Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor Sekirei, all characters, thoughts and ideas that exist in this story that were taken from the original works belong to their specific creators, Masashi Kishimoto and Sakurako Gokurakuin. Only original thoughts and or characters created in this story are my own.

Author's Notes: This chapter isn't as long as some of my previous ones I know, but hopefully that doesn't mean the quality is any less.

I'm not going to go into a whole lot of detail about the floor plan for Epsilon Point, the reason being… go to my profile and look at it yourself. I've linked to two images in my profile and those images are the floor plans, quite basic of course, for Epsilon Point. They describe it far better than I ever could with words. The dimensions aren't perfect but it gives you a good overall feel for the layout of the place.

Anyways this chapter is a like a breath of fresh air compared to the previous one. Hope you enjoy it.

Review Responses: When it comes to Ayesha's powers well… Let's just say all my cameos from other games have retained their abilities, Ayesha is no different. From there you can figure out at least some of her power, particularly why Ayesha seems doesn't seem to be able to stay dead. Hint, she used some Living Clay!

This is to the individual that commented on my review response about the 12 Sekirei… I'm not saying it's cheesy, I'm just saying that I can 'see' the reviewer's point of view. I can see how people would not like it for various reasons. I personally have no problems though; I wouldn't have written it if I did. I am capable of separating myself from my own views and looking at something from alternate angles. Doesn't mean I agree with those angles, just means I can see where other people are coming from.

Lot of people begging me to add Miya to the swarm… That's good, it just means I've built it up enough for most people to accept it if it happens. Yes I said if damn it, I refuse to confirm it until it happens! *Gets all shifty eyed* Although if it does happen it won't be for a while. Not until after the third stage and the Higa Arc, there are reasons for this. The primary reason for this being that a certain event happens then that would be the perfect catalyst to bring the two together with Hanabi's complete blessing.

Chapter 24: Epsilon Point

"Ah, this is the place, we're here," the real estate agent said as they neared their destination.

The destination was a fairly decent sized home in a suburban sprawl of houses near the center of Shinto Teito. Blanc had been invaluable in regards to getting a new place for Point Epsilon. With the tablet she had been able to pull up a listing of every home for sale in Shinto Teito. The homes ranged from small bungalows to a large mansion.

Most of them they had been able to eliminate right away. They wanted something large enough to support them, but small enough not to draw attention. This meant that anything larger than a four-bedroom home and anything smaller than three was out of the picture.

From there they eliminated houses based on the location of various utility lines such as gas and water. Any home that had the lines running beside it was automatically excluded from the running; they wanted something that they could expand underground without worrying about utilities.

After that they eliminated the cheaper half of the houses. Cheap houses usually meant there were flaws of some kind or another. They wanted a home that needed as few repairs and finishing touches as possible.

With all those filters in place, they were left with only three options to choose from. One of them was on the far western outskirts of Shinto Teito and was discarded as a result. With Hanabi's desire to move on Higa they needed a base from which they could strike out from. That location was simply too far away.

The second home was very close to MBI. Naruto didn't like being that close to Minaka's corporate headquarters so that home had been ruled out.

The last home, the one they had finally decided on, hadn't actually listed a price. It had simply said it would sell if an appropriate offer was made, so far the owner hadn't accepted any. In addition, the block the house was on was rather large and the utilities were similar for all homes. That meant there was a large plot of area underground that could be utilized.

The home was also still technically in the north, although it bordered the eastern section of Shinto Teito. It was far enough away from MBI HQ to be comfortable but not so far away as to be inconvenient should Naruto choose to do something about MBI.

And that brought them to where they were today. Both Naruto and Hanabi had wanted to meet with the owner of the home and discuss purchasing it. They were certain they could present an offer that the owner would accept.

To make sure that no one knew about their creation of this new hideout both of them were transformed into different people.

Naruto was now a five foot ten male with short black hair, brown eyes and were rimmed with fake glasses. He was dressed in a full black business suit with a white under shirt and a blue tie with black stripes. He carried with him a briefcase full of money.

Hanabi was four foot six young girl with long waist length black hair and green eyes. She wore an extravagant red floral patterned kimono. On her feet were a pair of elegant sandals and a pair of small star earrings studded with a single ruby in the center dangled from each ear. Her transformation was a true transformation having learned Naruto's secret to creating a solid Henge no Jutsu long ago.

The two of them were now Vash and Éclair Asakura. They were a father and daughter pair looking for a new home in the capital after having just obtained a job there. At least that's how they would look to everyone else.

The real estate agent was no different. The Yakuza had certain contacts in the real estate business that they used to purchase homes on their behalf. Naruto paid a great deal of money to utilize one of these agents to help with the purchase of this home. The agent had been instructed to pick them up at a nearby train station.

As Naruto stepped out of the car he turned to his 'daughter,' "Are you coming Éclair?" Vash asked.

"Yes Father, I'm coming," Éclair replied as she opened her door and delicately left the vehicle.

"Let's have a look at our future home," Vash said as he smiled at his daughter. He laid an arm around her shoulders and guided her towards the front gate. The real estate agent fell into step beside Vash on the way.

"It's only our future home if I approve of it," Éclair said with an imperious sniff, she wasn't going to be sold before she even walked through the front door.

