Change in life

by Naruhina 123

The life of naruto i very painful so he quite his life and start with new his life will new thing

25. Chapter 25

Silence was met with Haruko 's proclamation. Even Miya and Naruto were staring at the young man with wide eyes.

"Excuse me."

It would be Tsukiumi who would eventually break the silence.

"But didst thou just say that the wanted... out of the Sekirei Plan?"

"Y-Yes," Haruko stuttered slightly, rearing back from the look he was receiving from the blond beauty. "Kuno and I want no part in the Sekirei Plan. We just want to live our lives in peace."

Tsukiumi snorted, loudly. "Unbelievable. Dost thou actually believe thee has a chance of escaping Shinto Teito with thee's life intact?"

"Well –"

"Are you that much of a coward that you refuse to fight?"

"No, it's not –"

"And what about you!" Tsukiumi whirled on Kuno, pointing at the girl with a shaking finger and making the poor waifish blond scurry away from the angry woman to hide behind her Ashikabi. "Where is thou's pride as a Sekirei! We do not run from battles! We face them head on to claim the glory of victory! What kind of cowardice is –"

"That's enough, Tsukiumi."

Everyone turned to look over at Naruto in surprise. The blond's head was tilted down, eyes closed, and a serious expression on his face. It was not a look the others were used to seeing. Of those who knew him best, only Musubi And Hinata had ever seen him truly serious.

"You shouldn't degrade someone just because they don't want to fight. If anything, Haruko and Kuno should be praised for not wanting to take part in that sick man's scheme's. Isn't the goal of everyone, be they Sekirei or Ashikabi, to live with their loved ones in peace? Is that not why all Sekirei fight so hard? So that they can come out on top and live with their loved one?"

"Naruto?" Tsukuimi looked at the blond in open mouthed surprise. Not that she had no reason to be surprised. Her Ashikabi was showing a side she had yet to witness, a side none of them had witnessed yet. She had seen him act playful, had seen him act childish, understanding, compelling and intelligent. Neither she nor the others had ever heard him sound so wise before, nor had they heard him sound so old. It was as if the blond had aged before her very eyes, leaving the once young and powerful man she had chosen to be her Ashikabi and replacing him with someone who had seen it all and now longed for death.

"No one should be forced to fight to be with their loved ones," Naruto said softly, his voice a mere whisper. There was an expression of such agonic pain on his face that it was impossible for even the most naïve to miss. "No one should have to compete in a game because of the whims of some sick fuck who thinks pitting people against each other is fun."Hinata worried about Naruto She knew what she meant of those words.

Every one looked at the blond with varied reactions. Musubi was looking at him with a combination of surprise and curiosity, Inside of Yume also stared at Him. she obviously had no true clue as to what was going but may be Yume knew. Tsukiumi had an expression that was equal amounts shock and hesitancy, like his words had struck some kind of chord within her, yet at the same time she was trying to deny her feelings. Matsu had a calculating frown on her face, no longer the playful and perverted Sekirei they had all known up to this point, her demeanor more befitting of someone who had experience with battle. Kusano was much like Musubi, only she didn't seem to really be paying any attention at all, busy as she was drawing with a set of crayons she had gotten from somewhere. Miya on the other hand, was giving Naruto a very calculating look, her purple eyes gazing at him with something far more in depth than idle curiosity.

However, while all the expressions were different, and perhaps for different reasons, each of them couldn't help but wonder just what someone had to go through to be capable of gaining such an anguished expression.

Except for Kusano, perhaps.

Standing up so abruptly that he startled everyone around, Naruto began walking to the exit without a back words glance.

"I'm going to take a bath."

As Naruto began moving towards him, Kagari's eyes widened. He made to walk away, but before he was capable of it, an intense burning in his chest forced him to the ground.

Naruto walked out of the dining room, stopping when he saw Kagari kneeling on the ground with a hand on his chest and a feverish red hue on his face.

"Hey, are you ok, Kagari-san?" asked Naruto as he walked over to the silver-haired fire user, a frown marring his face. The frown was more than just concerned. He, and it was very likely that none of his Sekirei had ever seen the fire user look so feverish before. In fact, Naruto had been under the assumption that someone who used fire couldn't get feverish.

"I-I'm fine," Kagari said, his voice sounding slightly higher pitched than usual. The man winced, likely from hearing his hire than normal voice. That was just another cause for concern in the blond's opinion.

Naruto's frown increased. "You didn't end up burning yourself again, did you? Because I swear if you did, I am going to break my foot off in your ass."

Kagari chuckled a bit. Leave it to Naruto to say something violent in the hopes of lightening the situation. Of course, Kagari had few doubts that the blond was actually serious. If there was one thing anyone living under this roof knew, it was that the blond rarely ever joked about something so serious.

Of course, that chuckle also brought a wave of pain, causing Kagari to let loose a low groan.

"Seriously though, Kagari," Naruto started speaking again. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing," Kagari stuttered slightly. Naruto moved to give the fire user a helping hand, but said appendage was slapped away almost violently, causing the blond to recoil in surprise.

"Sorry," Kagari said, breathing heavily as he forced himself to stand on his own two feet. "It's nothing serious. I've just been feeling under the weather lately, that's all."

Had Kagari been looking at Naruto, he would have seen the frown that said 'why do I not believe a single word coming out of your mouth' that was marring the blond's face. He didn't, however, and thus remained blissfully unaware of the bond's complete skepticism.

"Anyways, I think I'm going to head to my room and get some rest." With that, Kagari began walking away, stumbling ever so slightly as he did.

The frown on the blond's face grew even more prominent as he watched Kagari disappear around a corner. There was something suspicious going on with his silver-haired housemate. He was tempted to follow the man and get some answers – through a beating if necessary – but after a few seconds, decided it wasn't worth it.

He would find out sooner or later. Kagari would tell them what was wrong eventually, and if he didn't well, beating the answers from him wouldn't be that hard.

With those thoughts in place, Naruto set off towards the bathhouse. Maybe now he could relax even if just for a little while.

XoX

Tsukiumi watched Naruto leave with a look of shock upon her face. While a part of her was angry at the blond's words, there were so many other emotions swirling around her at the moment that her anger was being completely overwritten. Of course, given the sheer number of thoughts and emotions going through her mind at the moment, there was very little chance of her state of mind staying with any one emotion for more then a few seconds.

Why had Naruto reacted like that? It was the first and foremost thought on her mind, and the one that all of her other myriad of of thoughts and emotions brought her back to. The way he had responded to her words was so different than the way he usually acted, it had almost been like she was looking at an entire different person.

Those words and that face, they had seemed so despondent. In those few seconds, Naruto had looked so... weak. It was a hard concept for her to grasp, the blond Ashikabi had always seemed so strong, unfaltering, unfailing, a pillar of strength that never seemed to waver. Even though she had only known him for a little while, she knew enough to know that the Naruto she always saw, and the Naruto that had just left were not the same Naruto.

As the rest of the world began moving again for the blond Sekirei, Tsukiumi noticed the many looks she was getting from those around her.

"What?" she asked indignantly as she eyed the frowning faces.

"Do you always have to be so rude to others?" asked Matsu. She seemed to be the only one willing to actually tell Tsukiumi what she thought; Miya was too polite to put something so tactlessly, Musubi was too kind (and naive), and Akitsu rarely ever spoke unless she felt it was necessary. The other two were new there, so it wasn't like they could actually say anything even if they did have the guts to do so.

Tsukiumi's response was to give Matsu a glare of her own. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly that," Matsu grabbed the edge of her rimmed glasses and pushed them up her nose, the light reflecting an odd glint off the lenses. "Those things you said just then, they were not only rude but tactless." It was very rare for her to actually be the serious one, much less for her to be the one scolding someone when it was usually she who was getting scolded.

Of course, she was usually getting scolded by Miya for getting into the hot and heavy with Naruto.

"Excuse me!" Tsukiumi looked enraged at the fact that the red head was calling her out. As far as she was concerned, she hadn't done anything wrong. She had simply been expressing her opinion on the matter. It bothered her that this scarlet woman was not only questioning her, but also insulting her with such blatant disrespect.

Well, Tsukiumi wouldn't stand for that.

Holding her hand out towards Matsu, water began coalescing around her palm. "I shall make thee regret thee's words, cur!"

"No..."

All possibilities of a fight breaking out stopped. The water that had been coalescing around Tsukiumi's hand vanished into thin air, the water dispersing back into tiny molecules of moisture. Matsu stopped glaring at the blond Sekirei, the lightning that had been passing between the pairs eyes disappearing. The soup ladle that had been just about to smack Tsukiumi for her uncouth behavior was sheathed (?) back in it's rightful place at Miya's side. Everyone turned to face the smallest of the Sekirei in the house.

