Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Aliens/Predator/AVP.
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Abomination
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Chapter Three
It didn't take him too long to track the scent trails back to their 'den'; a rather sizable compound that he could only assume to have once been inhabited by Wave Country's 'missing' daimyou and their court. Now, it was infested with the tyrannical shipping magnate, Gatou, and his army of hired thugs and ronin that had been a cancerous thorn in the side of Wave Country's people. He was by no means a fighter for justice, but he knew if they all...disappeared...no one would ask questions.
"Hsss...Kage Bunshin." Naruto hissed out as he formed the needed handseal, causing two dozen copies of himself to pop into existence amongst the leafy tree branches he was in. It was still early morning, so there weren't too many active ronin roaming the property, but he would still have to move quick before someone sounded an alarm. They all scurried down the trees they were in before sprinting towards the high stone wall that blocked off the perimeter. Easily jumping to the top of the wall, Naruto and his clones rushed the nearest ronin, a clone pouncing on the hapless man and killing him before he could even take a breath to scream. Tail flicking from side to side for a brief moment, Naruto continued on towards the main building while his clones split up to clear out the smaller buildings that most likely housed Gatou's personal little army.
Reaching the building, Naruto was about to figure out a way to get through the locked door in front of him when the handle suddenly started turning. Dorsal tubes flaring out as he jumped up to cling to the wall above the door, Naruto 'glared' down at the ronin that stepped out while pelting a kunai into the back of the man's neck, killing him instantly while he crawled inside along the ceiling. He was able to detect if anyone was close by, which they weren't, but he still tried to remain as quiet as he could. Dropping to the ground in the middle of the empty hallway, Naruto formed the handseal for his Kage Bunshin technique once more, causing another dozen or so copies of himself to appear all around him.
"Hss!" Naruto hissed sharply, causing his clones to surge forward, swarming the building as he heard the first scream come from outside, only for another to sound off from a room down the hall to the left. As more screams were heard, Naruto sensed someone directly above him. Jumping up and clinging to the roof, Naruto charged his hand with chakra before punching through the ceiling and digging his claws into the ankle of the ronin above him, yanking him down through the ceiling before he could retaliate. Pouncing on the man as he hit the ground, Naruto didn't hesitate to bury his fangs in the man's throat, biting clean through his flesh. Not even thinking about it, he swallowed the hunk of flesh before jumping up through the hole he'd made in the ceiling.
"SKREEE!" Shrieking as he lunged at another freaked out ronin that had come to investigate what had happened second ago, Naruto ruthlessly killed the man by spearing his tail-blade through the man's chest before immediately leaping from his still-falling corpse just before a crossbow bolt punched through the dying ronin's sternum. Springing off the ceiling, Naruto landed on top of the crossbowman, his claws rending flesh from bone with ease as the blood splattered against his body.
Their corpses would give his young plenty of food to feast upon...
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"He's been gone for almost four days...You think we should go looking for him?" Hiatari asked of Shinobue, who had been strangely quiet since Naruto first disappeared.
While she didn't actively show it, Hiatari had noticed that the Aburame heiress was behaving strangely and he had a feeling it was because of Naruto's absence. Well, not just his absence. Even when they first became a team, Hiatari suspected Shinobue of having a crush on their strange teammate. She was always the first to react whenever he had one of his fainting spells, she was always making sure he was taking care of himself by making him food on occassion, and she had even had brief moments of emotion around him that she usually did her best to hide; a futile thing when in the company of a Hyuuga with the proclaimed 'all-seeing eyes' and their...teammate. They still didn't know how to classify him...
Regardless, Shinobue had been staying up late each night, sitting at the table as if waiting for Naruto to return at any second. Yesterday and now today, she had spent most of her time outside of their light training just standing on the pier outside Tazuna's home, staring off into the forest. She was also becoming increasingly defensive of Naruto, having already drained Sasuke of chakra once with her Kikaichuu, knocked the Uchiha out twice with taijutsu, once during a spar and once in the house when he got too mouthy for her liking, and had done the same to Kiba once during a spar. The only genin member of Team 7 that hadn't suffered the heiress's wrath was Yakumo.
That was all within the past few days since Naruto had disappeared just before they reached Wave Country...
