Hey viewers... readers... whatever the fuck you want to call yourselves. So unfortunately, Lykaos coulnd't beta this whole thing, as I sent it to him in parts and, due to time constraints, couldn't wait for the whole thing. However, the first half is good to go, so let's get this show on the road. Also, Lykaos, if you're reading this, sorry I couldn't wait.
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Disclaimer: What is ownership? Is it simply a figment of the human's own greedy and selfish nature, or an actual concept with a purpose that applies to more things than we- enough with the bullshit. I don't own it.
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Chapter 19: Degrees of Separation
All is quiet. It is dark in the presumably large room, and cold enough to see one's breath. The only lights came from the dull screens on monitors, and a few tubes located along the walls filled with a glowing green liquid. The forms of the figures inside the tubes are shadowed, distorted, so one could not make out who or what they were.
If one concentrated, they would be able to faintly hear the buzz of electricity powering the monitors, and hear the clicking of fingers on a keyboard. A figure could be seen sitting at a monitor, dressed in a grey cloak. His hood was down, but no facial features could be distinguished from the mouth up due to the sheer darkness of the room. The glare from the screen managed to reflect off of his square-rimmed glasses, though.
Suddenly, a door opened, allowing light to flood into the room through the small portal as a new person walked in. The man quickly covered his eyes and face from the harsh light and barked out, "Mako, close the damn door!"
The person, Mako, hurriedly complied with the order, and the room was once again sealed in darkness. "Sorry," she said as she approached the man. The sound of clinking metal could be heard with each step she took. "I brought you some tea."
"Just set it down there," he indicated to a table beside him that could be barely seen, not stopping his typing or looking away from the screen. Mako did so and bowed down low as she backed away a bit.
As she did, she glanced at the computer screen. "Working on a new formula?" she asked.
"That should be obvious," was his reply. For hours, he had been working on his formula, just staring at the screen, and he found it quite monotonous. He didn't need to be asked stupid questions to further grate away at his nerves. "These tubes won't sustain the subjects for much longer, and the ones who are at our bases are growing too suspicious. It is through sheer luck that they have stuck around. I need to perfect this, or else these valuable subjects will have to be terminated. What a waste."
"I still don't understand," said Mako. "I thought you had perfected the formula with me?"
"So did I. I thought that the error at the school festival was only due to a fault in your delivery system. But after that, I tried it through normal methods and the subjects simply died. I will admit, this is frustrating, however, your presence doesn't help."
Before Mako could leave after hearing that, or even reply, a long low beep began coming from a nearby monitor, causing both her and N to snap their heads in that direction. Soon, the beeping started coming from the other monitors around the room, the screens coming up blue. Then, it came up to the computer N had been working on, and he just stared at it.
Then, he began to shake, a scowl forming on his face and his hands balling into fists. How was he expected to work under these conditions? It was infuriating! Mako, seeing this, began to back up towards the door, but it was too late. With a roar, N stood up and rounded on the girl. In a flash he was standing next to her, his hand going through the girl's chest as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and blood dribbled out of her mouth.
For a second, N just stared, before he ripped his arm from Mako's body. The girl fell to the ground with a wet thump, but he paid her little mind. "Damn, now I have to get this a cleaned. I only have so many of these cloaks." He just stood there in the same spot for a few minutes before looking back down at Mako. "Get up you useless sack. The damage wasn't that bad."
With that, the girl opened her green eyes, a wheezing gasp escaping her throat as a few more flecks of blood escaped and spattered her face. It was obvious that at least one of her lungs was collapsed. Shakily, she reached up towards him, a pathetic look on her face. N just sneered. He walked past her to an intercom on the wall and called for a medic and a few technicians to fix everything up. He also relayed that he would tolerate no more hindrances. Without waiting for them to arrive, he put up his hood and left Mako bleeding on the floor, looking longingly towards him. He needed to find something to preoccupy himself with now until his systems came back up.
/
The scene sets upon the students of Nekonome's class standing outside in front of the bus stop. While a few wondered exactly what this training was for, and why exactly it was so imperative for them to miss class for it, (not that many were complaining about the latter part) others were simply enjoying the beautiful spring weather.
Kurumu and Moka were still arguing, though it had considerably slowed, since they were a couple of those curious about what they were being dragged out for. Meanwhile, Tsukune and Yukari had decided to sneak away from the two and instead join Naruto's little group.
Yukari chose to focus her attention on Zetsu. Her young age only fueled her naturally curious nature, and she wanted to know more about the man's condition and what he was exactly. She even had a little pad of paper that she took notes on. The questions the young witch asked were rapid fire and a bit random to throw in some variety and hopefully confuse her subject, though, being the highly skilled shinobi he is, Zetsu didn't miss a beat and answered the questions almost as fast as they were asked. Of course this had the slightly counter-intuitive effect of Yukari not being able to actually process what was being said. She wouldn't learn until she actually looked at her notes that she had gotten nothing from the man that wasn't contradicting of other answers unless the question had an obvious answer or was one of the random ones, meaning that she didn't actually know what was truth and what was blatant lie.
Tsukune, however, decided to engage in conversation with Mizore and Naruto. After all, they were the closest friends he had that didn't want to get into his pants... or, at least, he hoped they didn't. Actually, Mizore seemed calm enough that he could probably deal with that, he just hoped Naruto didn't. And, sure, he considered Zetsu as a friend, but, one, he was preoccupied with Yukari, two, he was slightly afraid of the man, and, three... well, no, really, that was it...
Back to the matter at hand, Tsukune was currently asking how their relationship was going. With smiles on their faces, they replied that it was going great. Of course, they still hadn't told him about Hotaru, and Mizore still hadn't told Naruto about her deal with the girl, but what they said was true. They loved the other deeply. Though, being forced to think about it, the purple-haired girl was hoping that similar questions wouldn't be asked and that the damn bus would get there soon.
Right on cue, a bus came barreling out of seemingly nowhere, the brakes shrieking in a high-pitched tone as the vehicle seemed to just barely stop it front of the surprised groups of students. Nekonome, though, seemed unfazed as she stood in front of the bus as the door opened and faced her students. "Alright everybody," she began with that nearly constant happy look on her face, "load up. Single file, please, and no pushing."
And, so, everybody lined up and began to shuffle onto the bus. However, as soon as Tsukune got to the front of the line, his face dropped and his previously happy-go-lucky expression was replaced by one of severe nervousness. Surprised by the sudden halt, Naruto, who was behind the boy, peaked around his friend to see why he had stopped. His eyes widened a bit at what he saw.
"Hello, is there a problem?" asked the bus driver. Sure enough, it was the same guy who had dropped the two off when they had first arrived at the school, cigar and glowing eyes and all. He had a small smile on his face at seeing the boys' reactions.
"N-nothing," replied Tsukune in his meek manner. He slowly moved along to sit with one of his friends. Naruto, though, wasn't so easily appeased.
