Maelstrom amongst the Dead

by Kyoto141092

When the dead arise a Hero will come...walking that is, never running, jogging, or skipping. You know why? Uzumaki's don't "skip". How will Naruto survive in the zombie apocalypse? How will he save his friends? And where has all the ramen gone? Find out in my First HOTD fanfic! Naruto/Saeko possible harem and lemons!

3. 2 Intermediary of the Dead

(Updated 6/14/18)

Ok so here is chapter 2. Phew... Sometimes I really hate living in the country. My grandpa bought a brand new laptop. And of course we have limited internet speed. And he spends ALL DAY on the internet. By the time I finish working and log in I can barely open up this. So anyway, I said I'd answer a few questions last time. so here you go.

Q 1. Naruto's lack of chakra? = Now this by far has had the greatest negative response from readers. Most people either have a hard time believing that it's possible or seem ticked off that I'm trying to make Naruto less powerful.

My answer is simple. Exactly how exciting is it to have Naruto do yellow flash though every single zombie he comes across? And what happens when he comes across a hoard? He just lobs a Rasenshuriken at it . Goodbye hoard. It would just be a cake walk. It wouldn't really be survival. Naruto is going to be cutting through zombies like Swiss cheese anyway.

So with that in mind, the remaining part of that question is how. My basis would normally be explained throughout the story, but seeing how I explain a good bit of it in this chapter I'll just have a more complete explanation down at the bottom.

I detailed a few scars. These were pretty specific. The six bullet like scars spaced evenly over his body and the ones on his hands were where Pain stabbed him through with the chakra rods. They didn't heal. The scar over his heart? That should be pretty bloody obvious. The little micro thin scars over his hands and arms are from his training to use the Rasenshuriken. (even Tsunade said they wouldn't heal and that's canon) As for the spiral on his chest...well that comes later.

The last question was about the strange POVs. I was simply attempting to set the other characters views of Naruto beforehand. It also made Naruto more mysterious and allowed me to pull off the whole Sasuke attitude thing.

Now onto the story

(I don't own any part of Naruto or Highschool of the dead)

Chapter 2

Intermediary of the Dead

The next day Rei and Saeko stood together at the entrance to school. They had arrived early by unspoken consent to make sure they caught Naruto. After they left his apartment the night before Shizuka had promised to look into Naruto's records. She instructed the two of them to keep a close eye on him.

So here they both stood. A few other early students cast curious glances at them as they passed by, probably wondering what the two of them were waiting for. Eventually Rei grew tired and sat down. Saeko joined her without speaking.

They waited for ten minutes. But Naruto never showed. Twenty minutes passed and Rei started fidgeting. At last they both heard the school's first bell. Saeko stood up, her eyes at once worried and disappointed. "He didn't show. Let's go in."

Rei scowled at the metal gate to the school. The fact that Naruto hadn't shown up meant several things, but it spoke to one thing above all others. He had lied... He hadn't kept his word. A sympathetic part of her told her that she was being unreasonable. Naruto had been exhausted. He couldn't help coming in late. However the less than considerate part of her decided she didn't care. Naruto obviously couldn't be trusted to come on his own. "He needs more encouragement." Rei looked to Saeko as they turned to enter the main building. "We should stop by his apartment later to see what happened."

Saeko nodded quickly and her expression changed. Rei thought, "She's putting on her mask too. Maybe I should ask her why Naruto is so secretive? She might understand why he pretends to be something he isn't."

Ooo

-later that day-

Ooo

Francis watched as two girls... ones he recognized, walked up to him. Both looked rather serious...and worried. Rei was the first to speak. "Excuse me, but could you tell us if Naruto is alright? He didn't come to school today."

Francis sighed. He didn't want to make the girls feel bad. He was tempted to tell them they could just go up, but Naruto had expressly told him not to give out any information on him unless it was demanded by local authorities. Then again, Naruto had also said he would be packed to leave by the end of the day and would be checking out. "I don't suppose there is any harm in telling his friends that much."

"Young Master Naruto is packing to leave. He should be gone by the end of the day."

