It's been years since I did anything like this and as a matter of fact I look back at my last account and cringe so hard I'm surprised I haven't pulled a muscle. Anyway, here's a new story…

—-

Night City Legends

Prologue….

—-

Fuckin Buck-a-Slice… might as well be chewing on the packaging, probably just as nutritional considering that the 'foods' DNA shares a close resemblance to styrofoam. How people live on this kind of shit is a miracle upon itself. Then again, how people are able to exist in this hellscape of corpo oppression, human depravity, and general apathy to their fellow man continues to be a mystery… hmm kinda like back home.

"Hey Rudo, you gonna eat that or you gonna make it your output?"

The blond was shaken from his thoughts at the sudden call over his coms, blue eyes narrowing as he stared at the synthetic anchovy topping of what people considered to be 'food' along with the cup of 'SynthCoff' he got along with it.

"Bite me Kirk, you big eared cunt. And fuck you too Joe, I can hear you snickering back there. Where's this van you're so sure about huh? I've been keeping an eye on this warehouse for the past two hours and still no sign of your 'Sure thing'."

The Buck A Slice was barely enough to be considered a building, just a small metal shoebox in the middle of this concrete hellscape named Night City… actually, this was probably one of the better ones considering it had outdoor seating. Uncomfortable, graffiti covered, and partially sticky outdoor seating but seating nonetheless.

"Come on now Rudo, no need to be like that. Have I ever let you down?"

A bite of the 'pizza' was taken and those blue eyes narrowed, "You really want me to answer that, Kirk?" The slice dropped onto the opened tray, several of the toppings scattering haphazardly while the man picked up his cup and took a quick gulp, grimacing as he finished off the Synthcoff inside. "Remember that job with the Joytoy on Jigjig, the one your client fell head over heels with? Wakako is still pissy about that and I still get shit about it when I'm in Westbrook."

"And stop calling me that, It's Naruto. Not 'Rudo'." the cup crumpled in his grip before being tossed aside, bouncing off the edge of the trashcan nearby.

There was silence over the com for a few good seconds.

"Ah yeah, that… Well that was then and this is now. You gotta let that shit go choom. Besides, you got your eddies didn't you? "

Those blue eyes shut tight for a moment while he pinched the bridge of his nose, the cool metal fingers of his right hand doing little to ease his stress. "Tell that to the old bat," Glancing across the street, he absent mindedly picked up his 'food' and took another bite while surveying the warehouse.

From his position he could easily keep track of most of the movement going on across the street. The guards weren't trying too hard from the look of it, couldn't see any cameras, no one up high for overwatch. Two were by the road by the main entrance, talking shit and half keeping an eye out around them. Both were armed, he couldn't see exactly what but they were small arms and he could probably take them both out with little issue before they even noticed him. One was hunched over working on a car, a Chevillon Thrax if he wasn't mistaken, which he probably was seeing as he wasn't a car guy. He was also armed, looked like he had a shotgun leaning against the fender.

He'd spotted at least three others go inside the warehouse itself and another standing guard outside the doors. That one was probably the biggest threat simply because he was actually keeping an eye out and had his weapon on hand, a rifle from the looks of it.

"And Yeah, you paid up after I threatened to hang you from the Coyote Cojo's sign."

"Naked if I remember"

"Yes thank you Joe." Kirk quickly snapped. "Anyway, if you're not feeling up to it just say so. Plenty of other talent I can call up on short notice."

Another bite disappeared, "Chill, chill don't get all butt hurt." He reached up with his free hand, running his fingers through messy blond hair before scratching at his whiskered cheeks. "I think I see the van coming down the road. Shouldn't be too hard to klep from these gonks, believe it."

"Good, remember. Once you have it, take the van to the drop sight. Client will take it from there and we will get paid."

Naruto popped the last bit of crust into his mouth and stood up, wiping his hands down the side of his burnt orange cargo pants and matching vest. "Kelp the van, drop it off, get paid. Yeah I'm sure I can remember."

"Just don't screw it up. I'll contact the-"

Kirks icon vanished from view with a chirp "Whoops, looks like I lost connection." he mused with a shit eating grin, knowing that the other man would be annoyed. 'Don't screw it up? The fuck does Kirk think he's working with? I'm Uzumaki Naruto.'