"What the hell? Are you the only bus driver this school employes?"
The man just took a long drag from his cigar before answering. "Of course." It could have just been his imagination, but the blonde swore that the man's grin just grew a bit.
Naruto was about to retort, but the people behind him, tired with waiting, began to push. Shooting a glare behind him at the people and growling a bit, the blonde turned his eyes upon the bus driver one last time and walked back to where Mizore was. Both he and the driver knew that the latter had won that round, and the blonde had no choice but to seek comfort in his ever-reliant girlfriend.
/
The group's destination was about 15 miles away from their staring point. Of course, with the driver they had, the whole journey took less than ten minutes. Everyone pitched forwards in their seats as the demented bus driver slammed on the brakes in front of a clearing, eliciting swears and other such reactions from the passengers, Naruto included.
Of course, Nekonome seemed to not notice it and stood up at the front of the bus as everyone attempted to regain their bearings. "Okay everyone, please unboard the bus in a save manner and gather in the middle of the clearing." And with that, she exited the bus. As the students gathered themselves, they also exited the bus one by one.
Naruto made a point of being the last one off, just so he could give the driver a parting glare. He didn't quite see the point, though, as he just received the predictable smirk. As soon as he got off, he expected to here the doors close behind him and the vehicle to leave. However, instead he heard the engine cut off and footsteps behind him.
Turning, the blonde found himself face-to-face with the driver. A sour look crossed his face as he scowled. "What the hell are you doing? Shouldn't you go back to whatever pit you crawled out from and wait until we need to be picked up?"
The driver clutched his cigar, removed it from his mouth and blew a few smoke rings into the boy's face, causing him to cough and choke on the foul smelling smog. "Two problems with your little theory, kid. One, how would I know when you needed to be picked up? Two, why would I leave if I just had to come back here? I got nothing better to do. Might as well relax." And with that, the driver brushed passed Naruto and went to get something out of the luggage compartment of the bus. Grumbling, Naruto joined the group.
Catching sight of him, Nekonome chose now was the time to continue. "Now that we're all here, we can let the spring Fruit Hunt commence!" Hearing that, Naruto looked up and saw that the teacher was standing in front of a table she had set up with a box on it. He was about to ask what this was all about, but Tsukune beat him to the punch.
"Um, Sensei," the boy said, raising his hand to further be acknowledged. "What's all this about a fruit hunt?"
"Oh, well, it being spring, it means certain fruits are in season," the teacher began, as if it were obvious, "namely in the forests of this mountain. That means animals like birds have migrated to come and eat them. Due to this, carnivorous plants have a chance to prey on the animals. We are here today in search of one of these plants, to be specific, the monster dorian."
Naruto wasn't really a fruit guy. As such, he was about to ask what the hell a dorian was, let alone a monster dorian. His unasked question was answered when the woman reached into the box and she pulled out something that thoroughly shocked Naruto. It looked like a spiked ball, and was a pale green. However, it also had multiple mouths filled with equally spiked teeth and long tongues dangling out of each one.
Naruto found the thing revolting, and he could see that Tsukune was disgusted as well. However, everyone else just seemed to look on in reverence as the teacher pulled out a cleaver and sliced up the alleged 'fruit', their mouths practically watering. Even Mizore was beginning to forget about how crappy she felt as she regarded the delicious thing.
It was then that the blonde caught Zetsu's eye, and he received yet another shock. The man he regarded as the most stoic person he knew, the person who was something not entirely human, yet not monster, had a pained look on his face, his attention fixated on the spectacle in front of him. When Naruto blinked, it was gone though, and the blonde almost could have played it off as a trick of the mind, but he knew what he saw. Something was wrong.
Before he could further process the revelation, their teacher spoke up, saying that they now had a special speaker to explain the risks of hunting the, quote, 'delicious morsels', unquote. From out of nowhere stepped a man in all of his white clad, scarred, crippled, stoic, and aforementioned glory. At that moment, Naruto could have palmed his face. Of course it was Konjyoyaki.
"Amami-san, what is it that you have to tell the students?" asked Nekonome, using Konjyoyaki's alias. The man took the queue to begin explaining that the target they were hunting was extremely dangerous, as it could easily disguise itself and had adapted itself to create tactics to make luring prey in with less difficulty. He also said that as part of it's carnivorous nature, it had no reason not to eat them.
Of course, not many people listened to Konjyoyaki, either so intent on finding a damn fruit that they were already splitting off into small groups and forming attack plans, or wondering just how he had gotten himself so fucked up. Rumors had started almost as soon as the man had started working at the academy, mostly to feed the students' curiosity and gossip quota.
Of course, those curious enough to wonder and make up their own stories were nowhere near correct, even with all of the diversity. Some said that he had gotten caught up in one of those human wars, and had been injured by their automatic and ballistic weaponry. That would at least explain his serious nature and ability to get people to pay attention... most of the time.
Others said that he had gotten in trouble with the yakuza through activities like gambling and had pissed off a loan shark. That or he had dishonored them in some way. Either way, they had taught him a lesson, and had sent the assimilated monsters (which they didn't know were monsters) after him. From there the story cuts to a traditional mob torture and mutilation scene. The students didn't idle too much on that theory.
And then there was the rumor that probably glorified the man the most. A few of the students had gotten it into their heads that the man had made the mistake of getting into a fight with a vampire. While coming out of a serious mauling like a few of the students thought Konjyoyaki had and surviving was an impressive feat itself, a few even claimed that the man had killed the vampire, as no self-respecting s-rank monster would leave someone alive if they hated them enough to rip off their arm and gouge out their eye.
But, as previously stated, not one of the gossip mongers knew for sure. However, they were going to make sure that would change today. As the man finished, he regarded all of the students and asked, quite plainly, "Any questions?" not expecting to see any raised hands. However, one hesitant boy did raise his hand, and was called upon.
"Uh, yeah, sorry for being blunt, but how exactly did you get so injured?" As soon as the words left his mouth, all eyes were on him, but the boy just looked forward, keeping his eyes on Konjyoyaki. The cripple seemed to remain still for the longest time, almost as if he were stone. Then, a cruel, predatory grin split his face.
Before most students could register what the hell was going on, Konjyoyaki just seemed to materialize in front of the poor student and stumbled back into his friends, a shocked look on his face. It was only due to his recent training that Naruto was able to track his movements at all. Konjyoyaki leaned into the student's ear, and said, loud enough for everyone to hear, and quite simply, "I didn't mind my own business and intruded on a matter that didn't exactly concern me." He looked pointedly at Naruto, who thought he sounded glad, but no one noticed any of this. The cripple then backed away and said to everyone, in a much louder voice, "Okay, into the woods with the lot of you."
And the students obeyed, receiving no real answer to the question that one brave and possible foolish student asked. Instead, they were left to speculate on what exactly he meant.
