AN: Well mow, looks like I've finally managed to make my way out of the introduction chapters, huh? Now that's just wonderful.

You probably noticed in the last chapter that I started including songs to be played and such. I'm not saying you HAVE to play those songs to enjoy the story or anything of the sort. It's just that I listened to those songs while writing that section, so generally speaking you don't have to worry about looking them up if you don't want to.

Also, I admit that I am going to be rather harsh by some people's measure to Sakura. I assure you she WILL change and grow, but it'll take time for such a thing to happen.

Again, any and all music cues are optional and were simply what I was listening too while writing that scene.

Anyways, LET'S ROCK!

DISCLAIMER. I DO NOT OWN NARUTO. OR MEGAMI TENSEI

DSN Chapter 4!

Fox Demons, Team Meetings, and…another EXAM!

(Play Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne OST- Chiaki)

Uzumaki Naruto, Genin of Konoha, Demon Container, Devil Summoner, stared at the smiling Fox-Girl in front of him. The Fox-Girl stared back at him, her pleasant smile not wavering in the least.

They continued this way for a few moments.

A strange weed tumbled past them, driven by an unseen gust of wind.

Naruto decided to speak before things got any weirder. "You…" He sincerely hoped he didn't sound as scared as he thought he might, "You're the Kyuubi?" He hoped beyond hope tha-

The girl continued to smile, and cheerfully responded, "Yep!" The girl's face took on a more thoughtful expression, "Well…I'm the new Kyuubi anyway." Her smile returned full force.

Naruto noted that her teeth were rather…pointy looking.

And then important part of that sentence registered.

"Wait, what?" Naruto sputtered slightly, "New Kyuubi? What the heck happened to the old one" Naruto paused, "Besides being sealed in me I mean?"

The now christened "New" Kyuubi gestured to the space available next to her on the fountain, "You'll probably want to take a seat, since we may be here for a while."

Naruto took the offered seat and focused his attention on the latest surprise of the…night? That word fit as well as anything else did in these circumstances.

"Well…you know how the previous Kyuubi attacked your village 13 years ago, right?" At Naruto's affirmative nod she continued, "Well, when it was sealed into you, title of Kyuubi was finally released." She noted that Naruto seemed confused, "Okay, I'll just keep this simple. There can be more than one Nine-Tailed Fox, okay?" Naruto nodded again," But there can only be ONE Kyuubi, because Kyuubi is a title, not a creature."

"Like how there can be lots of powerful Kage class ninja, but there's only one Hokage at a time?" Naruto asked.

The Kyuubi beamed, "Exactly like that! The Kyuubi is the big boss of ALL the foxes, demon or otherwise, and were bound to follow almost any order it gives." She flipped her hair over her shoulder, "Not to mention that the Kyuubi is able to manifest on your world without needing someone to summon it."

Naruto's eyes widened at the implication of that statement, and his new foxy associate reacted quickly to calm him.

"Oh, don't worry; I don't intend to go causing anymore havoc than politics require me too." Kyuubi waved her hand dismissively.

"Okay…" Naruto began, "I get what you're saying but…what happened to the previous Kyuubi? It seems kinda like something like that would be place rather prominently inside of…this mind/soul plaza…thing."

"Oh." The girl spoke, "That's because the previous Kyuubi's dead."

Naruto responded in the most appropriate way.

"…Okay."

One of the Kyuubi's delicate eyebrows rose, "Okay? That's it?"

Naruto gave her a look, "That's really not all that impressive compared to half of the stuff that's happened to me tonight." Naruto took a breath and continued, "'Sides, I figure the seal was made to kill the Kyuubi anyways. The Fourth Hokage wasn't an idiot."

Kyuubi spoke again, "Actually it was your COMP that killed the previous Kyuubi."

"…wait, what?" Naruto was beginning to dislike how often he was getting blindsided by information.

"Yeah, when it linked itself with you, it interfaced with the seal on your stomach, and…well for lack of a better term, ate the previous Kyuubi." Kyuubi finished her sentence with a shrug.

