Yeah, sorry about the somewhat longer-than-usual wait, guys. Had to get an essay finished up and stuff. Granted, the final draft isn't due for like another 2-3 weeks, but I've never been one to procrastinate. That, and I had 2 tests to study up and do just recently too…. Come to think of it too, I have another test coming up in a week or 2 as well…. Well, it shouldn't be that bad overall…
Anyways, my ramblings and poor apology aside, this chapter will be dedicated entirely to the banquet. Originally, I had intended to break it up into two chapters or so before moving on to the next major event, but after a handful chapters of nothing but plot development and no action, it just wouldn't be fair to you guys for you to not have some action to enjoy.
Whelp, without further ado, here is the next chapter!
P.S. Recently, I have discovered the joy of the Metal Gear Rising Revengeance soundtrack on Youtube. To any and all fans of rock/metal/dub step, you just have to check it out; it's nothing short of awesome!
Chapter 10
Naruto shifted about uncomfortably as he continued to walk about, serving tray in hand.
"Naruto-kun, you in position?" Miki asked him through the wireless and well hidden earpiece that Naruto had.
"Yeah…" he whispered in response to his friend. "Though I wasn't expecting so many people…"
"Same here," Miki replied, an audible sigh slipping in.
Just a little more than an hour ago, the banquet that the fire daimyo and Masami had spoken of had finally started and people poured into the palace by the dozens. And having wanted to be as discrete as possible in this mission, Naruto and Miki had taken to henging themselves into servers, moving throughout the area as coolly and professionally as possible.
However, as good a job as the two were doing right now, they couldn't help but feel a little tense. The reason why was because just yesterday, the fire daimyo had informed them that there may very well be some kind of attack or assassination that will take place. While this was expected given that this was what they were hired for, Naruto, Miki, and Ryuichi had reacted to the information yesterday with considerable surprise and worry as there were quite a few ways that the supposed assassins could slip in.
Thankfully, one of the areas that an assassin could enter the palace from happened to be close by the kitchen area and there Ryuichi was stationed, working undercover as a chef. With his training and experience, if anything suspicious occurred, Ryuichi would be on it faster than lightning.
As for Naruto and Miki, the two of them were patrolling the dining hall and outdoor balconies where almost all of the guests were at. The two made it a point to be extra vigilant as there had been no word as to who the target or targets of the supposed assassins would be. While the protection of Masami was their main concern, the safety of the other guests was something else that they couldn't simply overlook.
"Master, you see anything?" Hanako then said, her voice coming in through Naruto's earpiece.
"Nothing. You?" he asked.
Whereas he and Miki worked the main areas under the henge of servers while Ryuichi worked the kitchen area, Hanako had been tasked to a different spot entirely, albeit one that was very close to where Naruto and Miki were.
Currently positioned high on an empty balcony that overlooked the large, outdoor area where a majority of the guests were at, Hanako stood calmly at the balcony's ledge, looking down at the guests with her sharp eyes. Gone was the goofy girl from the other day; instead, Hanako stood there observing everyone with the same level of almost unnerving focus that she had shown in battle against Yuko and Daisuke.
"Nothing at all, Master. It looks like everything is fine for the moment," she replied a minute later.
"I see." Naruto nodded to himself. It had been a good idea to station Hanako up there. While he and Miki could keep track of a good number of people by themselves, they can't keep an eye on everyone. But Hanako can, thanks both to her higher position and also her ability, Mimisbrunner. Utilizing Mimisbrunner, Hanako could record any and all information she could figure out on each guest and store it until it was needed. It certainly saved Naruto and Miki a lot of time in that they didn't have to worry about figuring out any tells of any of the more suspicious guests.
However, that wasn't to say that the two of them were just slacking off in that regard.
"Naruto-kun." Miki sounded serious over the earpiece.
Henged into the appearance of a plain looking serving girl, Miki approached Naruto, henged as an equally plain and nondescript looking guy.
She then motioned subtly towards one guest off in the very corner of the area. "Your thoughts?"
Naruto discreetly glanced at the guest in question and sized him up for a brief second. He then shook his head. "Seems like he's just civilian; too relaxed to be some assassin in disguise," he whispered as he walked towards and past Miki.
Miki nodded microscopically. "I thought as much too. Still, better safe than sorry." She put on a polite smile as a few guests approached her and proceeded to lift the serving tray up a bit more so that they may take something off of it. As soon as the guests did so and moved away, Miki's smile dropped and she addressed Naruto again. "My serving tray is empty now. I'm gonna have to head back to the kitchen to get a new tray. Can you and Hanako-chan handle this area until I'm back?"
Naruto hummed ever so slightly in acknowledgement. "Yeah, we got this."
Without another word spoken or another action taken in regards to Naruto, Miki took off towards the kitchen.
Naruto stayed in his current position, smiling as politely as possible as more guests approached him and the serving tray he held. It would seem that they really liked the little snacks and samples that Ryuichi had a hand in making.
After the guests left him alone, Naruto inwardly sighed and proceeded to once again walk around. "Man, this is way too formal and uptight for me…" he thought. This growing sense of fatigue made him respect the fire daimyo and Masami even more; the two of them clearly prefer to be in a more relaxed environment and yet they keep on dealing with such stuffy situations with calm smiles on their faces.
Looking subtly to his left, Naruto could spot Masami, looking absolutely breathtaking in the formal dark blue gown she currently wore, engaged in what appeared to be small talk with a small handful of guests. He noted with a vague sense of amusement that a majority of the people speaking with Masami were men of varying ages and all of them sporting the same nearly enraptured look. Naruto couldn't blame them.
Now looking away, Naruto straightened. If he felt like oogling Masami, he could do it some other time. Right now, he had a mission to do.
With Miki, the girl walked down the hallway towards to the kitchen. Out of the sights of all of the guests, all of whom were pretty much nobles and people in simply very high standings, Miki let her shoulders slump.
"Haaaaaa…." She breathed out in slight relief. Much like Naruto, being here in the midst of so many people like that can be quite tiring. And while she is going to be going back out there in just several minutes, taking just a bit of time to relax herself wasn't that bad a thing.
"Ah, Nobuo-san, the palace is just beautiful, isn't it?"
Miki stood up straight, reverting immediately back into her 'server mode' at the sound of the voice.
Around the corner came two people. One of them was a young girl wearing a simple formal dress in spite of the fact that she was in a wheelchair. Miki figured that she must be the relative – daughter, most likely – of one of the guests here.
However, it was the other person that rounded the corner that caught Miki's eye.
"Yes, ojou-sama. It's quite a pleasant place," Nobuo agreed. Dressed entirely in a black suit, it was obvious to anyone that saw him that he was a bodyguard of sorts for the young girl.
However, Miki knew right away that he was no mere bodyguard. If it wasn't for the fact that she had noticed the young, wheelchair-bound girl, Miki probably wouldn't have noticed the man at all. So well hidden was his presence. And speaking of his presence… Miki, still walking as normally as possible, had to suppress the shiver that threatened to race down her spine. The man's presence was completely chilling, devoid of any form of life or mercy. In other words, this man was very much a stone cold killer. He may seem like a nice enough fellow, if his current chatting with his young ward was anything to go by, but Miki had no doubt that if push came to shove, this man would strike down anyone that had the misfortune of getting in his way.
Tomoko and Nobuo, both oblivious to Miki's mental state of slight duress, passed on by her without so much as a glance, though Tomoko did mutter a 'sorry' after nearly bumping into the older girl with her wheelchair.
"It's alright," Miki said with a polite smile in response to Tomoko's apology and kept on walking towards the kitchen.
"As soon as I get to the kitchen, I have to let Ryuichi know about that guy…" Miki thought, a stern expression on her face. With that thought, she picked up her walking pace just a bit more.
But unbeknownst to Miki, she wasn't the only one who was scoping someone out.
"That person just now was under a henge…" Nobuo thought as he calmly pushed his young charge's wheelchair. His eyes narrowed in thought. "What is a Konoha shinobi doing here?" He had spotted Miki's headband, tied around the girl's slender and well-muscled arm under the henge.
"Nobuo-san, is something wrong?" Tomoko asked, looking up at the man.
