A/N: Hope you're all having a happy summer!

And to those who aren't...well, happy Update Day then, I suppose!

REVIEW FOR IT FEEDS THE ENGINE OF CREATION~!

Seriously though, its the only reward I get these days and it does an old soul good. No long author's note this time!

Yeah, any and all titles will have a "beast" theme to it...

...for good reason.

Also, I do hope I didn't mangle any German words for Laura too badly.

Since I received so many votes for the "Name" of Naruto's I.S. I decided to go a new route with it. All your ideas were so brilliant and heartfelt that I wanted to honor the best of them in a unique and novel way and for awhile, I was left struggling how to do that. That's when it hit me. Kurama has nine tails does he not? And I don't remember reading that someone is necessarily LIMITED to a single I.S. in the series; indeed, we've seen people pilot multiple units!

So I've chosen nine of your best suggestions. Did I say Nine? Why, I believe did!

Take of this quote what you will...

...because I love surprises.

"You can't possibly call THAT an I.S...its a piece of junk!"

"Judge me by my appearance, do you? WRONG YOU WOULD BE!"

~Cecilia and Naruto.

Unleash the Beast

I like to fight.

Its one of my few talents, you see.

Excluding the whole only-male-to-pilot an I.S. shtick.

There's just something so freeing about throwing one's self headlong into battle and letting your fists to the talking. Guess you could call it gratification. Words are all well and good, but at the end of the day, actions speak louder than words. Perhaps that's the beast in me talking; some small part of Phantom Task's brainwashing that Tabane couldn't completely eradicate, spirits know she tried. Meh. Who knows? When all is said and done, it comes down to one singular factor. I was taken from my home and altered. Because of that, I don't just enjoying fighting...

I LOVE fighting.

Whatever instincts my kidnappers drummed into my body were impossible to forget; you can't just unlearn years of conditioning like that. You can teach a beast how to walk and talk like a human, even dress it up like one, but at the end of the day, he'll still be a beast. Still, suppose you could say its served me well enough over the years. After all, some of my closest allies were once my most bitter enemies before I got into it with them. Can you believe that? Hmm. Maybe that makes me a bit of a battle junkie.

Who knows?

What did Tabane say?

"If at first you don't succeed, die, die again?"

No, no, no. Wait. Pretty sure that's Dark Souls. Mom's got a fixation for three things. Cute, crazy and all things sci fi. It...may have rubbed off on me. Or maybe that has something to do with my furry little friend. Oops, said that out loud, didn't I? Right, I'm rambling again. I where was I?

"Real men talk with their fists?"

Right, that's the one! Although she's a woman, so that doesn't make much sense. Still! It was my own desire for a fight that spawned the conflict between me and Cecilia...as well as everything that followed. Now I know what you're thinking. Naruto, that doesn't make any sense! Yes, she was the one to speak up! She started it! True, but I had the chance to simply ignore her. Instead I took her pride and shredded it to ribbons, forcing her to try and assuage her "honor" in a duel and we all know how that sort of thing goes, don't we?

Little did I know that battle would have far-reaching consequences...

...but it was worth it to wipe that smug smirk off her face.

Battle-junkie, remember?

(...Scene Break...)

"Oh, mein gott!"

"Such language miss Bodewig-OW!"

Naruto hissed in quiet pain as Laura gave his armored shin a vicious kick and grabbed hold of his arm with reckless speed; hauling his face towards hers; firm fingers jerking the worn metal in the opposite direction to take his limb with it. His I.S. offered a dull note of protest at this backhanded treatment but otherwise remained silent. A stray ember of muted flame flickered between the greaves as it impatiently awaited its partner. Of course, said partner was very much distracted at the moment. He knew she hadn't spoken in anger and so let what followed wash over him like water off a duck's back.

"What were you thinking, picking a fight on your first day?!" her accented voice rang out in the hangar, echoing in on itself. "You were supposed to keep a low profile!"

Laughing, the blond pulled himself free.

"Sorry. he hummed, flexing an armored limb. "Not my style. What's taking so long down there, anyway? Are the thrusters broken?"

