Chapter 2 of Naruto Rise of the Fallen

It was both a memory and a nightmare.

The sound of water woke him. It was a heavy, repetitive sound: water sloshing against something solid, over and over, as if he were lying in the bottom of a pool that was rapidly draining and refilling itself. There was a taste of metal in his mouth, and the smell of metal all around. He was conscious of a nagging, persistent pain in his stomach which radiated all over his entire body. With a groan, Naruto opened his eyes through slightly puffed lids.

He was lying on a hard, bumpy metal floor painted with ugly yellow-gray. The walls were the same yellow-gray, except they seemed to resemble indentations of honeycombed. The room was low lit at best, bathing the entire room in an endless sea of shadows, though the shades were thick, he could well see in the dark just fine.

His last memory was of pain and metal, lots of metal being dropped on his head, and the battle hardened teen expected to find exactly that when he awoke. It took several seconds for his mind to process that, and much to his relief that wasn't the case. But it didn't mean that his current situation was any better.

A shuddering sigh left his lips as he rolled over and struggled on hands and knees, his head hanging down towards the ground like a wounded animal.

"Damn." The thick whisper came through the cracked lips sounded strange to him. Perhaps he hadn't understood. "Damn!" he said again, and his mind started exploring his body to see what was left of it. He could feel his hands, wrists, ankles, elbows, knees and feet, despite that they were superlatively bound by strange metallic bonds that drained him of his chakra every time he tried to concentrate or mold it. He could move his head from side to side, even though it sent a knifing pain down his body and nearly brought tears to his eyes. He looked past the spots in his vision and could make out the bar of moonlight on the floor.

It ought to be alright, but he just didn't want to move. His willpower had gone. He just wanted to sleep. Or even to die. Anything to lessen the violent automatic shaking pain that within him and all over him, stabbing, jabbing, hammering, grinding and pulverizing him till he felt like a complete and utter nothing.

No, I won't let this beat me! Naruto thought, the will to live surged through him like a flood. Slowly, gradually he brought himself into a sitting position, tearing skin, straining limbs that threatened to pull out of place and causing further discomfort in the process but he ignored it and managed to survey the room he was in. It was twenty square feet, and what struck him as odd were the four walls that surrounded him. They weren't really walls, but instead were four, bright yellow curtains of light that seemed to pulse like traffic signals.

Once the shock of it all passed, Naruto took a moment to calmly assess his situation. A single glance around room told him he was within a confined metallic space, with water clinging and dripping from the walls around him. No chairs, no food and no bed had been provided.

How the hell did I wind up here? Naruto thought slowly. His thoughts ran as thick and as sluggish as blood.

From what he was able to tell, he was still within familiar territory, and by that he was still in Jump City. Clearly some time had passed since his battle with Robin and his friends, and someone had rescued him and dumped him within the confines of some kind of strange and bizarre prison. How much time, he didn't know. But the question was who'd find it within their hearts to rescue him, a complete stranger, and throw him in a place like this, and why?

Naruto gritted his teeth and crawled towards one of the floor glowing walls that surrounded him, and with some serious effort and strength on his part he got up clumsily to his feet, shaking his head of the red and black tides of darkness out of his vision.

Curiously he motioned towards one of the glowing walls. He could feel heat pulsing off of it as he got closer and closer. He pressed a naked foot out to touch it and received a gentle push back, as his reward. Naruto frowned and pushed harder, only for the wall to push back even more, and the heat increased to exponential levels in mere moments. And in his moment of frustration he lashed out with a titanic kick.

The action rewarded him with an enormous push backwards, blasting him off of his feet. He flipped and skidded across the dirty floor on the other side of the room on his side. He didn't even try to get up. He was looking at his smoking, drooping leg and did his best not to scream.

It was like he'd kicked Sasuke being protected by his Susanoo covered in the flames of Amaterasu. Bones were sticking out of his skin. His toes and foot were a bare mass of blood, tissue and flesh. His ankle was broken and practically crushed. Bones in his leg had snapped completely, and jutted out of the skin.

Naruto gnashed his teeth so hard that they nearly cracked underneath the strain, a deep groan left his lips, but he didn't scream. His stomach lurched at the smell of his own cooked flesh, but he didn't vomit. He simply lied there, taking deep breaths as he corrected the position of his leg and felt a shudder left his cracked lips as he felt the bones beginning to regenerate the damage he'd caused to it. The skin over Naruto's legs and ankle was knitting together so quickly he could see it through his tear filled eyes. It was smooth once more, unscarred.

A tremor passed through him, his chest rose and he coughed violently, spitting up lumps of blood across the floor near his head as he tried to catch his breath.

"That wasn't a very good idea."

The voice came from behind him. Naruto lurched up to his good knee, bringing about another coughing fit and turned around and found a middle aged man with thin, graying silver hair, thin body with a sharp face and piercing eyes garbed in white and gold robes. The man was staring at him, and Naruto couldn't help but feel like some kind of dangerous and exotic zoo animal.

He smiled and began to talk again. "The barrier works on a molecular attraction principle," the man says. "The more force you exert, the more energy is transmitted within the barrier through your bonds, and—

"The hotter it gets. Sort of figured it out on my own, but thanks." Naruto's voice rasped, half his pain had fallen away from his leg and ankle. "I'm going out on a limb here and say that you're that one that had me brought here." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Yes I am," the man answered with a broad smile. "My name is Sebastian Blood, but you may call me by my known alias, Brother Blood. I'm very glad to see that you're awake."

