Hey everyone. So, I didn't get much feedback last chapter, so I don't know what you think, but I think I did well. Anyway, this is the longest chapter I've done so far and has several plot devices, along with next chapter. That being said, people who read my last story will be in for a surprise next chapter. I've probably said too much, so let's continue.
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Disclaimer: Searchlights sprung to life in the darkness as the klaxons sounded, alerting all that something was wrong. Acolyte was putting as much distance between himself and prison as possible, but was tiring fast. He soon found a cave, with a sign above it, saying 'if you own nothing you write about, enter'. Without a second thought, he retreated into the depths of the cave.
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Chapter 6: It Can Always Get WorseThere was a bunch of commotion the first thing next day. The class was coming up with multiple reasons for Yakasu's absence. While the official story was that he had accepted a job at another monster school, most people doubted it for numerous reasons; mainly, it was nearly impossible, though not unheard of, for monsters to travel. Also, while there wasn't any doubt that there was another monster school, why would they want someone to go through the trouble of traveling when there were probably more around that area anyway?
So, the students cast aside the story they had been told and decided to create their own. Many had been told, varying in degrees of plausibility, stupidity, redundancy, and hilarity. A few of the more common ones were: a. he was a criminal and the school board handed him over when they found out, b. he didn't really have a teaching license and was sent away, and, of course, c. he went to work for the mafia. Naruto had no idea why that one was widely accepted, though he personally liked the one about him being a registered sex offender and, as punishment, was launched into space. Yes, he admitted it was stupid, but that's what made it funny. Only him, Mizore, and the chairman knew the truth.
As he sat in study hall, he reflected on the exams he had taken the previous day. With the help of Kyuubi, he had passed them all with modest scores and could now focus on training for the next few weeks. Mizore had also passed, and had told him that after class today, she would leave with her club for the human world. He wasn't told what they would be doing there, but wished her well, even though he was a bit disheartened due to the fact that he wouldn't be seeing her for a while. At least he would be able to hang with Zetsu in his free time.
Time ticked by slowly, almost unbearably so. Eventually, it was club time, the last meeting before break. His friends still didn't know what he did, and he intended to keep it that way. He didn't need them worrying about him. Besides he had to abide to his club's rules. He made his way slowly through the trees until, finally, he came to an old warehouse. He walked up closer to it and banged his fist against the slightly rusty door a few times. "Password?" asked a voice after a few seconds.
"Open the fuck up before I shove my shoe up your ass, dickweed." There was a few more seconds of silence before the door creaked open. He received a nod from the doorman as he proceeded into the dimly lit warehouse. An almost unnoticeable grin made its way onto his face. This would be fun.
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Shouts and cheers filled the warehouse as a group of people formed a rough tight circle. Two people were inside this manmade ring, each one trying to rip the others head off. It was hard to believe these two were actually part of the same club.
Naruto happened to be one of these people, sweat dripping off of his shirtless body, leaving his sealing tattoo visible and only his rosary dangling from his neck. He was tired, and his muscles ached. Under normal circumstances, he probably could have handed his opponent's ass to him a couple of times now, but that wouldn't have been very fun. No, instead Naruto decided to give himself a handicap similar to everyone else and made it so Kyuubi wouldn't interfere during a fight.
In hindsight, Naruto though, that probably wasn't a good idea for today, as he was sent reeling back from a solid punch to the face. As the crowd pushed him back into the fight, wanting more violence, he quickly determined that he had cracked a couple of teeth. He ignored it, seeing as Kyuubi would heal it quickly enough after the fight, but it stung like fucking hell as he spit out a glob of blood.
As payback, Naruto sent a rather vicious spinning elbow into his opponents solar plexus, followed by ramming his shoulder up into his jaw as he bent over a bit. This only caused the cheers to turn into a roar of praise. Naruto soon found himself falling forwards as his knee was kicked out from behind him. He landed harshly and quickly got back up, just in time to get one of his ribs busted by a kick.
It was obvious to everyone that the blonde was in pain. It was also equally obvious that he wasn't about to give up. As the guy came in for another punch, Naruto caught his arm and got under his guard, sending an elbow strike straight up into his opponents exposed armpit.
