Hey everyone. Just to give you all fair warning, I don't quite know where this chapter is going yet, just how it will start and end. That being said, I'm rather good at bullshitting my way through most of my schoolwork, and I have high honors, so hopefully that will be true for this. If not, this chapter may not be as long. Oh well.

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Disclaimer: Acolyte was sitting in his cell at Otter Creek Correctional Facility, and was not enjoying one second of it. Time moved by slowly in his concrete cubical, his bed was lumpy, there was barely any sunlight, and he had no one to bitch to. The now scruffy man put his face in his hands so as people who weren't there couldn't see his down cast face.

Also, the food sucked. This came to mind as a tray was roughly slid into his cell. He reluctantly began to eat as he pondered how to escape, tapping a metal spoon against his chin. He suddenly grinned as he eyed the eating utensil. It was then announced that it was time for lights out, as his world grew dark.

Later that night, the guards found a rough hole in the wall, the words 'I don't own any manga or anime franchise' written above it crudely.

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Chapter 5: Can It Get Any Worse Than This?

A few weeks had passed and Naruto had finally adjusted comfortably to life at Youkai Academy. Yes, he had grown quite accustomed to the eccentric teachers, the strange practices, even most of the seemingly pathetic monsters surrounding him. Yep, it seemed life was going good.

However, something he had yet to grow used to was his new friends. He could count the number he had back home on one hand, and he could do that here, too, but they were just so different. Sure, he liked Mizore and Zetsu's company, hell, he even enjoyed the occasional greeting from Tsukune, until his bitches dropped in and started fighting over him, but he just couldn't connect with them.

Then again, how could he? He was from another world, full of different rituals and such. He couldn't just tell them that. What would they think? Yes, even though he was technically in a fake friendship with the both of them, he didn't want to be anything less with them, especially Mizore.

His face heated up slightly at the thought of the purple-haired yuki onna. She was beautiful, graceful, a bit sneaky, and just a little shy. She reminded him so much of Haku, yet, she was her own person. Regardless, whether she knew it or not, Naruto would lay down his immortal life for the girl. He would make sure no harm befell her, Jashin help him.

Where was this going again? Oh, right. Despite the fact that his friends didn't know him, he would continue to make sure it stayed that way to make sure nothing happened to them, going so far as to slightly avoid them, even though he gained nothing, and it hurt them a bit. Yes, even though Kyuubi and two others had said otherwise, and that their was still no evidence of the mysterious man's presence here, he would continue this act as long as possible. Sometimes, Naruto was just too stubborn.

The young Jashinist was broken from his musings as he was greeted by one of his friends. "Hello Naruto-kun. How are you doing today?" the blonde looked up to see the face of Mizore and smiled slightly.

"Hey Mizore-chan. I'm fine. How about you?"

The girl gave a slight shrug. "About the same."

"That's good to here." It was silent for a moment. The halls were empty, seeing as the tone had already sounded, and the only thing left was club activities, which weren't for another half-hour.

Waiting for a few moments until the stragglers dispersed, Mizore finally spoke what was on her mind. "Naruto-kun, for the past few days, me and Zetsu-san have noticed that you've been seeming to avoid us. Ever since club sign-ups we've been getting the impression of that, actually."

Naruto's eyes widened for a moment, before he quickly furrowed his brows in a confused manner. "Really? I'm sorry that I made you thin-…" he was cut off when the purple-haired girl held up her hand, asking for silence.

"Come off it, Naruto-kun. I know you're hiding something." Mizore's eyes seemed to soften as she continued. "Please, just know that I'm here if you ever need to talk about something." With that, she began to walk away.

Naruto watched her retreating back, stuck in inner turmoil. On one hand, this was the perfect opportunity to come clean. On the other, was he really ready to come clean? "Wait!" Mizore stopped and turned to see Naruto starting to walk towards her.

"Yes?" she asked, turning to face him completely.

"Mizore-chan, there probably is some thing you should know." Naruto paused, trying to find the right words to use. He eventually decided to just wing it. "You see, the thing is-…" he was cut off once again.

"Ahh, Naruto-san, I was hoping to run into you." Out of nowhere appeared Yakasu, looking as if he were ready to retreat to his residence.