A string of angry German curses greeted him and he fought down a smile. There was just something so...adorable about Laura when she was angry. In spite of that anger, she helped him don his I.S. piece by piece. For all her pride, all her bluster, her ire only made her all the more attractive in his eyes. It made Naruto want to reach out and pinch those pale cheeks. Of course, that was a singularly bad idea considering his arms were currently sheathed in the menacing gauntlets of his own personal Infinite Stratos; a pinch on his part might actually hurt Laura if he wasn't careful. Speaking of Laura...

"Aw, are you worried about me?" he teased

"N-Nein! I am not!"

"Say, wanna hit up the training grounds after this? I've got an itch I need to scratch."

"You're such a battle junkie, brother." Madoka's irritated voice chimed in over his shoulder.

"She's right. It'll take more than that to change my mind, senpai." Laura added in sage agreement.

"Is that so?"

"I...yes."

Mismatching eyes of red and gold regarded him with momentary interest before flicking back down to the readouts below. But she didn't rise to the bait. She was too stubborn for that. They both knew considerably more effort would be required on his part. The silverette remained staunch in her anger, yet not so staunch that she couldn't be swayed. Naturally, Naruto was more than willing to oblige her. They knew one another far too well to expect anything less. Even so, she wasn't prepared for his abrupt fit of laughter.

"Alright, then." with a sigh, he conceded defeat. "Once this is over, we can just stay in and...

Laura's left ear twitched infinitesimally as he trailed off. "And...?"

Metal creaking, the whiskered warrior leaned forwards.

His lips brushed the outer lob of her ear.

Whispered ever so softly to her.

Her eyes widened.

"Oh."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Madoka wailed. "I can hear every word you're saying! Get your hands off him!"

As though waiting for that precise moment Madoka popped up over Naruto's shoulder and slammed the helmet over his head, concealing his surreptitious visage from view. Wielding like her wrench like a mighty battle ax, she thrust herself between the two of them and used her superior strength to push both pilots apart. Ruby eyes rounded on the blond, glaring bloody red daggers at him. To his credit, the blond didn't resist as his beloved little sister began jabbing him in the chest with it, every word emphasized by yet another poke.

"You! Are! Absolutely! Impossible!"

"Hmm? Why?" Laura tilted her head. "Its not like he said you couldn't join us."

Naruto made a squelching sound.

Madoka's eyes.

Got.

Really.

Big.

Before their eyes a slow flush crawled up the back of her neck, rushing like a rising scarlet tide to her cheeks. Within moments her entire visage burned red as a rose; one she frantically clamped both hands around to hide her wavering expression. If one looked close enough, you could even see steam rising from her covered face. When she dared speak, her palms didn't quite muffled the words that followed:

"W-W-W-What do you mean by that?! I'm not interested in any of that stuff!"

Naruto and Laura exchanged a long look.

'She definitely is!'

"Still, its a shame," he muttered aside to himself suddenly, "I though Houki would be here to see me off."

"Houki?"

A beat of silence passed between the unlikely trio.

"What? We don't see her for years and now when we do see her she shuts down on me. Don't you find that strange?"

Laura and Madoka exchanged a glance.

"Do you really want the answer to that question?"

...no," he relented with a sigh, "Suppose I know the answer. I'll have to track her down later and have words with her."

Rolling an armored shoulder, he turned back to the remnants of his I.S.

"Right, then. We've got a duel to win. Lets not waste anymore time, shall we?"

With that said, they set to work.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Painstakingly.

In the next span of the next hour the recently restored I.S. came together around Naruto. A living suit of armor, a peerless creation that wrapped him in arms forged of weathered metal and embers to wall him off from the world. In theory he'd be able to use the bracelet on arm to call upon it at will after Tabane's recent "adjustments", but it was those very upgrades that concerned him in the first place. He'd be the first to admit his mother was one hen short of a hen house, but she could be absolutely brilliant when she wanted to be. Unfortunately said brilliance often stemmed from her love of all things science fiction; chief among them her peerless love of video games. Of course, it stood to reason such a habit would rub off on her "son" as well.

