN THE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW!
It was a few hours into the dance, and Naruto could honestly say it was the most fun he's had in a long time. He never really enjoyed going to a festival before in his world, and he never had a birthday party for obvious reasons. In reality, this was probably the largest social gathering he's ever been too.
The dance was everything Makoto said it would be and more the blonde thought looking around the place. There was a huge table at one end where there were chips, dip, small sandwiches and other snacks Naruto couldn't name, along with several bowls of what he guessed was 'punch'. Lights of several colors moved all around the room, and the sound of music boomed throughout the entire place; it was loud but not so much that it hurt. Everyone he could see were either out on the dance floor with a partner, sitting out on the sides, either waiting for a partner or talking with their dates, or at the snack table.
When the group arrived in the gym where the dance was taking place, Minako and Makoto had immediately dragged Ami and Hotaru off with them to go find dance partners of their own, while Usagi dragged Mamoru to the dance floor. The older three, Haruka, Setsuna, and Michiru, went off on their own to act as the 'chaperones'. Truthfully, the blonde didn't buy any of that shit when they told him that, and all it did was worsen the growing dread in his stomach. However, he shoved that down to enjoy however much of this dance he could with his date.
The pair had their fair share of dances all night long, and had partaken in a group photo with Usagi, Mamoru, Ami, Makoto and Minako. Somehow, they even got one with Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna and Hotaru as well.
Right now though, Naruto and Rei were taking a small break off of the dance floor.
"So, you having fun tonight Rei?" the blonde asked, looking at the black haired girl next to him.
"Yes, tonight has been very enjoyable" she replied.
Any further conversation was interrupted by the DJ who was in charge of the choice of music. "Alright ladies and gentleman, unfortunately tonight's dance is reaching the end! But, we still got a couple of songs left for those couples dancers for anyone who wants to! So all those people gather up!"
The pair saw a whole bunch of couples gathering onto the dance floor but saw Usagi and Mamoru sitting out right now. Thinking this as an excellent opportunity, Naruto got out of his seat to stand facing Rei before giving a small bow like some prince at a ball. Armed with a foxy grin, the teen asked while holding out his hand, "Rei, would you like to join me in this dance?" Giggling slightly at his antics, she just grabbed his hand with her own before he pulled her up and led her to the dance floor.
Looking at how the other guys were holding their partners, Naruto emulated them. As she moved her arms around his neck, the blonde snaked his around her waist, leaving little room between them. Each of their faces was a little flushed, though Naruto's was nearly unnoticeable. It was then that the music began to play.
It's late at night and we're all alone
With just the music on the radio
No one's coming, no one's gonna telephone
Just me and you and the lights down low
And we're
Slow dancing, swaying to the music
It wasn't very difficult for Naruto to imitate the steps of the dancing, even without a Sharingan. Taking the initiative, the blonde closed the distance further, pulling Rei flush up against his body, but he didn't feel any resistance. She seemed to mold perfectly against him, it just felt…right to have her there. He didn't know why it felt that way, just that he wasn't going to complain against it.
Rei on the other hand, just felt too comfortable to resist. It was strange; she never had such an interest in any guy before Naruto came. But now she's up against him dancing, and to be honest with herself, has never felt so warm and protected than in his arms. Almost any guy that ever gave her much attention was after her looks; her friends had mistaken her as the Princess at one point after all. But with Naruto, she felt like she was royalty with how gentlemanly he acted. It was just the small things he did for her all night; opening doors for her, asking for her opinion on what to do next, even giving her his jacket to stay warm with when they just sat and talked.
Slow dancing, just me and my girl
Slow dancing, swaying to the music
No one else in the whole wide world
Just you, girl
And we just flow together when the lights are low
And shadows dancing across the wall
The music's playing so soft and slow
And the rest of the world so far away and small
And we're
Slow dancing, swaying to the music
Right now Minako, Makoto, Ami, Usagi and Mamoru were just watching the pair as they danced to the music. All four girls were, of course, gushing over how cute they appeared dancing while Mamoru just looked at them with a large sweat drop.
Slow dancing, just me and my girl
Slow dancing, swaying to the music
No one else in the whole wide world
Just you, girl
Hold me, hold me
Don't ever let me go
The Outer Senshi, however, were having some different thoughts.
"That boy is getting a bit too close to Sailor Mars" Haruka whispered to Michiru, both of them standing on the opposite side of the room than the Inner Senshi.
"Oh, don't be such a worry-wart Haruka-chan" Michiru replied happily. "Just let her enjoy this."
"But we hardly know anything about this guy, this could be a plan made by the Dark Kingdom" Haruka insisted. The dirty blonde-haired girl turned towards Setsuna, who was also standing with them. "What about you, Sailor Pluto, don't you think this is suspicious?"
As we dance together in the dark
There's so much love in this heart of mine
The green haired women gave no reply to her comrade's question. She did, however, carry a small smile on what was a normally stoic face while watching Naruto and Rei on the dance floor, confusing both Haruka and Michiru. It was like she knew something neither of them did.