/
Somehow, Moka and Kurumu had gotten it into their heads that this would be the perfect time for a competition. The blue-haired girl decided that, despite the dangers, the two would race to be the first to capture a monster dorian would win the affection of Tsukune. The boy in question had no say in this, obviously.
The strange thing, to Naruto, at least, was that Yukari seemed to want no part in the competition. It seemed that she actually was as smart as she claimed, as the blonde could hear her muttering something about dangers of the things, but not remembering the specifics. That mumbling quickly changed route and soon focused on Zetsu. Apparently, the young witch was still curious about the man.
And that reminded Naruto about the look he had seen in the man's eyes earlier. He knew probably wasn't the best time to pry, that he should respect his friend's privacy regardless. His curiosity was piqued, though, and he thought that he might forget if he didn't get an answer soon. So, thinking about this carefully, the blonde fell back a few steps, his friend noticing when he continued on past him, who was at the back of the group.
Catching on, Zetsu, too, fell back until they were a few meters behind the group, where they could carry on a quiet conversation, hopefully without being overheard. Of course, both Mizore and Yukari noticed without letting on, and strained to hear what the two were talking about.
"Hey, what was that back there?" the blonde asked in a hushed whisper. Moka, Kurumu, and Tsukune still had no idea what was going on. "The presentation with the dorian, I saw that look in your eye. What was with that?"
Surprised, the man's eyes widened a bit. Was he that obvious that Naruto had noticed? While it was true that he saw the blonde as a friend, he knew that the boy wasn't the most perceptive. In fact, if he was honest, the boy had multiple faults that should be shameful to any shinobi. But the sheer fact that he had allowed any emotion to show through so strongly that Naruto had seen it had caught him off guard.
"You noticed that, did you?" the question itself was useless as the answer had already been given, but it gave Zetsu a few more seconds to collect his thoughts without seeming like he was actually surprised. "Truthfully, yes, seeing that was a bit painful to watch, and the reason why lies with my true form." Yukari heard this, and immediately began committing what Zetsu said next to memory. "As a subsequent result, I have a connection to all plant live in general, including most fungi, however, that connection is strongest with carnivorous plants and always has been. Apparently, that inherent ability followed us here. Now, don't get me wrong, I am capable of eating fruits and vegetables, and can actually better process more plants than you can and receive more nutrients, and I am even immune to plant-based poisons, but to me, seeing a plant brutalized would be like a normal person witnessing a small, defenseless animal."
Naruto supposed that he understood that. Sure, he didn't exactly understand a person's affection for small animals, or their sympathy if that same animal couldn't defend itself, but he could relate to seeing something they cared for or had a connection to denied from them. "I see."
The two eavesdroppers also understood what the man was talking about. And Yukari couldn't be more excited. She was actually learning something about the man she saw as such an enigma. True, she was learning this behind his back, and she did feel bad about that, but she was just too curious. She now knew that Zetsu was some kind of plant monster. Now she just wanted to know what he looked like. As for Mizore, she was only learning what her boyfriend was.
"So, what you're saying is that you can talk to plants? If that's the case, why don't you get one of those dorian things to show up and we can get out of this damn forest?" asked Naruto, folding his hands behind his head as he relaxed a bit.
Zetsu just shook his head. "That's not what I said. I can't talk to plants directly, nor can I control them as you're implying. At most, I may be able to coerce a plant into growing a bit, depending on its species, maybe manipulate its root systems a bit if it's compliant enough to create a distraction. All of this is variable on the plant in question, its exact genetic make-up. Most of the times it's through sheer luck that a plant obeys me, but that's all good and well since that's more of a tertiary ability, more for amusement than anything."
"So if that isn't even one of your main abilities, what are?" asked Naruto, genuinely interested. The other two strained their ears a bit more, also wanting to know. Again, perhaps this wasn't the most honest of ways of gaining information, but the two would get over it.
The green-haired man, despite himself, grinned just a bit. "Sorry, but maybe you'll see first-hand a bit later. Until then, I prefer to keep as possible under wraps. Hopefully, you understand." All those listening, Yukari especially, were disappointed, but they didn't show it. Instead, Naruto just shrugged his shoulders, then quickened his pace so he was once again next to Mizore.
/
Back near the starting point, a few meters into the woods, are where the faculty members were found. They were all seated cross-legged near a small lake, all holding fishing poles. Nekonome's was probably the most advanced. She had it made out of a light-weight, reinforced material, Teflon fishing line, and easy-glide crank, and had fitted a special bait on her specialized hook. To an onlooker, it would appear that she was only a few minutes away from just jumping into the lake and catching a fish by hand, if they judged her for her giddy, yet impatient face and twitching.
The two men paid little heed to her, though. They were doing this more to relax. The bus driver had relatively standard equipment; average pole, average fishing wire, average worm on the end of an average hook. Then, there was Konjyoyaki. Taking a puff of his cigar, the bus driver looked towards the cripple, not paying much attention to his pole. "You actually think you'll catch something with that, eh?"
There was a reason for this question, and it all had to do with what Konjyoyaki was using. What he had done was taken a piece of driftwood he had found on the shore, tied a piece of vine that he had deemed suitable enough to it, and the attached a bent paperclip to that before casting, not even bothering to use any bait.
The man glanced at the bus driver from the corner of his eye. "There's more to fishing than fancy equipment and bait."
"Well, of course there is, but there's a limit. You can't honestly..." the man didn't get to finish, as at that moment, Konjyoyaki's head snapped towards the lake, and he yanked his arm back. Out of the water's depths came a large fish, probably four feet in length, hooked onto the cripple's paperclip hook. The force of the pull caused the fish to land on shore a few feet behind the group.
Konjyoyaki remained stoic as he calmly got up and walked to the flailing fish, Nekonome looking on with wide eyes filled with both shock and hunger. This changed to excitement, though, when she then found the fish in her lap after Konjyoyaki tossed it to her. She gave a cheer before beginning to feast on the fish. Not even waiting for it to die.
Meanwhile, the bus driver kept his usual grin on his face, which was clearly fake now. The only way to save face was to remain motionless and appear neutral. He couldn't even ask how the bastard had pulled that off. Before anyone could do anything else, a group of shrill screams rang out from the forest some ways away. The adults all looked towards the source, but, other than that, did nothing to even show that they heard the sound.
"So, you guys are just going to let those kids possibly die?" asked the bus driver after a while, turning his attention back to fishing. He wasn't going to allow himself to be shown up by Konjyoyaki, just like he wasn't going to show that he was bothered about being shown up. Nekonome's face turned a bit solemn, but she kept eating and let her colleague explain.
"Why would we help?" asked the cripple. "I explained the dangers before hand, and that was giving them an unfair advantage. This is survival training, and it's called that for a reason. Their goal is to survive, and they don't deserve to if they're stupid. It's actually quite simple."
"True as that may be, don't you think your little apprentice and his friends have an unfair advantage?"
