Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and DAN DA DAN.
Warning: Curse words. Sensitive language.
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The aroma of freshly grilled fish filled the air as Naruto moved about in the kitchen of his house making breakfast. With an orange apron on and purposeful movement, he looked natural and very much in his element whenever he was cooking. That was one of his traits that Seiko was impressed with.
Resting her chin in her hand, Seiko was watching with keen eyes as Naruto was rolling his omelets perfectly. The bright sun rays through the open window and a cool morning breeze created a relaxing atmosphere. It was still early in the morning, and they just got out of bed. Underneath the apron, Naruto was wearing a grey T-shirt and black sweat shorts, while Seiko had only the blonde's oversized sweatshirt over her undergarments.
When Naruto turned off the stove, Seiko joined him to help plate the grilled salmon and rolled omelets. Then the two walked back together and set their food on the dining table. Seiko looked fondly at their breakfast, "Smells really good."
"Right? I've eaten it thousands of times already, but nothing beats it. Except ramen, of course." Naruto said with a happy grin on his face. "Alright, let's dive in."
"Itadakimasu!"
The next few minutes went by in comfortable silence as the two were enjoying their meal. Naruto was the first to speak, "What do you have for work today?"
Seiko hummed, "I'm going to check out a house and do another live show on TV. Another fortune telling on some idols. The last time I did it, I ended up busting a celebrity's secrets. Not that I care anyway. What about you?"
Naruto nodded along while Seiko talked about her schedule. "Me? I will do some field work on what we left off last night."
"Where will you start?" Seiko asked as she picked up a piece of salmon with her chopstick.
"Probably start off at the school and then spread out from there." Naruto answered, refilling water in Seiko's glass. "But before that, I'll go to the district park first. Have a torture- I mean, training session with little Okarun before his class starts."
"Oh? That brat is still training?" Seiko blurted, with an eyebrow raised.
"Yep yep! He looked enthusiastic yesterday, but it was the first day. Let's see what happens today." Naruto replied, equally surprised by the boy's sudden resolve.
"I'll give it 3 days before he gives up."
"Awww. Why are you so harsh?" Naruto playfully scolded the spirit medium's dismissive words. The blond always valued hard work. Anyone who was willing to work through their weaknesses would always have his respect. "Don't underestimate that boy's determination to impress Momo."
Seiko snorted, "Impress Momo?"
"Yep. I think he likes her. Well, kids these days tend to be quick when it comes to this kinda' thing. Poor guy... What will he think if he knows Momo already has a first love?" Naruto let out a sigh as he imagined the disappointment the boy would feel.
The blond felt sympathetic as he recalled the time when he was once head over heels with Sakura. It was like a punch to the gut when he knew the one his pink-haired crush liked was not him but Sasuke. Although he got over it later, it still stung early on. Don't worry Okarun. I'm on your side, buddy. I'll help you become so awesome that Momo will look at you with stars in her eyes.
"You're talking about Jiji?" Seiko asked, putting down her chopstick. "His mother contacted me a few days ago. The house I'm going to today is actually his. She said something has been bothering her son for a while. Sounds a bit serious."
"I see... do you want me to go with you?"
Seiko pursed her lips in thought. Something indeed seemed a bit off from what Jiji's mother said. And their house was quite deep in a forest in Daiji town, outside of Kamigoe City. But at the same time, it was more urgent for Naruto to find all the escaped demons that might be roaming God-knows-where now. "It's fine. I can go alone. I'll just take a quick look. Nothing's gonna happen. You go do your unfinished business."
"Alright. But at least, send me the location. In case anything bad happens, I know where you are."
"Why are you worrying so much?" Seiko shook her head, but when she saw the look on his face that showed he was not taking no for an answer, she relented. "Fine."
"Good! Say hi to Jiji for me then. Haven't seen him in a long time. I wonder if he's still as goofy." Naruto then stood up as he had finished his meal. He quickly put his bowls and plates in the kitchen sink. "I gotta go now. Can you-"
"Yeah, leave them there. I'll do the dishes." Seiko responded nonchalantly, still in her seat.
"Thanks a lot!" Naruto quickly washed his hands before walking back over to Seiko. He leaned in toward her, but she pushed his face away. "Come on~ we had a great time last night. Surely this is nothing to ask for."
"You cheeky old man." Seiko rolled her eyes with a smile before grabbing his face with both hands and giving him a quick peck on his lips. "Satisfied?"
"Very!" Naruto grinned happily before grabbing his jacket and hat and heading for the front door. "I'll see you in the evening at your home, yeah?"
