Shibito Ashikabi: Legacy of the Mist Demon
Normal speech / thoughts
Tailed - Beast speech / thoughts
Electronic voice
AN at bottom. You've all waited long enough, hopefully this 9k chapter makes up for it. Within reason.
Chapter 6 part 2: First Feather, and Bonding
Chapter start!
Miya Asama was a exceptional cook. If this was ever doubted, r questioned by anyone, the culprit would be standing on the business end of an uncountable amount of firearms, and an assortment of blunt, and bladed weapons. Her culinary talent was praised, and coveted by all who had the privilege of tasting a meal prepared by her hands. Joining those privileged individuals was a certain green - haired sekirei.
"How!?" Cried Toyotama in confused delight as she finished her third plate of a small variety of French dishes. She had just inhaled her second bowl of potato and leek soup, and was now devouring a slice of Quiche Lorraine, a meat pie-like dish thinly layered with cheese, pork, and tomato with just a hint of cilantro in the crust. She was also finally in her usual clothes, though she still had bandages wrapped around her flank, and arm just in case the wounds reopened.
"How is this so good?!"
Those who were sitting around the table said nothing as they too went through this state the first time they had the honor of putting Miya's glorious cooking in their mouths. Speaking of the diners, they were all sitting on the floor with their shoes off at the small, low standing table. Jiraiya, now in just his dress shirt and pants, was at the head of the table, Gyokuro had Kahlua in her lap at his left, Miya, Naruto and the voracious Toyotama packed close together on his right with the mostly blonde male in the middle. At the other end of the table was a rather feminine, silver - haired man in an white shirt named Homura, though he usually went by Kagairi, and the last person seated at the table was a beautiful, young woman with red hair, glasses, wearing a light - colored dress with detached sleeves, and long slits that began near her thighs.
"It's like watching a little kid eat cake for the first time!" Giggled Matsu into her hand. Everyone except for the feasting sekirei shared a small laugh at that. The small party had a very warm, and inviting atmosphere, after all it was a celebration to welcome back good friends, and family. Soon after everyone had their fill of food, and drink, the party quickly settled , Kahlua fell asleep in Jiraiya's arms while he himself slept in the living room on the couch. Kagairi, and Matsu had also left, the former to go to sleep, the other to read Jiraiya's gift to her, the latest edition to Icha Icha. Miya had promptly bashed both their heads with her ladle of doom when the super pervert gave the smut to his self proclaimed disciple.
Naruto stood up, stretched his arms forward, and held them out until he heard a few cracks. Naruto was barefoot, and wore only sweatpants, and a white shirt. He tapped his sekirei, who contently laid her head, and arms on the table. She looked up at him with half lidded eyes, she was almost asleep.
"Hey, sorry to wake you," Naruto apologized "but do you mind coming with me to pick up a few things?"
Toyotama nodded an affirmative before she yawned, and shook her head to wake up a bit.
"Let get my boots and gloves on." Toyotama told her mostly blonde ashikabi as she went upstairs to collect said items. When she was out of ear shot Miya spoke.
"Are you going to tell her about the shibito?"
Naruto nodded to his mother.
"The Shogun called me shortly after I winged her, and told me it was fine, but to use discretion." Explained Naruto as he started to go upstairs to his room to change. He turned towards Miya to add "I'm taking her to an Arashikage warehouse for a new staff, more ammo for my sniper, and I just got a shipment of special rounds for my shotgun."
The landlady nodded to her son before he went to dress himself, that left her, and Gyokuro alone. The other woman took the opportunity to state the curiosity that had developed when Naruto met them at the airport. She hoped that she wouldn't appear rude by asking, but Naruto's new appearance warranted an explanation.
"Miya dear," Gyokuro began "Do you mind enlightening me on something? After Naruto departs from here?"
"Of course not." Replied the fellow mother with a smile. She then stood up.
"Let's clean up while we talk." Jiraiya's wife nodded, she definitely was rich, but she came from a working household so simple labor wasn't below her.
A few moments later, Toyotama came down with her dark thigh – length, and upper arm long gloves on, and her green hair hung freely down to her lower back. She cautiously stretched her injured arm upwards so she wouldn't agitate it. Once she reached the bottom, the sekirei took the initiative to assist with cleaning since there wasn't much, just some plates, cups, and utensils. Soon Naruto came down wearing his slate hoodie, blue jeans, gray on black sneakers, and Zabuza's slashed forehead protector wrapped around his neck. His keys clinked as he took them out.