The I.S. he wore now stood as a shining-if somewhat faded-example of this upbringing.

Of course, the note-carefully tucked away on his personage-that came with it this morning certainly helped:

Naruto!

Soooooo, I heard about your up-and-coming duel and rushed those upgrades on your main I.S. for you. No need to thank me! "Soul" should be able to change modes without overheating now. Go show that normie girl a thing or two! She'll probably underestimate you based on its appearance, but we both know better, don't we? Also, its second phase is REALLY energy intensive now. Might've made it a little too much like the original when I tinkered with it, so you better use it or lose it!

Tell Houki I said hi!

All my love,

~Mama.

It also stood in testament to a tried and true adage.

Never judge a book by its cover.

It was true that most wouldn't think his personal I.S. little more than a dud; after all, Tabane had designed it with that very notion in mind. Most weren't prepared to fight a literal suit of burning armor capable of switching attacks styles on the fly. Least of all something powered by his little...friend. Making short work of the last clasp, he bounced on the balls of his feet, only finding himself slightly slowed by the suit itself. Of course, that would change once it began to warm up, growing progressively hotter with time.

"So?" the helm warped his voice as he spoke, turning it to a low rumble. "How do I look?"

Laura offered a dark grin. "Befitting of a warrior and my husband, of course."

The armored knight visibly shook with laughter.

'Again with that husband stuff...

"Alright...that actually looks a little scary." Madoka relented, withdrawing half a pace. "But how do you intend to beat Cecilia with...that?"

Flipping the visor open with an armored hand, blue eyes twinkled out her, his mouth parting in a determined rictus of a smile.

"Right, I forgot this is your first time seeing me in this. Just watch. Kurama?"

"Finally woke me up, have you?"

"Oh, shut up and let me have my fun, fuzzball."

No sooner had he uttered that name than an impossibly deep voice resonated within the suit and its body began to glow a deep crimson, as though lit from within. An ebony piece of metal detached itself from his back plate in a series of interlocking triangles to assume the shape of a tiny fox with twin protrusions jutting near its skull. Small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, it kept pace with the seemingly scorched helmet as it turned to regard them. Much to Madoka's consternation, the tiny device decided to land atop her head, nestling contentedly in her ebony tresses like a little chick.

"Hmm." bellying its petite frame, that same voice resonate from the drone. "Not bad. On a scale of softness...I give you a nine."

The red-eyed girl flailed spectacularly.

"Gah! What is this thing! Get off!"

"Tch! You're too noisy...!"

Darting away from her grasping hands, the apparatus zipped away towards its next victim.

By contrast, Laura didn't protest when it settled itself in her hair, ears happily twitching.

"Ah, Laura! Still ten out of ten!"

Mismatching eyes flicked upward to meet him.

"Hello, Kurama. You look like you've seen better days."

"Of course I have!" the drone whined! "The brat never lets me out anymore! Its been months! Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this?!"

"Well, you'll be waiting a while yet." Naruto interjected. "We're not out to terrify anyone this time."

The little synthetic visibly drooped.

"Damnit, kit! You never let me have any fun!"

"There, there...

Madoka sulked.

"Just what the hell is that thing?!"

"Hmm?" Naruto's helmeted head turned to regard her. "That's Kurama. He helps me power this monstrosity. I wouldn't be able to make it move for long without him."

"In short?" Laura adopting a lecturing tone as she rubbed her hand against the tiny creature. "Kurama's a cutting edge artificial intelligence designed by Tabane Shinonono to interface with an Infinite Stratos. He's the first of his kind. Impressive, no?"

Madoka shot the preening drone a vicious glower.

"Not sure that's the word I'd use."

"I don't want to hear that from you, madam fussy britches!"

Naruto didn't argue the point.

It was pointless to say otherwise; if everyone else wanted to believe Kurama was little more than an A.I. in spite of his attempts to convince them otherwise, then that was fine by him. He'd long since given up on the notion of convincing them about the near limitless source of power trapped in his stomach. The truth...well, he had no desire to explain that complicated mess. Who else but Tabane would believe that he housed a literal piece of a god/demon in the well of his soul? Least of all that said creature had taken a liking to him!

