Nobody: Well people, I apologies for taking so long for this… especially after getting so many reviews on the first shot… I have to say, I was a little surprised… didn't think I did so well for the first… but you people proved me otherwise… SO… to show my appreciation, I got to work on the next chapter… however, life, a new temp job, and family issues led to this being postponed for a while… However, I managed to get a good time off, enough to get my second wind, and work though this… I hope that this next chapter will meet all you expectations, or even better, surpasses your expectations (wouldn't hold my breath for that though…). AND, if it doesn't meet up to par with your satisfaction, then please just leave constructive criticism, and no burns. Also, if things don't go the way you hope, then instead of complaining, I ask that you instead make your own Fic, and let others read your version, as I would enjoy that better… However, I will still accept any advice you are willing to offer for the storyline so far… so far, I am just winging this story, so let's how this will go down… ENJOY!

Ninja Night School and Graduation

Much has happened to the village hidden in the leaves as the years had gone by. Through investigation, the village discovered that only those who had been in the vicinity of the Kyuubi's chakra had been effected, and turned into the monsters they are now, leaving a small portion of human children left in the village from those who were evacuated from the village, or were out of the vicinity at the time. Mainly, it was the children of Shinobi that were mostly affected.

Also, due to the fact that the term 'monster' was politically incorrect and insulting, a new name was given to the affected children of the Kyuubi's chakra. At first, they were originally titled 'Night Walkers,' due to the fact that most of the children showed great irritation in the sunlight, and so, were most active during the late hours of night. However, the term became twisted around, and eventually evolved into the new word, 'Darkstalker,' and so, the new title stuck to the lips and mouths of the civilians more, being easier to say, and becoming the term for children infused with Kyuubi's chakra.

Though the village was not as bad as when the epidemic first hit, there was still some lingering signs of segregation and apprehension between the civilian humans and Darkstalkers. For example, the parents of normal children would sometimes have their children avoid contact with the creatures of the night, in fear of the monster like creatures, or would tell their children to avoid Darkstalkers all together. For the Shinobi class, however, they saw it as both a curse and an opportunity rolled into one. As Shinobi, one cannot control every event, and so, any hostility toward the Darkstalkers was well hidden behind the masks of professionalism. Not only that, but also every Shinobi knew that whatever advantage one could get is not one to be discarded or scorned, even if the advantage was their own spawn becoming inhuman creatures.

Twelve years have passed since the Kyuubi's attack, and because of this, many things have technically mellowed out, making the job of Hokage a bit more relieving. Ah yes… despite how things have gone, the village was prospering again, if a bit slowly and with an occasional headache every now and again. So much so, that Sarutobi had attempted to hurry his pace for paperwork so that he may take the rest of this day off, and spend some time with his grandson… yep, the day was quite relaxing. The night however…

Sarutobi awoke after hearing a knock on his door, turning his head to see it was 11:34 at night. Dressing more appropriately, he moved to the door, and opened it to find one of his Shinobi standing in the doorway.

"Yes?" Sarutobi asked, slightly grumpy he was losing sleep. He had just gotten into bed too.

"I apologize for disturbing you so late sir, but we have a situation!" The Shinobi stated.

"Don't tell me… it's Naruto again, isn't it?" Sarutobi stated with a groan.

"Huh? But how did you…?" The Shinobi questioned.

"It's always Naruto during the night… What has he done now?" Sarutobi slightly growled.

Meanwhile…

"GET BACK HERE YOU BRAT!"

Naruto was running with all he was worth from two Chunin level Shinobi, which was impressive in its own feat, a bucket of paint in his one hand and a huge grin spread across his face. What Naruto had pulled off would have been considered impressive, especially considering the time frame he had to pull it off, and how elaborate it turned out. Naruto had not only painted graffiti over the Hokage monument, but had somehow found the time and casualness to set up some spot light fixtures to make sure it would be able to be seen at night. And to add to this, he added an element to the paint so even if the light fixtures were taken down, the paint would glow in the dark in neon coloring. Yes, one would say that painting graffiti over the Village's equivalent to a national monument comes close to absurd and offensive on a high level, but once you look past that, and take note to the artistic genius behind the vandalism, one would see a great potential hidden beneath the grunge of delinquency, and see this act as more of a desperate cry for attention, even if it is negative.

Naruto smirked as he continued to out run the Shinobi behind him, and with an easy Shinobi disguise tactic, using only a simple fence colored tarp to hide, managed to outmaneuver and lose them.

"Too easy…" Naruto said to himself with a big fox smile on his face.

"Is that what you think?" a voice said from behind Naruto, followed by the smell of brimstone.

Before Naruto could turn to who spoke, a long spade headed tail snaked around Naruto's waist, and soon wrapped around his wrists, binding him in place.

"Gah! Iruka-Sensei, no fair!" Naruto yelled out.

"What isn't fair is that you're almost late for class again... and, I FIND YOU PAINTING GRAFFITI ALL OVER OUR MONUMENT!" Iruka yelled out, his head becoming slightly bigger, if that is even possible. Iruka was a Darkstalker that resembled a blue furry devil of sorts, and he was a Chunin instructor, teaching night time classes to Darkstalker students who attended. On his back in a simple sheathe was a curved sword that he kept with him at all times, mainly to intimidate rowdy students. Right now, when he heard what Naruto had done, he knew he had the best chance to catch him, and at the moment, he was dragging Naruto to class while lecturing him. "After class tonight, I want you to spend the rest of the night trying to clean up that mess, understood?"

"But Iruka-Sensei, I made a special blend tonight, and it would take forever to clean off by hand!" Naruto whined.

Naruto, after his first semester in the regular daytime academy, did not enjoy it in the least. None of the kids would really connect to him, and his pranks for attention nearly got him expelled. As an alternative to expelling, he was sent for a month to the night time classes, and though at first Naruto complained about the hours, he had come to enjoy the company of Darkstalkers more than humans. Because of this, Naruto requested the Hokage to transfer him to the night classes, and ever since, he had been doing much better. Though, he would still pull pranks and wasn't exactly an academic student, information Naruto did take in, he would soak up like a sponge, and would never forget it. One of the qualities Iruka liked about his troublesome student. Unfortunately, for some reason, Naruto was unable to get the Clone Jutsu down pat, despite having memorized it by heart by now. Iruka knows Naruto isn't a bad kid, and that he works even harder than the other students due to him being one of the few humans in the class and forced to try to catch up to them.

Having enough of Naruto's whining, Iruka then continued his scold. "You should have thought of that before you painted THE ENTIRE MOUNTAIN!"

30 minutes before Naruto's awesome prank…

"I'm off to the academy, daddy!" a young female voice yelled out.

"Ino, honey, could you hold on for a second?!" Spoke a stern but loving voice.

The girl known as Ino stopped, and turned toward the source of the voice, which happened to be her father, Inoichi Yamanaka.

"Yes daddy?" Ino asked.

He was holding out a paper bag toward her, waiting for her to take it. "Could you please take this and give it to Sakura?" He kindly asked.

Ino looked into the contents, and then sighed in annoyance. "She forgot again, didn't she? Alright… I'll try to catch up to her before she gets into too much trouble." Ino stated. Suddenly, from Ino's back sprouted forth a pair of purple leather webbed wings, the width of which were as long, or longer, than her arm, and she began to hover a foot off the ground. Before she could fly off, her father suddenly stopped her.

"Oh Ino… before you go…" He called.

Ino then lowered herself back down, still hovering, but now a few feet in front of her father. "Yes daddy?"

"Put on some less provocative clothing…" Inoichi stated, indicating the fact that Ino was currently wearing a see through shirt with a purple G-string Bikini top underneath, a pair of leggings that only came up to her hips showing she was wearing a very scanty pair of panties to cover her modesty, and finally, a pair of high heeled shoes on her feet.

"DADDY!" Ino whined.

"Don't daddy me… at least put on something that covers up your cleavage and hips, or you're grounded…" Inoichi stated with a firm voice.

"*Groan* Fine!" Ino whined some more. Suddenly, the clothing on her body began to morph and shift, until finally she was wearing a purple tank top that covered her chest area, but did nothing to hide her shoulders and stomach. She was also wearing a purple thigh high skirt with tightly bandaged wrappings underneath to cover her modesty. All in all, the new clothing did nothing to hide her gorgeous figure.

"See… less is better… and don't go changing it during school… I have personally asked the instructors to tell me if you do…" Inoichi stated.

