Hidden in the Night SKy

Chapter 14: Parley

The staff was definitely odd in her hands. She swung and swung and swung, but she just couldn't get used to the lack of a connection with her weapon. This wasn't a part of her, this wasn't an extension of her body and mind, this wasn't a magical focus. Still...

There was something else. Somewhere, deep within Nanoha, her blood sang as she moved through the Kata she had been shown, one by one, trying to imitate them to the best of her skill. Her body moved, responded and acted. Better, faster than she had expected. It was more like she was remembering old things her body knew how to do, rather than new moves she was being taught.

As she finished the last few movements, she returned to a resting position. "How was it, Sensei?" she asked, panting a little as she turned to look at the teacher Naruto had recommended.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was crying.

CRYING!

It was an absolutely hilarious image, to see him on his knees in front of a little girl. "You are the absolute best pupil I've ever had. Are you sure you don't want to be a ninja? You could be the greatest legend amongst legends!" he said, gesticulating wildly.

"Holy shit. So that's what having an actually hard working student does to him," one of the ANBU watching, "almost makes me wish I'd taken up the staff, just so I could say I made the God of Shinobi cry like a baby."

"Uhm... I'm sure," Nanoha said. "The Space Police needs me."

"Curses!" Sarutobi said, stomping his foot as he stood back up to his feet, his earlier crying fit all but forgotten. "Well, if you ever need a job, you know where to find me. Your ability with spears and staves is superb, and I have to say, your work ethic and diligence are amazing. You do need to work a bit on cleaning up your stray thoughts a little more. When you are training, you must be fully focused on what you are doing. Spreading yourself thin like you do is going to do you more harm than good in the long run."

"I'm just... worried about the future," Nanoha admitted, shaking her head.

"Don't be," Sarutobi said. "When you are training, or fighting, that is not the time to do that. There are times for everything, and you must dedicate everything of yourself to what you are doing! To do anything less, is to show a lack of respect for whatever it is you are doing, or whoever you are speaking to. Your dedication and work ethic are such that I'm sure nobody will notice in most situations, but..."

"I understand," Nanoha said, "it's just... I'm used to constantly running training simulations in my head using my device, and I'm also used to a constant drain on my magical energy. Since I don't have my device right now, I am doing neither, and that is making me quite restless," Nanoha admitted, shaking a little.

"If you are, you can come to me whenever you have free time. I will take care of your excess energy. Also, that seems similar to certain training techniques, such as putting weights on your body... I will warn you that you are inviting injury. If your Linked Core..."

"Linker Core," Nanoha corrected.

"Yes, my apologies," Sarutobi said, nodding at her correction, "if your Linker Core works like a muscle in that regard, then... I may recommend going to Maito Gai, here in this village. If anyone can tell you how to absolutely wreck yourself in training without it leaving a permanent scar on you, it's him. For now, however, let us return to our training. To be honest, I am impressed, you have talent and you have prior training."

"I come from a family of martial artists, some of it bled through," Nanoha said, taking up a stance with her borrowed staff.

"Very well. Then, let us practice all of the basic attacks once more, and then we'll start working on combinations. I'll be subtly increasing the speed gradually, I want you to try and keep up with me."

"Yes, sir!"

Fate squeaked as she narrowly avoided getting an unfortunate haircut. "Impressive. Your reflexes are top notch, and your ability is commendable," Hayate noted, taking a step back to avoid getting hit by the stylized scythe that his opponent wielded. "And your weapon allows you avenues of attack we hadn't considered."

Were she to be honest, Fate would readily admit being weakened by being locked into Haken form, in a sense. More importantly, if Bardiche's energy blade failed to cut through something, it wouldn't be caught, as the blade would easily break, allowing her to have an escape route ready if her weapon was blocked. Not being able to use an actual Bardiche was also not helping, as that was where the majority of her training had gone.

Even so, she wasn't sure she could've won on a duel with Gekko Hayate. At least, not without falling back into magic. Even if she increased her speed... The man was incredibly skilled, and he might be holding back a great deal more than he appeared to be. Of course, if Fate took the fight into the air, she'd have a massive advantage, but that would defeat the point of training entirely in melee combat like this.