"Yes, Sensei, what do you want?" asked Naruto, looking intently at the man.

"Well, Naruto-san, I'm a bit concerned. You see, your last test grade didn't hold up quite so well as your previous. In fact, compared to most of the class, it was downright abysmal. I want you to meet me in home room after club activities." Just as Naruto was about to protest, Yakasu continued by saying, "It's non-negotiable. I'll be seeing you later." Yakasu began walking away, a slight smirk on his face.

Naruto just watched the man walk away in quite rage. How was this possible? Since the beginning, Kyuubi had been feeding him answers to any questions he received in chemistry and certain other subjects. He trusted the Bijuu in these matters, so it just didn't make sense. In his anger, he stomped away, Mizore watching him all the while, deciding it was best not to get in his way.

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'Kyuubi, how is this possible? Are you just losing your edge or something?' Naruto later asked the kitsune, approaching his classroom in dread. His club captain sensed Naruto's discomfort and told him that he would not be fighting today, only serving to piss the blonde off more.

Kyuubi gave an indignant snort in response. 'You're kidding, right? Me, losing my edge, especially in matters of intellect. It's almost a laughable thought.'

'Yet here you are, sealed inside of me. Yes, you truly are great.' Naruto's sarcastic remark took the Bijuu off of his superiority high.

'Well, seeing as that may be, that doesn't change the fact that those answers I gave you were correct. I sense something may be off with that sensei of yours, though. Be cautious, for I have no doubt that, if worse comes to worse, he will have little trouble with tearing your head off.' With Kyuubi's warning in mind, Naruto proceeded through the door.

"Ahh, right on schedule, Uzumaki-san. I never would have pined you for the punctual type." The response came from Yakasu, who sat at his desk grading papers. He hadn't even looked up to greet the blonde, focused on his work he was, nursing the seemingly fresh cup of coffee grasped in his left hand. "Just take a seat and I'll be with you in a minute.

Begrudgingly, Naruto did so. That comment on punctuality, he thought, would have been appropriate about two years ago. However, ever since he had been so slow getting to Haku… he didn't want to think about it. That was then, this was now. He was going to tell Mizore all about it today and move on, because nothing bad was going to happen, but Yakasu had to interrupt him. If anyone had bad timing, it was the damnable man in front of him.

For the next several minutes, the sensei found himself subjugated to any icy glare from Naruto, not that he paid it any heed. He just read over papers, marked how well they were with a red sharpie, and took an occasional sip from his mug. It seemed he eventually finished when he stood up from his desk, the crack that was previously in it now repaired (because really, it was just an annoyance, always leaving an indent on a paper from where a pen crossed over the jagged and uneven spot), and walked over to the seat the bewhiskered teen sat at.

"So, do you understand why you're here, Uzumaki-san?"

"Yeah, you said it had to do with my test grades being terrible compared to everyone else's or something." The way Naruto spoke, you could tell he held contempt for the man before him. Said individual shrugged it off.

"No, that's the excuse I made for your presence in this room. Do you know why you're here?" he asked. "Your grades are some of the best in this school. They, in truth, have little significance to me." he ignored the widening of Naruto's eyes at the revelation that he had been tricked to coming here.

In Naruto's defense, sure, he should have suspected, hell, he was warned, but would it have really made a difference? As Naruto attempted to answer the question, he began looking for a viable escape in an, he hoped, inconspicuous manner. "Umm, because you wanted me here? Maybe you're lonely and need some company? The room's too big and you need something to fill it. Oh! I know! You're just out of your fucking mind, right? Paperwork finally got to you. Or maybe…" he was cut off by a sigh from Yakasu.

"No, Naruto. None of those answers are even remotely close to being correct." He began to massage his temples. "I don't mean here, in this room. Okay, maybe that is an important factor in the overall equation, but, the point is, do you have any semblance of an idea of why you're in this school, in this part of the world, Hell, this world in general?" Yakasu paused in his speech and stepped over to the window to peer out at the sky above. The sun had just barely set and there were still vestiges of dark pinks and violets on the horizon.

Naruto sat at his desk in silent shook, staring at the man who seemed to know so much. His body and mind had long ago reached an agreement, yelling at him to escape while he could. But, a part of him blocked that out, forcing him to ask the question. "You said this world. Do you mean…" he left the question hanging, not wanting to give too much away if it turned out he was wrong.

The man was silent for a few moments, basking in the vista's beauty. He finally provided an answer. "I know you don't belong here." Yakasu heard the annoying scrapping of the chair against the linoleum floor followed by hurried footsteps. He allowed himself to smirk a bit before continuing to himself, in a slightly amused tone of voice, "They always run."

As Naruto dashed down the halls he desperately looked for anyone that could help him. He had to leave. If not, he would be forced to kill Yakasu, and he could only imagine the complications that would bring. Of course, being as late as it was, most staff and students were probably at their respectful residences. Hell, he couldn't even spot any custodians.

He quickly turned a corner, only to run straight into the person he was attempting to avoid. He fell on his ass and looked up to the teacher who just stood there, hands shoved into his coat pockets. "It's dangerous to run in the halls, Uzumaki-san. You should exercise caution in a place like this. You don't know what could happen." Yakasu approached Naruto, who was still on the ground, like a tiger who had cornered its prey.

Naruto attempted to scurry away, but his back hit the wall. He finally regained his senses and started to run. He didn't get more than three meters before his arm was grabbed and he was yanked back. He quickly turned and sent a punch into the unsuspecting teachers face. He didn't even budge as it landed on his chin.

Naruto gasped as he felt several bones in his hand break and clutched it close to his chest. It was healed quickly enough. "Well now, that was uncalled for, if not pathetic. Learn to fight before you try to punch somebody again." With that, Yakasu threw the blonde over his shoulder, only to turn and deliver a spin kick to the still airborne boy's back. He slammed into the window, which promptly shattered, sending Naruto flying down several stories.

Naruto impacted the ground as glass fell around him and quickly took inventory. He had at least five broken ribs, his arm had been torn out of its socket, and his back was killing him. He also had multiple scratches on his face and arms, but those were mostly superficial. "Fuck," was all he could say after al his injuries had healed and he sat up.

"Still up, eh?" Naruto almost gave himself whiplash he turned around so fast. Yakasu was right behind him, looking as bored as ever. He lifted the boy up by his neck and flexed his left hand, readying it to strike. Naruto seemed to be grasping at his neck. The teacher took some sort of sick delight in this. "Any last words?" he asked mockingly.

He was suddenly blinded by a burst of smoke. The next thing he knew, he was grasping at his empty left eye socket and screaming. Naruto landed on his feet as he was dropped, his front bloodied as well as his, now unsealed, wakizashi. "Fucking bastard. Don't think you've won yet," Naruto said in a growl. What was it with people making it so he couldn't breath? It pissed him off.

He was shocked when Yakasu's body started to morph and warp. He hunched over and began to grow, his arms lengthen, his face distort. Before him now stood a seven-foot tall beast, its arms reaching its shins, slightly bent over. Its chest exploded in muscle, tearing of the upper portion of its cloths. Its fingers were long and spindly, more like claws than anything. Its jaw jutted out, filled with rows of jagged teeth, dripping spit that scotched the ground. Its remaining light blue eye had become silted, surrounded by a red background, and its ears now stood on top of its head, perked up. Its entirety was covered in a brown-grey fur. It unleashed a throaty laugh as it stretched. "Don't be full of yourself, Uzumaki-san. I'll repay you for that."

'Kyuubi, what is that?!?' asked Naruto in shock of the creature Yakasu had become.

'I don't know. I'll tell you this, though; he's not natural. Something caused him to become like this, so use extreme caution.'

The beast charged Naruto on all fours with speed unbefitting of its size, smashing its shoulder into Naruto with all the force of a speeding semi. You could hear the creaking of bones as Naruto flew, dropping his wakizashi. He slammed into a tree as the beast stalked closer. "Is that all you've got? How disappointing." It raised one of its razor claws to strike, only to stumble forward in pain.

Naruto smirked as he pulled on the, previously unseen, rope wrapped around his chest, dislodging his sword from the beast's back. It fell forward, bleeding profusely. "Any last words?" he mocked as he stood on its chest, blade poised to stab its neck.

"He did say not to count you out. I should have listened. Good thing he had a backup plan." With that, the beast swatted Naruto off of its chest and staggered away into the dead forest at an amicable pace, seeing it had a gapping wound in its back with some vital organs probably injured.

"Fuck, where'd he go?" asked Naruto, looking around.

'Hey, Naruto,' spoke Kyuubi suddenly. Naruto responded, a bit irate.

'What?'

'I just relized that the only other person who knew you're not from here is that man who killed Haku.' Naruto's eyes widened at this.

'You don't think that was him, do you?'

'No, not the same power, but they're related somehow. But the important thing to know is that he went in the direction of the dorms, and he said he had a backup plan. But that all together and…' Naruto put it together himself.

"Shit!" with that, he ran as fast as he could through the dead trees, praying beyond hope that he could stop what he thought was going on from happening.

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A knock at the door prodded Mizore to retreat from her spot at the small table to the entrance of her dorm. 'Who could that be?' she wondered curiously as she opened the door. She was unprepared for the sight that greeted her.

She wasn't so shocked, however, to be hit by the claw swipe that would have taken her head clean off. She dodged back further into the room and summoned her ice claws, preparing to fight back. "Who are you?" she asked around her lollipop. She dodged once more and made a quick slash down the beast's arm. She was put off when she noticed that it didn't particularly affect the fiend.

It gave a low, rumbling chuckle as it stalked closer to the girl. "Now that's the least of your worries. When I'm done with you, you won't be more than a stain on the rug." It swung again, smashing a table in two. Now, Mizore had to wonder; how had no body noticed such a commotion yet?

She ducked under another strike and made a jab of her own into the creature's stomach. It still didn't seem to react to the damage. The purple haired girl was getting despite. She couldn't do much in such a confined space, and the beast trying to kill her blocked the door. Out of her peripheral, she saw a window she had left open. She leapt for it and landed out side, barely missing another claw swipe. The beast growled in annoyance as it gave chase.

Neither it nor Mizore expected it to be kicked in the face by Naruto, who was still brandishing his serrated wakizashi. "Naruto-kun?" Mizore questioned. The blonde didn't seem to hear her.

"Bastard! Don't go running off while I'm in the middle of kicking your ass! Especially when it's to go after my friends instead!" the beast slowly rose as Naruto ran to stand by Mizore's side. "Are you injured?" he asked.

The girl shook her head. "I'm fine, but what is that?"

Naruto seemed to growl as he stared at the beast grimly. "That's Yakasu, or what's left of him, anyway. I'll explain later, but we need to take him down first." Mizore looked shocked at the revelation that the thing trying to kill her was her sensei, but prepared to take him down nonetheless.

The beast chuckled as it rose to its full, hunched over height. "Heh, looks like you arrived early this time. You're getting better at preserving what matters." It chuckled more as Naruto growled.

"How do you know that?" he demanded.

"I was told many things about you. Things not even your closest friends know about you." It launched into a fit of laughter, putting special emphasis on the word friends. Mizore sent Naruto a weary glance as the boy tightened his grip on his weapon. What did that mean?

The beast launched forwards as both dodged, each giving it a passing slash as they got behind him. It quickly spun around and backhanded Naruto into a dead tree, going after Mizore. She ducked under his defenses and stabbed him multiple times in the stomach. To her horror it just laughed at her attempts to injure it and swatted her away.

As she went skidding, he continued his approach, still laughing. He stood above her form as she stared at him, unable to block what was about to come. "Say goodbye!" he laughed out in an insane voice.

The laugh quickly turned into a hacking cough and a series of gasps as a blade emerged from his throat, only to be ruthlessly and violently yanked out afterwards. The beast collapsed and reverted back to its human form, revealing Naruto standing there. "Goodbye." He stepped over the dying body of Yakasu and helped Mizore up to her feet.

"Thanks. That's the second time you've helped me since I've met you."

"Don't mention it. You're my friend, no matter what you think or what anyone says, and I'll always be there for you." Mizore blushed just a bit, but it was impossible to see due to the lack of light. It was silent besides the wheezing of Yakasu. "I'm gonna' put him out of his misery. Turn away if you want to."

Naruto approached the fallen form and raised his blade to finish the man off, but was stopped. "Wait," he gasped out. "I… I still need to… need to say something." He was forcing out his words by now as his breathing labored even more. Naruto had trouble hearing him and leaned closer.