—-

Night City Legends

Chapter One: Where am I?

—-

It was dark… no murky? Feels like I'm floating in a filthy cloud being held up by barely a whisper. Everything feels off, like a distant echo maybe?

Blue eyes snapped open in the murky depths and like a mad man the boy thrashed, throwing himself backwards and breaking the surface of the water he was in. Deep gasping breaths echoed around him along with the sloshing waters around him and for a short panicked moment, he feared he would drown.

That was, until his frantic kicking led to both knees colliding with the floor with a pair of dull thunks.

He wasn't exactly sure how long he sat on his rear, both knees pulled to his chest as he switched between rubbing and patting them, but it was long enough to pull himself together.

"Uh… hey! Anyone here?" he called out, dragging himself to his feet in what he now knew was barely knee deep water, "I need a little help… I… think…"

He couldn't help but trail off. Where was he?

Dirty off white walls, knee high water covering the floor, a long stretch of dark tunnel with a maze of dark pipes lining the walls and ceiling. The sight made him oddly aware of how slow and deep he was breathing, of the sinking pit that was forming in his gut but at the same time… made him feel at home?

Moving through the water, causing small waves to ripple around him only to calm moments later, he reached the wall where a small cluster of pipes branched off in a confusing yet oddly organized jumble and reached out to touch it with his left hand.

It wasn't hot or cold but something was inside, something was flowing but… he just felt like something was missing.

"Hello!" he called again, this time noticing that his voice didn't echo like he half expected it to. But once again, he went unanswered.

Looking around, he had two options. He could go… well this way or that way. Neither looked better than the other. Maybe he should flip a coin?

Absently patting both front and back pockets, he reached into one to find a piece of paper and opened it to find a coupon.

Ichiraku Ramen!

Redeem for a free med-Large bowl!

Part of the text was covered by marker crossing out and replacing the size, it made him feel sheepish for some reason as he flipped it over.

To my most favorite customer, don't worry about this expiring kid. We love you Naruto!

The coupon crumpled in his grip, pain surging through his skull as flashes of a kind old man and his daughter smiling at him filled his mind. Ichiraku… he felt a sense of shame for not being able to recall the names of the two but he could feel nothing but gratitude towards them… and… bitterness? Not towards them but they were related to it.

Once the pain subsided, almost as quickly as it struck. He realized that he had clinched the coupon too hard and quickly smoothed it out with all the love and care he could before storing it away once again.

Naruto palmed his forehead, rubbing at his temples with his fingertips while closing his eyes. "Damn it, well I guess I can't get anymore lost right… I should just go… that way?" it was both a statement and a question but in a spur of the moment decision, he quickly thrust his hand out and pointed.

Peeking underneath his hand, he sweatdropped.

Wall.

Slowly adjusting his aim a bit more to the right, he pointed towards the darkness to his right. "That way."

With a nod, he started sloshing his way through the water, absently thinking to himself that he's heading towards where the flow of the pipes seemed to be coming from, never once thinking how he was able to feel the flow in the pipes much less which direction it was going.

-xXx-

How far did this tunnel go? How long was he walking? It felt like he's been walking for a long time yet at the same time only just started. Following the pipes as they snaked along the walls and across the ceiling, he had wondered briefly if he should worry about tripping on one hidden underneath the murky waters but it seemed that the pipes never dipped below the waters edge.

But he was getting closer. The pipes were starting to converge into larger thicker sections. The jumbled mess of crooked bends straightening out and widening. Before he knew it he stepped out into an open chamber ending in what looked to be like bars… a cage?

But the bars were mangled and twisted… unnaturally so. A large gate was teetering dangerously close to falling down next to a large gap in the bars that led to more and more darkness with the pipes following the walls and between the bars.

But as he stared at the warped mess, unknowingly edging closer and closer to the cage, Naruto could only feel as if he was missing something dear to him. Closer and closer he made his way to the gate, racking his mind over and over to try and remember what he was missing while a high pitched buzzing started in his ear, growing louder with each step until it became to painful to ignore.

"Oh sh-" his foot caught something mid stride and he lurched forward, trying but failing to catch his balance and thrusting both arms foreword to break his fall.