You whisper to me and I hold you tight
You're the one I thought I'd never find
Naruto and Rei, however, were oblivious to the attention they garnered from their friends. Still moving to the music, black eyes met oceanic blue, and both owners were lost in their own world. Right now, there was no Akatsuki, no Dark Kingdom, not even the people around them; just them and the music.
So entranced, they didn't even acknowledge the fact their faces moving closer together, Naruto bending his head down to meet the black haired Senshi.
Slow dancing, swaying to the music
Slow dancing, just me and my girl
The distance between each was enclosing even further. All their friends saw it, the Inner Senshi getting hearts in their eyes at the scene in front of them.
Slow dancing, swaying to the music
No one else in the whole wide world
Closer-only inches apart.
Closer…
Closer…
Just you, girl
They were about to make contact…
Jadeite was sitting above the proceedings on the roof of the school gym, which was covered in white sticky string, which upon closer look was revealed to be webbing. In fact, the entire building was apparently covered in the web, including any doors and windows. Behind the Dark Kingdom general, his hidden servant stood behind him, all six legs tensed, ready to carry out its general's next orders.
Perfect, these teens will provide plenty of energy, and with this web those Senshi will at the least be deterred from helping the young blonde thought looking at his plan coming together. Without turning around, he ordered "Now, proceed with the next phase. Remember your secondary target, if time permits you shall capture the boy and bring him to me, got it?"
The figure said nothing, but judging by its legged poised to strike the roof, he knew it was ready.
"Now, begin!"
DUM, DUM
All the dancers and spectators, including Naruto and Rei, were jolted back to reality as the whole building appeared to shake a little. Not only that, but all the other Senshi were looking everywhere for whatever the cause was. They had a feeling they weren't going to like it.
DUM, DUM
The building shook again, harder this time, and all the students could see a section of the roof beginning to crack. Some of the students began to panic, and Naruto's gut feelings were telling him something was about to happen, something bad.
DUM, DUM
The blonde's knew his feeling was correct, when the building shook a third time, and the previously cracked section on the roof broke away, revealing a few long and hairy legs. If Naruto had to warrant a guess, he'd say they belonged to a spider. The legs continued to break the roof opened further, sending the students into a panic as they tried to reach the exits and dodge any debris. However, as the throngs of people reached the doors, they wouldn't open up.
"Damn it, something's blocking the doors!"
"Hurry and break it down with something!"
Those and similar yells reached the Senshi's ears, the roof continuing to fall on the gym floors.
Shit, we were way too careless, how the hell could we let that happen?! Haruka mentally berated herself, all the other Senshi were sharing similar sentiments.
Finally, the opening seemingly large enough for whatever was breaking open the roof, the legs retracted outside again for a few seconds, before the entire figure jumped down on the gymnasium floor, shocking all the Senshi.
Naruto's guess wasn't too far off, seeing as it was a giant spider of some kind, even if it was such a huge one. It was probably around thirty-forty feet tall, and almost twice as long. Each brown leg itself made up maybe twenty feet of its height, and the hairs all looked much sharper than they should be, as if they were made of steel. The abdomen and cephalothorax were both the darkest obsidian, as if it was absorbing light instead of reflecting it. The Senshi noted that it did look like it was highly difficult to break through. It had eight, slightly glowing yellow eyes and huge fangs the same obsidian as its body, which was dripping a liquid the girls, Mamoru and Naruto guessed was some kind of poison.
Seeing any kind of youma standing in front of you in a threatening manner would have regular people in a panic, and this situation easily followed the unwritten rule. Most of the students were trying to break the doors down to escape, but no matter what they tried the things wouldn't budge. Some of the students began looking for places to hide, but the youma didn't give them a chance. The spider began shooting white globs that the Senshi and Naruto assumed was webs, hitting groups of students like a missile that sent them flying into the wall.
It was only due to their experience that the Senshi could dodge the webs, and though Naruto could see them coming had a hard time due to his gravity seals weighing him down. The blonde couldn't find the time to release them, and even then he couldn't for fear of one of the Senshi noticing his incredible speed. Not only that, but after the spider saw him it seemed to be focusing on him, going after his friends only when they got too close to him. The secret shinobi had no idea why it was doing that, but knew it'd be a bad thing if this youma captured him. The Senshi, likewise, were refraining from using their powers while Naruto was still up and about.
After maybe ten to fifteen minutes of dodging and weaving through the web assault, Naruto and his friends were the only ones not caught in the web as all the students were stuck to the wall. That was the case at least until Naruto got too close to one of the walls that were painted white from the sticky substance the gigantic spider was spouting off. He was about to run again before noticing something was holding him in place, and looking down he saw something that shocked him. It was that same substance, only it was glowing slightly and beginning to wrap around him. Looking around the gym, Naruto noticed that all of the webbing was glowing and growing, slowly but surely. Not only that, but looking at the spider's jaw again, a deflection of light allowed him to see small, nearly invisible strings coming from the walls into the creature's mouth which was when the blonde realized it.
Shit, this thing is feeding off everybody's energy to grow! Not only that spider, but the webbing too, pretty soon the girls won't have any place to run! God, this reminds me of that six armed Sound freak, only worse! How am I going to get out of this thing!
All the girls noticed that the spider seemed to take its attention off of them as it turned, and it wasn't until then they noticed their guy friend's plight.