They hadn't realized it until they had arrived but the entire property seemed to be walled, that hadn't been indicated in the housing ad but it was definitely a bonus. The main gate was for people. It was a simple double door gate with each door being eight feet high and three feet wide. It was made out of tochi, a type of chestnut indigenous to Japan. There was a buzzer just to the right of the double doors.

There was a second gate a little ways down but it was for vehicles and there didn't appear to be any sort of way to open it from this side. It probably opened automatically with a device of some sort.

The real estate agent pushed the buzzer and waited for a response. It wasn't long before someone answered through a speaker beside the buzzer.

"Yes, who is it?" a female voice asked.

"Hello Prime-san, I am Yuto Mikoto, the real estate agent that spoke with you on the phone. My client is here with me right now, is this still a good time to come in and look around?"

"Oh my I completely lost track of the time. Yes, I'll be right there," the voice replied.

Yuto turned to Vash and gave him a nervous grin, "Sorry about that, she's a little strange," he said. He wanted this to go well. He had been given strict instructions to treat Vash with the utmost courtesy and respect and had been promised unpleasant things if this didn't go well.

He had no idea who Vash was but he was well connected and rich if he could afford a home of this size in the middle of Shinto Teito.

A couple minutes later they could hear the pitter-patter of feet as some hurried across the yard and moments later they heard the door unlock. The door was pulled open and a woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes poked her head out.

The homeowner glanced between the three of them and flashed a small smile. "Sorry about the delay," she apologized as she pulled the door open the rest of the way.

They could see her completely now. Like Éclair she wore a full length kimono, only this one was violet in color and had large flowers patterned across it. She had a modest sized bust and a pair of incredible earrings dangled from either ear. Vash couldn't quite focus on them; it seemed every time he tried to peer into them his gaze would find something else to look at. If someone asked him to describe to them what they looked like he wouldn't be able to tell you.

"It's quite alright," Vash said as he gave the homeowner a once over.

"I'm Ramen Prime, it's nice to meet you," Ramen said as she extended her hand.

Vash's eyes widened in surprise. "Ramen! Your name is Ramen?!" He was in front of her in and instant. He gripped her shoulders hard as he stared at her with a wild expression on his face.

"I-Is something wrong?" Ramen asked in concern.

"Is something wrong? Good heaven's no! Your name is simply DIVINE! Whoever chose that name must have been struck by divine inspiration!" Vash gushed in exuberance. She had the most incredible name he had ever heard of. He was almost tempted to eat her right there and then just to see if she tasted as divine as her name suggested.

Éclair walked up behind Vash and pinched his arm, "Father, you're not here to ogle the homeowner," she said in a rather annoyed voice. If anything Éclair felt sorry for the poor girl, imagine having to go through life with a name like that? How could anyone think that was an appropriate name?

Well anyone aside from Vash anyways.

Ramen brought a hand up to her mouth and giggled, "Oh it's quite alright. My father named me that. I like the name."

Éclair sighed in exasperation and walked past her into the front yard. From her vantage point there was a small pond in the left corner of the yard. The water definitely needed to be treated as it was turning a little green. A few cherry blossom trees dotted the property. The grass looked as if it hadn't been cut since the start of spring and the flower beds at the base of the porch were choked with weeds. There was a small, but elegant, stone path that lead up to the house. The path was probably the only part of the yard that looked as if it had been maintained.

The house itself was a traditional two-story Japanese home with a porch that extended from the front door to the right side of the house. The front door was in the very center of the home and two small windows could be seen to either side. The left side of the house looked like it was an enclosed veranda.

"The front yard could use some work," Éclair observed as she glanced around the yard, "The flower beds are rather barren and weeds appear to run rampant across the yard." She sniffed in disdain.

"I know you enjoy sculpting landscapes. This place has much untapped potential," Vash said as he walked up to his daughter.

"I'm sorry about the yard, I live here alone and there's too much work for me alone," Ramen apologized as she quickly stepped in front of the two and began to guide them towards the house. The real estate agent was quick to follow, "It's why I'd like to sell the place and move elsewhere. This place is simply too large for just me," she said sadly.

"Have you always lived here alone?" Vash asked in concern as they walked up the steps to the front door.

"Yes, my father was supposed to move in years ago but circumstances prevented that from happening," the homeowner said as she opened the door and beckoned everyone inside.

"Sounds like an irresponsible father," Éclair remarked with a disdainful sniff.

Ramen smiled softly at her, "Some would think so, but I know the truth. It's better this way."

"You're such an understanding daughter, I almost wish I could trade you for Éclair, she can be quite the handful sometimes," Vash said as he gave Ramen a gentle pat on the shoulder.

Ramen flashed Vash a brilliant smile and her eyes practically glowed with happiness.

Éclair kicked her father in the ankle, "You just like her name."

"Well there is that too," Vash admitted guiltily.

Ramen's laugh sent shivers of pure bliss down their spines.

As Ramen gave the three of them a tour of the house Vash and Éclair couldn't help but notice just how defensible the home was. It was a veritable maze, there were no hallways, only a series a rooms interconnected and to get to the center of the house where the stairs were you had to meander through a half dozen rooms. While the doors were the traditional sliding shoji doors the walls were much thicker than what one would expect in a traditional Japanese home.