"Whatever daddy… but if I starve because nobody is finding my body alluring, it'll be on you…" Ino stated with a joking huff before flying off. "I'll see you in the morning daddy…"

Inoichi sighed in slight frustration. Being the father of a succubus was nerve wracking. If she didn't get any arousal from someone, she'd go hungry, but if someone found her too appealing, they may take it too far with his little princess, and no father wants to have their baby girl undergo sex too early. It was a fine line to protect his daughter's innocence and virginity, one that he had been fighting ever since she hit puberty. Those were hectic times back then.

When Ino first transformed into what she is now at the age of four, she hadn't had the hunger that she has now, but when puberty started to kick in, Ino would show signs of fatigue from the lack of sexual energy. For the first few weeks, her parents attempted to keep her sated by moving her bedroom next to their room, and started to try having sex while she slept every so often. At first, it worked pretty well, however, a man's endurance can only go so far, and they had to begin trying to think of new ways to feed her the energy from sexual pleasure. When Ino's body developed, Inoichi relented into letting her wear attractive clothing to arouse the male populace around her, with some guidelines on what to wear. Later, she found she could shape shift her own wings into what she needed, mainly clothing, and started experimenting by pushing the boundaries of what she could wear.

Inoichi sighed. Yep, being the father of a succubus was a constant watch over her purity. It doesn't help that she is starting to get the 'urges' either.

'Sometimes I think Kami is pulling a cruel joke on me…' Inoichi thought as he waved goodbye to his daughter for the night.

Hyuga Complex.

Hinata picked up her bag for the academy, and began to tip toe out of the complex, hoping not to wake any of the sleeping occupants.

"Hinata…" A voice called out in monotone.

Hinata stopped, taking in a nervous gulp. "Y-yes, f-father?" She stuttered as she spotted her father, Hiashi Hyuga, sitting on the floor at the dining room table, taking a sip of tea.

"You're off to the academy?" He asked, not bothering to look up at her.

"Yes…" She mumbled.

"You haven't forgotten anything, have you?" Hiashi asked, still not looking up at her.

"Um… no… I-I have everything p-packed up…" Hinata answered.

"Are you sure you have everything? We do not need an incident again..." He asked as he finally laid his eyes on her with a cold and emotionless stare.

Hinata flinched after that, and her eyes began to move about the room, avoiding her father's stare. "I… I… no…" Hinata admitted, staring down toward the ground in shame.

Her father then grabbed something and tossed it toward her, in which she caught, and Hiashi began to head off, leaving his tea on the table. "Just make sure you take it tonight…"

Hinata sighed in sadness, packed the object into her bag. "Y-yes father…" Hinata then began to make her way toward the academy, her form hidden by the shadows of the night.

Shinobi Academy…

"Alright! I've made it 15 minutes early again, and now I get to pick the seat close to wherever Sasuke might end up sitting!" Shouted out a young, pink haired cat like girl, who positioned her paw like hands near her face, licking the back of it by instinct. This was Sakura, who is a cat girl type Darkstalker, and a very smart and playful one at that.

"Umm… Sakura… before you get all excited about getting to sit near Sasuke, I think you should take note of two very important things." Ino stated as she managed to fly into the classroom from the window, holding the bag her father gave her before she left. "One… Sasuke isn't currently in class yet… and second… you forgot your clothes again…" Ino stated, holding up the bag.

Sakura paused in what she was doing, and then looked down at herself in embarrassment, showing that indeed she had forgotten to wear any articles of clothing, except for a red ribbon tied to her tail, and even though her fur managed to cover her private areas, it still gave an eyeful view of the shape of her body. "Myu? I did it again, didn't I? Sorry about that Ino…" She stated apologetically, her paw taking the bag from Ino's hand to reveal a bag of clothing. Animal type Darkstalkers tended to forget to wear a full set of clothing, or any clothing at all, as they have a fur that covers their body, and wouldn't really need clothing except for decency sake.

"Sigh… it's alright Sakura… just be glad you came to class before Sensei did, or he might have given you another detention…" Ino commented, her wings retracting into her back. "As for where Sasuke is… I saw him outside in the training field sparring with Kiba as I flew in… Want to go watch? There is still some time before class starts…" Ino asked.

After putting on a loose red gown that covered Sakura's body, and then tying her hair back with the red ribbon, Sakura then put on a red bandanna to cover the cat ears on top of her head. She then purred for a second, and smiled happily at her friend. "Myu? Sasuke Vs. the dog boy… you bet…"

The two friends began to walk out toward the academy's training field, excited to see the great Sasuke in action.

Ino and Sakura had been friends ever since they were both in the Pre-Kunoichi academy at the age of 4. It happened when some other girls were bullying Sakura for the fact she had yet to undergo the transformation many children receive once they hit four. The change usually happens when a child reaches four, when their chakra network starts to fully kick in, which usually will happen on their birthday. And usually when you're a normal child in a class of monsters, the other children will take out their grief on the 'Normal' who attended. In this case, Sakura was still 3 years old at the time, and was still pretty normal and human like compared to her peers.

Fortunately, Sakura received help from Ino, who not only had undergone her transformation, but also knew better than to mistreat others. She managed to stand up to the young bullies, and her and Sakura became fast friends soon after.

However, a month or so after, Sakura had stopped coming to the pre-academy. Many had wondered what could have happened to her, Ino especially, as she had prepared a gift for Sakura for her upcoming birthday, a red ribbon to accentuate her forehead. Months went by, and still there wasn't any word or tale about Sakura.

One day, while Ino was out playing in the playground, she had caught sight of a small white kitten with a pink tuft of fur on its head. It was so frail and malnourished; she felt bad for it and without her parents knowing, snuck it home. After that, she secretly tried to care for it, sneaking it food and milk whenever she could. Her parents later found out about the cat, and after sitting Ino down, discussed responsibility, and whatnot, and agreed to let her keep it. Imagine their surprise when they found out the cat could talk, and later, found out it was Sakura all along.

Sakura explained the situation with her mother passing away, and her father going into depression, and after Sakura's change, how he lost it and kicked her out of their home. Sakura was all but willing to live as Ino's house pet just to have a home to belong and feel safe in. However, Inoichi did one better, and had Sakura adopted into the family. He was going to set up a spare room for her, but she insisted in sleeping in Ino's room, and not only that, in her cat form, would sleep at the foot of Ino's bed. She stated it was quite comfortable.

Ever since, the two friends have been sharing a room, a bed, and a closet full of clothes for the rest of their time together. However, the only thing they will not be willing to share is their love interest, in this case, Sasuke, (although, Ino had mentioned trying a threesome), and so, built up a healthy sister like rivalry to compete for his heart. However, despite them both fantasizing about Sasuke, they were both not solely focused on Sasuke, especially in Ino's case, and did leave themselves open to alternatives should one of them, or another girl completely, obtain Sasuke first.

Ino also did manage to give Sakura her present, and as such, Sakura holds this red ribbon very dearly to her heart, and it represents the bond that both she and Ino share with each other. That, and it is the only article of clothing Sakura actually remembers to put on.

The two girls came out in time to see Sasuke ducking under a swipe from Kiba, and deliver an elbow thrust into Kiba's gut, causing the young Inuzuka boy to double over a bit.

"Awesome! We haven't missed it yet!" Ino exclaimed.

"Woohoo! Kick his doggy ass Sasuke! Myu!" Sakura cheered. Due to the Inuzuka being canine enthusiast, and Sakura being a cat Darkstalker, she was not very fond of the clan or dogs in general.

Sasuke was currently wearing a blue male's kimono with the Uchiha crest on the back, as well as two small wings on his back. His hands were also black and had long sharp nails.

As for Kiba, he was wearing a grey vest with a black fur rimmed hood, leaving is arms and chest exposed. He wore no sandals on his feet, and his pants looked ragged and torn. Kiba's mouth bore sharp looking canines, his hands, long nails, and his eyes, a predatory stare.

Sasuke was the rookie of the year, and the last loyal Uchiha. However, because of the curse caused by the Kyuubi's chakra, he is seen with as much disdain as every other child Darkstalker. To make matters worse, his brother had murdered the entire clan, leaving Sasuke to fend for himself and deal with the hate alone. Sasuke was a young, pale skinned Tengu like Darkstalker, who bore strands of black feathers in his hair, and had a sharp pointed nose.

