Forget what I said about length similar to the first two chapters. 5k-ish feels like a more natural length to me now. And it's faster for me to pump them out, so hopefully everyone enjoys that.
Naruto and Hinata were locked at the lips as they fell onto their bed in the Fool's Gold. Hinata gave a little sound as his considerable mass of muscle came down on her, but her new body was built to take a pounding, a little bounce was nothing. The couple luxuriated in swapping saliva, simply enjoying being close. Naruto reached up one hand to take her breast, giving the nubile bronzed flesh a firm squeeze. They both shivered at the sensation, each touch rebounding between them across their psychic bond.
*I should take doctorate-level tests more often, if passing gets me this kind of reward,* Hinata thought happily.
*Baby, that's just the excuse. I consider it my new full-time job to worship your delicious, luscious body at every opportunity I get,* Naruto sent back.
*Have you thought about how this is going to feel on your end? It's not like when you fuck my pussy and just get a jumble of pleasure. You're probably going to feel whatever you do to my ass in your own* Hinata warned her lover.
Naruto shrugged. *I'm almost always dominant, but that doesn't mean I always top. Won't be the first time I felt something go up there. Might be the first time I enjoy it, though.*
Hinata's lavender eyes flashed. *In that case, I'm pegging you at some point before we get to Olympus.*
*... Whatever you want, honey,* Naruto projected hesitantly, his kisses coming to a stop.
Hinata hugged him close, smooshing her newfound bodacious boobs against Naruto's titanium-strong pectorals. *I promise, we'll both love it. But that's for another day. Today is about YOUR dick going up MY ass.*
Naruto grinned and pressed a long, lingering kiss to Hinata's neck, nipping it just a bit. Not enough to make a proper hickey, but enough to leave a small mark. *On your hands and knees, she-wolf. The pack Alpha has chosen you to slake his lust.*
With an honest smile of anticipation, Hinata rolled under Naruto as he pulled back. In no time, she was in the doggy position, her pussy hairless and on full display, already leaking fluid down her thighs. Her rosebud was hidden by the two thick buns of her ass cheeks. Her gorgeous blue hair covered most of her muscled back where it hadn't fallen over her shoulder to hang by her arms. Naruto doubted he'd ever seen a sight more erotic than HIS woman presenting for him.
He reached out and grabbed those buns tight enough to bounce an old ryo coin off of. He squeezed, feeling the muscle and fat beneath his palm give way to the strength of his grip. He pulled in opposite directions, moving the fleshy cushions aside to reveal the pink knot of muscle he was set to plunder. He could only imagine how the shit-eating grin on his face must have looked. He'd been looking forward to this almost as soon as he met Hinata and they'd made their agreement. Moving in and just taking a sniff of the scents coming off his mate's most intimate area, Naruto then stuck out his tongue and licked the tiny star.
Hinata shivered. *So your policy of 'lick it before you stick it' applies to both holes?*
*A gentleman always engages in foreplay to prepare his lady for a good, hard bout of lovemaking,* Naruto sent in a snobbish tone, as he twirled and swirled his strongest muscle around Hinata's rear entrance.
*Pretty sure prim and proper ladies don't allow their men to do it up the poop chute,* Hinata fired back.
*Are you kidding? It's natural birth control. When you already have a dozen little tykes running around, you need to find a new way to honor the marital bed lest you go insane* Naruto joked.
*Keep in mind, we'll be together for millennia, knock on wood. Even if we only had a singleton every century, we'd have a dozen children in a pretty short amount of time, all things considered.*
Naruto paused. *I'll have as many children with you as you allow me to pump into you, whether that's just one or one hundred,* he declared silently.
Hinata fought her tear ducts, not wanting to ruin the mood. *Just get back to kissing my ass, Uzumaki.*
*Will do, Hyuuga.*
The couple enjoyed the act of analingus for an indeterminate time. Finally, having deemed her ready, Naruto reached up a finger and sank it into the velvety folds of Hinata's pussy. He twisted it around, getting it nice and wet with her slick juices, before withdrawing it. Pulling back his mouth, Naruto gently probed Hinata's asshole with his lubricated finger. Both made a small sound as they felt the muscular ring give way and yield to the intruder.