Rei's eyes popped open wide and her jaw dropped. Saeko blinked in shock. Rei took a step back. "He wouldn't up and leave just because we came over yesterday would he?"

Saeko didn't comment. She just stepped past the guard and opened the door. Rei quickly followed her. Francis put his hand to his forehead. Naruto would probably give him an earful for the intrusion. He hoped that his young tenant wasn't too displeased.

ooo

Naruto sighed as he at last sealed the remainder of his gear away. His entire body ached as he straightened. Not gathering chakra the night before had been a very bad idea.

Kurama sounded irate as he went about the rest of his packing. "You IDIOT! What part of "Your chakra network is fried" do you not understand!?"

"Sorry okay! You're not even the one who's feeling it the worst. I replenished my chakra all morning so don't give me a hassle."

"Oh... and just because you didn't wake up in the afterlife today you think everything is peachy? I have explained this to you before, but you ignore it at the worst possible times. Whether you're tired or not, you can't afford not to go into Sage most before bed. You could have EASILY died last night!"

"Okay! OKAY!, I get it, Will you stop screaming in my ear?!"

"First of all, I'm in your head, and that's half the problem. If you die, I die. And second, NO, I feel the need to explain your situation just once more to you! So sit back and relax kit, since I intend to make sure it sinks in this time!"

"Fine let's get it over with then." Naruto sat down hard and closed his eyes.

"Good, now make sure you're listening."

Kurama growled and started. "If you remember the human body is born with a natural store of chakra. In accordance with you mental and physical energies, more chakra is produced and released. HOWEVER, your chakra network is utterly destroyed. You can't conjure up more than a scrap of chakra on your own. And if we were back home, it wouldn't even be a problem. I have more than enough chakra for the both of us."

"The problem with this world is that for some reason...you need a much greater amount of chakra to sustain yourself. Normally you need only a tiny fraction of power to keep your inner spark going, but here...you need approximately a fourth of my chakra...daily...just to keep healthy! That is a HUGE strain on my reserves.

Kurama sounded exasperated. "And in addition to this... the natural energy of this world... It's rancid, like meat left out in the sun for days. It's tainted. Even the bloodiest battlefield back home is pure in comparison to this city. Unlike you, I depend on natural energy to recover, but I am constantly forced to burn it clean as it enters me. The result is simple. I can only replenish chakra so fast. And you have the exact same problem. Combine that with the fact that we need so much energy to survive... I couldn't wake you last night. I was barely able to keep the chakra circulating inside you. It scared the living crap out of me! Do you understand that?!"

"You don't have to remind me that I lost my ability to draw on chakra ya know. I remember that every time I try to do anything at all." Naruto opened his eyes. It was possibly the worst thing to happen to him in recent memory. The day he was thrust into this world by that damned Akatsuki bastard with the mask. "I'm glad I cut that bastard's eye out. Teach him to strand people like this."

"I wouldn't care so much about that Naruto. It's that ass of an Uchiha that you should be cursing. He's the one who almost killed you and blasted your chakra network into nothing."

"I know... Oh shit!"

"WHAT?!"

"Someone is here. DAMN!"

Naruto cut his link with Kurama as a second knock sounded by the door.

ooo

ooo

Rei knocked...then knocked harder. There was no answer for a minute. Then she kicked the door hard. Both girls heard a long string of cursing from inside. Saeko grimaced. "He doesn't sound happy. Does he know it's us?" Rei shrugged as the torrent of foul language got closer. At last there were several grinding noises and a click. The door swung open just a crack. Naruto peeked out and saw them.

"Shit."

Rei raised her eyebrow. "Not happy to see us huh?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I thought I told you two that I wanted privacy? I know privacy isn't a traditional Japanese word, but I'm sure you understood what I said." He moved to shut the door saying, "I'll see you two another time."

Saeko put her hand in the doorway and he halted to avoid crushing her fingers. "Naruto, we want to come in. Would it be okay for us to come in?"

He stared at her, his expression telling Saeko all she needed to know about Naruto's feelings on the matter. "How about no...? Is that simple enough?"

