Naruto: Journey to Lyonesse Remastered
Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
For those that have been asking, Journey to Lyonesse is not a crossover. There is no anime or manga of it. The cyberpunk land of Lyonesse as portrayed is based entirely on my imagination and is a reference an old European Legend of a city that sank like Atlantis. (One of the working titles of this story was Journey to Atlantis). Once again this chapter was majorly restructured. Here is Chapter 4. Enjoy!
Last time:
Flashback….
It was then the Director Obadiah came storming in. He was broad shouldered, brutish and large like the others but was graying and wore glasses. He turned red in the face and yelled, "You brought me down here for this?! A bitch?! You fools were supposed to make a passage using the heavy water like our ancestors did in the exodus from the cataclysm! Bitches aren't smart enough to know anything that would help us. When you said you had a subject I assumed it was a man. This bitch is only good for breeding purposes. Even though she's small she might do for breeding with the slaves. I can't believe you people wasted my time like th-"
That was when Shizuka gave him a chakra enhanced kick in the groin and when he bent over forward with a cry of pain she landed a vicious five hit combo to his face which rearranged it quite thoroughly….
Flashback End….
After that it was all a blur. It took seventeen of the massive thugs to subdue the angry kunoichi and even then most of them were very badly injured. At least two were now eunuchs. They beat her brutally and dislocated several of her joints before they tossed her down into the lowest prison levels of Misogunia where they kept political prisoners. Shizuka was alone, black and blue, low on chakra and in pain. But she was alive. She'd used her chakra to reinforce her body so the beating wasn't nearly as damaging as it could have been. Best of all she had a seal on her uniform at the base of her spine that contained a new uniform and a full set of weapons and supplies. The kunoichis of the Nadeshiko Village believed that they should always be prepared for anything. The young kunoichi decided to dress her wounds and bide her time a few days to heal before she broke out of this pit. She smiled viciously as she held up one of her razor sharp kunai knives. Using her wind chakra she could easily cut through the locks on the cell doors and anyone or anything stupid enough to cross her path. These bastards had messed with the wrong kunoichi. Shizuka's green eyes burned for vengeance….
Several levels up in Misogunia Arcology were the medical facilities where Director Obadiah was on heavy pain medications. They'd already had to remove one of his testicles but thank the gods they'd been able to save the other one (even if it was swollen up like a deformed purple grapefruit). In the society of Misogunia only a man could rule. If he'd been fully castrated he would have been cast out (and rightfully so). To be incomplete and imperfect like a female would have been a fate worse than death. Obadiah was currently trying to figure out the worst possible tortures he could inflict on that little bitch for what she did to him. Unfortunately between the massive pain killers and the fact he was still in misery and throbbing pain the Director of Misigunia Arcology was going to be bedridden for a while. They said he had a ruptured eye socket and a shattered cheekbone as well but he really didn't feel them compared to the horrid pain in his groin. He decided the bitch could wait until he was fully recovered before he went down to torture and kill her.
Director Obadiah always got his way. He always had and always would….
Too bad for a woman hater like him that he had picked a fight with the worst possibly enemy a sexist man could ever have –the pissed off ruler of the kunoichi of Nadeshiko Village ….
….
Chapter 4
Rosumovi Arcology
Hinata awoke feeling comfortable and weightless as if she was floating in a warm, soothing pool of water. 'Where am I…?' wondered the byakugan princess. The last thing she remembered was being thrown into a garbage chute of some sort by a huge man. In her weakened state she couldn't fight him off. She'd been covered with that gelatin like stuff from the lake and when she awoke the man had angrily yelled that she was blind and therefore useless….Then he stunned Hinata with a blow to the head. 'The next thing I knew I was freefalling down a disgusting shaft full of waste….I crashed around falling through a series of garbage shafts and got beat up pretty badly in the process.' Hinata thought for a moment to clear her head. 'I flew out of the shaft system and realized that I was about three stories up in the air looking down into a marshy, dark, swamp like area….Then I remember channeling all the chakra I could muster to reinforce my body for the impact with the ground. I remember the crash….I must have blacked out after that.'