"My father always said safety was important so he wanted a home that wouldn't fall over very easily," Ramen said as she noticed Vash eyeing the walls, "The walls are all twice the standard thickness, two inches of that is steel."

"These walls are reinforced with two inches of steel?" Vash asked incredulously as he knocked on the wooden walls. You couldn't tell that by the way the wall sounded by knocking on it but if that was true then this was already an incredible house.

"Yes, but just the interior walls and the floors, the roof and the outer walls are thicker. They have two sheets of metal, with space between them. The outer steel wall has various slopes and angles to it," Ramen said as she guided them from one room to the next. Each room was relatively sparse but it had the feel that it had been lived in for quite some time. "The veranda is the exception of course; father enjoyed looking at the stars while drinking tea. Those walls aren't reinforced as heavily and are designed to slide open. It's a glaring weak point but sometimes one must sacrifice safety for comfort."

The real estate agent gaped at Ramen, he hadn't heard anything about this. Now he had an idea of just why the homeowner had turned down previous offers, this place was a veritable fortress. Provided she wasn't lying nothing short of a cruise missile or an armor piercing tank round could break into this place.

"That must have been expensive," Éclair murmured as she eyed the walls with a new sense of appreciation.

"Yes but I've had a while to build this place up," Ramen said as they finally reached the center of the main floor. Directly ahead of them was a hallway that transitioned into a staircase that meandered its way up to the second floor. The homeowner pointed at a sliding door just to their right, "The stairs to the basement are there, let me show you the upstairs first."

Vash noticed that the upstairs was definitely a unique design. Normally the hallways were in the middle and the rooms were on the outside but not in this case. The hallway almost made a full ring around the upper floor and there were three bedrooms snuggled together in the center of the second floor. The master bedroom took up half the second floor and had its own private bath while the other two bedrooms had a communal bath between them. The two small rooms were on the same side as the stairs down and the communal bath opened out into the hallway at the point where it expanded to accommodate the staircase.

"The glass appears to be pretty thick," Naruto commented as he looked through the window in the hallway. Ramen hadn't been lying when she mentioned just how thick the outer walls were. He had just thought it was a peculiarity of the house design but all the windows were set into a small alcove. There was almost half a foot of space between the hallway and the start of the glass.

"It's several inches of aluminium oxynitride glass."

The real estate agent began to make strangling noises, "Wait a minute! Those windows can block .50 calibre armor piercing rifle rounds?!" He asked incredulously, "ALON is experimental material! It's not even in production in the military yet!"

Ramen just smiled at the agent, "My father is a spy among many other things. The military only wants the public to think that glass is in the experimental stage. After all why would your enemy develop counter-measures for materials that aren't in use? Father liked his home to be as well protected as possible."

"I can accept that," Vash said as he agreed with Ramen. It seemed that Ramen's father and he had many things in common. "I take it his… job has forced him to relocate to another country?"

Ramen nodded sadly, "Yes, unfortunately he was forced to leave his home country and now I need to sell this place. I don't need protection."

Éclair eyed Ramen suspiciously but said nothing. She was well versed in politicking and the way Ramen spoke was very similar to that. Everything she said was truthful, but nothing she said relied on anything else prior. Each statement at first glance seem to play off the other but if one stood back you realized that they didn't have to.

Ramen was definitely hiding something but Éclair couldn't think of what it could be.

"Your father is a spy right? For who?" Éclair asked.

"For himself, and for the ones he loves," Ramen replied.

"Your father doesn't work for any major corporations, or MBI, or any government?" Éclair dug for clarification.

"Correct. He serves himself and the people he cares about. He doesn't care for the politics of others."

"Do you follow in your father's footsteps?"

Ramen shook her head sadly, "I wish I could but the path my father is taking is not my own. I have my own path I must walk, one that keeps me apart from him."

Éclair nodded, satisfied. Ramen wasn't lying, she could tell that much. Her father was a spy, yes, but he wasn't a spy for anyone that was a threat to them now or could be in the future. There was always the possibility that Ramen's father simply worked for whoever paid him the most, like an information broker, but those kinds of individuals relied on being trustworthy.

She'd make sure to give Ramen some extra incentive to pass on to her father to keep quiet about all this.

"Let me show you the finished basement," Ramen said as she guided them downstairs.

"I wasn't aware there was a basement," Vash said as he the four of them headed to the basement level. "At least not a finished basement."

"Oh it's finished, both of them are."

"Both?" All three of them asked. That was beyond shocking, houses didn't normally have more than one basement level.

The real estate agent was even more surprise than Vash and Éclair. When he had brought the last group of people through here a month ago the basement had been unfinished.

And there had only been one level.

As Ramen took Vash and Éclair on a tour of the basement they finally realized just how amazing the house actually was.

The first basement level had a secondary kitchen and dining room on the first floor of the basement along with three bedrooms and a large bathroom. The laundry room and heater and furnace were separate from the rest of the basement which was good since the repair men wouldn't need to see the rest of the place to fix anything. There were two large empty rooms that could be used for whatever his purpose may be and there was even a vault.