The lack of a third dimension to her movement had forced Fate to step up on her footwork to keep ahead of the wooden plank fashioned into a crude broadsword that chased her. Shamal would heal all of the real damage inflicted to her at the end of the day, but she couldn't return her hair. And contrary to what people thought, a wooden sword could, and would, cut her hair if it was swung hard enough. Whatever possessed Hayate to actually give it an edge was probably also what possessed Lindy to think tea was supposed to be ninety percent sugar.

Admittedly, the faces Nanoha made when she witnessed that more than made up for Lindy's sweet tooth.

And getting distracted in the middle of a fight was a dumb idea, as she noticed when she had to let herself fall flat on her back to avoid getting poked in the stomach with a wooden blade. She raised Fake Bardiche and put the blade of the scythe next to Hayate's waist.

"That move seems... familiar," Signum said, as she closed her eyes with a smile.

"I'm glad you didn't hit me when you did it to me," Fate replied, because Laevateinn would've actually killed her, whereas a wooden scythe wouldn't hurt Hayate that much. Especially since Fate hadn't given it an actual edge, instead being rounded on the area where the edge should be.

Signum shook her head. "It wouldn't have killed you. Gravely injure you, yes, but a medic would have been able to heal you," she said. "Killing a TSAB agent wouldn't have done our mistress any favors in the future."

"Is that the only reason?" Fate asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I... don't enjoy killing people," Signum admitted.

Hayate finished cleaning his face from the sweat that covered it with a rag and joined the conversation. "You have to be a real nutjob to enjoy it. We've got a lot of those. Anyway, let's spar again. I won't fall for the same trick twice."

"Speaking about sparring, where IS Yuugao, right now?" Signum asked. "She should've been here..."

"She had a mission late last night and hasn't returned yet," Hayate commented.

"Very well... since she is not here, we'll have to do this another way. Very well, then... We will make this a three way spar. No magic, no chakra, just our raw skill..."

"You're well rested and we just got done sparring. You're evil, you know that?" Hayate asked, frowning at her.

Signum merely offered them a somewhat... frightening smile.

Vita sighed. "I would like to know... The way Naruto froze... that kind of terror is not like her at all."

Shamal hummed a little, leaning back on the couch. "You're right," she said, "our mistress hardly seems the one to freeze in fear at the slightest threat. Not when she was threatened during the invasion... No, there has to be something else here... And I know who could possibly know about it."

"Then, we should ask him. You mean the old man, right?" Vita asked.

"Yes, if there is anyone who knows what this could mean, it would be him," Shamal confirmed. "Signum and Zafira will be here with Mistress, so we can covertly get away and do a little questioning tonight," she said.

"Then we'll ask him then," Vita said, shaking her head.

"We can only hope it's not as bad as I think it might be," Shamal said, sighing.

"Naruto froze in the hands of her kidnapper and was so terrified she couldn't even breathe. That is not normal," Vita said, putting her feet on the old man's desk, though she could just barely manage it at her size, and kicking back on her chair. The casual image was one meant to be threatening, with Graf Eisen swinging casually behind her. It was just such a natural way of doing negotiations and conversations with authority figures for the Wolkenritter that they just fell into it naturally, and the Hokage knew. He himself had several quirks, such as always facing away from his opponent, showing them his back to show them just how non-threatening he found them.

Neither took offense, and the Hokage continued to stare at the distant horizon through the large window at the back of his office. One-way, of course. The other side looked like a wall. The wonders of sealing.

"You're right... it's not normal," Sarutobi said, shaking his head. "But... that is a story that is Naruto's to tell, when she is ready. Don't you think?" he asked.

"My mistress is many things," Vita explained, "amongst them is stubborn. She will never talk about it. She will continue to pretend it never happened. To be frank, her powers of self delusion are incredible. It's almost as if she'd forgotten those events entirely," she mentioned.

