This fan fiction is written as an AR (alternate reality) that explores a different type of Kämpfer.

What if Kämpfers were more prominent in the world? What if Natsuru was not as thickheaded and narrow-minded about his choices? And what if he was chosen as the one and only Black Kämpfer, whose objective was to oppose the rule of the Moderators and forever stop their control over the Proxy Wars? This work attempts to share a storyline more focused on the Kämpfer battles and Natsuru's decisions than the original. Of course, if there were no pairings I might as well not write a fan-fiction for this so… harem? There will be several OCs in the later chapters, by the way.

NOTE: This is purely a work of fan-fiction and is in no way claiming ownership to any of its original characters.

Chapter 1: The Arrival of the Black Kämpfer

Senou Natsuru stared at the doll that sat before him. It was furry and had large, rounded ears drooping at the sides of its head. Fake canine teeth extruded from its open mouth. Any normal person would consider it a 'dog'. But what animal it was wasn't the question on his mind at the moment. What as more important was how the hell did it enter his house, his room even?

"Hello, my name is Food-Deprived Dog from the Entrails Animals series," said a voice. He glanced about the room; the closet was shut, the windows were shut, the doors were shut, and there was nothing under his bed. The voice spoke again, this time in a slightly agitated tone. "I said hello, my name is Food-Deprived Dog from the Entrails Animals series."

A movement caught his eyes as he stared at thing before him. Well, more specifically, the doll's movement. "I said my name is Food-Deprived Dog. Are you there, Natsuru-san?"

Food-Deprived Dog…? Is that related to inugami? Why is its head still on? He caught himself and shook his head of such trivial thoughts, turning his attention back to the doll before him. Not that anyone else would have such a level head after encountering a moving, and apparently talking stuffed animal.

"No, no, I don't really care about your name or what you are as an Entrails Animal," he said with a hand on his face. Although she might be interested, he had absolutely no care about that creepy franchise.

"You should be honored. The fact that I'm here means that you're the one and only Black Kämpfer." That word caught his attention. Kämpfer, it said. As in those chicks that fight day and night with swords, guns, and magic bolts? And now that he, Natsuru Senou, is a Kämpfer now? But wait, what's a black Kämpfer?

"Okay, Mr. Food-Deprived Dog. Let me get this straight. You're saying I've become a Kämpfer. A Black Kämpfer," he repeated. "But the problem is there are only Red, Blue, and White Kämpfers." As if reading his mind, Food-Deprived Dog pointed its hand at the boy's arm. "That wristband you're wearing is Black; therefore you are a Black Kämpfer, Natsuru-san," it said, adding a "duh" right after.

Natsuru looked at where it was pointing and, sure enough, there was a shiny black band around his wrist. He tried to tug it off and after a few tries decided the only way to remove it was to lose his hand. "Hmm… this is bad," he muttered. Food-Deprived Dog nodded its head in agreement. "Yeah, you're gonna be risking it, taking on the Moderators alone."

Natsuru paused for a moment. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN TAKE ON THE MODERATORS?" he shouted at the doll, though what it meant seemed quite obvious. To take on the White Kämpfers like that was purely idiotic; not only did they possess multiple attacks, but she was a White Kämpfer as well. To take on the Moderators would mean he would have to defeat her. And considering what happens to defeated Kämpfers, he did not want that to happen.

"A Black Kämpfer is a person chosen to stop the Proxy War," said Food-Deprived Dog as it rubbed its ears. "They are not official Kämpfers, so the rules don't apply to them." Natsuru tilted his head a bit questioningly. "Ara, rules? What rules?" All it seemed to him was wild fighting, after all.

Food-Deprived Dog cleared its throat before it spoke, as if preparing for a long speech. "Well, for one, since the Moderators did not create your wristband, you won't transform to a girl." Natsuru felt relief upon hearing those words, as he had tensed up a second ago under the assumption that he had to become a girl. Who knows what kinds of trouble would come with him being a girl?

"And…? What else?" he urged on. He didn't know all Kämpfers were girls by requirement. It would be nice to see Kanji's expression if he found out some of the Kämpfers he was researching about turned out to be men. Food-Deprived Dog paused for a moment before continuing. "I'd tell you, but it'd be more fun for you to find out yourself," it said with a laugh.

Natsuru walked down the street to the bus stop, muttering to himself about useless dogs. After he had thrown the Entrails Animal into the waste basket in his room, his question began bothering him even more. "Rules… rules… what rules?" he asked himself with a frown on his face.

He had easily accepted the idea of him becoming a Kämpfer. It was not known whether or not you exactly when you might get selected, or if you would get selected at all. The people at school who had been chosen before did not make it such a big deal. They kept coming to school, participate in their battles, and even help with cleaning up after their bouts. He's also never heard of prejudice simply because another is on the opposite side. Certainly, everyone would image themselves as either a Red or Blue at least once in their life.