Shinobue said nothing as she stayed standing where she was. Sighing, Hiatari leaned back against the post along the side of the pier, having taken to sitting down instead of standing like his bug-loving friend and teammate. He was honestly surprised, however, when Naruto stepped out from the tree line a few minutes later, but he wasn't alone. The other person with him stayed behind, remaining hidden in the shadows of a tree. Walking up to his teammates, Naruto nodded towards either one in greeting. As he approached, both Hiatari and Shinobue narrowed their eyes slightly, noticing that something was different about their teammate, but unable to pinpoint just what it was...
"Where have you been?! We've been worried sick about you!" Hiatari ranted with an indignant pout as he stood up, half-heartedly glaring at his eyeless teammate as he crossed his arms over his chest. Getting only a small, awkward quick of the lips from Naruto as he rubbed the side of his neck, Naruto resisted glancing back towards the forest where Haku was waiting. With a half dozen of their now-fully grown young; true Xenomorphs with slight alterations due to their hybrid-originating genetics.
"I...am sorry for that." Naruto suddenly apologized with a slight bow, catching both of his teammates off guard; they'd never even heard of Naruto apologizing for anything in the past. So why would he start now? "As I'm sure you two and Kurenai-sensei might have guessed, I was out...hunting. I lost track of time and became preoccupied by other things, but...the good news is that all threats have been taken care of."
"All threats?" Kurenai inquired as she strolled up to her three students, her ruby eyes leveling a hard gaze on her obsidian-skinned student. "Just how many threats were there to warrant you being AWOL for the past four days?"
"...It might be better if I just showed you..." Naruto mumbled quietly, fidgeting a little bit. Despite feeling whole again and his confidence in himself having grown, Naruto was still rather intimidated by Kurenai for some reason he couldn't quite explain. Quirking an eye brow curiously, Kurenai crossed her arms below her chest while Naruto pulled out a storage scroll...and promptly unsealed an assortment of items; a Kiri hunter-nin mask that matched the description of the one Kakashi and his team had encountered, the massive zanbatou Zabuza had carried, and the clawed gauntlets and horned hitai-ate of the Demon Brothers. He pulled out another scroll before simply handing it to Kurenai. "I'd suggest not opening that around too many people. Gatou was an ugly man in life, but he was even more so in death..."
"You mean to tell me...you killed all of them? By yourself?" Kurenai asked in shock, more so about him killing an A-rank jounin-level shinobi that had been one of Kiri's Seven Shinobi Swordsmen. Someone that even Kakashi had struggled to fight on equal footing, let alone beat. "Even...Zabuza?"
"Yes...and no." Naruto answered a little cryptically, rubbing the side of his neck awkwardly again as he sealed up the items he had shown them, his tail coiling around his waist as he did. "Yes, I killed them by myself, but it wasn't exactly...a fair fight. The Demon Brothers had been sleeping when I killed them, as was Zabuza, who was also bed-ridden from his fight with Kakashi. The masked hunter-nin had been a little more complicated to take care of, but I dealt with her accordingly. All within a single night."
"So then where were you the past three days?" Kurenai demanded coldly, though not aggresively; she was still a little unnerved by the teen, but she didn't hold it against him. He hadn't exactly been given a choice when it came to his appearance and capabilities. Even still, he needed to answer for his behavior.
"It took a little longer to track Gatou down than I had first anticipated." Naruto answered, noticing and ignoring the hint of suspicioun coming from Shinobue. He wasn't lying, but he wasn't exactly being truthful, either, carefully wording each of his responses to keep anyone from getting suspicious. With the obvious exception of Shinobue, that is. "I had actually used more energy dealing with Gatou and his army of ronin than I did against Zabuza's group. While I know I've been able to for a long time, I haven't made as many Kage Bunshin as I did at that time. By the end of it all, I was too tired to come back right away, so I spent yesterday resting and recovering the chakra I had lost."
"...What would you have done if we'd been attacked while you were out 'hunting', Naruto?" Kurenai inquired sternly, though with a touch of concern for the boy. He seemed a little remorseful upon hearing her question, so she softened her gaze a little more. "What would have happened if you had been badly injured and none of us were there to help you? You need to think about these things more, Naruto. I'll let you off lightly this time, but no more running off like this. Okay? Just because you were lucky this time, doesn't mean you will be next time."