"We'll be back in about an hour." Naruto said as he walked to the front door, his sekirei closely following.
"Drive safe, and check your voice!" Miya told Naruto, the last part said with a mischievous glint. Everyone else who was awake in the vicinity gave the lavender haired woman an odd look until Naruto sighed deeply. Toyotama saw him make what she thought was an odd gesture with a single hand before, much to her shock, a black symbol appeared on his Adams apple, and flashed. After that the symbol faded away, and Naruto gave his giggling mother a annoyed look.
"Thanks for telling me." Naruto sarcastically said in a completely different voice, one that sounded much more natural for someone his age since he just deactivated the voice-altering seal. It was still deep, but had a smooth tone. Naruto turned to Toyotama who's eyes demanded an explanation.
"I'll explain when we get to where I want to take you. Trust me."
Toyotama stared at him for a second before she walked to the door. Naruto turned to the two woman, and gave a sheepish smile. He was already in trouble, and he hadn't even been her ashikabi for day!
Once outside, Naruto hit the unlock button on his car key twice so both doors would be open. He sat down in the driver side of the beastly Charger R/T, Toyotama in the front passenger seat, her seat belt on. The sekirei gave cautious glances at Naruto, the reason behind those glances perfectly understandable. He had done two things that a normal human should not have been able to do, so Toyotama thought it wise to be a little careful until he made it all clear to her.
"It seems that my ashikabi is unique, but to what degree?" Toyotama pondered before she analyzed the custom interior of the gray vehicle.
The seats were primarily a light-gray with blue headrests while the dashboard was all black. The beastly American –made automotive roared to life when Naruto cranked over the 1000 horsepower V-8 engine, a combination of western power, and eastern tuning that had taken Naruto over a year to perfect. He had designed the engine to be able to switch between two separate "Settings", as said by Jiraiya: "Fast", and "Is it even legal to drive this on the street?" Seriously, Jiraiya literally wanted to know after he had ridden with Naruto on a test drive to make sure everything worked on the Dodge. Everything under that hood was custom-made, and none of it cheap. Naruto wanted his personal vehicle to perfect for both a Sunday drive, and to win first place at a NASCAR event.
Naruto had 10,000, 000 dollars in American currency under that hood to make sure that monster could do just that.
Toyotama quietly giggled as Naruto quickly flipped through the radio stations, he tried to find a channel that played music to his liking. All he got was Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, and bunch of those crap new age rap songs. With a disgusted grimace, and a quick click of the CD button, slow guitar strings were plucked, and soon exploded into a strong bass, and drumline accompanied by a male voice that sang out "We are! We are! We are made from broken parts!" filled the interior. Naruto had already driven the Charger out of the driveway, and had now gone a good distance down the road. As Naruto drove the car towards the destination he had in mind, the only sound was the music from the radio.
(-page break-)
Thanks to a moron who didn't know how to drive, it took another ten minutes for Naruto to reach the location where he wanted to take Toyotama. That asshole better be happy Naruto didn't give the man's Prius what was known as a "Concrete Kiss" with a nearby building.
"A shooting range?" The green – haired woman asked when they exited the automobile, much to the relief of Toyotama's ears. That car was way too damn loud. The modest recreational facility didn't look like much, just a light colored building with a bull's-eye on the front near a wood door, and a few dark-tinted windows that couldn't be seen through from the outside. Naruto had reached the door, and held it open for his female companion as she entered. Toyotama saw that the lobby also doubled as a gun shop, various firearms on display in cases, out in the open, or on the walls decorated the store. She saw Naruto go behind the counter where a line of double-barreled shotguns were mounted on a wall though there was a gap in the display because of a closed black door that went well with the red walls of the weapons shop.
Toyotama heard the jingle of keys when her ashikabi neared the door followed by locks being turned. Naruto opened the door, turned his head towards Toyotama, and motioned with his hand for her to go through.
"I have a gift for you." Naruto stated as his green – haired sekirei followed his direction. Gift? She wondered what was here that her mismatched eyed ashikabi thought would make a good gift for her. It was a GUN store. Actually now that Toyotama thought about it, how'd her ashikabi have the keys to this place? The object of her thoughts must've felt her unease through their bond, a two-way mental link that allowed a winged sekirei, and their chosen ashikabi to feel the emotions of the other.
"I help out around here sometimes when I spare time."
While the explanation was felt truthful, her unease was still there. Naruto could already tell that it was going to be difficult trying to hide things from someone who had a direct connection to his inner emotions. He led his nervous sekirei towards the back where her gift was. While Mintaka's helper would have a bitch fit the second she saw the weapon Naruto had planned to give his sekirei, zero fucks would be given. Toyotama was HIS sekirei, and Naruto would arm her as HE saw FIT. Besides, this new staff wasn't that different from the one MBI had supplied the bo-jutsu using sekirei with, it just had a few… special features.
Naruto opened another door that was the entrance to what appeared to be a forge for bladed weapons if the swords, axes, and daggers placed wherever were any indication. Oh, and the smelting pit and anvil, can't forget those. Naruto told Toyotama to sit on a wooden stool while he went to bring out her gift. The woman listened to her master's request, and sat cross – legged as she patiently waited as he searched for her "gift". The green – haired sekirei paused. Her first gift. From her precious ashikabi-kun, no less. She would hate to break it to him that she only knew how to fight with a staff. Her first one had been completely shattered from the battle that occurred the night he rescued her from that bastard ashikabi Ichiya belonged to. Toyotama frowned when that traitor's name came to mind, her bangs shadowed her eyes. That bitch would pay. Toyotama clenched her left fist hard enough to crack her knuckles then put her right fist into her now open palm, and cracked the knuckles on that hand. She felt the unsealed power flow through her. A cracked skull. That's what Toyotama would give Ichiya next time they met.
"… Hell to pay…" Silently Toyotama vowed vengeance . She wasn't paying attention so she didn't notice Naruto look at her from the corner of his eye, a small smirk on his face. Payback huh? Naruto had found the case that held his sekirei's new armament. If Toyotama wanted revenge on that stripper, and that punk little shit for their attempt to forcibly wing her, then this would definitely do the job.
"I think I'll join in on that." Naruto entertained the prospect of bringing that weakling to his knees. Higa may have owned quite a bit of wealth, but Shinto Teito was the territory of Arashikage, Naruto's faction. They were dominant, and could make anyone's life hell as long as they were within the city. However, that would have to until a later date, first, Naruto needed to give Toyotama her new weapon. Her first REAL weapon. No more of that cosplay crap Minaka saw fit to equip sekirei with, no! This would definitely shift the odds in her favor during a sekirei battle.
"Come 'ere." Naruto laid the case on a workbench bolted to the floor near a wall, and called his sekirei over. The tall woman stood up, and went to her ashikabi, but did something that definitely fell under the "Naughty" category when she got there. Before Naruto could move aside, his first feather lifted his arm over her head, reached with both hands for her master's sides, and pulled him closer until his chest pressed against her straightened back. Once he was in the position she wanted, Naruto heard her mumble "Don't move" as she thrust her round, firm ass into his crotch, and leaned other to give herself a better angle when she began to grind her butt on his hardening meat. The only reason why Naruto didn't move despite her telling him not to, was because Toyotama didn't seem to be doing this for no reason. Not that she had a good one, but from her focused murmurs, the sekirei wasn't doing this out of affection.
"Hmm… 10?"
Naruto sighed at his sekirei's actions, a blush absent despite what was happening. Toyotama slid her rear down to where his rod began, and slowly rose higher, making sure to keep it between her lower cheeks. Ah, 13. Her ashikabi was 13 inches long, much larger than Toyotama thought she'd get.
"You done teasing me?" Naruto asked blankly, unamused.
Toyotama looked back, and gave her ashikabi a teasing smirk before she removed her ass from his body. Then Naruto sighed once more when the back of her body was pressed against his front, and the green – haired woman grasped his hands, and placed them on the center of her breasts, the nibbles slightly hard.
"It's only fair I let you cup a feel of these Double-Ds for a few.." Stated Toyotama while she looked back at him, a bit of excitement, and caution in her expression.
"Just don't go further than that." She warned. "I love you, but I'm not spreading my legs. Not yet anyways."
Naruto raised a brow at that. From what Matsu told him, most sekirei went at their masters pace. Looks like Naruto had a bit of a rebel to that trend. Good. He liked women that set boundaries. Meant that they wanted a relationship, not a fuck buddy. Still, Naruto wasn't going to squeeze even if she gave permission, he barely knew her, after all. Give him about a week or two to know her better, then he'd do that, and possibly other activities. Outside of his mother's inn of course.
"I do not want to die young." Naruto was determined to live a long life, and his motivation was the fear Miya put into Matsu when the pervert proclaimed herself Jiraiya's disciple. With that thought, Naruto removed his hands, which made Toyotama go "Humph." Then she turned completely to face him with a small smile.
"Big, thick, and a gentleman." Toyotama seductively licked her lips. Lips so very kissable, and soft. She chuckled as she turned back to the two meter long, and 40 centimeter wide solid-black case below her.
"I've hit the jackpot!" Was her final remark on that subject as she flipped open the clasps on the case, and opened it to reveal a shiny metal staff that was almost as long as the case that held it. A long, low whistle, and raised eyebrows showed her impressed reaction as she lifted the light, and well – balanced rod in both hands. The circular weapon had an odd number of segments, with the ends being a few centimeters thicker than the rest that had a radius of 6 cm. About two segments down from each end there was a segment that Toyotama knew from a single look activated some kind of mechanism. She decided to try the left side first, slid her hands along the shaft so the blunt left end pointed upwards with the other closer to the floor. With a twist on the leftward mechanism, a sharp, 6-inch long spear that split into two slightly curved points shot out. Toyotama's eyes sparkled with delight when large, fat sparks began to arc on, and along the twin-spears, the built-in insulation prevented the dangerous voltage from shocking the woman that held the weapon.
"I think I might be ready to spread my legs!" Toyotama excitedly commented while she deactivated the electrically charged weapon with a twist in the opposite direct before she raised the other end, and activated its trick. Naruto said nothing as he observed his sekirei, her investigation of her new weapon a chance for him to study her for a bit.
"Kinda underwhelming after the first one." Toyotama said in slight dissatisfaction when another point sprung out, and merely curled into a brutal hook, but the staff-user knew that she would figure out how to effectively use both ends. With another twist, both mods were in "off" mode now. Toyotama was about to place back in the case when she noticed that the staff looked collapsible. Now she just had to… there! The middle segment. With a few squeezes to test the amount needed, a rather hard one caused the entire staff to slid into itself towards the middle, each segment went in side the expanded mid – segment. The larger end segments slid over the mid one , and closed with a loud click, the nearly two-meter staff now only around less than 6 inches long. Toyotama turned to face an expectant Naruto.
"Will it do?" He asked, though he already knew the answer. His sekirei's response was to store the small weapon in between her cleavage, and pull Naruto close to her by his shoulders. Once the gap between the two was closed she tilted her head up a bit since Naruto wasn't that much taller than her, and kissed him. The contact caused Toyotama's pillar-like wings to extend as they both closed their eyes, Toyotama's arms snaked around Naruto's neck while his hands held her by her slim, fit waist. The pair stayed like that for about a minute, Toyotama's wings expanded, and soon got long enough to start to carve into the reinforced wall. When they finally separated, and her wings disappeared, Toyotama gave a single comment.
"You taste like rain." She stated, like she expected something else.
"And you taste like France." Flatly replied Naruto.
"That's way better than rain." Retorted his sekirei with a victorious smirk as they let go of each other. She gave him an appreciative gaze, and removed the weapon hidden inside her bust, and squeezed it with the same pressure as before to fully extend it.
"It's perfect." Toyotama said, gratitude radiated off her. She collapsed the staff again for a final time, and returned it to her bust. She hugged her ashikabi, her head leaned on his shoulder. Naruto returned the gesture.
"Thank you for being my ashikabi, my destined one." Her voice lowered, and her eyes closed partially as she continued.
"When you found me, I was certain that I was doomed to live a loveless life." Her grip tightened, and Naruto's hand cradled her head from behind, the night she spoke of clear in his mind. That bastard…
"I'll kill him…" Naruto, looked down to his sekirei. The relief, and sense of security on her face. He gave her both of those feelings, and others that he himself never knew he could give. And that fucking… he almost took that from her.
"Slow and painfully… rip, tear, stab, shoot, and beat into the red…" Naruto recited a shibito saying. It was primarily used when thinking of someone that you especially hated. