Unwavering Sky Chapter 10
Deceiver
Disclaimer: Don't own anything. All source material belongs to their respective creator and I'm illegally using them without explicit permission...
Soundtrack List
Skillet – Believe
John Dreamer - Brotherhood
Chemistry – Merry go Round
Immediate Music – Sanctus Immortale
Ayumi Hamasaki – Part Of Me
****Unwavering Sky****
"Yo, lover boy!"
A rather lethargic Seo yawned widely as he entered his classroom. Shuffling his way through the rows of chairs and desks, the dark haired boy in the simple black uniform ignored the looks being sent his way before pulling out his designated seat and dropping into it with a grateful sigh, plopping his bag beside the desk carelessly.
"You look pretty sleepy, Seo-san. Did you get rejected by another soul mate again?" a tall boy jeered at him from his position in the centre of a group of giggling middle schoolers.
Seo merely regarded them with bored indifference.
"Kyaaah, he's looking this way, run away, I don't want to be confessed to in the middle of class!" the group of girls, dressed in modified uniforms laughed loudly and pretended to hide behind the tall boy, "Save me, Izumi!"
The raven haired boy rolled his eyes at their jeering before trying to find the most comfortable spot on his desk for a quick nap before classes started. The new school year was always rather trying. With everyone being fitted into a new class, the more…. fashionable students took the chance to insinuate themselves as elites of new factions and hammer out a new dichotomy so to speak.
One way of doing that just so happened to be picking on those that couldn't fight back.
That and seeing a first year student screaming out a confession to one of the more popular girls in broad daylight during the peak of a Culture Festival no doubt left a rather lasting impression.
"Oi, why aren't you saying anything, Seo-san?"
The boy in question sighed quietly. At any rate, if he ignored it, the teasing usually stopped a few minutes before his homeroom teacher made an appearance. At lunch, he usually left the class room before anybody could start on him, making his way to the roof top where Takehito would join him a little later.
"Is it really that fun?" Someone asked calmly, "Picking on someone just because he had the guts to tell a girl he liked her straight to her face?"
"What are you talking abo…." The tall well-dressed boy trailed off at the sight of a frowning Takehito staring at him from the door, "Asama-san…."
"How…. disappointing." His grey eyes roved the classroom, eyes that narrowed when no one quite managed to look him in the eye,
Without another word, Takehito walked towards the apparently sleeping Seo and tapped his shoulder, causing one dark eye to open and stare up at him lazily, "Sup? Why aren't you in your own class?"
The valedictorian of their year wrinkled his brows and lowered his voice, "Forget that, why didn't you tell me it was still this bad?"
"Would there be any point?" The fourteen year old boy drawled.
"I looked about as stupid as you at the time, so why haven't I heard anything about this?"
The unfazed boy waved at Takehito as his brother took a seat across from him, "That's not really surprising." Seo commented easily, "You're in the best class. You're a top student, good looking and athletic. Everybody wants to be your friend, not mine. Here, I'm just an easier target than Mr. Athlete over there."
"But it's been a whole damn year since then." Takehito pointed out agitatedly.
This caused his best friend to squint at him with a gimlet eye, "Oyaji was right. You're a little too gullible and trusting." Seo murmured with a sigh and shrugged, "If one year of them talking about that little spastic episode didn't change a thing, saying anything myself would have only made me look even more pathetic. That and I really don't want Oyaji to poke his damned nose into this." Seo muttered lowly, "I want to settle this myself."
"So you had to wait for someone to do it for you." Takehito concluded with a side glance at Seo's classmates who had their heads hung in shame, "Someone who was a decent person."
"Well, at least you're not stupid." Seo shrugged lazily, "Unfortunately for me, most of them were either too pathetic to stand up for their own beliefs or too busy having fun justifying their own tiny existence like a limp dick peeing on everybody else having more fun than them in order to look good in front of others."
"You've been spending too much time with Tou-san." the grey haired boy pointed out dryly with one eyebrow raised at the tall boy looming over them. The way they provoked people into reacting to them was almost scarily identical.
"What does that mean?!"
Takehito's observation was proven by Seo hiding a sly grin underneath his arm as he turned in his chair to smile at the tall boy lazily, "Ara, was there something you needed from me Izumi-san?"
"What were you talking about?!" the normally handsome boy demanded, his features twisted into an angry mask.
"Just some simple observations of how…. Interesting schoolyard politics is." Takehito commented politely.
"Mmmhmmm," Seo nodded wisely, "So why are you so angry?" the boy's lips curled maliciously, "Might you be feeling a little guilty?"
Izumi bristled, "I'm not talking to you Asama-san!"
"Ah, but I was having a simple conversation with my friend here. If you were talking to me, that would naturally include him doesn't it?"
The grey haired boy smiled innocently as the two boys tag teamed the furious boy, "Please don't take this the wrong way. We're simply trying to remind you that civility generally doesn't include stepping on people you think are below you or butting into conversations." He glanced at the group of students again. Every single one of them averted their eyes, "Isn't that right?"
"Why you!" Izumi balled his fists and raised them when Takehito stopped him cold by lifting a single finger.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" He questioned flatly, "Classes are starting soon, and everyone here can see that you were the one that started a fight first."
The two of them mustered as much sweet innocence as they could to smile up at Izumi-san just as the door slid open to admit Seo's homeroom teacher.
****Later that day****
Play Skillet - Believe
Naruto blinked as he opened to the door to see his two noticeably bruised and scratched sons being accompanied by a sandy haired man that he recognized as a teacher in their school, "And it isn't even lunch yet." He murmured to himself with an amused smile.
Ignoring the man in the brown suit, Naruto ran one hand through his greying blonde hair before staring at the two teenagers with a piercing stare, "Reason."
The two of them instantly stiffened at that one simple word before Seo nodded firmly, "Justified."
Much to the teacher's confusion, the blonde man standing in the door way continued, "Regret?"
"None."
Naruto nodded before finally turning his attention to the utterly puzzled teacher with an extended hand, "I am Uzumaki Naruto, their guardian. Thank you for bringing them home, is there anything else I can help you with?"
The sandy haired man felt cold sweat began to run down his back at the blonde man's measuring stare before he seemed to swallow the uncertain lump in his throat, "It's my pleasure, I'm Hattori Yuujiro, Principal of Azabu Junior High." He said with a disapproving glance at the two fourteen year olds, "I'd like to have a word with you about your children's behaviour."
The self-assured blonde's almost regal presence seemed to get a little heavier at his words before he finally nodded and ushered them in, "The two of you can go get cleaned up and meet us in the reception hall when you are ready."
The man that he now knew was named Hattori seemed to nod approvingly as the straight backed blonde man in the kimono politely led him to the reception room and poured a cup of tea while they sat at the low table.
"As you know-"
"Please wait until Kaoru and Takehito are here." Naruto cut him off with a flat look that prompted the man to swallow thickly.
"A-are you a foreigner?" Hattori asked with a quaver in his voice as the man's overbearing presence eroded his confidence.
Naruto simply smiled thinly as he observed the man's every movement and twitch, "Something like that."
Under the blonde's implacable stare, the Principal began to fidget uncontrollably in his seat as the conversation instantly died just like that.
He almost cried in relief when the sliding doors opened again to admit the two cleaned up fourteen year olds.
As the two of them took a seat beside the blonde with their heads lowered, Naruto spoke calmly, "You mentioned that you are here to see me about their unacceptable behaviour?"
Hattori-san sat up with a start and tried to gather himself, "Ye-yes, the two of them were caught fighting with another student right before class started. Their friends have made it clear that they weren't the ones to start a fight, but neither of them will explain why they fought back."
Naruto cocked his head as if he had trouble comprehending something, "And this was something that necessitated their Principal to visit me personally?"
"I was hoping that you could persuade them to explain," the sandy haired man replied as he began sweating again, "Izumi-san, the boy they were fighting with insists that they were insulting his dignity, and unless they speak up, Izumi-san's parents have already stated that they will do whatever they can to destroy your sons' futures." The Principal seemed to look at the impassive blonde with pleading eyes, "Asama-san is one of the brightest students we have and I know that he has applied to Kaisei Academy, I do not wish to see him rejected because of his stubbornness."