Saeko shook her head and inserted herself more fully into the door jam. Naruto growled in the back of his throat. It was an animal noise, one which bespoke irritation. Saeko was unaffected by this and proceeded to force her way into the room. Naruto put a hand on her shoulder. His voice was even but it was almost dripping impatience. "What part of no, don't you understand? I didn't want you in here last night and I'm moving. Is that clear enough to you?"

Saeko shook her head and squeezed further in. Naruto's eye twitched as she levered the door further open with her hip. A silent struggle ensued in which Saeko pushed further and further in and Naruto tried not to hurt her, while at the same time, trying to keep her out. Eventually he realized that he would either have to hurt them or let them in.

"Knock them out and take them home. You have enough chakra now. They are just going to insert themselves more fully into your life if you don't stop this now. You know how humans here are. They care far too much about the private business of other people."

"Unfortunately, I can't do that! If I even hurt them little bit it can be considered assault and I can get in trouble with the police. If that happens then I'll have to go on the run or find some place to hide. All of that takes time and money and I hate wasting either!"

He tried one last time to shove Saeko out, but just as he opened the door a crack further, Rei's weight hit it and the door flew out of his grasp. Naruto realized what was going to happen a split second before it did, but he was in a bad position to stop it.

All of Saeko's weight fell on him as she lost her own grip on the door. Naruto's foot wasn't behind him so he fell backwards. They both landed sprawling on the floor as the door banged open and Rei stumbled into the room. She found her balance and looked up… then around the room, amazed by the change. The ramen was gone. The entire room was bare. Not a single thing remained that had been there the day before. She glanced to the far side of the room. The table was still there, but everything on it had vanished.

Rei heard a groan off to the side and looked. Naruto had landed hard with Saeko on top of him. The dark haired girl was pulling back, apologizing. "Sorry about that Naruto. I didn't mean to knee you there."

Naruto sat up as she withdrew. His face was a bit pale and he was holding his crotch protectively. "Ow...yeah I'll have to remember that you don't mind fighting dirty either..."

She flushed pink with embarrassment. "I really didn't mean to do that. It was an accident."

He muttered under his breath, "Why do you smell like you enjoyed it then..."

"Huh? What did you just say?"

Naruto's eyes widened as if he just realized what he'd said. "N..nevermind. You two are in here now... What is it you want so badly?" He glanced away from them. He knew why they were here. Both girls somehow felt that they had some responsibility for him or felt some need to be close to him. And when he hadn't shown up at school, despite the fact he had said he would they'd decided to check on him. He should have paid Francis to discourage people instead of just not disclosing info.

He looked at Rei who was still gazing around the room in surprise. Saeko wasn't looking at the room. She was staring at him curiously. "Naruto? What exactly did you mean by that? You couldn't possibly smell how I was feeling... That was a joke right?"

Naruto almost cursed out loud. "Shit, stupid nose getting me in trouble. I wish this world had dulled my senses sometimes."

"It's not your nose that gets you in trouble. It's that damned mouth of yours. Cover your ass before they really get curious!"

Taking Kurama's advice he said, "Yeah...it was just a joke...haha..."

It sounded lame. Naruto regretted his lack of a talent for coming up with excuses or lying. Sometimes everything just flowed off his tongue like liquid mercury. And others he sounded lamer than a certain bushy browed ninja. By the look on Saeko's face... she wasn't buying it.

"It wouldn't be so bad if she didn't smell so nice."

"Don't get distracted. Plenty of girls are like that. Have you ever told me a girl smelled bad?... No. Now pull it together."

Saeko's mind churned for answers. She was just so...curious. She wanted to solve all these little mysteries. But first things first. She needed to find out why he was leaving and stop it. Taking advantage of the current situation she leaned forward to interrogate him. "Tell us why you are leaving. It can't just be because of us visiting, can it?"

Rei finished looking around and rejoined the conversation. "Hey! That's right, we come over and the next day you try to disappear? What's up with that?" She placed her hands on her hips and glared down at him.

Naruto felt a strong urge to smack himself upside the head for his own stupidity. "I would so take Sakura over this right now. At least I would know what she was thinking." He scratched the back of his head, wondering if there was anything he could say to get them of his back. "Well it's just that I couldn't have you two around is all..."

Rei laughed, but it wasn't a good laugh in his opinion. "Okay...okay... I call bullshit right now. You don't just move because a couple girls from your school come over. I don't care how much you care about your god damn privacy. That has nothing to do with it. Now spit it out! What are you up to?!"

"I hate my life right now."

"Stop complaining and give control over to me."

"Hell no! If I do that my voice is going to sound like I'm imitating some horror movie villain. You can't pass off as me whenever you feel like it." Kurama was about to give him a mental smack when Naruto heard a crash from upstairs. He inwardly groaned. "I knew I didn't put enough chakra into that seal. Now I'm screwed.

Saeko's head snapped to the elevator at the back of the room. "What was that?"

Naruto sighed and forced himself to his feet, "A ton of stuff that I was packing just fell over I bet."

Rei jumped in. "We could help you unpack!"

Saeko stood, still looking at him puzzled.

Naruto threw his hands into the air. "Okay...! You got me. I've got three thousand pounds of crack upstairs that I don't want you to see! Satisfied? Good, now leave already! I'm evil and an ass. You probably don't want to get involved with me so you should just go!"

Both girls were giving him a blatantly angry look now. Rei pointed at him accusingly. "Don't just try to get rid of us Naruto. We're staying until you tell us what is going on. Right Saeko?"

Saeko nodded once. Naruto raised his eyes to the ceiling. "Even Lord Third couldn't have had the patience deal with this!"

Kurama's reply was rather sarcastic. "He would never let himself get put in this situation. Now listen. We need a solid story that doesn't require justification, or them to go upstairs and verify. Just give me a moment to think. I'll figure out something."

Naruto stalled for time. "Listen, I'm not supposed to tell anyone about why I'm here. You two are getting in the way. And I had to leave."

"Good, keep it coming."

"Now, I will finish packing and then I'll be gone. There isn't anything I can do about it. And there certainly isn't anything you can do. It's not my choice! Really, I'd stay if I could!"

"Nice one, real gentlemanly. You sound just like a player now."

"Shut up fox."

Naruto smiled regretfully. "I'm sorry, but you can't stay here..."

"Maybe I won't have to come up with a story. You're on a roll."

Saeko frowned, her dark eyebrows coming together in a sharp V. "Then why don't you have someone else here with you? If this is so important...for whatever reason, there should be guards."

The other girl nodded. "Yeah and since you get all A's at school you must study a lot, so you wouldn't have time to do much else. And why this place, Huh? If this weird business you were doing was so secret why choose the fancy apartment? It seems to me like this is made up."

"Shit!" "Shit!"

ooo

ooo

Naruto attempted several times to get them out the door. He tried threats, bribes, and just about everything he or the fox could think up. Nothing worked. They just refused to leave. Naruto was beginning to think that he would have to use a sealing jutsu to prevent them from coming close to him. He was a fair hand with curse seals, but he didn't want to use so much chakra.

"I could make this easy if you would let me take control. I know more jutsu than any shinobi alive, but I need to form the handsigns to use them."

"No means no. At least you understand that. The last time I let you take over I almost couldn't get control back from you."

"Well? Then what the hell do we do? I'm fresh out of ideas. These two are the most determined nuisances I've ever encountered and they don't even have chakra!"

"If only we were back home! But I can't reveal my strength or powers here!" Naruto turned away from Rei and Saeko. He was to the point where he wanted to tear out his hair. They were just so... persistent. "I don't want to hurt them. I can't show them my powers but at the same time I can't let them go upstairs."

He walked over to the table, closely followed by the two girls. Naruto dropped down onto the low table and turned to look up at them. He pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Jeeze, I feel like Granny Tsunade right now." Naruto took a deep breath and said, "I'm not letting you upstairs and I'm not telling you what's going on. So...besides that, what exactly do I have to do to get you two out of here?"

Rei said, "For starters, you can promise that you won't leave. And after that you can come to school tomorrow. Alright?"

"Anything else?"

Saeko nodded, "You don't have to change the way you're acting, but you can at least sit with everyone else from Kendo club."