"...Yes, ma'am." Naruto sighed out quietly, bowing his head slightly. Frowning slightly, Kurenai wondered what she was going to do with the boy. At least he was back and he was unharmed.
"Come on, Hiatari. I want you to come into town with me and Tsunami." Kurenai instructed of her white-eyed student before heading back to the house, Hiatari following behind her a tad reluctantly. As they left, Naruto lifted his head back up, only to find Shinobue standing only a foot away from him, having not been paying attention to his surroundings properly. Tilting her head down slightly and sliding her sunglasses down a little bit, Shinobue revealed her hazel brown eyes to him with a stubborn look in them.
"Who is she?" Shinobue asked suddenly, getting a slight fanged grimace from Naruto as his tail fidgeted around his waist nervously. That was when he noticed the tiny beetle that flew off of his back and over to Shinobue, landing on her finger before scurrying back under her clothes. "I've had a female Kikaichuu on you since we left Konoha, letting me track your movements with my other Kikaichuu. She's the hunter-nin, isn't she?"
"...I won't let you or anyone else harm her." Naruto quietly hissed as his grimace shifted into a slight snarl. Straightening her back out, Shinobue held up a hand placatingly.
"I'm not concerned with her nor do I wish to harm her. I'm just looking out for you, Naruto..." Shinobue responded, her tone softening beyond her usual monotone responses; she was being sincerely honest with him, something that soothed his nerves a little. "Is that who is waiting for you back in the forest? May I meet her?"
"..." Naruto was silent as he tensed his jaw, weighing his options. He knew Shinobue was a loyal friend and was only looking out for him, like she had said, but...he was nervous. The longer Haku went unknown to everyone, the easier it would be to keep her hidden from everyone; his Queen-Mother was not going to become a target for anyone. As badly as he wanted to protect her, though, Naruto knew Shinobue wouldn't back down until she'd accomplished what she wanted. At the same time, he also knew she wouldn't intentionally cause him any problems. Sighing heavily, Naruto grimaced heavier than usual as he turned to the side and motioned for her to follow. "Come on. Just...be prepared. Alright?"
Nodding wordlessly, Shinobue followed after her teammate as he led her back to the wooded area near Tazuna's home. As soon as the house was no longer in sight and they were relatively deep in the forest, Naruto raised his dorsal tubes before scouring the entire area as best as he could with his omniscient senses. Knowing that they weren't being tailed or spied on, Naruto let out a quiet, but shrill cry, signaling Haku to come out of hiding. When she did, Shinobue realized why Naruto had told her to be prepared. Dressed in a pair of crudely-tailored baggy pants she had already owned and her baggy robe-top held closed with her sash, Haku stepped out from behind the tree she had hid herself behind, her tail coiled around her waist not unlike how Naruto often did.
"She's...just like you, but...how is that possible?" Shinobue questioned, more curious than anything as she attempted to take a step closer to the woman, only to have Naruto firmly grasp her shoulder, stopping her instantly. Glancing back at him, she saw him only shake his head.
"I trust you, Shinobue, so consider yourself lucky to have even met her, but I'm not taking any chances." Naruto explained cautiously, but he had actually stopped her to keep her from provoking their young, the six Warrior-caste Xenomorphs hidden amongst the trees above them. "For now, just...be patient, okay? And please...Not a word of this to anyone. Not Kurenai-sensei, not the Hokage...no one. If word gets out that I can turn others into beings like myself, the villagers will be after my head."
"...I don't think they'll go that far, but you have my word, Naruto. I'll keep her existence a secret from everyone." Shinobue agreed softly, easily noticing the hints of fear that plagued her teammate. Sighing quietly in relief, Naruto let go of her shoulder; he didn't know what he would have done if Shinobue had reacted differently or had been dishonest with him. Focusing back on the woman that shared the same appearance as Naruto, Shinobue bowed slightly in greeting. "Hello. I'm Aburame Shinobue, Naruto's teammate and friend."
"I'm...Haku." The Queen-Mother answered softly and slowly, still learning how to speak again. While she struggled with speaking, she was fully capable of understanding anything said to her. It was the main reason why she had resisted the urge to introduce herself as Naruto's Queen-Mother, his life-mate; he'd told her not to mention such things around others, should she ever find herself in the company of someone other than him. Seeing as it was for the sake of protecting her and her young, Haku agreed without hesitating. Bowing slightly in return, mostly mimicking Shinobue, Haku finished her brief greeting with an awkward smile. "Nice to...meet you."
