Hidden in the Night Sky

Chapter 9: Victory..?


"Holy crap, what WAS that!?"

Shizune's voice was the first thing to register.

"That... was the Book of Darkness' power. That's the power that Naruto used to obliterate the Ichibi and its host," Jiraiya said, a grimace on his face. "Oi, Tsunade, I still can't quite hear from my left ear. Did you do that on purpose?" he asked, frowning.

Tsunade snorted. "Can't heal it if you're just so old," she said, shrugging.

"Oi, Shizune, fix your teacher's laziness," Jiraiya commanded.

Shizune squeaked and went to do exactly that. It didn't take her long to finish healing Jiraiya's left ear, since Tsunade had already done most of the work anyway.

"Should we heal this boy?" Shizune asked, frowning. "I... don't think they're bad people, even if, well, you know," she said, gesturing with her hands towards the unconscious boy lying not too far from them.

"Actually, yeah. A gesture of good will. If shit goes all the way and hits the fan, at least we'll be 'those guys who healed their agent' and not 'those guys who left him deaf'," Jiraiya noted. "Not even you can disagree with that, right Tsunade?"

Shrugging, she shook her head. "Whatever. I'll do it," she said, shrugging. "Clean him up, Shizune."

Shizune pulled out a piece of cotton from the medical pouch she carried in a seal, for emergencies, and cleaned out the blood that had leaked out the boy's ears. Tsunade promptly sat down and put a green glowing hand on each of his ears. Within a minute, she let go. "... This is a goddamn civilian," she muttered as she stood up. "Zero chakra. Can you even believe it?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes. You know those two girls who were on the verge of having you pull out your seal?" Jiraiya asked. "Not a drop of chakra, either," he explained. "Aliens, remember?"

"Shit, I almost forgot," Tsunade admitted. "What a bizzarre situation you've dragged me into."

The boy moaned and stirred, waking up much like a trained shinobi, in a snap. "What is going on..?" he asked, clearly confused.

"We were talking, then this purple lightning bolt came out of nowhere and, well, I'm sure you can guess the rest," Jiraiya said, frowning. "Blew out our ears."

"Who would've guessed? Thunderclaps are loud at this range," Tsunade said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I just got done healing you."

"If it was that powerful, then..." Chrono muttered.

"Yeah, it's likely those two girls who you came with are similarly beat up-"

"Not quite. They were a bit... more affected, as both were unconscious at the time," a new voice said, interrupting them. Signum, with the blonde slung over her shoulder, stood on a pile of rubble, while Vita was flying a couple of feet back, bringing in the other girl.

"FATE! NANOHA!" Arf shouted, growling at the two knights.

"Easy there," Jiraiya said, gesturing towards Arf. "You don't make threatening gestures when someone holds a hostage," he added. "And this is not how you normally behave. What's going on?"

Signum unloaded her cargo and looked at Arf. "This must be your master, correct?" she asked, hoisting Fate up with her free hand.

"Yes," Arf said. "And you better let her go or-"

"Here," Signum said, tossing Fate towards Arf. "I have no interest in holding a hostage, nor do I intend to kill her now. I have not taken her Linker Core, either."

"Same here," Vita said, though she was apparently taking a little more care with her cargo, it was obviously more because of the awkwardness of carrying someone who was actually bigger than her. "Now, let's get going. We're wasting time."

"I can't let you go this easily," Chrono said, his hand clenching on the staff he was holding.

"If we fight now, you will lose and lose badly," Jiraiya said.

"They're exhausted," Chrono noted. "And you won't fight," he added.

"That may be true. But you're quite tired yourself, and that man over there is entirely fresh," Jiraiya warned.

Chrono blinked, and saw that on one of the rooftops was the Guardian Beast of the Book of Darkness, looking down on the proceedings. The situation was not looking favorable.

"Oi!" she shouted, catching Chrono's attention, "catch!" she added, flinging Nanoha in his direction.

"Vita was right, we have no time for this. You have lost. Now let us go."

Tsunade snorted. "We'll go as soon as I've repaired those girls' ears. Everything else is superficial, but if I don't fix their ears now, they might be deaf the rest of their lives," she said.

"Oh, so NOW you're helping people out of the goodness of your heart," Vita growled, clearly annoyed.

"They're here. I don't have to go to that accursed village to heal them," Tsunade replied, snappily. "Shizune, you know what to do..."