Little Kusano was staring at the pair that had just been fighting, tears in her eyes as she held a small pot, a tiny sprout being the only greenery in the dirt that filled it.

"Stop fighting!"

And just like that, chaos erupted from the tiniest Sekirei.

"Kya! What is this!"

"Wh-What is going on! How is she doing this!"

"Oh no!"

Without warning, the little sapling in Kusano's pot quickly grew at an unprecedented rate. The plant sprouted several large vines that looked more like tentacles than anything else, quickly ensnaring Tsukiumi and Matsu... Along with Musubi and Akitsu. It was not long before the four ended up completely entrapped within the many vines sprouting from Kusano's plant.

All of them were exposed in a most indecent manner.

One long vine had managed to snake it's way inside of the rhombus hole in Matsu's dress, a bulge moving around her form from the initial point of entry. If one followed the snaky protrusion, they would see that the vine had woven it's way around her form entirely, ending at the crotch where the tip emerged from underneath her dress.

Musubi had two vines wrapped around her, one snaking it's way along her legs in a figure eight pattern. The vines kept rubbing against her crotch, which made the brunette blush and moan as she writhed in unknown pleasure and embarrassment. The other vine had snuck into her Miko shirt through the left sleeve, and came out through her now loosened top.

Hanging upside down to her left was Akitsu, the vines entangling her legs and lower half. She was lucky in that the vines themselves were not entrapping her as indecently as the others.

Unfortunately, she had forgotten to wear underwear and was thus reduced to holding her dress down (up?) to keep it from showing off far more than even Naruto had seen.

XoX

Naruto sat in the hot water of the bath, his head leaning against the lip of the tub as he stared at the ceiling. Fog rose from the steaming liquid, obscuring the room. In much the same way as the fog in the room, Naruto's mind was a jumble of thoughts.

'Why did I react like that to Tsukiumi-chan's words?' Naruto asked himself. It wasn't like the woman had never spoken harshly like that before. In fact, words like that came out of her mouth far more frequently than one might expect. Yet, none of the things she had said before ever got to him quite like this. What made this time so different from all the other times?

Naruto closed his eyes as the words of his long dead enemy bounced around in his mind. Of course, all things led back to his past. His failure. Even to this day he had never been able to escape from the past, it was always there in his memories, haunting him and making it so that he could never truly move on.

'Even though he is long dead, that man still haunts me.'

Perhaps that was simply the fate of one who could not die. Left to linger in this world being forever haunted by his past regrets and failures, unable to move on, unable to truly live. Because how could someone still be considered alive when they were stuck so far in the past they could barely see the present?

"Naruto-Sama"

The sound of the voice was accompanied by the sound of the Shoji sliding open. Soft footsteps padded into the room soon after. Naruto didn't need to turn around to know who was walking in on him. Only one person added the 'sama' suffix to his name.

"Musubi-chan is something wrong?" he asked, his tone far softer than normal. Even to his own ears, his voice sounded like it was miles away.

Musubi smiled at the blond, even though Naruto could not see it, he could practically feel the smile irradiating from behind him. The enthusiastic and slightly naïve Sekirei almost always wore a smile. "I was wondering if you would like me to wash your back?"

Turning his head to look at his first Sekirei, Naruto observed Musubi as she smiled at him, her face shining with an innocence that few could ever hope to achieve. After a second or two, he smiled as well, and the lingering feelings of loss and regret receded to the back of his mind."Ohh before You came out from the Bath Hinata-san wanted to talk with you. She was waiting was Your room " Naruto raised his eyebrow. He wondered what Hinata talked about.

"I would like that and I'll talk to her later"

" OH , Yume-sama asked me , is everything alright!" Naruto raised his eyesbrow looking at Musubi in confused look.

" Yeah, I'm alright. Thank you for asking" Yume was worried about him " Why he reacted at has seen Musubi faced was shown that Yume was worried about sighed he activate his Mangekyo Sharigun look into Musubi and entered into Musubi Mind.

Inside of Musubi

Naruto appeared in front of her " What happened Yume ? I told you I'm alright. Yume stared at Naruto.

" Naruto do you really think I'm stupid like other sekirei's. I was shocked when you suddenly reaction toward water sekirei. And I want to know why ?. She has little angry at Naruto the way he act like Tsukiumi.

" Because Haruka my friend in this city and I never want he and his sekirei Kuno was hurt and On the Tsukuimi and yelled at him that was he tried to encourage him to fight in this game in face he told his sekirei was not fighter that all" Yume satisfied his answer and both nobbed he deactivat his sharigun and came backed to bath house.

" Musubi-chan don't worry about me and told yume-chan everything" Musubi smiled at him.

" I wonder what Hinata wanted to talk with me"

It was truly amazing, how this seemingly naïve and innocent woman could pull his mind back from the brink with just a few words. Musubi had never known this, and Naruto would take the knowledge to his grave, but when she had found him – crashed into him was more accurate – he had been nearly on the verge of giving up. He had always tried to keep himself optimistic about his life, even if it could not really be called living, but after thousands of years of what amounted to him being alone, he had been nearing the point where trying to live for the lives of the friends he had lost in the Fourth Great Shinobi War had not been enough to keep him going. It was her light that had cast away the darkness of his past.

Even if it was only a temporary reprieve, he would be forever grateful to the small measure of peace she had given him.

The one who had it the worst, however, was Tsukiumi. Aside from there being far more vines wrapped around her, they were doing so in a manner that was so provocative the only reason Haruka hadn't passed out from a nosebleed was due to shock.

Currently, one vine had wrapped itself around her torso, the long tentacleish appendage had woven it's way around her breasts in a figure eight pattern, not only caressing the flesh there in ways Naruto had only dreamt of, but also causing her bust to nearly pop out of her dress. Her thighs were completely exposed as two long vines wrapped around her legs, lifting up the skirt while one final vine had slithered it's way in between her legs and was pressed firmly against the slit of her panties.

In short, Tsukiumi looked like the fantasy of every Otaku with a fetish for tentacle rape.

As a side note, it should be known that none of the vines even came close to Miya, almost as if they had realized doing so would bring nothing but death.

"I command the to release me! Release me now I say!"

"What's with all these vines!"

"Just when things started getting kinky! Of all the times for Naruto-tan to not be here!"

"Quiet scarlet woman! We do not need to hear thine shameless tongue!"

"I... forgot to put on underwear..."

…

…

"Akitsu-san, please refrain from speaking during future situations like this."

While all this was going on, Haruka and Kuno sat on the opposite side of the table, looking at the captured group of Sekirei in shock. They were beginning to think coming to Maison Izumo might not have been the best idea.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

After the Bath ,

Naruto Meet Hinata in his room. He was enter his own room and seen Hinata was standing near the window and watched the outside.

"Hinata-chan" She blinked turned to her backed see that Naruto was standing on the door way.

" Hinata-chan if you telling me I yelled at.." But it was cut of by Hinata " No , I Know everything about you and why you reacted so don't explained me that things" Naruto smiled at Her.

" So what do you want to talk about ?"

" Since we gonna helped haruka and Kuuno. Did you make a planned how did we helped him" Naruto raised his eyebrow he knew that Hinata always help him in every mission when they were together. Naruto walked stand near the window then look see that.

"Hinata , if we could exist this city we have to face the M.B.I military Members especially Karasuba" Naruto SENSE that growled coming from the Hinata. He sighed " and we only has Our shinobi skills and espeicially I have Uchiha skills and has Hyuga skills were not enough for that:"

" Naruto- Kun, why don't you turned in to bijju mode. You can easily faster then Normal shinobi and sekirei" Hinata said she gave is an idea for look at him.

Naruto shocked at her ' Hinata- chan ,that impossble , last time we fight Obito and Madara Uchiha. I used my full power to defeated them. Then Kyubi was vanished into my body along with all tail beast and I don't know what happen to them"

" I know you would answer that My naruto-kun" hinata smiled. While Naruto was shock at her STATEMENT. " If you again contract with tailed beast you could easily again strong"

Naruto stared at her in his nosence talking but he smiled " Hinata , I think kyubi would not happy would stayed inside of me as a power stock" Hinata surprised at naruto talking about " and Hinata-chan I have you along with girl who I love that is my power and I don't think no I don't want to contract with Kyubi again. But why did you suddenly asked Hinata-chan"

Hinata jerk up then look around " No I just though it would be good idea to you gain kyubi power and uhh never mind" Naruto confused look at her " what do you has plan ? Hinata asked.

Naruto grinned " Heh heh heh , I have a planned hinata chan. Only one person able to beat Karasuba was sekirei no 08 , yume. She is only powerful and faster then every sekirei" Hinata nobbed at him.

" but we need to talk Musubi first because Musubi has promised to Karasuba that she only one who fight with him" Hinata understand. Before Naruto could say someone interupt them. Both of them turned see that akistu standing infront of door.

" Naruto-kun and Hinata-san it is dinner ready please come" both shinobi glanced at each other and nobbed.

"We will right backed akistu-chan" she smiled and nobbed. She closed the door Naruto turned to Hinata " Well lets going Hinata-chan"

" Naruto-kun you should go further I'll come later. I want to stay here for a while" Naruto confused what she saying but he nobbed he left his room and leaving Hinata alone in his room. Hinata activate her byakugan that naruto left to room. She deactivate her bloodine line and look at the wall

" So you got you're answer Kyubi and Nibbi. Naruto-kun doesn't want your power he can satisfy with us" Hinata said towards the wall. Suddenly Kyubi and Nibbi came out from the wall and both of them take a human form.

" So this is your container Kyubi-sama" Nibbi the blue hair women said to Red hair women. " Rather then he so cute if you don't Mind I can take him as my mate. He so cute" Nibbi said while her two tails swingings on his back. While Hinata eye twisted at Nibbi sstatements.

Kyubi sighed " as I know him. He doesn't need my power for this mission that what I want" the nine tails women stared at door where Naruto leaves and smile " Alter all he was person who saved me and You and other Tails beast from Madara Uchiha" Nibbi nobbed at her.

" So what you do then Kyubi and Nibbi ? he doesn't want you power then what you do ?" Hinata asked.

Both Nine tails and Two tails beast glanced at each other then look at Hinata. " Hinata first we really thank you for lending us in this world" Hinata blinked at Her.

"Please Kyubi-sama don't greeted me. I would have thank you for lending you power for travel with them"

Flash back in the shinobi world

Forth Ninja war end Naruto disappeared. No one know where he gone even Hinata also didn't know. She became more sad every day with she left with out Naruto. Hinata was in hyuga compound in her room. Everyday she was cried for Naruto where he suddenly gone. She gone to the bed and tried to sleep but she not. She never forget Naruto.

" Naruto-Kun where are You ? I can do anything but I want stay with your side Naruto-kun" Hinata cried. She really love Him so much after he confessed Her love in pain battle but He never replied her.

" do want to stay with Him ?" A silent voice said. Hinata jerked up look surrounded where the voice came from. She activate her Bloodine limit to scan her room but No one was there. " Do you want to stay with Sahashi Naruto ?" Another voice said. Hinata eyes widened at her statement .

" Please , if you knew where he was. Please tell me I can do anything you want" Hinata begged. Suddenly two person appeared in front Hinata. The one was red women and other one is Blue hair women.

" Uh who are you ?" Hinata asked. Two women look at each other and smirked. The red head women suddenly take out her nine tails from the back and the blue hair women has two tails appeared on her backed. Hinata eyes again widened at she recongnised them.

" Kyubi no Kistune" Kyubi smiled that she recognised her. Then she turned to Blue hair women " Uh , who are you ?" Blue hair women paled

" What your problem you didn't recongnised me. I'm Nibbi the two tails cat" she introduced herself.

" uh sorry. I didn't know anything about you" Nibbi growled at her while Kyubi giggled. "I never though Kyubi was female, Kyubi-sama , you knew where is Naruto-kun"Kyubi nobbed. " Please tell me where is he!"

" First Hinata , Naruto is not here in this world" Hinata eye widened Kyubi continue " It not like he was dead" Hinata relief that he was okay " But he was in different Dimension"

"But why he suddenly gone !"Hinata confused. Kyubi sighed she walk forward put her hand over her shoulder. " Because Naruto was quite his Ninja life" Kyubi seen Hinata shocking face " Hinata, you knew the people how behave with Naruto. Before I removed from Naruto body I seen His memory. He want change in his Life. He want to enjoy the life style."

" I want go with him" Kyubi and Nibbi look at Hyuga girl she continued " I know how this village has treated him so badly . After he defeat Madara Uchiha , Jubbi and he save my life. I don't care myself and …" before she could say Kyubi put her hand over her Mouth.

"Shuush , don't say that Hinata. Naruto well lot of care about you. But he didn't expressed his love to you because that stupid promise he gained from Sakura. So I no we would help you to get your Naruto-kun but Only one condition"

Hinata stared at Her two female bijju " What is it ?"

"We also came with You." Both said at same time. Kyubi look at Hinata " Look Hinata , You know In this world their Nine bijuu only me and Nibbi was female Bijju." Hinata continued stared at Her.

" So"

" So" The blue hair women walk forward " So We don't to leave in this Ninja world. Who was seal again another person and rest of our life was stay on the chamber like hell."

"Nibbi , I'm Talking to her Nicely so she could help us. And your tone she wouldn't help us from..

" I do" Kyubi and Nibbi look at her surprisely that she accepted her.

" Kyubi-sama I would like to help you and Nibbi to move another dimension where My Naruto-kun stay" she look at Kyubi straight eye " I'll do whatever stay with naruto"

Kyubi smiled she gave a Scroll. Hinata took the scroll her eyes widened This is " God thunder technique". She was tried to denied to teach but for her Love She have to learn that Justu.

Flash back end

Kyubi and Nibbi Smiled they were done with Combine effort they were succefully traster in to Naruto.

" Hey Kyu-chan , can I get Naruto-kun as My mate He so cute , adorable, handsome and sexy guy as you told me about him." Kyubi blushed and Hinata eyes widened before and Nibbi could say she strike at her head.

" Don't say that. You knew I'm kyubi I don't fallen in boy who was my previous container" Hinata again stared at her.

" Yeah right. So both you enjoyed your moments in this world. Both nobbed so I think you've to go now. Kyubi-sama and Nibbi you've thank you for everything. Naruto didn't want your helped neither I'm. So take care both of you. And Naruto with me I can face thank you for your help" She take bow and leave the Two female bijju in the room.

" How dare she talk to us like talk to us like that" Nibbi lost her temper" lets kill them Kyu-chan" But Kyubi grabbed her hand to stopped her.

" don't to it Nibbi . Because of her we can survive in this world. But after the Tsukuimi incident when we both see the naruto-kun at his courage and power. As per Promised we never hurt him and her friends. As a Bijju promised you knew that we never break it"

Nibbi frown at Her and nobbed okay " fine"

" But" Kyubi learned forward and whispered her ear. She grinned look backed to her " when we do it"

" wait for the right time kyubi" Nibbi frowned at but she nobbed and both of them disappeared fir the place.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that night, Naruto was awoken by the sound of the entrance door being slammed open. Blinking groggily, he sat up in his futon and looked around the living room. It took him a few seconds to recognize where he was, so used to sleeping in his own room that he wasn't able to place the slightly familiar setting until voices started sounding out from the hallway.

"Oooh, I can't walk."

"Me either!"

Standing up after recognizing both voices, Naruto made his way into the hallway where he found Uzume trying to lock the door behind her and the woman, Kazehana, leaning against the wall, a smile on her blushing face. Even if Naruto did not have enhanced eyesight that allowed him to see the way their faces were flushed and their eyes slightly glazed over, he would have recognized that they were both drunk out of their minds simply due to the overpowering smell of sake that hung in the air.

There was also the fact that Kazehana was holding a nearly empty bottle of sake to her chest in a most loving manner.

Sighing, Naruto made his way into the hallway and walked over to the pair.

"Had a fun night on the town, girls?"

"Kya!"

It was almost amusing to watch Uzume as she released a shriek and spun around in an uncoordinated manner. She ended up tripping over her own feet, and would have fallen on her backside had Naruto not decided to do the gentlemanly thing and caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Careful there, Uzume," Naruto said in a chiding tone as he pulled her up. She swayed slightly, and Naruto decided it probably would not be a good idea to let her go, lest she fall back down again. So instead he wrapped one arm around her waist, and grabbed her left arm and threw it over his shoulder so she could lean on him for support. "You're not looking to good right now, probably due to all that sake you've obviously been drinking. Also, you may want to keep your voices down. As it is, you're both very lucky no one woke up from that scream."

"Naruto?" Uzume hiccuped in a drunken stupor. She blinked at him several times, then squinted her eyes. If she was as drunk as Naruto thought she was, then he was probably nothing more than a blurry mass of blond to her eyes.

"Yes, it's me." He smiled at the young woman. "Had a pleasant night?"

"Don't shcare me like that," Uzume said, completely ignoring the blonds mild teasing. She held her free hand to her chest as she hiccuped. "I thought I wash... wash... gonna get a heart a – hic – attack."

"I'm sorry," Naruto replied in a tone that said he really wasn't. "I promise not to scare you like that again. Now, why don't I help you and your friend get to your room, ne?"