Natsuru wore a black long-sleeve shirt underneath his summer uniform. It covered the wristband well enough, though a bulge would still show. If he was questioned, he'd just say it was a western fashion he decided to try. If he was a Red or Blue, he'd have to join their club at school, but since he was a Black one, he was certain to hide it.

At least until he learns of these "rules."

As he reached the bus stop, the figure of a brown-haired girl caught his eyes. She turned her head and looked at him with her bright emerald eyes before giving him a cheerful smile. "Good morning, Natsuru-san," she said.

"Good morning, Sakura-san," he said with a slight bow. His eyes caught onto the pure white object she wore on her right wrist. Yes, she was without a doubt a White Kämpfer. He looked away and waited for the bus.

"C'mon, Natsuru-san, let's take the bus together."

"S-Sure," he answered with only a bit of discomfort. This nice, pretty, and innocent Kaede Sakura was supposed to be his target as a Black Kämpfer? Even the mere thought made him believe that he would go to Hell for just thinking of it. There was no way he could hurt her or any other girl for that matter.

"Are you okay, Natsuru-san? You seem to be uncomfortable," she asked worriedly. She looked down on the ground with both her hands holding her bag in front of her. "Am I that bad to be around?"

"N-No, that's not it. It's just that I've got a lot on my mind." True that. He just can't bear to say something like, "Sakura-san, I'm a Black Kämpfer, so now I've got to fight you," or something similar. She smiled. "Really…? Then that's good." Ah… she sounded to alluring for a moment there.

"Ara…? Natsuru-san, why are you wearing that shirt?" She gently tugged at his left side long-sleeve with a questioning look on her face. "Ah, I saw this on the internet and thought it would be nice to try it out," he lied. Though he did see it once on the internet, he had no interest in trying it, especially in summer. The only reason he did was because he had to hide his wristband.

"Hmm… I see." Thank god the bus came then, or she could have prodded into the matter even further.

"Natsuru!" called Kanji as he made his way to the blue-haired boy's desk. "What's this I hear about you coming to school with Kaede? You could be going to Toudai for Christ sake!" He slammed his hands onto Natsuru's desk, earning him an irritated glare from him. "ANSWER ME!"

"SHUT UP! THERE ISN'T ANYTHING BETWEEN US! GET OFF MY DAMNED BACK!"

Ah, he snapped. Kanji pulled himself off the neighboring desk. "Good," he said while dusting himself off. "If you ever tainted her image like that, then not only will I hunt you down, but so would the rest of the male population."

A boy near the window called to the rest of the class. "Oi, everyone, they're fighting again!" The rest of the class rushed and huddled at the windows to watch, including Kanji and Natsuru. The trail of students that were coming to school dispersed; some who were closer to the school dashed inside, avoiding the Kämpfers, while those near the gates decided it was better to be late.

Down below, the figure of several girls were locked in combat in the middle of the school courtyard. There were five Blues and three Reds this morning; it was most likely an ambush. From where he was watching, the Reds seemed desperate to escape from their opponents.

"Go, Minagawa-sama!" cheered several of the guys.

The Blue Kämpfer known as Minagawa Hitomi smirked and threw energy bolts at the Reds as they turned to flee. It hit the ground with a large explosion, sending dust and debris around them. Natsuru was able to hear gunfire and the noise of swords clashing and the occasional movement from within in the cloud. Kanji frowned as he lowered his camera, which he had used to take pictures of the Kämpfer below.

"Damn it… can you see anything, Natsuru?" he asked with a frustrated expression.

"No," lied Natsuru as his eyes followed the trail of movements in the dust. From what he could tell, there were two Schwerts, two Gewehrs, and Minagawa Hitomi fighting against three Red Gewehrs. His eyes moved up near the gates, where he saw a few students peeking out to watch what they can.

The dust finally cleared, revealing the three defeated Red Kämpfers on the ground.

A chorus of cheers and shouts erupted from the students in the school, voicing their opinions on the battle in a mesh of noise. Several people rushed out of the school to carry the Red Kämpfers inside. The Blues stood and enjoyed their momentary victory, waving at their fans as they, too, entered the school. Several of Natsuru's classmates rushed downstairs to greet their idols. Kanji pulled Natsuru by the arm. "C'mon, Natsuru!" he shouted as he left. With a sigh, Natsuru followed a few steps behind him.

When they reached the first floor, they were rather astonished to find it packed with students of both genders struggling to catch a glimpse of the Kämpfers. From his elevation on the staircase, he could see the only clearing in the crowd where the Blues were. He was initially not very interested in meeting them, and now, after seeing this immense blockade of students, was even more uninterested.