"First off, I don't have an apprentice," replied the man with a little venom in his voice. He wasn't going to take any students, let alone an apprentice, ever again. After all, as far as he knew, his students were dead, and that was one thought that actually deeply affected him. "Secondly, don't you have an invested interest in that human?" the silence was all the answer he needed. "Finally, you may be right; they may have an unfair advantage. Then again, this might just be the hardest on them all." And with that, Konjyoyaki sat back down and cast his line again.
/
Back with Naruto and the gang, not much had changed. The vampire and succubus were still arguing while the naïve human still tried to pacify them with no success. The witch kept sending sly glances at the plant man, who kept up a stoic appearance as if the earlier conversation had never happened. The Jashinist was walking next to his girlfriend, though he was also grinding his teeth from the antics of the girls in front of him. Did they not know how to shut up? And, despite being closer to the two and much more level-headed than the blonde, the yuki-onna was also finding herself becoming annoyed. At first, it was slightly amusing, now it was just beaten to death. On the up side, she had forgotten about the situation with Hotaru, though her current situation wasn't much better.
"Come on guys, we need to work together," Tsukune pleaded, exasperated. "I mean, this forest is huge. How are we supposed to find..." The boy didn't get to finish his sentence. He didn't need to. At that moment, a monster dorian appeared behind him, crawling using its many tongues.
For a while, everyone just stared at the thing writhe around, both surprised by the fact that they had actually found one, and wondering what to do next. However, it wasn't long before Moka, remembering the contest, rushed forwards and snatched the thing, raising it above her head and cheering. "Yeah, I won!"
"No way!" Kurumu shouted, obviously perturbed by the outcome of their contest. Why hadn't she reacted sooner? Still, it wasn't like this would keep her away from Tsukune. In her mind, it was only because she knew that, if their positions were switched, Moka would do the exact same thing.
However, before the girls could really start arguing, Naruto noticed something, causing his eyes to narrow. The tongues on the spiked fruit were moving lower and lower, closer towards Moka. The others noticed it too, and so did Moka as she felt something tighten around her arm and slither near her chest.
"Moka-san, drop that thing!" yelled Tsukune, trying to help out his friend, maybe scare the fruit with his voice. It didn't work as the tongues shot down further into the girl's uniform and began molesting her while bounding her arms to her sides. She shrieked from the sensation.
Quick as a flash, Naruto unsealed his blade and raced forwards, aiming to sever the tongues. He would have just threw the blade and controlled it by the rope like he had practiced, except his control wasn't spot on yet, and he was likely to miss and hit Moka by mistake. In any event, the fruit sprang away just before Naruto swung his sword. "Damn," he swore ans Moka collapsed, weak from the sensations her body had just gone through.
"Hey, get back here!" shouted Kurumu as she noticed the thing bouncing off, preparing to chase after it. She was stopped, though, by an ice kunai whizzing past her head.
"Idiot," Mizore said, walking up along side the blue-haired girl. "That things supposedly dangerous. What if something happened to you and we weren't there to help you?" Mizore didn't get to finish chastising her friend, though, as she felt as if something was crawling up her leg. Her eyes widened in shock and fear, thinking that the same thing that had happened to Moka was about to happen to her. Not if she had anything to say about it! Only Naruto would ever be able to touch her like that!
She spun around, expecting to see one of those grotesque tongues, except all she saw appeared to be a small vine, unmoving and completely normal for all pretense. Her eyes narrowed at that, and she turned back around, preparing to continue scolding Kurumu, only to see the girl already a ways off, dragging Tsukune behind her.
Grumbling to herself, she turned back to the rest of her friends, watching as Moka sat up and look on after Kurumu. Yukari also stared off, with a pensive look on her face. She was worried about something. Then, there was Naruto, who was just looking around the whole area in general. Then, he turned to her, his eyes narrowed, and voiced his question to the whole group, catching the interest of the other two. "Hey, where'd Zetsu go?"
/
It was as Tsukune was being dragged behind Kurumu after the dorian that the boy couldn't help but think that they were being led along. Of course, it was a preposterous idea, after all, it was a piece of fruit. A piece of carnivorous, monster fruit, yes, but fruit nonetheless. Still, that reassurance didn't quell the pit in Tsukune's stomach that was growing larger by the minute. He really wished his other friends were there.
Then there was the fact that it felt like he was being watched. It was a feeling he knew by instinct now, something he felt almost constantly ever since he started going to the academy. The feeling that everyone wanted to rend you limb from limb, or rip out your still beating heart and show it to you before shoving it down your throat. Feelings like that which could be conveyed through the glares pointed at your back.
He was feeling something akin to that now, except he got the disturbing feeling that person or thing wanted to eat him, alive and piece by piece if at all possible. The thought sent a shiver down his spine. Of course, it was always a possibility that he was just paranoid. That speech the creepy science teacher gave kind of set him on edge.
Tsukune shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts. It appeared that they had followed the dorian to a clearing. He and Kurumu sat just outside the clearing, observing the fruit as it remained where it was, seemingly waiting for them. That just set the boy off even more. He knew something was wrong. Thus, he turned to Kurumu, and said, nervously, "Hey, maybe we should wait for the others."
"But... why?" asked the girl, curiosity and a bit of dejection in her eyes. Crap, now Tsukune was starting to feel like a dick. For no good reason, too! "I mean, it's right there! We can easily catch it!"
"Yeah, but I just feel like something isn't right. I mean, it's almost like it's waiting there for us! How in the hell is that normal?" The boy was becoming exasperated now. Why couldn't Kurumu see just how abnormal this was? at least, he thought it was abnormal. He didn't exactly now how monster fruit behaved.
"Well, maybe that's just a sign. Maybe it's fate showing we're meant to be together!" Determination burned in both the blue-haired girl's eyes and voice. However, it was then that her twisted logic led to another conclusion, one that left tears welling in her eyes and despair in her heart. "Unless... Tsukune-kun, don't you want to eat the dorian with me?"
"No, not really!" Tsukune replied. A large sweat-drop formed on the back of his head. That didn't come out exactly as he had planned. He really didn't want to reject Kurumu flat-out, he just didn't want to eat that damn thing! What sane person would?
It seemed as if the succubus hadn't heard him, though, as she swooped forwards and scooped up the spiked fruit. "You really don't understand, do you?" the girl began, a bit solemn, catching Tsukune by surprise. "Ever since the academy started back up, I've felt as if we've been slowly drifting apart. That's why I want this to be just between us. I wanted this to be special."
Neither party seemed to be aware of the dorian's tongues steadily wrapping around Kurumu's body, or the shadowy presence that appeared behind her. That is, until they made themselves known. "How... insolent. You probably should have listened to your friend and waited for your friends. That thing isn't safe. And, while I doubt you would have survived if they were here, you would have at least live longer."