"Awww, your shuch a gentlem... gentlema... sho kind," Uzume smiled in her drunken stupor. She managed to somehow find the strength to pull herself against him using the arm he had thrown over his shoulder, and planted a very sloppy kiss on his cheek. Naruto sighed as the smell of alcohol became imbued on his skin. He could feel trace amounts of drool sliding down his cheek as well. It certainly was not the most pleasant of kisses he had ever received.

Turning around to look at Kazehana, he saw that she was watching him with an expression of mild perplexity, which was only enhanced by her drunken stupor. He offered the woman his free hand and, after spending several moments looking at the appendage like one might a dangerous animal, smiled and took the offered appendage. Pretty soon, Naruto found himself almost gagging at the overpowering stench of sake, as Kazehana managed to mimic the pretty brunette's actions on his other side. Being forced to wrap his other arm around her to keep the woman from slipping, he began guiding the drunken duo up the stairs, listening as they spoke in very loud whispers.

"Ne, ne, Uzume-chan, you never told me you had shuch a handshome friend living with you."

"Thatsh becaushe he'sh not my... my uh... Shekirei..."

Naruto sighed. "You mean I'm not your Ashikabi."

"Right," Uzume nodded emphatically, her head bobbing up and down in greatly exaggerated motions that reminded Naruto of those bobble heads some people stuck on the dashboard of their cars. "He'sh not my Ashikabi. Naruto-chan already hash several Shekirei... it'sh too bad though. He'sh really hot!"

"I agree," Kazehana concurred with a drunken giggle. "He really ish hot." She looked at the blond in an almost loving manner. It reminded him greatly of how she was looking at her sake bottle just a few seconds prior.

Come to think of it, he noticed that she was no longer holding anything in her hands, unless he counted himself. Just where had that sake bottle gotten to?

"Shay... you shaid your name wash Uzhumaki Naruto-kun?"

"Actually, I believe Uzume said my name was Naruto," he corrected, dutifully ignoring the stench of alcohol that wafted off of her. Maybe his senses had just grown over the years, but he could almost swear this woman had imbibed more sake than Tsunade-baa-chan ever had. And considering how much sake Tsunade had been capable of drinking that was saying something.

"Right, right. You know, Naruto-kun, I don't have a... an Ashikabi," Kazehana hiccuped. Leaning in close, she gave the blond a very sultry smile, her eyes half-lidded and her face flushed. Though whether that was because she was wasted beyond all belief, or feeling horny was unknown to him. "Sho how would you like to be my Ashi – hic – kabi?"

"I'll think about it," Naruto said diplomatically. "Perhaps when you make the decision to become my Sekirei when you're sober."

Kazehana gave him a pout. "Aww, you're no fun!"

The two wasted Sekirei continued talking, with Uzume speaking about whatever was on her mind – which was apparently a lot considering the number of times she had changed topics – and Kazehana talking in an airy, poetic voice about how she and Naruto could become one with each other and find 'true love' together.

Honestly, how no one had woken up from all of the noise the pair were making was beyond him. Their 'whispered voices' were almost as loud as their normal, everyday speaking voices.

Not to say that he was ungrateful. He was very glad no one had woken up, especially Miya. The last thing he needed was for that woman to catch them like this. He did not want to give the purplette any ammo that she could use in the never ending war of the wits they had with each other.

Eventually they made it to Uzume's door. Unable to use his hands thanks to the pair hanging off him – they were now singing pirate songs in their loud, whispering tone – he was forced to use a foot to open the door.

It was a touch difficult, while the blond had excellent balance he currently had two very drunk women pressing themselves against him, their own sense of balance and coordination shot. Still, the blond managed by channeling chakra to his left foot so it would stick to the ground, while he used his right to open the door.

Once inside, he set the pair of drunk ladies against the wall. Again, this proved a tad difficult as it seemed neither really wanted to let go.

"Don't you want to shtay wish ush – hic – Naruto-chan?"

"Come, let ush fly away together and dishcover the power of love!"

Naruto gained a slight eye twitch as he did his best to ignore the pairs comments. "I'm just going to set up a pair of futons for you two," he said patiently. He stood up. "I'll be right back."

As the blond went over to closet and opened the door where the bed spreads were stored, Uzume giggled drunkenly. "Ishn't he shweet – hic – Kaze-chaaaaann~!"

Her response was a just as drunken giggle from Kazehana. "He'sh much better than that... that man I had fallen for... that man he – hic – he would have never done thish for me." They both giggled some more, by now, it was clear that neither really even knew what they were talking about. Most likely, they were simply talking and giggling simply for the sake of hearing their own voices.

"Ok you two," Naruto came back to the pair. "Futons are all set up. Let's get you to bed."

He decided to take Uzume to bed first, since this was her room and he knew her better than Kazehana. She giggled and batted her eyes at him, placing her arms around his neck as he lifted her into his arms and walked over to the bed. The covers were already pulled up, so all he had to do was set her down – and pry her arms off his neck – before pulling the covers up to her chin.

"Thank you, Naruto-chan," Uzume said with a loud yawn. Closing her eyes, she let out one final "good night" before she was out like a light.

Thanking the gods for small miracles, Naruto shook his head before getting back up and walking over to Kazehana. He immediately noticed that the woman's head was tilted down, and when he knelt next to her to get a closer look, saw that her eyes were closed and her mouth hanging partly open as soft snores escaped her.

After sweat dropping at how the woman had passed out on him, he lifted her into his arms and brought her over to the futon he had prepared for her. It was just as he finished setting her down, and was about to pull the covers over her that the woman woke up.

Or perhaps she had never been asleep to begin with.

"Oh, Naru-Narutwo – hic – become my Ashikabi so that we might find true love together!"

"Mmmrrbgggllleee!" Naruto was unable to speak, his voice muffled due to the predicament he found himself in. Kazehana had wrapped her arms lovingly – and very tightly – around his head (much like the sake bottle she had been holding before) and was now pressing – read, smashing – his face into her breasts. It was difficult enough for him to breath, never mind actually trying to gain coherent speech.

Eventually, mercifully, the woman once more fell asleep, her hold on Naruto weakening, though certainly not leaving. At least he could breathe again.

The blond tried to leave the sanctity of Kazehana's admittedly comfortable – now that he was no longer in her death embrace – breasts. This proved to be much more difficult then initial assumptions. Whenever he made an attempt at pulling away, the woman would unceremoniously tighten her hold back to her previous levels of suffocating strength. It was making leaving quite difficult.

Fortunately, as Naruto looked around Uzume's room, he found the answer to his problems. It seemed that Uzume had, aside from a love of cosplay, a distinct love of stuffed animals. One of them, a large pink stuffed elephant, was almost as big as him, at least in volume if not mass. A quick Kawarimi and Kazehane soon found herself tightly gripping the fluffy animal instead of him.

Rubbing his neck, Naruto sighed as he left the room, silently closing the door and made his way back downstairs.

He really hoped this wouldn't become the norm for those two. The last thing he needed to deal with were a pair of drunken Sekireis.

XoX

The next morning found Naruto up early then usual. If he were honest with himself, he hadn't really been able to sleep well last night, even before the two drunk Sekirei had interrupted him. Maybe it was just because he was so used to sleeping with one of his Sekirei now. The blond had never been one to lie to himself, and would freely admit that snuggling up to Akitsu, Musubi or Tsukiumi was amazingly therapeutic. Ever since he started sleeping with them, he had yet to receive a single nightmare.

Last night had been different. Like most of his nights before meeting Musubi, the blond's dreams had been haunted by his failures in the war. His mind had replayed image after image of the deaths of all of his friends, the horrid scenes replaying themselves in the same grotesque manner they had in real life. He had been forced to watch once more, as everything he ever loved was taken from him.

Naruto had been forced to watch the look of surprised pain that had appeared on Musubi's face as the sword pierced her from behind, then how she had collapsed afterwards.

Even though Naruto saw Hinata was spelt besides him He smiled he moved forward kiss her cheek "Hinata no matter what I protect you and all girls I square."

Shaking his head, Naruto did his best to focus on something else. These thoughts wouldn't do him any good, he knew.

Luckily, he had several thousand years worth of experience in dealing with nightmares. Pulling out several pans, Naruto started humming a quick, upbeat tune as he placed the cookware on the stove. As he turned up the heat, his mind began pondering on what he should cook for breakfast.

'I should also probably make something to help out Uzume-chan and Kazehana...'

He made a quick decision, and while the pans began heating, grabbed all of the ingredients he would need; milk, several dozen eggs, several english muffins, some butter, lemon juice, salt, white pepper, cayenne pepper, and slices of honeyed ham. Then he got a few of the herbs he himself had grown in the small garden he shared with Kusano out back. These would help him fix up the nasty hang over those two girls were likely to have.