His left hand broke the water first, fingers catching something and bending painfully under his own weight before his palm struck the floor. Pain shot up his right elbow and water shot up his nose and throat as he yelped, head once again going underneath the water. His knees colliding with something added to the pain and as he jumped to his feet again he glared.

Was that the other gate?

Later, gotta rub my knees.

Wait.

His arm… where was his arm?

Shaking like a leaf, he grasped at the stump where his right arm should've been. No this couldn't be, he could still feel the tingling in his fingertips from the droplets. He could still feel the muscles in his forearm as he tried moving it. He squeezed the end of his stump and a jolt of pain shot down his spine making him snatch away only to stare at the crimson covering his palm and dripping down his wrist.

My arm… my arm… what… what… why?

Another sharp pain, visions of a swirling blue ball and a blade of lightning burning with fire.

He intends to finish this with one last blast. Listen, I'm giving you what remains of my own chakra… don't unleash your jutsu until the last minute… once I do that, well I'm not sure what'll happen, it'll probably just put me to sleep for a while though.

Naruto felt a tear fall down his cheek and slowly raised his left arm towards the open and empty cage. Holding it there before dropping his head down with a small sob.

He felt something, for the briefest moment he felt something warm against his fist and opened his eyes to look at the water, too afraid to actually look up. The reflection showed nothing, just his outstretched fist but the feeling was there.

There was a ball of wind and a burning spear of jagged lightning.

A flash of light, a growing wall of white that engulfed everything. The very earth around them was shredded and tossed aside like dust in the wind without any sign or resistance.

He wasn't sure when he sank to his knees, arm still outstretched. But the water was getting closer and closer. Was it rising?

No, he was falling.

Once again, Naruto sank beneath the water, its embrace oddly welcoming. Despite only being knee deep he felt himself sink deeper and deeper into the abyss, never quite reaching the floor. He held his breath without thinking, mind racing trying to remember what he was missing so dearly. The name of someone so important.

His lungs screamed at him, he needed air, he needed to fight. Thrash against everything and claw your way back up to the surface.

But there he stayed, unmoving, unthinking, unwilling to fight anymore, ready to just fold and give in…

…And he did.

He inhaled so deeply, so greedily that he thought his lungs would explode and the instinctual panic as the water invaded his lungs quickly took hold. He kicked, clawed, and thrashed round as violently as he could for the smallest breath. His one hand soon grasped his own throat as he tried to scream, only for more water to rush into his lungs.

Then silence…

The tears continued to flow but the panic faded, replaced by an otherworldly peace. Huh, this isn't so bad I guess…

'...You…me?'

'Sir?'

Naruto felt his chest expand against his will, a pair of lips against his own followed by a pounding pressure against his chest.

-xXx-

His eyes snapped open, the dark tunnels were gone and he was assaulted by an unending cacophony of noise and light. The water he had been drowning in was replaced by rain and most of his vision was blocked by a curtain of red.

"We've got a pulse! Sir, can you understand me? You've been in an accident but you'll be ok.'' The woman looked down at him for a moment as he stared up at her dumbfounded. "Sir, do you understand me? "

"The hell, he's got no chrome"

She looked up at her partner "Scavers rip it out of him along with his arm?"

"No… this gonks all-ganic not getting any signals, not even a personal link."

The red head looked down at him with a raised brow before shaking her head, "Doesn't matter, sir, can you understand me?"

He nodded slowly, idly noticing another person jabbing him none too gently in the arm and applying a tourniquet to that remained of his arm.

"Good, do you know where you are?"

A shake of his head.

"I see," the woman shared another look with her partner, "… my name is Gloria, you're in Santo Domingo, Night City."

It was overwhelming to say the least, the flashing lights and the drone of ungodly noise all around. The name didn't ring a bell, the city nor the woman. "What, where- ah!" a surge of pain shot up to his shoulder as the other medic cinched down the ends and secured the wrap.

"Gloria, the gonks stable our jobs done." The look of pity from the redhead lasted only a moment while the other medic continued, "Lets delta, gotta another call. If he wants further treatment he can find his own way to a clinic."

Naruto felt her pat his shoulder with a half hidden look of regret, "Sorry… it's all we can do. There's a clinic not too far from here. But here," She cast a quick glance over her shoulder and something was quickly pressed into his hand, "Its close to expiring but give yourself a jab in a few. Should help get you on your feet."

With that, she picked herself up and disappeared from his view, leaving the blond lying there in the rain.

He wasn't sure how much longer he laid there staring up at the rain but it took every bit of effort he could muster to roll himself over and half drag himself to a filthy wall. Arms… arm, felt like he was wearing training weights.

'Yosh Naruto-kun, Sensei and I thought you'd like to join our training! We even got you a set of weights.' a man with a bowl cut, large eyebrows, a green jumpsuit and a younger clone came to mind. The elder of the two holding a vest loaded with heavy metal bars while grinning. "And don't forget, your own jumpsuit!" The clone was holding a comically small piece of green fabric that vaguely looked like a full body suit. "Don't worry about the size, it stretches more than you think!"

He groaned, both at the image but at the influx of memories coming to mind. Taijutsu training. He sparred with several different people, names and faces half blurred in his memory but he remembered Lee somewhat. Lee always kicked his ass when they practiced… no, not always… in pure taijutsu maybe but he won in others…

He grimaced 'oh god, I did wear that bodysuit. Can't remember anything else but I clearly remember that.' Of all the things, he clearly remembered standing in front of a mirror dressed in that outfit, weights on each limb, a weighted vest over his chest, and ass on full display as the material left little to the imagination.

"Focus." Naruto shook himself out of his thoughts, 'Need to move, find out where i am… get out of this rain at least.' he looked at what that woman had slipped him, the hell was it? 'She said to jab myself with it.'

It was plastic and had a big button on one end with blocky letters on one end

'B-BACK?' it read as he turned it over in his hand, giving it a once over. "Looks like i hold it like this…" he set it against his thigh and held it in what felt natural, his thumb on the large yellow button on top. "I guess you press this to-"

It clicked and both he and the device gave a sharp hiss. "Ah what the hell, that's what she meant by jab myself- Oh."

He had to take a deep breath, the pain had lessened a bit more and even seemed to be easing off more, his arm and legs also felt a bit lighter now.

It took a bit but he was able to climb to his feet with a bit more ease than he thought. He stared at the thing for a bit and held it to his leg again… nothing. The button was fully pressed, so it was a one use thing. Of course it wouldn't be that easy.

With one last huff, Naruto's hand gripped the torque on his other arm and looked around for his arm to fall limp back down beside him.

"What is this place?"

It was massive, this 'Santo Domingo', an odd sprawl of Industrial rot and urban decay. Towering over its surroundings in the distance was what he could only call a mega building… mainly because of the massive letters painted on its side but it didn't exaggerate. It was massive compared to the Hokages tower…

A twinge of pain, more visions of what used to be his home.

The land felt… not quite dead but nowhere near alive as his home. Barely any nature, half dead trees, patches of dark brown drass the only greenery he saw came from obnoxious neon signs that flashed showing… oh wow. To be honest it took him a few times to read, he kept getting distracted by the topless model mid money shot from a champagne bottle.

Champaradise Rotgut

have to be rich to sparkle

"Watch it gonk brain!" he heard a voice from behind before being shoved from the side. "Go blow your load somewhere else dumbfuck!"

He whirled around, face burning but ready to deny the accusation before once again being shocked. It was a woman, he was certain, but she was barely dressed and both arms were covered in armor… no they were too small to be armor, her arms were mechanical and holding a glowing neon purple umbrella. Covered in tattoos and piercing, the woman gave him a disgusted look before passing him by, calling him a loser as she did but all he could think of was how her eyes also seemed to be metal.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, the girl had long since disappeared from view and anyone else that came near ignored him and passed on by. At some point he must have subconsciously knew he needed to sit because he found himself on the edge of a concrete barrier just trying to process it. Hundreds of questions came to mind but not a single answer came to mind, all he could know for certain though, was that this wasn't his home and he definitely didn't belong here.

-xXx-

Rico had always considered himself to be one lucky sumbitch, not quite as lucky as that bastard Flavio but lucky enough. Managed to get out of the military in relatively one piece without getting fucked to badly in the process… unlike some of his unit. If it wasnt PTSD it was the vultures trying to fuck you over and save a few eddies.