"Naruto, look out!"
Said blonde heard their warning, but could do nothing about it as another white missile collided into him, tearing him from his spot on the floor to replace it with being stuck on the wall. It wasn't too long after that the webbing seemed to turn into more of a cocoon, and the Senshi noted that all the places where students were trapped in webbing were molded that way.
Noticing that there was nobody to spot them now, all the girls and Mamoru gladly changed into their Senshi forms and Tuxedo Mask respectively. Now able to fight back, they all surrounded the spider youma as it seemed to be preparing something. What none of them were expecting was for several huge egg sacs to come out of its abdomen, effectively grossing all of them out.
Sailor Moon, or Usagi, of course, made the loudest ruckus about of it. "Ewwww, that is so gross! What in the world is it doing?!"
"We're about to find out, look!" Sailor Venus, a.k.a. Minako, yelled at Sailor Moon as she pointed at the sacs which had begun cracking. After a few seconds they all broke, revealing maybe a hundred smaller spiders, if not more, probably each about the size of a large wolf. They all seemed to be carbon copies of their 'mother' youma, only the black armor was more grayish.
Makoto yelled out "Great, just what we need is more of them!" As soon as she said it, the small spiders seemed to recognize the people in front of them as though they were snacks and began to charge. The Senshi all got in a defensive stance while Tuxedo Mask pulled out some of his signature roses. However, for their smaller stature compared to the original, they were much faster and were on the Senshi in seconds.
Having to deal with the swarm of spiders, they didn't notice the few approaching Naruto's web cocoon.
Inside said cocoon, the blonde shinobi was trying in vain to get out of the sticky grip. His arms were spread wide by said webbing, making him unable to do any handsigns. And even if he could, the girls and Mamoru would be able to see him breaking out. Not only that, but he could feel this stuff sucking him dry of his chakra; it would take a pretty long time for it to be very detrimental, but it was noticeable.
Hey Kyuubi, got any ideas on how to get out of this stuff? Mamoru and all the girls are fighting right now and it might look strange that Meitsuki isn't making an appearance!
"Yea, but you'll have to use enough of my chakra to change your hands into claws. Then you should be able to slice your way out."
There's no way I can do that! Naruto exclaimed to his foxy tenant. If I use that much they'll all notice it for sure, then I'm screwed!
Kyuubi was getting a little annoyed by his host's hesitance. "Kit, it's either that or you can keep trying to muscle your way out of this webbing, take your pick."
Fine then! Naruto shouted mentally, trying again to force his arms free. He could hear an exasperated sigh from the deep confines of his mind.
Geez, such a stubborn brat. Too bad he picks the worst things to be hesitant about. Kyuubi sighed again.
Naruto kept trying to get his arms free and was actually making a bit of progress before feeling his web cocoon being jostled around a little. He could tell a few things were carrying it, and that he was being taken higher. He could faintly see outside the cocoon, but only enough to tell that he was being taken outside onto the roof. Once he was outside, the blonde noticed that his cocoon was being taken apart from the outside.
Naruto grinned to himself; if the blonde Shitennou, who was standing in front of him, could have seen it he'd have known something bad was going to happen to him. Looks like I won't have to worry about breaking free after all.
Jadeite, however, was unaware of his impending fate, smirking victoriously as the cocoon was broken apart by some of the small spider youma who had been created not too long ago. Seeing the blonde kid looking around dumbfounded, he was glad to see it was the right kid.
Perfect, with this the Queen Beryl shall be able to please those Akatuski guys. If they could bring us back to life, they should be able to bring back Queen Materia, and then I shall be rewarded handsomely!
"Hey mister, where the heck am I!" the blonde teen on the ground yelled, breaking him of his thoughts. Naruto had decided to wait and see why it was this Jadeite guy wanted him. Did he know he was really Meitsuki, or did he know about the Kyuubi inside him?
Jadeite decided to respond before the brat yelled again. "It does not matter, what matters is that the Queen has requested for your capture."
"What the heck are you talking about!? What queen!?"
"You shall not speak of the Queen in such a manner" Jadeite said, his smirk fell into a scowl. "Either way, you shall come with me. Certain individuals have asked for your capture, and we of the Dark Kingdom shall gain what we desire because of it. Now, will you come peacefully or must I use force?"
It took all of Naruto's concentration to keep his face from showing surprise. What the fuck?! These guys are working with the Akatsuki! That means they've been around this whole time! Why not come after me themselves?
"That doesn't matter kit; just that we don't have as much time as we thought. It won't be much longer before the Akastuki decide to move in themselves, and just because you stand a small chance at winning against a pair of them by now, I wouldn't try it."
Yea, but right now let's focus on the present, and that means kicking this guy's ass! I've got a pretty good opening attack if you want to see it.
Hearing the kit's plan, the fox couldn't help but smirk sadistically. The blonde really knew how to make a lasting impression.
"So, what do you decide kid?" Jadeite asked again, looking at the spiders that were still around the pair, a silent command to be ready and restrain the blonde.