Even as tired as Naruto was, he could make out the two armed escorts dressed in black behind the robed man, soldiers with big guns trained on him as Blood took several steps forward towards the curtains of light, and in his presence it fell away until it died out. What he wanted to do was incapacitate his armed escorts with his good foot and use Blood's worthless hide for leverage. Blood could see it in his eyes. It amused him.

Blood and his men entered the room. "Getting ideas, are we, Naruto Namikaze?" he asked with a smile.

Naruto didn't answer, but instead bared his teeth and pronounced fangs. It was answer enough. Even in near pitch darkness, he could tell that the gesture was as real as the situation he found himself in. Not once did he ever take his eyes off of the robed monster before him. The fact that this man somehow knew his name naturally set off alarms in his head as he didn't even have any idea who this guy was at all.

Brother Blood paused and then his voice became bright and cheery. "Before we start, Naruto," the man said. "I want to tell you something very important. If you do escape from me, which I'm pretty sure you won't given your current condition, I wouldn't recommend being out in the open so suddenly, especially after your little run in with the Teen Titans two nights ago."

Blood suddenly scowled. "You'll pardon me of course if I'm not doing this right. I've never had someone kidnapped before you see, especially a subject as interesting and fascinating as you.

'What are you getting at?' Naruto thought quietly, pulling himself together.

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way I wish to convey to you an offer my dear boy. One I that I am sure you would be most interested in."

A long moment of silence passed between the two of them.

There was nothing, nothing in all the world that Naruto couldn't stand more than to feel helpless. He'd rather be smashed through the chest by a Kirin from Sasuke, or even be fighting Madara, though he had to admit that the fight resulted in his second near death experience. The first being when he fought Kabuto without any knowledge of what a medical ninja was truly capable of, and the end result was having the muscles of his heart nearly ripped to shreds.

Naruto didn't either bother wasting his energy to buck against his restraints. To do so would only cause more unnecessary harm to himself, he just knelt there and glared at Blood with as much contempt as he could possibly muster. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of air. "So, what's the hook? Where is this all heading exactly?

"I want you to be a student at my school. Are you interested ?"

"Excuse me?" Naruto inquired, not all too sure that he heard that properly. He was flummoxed by the suggestion that someone would go to all the trouble to kidnap him to coerce him into joining a school.

"The hook is servitude and tutelage within my illustrious school. You can think of it as a sort of apprenticeship, just as long as you perform the classes we provide for you so you can become either an accomplished thief, a merc or whatever your heart desires. Of course if you choose to be my student, your services will be handsomely compensated, room and board will be provided for you and you may even get to achieve other additional benefits if I see you're being very cooperative. Interested?"

Naruto was silent for a moment. From the moment Blood had stepped into the metallic room and began his conversation with him, he was positive that he felt a mental probe scuttle across the surface of his mind. The ability at work had a different, more unnatural feel than that of the Yamanaka clan. Whereas the Yamanaka clan famed mental jutsus were like a spider, which moved agilely across the surface of one's mind, so long as the individual had the proper chakra supply, training, fundamental workings. Not to mention you needed a bit of creativity to truly get the full potential of the skill down packed, and the necessary timing and precision to perform it properly.

Then whatever Blood was doing was reminiscent of an eight or nine year old poking at something interesting in his mind. Trying to takeover his body and bend him to his will. The man before him was slightly clever, and Naruto was using the term slightly very loosely, he wasn't the most intimidating, a bit fiendish and perhaps he did hold a considerable amount of charisma in the way he carried himself.

But Naruto did note that Blood was cruel, sadistic, and was willing to go to great lengths to get what he wanted and desired, which in this case was him being stuck in a cell naked and practically starving upon the verge of collapsing.

No doubt it was supposed to cause some kind of psychological harm to his mind. Soften him up so that Blood could control his perception with persuasion and mind control to sway him to his side. Naruto wasn't a fool and neither was he stupid or naïve. Perhaps during his early days as a genin, yea, he was man enough to admit that he wasn't the sharpest piece of cutlery in the drawer. But that was then, and this was now.

Naruto had had enough of apprenticeships to last him more than twenty lives. He sneered. "Why don't you take you generous offer and go fuck yourself with it."

Brother Blood leaned over and slapped him, hard. "You will speak to me civilly." His voice was cold and heartless.

"Fuck you," Naruto said without intonation.

Let's settle something now, shall we then," Brother Blood said, reached into his robes and pulled out a black control the size and shape of a book of matches. He pressed down on the button, hard. The pain slammed into Naruto's body fast and brutally, his knees buckled. He crashed into the floor, his body jerking into a helpless fetal ball. He gagged, struggling to breathe despite the sensation of his body being torn, shredded, ripped and mangled him with sadistic strength.

Finally, the screaming red hell ended, leaving him to collapse in sweating nausea.

"Let's lay down a few ground rules, until I say otherwise, you're a dog on a leash. I say bark, your bark. And if I have to kick you, you'd better not bare your fangs at me! What I offered you was not a choice, but simply an ultimatum. Understand?" Blood asked with an unusual level of calm.

What did the bastard do to me? Naruto thought as he fought through the pain, trying to figure what the hell was going on. It hit him then when he closed his eyes and mentally looked within himself, and what appeared to be tiny molecule sized machines attached to his cells, brain and a large number of his organs became visible in his minds eye. His eyes shot open and he glared defiantly at Blood. "What the hell did you do to me you son of a bitch!"