"No, it's nothing, ojou-sama. I was merely thinking," he stated. "Now please, just relax. We'll be seeing your father in just a few more minutes." It had been rather busy when the two of them arrived just yesterday; they had hardly had any time to actually explore the palace nor were they able to get into contact with anyone else for the most part. But now that the banquet was in full swing, they could finally go and greet Tomoko's father.
"Okay," Tomoko answered, looking pleased now. It had been some time since she last saw her father, so she was looking forward to this. She also hoped to be able to speak to the fire daimyo's daughter as well.
But unlike her happy thoughts, Nobuo's thoughts were of a darker sort. "There is no way that there is simply one shinobi here. Shinobi always take on missions in teams. So there is probably two or three others here, at the least…"
The man, a veteran of battle, couldn't help but tighten his grip on the handles of Tomoko's wheelchair. He couldn't quite fathom why exactly there would be shinobi here, but having once been a shinobi himself long ago, he knew how they operated.
Well, whatever it is that they're doing here, he was willing to ignore it for now. But if it turns out that their presence here will bring harm to Tomoko… then he will show them no mercy. No mercy whatsoever.
Elsewhere, near the palace yet still a bit of a fair distance away from it, a few shadows lurked, hidden amongst the trees.
The four shadows, all of whom could see the fire daimyo's palace quite clearly from their current position, glared coldly at the magnificent structure, which was currently illuminated by the number of lights that were on at the moment.
Soon. Soon enough, they will slip in and make their move. But for now, the four of them just have to focus on approaching undetected by the number of guards around the palace. Thankfully, they have studied this place well in advance, so they already know which areas they can enter from.
Without so much as a single spoken word between any of them, the four figures quietly began to move forward, towards the palace.
Back in the palace, in the large dining hall of the place, the fire daimyo walked about, dressed regally and radiating confidence as he went about the room, greeting the guests and making small talk with them.
How it bored and tired him.
It had only been an hour or so since this event started and already he felt like just calling it a night and going to sleep; the number of people that would wish to speak to him of politics and asking for him to answer their requests had been much greater than he had been expecting. It honestly left him with a bit of a headache.
However, his headache subsided just a bit when someone approached him and he recognized the rather elderly man.
"Toshiro, it's good to see you again," the fire daimyo greeted with a small yet genuine smile.
Toshiro, the wind daimyo, and a middle aged man that looked as if he could use a bit more daily exercise, returned the smile with one of his own. "And the same to you, Satoru. Let me guess: already tired?" The wind daimyo, Toshiro, couldn't hold back the chuckle at the tired look that briefly appeared on his friend's face.
"Ah, I believe you could imagine…" the fire daimyo, Satoru, muttered, getting another chuckle out of his friend.
The two of them proceeded to walk together around the room, making a bit of small talk with a number of guests that approached the two of them in addition to catching up with one another.
"Really now?" Toshiro asked with a raised eyebrow at what Satoru just told him. "Your daughter is actually interested in a man? I should have someone check for the apocalypse!" he then said in good humor.
The two of them shared a laugh. "Yes, I felt the same way at first. But I'm happy. While I can't say for certain just what will happen between my daughter and him – assuming anything happens at all – but it is nice to know that Masami isn't being put on such a pedestal by him like everyone else."
Toshiro nodded. "Yes, that is true." The wind daimyo was quite aware of the kind of effect his friend's enchanting daughter can have on men and women alike. However, as much beautiful as he found Masami to be, the aging man wasn't affected by her charms like virtually everyone. Perhaps it was because, due to how long he's been friends with Satoru, he viewed Masami as his own surrogate daughter or perhaps it was simply something else, but at any rate, he too was rather pleased. "So just who is the lucky guy, eh?"
The smirk Satoru had on his face certainly caused Toshiro's interest to pique even more. "Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze," the former whispered to his friend.
The wind daimyo's eyebrows nearly shot into his hairline. "Really now? That last name… is he the son of Konoha's hokage?"
"Yep," Satoru answered. He watched as his friend shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah, I reacted the same way. But he is a good young man. Confident, strong… and definitely much more pleasant to be around than these stuffy people…" he muttered, gesturing towards his many guests.