The sub-basement level was equally amazing. There were three separate library rooms, a sound room, another two bedrooms, three bathrooms and a work room with a storage room. What really hit it for Vash however was that the sub-basement level could be easily extended. The hallways ended at walls, not rooms, and as such could be extended outwards further or turned into stairs heading further down to yet another sub-level.

This new home could easily house eight people, and that's assuming they were all single. It could house much more than that if there were couples, there were as many bedrooms in this place as Izumo Inn.

By the time Ramen had finished taking the three of them on the tour of the house and returned to the ground floor Vash was starting to worry whether or not he had actually brought enough money.

"So, that is everything I can show. Is the place satisfactory?" Ramen asked as they meandered through the home towards the veranda.

"Yes, more than satisfactory," Vash murmured. The house was more than satisfactory, it was beyond amazing. He doubted there was a home anywhere else in Shinto Teito that would come close to matching this one. Of course downplaying that bit was necessary. The more you let on you wanted something the more the seller felt they could request from you.

"After seeing what this house has to offer I am willing to up what I had thought to offer." Vash wanted her to think that he was going to offer more than he had originally intended, he wasn't but she didn't need to know that.

"And what are you offering?" Ramen asked.

"I had initially thought to offer a hundred million yen," Vash said as he placed the briefcase a table in the veranda. "But after seeing everything in this place, and the great location it has to offer, I wish to offer two-hundred and fifty million yen." He opened the briefcase and it was filled to the brim with cash. "It'll be in cash, half now, half when the keys are handed over. Of course this all comes with the caveat that you move out within the week."

It was the best way to do it. Ramen would be guaranteed at least a certain amount of money and Vash wouldn't be out the whole lot if Ramen double-crossed him. With a spy for a father he couldn't be too careful. Vash had seen a lot of people over the years that could cut your throat with a smile on their face. The time limit was critical as well. They needed to get a place aside from Izumo Inn since it was now compromised.

The real-estate agent gapped at the money in the briefcase. He hadn't been aware that Vash had been carrying that much around with him. The previous offers were all under fifty million yen; Vash had more than double the best offer to date in that briefcase alone and the promise of even more on change-over.

"That is a generous offer," Ramen said hesitantly as she eyed the money. There was an eager expression on her face but she seemed hesitant to accept.

"Is there a problem with the timeline?" Vash asked as he mistook her hesitation.

Ramen shook her head, "No, I don't have many personal effects to pack. I can be out in three days." She seemed to fight with herself, "I need to be out in three days."

"I can accept three days. I merely assumed you'd want some time to find a new place."

"I already have another place to move into," Ramen said.

"Shall we conclude the deal in three days?" Vash asked.

"Yes, thank you." Ramen said as she flashed Vash a brilliant smile and held her hand out.

Vash smiled back and shook her hand, "It's a deal." He said as he closed the briefcase and pushed it towards Ramen. "We'll see you in three days."

"Yes, in three days."

Vash, Éclair and the real-estate agent left the home and made their way back to the car. They had their new home, their new hideout. Even if they had bought a suspicious house there was no way to link the purchase to their real identities, Naruto and Hanabi.

Ramen watched from the veranda as the three left through the front gate. A soft gentle look fell over her face. "Do take care, there are more dangers here than you are aware of." She whispered fondly and another smile creased her face. This time however the smile continued on until it extended out beyond the edges of her face.

Ramen's clothing and skin faded away revealing a multi-colored amorphous energy form. With one last glance through the outer wall at the departing vehicle Ramen turned disappeared into the fabric of reality.

And all the furniture and personal effects in the house faded away.

x~X~x

Yuto Mikoto cursed as he raced across town. He couldn't get in contact with his employer; his cell-phone had died somehow which was odd since he was certain he had charged it this morning.

He had dropped Vash and Éclair off at the train station, the same place where he had picked them up. They hadn't suspected a thing, the Yakuza still didn't suspect a thing and he had to get to his employer before both suspected something.

He had been paid well to keep his mouth shut by the Yakuza, and he normally did, but his new employer had promised him more money than he had ever made over the course of his life if he reported anything sufficiently suspicious to him.

That house, and those people that just bought that house, were more than suspicious. That woman, Ramen, gave him the creeps. Whenever she looked at him it was like she could see straight through to his soul.

He had to get to Minaka Hiroto and tell him everything he had found out as soon as possible.

He was only two blocks away from MBI now. Despite being the emperor of Japan Minaka still spent more time at MBI HQ than anywhere else. That was where he was most likely to be and there was no way he'd get the clearance to get into the palace.

As he came up to an intersection the green light turned yellow.

He hit the gas to speed up and get through the light before it changed but the car suddenly quit. He never noticed the multi-colored energy that wafted up from the hood. The engine was still on but no matter how much he hit the gas it would not respond.

The man cursed again, first his phone, now his car.

He hit the brakes and began to steer to the side of the road only to realize something was terribly wrong. The breaks and power steering had failed along with the engine. He no longer had control over his vehicle.

The light turned red.

"Shit!" The man shouted and he hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand in frustration. His car rolled out into the middle of the intersection where the breaks suddenly started working.

A loud horn rang out to the side and he had just enough time to look up and scream before the fully loaded tractor-trailer slammed into the driver's side of the car. The car literally disintegrated as the transport tore through the vehicle.