Naruto was on an adrenaline high. He didn't hear anything but the beating of his own heart in his ears and the sickening pop that came from the other guy's arm. Everything else was a dull echo. He didn't hear as the match was called. He didn't pay attention as the door was busted down and people started yelling and scrambling to hide.
He also had tunnel vision, seeing only his enemy. His prey. His kill. He didn't even give heed to the unusual thought running through his head. He just kept beating on his motionless opponent. He barely registered the hand that was placed roughly on his shoulder.
He spun around, only to have his nose broken as he fell down, a terrible sense of vertigo overcoming him. It was then that the world started to come into clarity, as Kyuubi worked to heal him. He saw the place full of people in black coats, some with swords at their sides. He looked to see the person who supposedly hit him.
He was a tall man with long, blonde hair that reached his mid back. He also had what seemed to be two small tattoos in the place above where his eyebrows should be. He then started to give orders. "The Student Safety Committee is officially disbanding this club on the grounds of misconduct. Come quietly or face swift punishment." The man had a cruel smirk on his face as he looked down at Naruto. Just as he attempted to get up, he was immediately embraced by unconsciousness as the other blonde curb stomped his head.
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Mizore, quite simply put, was worried. Why was she like this, you may ask? Well, first off, no one had seen nor heard from Naruto since the day before summer break. She reassured herself that he was fine, but that didn't hold much water as she could come up with no viable explanation for his absence.
Also, one of her fellow club members was missing, and she had no idea what happened. As she was stalking the halls, seemingly at a lose for what to do, some great deity seemed to smile upon her and qualm some of her worries in the form of several other girls running right for her. She immediately recognized them as her club mates. She her self jogged to meet them.
"Mizore-chan!" shouted the first one, who we all now as Moka. All the girls put their hands to their knees, panting.
"What is it?"
"It's Tsukune-kun, he's in trouble!" continued a well-endowed blue-haired beauty, Kurumu.
At this point, Mizore was growing more anxious. Sure, it was news, but that didn't mean it was necessarily good. For all she knew, Tsukune could be dead, and, while she didn't harbor the same feelings for him the other girls did, he was still her friend. It was the duty of the small, brown-haired girl to finish. "The Student Safety Committee has him, and Gin-san won't help free him!
"What? We need to help him!" that was quickly agreed as everyone set off in the general direction of an exit. They were stopped by a voice.
"Mizore-san, I'm glad I found you." Everyone stopped and turned to the voice. Three out of the four girls were shocked by Zetsu's appearance.
"Zetsu-san? No offence, but we need to hurry." Everyone took off once again, noticing they now had someone else in their group.
"Where are we going, because this is important?"
"What do you mean we? Who are you, anyway?" asked Kurumu. Mizore put her at ease.
"Relax, he's a friend. besides, he could help us. To answer your question, Zetsu-san, we're going to the Student Safety Committee's base to free someone."
Zetsu's eyes widened an unnoticeable margin at the mention of this, but quickly reverted to normal. "I see. We had best hurry then." With that, they we're off.
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Naruto wearily opened his eyes and surveyed the dank cell he was currently locked up in. in was small and there was a draft, and him missing his shirt with only the tattered remains of his pants and shoes left only made that last fact worse. He repressed a shudder as he though back to what happened… he didn't know. It could have been hours, days, months even. It didn't matter. Time had no meaning here.
At first, his whole club had occupied the cells surrounding his. Slowly, they dragged them out, one by one, forced them to scream, filling those left with dread. It didn't faze him much and the guards knew it, his club mates knew it, and that only served to make him more isolated. But, at the time, why would he care? He would last longer than this iron and concrete. He smirked a bit at the cruel irony of it all, as this was what would eventually be of him.
He had tried to bust out the moment he was brought back into consciousness, but the cell, it seemed to just drain him of energy. He couldn't even contact Kyuubi. It had been a while since he was fed, ever since they dragged the last one away, the one who would even spare him a glance when he talked. The one who helped keep him sane. He supposed that they would torture him this way. Maybe they just forgot about him and didn't intend this. It didn't matter. The lack of food was just an inconvenience, making him a bit weaker and lightheaded.