Naruto looked down at his COMP, and attempted to digest that information. "It..." He began, "ATE the previous Kyuubi?"

"Well…your COMP tore the previous Kyuubi down into its base elements, and then used those for various things." Kyuubi waved her hand, "You know, power itself, establish a connection with the Amala network, upgrade its host, and store all the leftovers for later use."

"So my super-stamina and stuff," Naruto spoke, taking note that a strange gleam entered the Kyuubi's eyes when he said stamina, "is because the COMP upgraded my body."

"That's right!" Naruto was happy to note that the Kyuubi's no longer held that creepy (sexy if he was being honest with himself, which he isn't) gleam.

"Huh…that's pretty cool!" Naruto grinned at the Kyuubi, who responded in kind.

Kyuubi stood up, and dusted off the back of her outfit, giving Naruto quite the view.

If he had looked that is.

Not that he did.

That would make him a pervert!

And him being a pervert would make his ANBU sad.

At least that's what Panda said.

"Anyway, I need to be going, and you," Kyuubi emphasized her statement by pointing at Naruto, "need to wake up and go to that meeting."

Naruto blinked, "How do I-"

There was a flash of light, and then darkness.

"-wake up?" Naruto mumbled to himself, sluggishly sitting up in bed.

Wondering if perhaps he had just had some sort of strange dream, Naruto cast his eyes about his room, taking in his surroundings.

Ninja gear? Check.

Scroll cubby holes? Safe and sound!

Ramen cupboards? He'd need to go shopping again sometime soon, but still there.

Ominous Wooden Door? Still there.

Operating on the assumption that what he had just experienced was not a dream, a reasonable assumption as far as assumptions go, Naruto glanced around his room looking for Pixie, and was concerned that he couldn't seem to spot her.

(Play Persona 4 OST – Who's There?)

"I'm in the COMP boss." A voice chimed from inside of his head, "Thanks for worrying about me though!" Pixie giggled as she finished her sentence.

"If you're in my COMP," Naruto spoke, "Why am I hearing you in my head?"

Pixie responded, "Because the COMP is tied into your soul, boss!" There was a pause, "Also, if you focus a bit on us and think, you won't need to talk out loud for us to hear you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by 'us'?"

A second voice spoke, "ME HERE TOO BOSS!"

A grimace made its way to Naruto's face, "That Kobold? Didn't I kick your ass?"

The now know Kobold whimpered a bit before speaking, "ME LEARN LESSON! WORK REAL HARD FOR BOSS!"

Pixie spoke up, "When he challenged you to a fight over me, he wagered his services. That's how it works when a demon challenged a Devil Summoner for one of their servants."

Kobold spoke up again, "ME USED TO WORK FOR OTHER DEMON. STRONG DEMON, BUT MEAN. HAPPY THAT I ESCAPE."

Naruto thought for a moment and then spoke inside his mind yet again, "What's your take on this Pixie?"

Pixie responded almost immediately, "We fairies don't hold grudges like you humans do, so the more the merrier boss!"

Naruto let out a sigh, "Well, then welcome to the family Kobold."

Kobold let out a series of excited yips before speaking, "ME TOUKI KOBOLD! LET'S FIGHT TOGETHER!"

Naruto couldn't help but smile at that sort of enthusiasm.

(Play Persona 3 OST – Want to be close)

Naruto had woken up earlier than usual so he took that chance to run through some of the information that his COMP had on actually using the Devil Summoning Program, his method for storing and using his partners. Not only had he been able to read the standard "F.A.Q." that came with the COMP 'Library' function, but the info that Audie had given him an even greater understanding of the relationship between Summoner, COMP, and summoned.

His morning after that had past pleasantly enough, if somewhat more mundane than what he had been experiencing recently. Say hi to ANBU guard. Jog to Academy, occasionally throwing in bits of the 'tree-climbing' technique that Dog had shown him. Ignore that glares of the stupid bigots, though the comments (Pixie) and suggestions (Kobold) that his partners had about them did make him laugh. Enter school, check up on Iruka-sensei ("I'm fine Naruto, now stop fussing over me and get the assigned classroom!)