When the paramedics arrived on the scene it took them hours to find all the pieces of the real-estate agent.

x~X~x

The day after touring their ideal house found Naruto deep within the dim, dark bowels of a ramen shop. His location was a booth in the far corner, he had made sure to time his arrival just right so that he would get that spot. The place was actually quite the popular location. Even now virtually every table was filled with laughing happy patrons. This suited Naruto's needs just fine; the din would drown out the conversation he was soon to have.

Naruto wore a black wig that hide his blonde hair and a pair of contact lens changed his eyes from their natural blue color to the more common brown color of the Japanese people. After that all it took was a change of clothes and some makeup to hide his facial birthmarks and no one would be able to tell it was him.

He could have used his chakra to disguise himself but he wanted to be especially certain that no one would pick him out of a crowd. His transformation could be detected by those sensitive to the manipulation of chakra. He didn't want to risk a Sekirei or some new MBI technology discovering him.

This was too important.

He also needed to be careful not to draw attention to him so he had settled on simply ordering four bowls of ramen instead of his usual fifteen. It was a major sacrifice on his part, very difficult, but he managed.

Naruto closed his eyes and savored the exquisite flavor that rolled over his tongue as the long noodle was sucked into his mouth. He'd have to remember this place, the ramen was no Ichiraku but it was a close second.

Earlier that morning he had been informed by one of his contacts about a rather unfortunate event. The real-estate agent that had taken them to their desired location had been involved in a fatal car accident. Naruto mourned the man briefly but was somewhat relieved as well. He felt guilty about feeling relieved but the fact remained that the man was a security risk. Despite not being able to connect the sale directly to him, it was obvious that there was something very strange about that house and anyone whose loyalty was for sale always went to the highest bidder.

In other words now that he was gone there was absolutely no way anyone would suspect anything abnormal. It made their new hideout that much more secure.

They had only needed the real-estate agent to guide them to the home and to help make the whole sale look 'official' anyways. That part had already been accomplished.

The only loose end left was Ramen herself and there was no way Naruto was going to end someone with such a divine name.

A rather plain nondescript man slide into the booth across from him and signaled for a waitress to come and take his order. He looked like any other Japanese man. He stood five feet, six inches tall with short dark hair and dark eyes. He wore a pair of faded cargo pants and a black T-shirt.

Naruto glanced at the man for a moment before he turned his attention back to his noodles, "It sure is windy today," Naruto commented before he slurped back a wad of noodles.

"But the leaves endure," the man replied.

Naruto nodded and beckoned the man to continue with his free hand. This was Kaiga, that was the pass phrase the two of them had decided upon. This was his contact he had arranged to meet with today. It was very easy to steal someone's identity and even make oneself look like another in this day and age. One could never be too careful when dealing with relative strangers. He didn't know Kaiga well enough to pick up on subtle nuances that would differentiate him and an imposter.

"Anything interesting happening in your part of the world today?" Naruto asked idly, he kept his tone light and free as if he was addressing a long-time friend.

"Oh it's the same as usual," the man said in an off-hand manner. He stopped as the waitress walked up to their table, "Hey there! I'll have an orange juice and bowl of spicy beef ramen." The man said as he waved away her menu. He had been here a few times before.

"Right away," the waitress said as she flashed Kaiga a smile, "And is everything satisfactory with you?" the waitress asked Naruto.

Naruto flashed a grin, "Yes! The ramen here is excellent! I'm so coming back in the future."

"Great! I'll pass the compliments on to the cook." She turned to Kaiga, "I'll be back in a second with your drink."

Naruto waited for the waitress to return with Kaiga's juice before he beckoned the man to continue.

"But I did just get over a cold, found some great medicine," Kaiga picked up from where he left off. He pulled out a brown envelope and passed it under the table to Naruto. "It did wonders to cure me of my cough. It was recommended to me by someone well connected."

Naruto took the envelope with his free hand and placed it in a hidden pocket in his pants. "That's good to hear. My wife is sick these days and it has me worried. Where did you get this medicine? I would like to do what I can to help her get better," Naruto said as he adopted a worried expression.

"Oh right! Do you have a pen and paper? I can write down the address of the store I got the medicine. These speciality items can be hard to track down," Kaiga said as he looked around the table for something to write on.

Using a slight of hand trick Naruto summoned a piece of parchment and a pen from one of the many seals placed on his body. He brought the two items up and placed them on the table, "I have some, I always keep some on myself at all times. You never know when something pops into your head and you need to capture it before it escapes you."

Kaiga laughed, "Ya, I've had that situation before. Sometimes I'll just walk down the street and see something interesting and 'BAM!' inspiration strikes me and I need to capture my thoughts," The man said as he agreed with Naruto. Kaiga was a writer by occupation. By day he wrote popular detective manga but by night he captured the darker side of the world in his writing. It was why he had such an amazing detective manga, because most of his work was based on real cases, some that hadn't even been solved yet although since it was a manga no one bothered to connect his work to real life.

Naruto had noticed right away after reading one of the volumes. He had decided to sit with Blanc and read with her one day and on that particular day she was going through a series of detective manga novels. Naruto had noticed peculiar things right away. The details in the manga were too specific, too accurate, to be just good characterization and setting. It had been the primary reason he had reached out to Kaiga.