"Nanoscopic probes," Brother Blood explained with a toothy smile. "A little precaution I took while you were unconscious. Multipurpose kind of device really: a homing beacon, a little something to calm you down in the event you feel the need to be out of line. If you join me, if you swear to serve under me and my school, I will bring you any harm. But… if you disobey even the smallest of request, from me, I will not hesitate to annihilate you, Naruto. Make no mistake about that, I'm not a man to make threats, I make promises and I assure you I do keep my promises. So…will you accept my offer??" Blood held his hand out. "Or should I teach you to play dead?"

He did not answer. Rather, he closed his eyes again from the world around him.. Brother Blood waited for an answer, sure that his speech moved the young man to the point of speechlessness. Finally, his head lifted up past his lengthy metallic blond hair, revealing a blank and emotionless expression plastered on his face. Finally, his eyes met Blood, and he suddenly wanted to gasp and step as far away as possible, but instead he simply opened his mouth in a quick intake of breath.

That was when Brother Blood and his armed escort felt the temperature in the room dropped to dangerously drastic levels. Arctic levels. Naruto's eyes flashed from metallic blue straight to glowing crimson pupils half hidden behind his hair. Blood felt a dribble of sweat pour down his forehead as he stared into the eyes of what he knew was anything but human. Those eyes sent a strong, raw tingle into the pit of Blood's stomach, and he was sure his armed escorts felt it all the same. It was fear.

Those two red beaming fires in the dark scared Blood to no end, his heart in his throat and the vitae ran cold within his veins. In person they seemed fierce and raw. They frightened him, even as he stood bravely before a young man, whom he was sure was more than capable of tearing his throat out without a second thought. Those dark red eyes had no simple emotion within them. No anger, no hate, no rage, just a look.

Then slowly, deliberately, Naruto turned his head, reaching for his right shoulder with his mouth opened. Using chakra flow, his teeth easily pierced through the flesh and bone, Naruto growled as he increased his jaw strength tremendously as he bit as hard as he could. The right arm came off at the shoulder in a spray of blood, to the surprise and horror of Brother Blood and his men. Even when the regeneration process was already taking place, he didn't let up as he did the same with the left shoulder. Freeing himself from the bonds that restrained him

The man on Blood's left dropped his rifle to cover his mouth, vomit leaked through the gaps between his fingers and he lost control of his bladder as he ran out of the room without a second thought. His partner simply stepped back in complete and utter horror, strongly taken aback by what his eyes had actually seen. While Blood simply stood there, ramrod and rooted to his very spot.

His outstretched hand did not waver or move, but remained their calmly through sheer willpower.

Then slowly, deliberately, Naruto spat blood at his side before he brought his hand up and clasped Blood's tightly. The man was sure that had he not employed his psychic force powers within his limb, his hand would have crumbled underneath the very strain. But it didn't stop him from wincing as the boy's pointed nails dug into his palm, which caused the remaining guard still standing in the room to raise his rifle at the teens head.

But Naruto ignored the sound of his knees knocking together, his heart rapidly pounding away at his very ribcage, and his breath short and uneven like he was going to faint at the very sight of his dismembered arms on the ground in a small pool of blood. He ignored the apparent evidence that Blood's remaining armed escort had lost control of his bladder and did the one thing he would make Blood understand.

He shook it, firmly.

The loud, blaring and annoying sound of the alarm was stopped when a clawed, clenched fist smashed through it cleanly by an angry half awake Naruto. He closed his eyes for a moment he allowed the memory that had been made a reality slip away, and instead focused on the pleasant silkiness of the bed sheets against his bare skin.

His head was buried deep within the confines of a scented pillow. No doubt he'd been sleeping on stomach after he'd been placed into an unfamiliar room into an unfamiliar bed, practically too comatose to even care. Naruto swallowed hard as he gripped his messy bangs and head tightly before he slid out of bed, his bare feet clasped against the plush red carpet of the room before he stalked awkwardly towards the bathroom. He really needed a shower. A long one at that.

Rubbing the ache he felt growing between his eyes, he stretched luxuriantly as entered the bathroom, and turned the knob to extra hot as he climbed inside and closed his eyes.

Hot soapy water sprayed from the stall's nozzle, hitting his body from all directions. Naruto sighed in pleasure as he bathed himself off. He had nothing but brief dips in rivers or lakes since his personal war and stake against the Akatsuki, forcing him to constantly be on the move, to be on the look out. Putting him in the state of mind that everyday would be his last, when in actuality it was. Goodness he missed the pounding sensation of real hot water.

The battle hardened teen allowed his mind to go blank as he hung his head and every ache and pain he'd felt from being stuck in whatever uncomfortable position he'd felt when awoke in that hell hole was being lulled away by his steaming hot shower. Reflecting on his circumstances too much made his head hurt, literally. In a situation like this, Naruto knew that if he was going to survive, if he was ever going to have a fighting chance , then he had to pretend to submit to Brother Blood and his demands, regardless of how much his instincts screamed at him to find the man and tear his limbs off, slowly and painfully.

With a flip of his hand, Naruto tossed his soaked bangs hair out of his face and brought his hands up to massage his face. The hot water made the dried blood and dirt caked on his skin flow until the crimson black streams flowed down his legs and pooled down the shower drain. Sure he didn't sport any cuts or wounds to show that he'd been hurt, but the blood was still there, and it felt good to get it off of his body. He watched with interest as it swirled around and around like a watery cyclone down the drain.