And indeed, the woman's assistant did. She apparently went ahead and cleaned up all the bleeding wounds the two girls had and patched up the scrapes so they didn't bleed anymore. Shortly after, Tsunade took over and performed two short surgeries on them, healing their ears. "Well, that should do it. Now, let's get this over with so I can get out of Konoha as quickly as possible."

"I'll stay here and make sure they don't follow you," Jiraiya said. "That, and I've got some words to trade with these people..."

Signum nodded. Vita and Zafira seemed to be somewhat leery, but nevertheless, they nodded as well.

"Do not come looking for us. Leave us be," Signum said, glaring at Chrono. "Our mistress is innocent, and we won't allow you to reach her."

"Give up and go do something more productive," Vita sneered.


"Everyone..!"

Shamal seemed quite harried and upset as the rest of the Wolkenritter re-entered the room that had been home to Naruto for over a week.

"What happened?" Signum asked.

"Naruto's been steadily getting worse," Shamal replied. "I've been doing all I can, but I can't fix the underlying issues, just delay the inevitable, so-"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here already."

Shamal was... somewhat shocked. "This must be Tsunade-dono, right?" she asked. "You are the most legendary medic in this world. You are our last hope."

"I got that already," Tsunade said. "I'm the best there's ever been, I know already. Call Sarutobi, since Jiraiya is not here. Tell me everything I need to know about the kid's health state," she said, gesturing towards the bed that held the source of their sorrow. Zafira nodded and decided that, as the one in the best physical state, it should be him who went to get the Hokage.

"I will explain as best as I can," Shamal began, frowning as she turned to look at Naruto. She went on a detailed, as detailed as she could manage in fact, explanation of Naruto's current health state, taking a few moments to explain the pseudo-organ known as the Linker Core, the particularities Tsunade needed to know, and what impact it had on Naruto's illness.

Nearly half an hour of two medics trading knowledge of biology both alien and domestic, for both sides, went by, and most of the others had long since lost the trail of conversation.

"So, let me get this straight... this kid used to be a Jinchuuriki, but then she had her tailed beast extracted, somehow, without killing her," Tsunade said.

Shamal nodded. "The first thing the book did was drain her of all foreign Linker Cores. It appears that the Kyuubi no Kitsune was close enough that the book could adapt."

Shaking her head, Tsunade released a sigh. "Well, now I can understand why her chakra coils have been ripped to shreds," she mentioned.

"Yes, that is why she can't be a ninja," Shamal noted.

"The Chakra Coils she has are more detrimental than they are good. And... they're killing her," Tsunade noted. "I see, then. It appears that whatever the hell she did during the invasion must have made the book attempt to fix the damage it had done already, but it has no idea what the chakra coils are, or how they work. It seems to have thought it was a circulating system for the magic of the Linker Core."

Shamal nodded. "This matches with my hypothesis. Her body has been incorrectly healed because of a misunderstanding, and it's killing her," she said, clenching her fist. "Not only did we ruin her dreams, now we are killing her, too..?" she muttered, before she took a deep breath and forced a determined expression onto her face. "I refuse to let it end like this. There has to be some way to fix this. If we can sever the connection to her Linker Core, then maybe-"

"That'd still kill her. She's barely keeping herself alive as is. If you performed such an operation, it's likely the shock would kill her," Tsunade said. "No, the only chance we have is to complete whatever it was that the book was trying to do."

"But... that is insane. I've never seen anything anywhere near close to this," Shamal protested.

"Neither have I. It's not going to stop me, though," Tsunade said, stretching a little. "Now get ready, I'm going to teach you in the sixteen hours of surgery how to reconstruct a human's chakra coils, and at the same time, you're going to teach me how a Linker Core works. If we're lucky, we might just learn how to adapt the Chakra Coils to be able to circulate magic, as well."

"But if we do that, her body-" Shamal began.

"That's what we've got Shizune for. She's the best surgery assistant you've ever seen. She'll be able to keep Naruto's body from failing on us, while we work."

Shamal nodded. "What... what are our chances of success?"

"Minimal," Tsunade said, shaking her head. "But the only other option..."

"Is unacceptable," Shamal said, nodding. "Then, shall we?"

"I'll get someone to prepare a surgery theater. Go wash yourself, and send someone to fetch Shizune. We'll start as soon as the old goat gets here. I want to double check some stuff about the seal on her stomach, make sure it's harmless to remove. It's not going to help surgery, I can tell you that much."


Chrono clenched his fist.