Naruto memorized the address that Kaiga wrote on the parchment he had procured. It was an 'address' just not the standard address that most people use. On the parchment was a series of four three digit numbers separated by periods with what appeared to be a randomly generated string of characters and numbers below it. He would need to get this to Blanc as soon as possible.

"I did find out that they've brought in some very exciting medication from the mainland. It's unlike anything we have here today. My friend was vague about where it was or when it would be available to the mass market but it's definitely food for thought. He said it would revolutionize medical treatments," Kaiga continued as he finished writing a second address down on the parchment. He handed both the pen and parchment back to Naruto.

"That's interesting but I'm more concerned about helping my wife now. I'm not particularly interested in future discoveries," Naruto replied as he pocketed the parchment.

"True, true, I would be to, but if you should always be on the lookout for new things. Who knows what may or may not be important in the future."

"I'll keep that in mind when I go shopping for this new medicine you've suggested," Naruto said. If Kaiga felt that the new import this pharmaceutical company was bringing in was that interesting he should probably check it out. Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with standard medication.

The conversation died as the waitress came back with Kaiga's order.

"I'll cover his bill," Naruto said as he waved his hand at his informant, "I owe him anyways."

"Why thank you," Kaiga said as he dug into his lunch.

"I'll pay you back the rest that I owe you in the usual way," Naruto said. That was his way of saying that the rest of the money he promised to pay for the information would be sent to the designated dead drop location. He'd send a clone under a transformation disguise to leave the money there for him.

Kaiga gave him a thumbs up and went back to inhaling his noodles as fast as humanly possible. He couldn't compete with Naruto when he went full throttle but it was pretty impressive for someone without a developed chakra network.

The rest of the meal passed by in silence and soon the two parted ways. Naruto promised to keep in contact and hurried on his way to his next destination.

He had two contacts to meet with today. The first one was Kaiga; he was the primary contact for everything related to Higa Izumi, the man that tried to experiment on his wife. He wouldn't go through that information until he was in a safe location. It was far too easy to be spied upon out here in the open.

His second contact was someone on the inside of MBI. Every company had disgruntled employees, and a company as big as MBI with such a unique character at its helm had more than just a few disgruntled employees.

His next contact was someone in the human resources section of MBI. Naruto knew he would have to move on MBI eventually. This whole Sekirei Plan was one giant farce that needed to be stopped. Miya said that MBI was a necessary evil, Naruto disagreed. By taking over Japan Minaka had actually used up his usefulness as a shield.

Minaka had already removed the corrupt government that ruled Japan. If Minaka was removed, a vacuum of power would be created in the very heart of Japan. A vacuum with no clear-cut successor that he could take advantage of.

He had no intention of ruling Japan himself, but if he threw in his support, and his skill, in with one of the front runners that would most certainly appear to take Minaka's place then he'd be in a very strong position when the dust settled.

And he'd certainly be able to ensure that whoever he supported ended up as a front runner.

Then he'd be able to use his influence and power over the new emperor to take control or at least oversee certain aspects of society. One such aspect would be the complete integration of the Sekirei into the general populace, an integration that didn't involve a city scale fight-to-the-last-one-standing tournament.

He could also create a special ops squad very much like ANBU that would see to the protection of the Sekirei from the shadows, perhaps he could even start up a hidden organization that helped protect Japan from the shadows.

A new Konohagakure.

The more Naruto thought about this the more he liked it. It would have to start out small as a necessity but in time it would grow. He didn't know if he and Hanabi would ever be able to return to their old home. If they couldn't return, perhaps they could simply bring a piece of their old home here.

Naruto slowed as he saw his next contact half a block away. He almost missed her due to the crowded street. Naruto pulled out one of his throw-away phones. It was a cheap 'dumb' phone that had no more use beyond being able to send and receive calls.

It was all he needed; the phone would be tossed in the trash after this call anyways.

He quickly dialed the number he had been given and waited patiently with the phone held next to his ear. No one would pay attention to him on the busy street, and certainly no one would expect him to call someone that was within shouting distance.

Naruto watched as his contact answered the phone, "Yes? This is Yuzaru speaking."

"Hello, this is Kakashi speaking, I was wondering if you had some time to speak. I believe a mutual friend recommended me to you?" Naruto replied. He moved towards a lamp post and leaned against it.

"Yes, he did. He mentioned that he knew someone that would be a good fit for one of the janitorial openings," Yuzaru said. Naruto watched as she pulled out a day planner and began to write in it. "I take it this is him."

"Yes, I believe my resume was forwarded to you earlier. I can go over my skills again if you wish."

"Of course, I would like that," Yuzaru said as she pulled out some papers.

The conversation went on for nearly half an hour as Yuzaru and Naruto continued to converse about the job position. It was guaranteed that he was going to get it but they had to go through the motions, just in case.

Yuzaru knew that 'Kakashi' was joining MBI to do some sabotage. She had even offered ideas and suggestions on how exactly he could do that and what the best position would be. A janitor was mostly overlooked and could go places most employees were not allowed.

Several of Yuzaru's friends had 'disappeared' over the course of the past few months. While officially they were overseas on an extended work assignment she knew better. She had seen the bodies. They all had varying degrees and types of burns, lacerations, scorch marks and dismemberment. MBI was a legitimate company on the surface but some of their practices behind closed doors were questionable at best, criminal at worst.

