Author's Note: Hello all my future fans (hopefully anyways)! I've been reading stuff on this site for a few years now and have always toyed with the thought of writing some stories myself. I finally decided to get my ass into gear, and well... this is the result. I sure picked a hell of a time to finally do this though, with all the stories being deleted and all. Oh well, I hope you all enjoy...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Rosario+Vampire or anything else mentioned in this story. Everything belongs to their respective licenses holders. I couldn't own either series, because apparently, I have a crippling fear of money and success.

Chasing Shadows

Chapter One : Hemorrhage

Pointless death... Bottomless hatred... Unending pain...

That... is war...

Those were some of Nagato's final words to me before his death... Unfortunately they were words I feel I didn't truly understand until I faced war firsthand.

The Fourth Ninja World War pushed my belief in my sensei's dream to the limit. As I gazed over the sea of bodies littering my vision, I couldn't help but feel a world where people could truly understand one another had never seemed so far away.

In the end though, I never let my faith for a brighter future waver. I had far too many people counting on me, too many people betting their hopes and dreams on me... I wouldn't, couldn't, allow myself to falter. Defeat would've meant the end of everyone and everything I had come to love...

Due in part to my actions, I can see a glimmer of the world my master dreamed of on the horizon...

However, it was a victory that came at a heavy price. Countless shinobi of the elemental nations lost their lives before everything was said and done.

Some of my precious people included...

I learned many harsh and unforgiving lessons over the course of the war... but I refused to let it turn me into someone bitter at life. What the hell would that accomplish? As far as I was concerned, all that would do is belittle the sacrifices of my fallen comrades. I'll make every second of life I have left count. For them.

I learned good men and women can die for stupid and senseless reasons.

I learned how utterly fragile life can be at times... How incredibly powerful allies, who you consider invincible, untouchable, can sometimes die so very easily, from the simplest of things.

I learned that there is no limit to how hollow, corrupt and irredeemably evil a soul can become with enough time and enough hatred.

But the number one thing I learned by the end?

I learned that no good deed goes unpunished.

...

"Hey kid, wake up! Once we pass the tunnel just up ahead, we'll be right in front of the school."

With a start, the golden haired youth shot up from the bus seat he had apparently fallen asleep on. After rubbing his bleary eyes, he took a moment to glare at the driver, who's yell had ruined the awesome dream he'd been having about a wonderland of ramen. He quickly gathered his wits and took in his surroundings. He was slightly startled when he spotted a new passenger besides himself on this metal contraption called a 'Bus', sitting in one of the seats in the row across from him.

'Must'a picked him up sometime around the time I was swimming in that lake of ramen broth...' The blond boy mused to himself, taking a moment to look the other boy over.

The boy looked to be fifteen or sixteen and was... to put it bluntly, rather plain looking in his opinion. Dark hair, dark eyes, slightly pale skin, average height and build, if a little on the scrawny side, and he was garbed in what he recognized as the standard green academy getup. He then noticed that the boy was looking out the window while sweating, fidgeting and looking extremely nervous in general. Wanting to help the poor guy out and take his mind off his nerves, the blond decided to introduce himself.

"Hey there! Names' Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet'cha!" The newly identified Naruto walked over and greeted the other boy with a wide fox-like smile and an extended hand.

The dark haired boy jumped slightly, having had been lost in his own little world before the rather loud introduction. He turned his attention to the only other young man on the bus, finally getting a good look at him. The blond had been asleep, curled up in the fetal position, and drooling when the dark haired boy had first gotten on the bus...

The boy looked to be about his age and seemed to have a rather overwhelming friendly aura about him. The first thing he noticed right off the bat was the rather odd lines on his cheeks. They almost looked like... whiskers?... The recently identified 'Naruto' had bright yellow spiky hair, bright blue expressive eyes, a slightly round face and tan skin. He was slightly taller than himself and seemed to have a more athletic build as well. The strangest thing about him though, was his choice of clothing... He was wearing an orange and black jacket with matching orange pants.

With a polite smile the dark haired boy shook Naruto's hand. "It's nice to meet you too Naruto-san. My name is Tsukune Aono. Are you a new student as well?" he asked a little unsure, due to Naruto's clothes.

"Hmm? Yeah... Unfortunately..." Naruto answered, mumbling the last part to himself.

Having not heard Naruto's rambling at the end, Tsukune decided to ask what was on his mind. "Erm, not to be rude or anything... But why aren't you wearing the standard academy uniform?"

Naruto just stared at him blankly for a moment.

"Because I'm awesome." He stated confidently as if that fully explained it, but continued at Tsukune's disbelieving look. "I tried wearing that green suit... but it burst into flames, completely unable to handle me."

Tsukune sweat-dropped.

"We've arrived." Stated the creepy glowing eyed bus driver, interrupting their conversation. Both boys turned their attention to the front of the bus and could see the end of the tunnel just ahead.

"You two should prepare yourselves," he paused to let out a creepy chuckle. "Yokai Academy is a veeerrrry horrifying school!" He finished with an even creepier laugh.

"WHAA!" Tsukune screamed in confused horror, looking as if he was about to have a heart attack.

Naruto however looked almost bored. 'Sorry buddy, I'm afraid captain Yamato can make a waaaay scarier face than you can.' He thought to himself with a shiver.

-x-X-x-

(A Few Seconds Later)

"Hehehe be careful out there boys..." Said the bus driver, giving one last piece of advice before driving off.

"Wait a minute! W-what is this place?" Screamed Tsukune at the disappearing bus.

He spasticlly glanced around becoming more and more concerned with every discovery: Creepy dead trees: check. Creepy cawing birds: check. Creepy blood red water: check. Creepy lightning and thunder: check. Creepy and ominous castle like structure off in the distance: check.

Hoping to find something NOT creepy he turned his attention to Naruto, who was sporting an unreadable look while intently staring down a scarecrow, mumbling something along the lines of 'Chronic lateness' and 'Porn addict'. Tsukune decided, that frankly, he didn't want to know.

Creepy and possibly insane blond guy: check.

"W-what a creepy place!... It's like a totally different world from before we entered the tunnel..." Tsukune continued, looking on the verge of a panic attack at this point. 'Maybe I should just go home... It would be less scary!'

He suddenly felt a hand land on his shoulder. "Hey, calm down Tsukune. I know this place is a little..." Naruto paused, thinking of the right word. "Eccentric... but its gonna be alright buddy." He finished with a confident grin. Inwardly giving himself a pat on the back for even knowing a word like 'eccentric'. He guessed listening to Sakura ramble when she was in her 'nerd' mode, had to have some benefits every once in a while.

The sincerity and kindness in Naruto's voice instantly calmed Tsukune's nerves. "Thank you Naruto-san."

"Meh, what are friends for?" Naruto replied nonchalantly.

"Friends?..." Tsukune asked, in slight disbelief of this person he had known less than five minutes.

Naruto blinked. "Yeah, sure, why not? No offense, but you look like you could really use one."

Slightly stunned, Tsukune quickly reevaluated his opinion of the blond. He may be extremely weird, but he seemed to be a genuinely nice person. So he happily responded with a simple nod and a smile.

Naruto grinned and continued. "Besides you worry too much, nothing bad is gonna happe-"

"Gyaaa! OHHhh NOooo! Coming through!" A voice interrupted him.

Naruto turned around, and was promptly nailed in the face by the front tire of a speeding bike.

-x-X-x-

(One concussion later...)

Pink.

When Naruto started to regain his bearings he became aware of several facts: The first being that his vision was filled with strands of pink hair. His mind immediately wondered what Sakura was doing here, due to the fact he just suffered a blow to the head and he saw pink hair.