Human stimulation, however, was something he needed desperately. He gripped his rosary and silently prayed that someone, anyone, would come to check up on him. Jashin-sama seemed to be listening, as it was then he heard hurried footsteps and talking. He leaned against the bars, hoping to get a better idea of who it was. 'A guard? Maybe I can get out of here some how if I trick him.'
It was then he could make out what the voices were saying. "Where are we going? We should be headed that way?"
"I know, but there's something I need to do first. It's just around this corner, trust me."
"You'd better be right."
"Lighten up on him. He did help us."
Wait, there's more than one. Shit, I'll never overpower them all as I am now. But, those voices sounds familiar. And feminine' He decided at this point, it didn't much matter, as he called out to the group that was headed his way. "Hey! Down here!" his voice came out dry and cracked, a testament to how long he went without using it.
He listened with bated breath as the footsteps seemed to approach him faster and faster, until finally he saw his saviors. Imagine how shocked he was to see Mizore and Zetsu. At the same time, he was extremely glad. Hell, he was even glad to see Tsukune and his harem. "Naruto?!?" asked Mizore, Tsukune, and Moka in shock.
"Hey Mizore-chan, Zetsu, Tsukune, Moka, bitches I don't know," was his casual response, though Yukari and Kurumu were slightly miffed at how he regarded them.
"Wait, you know them?" asked Mizore, referring to Moka and Tsukune, and them likewise to her and Zetsu. Naruto just gave a slight nod.
"Yeah. Look, can we have this reunion later and focus on busting me out?" Mizore used her ice claws to pick the lock and in moments his cell was opened. Naruto grinned as he took his first weary steps outside. Almost immediately, he could feel some of his energy returning to him, as Kyuubi worked to fix the neglect to his systems.
"What were you in there for, exactly?" asked Yukari with some trepidation. She was worried about freeing a stranger from lock up, but if Tsukune was comfortable around him, she could deal with it.
He gave a little shrug, causing his visible muscles to ripple slightly, and the girls to blush, especially Mizore. Naruto, of course, didn't notice. "My club wasn't exactly… sanctioned, and these fuck heads some how found out about it. Speaking of which…" Naruto unsealed his wakizashi, catching most everyone by surprise as smoke exploded from his tattoo and in the next moment, the blade was in his hands, the rope already looped around his torso. "Where's that blonde fuck, I need to pay him back for some… collateral damage."
"You mean Kuyou?" asked Kurumu. "We were told to avoid him at all cost. If you want to fight him, you're gonna' have to do it on your own time. Right now, we need to leave." Naruto growled.
"Fuck that! You don't know what he did to both me and my club! Hell, they're probably dead because of that fucker! I'm not leaving 'till that shithead is in a hole!"
"You dumbass! Didn't you hear what I just said?!?" was the blue haired girl's response.
"He's right." Everyone turned to Tsukune, a look of determination on his face. "He's nothing but a bully that uses force to get what he wants, and he needs to be stopped."
"Umm, Tsukune-kun, aren't you forgetting something?" asked Moka. It was clear what the hidden message was. 'You're human.'
"That doesn't matter. We still need to do something."
"Glad to see someone's making sense," Naruto said with a grin.
Mizore gave a reluctant sigh. " You're impossible, Naruto-kun. If you're going, I guess I'll help you out."
"I also own you, Naruto-san. You can count on me." after Zetsu's remark, Tsukune joined him. This also caused the other three to join, and soon after, the group of seven was lurking down the halls. It was only a matter of time before they came upon a large room and were met by their target.
"Am I right in assuming that it was you five that helped those two escape?" asked Kuyou, referring to both Naruto and Tsukune. He was just standing there, hands folded behind his back, a grimace on his face.
Naruto gave a slight chuckle as he stood at the front of the group. "You can stop acting all high and mighty you fucktard. You're outnumbered. So, just let us kick your ass, and you'll save everyone the trouble." Naruto's statement would have angered most. It would have produced undignified and rebellious responses. Kuyou didn't fit into these categories.
