Co-Author's Note – Yeah, sorry guys, I was out of station for a while, so this update's been welling in my PC for like ages. Hope you enjoy it!

Review Replies –

Omnipotent97 – yes, Naruto will make an appearance soon, what more, so will a certain sharingan weilder. ;)

Chaos Breaker Dragon – He's got most basic jutsu, the most powerful jutsu he can use yet is the rasengan, and that too like twice before exhausting himself. He does have kyuubi mode, but only for a few minutes at a go.

Remnant of the fox – Chapter 4

Tense

That was the best way to describe the room that Takashi now sat in. His old friends were now staring at him like a stranger, or in some cases, like a threat. While Takashi felt awkward, he could more than understand why his erstwhile friends were looking at him like he was some sort of alien life form.

The Takashi they came to know, to love, and some cases, even hate, was not the man who sat in front in them. He had been replaced by someone else. Someone who had no fear, no inhibition and no lack of skill. Gone was the happy-go-lucky Takashi Komuro. In front of them now sat Takashi Uzumaki. A man raised by one of the last, and possibly the most prestigious remaining ninja clans in Japan. Hisashi was lost for words. As Takashi's self-proclaimed best friend, he couldn't have imagined that Takashi would be capable enough to hide such power from him. As a champion of Karate, he felt lacking due to his inability to gauge Takashi's threat level.

Rei herself was equally confused. He had been around Takashi ever since they were young. And while she did know that Takashi was prone to rather dark thoughts at times, she couldn't believe that his true personality completely skipped her attention. She dated the man for god's sake. She had seen him naked. She now realized that his toned body wasn't something he attained in a gym, considering he never went to one. His tone was one gained through hours of combat and training.

Saeko herself couldn't take her eyes off him. Try as she might, she couldn't allow Takashi's presence to fade without her noticing. She saw how he completely killed his presence when he fought the undead. While it was mildly effective against a foe as primitive as the shambling husk of a dead human, against a live opponent, it would be deadly. She could understand how Takashi was able to escape her scrutiny in school if he was capable of killing his presence whenever he wished to. But she couldn't allow him to do it any longer. He could be a threat to the group.

And that was precisely what excited her the most.

Kohta couldn't really care less about his history, considering he barely knew the guy. Takashi had always been one of the 'cool kids'. While he had never picked on Kohta, he never made the effort to talk to him either. What he did care about was the fact that the newest addition to the group was fast, strong, and undeniably powerful. All in all, he'd rather not be on the side that pissed the guy off.

Saya was the only one not surprised by the change. The Takagis were descendants of samurai, and with chakra capacities among shinobi decreasing with every generation, swords and other such weapons were becoming more commonplace for ninja. And who better to teach a ninja kenjutsu than a true blooded Samurai? Hence Takashi spent a large part of his formative years at the Takagi estate, learning from Saya's father. She had seen Takashi's father too, and that knowledge was what formed her next sentence.

"You know, Takashi? You feel more and more like your old man every second I look at you. Not that it is a bad thing, though."

Takashi allowed himself a light smile. Count on Saya to figure everything out the fastest. "That's the idea, it feels almost liberating to stop acting like a dunce for once." He knew that there was no point hiding it anymore. He was strong, he was capable. And it wouldn't hurt the world to know that side of him, especially when the consequences of treading through life as a dunce might end in his death, or worse, him turning into one of those undead freaks.

"I'm sure you all have question for Takashi here" Tohno spoke up from his place beside Shizuka, Interrupting Takashi's internal musings, "But I believe Takashi should have a bath, He's staining the couch with the blood."

Takashi looked down at himself, he then noticed that his clothes were completely spattered with gore. And it was then that the smell hit him. A smell that could make even the worse of flatulence smell like mildew.

"Oh" Takashi remarked as he excused himself to the nearest washroom, seven pairs of eyes patiently followed his ascent up the stairs. As they heard the door click, a wave of relief washed aver the congregation. The tension melted like butter on a hot plate, and conversation started again. Rei begun. "Is that really Takashi? L-like, did you see those eyes? Those were definitely not the eyes of the boy I once knew…"

Saya snapped "You know, Rei, instead of blaming him for this change, would it be easier to believe if I told you that you never truly knew him?" the reply forced everyone's attention towards Saya, who continued. "You've known Takashi almost as long as I have, did you just conveniently forget how he used to behave as a child? Cold? Distant? Rings a bell?"

Rei gulped, she did remember. Takashi was always alone, even when he was with people. He was always quiet. He'd sit among his 'friends', just watching, observing. And then one day, he started to speak. More and more with time, he became outgoing, and that's when Rei unknowingly made a promise of a lifetime to him.

A promise she'd already broken.

"You know, Rei," Saya continued. "you sit there, believing that you somehow singlehandedly changed him during his formative year. But lo and behold! When faced with the real Takashi, the man you first met, you seem lost for words? It just proves how inattentive you are, inattentive and naive."

Rei dropped her gaze, choosing not to speak. But Saya wasn't done yet.

"He always liked you, even when he was a kid. I believe he manufactured that bumbly, lovable personality just to make sure you don't feel threatened by his competence once you start growing up. I mean, you failed a class while he got promoted to your grade. I believe that stung your pride more than the fact that it was a fraudulent teacher that caused your failure. But then again, that's exactly the kind of reaction I expect from someone as selfish as you."

"Hey! Cut it out!" Hisashi intervened, springing to his feet in defiance. He was about to leap at Saya when he felt a hand close in around his wrist. Looking down, he saw Rei holding him back. She shook her head, preventing him from making any rash moves. Instead, she stood up and pointed at Saya, an accusing look taking over her face.

"Since when were you an expert on Takashi? You've known him just as long as I have. And you know what? He always avoided you. Hell, everyone did. You were always that loudmouthed know-it-all. A prissy little kid from a rich family." Rei sneered "How would you ever be able to empathize with him?"

Saya giggled "Oh, you poor, poor girl. Did you really classify Takashi as a middle class kid with no ambition, even as a child? He's always been smarter than us, stronger than us. He trained with my father at the age of ten. He could grasp techniques that people would spend their lives learning in mere months. I call myself a prodigy, but in front of him, all I am is second rate." Saya's reply made Rei look away. Loath as she was to believe her, she had just seen Takashi cut through a few dozen undead like it was as easy as breathing.

"But, you were the jewel of the group. Every guy wanted to be your friend, if not more. You always reveled in their attention, so why would you pay any attention to them? That's the thing about you pretty girls, always so full of yourself." Saya concluded, crossing her arms under her considerable bust. It might be ironic coming from Saya, who was popularly considered one of the prettier girls in school, but that didn't make the point any less poignant.

"So, that was the Takagi style of kendo." Saeko spoke up from her seat next to Kohta, "I've seen it in action before, but I never knew that it could be so…deadly." She spoke, voicing her doubts. Saya, for all due praise to her family, took the comment in stride.

"That might have been our stile, mainly, but Takashi has had many other tutors over the years. While my father was his predominant trainer, the style he prefers to use most is an ancient one. No one knows which tutor taught it to him, but it is potent, and that's all that matters." Saya replied. Saeko tilted her head in confusion. How exactly did a man that powerful escape her notice? That, she would never know.

"I believe we should drop this topic and speak about the matter at hand." The entire group turned to see Tohno-sensei sitting beside Shizuka-sensei. Who had fallen asleep sometime during the talk. Her head rested on Tohno's shoulder, but he didn't seem to mind. Kohta had to say, the two looked pretty cute together.

On the other hand, the others had completely forgot about Tohno even being there. They had an in-depth conversation about Takashi while the very man who he was travelling was.

Well, fuck.

Well, kit, it looks like Saya was a true friend all this while.

Takashi barely smirked as he let the warm water from the shower cleanse him. Chakra reinforcement allowed him to hear each and every word the group had uttered. He was still quite surprised by how well Saya understood him, even as a kid. Apparently he underestimated her. Not that it mattered, really. She had always been loyal to him, and he rewarded loyalty with respect.

That was his ninja way.

"I believe I'll escort her home, also, it seems Saeko's taken an interest in me too."

That girl, she's as sharp as they come.

"Well, I'd hate to disappoint her, then,"

Author's Note - Yeah sorry guys I couldn't upload this earlier I was out of commission for a REALLY long time and then after that I got really lazy so for that I apologize