Naruto thought, "These two are going to be the death of me." "Fine, but you just want me to sit next to you. Isn't that pretty much it?" She blinked and her cheeks darkened almost imperceptibly. Naruto knew he'd hit that nail on the head. He turned to Rei. "And you just want me to stay at school so you can be around me all the time. And that's probably why so asked me to join Kendo club. You were hoping that I'd open up to you after a while."

Rei looked away hurriedly. "No, I just thought you'd do good there. And I was right. It doesn't have anything to do with how I feel."

"Well, we both know that was a lie." Kurama sounded amused. "If we were back at the village this would be unprecedented. The only girl who crushes on you there is the Hyuuga."

"Huh!? Why would you bring that up now?!"

"Oops. Pardon me, were you unaware of that?"

"Fuck! She told me how she felt, but it doesn't exactly help me right now to overgrown orange dirt clod!"

Kurama chuckled darkly, "The worst part is she's probably crying her eyes out over you right about now"

Saeko saw Naruto stiffen and his jaw clamped shut. He closed his eyes and she could almost see the veins bulging in his forehead.

"You're digging your grave fox. Just keep talking. I'm not sure what would happen if I stole your chakra here, but if you keep pissing me off we're going to find out."

"Fine. I'll be quiet. I leave this problem to your questionable powers of persuasion. I bid you good day!"

With that Kurama severed the connection between them. Naruto felt him withdrawing deep into his mind. He also became aware that Rei was talking again. It was so similar to listening to Sakura, he automatically tunes most of what she said. Taking a page out of Kakashi's book he smiled at Rei. "Don't worry okay. I'll come to school. I'll even sit with you, but you two have to stop peeking into my personal business." "Now I feel like Sai...great..."

Rei halted mid flow. She crossed her arms. "One more thing. I want you to take art class."

"WHAT!? I'm a horrible artist!" Naruto experienced a minor heart attack. He could cope with everything else as long as he didn't have to worry about Rei and Saeko snooping, but art class. He couldn't draw to save his life... or anyone else's for that matter.

Rei smiled. "That's alright, I'll help you."

Naruto groaned. "Oh...a trick...I see. You thought I might be bad at art didn't you?"

"I figured that you weren't an art type. Yeah...but even if you were I would just have said that it wouldn't be an imposition. Either way you have to come to art class if you want me to give up on knowing what's upstairs. And...it would be really nice if you sat next to me too at lunch..."

"This is extortion."

Rei raised her eyebrow. "I don't see why you're complaining."

Naruto groaned. "Okay, let me put it this way. Everyone seems to what to know all about me. And if I suddenly come to school one day after skipping...and have you hanging off me... Not to mention suddenly taking art as a new subject. The only thing that is going to happen is everyone else trying to bug the crap out of me. All the guys at school already hate me, especially that one teacher. Regardless, I'm already going to get shit from everyone since yesterday is the first day I missed."

Rei shrugged and stepped back. She turned to Saeko, "That's all from me. Is there anything you wanted to add?"

Saeko shook her head slowly.

Naruto thought it was too good to be true, "So both of you will leave now?"

Rei tilted her head, "Yeah, we're going. See you tomorrow at school then."

Naruto nodded and...finally...at last...they left.

Ooo

-Next day. School-

Ooo

Several students were gathered around a student in the art class. The crowd consisted mostly of girls, but there were a few jealous boys there as well. What were they staring at? They were gaping, some open mouthed, at a painting as it slowly took shape.

Naruto worked hard over the course of twenty minutes to sketch out a scene from memory. It was an important one. An image that he had burned into his mind. Rei who sat on a stool next to him was awestruck.

She gasped out, "You said you were a terrible artist! This...this is amazing!"

Naruto frowned inwardly. "No, this isn't from my imagination... wish it was though. It's different for things that actually happened. I remember every detail of this."

On the large canvas was an image frozen in time. A boy with black hair and blazing red eyes. In his left hand he clutched a blade of lightning. The light from the glowing edge cast his eyes in deep shadow. The wings that swept back from him and the mark of his cursed chakra was clear on him. Behind him was a waterfall. Naruto tried his best to replicate the colors and feel of the surroundings. The stone figure behind him with its massive arm bridging the top of the blue wall.