He finally stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, his damp hair straggling against his back in fragrant tangles. Passing the bedroom mirror, Naruto passed his own reflection and for a split second, acting on pure instinct, stiffened, thinking he'd spotted an enemy. He glanced at himself in the mirror, and for a moment he admired that everything was where it should be. He was much taller, leaner and more pronounced than the average male for a young man of six and a half feet, though he admitted that it was a rough estimation, with dark skin, blond hair and sapphire blue eyes. Though in his defense, he couldn't even recall the last time he'd look in the mirror, or any mirror for that instance.

Reassured that everything about his body was in its proper place, he studied his face with quick intent gaze. Now he knew why that older woman back at the warehouse seemed so fixated him; his features attracted their admiring attention and looks. His eyes were a bright blue that wasn't entirely human. His hair reminded him the color of ancient coins, a bright gold that wasn't entirely his and that gleamed like fur. His strength and determination were revealed in the strong lines of his face, accompanied by a sharp jaw, chin and an attractive nose. Thin full lips completed the picture, adding a sense of danger and excitement to his face. He was Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, the love child of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

A dozen questions passed through his mind as he unsealed a scroll from his body and placed it down across the bed, placed his hand it and began the process of unlocking the seals binding it and the contents together. During his training with Ero-Senin, he'd long since learned that a person with an advanced knowledge of the art of sealing could pack with an economy of space. The scrolls sealed on and within his person contained far more than an observer might think at first glance.

To summarize, he was being coerced upon threat of death to attend some prestigious school for villains, all because he wanted a snack. He went through all that crap just too get to get one freaking snack. Black fury stab at his very being. The pain. The black shame of being a puppet to a callous man left a bitter taste in his mouth, and once again he had to regain control of his senses. Because if he didn't he was sure that he'd no doubt go on a rampage for blood, and that was the last thing he needed.

He needed to be calm, level and collected about the situation. He needed to simply go along with what this man had planned for him, learn more about this new world before he could make his move. Naruto knew that if he was ever going to stand a chance here, then he was going to have to play this smart, accept the opportunity that was presented to him and use it to his advantage. Learning, adapting and assimilating every piece of useful knowledge that he could get his hands on or die. And dying was the very; very last thing to do on his list.

Minutes after he'd finished taking the time dress himself, he took the time to take a gander of the room that he would call home for the time being. And he had to admit that he was impressed. Compared to his old one bedroom apartment, he had to admit that this place was like a palace, internally anyway. The walls were painted in a rich cream color with full skirting board and the usual furnishings. Paintings were hung up along the walls, and furniture of the finest design lavished along a red plush carpet, along with a wonderful view of Jump City thanks to a large window made this room look like something out a catalogue magazine.

The civilian clothes that he'd worn when he been taken in was resting comfortably within the room's closet; no doubt Blood saw to it that it was cleaned and made it so that his stay would be comfortable. Sure the man in question was a bastard, but he had to grudging admitted that he was a courteous bastard, especially going as far as to buy him several changes of clothing.

But Naruto didn't opt to put on anything that Blood bought him, instead he chose to wear something that was going to validate his so called villain status. And he was sure that this specific piece outfit would drive the point home. He was dressed in an oversized, familiar long black cloak with crimson clouds, with a crimson interior and a chin-high collar that covered the lower half of his face along with a red headband that functioned as a scarf around his neck, matching black cargo pants and boots, while wearing a silver ring with a sign engraved on the top that read Zero on his right ring finger.

Putting aside the once hateful feelings he once felt against the organization that came so close to world domination, he gave himself a casual sweep and found that the uniform fit him perfectly. He'd made the right decision of stripping the bodies of other Akatsuki members when he made his mission to hunt them down one by one; after all the dead had no use for them. Not to mention that the outfit made him look and feel like a badass, and that dark colors suited him; bright vibrant colors did not.

Standing there in front of the mirror, he felt an odd sense of exhilaration mingled with a hollow pain in the middle of his stomach. And it was not because of the nanoscopic probes swimming around in his body, practically making him a living, breathing; walking time bomb. The pain was fear, he knew that. He understood the exhilaration, too. He was stuck in a new world, ready to jump head first into the unknown, and he was ready for it.

You are not helpless. You will find your way. Naruto told himself, before he shoved the sedge hat on top of his head and left the confines of his room. Where he was greeted by a purple robed individual, their face was covered, preventing him from telling whether they were male or female. But it was obvious to him that the person had been waiting patiently for him. Expecting him.

"I hope you've had sufficient rest, Mr Pein," At that point Naruto had to bite back a chuckle of irony after he heard the alias that he would be known by. "Please follow me, would you kindly." The person spoke emotionlessly, gesturing him to follow.

Naruto looked over his shoulder as his room door closed automatically; he could hear the click of the lock as they began to walk down the maze-like hallways. Passing by obscenely large bunker like doors, ID checkpoints, and a computer terminal hidden inside of an armored wall that took his retinal scan and logged it into the database. Along the way he'd been presented with thin band of black gold for his right wrist. Standard procedure he supposed. No doubt to give him access to certain areas within, but not everywhere. Not yet anyway.

Naruto couldn't help but shake his head; and wonder just what else did this crazy place had in store for him.

Hive Academy was a huge, a vast cavernous space that looked like it had been designed according to floor plan and more like it had been created by a tribe purple clad yuppies. It resembled a sprawling monument of cutting edge architecture and technology that had been pumped by a splendor of wealth for years. Naruto rode in a somewhat impressive looking lift, leaving upper levels behind, coming towards the lower levels downstairs. Very sleek, stainless steel seemed to be something of a design constant, from what his eyes were able to perceive. It looked clean at least, if perhaps a bit cold.