*How's that feel?* Naruto asked, wanting to make sure his partner enjoyed every second of this.
*It's… different. Not like taking a shit backwards, like I expected. It's… not the worst feeling.* Hinata concluded. *How about you? You okay with this?*
Naruto acknowledged the faintly familiar feeling of his sphincter being stretched, even though physically it remained closed. *It'll be worth it,* he stated decisively. *Now, let's get back to stretching you out.*
As Naruto began to dive in and out with his right index finger, his left came up to feel Hinata's leaking quim. Hinata's eyes widened as she was double-penetrated, at least with fingers. Naruto kept up an alternating rhythm with his two pointers, before withdrawing the one in her cunt and having it join its brother in her rectum. Hinata let out a groan as she felt her tightest hole widen further, knowing this was just a prelude to the main show.
Naruto pulled left and right with his fingers, opening Hinata's hole to the point he could see inside her. He squeezed his face between his hands and stuck his tongue as far as he could into that forbidden tunnel. Hinata cried out in pleasure, the unusual burn of the stretching mixing with the caress of that slippery organ to give her the most enjoyment she'd ever gotten from that part of her body.
Pulling back from his oral assault, Naruto shifted his hips forward. With some careful maneuvering, he had his exceptional length and girth lined up with Hinata's labia. *Now, to get him nice and wet so he can slide right in,* Naruto 'whispered' dirtily to Hinata.
Before Hinata could respond, Naruto pressed forward slowly yet implacably. Hinata's jaw dropped as she felt the by-now familiar feeling of her cervix dilating and yielding to the invading pillar, until the head of the mighty shaft was brushing the back wall of her womb. Combined with the feeling of his two fingers still in her other hole, Hinata had never felt more stuffed. *How big are you making the male Thralls' cocks? Because I don't think I could survive taking two copies of your manmeat.*
*Thinking about other men while we're in bed together? What a bad girl you are,* Naruto teased playfully. *If you must know, roughly 5/6ths the size of mine. So unless I make a full-body Construct one day, no having to take two Uzu-size cocks.*
*Right, because a 10-incher is nothing compared to you,* Hinata snarked.
Naruto frowned. He pulled out one finger and brought his hand down solidly on Hinata's ass. She squeaked in as much surprise as discomfort. It hadn't been true pain, Naruto knew his own strength well enough to prevent that, but it certainly put Hinata in her place mentally.
*Back-talk is normally very poorly tolerated by Uzu from their women. You're lucky I'm so understanding,* Naruto projected imperiously.
*Yes, oh mighty overlord. Your Matriarch will do better in future,* Hinata thought submissively. *... May I have another?*
Naruto blinked. *Really? You don't have to if you don't want to.*
*Oh, I want to,* Hinata grinned. *It makes me feel sexy, having your handprint on me. And the way my body tenses around your dick feels incredible.*
Wondering at his good fortune, Naruto lifted his hand and gave another hard smack to Hinata's right cheek. Naruto distinctly felt her full-body shiver, especially around his boner. He stopped to admire the pink outline of his hand that stood out on her skin. *My girl likes a good spanking. Will wonders never cease?*
*You're the one who made me your perfect woman* Hinata countered.
Naruto leaned forward and tilted her head, so he could plant a kiss on her lips. *Sweetie, you were already perfect. I just brought it out in you.* Pulling back, Naruto gripped Hinata's hips possessively. *Now, time for the main event.*
Hinata felt it keenly as Naruto withdrew every inch of his manhood from her uterus and vagina. She felt horribly empty for just a moment. Then she felt the head, slick with his precum and her own lubricant, press up against her secret entrance. There was a second or two when she thought her body might reject the mighty invader. And then her sphincter surrendered, and the head of Naruto's little man was in her ass.