"... Impressive, for sure, but not particularly soothing to the soul to hear," Sarutobi said, evenly. "I trust you understand, before your arrival, her life was... a harsh one," he said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "She has never truly enjoyed life. Much of her time was spent alone... other children didn't wish to play with her. She was weak, she was fragile, and she was also... believed to be the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Due to her weak constitution, people feared she would fail as a container."

"And so children didn't go near her," Vita said, "because their parents warned them not to. So she had no friends growing up, that doesn't explain-"

"The only people she ever spoke to were her caretakers. Since a very young age, she had to be taken out of the orphanage. At five years old, children begin their induction into the ranks of the Shinobi. By age six, we knew she would never be able to use chakra... and so she was removed from the orphanage and given her own home. Graciously donated, of course. The least we could do for her constant sacrifice," Sarutobi explained, grimacing. "Along the way, she had a small ring of caretakers. Two civilians and three ANBU."

"And now we're hitting the vein," Vita said, sitting straight on her chair. "I am going to assume this did not go as well as you expected it to."

"It did not. The two civilians were a couple. They appeared mentally stable, they appeared loyal to Konoha, and they appeared not to hold any ill will towards Naruto... and they didn't. They were supremely afraid of her, and they were also supremely afraid for her. They... couldn't deal with the pressure, and eventually quit their mission. This left Naruto in the care of her ANBU guards full time. Two years later, however..."

Vita grimaced. She didn't want to hear of bad things happening to her mistress, but she needed to. She had to know.

"On Naruto's eight birthday, this village faced a great tragedy. It came to be known as the Uchiha Clan Massacre. One of the Uchiha's number, Uchiha Itachi, went completely insane and turned his sword on his clansmen, slaughtering them all. Man, woman, child- he spared none. None... but one," Sarutobi said, taking a deep breath, tasting in the smoke from his pipe. "Until that night, Uchiha Itachi was an ANBU. One of my most trusted agents, in fact."

"If he laid a hand on her-"

"From what I know, the last night he visited her, he did not," Sarutobi explained. "However, I couldn't quite replace him then. People began to believe she was... cursed. The first couple sent to watch her had a nervous breakdown, and one of the ANBU that watched her, a rising star even, went completely insane. People were blaming her."

Vita sucked in a breath. "Idiots... She wouldn't harm a fly..." Vita muttered.

"One of her two remaining ANBU guards quit right then," Sarutobi explained. "Apparently, he said some mean things to her as he left and... well, he hasn't been ANBU since."

"The last one..."

"Is the source of this trauma. The situation you describes... matches how Naruto lost her last ANBU guard. You must understand, the last remaining ANBU guard had been with her practically since her birth, he was for all intents and purposes except blood her big brother. The details are unimportant. What you need to know is that Naruto was taken captive once, and in saving her... Her protector gave his life, taking a lethal attack for her."

"So Naruto... didn't fear for herself," Vita mentioned, her eyes closing. "She feared for me..?"

"Naruto doesn't fear death. She never has. Years ago, she'd have welcome it with open arms. What Naruto fears, above anything and everything else... is being left alone again."

Naruto frowned. She was feeling definitely odd. It wasn't a painful sort of odd... she was just... full of energy, and she didn't know what to do. She'd already spent most of the morning just casting and casting and casting, trying to see if she could tire herself out. At least then she'd be able to stop bouncing in her seat as she waited for everyone to come in for breakfast. She'd noticed that her levels of energy had been steadily rising, but she didn't want to trouble anyone. Last night had been the worst, she'd flat out had problems sleeping. Normally, she reached the end of the night utterly exhausted, but she'd been sleeping later and later, and she'd had to spend the entire night tossing and turning in her bed.

Fortunately, her bedmates for the night had been entirely open to the idea of a pillow fight. Even if Zafira had totally smacked everyone and shown why you don't ever challenge him to a pillow fight, Naruto had actually managed to outlast her knights' stamina.

That was... insane, to say the least.

Well, considering how weird it was for all four of them to agree to share a bed with her, it was a weird night to begin with. They hadn't even protested, and seemed eager to do it. Vita seemed to even cling to her, for some reason.

The time spent wondering whether they might have done something incredibly stupid and they were feeling guilty didn't help her find sleep, either.

Fortunately, she didn't wake up tired even though she hadn't slept very much. In fact... she woke up fully rested and refreshed, almost as if she'd had a good eight hours of sleep. For someone who usually slept closer to ten hours every night and still woke up with the feeling of exhaustion she went to sleep with, this was a completely new experience.

Unfortunately, she couldn't even enjoy cuddling with her knights in the morning, as she just couldn't stay still. She'd wound up eventually coming down and taking all the time she had from waking up so early to cook the most elaborate breakfast she'd ever made for them, and even added extra portions for Nanoha and Fate, and she still had nothing even resembling tiredness creeping up on her.

Nanoha and Fate seemed to be particularly happy, that morning, and they revealed it was because they'd finally be getting their devices back. And also, it was the time that Lindy would come to speak with the Wolkenritter directly, presenting all the neatly prepared evidence so that the Book of Darkness incident could be made to rest. "So that means you're leaving, then..? Are you... happy because you're leaving?"

"Not at all," Nanoha countered, instantly frowning. "Why would you think that?"

"They're all the same," Naruto said, eyes closed. "Everyone leaves, eventually. You're no different, are you?"

"What!? Of course we won't leave you alone, we're your friends!" Nanoha protested.

"But you're leaving me!" Naruto yelled, stomping her foot, "just like all the rest... you can't be my friends, you're just gonna leave like everyone else..."

"We're your friends, Naruto-chan," Fate said, trying to reach a hand to touch Naruto's shoulder, but her fellow blonde shook her off. "We can't live here. We have families and other friends-"

Naruto scoffed.

Nanoha frowned. A rich girl... probably'd had quite a few fake friends who only wanted to be with her for her money, she reasoned. Alisa and Suzuka had that problem fairly often, until eventually they gave up on forming friendships when people approched them, instead resigning to the fact that they'd have to approach people they wanted to befriend on their own. Or wait for Nanoha to beat them up, anyway. "Listen, Naruto-chan, just because we're going back to our homes doesn't mean we won't visit you..."

However, Naruto simply turned around and left, leaving them both perplexed.

Shortly after, they began to hear multiple castings of the same spell over and over again. Apparently Naruto was angry, because she was casting Bloody Dagger over and over again. As Nanoha and Fate rushed to the yard that separated the Dojo from the main house, they gasped as they saw Naruto casting spells upon spells at the ground. There was a sizable hole in front of her.

"It appears mistress has reconsidered the idea of a pool," Zafira noted, dryly, as he stepped into view. "But I am still interested in learning just what is going on here."

It was interesting to note he had a rather large mug of coffee in one hand, showing he'd stopped by the breakfast table.

"This is completely stupid, probably the most idiotic thing we could possibly do, and I guess I just answered the question on why we're doing it," Zafira lamented, shaking his head and burying his head on a pillow made from his hands, almost wishing he wasn't the stoic Belkan knight he was. Guardian Beast or not, the Belkans took knight training seriously, and Zafira had indeed been trained as a knight. He could even hold a sword in his beastly form!

"Hey. Think about it like this. At least we're gonna have a pool!" Shamal said, smiling.

"Just a small one, though, 'cuz I like having a yard," Naruto said, frowning.

"Shouldn't you get a permit to do something like this?" Nanoha asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"I don't know," Naruto said, shrugging. "But the Old Man'll probably know. Hey, Old Man, do we need a permit to do this?"

Said Old Man turned around from where he was finalizing the deal with Signum on the pool's placement and zie. "Technically, you do, but I'm the supreme dictator of this village, so..."

"... That is horribly convenient," Nanoha mentioned, shaking her head.

Fate shrugged. "I can't complain. My adoptive mother's an Admiral," she said.

"Why are all my friends rich or influential?" Nanoha asked.

"Why do you make friends by making them explode?" Fate asked, tilting her head. "Some questions just don't have answers, Nanoha."

"You're making fun of me, aren't you?" Nanoha asked, pouting.

"Well, I feel a lot better after destroying something," Naruto said, shaking her head.