He popped two english muffins into the toaster and poured some milk in the low heating pans. After waiting for both pans to simmer, the blond cracked a dozen eggs and placed six in each pan, and several slices of ham in another pan. As he waited for the eggs to finish poaching, Naruto decided to work on making the sauce.

Making the sauce was actually the hardest part for this dish. Hollandaise sauce always was. The first thing Naruto did was pour the egg yokes into a small bowl. This was actually done by first using a small fraction of wind chakra to poke a hole into one side of the eggs and drain them of all the whites, then he cracked the eggs and poured the yoke into the container.

Next up was the lemon juice. He didn't want to add too much and overpower the rest of the ingredients he would be adding, so Naruto only used a bit. He then mixed in just a little bit of salt, cayenne pepper, and white pepper to add flavor. Grabbing a wire whisk the blond whisked the two liquid blend off heat until it was white and frothy, after which he began to whisk vigorously over warm water. He watched as the egg yokes and lemon juice concoction expanded, becoming nearly three times it's original size as well as a pale yellow color.

By this time his eggs were all poached, and Naruto was quick to turn off the stove. He also took out the english muffins that had finished toasting and set in the last batch, before moving back to the sauce. Taking out some butter that he had warmed up in the microwave, Naruto dribbled the yellowy liquid into the sauce, forming an emulsion of the liquid butter and egg yoke content.

The final step in creating breakfast was to place one half of each english muffin on a plate, then he placed a piece of ham followed by an egg on each english muffin, and finished it up by pouring his recently created Hollandaise sauce over the egg.

Smiling happily at his creation, Naruto set the bowl of sauce down and placed the plates on a tray.

"That's a very interesting looking breakfast, Naruto-san."

Naruto's entire body stiffened at the sound of the voice. He reacted on instinct, twirling about as he flicked his wrist and summoned a kunai into his hand. With the sound of steel cutting air, Naruto swiped the versatile weapon at his attacker, going for an instant kill by slitting the throat of the person who managed to sneak up behind him.

His attack was stopped dead when a hand grabbed his wrist.

Blinking, Naruto's eyes widened as he found himself staring into the equally wide eyes of Asama Miya. Judging from the way she was staring at him in open shock, it was clear that she was just as surprised at what transpired as he was. Equally clear was that she too, had reacted on instinct.

"M-Miya," Naruto stuttered slightly. He stumbled back a step, Miya instinctively letting go of his hand, and pressed his back against the counter top, his hands gripping their edge to keep himself from falling. He closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath.

When he opened them again, his eyes were once more clear, no sign of what transpired or his inner turmoil located on his face.

"Sorry about that," he said softly.

Miya stared at him for a second longer, her eyes changing from their wide eyed surprise to the more normal look she usually held. She nodded to him, a frown showing on her face. "It's ok. I probably should not have snuck up on you like that." Not that she had realized she was doing such, Naruto had never had trouble knowing when she was behind him before. Which could only mean a few things in her mind. "Rough night?"

Forcing a bright smile onto his face, the blond replied quickly. "I suppose you could say that. I guess I just got used to sleeping with one of the girls."

It was clear from the frown on Miya's face that she did not believe him, however, much like before, it seemed the woman would not push him either. Instead, she placed a hand to her face, hiding what was no doubt a smile, albiet, one that was somewhat forced.

"Oh my, has Naruto-san finally begun giving into his lustful urges around his other Sekirei?" Miya placed her hands on her cheeks. "I don't think Matsu would appreciate that."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "On the contrary, Matsu would probably love it if something like that happened. I'm sure the idea of a threesome or moresome is something she would love."

"You're probably right," Miya considered with a shrug. Then she gave Naruto a cunning look. "Does this mean that Naruto-san is willing to have a threesome in my house?" She soon adopted a look of concern. "Oh what would Takehito think if he knew of the debauchery that was happening in this house?"

"If he married someone as gorgeous as you, he'd probably try and find some way to take notes for the two of you to experiment with later." Naruto studiously kept the grin off his face as he watched Miya's cheeks redden. It was a rare occurrence, in fact, it never occurred when she was in the company of anyone other than himself. Though that may have something to do with the fact that her teasing of him being a sexual predator were often limited to when they were alone, since he had no compunctions about teasing her right back.

"Would you mind taking breakfast into the dining room while I go and wake the others?" he asked, smoothly changing the subject as he grabbed several herbs and two cups.

"What are those for?" asked Miya, even as she made to do as he asked. Like a pro, the blush that had once covered Miya's cheeks had evaporated as quickly as they came. It was actually kind of surprising, since Naruto was sure that no one besides him was actually stupid enough to play a game of wits with the woman.

Very few were willing to risk being subject to the horrors that lay hidden behind that beautiful visage.

"Uzume brought a friend home last night," Naruto commented as he filled both cups with water, then began mixing the herbs into it and stirring until the entire drink became a deep green color. "Both of them were extremely drunk and are very likely to have a bad hang over upon waking up. These are a hangover cure that a friend taught me a while back."

Once again, Miya looked curious, but chose not to comment on the very small glimmering she had just learned about Naruto's past. There would be a day when she got through to him and learned everything, but now wasn't the time.

"Alright, breakfast should be set up by the time you all come downstairs. By the way," she looked down at the food sitting on the tray in her hands. "Just what is this particular dish called?"

"Eggs Benedict, there's a lot of conflicting reports on when it was created, but general consensus states it was created around the late 1800s'." It was actually quite a bit older than that, the meal itself had been one of Naruto's creations in the early 1840s', during his traveling in America one Alias Cornelius Benedict had somehow found his recipe and went on to create the dish for himself, thus the name Eggs Benedict had been born. "I figured since we always made traditional Japanese meals, it would be nice to try something different."

"Well, this is certainly different," Miya admitted before taking a tentative sniff of the food in her hands. "It definitely smells good though. I'll get breakfast on the table, so why don't you head upstairs and wake the others now."

"Right."

Naruto grabbed the two cups of his hang over cure and walked out of the kitchen. He soon found himself standing in front of Uzume's door, and through some more fancy footwork, opened it up and went inside.

The two woman were still asleep, light snoring sounds were coming from them. They must have woken up sometime during the night, because the two were now pantsless and topless. With nothing but a pair of panties covering their forms, Naruto was able to see almost every inch of glorious female flesh. It was a truly amazing sight, Uzume was capable of competing with Musubi in the bust department, and Kazehana had even larger breasts than the both of them. Combined with the fact that they had thin, athletic frames despite the phenomenal size of their busts and you had women who even the likes of Senju Tsunade and Samui would be unable to compete with.

Not stopping as he walked in, Naruto stopped in front of the one closest to him; Uzume. Setting his two cups down, the blond began to shake the beautiful brunette awake.

"Uzume, Uzume."

Uzume began to stir, first, her eyelids fluttered slightly before opening. They blinked as the light coming in through the windows hit her face. Then her eyes turned to him.

"Naruto?" she asked, before sitting up, wincing. She quickly grabbed her head in both hands and groaned. "Oooh my head. Why does it hurt so much?"

"You and your friend went out drinking last night," Naruto explained patiently. "I don't know exactly how much you two drank, but I could smell the sake coming off you from the living room." A slight exaggeration, but it served it's purpose of letting the woman know that she had been extremely drunk. "Here, drink this."

Uzume, not fully awake yet, did not even bother looking at the concoction Naruto gave her, simply grabbing the offered cup and downing it in one gulp.

She immediately regretted it.

"Bleh!" Grabbing her throat, Uzume nearly gagged as the grotesquely tasting liquid ran down her throat. "Ugh... that stuff tastes awful!"

"Yes well, if it actually tasted good than you wouldn't have much of a reason not to go out and get smashed again," Naruto offered with a smile. The hang over cure had actually been an invention of Shizune's, who had been forced to create it while wandering with an, at the time, 'drowning her sorrow in sake' Tsunade. She had taught it to Naruto before he left on his three year training trip with Jiraiya on the claims that 'he should make it whenever the man decided to spend more time drinking with women then training him'. Thankfully, the man had only needed to drink that stuff once before swearing off sake all together.

It hadn't stopped him from breaking that oath, of course, but he stopped getting drunk enough to the point where he'd need the cure to do it.

Tsunade had just made sure to get her alcohol tolerance so high she no longer got a hang over no matter how smashed she had gotten.

"Hey," Uzume muttered, blinking several times as her eyes began to clear. "That stuff actually works."

"Of course it does," Naruto said with a chuckle. "Did you think I would give you something that tasted that bad if it didn't?"

"I didn't want to say anything, but knowing you..." Uzume trailed off at the end, a teasing smile on her face.