Toshiro snorted. He could certainly agree with that, having to go through the same thing. "I bet. But to change topics a bit, do you plan to go see the chunin exams in Konoha….?"
Satoru nodded. "Depending on my schedule, I could probably make it there to go see the finals. You?"
"The same." Then Toshiro smiled. "Say, the shinobi you hired to protect Masami… they're genin, aren't they? If so, then do you plan to root for them in the chunin exams? Assuming they enter, of course."
Satoru smiled as well. "Of course. I like them a hell of a lot more than anyone else here."
The two of them laughed. Neither were aware of just what the future had in store.
In the kitchen area, Ryuichi, dressed up in chef wear, cooked with seemingly complete concentration. To a great number of people, if they had seen him right now, they'd think him to be in some sort of trance. However, they'd be wrong; Ryuichi was perfectly capable of multitasking, shown as he listened to what Miki was currently telling him.
"I… I see…" he muttered, just lowly enough so that only his good friend could hear. He doubted anyone else would listen to what they were saying anyway; all of the other cooks were spread out all over the room, tending to their tasks and cooking with nearly frantic energy as food was in high demand this night. "You think this guy could maybe be one of the attackers?"
"Doubt it; he looked too… I don't, obvious," Miki said as she held her serving tray. She was waiting for Ryuichi to finish up making the next batch of food that she was supposed to take out, so this worked perfectly. "Though if it wasn't for that girl in the wheelchair, I might not have noticed him…"
She watched as Ryuichi paused in his current actions. It was brief – very brief – but Ryuichi had gone still for half a second. And that meant that he was shocked.
"He's that good at hiding his presence, huh…" Ryuichi muttered, now worried. That meant that whoever this mystery guy was, he had some serious skill. No one could hide their presence from trained shinobi that easily. Granted, he, Miki, and Naruto were still genin, if only officially at any rate, but with their enhanced senses thanks to them being magi, they could easily detect even jonin level foes. So for this guy to still have nearly evaded Miki's senses…
Miki nodded subtly. "Yeah. He worries me…"
Ryuichi nodded in agreement. "Yeah…" He fell silent for a few seconds. "Here's the next batch."
"Hm? Oh…" Miki held up the serving tray and patiently waited her friend put the food on it.
Once he was done, he smiled reassuringly. "Though I'm not sure how I'll manage it, if he does come back over here in this general area, I'll try and see if I can keep an eye on him," he whispered to her; he didn't dare to speak up as a few people passed by them. "You, Naruto, and Hanako-chan just focus on everyone else. After all, regardless if this guy is an assassin or not, there may be others."
"Right," Miki agreed.
With the four enigmas, they approached the palace rapidly, now that they were more confident than before; there were a few more openings inside the palace than they had first realized.
"Go," one of them, the leader, whispered to the others. The three nodded and spread out into the shadows upon coming even closer to the palace.
As for the one who spoke, he slipped past two guards, just barely. Entering the palace by going through a relatively empty area out in the open, the person snuck in through the first door he saw and began to navigate his way through the place quickly, quietly, and efficiently.
However, what he hadn't expected was to suddenly enter a hallway in time for a short and lanky blond man – a guest of the banquet – to suddenly round the corner, as happy as can be, only to spot the man.
"Huh? Who are you?" the man said.
The person just swore under his breath. He then proceeded to charge straight at the man with surprising speed. The blond man, upon realizing that the person running at him also appeared to be carrying a short sword in his hand, began to open his mouth to scream for help.
He didn't get a chance to do that.
With Hanako, the humanoid magical weapon shifted a bit in her spot. Something felt off. "But I don't see anything out of the ordinary…" she thought as she looked around below her. She could see her master still going around serving people, she could see the guests generally just having a good time… but something felt off.
However, this unsettling feeling didn't last. Looking to the right of the area, Hanako raised an eyebrow as she saw someone trying to approach the guests. Due to her sharp eyesight, she could easily tell that this person wasn't here for the banquet nor to do any kind of socializing. Of course, the small sword that the person wielded was yet another giveaway.