With that, both students spun around towards the source of the voice, just as the ground began to shake and crack. Kurumu screamed in fear.
/
"AHHHHHHHHH!" The remainder of the group heard this just as Yukari finished explaining the true nature of a monster dorian. The blood curdling scream sent shivers down their spines and waves of worry through their souls.
"Shit!" Naruto yelled. He then turned back to everyone else. "I'm going on ahead!" he said, not even bothering to hear the protests as the blonde tapped into his new found speed, holding his blade down low at his side. He was going to be prepared for anything, and wasn't about to let anything happen to his friends.
Of course, how could he ever be prepared for what he saw when he entered that clearing? It was giant Venus-flytrap thing standing on a dozen thick vines or roots or whatever. It had tendrils neat the upper portion of its body,in which it had grasped Tsukune and Kurumu, both who looked scarred for their lives. Of course, that's not what shock Naruto.
What caught Naruto off guard was the fact that Zetsu was standing right beside the overgrown weed, his disguise dropped and a smirk on his face. His yellow eyes were dead to the world, though. "Z-Zetsu? What's going on? Why aren't you helping?"
Zetsu just chuckled. "Sorry, but the one you call Zetsu isn't here right now. I have assumed control." The large plant seemed to straighten up at that, its deadly maw set in a nearly mocking grin. For the moment, Naruto was shocked and confused. How was that possible? When did this happen. Kyuubi provided the answer.
'Think back. Zetsu said that he had a communion with plants. He also said that depending on its will, he could prompt them to take a certain action. Along with that, there was an implication that the ability was imperfect and risky. Is it not entirely possible that he could be taken advantage of by a plant with an extremely strong will should he be caught by surprise, much like what appears to have happened now?'
"Shit," the blonde growled out, taking a stance, preparing to defend himself. "How could you let this happen to you?"
"Don't blame him. His will was exceptionally strong. I was just stronger. I must say though, this body has an amazing correspondence to be. Perhaps that's the only reason I was able to control him in the first place."
A deep scowl formed on Naruto's face. How dare this thing mock him with the body of his friend? He would make it pay dearly. And so, without anymore meaningless banter, Naruto rushed forwards and engaged the possessed man.
It was clear from the start that Naruto had Zetsu bested in strength and speed. However, the plant-man was extremely agile, something that seemed nigh impossible for a being of his stature. He also had control. Try as he might, Naruto could not seem to touch the man, whereas blows seemed to be raining down upon him. While they definitely jolted him, that was all they did, and the blonde quickly recovered.
It wasn't long before Naruto contemplated using Kyuubi's chakra. However, there within lied a problem. He didn't know how that would affect Zetsu in his current state. He didn't want to kill his friend, after all, just find a way to free him from the dorian's influence. Also, the dorian itself still had a hold on Tsukune and Kurumu. If he did anything startling, the plant may just decide to kill them. He couldn't allow that.
So, the boy was in a bit of a conundrum. And, it was at this time a larger problem arose, as presented by Zetsu. "Oh, it looks like we have company." At first, Naruto fixed the man with a confused gaze. Company? Then, slow, horrid realization dawned upon him, as he quickly spun around. Sure enough, Mizore, Moka, and Yukari had just arrived in the clearing.
All three girls stopped as the scene became clear to them; the monster dorian, Tsukune's and Kurumu's position, and, most prevalently, Zetsu's true form and the fact that he wasn't on their side. This last fact became clear as he used Naruto's distraction and landed a kick straight into the small of his back. The kick had enough force to cause Naruto to release his sword from the shock and send him face first into a tree.
Everyone screamed out to him, and the dorian exploited this, entrapping the remaining three girls as they worried about the blonde. This just enraged Naruto as he saw that now all of his friends were captured by the plant. It laughed through Zetsu. "What will you do now? I hold all of the cards, and at any moment, I could kill any one of your friends. In fact, I'm getting hungry. The question is, who do I eat first?"
At hearing that, something in Naruto snapped. His gaze became cold, as he slowly stood and turned to face everyone. They all just watch, realizing something was wrong, and began to worry as the blonde simply sealed his wakizashi and crouched down low, almost as if readying to rush Zetsu. The man smirked. Everyone was wondering what he was going to do.
They were answered as he simply rushed forwards in a fool-hardy attempt to take down Zetsu. His smirk grew wider as he simply strafed to the side, assuming that the blonde would come back around for another sweep. His eyes widened when he realized that he wasn't the target, and by then, it was too late to do anything.
Continuing on, Naruto jumped up, facing the dorian at roughly face level. He aimed a kick at the thing, but was instead met by an open mouth. The group simply watched in abject horror as the blonde disappeared down the creature's gullet. "Naruto-kun!" Mizore yelled out to him, worried. It was instinctual. In her mind, she accepted that her boyfriend was immortal, but she could still only imagine what might happen to him.
Meanwhile, Zetsu just laughed. "What a fool. What did he hope to accompli-AAAAGGHHHH!" Zetsu yelled out, shocking everyone. They watched, before they began to be shaken around by the dorian. "W-what's going on?" screamed Tsukune. He received no answer
They saw Zetsu collapse before they were violently tossed in separate directions. One by one, they slowly rose, and saw a bulge in the plant as it roared out in pain. It was effectively cut off when a large hole was blown form in, sending blood and even a few more of the smaller, bait dorians all over the clearing.
The large creature wobbled a bit before falling over, Naruto emerging from the hole he had made, coated in a flaming red chakra. "Fucker," Naruto murmured to himself as he approached Zetsu. He held him up by his collar, Kyuubi's chakra dissipating as he shook the man awake, his face grave. Blearily, two yellow eyes opened.
"What happened?" asked Zetsu in pain, holding his head, almost as if he had a hangover. With that, Naruto just sighed and smiled.
/
after learning of what had transpired, Zetsu offered the group his most heart-felt apologies. However, much to his surprise, the group seemed to understand, and told him not to worry about it. Surprising still, Yukari still seemed to want to know about him. Momentarily taken aback, Zetsu hid a small appreciative smile, and continued humoring the young girl's curiosity.
As the group continued back to base, each person carrying at least two dorians, Naruto decided to chastise Kurumu and Moka. "That was all your fault you know."
"Excuse me?" asked Kurumu, surprised and slightly angered. She understood how he may have gotten that conclusion, but that didn't mean she liked it waved around in her face or flaunted for the world to see. Moka shared a similar sentiment, but was better able to show some humility.
"The way I see it, if you two weren't constantly bickering throughout this whole trip, someone may have noticed a problem with Zetsu, and if you hadn't dragged Tsukune away from us and we had all stayed together, you all may not have all been trapped, and I wouldn't have had to be swallowed by that damn weed."
"Oh, and this isn't at all his fault," she asked, pointing to Zetsu. Naruto scoffed.