Opening the door, Naruto noted that Sasuke had taken his usual end of the row window seat, and that his own usual seat next to him was empty.

"Mornin' Sasuke." Naruto spoke as he flopped down into the seat next to his friend/rival/friendly rival.

Sasuke turned his gaze towards Naruto, no less than three fan girls swooning as they thought it passed over them, "I heard there was an incident last night." Sasuke skipped right past pleasantries and got right to the meat of the matter, "I also heard that you were involved."

Pixie giggled, "Aww! He was worried about you!"

Naruto's response was to ignore her statement and focus on his conversation with Sasuke, "Oh, yeah…that." Naruto chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head, "I think I can tell you, but it'll have to wait until we're in less…mixed company."

Sasuke nodded, and returned his gaze to the front of the room. After a few moments he spoke, "You and I both know that genin teams are formed in three's…" Sasuke leaned back in his chair, relaxing his muscles, "So who do you think is going to be with who?"

Naruto rubbed his chin in a mock-thought pose, "Well now…they'll probably bring back Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji together, since their parents worked so well…besides that, it could go any number of ways." Naruto chuckled, "They might put you and Hinata on the same team to try and breed some sort of 'super-dojutsu'." Naruto knew Hinata, though he probably wouldn't call her much more than a pleasant acquaintance, since they hadn't really talked that much.

Sasuke scoffed at the idea, "She's not my type." Sasuke's smirk™ made its appearance yet again, "Though I wouldn't complain if she was on the team. It's certainly preferable to…one of those two."

Naruto grimaced at the reference to those two. It wasn't like he hated them or anything but…

Naruto decided to get off that train of thought and responded," 'The Team', huh? Am I included in that?"

Sasuke's smirk™ grew, "Don't be an idiot. After our performance in the 2-vs-2 combat practice, I doubt they'd consider splitting us up."

The aforementioned 2-vs-2 combat practice had happened roughly a month before their Genin test, they'd been paired up with another student by random chance, and then fought in an elimination style tournament with only short breaks between matches. Naruto and Sasuke had been teamed up and had not only fought their way to victory with near flawless teamwork, but had actually beaten a team of two of their instructors in what was supposed to be a match to teach the genin their limits.

Obviously, it had not gone as the instructors had planned.

Naruto responded to Sasuke's smirk™ with a carefree grin, "Yeah, we really kicked ass huh?"

Sasuke never had a chance to respond, as something that sounded like a herd of stampeding Nara deer approached the door to the classroom.

A blur of pink and pale yellow smashed through the entrance and two equally loud, and shrill, voices called out, "I WAS HERE FIRST!"

Both Sasuke and Naruto let out a sigh of frustration, and Pixie voiced both her and Kobold's thoughts, "What the hell?"

"No way Ino-Pig!" Sakura yelled, "I was here first!"

Shikamaru pondered whether it would be more troublesome to point out that someone was already sitting next to Sasuke.

"Nuh-uh Forehead-Girl!" Ino maturely retorted, " I was here first, so I get to sit next to Sasuke."

Shikamaru also wondered whether either of them realized that Sasuke had moved to his window seat on purpose, ever since that time Naruto had been late and the two had sat at either side of him.

Poor bastard.

Thankfully, Iruka choose that moment to enter the classroom.

Faced with two screeching pubescent teenagers, Iruka showed just why he was given this class.

"Both of you, quiet down!" Iruka looked between the two of them after they'd be shocked into silence, disappointment etched onto his face, "I can't believe the two of you are acting this way. You're NINJA now! That means you're adults, and need to act like it."

"We're…" Sakura began.

"Adults now?" Ino finished.

The two immediately squealed and rushed off to their seats, Ino immediately in front of Sasuke, and Sakura behind him.

This entire time, Sasuke simply stared at Iruka and looked deeply, deeply betrayed.

Iruka had the sense to look somewhat ashamed.

"All right!" Iruka called out, "It's time for your team assignments. Pay attention, because I won't be repeating them!" Iruka began to count off Teams 1-6, to the joy or frustration of their various members, and the pressure began to come down on the remaining members of class.

"I-I-I might still be with Naruto!"

"I am an adult now! *giggles*"

"Cha! No way True-Love© will lose out!"

"This…is so troublesome"

"Oh great and merciful Hive Mother, please do not allow me to be placed with Sakura or Ino."

"Oh man…I ran out of chips!"

"Heh, doesn't matter who I'm placed with, I've already got my teammate.." "*BARK*"

"Hey you guys, what are you doing in there?" "Your soul has a pool!" "KOBOLD USE DOGGY PADDLE! HAHAHAHAHA! KOBOLD MADE A FUNNY!"

"So, I know I have Naruto, and they usually put a girl on a team with two guys…"

Iruka woke them all from their musings, "Team Seven is…Naruto Uzumaki."

Both Naruto and Sasuke leaned forward.

"Sasuke Uchiha!"

Sasuke put on his trademarked smirk, and Naruto folded his hands behind his head.

"And Sakura Haruno."

There was a brief silence before and ear splitting screech came from right behind Sasuke, matched only in volume by the wail of despair from in front of him.

Both Naruto and Sasuke just stared at Iruka.

Had anyone been watching they would have noted Hinata's disappointment.

Iruka coughed, "I'd just like to take the time to point out that I DO NOT control the placements of individuals."

There was a pause as the information sank in.

"Anyway," Iruka continued, "Team 8 is Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka. Team 9 is still in circulation, so Team 10 is Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi."

Iruka looked out at his class, and informed them that their senseis would arrive to pick them up after a lunch break. Iruka gathered up his effects, and then moved off into the staff room as his class dispersed.

Sasuke gave Naruto a look, informing him that he would be hiding from his more…zealous pursuers for this lunch period, and that Naruto was on his own. Nodding his understanding as Sasuke ran awa-retreat-advanced in the other direction, Naruto reached for his own lunch box. It was just a simple mix of leftovers, with a small omelet on the side, but he was reasonably proud of his cooking.

Naruto thought to himself…perhaps….

Perhaps he should talk to his other teammate.

Maybe she wasn't as bad as she acted?

(Play Devil Survivor OST- Action)

Naruto had noticed Sakura leave for the main yard of the Academy and followed after her. I mean, they were teammates now, and teammates had to at least be able to tolerate each other.

Spotting her making her way past one of the bench line walkways, Naruto hurried to catch up with her. "Hey Sakura!" He called out.

Sakura stopped and turned around to level a rather unpleasant look on Naruto, "What do you want, Uzumaki?"

Naruto had been friends with Sasuke for a while now, and friends don't let friends get cornered by their fan girls. It should stand to reason that Naruto was…less than popular with Sasuke's followers. At least the one's that didn't start blushing and chattering whenever the two of them hung out.

What was up with that anyway?

Pixie struggled to keep from bursting out laughing in the back of Naruto's mind.

Not one to be discouraged, Naruto ignored Sakura's less than kind tone and responded, "Well, we're teammates now, so I figured we should probably get used to spending time around each other."

Sakura's expression didn't change, "Uzumaki, I don't have any interest in you."

Naruto just stared at her for a moment before responding to her statement in a most tactful manner.

Broke down laughing at Sakura's statement. He wiped a tear from his eye, before he caught sight of Sakura's rage filled expression.

He took this as a sign that he should probably vacate the premises.

(Play Persona 3 OST – Signs of Love)

Naruto had easily managed to escape from Sakura, who was in rather poor physical condition for someone who's supposed to be a ninja, and found himself on the roof of the academy. Figuring there wasn't any better place to eat lunch, Naruto took a seat on a beat and opened up his meal, when someone spoke up from behind him.

"O-o-oh! I'm s-sorry! I d-didn't know a-anyone was here!" Hinata attempted to make a hasty retreat before Naruto called out to her, "Hey wait!"

Hinata stopped, took in a deep resolving breath and turned around to face her crush/inspiration, "Y-yes?"

Naruto grinned at her, "Hey Hinata, have you eaten lunch yet?"

Hinata shook her head, internally she wondered if he was planning to-

"Well…then how about we eat lunch together?" Naruto ran a hand through his hair, "It's kinda boring to eat by yourself, ya know? "

Hinata summoned all of her courage and managed to respond to Naruto, "S-sure… I'd like that."

Naruto and Hinata's lunch had been pleasant, though it had mainly been Naruto talking with Hinata making the occasional remark.

Though Naruto had to wonder why she was so…blushing and fidgety.

Once again, Pixie had to struggle to contain her laughter.

At the end Naruto had thanked Hinata for sharing lunch with him, and said this.

"You should smile more often! You're really pretty when you do!"

And with that remark, he'd left.

Hinata barely woke out of her Naruto induced coma to rush to class in time.

Naruto watched as Team 8 left, waving goodbye to a crimson-faced Hinata. As the door closed he let out a sigh, and spoke to Sasuke, who sat at his right, "Well…where do you think this guy is?

Sakura immediately took offense, "And what makes you think our Jounin-Sensei is a guy?"

Naruto turned to Sakura, who was sitting on his left, "I was using 'guy' as a catch all term, Sakura." He responded tiredly.

I mean, don't get him wrong, Sakura was cute and all but she was just…so…so…

"RUDE?" Kobold supplied.

"Bitchy?" Was Pixie's less than kind assessment. She apparently did not like Sakura's treatment of her 'boss'?

Sakura just turned her attention back to trying to get Sasuke to talk to her.

Sasuke was busy glaring holes in the blackboard at the front of the room

Naruto finished up his explanation, "So you see, that's why people are wrong when they think the Inuzuka are related to the Inugami."

Sakura stared wide mouthed at Naruto, "Tha-That was incredible Naruto! I'd never even heard about those rumors or much about Inugami at all."

Naruto smiled, happy that he had found that Sakura, when not focusing on Sasuke, was a rather interesting person to talk too.

Even Sasuke had made a few remarks during their discussion on Ninja clans and how they related to the supernatural.

This blissful scene was interrupted when the door opened and a tall man entered.

He had silver hair in a rather gravity defying 'broom-stick' hairdo, and dressed in such a way that the only skin on his body that was exposed was the area around one of his eyes. His forehead protector covered the other.

"Are you team seven?" the man spoke to them, his exposed eye raked across them.

Sasuke looked balefully at the man, clearly annoyed by his tardiness.

Naruto just stared at him, looking confused.

Sakura was the one who responded with a curt, if rather meek, "Uhm, yes sir!"

The man nodded, "Good. Meet me on the roof."

And then he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Little did Naruto know that a tale of his debunking of the "Inuzuka-Inugami" myth would reach the ears of a rather influential woman.

But that is for later.

(Play Persona 4 OST – Deduction (another version))

Naruto Sasuke and Sakura had spaced themselves out on the roof, each of them sitting a few feet away from the other, and all of the faced towards their teacher.

Their teacher took a moment to watch his students, especially Naruto who seemed to be having some sort of dawning moment of comprehension.

Finally he spoke, "Well then!" He…smiled(?) at the group, "Let's introduce ourselves."

Sakura glanced towards Sasuke, who was still grum-filled with aristocratic fury, and Naruto, who was looking somewhat smug. She then spoke, " Uhm…sensei, why don't you introduce yourself first. So we know how to do it?"

Their sensei shrugged, "All right then. My name is Kakashi Hatake. My likes…well that's personal. My dislikes…" Kakashi hummed a bit, "…My dreams…that's a bit to mature for you." His smile(?) returned full force, "and, well…I have a lot of hobbies.

His genin stared at him, as though they could not comprehend what he had just said.

Kakashi pointed a finger at Sakura, "All right, you first pinky."

Sakura huffed at his nick-name for her, "My name is Sakura Haruno. My likes…" She glanced towards Sasuke, "My dislikes…Ino-pig." Naruto was thankful that she hadn't named him, "my hobbies…are reading! As for my dreams for the future…" she glanced at Sasuke again and squealed.