"Okay okay, quickly go." Seiko waved at him to get out, a faint blush on her cheeks. The blond walked out hurriedly with a spring in his steps. "That man never changes."
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(District Park - Naruto)
"Come on, two more! Give me two more!" Naruto yelled at the dying Okarun who was trying to finish his final set of push-ups. The boy's arms were shaking uncontrollably in fatigue.
"You said that five times already, Naruto-sensei." Okarun blurted in labored breath.
"This is the last time, I promise. Now two more! Come on, he can do it, so you can too." Naruto said as he was trying to hype up his very tired pupil.
Okarun groaned, pushing his body off the ground once more. "Huh? He who?"
"Attaboy. Take a breath." Naruto looked at the time on his watch, ignoring the boy's question on purpose. The record was longer than yesterday, but it was understandable. The boy only started and did not have enough rest time in between the sessions.
In fact, this was just a test of his determination to see how much the boy was willing to go at it. In their proper regiment, he would disperse the sessions in between each day or every two to three days for sufficient rest time to acquaint Okarun's body with the intensity of the training. "Now finish the last laps by running to your home. You better not stop halfway and walk. Momo will be really disappointed if she knows!"
"Hai..." Okarun uttered weakily as he began his jog back home, drenched in sweat.
"And don't forget to drink your milk and eat your breakfast!" Naruto added. Okarun was too tired to respond to his nagging. When the boy was out of his sight, Naruto gathered and channeled his chakra in a familiar order. Soon, his appearance transformed into that of his pupil. "Sorry, Okarun. Let me borrow your face for a bit. Got some dogs to catch."
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(Kami High)
The disguised Okarun walked out of the park and, a few minutes later, arrived at the school gate. As expected, he had gotten there early, so there were not that many students yet. What the transformed ninja did not expect was Momo already waiting for Okarun this early. "Ah shit. Why is she here already? Does she want to see the brat this much?"
With no other choice, he decided to just go with the flow. As he was nearing the gate, the young Ayase noticed his arrival and waved at him. He waved back awkwardly, making sure to mimic what he saw yesterday.
"Good morning, Okarun. You're early today?" Momo asked, a bit surprised to see her friend arriving earlier than usual. She thought she would be waiting for a while.
"O-oh. You're very early yourself, Momo-san." The disguised Okarun replied before he inwardly cursed at his rookie mistake. Fuck!
"Hoo~ You're using my first name now, Okarun?" Momo narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the boy for a few seconds. The glasses-wearing boy seemed to be surprised at himself. His eyes were darting around nervously as he readjusted his glasses.
"Sorry-"
"You know, since we're friends," Momo muttered quietly before nudging his shoulders with her elbow. "I don't mind if you use my first name..."
The transformed Naruto widened his eyes slightly, trying to control his facial expression. Eh! She lets him call her by her first name already? What the-? Don't tell me that she also... Eh~ You better thank me, Okarun. I've basically helped you fast-track your relationship milestone. You're at the first name base now.
The flustered Ayase immediately changed the topic since she was feeling her face heating up. "Anyway! Did you research what the Flatwoods monster eat for breakfast?"
"Uh... well, since it was imitating a Sumo wrestler, I guess it also eats Chanko Nabe (Sumo Stew) for breakfast." The transformed Naruto didn't actually know that, so he was just spewing nonsense. Why in the world would he care about what the alien ate? If this was the two teenagers' conversation topic, they were seriously having some weird fetish. Do kids these days use weird topics to start a conversation?
"Heh~ so aliens do eat human foods too. I wonder if they also digest and poop like us after eating."
Naruto wanted to palm his transformed face so badly. Really girl? Talking about poop so early in the morning? Seiko's influence must have rubbed off on you. And for the next few minutes until they parted for their own classroom, Naruto had endured the weirdest interaction he had ever had with Seiko's granddaughter.
He just found out that Momo was in truth as much of an Otaku as Okarun was. No wonder the two got along so well so quickly. They matched each other's freaks.
Now inside Okarun's classroom, the transformed Naruto was standing just past the door. Only two or three students were present at the moment. He had no idea where 'his' seat was, but there was no need for him to know that. Okarun's transformation had served its purpose. Naruto quickly went back outside and wandered around to find the bathroom.
As he turned a corner, he finally saw the bathroom sign at the far end of the hallway. However, he also caught sight of his pupil walking from that direction. Oh shit oh shit oh shit. Thankfully, the boy was slouching, looking down on the floor. Naruto frantically looked around to see if there was anyone nearby. He couldn't make it to the bathroom in time; he needed to transform his appearance again now.