"Well, since you asked so nicely, I'd have to say…" before Jadeite and the spider lings could make any sense of it, the blonde disappeared in a flicker. The youngest Shitennou couldn't even widen his eyes in amazement before feeling something fast, hard, and most of all heavy, make contact with the back of his head, bringing his face into a painful landing with the roof. The pain was only amplified when he felt a crushing blow on his back, it was like a mountain just fell on him. Even the roof the pair were on broke underneath Jadeite, sending him into the gym. "NO WAY IN HELL YOU BASTARD!"
While Naruto was dealing with the Shitennou, Tuxedo Mask and the Senshi were still dealing with the spider ling army that just seemed to keep coming. Not only that, but the mother spider appeared to be growing in size, along with the amount of webbing in the room.
"Moon Princess Halation" Sailor Moon yelled, destroying another spider ling with her staff before jumping to the left to avoid another.
"Damn, they just keep coming!" Sailor Mars yelled, using her Burning Mandala to toast a web shot and the spider ling behind it.
Makoto yelled frustrated after kicking another spider away from her. "I know, but what can we do, we can't get anywhere near the mother!"
Looking at said mother spider, all of them saw how it kept growing bigger for some reason. "What is up with that thing, why won't it stop growing?! Have you found anything out Mercury?!" Sailor Venus called to the blue haired Senshi, only to hear her gasp in surprise.
"Everyone, my computer says the main spider is using the energy from all our classmates to grow stronger! There should be strings of webbing scattered around the room that connect to it, we need to destroy them!"
"How do you plan to do that, there's too many spiders!"
"What we need is a good enough distraction!"
As if a prayer answered by Kami, no sooner did Sailor Uranus say that than the roof above them break apart as a figure slammed into the ground, destroying a group of spiders in a most gruesome way. Following it was another person, and his signature black cloak was recognized by all these Senshi.
"Sorry I'm late, I found this guy on the roof and thought he could join the party! He doesn't seem to be in the mood though" Meitsuki added as an after thought, looking at the downed Shitennou who seemed to be out cold.
Che, what a wimp; looks like I went too hard on him.
"Guess you did, but we got more pressing issues at the moment." Kyuubi's voice cut through his thoughts.
Right the blonde shinobi replied before a few clones appeared around him as he continued to descend. All of the Kage Bunshins pulled out and tossed a kunai which each found a mark in a spider's head. Landing on the cleared area he made, the cloaked teen quickly made a hand sign, creating maybe another fifty copies, all of which pulled out yet another kunai.
His red, slitted eyes surveyed the battlefield, and seemed to be analyzing his opponents. He noticed again the near invisible webs attaching the mother spider youma's mouth to the cocoons, and looked towards the Senshi.
"Hey, if some of you could help me get these guys' attention, a few others could cut away those strings and keep the main spider from getting bigger!" With that said, the clone army of Meitsuki's charged through the spider lings, dodging and weaving through web shots and tackles from the hairy beasts, while cutting them away with their kunais. Meitsuki noted absently that these little things had some great speed and coordinated their attacks fairly well; in such large numbers they could give an average Jounin a pretty tough time.
Thinking that their newest ally's plan was best thing for now, the Outer Senshi went into the fray of Meitsuki clones and Spiders, along with Sailor Jupiter and Mars. The others were following Ami, protecting her from any stray spider lings while she directed them towards each connector before cutting them.
As the first group was doing that, the other Senshi and Meitsuki were still cutting through the small spider army, hoping to distract as many as possible. Seeing how fast its children were falling, the now very huge mother spider began to react, sending its own huge shots of webs. Meitsuki reminisced the similarity to Gamabunta's Teppodamas as his clones continued cutting through spiders.
He also noticed Rei fighting much more fiercely than usual, the heat of battle in her cobalt eyes was like a roaring flame, and if this was an anime would have surely been covering her eyes in a flame. With all the fire attacks she was using, the black haired girl could just as easily set the room itself on fire along with the spiders.
"Hey Jupiter, doesn't it seem like Mars is fighting more…aggressive and vengeful than usual?" the cloaked teen asked the brown haired lightning Senshi, making sure Mars didn't overhear.
Jupiter laughed a bit, ducking under a jumping spider ling before destroying it from behind with a Sparkling Wide Pressure. "More like 'full-born righteous fury', but any girl would want to kick the ass of whatever interrupted their date. If you could have seen her face you could know how great a time she was having, though she'd probably never admit that."
"Really now?" Meitsuki asked slightly surprised, keeping in character flawlessly. The surprise was really about Rei actually being this angry about an interrupted date than the fact she had been on a date: Then again the disguised blonde thought, I've seen much more violent reactions than this for much smaller reasons before. He was friends with Sakura after all; she could be pretty damn violent. "You all seem to know the boy, won't I ever get to meet him?"
"You would if you ever stayed longer than a few seconds after a fight and actually hung out with us." Jupiter retorted truthfully, eliciting a chuckle from the cloaked figure. Unless he had something to tell the Senshi or vice versa, Meitsuki preferred leaving as soon as possible, giving the girls and Mamoru as little chance as possible to see his face or recognize his voice. That and the genjutsu that hid his face and made his eyes look like Kyuubi's was a bit draining on his reserves with such long uses. It was just a good thing he had this cloak to cover the rest of him.