Naruto kept his eyes locked on the spot he was penetrating his Matriarch, though his eyes wanted to roll back in his head, it was so pleasurable. Oral was great fun, vaginal was what nature had intended as the ultimate pleasure, but nothing could beat the naughty thrill of anal. Moving slowly to give her time to adjust, Naruto fed inch after inch of his tumescent length into Hinata's back door, until his quad was nestled up against her gushing slit. They both let out a sigh of pleasure as Naruto stopped moving.
*I could get used to this for nine months while I have a bun in the oven,* Hinata remarked. *I feel so… submissive like this. It's like you're staking your claim, completely owning my body.*
*Glad I have your approval. Now, let's see how rough my Matriarch can take it,* Naruto growled mentally. Wrapping her hair around his fist and keeping his other hand on her waist, Naruto pulled out and thrust back in. And then again, and again, with increasing force, until Naruto was giving her all he had. The harsh snap of his hips was cushioned by her thick rump, her cheeks jiggling with every impact.
Hinata groaned as she felt her insides rearrange around Naruto's swollen organ. The burn of friction against her anal ring and the insides of her colon sent foreign but undeniable pleasure through her, even as her clit gave her the phantom sensation of plunging a tight hole. And then there was the simple delight in knowing her body was stimulating her man, that he was getting off on using her hole to stroke his shaft. She began to push back in time to Naruto's thrusts, so he went in just that much deeper.
Naruto rode Hinata's ass through two dizzying climaxes on her end, his fires only stoked higher with each wave of sympathetic pleasure that ripped through them. Finally, in time for Hinata's third, he plunged deep as he could and roared his release, his quad twitching and convulsing as pint after pint of Uzu semen was packed into Hinata's body.
"Fuck!" Naruto shouted out loud, as his balls filled Hinata to the brim. Hinata bit her lip to keep from joining him, focused on the wonderful, wet, warm weight of her Alpha's seed deep inside her. They both collapsed onto their sides, Naruto's back to the wall. Both reached up a hand to cradle the rounded tummy that was the evidence of Naruto's considerable release.
They laid there for a while, thoughts quiet, just bathing in the afterglow of good sex. Naruto hid his face in Hinata's hair. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw where his buzzcut blonde locks clashed with her ocean blue tresses. *One of our kids will probably have green hair,* he projected idly.
*I've done a lot of thinking about this, and I think I want our firstborn to be a girl, with your coloring. A female Naruto, in all her bubbliness and strength and loyalty.* Hinata smiled blissfully as she pictured it. *We'll call her Naruko.*
Naruto snorted. *Gods, no. That would be like naming our son Boruto. They need their own name, not just a derivative of ours'.*
*Fair point,* Hinata conceded.
*Now, about your breakfast…* Naruto thought.
*Naruto, I don't care how clean it is back there. I am NOT drinking cum that came out my ass.* Hinata managed to pierce him with a mental state without having to twist her neck to do so physically.
*Who said anything about drinking it?* Naruto focused his Telekinesis, reaching for the psychically sensitive material of his cum. With a gentle nudge, Naruto sent it up the tube of Hinata's intestines until it all had settled in her stomach.
*There we go* Naruto said.
*That felt even weirder than drinking it out of my pussy. What's the point of you feeding me anymore? Isn't my transformation complete?* Hinata asked.
*Yeah, but it saves rations for me. Besides, don't you LIKE living off a protein-rich diet of Uzu jizz?*
*Sure I do. I just didn't expect to keep getting the privilege after the obligatory week.*
Naruto leaned forward to kiss Hinata behind the ear. *Enjoy this time when it's just us and we can be together as a semi-normal couple. Give it a few years and we'll be torn a million directions between other Thralls and all the babies.*
*Ah, but the power of the pack is in its numbers. The sooner we find some more women or men to fill out the ranks, the better prepared we'll all be to take on the universe.* Hinata snuggled back into Naruto's bearish bulk. *But sure, let's enjoy the honeymoon as long as we can.*
Naruto and Hinata laid there comfortably until there was a protesting gurgle from his stomach. They took that as their cue to leave the bed, getting to the Rec Room and grabbing Naruto some breakfast to refuel after the morning's exertions. They were talking with their minds while his mouth was occupied, so the room was quiet to the outside observer. At least, until the alarm went off.