"They escaped..." he said. "They seemed to have betrayed their allies. The attack hit them just as hard as it hit us. If they hadn't been medics..."

Amy nodded. "You'd probably be deaf forever. That attack sure was something," she noted. "Still, their medicinal abilities are impressive, for such a primitive planet."

"No, the medic who healed me is. If what Jiraiya told me is true, we were healed by the single best medic in their world and her apprentice. They're certainly well above most if not all doctors I've visited before, but I doubt the world lives up to that standard," Chrono noted, shaking his head. "Still, it seems that while the attack hit them unexpectedly, they still returned to the village all the same. Sneaking in now will be more difficult now that they know what we actually look like."

"But your conversation with this Jiraiya person... he is clearly open to us, and he understands," Lindy interrupted. "The Knights won't listen to us, and they probably don't care either way-"

"They're supposed to be unfeeling automatons. But we know that they're at least capable of anger," Chrono said. "Nanoha, Fate, you fought them... what are your impressions?"

"They're definitely not unfeeling," Fate said, instantly.

"I agree. Vita-chan... I could feel her love for her mistress, and her fear and worry. And, well, she was also very angry," Nanoha mentioned, frowning a little. "My father used to say, when training by siblings, that by fighting all out, we can understand each other's feelings and... I feel I understand her a bit, now. She's deathly afraid of something. She was really, really desperate when we fought. What about you, Fate-chan?"

"Signum wasn't any different. She seemed to be outwardly controlled, calm and even cold. She certainly looked unfeeling, but... I could see it just as clearly. She respected me. But... beyond that, below that outer layer, I could feel it too. She was afraid and desperate. I could tell by the way she got more and more aggressive as she was worn down, and the fight dragged on."

Chrono nodded. "Given the devotion to their master that they showed... I believe that's the source of their worry and desperation. Jiraiya confirmed that their mistress, Naruto is dying from some malady, possibly related to the book itself. They were seeking out the world renowned medic who healed us to see if she could help," Chrono explained.

"Yes, that matches up. Vita-chan kept rambling about us trying to kill someone... So that's why they won't talk to us. They fear we're out to kill their master," Nanoha muttered.

"In a way, they are right. There is no saving the Master of the Book... not yet, at any rate," Chrono noted.

Lindy nodded. "Yuuno will find a way. I'm sure of it. However, now we know for certain where they are. From now on, we'll start a hunting operation."

"um... We lost our devices," Nanoha stated. "Raising Heart took more damage than I thought."

"Bardiche, as well," Fate added. "They knew that our devices were more fragile than theirs, and used that to their advantage. That's how they defeated us."

"I've been meaning to talk to you two. Both of your devices are rather old, and due for an update since a long time ago," Lindy explained. "Even storage devices, such as S2U, have to receive regular updates to not become obsolete."

Chrono nodded, confirming her words.

"Up until recently, I'd thought they were good as they were, and... they really are," Nanoha said. "But..."

"A stronger frame wouldn't hurt. Especially for me," she mentioned. She remembered the ease with which Laevateinn dented and cracked Bardiche, and how much energy had been wasted in that fight powering the self repair system so that Fate could still use her weapon.

"Leave it to us, then. We'll make sure that Raising Heart and Bardiche are back and stronger than ever in no time," Lindy promised, smiling at them both. "You'll have to stay here, though, it could be dangerous to be alone without devices..."

Nanoha shook her head. "No, we won't be alone. We'll take Arf with us," she said. "And... if we don't have devices, then they won't attack us."

Lindy blinked. "Are you certain?"

"Yes. Signum considered me a worthy opponent..." Fate said, shaking her head. "It'd be an insult to attack me while I can't defend myself."

"They are Belkan Knights, after all. They could've killed us, but let us go," Chrono said. "... I don't think that they'd be in danger if they performed Recon. And unlike me, they have managed to find a friend to guide them around the village."

"Very well... you're all dismissed, for the time being. Nanoha, Fate, you two should return to your hotel room in Konoha. We can insert you discretely. Remember... be careful."

The two nodded.


"Is what we're doing the right thing, Fate-chan?"

Nanoha was sitting on the upper bed on the room that she and Fate shared. She'd already changed into her bedclothes, and Fate blushed slightly at her near naked roommate. Fate herself was a lot more overly conscious, and had actually changed in the bathroom into a floor length gown. By contrast, Nanoha's sleepwear was a simple long shirt, which had probably once belonged to one of her siblings. Likely her brother, given that it looked like it was a man's shirt. Nanoha claimed that she'd forgotten to pack her sleepwear in her excitement, but she'd had it in the Asura... "I... don't know," she admitted. "And I don't think there is a right thing to do."