You have no idea the blonde thought to himself, creating some more Kage Bunshins to help the Outer Senshi.
It was probably another ten minutes before Meitsuki's group could hear Sailor Moon yelling that they cut all the webs, and looking at the mother spider they did see it stopped growing.
Alright, now to get rid of these spiders once and for all. "Hey, all you guys get behind me and get ready to see something amazing!" Meitsuki yelled at his group, and after a few seconds they decided to take his word for it. His other Kage Bunshins still distracting the spiders, the cloaked shinobi made one more, which began spiraling chakra into his right hand.
All the girls and Mamoru were utterly shocked to see a blue sphere made of something appear in his hand, and could see it spiraling around in several directions. The Senshi could feel the power rolling off of it; the ball of chakra radiated a deadly power. Even though they were indoors, a powerful wind made an appearance that also seemed swirl around the maelstrom of chakra. It didn't stop there though, growing in size until it was maybe a few feet in diameter, and each Meituski was holding it with one hand before charging towards the spiders.
"Fuuton: Odoma Rasengan!"
If all ten of them were impressed with how they looked, they were jaw dropping at the explosion behind it. The spiders that where in the initial blast left no remains, no sign they had ever been there at all except for an exceptionally large crater. Even the small youmas around the initial blast were smashed by the wind generated shockwave. Not even their armored hides protected them when they hit the walls of the gym, getting squished like they were under somebody's foot. Even the Senshi were having trouble to not get blown away, and that was with Sailor Saturn and Pluto making supplementary barriers: they realized that they'd be like those spider lings if they hadn't listened to their cloaked comrade.
Speaking of Meitsuki, he was now standing in front of the mother spider; his cloak torn and ripped in several places, probably from the winds his strange ball made. They noticed his right arm hung limp at his side, and that sleeve was completely gone exposing the damage done to it; if the copious amount of blood streaming down it was any indication, it was that it was most likely broken and the blood was only hiding several deep gashes.
Before any of the Senshi could even comment about his condition, he was already weaving through more web shots from the giant obsidian plated youma along with some swings of its brown legs. It couldn't do anything, however, once Meitsuki got below it, shooting his Rasengan into the armor. All the Senshi could hear it grinding into the armor before the cloaked teen disappeared right as the ball exploded.
Appearing in front of the group in a crouch, Meitsuki was holding his right arm to slow the blood flow, though his left arm was in only a bit of a better condition. Even the Outer Senshi were a little sickened at the sight, as a puddle of crimson was already pooling around his body.
"There you go guys…I made an opening for us to use…so let's kick that thing's ass!"
"Meitsuki, you need medical attention now! It's obvious your arm is broken in several places, and look at how much you're bleeding!" Most of the Inner Senshi yelled at him, making him wince from the new injuries for his eardrums.
Meitsuki stood up wincing, painfully all the girls noticed, their objections apparently ignored. "Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine!" he exclaimed, in a forced happiness to cover the pain he was feeling.
Fuck, this shit hurts like hell!
"What did you expect when you added wind chakra?! Didn't you learn anything from your Rasenshuriken! Not to mention you never even practiced doing something like that before!" Kyuubi scolded his container.
Yea, but no better time than the present right? Naruto asked jovially. Kyuubi just sighed, mumbling something about 'stupid gaki apprentices'.
"Okay, so let's-" the disguised blonde didn't get to finish before he was forced down on the gym floor by Rei of all people.
Though the Senshi couldn't see his face, his eyes were blazing with indignant anger. "Hey, what are you doing pushing me down like that?"
Rei's obsidian orbs just seemed to harden into the stones they resembled. "You are in no condition to fight. Just sit there and let the Meatball Head (Don't call me that!) heal you before you go get yourself killed." The force behind her glare reminded Meitsuki of Sakura, so decided that staying still would probably be best.
Watching the girls and Mamoru charge at the spider, the cloaked shinobi turned his attention towards Sailor Moon, who was kneeling beside him. "You have any idea what that was about Sailor Moon?"
The blonde looked at him confusedly a couple of seconds, before realization dawned on her. "Oh, you mean what Mars did! Well, it's obvious isn't it?" Getting no reaction from the injured teen except a confused look in his crimson eyes, Moon sighed. "She just didn't want to see you getting hurt anymore; none of us did. After taking out all those creepy spiders, you deserve the rest. You don't have to push yourself so hard."
"Why care if I push myself or not?" he asked.
Now Sailor Moon was staring at him like he was an idiot. "Well, you're our friend of course!" she answered cheerfully. He just looked even more confused than before. "You don't seem like much of an expert on friendship if you're confused by that. You help us all the time, trying to fight even when you're hurting yourself like now. You've already proven you're trustworthy and could make a great friend! And as friends, we're allowed to help you too!"
Meitsuki didn't say anything, though he seemed to resign himself to staying in place while Sailor Moon worked her 'magic'. Really, he was just too deep in thought to try anything.
I don't get it, how does that make me a friend? They don't even know who I really am, even after a few months, so how am I trustworthy? How can they think of me as a friend so easily?
Kyuubi could hear his container/apprentice's thoughts, but decided not to intrude on them. Looking at his life, the fox could understand the blonde's confusion probably better than he could.