When Hinata opened her eyes she found she was floating in a shallow tub of shimmering water. The pearl eyed beauty was naked but had many waterproof bandages covering parts of her body. As Hinata groggily looked around she saw that she was in a very sterile looking room with lots of lights and instruments surrounding her. 'Is this a laboratory….or a hospital of some sort?' she wondered. The indigo haired young woman noticed multiple lights blinking on a band wrapped around her upper left arm. They were alternating in various colors in sync with a monitor on the wall. On the monitor it displayed her heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels and numerous other things like brainwaves. 'Everything looks so advanced. I wonder if it isn't some sort of science fiction dream I'm in.' Hinata sat up and saw she wasn't strapped down or restrained in any way. The air was warm so she wasn't uncomfortable.
About that time a door slid open and a young woman walked in. She had byakugan eyes but Hinata didn't recognize her as any Hyūga of the main or branch family she'd ever met. The young woman was dressed in some sort of medical outfit. When she saw the byakugan princess was awake the young woman got a huge smile on her face and briskly walked over with a towel in hand. Handing Hinata the towel she said, "Sister; I'm so happy to see you woke up. The entire healing staff here has been monitoring you closely for days. I am Hygieia. Please tell me your name sister."
The indigo haired kunoichi quietly said, "I'm Hyūga Hinata. Please forgive me but I don't recognize you. Are you a member of the Hyūga Clan?"
Hygieia looked at Hinata puzzled and asked, "Hyūga Clan? Oh, is Hyūga one of those….what did they call them? Oh yes; surnames."
"Yes, Hyūga is my family surname." the byakugan princess said confused. 'Why would a Hyūga not know their own surname?' she wondered.
Hygieia laughed melodically. "We haven't used surnames here since the revolution three hundred years ago. I had no idea that any of our brothers and sisters existed outside Rosumovi. Tell me, what Arcology were you created in?"
There was a splash and Hygieia panicked when she realized Hyūga Hinata had fainted….
….
The Hyūga heiress awoke again feeling dry now. She was in a comfortable bed and had on a clean white robe on to cover her modesty. 'Was I just dreaming?' she wondered. She looked around and saw Hygieia and another woman standing there conversing. 'I guess not….' thought Hinata despondently. They were in medical garb but it wasn't the full body, sterile stuff that someone would wear for surgery like Hygieia was wearing earlier.
The woman beside Hygieia turned and said, "Look; Sister Hinata is awake younger sister." She also had byakugan eyes.
Hygieia turned and said, "So she is, Sister Iaso." Hygieia gently took Hinata's hand in hers and said, "Sister Hinata; I'm so sorry about earlier. We were very worried you were suffering from some sort of psychic damage when you passed out but then we realized you must be famished even though your body stopped absorbing life water so rapidly. Please forgive me for not taking more care. I was just so excited to see you awake that I completely forgot myself."
Iaso came over and sat beside Hinata on the other side. She quickly introduced herself. "I am Iaso, Sister Hinata. I am versed in the ways of the psyche and my specialty is healing the mind. Let's get some food in you and share our knowledge. Can you tell me what you remember? You were rescued by our agents in the toxic swamps outside the Misogunia Arcology. You were covered in heavy water and badly brutalized. At first our agents mistook you for a dead human but then they sensed your power core in its weakened state and rushed you here for our healers to attend you. We were afraid you wouldn't make it but now your core is blazing brightly as the strongest of our defenders."
Hinata hesitated and asked, "Can you tell me where I am?"
"Of course I can." replied Iaso. "You are safely inside the Rosumovi Arcology where we bioroids govern ourselves free of the oppressive humans that abused us so long ago. Since you were created in another Arcology I would not be surprised if you weren't aware of our existence."