"I see…." Naruto nodded swiftly, "You may leave now,"
"What? Wha-what about the explanation?" Hattori dabbed at his shiny forehead with a handkerchief.
"There's no need for one." Naruto replied dismissively, "If Izumi-san's parents wish to take matters into their own hands, they are free to do so."
The slightly overweight man gaped at the seemingly lackadaisical blonde, "Let them do what they want? How can you say that? This is your son's future we're talking about here!"
"That is a noble sentiment, but you seem to be misunderstanding something," Naruto commented with a silky smile, "They are already aware that using violence was a bad idea, but considered breaking this Izumi boy's face as something that was worth it. As a result they chose not to explain themselves; thereby accepting the responsibility for their actions without hesitation. As far as I am concerned, those idiot parents can do what they want, but I never said I would let them succeed."
The teacher's mouth opened and closed like a dying goldfish, "Bu-But…. You can't just let this go!"
"Is it really the case here? Aren't you just projecting your own uselessness on my children?" The blonde observed the man's spluttering with a cold expression, "Correct me if I'm wrong but let's see if I can guess what you're trying to do here."
The older man steepled his fingers thoughtfully, "I must make an obvious attempt to punish them so that you don't have to while I provide a logical reason for their actions. That way, you can confidently tell the Izumi's, who I seem to recall are a major donators to Azabu Junior High that the boys that broke their precious child's face in two were punished fittingly. At the same time, you can persuade them to keep donating and limit the damage they do to your school's already poor reputation with the reasons provided."
Naruto smiled at the pale white man, "It's a rather interesting way to keep every side happy while you get to keep your conscience clean. You bow to their wishes because they fund the school. I must bow because that's the way things work. Small fries like us have no way of rebelling so we should just grit our teeth and kneel."
The blonde's smile seemed to grow wider at the man's near catatonia before he leaned forward and delivered the last blow, "How do you see yourself in the mirror every morning? Why are you teaching? Was it just because it was easy? Or did you actually want to help students grow up into good, decent people?"
Receiving no audible reply other than ragged breaths, Naruto smiled serenely, "Please take care on your way home."
The man silently stumbled out of the old fashioned house, leaving behind a cold, awkward silence hanging between the three tenants.
Long after the man had stumbled out their home in a stunned stupor, Takehito shuffled in his seat uncomfortably, "Why did you do that Tou-san?"
The man who was still working on some documents looked up nonchalantly, "Do what?"
"He was just doing his job." Takehito quietly said, "There was no reason to attack him the way you did."
"That he was," the blonde replied with a callous shrug, "But it doesn't change the fact that he was trying to dodge responsibility."
"It was wrong." The grey haired boy stated firmly, "You taught us that we have to staqnd up for what we believe in and we did. We refused to explain ourselves because we know that even if we didn't start the fight, we still resorted to violence because it was satisfying even if it wasn't right. And now, I believe that what you did was wrong."
The blonde gently placed down his feather pen, "What I did will only affect him if he has a conscience. I wouldn't have done it if I thought he was an unrepentant fool."
"That doesn't justify ANYTHING!" Takehito argued angrily, "What do you think would happen if you just attacked his reason to live just like that?!"
Unaware that it was a rhetorical question, the blonde replied casually, "Tomorrow, I can guarantee that your principal will be absent from school. He will not be there for a week. By the end of the week, one of three things will happen. The first, your principal will have committed suicide."
The look in the blonde's eyes as he continued to talk about it with the air of one talking about the weather, told the boy that his adopted father truly saw nothing wrong in playing with people's lives.
Especially not if they reacted like any normal person would.
"The second, your principal will either return, acting as if nothing has changed even as the guilt gnaws at his soul and his world falls around him." Naruto continued, heedless of Takehito's wide eyed stare, "And the last will only happen if he can find the strength to take my words to heart and stand up to fight for his beliefs. Of course, even if he does that, he might still fail because it is not profitable and he will be fired from his job, losing his pension and family in the process."
"You're wrong…."
The blonde cocked his head at the quiet words.
"You're wrong Tou-san. I believed you were better than this."
The two boys left a pensive Naruto behind.
Leaning back onto the paper screen, the blonde sighed and took a small sip from his saucer.
He couldn't seem to remember how long it had been since he had someone that genuinely believed he was a good person.
****Unwavering Sky****
Dull corn flower blue eyes stared up at the open sky blankly. She had run away on pure instinct. Trying to get away from that nightmare as fast as she could, to the point where she had long since stopped caring where her feet had taken her
She could still remember the feeling.
Cold, ghastly fingers clawing at her skin and clothes as the dismembered blondes, child, man, woman, wailed at her like monsters as they spurt blood from gaping wounds. But the thing that hit her the hardest had been the words they vomited along with their guts.
She was no different from the low born monkeys she claimed to hate.
A terrible shudder ran down her back and the woman dug deeper into the bushes, keeping away from the light as much as possible and the dirty, blonde woman drew her knees up and hugged them protectively.
Droplets of moisture dampened the white fabric when the sound of a twig crunching under someone's boots reached her ears. The detached woman ignored it in favour of staring at the sky blankly.
The crunching of boots slowly got nearer and nearer to the uncaring woman until a dark figure, obscured by the moon hanging in the sky behind him, loomed above her.
Bleary blue eyes stared at the shadow mechanically as it knelt down in front of her without a word and began to carefully pick out the stray leaves and twigs caught in her long yellow hair. Grunting lightly, he slipped his arms under the distant woman and hefted up.
What happened after that was a blur to her. Dark streets and buildings hazily blurred past her mechanical stare and the man said nothing, she was at least sure that it was a male because of his broad shoulders since every other feature was obscured by a deep shadow.
All she remembered was the man gently carried her to a dark room before he cleaned her smudged body with a wet sponge and tucked her into a soft, downy bed.
He said nothing, and neither did she.
She made no move to resist, simply letting the man do whatever he wanted.
****Unwavering Sky****
Naruto whistled tunelessly to himself as he opened the door to Izumo Inn. Gently slipping of his boots, the blonde man stealthily crept through the house, mostly since he had no desire to suffer Miya's wrath for that little slip of the tongue.
No doubt the woman was still steaming somewhere in Izumo, waiting to fillet his…..
The blonde's lips quirked in amusement as he came upon the woman in question slumbering in the reception hall.
The purple haired woman snored quietly, her head resting on her splayed out arms as she slept on the low table in a noticeably uncomfortable position. The blonde was about to try and carry her to bed when he noticed the gleaming of a slightly withdrawn katana resting on her lap.
Yellow eyebrows twitched, did she really have to go that far just to try and punish him?
Deciding not to risk his limbs, the blonde shrugged off his jacket as quietly as possible and draped it over the sleeping woman.
Sighing softly to himself, the blonde tiredly tracked through the dark and still hallways to his room.
His weariness seemed to fade away a little at the sight of Akitsu and Kaho clinging to each other in their futon. Wearing a half smile, the blonde quietly changed into something a little more comfortable compared to jeans and slipped into the futon beside Kaho.
As if they could sense his presence, Akitsu, who was on the side furthest away from him tried to push herself closer, edging the poor blonde out of the futon.
A sweat dropping Naruto made a mental reminder to purchase a bigger one as soon as he could. There was no way sleeping with his butt half hanging out of the futon would ever be comfortable.
****Unwavering Sky****
Blue eyes blinked sleepily as Naruto woke up to the sounds of birds chirping outside his window. Tilting his head upside down, the blonde gave the navy blue skies outside his window a quick glance and sighed, feeling rather glad that he had woken up in time to greet the sun.
Reflexively, the blonde tried to stretch the kinks out of his muscles when he realized that his limbs felt inordinately heavy for some strange reason. Gazing downwards, a small smile escaped his lips as he saw that Akitsu and Kaho had somehow claimed one arm each and cuddled up to him sometime during the night.
Heaving a quiet grunt, the blonde man tried to pull himself out of their pincer clamp.