"What the hell?" Hinata blurted out.
Naruto was moving with purpose, heading straight for the Cockpit and his Pilot's chair. He reviewed all the instruments and saw the cause of the alarm at once. "We're picking up a distress signal. Roughly two hours away at our best speed."
"What do we do?" Hinata asked, keenly feeling her inexperience aboard a ship. "Shouldn't we go help?"
"What support could we provide? If it's an active attack, it'll be over by the time we get there. Even if we arrive in time, we have no weapons. And even if this were a run of the mill breakdown, I'd still be weary. It could be a decoy or bait set up by pirates."
Hinata frowned. "I know you, Naruto. You aren't going to just ignore this. It's not in you to abandon someone in need like that."
Naruto sighed. "I know. So, here's what we're going to do. We're minimizing our energy signature, and then we're going in. I want us all but dark until the moment we're right next to this ship and whatever's wrong with it. We'll see what's wrong and plan our next course of action from there."
"Aye, Commander," Hinata replied automatically. She'd spent over a week with an ex-Marine, some stuff had bled through.
Naruto keyed in a few commands to the main console and within a minute, the ship had gotten noticeably quieter and darker. Electricity was only going to critical systems, all of which were at their lower possible output. Other than the hum of the Engine and the light of the holograms, the only signs that anything lived on the ship was the two's breathing.
Hinata shivered. *It's getting colder.*
*Sorry baby, I'll find you some clothes. I'm guessing you've outgrown my tee, let alone your old getup,* Naruto projected. *Just stay here and keep an eye on the instruments.* Standing up, Naruto reached for the section of his powers marked 'Vision' in his mind. With a bit of focus, he could suddenly see in the darkness of his ship as if it were drenched in sunlight. He went to their Cabin and quickly got dressed in his usual gear; he wasn't going to arm himself until there was a chance of a firefight. It took some thinking, but he finally decided on the skintight undersuit he usually wore under his spacesuit for Hinata. He walked back to the Cockpit, and saw that Hinata was dutifully eyeing all the instruments.
*I'm back,* he nudged mentally. *This might not be decent, but at least it's warm.* He reached out to hand the suit to Hinata, only to be surprised when she grabbed it out of his grip with assurity. She winked at him.
*I have all your powers too, remember? Once I realized that this morning, whatever mental blindness was keeping me from seeing them lifted. I can use 'Night Vision' as easily as you can, stud.*
Naruto grinned, proud as punch at how capable his woman was. *Anything happen in the five minutes I was gone?*
*I altered our course so we'll reach the source of the distress call in 90 minutes instead of 2 hours.*
*Guess there are perks to sleeping with a Navigator First Class,* Naruto teased her. Getting serious, he reached out and tugged her into his arms. *I don't want to say this in the heat of the moment, and I don't want to chance something happening and you not hearing it. I love you. I love you so much, Hinata.*
Hinata got teary-eyed, but smiled and went on tip-toe to kiss him. *I have never loved anyone as much as I love you, Uzumaki Naruto. Remember that.*
*I will,* he vowed. *Now, if this goes south and we end up in a boarding action, I need you to be able to fight.*
*Can't I just use my magic powers?* she asked confused.
*Sure, if you have to. But you're new to them, you've barely practiced. I don't want to chance you needing something beyond your skill level and being helpless. How good are you with a gun, or self-defence?*
*'Go for the groin' sums up my fighting experience. And I've never even held a gun in my life. That's was Tenten's thing, not mine,* Hinata admitted. She felt shame and guilt that she couldn't provide her man with better answers.
Naruto grinned down at her. *Don't worry. We can fix that.* Naruto focused very hard for about thirty seconds. Then he pressed a kiss to Hinata's forehead. She gasped as she felt Naruto's powers suffuse her mind, leaving something in their wake. She blinked and then his presence had vanished.