But it wasn't just luck he felt, no he was observant. Growing up with his moms and pops was like living in the middle of a minefield and he quickly learned how to notice the little signs telling him to shut the fuck up and take cover. Daddy had a hell of a temper and his approach to fixing anything was to beat on it till it worked, appliances, children, wife, everything worked better once he smacked them around enough.

He shook himself out of his thoughts as he walked into a little corner shop and gave the little interior a onceover on his way to the counter, finding the old veteran owner sitting on a stool. "Hey Willis, here for what you owe the gang and a pack of smokes."

"Rico, they got you doing collections now?"

"Eh, just helping out." he shrugged while taking the pack and accepting the eddies. "How's shit going around here, anything we should know about, anyone giving you trouble?"

The older man behind the counter shrugged, "Bout the same, preem for the most part… well,"

"Well, what?" The look Willis had told him that there was indeed a problem and that he almost regretted bringing it up. "Come on Choom you're under our protection, if you've got a problem tell me the deets and we'll straighten shit out."

"Well… its, don't take this the wrong way Rico, I appreciate 6th Street keeping the peace and patrolling the area but some of these young guys out on the street, they aren't like you." he paused a moment while nervously scratching his neck. "They're acting like common thugs, no discipline at all. Just last week they went into Julies shop a few blocks down and took three cases of beer, just walked right out and fucking smirked at her."

Just fucking nova. "Willis, I don't know what to say. I'll bring it up with the boss but I don't even know who they are."

The old man shook his head and turned with a huff, "Kids today… no idea what real soldiers are." Rico could only agree. "But yeah, bring it up with… the hell?"

He moved closer to the counter and grabbed the monitor, "I'll be damned, look." with a twist, the screen was turned to face out. "These are the punks. They're out back harassing someone."

"Fucking hell, I'll handle it."

With that, he stormed out the front and around to the alleyway leading to the back of the shop only to stop when he heard gunshots..

-xXx-

The next few days were hell for Naruto. As a stranger in an even stranger land everywhere he looked held something that surprised him. He remembered seeing both ground and flying vehicles before, both in the land of snow, but these were smaller, quicker, more… streamlined and advanced. He had no money, his little frog shaped wallet was nowhere to be found, probably stolen when he was unconscious before but even if he had it he doubted that his cash would be any good. This place used eddies or Eurodollars and most of it was kept on chits or… he wasn't exactly sure how but it seemed like they were able to store it inside themselves somehow. He'd watched a man buy something from a vending machine without inserting anything. But he was resourceful if nothing else, he had years of experience of living on the streets to get by and that was before his survival training as a shinobi.

The memories were coming back more and more, he just had to trigger them somehow but honestly his biggest concern was staying alive long enough to do so. He didn't have the money for a vending machine snack much less food from an actual store and as tempting as it was he didnt want to rob some random person. So he did the only thing he could and scrounged through a dumpster.

It was disgusting, people here were so wasteful. But hey, he was able to eat, he even came across a few half eater packs of 'Slaughterhouse jerky' he could save and some 'Real Water' along with an empty bottle or two he could refill.

He was afraid to look into a mirror at this point, he had to look horrible and there was no way he didn't smell awful. The pain was mostly gone from what remained of his arm, he absently worried about an infection but kept an eye on it, checking it every night for any signs of redness or heat but for once things seemed to go his here he was covered in filth in some trash strewn alley, half in a sticky dumpster hoping to find the freshest bag of trash for anything useful.

"Hey look here, Choombas, got us a new face."

He tensed, with all the noise around him, the blond had not heard anyone approach. The lid slammed shut as he let go and turned to see two men and a woman walking towards him all giving him grins that didn't bode well. Each had pieces of combat gear, harnesses, knee and or shoulder pads, and most concerning, they were armed. A couple bats, knives, and a couple firearms. While he had no clue how they worked, he had seen them in action. They were brutal weapons to say the least.

"H-hey fellas," he cleared his throat, "ah, you need something?" He'd been in a similar situation before and knew that these people didn't want anything nice. Needed to weigh his options, should he run? Could probably jump the fence behind him without much trouble, could they follow or what if they used one of those weapons and shot him out of the air.