He almost cried at the blasphemy of wanting to escape from being pinned between two beautiful women.
"Naruto-sama?" The black haired woman on his left mumbled sleepily, "Is that you?"
"I certainly hope so," The blonde replied quietly so that he didn't wake Akitsu up as well, "I wouldn't want another man stuck between you two."
Kaho seemed to shudder in disgust at the thought, "No. I wouldn't want that either." She replied as primly as she could with a sleepy smile. A funny, warm feeling rose up in the blonde's chest at the raven haired woman's sleepy yet affectionate expression and he found himself leaning in closer.
Kaho smiled beatifically as she wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck and kissed back. A tidal wave of pleasure crashed into the woman, washing away any remaining sleepiness that she may have had.
Breathing a little deeper, Naruto detached himself from Kaho's lips with a wet sound. Licking her taste of his lips, the blonde grinned at his Sekirei's face, his mind racing at a sudden pulse of emotion he was receiving from her.
A flushed Kaho stared up at him with a similarly wide grin and dazed eyes, her long black hair fanned out around her, framing her red and bruised lips. Pure white wings of almost solid energy fluttered around her.
She looked like an angel, her white kimono was completely mussed and wrinkled, displaying snow white shoulders and accentuating her long legs.
Feeling like teasing her a little, the blonde, guided by the pure emotions coming from Kaho, lowered his lips to the fair skinned column of her neck and bit her as he wrapped her arms around her in a possessive manner, corrupting the pale skin with a red mark as she moaned even louder, her body arching up so that she could feel his warmth.
His mouth slowly made its way up her neck and chin, until he captured her lips again and kissed her as hard as he could as her hands scrabbled under his shirt.
"Oh, Kami… wha…. What a-are you doing to meee?" The woman under him groaned through the kiss.
The blonde smiled wickedly as he kissed her even harder and ground his crotch against the juncture of her spread legs as he looped the connection back to her. Her nails dug painfully into the skin of his back, as if she was trying to pull their bodies as close as possible when her body suddenly went into a rigid arc.
Black irises rolled up in their sockets as an insensate Kaho finally came down from her high, crashing back onto the bed limply.
Smiling a little smugly, the blonde sat up, only to jump a little as he noticed pale grey eyes staring at both of them with an almost unnoticeably tiny pout. Her cheeks were flushed a deep red, standing out from her snow white skin as one hand made its way between her legs with ragged breathing.
Naruto shuffled over to her and gently pushed her onto her back, "You felt the overflow didn't you?" He whispered quietly in her ear before softly biting her earlobe.
The snow woman shuddered at the feeling of the blonde's breathes running down her sensitive neck and nodded slowly.
"What do you want me to do?" A flustered Akitsu merely stared up at him with expressive grey eyes as the shinobi's wicked smile returned. He deliberately removed the woman's hand from between her legs and suck on her dripping fingers, savouring the taste. Once they were clean, Naruto pinned her arms above her and pressed her body to the futon with his body weight. His free hand made its way into her night shirt, exploring the hidden skin with vigour, trailing along her breasts before making their way downwards as Naruto kept her lips busy.
Pleasure soaked her brains as Akitsu kept trying to clear the gap between the bodies, her hips jerked against empty air, but the blonde's hand kept her pinned to the bed, teasingly pushing her to the edge and promptly stopping there much to her disappointment. Already somewhat dazed by the surge of energy and passion, Akitsu gasped silently as the blonde's hands slid into her panties and pretty much stopped there.
She almost began screaming amidst her frustrated whines until Naruto's nimble fingers unexpectedly thrust into her sacred place with one powerful push.
This time she did scream, and it was the loudest thing Naruto had ever heard from the quiet woman.
Humming somewhat proudly to himself, the blonde gently covered the two unconscious women with the blankets and stood up with a pleasurable stretch. Naruto figured he should probably cook something up as an apology for frying their brains when he opened the door and almost bumped right into the person standing right outside their room.
It was probably a good thing that he had remembered to cover Kaho and Akitsu, Naruto thought as purple eyes stared up at him owlishly. Her open mouth snapped shut with a click and she silently handed his jacket to him.
"Uh thanks?" Naruto mumbled unsurely.
Miya nodded with an uncharacteristic silence before freezing mid bow when her eyes made contact with his morning condition.
Considering what he had been doing mere seconds ago, this was probably expected.
The landlady slowly turned white then red.
She cycled through a few other colours before finally settling on a curious shade of purple.
Naruto lifted one finger, "One moment please."
He left Miya standing there stupidly and re-entered the room where she could hear some muffled banging.
The door opened again and Naruto re-emerged with a gracious smile as if nothing untoward had happened, "Good morning Miya."
The woman nodded silently, she didn't exactly trust her mouth at the moment, as the two of them awkwardly stood there like a couple of innocent high schoolers.
The two of them almost sighed in relief when the door belonging to Minato's room slammed open loudly, breaking the heavy atmosphere between the two of them, and a panicked Minato stumbled out of his room with a yelp, "Matsu! Stop that! If Miya-san sees us, we're going to get into trouble!"
The white ghost-like woman who was currently clinging to his lower half like a leech giggled lewdly as she tried to pull off his pants, "Why are you even talking about that stick? Just ignore her and let Matsu-nee chan help you with this stick. It must be uncomfortable right?"
Minato swallowed thickly with a pinched expression, "Because she's standing behind you."
The already white skinned redhead paled to the point where she began to look transparent as Minato finally stumbled free of her limp grasp.
"Oh fuck."
Miya did not reply. No words were needed as her glare said everything for her, arguably making the purple haired woman even scarier than usual. A thick Hannya mask hovered over the battlefield as Miya slapped Matsu around with her mouth sealed tightly.
It was rather gratifying, Naruto admitted to himself, to see Matsu get beaten into a pulp, though Miya probably went a little overboard with her Ladle of Doom.
Then again, if he took what had just happened before that into consideration, he figured Matsu was lucky to even be alive.
He was just thankful to be unscathed.
****Unwavering Sky****
Play John Dreamer - Brotherhood
Minato gingerly poked at the bruise that Miya's pinch had left on his face before discreetly smiling somewhat painfully. After the landlady had finally vented all her anger on the pervert, she finally heaved a relieved sigh and bestowed upon him a disappointed look, a painful pinch on the cheek and her first words of the day, "Perverted actions are prohibited in Izumo Inn."
"Should I start calling the police now that you've awakened to the pleasures of being a masochist?" Naruto commented dryly at the sight of Minato's tiny grin.
The dark haired boy blushed in embarrassment at being noticed, "Mou, it's nothing like that, Uzumaki-san."
"Right….. Very convincing."
"I'm serious," Minato chuckled, "It might sound a little strange, but Miya pinching me like that was a little fun. I wasn't very close to my mother, so getting scolded like that made me a little happy."
"That's what people call masochism around here." Naruto observed dryly.
"You're not one to talk, Naruto-sama." A recovered Kaho who had been sitting at Naruto's side and eavesdropping on the conversation none too stealthily remarked with a knowing grin.
One bemused eyebrow rose, "I'm pretty sure I don't swing that way."
"Really?" Kaho drawled with a complete unsubtle glance in his direction, "But you enjoy it every time Akitsu freezes you. I could even feel a thrill run up your back every time I hit you."
The blonde coughed uncomfortably, "I'm not sure what you're talking about." He hedged.
Akitsu who was sitting on the other side of the table nodded with a deliberate look and joined in the teasing with her typical monotone, "Neck."
Kaho nodded wisely, "I almost forgot those. You like our necks don't you, Naruto-sama? That's why you prefer kimonos so much since they tempt you with that slight hint of white, innocent, vulnerable skin," Kaho murmured breathily, which wasn't really helping him all things considered, "You want to slowly claim it don't you?"
If the gloomy aura rumbling behind him was any indication, Kaho was obviously saying it loud enough so that Miya could hear every single word loud and clear despite her quiet, sensual tone.
In spite of his rather large repertoire of skills, the blonde had yet to find out how to read minds but he sure as hell didn't need it since he had no doubt whatsoever that the two of them were doing this as a form of revenge for this morning.