Kanji leapt into the fray with his camera at hand, eager to take come close-ups of the Blues. "Damn it, get out of my way!" he yelled as he pushed through. If the prize was the opportunity to see a bishoujo, he'd go through all the gauntlets in Annihilation Nation and even Dreadzone.

Whatever… he thought to himself as he turned and went back up the stairs. It wasn't like he wanted to go to class, but his seat was considerably more comfortable than the steps of the staircase. As he walked back up, he heard the steps of someone else and looked up.

"Ara, Sakura-san? What are you doing here?" he asked as the brown-haired girl came down the steps.

She looked at him with surprise for a moment. "Ah, hello Natsuru-san," she said politely. "I was on the roof watching what happened. The boy's side has a better view, so…" Ah, that's was it. A Moderator is required to oversee the battles between Kämpfers, so it was a no-brainer that Sakura would oversee the ones here, as she was the only known White Kämpfer in the school. She decided to return a question.

"And what are you doing here, Natsuru-san? Aren't you interested in seeing Hitomi-chan and her comrades?" she asked coyly. He glanced away to avoid blushing at her expression.

"Er, no… I'm uh– not very interested in this Kämpfer business," he lied.

Actually, he was very interested in it, but not as much with the Reds and Blues. Sakura stared at him for a moment, as if she had just heard something strange. Natsuru stood there nervously. Did I say something wrong, he thought. He was surprised to see her smile rather cutely.

"Aw, Natsuru-san, don't be like that~" With that, she took his hand and began pulling him back downstairs. The blue-haired boy blushed and followed her. He was actually about to resist, but considering the way she smiled at him and the fact that he was holding Sakura's hand, he decided to go.

As the two reached the first floor, a few heads turned to see one of the school's idols come down the stairs with Natsuru in tow. At that moment, enough hearts broke to make Cupid have to work overtime. Those who had turned away from the Kämpfers began muttering unhappily amongst themselves, a majority of them male students.

Kanji looked behind him at that moment to check whether or not Natsuru was following him. His jaw dropped when he saw him with Sakura and began calling him. "Natsuru, you bastard!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Let go of Sakura-sama now!" He began pushing back to the staircase, which had become crowded because of the idol's presence.

Natsuru looked at the angry mob of students nervously as Sakura made her way through, oblivious to the shower of death threats, hostile glares, and crying students behind her. It's not like I want to hold her hand… he thought as he looked from left to right. Especially if half the school would come after me like I'm a witch or something.

Sakura and Natsuru made their way to the green-haired Kämpfer, the latter fending off his classmates with his free hand. She didn't let go of him after they got into the clearing, much to his surprise. "Hitomi-chan~" she called as she leapt at the Blue Kämpfer. "That was a great battle out there! Good job!"

The green-haired girl nodded.

"Yeah, that was a flawless victory, if I do say so myself," she said confidently. Her green eyes caught the sight of the blue-haired boy behind the White Kämpfer, who was still being held in her grasp. "Say, Sakura-san… who's that behind you?" she asked inquisitively. "Ah, is he your boyfriend?" she asked, surprised but sure that was the case. They were holding hands after all, right?

Sakura looked back at Natsuru and blushed, realizing that she was still holding the boy's hand, and quickly let go. The rest of the student population that had heard the question gasped in horror. Natsuru stood stiff by the question, worrying about his skin now that the seething glares of his classmates fell upon him instead of her reply. "N-N-N-No!" she answered. "W-W-Why would I have someone like Natsuru-san as my b-boyfriend?"

If words could kill, he would've died about seven times from that single statement. His classmates who had heard her answer stopped their glares and looked at Natsuru with pity. He was rejected and didn't even confess. He sulked as they continued their conversation.

Kanji finally made his way into the clearing and saw his friend with a crestfallen expression on his face. He saw Sakura and Hitomi beside him and immediately took out his camera. "Ah, my name is Higashida Kanji," he said with a bow. He held up his camera. "May I have a few pictures of the victor of the battle?" Good ol' Kanji, never missing the chance to take a few photos despite the situation.

"HITOMI!" shouted a rather loud voice.

A few gunshots were made outside the school, attracting the attention of the Blue and White Kämpfer. Natsuru looked up sluggishly and caught sight of a red-haired girl standing outside. She had a red-bracelet and a black gun, which meant that she was a Red Gewehr Kämpfer.

"HITOMI, GET YER ASS OUT HERE!" she hollered, firing her weapon several more times into the sky.