"Still, brother...

Naruto arched an eyebrow.

...you're really going to use this I.S. against her, aren't you?" Madoka posited. "Isn't this...overkill?"

"Considering she started this shindig? Hell, yeah."

"You literally have EIGHT others to choose-

"Well, Last Stardust and Mjölnir are ship-busters at the very least. Doesn't feel right using them in a one-on-one duel." when neither contested him, he simply bulled on ahead heedless of their anger. "Demon's Rage isn't ready, and neither is Silver Crow. I may have...broken Infinite Tails. The rest're being fine-tuned by Tabane. Really, we're luck I had Soul on me at all or I would've been stuck with a shitty default model. Well, wish me luck! Hopefully I won't kill her by accident! Wish me luck, ladies!"

"Wait! Na-

"Lalala, can't hear you!"

Before Madoka or Laura could think to protest further he darted forward; swift steps carrying him out of the hangar and into daylight. Kurama shot after him without hesitation, neatly folding back into place between his shoulders as he breached the enclosure. Around him, his I.S. began to warm in response to Kurama's shared energy, readying itself for the coming battle and his mind turned inward in preparation. Doubtlessly his opponent had already arrived and awaited him beyond. She struck him as the punctual type, one easily riled to anger. The notion brought a small smile to his face.

She had no idea what was coming.

With a thought, he ground to a halt in the arena.

Ah.

There she was.

Sure enough Cecilia and her Blue Tears awaited him in the skies above; having already claimed the dominant aerial position for their duel. Good. He'd expected that much and would've been disappointed if she'd failed to meet said expectation. Her I.S. specialized in long range combat after all. Of course she'd monopolize the high ground while she could. Again, the wayward blond had both predicted this and taken it into account. Only a fool didn't research his opponent beforehand. The time afforded to him had been well spent in that regard.

The blonde scowled.

Her eyes narrowed upon him.

"What is the meaning of this?" she called down at him inelegantly, raising her voice to be heard. "Where is your I.S., you brute?"

Kurama chortled softly; it was a deep, throaty sound.

"Shall we begin?"

'Yes, lets.'

Naruto exhaled softly, raising his right hand.

"You're looking at it, sweetheart."

"I...beg your pardon?"

Most Infinite Stratos, by definition, didn't conceal their owner completely. At least some part of the pilot was exposed. In theory, this was how a traditional I.S. was constructed. Around the pilot. Whatever remained exposed would be protected by the shields and, if worst came to worst, by the bulk of the frame itself. If too much damage was sustained, it would shutdown and prevent any further injury of its pilot. A conservative design to be sure, but one accepted-and perhaps derided-by most pilots as a whole.

Not so for Uzumaki Naruto.

"What do you call that...thing?"

His helmeted head lifted to regard her.

"Soul of Cinder."

In place of the unassuming blond loomed a towering knight clad in badly worn and charred armor. Armor that had seen better days indeed. Faint embers of flame radiated from within its charred facade, smoldering inside the seemingly dirty breastplate as she looked on. Of his face she saw nothing beyond his startling blue eyes, for the rest of his whiskered visage now lay concealed behind a full helm. His full weight rested against a strange, coiled blade nearly the length of his own body. She could only assumed the latter was part of his I.S...but this was absurd. Was this a joke? It seemed he'd donned a suit of rusted armor...not a peerless machine capable of unquantified levels of destruction.

She heard tell that he piloted more than one I.S. but this...this...

...is ridiculous!'

A disbelieving laugh burst out of her all at once, sharp and mocking.

"That's your I.S.?!" she guffawed, flinging a finger at him! "You can't be serious! That rusted bucket of bolts thing doesn't even look like it can fly!

"Say what you will," the blond's voice reverberated within the helm, warped by the metal. "But I think I'll stay grounded for now."

His response seemed to set something off in the girl; for when she replied her once cordial voice had turned frosty.

"I do hope you don't expect me to give you a handicap."

Now it was his turn to laugh.