*What did you do?* Hinata asked.
*Knowledge Transferrence. Same thing I think the Greys do with their history. Only instead of a memory, I gave you all my skills and instincts from years of combat training.*
Hinata blinked. *So, what? I suddenly have all the know-how of a fully-trained Special Ops Marine?*
*You tell me. How do you strip and clean an XR73 Rifle?* Naruto prompted.
Hinata began to think 'no idea', only to stop as the knowledge flooded her brain. It was like when you can't remember something, only for it to occur to you later. The task that Hinata had never done was now as simple and rote as reciting the alphabet. At least, in theory. How well what was between her ears translated to her hands was another issue.
*I'm going to need some practice to work out the kinks,* Hinata sent.
*Unfortunately, that won't be happening anytime soon. There's no Firing Range on the Fool's Gold. But this will still be better than nothing if things get hot.* Naruto paused to look Hinata up and down. *Though your body probably counts as a knockout all on its own.*
The stretchy one-size-fits-all material of the undersuit was doing a marvelous job of showcasing Hinata's many, many curves. She even had a camel-toe, the material was pulled so taut. If she walked down any major street, she'd cause traffic accidents.
*Cute. So, what do we do while we wait for the ship to get us there?* Hinata asked.
*I could tell old war stories, try to psych us up,* Naruto offered.
*And if it winds up being a simple tow job?*
*Then you'll know something more about my life.*
*Fire away, Marine!*
Naruto made the minutes fly by as he regaled Hinata with memories and commentary about various boarding actions, ship-to-ship combat, and land assaults done planetside. He didn't embellish nor did he conceal. He gave her the unabridged truth, the raw grittiness. Seeing friends die and being helpless to do anything, feeling like you were there just to witness it. The screams of the dying, the scent of death and shit as you clambered over corpses to get to the next firing position. The rush of escaping death by an inch and the delusions of immortality that came with it. By the time the Fool's Gold had arrived in the same system as the distress beacon, Hinata was fully girded for a bloody assault.
They were close enough for visual contact through the Fool's Gold's main windows. A large old Freighter, bigger than theirs. It wasn't alone though; a sleek Federation Corvette was pulled up alongside it.
*Are we too late to help?* Hinata asked.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. Something wasn't right. *The Corvette's navigation lights, they aren't set for a docking maneuver,* he realized. *There's trouble on that ship, which means there's trouble on the other one too.*
*So, do we go charging unto the breach?* Hinata wondered.
Naruto sighed. *I don't really have a choice. Pull the ship to the other side of the Corvette, Hinata. Prepare to dock. I'm getting geared up.*
Hinata followed her orders to the letter, maneuvering the Fool's Gold to sandwich the Corvette between the two Freighters. As she made her way to the airlock, her psionically-enhanced eyes saw Naruto was already there. He was in a Kevlar-weave bodysuit with ceramic plating at major target areas, carrying an XR73 Rifle with a bullpup magazine and holographic sight. He handed Hinata the very auto-shotgun he'd used to threaten her that fateful meeting last week. *Be careful where you aim. I'm using hollow-point to avoid depressurization, but you've got standard shotgun shells,* Naruto instructed.
*No problem,* Hinata said, the weapon feeling strangely familiar in her hands. She sighted it towards the airlock and then went into rest position. *So, any idea how to break down a K-Fed airlock door?*
*There are some advantages to being me,* Naruto projected cryptically. He walked up to the closed titanium door and pulled a small chrome device from his belt. He attached it to the sealed portal. After a few moments, there was a dull 'thunk' and then the door rotated upward. Naruto retrieved the hacking device and turned to face the questioning eyes of his Matriarch.
*I'll take the short answer now, but we're talking about this later.*
*Short answer: I'm more semi-retired than actually retired.*
*Fine. Now, let's see what's what here,* Hinata prompted Naruto to take point.
Naruto led the way and it didn't take long to find the first corpse. A Federation Marine had been shot in a brief fire-fight in the adjacent corridor. They stepped carefully over the body and headed further into the ship.