The blonde's laughter rang throughout the hollowed halls and the chamber they were currently in. as it eventually died down, he gave a response, once again all serious. "Fool! You think that monsters of your caliber stand a chance against me?!? Look at your group! One is obviously a hybrid, another a half-ling, and I have reason to believe that your fellow prisoner is human. That leaves a few timid little girls and yourself. I don't think I'll have much difficulty. And, to top off your display of audacity, you openly challenge me. Those who go against me go against Youkai Academy, and it is my duty to eliminate your kind."
Naruto seemingly had enough of the speech and charged straight for the man. Most were surprised with the speed at which he dodged and delivered a kick to Naruto's exposed side. As he skidded across the ground, he eventually created enough friction to stop and flip back up to his feet. As soon as he looked up, he was met with Kuyou's fist.
As the head of the SSC was about to press the attack, he was forced to dodge a strike made by Mizore, ice claws out, that would have hit him in the chest, followed by having to duck under Kurumu's attempt to cut his head off. This played out in his favor, as the blue-haired girl flew into her purple-haired friend.
Zetsu was still standing over by Tsukune, Yukari, and Moka, helping the witch get the injured over to the area. "Well, this isn't good," said the bi-coloured man rather blandly.
"No shit," was the only response from Naruto, nursing his wound.
"Now do you see the error of your ways?" spoke Kuyou. He now had a maniacal grin on his face. "Don't you see what your friendship with that human has done to you?" he pointed to Tsukune, who had his head down, his hair shadowing his eyes. "He's made you weak. He has yet to do anything. He doesn't care as you get beaten; he only wishes to use you. Humans can't be trusted."
"You're wrong." Everyone turned to Tsukune to see him shaking.
"Come again?" the smirk on Kuyou's face only served to make the brunette all the more angry.
"You're wrong," he repeated, louder. "I care for my friends, and I'm not going to let you make them think otherwise." Before anyone could stop him, Tsukune began to charge at the smirking blonde.
"Fool! What do you hope to do?!?" before the brunette reached his target, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see a boy, his black hair held back by a red headband. He just shook his head.
"Exactly what did you think you would accomplish?" was all he said.
"Gin-senpai?" Tsukune asked with perplexity.
"Go back to everyone else. You don't stand a chance."
"Hmm, so you are behind this. I knew I should have dealt with you when I had the chance. It would have saved me so much trouble." The blonde shook his head. "No matter. Better later than never, I suppose."
"They didn't deserve what you did to them, Kuyou. Neither do these guys. But this isn't about them. It's about stoppin' you." Faster than anyone could see, Gin disappeared. T he next thing people knew, he was behind Kuyou, who collapsed face down on the ground.
'Fast!' was the thought on everyone's mind. As gin began to approach the group, he didn't notice as Kuyou began to get back up.
"You think that's it? You think I would be defeated after that? You're sorely mistaken." Fire seemed to explode from the blonde's body. It began to take shape before it finally assumed the form of a four-tailed kitsune.
"Crap!" was all Gin said as he noticed that Kuyou was charging an attack. As he launched it, gin jumped in front of Kurumu, taking the full blow. He fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Hahaha, you don't stand a chance now. Your only life line is gone."
"Tsukune, quick! Take off my rosary!" he nodded, but before he could, Kuyou launched another fire attack, throwing the boy a few yards away. "Tsukune!" Moka ran over to the boy as Zetsu brought Gin over near them. Everyone gathered around to see if they were okay.
"It doesn't look good." Zetsu inspected both of the burn victims. "Gin is only unconscious and should by fine, but Tsukune seems to be dying." Kurumu was an emotional wreak at that point, crying it was her fault Gin was like this along with her love interest. Yukari was too scared to do anything and Moka just stared at Tsukune's downed form cradled in her arms. Mizore was faring slightly better, but was still worried about her friends. Zetsu was impartial to the whole thing, seeing as he had years of training in this kind of thing.
However, Naruto was arguably the worst off. 'It's my fault,' he thought. 'I dragged everyone into this, and now, Tsukune and someone I don't even know are both injured. But they wanted to help. They're like… friends. I hurt my friends.'