The teen sighed as he glimpsed several of the architectural design and inwardly he couldn't help but feel impressed by the technological advances of this world.

When the lifts doors opened, Naruto's eyes took in the change of decoration, and he was a bit impressed. The main levels of the Hive seemed exquisitely nice. The walls were a mixture of stainless steel and honey colored gold, the same with the floors; both in which had a honeycomb like pattern. Large, various paintings seemed to line the walls, some with old faces, other's with young faces that he did not recognize. While everything looked rather nice and expensive, the place had a rather lively feel to it,

Naruto continued to follow the man in purple as he steered him from one corridor to another. No doubt the man (?) was doing this for his benefit; wanting to him to familiarize himself with the environment.

Finally, after fifteen minutes of what had appeared to be mindless walking around, the robed figure brought him to the correct classroom, and went on his way. Naruto stood in front of the door, eyes closed as he rapped lightly on the door. He took a deep, calm breath. Readying himself for the long days ahead of him and strode into the class with slow, deliberating steps when the door slid open with an audible hiss of the hydraulics.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in today class. It looks like we got ourselves a new student."

Naruto remained silent as he removed his sedge hat from his head, and stood face to face to who he assumed was his teacher for the day. The teacher was a tall, stoic, adjutant broad shouldered man who wore a M42 Greatcoat with the neckguard turned up, and a M43 officer's cap that concealed a mop of silver hair that fell past his shoulders. Big, black eyes stared at Naruto intently, no doubt regarding him and studying him.

"I apologize for my tardiness," Naruto replied stoically. "I have yet to learn my way around this place, yet." He felt it was best to leave out him being taken around in near circles unmentioned.

"It's quite alright, boot." The teacher's tone was gruff, thick with a German's accent, and he paced up to Naruto with a swagger that couldn't be missed. It conveyed confidence, power and his eyes didn't even blink "As you may or ma not be know, I am The Captain; or Cap for short. And you would be Mr…" The Captain let the words hang into the air; his dark eyes never left the youths face as he sized him up.

"Pein, just call me Pein.

The Captain's eyes glittered something fierce. "Ahhh, so your Brother Blood's newest… addition to the Hive. I was just informing my class that I was looking forward to seeing you go head to head with one of my best students. After all, it is a rare feet to go up against the Teen Titans, despite being severely handicapped and still come out the victor."

Naruto noted that several of the students stared at him vacantly, some with curiosity and interest, while the remainder with dark malicious intent. He turned his head and looked among the small class curiously. Perhaps a few people stood out a bit. A thin boy with gray skin and red eyes, and a girl with a vivid head of blond hair.

"Now then, Pein, I do hope you don't mind but I set up a little…… challenge for you. You see, there are a few there that don't believe that you have what it takes."

Naruto could care less if they believed it or not.

"So I devised a rather interesting idea, one that I think that might interest you of course, are you interested?"

Do I really have a choice? Naruto thought darkly, already knowing the answer to that question, no. He was sure that the man was simply asking out of necessity. He gave a shrug. "Sure, I'm interested, but what do you have in mind?" he couldn't help but question the instructor, who gave him an all too toothy grin which made him very suspicious.

Naruto oriented himself as he entered the combat room.

The combat room looked exactly the way something called "the combat room" sounded like it would look. The stainless titanium steel floors and walls seemed thoroughly polished to a glossy sheen and he was met what appeared to be even more students. A whole flock of them really, sitting high up on the bleachers, costumed eyes watched him interest and something else he couldn't decipher.

His ears perked to the small whispers and murmurs of the other teenagers, and he couldn't help but feel like he was the new hot topic within the Hive.

Bloody hell.

"All right boot, we're going to take you out for a little test drive, so just do what your best, and try not to die." Naruto heard Cap's voice over some kind of speaker he couldn't see, the room smelled of steel and polish. He could see the others looking at him, watching, waiting and Naruto couldn't help but be prepared. Not knowing what to expect.

Suddenly, a large hatch in the middle of the room opened up and a platform rose up from it. Standing on said platform was a figure, which Naruto assumed would be his opponent sitting in a cross legged position. It was a young masked woman with pale skin who wore a kimono that looked like it belonged to a super model. It was green in color with elaborate and intricate gold designs. The sleeves were long enough to hide her hands out of plain sight and the outfit was long enough to fit her every curve like a second skin, and it was held by a black and green sash that was tied tightly around her waist.

Her long braided black hair fell freely down over her shoulders, and she wore a white porcelain cat face mask, and on her feet she wore high heeled black boots with green stockings. She was lithe with a fair amount of muscle and an impressive physique for a young woman her age.

Now, she must be really good if she's wearing those shoes to engage someone. It's obvious she's seen combat before, and I'm guessing those sleeves of hers are suppose to draw my visual attention off of her and to be used as a distraction from the real danger. That's pretty interesting. Naruto thought as he watched the young woman stand on her feet, and stared at him for a few moments.

He could tell that she was watching intently behind her face mask, reading any small tells his body may give away as to how skilled he was; she was gauging him. To be honest, Naruto felt kind of odd being stared at like that by a young woman in such a manner, and had he been his old self, he was sure that he wouldn't have thought much about or said something stupid to upset her. But he was not his younger, ignorant, dense self, he was different. He was smarter and more humble than he was before, and he was interested in what she was capable of.

"Now then boot, I'd like to introduce to you one of my most promising students as your opponent, Cheshire. Cheshire, this is the young man I told you about, say hi!" The Captain spoke, Naruto gave a polite smile and a wave and the young woman known as Cheshire quietly gave a small head nod, acknowledging him.

The older gentlemen couldn't help a smile, his eyes motioned one fighter. He could feel the wary controlled tension in the room crackling between them both like an electrical impulse. Oh this was going to be good, really good. "Now that I've introduced you both, you may begin"

Just as the words left his mouth, Naruto watched before his very eyes Cheshire took a single step, right before she disappeared completely. The action surprised him for half a second.

"Wow, there's something you don't see everyday." Naruto brought his arm up just in time to block a clawed swipe that was aimed at his protected neck, his eyes narrowed at that for a second. He refused to let the only visible memory of his home to be scratched or dinged anymore than it already was, no, he wouldn't let that happen. Naruto lashed out with an elbow strike with his left to her chest, followed by a twist of her wrist with his right and a swift kick into her stomach which sent her flying back.

The quick blows staggered her, and she was barely able to land on her feet properly, her arms wrapped around her pained stomach. Cheshire couldn't help but cough and sputter behind her mask. She was caught off guard by his cobra like reflexes and his counter which knocked the breath out of her completely, though her eyes quickly widened in surprise as her instincts told her to look up, she did and she met the grinning face of Naruto hanging in mid air. No way!

She ducked out of the way of a spin kick that was aimed for her head, which in turn slammed into a wall behind her. Sending giant spider cracks across the surface, along with jolts of electricity. Cheshire was completely on the defensive and moved with superior speed to dance and moved around his bone crushing punches and kicks, and she followed a roundhouse kick with a punch to his jaw. But he took the hit, spun along her outstretched leg, grabbed her by the back of her kimono and spun her around in high speeds before he threw her over his shoulder. She hit the ground, hard.

Cheshire growled before she jumped back to her feet and met Pein head on yet again, despite the fact that it had quickly dawned on her that he was good. Good enough to use acrobatics that were beyond what a normal person was capable, heck Cheshire was even sure that he was making Jinx green with envy; and she was a grade A gymnastic. The female Vietnamese ninja couldn't help but be in slight awe and bewilderment of his physical prowess, she, like man others had heard from the mouths of Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth and Brother Blood himself that he took down the Titans by himself.

Of course Cheshire was a bit skeptical at the claim, not that the Teen Titans were impossible to beat mind you, but their team work and choreography gave even some of the toughest villains within Jump City pause. Heck she even had believed that the four had simply said it for kicks, but when The Captain approached her with offer of facing the young man himself in a one on one match bout, she readily accepted. After all she'd been dying for a chance to improve her skills, and now she had it right before her very eyes.

She was going to milk this for all that it was worth, right down the very last drop. But there was something that she noticed that drew her attention. It was not something most humans would notice, heck perhaps even a psychologist as skilled as Brother Blood would notice, but her intuition as a female warrior brought it to her attention; actions usually revealed an individuals true nature, and her opponent was no exception.

His motions, stances, punches, kicks, blocks and counters indicated to Cheshire that he had stared into the face of war and death numerous times. There was a myriad of emotions and feelings that confused and baffled her, and if anything made her even more curious than she was before. There was no arrogance, no anger, no rage or malice within the actions he made, and if anything she felt a heartfelt deep sorrow within him. Within his heart. Cheshire sensed it the moment she accidently made the move to strike at the headband around his neck, and she further studied his actions to perceive what she believed may have happened.

It was obvious to the young woman that it was a very special keepsake that belonged to someone that cared deeply for him, someone who had died in an incident and their death affected him, scarred him deeply. He didn't know her very well, maybe an acquaintance perhaps, she guessed, but even so the result was catastrophic. No doubt the end result brought about the man she saw before her now. She could sense that he was alone and scarred in such a way, so much so that it felt like life itself had abandoned him. Even now as they fought she picked up a small scent, as faint as it was, it was still there.

The cloth he wore around his neck was a dark crimson color, a very crimson color to be considered a dye, but what confirmed it was the small, but subtle metallic scent that came from it. The only reason she was aware of it was because she knew that scent all to well in her childhood, being trained and raised to be a master of hand to hand combat. It was the smell of blood.

Cheshire simultaneously back flipped and blocked his strike. The force of it surprised her, and the recoil threw her backwards. She caught her footing as he jumped. Over her he spun and forced her to be on the defensive with a series of blows so rapid that she barely caught sight of them all.

Meanwhile, within the sanctity of the control room that was fifty meters off of the floor, The Captain, Brother Blood and a potential client watched from their seats with vast interest as they viewed to the engagement in HD on several monitors marked MOTION, INFARED, DOPPLER and PASSIVE. Brother Blood leaned forward in his seat towards one of the technicians and whispered something in his ear.

The tech felt a shiver trickle down his spine and nodded quickly, and did as he was told by his master. His fingers blazed across the computer screen, right before he slammed his palm into a large red button.

Naruto blocked a punch which was meant to move him into a position of a snap kick, which like the first attack was meant to move him into position for another attack. A swipe aimed for his fifth and sixth rib was deflected by easily; the same with a flattened palm strike aimed for his jaw was blocked easily with the back of his wrist. Normally, Naruto had little trouble dodging the average foe, but then again Cheshire was a little different. Her fighting style was very strange; she was something between a dancer and a savage fighter with the embodied grace of a cat.