"What's an Arcology and why do you refer to yourself as a bioroid?" asked the indigo haired beauty. "I've never heard either word." She activated her byakugan. "You have a perfectly healthy chakra core; and there are no deformities I can see, you are just as human as I am."
Iaso looked for any signs of deception on Hinata's face and found none. 'She is a bioroid and has never heard of bioroids?! She thinks she's a human? What have those monstrous humans done to this poor girl?' "Tell me Hinata, where were you created? Where do you come from?"
Hinata answered, "I come from a Village called Konoha in Fire Country. I hate to ask but can you open a window and let some sunlight in? It's hard to tell if it's daytime or nighttime here."
'SUNLIGHT?! Daytime; Nighttime?! What in the world is going on here?' wondered Iaso to herself. She'd heard of these things but only in books of course. Lyonesse hadn't had true sunlight since it sank centuries ago. Calming herself she said, "Tell me Sister Hinata; have you ever heard of a place called Lyonesse?"
"No, I haven't." said Hinata plainly.
"Hold on a moment." said Iaso. She pulled up a data pad and said to it, "Show me a world map of the Empire of Lyonesse circa seven hundred years ago." A few seconds later she touched the pad and a holographic map appeared. She rotated it to face Hinata. "Do you see where you are from on this map? She pointed to the island of Lyonesse. "This is where the Nation of Lyonesse was seven hundred years ago."
Hinata pointed to the area where Fire Country is located and said, "I'm from around here on this map but none of the names on the map look right. This whole area is the Elemental Nations and I know about the continent in the south across the sea but how could an island nation such as Lyonesse exist further east of Water Country without having been discovered? This is very strange to me."
"So last you remember you where here?" asked Iaso as she pointed to the vicinity of Fire Country.
"No, I was on a mission near Water Country." said Hinata as her finger traced east from Fire Country east over to the Island of the Nadeshiko kunoichi. "That's when Naruto-kun, Shizuka-sama and I were sucked into a whirlpool of clear jelly like stuff. I woke up and was thrown out of a building and got knocked out. Then I woke up here."
Iaso turned to Hygieia who looked utterly confused. "Sister Hinata was contaminated with heavy water was she not, Hygieia?"
The younger girl nodded. "Yes, we decontaminated Sister Hinata meticulously though. I assure you she is completely cleansed of it. Even Chief Healer Asclepius thoroughly checked."
"I don't have the proof I need yet but I don't believe Sister Hinata is from Lyonesse at all." said Iaso. "Call Councilor Valeria at once, Hygieia. We'll need a Science Advisor as well."
….
Misogunia Arcology
Shizuka was quietly eating a ration bar and drinking bottled water that she had previously stored in a seal. So far she'd been served refuse and if she wasn't mistaken; urine to drink. The Nadeshiko Princess kept a henge up of her uniform being torn and ragged as well as her appearance being black and blue. Her captors all thought the green eyed beauty was on her last leg. In reality, other than seriously needing a bath from all the filth around her she was healing up quite well. Shizuka thought to herself, 'I figure I'm at about eighty percent; in another week and I'll be back at one hundred percent. It's just a matter of being patient.' The black haired kunoichi heard the guard that brought her garbage to eat everyday coming and sealed away her meal. Then Shizuka added a bit to her henge to make her look even more defeated. The guard limped up with a distinct clunking noise because the Nadeshiko kunoichi shattered his kneecap when they subdued her a week ago. He had to wear a brace to walk as a result. The man took sadistic pleasure in taunting Shizuka from his side of the bars as he tossed the so-called 'food' into the cell with her.
The truth was he was afraid of the Nadeshiko Princess. She'd never spoken to him but her smoldering green eyes made him cringe and Shizuka rather enjoyed that. The black haired kunoichi planned to cut out his tongue for insulting her so much if he had the misfortune of running into her when she broke out. He limped up and threw her 'food' in as usual. He smiled and said, "I've got a special present for you bitch." He held out her equipment and weapons they'd taken from her in the lab upstairs a week ago. He laughed when her eyes widened slightly. "I bet you'd like to have these wouldn't you? Director Obadiah told me to bring these things down personally just so you could look at them." he said as he jostled them around well out of her reach. He turned and hung them on a hook on the stone wall opposite of her cell. "Now you can look at these pretty things all day bitch."
Shizuka walked up to the bars and said icily, "Hand those over cretin and I'll let you live."
He laughed hysterically. "Bwahaha! You'll let me live? That's hilarious! I can't wait to tell the oth-" he was silenced by a kunai sticking out of his throat and he slumped to the floor with his eyes wide open in shock….
The green eyed beauty removed her henge revealing she was quite well armed and in a new uniform. He stared in disbelief as Shizuka pulled a wind enhanced kunai out and cut the lock off the cell door like a hot knife through butter. Opening the cell; the kunoichi moved silently as she checked her weapons pouch that he'd hung on the wall. The only sound in the air was him choking as he bled out. Seeing everything was in order Shizuka smiled at him viciously and strapped her weapons pouch on. Then the kunoichi pulled him back into the cell she'd been using as her luxury suite for the last week while healing up and propped him against the back wall. He tried to mouth something but all that came out were gurgling sounds.
Looking him in his terrified eyes disdainfully; Shizuka said quietly, "You really do talk too much." She yanked her kunai out and the blood poured liberally down his bare chest. "Haven't you ever heard silence is golden?" she asked. He coughed a gout of blood and found he was far too weak to move. The black haired kunoichi then whispered, "You should be feeling good and chilled by now; at the rate you're bleeding I'd say you have ten minutes tops. I'd love to hang around and watch that last spark of life leave your eyes but I have too much to do. People to see; places to go and men to kill." Then she hissed, "When you get to hell tell them that Shizuka of the Nadeshiko village sent you there." Then she walked out with a soft sway in her hips and closed the cell door behind her silently. The guard whose name she never bothered to find out was dead eight minutes later in a pool of his own blood….
….
The Nadeshiko Princess blended into the shadows and observed things for a while. The lowest levels of the Misogunia Arcology were all prisons and slave pens from what she could tell. Each floor had four guard stations in the cardinal directions to keep the slaves and prisoners in line. 'It is a rather primitive setup with the only real surveillance being carried out by guards on their patrol routes….' she thought. Moving silently into one of the guard stations the green eyed kunoichi found four brutish men lazing about. Shizuka slit their throats one by one in absolute silence. After she quietly cleared that station out the black haired kunoichi moved to the next station and then to the other two on that floor. With no guards left alive on that level Shizuka went around and started quietly opening the cells….
"Who are you?" asked a frightened woman slave as the Nadeshiko Princess used a key she had liberated to unlock the cell door.
Shizuka's burning green eyes pinned the woman in place. "I'm the person that assassinated every guard on this floor and I'm now unlocking the cells. Once I'm done here I'm going to clear out one floor at a time until I've found Obadiah and then I'm going to kill him slowly and painfully. I'd say you should take this opportunity to quietly escape this hellhole but ultimately the choice is yours." With that the kunoichi quietly moved on to the next cell and told them something similar. Before long the various prisoners and slaves crept out of their cells and soon found every guard station's floor was slick with blood from the necks of the dead guards….
The slaves from the pens and the prisoners suddenly felt their anger burning at Director Obadiah and his regime. They were now free and whoever the mysterious woman wiping out the guards was clearing a path for them towards revenge!