"Skirts." The snow user reminded evenly as she continued to feed a bouncing and thankfully oblivious Kusano on her lap.
"Ah yes, skirts," Kaho leaned into his side sensually as she rubbed her legs, just enough to reveal a slight hint of pale skin. She smiled when she heard a slight gulp from beside her as he desperately tried to shuffle away, "You like those too don't you? The way they tempt you every time they flutter, taunting you with the treasures hidden beneath that little piece of fabric."
"NUUUOOO, DON'T REVEAL MY FETISHES IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY!" the blonde cried tears of anguish, rolling on the floor as if he was in actual physical pain.
"Admit it, Naruto-sama. You're a massive masochist that likes to be teased." Kaho cackled an unladylike manner as the blonde crawled to a corner in order to hide his burning face.
Naruto glared at the laughing congregation from his corner of gloom, "Go ahead and keep laughing," He mumbled, "You'll get what's coming to you!"
Kaho giggled at her Ashikabi's childish declaration when she felt someone tap her shoulders. Cocking her head, she glanced down at the curious Musubi, "Kaho-nee chan, what does fetish mean? How do you feel those?"
The raven haired woman smiled down at her sister tolerantly, "You're too young to understand Musubi. Maybe when you're older."
"Muuu!" The brown haired girl pouted with her fists raised indignantly, "I'm old enough! I'm just a few months younger then you! I can feel it too!"
Seeing her older sister only giggle even harder just annoyedthe competitive girl, "I can really feel it too! It's that feeling that Minato-sama gets whenever we bath together right?!"
The laughter instantly died.
Even Naruto's sobbing stopped just so that he could hear this.
"He feels like that every night!" The brown haired girl shouted innocently, "He always wants to touch me whenever I wear Yukari's clothes." Musubi cocked her head with a pout, completely unaware of her Ashikabi's rapidly paling face and frantic shakes of the head, "But I don't know why he doesn't…."
Musubi turned to a progressively more and more upset Miya, "Every time Minato-sama sees Miya-san cook, he feels warm as well. He wants to hug you. He wants to hug Uzume-chan too! Especially whenever she doesn't wear anything!"
Competition forgotten, Musubi turned back to Kaho with a innocently curious expression. The raven haired woman was currently turning blue in a desperate attempt to stop herself from just collapsing into giggles, "Why doesn't he? Hugging is GOOD!"
Minato felt a heavy hand clapping on him on his shoulder and the younger boy looked up, hoping for some support. He was seriously going to cry otherwise.
Only to find a scarred Naruto who had completely healed from his nervous breakdown by absorbing the energy from Minato's misfortune, smiling sweetly down at him.
"What's your favourite flower?"
"What? Why?"
"For your funeral."
"DWAAAAAH!"
****Unwavering Sky****
"It's strange." Minato commented quietly after everyone had finally calmed themselves down and went back to breakfast, but not before Miya had extracted her pound of flesh from both him and Naruto-san.
The bruised blonde man sitting a few feet away from him cocked his head weakly, "What is?"
"Seeing them so happy." Minato motioned at Kusano who was being fed on Akitsu's lap, "I think I almost understand why Kaho-san says that you like being hit. It sort of helps balance things out since everything feels almost disturbingly perfect. I was a little scared of how strong and powerful all of them were, it almost incredible how strikingly innocent and sincere they are." The boy grinned somewhat sheepishly, "But now, everyone is talking, joking like a real family. If getting hit a few times means I get to keep it this way, then I don't mind."
"That's…. a fairly good assessment." The blonde admitted with some surprise before he smiled coyly, "Let me ask you a question."
"Hmmm?"
"There was once a boy who was blessed by God, he would succeed in EVERYTHING he did. The only caveat that God gave him was that he could not pass his ideals onto other people. No matter what happened, this boy would forever be alone. However, this blessing took the form of two large wings that couldn't be hidden. As the boy grew up, he was ostracized by everybody, some hated him for his creepy wings, and some were jealous of him. The boy couldn't even persuade them that he could help because of that caveat because everybody would automatically think he was lying."
Minato frowned as the blonde seemed to scoff to himself, "Expecting them to at least have some decency was about as effective as relying on armour made of beefsteak in an enclosure filled with hungry lions but that's beside the point. So this boy grew up bitter and angry, and decided to destroy the world. Needless to say, given the nature of his blessing, he would be extremely successful."
Naruto paused to sip some sake from his saucer before continuing, "Now, between the boy and everybody else, who do you pity more?"
Minato looked at him as if he was crazy, "The boy of course!"
"Really? You don't pity everybody else?" The blonde's strange smile widened, throwing his pointed fangs into sharp relief, "4 billion people died, 3 billion people who had never met this boy, 3 billion people whose only sin was to be born at the same time as the 1 billion weak willed people that wronged the boy. You don't pity them at all?"
The blonde could only smile at the indecisive boy sympathetically. Getting up, he patted the boy on the back, "Don't think about it so much. It was just a rhetorical question."
As the blonde stretched, he muttered to himself, "One that I never managed to answer."
A small hand tugged on his pinkie, prompting him to look down and grin at Kusano.
Kneeling down, he wiped the jam of her grinning mouth with his sleeve, "Want to go out for a drive with Jii-chan?"
"Drive?" Kusano asked with a cute tilt of the head, "What's that? Does it taste good?"
The much taller blonde sweat dropped as he was forcibly reminded of Akitsu's question.
"Tell you what," Naruto hefted the squealing girl onto his shoulders with ease, "Why don't you try it out first, then tell me if it tastes good?"
Eyes gleaming at being responsible for something, Kusano nodded cheerfully, determined to do her best and not fail the nice, whiskered man.
"Do you mind, Minato?"
The dark haired boy who was still staring at him shook his head slowly, "That's fine. I'll be out working anyway."
"Kaho, Akitsu, you two coming? I'm going to take Ku-chan on a drive before I put the car back into storage."
Grunting quietly, Akitsu stood up; feeling a little stuffed due to laughing so much after a big breakfast, and helped a similarly stuffed Kaho to stand up, "Coming."
Miya poked her head from the kitchen, "If you're going out with the car, I want to come too."
The blonde waggled his eyebrows at her teasingly, "I thought you were scared of cars."
"I am not scared of cars. I just find them uncomfortable." The refined landlady replied primly as she wiped her hands on the apron before hanging it up, "Besides now that there's a car, I can do much more grocery instead of a bit at a time." She smiled impishly, "It even comes with a built in bag boy."
"Oh, so that's your true purpose for coming." Naruto replied dryly as the three women went upstairs to get changed.
As he watched their retreating backs, the blonde smiled to himself.
"Well… I guess I don't need the answer just yet."
****Unwavering Sky****
"Excuse me, could I have one kilogram of the fish please?"Miya politely asked the sleepy looking lady manning the counter.
The overweight woman's eyes lit up, "Ah, Miya-chan, it's been a long time!"
Miya responded with a quiet, "Fufufu, not that long. Nakai-san."
"Who says," curly brown hair bounced energetically as Nakai-san flitted around the shop, gathering the requested fish and a little extra for her first customer since the day started, "Nowadays, the only people I see from your Inn is Musubi-chan. You should come once in a while too!"
The purple haired lady smiled faintly, the two of them had known each other for nearly a decade now and got a long fairly well. Which was another way of saying that she was already used to the brown haired woman's nonstop chatter, "I'll try, Nakai-san, but no promises. The Inn has been rather busy lately."
"Troublesome tenants?" the middle aged woman probed cheekily.
"Quite." Miya replied dryly.
"Any useful info?"
Digging a few notes out of her purse and placing them on the counter, Miya shook her head, "None that I can think off."
A tall blonde man with scars running down his arms and face poked his head in through the front of the shop, a giggling blonde girl riding on his shoulders, "Miya? You're taking kinda long, is something wrong?"
Miya very nearly face palmed as the curly haired woman looked like she was about to start drooling with glee, "None huh? Funny how I can think of one right now."