It made sense to him anyways...

The next thing he idly noted was Tsukune's voice freaking out in the background, going on about 'This place is too scary!' or something like that... That kid was too damn jumpy.

Then finally (and what he probably should have noticed first), he was flat on his back and felt the weight of someone laying on top of him.

He grabbed the person's shoulders, most likely a girl from the small shoulder frame, and lifted them off himself gently as he could.

"Oww... Oh, I'm sorry! I got dizzy from my anemia..." The now clearly female voice apologized. "A-are you okay?" She asked in concern helping Naruto sit up and allowing him to finally get a good look at her.

"Whoa..." He muttered breathlessly.

The girl before him was defiantly added to his 'Complete Babes' list instantly. She looked to be about his age and had long pink hair that fell past her lower back. She had smooth looking light skin and big bright green eyes that were full of kindness and concern. Her whole demeanor seemed to radiate a certain innocence. She was wearing what he guessed was the standard uniform for girls, a green button up jacket and an incredibly short plaid skirt. He made a note to shake the hand of whoever had the idea for that one... Then violently smashed that thought to the recesses of his mind and cursed Jiraiya's name.

'She looks a lot like Sakura-chan... Just way more beautiful.' He thought to himself quietly, before flinching slightly in fear of how badly Sakura would kick his ass if she heard him say that out loud.

Quickly shaking himself out of his revere, he answered her question. "Yeah I'm fine. You okay?"

The girl, also getting a good look at him for the first time, blushes slightly at his handsome features, though she sweat-dropped and felt guilty at the tire mark that ran across his face vertically. She then noticed a small trail of blood flowing from the top of his forehead, causing her to gasp lightly.

"Oh no! Your bleeding!" she yelled, quickly searching her person for a handkerchief to wipe it off.

Naruto brought a finger to his forehead and swiped his hand across it. He pulled his finger back and looked it over. "Meh, no big deal. It's not bleeding much, and I'm a fast healer anyways." He looked back up, only to be startled at the girl being much, much closer to him and sporting a glazed look in her eyes.

"The scent of blood..." The girl began, in a somewhat zombie-like fashion. "I... I can't..." She fell forward and leaned into his chest, making the blond blush at the sudden and unexpected closeness. "I lose control when I smell that scent..." The girl continued.

'W-wha-what the hell is happening here?' Naruto screamed in his mind, completely befuddled at the sudden turn of events. The bike thing didn't surprise him as much as it would a normal person. Crazy shit was always happening to him, he had accepted that as an unavoidable part of his life at this point. But seemingly random intimate physical contact, and with a beauty like this none the less, was an almost surreal experience for a boy whom most of his life had been treated as if he didn't exist.

Neither noticed Tsukune staring at the scene in shock and more than a little jealousy.

The girls hands snaked around the sides of Naruto's face, causing his blush to deepen. The girl leaned forward whispering. "I-I'm sorry but... It's just because..." Now their noses were nearly touching. Naruto felt he could give Hinata a run for the money at this point, with how dark his blush must be.

"I'm a vampire!" the girl declared, suddenly moving her lips to Naruto's jugular and sinking her fangs into his flesh.

Silence...

"GYAAAAHH!" Tsukune screamed like a little girl and ran around like a chicken with it's head cut off, flailing his arms around randomly and shouting about 'Blood being sucked!'.

Naruto however, having been a professional ninja for a long time now, had seen much weirder things than this. Repressing his initial instinct to throw the girl off, he looked at the happily slurping girl and tried judging the situation as best as he could... The girl seemed pretty kind beforehand, and it really had seemed as if she simply lost control of her instincts, so he was certain this wasn't some kind of attack. He was also pretty sure she would stop before he would approach dying of blood loss. I mean, how much blood could her stomach hold anyways?.. With that thought in mind, he figured he might as well let the girl finish up, as it would be rude to stop her in the middle of a meal. After all, he'd be pretty annoyed if someone came up and knocked the ramen he was eating out of his hands.

He'd probably end up punching that someone in the face.

A couple minutes later, filled with the background noise of Tsukune freaking the hell out, the girl finally pulled back with a happy and satisfied sigh. She then began blushing in embarrassment, realizing what she had just done.

"I'm sorry! My name is Moka Akashiya, and although I look like this, I'm really a vampire." The girl finally introduced herself.

"Naruto Uzumaki..." The blond absently introduced himself to her, running a hand over the already almost healed puncture wound. 'So I was right... this isn't a normal school...' He thought, narrowing his eyes.

"Vampire! You mean like the blood sucking monsters that hate crosses and garlic?" Asked a seriously freaked out Tsukune.

Moka turned her head to Tsukune, seemingly noticing him for the first time. "Yep!" she answered him simply with a happy smile and a nod, taking a minute to learn the dark haired boy's name. She then immediately turned her attention back to Naruto.

"Thank you so much for the treat! Your blood is sooooo yummy!" She thanked Naruto profusely, all while sporting a blush and a dazed look as her body slightly shivered.

Naruto just sweat-dropped at being thanked for something like that.

After Naruto took a moment to calm Tsukune down (again), the three of them started walking in the direction of the school while making small talk. Naruto was carrying Moka's slightly mangled bike over his shoulder, promising her he'd get it fixed, even if the accident had been her fault.

"Um, Naruto? Why aren't you wearing the academy uniform?" Moka asked, eying his orange clothing. With a light blush, she decided to herself that it actually suited him quite well in a weird way.

"My set of the academy clothes were torn apart by a pack of wild wolves." Naruto answered simply.

Moka and Tsukune sweat-dropped, though Tsukune's was significantly larger, having remembered Naruto's earlier answer to the same question.

The small talk continued for a while before both boys noticed the girl looked nervous all of a sudden, they turned their full attention to her.

"Do... Erm... Do you two not like vampires?" she asked shyly tracing shapes with her foot in the dirt walkway. Looking like she'd burst into tears if either of them answered positive, but her attention was focused mainly on Naruto.

Naruto's eyes softened and he opened his mouth to reply, but a frantic Tsukune beat him to the punch.

"Huh? No, I wouldn't say that! I mean, vampires are pretty unique!" Tsukune desperately tried to calm the girl.

Naruto threw a grin towards his new black haired friend before turning his attention back to Moka. "I'm not big on judging people by their race or by rumors before I've ever even met them." He informed her simply. 'Lord knows I've certainly suffered enough discrimination firsthand... I refuse to ever be a bigot like those idiots in my childhood.' He thought solemnly. "Besides, from what I've seen, you seem to be a really good person." He told her with a wide smile, that unknowingly made the girl blush darkly at his words and at his smile.

Moka smiled like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "That's great! Would you two please be my friends?" She asked, suddenly looking shy and vulnerable again. "I-I don't know anyone here, I was worried I was going to end up feeling alone..." she trailed off, smiling a smile that Naruto instantly knew was fake. He focused on her eyes, and what he found caught him off guard.

Loneliness.

It was an emotion he knew better than just about anyone else alive, having lived as a Jinchuuriki and all. It honestly surprised the hell out of him to see it in the eyes of such a beautiful girl. He figured most people would flock to her for her looks, not to mention that kind personality of hers.

'Heh, guess that shows what a kid I still am sometimes... Making an assumption like that...' He thought bitterly.

Putting on a fox-like grin that seemed to stretch his entire face, Naruto answered her. "Of course I'll be your friend! I'm pretty sure Tsukune will be as well." He paused and glanced at the other boy, who nodded his head rapidly.

Naruto's smile then became much smaller, but somehow seemed to carry much, much more emotion.

Both Moka and Tsukune would remember his next words as the moment they first realized there was something different about Naruto Uzumaki... Well, other than his odd quirks and personality.

"As long as I'm around I'll never let you suffer from loneliness again, I promise." He paused and looked at Tsukune knowingly. "That goes for the both of you..." He brought his right hand up to eye level and made a fist. "And I never go back on my word, I'll follow my unbending words to my dying breath, dattebayo!" Naruto finished with a smile that oozed confidence and with a fire burning in his eyes that left both Tsukune and Moka feeling that he was being completely serious.

Moka was looking at him like a love struck teenage girl. She had a blush on her cheeks and she was staring at Naruto with dreamy eyes. It was something that flew right over Naruto's head...

Tsukune was gazing at him in a bit of awe as he felt a genuine smile work it's way onto his face, feeling he had just made a true friend for the first time in his life. He paused though as a thought struck him and he snorted.

'Dattebayo?... The hell?' He wondered as the three new friends entered the school grounds.

-x-X-x-

(Classroom)

Somewhere along the line after the opening ceremony, Naruto, Tsukune and Moka ended up getting separated from each other in the stampede of new students. Naruto had actually been a little late for his first class, but used his stealth skills, which were honed from years and years of antagonizing bloodthirsty assassins with elaborate pranks, to slip in through a window into one of the two empty seats next to Tsukune without anyone but said black haired boy noticing him. The two were now sitting in the back row, listening to their new homeroom teacher give her introduction.

She was... pretty hot, Naruto decided. She had sandy blond hair that fell to her shoulders, with two clumps at the top of her head that kinda looked like ears. She was wearing glasses and semi casual clothing with a short-

Wait... was that a tail?... Huh... Maybe those are ears on her head after all...

Shaking his head, Naruto tuned back into whatever his new teacher had been saying.

"-and welcome to Youkai Academy! I am your homeroom teacher Shizuka Nekonome." The teacher introduced herself with a smile to all her new students. "I think you all already know this but, this is a school built for the sake of monsters to attend!" While most of the class just kept staring at their teacher blankly, having known that information a long time ago, two of the students widened their eyes.

Naruto quickly regained his cool though, as he had strongly suspected something like this after Moka had claimed being a vampire earlier.

Tsukune looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack (again). He darted his head left and right, realizing he was surrounded by monsters on all sides.

Naruto watched him out of the corner of his eye and Kakashi's old saying 'Look underneath the underneath' came to mind. Naruto smiled faintly, quickly figuring out why the dark haired boy had been acting so scared. 'So I'm not the only human here am I?... Good.' He felt a strange sense of relief know he wouldn't be in this alone, even if Tsukune was a civilian. He refocused on what Shizuka was saying.

"The earth has already come under the control of the humans. In order for us monsters to continue to survive, we have no choice but to continue to peacefully coexist with the humans. At this academy, you will be studying 'How to coexist with humans'!"

Naruto desperately tried not to bust out laughing as Tsukune freaked out more and more with her every word.

"So for that reason," Shizuka continued. "as a school rule: You will all live your lives at this academy in human form! Do you understand? It's a matter of being able to disguise yourself well as a human! This is the foundation of coexistence."

'Seems much more like the foundation of hiding to me...' Naruto thought, looking at Shizuka incredulously.

"You are never to allow any of your fellow students to know your 'true form', understand?" Shizuka stated, stressing the importance of her words at the end.

"Hey teacher, would it not be better to eat up those puny humans? And in the case of beautiful girls, better to molest them..." Boldly asked one boy. He had slicked back brown hair, and his face was covered in various piercings.

Tsukune gaped at him in horror, and Naruto's earlier mirth at Tsukune's actions instantly shifted to contempt for this asshat. Naruto glanced around the classroom and was a little disgusted that only a hand-full of students seemed openly appalled by that comment. He felt even more disgusted when a couple students laughed and agreed with him. Deciding to shut this moron up before he said anything to piss him off even more, Naruto focused on the jackass and sent a wave of killing intent his way.

The boy froze, suddenly feeling an extreme sense of vertigo as an overwhelming aura landed on his shoulders. His mind became clouded from an undefinable feeling of pure primal fear. Then just as soon as he felt it, the feeling disappeared. He let his head fall to his desk with a 'thud' and gasped for air while wondering what the hell had just happened. No one but Naruto seemed to notice his predicament however, they were all focused on Shizuka's response.

"Oh! Incidentally, here at Youkai Academy the teachers and the students are allll monsters, there are no genuine humans here!" Shizuka said, completely ignoring the pierced brunette's actual question. "This academy is located within a secret sacred world! Any of those humans who come to know of our existence, we will bring them death or something..." She finished, seeming a tad unsure on the actual policy.

Tsukune, of course, reacted to this news by freaking out even more.

Naruto however, scowled.

"Oi!" Naruto shouted, waving his right arm through the air, gaining the attention of everyone. "You just said, not a minute ago, that the whole point of this school is to teach 'peaceful coexistence with humans'. And now, your saying any human that stumbles upon these grounds will be killed? I can tell you right now, true peace will never come if you unthinkingly kill for such a stupid and goddamn senseless reason!... When you spill someones blood, their loved ones will grow to hate you and want your blood. Hatred begets hatred; it's a never ending... cycle..." He trailed off, noticing the various looks he was receiving.

Most people were simply gaping at him, for the combination of his unusual perspective as a 'monster' and wondering how the hell they'd missed spotting someone wearing bright orange. Several of the girls were gazing at him and blushing, wondering how they missed this hottie. Then a few, like that pierced brunette asshole, openly glared at him. Thinking he was just some weakling human sympathizer, with no pride as a monster.

Tsukune, For the second time that day, got the feeling his new friend wasn't an average teenager. Something about the way he had spoken just now... it seemed as if derived from experience. Also, the fact that his friend unknowingly (as far as he knew) defended him brought a smile to his face.

Shizuka blinked and smiled slightly at the blond haired boy, wondering to herself how she had missed spotting such a uniquely dressed student. Although he had just interrupted her and cursed rather loudly, she didn't feel inclined to punish him. After all, she actually agreed with the point he was making. That, and it was still the first day of class, so some lenience could be shown. Her tail began to wag as she finally opened her mouth to reply to the blond, but a voice sounding from the door interrupted whatever she was going to say.

"Scuse me! After the entrance ceremony I kinda got lost in the school... Sorry I'm late!" A slightly winded Moka shouted as she ran into the room.

'What a cute one!' Shizuka thought to herself. "Oh, that's fine, just take a seat."

"Okay." Moka replied with a smile as she scanned the room for an empty seat.

A stunned silence filled the room.

Naruto's speech moments before was completely forgotten by most instantly in the presence of this beautiful girl. Nearly every guy in the room was gaping at her with blushes on their faces or lust in their eyes. Many random shouts and cat calls filled the room soon after, a couple morons even stood up on their desks and cheered.

"Who is she?"

"S-such flowing hair! Big eyes!"

"Whoa beautiful! Even if it's just her transformation, their isn't anyone else who could transform into such a beautiful girl..."

Naruto mentally disagreed with that last one. He could... 'Naruko Uzumaki' was also a member of his 'complete babes' list after all.

"HOT! SHE'S TOO HOT!"

"Please! Go out with me!"

"I'm so happy to be in the same class as this girl!"

Naruto finally decided to end this stupidity and help Moka find a place to sit down in one fell swoop.