There was no doubt in his mind that he could run circles around this girl, but he wanted to get a feel of her style first. Test the waters so to speak, and now it was time for him to blow off a little steam and have a bit of fun.

He jumped back just in time when he quickly heard different sound from all over the place, and he realized that several platforms suddenly rose out of nowhere, and the ground underneath the pillars sunk to the sides. Leaving the platforms as the only available footing, meaning if either of them dropped (namely Cheshire in particular), it was going to be a long way down, and he already had a rough idea of what would happen to her if that happened. Cheshire took his moment of studying his surrounding as her chance, she soared through the air and removed four smoke bombs from her kimono and threw them across the platforms, which on contact quickly exploded in a plume of black smoke.

Smoke bombs huh, not bad. Not bad at all. Naruto was intrigued by the young girl's change of tactics. She was trying to rob him of his vision and come out with a surprise waiting for him, so he closed his eyes and waited.

Cheshire swiftly followed after him, accompanied by twin katana blades that she had taken from a hidden side compartment on the pillar that they'd been standing on from the moment the smoke bomb had no doubt blinded sided her opponent; giving her the advantage. She followed through with a series of swipes that no doubt would have turned a normal man to kibble and bits; bloody kibble and bits. But Naruto simply dodged the ferocious attacks, tucked in his legs and jumped clear through the smoke and landed gracefully with his feet sticking on the ceiling.

Everyone turned their heads in the direction where Naruto had landed, and the reaction that most people had was of surprise. Even The Captain, Blood and their potential client was deeply surprised by the course of action.

"Now, it wouldn't do me any good that your getting serious and I'm not so," Naruto clapped his hands, which resonated throughout the large stadium as he emitted his chakra into the environment. "Suiton: Suishōha!" He yelled, creating a giant, spiraling vortex of water out of thin air which then exploded from the top of the ceiling as it rained down around Cheshire, filling up the battle field until the only thing left to stand on were the large platforms that had elevated from earlier.

Cheshire couldn't help but raise an eyebrow underneath her mask, looking down at the water that her opponent had somehow magically summoned out of thin, freaking air. Of course she'd been deeply surprised by the action, But the question that really plagued her mind was, why?

Why hadn't he thrown it at her when he had the element of surprise up his sleeve, she was sure that it would have caused some serious damage and caught her by surprise had it struck dead on. Cheshire shook her head, and mentally began to psyche herself up. She could take this guy. No matter what kind of fancy tricks he had up his sleeves, she could take him

"You don't think a bit of water is enough to scare me, do you?" Cheshire spoke confidently. But her confidence had been shaken drastically, especially since up until this point, she'd never fought anyone capable of pulling a lake out of their ass. That shit just wasn't common, save for Metahumans, and even that was less likely as they usually needed a source to help them achieve the task. If that wasn't scary in itself, she didn't know what was.

Naruto smiled as he dropped from the ceiling, landing on top of the water without so much as making a ripple. "It's all a matter of opinion, now isn't it, Cheshire. Suiton: Goshokuzame!" he called again, placing his hand on top of the water. All Cheshire saw was a large ripple cast across the surface, but there were no signs to reveal what he'd had done to the water. Below the surface she could make out shades moving, seeing only enough to make an assumption; they were freaking huge. "Now then, shall we continue where we left off?" he asked

Naruto jumped from the water's surface, beginning his speedy descent towards her. She jumped towards him in turn. He dodged and weaved around her sword swings, and the kick aimed at his side, and countered by wrapping chakra strings around her body and readily threw her across the water's surface. Cheshire bounced across the water's surface, which felt like wet concrete before she landed on another of the honeycombed shape platforms.

One of her swords skidded out of her hand, across the polished surface and into the watery depths below. Cheshire gave a groan of pain, before she picked herself up and turned to where one of the katana she'd wielded fell. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized what had been lying underneath the surface of the lake. Underneath her mask the color from her face drained, and she was sure that she heard a loud number of gasps resonating from the crowd.

She looked at Naruto incredulously. "Sharks?! Are you fucking serious?!"

"But of course, why should I go easy on you?" Naruto asked. "Your opponent won't."

Cheshire had to jump out of the way when she realized a shark jumped out of the water, floated in mid air and attacked her head on. Upon closer inspection, the sharks seemed to be made of water. That meant conventional attacks wouldn't work. However, Cheshire didn't know that. She was soon to learn though, when she tried to slice it right down the middle. Needless to say, it wasn't a great idea. Her slash cut through the shark's back, but it soon restored itself with the surrounding water and whipped around at the masked girl again.

Damn it! She thought as she lunged to her left. The shark fell below the surface, but the others were already converging on Cheshire's position with the defined definition for celerity.

"You're only making this harder on yourself!" Naruto called out. "You're only going to get yourself killed!"

Cheshire's masked eyes widened as suddenly, all five sharks jumped out and attacked at once, lunging at her viciously. It turned out for better or worse(depending on how you looked at it) as the shock of the attack broke her concentration, and she lost her footing because of the water that had splashed the surface of the platform she had been standing on, and she fell below the waters surface. Subsequently, the sharks crashed into each other, exploding in a magnificent burst of water.

She quickly swam towards a dry platform and pulled herself up, panting and sweating heavily from her ordeal. Her brows furrowed as he fought to catch her breath as she sought to fight through the pain.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Naruto nodded his head in acknowledgement, and deeply impressed with her. "Had enough yet?" he asked calmly.