"That's good, because we've got an hour to get you cleaned up, we can't very well receive Admiral Harlaown stinking of sweat and covered in dirt, can we?" Shamal asked, smiling at her.

"We really should take a bath, as well," Nanoha admitted. "Haven't had time since this morning's training."

"Neither did I," Fate added.

"Well, let's hurry that up, I've got to cook up a feast! We're gonna have guests!"

Meanwhile, back in the Asura, the last few preparations were being made.

"You know I'm Konoha, right? You don't need to waste a 'slot', so to speak, bringing me along," Jiraiya said, stretching a little.

"Yes, I know, but they won't accept that. The moment you accepted to come with us, they probably began to consider you a hostile," Lindy said, shaking her head. "Nevertheless, I want to make sure that we're all on the same page. Yuuno, would you mind giving one last once over?"

Jiraiya smiled a little. "You know, you could've just told me I was going to get a lecture," he said, shrugging.

"It's simple. Research indicates that the Book has been corrupted. When exactly is unknown, but all the available research has managed to determine that the corrupted programs are the Defense and Rebirth programs, both of which are out of control. The TSAB was never able to gain administrator rights to disable or reset those programs in all of their experiments with the book. There is a minimal possibility that the Master might be able to delete them, but it's slim, as they are corrupted."

"Sounds complex. You know something more. Explain?"

Yuuno nodded. "Admiral Graham's plan circumvents the need to destroy the book, which means the Rebirth program won't come into play, and the book won't seek another master as it still has one. In theory, the book itself is not problematic. If we were able to somehow clear or seal the corruption away from the rest, it'd be possible to defuse the situation without requiring the use of the Eternal Coffin."

Jiraiya nodded. "Basically, what you need is for Naruto to separate the corrupted parts of the book herself. If she can claim administrator rights, then she can do so, correct?"

"Yes. However, even doing so would cause the Defense Program to go Berserk. Furthermore, as they are corrupted, they are also tied, and cannot be truly eliminated. The Rebirth Program is a core function of the book, which means that it cannot be disabled or removed. The only choice would be to reprogram it to exclude the Defense Program when it is reestructuring the book. As we lost the means with which the book was created, we have no idea how to reprogram it to do such a thing as of yet."

"Have you tried sealing away the Defense Program? If it isn't destroyed, it shouldn't be regenerated, right?" Jiraiya asked.

"It's been tried. However, the Defense Program has always managed to remove itself from all containers it has been sealed in, by corrupting them from within. It then goes on a rampage and either destroys itself or rejoins the main book," Yuuno explained. "There has been no succesful seal that lasted more than a couple of days on record," Yuuno said.

"Hm. So it's just too powerful to remain sealed, hm?" Jiraiya asked, frowning.

"Yes. No container has survived-"

"Has a living container ever been considered or used?" Jiraiya asked, breaking through Yuuno's concentration.

"Wha- no, never," Yuuno said, though his professionalism almost shattered at the mere idea.

"It's a common practice. In this world, there are nine persons known as Jinchuuriki. Each of them has been used to hold a very powerful beast at bay, by sealing it within their bodies. Naruto is one of them. Her body has been used to seal and hold the strongest of them all, the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Any other container any of those beasts are sealed in is quickly corrupted and destroyed, allowing them to roam free. The concept here seems to be similar," Jiraiya said, crossing his arm.

"How was this 'Kyuubi no Kitsune' sealed, if you don't mind me asking?" Lindy asked, frowning.

"Like I said, it was the strongest of the Tailed Beasts," Jiraiya said, shaking his head. "So it took a lot more than the others to seal. My apprentice, then our village's leader, used a special seal called Shiki Fuuin... What it does is summon the Death God to drag both the caster and the target's soul into its stomach, sealing them forever," Jiraiya explained. "It's a sacrificial jutsu that takes the caster's life. My apprentice used his own daughter as the prison for the Kyuubi, while he himself was eaten by the Death God."

Lindy frowned and shook her head. "It's unacceptable, we won't exchange a sacrifice for another one," she said.

"No, no it isn't," Jiraiya said. "I'm fifty six years old, Admiral-chan. I've lived a long and full life. If extinguishing my life is the price to pay to make sure my goddaughter can live hers... It's not too high a price."