"Ouch, that hurts, Uzume-chan," Naruto held a hand to his heart while she snickered at him. Shaking his head, the blond decided it was time to talk about the whole reason he had come up here in the first place. "Breakfast is ready, you should probably get dressed and head downstairs while I wake up your friend over there and give her the hang over cure."

following the sight of Naruto's finger, Uzume found herself staring at a still sleeping Kazehana. She was lying on her stomach, relatively speaking since her breasts were so large that they actually kept her stomach from touching the floor.

"Is it wrong of me to feel envious over her breasts?" asked Uzume as she began putting her usual shirt on.

"Yes," Naruto answered as he placed a hand on Kazehana's bare shoulder and began shaking her awake. "Yes it is, you have amazing breasts and therefore, no reason to be jealous."

He completely missed Uzume's face flush, busy as he was trying to wake up the other buxom beauty in the room.

He eventually succeeded in waking Kazehana, the woman releasing a low, pained moan as she pushed herself up and held a hand to her face. For a second, Naruto was memorized by the way her breasts bounced enticingly with each movement. They truly were one of the most magnificent sets he had ever seen.

'I never thought I would see the day where someone had breasts larger than Tsunade-baa-chan.'

"Ugh... my head. Looks like I drank too much."

"You certainly did," Naruto replied to the woman's obvious words as he thrust the last cup of hang over cure into her hands. "Here, drink that, it should clear up that hang over in a giffy."

Kazehana stared at the green liquid in the cup, squinting her eyes as if it would somehow help her see better. She then looked up at Naruto, still squinting, then back to the cup. It took several more seconds of this before the woman actually drank the contents. When she did, the cup fell from her grasp, forcing Naruto to catch it, as she began to cough and sputter.

"Ugh... that has to be the foulest thing I've ever tasted."

Naruto chuckled and pointed at Uzume. "That's what she said." Getting a snort out of the woman he was pointing to.

"How anyone could ever create something so disgusting I'll never... never..." Kazehana trailed off, blinking as her vision cleared and her head ache vanished. "Hey, it actually worked."

"She said that as well."

"Alright, alright, that's enough out of you, Naruto-kun," Uzume said as walked up behind him and began pushing him out. "Now why don't you get out so we can change in privacy."

"A little late for that, isn't it?" asked Naruto as he looked at her still pantie clad legs with a leer. Uzume blushed, but didn't relent as she pushed him out of her room and closed the door behind him. The blond chuckled a bit, then headed off in the direction of his room.

When he got there, the sight that greeted him was quite possibly the most adorable thing he had ever seen. Despite all of them – with the exceptions of Kusano ,Hinata and Musubi – sleeping on separate bed spreads, his four Sekirei had somehow migrated to a single futon, the one that Kusano and Musubi had been sharing. They were all cuddled together, with Kusano being held between Musubi and Akitsu, and Tsukiumi on the edge with her arms wrapped around the light-haired Sekirei's waist.

Wanting to wake them up quickly as he had wasted too much time dealing with Uzume and Kazehana, Naruto began clapping loudly as he shouted. "Alright girls! Time to get up!" His words and the loud clapping had the desired effect, as all four of his Sekirei woke up with a groan of complaint.

"Must thou be so loud, Naruto?" asked Tsukiumi as she dragged a hand across her face.

"For now, yes," Naruto replied, his tone rife with amusement. "Breakfast is ready, so I needed to wake you up somehow."

"Mmm, I would have preferred being woken up with kisses," Musubi said with a yawn, her arms stretching themselves above her head. Sitting beside her, Kusano nodded as she copied the older – in body if not mind – Sekirei's movements and mumbled her own 'mmhmm' to agree with the older Sekirei's words.

Akitsu murmured her own agreement as she smacked her lips together and rubbed the sleep from her eyes in a most adorable manner.

"I'm sorry," Naruto replied to Musubi's words with an amused smile. "The next time I wake you girls up I'll be sure to wake you up with all the kisses you want."

His words were met with a variety of smiles (Musubi, Hinata and Akitsu), blushes (Tsukiumi), and a cry of "onii-chan's the best!"

Two guesses who that last one was.

"Now then, Musubi, would you mind going to Kuno and Haruka's room and waking them up for breakfast?"

"Kay!"

"And Tsukiumi, I would like you to go and wake up Kagari-san."

"Why must I be the one who has to wake that man?" asked Tsukiumi with an annoyed huff. She crossed her arms over her chest and sent Naruto a mild glare, as if to say being asked to do such a menial task was beneath her.

Her response was a patient smile as Naruto gave his explanation. "Because I have to take Kusano downstairs before Miya starts to worry, and Akitsu will be waking up Matsu." It used to be him who woke up Matsu but due to the various shenanigans the two had gotten up to during that time – which had not only resulted in them being late to breakfast, but also missing various articles of clothing – Miya had forbid him from going near the red heads room unless he absolutely needed to talk to her.

Not that it stopped him from occasionally sneaking in, or at least trying to, Miya usually caught and punished them via her soup ladle every time he did.

Tsukiumi sighed. "Very well, I shall do as the asked. However," she pointed at Naruto, which when added to her glare made her look somewhat childish. "Do not expect me to do this every time thou asks!"

"Thank you." Naruto gave the woman a smile, the kind one might give a child when they just said something ridiculous. Of course, given that Tsukiumi said that every time she was asked to wake up Kagari, the blond felt he had a good reason to give it.

Tsukiumi just huffed as she stalked out of the room, Musubi bouncing closely behind her.

"Aren't you going to wake up Matsu?" asked Naruto as he turned to look at the only adult Sekirei left in the room.

Akitsu was staring at him, her brows furrowed and a small frown on her face. Naruto was about to ask if there was something wrong, when the light-haired woman spoke before him. "Are you alright, Ashikabi-Sama?"

Naruto opened his mouth, then promptly closed it. After a second or two he smiled. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"You feel... sad," Akitsu tilted her head as she said that last word, her eyes going slightly unfocused. A few seconds later she nodded to herself, then shifted her attention back to Naruto. "You hide it well, but I can feel sadness radiating from you."

Naruto stiffened as Kusano looked back and forth between the two, obviously not understanding what was going on. Akitsu used that time to walk over to him, taking one of his hands in both of hers.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Her voice radiated concern, it was hard to notice, it wasn't like Akitsu's tone changed in anyway. It still had that same monotone she always used when speaking, but for someone like Naruto, who was not only a master at reading people, but had also grown used to Akitsu's mannerisms, it was quite easy to detect.

For a second, just one second, Naruto felt an intense urge to do just as she asked, to reveal his deepest darkest secrets, and all of the fears he had kept well hidden since long before he had ever met her. As it was, only the strong will that he had been born with, and had been tempered even further by the flames of war, kept him from spilling his life story to her.

Yet even a will as strong as his eventually becomes brittle if not reforged. During this time, a small crack appeared within that will, adding to the many that had accumulated over Naruto's long life.

"Not right now," Naruto said, shaking his head. He could tell this did not please Akitsu, and not due to the empathic bond he shared with her. It was the look on her face. While mild, much like everything else about her, the frown she held spoke volumes about her feelings towards him.

"It's just – I'm not quite ready yet," Naruto felt the need to explain. He looked into her eyes, his own slightly pleading. "I promise, I'll tell you and the others eventually... just not right now... please..."

Akitsu held his gaze for several long seconds, in which time several flickers of emotion passed through her eye. Naruto had no clue what she was thinking, and the emotions she had moved to fast and were to well hidden for him to get a good reading on to know what was on her mind.

He could have used the bond of course, but he felt that, unless it was an emergency, he shouldn't use it. It felt too much like cheating to him. He should be able to read his Sekirei because he knew them, not because he could feel their emotions over the bond they shared.

"Okay," Akitsu said at last in a soft voice, her eyes gaining a slight look of understanding. Whatever she had been looking for through Naruto's eyes it was clear she had found it. "I'll wait until you're ready to tell me."

Naruto smiled as he grabbed Akitsu's hand and gave it a light squeeze. "Thank you."

With a small nod, Akitsu left the room to get Matsu. Naruto looked down at Kusano, who just had a confused look on her face and smiled.

"Ready to head down for breakfast?"

The small blond child looked up at Naruto, before a smile broke out on her face. "Yeah!"

"Alright then," Naruto bent down and lifted Kusano by her armpits, setting her on his shoulders. "Get a good grip because we're heading down!"

With Kusano cheering and laughing from atop his shoulders, Naruto disregarded the door entirely and jumped straight out of the window. Kusano laughed as they soared through the air, landing on the large tree located in the back yard, where Naruto rebounded off a branch and used it as a springboard to push himself off, landing on the ground in a crouch several meters below. As Kusano began chattering about how fun that was and that they should do it again, Naruto entered the house and made his way into the dining room where Miya had already set up breakfast.