Kakashi and Sasuke both flinched, and Naruto mourned for the loss of not-crazy-Sakura.

Alas, he hardly knew her.

Kakashi let the air awkwardly hang for a second before turning to Naruto, "Okay, you next Sunshine."

Naruto smirked at Kakashi, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My likes are Ichiraku ramen, training, and I'm kinda fond of Dogs." Kakashi stared at Naruto, "My dislikes are people who judge others before knowing them, liars, and those who would abuse others…I guess I just dislike jerks." Naruto grinned, " My hobbies are looking after my plants, learning about old legends, folk lore, and…cooking I guess! My dreams for the future are to become the greatest ninja I can be, and then become Hokage!"

Kakashi knew that Naruto knew about his previous job now…but figured it didn't really matter. At least Naruto hadn't blurted it out to these other two. He pointed to Sasuke, "And now you…"

Sasuke folded his hands in front of his face and spoke, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. My likes are limited, but I…enjoy the company of those I can trust." Kakashi was happy that Sasuke wasn't quite as bad as he could have been, noting Naruto's small smile when Sasuke had spoken, " My dislikes…criminals, especially traitors." That made sense to Kakashi, considering just what the Uchiha did, and what had happened to them. "My hobbies…training, and studying my family's history." Kakashi wasn't quite sure to make of that one, "My dreams…no…My ambition is to find a certain man, and bring him to justice."

A wind blew across the rooftop, making Sasuke's bangs flutter.

"…Well then, that's very nice." Kakashi regained his students attention, "Anyway, tomorrow we'll be getting together for a…survival exercise." He noted the grimace on Sasuke and Naruto's faces, as well as the confusion on Sakura's.

"Kakashi-sensei…we've already done survival training." Sakura spoke.

Kakashi chuckled, "Not like this you haven't. See…this is going to be your real test. In fact…It's a test with a 66% failure rate!" He noted that all of his genin had paled at the news.

"Anyways, meet me at the Training Ground near the Memorial stone at 0600 sharp!" Kakashi turned to leave, before he spoke again, "Oh…and I wouldn't eat if I was you…you'll probably throw it up!" With that, he disappeared.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other and nodded. It looked like the rumors of there being a second test were true.

The three genin had gone their separate ways, but Naruto and Sasuke quickly reunited.

They'd discussed likely scenario's, but the only thing they could both agree on was to ear a light breakfast, and cooperate through…whatever this was.

As Naruto opened the door to his apartment he glanced at the ominous doorway that was still in it's original position.

He knew that he'd have to enter again tonight, in search of answers...and a potential advantage to this test.

AN: Oh lordy it took me a while to write this.

Anyways, I only did a cursory check of this, so if you spot any gramma issues, please tell me.

Sasuke is acting the way he is for a good reason. Due to the tiniest of circumstances, he ended up justice obsessed instead of revenge obsessed. Will he end up like others of his kind? Who knows.

As for why Sakura acts the way she is…that's because she is, out of the entire cast, the one who acts closest to her age. She is, unlike the others of the Rookie nine, a civilian, and she hasn't been exposed to even cursory levels of the true horrors of being a shinobi.

While she is not a bad person she IS rather insensitive, like we all were at her age.

Look forward to next time, in which Naruto visits more of the plaza and finally gets to the Catherdral of Shadows!

Later!

P.S. If you have any requests for specific creatures to appear, feel free to mention them in a review. I won't know what you want if you don't tell me.

Oh, and time for a pseudo-competition for those of you who know your Shin Megami Tensei Universe! I need a demon(by which I mean just about any sort of creature from the Compendium) To serve as Kobold's old boss. If you have any suggestions for which creature it should be, and how it should act.

The only requirement are that it not be too powerful, since it will serve as what is essentially Naruto's first "Boss Battle".

If I pick your suggestion, I'll make dedication to you at the start of the chapter that it appears in. (Which will probably be the next one.)

For others who want to compete in this, but haven't played Megaten, google "Shin Megami Tensei Wiki".