"The transformation...messed with her mind a little bit. Unexpected, but we've been working on it." Naruto remarked, explaining to Shinobue about Haku's slow and sometimes broken speech. "She can understand everything just fine. She's just having some difficulty communicating in return."
"..." Shinobue could only smile faintly behind the high collar of her top, only to accidentally let a quiet laugh escape her. Cheeks flushing as she looked away to avoid eye contact, Shinobue needlessly adjusted her sunglasses out of slight embarrassment. "Sorry...It's just, she seems just as awkward as you do when it comes to interacting with others."
"You...have a good point there." Naruto mumbled out admittedly, rubbing his neck slightly as he gave Haku a small, but meaningful smile. Losing her inhibitions about being around Shinobue, Haku grinned happily back at him, revealing her own translucent fangs and teeth from her spot. Glad to see that Haku wasn't nervous or scared anymore, Naruto allowed a more relaxed smile to form on his face. Seeing just how comfortable he was with Haku, Shinobue felt a pang of sadness suddenly tug at her heart, but she was still truly happy for him. He'd found someone...
"Hss..." Hissing quietly as she frowned a little, Haku watched along with Naruto as Shinobue bowed once more to her before silently walking away. She'd felt the sudden change in the young woman. At first, Haku had been nervous to be around another person, but it shifted towards feeling a little territorial over her life-mate once she realized that it had been another female with him. After their brief interaction, though, Haku no longer felt threatened by her, but...that sudden change in pheromones. It confused her and...worried her? Was that right? Yeah...For some reason, Shinobue's sudden change in mood and behavior actually concerned her a little bit. "Naru. Get...her."
"What? You mean...bring her back? Why?" Naruto questioned, not really understanding what Haku wanted, but not because of her struggles with speaking. Getting a slightly frustrated hiss from Haku, Naruto grimaced slightly; it was the only way she could fully communicate, but it was only with him since he and their young were the only ones that could understand her. He'd been making her actively speak to help her get better at it, but if she was unsettled enough to actively want Shinobue to come back so badly, Naruto wasn't going to argue. Taking off after his teammate, Naruto easily caught up to her before she could get too far. "S-Shinobue. Hold up. Haku...wants to talk to you, I think."
"...What? What about?" The Aburame heiress inquired, forcing herself to remain as monotone as possible. She had barely admitted her feelings to herself, so she'd be damned if she started letting others know about it as well. Especially now, knowing that the target of her affections had already been taken from her. Getting only a shrug in response, Shinobue nodded hesitantly before following Naruto back to where Haku was. Almost instantly, Haku walked over and put her hands on either side of Shinobue's head, forcing her to look her in the 'eye'. "Ha...Haku? What are you-"
"Hss." Haku hissed quietly, though sharply, merely to silence her for a moment. Gingerly plucking Shinobue's sunglasses off her face and returning to what she'd been doing, Haku frowned slightly. Looking at Naruto, Haku hissed quietly at him, getting another grimace from her lover. "Go. I'm...safe."
"Alright..." Naruto mumbled hesitantly before walking away, leaving the two females to talk as he wandered back towards the edge of the forest so that he was still close by, but nowhere close enough to listen in on them. Once he was out of hearing range, Haku looked back at Shinobue for a few moments before a...knowing smile formed on her face, handing the girl her sunglasses.
"You...L-Love...Him..." Haku stated slowly, struggling for a moment. Her smile remained while Shinobue's eyes went wide, unable to believe she'd been found out. Not that fast, not by someone that didn't know her. How? Even before she could voice her questions, Haku let go of her head before walking over to a fallen tree, patting the spot beside her. "Fare...Mm...Phero-mones...don't lie."
"Ph-Pheromones?" Shinobue stuttered out in shock as she slowly walked over and sat down beside the otherworldly looking young woman. "You could detect my pheromones?"
"Mm-hm." Haku hummed out quietly, though Shinobue noticed the faint purring undertone to it; strange, but...alluring, in its own way. Tapping a clawed finger against her own chest, Haku smiled sadly at the Aburame. "His...Life-mate. His...Lover."