One of the boys behind him whistled. "Damn... that's wicked. I never saw anyone paint anything that realistic before. It's...like he could jump out of the picture and stab you..."

Naruto tried to hide his smirk. "Kinda figures that at one point he actually did stab me. And this is the moment right before he did." The irony didn't escape him. He was painting scenes from his real life that anyone here would immediately pass off as fake. Naruto imagined what they would say if he transformed into Sasuke one day to come in. "Oh...I could totally prank the living hell out of everyone here. If I had a clone disguised as someone I painted... It would be like... Hey guys, this is my friend Sasuke. Yeah, he's the one I was painting the other day. His eyes are really weird aren't they... Hehe. Almost makes me want to blow my cover a bit.'

Naruto's lips twitched as the art teacher walked over to see what everyone was gaping at. "Imagine if... oh wait, I could draw my sexy jutsu... I know that like the back of my hand. Come to think of it, I could do just about anyone from the village."

"Aren't you getting just a bit carried away? I thought you weren't trying to draw attention to yourself... This is only making people more curious about you!"

"Nah...this is too fun. The look on Rei's face is priceless."

"Be careful...baka."

"Hey!?"

ooo

ooo

Saya Takagi watched Naruto Uzumaki and Rei Miyamoto at lunch. It was interesting to watch them. Naruto seemed to be pretending to be more social than usual. She didn't know why he bothered. He had perfect grades so far.

"It's strange… since yesterday he missed school for the first time. He's never done that before. And he practically ignored the teacher when he asked why. I guess he wasn't feeling well. But that doesn't explain why he's sitting next to her... or why he's suddenly taking art either. Maybe she got through that shell of his. Who would have known that was possible?"

Saya had assumed that Naruto was like her. A rich kid from a wealthy family who was sent to school, practically alone. He acted like the type. In fact, he behaved a lot like her, which made her reevaluate the way she looked. Most boys assumed he was a stuck up arrogant ass. On the flip side, most girls would have happily dated him. She wondered if the reverse was true for her. She didn't get along with the other female students, but guys were always asking her out...

Suddenly there was a voice right next to her ear. "Saya-chan, are you gonna eat or are you going to keep staring at him?"

She flicked her head to the side. Annoyance at once filled her. "What the hell does she want?" It was aptly named, Kimi-the slut-mura. Kimimura for short. She was a tall girl, with long dark hair, which had dyed red highlights. She was also... as her name suggested... a slut. At least she acted that way 24/7. "She isn't even that attractive. She just is an attention suck. Why is she here?"

Kimimura sat down next to her... a bit too close for Saya's liking. "What do you want? I'm busy."

The other girl raised an eyebrow and smiled wide, showing off perfect teeth. "Actually, I wanted to make use of your analytical skills. Would you mind showing off a bit?"

Saya eye-ticked. "You have an A in math. You don't need my help. Go sit somewhere else and eat. I'm not interested in talking. If you need your Naruto questions answered, go talk to someone who knows."

Kimimura sighed. She sounded plaintive. "Aw... but I already asked Rei-chan and Saeko-sempai. Naruto won't even talk to me... Come on, let me in. I want to know what happened with him!"

"This girl is getting on my nerves. Can't I eat in peace?" "No. Go AWAY."

"Fine... I'll find out on my own."

Saya let out a silent breath as her harasser left. "Do I have a sign on my forehead that says fuck with me today? I hope not, cause someone's going to get it."

ooo

ooo

Lunch ended and the students went about their classes. Throughout the day, Saya kept one eye on her studies...and the other on Naruto or Rei. Both of them were much closer than usual, but Naruto's friendly behavior seemed forced.

As the bell rang at the end of the day Saya swung her bag over her shoulder and quickly left the class room. The hall way was empty as she made her way out of the school. Behind her the corridors filled with departing teens and their exasperated teachers.

Once outside Saya decided to stop by the bakery before heading home. She pulled out her cell phone. She usually didn't take it with her to school, but she'd forgotten to take it out of her bag that morning. Dialing her driver's number, she told him to pick her up at the local bakery.

Then she headed off. It wasn't long before she left the tide of students who had started to exit the main building. Then she was on her own, heading towards the down town bakery. It was only a dozen blocks so she didn't mind walking. In addition to that her father and mother would be in an important meeting until much later. The house would be empty save for the staff.

Her mind wandered as her feet took her in her desired direction.

Saya hadn't been more than ten minutes when she heard loud cursing from just to her right. Her head snapped around, popping loudly. There were two men in the alley she had been about to pass. A dirty man with a mohawk and a grimy white T-shirt with a skull on it. He had a wide belt...

"Oh shit..."

There was a large gun tucked in his waistband. There was also a smaller black teen. Saya didn't have even a moment to shout as she was grabbed and dragged into the alley. She heard the black kid talking to her attacker as she was pulled further in. She kicked and tried to twist around to bite him, but he smacked her. The force of the hit jarred her. Dazed she almost went limp as he hit her again.

"Hey...Jiro, man I'm not so sure about this girl. I mean, you got the thing right, if he comes again?"

The man holding her spat. "That's bull shit! Since when are be scared of some little shit! He caught us by surprise last time. Won't happen again. Now we got he lets take her inside already!"

The kid was rubbing the back of his head, obviously nervous, "Yeah, I get what yer sayin and all, but...we awful close to the place he nabbed us last time..."

Saya tried to let out a scream, but a filthy had slammed over her mouth. It stifled her breathing. She coughed and squirmed, trying to break loose... only to feel something cold press into her back.

"Now girl...I fuckin hate wiggle worms, so keep still, or I'll put one in ya. This fancy little piece I got here is silenced, a pop gun is louder than this baby. I could shoot you five times and nobody would hear a thing...!"

Saya went still. "Ok...how do I get out of this? Do they just want to rob me or are they going to try and do more...Fuck...Shit!" She felt hands then, rifling over her, clearly searching for anything of value. Saya fought the urge to kick her attacker as his face came near her foot.

And then she heard a loud voice speak up from a little ways away."So... you guys are real suckers for punishment... huh?"

The hands searching her stopped, the black kid having gone rigid. Saya felt the gun leave her skin and point elsewhere. Jiro shouted, "NOW YOU STAY THE FUCK AWAY!"

Saya twisted her head...and... "What the fuck...?!"

Naruto was standing there in the alley, with arms still crossed. He had his uniform off... "Why is his uniform off?" Naruto grinned at the two robbers, "Well...I could stay out of this one, but you see, we got a small problem. That girl there, actually she's a student who goes to my school. I can't just stand around and let you rob or rape her."

Saya felt a slight flutter but knew that Naruto couldn't do anything. The thug holding her was already pointing a gun at him.

Jiro grinned right back "Okay you little piece of shit. Let's have a little redo of out last scrape. I have a gun pointed at you fucking head. You aren't going to move as I bow it off. In exchange we let her go."

Naruto raised his eyebrow. "Fuck that! Now I know you're teasing me. You couldn't shoot the inside of a room if you were standing in it."

Jiro whistled. "Oh...man, you gonna die now for sure!"

Saya heard a click...and closed her eyes.

Movement, furious and brutal. A scream, but not hers. A clatter, followed by two loud pops. A second scream. A groan and a sickening snap.

Saya dropped back, her eyes flying open as two new arms caught her. She immediately smelled something savory. Some kind of cologne. She looked up. Naruto had just caught her. "How..." Her mind refused to articulate her amazement better. Naruto smirked down at her then he was setting her on her feet.

Saya looked around and the tang of iron suddenly filled her senses. There was blood splattered over the alley wall. The gun was on the asphalt and it looked like both thugs were... dead. One, the guy with the mohawk, had two holes in his head so it was obvious. The black kid's neck was twisted at a gruesome angle. Saya put her hand over her nose as the scent of fresh blood became overwhelming. "Oh god...he killed them..." Another thought entered her mind. "He saved my ass just now..."

She turned to look at Naruto who was pulling what looked like a long knife from the gun guy's chest. He wiped it off on the white shirt, smearing it with bright red. Then he tucked it up his sleeve. The movement was so easy...so practiced...so clean... It scared her. Then Naruto turned around and moved to the black kid. He bent down and removed a second knife.