"Haven't you heard the old saying?" he chastised her. "Don't judge a book by its cover."

Sweeping the coiled sword before him, he dropped into a pointed crouch.

"Last chance to back out, blondie."

Cecilia felt a cold chill run down her spine. Icy fingers of dread locked themselves around her throat, stifling the indignant retort she'd prepared. In disbelief she found herself hesitating, a seed of doubt taking root in her bosom as she stared down at her unassuming opponent. Something had changed. Instead of a ramshackle suit of armor she found herself staring down a peerless engine of destruction, a juggernaut of unstoppable force about to come roaring from her head. A quiet tremor ran through her body. Even from this distance she could see something crimson leering out at her from within the visor's helm. Had his eyes always been red? She distinctly remembered otherwise...

What was he?

'What are you doing?! Focus!'

Mustering up her courage, she shook her head.

"As if I, Cecilia Alcott would do such a thing!" Puffing out her not insubstantial chest, the sharpshooter readied her rifle took up a ready position of her own. "Still, you can't possibly call THAT an I.S...its a piece of junk! I'll finish of your shield energy-if you even have any-in a single shot!"

Distant laughter reached her from the ground.

"Judge me by my appearance, do you?" Naruto's voice rose up at her, lilting with laughter. "Wrong you would be! But you had your chance. Here I come!"

"Wait, are you quoting-EEK!"

Cecilia's inquiry dissolved into gibberish as Naruto's I.S. suddenly dominated her vision, its blazing blade encompassing her entire field of sight. Face to face with Soul of Cinder and the strange stifling heat it emitted, her resolve momentarily quailed. Time slowed to a crawl as the larger I.S. reached the apex of its leap, momentarily blotting out the sun overhead. Cast in its shadow she could feel herself moving, but too slowly. Far too slow for her liking. As though she were trapped in quicksand, her body slowly shrank back from the imminent danger as she frantically brought her weapons to bear-

CRUNCH.

Breath burst from her lungs Naruto rammed the hilt of his weapon into the shield just above her stomach. The sheer force of the impact ripped Cecilia from the sky and sent representative candidate spiraling towards the ground like a wounded bird. A harsh clamor from her I.S. came too late, warning her off the sudden dip of Blue Tear's defenses. Where had that come from?! Righting herself with an effort, the battered blond hastened to put some much-needed distance between herself and her opponent, only to watch him alight nimbly upon the ground once more.

"You can fly?!" she snarled down at him in disbelief.

Hollow laughter echoed up to her.

"Nope! Jump good!"

A muscle jumped in her jaw.

This wasn't happening to her. This couldn't be happening.

A lowly commoner such as him couldn't possibly get the better of her.

One could say it was a twisted way of thinking, but behind her confident exterior, her soul quivered at her sudden brush with defeat. She'd never fought someone who had gotten the better of her so swiftly. That he'd done so in only a matter of moments rattled her. No. She refused to accept this. To lose to someone who made such a mockery of everything, who never took anything seriously...it galled her. Was this it? Had she come so far, only to lose someone like this? She had to be strong. For her sake. For her family name. If she lost, her name meant nothing. Her honor, even less. Then why was she being overpowered?

In desperation, she grasped at straws.

Yes, that was it! It was just a fluke! That must be it! Nothing more, nothing less.

'A-Alright, calm down. Just calm down, Cecilia! Use your drones to harass him, keep him at range-

She wasn't prepared for the sudden torrent of light that rushed up at her from below and as such found herself scrambling once more. In her haste to evade the sudden long-range-offense, she failed to realize she'd lost track of her opponent. Had she paid more attention, she might've seen him tap his "sword' against the ground and loose a series of burning bolts from its hilt. As it stood, she found herself too preoccupied by the unexpected deluge from what should have been a close-combat I.S. to reorient herself in time.

"Gotcha."

With a startled shriek she snapped off a shot when he lunged at her again. To no avail; the bolt of blue plasma caromed harmlessly of Cinder's hide as Naruto drove at at her. Ignoring her feeble offense, the burning I.S. roared past her like a flaming arrow, searing through her twin cannons in a vicious crosscut. In dismay she watched the ruined pieces crumble away, and was again just a hair too slow.A gauntlet crashed through her shields and closed around her head, flinging her to the ground. This time, Cecilia failed to right herself in time, her nerve failing her as the burning knight descended upon her with a wordless roar.