"Then...why did you want to talk to me?" Shinobue asked quietly, looking down at the ground in front of them as she felt like leaving again. However, she knew if she tried walking away, Haku would only stop her or have Naruto bring her back again. Sighing quietly, Haku hissed under her breath with frustration while rubbing at her cheek, wishing she could just speak her mind without any issues. Taking a deep breath to calm herself back down, Haku reached over and gently cupped Shinobue's chin, making her look back at her. A frown graced Haku's lips for a moment, noticing the tears threatening to fall from the girl's eyes. Taking a moment to rehearse her next response in her head, Haku regained her slight smile.
"Relax. Prove...yourself. Earn his...heart." Haku slowly spoke, watching as the confusion in Shinobue's eyes was dwarfed by the glimmer of hope that came back to her hazel brown irises. Haku smiled a little more as she slowly reached down and took the Aburame girl's hand into her own, tilting her head to the side slightly. "Maybe...share...everything?"
"Y-you...You don't m-mean that...y-you and me...a-and him..." Shinobue stuttered out, her cheeks burning heatedly as she lost her grip on her normally well-contained emotions. Unable to even finish what she was trying to say, Shinobue couldn't resist wanting to just curl up into her trench coat to hide as Haku smiled brightly, nodding in response to her unfinished question. Feeling her blush spread to the rest of her face, Shinobue couldn't resist imagining the kind of life the three of them might be able to have one day, only to shake her head, clearing the image from her mind. "I-I c-couldn't possibly...I mean, you two are already together and I don't want to-"
"Shh." Haku hushed while delicately placing a finger against Shinobue's lips, silencing the girl from continuing to ramble. "Think...about? But...keep...secret. One day...surprise...him?"
"...You are a very strange woman, Haku." Shinobue mumbled around Haku's fingertip, her cheeks burning hot once more. "And I'm not even talking about your appearance..."
Haku simply smiled more as she stood up, pulling Shinobue to her feet in the process. Without another word spoken between them, Haku got behind the Aburame heiress before pushing her in the direction of the house her lover's team was staying in for the time being. Letting out a momentary and soft shriek to make Shinobue look back at her before she got too far, Haku only held a finger to her lips, signaling to remind her about keeping quiet about what they'd talked about. Watching her leave, Haku...didn't quite understand what had prompted her to make such an offer to the girl when she'd only just met her.
However, like she had said, pheromones didn't lie. They were automatic bodily functions that reacted to both outside stimuli as well as mental stimuli; fear in the mind caused pheromones tied to fear to be released while those tied to happiness were released when happy and so on. The same applied when it came to love and lust, both of which having very distinct and very different scent markers when it came to pheromones; Shinobue had only given off pheromones tied to love and then those tied to emotions like heartache and sorrow when she realized that she and Naruto were together. While they'd only just met, Haku felt like she could trust the Aburame girl. She, too, had a hive of her own, after all. Even if it was on a much smaller scale, size wise, than her own budding hive. Glancing at the small Kikaichuu beetle crawling on her hand, Haku held it up to see it better before lightly blowing on it, making it fly away.
"Hsssss..." Hearing the quiet and prolonged hiss, Haku didn't bother looking at the Xenomorph that crawled up beside her, letting her hand rest on its head. She doubted anything would come of her little proposition for a long time, but Haku had faith that something would come of it one day. She had wanted her King to herself, but after seeing another lonely female so desperate for the love she had, only to be denied...Haku didn't know for sure, but it kind of reminded her of when the haze in her mind cleared and she found the male she called her life-mate. If he hadn't been there or if he hadn't reciprocated her feelings...she didn't even want to think of what could have happened to her.
Granted, she wasn't going to be so friendly or generous with every other lonely female out there that developed feelings for her King-Father, but Shinobue was a special case, in her opinion...
'I don't think it'll be so bad, to be honest.' Haku thought to herself idly as she started heading back to the cave she and Naruto had turned into a temporary hive for her and her brood to reside in while in Wave Country. Licking her lips slightly, Haku couldn't resist the coy smile from forming as she lightly chewed her bottom lip, the half dozen Xenomorphs she'd brought with her following closely and protectively. 'If anything...it might be quite enjoyable. Only time will tell, though...'