In a blink, the disguised Okarun became a disguised Momo. "Hey, Okarun! Good morning!"
The real Okarun perked up in surprise, "Ayase-san! Good morning!"
The now Momo-disguised Naruto looked at the boy with a barely controlled poker face. Aww look at you blushing. Ain't ya happy to hear that? Not seeing her waiting for you again at the gate must have dampened your mood, eh brat. Well, since I just used your appearance, let me return you a favor. "Why are you still so formal, Okarun? Just call me Momo already, idiot."
"Is-is that wise, Ayase-san?" Okarun asked, scratching his head.
The disguised Momo sucked her teeth, playfully hitting his arm. "Yes. Now say it. Call me Momo."
Okarun gulped before mumbling softly, "M-... Momo...-san."
The disguised Momo leaned in, cupping her ears next to his face. "Hah? I can't hear you."
Okarun closed his eyes and uttered louder. "Momo-san!"
The disguised Momo grinned in satisfaction. "Good. Now I've gotta go, Okarun. See you at lunch time, yeah?" She then waved at him and briskly left while the boy was still standing in the hallway looking at the disappearing back of his first true friend.
Unbeknownst to the two, there was someone who had been sitting next to the door of Class D the whole time and had seen their interaction. Her dark-pink eyes widened in silent shock when she saw a boy transformed into a girl, right in front of her eyes. Strange things had been happening to her lately. First, it was the creepy woman in red she saw in the football field outside and now this. Could it be that she could see all these because she was special?
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(Daiji Town - Seiko)
It took almost two hours by taxi to reach Daiji town. Even then, Seiko had to walk up the mountain for a good ten minutes or so before she reached the Enjoji's family house. Along the narrow pedestrian road, all she could see was trees. She was indeed walking into a forest. How could there be a house completely surrounded by trees, in the middle of a forest with nothing else? Not even a sight of neighboring houses, let alone a small town.
By the time she got there, it was almost noon. Standing in the front yard, Seiko took an open view of the location. It looked to be a 10mx12m two-story modern house. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary so far, but Seiko knew outside appearance never told the whole story.
She walked to the front door and rang the bell. No answer. She rang a few more times before she could hear quick footsteps from inside. Finally, the door opened.
"Auntie Seiko?" A tall, auburn hair teenage boy welcomed her. He was wearing casual clothes and holding a bowl of porridge in his hand.
"Ah, Jiji. Why aren't you at school today?" Seiko asked, not too surprised by the boy's presence. That was the first clue. If he wasn't attending school and was staying at home, something must have happened. "Where's your mother?"
"In her bedroom. She's having a high fever. I've been taking care of her for a few days now." The tall boy looked a bit uncomfortable. Seiko noticed rings of dark circle under his eyes. He seemed quite distraught and exhausted, unlike the goofy, energetic, and overly dramatic attitude that he usually displayed. "Well, come in first, auntie."
Now sitting at a coffee table in the living room, Seiko picked up a cup and drank the hot tea that Jiji poured for her. The tall boy was sitting in seiza, looking overly polite. "I didn't expect your arrival, auntie."
Seiko hummed, staring at him with critical eyes. "Your mother called me over actually. She said something was bothering you. So, ...what happened?"
Jiji then bowed deeply at Seiko, his hands and forehead touching the floor. "First off, I'd like to sincerely apologize to you and Momo for mocking you in the past! I was young back then, but that still does not excuse my rude behavior for laughing at you when Momo said you are a spirit medium. Because now I can also see spirits."
Seiko crossed her arms. "I don't mind that, but for your apology to Momo, you've gotta tell her yourself. Anyway, let's cut to the chase. Tell me everything, what had happened so far. Don't miss any detail."
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(Kami High - Naruto)
Phew, haven't done infiltration works in a looooong time. Naruto swore he was sweating a bit. Acting as teenagers again wasn't as easy as he thought. He couldn't help but feel cringey every time he had to overreact to what his 'classmates' said.
During the lunchbreak, he had switched from one student to another throughout the different classrooms, trying to fish out any information on what they saw that might seem strange or paranormal in nature. However, there was nothing fruitful so far, only a bunch of teenage gossips. Taylor Swift being more famous than Ronaldo? Debatable. Then, there was the ending of a manga about Jujutsu sorcerers fighting cursed spirits. Some kids were arguing about a dead OP character that should be revived.
Naruto scoffed. No one could be brought back to life after they were dead. Even if there was a slim chance for that to happen, they still wouldn't be the same, or there would have to be a huge sacrifice in exchange.