They crowd departed as they made their way back outside. Kanji caught a glimpse of her as he stepped out. "Akane Mishima," he muttered, reciting the name from memory. "She's a new Kämpfer on the Red side and uses a Gewehr item. I heard she's pretty foul-mouthed, but is really strong and pretty cute, too." Natsuru didn't even bother to shrug; he was simply too depressed to care.

"YA BITCH!" shouted Akane as she pointed her gun at Hitomi. "YA GOT THE GUTS TO AMBUSH MY TEAMMATES AND YA THINK I'LL JUST LET IT SLIDE?" She did seem pretty angry. And she had a gun. Go figure.

"This is a war, Mishima-san," answered Hitomi coolly. She stepped forward with a confident expression. "It's not our fault you didn't prepare for any ambushes," she said with a smirk.

Bad move, Hitomi. Natsuru glanced from her to Akane, watching the situation from afar. Though Gewehr-users aren't as strong as Zauber-users, they are a lot faster. She'll just shoot you before you can attack. He saw how Akane's index finger traced the trigger of her weapon, eager to fire.

He nodded to himself. It was time to play the peacemaker.

He gulped and stepped up from behind, grabbing the attention of the group around him. "Mishima-san, I suggest you stop your actions immediately," he said with a collected expression. The red-haired Kämpfer looked at him like he was crazy and pointed her weapon at his head. "And you are?"

"Who I am is unimportant, but if you must know, I am Senou Natsuru." His false persona rattled the cores of everyone around him; it was a rather refreshing sight to see someone like him all composed like that. "As for what you are doing, I suggest you stop now."

She gritted her teeth. "And why's that?" she asked with venom in her voice.

"One," he began, his blue eyes glinting mysteriously. "According to the ratios of Red to Blue Kämpfer from the day before in the school, it was even until this morning. With the loss of three people, your team's numbers are now lower than the other. If we consider the amount of members skilled in battle, your side would lose numbers faster than the Blue, even if you take out Minagawa-san."

The Red Kämpfer made a "tch" sound but considered the possibility of such a factor. "Two," he continued stoically. "It's safe to assume that there are no other Red Kämpfers in school now, since no one had come to assist your teammates this morning. That would mean you're the only one left now. If you make a move, I have no doubt Minagawa-san's teammates would try to attack you as well."

"And three, if you do manage to get away with injuring Minagawa-san, who is a prominent Blue Zauber-user, I believe a certain someone might come after you." Ah, that was a sufficient reason to make her stop, right?

Akane smirked at the blue-haired boy and crept a bit closer to him. "Ya got a way with words, Natsuru." He raised his eyebrows when she said his name without honorifics. He opened his mouth to complain about not being in such a relationship with her, but she interrupted him with a devilish look. "But someone who's like you, who's not a Kämpfer, shouldn't mess with me."

Natsuru grew bold enough to smirk at her statement. "Oh really?" he said. His rebellious words sent her into a spiraling rage, causing her to pull the trigger. "Why you…!"

The next thing the Gewehr-user knew, she was face-down on the ground, her left hand being pulled back in a submission hold. Barely a moment before, she was about to pop a new hole in the guy's head but now she's on the ground with her gun made useless. The voice of the boy spoke from atop of her.

"Did you forget about your capabilities as a Kämpfer?" he whispered. He was oblivious to the fact that he was way too close for comfort, and that his breath on the back of her neck caused her to shiver. "When you're this close, it's easy to intercept your attacks, Akane." The way he added that final word, her name, made her feel strange inside. The heat of his breath on her neck when he said her name without any honorifics made it a whole lot worse, too.

"B-B-B-B-Baka!" she stuttered, blushing profoundly. "Y-You get off of me, right now!"

Satisfied that he had somehow broken her will to fight, he complied, pulling her up as he stood. Her face was entirely red and her body was shaking. Did I take it too far… he asked himself with a worried look on his face.

Seeing how she was hopelessly broken for a fight, Akane ran off, still completely red. She threw an angry look at him before disappearing from sight. Natsuru stood there, not expecting such a reaction from her, but did nothing about it. Kanji, Hitomi, Sakura, and the students who were watching the scene behind him were impressed how he had handled a potential casualty, most especially Hitomi herself.

Just as she was about to voice her appreciation, the sound of the school bell sounded, causing Natsuru to jolt back to class with a quick "I gotta go." She watched him run off before being tugged to class by Sakura.

As Natsuru ran at a rather fast pace, he took a good long look at his right arm, where his wristband lay covered by his sleeve. Yes, there was no doubt about it, about why he was able to intercept Akane like that. He had most definitely become a Kämpfer.

And he would have a lot more questions for that inugami back home.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note

This was re-uploaded for bigbeastboy. Formatting on italics has been lost. The status of this fanfiction is still unclear. For those who enjoyed reading it, here you go.