She had a better look at the second one. It had a long handle with a loop and a blade that was like an elongated diamond. "That's a kunai...but those are illegal in Japan..." Naruto repeated the process exactly, stowing it up his other sleeve.

Saya asked, "Naruto...sempai?"

He looked up at her and sighed. "I'm going to make a deal with you ok?"

She nodded.

Naruto straightened and walked over to her. "Two things and we're even. First, you don't go snooping into my business. Second... when we get back to school you forget any of this happened. I'll take care of these two."

Saya could hear herself agreeing even as she thought, "Who are you...why are you here? And why did you just kill them?" But she didn't ask that. Instead she smiled weakly and turned. She walked right out of the alley as if it never even happened.

Down the street at the bakery Saya waited as her driver opened the door for her to get in. Her mind was running on a different track though. All she could think about was what had happened. It refused to leave her thoughts. The look of distaste on Naruto's face as he pulled the blade of his kunai from the corpses of those two men. The practiced ease of his movements. And...now that she remembered it. It had taken... less than three seconds for him to kill both of them and he did it without making so much as a sound or taking any damage. And how casual he was when he told her to forget about it. "Like I could ever forget about that. I'll remember that to the day I die... Oh... How am I supposed to act normal at school with him."

Her driver coughed quietly. "Is everything alright Takagi-sama?"

"She glanced up and nodded. "Yes...of course..." She stepped into the car and the door shut. "I never thanked him...was that a mistake?"

ooo

ooo

Naruto dropped onto the bed in his room on the top floor. His mind was still running over the encounter with the two gang members. "I haven't killed anyone in a while... It felt weird."

Inside his mind, Kurama cracked an eye, "How did it feel?"

"I don't know. It's not something I enjoy...but..."

"But?"

"It felt...eh...satisfying, I guess."

"Why do you think people murder? Your perspective greatly affects how you live. Killing is no different. You grew up in a place where killing is a very profitable profession. Not to mention common. Of course it will be different for you than someone else."

"I still don't like it. I shouldn't enjoy it even a little. Even if they were bad people..."

"A shinobi shouldn't doubt himself. That is not your way, or the way of the ninja. It was necessary. That was the third time you intervened and helped a fellow student since you started attending school there. Don't over think it."

Naruto tried to explain how he felt better. "Then why do I feel so uneasy. Like something terrible just happened? It's...disconcerting... Like someone died and you know it, but you couldn't possibly have been able to tell."

"I don't know what to tell you Naruto."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. "I'm going to sleep early tonight. Wake me up later and I'll go into Sage mode."

"Very well..."

Kurama waited as Naruto fell into a light sleep. He shifted in his cage. Dark was all he could see and the dripping of water was all he could hear. Fear... That was what Naruto felt. And deep inside Kurama could feel it too. His own thoughts echoed through the cage causing ripples to spread to the corners of the vast room. "This world is dying... I can feel the rot at its core. Like there is a festering wound that eats at the fabric of reality. Fear, hate, greed. A thousand negative emotions swirl here like a whirlpool of thick red...blood. The shinobi of my world live in a state of constant war...and yet. This place...this supposedly peaceful world...is far darker than mine..."

Kurama closed his eyes and pulled his awareness inward. "How I long for my home..."

ooo

ooo

So as for my explination for why Naruto's chakra isn't working.

Naruto is stuck in a place where the very concept of true chakra is foreign. Everyone knows how chakra works in the Narutoverse. However Naruto's chakra is severely damaged just before he was thrown into the HOTD world. He can replenish his own chakra with natural energy from around him...just like Kurama does as a matter of course. However because Nature energy is heavily dependent of the balance of nature...things are different in the HOTD world. The massive sprawl of humanity has altered the very balance of earth's natural energy. In effect Naruto and Kurama are trying to draw clear water from a spring tainted with oil.

This also lends its self to my plans for explaining the origin of the (well you can guess what I'm talking about and yes that's a bribe to keep you reading and reviewing...hehe)

Remember to review!