The Corvette interior wasn't large, consisting of a dozen rooms or so and it only took them 10 minutes to finish the sweep of the ship. They found 15 more dead crewmen and evidence of looting in most rooms. It looked like the crew had been caught by surprise and most of them had been killed during a hostile boarding action.
The ship's armoury showed signs of tampering, as if someone had tried to hack or blow their way through. Curious, Naruto hooked up his chrome device to the armoury door. Shortly after, it whirred open. A quick inspection showed that the pirates hadn't managed to make their way inside. Naruto browsed through the various suits of Federation-issue body armor, before handing one to Hinata. *This is easier than maintaining a full-body Shield for however long we're going to be in there. Suit up.*
Nodding, Hinata slipped into the body armor. While she was getting suited up, Naruto grabbed a few grenades in case things got hairy.
They left the armoury and headed to the cockpit. Naruto was looking for the ship's roster and was also interested in finding some more clues as to what had happened, hoping that the answers might be found in the Captain's log. Unfortunately the cockpit had been badly damaged in a fire-fight, the grenade that killed the Captain and the pilot had also ripped through the command console, rendering it a broken charred wreck.
They backtracked to the ship's medical bay, Hinata following closely behind him. *Why are we going to medical?* she asked curiously.
Naruto had stopped at one of the computers in the medical bay and was tapping away at the keyboard. *Well if I'm lucky... Yes! I've found the crew's medical logs. This will give us a list of actively serving crew members.*
The personnel roster confirmed his fears. There were 18 serving crewmen aboard this Corvette, which meant that three were missing. Almost all the dead Federation crew they had found were men and after a quick scan of the crew listings, the missing crew were all women.
Naruto turned to his young companion. *It looks like they took three women as prisoners* He confirmed, with a grim look on his face. *I've seen what happens in these kind of scenarios before and it isn't pretty. Are you up for mounting a rescue operation?*
*What kind of question is that? Hell yes!* Hinata looked at him, nothing but determination in her eyes.
Naruto nodded and then led them both forward.
They left the medical bay and moved quickly and quietly to the airlock on the other side of the Corvette, the one that was connected to the Freighter. The connecting doors had been left unsealed, leaving the way into the grubby interior of the other ship yawning wide open. The battered Freighter was in a terrible state of disrepair, with wall panels discarded on the floor and exposed power cables showing evidence of crude patching efforts. The corridors were filthy, which made Naruto's lip curl with disgust.
He moved forward, carefully checking each intersection as they moved further inwards. This Freighter was old and battered, but it was also big and it would be easy to get lost in here. He motioned Hinata to hug the wall a moment and the two crouched in the shadows. He tapped at the computer built into the vambrace on his left arm and a schematic of this model of Freighter popped up on the screen. With a few more clicks he marked their current position and the route they would need to follow to leave. Naruto nodded to his young companion and they set off again.
They had still not encountered anybody and Naruto was beginning to wonder where everyone was, when he began to hear the sounds of some kind of commotion up ahead. They moved closer, listening to the sounds of many raised voices shouting raucously. Naruto turned a corner and saw that the corridor to his right opened out to the top level of some kind of cargo bay. He could see dozens of dark figures on the overhead gantries, leaning over railings to look at some scene below. These men were clearly pirates and the baying mob were drinking booze and laughing at the evening's entertainment.
*Keep an eye out,* Naruto instructed Hinata. Then he gave a mental tug and disconnected his mind from his body. His Spirit-Walking astral form flew forward, to scan what was going on without any threat to his physical body.
What he saw nearly made him sick.
The pirates were enjoying a bit of old-fashioned gladiatorship. Two of the Corvette's crew laid dead, their bodies horribly violated and distorted by what had killed them. The third was desperately trying to fend off her foe with a rusty pipe she was using as a makeshift spear. The monster roaring at her seemed barely intimidated.
Naruto rushed back to his body. *Fucking bastards! They gave the women to an Oni!*
*What's an Oni?* Hinata asked.