'So do something about it,' spoke a voice. It wasn't Kyuubi, as this voice didn't come with a burning sensation in his skull. Instead, it seemed to resonate with numbness throughout his very being. It was more like a squawking, as well, instead of a growl. He could feel Kyuubi's apprehension, his worry, but couldn't actually hear him, so he ignored it. Besides, the voice was right. He could feel a predatory grin as he thought that. 'You know what to do.'
While this was going on, Kuyou began to laugh more. "Give up, and I'll kill you all as painlessly as possible."
"We need to give Tsukune aid right now if we want him to survive. To do that, we need to leave. Even then, we might not make it." everyone was quiet. They saw no way to truly win. Then, Moka spoke up.
"No, there's still something I can do. Tsukune-kun, please take off my rosary." With a trembling hand, the boy reached up and grasped the cross seal. It came off with a quiet 'click', but everyone heard it.
Power exploded from the girl as she grew, before an older, silver-haired woman was in her place. "I'm sorry if this hurts." The vampire then sunk her fangs into the boy's neck. He gasped at the sensation, and fell unconscious once she was done.
"What did you just do?!?" asked Kurumu.
"I injected some of my blood into him. A vampire's blood has amazing properties, but also some ill side effects. I don't know what will happen to Tsukune-san, considering he's human, but he might still die. Our best is to still get him out of here. I'm a bit weak right now with what I just did, but I should be able to hold him off long enough for you to get out of here." She rose to face Kuyou, who in turn shifted forms again.
While from the waist down he was still fox-like with four tails, his head and torso was human. Tattoos were visible on his chest, and he had fox ears of fire on the top of his head. "I can sense your weakness, vampire. Even you don't stand a chance."
Just as the two were about to charge at each other, something happened. Raw power just started flooding out of Naruto. It started slowly at first, slowly leaking out like thick, orange ink. The, it just exploded, engulfing the boy in an oppressive haze of heat.
As it cleared a bit, the saw him down on all fours, his nails like claws, sharp teeth, wild hair, and broader whisker marks. "N-Naruto?" Mizore asked tentatively. Silently, the boy looked to her, showing red eyes with slits down the middle. It was obvious that this was not Naruto.
It became harder to breath as the orange energy began to take shape. It conformed to his body, giving claws, long ears and a long tail. It wasn't enough. He needed to mimic the monster in front of him, Kuyou. It was almost an instinctual need. He drew on more power, as Kyuubi shouted in his head. 'Stop! You can't control this! You can barely control yourself without the actual cloak, so what are you thinking?!?'
It was soon that Naruto himself appeared in his mind, before being trapped by a cage of Kyuubi's power. "What the?" a hollow laughter rang through the halls of his mindscape. Kyuubi's eyes widened in fear.
"Thank you, Uzumaki. Don't worry; I'll take care of your body. In fact, in exchange for this freedom, I'll give what you most want, no matter the cost." There was more laughter before all went quiet.
"Kyuubi, what just happened?!?"
"I… I don't know. It's not good though. I thought I was the only one hear. Listen, you need to regain control of your body now. There's no telling what could happen. Get out of the cage, and I'll try to find out what's going on." Naruto touched the bars, only to quickly retract his now melted hands.
He fell to his knees in pain as his melted appendages slowly healed, almost agonizingly slow. Suddenly, a screen popped to life, showing what was going on, and in his head, he could hear the thoughts of whatever was controlling his body.
Back outside, Naruto's body had now accumulated three tails, meaning that his already potent energy had become more so, and he became more fox-like. Most everyone was frozen in place, all but Moka, Zetsu, and Kuyou, the latter who felt little to no side effects, but was caught up by a morbid fascination. Everyone was shocked as a fourth tail sprouted.
Naruto's skin just began to burn off, showing blood vessels, but he seemed to ignore in. what was left was a dark red husk that seemed to flow and ripple with movement. You could tell were his head was due to the ears, but you couldn't see his face. Then, two white orbs of lights burst into being on his face, showing his eyes, followed by a crack of the same light below that, going half way along his head. The jagged crack burst open, showing his mouth.