He was not the only one there, aside from Miya; Kuno, Haruka and Musubi were all seated at the table. Haruka and Kuno were sitting on one side, the waifish blond looked a little more comfortable with her surroundings than she had yesterday. At the very least she was no longer clinging to her Ashikabi and shaking like a leaf.

Haruka on the other hand was grimacing as he held his left hand in his right. Naruto could see a large red mark on his hand peaking out through the cracks in between his fingers.

"You ok, Haruka?" asked Naruto, not really concerned but wanting to show some decorum. Proper behavior and all that.

Haruka opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get a word in edge wise, Miya spoke up. "He is fine. He just learned a little lesson on what happens when you try to eat when not everyone is at the table." Her sweet voice was accentuated by a just as sweet smile that Naruto was sure was not as innocent as it looked.

The fact that she was brandishing a soup ladle – which she really didn't need as there was no need for her to cook – at the boy may have had something to do with that fact.

Haruka had the decency to look sheepish.

A few seconds later, Akitsu and Matsu both came in. The pair walked over to their, more or less, designated seats as they told everyone good morning. Matsu did try to give Naruto a kiss, but Miya, already wary of their antics only had to brandish her ladle like a Samurai of old at the red head to get her scurrying back to her seat.

It wasn't long after Matsu's mad scramble for her seat that Uzume and Kazehana entered the room. The brunette immediately made her way over to the place she usually sat, however, upon seeing Kuno and Haruka her step paused for a single second before she sat down next to Kuno and gave her Fellow Sekirei a smile. It wasn't much, but it was more than enough for Naruto to confirm his suspicions. Akitsu had also noticed the small pause and narrowed her eyes, a thoughtful frown marring her face.

"Good morning everyone!" Uzume announced in her loud and cheerful voice.

"Good morning, Uzume," Miya replied as the others all gave out their own greetings. The procession of 'good mornings' were halted, however, when an exclamation of 'it's you, Haruka!' came from Kazehana.

Everyone turned and stared at the woman, who was cupping the face of a very confused, very red Haruka. The woman was speaking in a very airy voice, much like the one she had last night except she wasn't slurring over her words.

"I can tell, it's there. I can see it, the resemblance."

Just about everyone was staring at the two in confusion. Well, Akitsu,Hinata, Naruto and Musubi were staring at them in confusion. Kuno looked an odd combination of put off that this woman was 'putting the moves' on her Ashikabi, and depressed at seeing how large this woman's breasts were.

How come she was the only one with such small breasts.

'Neither Matsu nor Miya look confused by the things this woman is saying,' Naruto noted, just barely managing to keep the frown off his face. 'Does that mean they know something about these two that I don't? I could have sworn yesterday was the first day Haruka and that Kazehana chick had ever met. And what does she mean by the resemblance?'

They were questions for another time, especially when Tsukiumi finally walked into the room.

"Naruto, I went forth to find Kagari as thou had requested. But the strangest thing happened in that he did not answer, not even to... to..." Tsukiumi stopped talking the moment her eyes landed on Kazehana.

She blinked once. Then once more for good measure.

"NUMBER 3! what are you doing here!" Whether or not Kazehana would have answered became irrelevant when Tsukiumi launched a ball of water at the woman's face –

– and ended up hitting Haruka instead. The young teenagers head snapped backwards and he fell on top of his Sekirei, who went down with a cry, swirls in his eyes and his face and hair soaked with water.

"Has thou come to try and pick a fight with us! Art thou still in cahoots with that Veiled Sekirei who refused to give thy number!" asked Tsukiumi, more water coalescing in the palm of her hand. It was clear to those watching that the blond Sekirei was more than ready to blast the woman sitting next to Haruka into oblivion.

WHAM!

If she ever got the chance, that is.

Wincing as she received a powerful smack to the back of her head with something distinctly metal, Tsukiumi turned around and saw Miya standing right behind her with her usual perennial smile plastered on her face.

"L-Landlady-san!"

"Did you forget? I don't allow any violence in this house, it's unforgivable."

"B-But what about her!" Tsukiumi pointed over to Kazehana, who had somehow managed to find a bottle of sake and was now drinking from it. Though just how she accomplished this task when there was no sake present was a mystery that none there wanted to think about.

Some things were just best left unsolved.

"Kazehana already knows the rules here," Miya replied in a light tone as she turned her head to look at the woman in question. "Isn't that right?"

"Don't worry about me," Kazehana said, waving her free hand in the air over her head. "I won't be picking any fights or anything while I'm here. Besides," pausing, the raven-haired beauty took a large swig of her drink, then let out a huge sigh of breath that had Haruka and Kuno nearly gagging from the intense odor of sake. Kazehana didn't seem to notice as she continued. "I have no quarrel with any of you."

"And what of the Veiled one whom you helped escape from her fight?" Once again, Naruto took quick notice that Uzume had stiffened. He was sure that Akitsu saw it as well, for her eyebrows furrowed in thought as she looked at the brunette. So far, she was the only one who didn't already seem to possess some knowledge on the subject that had noticed.

"I was merely helping out a friend," Kazehana replied airily. "Besides, I didn't want her getting in trouble with everything that's been going on right now."

"That's understandable," Naruto said, interrupting Tsukiumi long before she could even open her mouth. "However, you do know that all you did was delay the inevitable, right? Eventually, we'll be forced to confront your... friend..." his eyes flickered over to Uzume just long enough for her to catch his eyes, sending a clear message to her that would be impossible for her to misinterpret.

"We will be talking soon," was the message.

The brunette quickly looked away, choosing instead to converse with Kuno, asking the girl about how Haruka became her Ashikabi. Naruto shrugged, she knew that they would talk eventually, and though he would prefer it if she came to him, he had no qualms about going to her and forcing the issue. He would just have to wait and see what Uzume's next move would be.

And speaking of next moves.

"Haruka," Naruto said, getting the attention of not only Haruka but also of everyone else at the table.

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking about your situation, about how you want out of the Sekirei plan." Those who did not know about that little tidbit – that being Kazehana and Uzume – stared at Haruka in surprise. "You told us that you want Kuno to be happy, and she couldn't be happy so long as you remained in Shinto Teito."

"That is why I've decided to help you escape."

There was a sharp intake of breath at his words. Clearly, they had effected more than just Haruka and Kuno, both of whom were rather wide eyed, but also everyone else in the room. Even Miya had not remained unaffected by this proclamation, she was currently staring at the blond in a mixture of surprise and apprehension.

The silence was soon broken by Tsukiumi.

"Surely thou art jesting."

Naruto shook his head, "I assure you, this is no joke."

Tsukiumi's eyes widened for only a second before they narrowed in anger. She grit her teeth, fists clenching and unclenching as if she wished to wrap them around someone's throat.

"Why dost thou wish to help these two?" she asked at last. "Thou dost not owe them anything. So why would you –"

"Because they deserve happiness just like everybody else," Naruto interrupted. "Kuno can't fight, as a Sekirei, not being able to battle pretty much means death. And if she dies, then that means she won't get to be with Haruka anymore. And we both know that there is nothing worse then a Sekirei being separated from her Ashikabi. It's just too cruel."

Naruto looked over at Musubi as he said this, remembering her words after Minaka's announcement about the new 'security measures' that Shinto Teito would have for people wanting to leave the city. She returned his gaze with one of her own, a curious look, as if she were wondering what he was looking at her for. It only lasted for a second before she gave him a dazzling smile, which he returned before looking back at Tsukiumi.

"Therefore, I'm going to help them."

There were several seconds of silence as everyone looked at them, digesting the blond's words.

That silence was soon broken by Kazehana.

"That's so precious!" she squealed, holding her hands to her cheeks. "Two lovers hand in hand on the run, and you wish to help them escape so they can live happily ever after! It's so sweet! This is the power of love I tell you! Love!"

"Yeah!" Musubi through her hands in the air as she decided to hop on the love bandwagon that Kazehana was espousing. "Love!" Inside of Yume her eye was twisted as Kazahana and Musubi love love song.

And just like that the tension from Naruto's words vanished.

"Shut thy mouth at once!"

"Calm down Panty-flasher-chan, we're discussing matters of love!"

"P-Panty-flasher! Thou has no right to speak to me like that when thee dresses like a strumpet!"

"Naruto-tan," Matsu looked at Naruto with another one of her serious looks. She pushed the glasses on her nose up a little higher, letting the light streaming in through the windows reflect oddly off the lenses. "I know that you want to help these two," she gestured to Kuno and Haruka. "But trying to help them escape from the capital poses a huge risk."

"MBI is a large and well funded corporation. They have a highly organized and powerful force, and not just Sekirei either. While the normal foot soldiers may not pose much of a threat individually, in large numbers they could easily overwhelm even the strongest of Sekirei. It doesn't help that they have the technology advantage."

"And even if you could get passed all of the soldiers, you'd still have the Disciplinary Squad to deal with." Kuno stiffened as soon as she heard the name, and both Miya and Kazehana had to fight in order to keep the frowns off their faces.

Matsu pushed her glasses up her nose slightly, the light glinting off them as she spoke. "Originally, the Disciplinary Squad was created to protect Kamikura Island, back when the islands discovery was first made known and an international army had been dispatched to obtain it. Nowadays, however, the Disciplinary Squad's purpose is to prevent all Sekireis and their Ashikabis from leaving the capital. They are utterly ruthless in what they do and would have no qualms about killing an Ashikabi to keep them from leaving, which is technically against the rules of the Sekirei Plan."

"Minaka chose the capital, Shinto Teito as the battle ground for all of us. He wants the Sekireis to fight here. You can't retire from the game without permission from Minaka, or help someone else to do so. Fleeing the capital would be seen as serious treason for both Sekireis and Ashikabis. That means doing something like that would make MBI our enemy." Matus paused just long enough to adjust her glasses again. "I'm not telling you not to go through with this plan, I just want you to think about this before you make a decision on whether or not we should really be helping these two."

Naruto closed his eyes and leaned back, his hands acting as his support. Everyone looked at him, waiting on baited breath to hear what he would say next. Even Miya couldn't help but wonder what was going through the blond males mind.

When he finally did begin speaking, it was in a voice that was soft, yet firm, and carried clearly to each and every person within the room.

"It's a little earlier than I had wanted, but I suppose now would be a good time to tell all of you that MBI has been my enemy ever since I first heard about the Sekirei Plan."

There was a sharp intake of breath. Naruto opened his eyes and looked over at the people around him. Musubi was, well, she was looking the same as always, a little curious and more than a little confused. Kusano also didn't seem to understand the implications, only paying attention because everyone else was. Akitsu on the other hand was studying him with her usual intensity, though that didn't seem to be too different from the norm with her. On the other hand, both Miya, Kazehana, and Uzume were giving him calculated looks; Miya more so than the other two. He had no clue what was going on through their minds at the moment, and a part of him was sure he didn't want to know.

The biggest reaction, however, was Tsukiumi, who was gaping at him like a fish. The look on her face would almost be comical, were it not for the fact that his statement was probably the least funny thing he had said.

"I don't like the Sekirei Plan, and I hate that Minaka is willing to play with the lives of others for his own amusement. He releases one hundred and eight Sekireis and tells them it's their destiny to find their Ashikabis, their chosen one, and essentially, the person they will commit their very lives too. Then he turns around and tells them that in order to remain with them, they must fight. Those who don't fight, or lack the strength to emerge victorious from their fights are taken away from their loved one, the person they spent so much time and hardship finding. And in the end, only one can be the victor, which means the ones who lose will be discarded like so much useless trash."

Naruto looked around at all of the Sekirei in the room. His gaze stopped on Miya's.

"I don't know about you, but I don't want to be the kind of guy that could turn a blind eye to this."

when Miya looked away, Naruto shrugged.

"I'll admit, I was hoping for a little more time. I wanted to get all of you started on your training before I all but declared war on MBI, but I can't just turn away from Haruka and Kuno's plight. We have the power to make a difference, so we should put it to good use. Right?"

His words were met with silence. All of the people there were thinking on what he just said.

"Unbelievable!"

All eyes turned to Tsukiumi, who was now standing up, fists clenched and teeth grit as she stared at her Ashikabi.

"Thou wishes to not only help these two simpletons, but also desires to do battle against MBI? Prithee, Naruto, has thou lost your mind?" Hinata tried control her tempar. "control Yourself Hinata! Control!"

" I tired my best but she always talk so much loud" Hinata tried to Control herself.

After looking at Tsukiumi for several seconds, Naruto shrugged. "Not as far as I know. My mind is perfectly intact and still functioning just as well now as it always has."

"Then why art thou agreeing to help them when thee must know it is a fools errand?" asked Tsukiumi, all about shouting as she demanded answers from her Ashikabi. "Why dost thou desire to go against the Sekirei Plan, a plan in which we Sekirei –"

"Are being used as nothing more then pawns!" Hinata slammed her fist down on the table, startling everyone into silence. Looking down at her fist and noticing that the table it was under now had several large cracks spreading out across it from the point where her fist impacted, the blond sighed and took her appendage off the table.

"Hinata" she blinked turned see Naruto grabbed his shoulder" Calm down , Calm down"

Hinata now continued in a much calmer voice after a few seconds of stunned silence, in which everyone stared at her in shock. "The Sekirei Plan is a travesty against everything I've ever stood for. That man is using people for his own sick amusement, he's twisting the noble goal you Sekirei have in order to bring about his 'Golden age of the gods' and controlling your very lives as if you were but mere puppets."

" The words rang in his head, pounding themselves into his skull with all the subtle force of a rhino stampeding down Shinto Teito in broad daylight. Naruto grit his teeth in frustration as he forcibly shoved the voice he hated more than any other out of his head. Around the room, the more observative Sekirei – Miya, Akitsu, Matsu and Kazehana – looked at him in concern.

"I want..." Naruto paused, then shook his head. "I want to create a world where all Sekirei can live with their Ashikabis in peace. You've all worked so hard to get to this point, to find your Ashikabis. To force you into a game that could very well end in your separation is a mockery of everything you have been through."

In the end, however, it did not matter why Naruto had decided he would intervene in the worlds affairs once again. It might have been just one of those reasons, it might have been a combination of all of them. It could even be for entirely different reasons. The fact of that matter was, it did not matter. He didn't care about his reasons, the only thing he knew was that he wanted to do something about the situation he found himself in. And so he was going to do it, and damned if anybody got in his way.

Tsukiumi stood there, looking at the blond in stunned silence. Her eyes were wide, her mouth agape, it looked like she had swallowed something very bitter.

Eventually, her steely gaze returned and her fists clenched themselves. She looked at Naruto with her heated glare and said, "thou art a fool if thee think thee can help those two and defeat the Sekirei Plan. I will take no part in this endeavor." With that said and a slight huff, Tsukiumi walked out of the room.

Naruto closed his eyes and released a slow exhale of breath. When he opened them again, it was to look at his other Sekirei. "And what about you girls? Do any of you feel the same way as Tsukiumi and wish to not partake in this quest?"

"No, no, Musubi wants to help Kuno and Haruka escape from the capital too!" Musubi shouted with an enthusiasm that only Musubi could have. She raised her hands in the air, as if emphasizing, or perhaps expressing her desire to help more clearly.

"Ku-chan will help too! Ku-chan wants to help!" Kusano seemed to mimic the enthusiasm of her 'big sister' .

"Ah," Everyone looked over at Akitsu as she looked at Naruto, a blush on her face. "I will help as well."

Naruto blinked look at her arms sees that Hinata grabbed his arms. Naruto look at her face seen the smile on her face. "I'm always with you naruto-kun" Naruto smiled he knew that she always help him. That caused all sekirei jealous at her.

Matsu sighed a bit, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, before a smile crossed her face. "You can count on me as well. I'll provide whatever technological assistance you may require."

"Thank you." Naruto smiled at his Sekirei as a gentle warmth pervaded his heart. Ever since he had met Musubi, emotions he had long since blocked off and ignored had been returning to him. Above all of them one emotion had become stronger than all the others, a small flame that had roared into a bonfire sometime when he was not looking.

Hope.

Hope that maybe, just maybe, he could find some measure of happiness. That perhaps his dream, one he had long since thought lost, of creating a family could truly become a reality.

And hope that perhaps this life would not just disappear after so many years, that these women who seemed to hold such unconditional acceptance and love for him would not be lost to the ravages of time.

It wasn't much, but sometimes, just having hope is enough to pierce through even the darkest of souls and help them find the light.

"Miya," Naruto said softly, gathering the attention of the purple-haired beauty who had been staring at Tsukiumi as she retreated. "Please call Seo and tell him to come over here. It's time he actually earned all that money I'm paying him."

Miya looked at Naruto's oddly solemn face for only a moment before giving him a small nod. "Of course, Naruto-san."

"Thank you." Naruto stood up, his face turning towards the roof, eyes looking far away at things only he could see. "

Kuno learn forward his ashikabi " Haruka-sama is this guy really stronger us"

" Yes , Kuno Naruto is my best friend in the University and mostly he has special power that he was more powerful then all sekirei's I know he could help him.' Nearly Miya has heard all the conversation.

"Umm, special powers huh"

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