"Hey Moka." Came a quiet casual call that somehow seemed cut through all the shouts in the room, instantly drawing said girl's attention. When she saw who called her name, she smiled brightly and ran across the room to the source of the voice.

"Naruto-kun! And Tsukune too!" The girl shouted happily throwing her arms around said boys in a hug. "I'm so happy! We're all in the same class!" She exclaimed, leaving Tsukune blushing and Naruto smiling at the excitable girl. Naruto idly noted her adding the 'kun' to his name but not Tsukune's, but thought nothing of it.

The effect this action had around the room was instantaneous.

"What the hell? Not that guy again!"

"Please! Please, someone tell me their just relatives of hers or something!"

"Our beautiful girl! Our beautiful girl!"

Tsukune looked at the sea of growling males in apprehension and dread. While Naruto just smiled at them all mockingly, pissing them off even more.

-x-X-x-

(Hallway)

'I-is this a dream?... It has to be... I've made two new friends, discovered the existence of monsters, and had a beautiful girl hug me. All within the span of a couple hours... If this is real, then maybe... maybe this place won't be so bad after all.' Tsukune thought to himself with a genuine smile while gazing at his new friends. 'If I can be this happy, I guess that monsters aren't that big a deal!'

Class had let out a few minutes before, and Moka had immediately grabbed both Naruto and himself. They were currently walking down the hall, under the stares of almost all the students in the hall. Though Tsukune noticed both Moka and Naruto seemed ignorant to that fact. Moka was in the middle excitedly pointing things out. Tsukune was on her left and she was holding his hand, while Naruto was on her right and she had her other arm interlocked with one of his own.

"Hey, Hey! Isn't this a cool hallway?" Moka enthusiasticly asked.

"Uh... yeah. I guess so." Tsukune responded, a little unsure what to say to something like that.

"Let's see whats over there!" Moka shouted happily, gesturing in a seemingly random direction.

Naruto remained strangely silent throughout the exchange, wearing a small serene smile. This was the first time in a while he had felt content, simply spending his time among friends.

He heard the chattering in the hallway pick up again and tuned it out completely. A skill picked up from a childhood filled with everyone around you whispering hateful things at your expense as you passed by them. While Moka was actually oblivious to the fact that most of the chatter in the hallway was about herself, Naruto simply didn't care enough to bother listening to whatever these hormone driven morons were rambling about. Tsukune however, heard it all. Much to his growing dread...

"Wow... did you see that girl?"

"WHOA! Beautiful! I've never seen such a hottie!"

"I... I want to date her!"

"Hey! Who the hell are those guys with her?"

"Perhaps they'll leave on their own..."

An evil chuckle filled the air.

"If not, those bastards are dead!"

"Let's just kill them now and be done with it!

"Yeah! That black haired one looks pretty scrawny, and the blond is apparently some kind of weakling human sympathizer... We can take them both easy!"

'GYAH! So bloodthirsty!' Tsukune screamed mentally, once again becoming fidgety. He began glancing around they hall franticly, noticing more and more males glaring at Naruto and himself.

"Hmm, such a pretty one." A voice sounded directly in front of them catching not only Tsukune's attention, but Moka's and Naruto's as well this time.

Tsukune took a small step back in fear, it was that brown haired guy with all the piercings. The 'Kill all puny humans and molest their women' guy. Naruto didn't move, but almost imperceptibly narrowed his eyes. Moka simply stared at the teen curiously, having not been in the room when the boy made his earlier comment.

"You are called Moka Akashiya are you not?" He asked her with a cocky smile and a wink. "I am your classmate Saizou Komiya! Salutations!" He greeted Moka, then took a step forward and did something that caught everyone by surprise. He grabbed Naruto by the front of his shirt and lifted him into the air with seemingly little effort.

Complete silence filled the hallway. Everyone who hadn't been watching beforehand, suddenly focused in on the encounter.

Tsukune and Moka both looked at their friend in worry, fearing for his safety due to Saizou's sudden aggressive actions. They then both glared at the person threatening their friend.

Now, Naruto... well... Naruto just stared at Saizou in amused disbelief, taking no action to free himself just yet.

He felt an odd sense of comfort in the fact that there existed someone that was far, far stupider than himself. 'This guy would probably piss himself if he knew the kind of people I've defeated...' Naruto thought, giggling like an idiot mentally. 'I've fought and survived against people that could kill this guy with a look, literally, hehe...' Thinking of a certain clan with crazy eyes and bad attitudes.

"By the way, why is a beautiful lady like yourself associating with a couple of weak guys like these?" Saizou continued casually talking to Moka, as if he wasn't threatening one of her friends. He seemed to be ignoring Tsukune's presence for the most part. It was something Tsukune would normally be thankful for, but in this situation, only served to annoy him.

A random student spoke up. "That's... It's Saizou! That guy is Komiya Saizou! He seems like he's probably one of those ill mannered suspicious rouge monsters. He sounds like quite a ladies man, from all the human women he's molested."

Naruto's left eye twitched at the sheer stupidity of that last comment. How the hell does 'molested' translate to ladies man?... While simultaneously, white hot rage built up within him at hearing that this bastard had already violated multiple women. He had been willing to give this guy of the benefit of the doubt before, and assume he was simply running his mouth off. But now, he had the strong urge to neuter this guy ruthlessly and be done with it.

The random student continued, oblivious to the fact he was sewing the seeds of Saizou's doom. "They say he caused too many problems out there in human society and was forced into this academy against his will."

Saizou pointed at himself with the thumb of his free hand and said in a self important manner. "Wouldn't someone like me be far superior to these sort of scummy guys?" He leaned his face forward towards Moka's, making the girl pull her own back in disgust. "Why don't we go off somewhere just the two of us and have some fun?" His presence suddenly turned more menacing. "Well? Why don't we go-"

He never got to finish.

Before anyone in the hallway could comprehend what happen, Naruto's and Saizou's positions switched. The blond was back on his feet, while Saizou was dangling high in the air with one of Naruto's hands wrapped around his throat in a vice like grip. An impressive feat given Saizou was noticeably larger than the blond.

The students in the hall all stared on in mute shock.

Well, most of them anyways...

"HOLY CRAP! I didn't even see him move!"

"Whoa... I guess he's not a wuss after all."

"I'm suddenly very glad we didn't attack him earlier."

None were more surprised than Tsukune and Moka. Up until this point, Naruto had been the most easy going and upbeat person either of them had ever met. The entire time they had known him, his eyes had been filled with happiness, mirth and a bit of mischievousness. Now though, they radiated nothing but cold fury.

It was like he was a different person entirely.

"Listen, and listen well Saizou, this is your only warning; I'm only saying this once." Naruto began in a serious voice, which was totally different from his normal lighthearted one.

"You're days of raping girls are over." The shinobi said with finality.

"If I ever hear of you approaching a girl with force again," He tightened his grip around Saizou's throat, who's face was starting to turn blue from lack of oxygen. "or of you threatening one of my friends!" Naruto sent another wave of killing intent upon Saizou with the word 'friends', much more concentrated than last time.

"I'm not sure what I'll do... but you can bet your ass you won't like it!" Despite saying that, Naruto had a few ideas in mind, most involved delivering a full powered rasengan to Saizou's manhood. The blond then kneed Saizou in the crotch hard as he could without adding chakra. "Don't cause any trouble and you'll never have to deal with me again. But if you harm another girl, I'll be your worst nightmare." Naruto finished with a intense glare. The blond then released his grip, letting Saizou fall to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

Without even bothering to look back, Naruto began walking off.

Everyone in the hall was left frozen in shock at the rather sudden and complete change of fortunes, staring at Saizou who was writhing on the ground in pain cupping him abused man parts and desperately trying to get air back in his lungs.

The first to gather themselves was Moka, who quickly grabbed Tsukune's hand and took off after their blond friend.

The hall exploded into animated conversations not long after they were out of sight, with the topic being the new 'sexy' (at least according to several females) but terrifying blond guy wearing orange.

-x-X-x-

(Stairwell)

When Moka and Tsukune caught up to Naruto, he was pacing back and forth near a set of stairs. He saw them coming and turned towards them, but refused to meet either of their eyes.

"I'm sorry if I scared you guys back there," Naruto began a bit meekly, afraid his new friends might be frightened of him after that little display. "but bastards like that guy only ever respond to one thing; force. I truly hope I'll never have to follow up on that threat... but I meant what I said. That bastard won't be harming another girl as long as I have something to say about it." He said, finally turning his eyes to his friends, who had been watching him intently.

His fears were alleviated when he found they were both smiling at him.

Tsukune spoke up first. "It's alright Naruto-san, you did the right thing and you were only defending Moka from that guy. Besides, we all have our own demons I suppose..."

Naruto gained a strange smile, as if Tsukune had just said the funniest thing he had ever heard in his entire life.

Moka continued where Tsukune left off, missing Naruto's odd smile. "Tsukune is right! Although, I'll admit that whole situation left me a little scared..." She stopped and smiled brightly at Naruto. "At least now I know I can count on you to come to my rescue!" She finished with a blush.

The girl once again appeared shy. "B-besides..." She brought her hands to her cheeks and swayed side to side as her blush deepened. "We're on blood sucking terms!"

Both Naruto and Tsukune face-faulted at that.

"Be proud of yourself! You have the greatest blood I've ever tasted Naruto-kun! It's way better than any of the blood I've drunk before from blood transfusion packs. It's bursting with flavor and filled with some kind of power I've never felt before! I think I actually feel a bit stronger after having drank it! Plus, it tastes sooooo good~!" Moka said, accompanied by a little happy dance.

Naruto recalled Anko once told him something similar, though the way she had said it was a lot less excited sounding and a lot more scary. At the time, he thought she was just making crap up to justify freaking him out and licking his blood every time she saw him. But now...

He shuddered.

Moka was oblivious to Naruto's distress. "W-well actually you know," She continued, acting shy (again). "th-that was my first time Naruto..."

"HUH?" Shouted Naruto and Tsukune simultaneously. Naruto was sure if he had been drinking something, it would have just gone spraying everywhere in a classic spit-take.

Moka favored Naruto with the most beautiful smile the girl had shown yet. "You're the first person who's body I've ever fed from Naruto-kun. That feeling... I'll never forget it!" She finished with a wistful look.

Naruto, a ninja known for being loud and never knowing when to stop running his mouth, was left stunned and unable to form a response for once in his life.

He was only able to blush like an idiot and awkwardly try to move his suddenly very heavy jaw to respond to the gorgeous girl standing before him. He felt strangely touched that she shared this event with him, since to her, it obviously held some rather strong significance.

Tsukune stared at Naruto in unhidden jealousy.

"Oh I'm so embarrassed!" Moka's blush increased and she pushed Naruto away playfully into a wall. Causing the concrete wall to crack...

'HOLY SHIT! She may be just as physically strong, if not stronger, than Sakura-chan!' Naruto thought, with no small amount of terror.

Tsukune was looking at the cracks in the wall with wide eyes, having similar thoughts regarding super strength.

"Come on you two!" Moka shouted, running down the hallway happily. "Let's have some fun! Let's check out the academy!"

The two males shared a glance and a smile and ran to catch up with the excitable girl.

-x-X-x-

(Pathway To Dorms)

A day filled with laughter and exploring all around the academy followed for the three friends.

Sometime during the course of the day, Naruto had decided that this academy took the whole 'Haunted' thing to a new (and stupid) level. There were creepy statues and dying plant life as far as the eye could see. He had counted well over five hundred gravestones all over the campus at this point. He sincerely hoped most of them were just for the ominous effect. The alternative was not a comforting thought at all...

The three were now headed to the dorms, to finally bring their long day to an end. Moka was a couple feet ahead of her two friends, happily skipping and humming to herself.

Seeing they could talk privately for a moment, Tsukune took the opportunity to ask Naruto something that had been bothering him for a while.

"Naruto-san, I have a question." Tsukune began unexpectedly.

Naruto turned to him and raised an eyebrow, giving him the silent go ahead.

"Why... why are you so friendly with someone like me? I mean I can understand why you're so nice to Moka-san, but I'm just a worthless normal guy..."

Naruto's response was to smack Tsukune upside the head.

"First of all, don't sell yourself so short. I bet you'd be surprised just what you're able to do when it really matters. Second, you can drop the damn 'san' already. You're my friend, no need to be so formal." Naruto then scowled. "And third, what the hell do you mean by 'you understand why I'm so nice to Moka'? Are you implying you think I'm just trying to get under her skirt or something?"

"What? No! Of course not!" Tsukune quickly replied, shocked, apparently having not thought of other ways his words could be interpreted. "I just meant that she's a wonderful and kind person who seems to light up the room... It's kind of hard not to like her..."

Naruto's scowl transformed into a small smile. "You're far from worthless buddy, you just proved it in my eyes with those simple kind words." He patted his friends shoulder. "Also, I get the distinct feeling that you and I are the abnormal ones around here." He finished, giving the dark haired boy a knowing look.

Tsukune looked confused, but then realization dawned on him. He leaned closer to Naruto and whispered conspiratorially. "You mean you're-"

Naruto cut him off. "Yeah, you're not the only human at Youkai Academy." He assured his friend quietly.

Tsukune was both shocked that Naruto had figured out his secret, and relieved that he wasn't the only human here. It made him feel an even stronger bond with his new friend, since the both of them were out of their element in this strange new world.

When he thought about it, this revelation made some of Naruto's actions and words from earlier in the day make a bit more sense to him. But it also made the blond's fearless actions against Saizou standout and surprise him all the more.

Moka's face suddenly appeared between the two of them. "What are you guys whispering about back here?" She asked suspiciously.

Both of them jumped, startled, neither having noticed her stop skipping and approach them.

"N-nothing important." Tsukune hastily lied.

Naruto just whistled innocently, seemingly taking up a sudden interest in cloud watching.

She gave them both a strange look, but then shrugged and apparently decided to let it go. "So... I've been meaning to ask you both... what type of monsters are you?" She asked with innocent curiosity.

Tsukune froze and began to sweat, while Naruto contemplated the pros and cons of telling her he was human.

"Oh!" Moka shouted, interrupting their thought processes. "Letting your true form out is against school rules isn't it?... Sorry, I didn't mean to ask that question." she corrected herself.

Both boys released a silent sigh of relief at that.

A thought stuck Tsukune and he decided to voice it while they were on the subject of monsters.

"Speaking of which Moka," He began, gaining the attention of his friends. "I can't really see you as anything except a normal human... Are you really a vam-vampire?" He stuttered at the end, a little scared of the answer.

Naruto turned to Moka, curious to hear her answer as well.

"Yep, of course!" The girl answered happily, with a hint of pride in her voice. "Right now I look human, but..." she paused and opened the front of her shirt a little, unintentionally giving the boys a good view of her cleavage. Both boys blushed at the sudden and unexpected show of flesh. "Ya see, If I take this rosary on my chest off," She continued, oblivious that she had just given her friends an eye full. "I become the real thing, an evil and scaaaary vampire!"

'Rosary?...' Both boys thought, focusing in on said object. It was a fancy looking silver cross with a round red gem of some sort in the center.

"Rosaries have the effect of sealing off a vampire's power." She stated informatively, but then her demeanor became sad. "Since in my original form I was hated and caused conflict, I put this rosary on myself so I'd keep my vampire powers sealed."

Tsukune just stared at her in shock, the reality that his new friend was truly not a human seemed to finally set in.

Naruto's mind was racing. He was filled with more emotions than he could hope to identify. 'She... she too bears a type of seal that holds back power, though her's is self imposed. It also sounds like she too was feared and hated by others for simply existing... I... I knew she acted like I used to when I was younger, smiling despite feeling the pain of loneliness... but this... This girl is a lot more alike me than I would have ever guessed.'

He suddenly felt a dainty hand softly placed on his chest, braking him from his inner monologue. He looked up to find Moka right in front of his face sporting a small blush.

"Vampires, even if our power is sealed... we still end up craving blood!" She stated happily, before once again sinking her fangs into his jugular with a small cry of 'my weakness!'.

Naruto only sweat-dropped.

The three arrived at the dorms not long after that (Moka drank her fill first of course), and Tsukune immediately freaked out seeing the run down and ominous looking building. Saying that it was far too creepy of a place to live.

Moka, strangely enough, thought the building was a dream come true. Claiming it was full of dignity and character. The perspective of a monster both boys supposed...

Naruto remained indifferent, the apartment he lived in most his life had been pretty run down by most standards as well. So it was pretty much a non-issue to him.

After helping Tsukune get a hold of himself (again), the three went their separate ways for the night, to unpack and settle into their new dorm rooms.

-x-X-x-

(The Next Morning)

Naruto was groggily walking towards the academy, rubbing his bleary eyes and cursing the bastard with the ridiculously loud snore in the room next to his own. Naruto vowed to prank the hell outta that rat bastard as soon as he got the chance. He had just crossed over a small hill when he came across what he was quickly beginning to suspect would be a common occurrence.

Tsukune freaking out.

He then noticed something that quickly shifted his sleepiness to being fully awake and alert; the black haired boy had all his luggage in his hands...

"Hey Tsukune," Naruto greeted. "what's with the bags?" He asked carefully.

"I-I don't think I can stay here Naruto... It's just too dangerous!" Tsukune told him, sounding defeated.

"Did something happen since the last time I saw you?" Naruto asked him calmly as he could through his growing worry that he was about to be down one friend.

It was obvious to Naruto that something must have happened, as the last time he talked to the boy he seemed genuinely happy. Sure, the boy had always been pretty damn jumpy, but this was a complete one eighty in personality from the last time he talked to him. The way he was acting now was as if someone had flat out threatened him or something...

Tsukune began a bit unsure and timidly. "W-well, I had another run in with Saizou and-"

Naruto stopped listening after that, already knowing it was time for him to go kick someones ass. 'What an unbelievably stupid bastard... I warned him to leave my friends alone. What happens next is his own damn fault for not listening...' He angrily thought through narrowed eyes.

Whatever Tsukune was saying was cut off by the arrival of Moka, who cheered happily and threw her arms around Naruto's shoulders from behind him.

"Good morning Naruto-kun! Tsukune!" She greeted happily. "If we don't hurry we're gonna be late to... class..." She trailed off noticing the black haired boy's bags. "Tsukune?" she asked concerned and much more subdued, sliding off Naruto's shoulders quietly.

Tsukune looked away. "I-I can't help it! This school is just too scary! I wanna go to a human school..."

Naruto just looked at his friend sadly. If that was really his choice, he wouldn't stop him.

Moka however, looked shocked. "A human one?..." she asked, dumbstruck. "No way! You can't go to a human school! I hate those humans!" she shouted.

Tsukune and Naruto stared at her wide eyed, shocked to the core.

"Huh?" Tsukune voiced for the both of them.

Naruto was pretty sure he already understood, recalling her comment yesterday about being hated. It left him feeling disappointed. A bit disappointed in Moka... But mostly disappointed in himself. He had been naive. He had foolishly thought, hoped, that such a pure soul like Moka would have been immune to letting hatred color her opinion of an entire race. He should have known by now that everyone feels hate, and that it is usually far harder to forgive then it is to simply give into that hatred.

Nagato had taught him that much...

He shook himself of his revere and listened on as she told her tale.

"You know I... I actually went to a human school up through middle school." Moka admitted. "I was isolated... None of those humans believed in monsters, so I started thinking I was weird. That I was different that everyone, that It'd be better if I wasn't there. That It'd be better if I disappeared..."

Naruto nodded sadly to himself, he'd lost count of how many times in his childhood he had asked himself something similar. It remained that way until he found his resolve to prove them all wrong.

"It was sooooo tough..." Moka continued. "But, you both said it was alright even though you found out I'm a vampire... This has been the first time in my life that I haven't felt alone!" She finished with a fond smile for the both of them.

Tsukune just stared at her in shock in with wide eyes as his mind tried to process everything he had just learned.

Naruto felt a great sense of sympathy for the girl in front of him. At least he had started finding his precious people four years ago. He also felt a sense of respect for her at the fact that she lasted sixteen years and still remained such a good person. He doubted he would have made it that long in the Leaf Village if no one had ever started believing in him... Frankly, he was terrified of what he may have become if he had never forged any bonds. With that in mind, he hardened his resolve on his earlier vow to never again let this girl feel loneliness as long as he was around.

"You can't go Tsukune! Let's study hard at this academy, the three of us! Together!" Moka pleaded, not wanting to lose one of her friends when she had just gained them.

"If..." Tsukune finally began to respond, in a subdued voice. "If I said I was one of those humans you hated... would you still stop me?"

Moka froze and looked at him wide eyed, thinking she heard wrong. "H-huh?"

"I'm... human." Tsukune whispered. But he might as well have shouted it with how it echoed throughout the clearing.

'What will you do now Moka?... Will you let your bigotry control you, or will you listen to your heart?' Naruto silently wondered. He was watching the pink haired girl intently, praying that her natural kindness and love for her new friends outweighed her old hatreds.

"I am human! Through some kind of mistake I ended up being let into this school, I'm different than you!" Tsukune yelled, letting out his frustration with this situation.

Moka began to become scared. "No!... There's no way a human could be here..." She took a step back in fear.

It was something Tsukune immediately picked up on, causing a pained look crossed his face. He quickly turned on his heel and began walking away. "Moka... that look on your face was because you realized I'm human..." He said without looking back. "That's right, I shouldn't even be here after all..." he said, more to himself this time.

Moka looked horribly conflicted. She turned her attention to Naruto hoping to find some kind of support, but was shocked and a little hurt to see him looking at her stoically. But after looking at his eyes, she got the distinct feeling he wanted her to decide this all on her own.

She chased after Tsukune and put a hand on his shoulder "Wait! Really, Tsukune I-"

He cut her off. "Let go!" he shouted shaking himself free. "You hate humans right? I don't want to befriend a monster either!" He yelled, taking off in a run towards the bus stop.

"Tsukune!" Moka shouted in sorrow at his disappearing form. She dropped to her knees and began to cry into her hands.

Naruto frowned in the direction Tsukune had ran off. He knew the dark haired boy hadn't meant that for an instant, he was just speaking out of anger and frustration.

He sighed and made his way over to Moka, hoping that this would all turn out alright in the end.