"No, and you know it's not. Otherwise, you wouldn't have accepted his apology. Besides, it's obvious that he had no control." Naruto left it at that, grinning to himself as he noticed the two girls quietly talking amongst each other.
Within a few minutes, everyone was back at camp, and the dorians being cut up and passed out. Naruto had to admit, it wasn't that bad, and was a bit surprised to see even Zetsu partaking in the fruit. When asked about it, the man simply replied that the damn plant had crossed him, and the least it could do was compensate him with sustenance.
In fact, everyone but Tsukune seemed to be enjoying the fruit. The boy just couldn't stomach the fact that it reeked of blood, one of the traits Naruto found endearing. Eventually, though, Tsukune gave in to peer pressure and tried a bite. He had to be carted back to school for food poisoning.
/
"AHHHHHH!" screamed Tsukune as he ran through the school yard in the early morning the next day. One would wonder what he was yelling about, before quickly being answered, seeing the large animal running closely behind him. "It's gonna eat me!"
It was after being cured for food poisoning that Tsukune had foolishly asked a certain blonde for some training. He didn't want to be trapped in the same situation as the previous day where he couldn't even defend himself, let alone his friends. He also didn't want to use his ghoul powers, as they would surely kill him.
It was thus that the shinobi had managed to release the school's head chef's favorite pet, a ravenous boar-hedgehog-bull hybrid called a togezo. He had then sent it after his friend, who was just coming out of his dorm and preparing to meet up with his friends, claiming that it would, 'help with his evasiveness'.
And, of course, he had to watch over the spectacle in order to ensure the boy's 'safety'. "Come on! Where's your stamina?" Naruto yelled as he saw the animal get ever closer as he tailed them. While it was true that he was enjoying himself, Naruto also wanted to see Tsukune succeed. Of course, even if he didn't, seeing him so scared was just as good. "If you don't hurry he's gonna catch you!"
But, it was too late. As Naruto yelled that out, the togezo leaped and attached itself to Tsukune's head, gnawing away. The was a spurt of blood as the boy's pitiful screams increased. Naruto didn't see this as the end, though, especially since he knew the animal wouldn't kill or even severely injure the boy.
"Come on, yank it off! Show that thing who's boss!" As Naruto yelled and Tsukune frantically attempted to obey his instructions without any results, neither noticed the presence of a girl until she was only a few feet from the struggling boy.
"Hey, stand still." Both boys turned to the source of the noise, though Tsukune didn't have much time to think, since the next moment a bag was swung at his head, hitting the togezo and sending it flying at least fifty yards.
Tsukune just stood there, staring blankly into space, only partially taking into account the person who had saved him or the fact that blood was still flowing freely down his face. Naruto, though, was much quicker too inspect the girl as he slowly walked over. She had bright orange hair that was done into two pig-tails at the sides of her head. She had also seemed to take liberty with modifying her school uniform, having a red top that complemented the shade of her hair with short sleeves. She was also wearing knee-high socks.
"That was dangerous," the blonde heard her say to Tsukune as she brushed a bit of her hair behind her ear. "You okay?" As the girl asked that, a small orange bat landed on her shoulder, something that the blonde raised an eyebrow to. Regardless, he soon made himself known.
"That's quite an arm you got there," Naruto called out casually, catching both her and Tsukune's attention. His hands were shoved into his pockets as he got ever closer, noticing that the girl had bright green eyes, almost like Moka's and that she was much smaller than he initially thought. "If only the dumbass here could muster up that kind of strength."
"Come on, Naruto-san, that's not very nice.," Tsukune said, a whining tone in his voice. "Besides, do you think you can warn me next time you send some animal after me, or at least help get it off me?"
"Don't question my methods. And where would the fun in that be, anyway?"
Tsukune sweat-dropped at his friend's deadpan explanation before turning back to his confused savior. "Sorry about that," he said with an awkward chuckle, "and thanks for the help. What's your name?"
The girl turned all of her attention to Tsukune. "Oh, right, my name is..." she slowly cut off, causing both boys to look on speculatively. Slowly, she leaned in closer to the brunette, sniffing him a bit, especially where blood was still leaking from him. "This smell... your blood..." here, Tsukune's stomach dropped, a dreadful feeling filling him. This was becoming eerily familiar. "I bet you taste delicious."
Luckily, it wasn't as bad as he initially thought, as the girl simply leaned up and began licking some blood off of his cheek. Tsukune was as ridged as a pole as this was happening, staring ahead at Naruto, who met his eyes before going back to watching the girl with a bit of curiosity.
"I knew it! Your blood's delicious!" she shouted as she backed up a bit. It looked like the girl was about to go back for more, before a noise sounded in the distance, causing her to stop. "Crap, the entrance ceremony is starting!" and with that, she was rushing off in the other direction, leaving the two looking on in wonder. "Well that was... different," said Naruto, before he grabbed Tsukune and they began to walk away, a bit surprised by the new first year student.
/
The two met up with their friends soon after, however, as they approached the group, Naruto abruptly stopped, prompting Tsukune to do the same. The latter quickly did a survey to determine why he had stopped, and quickly saw why. There was someone new there.
Undeterred, and not really seeing what the blonde's problem was, Tsukune approached, hand outstretched in a sign of peace. "Hello, who are you?" he asked as he shook the girl's hand.
She smiled back at the boy. "My name's Tenka Hotaru. And we've met before, Aono-san."
At hearing that, Tsukune's handshake went limp, and he looked on at the black-haired girl in shock. They'd met before? Then again, how could she know his name if they hadn't? Sure, his friends could have told her his name, but why? And she did look familiar.
Then, it all came back to him, and Tsukune put on his biggest smile. "Oh, you were on the council with me and Naruto-san! I thought you... oh, uh..." Tsukune cut himself off awkwardly. After all, how could he just say he thought she had died right to her face? Hotaru giggled at his antics.
"Don't worry about it. Truthfully, I'm surprised I'm alive myself."
As this was going on, Naruto slowly made his way to Mizore and Zetsu, his eyes narrowed. "What's she doing here?" he asked in a harsh whisper, trying to make sure no one other then them heard. For the most part, Mizore was able to keep her composure so he didn't know it was her idea.
"We don't know," said Zetsu, "but the others appear to have taken a liking to her. We still haven't told them what happened when we first met." Naruto growled a bit to himself at that. Looks like they didn't really have a say on if she joined the group of not.
Just as he was pondering on this, Hotaru broke away from the others and came closer to them. "What do you want?" asked Naruto, not bothering to veil his contempt.
Hotaru bowed her head a bit in shame. "I actually wanted to apologize for what I did. I understand how inappropriate that was, and that you lover her," she said , indicating to Mizore. "Really, all I want now is to be your friend. Will you at least give me that opportunity?"
Naruto was actually slightly taken aback. Of all the things, this was the last thing he had expected. Hesitantly, he looked over to his friends, Zetsu, because Naruto suspected that he could detect lies, and Mizore, to see if she was even okay with this. They both gave him nods of approval.