Kiba was the youngest in the Inuzuka family. Because of his wild nature, the young Inuzuka had yet to find any canine companion that would be willing to work alongside him. In fact, all potential candidates had avoided him out of fear, due to Kiba being so intimidating to them. When it comes to animal type Darkstalkers, which Kiba was, they tended to either become closer to other animals, or end up intimidating them. It truly depended on who and what the Darkstalker was. Unlike Kiba's sister, who had gotten along with many animals, and even many animal Darkstalkers, which helps considering she runs a veterinary clinic for both species.

Back to the fight, Sasuke then jumped into the air, and went to deliver a kick to Kiba's face, however, Kiba leaned to the side and managed to grab Sasuke's leg, spin him around, and tossing him away. Sasuke's small pair of black feathered wings then grew larger, and flapping them, he righted himself in midair, and then used them to help land softly on the ground before retracting them back to a smaller size.

Kiba gave a feral grin as he got on all fours, and charged forward at great speed. Kiba then lashed out with a clawed hand at Sasuke's sternum, but the young Uchiha nimbly jumped into the air to avoid Kiba's charge completely, his wings appearing again, this time flapping to keep him airborne. Sasuke's wings then lengthened in size, and folded around his young body, and then he began to spin downward toward Kiba like a corkscrew, his body resembling a black drill.

Kiba jumped back, avoiding a collision with enough force to form a small crater in the ground, and giving off another feral smirk, Kiba began to cackle while Sasuke's wings retracted again to a small size.

"Not bad prick! Guess I should stop holding back now!" Kiba then took a stance on all fours, and soon, a red chakra began to build around his body. However, before he could continue, a stripped clawed hand then firmly grabbed his shoulder. Kiba stopped, and turned his head to catch the sight of an adult Tiger like man with silver hair.

"Shouldn't you two be heading to the classroom instead of fighting unsupervised?" The Tiger man stated with a sharp toothy grin.

"Ah… Mizuki-Sensei! The Uchiha and I were just exercising!" Was Kiba's excuse.

Sasuke began to calmly make his way toward the academy, ignoring Kiba's excuse or Mizuki's lecturing.

"Oh? Is that why you were about to use demonic chakra in an exercise?" Mizuki sarcastically asked. "You are very fortunate Inuzuka, that graduation is just around the corner, and I'm feeling in a good mood… otherwise, I would have you suspended." Mizuki stated in a cheery voice. As Kiba sighed in relief, suddenly, Mizuki's voice darkened and echoed as his features shifted to something more feral. "Grr... Now get to class before I change my mind." That sent Kiba running on all fours, as Mizuki's features shifted back to that of a house cats, a purr and smug look on his face. "Favorite part of my job…"

Ino and Sakura sighed at seeing the fight interrupted. "Oh man… just when it was going to get really good…" Ino complained.

"Yeah, I guess… I guess we should start to head in and grab our seats before everyone else…" Sakura stated.

"And if we're lucky, we might both get a spot next to Sasuke! And if not… there are still plenty of other cute boys to sit next to…" Ino cried, gushing at the prospect. And so, the two rushed inside, hoping to get inside before any other fan girl could make claim to any seats.

At that moment, a crowd of many Darkstalker students began to form outside the academy, as many began to march in toward the entrance.

Shikamaru lazily walked into the academy grounds, yawning a bit as he did. Shikamaru was one of the few human children of Konoha, and even more fewer, was one of the humans to attend the Darkstalker night classes. The reason for this was that upon seeing him sleep in class all the time, but seeing that despite being so lazy, Shikamaru was much smarter than he let on, they decided that perhaps Shikamaru would be more active at night then during the day, and with his parents' permission, he attended the night classes for a trial time. Shikamaru would complain about staying up all night, however, his academic scores did improve, if a bit marginally since he still sleeps in the classroom during lectures. The good thing about the Darkstalker night classes that Shikamaru didn't mind was he got to become good friends, and form their own clique, with Naruto Uzumaki, Choji Akumichi, and Kiba Inuzuka. Not only that, but he got to sleep during the day, or be lazy and gaze up at clouds on clear days. The downside though was that female Darkstalkers were proving just as troublesome, if not more so, than regular girls.

"Like, oh Kami… is that his newest album!" speak of the devils. Shikamaru couldn't help but groan as some random girl was gushing over the music of some musical artist with her friends. "Deerhyde's music totally rocks!"

Oh yes… Deerhyde, a supposed Darkstalker musician who had made his debut a couple years ago, favored by all, but mostly by the Darkstalker demographic. The Rock Star, supposedly undead artist, Deerhyde Soulsinger, had become a smash hit as he introduced a new genre of music to the Elemental Nations. A brand of music that was loud, like a cry of demons wailing, like a choir of angels singing, and/or like the pounding of two Bijuu clashing in battle. Shikamaru couldn't help but groan at how annoying the girls were acting. Shikamaru found most women to be troublesome, but no more so than fan girls.

"Yo! Shikamaru! You're earlier than usual… I figured you'd be late as always." A voice shouted to him.

Shikamaru turned around, and caught sight of the largest form in the crowd, standing a full foot higher than the other students. He had a messy mop of brown hair, and he stood a good 6 foot tall. He had pale green skin, and his arms were massively bulky, disproportioned compared to the rest of his body, and were wrapped up in bandages. His body was built with power, fat lined with muscle. He had red swirl marks on his cheeks, and wore a shirt with the Kanji for Meat, as well as a green over shirt. This was Choji Akimichi, one of Shikamaru's oldest friends, and a member of the Akimichi clan. He was currently holding a family size bag of potato chips in one hand, and the other hand grabbing a handful of potato chips and scarfing them down.

"Sigh… I would have… but mom went and woke me up an hour ago, the troublesome woman… Apparently, she doesn't want me to miss anything for the last few days of the academy… it's bad enough I have to stay up all night to study… Now I'm not allowed to get sleep during the day… it's a drag…" Shikamaru complained.

"Heh… sounds like you… Speaking of late comers... looks like Naruto is going to be late…" Choji stated, his eyes casually glancing around.

"Eh… I caught sight of Naruto earlier purchasing some long extension cords…" Shikamaru stated in a bored tone.

"Huh? What do you think he's going to do with that…?" Choji asked.

"Knowing him, probably pull a big prank…" Shikamaru stated.

Other students soon began to pour in as well, each a Darkstalker of a different breed, and all of them moving toward their respective classes for the night. It wasn't until thirty minutes later that the class room was interrupted by Iruka dragging Naruto in, still tied to his spade tail.

"Come on Iruka-Sensei! Let me go!" Naruto yelled as he was dragged through the Academy halls.

"Will you shut up? You're disrupting the other classrooms! Besides, you wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't tried to pull that stupid stunt." Iruka chastised.

Iruka managed to drag Naruto into class, and then unwrapped his tail from around Naruto, setting him down in front of the class.

Many students couldn't help but either groan or sweat drop at Naruto's action.

'Oh Naruto…' thought out one Hinata Hyuuga, who not only sat in back of the class, but also sat at the darkest corner.

"Woah Shikamaru… you totally called it…" Choji commented, sneaking a handful of chips into his mouth.

"Sigh… troublesome…" Shikamaru boredly commented.

'Naruto! What did you do now, Myu?!' Sakura thought to herself, looking somewhat concerned for Naruto. It was thanks to him, she managed to hold out for a whole month on his charitable handouts before Ino found her. Despite what Naruto did for her, she never could outright tell him in person how grateful she was for his kindness all those years ago. The reason for her hesitancy though wasn't pride or anything, but shame. She didn't think she deserved a friend like him, mainly because back when she was a human child, he tried to become her friend, only for her to throw it back in his face. Granted, she didn't know him well enough back then, but even then, she should have been a bit more courteous. After getting to know him as a stray cat accepting handouts from him, she bore witness to his lifestyle, and couldn't help but feel undeserving of such kindness. However, that didn't mean she couldn't befriend him. She will tell him, she just wants some time to build up the courage to do so.

"Well class… since Naruto was attempting to skip out on today's lesson, perhaps we will all review the Transformation Jutsu." Iruka stated.

The whole class groaned. They hated trying to do the Transformation Jutsu, mainly because most of the class couldn't do it. This was because their chakra was erratic, and difficult to control, and because of this, the Darkstalker children mainly needed to learn chakra control exercises, and because of that, the Clone Jutsu had to be mostly removed from the Darkstalker Genin roster, since almost none could pull it off.

All the students lined up, and made an attempt at the Transformation Jutsu, some getting it right, like Ino, Sasuke, and Hinata, while others only came close with some flaws, like Kiba, Sakura and Choji, and the rest just plain messing up, not even close. It was Naruto's turn to come up now. Out of all the classroom members, Naruto was ironically the best at performing this particular Jutsu, in fact, one could say he practically could master it if he applied himself more to it.