"Make it quick."

Taking the best breath he could, he continued. "I never wanted this… to ha-happen. I w-was for… forced to. It was a dr-… drug. I couldn't stop it. Pl-… please, you have to kill the one… the one who di-…" he wasn't able to finish as the last of his breath left. Naruto shut his vacant eyes and stood.

"Damn!" was all he could say.

"Naruto, what's going on? What was that about?"

Naruto turned to regard his friend and let out a deep sigh. "Guess there's no use in hiding it any longer. You see, Mizore-chan, I'm not exactly from here."

"Where, Japan? So what? While monsters traveling is uncommon, it's not…" she was cut off as Naruto held up his hand for silence.

"No that's not what I meant. You see… Jashin-sama, how do I explain this?"

'Start from the beginning and be done with it.'

Naruto mentally thanked Kyuubi for his advice and stared once more. "You see, when I was born, something… happened. A demon, you could say, was sealed into me. Because of this, I was seen as a… liability, and was eventually sent away. I met someone who introduced me to Jashinism, my religion. You see, through certain practices and rituals, a Jashinist can become immortal, and apparently the demon sealed into me was created by Jashin-sama for a special purpose. I won't get into the details, so, skipping ahead a few years, I returned home, met a girl, became her boyfriend, and gained some friends." Mizore seemed a little put down at the mention of him already being taken. "However, when I was fighting one of my friends, I lost the connection to the demon and became weak. Then someone, I don't know who he is, he kidnapped her. He killed her." Naruto was now struggling through this. "I regained the connection when I found out, and unleashed so much of the demon's power, I ripped open a portal in my dimensions reality and ended up here. I guess the other guy also came through."

It was silent for a moment as Naruto turned away, waiting for something he feared. What he got was… unexpected to say the least. "That's it?" Naruto spun around, shock evident on his face. "Well I mean, sure, it's horrible and all, but that's not something you need to hide from your friends. Are you going to tell Zetsu?"

"Um… I'll get around to it. You're really not shocked?"

Mizore shrugged. "Stranger things have happened."

'Told you.'

'Shut up!'

"But wait, does this mean you're human?"

"Well, I guess technically you could say that, but not in your standards. You see, in our world, we had civilians, normal people like humans here, and shinobi, who had access to power that let them do feats no human could hope to do. I'm a shinobi."

"I see. Well, now that that's taken care of, what do we do? I mean, seriously, we can't just leave this body here."

"Don't worry about it. I witnessed the whole thing. I must say, though, I am quite intrigued with you, Uzumaki-san." Both jumped and turned around to see a man dressed in white robes and glowing white eyes. Those damn glowing eyes. Naruto suppressed a shudder as he thought of the only other person he knew with glowing eyes.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm the chairman of Youkai Academy. Don't worry, you won't be held at fault, though it is disconcerting that this became of such a great teacher." The chairman shook his head as Naruto relized something he said.

"Wait a minute! You saw the whole thing?!? Then why the fuck didn't you help us?!?"

The chairman shrugged. "You seemed to be doing fine by yourselves." He then gave a creepy smile that matched a certain bus driver's far too much for Naruto's comfort.

"So, what now?" asked Mizore.

The man looked at her and smiled again. "Seeing as it is so close to summer break, we'll simply suspend science classes until afterwards and find a teacher during that time. That will give you a study hall or something. Well, I think that covers everything. You two should get some sleep. Also, this never happened." With that, the chairman took Yakasu's body away.

Naruto was wondering what the fuck just happened and was pretty much at a loss for words. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomarrow," he said stupidly. Mizore just nodded as they walked to their dorms.

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Sorry, this came out later than expected, but at least it was longer than I first thought. Complaints, you know how to reach me. Also, I'm not going to go through the effort of finding a beta. If you think I could improve and have qualifications, pm me and we'll see how it goes. I'll stop accepting submissions after March 11. I'm lazy, I know. Deal with it.

In other news, I was thinking about getting another project off the ground. Even though I just thought of it today, I already have a lot of it planned. Don't expect to see it until after next chapter, though. Wish me luck and I'll see you later. This chapter was 4,465 words long! Fuck, really? That's mostly shit I made up on the spot. Wow.