That settled, he turned back to Hotaru, sighing a bit. "We're willing to give you a chance. But, if you overstep your boundaries, or do something that is clearly not okay, you can forget about our friendship." despite the harshness with which Naruto spoke, Hotaru smiled.
"Thank you." And it was then that a pained gasp rang out amongst the group. Turning, they saw Moka feeding off of Tsukune, his mouth still open from the shock of it. "Uh, does that happen often?"
"At least three times a day. You'd think that he'd be used to it by now." Naruto shrugged. That was when Mizore turned to him.
"By the way, why were you so late?"
"Oh, yeah, I was training Tsukune. Sent a togezo after him and everything."
"Wait, you sent a togezo after him? are you trying to kill him?" shouted Kurumu, rounding on the blonde who just held up his hands defensively.
"Hey, I was gonna step in before anything bad happened, but some first year beat me to the punch."
"A first year?" asked Yukari curiously. It was now that Moka also got curious and turned to listen to the conversation, even if she could just ask Tsukune about it later.
"Yeah, beat the togezo away and everything, sent it flying. I think she was a vampire, too, because then she licked the blood on his face and said how delicious it was."
"Great, another blood-sucker," Kurumu said jokingly, rolling her eyes. "So, what happened next?"
"She just ran off, saying she was late for her entrance ceremony. The weirdest thing, though. She had a small pat perched on her shoulder."
It was at that point that Moka fully turned from Tsukune and approached Naruto. "This girl, can you describe her?"
The blonde was slightly surprised by the seriousness in the girl's voice, but continued on. "Yeah, let's see. Orange hair, done in two pig-tails. Red shirt. Already told you about the bat. That was orange, too. Oh, yeah, and she had green eyes, a lot like yours, actually." Moka then shocked everyone by simply turning around and running, a deadly serious look on her face.
"Hey, Moka-san!" Tsukune called out to her, but it was all for naught. Seeing this, he ran after her.
"So..." Hotaru began, braking the silence, "what about this? Is this normal?"
"No," was Zetsu's frank response.
"Oh."
/
"Moka-san, wait up!" called out Tsukune as he rushed to catch up with the pink-haired girl. She kept on walking, but the boy was soon by her side, trying to determine what was going on with the girl. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"This isn't good," was all she said as she carried on, confusing the boy even more. However, before he could question her, Moka reiterated what was wrong, if only a little. "I recently sent home some luggage," the girl seemed set to make it clear to Tsukune just how bad it was, though. "Tsukune, we can't let her get involved with our friends anymore."
Now the boy knew something was wrong. Moka was always so polite, yet she hadn't used a suffix when she addressed him. It may have been a small thing, but, still, it just concerned him even more. "What is wrong exactly, Moka-san? You need to tell me."
She only seemed to be partially listening. "That girl is terrible. Once she get's something in her head, she won't stop until she accomplishes it. She just doesn't seem to know when to stop. It's like she's obsessed."
"Wait, I still don't see how you know that girl," Tsukune continually prodded, but it seemed that Moka would get to the point when she damn well wanted to. The duo continued until they happened upon their classroom, the pink-haired girl continuing as she all but slammed open the door, not noticing that the others had finally seemed to catch up.
"Hey, what's going on?" Naruto called out, being flanked closely by Mizore and Hotaru with the others a bit further behind. Tsukune turned to look at him, his eyes saying he didn't know either, but Moka still seemed oblivious to everything else around her.
"I know... she's going for my life." It was then that she finally looked into the classroom, knowing that her worst fear had come true. Sure enough, as Naruto came up, he saw that inside the room, just waiting for them, apparently, was the same girl he and Tsukune had met earlier.
The red-head just seemed to smile a bit. "Found you," she said, slowly rising from her spot at a desk.
For the most part, Moka seemed exasperated, even slightly ill. "Kokoa." The words rolled off of her tongue like waves of trepidation, causing the younger's smile to grow a bit. And it was then that the others finally caught up.
"Huh, is that the girl you were talking about earlier?" asked Yukari, spying Kokoa.
"Wow, she's cute," was the off-handed statement that came from Kurumu. No one visibly made any motion that they had heard either of them.
"Oh, wow," began the red-head, the familiar bat fluttering next to her as she slowly approached, a look of mock surprise on her face. "Those two, from this morning. It's the sadistic one and the boy with delicious blood. And those other people..." here, she took some time to survey the other, focusing pointedly on Zetsu, it seemed. "They sure are weird. Still, this is so unexpected."
She approached just a little closer, before Moka stepped right in front of her, arms spread in a defensive gesture. "That's far enough," she said, her voice as cold as ice and as sharp as steel. The group was just further shocked by how uncharacteristic it was of her. "You will not harm these people. They are my friends."
Even Kokoa seemed shocked for just a split second, but her composure was quickly regained. "Wow, someone's eager to pick up where we left off." There was no response. "Fine, I'm perfectly capable of doing this from a here. Are you, though?" as she said this, Kokoa picked up the desk she was recently sitting at and charged forward, smashing it down right where Moka was situated a moment before she dodged, laughing a bit.
Immediately, Naruto knew hat he had to find away to stop this, lest he allow his friends to be injured. But he didn't exactly want to harm the girl too badly. For one, he admired her fiery spirit and will to fight, even if her disregard to those caught in the crossfire irked him a bit. Also, Moka seemed to not want the girl harmed, all but putting herself into the middle of the fray so as to appease the red-head and not really allow her friends to attack.
Then, there was the comment Kokoa made about taking the fight seriously like she used to. It was obvious that they knew each other, but the question was how? Judging from the girl's face, she was amused, but also disappointed. Almost as if she was expecting more.
The blonde would have contemplated on this more and tried to figure out just what their relationship was, but something happened. Kokoa had got a good hit off of Moka, sending her into a wall and dazing her, but leaving her otherwise undamaged. The red-head chuckled as she closed the gap between them quickly and moved to swing. If she didn't notice or didn't care that Mizore jumped in the way of the swing, ice claws up in a defense that stood no chance to the girl's superior strength, it was unknown, but it was obvious that she couldn't stop herself. That's when Naruto acted.
In a burst of awe-inspiring speed, the blonde was in front of the two girls and facing Kokoa, forearms covering his face and taking the full brunt of the blow. The desk the girl was using burst into splinters, a few of the larger ones finding home in Naruto's arms and upper body, and the blonde's legs nearly buckled from the sheer force of it all, but he still stood strong, not not a sound escaping his mouth.
Everything was quite, the whole class staying still, including the by-standers that Naruto didn't care to know, as he lowered his arms, showing a glowering face. As his arms came down, it became evident that the right one was broken both from how it was awkwardly bent and the pieces of ulna and radius poking out from it.