"Alright… perform the Transformation Jutsu Naruto…" Iruka ordered.

"Hee! Transform!" Naruto yelled, putting his hands together for a hand sign. In a puff of smoke, what was standing there now was a busty blonde woman with fox ears and a fluffy fox tail, only fur covering her private parts. This form received multiple reactions. Iruka shot back with blood shooting out his nose. Sasuke remained stoic, although, a trickle of blood ran down his nose. Hinata had a look of embarrassment, and she retreated further into her shadowy corner to hide her blush. Kiba let off a wolfish howl, and began to pant with his tongue out. A bunch of other students gave a look of annoyance, or jealousy for some women. However, Sakura's was the one that put a stop to it, as her tail suddenly thwacked Naruto in the back of the head, effectively changing him back.

"Ow!" Naruto muttered, putting a hand to his head.

"Mmmmmrrrrrr, Naruto! Why the hell are you changing into something so pervy, Mmrrr! Take our Sensei more seriously, Myu!" Sakura hissed, her fur actually standing on end, her back arched.

Naruto then nervously chuckled, giving a nervous fox grin and rubbing the back of his head, keeping one eye on Sakura's hands. "No no Sakura… I was just joking around… hehehe…"

Sakura then calmed down and just huffed at Naruto's action, then snubbed her nose up like a cat's, pretending to still be mad at Naruto. Suddenly, Ino ran next to Naruto

"Besides… I think they'd prefer the real thing…" Ino then suddenly pulled her top up, revealing her bosoms, causing many male students to lose blood and pass out, and for Sakura to start hissing again, thwacking Ino with her tail now. This caused Ino to drop her top back down, and for Ino to put up her hands to defend against Sakura's thwacking tail.

Iruka nearly passed out again after this, but regained his composure. "QUIT PLAYING GAMES! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!" Iruka yelled, his head very large, bloody tissue paper up his nostrils.

Later, after class… Hokage Monument…

"And make sure you scrub it clear, got it?!" Iruka barked up at Naruto, was cleaning the faces of the Hokage Monument. "I want it done by morning, you got me?"

"Aw! But Sensei, I'll never get it done by then!" Naruto complained.

"Then you should have thought of that before painting the mountain the first place… and with neon glow-in-the-dark paint no less…" Iruka stated. Naruto grumbled, and morosely got back to work. Iruka stared at the young man, and then a smile came to his blue face. "How about this… if you finish by morning, I'll treat you to a Ramen breakfast…"

Naruto's attitude instantly took a 180. "You got yourself a deal Iruka-Sensei!" and so, Naruto then began to hasten his cleaning pace.

"Hey Old man, Ayame-chan! I'd like some Egg and Beef Ramen!" Naruto cried out joyously as he entered the ramen stand, Iruka following behind him.

Iruka looked more exhausted than Naruto did, but considering that he usually slept during the day and that the sun had already risen an hour ago, Iruka was ready to hit the hay. However, he promise Naruto to treat him to a meal after he finished, and Iruka was one to keep his promises, especially to his favorite student, Naruto.

"Ah… Naruto, Good Morning…" Old man Teuchi cheerily stated.

"*Yawn* Oh… Naruto, good morning…" Ayame drowsily stated, looking just as sleepy as Iruka, rubbing her glowing eyes. Ayame was now a 19 year old woman, with a taller frame and curves of maturity. Ayame would usually work the late shifts for her father, allowing the restaurant to remain open at later hours for the Darkstalker citizens. However, she sometimes stayed up in the morning since Naruto often times likes to come by during the day for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, or in between snacks. "Naruto breakfast special coming right up… what will you be having Iruka?"

"Just a light serving… I don't want to go to bed with it sitting in my stomach…" Iruka commented.

"I wouldn't mind having Ramen in my belly before going to bed… would probably give me good ramen dreams…" Naruto commented.

Iruka smirked at Naruto's childish antics. The kid stayed up the whole night, and he still has energy to keep going, despite being human. Iruka didn't know where he gets it all, but it does give him enough energy to be on par with a Darkstalker if need be. Now if only Iruka could've figured out a way to harness Naruto's vast energy, Naruto would be on par with other Darkstalkers in his class, not be considered the dead last.

Fifteen minutes later, Ayame and the old man came out with the orders, and Naruto wasted no time in downing his soupy Breakfast. Iruka drank his down slowly, staring off into space, his mind elsewhere.

"Hey Naruto…?" Iruka started. "The Hokage monument… you know what it's for, right?"

"To respect the Hokage that came before us and so that it would symbolize them always looking over the village…" Naruto stated while eating down another chopstick full of Ramen.

Iruka blinked at that. Sometimes Naruto would be as thick as a rock when it came to receiving information. However, sometimes Naruto had his moments where he showed he really was a very deep thinker. "If you know what it is for, then why did you paint graffiti all over the Hokage's faces…?" Iruka asked, perplexed by Naruto's reasoning.

"Well…" Naruto started. "It's because I respect them that I did it… I know that to be a Hokage means to work harder than anybody else in the village, and to stand above all that comes your way… However…" Naruto started, slurping down his Ramen's last gulp. "I'm going to surpass them one day and be the greatest Hokage that ever existed!"

"I see…" Iruka stated.

"Hey Sensei…? I was wondering… could I try on your Headband?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto… first off, you have to earn the right to wear this headband by passing the final exam tonight…" Iruka started, and as if to emphasize, his tail curled up and the tip pointed at his forehead. "Second… in case you haven't noticed… I tend to shed… I don't think you'd want blue hair getting all over you…"

"Sorry Iruka-Sensei… I'm just looking forward to tonight… and to taking my first step toward being a Shinobi… I can't wait…" Naruto stated with a big fox like grin.

Iruka smiled at Naruto's antics. "Well, then I wish you luck tonight… *Yawn*" Iruka yawned, stretching his limbs. "Well… I think it's time I get off to bed… I'll catch you sometime tonight… you have a good day…"

*POOF* and in a puff of sulfur like smoke, Iruka vanished from the Ramen stand, leaving his bill on the table.

Naruto grinned as he finished his bowl of Ramen. He felt good about this year; he might just pass the exam this time around. "I'm going to do it tonight… tonight; I'm going to become a Shinobi…"

It was time for the exam. After breakfast, Naruto had went straight home, went to sleep for a few hours, and then got up, and went to train to better prepare for the final exam. Even though Naruto wouldn't admit, he was incredibly nervous.

Because of the fact that the Kyuubi's chakra made chakra control so difficult for Darkstalker children, the former requirement of performing the Clone Jutsu was replaced with a new requirement. The new test was for the student to perform a Jutsu, ability, or skill that would merit the unnecessary need of a Clone Jutsu. Now, this didn't necessarily mean the students couldn't perform the Clone Jutsu for the exam, just that they didn't have to perform the Jutsu if they had a technique that was impressive enough.

It was the same for if they couldn't perform the other two requisitions, the Transformation Jutsu and the Substitution Jutsu. This was initiated when in the first year after the Kyuubi attack, an entire class of Darkstalker students were failed because they couldn't perform the certain Jutsu. On the upside, this forced the Academy to include chakra control exercises like Tree walking and water walking as a requisition, which made a lot of future Jonin Instructors glad that they wouldn't have to waste their time teaching the Genin chakra control exercises.

Naruto watched as many students were called in, and came walking out with headbands signifying they were official Genin. The reason for Naruto's nervousness was that due to his lack of funding's, and to a lack of elder peers offering to teach him, he didn't have any technique to make up for the Clone Jutsu, which happened to be his most problematic technique. That didn't mean though he was going to bow out because of a little self-doubt.

Finally, Naruto was called in. He managed to perform the Transformation Jutsu and the Substitution Jutsu. All he had to do now is perform the Clone Jutsu, and he would pass his exam.

"Alright… so far so good Naruto… your academic scores were pretty shotty, but you manage to pass this final part, you'll be sure to pass…" Iruka stated while looking down at a slip of paper.

"So no pressure…" Mizuki stated jokingly. "Either display the Clone Jutsu, or show us something pretty cool…"

Naruto closed his eyes in concentration, performing the hand signs exactly to memory, focusing his chakra for the clones, and saying a little prayer to Kami for good fortune to finally smile down upon Naruto. And then, a poof of smoke was set off next to him.