"Yeah... you're right," Nanoha replied, nodding at her. "If we don't do anything, then the Book will kill everyone in this world and then move on to another one... but if we do, then we'll be condemning someone to be sealed forever... someone who might not have done anything... I can't do that to an innocent."

Fate climbed up so she could sit next to Nanoha, placing her full weight on her arms as she leaned back and looked at the ceiling once she did. "I know... I want to help save this person, like you saved me..."

"The knights... they love her a great deal. I could feel it..." Nanoha explained. "The kind of person who would inspire such love and devotion... it can't be an evil person."

Fate nodded. "But what can we do?"

At this, Nanoha frowned. "I don't know, Fate-chan, I don't know... But Yuuno-kun might have figured something out!" Nanoha said, smiling. "Yeah! Yuuno-kun is the best researcher, I'm sure he's figured something out at the Infinite Library!"

"Yes. I'm sure he has. And if he hasn't..." Fate said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, "then we'll think of something ourselves."

"That's the spirit, Fate-chan!" Nanoha said, pumping her fist in the air. "We'll save the Master of the Book, no matter what!"

Fate smiled and nodded. "Then... tomorrow, we'll go out into the village! We'll find the Master, and convince her to make them stop and talk..."

"Ne, Fate-chan," Nanoha began, looking completely serious. "Do you think that the Naruto who Sakura-chan confused you with might be the same Naruto..?"

"I don't know how common the name may be... but Signum didn't have any special reactions to my appearance... It might be," she admitted.

"We should ask her to introduce us all the same, don't you think?" Nanoha asked.

Fate nodded. "If nothing else, it'll give us an excuse to check."


Chrono sighed as he drank the orange juice he'd poured for himself. "Amy, I would be appreciative if you would stop doing this," he said as soon as he noticed the glass he was trying to drink from had been switched, and he was now drinking water.

"It's just too funny, you never pay attention," Amy said, sitting on the couch that dominated one of the walls of Chrono's quarters. "But anyway... you know why I'm here. I was observing that battle, and I heard everything you and that Jiraiya person were talking about."

"I know," Chrono said. "I kept the communications channel open on purpose. That man is very important in the leadership of his village. He's the kind of in we need to solve this as peacefully as possible."

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the last few words you guys exchanged. I was... too concentrated on your chat, that's why I couldn't detect the Wolkenritter's escape plan earlier. But, what he said... they have their own sealing arts. They might know things that we don't. The way they use their natural magic, it's at times bizarre to us, and that's accounting for all the rare talents, skills and abilities that the TSAB has documented. There was nothing in the ship's databanks about an ability that allows for one to draw in the natural energy of the world," Amy explained. "They might hold the answer."

"It's possible," Chrono admitted. "I'm a bit leery of trusting an undeveloped and primitive magical culture, but it wouldn't be the first time we discover magic being used in ways we never would have thought of ourselves."

"Admiral Lindy seemed a bit more enthused, however. It appears as if she really, really doesn't want to go with Admiral Graham's plan," Amy noted, shrugging. "Neither do I, to be honest."

"Not even Admiral Graham wants to go with Admiral Graham's plans," Chrono noted. "This isn't a choice we made, this is the only choice we could have made, given the circumstances... Even he is hoping that there is something that changes our circumstances."

"How are your ears? Our medics found nothing out of the ordinary, but..." Amy commented.

"Cleaner than ever," Chrono noted, absent mindedly. "It will take a slight amount of time for the natural level of earwax to return, until then, the amplified sound is a little discomforting."

Amy laughed at his predicament. "Wait... if your hearing is better than ever..."

"Yes, I did hear you and the Admiral discussing how cute a bandage bow looked on me. I chose not to comment, and I chose not to react to it," Chrono said. "I am an Enforcer, I can look badass even wearing a pink ribbon."

"... Are you willing to test that?" Amy asked, grinning eagerly.

"... Moving on... You heard about Bardiche and Raising Heart. Do we have the appropriate facilities to service them?" Chrono asked.

"Yes, actually. We've been outfitted with the appropriate facilities to function as a mobile base, if need be. This operation was high priority, so the Asura got all sorts of nifty upgrades. We never did go over all of them, did we? I gave a briefing to the Admiral, but..."