A few hours later Shizuka opened a massive armored door that slaves were driven in and out of in groups by their masters to do slave labor on the upper levels. Several of the slaves knew how the doors worked and most of them were actively helping the green eyed kunoichi by now. The guards could have easily overwhelmed a usual work gang but it was a huge difference with the slaves exiting en masse, armed and ready to kill those responsible for centuries of oppression. Chaos and violence broke out soon and Director Obadiah's vastly outnumbered police forces were being brutally killed to the last man. Shizuka quietly flitted about in the shadows and took out any sort of well defended obstacle in the way via exploding tags or assassination and the ever growing mob was laying waste to everything in their path. The Nadeshiko Princess thought to herself, 'Soon I'll have your head on a pike Obadiah….'
….
Director Obadiah was up several levels still in the infirmary when one of his lieutenants came up with the horrifying news that a slave revolt was taking place and that a third of the Misogunia Arcology was already lost before they could even react. "What the hell happened?!" yelled the red faced Obadiah at his men. "How could every last prisoner and slave have escaped the lowest floors into the living areas without you even noticing? The guards should have been able to put down a revolt. If not; why the fuck didn't they flood those floors and drown them all? Our system is foolproof; it's worked well for centuries!"
"Sir, we tried to give the orders but every guard station is silent." said one of Obadiah's men. "I think they are all dead. The slaves are all now in the living areas and are wiping out our forces rapidly. Many of the civilians in the living areas are joining in the revolt and security doors are being opened without clearance. If something isn't done soon they will invade the areas our troop's families live in. We need to fall back and defend those areas. If we stop their advance perhaps we can negotiate with them then."
"WE AREN"T NEGOTIATING WITH ANYBODY!" yelled Obadiah in a fit of rage. "I want you to send every last troop from the upper and middle sections down there to kill all those rebelling against us; civilian, slave or otherwise. They are all traitors against the Misogunia Arcology. Wipe every last one of them out!"
….
Whorl Arcology
Naruto was peacefully exercising in Master Xian's dojo. He was wearing simple gi pants and had removed the shirt because he was getting sweaty from his workout. The blonde had been talking with Master Xian about the kinds of exercises the older man did to see if there was something new or different to try in his own workout. As it was Naruto was doing his second set of five hundred one armed pushups to maintain his arm strength. He also had done some light sparring with Master Xian to loosen up a bit….However; the orange loving ninja also felt like he was being watched….
Up in the Audio/Video room; Benibara Steelside was watching Naruto work out with rapt attention via camera. She saw the sweat rolling off of him and was drooling at the sight of his body. 'My god, I want to go down there a taste him so badly….I've never seen such an incredible body in my entire life. I'm getting so hot just watching him….With that kind of stamina I wonder what he'd be like in bed….' Benibara continued to stare with a slight nosebleed. She'd completely forgotten her Mother Rosalie was still in the room with her….
Rosalie was quite amazed at the sight. 'No wonder Benibara is so smitten! The amount of animal magnetism that the young man possesses is overwhelming even on camera.' Rosalie looked away from the screen with a slight blush. 'Well, it seems my precious girl has inherited my taste in men. I'm really aroused….I need to go see Magnus. He always does like it when I seduce him in his office….' Rosalie giggled. "I'm going to leave you to your eye candy Benibara. I have things to take care of."
Benibara was a little too enthralled with the view to pay much attention to her Mother. With a dazed sounding voice she said, "Okay Mama; see you later…."
Rosalie was chuckling the whole way to her man's office….her dear Magnus wasn't going to stand a chance against her this morning.
Back in the dojo Naruto couldn't help but wonder why he had the feeling he was under a microscope….
….
Rosumovi Arcology
While a revolution was taking place a Misogunia Arcology a different sort of violence broke out at Rosumovi Arcology. "YOU TOOK MY EYES?!" screamed Hinata in both horror and anguish. "I'll….I"LL KILL YOU!"
Flashback….