His morning excursion as a janitor found him nothing either. His next target would be the principal. The only people who were involved in the Demon Gate incident, excluding the comatose security guard, were Sakura the homeroom teacher and the principal, so they were the prime suspects. Even though they were the ones to request his help to deal with the incident, it was also possible that they might have hidden things from him.
During their meeting, the last ninja was able to sense a variety of emotions from Sakura: anxiety, nervousness, and apprehensiveness. However, the principal... Naruto felt nothing from him. That old man felt like a blank slate. At the very least, a person should be feeling an emotion to some extent at a period of time. Not even the famed ROOT agents from his world were totally emotionless.
But from that principal, none. Normal people couldn't have been like that. Human beings couldn't have been like that. Luckily, he found out that the principal was supposed to be absent today. A perfect time to verify his suspicion.
Naruto walked into the boy's bathroom as a random student and transformed into the Kami High's principal. He looked at his reflection in the mirror before straightening his brown suit. The principal was an aged man already. The wrinkles on his face were prominent, hairline receding. You should be retiring soon, buddy.
A minute later, he exited the bathroom and made his way to the second floor where 'his' office was supposed to be, greeting the students along the way. Unsurprisingly, as he had expected to run into people he might and might not recognize, two people were standing in front of the teachers' office.
One of them was Sakura who looked surprised when she saw him, or the principal to be precise. The other person was a tall man who also had pink hair. Naruto got to admit that this guy was very handsome. So handsome that even a stuck-up person like this Sakura also had a faint blush on her face standing so close to him. Perhaps even more handsome than the adult Sasuke or the unmasked Kakashi. Damn, so unfair.
"Miyagi-san? I thought you were on leave today." Sakura blurted, a portfolio cradle in her chest. "Did your health checkup go well?"
The disguised Miyagi nodded, following along. "Ah yes. It went quite well, Sakura-sensei. And who might this gentleman be?"
"Don't you remember? This is Sanjome-sensei. The one you recommended to be the head teacher and replace you as the principal after you retire at the end of this year." Sakura continued, with a confused smile.
The standing Sanjome nodded at him stiffly, dressing in a normal black suit, tie, and dress shoes. "Miyagi-san. How's your health these days?"
The disguised Miyagi lightly tapped his forehead and laughed, "Excuse this old man's memory. I guess the trip to the hospital this morning must have been so taxing for me that my brain is not working properly. I won't bother with your school tour any longer, Sakura-sensei, Sanjome-sensei. I'll go and rest in my office for now."
The pink-hair pair bowed at him before continuing their meeting while he walked toward his office. However, he noticed that the new guy was looking at him curiously for a second there. Could he have noticed something strange already? But Sakura didn't, so how could he? There must be something going on between the principal and that guy to warrant such recommendation. Nepotism maybe?
"Let's see what you got in there, Mr. Miyagi." Naruto muttered to himself before opening the principal's office door. The last time he was here, he didn't pay much attention to anything inside.
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(Jiji's House - Seiko)
"You're saying your father was pushed down the stairs from the second floor?" Seiko asked, puffing away at her cigarette.
In the meantime, Jiji was sitting anxiously, recounting the events leading up to the current time. His eyes were nervously darting around the house, as if looking for something. "Yes, auntie. I swear I saw it with my own eyes. There was something that pushed him from the back. Or someone, I don't know what to call it."
Seiko grunted softly. "How many times have you seen that thing?"
"A few." Jiji's hands on his lap were starting to shake. "There was that one time when I was in the toilet. It phased through the door and looked at me. Its eyes... they were very terrifying. I froze and couldn't breathe. It was just standing there and smiling. Then it threatened to kill everyone in the family if I didn't listen and do what it said. I tried to ignore it at first, but later it hurt my dad. Every day since then, I felt its presence inside the house more and more frequently. And I believe my mom has fallen sick because of it too. Auntie, what should we do? Every spirit medium we invited so far either ran away or committed suicide after their exorcisms. We're starting to feel hopeless."
Seiko narrowed her eyes. She had never seen the tall young man this broken before. This was a shocking turn of events. Like Jiji said, she also could feel the faint dark aura the moment she entered the house. It wasn't strong, but it was there, almost not caring at all if she could feel it or not.
Weak spirits usually chose to hide their aura in the presence of a spirit medium, lest they be the subject of exorcism. Only formidable spirits would dare to flaunt their aura like this. Then, to bend the will of spirit mediums and force them to kill themselves... this spirit must have been incredibly powerful and wicked.
Unfortunately, there was nothing much she could do as the house was outside of her territory. Only through her connection with the local gods that she worshipped every day could she borrow the power of Kami like she did last night.
But without it, she alone could not hope to defeat a spirit this powerful. Thus, confronting the spirit at this time was a definite no-no. With this much experience, she knew when to cut her loss.
"For now, let's get your mom to the hospital with your dad first. I'll call the ambulance. You go pack up your clothes and stuff and stay at my place for the time being. I'll figure out what to do with this place later. Be quick!"
Jiji nodded solemnly before leaving for his room to start packing his belongings. Seiko unlocked her phone and dialed 119. After finishing calling the emergency number, the white-hair spiritual medium walked toward the bedroom of Jiji's mother.
The lady, looking to be in her 40's, was lying on her bed, a folded white cloth covering her forehead. Seiko sat on the edge of the bed and touched the woman's forehead. It was still hot. When Seiko was about to pull back, Jiji's mother grabbed her hand in a blitz. The woman opened her eyes widely, her pupil turning yellow and her voice almost screeching. "No one is getting out of this house!"
Seiko gritted her teeth as she struggled to break free of the possessed woman's tight grip. "Release!" Using Kotodama (Power of Words), Seiko briefly augmented her strength to peel off Jiji's mother's hand.
Once she was free, the spirit medium quickly took a few steps back as the possessed woman jumped on her bed. She was standing, almost crouching while looking at Seiko menacingly with her head twitching. Just fucking great...the ambulance is not here yet.
Within a second, the possessed mother jumped at her. Seiko dropped on her back before grabbing the woman's wrists and kicking up her feet at the woman's stomach, propelling the woman over her head to crash into the wall outside the bedroom.
Hearing the sound of the crash, Jiji ran back to check. Seeing his mother crumble on the ground, he yelled in shock. "Mom?! Auntie, what the hell is going on?"
"Get out of the house, Jiji! The spirit's gotten to her." Seiko briskly gave command.
"Wha-what do you mean? Mom?" Jiji froze when his mother twisted her body in an inhumane way and stood back up.
Not letting the possessed woman getting the upper hand again, Seiko immediately rushed in and soccer-kicked her in the face with her augmented strength. "Kick!" Jiji's mother skidded away across the floor. Seiko turned her head back to the tall teenager. "What are you waiting for? Get out now!"
Jiji broke out of his stupor before stumbling back on his feet and running down the stairs.
Sensing the oncoming presence, Seiko dodged to her left as the possessed woman flew past her. But the walkway in the house was so small Seiko bumped into the wall. As a result, the possessed woman's nails had scratched her cheeks, causing blood to seep out of her skin.
At the smell and sight of blood, the possessed woman became more crazed as she began to growl gratingly. Seiko took off her jacket and held her baseball bat that she hid inside the jacket. The spirit medium touched the blood on her cheeks then ran her now bloodied fingers across her steel bat. "Nessie!"
The moment the possessed woman jumped at her again, Seiko swung her bat at the woman, sending her crashing into the wall again. This time, the possessed woman didn't get up since Seiko had reinforced her bat with the power of a Nessie monster. The swing was strong enough to knock the woman unconscious.
The dark aura of the spirit surrounding her disappeared. Seiko leaned on the wall and took a few deep breaths. Using Kotodama (Power of Words) many times consecutively had taken quite a toll on her.
Suddenly, another aura materialized next to her. Shit! Seiko couldn't react in time, and the spirit snatched her neck then lifted her off the floor. Before she could swing her bat, it punched her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. The bat dropped from Seiko's hand as she wheezed. It pulled back its fist and delivered another powerful punch. And another. And another.
When it dropped her onto the floor, her body crumpled up. Her liver gave out, and her body functions went into disarray. Seiko struggled to breathe.
The lengthy spirit with long arms and vertical eyes then stepped over her and slowly moved toward the stairs, its next target likely being Jiji. Seiko strenuously pulled out her phone with barely any power left in her hand. Tears filled her eyes, impeding her vision as she searched for Naruto's number.
A few seconds later, Jiji walked back up the stairs, but his appearance had changed. His shirt was gone, revealing his ripped body. His pupils had become yellow, his hair turning from auburn to white, and there was another eye with a ripple pattern at the center of his forehead. Now also possessed, Jiji straggled toward Seiko.
With extreme difficulty, the spirit medium managed to dial Naruto's number. He picked up immediately. Through the phone, she could hear his loud voice.
[Yo, Seiko-chan!]
Weakly, she mustered all her strength to call out. "N-Naruto. Help-"
In a blink, the possessed Jiji blitzed toward her and thrusted his long sharp claws at her chest.