Deprived of her defenses-her long range superiority-she didn't realize her peril until was too late.

Flailing she launched her drones, only to watch them vanish in a cone of flame.

Something broke in her when faced with that haunting visage.

'No, no, no! What are you doing?! Move! Before-

Belatedly she realized her mistake.

She'd let him close the gap.

'I've blundered.'

A running clockwise sweep put Naruto's entire body into a vicious rotation and hammered her down with the overwhelming weight of his blade. Somehow, she managed to catch herself with her free hand and knees. Even as she tried to draw a bead on him he cut apart her rifle in her hands and followed through with an overhead smash that left her ears ringing, punctuated by a left-to-right downwards swing. Like a relentless storm striking against the shore, Cinder proved just as relentless. It cared nothing for her pride, nor the tears in her With relentless savagery, it tore her hopes-her I.S.-apart, piece by painful piece. Blow after blow rained down on her shields to strike at the sundered metal of her I.S. until at last, earth buckled beneath her feet and Cecilia crumpled to her knees.

Even then, it seemed Naruto's Soul of Cinder would sooner beat her into the ground that cease attacking.

Her pride buckling, Cecilia frantically seized up a means-any!-of escape from the blade's assault.

"Stop, stop, stop!" pleading, she flung up her hands. "I give up! I surrender! Just stop!"

A beat of awkward silent passed between the two of them.

Crimson orbs glowered at her with wordless intent.

She wasn't prepared for what followed.

An armored hand descended...

...and patted her head.

"Alright. Good girl!"

Cecilia blinked.

...ha?"

A/N: Yup, that's Soul of Cinder from Dark Souls.

Weren't expecting that now, were you?!

is Naruto's "Main" I.S. but he's known to use others. Furthermore, its one of three that allows Kurama to interface with it. Kudos to the one who suggested that name! And as for the rest, you all know who you are! Naruto's Infinite Stratoss units are different in that some of them allow him to call upon the elements. Cinder is "Fire" of course, but I'll stay mum on the rest. Let's face it, Tabane's mad as a hatter, but also a sodding genius; with what she's gleamed from Naruto she can easily create something like this. Whether or not she shares it, well...

It was also fun seeing Cecilia taken down a peg.

And there we go.

Cecilia got bodied. Destroyed. Whatever fancy words you want to call it, she lost. Badly. In front of her peers at that. What, you didn't think I was going to let it end in a draw, did you? Now she's been knocked off that high horse of hers...maybe she'll come around. Maybe not. Depends on the votes and what you all think.

Yeah, saving the Tatenashi bit for next chapter and ohhhhhh its gonna be a doozy!

More bonding scenes next chapter!

Flamers and needlessly negative comments will be deleted. Constructive criticism is welcome!

As I said before, this story will be lighthearted for the most part, but it'll have serious moments as well.

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly?

And enjoy the previews!

Bit of a nod here...

...I regret nothing.

Potential previews ahoy!

(Previews)

Cecilia offered him a guileless smile.

"Here's your lunch, dear!"

Naruto sighed.

"Oi...

"You're a girl."

"Um...no I'm not?" Charlotte managed weakly.

"Nope. You can't fool me sweetheart, the nose knows...

"Ohhhhh, brother...

"Uh, Madoka? Why're you...

Too late, he noticed the glazed look in her eyes.

Aghast, he flung up his arms, limbs pinwheeling wildly.

"Now, wait just a second! I know I said all that stuff but-ACK?!"

Too little too late, the blackette gathered herself and pounced on him like a cat.

"MINE!"

"Yeow!"

"Cocky little punk. Maybe I should take your leg to be sure-

Behind her, Soul of Cinder began to stir.

"Restraints released. Limiter broken...

That dark helmeted head turned.

...initiating phase two."

She swore.

"Oh, sh-

R&R~!