When he knelt down in front of the girl he was caught off guard when she suddenly lunged forward and began crying into his chest. After an awkward moment passed (for him at least), he pulled her into a hug and gently ran his hands through her long pink hair while making quiet soothing sounds. If past experiences had taught him anything, it was that he was normally pretty freakin terrible at reading girls. So all he could do was hope that his current actions were having the intended effect of calming the girl down.

After a couple minutes the girl's sobs subsided and Naruto decided to ask the important question.

"So... are you going to condemn Tsukune because of his humanity?" Naruto asked her bluntly. Beating around the bush had never really been his style.

Moka lifted her head from Naruto's chest and looked at him with her tear stained eyes. "No... I was being stupid... The whole time I was in that human school all I wanted was a friend, that's all I've ever really wanted..."

Naruto gave her another one of those small smiles that was loaded with emotion. "I'm glad. It would have been bad if you had kept on hating humans, because you would have had to force away two friends."

Moka's eyes widened. "You mean-"

Naruto nodded, cutting her off. "Yeah, I'm a human too."

Moka sat shellshocked at the thought that she may have just forced away not only Tsukune, but Naruto (her secret crush) as well. Both of her new friends...

Naruto stood up and dusted off his pants. He turned and began to walk in the direction Tsukune had disappeared, but a hand caught his wrist stopping him in his tracks.

"W-where are you going Naruto-kun?" Moka asked, more than a little scared he was leaving her too. She realized somewhere in the back of her mind that it was probably an irrational fear, but she was scared and emotional right now.

Naruto turned to the girl and grinned reassuringly. "Relax. I'm just gonna go see if I can get that scaredy cat to come back. I'm not gonna stop him if he truly does want to leave... but I know he'd come to greatly regret it if he left on this note." He explained, but noticed the girl still looked concerned.

He tried to think of something that might help the girl calm down... Then a memory came to him of something Granny Tsunade had done to calm him down on occasion, when it was just the two of them talking like family, with their guards down.

He knelt down in front of the girl again and brushed a few stray strands of hair out of her face. He then leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead and pulled back with a gentle smile. "You gonna be okay by yourself for a little while?" He asked kindly.

Moka just sat even more shellshocked than before, she swore her entire body must be practically glowing red with how hard she was blushing from Naruto's unexpected (but very welcomed) display of affection. She tried to open her mouth to say something but her voice seemed to have temporarily left her...

Naruto looked at her red face curiously, wondering if she had that same condition Hinata seemed to have. He just prayed that Moka wouldn't start fainting all the time like Hinata as well...

Naruto waited till he got a shaky nod from Moka that it was okay to go, then bolted off in the direction he thought the bus stop was.

-x-X-x-

(?)

Naruto stared.

The chipmunk stared back.

"FUCK! How the hell does someone even get this lost?" Naruto suddenly screamed at the heavens.

The chipmunk got the hell outta dodge and away from the crazy shouting man.

The blond shinobi was currently in the middle of a dead forest filled with absolutely no distinguishable landmarks for him to try and identify. In his haste to reach his wayward friend and convince him not to leave, a situation Naruto found horrifyingly familiar when he thought about it, he had apparently... taken a wrong turn somewhere... He was currently smack dab in the middle of 'Where the fuck am I?', and was more lost than he had ever been in his entire life. He idly wondered if this sort of thing ever actually happened to Kakashi... Was he on the fabled road of life right now?...

"NAAAAARRRUUUTTTTOOOOO!" A scared voice screeched in the distance, shattering his thoughts. He shot off in the voice's direction without a second thought, afraid, as that had been Moka's voice.

Pumping chakra into his legs Naruto was able to cross the forest to Moka's location in a matter of seconds. When he arrived in the clearing, he found a bloodied and roughed up Tsukune protectively standing in front of a crying Moka.

'Good, he came back on his own... and it seems like those two made up as well.' He thought, allowing a brief smile to grace his lips before turning his attention to the... thing... that Tsukune was protecting her from.

The thing was some kind of giant grotesque humanoid creature with bulging muscles, deadly looking claws, razor sharp teeth and evil looking eyes. It was wearing what appeared to be the shredded remnants of an academy jacket and a pair of intact academy pants. It also had a ridiculously long tongue that instantly made him think of Orochimaru. A comparison that was very bad for the creature, as Naruto usually wanted to flat out kill anything he could compare to that snake bastard. Oh, and it was at least three or four times his own size he idly noticed. All in all, it was incredibly menacing and looked like something out of a nightmare.

Naruto was unimpressed.

The youki he felt coming off the creature was ridiculously miniscule and insignificant compared to the Bijuu. That, and he had seen some far scarier looking creatures, or experiments he should say, when he destroyed one of the snake sannin's twisted laboratories with Jiraiya. This thing didn't even register as a 1.0 on his 'Oh-Shit-O-Meter'.

This thing had obviously been what harmed Tsukune, so without a further thought he bolted at the creature and took a flying jump. With a grin, Naruto decided to pull a trick from an old friends book...

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"

The creature turned towards the shout only to receive a heavy flying kick to the face, which sent the gigantic thing flying across the clearing.

Naruto landed softly in front of the shocked Tsukune and Moka and looked at them over his shoulder. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late. But ya know, the hero always arrives at the last moment!" He said with a cocky grin while rubbing his nose.

"Naruto/-kun!" Tsukune and Moka simultaneously shouted in joy at their friend's timely arrival. "Naruto-kun be careful! That thing is Saizou's true form! He's an Ogre!" Moka quickly explained.

"That's Saizou?..." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the creature that was slowly standing up. Naruto half turned to his friends and pointed at Saizou with his thumb. "Who else is super glad his pants didn't get torn off as well?" He quipped while raising his hand like he was in class.

Moka blushed at the crude image that invoked and Tsukune gaped at him in disbelief, unable to believe he was making jokes at a time like this.

"Uzumaki! I was hoping you would show up! I'm going to kill you for what you did earlier!" Saizou roared when he finally managed to stand upright and see who hit him with that sucker punch.

"Don't worry guys, I got this." Naruto assured his friends with a calming smile before turning and slowly striding towards Saizou.

"You're going to kill me?" Naruto asked incredulously. "Trust me on this one, at the moment you should be far more concerned about yourself." The shinobi informed him with a scowl, still calmly walking forward. "I warned your stupid ass to leave my friends alone... And not a day later I stumble upon this little scene." Naruto cracked his knuckles loudly in an intimidating fashion. "You're gonna have to suffer the wrath of your own stupidity you jackass! I'm going to crush you!" The blond growled with a menacing glare.

Saizou ignored the nibbling doubt in the back of his mind that was yelling at him to flee to fight another day, and decided to listen to his pride instead. "Bring it you weakling! This time you won't catch me off guard! After I'm done with you, that scrawny guy is next! Then I'll make sure and take my time when I have my way with Moka..." The monster shot back with a dark chuckle.

Naruto's glare intensified tenfold. "Not in this lifetime asshole..."

Despite the obvious confidence Naruto was exuding, Tsukune and Moka were seriously worried for their friend. As far as they knew he was a normal human. An incredibly brave human, but a human none the less. Moka jumped up and began to rush past Tsukune, hoping to somehow save, or at least help Naruto.

*Click*

The small simple sound seemed to echo throughout the clearing, magically drawing everyone's attention.

Tsukune stood gaping at Moka's rosary, which had apparently somehow ended up in his hand.

Moka stared at her now rosary-less choker in complete disbelief.

Naruto blinked dumbly at the scene.

Saizou glared hatefully.

Youki exploded from Moka, kicking up wind and flooding the area with her power.