The woman grinned at him and swaggered over, a metal bat slung over her shoulder as she purred, "Hmm I need lots of things… but from the look of you, I doubt you could give it to me."

"You're not from here gonk," one of the men sneered, his weapon, a rifle, slung across his back. "Got enough folks around here, don't need more trash piling up around our neighborhood."

The other man just shook his head and stepped over to a closed dumpster, pulling himself up to sit on the lid with a sigh. "Come on just dust 'em already so we can scroll this shit for a preem XBD. Got the output on hold too."

"Then fuck off and handle your mainline, Vinnie!" the girl snarled, turning halfway to look at him and flipping him off. "Cause I'm gonna enjoy this!"

While he had the chance, Naruto glanced to his side where he had seen a brown glass bottle earlier, Broseph ale, it would have to do. He pressed himself against the dumpster and palmed the bottle as quickly and quietly as he could while the four were distracted.

"Now blondie, I'd say it'll be quick but your shit outta luck!"

Her swing was wild and clumsy but deadly nonetheless as she put her whole body into the attack. Neither of his attackers expected him to duck and she threw herself off balance, stumbling a few steps while Naruto threw himself towards the man, the bottle already in motion for what he hoped would be a finishing blow to the man so he couldn't take out his weapon.

The bottle shattered across the bridge of his target's nose, glass shards going in every direction accompanied by a red spatter.

Naruto stumbled, underestimating his own momentum as he collided with the man and both fell to the ground in a pile of limbs, blood, and broken glass. His landing was far from smooth but it gave him an opportunity and a sudden idea. Attached to his chest harness was a knife.

"Jackson! You mother fucker!"

It was a scramble, but Naruto managed to snatch the knife from its sheath and roll off the man. But the girl was already charging at him swinging like a mad woman. He could feel his heart pounding, the whoosh of air as the bat barely missed him while he stumbled back to his feet, knife at the ready.

There was a crack from behind him, something zipped past him and a small chunk of concrete exploded off the wall ahead of him. He'd forgotten the other guy!

Weaving under another swing, all he could do was get around the woman and try to keep her between him and the shooter. As he did, Naruto saw that the man had stood up on the dumpster and was aiming a smaller gun at him. Couldn't take his eyes off the woman, she'd knock his head off with those wild swings but he couldn't take her down or else he'd be an easy target, the shooter didn't seem willing to fire again with the girl between them.

"Jackson! Jackson! You good choom? Wake up man!" Naruto could hear the shooter calling out to his buddy and grimaced, hopefully he didn't get back up just yet. "Oh shit that's a lot of blood. I think he fuckin killed him!"

His eyes widened, 'Oh fuck' this wasnt good

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" the bat came in faster and faster, his knife and hand definitely couldn't take trying to block anything, he just dodge back each time but he was quickly running out of room. He needed a plan.

'Damn it this'll hurt.'

As she went for another wild swing, Naruto didn't dodge but rushed forward and let the middle of the bat slamming into the right side of his ribs, nowhere near as devastating as it could've been but painful nonetheless. He pressed the bat against him with the remaining part of his arm, adrenaline keeping him going as his ribs steamed at him not to do that. The other hand brought the knife up and into her stomach just above the hip.

The blond wasn't sure who screamed first, but using the knife he went low and slammed into her pushing both of them towards the shooter while the bat clattered to the ground. Another gunshot, then another, and another. The last one was so close his ears rang and he could feel the blast of heat but he slammed into the dumpster with the girl between them.

Something heavy hit him, two hands clawing at his shirt and dragging him to the ground and making him lose the knife. The man on the dumpster was knocked off balance and fell towards him, trying to fall on him and continue the fight. Both landed with a grunt, Naruto gasping for air as the man landed squarely on his torso and rolled off him. Both were momentarily stunned, gasping and groaning before looking around and catching sight of each other.

The world stood still.

Both men stared at the other, waiting to see who moved first. Vinnie's eyes darted to the ground next to him and Naruto quickly followed his gaze, the gun. The man must've dropped it in the fall. A moment passed… Neither were sure who acted first, the man whirled around to get back on his feet and dive for his gun. Naruto did the same, twisting to launch himself towards his enemy, hand outstretched like a claw.