The blonde idling by the door way quirked one eyebrow at the two women who had abruptly begun playing an impromptu game of tug of war with the poor fish as the rope.
"Very." Miya grit out through grinding teeth as she tried to pry her fish out of the gossipy lady's fingers.
"Even though you two sound close enough that he doesn't use honorifics?" Nakai replied in a hushed whisper as she hung onto the fish like it was the last bag of fish on Earth.
"It's because he's an idiot with no sense of delicacy." Miya hissed back with a slight flush.
"Come on, you can trust me. You've never come here with a man before... And you don't even have to say Kagari-san," Nakai wheedled gleefully, "Because we all know he doesn't walk the straight path."
Pursing her lips, Miya finally dragged the bag of fish out of Nakai's claws with one last heave and smiled sweetly, "Have a good day, Nakai-san."
"Nuuuoh! Comeee baccck!" The gossipy shop keeper cried out pitifully at Miya's retreating back, pausing only to drag the curious man along by his earlobe.
Outside of the shop, Miya released the blonde's earlobe with a relieved sigh before glaring at the two blondes, "I thought the two of you were going to buy some sweets?"
"Bought," Naruto started, "And eaten!" Kusano finished with a wide sticky grin.
Shaking her head with exasperation, Miya reached up to wipe Kusano's sticky mouth with a handkerchief, "That's unbecoming of a lady, Ku-chan."
"Muu… but… Kaho-nee chan and Akitsu-nee chan are sticky too…" the little blonde girl pointed at where the two other Sekirei were waiting for them.
Both of them also happened to be stuffing their faces with cotton candy and some other snacks.
At Miya's disapproving look, Naruto simply shrugged helplessly before making a markedly feeble attempt at chastising them, "Just don't eat all of them. I bought some for Musubi as well."
"Let's just finish this up so that we can go home faster." She muttered under her breath.
"Finally regretting it?" the tall blonde who had heard her mutter, asked with a sly smile, "What did that woman say to rile you up so much anyway?"
"Don't push it." Miya replied grumpily.
Naruto shrugged again as she began gliding away with a stiff back. Beside him Akitsu licked the last of the cotton candy off her fingers in satisfaction and leaned into Naruto with a content huff while a slightly more cultured Kaho walked with Miya.
"You're really enjoying life aren't you?" Naruto commented dryly.
The snow woman extracted herself from the blonde hesitantly, "Sorry."
"It was a joke, Akitsu." The blonde noted blandly. When Akitsu continued to stay a feet apart from him with a nearly hangdog expression that damn near broke his heart, Naruto rolled his eyes, "You can hug me now."
The little frown cleared and Akitsu reattached herself to the blonde's arm with a content smile.
Play Chemistry – Merry go Round
The little strange group of Sekirei and Immortal slowly wound their way through the street lined with shops, occasionally stopping to sample some food or for Miya to pick up some supplies when Naruto stopped at a cake shop.
Glancing between the colourful contents of the shop and the group behind him, he frowned slightly, "Do any of you know your birthdays?"
"It was never important to us." Kaho replied with a shrug while Akitsu shook her head mutely whereas Ku-chan stared up at him with her large green eyes, "What's a birthday?"
"It's an important day for everybody." Naruto smiled softly at the small inquisitive girl, "We celebrate it every year as a way to thank Kami for letting us be alive."
Her little nose wrinkled up cutely, "Why do we need to thank him?"
"Well… not him exactly…" Naruto trailed off with a half-hearted smile. He didn't really think he needed to confuse Ku-chan with complicated philosophy. Grinning, he lifted the small girl in his arms with an affectionate smile, "Did you like that cotton candy?"
Kusano nodded her head vigorously, causing the taller blonde to grin, "If I said you can't have any cotton candy anymore, would you be sad?"
"Uuu…." Her large emerald green eyes watered, "Very sad."
"If you weren't here today, if you weren't alive, you wouldn't have known what cotton candy tasted like, right?" the older blonde pointed out with a strangely reasonable tone.
"Muu…." The little girl's complicated frown looked like she was thinking about the secrets of life, "Then…. Can my Birthday be today?"
"Why today?"
Clear eyes glinted with a sincere depth as the tiny girl looked at him with her little palms clasping his cheeks, "Because today is the day you let me taste cotton candy."
The blonde seemingly froze for a moment before unfreezing with slow, mechanical gestures.
"Ah…." The man hesitated, "I can't decide when your birthday is. You'll have to ask Minato about that. He's your Ashikabi right? You have to celebrate with him instead of me."
"I'll celebrate with both of you." She declared firmly.
The older blonde nodded uncertainly, "Why don't you… go play with everybody else for a while. Naruto-jii chan is feeling a little thirsty."
As the little blonde girl scampered off and clambered onto Miya's lap, the blonde gave them an apologetic look before wearily slunk away to find the closest alcohol shop.
"Shall we find a seat?" Kaho murmured, feeling a little warm.
Together, the four of them found a small collection of benches to wait for Naruto to regain his usual good humour. Gently, Akitsu removed Kusano from Miya's arms and hugged the child tightly, burying her face in the small child's hair affectionately.
Out of the two, she was arguably the one which had been affected the most by Pinoko's efforts.
"Most of the time, all we get from Naruto is a vague feeling." Kaho began quietly, her eyes riveted on Akitsu and Kusano, "A slight warmth over the connection, a slight sense of happiness and comfort. But sometimes, when he's feeling particularly overwhelmed, like just now, I can see a set of images flashing through my mind. That's not what normally happens, but his feelings for it are just that strong and I have no doubt Akitsu already realized it."
The raven haired woman leaned back into her chair, looking slightly pale as she covered her eyes with one hand, "The strength of that image exhausts me a little."
"What was it?"Miya asked stiffly.
"We're not sure if it's a memory or if it's a dream," Kaho said quietly, "We see Naruto, dressed in a simple coat and holding a brief case. He looks like a normal person coming home from work. He'll open some sort of door and tip toe in." The naginata user breathed in deeply to centre herself, "Silently, he walks to the kitchen where we can just barely see someone standing there, cooking something but we can't see her face. In the kitchen, there's a table, and there are two other smaller shadows sitting at the table. Children, and that's all we see."
Kaho rubbed her eyes tiredly and fell silent, already extremely exhausted just remembering the series of images.
"It's what he wants most." Akitsu murmured as she softly stroked Kusano's hair.
****Unwavering Sky****
Naruto knocked back a cup of highly expensive, chilled sake and groaned in relief as he felt the cold liquid burn its way down his throat.
"Good stuff eh?" the stranger beside him commented jovially.
"Yeah," Naruto laughed loudly, "Just what I needed after a long day."
"I can definitely understand that." The man replied with a light tone, "Only a hard worker would understand the satisfaction of drinking some nice chilled sake after a day at the office."
The man poured Naruto another saucer from his own jug, "Here, have some more. It's on me."
The blonde smiled shakily and drank it in one go, savouring the flavour of chilled melon running down the back of his tongue. Digging out some notes, he was about to place them on the bar when the stranger's hand clamped down on his wrist with surprising strength, "Don't worry about it. This one is on me. After twenty years, I finally managed to pay this debt."
"Twenty years? What are you…?" Blue eyes widened in recognition, "Hattori-san?"
The balding man sitting beside him smiled serenely, "It's nice to meet you after so long, Uzumaki-san."
"I was…. Out of town."
"I don't blame you." The fat man replied candidly, "If my son passed away like that, I would have gone away as well." He poured Naruto another cup, "No one should outlive their children."
"How… true." Naruto's lips twisted as he sipped the cup slowly, "How is the school?"
"Doing well," Hattori replied easily, "Surprisingly so in fact, especially since someone secretly began donating large amounts of money after I broke that brat's father's nose." He winked in a conspiratorial manner, "Don't tell anyone I said that. I'm supposed to be impartial as the Principal."
"I… won't. Naruto replied lamely.
"Mmhmm…" Hattori continued with a content smile, "The funny thing was, this person waited until I was nearly fired before he intervened. It was almost he was testing to see if I deserved help. Sort of like saying that I need to help myself before he will eh?"
"He's either too free or too stupid." The blonde commented with a smile as he finished the drink and placed the saucer down gently with a respectful bow, "I hope you have a happy life, Hattori-san."
"Ahh.. I'm already content with my life. I did what I wanted to." The chubby man patted him on the shoulder jovially, "You on the other hand…. Don't fret too much eh?"
The two men chuckled to themselves as the blonde left the sandy haired man, sipping his sake alone at the bar.
"How…. Interesting."
****Unwavering Sky****
Stuffing his hands in his pocket, Naruto whistled a quiet but happy tune to himself as he went looking for Ku-chan and everybody else by following his nose. It didn't take long for him to find the four of them waiting for him on a set of benches, prompting the blonde to tilt his head, "Why is everyone just sitting here? I thought you wanted to do it in one go."
Miya, who seemed rather subdued for some strange reason, only smiled faintly, "I think this will be enough. Let's go home."
Naruto squinted at the three older Sekirei suspiciously and nodded slowly, "Alright." Bending down, he helped gather up two of three bags that Miya was holding.
It took about half an hour for the five of them to reach Izumo Inn, Miya's unnatural stiffness and his two Sekirei's exhausted silence the entire way home only served to aggravate his curiosity even more. Even Kusano seemed to realize that something was wrong and stayed quiet, snuggling close to Akitsu's embrace.
As the car stopped in front of the Inn, Naruto flinched and groaned, "Does anyone have any perfume?"
"I have some scents," Miya replied curiously, "Why?"
The blonde accepted the offered bag gratefully and basically stuffed them up his nose, "You'll know soon enough."
Sure enough, as soon as all of them exited the vehicle, all three of the older Sekirei's stiffened. Or rather, Kaho and Miya stiffened; Akitsu just looked like she was half asleep.
"Miya…. It's good to see you again."
The purple haired lady instinctively reached for her blade, only to remember with some chagrin that she had left it in the Inn. Replacing the radish in her bag, purple eyes pierced Karasuba with hostility, "I thought I told you never to come here again."
"Ahh…. But this time I was ordered to come; besides I got to see Musubi-chan as well." The grey haired woman in the black half kimono replied almost lazily.
Miya's gaze briefly landed on the stony blonde as she instantly deduced that Minaka was finally desperate enough to talk to the blonde.
Enough that he was willing to send Karasuba to Izumo despite her presence.
"I don't care what he wants. You will not harm a tena…" Miya began with a growl when a masculine hand gently held her wrist.
"That's enough Miya. As long as this building stands, it will never refuse a guest," His deep voice rumbled with steely authority, "It's the little things like that that separate us from animals."
Karasuba blinked at the strange looking blonde with two bags stuffed up his nose, "Have I… met you before?"
"Yes," Naruto replied plainly, "I threw you through a wall once. The wall didn't like it."
The black Sekirei who was leaning on the gate laughed deeply, "You are a brave man, brave enough to tease something you shouldn't."
"So I've been told." The blonde commented dryly as he led her into the house.
Musubi's head poked out from behind the door, her large brown eyes shone with curiosity, "Karasuba? Naruto-sama? What's going on?"
"Musubi, please take Ku-chan upstairs and stay there until I call you." The blonde replied softly, all trace of humour gone from his countenance.
The brown haired girl blinked. She wanted to stay and play with Karasuba but something in the blonde's soft request sparked an emotion she was not very familiar with.
Fear.
"Ha-hai, Naruto-sama." Embracing the small girl in the white dress, Musubi kept her head low and quickly ran up the stairs without arguing while the four adults sat around the low table, with Naruto sitting at the head of the table; Kaho and Akitsu taking up seats beside him while Miya sat away as far as possible without being overtly rude.
On the other side of the table, Karasuba lounged alone with an impudent smirk.
"What will you have? Tea?" The blonde inquired softly as he began serving some snacks they had bought at the market.
"Water will do." Karasuba drawled as she accepted the plate of Takoyaki.
"Very well." The blonde nodded gracefully as he poured her a cup of lukewarm water, "Now, what does the Leader of the Disciplinary Squad want with me?"
Karasuba laughed lightly, "You are a very strange man... you look to be a normal civilian that somehow knows of my reputation, yet you are completely unfazed by my presence, and now you offer me, the feared Black Sekirei TAKOYAKI?"
"Well… yes," The man said nonchalantly, "Now eat up, it'll get cold." He reprimanded her as he busied himself making some green tea to go with the dish.
"Getting to the point, Minaka wants you to come over for a little chat." Karausba drawled, before placing a small cell phone on the table, pushing it over to him gently, "He is very interested in you."
Quirking one eyebrow, the blonde picked up the cell phone. The moment his skin came in contact with the cool cast metal of the cell phone, it began to ring loudly, causing most, if not everybody in the room to jump a little. Almost nonchalantly, Naruto flipped the phone open to see a white haired man's face displayed on the little screen, "Ah. Uzumaki-san. I've been waiting to talk to you personally for a very long time. Karasuba assured me that she would be able to uh… persuade you to join us for dinner but I wanted to extend this invitation to you in person so to speak…. Though I must say, I've never seen an accessory like that. Nose balls…. So cool!"
"And if I refuse?" Naruto questioned with a smile as he ignored the man's ranting.
"Well." The man in the phone chuckled softly as he calmed down, "Let's just say things will become rather unpleasant."
"I see…." The blonde rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, "Tell me. Do you have a mirror with you?"
Unaware that practically everyone watching had their eyebrow raised, Minaka followed suit, "Yes…?"
"Could you turn to face it?"
"Uhm… okay?"
"Now turn around so that your back is to it."
By then, those who had experience with the blonde already knew that Minaka was currently being screwed with.
"I don't understand…."
Naruto hushed him firmly before continuing in a sincere, unassuming tone, "Now bend over so that you can see the mirror from between your legs."
The sounds of cloth rustling from the phone proved that Minaka was indeed listening to Naruto.
"Good. Now, I understand that you're burdened by nothing but good intentions and an inconveniently large ego but you see that little orifice over there? Feel free to shove your invitation in there." The blonde smiled politely with one last nod and snapped the phone shut before promptly crushing it into dust with his bare fist.
The blonde casually dusted the remnants of the phone into a dustbin, ignoring the roomful of dropped jaws, before casually addressing an amused looking Sekirei, "Well now, Karasuba-san. You were saying something about a visit."
"Honestly? When I heard you winged #7, I thought you were an interesting person. Now I know you're a very interesting person." the fourth Sekirei sighed theatrically, "Unfortunately, no matter how much I like you, I'll just have to take you by force. I'm sure Minaka won't mind if you and your Sekirei are missing a limb or two."
"Even here? Where my Sekirei will defend me from you? Where the Hannya will respond with equal force?"
Kaho nudged her Ashikabi nervously, "Master…. I understand that you have this deep seated need to play with people's minds, but I don't think goading her is a very good idea."
"Eeeh?" The blonde replied an innocently confused expression, "but that anguished expression on her face, and that vein twitching in her forehead is sooo unbearably cute …"
That was arguably the last straw.
No one called her cute.
"I can't really hurt you, but he never said anything about hurting your LITTLE ONES!"
It happened too fast for any of them to truly understand.
All everyone knew was that the two of them were seating on opposite sides of the room when they both simply disappeared.
Two fingers firmly snapped shut, stopping the quivering tip of the nodachi one inch away from skewering Akitsu through the abdomen. Blue irises narrowed until they were mere slits of cold ice and the blonde flowed, palming the surprised Karasuba's face and throwing her straight through the wall without missing a beat.
Humming a strange, vicious tune to himself, he absentmindedly released his hold on Miya's arm which had stopped the scowling woman from pulling out her Katana, "She tried to harm Akitsu. This is my fight."
Miya glared at him, but refused to let go of the Katana's hilt.
"Please?" The man said softly with a hint of steel in his question.
Heaving a quiet sigh, she released her white knuckled grip on the katana.
"Naruto-sama, let us fight." Akitsu murmured softly.
"Not this time. I think…. It's about time you learned something about me."
Although the blonde's unhurried pace seemed to imply that he didn't care as he walked over to the large maple tree that dominated his yard to reach up and pluck a young twig from a branch, the ferocious, stone cold fury in his eyes instilled a primal, uncomprehending fear in any mortal around him as long dead instincts instantly kicked into high gear.
Just as placidly, the blonde man in the blue and white kimono held it up between his thumb and forefinger like a rapier at the black clothed woman who was slowly getting up with a wide grin on her face.
"Are….. Are you joking? Facing me, someone like me with that twig, it's obviously an INSULT!"
Naruto smiled sweetly, "Ah good. So you weren't stupid after all."
Play Immediate Music – Sanctus Immortale
Patience long since gone,, a blood thirsty smile was sketched on her lips as the black Sekirei roared and charged.
Disappearing in a burst of a speed that would almost certainly have caught anyone outside the First Ten off guard, the nodachi in her one handed grip flashed up and down in a cross wise cut that would have literally disarmed the man and his insulting twig.
No one human or Sekirei could stand against her, but this person did. Fully expecting her blade to slice his arms in half, along with his insolent twig, she was completely thrown off balance when then the blonde deflected her overhead cleave and upwards slash with a strange spinning motion of his twig, causing it to spin almost like a drill, throwing her aim utterly off before smartly tapping the blade on several spots along its length.
Despite his carefree smile, she could see him staring at her with barely masked deadly intent in his eyes.
Almost disbelievingly, Karasuba swung her blade around with the momentum of the missed attack. The blonde simply bent backwards, almost ninety degrees to the ground and tapped the overextended blade with a lazy, almost throwaway gesture. Seeing the man bent over backwards and obviously vulnerable, Karasuba shifted her nodachi into a downwards thrust that was instantly deflected despite the fact that there was no conceivable way the blonde could see it coming.
Panting, Karasuba pulled her blade which had been embedded into the ground and leapt back to get some space between the serene looking blonde and his twig. "That was a mistake. I must really be out of practice." She muttered herself with a strained and uncertain laugh before the man himself suddenly appeared right in her face with a mocking grin.
Her sharply honed and trained instincts didn't even have time to kick in before the blonde slapped her with a casual flick of the hand.
Eyes wide with shock, the woman dressed in black instantly rolled away from him before suddenly darting forward again, low to the ground and thrust her nodachi upwards so fast that she could hear the wind cry in pain, intent on impaling the insolent man through the diaphragm. In the time it took for her blade to reach his lower chest, the man seemed to blur.
Her sword cut through empty air, just barely scratching the stubble on his chin as he slid his twig along the length of her blade once more and her aim instantly went awry, her blade flashed around him several times, all which were evaded with almost abnormal reflexes until he ran the twig along the back of nodachi and slammed it into the ground.
Grunting, Karasuba tried to pry her blade free, but the stupid twig pushed it deeper onto the ground as if someone had taken a hammer to it while the blonde stood back up and rubbed the contours of his squeaky clean chin with a smirk.
"Thanks. I forgot to shave this morning." He commented with a thumbs-up.
Then just because he could, he slapped her other cheek.
Despite his carefree smile an laid back manner of speaking, that burning stare never went away. No matter how far he bent, those chips of ice stayed on her with unnerving calm, observing her calculatedly,
Stumbling away from the politely smiling man, MBI's dog drew a gasp from the spectators as she shifted into an actual stance and held her nodachi in a shaky two handed grip, a huge difference from the normally careless one handed way she used held it with.
One downward glance told her that all the skin on her right palm had been flayed away by the vibrations running along the length of her blade, multiplying each time the twig hit her blade, made it ridiculously hard for her to even hold on to the slippery handle of her nodachi.
This just made her even angrier, and arguably, even stronger, as she began attacking the man with a rapid flurry of strikes.
The man navigated waved his twig through the patterns of her blade, and stabbed the twig directly into her left shoulder easily, as if she had been standing still and waiting for it.
Hissing lightly, Karasuba leapt back and glanced at the bleeding wound of her disabled shoulder. Now, with both arms swinging limply, simply holding her nodachi up suddenly felt like an extreme burden.
Losing all semblance of reason, the Black Sekirei ignored her wounds and poured on the speed, growling like a feral animal, she disappeared from sight, the only sign of her presence was the rapid tapping of her footsteps as she danced around the yard at speeds beyond human, fully intent on carving the lackadaisical blonde into sashimi.
Most people would have been cut in half by the first pass.
His only response at the suddenly increase in speed and ferocity was to quirk one eyebrow and smile whimsically as he repelled her with thrusts of his twig. Karasuba actually began to sweat as one crystal blue eye maintained its unflinching, almost condescending, stare on her despite her speed.
Taking her apart, bit by bit, rendering her completely useless.
Physically.
Then he started going for her mind.
"Does it feel good? Knowing that you're outmatched. That someone stronger than you exists? Cutting you down the way you cut down your sisters?" The blonde's chillingly flat words reached her ears, as if carried by the wind, particularly strange since she knew his mouth was not moving at all, "How does it feel now that you feel their pain? The grudge and malice born from despair? Despair that they can't resist you simply because of your innate talent? Despair that you snuffed out their chance to love because you were irritated?"
"Ah. It feels wonderful, my blood is boiling, SCREAMING in excitement that there's someone as interesting as you alive." Karasuba yelled back with a vicious smile, much to the onlooker's confusion since she seemed to be talking to herself. An overhead cleave was directed to the ground, her blade digging deep into the ground when the blonde's twig dug itself and twisted in her gut.
Unleashing a feral growl, the Black Sekirei clawed at the blonde with her free hand, pushing him back as the pressure from that single blue eye seemed to triple.
"Really?" The silent voice asked with an almost playful yet probing lilt, "I'm glad you enjoy it, it must feel wonderful, making everybody else suffer the same pain as you did when you lost your other half."
Karasuba instantly went whiter than chalk as she stumbled a little, "How?"
"It wasn't that hard to notice that most Sekirei came in pairs or even groups, Karasuba-chan." The blonde viciously probed even further with a playful tone, "It was fairly obvious that the Dark Sekirei was a pair with the Light Sekirei, even amongst the first Nine. You must want to meet her soon don't you? Doing everything you can to end the game as soon as possible, causing as much pain to the humans, those who took her away from you, as much as possible just so you can see the loving look on her face as she greets you again."
By now, the grey haired woman had begun to slow down noticeably as the blonde man playfully slashed at her with his twig, purposely restricting himself to minor yet debilitating wounds with an almost polite leer.
Panting heavily, Karasuba screamed madly and began to lash out wildly, losing all sense of coherence whatsoever. The figure that was in the middle of the black onslaught simply stood firm, weaving a defensive pattern around himself with his spinning twig, even as that one blue eye stared at her unrelentingly, taunting her inability to overcome him, "Guess what? You won't get to see it. All you're going to see is her disgusted face, her anger, her grudge when she realizes that you're spitting on everything she once held important."
The twig wove its way through her almost panicked defences with unnatural ease, his thrusts and cuts were sharp beyond belief while that hateful blue eye observed her with a condescending air of disdain as he opened yet another wound on her back easily, "You can see it even now can't you? Every time you sleep."
The blonde began giggling disturbingly as he spoke out loud for the first time since the fight began, "You let her die. Deep down inside, you know it was ALL your fault, that's why you kill your sisters, that's why you unleashed your grudge and malice on them. Because it's only human to do so, and HUMANS killed YUME. YOU KILLED YUME."
Something in Karasuba snapped horrifically.
The pain from her raw palms, the increasing collection of slashes and the hole in her shoulder vanished under the red haze as Karasuba raged, "THAT. IS. ENOUGH!"
To hell with Minaka's crazy rules, she would not, could not abide by being toyed around with this stranger.
Propelling herself into the sky with a powerful jump, she re-sheathed her blade and screamed at the wide eyed landlady who recognized the pose, "MIYA, THIS IS FOR YOU!"
With a bloodthirsty smile, she unleashed a massive wave of destructive energy at the puny speck of a blonde on the ground.
Naruto frowned at the warship sized blade of almost visible energy even as the purple haired landlady made an attempt to counter the wave that would almost certainly destroy anything within a kilometre if it wasn't stopped when a heavily sweating Akitsu pulled her down with a firm grip.
"What are you doing?!" she protested loudly, only for Akitsu to mutely point at her Ashikabi who seemed to be squinting up at the wave, as if looking for something within the storm of roiling energy.
Just before the wave could turn everything around the blonde and everything around him into dust and ground beef with its impact, the blonde pierced the apex of the crescent wave with his twig and twisted it like a key.
The crescent blade of energy instantly dissipated into a powerful gust that washed down on the nearly panicking group of watchers, blowing up kimonos and skirts, much to Naruto's silent amusement.
Even in the midst of battle with a crazed woman wielding massively destructive skills, the blonde never lost sight of his true objectives.
Karasuba landed shortly after, hair askew and eyes dilated with madness and disbelief, "WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!"
Naruto tore himself away from the revealed skin to smile briefly at the salivating woman, "You know…. I asked myself that very same question a thousand times." He disappeared with a brief flicker of colours, prompting the Black Sekirei to instinctively whirl around when she felt a chill run down her back.
She swung her blade reflexively and was gratified to feel her blade finally bite into solid flesh, along with the orgasmic spray of blood.
Breathing heavily she tried to tug it out of the corpse, only to realize that her nodachi refused to budge.
"I haven't found the answer yet." The monster that had her sword impaled through one eye, leaving the other blue one to stare at her through a veil of dripping blood, murmured quietly as he took one step forward.
The blade dug deeper into his skull with an eerie crunch.
To absolutely no effect whatsoever.
"JAAKI NO GEKIJOU!" Naruto let loose a raging roar and a wide blue orb of energy pulsed over the field, washing over everybody.
"Do you have the answer?" The man who had his brain cleaved in half urged with an utterly crazed grin that twisted his formerly serene expression grotesquely as blood and slobber splattered on her face.
Everybody watching them felt an unsettling void gnaw at their very minds as an almost palpable cloud of insanity and malice radiated from the blonde.
Karasuba's legs began shaking as an alien feeling flooded her body. Sort of like how the bottom of her stomach had dropped out, leaving a vacuum in its place as the blonde advanced on her, each step driving the cold steel deeper and deeper into his skull with no effect whatsoever despite the amount of blood pouring from his wound.
"DO YOU HAVE THE ANSWER?!" the black Sekirei felt her legs finally give way under the roar and she was blown away by a point blank sound wave to the face.
The grotesque madness abruptly disappeared as Karasuba hit a concrete wall with a wet crack before going limp.
The stark difference between the oppressively insane atmosphere and the a peaceful, normal evening as a gentle breeze rustled leaves was almost as jarring as the blonde's serene façade as he casually detached the blade from his face with a squelch, a wrench of steel and a spray of blood.
Naruto smiled vaguely as he casually wiped the blood away to reveal a perfectly functioning and uninjured eye, "I guess you don't."
Humming a cheery tune to himself, the blonde casually strode over to the wall with a broken and unconscious Karasuba embedded in it and pulled her out with a shower of plaster, mortar and cement before entering the Inn with a spring in his step and a limp Karasuba slung over his shoulder.
Play Ayumi Hamasaki – Part Of Me
The landlady quietly sighed as she sat in the darkened reception room all by herself, feeling strangely detached from everything, mostly because her thoughts were in a complete and jumbled mess.
It seemed like a day never passed without the urge to break his hated half smiles with her fists and blacken that mysterious glint in his eyes as he seemed to look through her like she was naked.
At first, she had simply put his strange set of abilities down to him having more Sekirei blood than the average Ashikabi. But then he had displayed several abilities, abilities so far beyond any single Sekirei; abilities like enhanced physical prowess and complete immunity to fire, that Miya felt she was justified in saying that he so far past humanity that it wasn't funny.
As time passed and she observed the blonde reveal more and more inhuman traits, and at the same time, the blonde seemed to enjoy the little game of hide and seek that they played. He would show off a new ability to someone, like Musubi, Kusano or Kagari, in such a way that ensured everyone had a piece of the jigsaw, but no one had the whole picture.
Then he would look around for her presence, seemingly drawing some twisted sense of achievement every time he found her latest attempt to gain information on him. And every time he found her, he would merely look at her with a strange glint in his eyes.
It came to a point where she began to suspect that the blonde was a perfected version of whatever Takehito had been doing to Seo; the ultimate Ashikabi. Unfortunately, this was disproven by the troublesome blonde himself since he had left New Tokyo long before either Seo or Takehito had even known about Sekireis and hadn't come back till three months ago.
She had no reason to believe he was lying.
Either that or the blonde was the type of person who did nothing with his life but fuck with people until it was practically an art form.
Oh wait….
At any rate, Uzumaki-san had literally walked into the Sekirei Plan without realizing it, and then for all intents and purposes, decided to stay when he realized it was more interesting than whatever his original goal was before finally ending up in Maison Izumo where he had made it very clear that he was content on watching the world go to hell with a smirk.
Then something changed. After winging Kaho and Akitsu, the blonde suddenly seemed to take a larger role in the game, a vested interest in seeing the two of them happy. If nothing else, no matter how twisted the man was, Miya believed that he truly cared about Akitsu and Kaho.
Something he proceeded to prove by basically booting Number 4 all over Izumo's garden with a goddamned twig.
Miya found herself half wanting to forget it ever happened so that she could go back to her normal, dreary lifestyle, sort of like how she wanted to forget that one time she had seen Takami bend Minaka over and wipe his ass with sandpaper.
She wanted to forget her frustrating, exasperating blonde tenant, who happened to have an overly healthy admiration for the female flesh, ever existed.
That conniving and annoying bastard that took far too much enjoyment in riling her up, taking pleasure in seeing her face light up as her cheeks flushed, as if he knew that her heart skipped a beat everytime he gave her that lop sided smile; as if to say that he had just proved that Asama Miya wasn't just another supporting character in a love drama whose only function was to provide suspiciously implied lines with a self-satisfied look on her face.
That she had emotions and flaws too.
That despite being extra-terrestrials, Sekireis deserved to have feelings and motives too.
She found herself a little moved, and more than a little annoyed at herself for being moved.
Thankfully, before Miya could start punishing herself, someone called out to her, jerking her out of her thoughts.
"Mi-Miya?! What happened?" A black haired woman dressed in a purple one piece dress called out anxiously as she gently landed in the middle of the ruined garden with a flurry of wind. Whipping back her long black hair, Kazehana grasped her old friend's shoulders with worry to see if she was alright, "I felt something really powerful coming from here and came as soon as I could. Was something wrong?"
Miya stared at the woman in something akin to stunned silence before shaking her head slowly, "I'm…. alright, I wasn't the one fighting."
The raven haired woman sighed in relief before pouting at her old friend, "I came here in such a hurry that I even forgot to take my sake with me."
"I'm surprised. I always thought I was ranked below your sake." Miya dryly replied with a small half smile.
"It depends on what sake we're talking about, so don't get ahead of yourself." Kazehana retorted with a wink before something seemed to dawn on the skimpily dressed woman. Blinking slowly, she squinted at the lavender haired woman, "Wait. You weren't the one fighting? Then who? I don't think anyone else had that much power."
"A very annoying person." Miya noted blandly.
"Karasuba?"
"Even more annoying." She muttered to Kazehana's wide eyed interest before cocking her head as if listening to something, "Speaking of which… Good luck. You're about to meet the idiot. Try not to die."
The sound of footsteps climbing down the stair case reached the two of them, "Miya, do you have any cloth you don't need? I accidentally hit her a little too hard and her right arm sort of got bent the wrong way when she hit that wall. I really rather she not get deactivated before I put her brains back together." The person entered the reception hall before squinting at the wide eyed stranger standing beside his landlady.
"Who's the old hag?"
Kazehana snapped.
****Unwavering Sky****
Author's Note
Jaaki no Gekijou – Theater of the Damned