'Did it work this time?' Naruto frantically thought. Everyone had their eyes on the smoke, wondering if Naruto was able to make it. When the smoke cleared, it revealed a pale, sickly Naruto that couldn't even stand up right. Naruto's eyes widened in despair, while Iruka looked sadly to his student.

"Naruto… I'm sorry, but you failed…" Iruka stated.

"Too bad… I honestly thought he actually made it this time…" Mizuki stated, his ears drooping. His ears then suddenly perked back up. "Hold on Iruka… maybe he has something else to show, like a technique or something… perhaps we should give him a second chance…"

"Even if that were true… he chose to attempt the Clone Jutsu. Each student is only given one opportunity… Naruto knew this, and yet he went with the Clone Jutsu… that tells me he either wanted to try and accomplish it, or he has no other technique that he can show to make up for it." Iruka stated, his eyes looking sadly at Naruto's depressed form. "The requirement for a Clone Jutsu is to make two perfect clones… he only made one… and look at it… it's pathetic… I'm sorry Naruto, but you do not pass this time…"

"Sigh… sorry kid… better luck next year…" Mizuki stated apologetic.

Naruto sat on the swing, watching as many of the students began to head on their way home while a small faction were being congratulated by their parents, admiring the headbands they had acquired. Very few Darkstalker students were fortunate enough to still have parents, and so, most of them were forced to live on their own, much like how Naruto lived.

"Look… over there… isn't that Naruto Uzumaki?" One mother was saying to another. "I heard he was the only one to fail the class… how sad…" "Indeed… but considering he is a human in a Darkstalker class, it's to be expected… I heard that they are much harder on Darkstalkers than humans…" "How sad… to make it worst, he has no family to cheer him up… no wonder he looks so miserable."

Naruto sighed. As kind as these words were, Naruto really didn't like someone pitying him. It was a lot like looking down on him, and you don't get respect for that.

"YOU ASS!" A voice yelled out behind Naruto. Naruto turned around to come face to face with Kiba, who was looking pissed. "You just had to go and fail the exam... WHY THE HELL DID YOU TRY THE CLONE JUTSU! I told you to try and learn a new technique...!"

"Myu… don't be mean dog breath… He did his best…" Had come the voice of Sakura, who happened to be perched on the tree limb that the swing was attached to. "Although… seriously Naruto… the cloning Jutsu is not your style… you should've studied something more you... though that's kinda hard to determine really at this current time, Myu…"

"Sigh… I thought I had it this time… I just wanted to have my graduation be with an accomplishment…" Naruto stated.

"So it was a matter of pride? Pfft… thanks to you, some of us might get grief later, because you were the human who failed Iruka's class… damn, I don't even want to think the shit Iruka is going to have to put up with…" Kiba commented.

"Sigh… man that sounds troublesome…" Shikamaru stated as he came in with Choji next to him. "I mean… you guys get enough problems dealing with norms as is… but for them to have an excuse, I'd hate to be in Iruka's shoes…"

"Sakura! Where are you?!" Ino's voice called out, catching the catgirl's attention.

Sakura gracefully somersaulted down from her perch, and lightly patted Naruto on the back. "You'll get it next year… I know you will, Myu…" She then suddenly shifted into her cat form, accidentally leaving her clothing behind.

"Sigh… troublesome woman… I better get this to her before she changes back…" Shikamaru stated, picking up the clothing Sakura left behind. Before leaving, he turned his attention to Naruto. "Don't worry about Iruka… he's well experienced in dealing with his own problems… be more worried about yourself, and pass the exam next time… later Naruto…" Shikamaru stated, before heading off after Sakura.

Choji lightly patted Naruto's shoulder with his big hand, gave him a smile, and quietly left after Shikamaru, still munching on his chips.

"Tch… whatever… just think next time, okay?" Kiba growled out, before stuffing his hands his pockets, and taking his leave.

Off in a far part of the Academy grounds, Hinata stared from the shadows, looking sadly toward Naruto, wishing she could approach him. "Oh Naruto…"

"Mistress Hinata… your father is waiting for the results of your exam…" A random Hyuuga branch member stated, bowing to her.

"Oh… um… t-thank you…" Hinata stuttered. She then turned her eyes toward Naruto again, and she then sadly sighed before going with the Hyuuga servant.

Naruto watched as everyone left, until he was the only person left at the Academy. He sighed, and began to make his way home, just feeling like going straight to bed for the rest of the night. Before he could though, a furry clawed hand rested on his shoulder. Naruto turned his head to see the face of Mizuki, who looked at him worriedly.

"Hey Naruto… you looked bummed… want to talk about it?"

Naruto couldn't help but to sigh. "I'm just upset that I failed again…"

Mizuki then offered Naruto to sit at a bench. Feeling mentally exhausted, Naruto sat down beside Mizuki. "Hey… don't worry about it that much… everybody fails every now and then…" Mizuki stated, trying to cheer the student up.

Naruto growled in frustration, and gripped his hair as if to pull it out. "I was so close! I thought for sure that I had it that time! I kind of wish that Iruka would have given me a second chance…"

Mizuki nodded in understanding. "You were pretty close… you may think that Iruka is being a bit… harsh, let's say, but that's only because he kind of sees himself in you… and to tell you the truth, he's just looking out for you…"

Naruto calmed down, and sighed. "I guess… I just wish I could have passed this time around…"

At that moment, Mizuki's ears rose up as a thought occurred to him. "Hmm… well… I do know a way…"

This piqued Naruto's attention and interest.

Mizuki then gets up, his paw on his chin in a pondering pose, his body now facing away from Naruto. "Iruka mentioned it to me earlier… but it's kind of harder than the regular test… don't know if you'd be up for it…"

Now Naruto's full attention was not only caught, but undivided. "What is it? Please tell me!"

Mizuki then turned toward Naruto, his brow furrowing. "Well, alright…" Mizuki then leaned in closer for Naruto to privately hear. "What you got to do for the test is… before sunrise, you have to sneak into the Hokage's office without being detected, and grab a giant scroll marked the "Forbidden Scroll," after that… you sneak it off to the hut on the outskirts of the village… and try to learn a single technique from that scroll… and then wait for the instructor to find you and hand it over to them."

"Oh I see… so basically, I have to try to prove my Ninja sneaking skills, and try to learn technique that would make up for not having one of the other three Jutsu in your arsenal…" Naruto stated, hitting his palm with his balled fist in his realization.

"Precisely…" Mizuki confirmed. "If you want, I could administer the test… but you'd have to hurry, since half the night is already gone…"

Realizing that Mizuki's words were right, Naruto began to run off for the Hokage tower. "Thanks Mizuki –Sensei… I'll try my best! Wish me luck!"

When Naruto was gone, the sincere, kind smile of Mizuki suddenly turned into a feral grin, more fitting for his Tiger like features.

A few hours later, and the whole village was in an uproar, as word had gotten out that Naruto had stolen the Forbidden Scroll. Now granted, the fact that a Genin was able to not only sneak past the many Anbu guards into the Hokage Tower, sneak past the Secretary, and finally, get by the Hokage himself, and steal the Forbidden scroll right out from under all mentioned, truth be told, it was actually all a matter of dumb luck.

First, the Anbu guards had seen Naruto, but considering that they usually see him come by the Hokage's office every now and again, they didn't think anything of it. Second, the Secretary wasn't too hard to sneak by considering she is a human civilian. Finally, for the Hokage, he had the misfortune of that time frame where Nature was calling at the instant Naruto had barged in.

The Hokage did sense Naruto's presence, but considering he was preoccupied, and he knew Naruto wasn't a threat, he didn't really act on it. So basically, it all winded down to a bit of skill, mixed with a bit of extreme dumb luck. Then again, Naruto could have planned for all of this, especially since Naruto would have extensive knowledge on the Hokage's… schedule, so to speak. He was a lot smarter than he let on most of the time. However, knowing if this instance was the case, one will never know.

Anyway, after he managed to steal the scroll, he headed to the area Mizuki mentioned, and then moved out a bit of ways to train in privacy, after all, he still had to learn a technique from the scroll.

Meanwhile, back in the village.

Iruka looked up from relaxing as a frantic knock came from his door. In a puff of smoke, Iruka appeared outside of his door, catching Mizuki by surprise.

Taking in Mizuki's frantic expression, Iruka inquired about his reason for being there. "What is it Mizuki… what's wrong?"

"It's Naruto… he… he stole the Forbidden Scroll!" Mizuki stated in a nervous tone.