She had seen the news, she had seen the special powers those heroes and heroines of Japan had used in the defense of their city. She didn't know their names but a term had been passed around in the shadows that she had just recently got wind of: Sekirei.

This Kakashi was supposed to be one of these Sekirei. She had paid a lot of money and braved dealing with the Yakuza to find out about him, a Sekirei that would be willing to aid her. If she could get him into MBI he could use his special abilities to stop or at least expose the horrendous experiments.

At least that was her hope.

For extraordinary situations, one needed extraordinary people. The police and military wouldn't be of any help anymore, not with the CEO of MBI now ruling Japan as its Emperor.

She couldn't get in contact with the 'rebels' either. Not that she bothered to try, she was certain that she knew what the truth really was. There were no 'rebels.' It was a façade the emperor put in place to help justify his militaristic approach to ruling. All the 'terrorist' acts were actually done by his forces.

The blame was then shifted to those that shouted the loudest against his new rule.

"Well, I believe that is everything I wished to go over for today," Yuzaru said as she snapped her day planner shut. "If you can show up next Monday at MBI I can get the paper work finalized and have you starting that week. Is this satisfactory?"

"Yes, very much so. Thank you, I will see you Monday," Naruto replied.

"Great, see you then," There was a click and Naruto watched as Yuzaru put away her phone and walked away down the street.

Naruto pocketed his phone and headed in the opposite direction. Things were set into motion now. He would get a clone deep undercover into MBI. Between the hyper-focus state and the new seal Arthain and Sasha had created to make his clones more durable he would be the perfect mole.

He was aware of the dangers now of using his hyper-focused state to create clones, however in this situation it would work out fine. Kakashi used to an ANBU Captain he was used to infiltration and espionage. Despite Kakashi's lazy attitude he was capable of focusing when it mattered.

In a couple days they'd have their new place and then he and Hanabi could really begin to plan their next moves.

x~X~x

Naruto and Hanabi arrived at Epsilon Point to finish the transaction and get the keys to their new place. They were once again under their former disguises as Vash and Éclair Asakura.

They arrived in the morning, a few hours before lunch after everyone in the area had already gone to work. The street was completely empty which suited them just fine. Their arrival was a little different than their method a few days prior. The real-estate agent was dead so they didn't have a driver that could bring them here. It wasn't a big issue as Vash had set up a Hiraishin seal on the outside of the gate. The two of them had been able to arrive instantly using that technique.

"You sure were able to move out very quickly," Vash commented as he looked around the house. While the place hadn't been very furnished to begin with it still took time to move out four floors of furniture and find a place to store it all.

"Yes, I believe I mentioned I already had a place to move my stuff to," Ramen replied as she leaned against the kitchen counter. The three of them were in the kitchen on the ground floor.

"You were keeping two locations?" Éclair asked curiously, she had missed that part of the conversation the other day.

"Five, actually." Ramen said as she scratched her head sheepishly, a move very reminiscent of Vash. "One burned down a few months ago though when a bomb took out one of the floors. My father liked to have multiple places to go to in case of… complications."

They could both understand that reasoning. The two of them were very familiar with the role and work a spy. One always had multiple safe houses one could go to if they needed to go to ground.

"Well we won't ask the details," Vash said as he placed his briefcase on the kitchen counter. Éclair shot him a look of disapproval but Vash ignored it. Vash knew that Ramen wouldn't tell them even if they asked, no need to put her in that position. "Here's the rest of the money as was promised."

"Thank you," Ramen said as she accepted the briefcase. She had already handed the keys over to Vash earlier. "There is something else about the house I failed to mention earlier. I'm glad the real-estate agent isn't here today since this is for you two only," She said. Ramen started for the Great Room. "There's something I want to show you."

Vash and Éclair shared confused looks. Vash just shrugged and followed quickly behind the previous homeowner. Éclair followed although she made sure to keep a safe distance.

"Speaking of the real-estate agent, apparently he died in a car accident just minutes after dropping me and my daughter off at the train station."

"Really?" Ramen said with surprise in her voice, "How unfortunate. Was anyone else hurt in the accident?"

"No, just the agent."

"I see. His employer Minaka is probably so sad," Ramen said with a sigh.

Naruto gave her a sharp look as the three of them entered the hallway just past the Great Room. "Minaka? That's not what he told me."

"Really?" She gave him a curious look, "How strange, the business card he gave me the last time he brought a group through here said he worked for MBI. I wish I had kept it so I could show you," Ramen said as she walked over a wall in the hallway.

A sudden chill ran down Vash's spine. He believed her. The car accident had occurred between the train station and MBI HQ. There was a very real possibility he had actually been on his way to report to Minaka after he had dropped them off. The thought of almost having their new base placed under surveillance before they had even moved in was chilling.

"Anyways this is what I wanted to show you," Ramen said as she pointed at the wall.

"It's just a wall," Vash said as he stared at it blankly.

And it was just a wall, one that looked like any other wall in the house. There were no qualities that helped differentiate it from any other wall. Ramen flashed a smile at Vash and pressed a hand against the wall. With a little push the section of wall indented.

Vash's eyes widened in surprise as a significant portion of the wall shifted inwards and silently moved to the side. Behind that seemingly normal wall was a hidden room. A room with a ladder heading straight up.

"A secret room!" Éclair gasped in surprise as she quickly darted into the newly revealed area. "This is so cool!" She quickly scaled up the ladder to the second floor.

"Yes, and the ladder goes up to the second floor. The bedrooms all have a hidden door much like this that open up into it to allow for easy access to the ground floor from the second. From there it's a short walk to the basement, good for getting out from the second floor to the more defensible basement in the case of home invasion," Ramen said as she explained the purpose of the hidden room.

"Woohoo!" Éclair's voice echoed down from the second floor. "I love secret rooms! Father we need more of these!"

Vash poked his head in and looked up. The ladder went up to an opening in the floor of the second floor. From the hinges he could see it was a trap door that one could open up, supposedly it would have carpet on the top of it to further conceal it on the second floor hidden room.

"Don't trip and fall down the hole Éclair!" Vash called up to his daughter. Honestly Vash was surprised. Outside of being his daughter, Éclair didn't have a lot of hobbies and interests. Back during the war in the Elemental Nations all she did was eat, sleep, train and do missions, most of which were guard duty. Even before the war that was pretty much all she had done, although instead of missions she spent that time preparing to take over the role as head of the Hyuga clan.

She had never been given time to develop her own interests and hobbies.

So it was very much of a surprise to Vash to find out that Éclair had such a fondness for secret rooms.

Well if she liked secret rooms, he would have to do his best to oblige her.

"Don't worry I won't father!" Her voice drifted back.

"She seems to be enjoying this," Ramen said with some amusement in her face.

"Yes, I'll have to see if I can build some more secret areas for her in the future."

Ramen just smiled, "Well you have the keys so I shall take my leave now. Please enjoy your new home," she said as she excused herself.

"Thank you, take care and make sure your father doesn't overwork himself. His occupation can be very stressful at times," Vash said as she was leaving. He really did know how stressful that job could be, he had been in that position several times himself in the past.

"Don't worry, I will," Ramen said as she silently left the hallway. "I'm always watching out for him," she said quietly, too quietly for anyone to hear.

When Vash felt Ramen leave the property he let his transformation drop. With a poof of smoke Vash disappeared and Naruto returned. Vash shouldn't be needed again after this; the whole transaction was basically under the table so it wasn't known to the world, not really. The only indication that something had occurred would be the removal of the housing advertisement online.

Ramen hadn't been a very social person while she lived here. No one in the area was very social for that matter, most people simply kept to themselves.

There was a thump as Éclair slide down the ladder and landed on the floor. "I really like this place now," she said with a smile.

Naruto grinned back at her, "I'm glad because we just paid a lot of money for it. You can change back now, she's gone."

"Byakugan!" Éclair glanced through the walls and watched as Ramen got into a taxi they had called to pick her up. "She's a strange one isn't she?" Éclair said as she was engulfed by a cloud of smoke. A moment later she was back to her original form.

"Yes, but not like Ayesha. She's strange, but in a good way. I like her," Naruto said.

"I'm glad she's not a Sekirei then, otherwise you'd try and wing her."

"Hey! You threw the last one at me," Naruto protested.

"Chime doesn't count; I wasn't going to let some random man put their grubby paws on her." Hanabi said with a sniff as she dismissed Naruto's protest. "Still I don't think I'm going to be able to use that transformation technique anymore," she said quietly.

"Why not?" Naruto asked her in concern.

"Our child, I didn't want to risk it so I was forced to squish my inside to accommodate a larger womb in that small frame. As the child gets larger…" She let thought hang in the air.

Naruto hugged her tightly, "It's alright I won't make you do anything like that again. We should be able to make do without your transformation," Naruto said comfortingly.

"Thanks, now let's go and get some furnishings for this place. It's absolutely barren," Now that they had virtually an unlimited amount of money thanks to Mikogami Hayato she could deck this place out properly.

"Alright, we'll bring the others here as well so they can get a look at it. Blanc is going to love the library."

x~X~x

Ramen took one last look at the house as the taxi pulled away. She had built that home with her own hands over a thousand years ago. She had made numerous modifications and additions to it since then. Everything she had done to that home had been for a singular purpose.

To give her father a fortified place to rest for what would soon become the greatest battle of his life. Uchiha Madara was simpleton, easily tricked, easily trapped and easily beaten. All he had was power, power he hadn't even been capable of utilizing to its fullest.

No, her father's greatest trial was yet to come.

"Stay safe father," Ramen whispered quietly as the house faded from sight. "It's been ten thousand years since you gave me form, I will do what I can but this isn't our world, I can only do so much. The Gaia of this world is much greater than I and it hates humans."

Author's Notes: I am aware of what housing is like in Tokyo (Shinto Teito is pretty much Tokyo renamed). I know damn well that the house that Naruto and Hanabi got would cost tens of millions (cdn dollars that is) if not more to purchase, and the chances of a suburb like what was hinted at existing is slim to nil. All I ask is for the sake of the story to just accept it. Sometimes an author needs to be able to wave their artistic license and I'm doing that here.

And people should know who or what Ramen is, I've pretty much given it away in this chapter.