When it seemed that he was done, Kuyou spoke, voice full of awe. "I've heard legends describing a power like this. The Kyuubi no Kitsune, the founder of our race, was said to have a presence like this, but stronger. Yet, you think I would believe some the likes of you would be the demon god? You insult me." with that, he charged at Naruto.
The boy took the punch, watching as Kuyou quickly pulled his fist back, a burn mark on it. Naruto took this recoil to attack. He launched one of his claws out, grabbing the kitsune and slamming him into the ground, the ceiling, anything, before putting him through a wall that collapsed on him.
Everyone felt a power source disappear and it became obvious Kuyou was out cold. With that, he turned his attention to Moka, the next strongest person in the chamber. He charged her as she quickly ducked under him and kicked him in the stomach. He flew away as Moka held her foot, a nasty burn on it. "W-what's going on?!?" asked a frightened Yukari.
"Naruto-san is no longer in control of himself." Everyone tuned to Zetsu, wondering just what he meant. Then, to make matters worse, another power source became evident. Tsukune began to get up, blue marks on his neck from where he was bitten. Everyone noticed that his pupils were slits like Moka's as he surveyed his surroundings. When he found Naruto, who resembled the one who attacked him, he began to attack him.
"We need to stop this!" said Mizore. She was worried. Tsukune was not himself, nor was Naruto. But, when she looked into the boy's eyes that first time, she saw something. When she looked into Naruto's red eyes, a voice in her head seemed to say 'I'll kill you'. It just made her fear for Naruto more.
Tsukune didn't seem to be affected by the burns he received as a result from touching Naruto. Instead he just kept attacking. As Naruto skidded across the floor, he sent a claw at Tsukune. He caught it, but wasn't expecting another torso to sprout from the arm and claw him across the chest. Apparently, in his still weakened state, that was enough to knock him out.
"Naruto, stop!" he turned his head to Mizore, who stood there, staring him down. There was sadness in her eyes as she looked at him. Everybody yelled at her to run as Naruto pounced towards her, but she didn't. She thought that somehow, this would help Naruto, and if it didn't, did she want to live?
In his mind, Naruto was afraid. He was afraid that Mizore would die, and that it would be him to kill her. "No," he said. He had told her the truth; she understood him and was his best friend. He… he loved her, he relized, and wasn't about to let this happen. His fear, his anger, all his emotions left him at that moment, being replaced by determination. Without a second thought, he grasped the bars, ignoring the pain, and with all his might, bent the cage. When he had enough room, he walked out.
The claw stopped inches from Mizore's face, and she could feel the heat. A hand, lacking both skin and the energy, was reaching out to stop the claw. Naruto's hand. He grasped his head and screamed in pain. Slowly, the energy began to disappear, before only Naruto was left behind, muscle and blood vessels still showing.
The boy dropped to his knees as he stared at Mizore. He let out a small, soft smile and said one thing before he succumbed to the pain and unconsciousness. "I'm sorry, Mizore-chan."
Everybody rushed over to him, surprised to see that his skin was already healing. With out a second thought, Zetsu grabbed Naruto, Tsukune and Gin already slung over his shoulders. "Come on, we need to leave. I have a feeling this place is about to collapse, and I don't want to be around when it does. We can drop these guys off at the infirmary afterwards, now come on." With a nod, everyone made their way to the nearest exit.
When they were gone, a form approached the pile of rubble that housed Kuyou. A slight chuckle was heard as a dark voice spoke. "You could be used, changed for the better, therefore, you will live. Consider this your lucky day, boy." More dark laughter was heard as the roof began to collapse and the room caved in.
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Yeah, sorry I ended it that way, but it was the best way I could think of. Sad, isn't it. Still, no one has offered to be my beta, so I'll just leave that open until someone does.
Next time, the questions just keep piling up, as few answers are to be found. What is going on with Naruto, and how is his relationship with his friends now? Read on to find out. Yeah, about that. Some things came up recently, so if next chapters late compared to my 'schedule', you'll hopefully understand that I was busy. So, until then, whatever. This chapter was 5,262 words long! I guess that's good.