Iruka's eyes widened in shock. "Naruto did what?!"

After that, Iruka grabbed ahold of Mizuki, and they both vanished in a puff of smoke. A second later, they reappeared outside the Hokage tower, where a group of Shinobi was gathered to receive orders from the Hokage. As Iruka and Mizuki were getting in position, they overheard the comments of some of the human Shinobi around.

"Hey, isn't that Iruka Umino?" One whispered. "Yeah… I've heard that Naruto was in his all Darkstalker class… and he was failed three times in a row…" "Geeze, no wonder the kid probably pulled this… considering the special treatment Darkstalkers get, he probably thought it was his only way to prove his worth to pass…" "Damn Darkstalkers, thinking they run this village… Evil spawn is what they are…"

Iruka looked down at that, worried now that that might have been the reason that Naruto stole the scroll. Mizuki then put his hand on Iruka's shoulder. "Don't listen to them Iruka… it's not your fault this happened…"

The Hokage then made an appearance, in which all Shinobi then stood at attention.

The Hokage looked over all the Shinobi gathered, and spoke with absolute authority. "As you are all aware, Naruto Uzumaki has stolen the Scroll of Sealing… We know not of the reason Naruto stole the scroll, and because of that, I want him found, and brought back alive and unharmed… Understood?"

"Yes Lord Hokage!" Every yelled out at once. With a final signal from the Hokage, all the Shinobi went off, searching for the missing Pre-Genin.

'I've got to find Naruto first, and clear this whole thing up…' Iruka frantically thought to himself.

Naruto had a huge grin on his face, as his body was sweating from exertion and training. Even if he didn't end up passing this secret exam, he at least felt proud that he learned this new technique. For some reason, Mizuki was taking longer than expected, and so, Naruto not only had time to learn the one technique, but to practice it, and to discover more about it. It was quite a useful technique, one that he would later be able to incorporate in many tasks. He couldn't wait to show it off.

Suddenly, the smell of brimstone filled the air. Naruto then suddenly found himself wrapped up by Iruka's spade tail.

"Found you!" Iruka stated.

Naruto couldn't help but grin. "Looks like you got me Iruka-Sensei…"

Iruka then took notice of the state of Naruto's body. 'He's been training…'

"So… does this mean I still pass for learning a technique… or do I lose too many points for getting captured…?" Naruto asked.

Iruka then quickly shook away his pride in Naruto, which was replaced by confusion. "Naruto, what are you talking about…?"

"The secret exam… I guess Mizuki-Sensei didn't tell you I was taking the Extra exam…" Naruto explained.

"Mizuki? What does he have to do with…?" Suddenly, Iruka caught the sound of a bladed projectile heading toward Naruto. "Naruto! Hold your breath!" Iruka managed to jump toward Naruto and grab ahold of him. In an instant, both Naruto and Iruka vanished in a puff of black smoke, a giant Shurriken embedding in the tree where Naruto was.

When Naruto and Iruka both reappeared behind the same tree, Naruto was gagging and coughing, while Iruka began to draw the sword on his back.

"Guess I should have known that you would be able to hear that coming, considering your big ears…" Was the sound of the voice of Mizuki, perched on a tree limb far above. In left hand was another giant Shurriken.

"Mizuki! What is this all about! Why are you doing this?" Iruka interrogated. As for Naruto, his coughing fit had stopped enough that he was now listening in on the conversation.

"Why you ask Iruka? You ask me that… even after all the Shit this Fucking village put us through… heh, as if you don't know…" Mizuki stated.

"If that is the case… then why get Naruto involved in this?" Iruka asked.

"Why Naruto? I'll tell you why… you're about to hear something that'll utterly see what the people of this village did to us… Long ago, while I was on a mission, I came across a certain rogue ninja from our village… and he told me everything about the night of the Kyuubi attack… the night that disfigured all of us…" Mizuki began, rage in his voice, his eyes glaring down at Naruto.

"What about the Kyuubi attack?" Iruka started, glaring back at Mizuki. "The fourth Hokage gave his life to defeat the beast and protect our village…"

"That's what the Third wants you to believe… But the truth is even much deeper than we thought…" Mizuki countered. "The truth is, the fourth was unable to kill the beast… and so, using sealing Jutsu restrained the Beast into a human form… and a newborn at that…"

"Mizuki! What are you saying!" Iruka yelled out.

"That the Naruto we know isn't what we think he is… Naruto is the reason why we are monsters and hated… Naruto is the Nine Tailed Fox!" Mizuki crowed.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock from this news. Iruka then turned his eyes to Naruto, the his own shock displayed in his eyes.

"That's right… the boy that we thought was a lonely orphan with no parents or any memory of them is actually the fox sealed in human form…" Mizuki then began to boil over as his rant continued. "So while the one responsible for the attack on the village is treated as an innocent victim… WE get the brunt of the Village's hatred! Where is the Justice in that? Because of him, the village is segregated, and all the children afflicted have to suffer. He is the reason so many died in the attack… the one who killed you parents, Iruka!"

Naruto held his head in despair. 'I'm the Kyuubi?' The image of his Darkstalker friends ran through his mind. 'I'm the reason all of them are so alone and in pain…' It was all too much for Naruto to take in, as his eyes began to spill over and tears were wept. He then looked at his Sensei Iruka. "I'm sorry…" Naruto said, before he jumped up and started to run away.

"Naruto! Wait!" Iruka called out to him.

Naruto ran through the forest, trying to get away from his Sensei, from the horrible truth that he was presented with. 'It can't be true… I don't want it to be true!'

"Wait! Naruto!" Iruka appeared alongside Naruto's jumping path. "Quickly! Give me the scroll!" Iruka yelled out desperately.

Before Naruto could respond, a poof sound and the smell of Brimstone came about, and Iruka was suddenly kicked in the face by a three digit foot. Iruka then puffed into smoke, revealing him to be Mizuki in disguise, while the real Iruka had landed in front of Mizuki, his sword drawn and in a fighting stance, all while Naruto continued to run off.

Mizuki rubbed the area he was kicked, and a feral grin appeared on his face. "I should have known that despite my greater speed, you would be able to catch up with me with your teleporting ability. However, I know for a fact it takes a lot of Chakra for you to use constantly… and because of that, you can only use it six times within 20 minute durations… and you've used it five times already… you only have one more teleport left in you. After that, you'll only have your basic skillset to fall back on…"

"That doesn't matter… I won't let you get to Naruto or the scroll…" Iruka stated coldly.

"You do realize now that the brat knows he is the Kyuubi, he'll probably use the scroll to take revenge on the village… so why defend the brat… after all, he is responsible for the death of your parents, and your disfigurement." Mizuki mentioned.

"You're right… the Kyuubi is responsible for that…" Iruka started.

Naruto, who had been listening in, had a dejected look on his face. 'So Iruka does hate me… and never did believe in me… and I wouldn't blame him…'

"However… whatever Naruto was or used to be… he isn't now… he is Naruto… and I don't care what Naruto is, or what he used to be… he is my student… Naruto of the village Hidden in the Leaves!" Iruka stated, charging forward with his sword drawn back to cleave Mizuki from shoulder to waist.

Naruto's eyes then widened in shock and admiration.

Just before Iruka managed to cut down Mizuki, the tiger man vanished, avoiding the slash. Mizuki then reappeared on a tree branch.

"Iruka… you should know that because of what I am, I am physically three times faster than you, and without your teleportation, you wouldn't be able to land a blow on me… so if you want to hit me, you'll have to use your last Teleport… but you better make it count, because once you miss, I'll come at you in force…Grrrr…" Mizuki boasted.

Mizuki then charged forward faster than Iruka expected, his claws pulled back, ready to rend Iruka's head. Iruka quickly ducked, barely avoiding Mizuki's claws, a tuft of hair getting cut off. Iruka then slashed with his sword horizontally; however, Mizuki vanished again, appearing behind Iruka this time. Iruka barely registered Mizuki to roll forward in time to avoid getting swiped by a clawed haymaker in the back of the head. Iruka, thinking quickly, regained his footing, and threw three Kunai toward Mizuki.

Mizuki expertly caught one Kunai in midair, and deflected the other two Kunai sent his way. Before Mizuki could make his move though, Iruka then put his hands in a sign. Mizuki quickly looked at the Kunai, noticing an explosive tag attached to the end of it.