"Oh no, you don't…" she muttered as she charged up a small blast of mana. Then she aimed and fired at her target.
The magical blast was small despite its brightness and very fast. As a result, it struck the person right in the side of the head before he even knew what hit him. None of the guests appeared to notice this.
Hanako sighed in relieve. The person was still alive; she had only put enough power into her blast to knock him unconscious.
But she couldn't afford to relax just yet. The fact that one would-be party crasher was here meant that others were here as well. And considering just how close this one had nearly gotten to the guests in spite of all the guards…
"Master," she spoke into her earpiece. "They're here."
She received no immediate reply, but she could see from above Naruto slow ever so slightly in his movements as he walked around the area.
"I see," he eventually replied. "You get one already?"
"Yes, but just one. I don't see anyone else," Hanako said.
"Alright. Ryuichi, Miki, you guys hear her?" Naruto asked, all of them sharing the same frequency.
"Yes," both replied in unison.
Silence occurred between them all. There was no longer any need to really talk between them. All that mattered now was to go about the whole place and track down the other would-be assailants. Chattering anymore at this point would probably serve as a distraction to them.
On the ground floor, Naruto tsked slightly as now his serving tray was empty. He had planned to linger around a bit longer to keep an eye out, but not having a tray full of food would be odd and get him chewed out by another server or something. No choice but to head to the kitchen and get more food.
Thankfully, he spotted Miki returning so he didn't have to worry too much about leaving this area unprotected. Sparing Masami another glance to make sure she was alright, Naruto left the area and entered the palace.
He opted to take the long way around to the kitchen, that way he can check any other areas of the palace that may have been good spots for the attackers to come in from.
He certainly didn't have to walk for too long before he spotted someone. A blond haired man, rather short. However, Naruto was immediately on edge. He had seen this man much earlier in the day and he had been walking with a bit of a limp.
But now this man wasn't walking with a limp.
"A henge…" Naruto thought. Immediately, he felt the impulse to attack the man right here and now, stop the disguised individual before he could make it back to the rest of the guests and do whatever it is that he was planning… but Naruto held himself back from doing so. He had. The last thing that was needed was to risk getting into a full blown scuffle that would alert everyone here and cause a panic.
So, grudgingly, the blond magus kept a straight face as he walked right pass the henged attacker. If the man suspected him of anything, the attacker didn't show it and kept on walking pass Naruto at a brisk pace.
"Hanako," he whispered into the earpiece. "I found another one. He's disguised as one of the guests, a short, blond guy. The one we saw earlier with a limp. Only he doesn't have one anymore…"
"I'll take him out as soon as I can, Master," Hanako then replied.
"Good." Naruto said nothing more and now began to actually run. Only now he was no longer running towards the kitchen. "I have to check on the daimyo…"
In speaking of the daimyo, Satoru was still chatting with his friend, Toshiro. But unbeknownst to the two, who were in the dining hall still, the last two of the attackers were watching them from afar. The two attackers, much like the one that Naruto had just encountered, had taken to henging themselves into guests, after calmly knocking out the people that they were impersonating.
"There they are…" one of them whispered.
"Should we attack now?" the other asked.
The first one shook his head. "No. Not yet. Too many people watching them."
The second one bristled. "Damn it… I can't stand being around these pathetic people. Can't we just kill them all?"
A firm hand placed itself on the second one's shoulder. "Calm yourself. We can't afford to do that."
It took a few minutes, but eventually the second one did settle down. "What about that man's daughter? Masami, I believe her name is. And what about his wife?" he asked.
The first one let go of his comrade's shoulder. "Kei is already on his way towards her," he whispered. "As for the daimyo's wife, she is out of the palace for now. In Konoha, I believe."
"Shame. It'd be nice to put an end to the daimyo and his family… put an end to the ruling family…" the second one muttered.
"In time, friend. In time," the first said.
The two of them then proceeded to keep on watching the fire and wind daimyos, growing increasingly eager in actually starting their attack.
In the meanwhile, with Ryuichi, the blacked haired teen felt something amiss. His senses, sharper than even his friend's, picked up on the attacker that Naruto had encountered, Kei. He had just been having a little break from cooking when he sensed the man coming.