"Speaking about the Admiral, where IS she exactly?" Chrono asked.

"Well, about that, it seems she's actually landside discussing something with our newest guest," Amy noted. "She left as soon as your debriefing was over."


Nobody even looked twice. Given how out of place Lindy's military uniform was in Otafuku Gai, it was... disconcerting. Still, the man was exactly where he said he'd be when he told them he wanted to talk with them.

Admiral Lindy sipped her tea. "So... Mister Jiraiya, correct?" she asked.

"The one and only," Jiraiya said, offering her a bow. "May I have the pleasure of your name, oh beautiful one?"

Lindy giggled a bit. "You may. My name is Lindy Harlaown, and I am the Admiral in charge of this operation," she explained.

"Oh ho, I do like a powerful woman who can keep me on my toes," Jiraiya said, wagging his eyebrows.

"I'm sorry to say, however, that I am not interested in you that way," Lindy said, pointedly.

"It was worth a shot," Jiraiya said, shrugging. "Can't blame a man for trying to score a beauty like yourself," he added.

"I suppose," Lindy said, diplomatically. "But I admit it's refreshing to see someone as forward as yourself. Usually, people are afraid of my ranking, too afraid to approach me," Lindy admitted.

Jiraiya grinned and downed the saucer of sake that he'd ordered. "Heh. I know the feeling. I'm pretty high up in my home country's military, myself. When they're not looking at me like I'm some sort of god, they often crap their pants if I just as much as show up," Jiraiya admitted, letting out a satisfied sigh. "Well, Admiral-chan, this is a right down mess, and it's up to us adults to pick it up, eh?"

"At least, I'd like to do as much as I can," Lindy said, nodding. "And I know that you might hold the key to a bloodless solution."

"I very well might," Jiraiya said. "If what your... son, is it?"

"Yes, Chrono-kun is my son," Lindy said, nodding.

"Cute kid," Jiraiya noted.

"He takes after his father," Lindy replied. "Short enough to pass for a much younger boy."

Jiraiya chuckled. "Late bloomer, then?" he asked, getting a nod and allowing himself another chuckle. "Anyway, if what he said is true, then I've got just as much of an interest as you do to help fix this situation. But I can't tell you whether or not I can help unless I get a little more information about it. If you're leading this operation, then I'm sure you're the one who has all the pertinent information," Jiraiya said.

"Not all of it. There is simply too much. However, I've already requested that the scholar in charge of uncovering as much information as possible be transferred to this location. When he arrives, you will receive all of the information we ourselves have," Lindy explained.

"That's a lot of trust," Jiraiya noted.

"You've put yourself at our mercy," Lindy noted.

"I'm a ninja. I could be waiting to strike from the inside, you know?" Jiraiya noted, taking another drink.

"You could, yes," Lindy admitted. "But you're not. Because you know that we're telling the truth, and we have nothing to hide, so we don't fear allowing you aboard."

"Ah, I like it when people are open. It makes it so much easier to deal with them," Jiraiya said, grinning.

"Yes, I do prefer transparency in my dealings, as well," Lindy agreed. "This entire affair has been rather stressful, to be honest."

"I see. So, are you sure you're not open to a single night of fun? I promise you will not be disappointed," Jiraiya said, grinning lecherously.

Lindy blinked. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, the night is young, and we're in a town full of casinos. I'm sure a little recon isn't going to hurt anyone, right?" Jiraiya asked.

"I was almost afraid you'd suggest that we visit a low class hotel," Lindy said, dryly.

"Oh, no, I'd never do such a thing, Admiral-chan, I've got class!" Jiraiya protested. "Well, sometimes I do," he amended. "Point is, I would take you to a high class, expensive hotel!"

Lindy laughed and shook her head. "Well, it could be fun, I guess. I suppose I can always give everyone a day off tomorrow, and we'll visit the town in group," she noted.

Jiraiya seemed to slump. "Rejected!" he whined.

Lindy actually patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find someone..."

It seemed that her comfort had its intended effect, as he bounced back immediately. "That's right! There's plenty of fish in the sea, Admiral-chan!" Jiraiya declared.

The bartender looked at the oddly dressed strangers, shook his head and left to serve someone else.

Crazies were normal. Otafuku Gai was the place where Konoha Shinobi went to piss away their paychecks. Including Maito Gai. Once you've seen Maito Gai, everything else is just sort of vanilla by comparison.


Tomorrow, everybody's day off!