The Tag exploded; however, Mizuki appeared outside of the smoke, a bit singed in parts of his fur, but still relatively okay. Mizuki then went to charge for Iruka, but found he was gone, a puff of black smoke left in his place. Mizuki then turned around in time to catch sight of Iruka appearing in a puff of black smoke, his sword pulled back, and ready to behead Mizuki.

"Got yah! That was your last one!" Mizuki yelled, and ducked under the sword slash, his claw reared back to stab into Iruka's chest. Iruka's eyes widened as Mizuki charged, but then narrowed into a cold stare. Just as Mizuki's claw was about to touch Iruka's chest, Iruka vanished into a puff of smoke. Mizuki's attack hit air, his eyes widening as his claw went through smoke. Another puff of smoke appeared behind Mizuki, and a stabbing sound was heard as a sword went right through Mizuki's sternum.

"Your mistake was to assume that my limit was six… My limit is actually seven…" Iruka whispered from behind.

Mizuki winced, but also had an expression of complete anger. "Grrr… don't underestimate me, GRRRAAHHH!" Mizuki then grabbed ahold of the blade sticking out of his chest, holding it in place, and then slammed his tail into Iruka's ribs, causing Iruka to flinch in pain as he felt a few of his ribs crack and to also loosen his grip on the sword. Mizuki then turned around, and slashed his claws down Iruka's chest, from right shoulder to left hip, leaving four deep gouges in Iruka's chest. Iruka fell back to a tree, blood seeping from his wounds, while Mizuki stumbled around, managing to pull the sword from his back, blood leaking out, and his clawed hand nursing his wound, mainly the broken sternum.

The wounds inflicted on both Mizuki and Iruka were superficial for Darkstalkers, but were still crippling, and would take time for them to regenerate. However, Iruka was currently more injured then Mizuki, as Iruka was losing more blood, and to add to this, he had used up a heap load of chakra for his teleports, and so, Iruka would need to rest in order for him to heal. As for Mizuki, being an animal type Darkstalker, he had stamina, and could go a bit longer without resting.

Mizuki began to move toward Iruka, ready to finish his former colleague off, while Iruka could only sit and stare, as he was completely drained, his demonic chakra reserves working at healing his injury and sustaining his life. Mizuki then tiredly grabbed Iruka's neck, and lifted him up to his full height, his other hand pulled back to stab into Iruka's brain.

Just before he could though, three shuriken were thrown his way. Too tired to dodge quickly, he instead opted to block the Shuriken with his arm, the mini projectiles embedding into his flesh. Mizuki growled in annoyance, and stared to where the Shuriken came from, which happened to be Naruto Uzumaki, who was glare daggers at Mizuki.

"You do anything else to Iruka, I'll kill you!" Naruto icily stated, his glare never faltering.

Mizuki couldn't help but laugh at Naruto's threat. "You? Kill me? Don't make me laugh… you might have originally have been the Kyuubi, but your human now, and no match for a Darkstalker… not to mention that you're a Genin fighting against a Chunin, AND… you're the worst ninja ever…" Mizuki mocked.

"Naruto! Forget about me! Just run and alert the Hokage!" Iruka yelled out, genuinely concerned for Naruto.

Naruto's expression still never faltered, but instead shifted into a confident grin. "There is no way I'm leaving you to die, Sensei… and as for you, Mizuki… I'll say it again… if you touch my Sensei any more… I'll injure a thousand times more!"

Mizuki then chuckled, as his feline instinct of playing with prey kicked in. "Heh… this I got to see…" He then dropped Iruka to the ground, and began to move toward Naruto's position. "This won't even take a second…" Mizuki finished, ripping off his flak jacket and shirt, revealing his stripped fur covered muscle bound torso.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto called out, and in an instant, thousands of puffs of smoke appeared, and soon the forest was filled to the brim with Naruto clones, either on the ground, or standing on the trees. Mizuki and Iruka's eyes widened in shock and amazement at Naruto's accomplishment.

"Amazing… these are real clones…" Iruka stated from his sitting position.

"I-impossible! No way a regular human child could use that Jutsu!" Mizuki yelled out in worry.

"Alright everybody, Charge!" The main Naruto yelled, and at once, all the clones yelled a battle cry before charging forward toward Mizuki, all of them ready to overpower him with numbers.

Mizuki's eyes widened in horror, but then narrowed in rage. "GRR! Don't you dare underestimate me!" Mizuki yelled out, and when one Naruto tried to jump for him, Mizuki stabbed his claws into that Naruto's throat, causing it to poof out of existence.

The real Naruto, as well as a few clones, winced and held their neck and gulping. Three more Naruto clones then tried to tackle Mizuki from behind, only for his tail to lash out at them, dispersing them with a single swipe. Another group of clone charged to his front, ganging up on him, and managed to grip on to the tiger man, attempting to hold him down. Mizuki just shrugged off these Naruto's by pushing them back, and while they stumbled back, Mizuki grabbed the clone that was the closest, and began to flail him about, destroying that clone as well as any that were too close in the wild flail until it dispersed.

While Naruto's clones were fighting against Mizuki directly, Naruto had taken notice of something about his Shadow clones. Each time one was dispersed, he would see a moment of that clone's memories. Because of this, he began to observe Mizuki from different angles, and from different perspectives. It was at first a bit difficult for Naruto to take in, but he managed, and began to assess how to best utilize this. Though many think Naruto is an idiot, they are only partially correct. When Naruto wants to be, he can be quite capable in quick thinking situations. A bit like an idiot savant, an expert would say.

Another clone was dispersed, and finally, a thought came to Naruto, but he would first to test it out. Naruto then created five more Shadow clones, adding them to the already fighting mass of Naruto's, and had them charge in with special orders in mind.

Meanwhile, Mizuki was massacring the clones, and despite their numbers, they still lacked fighting experience to properly be utilized. Suddenly, two clones jumped, avoiding under Mizuki's claws, and managed to get in close proximity of him. They then made the hand gesture for the Transformation Jutsu. In a puff of smoke, the two clones had transformed into long cords of rope, and moving in quickly, two more clones jumped in and managed to grab the rope and wrap it around Mizuki's arms. The other clones getting the idea, then grabbed onto the ends of either rope, and tried to spread Mizuki's arms apart. Then, one last clone then charged forward with a kunai, ready to stab at Mizuki.

"GRR! I DON'T THINK SO!" Mizuki yelled out, as he then brought his arms together, pulling all the Naruto clones along, and slammed the conjoined force of Naruto into the Kunai wielding clone, dispersing all the clones holding that rope. He then turned toward the other clones still holding the rope, and then gave a feral smirk. "GRR… Take this!" Mizuki then suddenly began to curl into a ball, and began to roll in place, his claws extended out. As he did, he reeled in the rope, pulling the Naruto clones inward, and as they were brought close enough to Mizuki's form, it was like meat being pulled into a grinder, only with smoke coming out the other end.

After all the Naruto clones had been dispelled, the spinning ball of razor death began to make its way toward the real Naruto. Mizuki spun fast enough to supposedly catch Naruto before he could react and make a move, but just as the rolling death reached Naruto and unfurled into Mizuki, who delivered a upper claw slash, a puff of smoke proved that Naruto managed to perform the Substitution Jutsu in time, leaving only a torn and splintered log as the only sign of his escape. Mizuki halted, and stared down at the splintered pieces of wood, growling. He then quickly turned his attention toward where Iruka was, and found an empty space with only traces of Iruka's blood as the only evidence he was there.

"GRR, Come out you Fox Brat! You can't hide forever!" Mizuki then let off a thunderous roar that vibrated through the forest.

Meanwhile, Naruto was a bit away, him and a Shadow Clone with Iruka's arms slung over their shoulders, moving through the forest back toward the village.

"Naruto… leave me… I'm slowing you down… just go for help…" Iruka mumbled, his wounds having not healed yet.

"Just hang in there Iruka-Sensei… I'm not going to leave you to die…" Naruto stated.

"Naruto…" Iruka started, feeling he should say this if he did end up dying. "I'm sorry I hesitated earlier… Mizuki's words just threw me for a loop… But don't believe a word he says… he's a traitor, and he'd probably said that to get in our heads… which worked…"

"Iruka… I think he was telling the truth…" Naruto started. "Over the years, I've learned to read people's faces… and I did not see any sign of deceit when he said I was the Kyuubi…" Naruto finished, his eyes looking downcast.