Recalling what he heard Naruto tell Hanako via the earpieces, Ryuichi narrowed his eyes at the disguised man.
"That's him…" he thought. "Hanako-chan, Miki. That man Naruto spoke of? Don't worry about him; I have him in sight," he whispered.
"Nn. Be careful," Miki replied.
"Right," the teen said before falling silent. Then without another word, he calmly started walking, positioning himself just several yards directly behind the henged attacker. The hallway was relatively dark, so shadows couldn't be seen all that well. And with his reflexes, Ryuichi was confident that he could easily dispatch the man, assuming he was noticed.
While this was happening, elsewhere in the palace, Tomoko and Nobuo searched for her father, but so far have had no luck. "Nn. This place is very big…" the wheelchair-bound girl muttered.
"Yes. Please don't worry, ojou-sama. We will find your father soon enough," Nobuo commented.
Tomoko smiled gratefully as she pushed herself in her wheelchair down the hallway. By pure chance, it happened to be the very same hallway that Ryuichi and the disguised attacker, Kei, just entered.
Nobuo's eyes narrowed. "Another Konoha shinobi…" he thought. He could also see through the henge that the other man had on. While it was obvious that the man had some level of shinobi training, it wasn't very much. Most likely this unknown person was simply someone that had learned enough of the basics on his own and simply stopped or perhaps there was some other unknown factor.
However, Nobuo was immediately put on edge when he noted that his presence didn't seem to go unnoticed…
Ryuichi, for his part, narrowed his eyes upon seeing Nobuo. Immediately, his attention shifted from the disguised and currently oblivious attacker to the darkly dressed man. It was easy to tell that this was the man that Miki spoke of.
"What a chilling presence…" he silently noted. It was just like Miki told him; it could have been very easy to not notice the man in the first place, but when one did sense him, it was rather terrifying. It was now quite clear to Ryuichi that if something happened to tip this man's hands, it would be very difficult; he seemed like a very experienced person in battle.
"No, don't focus on him, focus on this guy…" he calmly thought as he tried to redirect his attention back to the attacker. As long as he didn't do anything to provoke Nobuo, he could probably ignore him entirely, even if only for tonight at any rate.
Slowly, as he passed right on by Tomoko and Nobuo, Ryuichi reached out towards the person he was following. He intended to quickly and quietly deliver a knock out chop to the back of Kei's neck. Then he could discreetly drag him off to be questioned by the fire daimyo's samurai, or even better yet question the man himself in a more private area, that way he can get the information he needs on this operation.
However, he never got to do that.
The familiar tear drop-like sound that suddenly occurred made Ryuichi freeze. Then like the previous time, the world appeared to be enveloped in a brilliant flash of light before disappearing to reveal…
"Ai Space!" Ryuichi whispered harshly. A surge of panic overwhelmed him. Not only was his chance to stop the attacker gone, but now he had no choice but to hope for an end to be brought to Ai Space through someone's death. But the only mages he knew that were in the area were Naruto and Miki. The thought that it was just the three of them and no one was even more horrifying than the simple thought of this twisted ritual in the first place.
"Wah, Nobuo-san, it's happened again!"
Ryuichi immediately spun around upon hearing the voice – only to have to jump back when Nobuo suddenly moved from Tomoko's side and threw a kick at Ryuichi. When he completed his jump back, Ryuichi took note of the intense glare that Nobuo was giving him.
"This is the second time this has happened… and like us, you are here… Is this your doing, Konoha shinobi?" Nobuo demanded.
Ryuichi's eyes widened a bit at that, but quickly narrowed. "Wait," he started. "Please wait, we don't have to fight, if that's your intention…"
"What is this place?" Nobuo demanded.
Ryuichi opened his mouth, but didn't speak. What could he say? He could certainly tell the man and frightened girl the truth, but would they even believe him? "This is… some kind of dimension," he eventually started. "It has specific rules that we absolutely must abide by."
"I… see." Nobuo's fighting stance didn't drop. "I take it that it operates like some kind of genjutsu; defeat the person that activated it and it'll stop."
"Possibly, but the person responsible for this is unknown. And for one reason or another, whenever this appears, it's required for someone to die for a ritual to activate," Ryuichi continued to explain. Unlike Nobuo, he had yet to take up a fighting stance, wanting to appear as non-hostile as possible. But he kept his guard up just in case.
"D-Die?" Tomoko squeaked out. "Someone has to die for this to end? And what if that doesn't happen?" This wasn't supposed to happen! She had just wanted to meet up with her father and then proceed to have a good time here at this banquet! Just what did she get caught up in?!
Nobuo's eyes narrowed. He even bristled. "Yes, just what will happen if someone doesn't die?"
"Then this dimension will expand and envelop the entire world, killing everyone," Ryuichi answered bluntly.
As he had expected, Tomoko looked at him with an equal mix of shock, horror, and flat out disbelief. However, Nobuo's expression sent a chill down his spine. The man looked so calm now, stoic even. Hell, he'd even go so far as to say emotionless, as if he had just lost his soul.
"I see," Nobuo began. "Then in that case, that means that ojou-sama would perish if this dimension continues to exist."
Sensing danger, Ryuichi guarded the surprise punch that Nobuo tossed him at after the latter closed the distance in a flash. But Nobuo expressionlessly followed up the punch with a brief barrage of kicks that made Ryuichi dodge before throwing a kick of his own, forcing Nobuo to move back.
"What are you doing?!" Ryuichi cried out.
"Nobuo-san?!" Tomoko also exclaimed
"I will not let ojou-sama die," Nobuo calmly stated. "I promised her father that I would watch over her. I owe him and her my life. To risk her life is out of the question. So to ensure that she lives as will her father, I will kill you if that'll mean this dimension will disappear."
"Wha-?!" Ryuichi didn't get the chance to finish; Nobuo was already on the attack again.
Elsewhere, Naruto was just as shocked as Ryuichi had been, so much so that he dropped his henge. "No, not now!" He just been about to meet up with the fire daimyo and keep an eye on him when Ai Space appeared. "God, why did it have to have such crappy timing?!"
He immediately tried to contact Miki and the others with his earpiece. "Miki? Ryuichi? Hanako? Any of you there?" he called out.
All he got was static. Apparently, technology as simple as their earpieces can't operate within Ai Space.
"Damn it!" For a brief moment, he considered using Da Capo to summon any of them to him, but decided against it for the time being. Until he could be sure that they were the only ones here, using Da Capo could draw the attention of anyone else that was here inside. And he wouldn't bet that 'anyone else here' would be friendly.
Turning back around, Naruto made a dash for it, running at full speed as there was no longer any need to hold back. He just hoped that nothing happened in the short amount of time it'd take for him to get back to Miki and Hanako.
As for the two aforementioned people, both could only stare in shock. Like Naruto, Miki dropped her henge from the shock.
"N-No way…" she muttered.
"Not her too…" Hanako also muttered from her place on the balconey. Immediately, she jumped from it and landed just several feet away from Miki.
Both of them looked in the same direction.
"Oh? This strange place again…" Masami said, her refined demeanor seemingly broken for the first time as she blinked rapidly in surprise. Then she turned towards Miki and Hanako. "Miki-san, Hanako-san, you're here as well? Just what is going on?"
Miki and Hanako felt the beginnings of dread well up inside of them. This mission had just taken on a very drastic change.
And that's it guys! Once again, my deepest apologies for the short chapter, but like I said, I did promise a bit of action and with how I ended this, you can bet on a lot of action to be had in the next chapter or so.
Also, in regards to how fast things were happening in this chapter, my apologies to those that may seem a bit put off by it, but things were happening in my life that made me somewhat rush a few minor things. I know that I could've put this off until after things in my classes have settled down, but that would be taking far too long for my tastes and also presumably for you guys' tastes as well. So please forgive me if it looks like this chapter was a bit too fast.
At any rate, action is DEFINITELY coming up in the next chapter, which I will be starting, as usual, after I work a bit more on my side-project in addition to my classes. Hopefully, I can get it up by Spring Break or so.
Until then, everyone! Take care!