*Big, red, dumb. Four eyes, two-foot cocks. And they don't have handy muscle relaxant pre like Uzu do,* Naruto reported grimly. *It's already raped two of them to death. If we want to save the last, we need to act NOW.*
*Orders?* she asked, as serious as death.;
*I'll use flash grenades to distract them and then lay suppressing fire. You get down there, rescue the girl, and get back to me. Use whatever powers you think you can manage, but don't take any risks.*
*So no electrocuting the Oni with Psychic Lightning, eh?* Hinata nodded. *Got it.*
Naruto crouch-walked down the corridor until he was at the opening to the cargo bay. All the pirates were too focused on the show below them to notice. Palming two grenades, Naruto threw them in graceful arcs down the left and right gantryways. Quick as thought, he grabbed a third and threw it to land on the gantryway that went lengthwise across the room ahead of him. As the explosions of light, sound, and force went off, Naruto instructed *Now!*
Hinata ran with Psychic Speed to the edge of the cargo bay, and then fearlessly jumped down the thirty feet to the bottom, using Psychic Strength in her legs to cushion the fall. Then, still with Speed active, she made it to the side of the poor Federation Navy survivor, which incidentally put her face-to-face with the snarling Oni. Bracing against her shoulder, Hinata let loose with the full magazine, using Psychic Strength to avoid any barrel climb. The Oni's red head was reduced to pulped mash, the countless pellets stripping the very flesh from its bones.
Hinata reloaded her shotgun and then turned to the incredulous woman beside her. "What's your name?" Hinata asked.
"Second Lieutenant Inuzuka Hana," she said dazedly.
"Hana, you're coming with me." Hinata used one of her Vision powers to assess Hana's injuries. "I'm going to need you to let me carry you princess style. It's for the best, given your cracked ribs."
"Can you even carry me?" Hana asked heatedly, all 5 foot 6 inches of her quivering with intense emotion.
"I'm stronger than I look." So saying, Hinata scooped Hana into her arms in a move Naruto had done on her numerous times. Barely acknowledging the squeak of pain from the sharp movement her companion gave, Hinata focused on the ledge above her and, with a surge of Psychic Strength, jumped up.
Naruto, meanwhile, was busy mowing down the pirates with his XR73 Rifle. Most of them were still clutching their eyes or rolling on the ground from the searing light of the flash grenades. One, however, wasn't. The cyborg had a glowing red eye and a two-hundred pound metal arm, and he aimed a nasty-looking pistol right at Naruto. Naruto aimed carefully, feeling like he had all the time in the world with Psychic Speed, and gave a three-round burst straight to the cyborg's heart. The man-machine hybrid keeled over, leaving Naruto to pick off the the other pirates. With Psychic Speed, he could fire on full automatic and get nothing but headshots if he were good enough. By the time he reached the bottom of his clip, at least 80% of the pirates were dead.
Naruto was reloading his magazine when he sensed Hinata rejoin him. With a nod and a mental command, the two ran with Psychic Speed back through the ship, leaving no trace of their presence except for the bodies in the cargo bay. When they reached the airlock of the Freighter, Naruto sealed it and the Corvette's behind them.
"That should buy us a couple minutes," Naruto noted. He turned to the very pale woman in Hinata's arms. "I'm Commander Uzumaki Naruto. You've been rescued, Lieutenant Inuzuka."
"Thank you," she said breathlessly. "Just… thank you. The Oni… the pirates… they…" She broke down in tears.
*Go put her in the passenger cabin. I'll grab a couple trauma kits and then we can patch her up when we're far away from these pirates.*
*Can't we just heal her with our powers?*
*And tell her superiors what, she was injured but they magically vanished overnight? Neither she nor we need that kind of attention this early in the game. She'll have to settle for good ol' 28th century medicine.*
*Whatever the Alpha commands,* Hinata thought unironically, moving to take the crying woman into the Fool's Gold. Naruto scavenged the medical bay of the Corvette, grabbing a few kits that seemed relevant. By the time he reentered the Fool's Gold and sealed the airlock, he had just heard a boom from the other end of the Corvette, no doubt the pirates trying to break down the door. Naruto used Psychic Speed to cross the short distance to the Cockpit. With a few short commands, the Fool's Gold was detached from the Corvette and making it for the Nav Beacon. Naruto counted the breaths until they were free of the gravity well, and then sent them into hyperwarp with a sigh. At last, they were safe.