For the first twelve years of his life, Naruto had never truly had a friend, and gaining any small bit of respect was a constant uphill battle. Heck, Sasuke was probably the only person Naruto could have called a friend before his trip with Jiraiya, and that stemmed from their similar pains. He had the others' respect, but actual friendship was something the blonde didn't receive until he had come back, and now they seemed to drift a bit away from him over the year.
Just another push towards staying here the caged fox thought as he saw the blonde connecting with reality again. At least for some of these girls, they wear their hearts on their sleeves as much as the kit does, and that could only be a good thing. Making friends has always been much tougher than it should be for him.
Another thing the fox demon noticed was the effect Usagi's healing power was having on his chakra. It seemed to be destroying it all together, not just purifying it into human chakra.
Strange, regular medical chakra has never effected my power in this way.
"Meitsuki, are you okay?" was the first thing the blonde heard coming back to his surroundings. He noticed that the girls and Mamoru were gathered around him; Sailor Moon was actually about to touch his hood, probably to pry it away.
They all blinked once seeing his eyes widen, and during that split second Meitsuki was able to get out of the circle, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. They all guessed that if they could see his face he'd be blushing redder than a tomato.
"Uh, sorry about that, I kinda…space out sometimes when I'm thinking hard. So, it looks like you guys won, huh?" the cloaked teen asked, looking around the gym to find no spiders trying to kill them, all the webbing gone, unconscious bodies of students littering the floor along with the debris, and the gaping holes on the ceiling from his and the spider youma's entrances.
Sailor Uranus looked at him mockingly. "What was your first clue, genius? And I thought you were supposed to be a ninja. Guess I was wrong" the dirty blonde haired woman taunted.
"And I thought you were supposed to be a woman. Guess I was wrong" the cloaked figure threw her words right back at her, sending himself and Sailor Moon to the floor, rolling with unrestrained laughter looking at the blonde woman's flushed face. Everybody else seemed to be holding back their own, except Sailor Pluto who was just smiling in amusement. Though they all noticed how alike the pair on the ground were, laughing together like it was instinctual.
"Why you-!" Sailor Jupiter stomped on the ninja, sending him crashing into the floor, though her revenge was for naught, seeing the clone poof into smoke.
Hearing more laughter coming from behind them, the group turned to see Meitsuki trying to calm himself down. "Man…you're just…too...easy" he got out between more chuckles, "I mean…how many times am I gonna get you with that?" Jupiter seemed to growl in anger, but relented, deciding that it was pointless to try and hit him.
"Oh, by the way, did you guys see where the blonde moron went?" Meitsuki said, looking around as if searching for somebody but couldn't see him.
His audience just looked on confused. "Who?" the Senshi asked.
Meanwhile, on one of the rooftops, Jadeite was still nursing his severely injured head, seething about his defeat to that damnable blonde.
Damn it, I should have realized he was that cloaked guy, why else would they appear at the same time! Not only that, but I know I'm gonna feel this for a while, that hurt like a bitch! Those other guys would never let me live this down.
He decided that there was nothing left for him to do here, seeing as he already collected the energy his spider youma had garnered, at least that was mostly a success. Standing up, he began to head back to headquarters.
At least the Queen is this much closer to reawakening. Not only that, but perhaps Queen Beryl can decide what to do with that blonde brat, there is no doubt he is plenty powerful…power we could use in our coming kingdom…
"Ah, oh well, I guess he's gone now. Man, he didn't even have the courtesy to say bye, how rude" looking at their dumbfounded expressions, he realized they wanted an answer. "Oh, it was just this blonde guy, said something about bringing me to his Queen or something. You guys know who that might have been?"
"That must have been Jadeite, he's one of the Shitennou" Sailor Mercury answered.
"I'm guessing he's one of the top guys, right?" Meitsuki asked, getting a nod from the blue haired girl. "Well, with all this damage, I'm sure the media's gonna be here in no time, so unfortunately I can't have fun with you today."
"Actually, Meitsuki, there's something we need your help with." The hooded teen looked at Usagi, his red slitted eyes alight with curiosity. The blonde pushed Mars forward a little, saying "You see…Sailor Mars here had a vision this morning…and we were hoping that you might know what some of it means."
"Well, I've never interpreted dreams before" he wondered, getting in a thinking pose "but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try. Tell me about it."
So with that, Mars told him the same things she told the Senshi (no, I'm not gonna write it again, go back a chapter to see it). When the black haired girl finished, all the Senshi noticed Meituski's red eyes were downcast, and seemed to radiate sadness, something they'd never seen in his eyes before.
"You're sure they were red clouds?" he asked, getting a nod from the fire Senshi. He let out a large sigh before saying, "It looks like I'm dragging you guys into my own problems now."
"What do you mean by that, what do those clouds mean?" Usagi asked, confused like all the others.
He just said one word. "Akatsuki."
"What is that?" Makoto asked the shinobi. All the other Senshi were paying him undivided attention as well, this didn't sound good at all.
"They're an organization made up of what was originally 9 S-Rank Nukenin. Though a few of them are dead, they aren't any less threatening than before."
"What do you mean by an S-Rank Nukenin?" it was Sailor Pluto who asked this surprisingly, though none of them familiar with ninja things and were curios as well.