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It had been a week since he'd returned to his team and like he was every day, Naruto was restless. He wanted to return to Haku, to make sure she was okay and to just be in her presence, but he'd agreed not to leave without permission again. Still, Haku would come by every day to visit him in secret, sometimes even inviting Shinobue to join them or chasing him off to give them some time alone. It was weird and a little off-putting because neither of them would tell him what they did or talked about whenever he wasn't around. At the same time, he was happy that Haku and Shinobue had become such good friends, from what it looked like.
"Hey." Shinobue greeted softly as she walked across the roof to sit next to him, the tailed and obsidian-skinned teen laying on his back and staring up at the night sky. Drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, Shinobue stared out over the calm waters that formed the strait between Fire Country and Wave Country. "You're up pretty late tonight. Couldn't sleep?"
"Of course I can't...I miss her." Naruto sighed out as he averted his eyeless gaze, looking back towards the forest. As her thoughts momentarily drifted to what Haku had talked to her about a week ago, Shinobue forced her mind elsewhere to keep thinking about it. Instead, she glanced down at Naruto. Even if she could bring herself to admit her feelings to him, she still didn't know how she could do it without making it seem like she was trying to come between them instead of...joining them. That was when Naruto glanced back at her, frowning slightly. "What's on your mind? Your scent keeps changing every couple seconds..."
"It's...It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Shinobue mumbled softly, looking back out at the water; she'd almost forgotten that he had the same sensory capabilities as Haku. His frown growing a little bigger, Naruto didn't keep prying. She kept putting off all kinds of scent markers that spanned the entire spectrum, in a manner of speaking, but none of them had any real...pattern to them. It was like her emotions kept fluctuating out of her control, which kind of surprised him because she'd always been a very reserved and calm girl that had a good bit of control over her emotions. From what he understood, it was something all Aburame had to be good at since certain strong emotional outbursts could cause the hive of insects in their body to swarm uncontrollably, depending on the emotional outburst they experienced.
Still, it was starting to worry him. Her emotional scent markers were constantly changing whenever they were alone or weren't preoccupied with something and it'd been happening ever since she and Haku had spoken in private that first time. Tucking his hands behind his head as he stared up at the moon again, Naruto decided to talk to Haku about it next time he saw her; it was bothering him too much. If something was wrong with her or if there was something troubling her, Naruto wanted to know. He knew he wasn't very helpful in most things outside of a fight, but still...at least knowing might give him an idea of how he could help, if at all.
"Naruto...?" Shinobue asked quietly and nervously, not even bothering to try hiding her emotions from him at the moment. "Can I...Can I lay down next to you?"
"Um, yeah..." He mumbled out softly, caught off guard by the strange request. Laying down beside her teammate, Shinobi simply stared up at the night sky with him, but Naruto noticed how much calmer she seemed now, her emotional scent markers no longer fluctuating as randomly as before. So...it had something to do with him, it seemed. He couldn't think of anything as to why, but he figured Haku might be able to shed some more light on the matter. After almost half an hour of laying there in silence, however, Naruto noticed that Shinobue had drifted off next to him, rolling over on to her side in her slumber so that she was facing him, her hand landing on his stomach as she did.
He tensed up, his omniscient senses finally pinpointing one of the potential factors about Shinobue's apparent issue. The only thing he could accurately sense from her at the moment was...contentment, a peaceful happiness as she laid beside him. She couldn't possibly...Grimacing slightly, Naruto didn't quite know what to do, gently moving her hand off of him so that there wasn't any skin-to-skin contact between them. Deciding to just believe it was because she was sleeping, Naruto forced the thoughts from his mind, choosing instead of stare up at the moon again as he waited for sleep to come to him. Eventually...
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A/N: And if you look to your left, you'll see some character development and interactions, but not much; they seem to be hiding, waiting to ambush their unsuspecting prey. ANYWAYS, before anyone says anything, I'll go ahead and spoil it a little bit for everyone; Yes, I'll be adding Shinobue into the mix EVENTUALLY, but not just yet. I want to actually build their relationship up over time before anything becomes 'official' between them. Also, I had already been planning on doing the same thing in the original version of Abomination, but once again, I derped out with it and half-way screwed myself over and half-way created a harem pairing...without honestly intending to. Really, I didn't plan to, but I did...Never fear! That is being fixed! I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter (which was just a little shorter than the others). Hopefully I can keep the soon-to-come chapters all around this same length. I miss writing chapters this long...