Moka's pink hair glowed and turned silver, her fangs elongated and her green eyes became slitted and deep red. They reminded Naruto a lot of his own eyes when he had the fox's unfocused youki flowing through him. Naruto and Tsukune then noted, with blushes, that the size of her breasts and ass increased noticeably. All in all, Moka seemingly transformed from a cute teenager into a sexy, mature and deadly looking young woman.

Naruto watched wide eyed with a hand in front of him to block debris from his face. 'Holy shit! She actually has about half as much youki as the Ichibi! Does... does her entire race have this kind of power?... If so, it's no wonder they're feared. An entire race with this much raw energy is a really terrifying thought. Perhaps even more dangerous than the Bijuu themselves with enough numbers...'

"Red eyes... and that overpowering sensation... She's a super vampire?" Saizou asked himself disbelievingly through gritted teeth.

Naruto blinked. 'Super... vampire? Does that mean normal vampires are weaker?...'

The youki flooding the area died down and a deafening silence filled the clearing.

"Naruto." Moka called, her voice was now more elegant and somewhat arrogant. "You wouldn't mind if I took care of things from here would you?" She asked, smiling a smile that let him know she'd be doing this no matter what he said.

Naruto mutely shook his head with a dumbfounded expression.

Moka gracefully strode towards Saizou like a predator cornering it's unlucky prey. "Why are you shaking?... I thought you wanted me? Why don't you come and take me by force?" she asked mockingly with a sexy smirk, giving the 'come hither' motion.

Saizou didn't need to be told twice. This bitch was acting like he wasn't even a threat! He roared and followed her advice, charging towards her and taking a big swing with his massive claws at her.

"MOKA!" Tsukune screamed in horror at the giant hand heading her way. Naruto tensed but didn't immediately move, his instincts told him someone with that much power and that much confidence wouldn't go down that easily.

Moka simply raised a hand and stopped Saizou's massive hand, larger than her own body, without batting an eyelash. "Really? You're attacking me with this pathetic amount of power?" She asked with a mocking smile, seemingly disappointed. She then jumped in the air and delivered a spinning kick to his face. "Know your place!"

Saizou was instantly knocked unconscious from the force of the blow and his body flew out of the clearing, breaking several tombstones and trees in the process.

Naruto whistled. "Good distance." The blond then narrowed his eyes and gazed at the unconscious form of Saizou, whom probably had a broken jaw at the very least. 'You got off lucky asshole, I would have kicked your ass much, much harder than Moka just did, for threatening my friends like that...' He had been rather impressed by that display of power from Moka as well. 'Is that her actual physical strength or is it some precise manipulation of energy, like Grandma Tsunade and Sakura-chan?'

Moka spared Naruto an amused glance before striding over to Tsukune, who was shaking like a leaf in the wind. "Are you scared of this me, Tsukune?" She asked while plucking the rosary from his grasp. "Relax. I have no intention of harming you, the sentimental other Moka considers you one of her dear friends." She assured him before swiftly turning on her heel and sashaying towards Naruto.

Naruto gulped and couldn't help but notice the way her hips swayed as she walked.

When she finally reached him she placed a hand on his chest and looked up into his eyes. "You... are a very odd man."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. "Would you believe me if I told you you're not the first person to tell me that?" He asked with a cheeky grin.

"Hmm." She acknowledged with faint smile. "I can tell you're not lying about being human. Your scent and the taste of your blood are definitely that of a human... And yet you show absolutely no fear or discomfort under the pressure of my youki, a feat most monsters can't even achieve... Not only that, but you truly seemed to believe you could have dealt with that low class monster. And for some reason, I feel inclined to believe you... So tell me, exactly who are you, Naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto was silent for a moment.

"Your friend." He answered simply.

She gave him a long look, perhaps searching for something. "Hmph, I suppose that will have to do for now..." She relented with a mildly annoyed look. "You're behavior is quite confusing, at times you seem very open and at others it seems as if your hiding everything important about yourself. Most of the time you seem carefree and like minded to a child, but at moments I can see an experienced fighter in the fluidity of your movements." Naruto was honesty unsure if he should feel complimented of insulted at the moment. He settled for a bit of both.

Moka gave him a look akin to predator that had found something too amusing to devour just yet. "I look forward to learning what forged such an unusual man. Until then take care of the other Moka for me. Would you, Naruto?" She reattached the rosary with a coy smile. She reverted to her pink haired less intense personality and fell forward into his arms unconscious.

A brief moment of silence passed before Naruto sighed. This 'Inner' Moka certainly was different from her counterpart. He equated the pink haired Moka to himself when he was younger with a big dosage of timidness and femininity from Hinata. But this silver haired Moka made him think of some unholy combination of Anko and Sasuke; something that both amused and somewhat frightened him. She also had an aristocratic aura and carried herself in a way that screamed nobility to him. He had guarded enough princesses and such in the course of his career to see the subtle signs without looking too hard. It made him seriously wonder, which Moka was the real one? The whole situation was confusing and it was giving him a headache. He didn't think he'd ever understand girls, let alone girls with split personalities!

Naruto shook his head vigorously to clear his thoughts and picked Moka up bridal style and walked over to a dazed looking Tsukune.

When Naruto reached him he awkwardly shifted Moka into one arm and poked Tsukune in the chest with his newly freed hand. "I knew you would have all the courage you needed when it truly mattered." Naruto admitted his theory with a large smile, shocking Tsukune.

"Being terrified twenty-four-seven doesn't mean a damn thing as long as you have the strength of heart to not run when things get tough." He continued, looking at Tsukune right in his widened eyes.

"Just now, you stood up and protected Moka, without a second thought, against an opponent you knew you had absolutely no chance against... She's a dear friend, yes, but she's still someone you've only known for a single day... I hate to break it to ya buddy, but no 'worthless normal guy' would do something like that. In my book, stuff like that takes someone exceptional." Naruto finished with an almost proud look, giving the frozen Tsukune a pat on the shoulder.

Without another word, Naruto shifted Moka back into a bridal style carry and began the long trek back to the academy grounds.

The black haired boy was left completely speechless. No one had ever said something quite so kind and encouraging to him before in his entire life. Not even his own mother...

With tears threatening to fall from his eyes, Tsukune turned and began to follow after his friend.

No...

His best friend.

AN: My original concept for this fic actually had it starting at R+V part two and had Tsukune written out of it completely. It's funny how things can change as your idea grows...

Now, to answer a couple questions I'm sure several of you have right off the bat:

Why Naruto is even at Yokai Academy in the first place will be revealed in time, you'll all learn most of it gradually, at the same time as his new friends. I purposefully left most of it pretty ambiguous. I did so for two reasons; to give myself some wiggle room if I decided to change something, and to add bit of mystery and wonder for the reader. :P (Oh and just to eliminate them, he is NOT at the academy to escape the Akatsuki, to train demonic power of some sort, to forget about Konoha being destroyed, or any other reason you've seen again and again. XD)

And yes, this will eventually be a Naruto/Harem fic, but it won't happen immediately and it won't be all sunshine and butterflies with everything always flowing smoothly.

The whole romance situation will actually be alot more complicated than what this chapter would lead you to believe. You'll understand just what I mean by that in a couple chapters. You can also see I pretty much kept Naruto in character regarding how he is with girls; dense as a rock. I figured I could get away with it because the Rosario girls aren't exactly subtle in their approach to courting, heh.

Tsukune will likely end up with someone (not sure who, though I have a couple in mind) from the Naruto-verse in the end.

Have a nice day folks. :)

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