He explained to them "Well, you see, nukenin are ninjas who abandoned they're hidden villages, and are given a ranking based on their skills and threat levels. The lowest is E, then goes on to D, C, B, A, and finally S-rank. S-ranks are on the same plateau as a Kage, the strongest ninja in a hidden village."
"So how would we compare to them right now, Meitsuki-san?" Pluto asked again. It was strange for all of them to see her asking the questions.
"Do you want the hard truth?" Meitsuki asked, getting a nod from the green haired woman and him sighing again.
"With what I've seen from you guys so far, you all probably range from mid C-rank to a low B-rank. Against one of these guys, all of you together might probably win, but some of you'd die in the effort for sure" he answered, making them pale a little at the prospect. "Against a pair of them, however…killing one of them before you're wiped out would be the best case scenario. Unfortunately, that's how they usually travel as, and that's only from Akatsuki members I've seen. There's still around three that are a complete mystery, and they're most likely stronger than the ones we've defeated."
Now the Senshi were seriously afraid, even the Outer Senshi were beyond nervous. For those guys to be so strong…this was way worse than the Dark Kingdom.
"So, what can we do about them?" Minako asked the cloaked shinobi, garnering the others' attention as well.
"The goal of Akatsuki is to capture beings like me. So, if I leave this city, they might leave you guys alone to come after me instead" he answered, shocking all ten of them.
"You mean leave, as in…forever?" Usagi asked tentatively, getting a nod from Meitsuki.
"Yes, if I stay, there's no doubt in my mind you'll be dragged into these fights. You already have the Dark Kingdom to deal with…you don't need to be burdened with my problems as well."
He was getting ready to disappear again, but before that could happen, Rei asked something that astounded him.
"Is there anything we could do so you don't have to leave?"
Meitsuki didn't say anything as his red eyes gazed into her black ones. It felt more like he was looking in her soul than her eyes, though.
"Why suggest something like that. My presence here is only going to bring you more danger than ever, it would be good for you all if I wasn't around-"
"NO!"
Mamoru looked at his blonde girlfriend. "Usako-chan, what are you-"
She interrupted him, looking at Meitsuki with her blue orbs that were beginning to shimmer. "You don't have to leave, Meitsuki. I just told you we're your friends, didn't I? What kind of friends would we be if we couldn't help you with this, after the help you've given us? Just tell us what we need to do. The thought of you leaving…it hurts."
"If Sailor Moon believes that trying to make you stay is best, than I support her." Tuxedo Kamen added, wrapping an arm around the blonde. "Besides, if you go away, that'll make her depressed, and then I'd have to kick your ass."
The shinobi in disguise right now was near speechless, shocked at his friend's confession. He turned his attention to the other Senshi, asking "Well, what do you all think about this?"
Mars was the first one to speak. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Meatball Head is right. I don't want you to leave as much as her."
"Yea, plus we've never had a friendly spar yet" Jupiter added.
"And you've never hear me sing yet" Sailor Venus answered.
"...I would…miss you…as well, Meitsuki" Sailor Mercury finished for them.
Looking at the Outer Senshi, he saw they had something to say as well.
Sailor Pluto began for the quadruplet, smiling softly. "Meitsuki-san, I believe it would be best for you and everyone if you would stay. Going off by yourself appears does not appear to be a good idea, if these people are as strong as you say."
Sailor Neptune spoke after the green haired woman. "And if these people are so strong, what would stop them from causing havoc in this place anyways, whether you are gone or not?"
"I would be sad if you left, and I know Chibiusa would hate it if you left too. Please don't go" Sailor Saturn said as well.
Sailor Uranus seemed to be the only one who wasn't going to say anything, until she got a nudge in her side, courtesy of Neptune. The blonde woman looked like she was gonna protest, until a fierce glare cut that path off. "Sigh…I guess…I'd…miss you too…even if you are the most annoying gaki ever."
"You guys…" The disguised blonde couldn't believe it himself. He could see in their eyes they were being totally truthful, even Sailor Uranus. He used the sleeve of his cloak to wipe away unshed tears from his disguised, red eyes as he looked at them all. The ten of them could see his eyes held gratitude and were overflowing with happiness, and they knew then that that choice was the right one. "Well, if you are all serious about doing anything, there is something you might be able to do."
"What is it?" They all asked the teen. They weren't going to back out on this, not now.
"Training."
The Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen kept listening, as if they expected something more. When they didn't hear anything else coming from Meitsuki, they were confused by what he meant.
"Umm…what do you mean by 'training' exactly?" Rei asked the boy, who seemed to realize just then they didn't know what he was talking about.
"Oh, well…exactly what I meant. The Akatsuki are a group of S-class Nukenin, so we just have to be able to get you guys powerful enough to stand up to them. So, I'll be teaching you the techniques of the shinobi."
"Wow, you mean we get to be ninjas!" Sailor Moon yelled excitedly. "Does that mean we can do the same things you do, like disappear in smoke or leaves, or blow fire out of our mouths, or make copies, or make swirling balls, or…" Everyone began to sweat drop as she kept listing off the 'awesome' things Meitsuki did, at least until Tuxedo Kamen clamped a hand over the blonde's mouth, to her annoyance and the others' relief.