….The gentle Bykugan Princess was learning a bit about Lyonesse from Iaso when Councilor Valeria entered and happily smiled as she explained the 'wonderful gift' that Hinata bought with her and how they'd copied her byakugan eyes. That had been a nearly fatal mistake. Hinata reacted with extreme violence and struck like lightning. Everyone but Valeria and Hygieia were unconscious and Valeria was lying on the floor in wide eyed horror at the contemptuous ease that Hinata had taken her two escorts down. In theory they were both extremely powerful defenders but the Hyūga heiress swatted them aside like flies. Hinata was far; far stronger than Valeria had ever imagined possible….
Flashback end….
Now Hinata was towering over Valeria with her Twin Lion Fists roaring as she said in an icy voice, "Give me one good reason I should not execute you and everyone else in this place for violating my body and taking what is the most precious thing to the Hyūga Clan Councilor…."
Hygieia was sobbing in the corner of the room. "P-please Sister Hinata! We bioroids share everything! Our actions were benevolent….W-we never would have taken your eyes out had we not believed they were irreparably damaged. We were doing our best to heal you. We bioroids would never harm our own kin. You must believe me!"
Valeria tried to speak but shook in absolute fear when Hinata flared her chakra and pinned her with killing intent. "….Get out Councilor. Take your people and get out before I kill you!"
Nodding rapidly, Valeria and Hygieia quickly got the unconscious Iaso and Valeria's two escorts and vacated the room closing the sliding door behind them. Iaso had only been knocked out but Valaria's two escorts need medical attention. Once they were out in the hall they heard Hinata let out such a soul wrenching scream of sadness that they were in shock. The noises of the pearl eyed beauty's angry screams and the sounds of things in the room being destroyed rang throughout the hallway until they heard Hinata wail, "WHY?" before she broke down into a fit of sobs….
"W-what have we done….?" asked Hygieia crying. Valeria remained silent but the pain emanating from Hinata's room was so heavy that she wanted to cry herself….
….
Iaso woke up in the infirmary. Her neck felt a bit stiff from the chop she received from Hinata but aside of that she was unharmed. When she opened her eyes she saw Hygieia hovering nearby looking rather distraught. The mind healer said groggily, "Sister Hygieia, what happened? You look terribly upset. Why are we in the infirmary?"
Hygieia quickly turned to the older woman. "Thank the gods you're okay Sister Iaso. Do you hurt anywhere? I've been waiting for you to wake up."
"My neck is stiff but I'm okay. How did I get here Hygieia?" asked Iaso.
The youg healer took a calming breath. "Sister Hinata struck your neck and knocked you out in an instant. She is terribly, terribly upset and angry that we took her eyes and copied them. She was violent and frightening. I was worried for your health Sister Iaso."
"Were Councilor Valeria's escorts able to restrain her before she harmed herself?" asked the mind healer concerned for Hinata's mental health.
Valeria entered the room and said, "She crushed my escorts like insects Sister Iaso. It's estimated they will be out for a week healing up. We have no warriors of either the offensive or defensive type that can stand against her combat strength in my humble estimation. She actually can manifest her power outside of her body with such intensity that it dazzled my vision. Wherever Sister Hinata is from they must have created a special combat type that is far beyond others. Given her eyes and her power core's raw energy I think it is safe to say she could easily defeat several of our combat bred types before they could even react. We need to make peace with her. She rendered you unconscious with no effort and never touched Hygieia. I am hoping you two may be able to bond with her and calm her down."
"What about you Councilor Valeria?" asked Iaso. "Did she harm you in any way?"
The Councilor looked distinctively uncomfortable. "No, she only knocked me to the floor and threatened to execute me." Iaso gasped. "I fear she would have but Sister Hygieia pleaded with her not to so she let us all go without further incident."
Hygieia spoke up and said, "After we left Sister Hinata's room it sounded like she released her anger on whatever was left standing in the room before she broke down sobbing. I wanted to comfort her but I was too afraid…."
"You are one of our best mind healers Sister Iaso." said Valeria. I will not order you to do it but I will ask that you attempt to help Sister Hinata. Where she is from we may have caused a great affront by cloning her eyes but she must be assured we meant no harm or offense. Are you willing to do this Sister Iaso?"