"Even so..." Iruka started, wincing from the throbbing pain. "I don't see you as the Kyuubi… not one bit… and I don't think you see yourself as it either… even if you are the Kyuubi reincarnated… You are Naruto Uzumaki right now… the bravest, most hard working kid I know…"

Naruto paused at that, his mind contemplating those words. "If that is the case… I may not be able to undo the damage I did in my past life… but I can start making up for whatever sins I committed… starting now…" Naruto finished with determination, and readjusted Iruka off his shoulder, summoning another Shadow Clone to help him out. "I'm going to finish this while my clones get you to safety…"

"Naruto… no! You are no match for Mizuki… even with the Shadow Clone Technique, he is still too powerful for you. Run off and get help, I'll hold him off…" Iruka begged.

"This isn't up for debate… I've made up my mind… I'm not going to lose a true friend because someone's stronger than me or because I might die…" Naruto stated with steel in his voice.

Before Iruka could continue to argue, suddenly, Naruto had to jump out of the way and take cover as the broken remains of a tree were flung in his direction, his clones following his example with Iruka.

"I know you're up there! You can't out run me, nor can you hide… I have caught the scent of both of you!" Mizuki yelled out, chucking more pieces he had torn from a fallen tree.

Naruto then began to contemplate his next move. Naruto most of the time isn't a thinker, and usually prefers to resort to brawling; however, having grown up surrounded by Darkstalker children, he has had to improvise many times over. This was one of those times. 'Alright… I've learned a powerful Jutsu, but it is still not enough… Gah, if only I was a stronger person, or Mizuki a human, then Mizuki would have been floored… Alright… just need to think…' Naruto then remembered how he was able to use the transformation technique to make his clones a rope. 'Hmm, at the time, I was just improvising… wait a second… if I could turn my clones into ropes, what else can they turn into…?' Naruto decided to test this, and summoning a clone, he gave the order for it to transform. In a puff of smoke, Naruto reached out into the plume, and pulled out a simple kunai, and in his hand, it felt as real as a real Kunai. 'I can feel the steel and everything… and it feels solid too… if that is the case… hmm… I've got an idea…' but Naruto was soon shaken from his thinking when the tree he was standing on began to violently shake.

When Mizuki had run out of wood to chuck, he moved toward Naruto's scent, and began to violently claw at the tree Naruto was standing on. It took a little effort, but his claws finally began to cut deep gashes within the bark to cause it to lose its holding.

Naruto then held on as the tree began to fall forward. 'Alright… play time is over… time to get serious…' Naruto stated, putting his hands in the Sign of the Shadow Clone Jutsu. When the tree had completely fallen, Mizuki could still smell the scent of Naruto within it. He then moved toward the branches of the tree, and began to violently slash at each branch, cutting it away. Suddenly, like a hive of bees, sixteen Naruto clones began to fly out of the tree, surrounding Mizuki again.

"This again? Boy, you are a one trick pony!" Mizuki commented.

Then, four of the clones charged forward, avoiding Mizuki's strikes, and managing to grasp on to each of his limbs. Then, without missing a beat, they performed the Transformation Jutsu, and after a poof of smoke, they managed to change into a set of thick chains and shackles, restrained around Mizuki's ankles and wrists. Before Mizuki could react, the Naruto clones grabbed a hold of the ends of the chain, four in total, and moving quickly, began to move around Mizuki, moving in close, avoiding his thrashing about, slowly wrapping Mizuki up within the chains. When Mizuki's limps were all tangled within the chains, his flailing having helped to further Naruto's plan out, a total of three Naruto each grabbed the chains, and began to pull in separate directions. This in turn caused Mizuki to lose his footing, and to slip and fall over, continuing his struggle in the mass of chains.

"What is this?! Let me out, or I'll kill you slowly!" Mizuki yelled out.

As one, the Naruto teams began to move around Mizuki some more, wrapping him up tight like a mummy. However, the sound of a chain straining was heard, and the Naruto hastened their speed to finish their task. By the time they were done, Mizuki was all but restrained in all parts but head. Then, moving in, the Naruto clones then proceeded to pick Mizuki up in air.

"What are you doing? It's not like these chains will hold me!" Mizuki yelled out again.

Suddenly, he caught sight of the real Naruto, four clones at his side. "Uzumaki Style: Clone Transformation Attack!" Naruto yelled out. "Transform!" One of the clones yelled out, and what appeared next was a massive spiked iron mace, which was so heavy, Naruto had to have the other two clones help him lift it up.

"Wait… what are you planning on doing with that club?" Mizuki questioned, now feeling slightly nervous. The Naruto clones that were holding Mizuki up then began to run toward the mace wielding Naruto and his clones. "Wait a second… you're not going to…"

"Narutoooo!" Naruto started off, he and his clones lifting the Club above their heads.

Mizuki's eyes widened when it dawned on him what they were planning. "Hold on! Let's talk about this!" Mizuki began to struggle, but winced when he found the sword wound was now starting to get to him, now throbbing in pain.

"Uzumakiiii!" Naruto let go of the club, leaving his clones to hold it up, struggling, while he spat on his hands, rubbing them together, and then firmly grabbed the mace's handle, while the group of clones carrying Mizuki began to build up speed, moving Mizuki toward the real Naruto head first.

"Don't do this! We can strike a deal!" Mizuki desperately cried, but it was too late as he was now close enough for Naruto to strike, Naruto already bring down the giant mace toward Mizuki.

"BLUDGEONING!" Naruto finished, as his clones had pushed the mace up, allowing Naruto to swing down the mace, and let gravity take care of the rest, the iron mace colliding with Mizuki's head, slamming it down to the ground, and forcing it into a small crater. After that, the club and all the clones but the chains all vanished, leaving Mizuki's bloody head in the ground, completely unconscious.

"Heh heh… Looks like I over did it…" Naruto stated with a big grin, his hand rubbing the back of his head. Iruka, who was now feeling better enough to walk, with some assistance from one of the clones, looked to Naruto proudly.

"That was very impressive Naruto… you did good…" Iruka stated.

"Thanks Sensei…" Naruto stated. As he said this, the sun began to rise up.

Iruka then smiled, and then looked to the real Naruto. "Naruto, can you come here real quick…"

"Umm… sure Sensei…" Naruto stated, moving closer to his teacher.

"Close your eyes for a second." Iruka asked. Hesitantly, Naruto complied, and then felt as his goggles were removed from his head, and something else was wrapped around his head in its place. "Open your eyes…" Naruto complied, and saw that Iruka's headband was missing, and also saw that the sun was now rising up, shining down. "Since you managed to learn a Jutsu and prove yourself before Sunrise… you've passed this test…" Iruka stated jokingly. "Congratulations… you graduate to the Rank of Genin…" Iruka finished with a proud smile.

Naruto's eyes widened, and then tears began to brim at the edges of his eyes. Shutting his eyes as to try and hold in the tears and rubbing his face to rid any that escaped, Naruto then jumped forward toward Iruka, taking care not to touch his injury, and embraced him in a soulful hug. "Iruka-Sensei! Thank you!"

After a long, trying night of darkness, Naruto has made it through to sunrise, and is ready to embrace what may come his way. Before, Naruto had only wanted to be Hokage to bring attention and respect to him, and by extension, gain the love he had missed out on for so long, for his own selfish reasons. Now though, he had a new purpose to become Hokage. He was going to do what he could to make sure this village made it through this darkness of wariness and contempt that festered within its own walls. He was going to aid the Darkstalkers that suffered in finding the light of happiness they're denied, and bring this village together as one. It was the least he could offer them, all of them, and he was going to start by showing all that if even the Kyuubi could change for the better, that accepting Darkstalkers will only better all involved.

To be continued…

Nobody: Alright then… This chapter is now out… hope you all end up liking this… if not, go jump in pond… just kidding… actually, just leave constructive criticism… Anyway… the real action should start up next chapter… However, do not expect it too soon… I had just recently found out that on March of 2013, they'll be coming out with Darkstalkers Resurrection for the PS3 and the Xbox 360… which, by what I've heard so far, will include two of the old games… the way I see it, it will be a great way for me to refresh my Darkstalker knowledge, and use it as a reference… not to mention brush off some good old damn nostalgia… Anyway… because of this… I'll be trying to work on other stuff for now… So, I hope you all enjoy this story… and being alive (I'M STILL BREATHING AND I POSTED THIS THE DAY AFTER DOOMDAY! TAKE THAT MAYANS! 21/12 IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD, JUST THE END OF YOUR CALENDAR! SO THERE! (sticks out tongue, and delivers a raspberry)). Ahem… sorry for that… anyway… Please FAV and REVIEW… or don't and just enjoy…

Signed,

Mr. Nobody