"Thank you Tuxedo Kamen. Anyways, yes Sailor Moon, I'll be teaching you the techniques of a shinobi and how they fight. Doing this is the only way I'll stick around."
All the Senshi thought for maybe all of five seconds before Meitsuki heard a round of 'Hai's. They were worried when they saw his demonic red eyes gleam in a familiar way.
"Okay, but I have one more condition before I agree to train with you guys."
"…What is that?" They could have sworn they saw him grin for a second before he disappeared, reappearing next to mars, and answered.
"I want a single, slow song dance with Sailor Mars."
At that reply, every one of them face-faulted, except for the raven haired girl herself, who put a tomato to shame in redness.
"W-what?!" she said to the cloaked teen, who now had an arm wrapped around her shoulders, embarrassing her further.
"You. Me. Dance floor." he said, pointing to each respective object. While the other Senshi were sweat dropping at that, Mars couldn't help but giggle at his carefree attitude, embarrassed or not. "After all, the music is still playing" he added "and if you're embarrassed of others seeing you, well…" he trailed off, looking at all the fainted teens in the broken gym.
After listening, all ten of them could actually here the music still playing, making them sweat drop again at how it survived the entire attack.
"It either this, or no training and I'm gone" he spoke seriously, capturing their attention. Inwardly though, he was laughing up a storm with his foxy tenant.
"Oh man kit…that is just…too hilarious. You…definitely got…this from me" the Kyuubi was able to get out, pausing to laugh it up more.
I don't…really care…where I got it…from. This kind…of stuff…is just too fun! Naruto agreed, trying to calm down, lest he reveal the joke. I'm sure she'll refuse, we all get a nice laugh, well I do anyways, and then-
"Okay then."
"Ok, but-w-w-wait…what did you say?" the disguised shinobi asked shocked. Heck, even the Senshi looked frozen.
"I said yes. Now, isn't it the guy whose supposed to lead the girl to the dance floor?" Mars asked, turning to face towards him. Following her movement, Meitsuki subconsciously wrapped his arm completely around her upper back, making her go up against his chest.
"W-well, you see…umm…" the blonde was definitely not ready for this reaction, she never did something like this before. Add to the fact what his arm just did was pushing her generous...assets against his chest, and he was getting a little hot under the collar, or should it be cloak? All their friends were in no position to do anything, seemingly frozen in place, like they're brains were replaced by icicles. Luckilu, he didn't have to explain himself, though, as he could hear the obsidian eyed female giggling at him as she left his arms.
Finally, vengeance is mine! If only I could have seen his face! The fire Senshi thought to herself. She couldn't help but feel colder without his arm around her, though.
"That's what you get for all the teasing you've done to me" Mars stated, as Meitsuki came to terms with what just happened.
Damn…did she just play me?!
"Yea kit, she did" Kyuubi said, before he started laughing, the sound echoing through his mind.
Damnit, it's not funny you damn Kitsune!
"Yes it is!" he replied, not stopping at all. Naruto just sighed in defeat.
"So, how could you tell it was a joke?" Meitsuki asked, as the other nine people were finally beginning to gain cognitive thought.
"I saw that familiar look in your eyes whenever you do something like this" Mars retorted smugly.
"Sigh. Well, I guess you got me" Meitsuki said, before he took on a serious tone of voice, making the Senshi know he wasn't kidding around now. "Anyways, you guys will start training the day after Christmas, five o'clock sharp. Make sure you tell Sailor Mini Moon this as well, I'm not letting any of you skimp out on this."
They all paled slightly at the mention of it being at five o'clock in the morning, but nodded in compliance.
"And by the way, that fox you saw in your vision Rei" he added, making sure they were listening. "I'll tell you about that on the first day of training. I can tell you this though: In the worst case scenario…that thing will cause much greater damage and carnage to this city than anything Akatsuki would do."
They wanted to ask him some questions about it, but he was already gone in a swirl of leaves.
NOTE TO THE READERS: I'D BE VERY GRATEFUL FOR SONG RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS CHAPTER! IF I GET ONE I LIKE, I'LL REWRITE THAT PART OF THE CHAPTER USING THAT SONG!
De-raz: Well, I was able to get out of the hospital, so here you guys go! I was able to post this chapter before I'm off to Mexico for Spring Break! You better be fucking grateful you damn vultures!
(Spanish music plays in the background, while me and Naruto do the Mexican hat dance)
(Haruka mysteriously appears in the hat dance, music stops)
De-raz: Uh…hi there…H-haruka, what are you doing here…hehehehe?
(Mysterious, foreboding aura of death appears around her)
Haruka: You…are still…making fun…of my…GENDER!! (stomps over to De-raz)
De-raz: NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! I SHALL NOT BE SILENCED!!-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
(NC-17 rated sounds of torture in the background)
Naruto: Anyways, (wince) Please READ (wince) & REVIEW (wince)
De raz: NO NOT THERE AGAI-AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
Naruto's skin's replaced by Orochimaru's again.
Naruto: Hopefully, they'll help him get out of the hospital sooner. Ja Ne!