"Mister Jiraiya..." Lindy muttered, her tone sad.

"To perform that kind of sacrifice..." Yuuno muttered.

"It's nothing," Jiraiya said, waving his hand. "That girl is my goddaughter, but... I've never been there for her. When her father died, I was devastated and I... ran away. I was a coward, I was afraid I couldn't raise her the way she should be, so I threw myself into my work. I... I have no right to call myself her godfather, and I have no right to claim I had a hand in turning her into the lovely young girl that she is," Jiraiya said, shaking his head. "The very least I can do for her is this. She doesn't even know me, and this is for the best. I'd hate for her to be sad because of this. Admiral-chan, promise me that when all this is done... you will never tell her."

"But- you can't-" Yuuno protested.

"I understand. Then... our plan..."

"We need Naruto to become the administrator and cut out the corrupted parts of the book. I'll seal them away forever," Jiraiya said, simply. "The Knights should be okay with that much..."

"The problem is... it involves something very, very risky," Lindy said, sighing.

"In order for Naruto to become an Administrator, she would need to activate the Book in full," Yuuno commented. "She will probably have a very small window of opportunity before the corrupted Defense Program takes her over," he added.

"While I was never involved in her upbringing... I know my goddaughter is a strong girl. I have faith in her, she can do it," Jiraiya said.

"And... it's the most... satisfactory," Lindy said, trying to find a better word and failing, "choice we have right now."

"That's it, then, we're all on the same page. Now, remember, no mentioning to that girl I'm supposed to be her godfather. She's already got enough on her plate. Far as she knows, I'm just a ninja, and that's the way it ought to remain."

Yuuno and Lindy nodded.

"Are we all ready, then?" Lindy asked.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Yuuno said.

"I was born ready," Jiraiya confirmed.

"Very well, then."

The designated meeting point was normally chosen to be a neutral area, away from any innate advantages either side could use. It was a simple idea to put an even playing field so that the diplomatic negotiations could be carried out in a more... satisfactory manner. However, Konoha was not neutral ground and taking Naruto out of it wasn't acceptable, given the amount of people who believed her to be a container of a tailed beast.

Even though it was 'enemy territory', the best place to have the conversation would be... in the very same manor the Wolkenritter lived in. Almost over dinner, in fact. Fortunately, the main dinning hall was more than large enough to accomodate all of the involved parties, all five of the 'TSAB' side as well as all five of the Wolkenritter's side, Naruto included.

The large table seated all ten comfortably. Naruto, naturally, sat at the head of the table, though she herself didn't see the point of why, her knights had insisted. Directly to her left was Zafira, and directly to her right was Signum. To Signum's right was Shamal, and to Zafira's left was Vita.

Directly opposite Naruto was Lindy, who clearly understood the reason for the table's layout. To her right were Jiraiya and Yuuno, and to her left were Nanoha and Fate. Despite what should've been a heavy and oppressive atmosphere, everyone actually enjoyed a rather nice meal with plenty of table conversation. A lot of it was actually because of a stream of lewd jokes and innuendo.

A lot of it was centered around Nanoha, over whose head the jokes flew without a care in the world. However, Fate and Yuuno were both looking like ripe tomatoes and Lindy was scarcely holding back her giggles.

Of course, Jiraiya also made his customary passes at each and every one of the attractive adult females around, but was dejected when he got shot down each and every time, not even being able to score a pity date with Lindy.

Finally, however... dinner came to an end, as Naruto, still brimming with energy, went about picking up the dishes and utensils. Nanoha, Fate and Yuuno quickly stepped up to help her, and they were done with the dishes in record short time, despite the large amount. Soon enough, everyone was seted into the table once more, back in their original starting positions.

"We have welcomed you into our home, you came in peace," Signum stated, closing her eyes and leaning a bit into the table to get a better look at Lindy. "Don't make us regret giving you this chance."

Lindy smiled. "Let us begin, shall we?"

Peaceful solutions? In my Nanoha/Naruto?

This is preposterous!