A feeling of dread hung in the air, as Naruto's friends all held their breath, wondering just what was going to happen next. Those who had known him longer knew that he could be volatile, but neither Hotaru nor Kokoa knew this, resulting in the latter's shocked and curious disposition. As the blonde looked into his attacker's green eyes, he saw hesitation, and he played off of that.
Without warning, Naruto lashed out with his good arm and grasped Kokoa by the neck, before spinning them around and placing her against the wall. Instantaneously, the blonde's friends tried to placate him, but he just ignored them, just as he ignored the small bat slamming itself into the back of his head. Instead, he just growled as he stared intently into Kokoa's eyes, the girl trying to break his grip on her, tears building up in her own eyes.
Meanwhile, the red-head was panicking. Now that the blonde was closer to her, and his wounds were slow to heal, Kokoa could smell his blood strongly, and she was afraid. Normally, a person's blood had the traditional copper scent, with each individual having a unique medley of undertones. Naruto, however, was different.
There was still the hint of copper there, but it was sharpened to a fine point, smooth, and deadly. Then there was a harsh smell, almost like sulfur, that was up front and assaulting. This was accompanied by something more embracing, but it was almost to the point of suffocating, like something that could only protect you by burying you. Then, there was the hint of poison. That was all she could describe it as; it hung back where the others were at the forefront, it killed silently where the others ripped you to pieces. The contrast is what scared her, as t just left her uncertain as to what her fate was.
Finally, Naruto spoke. His voice was crisp like an autumn leaf, but still retained the deadly edge. "You're gonna' explain why you're here and why you attacked us. If I like your answer, you can walk away from this as you are. However, if you displease me.." Naruto tightened his grip a bit to illustrate his point, causing Kokoa to gasp and lose a bit more air.
"Wait, Naruto-san," cried out a voice to the boy's left. Looking over, he saw it was Moka. "You don't understand!"
"That's what I'm trying to do!" the blonde barked out, scaring the girl and the rest of his friends a bit. "Now, unless you feel like sharing, I'm getting to the bottom of this."
Just as he was about to start interrogating Kokoa, he heard another voice to his right. "Naruto-kun." the voice was firm, but also calming. Turning, his eyes widened seeing it was Mizore. The girls eyes matched her voice, and also had some pleading and sorrow and a bit of apology in them as she picked up his broken right arm and in a smooth motion snapped the bones back into place.
Naruto winced a bit, and was surprised that his girlfriend was so calm about that, but was thankful as now his arm would start healing faster. "Mizore-chan," he said, more to himself than anything. However, she responded as the started to pick the splinters out of his flesh.
"Let her go, Naruto-kun. Killing her won't tell you anything." he was a bit hesitant, but he listened, letting the girl drop to the ground and gasp for air, her little bat coming over to try and comfort her. Then, the blonde turned to Moka.
"Now, why did she attack us? What do you know?"
The vampire was silent for a moment, looking away, ashamed. Then, finally, "The truth is, she's my sister." many eyes widened at hearing this and a few gasped, including the 'audience' of their peers, who sat riveted as they viewed the whole scene, feeling as if they were watching a drama.
Naruto then turned to look at Kokoa again, who was getting back to her feet. It was apparent that there was bruising around where he had gripped the girl, and she weakly looked back toward him, still not all there. Her voice came out horse, and the boy almost couldn't understand her, but the message was clear. "I'm sorry. I never meant to harm you or anyone other than her." Kokoa's eyes turned to Moka, turning a bit cold, but also hurt. "We'll finish this later, onee-san," the words were mocking, and the group didn't have much time to dwell on this before the young girl pushed through the group and left. Naruto's eyes just narrowed as he watched her go.
/
It was soon after this incident, after the group had moved to a more open area where, despite the foot traffic they wouldn't be paid any mind, that Naruto and his friend's learned more of the history between Moka and Kokoa. As it turned out, Moka was actually the second youngest of four sisters, Kokoa being the youngest and of a different mother, hence her family name being Shuzen.
It was also revealed that when they were little, the two fought everyday, and, even with her tenacity, Kokoa never one. Granted, Moka's power hadn't yet been sealed and she was older, but the younger would never give up. Moka eventually left, though, and even given the time, it appeared that the rivalry had yet to wither at all. In fact, this wasn't even the first time Kokoa had found her.
Naruto left soon afterwards, the rest of the group also going their separate ways. Both Mizore and Hotaru offered to accompany him where ever he was going, to see if he wanted to talk about what had happened in the classroom, but the blonde declined. He just wanted to be alone.
Both of the girls agreed, Mizore because she respected him, even though she knew she could probably prod him into letting her tag along, and Hotaru because she really didn't have enough pull to get her way. The dark haired girl smiled to herself as she walked away, though. Naruto had shown the same disposition to her as he did with the others in the group. She was making good progress.
With his hands shoved deeply in his pockets and his head facing the ground, Naruto paced along a dirt path, same as any other path on the school grounds. Hr was trying to figure out all of these new things. How should he deal with Hotaru? What about Kokoa? Both seemed obsessive, however, for some reason Tenka seemed to have calmed a bit since their first meeting, and had even apologized.
Kokoa, though, seemed so deeply immersed in this rivalry thing. Naruto didn't quite know how that worked. Growing up, he never really had a connection with anyone except Danzou, but the man was such a senior and always so serious that making anything a competition between them was pointless.
Then, there was Hidan. Once again, Naruto was really too young and not skilled enough to challenge the man who he still thought of the strongest he had ever met. And, of course, they had gone their separate ways before Naruto could really actively strive to best the man.
Then, when he had returned to his home village, he didn't really see Sasuke as a rival, as by then, he was much stronger than him. Sure, when it most mattered he had lost, but that was due to his own arrogance. And, soon after that, he had come here, so he didn't really ever have a rivalry. However, back to the point at hand, he did like the girl's activeness and determination.
As he was so lost in thought, Naruto didn't notice as he was being tailed. Of course, even if he had been paying more careful attention, the blonde probably still wouldn't have noticed it. His shadow had had much time to practice his stealth after all. In fact, it took him actually calling out for Naruto to spin around, eyes wide, and notice him.
"I'm beginning to wonder if your going to notice me at all." standing there, seemingly relaxed, and dressed in the same clothing he was wearing when they had first met, was the grey cloaked man. It was Mr. N.
/
Hope you liked the cliff-hanger. So, my goal was to make the interactions and characters as believable as possible this time around. Did I do them justice? You tell me. So, I'm going to start focusing on the much neglected Natural Biotic now. And there was not much rejoicing. Whatever.
So, where going a bit deeper into the plot now. Who is N? What is he planing? Can he be stopped? What do you think? Send me your answers to these rhetorical questions and you will receive... a cookie! And by a cookie, I really mean... a lemon in four to five chapters! And there was much rejoicing. All kidding aside, there really will be a lemon, so, yippee. I think that's about it. So, this has been another chapter by your fellow author, totaling 12,075 words.