Cheshire got back up, realizing that he was practically in front of her, but she didn't dare charge him. She stood tense, at this point telling herself to expect just about anything and everything from this guy. Her katana poised as she reevaluated her tactics a bit. Finally she rushed, more carefully this time and slashed with her blade, which followed by a swipe of her metallic claws on her left hand.

She continued her onslaught of well timed swipes from every direction that she could think of, every maneuver and form that came to mind flashed in her movements. But not once was she able to land a direct strike on him, any that had any effect on him. That made her even more determined to fight back, made her determine to win.

Cheshire armed herself briefly with a series of throwing stars, before she sent them singing through the air towards her target, aiming for vital organs. However, like many throwing stares, they were ringed and hollow inside, for better accuracy.

Terrible choice of action. Naruto thought, catching the throwing stars with chakras strings, barely needed to inch his finger to catch it. The crowd gasped and Cheshire's eyes widened yet again as what appeared to be nothing keeping the stars from falling to the ground.

How did…" Cheshire started, but Naruto simply shook his head.

"I don't walk into a battle without a plan, neither without the surroundings in check." Naruto said, he raised his hands in a motion. The deadly chakra filaments emanating from his fingers spun in various directions, hissing, whistling and howling like the wind as they tore apart the five throwing stars that had been tossed at him earlier. Yes, he could have thrown them back, an eye for an eye, but he chose not to out of necessity.

Naruto kept his fingers fluid and light, allowing the threads of chakra strings, lined with his wind nature to appear before her very eyes, flickering in and out of sight, actually managing to mystify Cheshire.

"What… are those?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Try attacking me again… and you may just find out." Naruto suggested cheerily.

Cheshire blinked owlishly behind her mask, before she scowled, realizing that she'd found herself yet again in awe of her opponents strength and abilities. A flash later, she was down, bending like a frog and then lunging forwards with the fierceness of a tiger. Swinging her sword across in a cross slash, while pressing her weight behind the blade.

Naruto easily sidestepped the attack and struck Cheshire with a left hook to her kidney. The pain was enough to make her pause; her vision spiraled, making her vulnerable. And there was virtually no one better trained to exploit that better than Naruto Namikaze.

He allowed his fingers moved with the grace and skill most surgeons would envy; and slashed apart her katana causing it to break apart like cheap glass with help of his chakra string shaped filaments. Cheshire's yelp of surprise was cut off when Naruto struck a pressure point in her right leg. Numbing it completely.

It was at that exact moment she knew that she lost the fight. Barely able to stand, she quickly shifted her tactics to defense, a good if not predictable strategy given her situation. Her mistake however, was thinking that Pein would attack her weakened lower body now that she could barely move her legs. Naruto knew he would think that.

The first fist was all it took. Cheshire's mask cracked heavily, she saw stars on the edge of her vision, and she felt as though her head exploded as another blow connected to the back of her head. The next thing she remembered was her ass hitting the ground and then darkness.

…"hear me, Cheshire? Cheshire, can you hear me?"

Cheshire tried to open her eyes, both slightly swollen. She wasn't surprised to find herself on a stretcher, unable to move at all. Hell, considering her rep, she'd been more surprised to find herself unrestrained. Not that she had any fight in her at the moment, Pein had seen to that.

"Yea… I hear you," Cheshire croaked.

"How do you feel?" One of Brother Blood's EMT asked, and at that point Cheshire wished she had the strength to just slap him silly for asking such a question. But the simple thought of it made her groan in pain.

"Like shit." Cheshire replied weakly. "Where's… Pein?"

"He's over there," replied the robed medic, pointing him out. Cheshire forced her swollen eyes open and glanced towards the exit of the combat room. She could make out the male figure that stood in the frame of the doorway, casting her a glance she couldn't readily decipher before he left the room without looking back

"Interesting, very interesting." Brother Blood looked back to see her potential client, now staring at the carnage below from the glass windows. She was a tall young woman with long, platinum blond hair that was enough to cover the left side of her face, which hid underneath a black eye patch, while a single cold grey eye was left visible on the right. She wore a dark suit and a dark grey trench jacket, along with white gloves that took the cigar from her deep, crimson colored cupid bow lips that complimented her slightly pale skin. "I must say that was a rather amusing, but tell me more about…him.

Blood's grin faded with distant stare of curiosity at the sharpness of her tone. "He's…… a rather interesting and strange case."

"Hmmm, how so?" The young woman stared at the television screen, and she couldn't help but wonder; was it the evident skills that had her eye fixated on the man, or was it perhaps his eyes that drew her attention.

About freaking time! I gotta say folks, this particular chapter gave me trouble for weeks on end, you hear me, freaking weeks on end. I'm sure in total I'd wrote this chapter at least more then thirty times and had to scrap each and everyone, but now I feel a bit glad that I'd been able to pull through. So far it has just about everything I wanted to say in it, along with several things which I know people hadn't expected at all. But, I hope this chapter is a breath of fresh air for you boys and girls as it has been for me, I had a lot of fun with the battle between Cheshire and Naruto as it gave me some serious flexibility and left me with even more ideas to implement in the next chapter.

For now send me your honest, mature feedbacks and opinions, and I'll get right on the next installment.

I'd like to thank everyone for their support and your words of encouragement for making this story happen. Seriously, I couldn't have done it without a push in the right direction. And if any of you have questions of any sort, please do not hesitate to ask me and I'll do my best to get back to you on it.

Thank you kindly.

Dark Spidey.