Naruto strode into the passenger cabin to see what he could do to help the injured woman. Hana was sitting on the edge of the bed, being supported by Hinata. Naruto moved closer to see the extent of her injuries. She had deep lacerations on her back, probably from a whip. He gently touched the side of her torso, causing her to gasp in pain, confirming his suspicions about the broken ribs. Finally she had a broken nose and two newly forming black eyes where some evil pirate had smacked her in the face.
"Hey, Hana," Naruto greeted gently. "Remember me? I'm Naruto, and this is Hinata. You're safe now. No one will hurt you anymore."
Hana seemed overcome by tears. "I… I can't thank you enough. Everyone else… except me… my fault," she gasped out.
Naruto and Hinata both wrapped her in a hug. "Hush, now. It was NOT your fault, Hana. The only fault lies with those disgusting pirates and the Oni," Hinata said supportively.
"You were taken by surprise going to rescue a broken-down Freighter. You were the victim of a well-planned ambush, and then you were overrun by numerous men and at least one cyborg. You did the best you could have done under the circumstances, I'm sure," Naruto comforted.
Hana continued to weep, but she clutched them both tight.
They spent the next hour taking care of the Inuzuka's wounds, carefully disinfecting and bandaging what they could. That done, Naruto gave Hana a strong sedative so that she could get some dreamless sleep. Judging by her initial reactions in the aftermath, Naruto guessed she'd be suffering from nightmares for weeks, possibly even PTSD. Naruto and Hinata left her unconscious body in the passenger cabin. The two wearily unloaded their weapons and put them away in the locker before stripping out of their unmarked armor.
"If we didn't have powers, that could have gone so much worse," Naruto muttered.
*Luckily, we do. And it didn't.* Hinata hugged Naruto and pressed a kiss over his heart. *So, do I get to hear about your semi-retired status now or after a nap?*
*Not much to tell, let's just get it out of the way,* Naruto said, sitting down in their bed. *Officially, I'm on the books as a Special Ops Consultant. I do the Konoha Federation favors when asked or I see the opportunity. In return, I get to keep my old rank and all the perks that come with, including a military-grade weapons license and a few knickknacks like the hacking device you saw.*
*Does that make the Fool's Gold a Navy ship?* she asked curiously.
Naruto snorted. *Hardly. It just means I got into a few scrapes in between trade deals in the decade since my so-called retirement.*
Hinata yawned. *Why am I so exhausted?*
*Adrenalin withdrawal. It happens. Plus, we used our powers more today than we ever have before. With practice it'll be effortless, but for now it's fairly draining even to do the little stuff.*
*How come we can't use Psychic Healing on Hana but she was allowed to see us use Psychic Speed?* Hinata asked.
*Frankly, baby, no one's going to believe her. They'll assume she blacked out or hallucinated from her injuries.* Naruto cuddled his woman close. *The good doctors at Port Heracles will take good care of her. I plotted the route myself so it'll take about two days to get there.*
*I've never been to a starport before.*
*We can do a proper visit on the way back to Karron. This time will be just about transporting Hana. We haven't two ryo to rub together, remember?*
*Until we get to Olympus, then we'll be hundred-millionaires, if your contact is feeling generous.*
*He will be. I saved his life.* Naruto began to drift off.
Before he was all the way gone, Hinata fed him an image: Hana fully healed and beautiful as a Thrall, her tummy rounded out and Hinata sporting an identical bump beside her.
*Minx,* Naruto grumbled before conking out.
Hinata grinned. *Matriarch is in charge of recruitment.*
Dun, dun, dun. What could Hinata have in mind? Sale of the Tyrenium coming up next, along with the reveal of the first male Thrall. Read, fav/follow, review.