Vinnie grabbed his pistol, a Malorian Overture but once again found himself on the ground as Naruto's hand wrapped around his own in a surprisingly strong grip. They struggled, glaring at each other while the gun shook between them. The gun fired again.

Both were deafened, ears ringing, but they couldn't let up. Slowly the gun started to angle towards its owner as the blond began to overpower his cyber arms and in a fit of panic, Vinne lashed out, punching him in the face. Once, twice, three times with as much force as he could muster but the blond didn't let up.

Naruto could see his mouth move as he slowly forced the gun towards the man's face but his ringing ears made it impossible to hear. Each punch was nothing compared to the old woman either, if anything it made him even angrier. The man gave up on punching him and grabbed his arm, trying to force it back or just angle the weapon away from him but it inched closer and closer no matter how he struggled before.

Another shot.

Naruto felt the blood spatter his face and watched the body jerk before it went limp. The weapon was just as terrifying to see used up close as it was from a distance and the aftermath left him feeling numb. The top of his head… it was gone, blood and brains sprayed out above him like a party popper full of red mist.

He wretched the gun from his attacker's limp hand and held it by the barrel for a moment, looking it over before moving to grip it like the man did. It took a bit to figure out what felt right, he didn't exactly get a chance to clearly see how it was used but he knew that squeezing the trigger made it work, kind of like a crossbow.

"Aaahhhh…"

The weapon was aimed towards the sound and Naruto was surprised to see the woman slumped against a dented dumpster, knife stuck even deeper and a steady stream of blood dripping from her mouth and nose.

"Goddamn boy…"

Once again he whirled around, pistol aimed and a snarl on his face. It was an older man, dressed a bit similar to these three but more, clean cut maybe? Camo and gear, he had to be with them.

"Hold on now boy, take it easy. I don't wanna scrap. Saw em messing with you and came to stop em."

"You with them?"

"Not exactly, look. I'm Rico, 6th street lieutenant. These three were a part of the gang but honestly they deserved what they got. We protect the people here, not hurt em. Gonks like this give us a bad rap and as far as i'm concerned, you did us a favor killin em." the man told him with his hands raised in a calming motion, taking a step forward only to stop when the barrel straightened to aim at his head.. "Look man I get it, you've been through a lot. You were a soldier too, right? Bunch of my buddies, they all had the same look as you. Seen some shit that won't ever go away." he took a slow step forward "Look, soldier to soldier, you're not alone. 6th street was founded by veterans and many of us still hold true to that brotherhood. If you want, I can help you out. I know some good folks. Or hell, join up with us, with your skills you'd be a hell of a recruit."

Naruto listened to the stranger for a moment before slowly lowering the gun, it was a tempting offer to be sure but… well he did just kill three other members. "I don't know… i dont think-"

"It's ok, think it over." With the gun lowered, Rico took a few cautious steps over. "Take as much time as you need, no rush. In fact, here." he stepped over to the man he'd hit with the bottle and searched through his clothes for a moment and returned holding a small device. "Jackson won't be needing this anymore. It aint a lot but it's more than enough to get a place to rest and some food."

Naruto looked at the small device, it was a creditchit like he'd seen a few people use.

"If you go down the street from here and take a left the No-Tell Motel is about the cheapest place you can find, with what's on there you'll be able to stay for a while and get cleaned up."

"Ah… thank you." Naruto wasn't sure what else to say. It felt like forever since someone actually tried to help him out, not since the woman that first night.

"Don't mention it, brother. Soldiers need to look out for one another in this city. Now go on and go, I'll handle things here, don't worry."

With that, Naruto went back and left the ally, following the directions towards the No-Tell motel where he could actually rest in peace for a while and hopefully eat a warm meal. As he did, the 6th street ganger frowned and looked at the carnage left behind with a whistle. Fucking kid was a goddamn savage, mustve been a corpo shocktrooper with this kinda brutality… or hell with how he moved maybe a Saka ninja.

Two of the dead had the implants to record BDs fuckers probably terrorized folk to make torture porn XBDs, well looks like he was about to see just what the kid could do.

There's a reason I chose my name :-3

Anyway this is my first fanfic in years, I wonder how this will go. Feel free to review if you enjoyed this, which I hope you did.