The mind healer paused. "How long has it been since she emotionally exploded?"
"It's been about three hours Sister Iaso." said Hygieia.
"Very well, I'm sure she is getting hungry by now." said the mind healer. "I'm also sure she is still very upset but hopefully her rage has abated. Sister Hygieia, I will attempt to talk to her. Would you be willing to stay nearby so we can get her something to eat?"
The young medic nodded, "Of course I will. If there is any way I can help Sister Hinata I will. Her cries of anguish were heartbreaking. I wish to make her better in any way I am able."
"Spoken like a true healer." said Chief Healer Asclepius as he walked in. "I am proud of you Hygieia."
"Thank you sir." said Hygieia with a smile. "It means a lot to me."
Asclepius just chuckled. "How is your neck Iaso?"
"It's still a bit stiff Chief Healer." replied the mind healer.
"I would expect it would be." said the older man. "Believe it or not; Sister Hinata is even more precise than she is powerful."
"What do you mean Chief Healer?" asked Valeria in a shocked tone.
Asclepius helped himself to a seat. "What I mean Councilor Valeria is this; Sister Hinata's strikes were in the exact right places with the exact amount of force to knock out Sister Iaso and disable your two escorts with a minimum of effort and damage. Had Sister Hinata truly intended lasting or crippling harm she could have easily done so. I truly believe she could easily kill a person with a single strike. She did not because she chose not to. All of you were completely at her mercy."
Councilor Valeria gasped. "Then when she swatted my escorts aside as if they were nothing; she was holding back? Is that what you are saying Chief Healer?"
"That's precisely what I'm saying Councilor Valaria." said the Chief Healer. "This is actually a good thing. While Sister Hinata was obviously completely enraged and tormented she never truly lost control of herself. Your descriptions indicate to me you were facing a powerful berserker but I assure you that she is anything but Councilor." He turned to Iaso. "I believe you and Hygieia will be successful Iaso but do take care not to truly rile her."
Iaso got a flat look. "You don't need to tell me that Elder Asclepius." as she made a jab at his age.
Asclepius laughed. "I just wanted you to know there is a time where it's okay to run screaming in fear from a patient."
Everyone else in the room just sweat dropped at his 'Sagely Advice' as he continued to chuckle.
….
Whorl Arcology
Naruto was sitting down for lunch with Benibara….alone. 'I wonder why Lord Magnus and Lady Rosalie are absent.' thought the blonde. 'They are in some sort of meeting of great importance according to Kraven.' The Steelside Heiress was looking at the young Sage with a faraway look in her light green eyes which seemed completely out of character for the normally glacial Benibara Steelside. 'Ummm….Why is she looking at me that way? I feel like I should ask but I don't think I will. She hasn't touched her food or said anything for ten minutes.' "Lady Benibara; don't you want to eat before your food gets cold?" asked the whiskered ninja.
The Steelside Princess blinked. "Just call me Benibara, Naruto." she said smiling at him dreamily.
"Okaaay." replied the blonde. Naruto went back to eating despite feeling a bit unnerved. 'Well, this is awkward….I wish Kurama would wake up. I hope Hinata-chan and Shizuka are okay. I'm really worried about them.'
"Na-ru-to; what do you say we do some shopping for you today?" purred Benibara. "You really are in need of a wardrobe and we never got you the combat gear you wanted. Do you want to go out and shop? We could have fun together!"
Naruto said in a no nonsense tone, "You need to stay in the mansion until that cyborg situation has been fully investigated Benibara. I can't risk your life just to get clothes."
Benibara pouted. "Please…?" she asked. Naruto just shook his head 'no.' "Well then, let's go to my bedroom and we can shop online. That way we can see what you like and it will be safe." said Benibara sounding rather pleased with herself. 'I'll just summon my personal tailors and get his measurements.'
"Alright, but what does online mean?" asked Naruto looking a bit bewildered.
'He looks so cute when he's confused!' Benibara mentally squealed to herself. She smiled and said rather excitedly, "I have a whole new world to show you Naruto!" The Steelside Princess sounded a way too eager for Naruto's tastes….
….
Misogunia Arcology
By evening Obadiah's counter assault with his troops had failed utterly. A throng of the Director's troops charged in recklessly after some retreating slaves thinking victory would be easy….and ran straight into a series of explosive traps that Shizuka had set for them. She'd carefully been gathering explosive devices of all shapes and sizes as she wiped out guard stations. The dying screams and the acrid stench of the smoking meat that was once Obadiah's police forces was the result. The apparent retreat by the revolting slaves had been nothing but a carefully constructed trap. Shizuka growled, "Fools, one Nadeshiko kunoichi is far more dangerous than a hundred ill trained men. I'm going to enjoy choking your pathetic life out Obadiah."
The black haired kunoichi sighed. The rebellion was following her whether she liked it that way or not. 'My original plan was to free them so they would cause a distraction so I could wipe out Obadiah and his little circle of friends.' thought the Nadeshiko Princess. 'Instead I inadvertently became the unofficial leader of a bloody revolution. I never imagined the civilians and even some of Obadiah's own police forces would join in this coup. Director Obadiah must be even worse than I suspected and that's really saying something.'
"Lady Shizuka!" said a former member of Obadiah's forces. "I retrieved the map of the upper floors you asked for."
"Thank you." replied Shizuka as she accepted the map. "Tell the people to stop and rest. They need food and need to regain their energy. Get a good meal in them and try to relax. From the looks of this map Obadiah and his cronies have no place to run anyway so there's no hurry. We'll post sentries to make sure everyone is safe while we're resting." The man (his name was Karkov if she recalled correctly) eagerly rushed to inform every one of 'Lady Shizuka's' commands with stars in his eyes.
'Good thing I'm used to commanding a ninja village.' Shizuka thought to herself ruefully. 'Leading this mob has been hard but they've all idolized me. Once Obadiah's regime has been crushed I'll be able the start searching for Hinata and hopefully Naruto-kun. I hope they're both safe and well.' She shook her head and thought aloud, "I need to focus on the battle here and now. I'll take care of other things later."
….
When the news reached Obadiah that his big offensive had been completely crushed he began to feel an emotion that he hadn't felt in a long time: ice cold fear.
"What should we do sir?" asked one of his lieutenants.
Obadiah pondered. "Our best bet would be to kill their leader. If you cut the head off of a snake the body dies. Do we know who is behind all this? It's much too organized for a bunch of mindless slaves."
As his lieutenant handed him a picture of Shizuka; Obadiah's eyes widened. "This bitch is responsible for causing so much destruction? What in the hell is she?"
"We don't even know her name sir…." confessed one of his men. "As badly as we beat her physically last week I don't even know how she's walking, let alone fighting."
"My god…." whispered Obadiah. Shizuka's angry eyes seemed to burn into him even from the photo. He had no doubt of her intentions. She wanted his head on a platter and would destroy whatever or whoever was necessary to get it. Obadiah began to consider possible escape plans because he had lost any delusions of coming out on top. Worst of all she was a woman….The shame was unbearable….The Director of the Misogunia Arcology would sooner kill himself than admit he was defeated by an inferior female.
….
POSTSCRIPT:
Well, it seems that Shizuka is literally on the warpath and Hinata may or may not be depending on whether or not Iaso and Hygieia can convince her that the bioroids mean no harm to her. Naruto is concerned for the girls but hasn't any means of finding them at this point and it seems that Benibara has taken more than just a little interest in our hero. Will he survive the perils of internet shopping with the extremely hormonal girl or will he run away screaming? Whether it's physical, moral or ethical everyone's in a pinch one way or another. See you next time. Blue out. 12/20/18 -Original Version 8/14/15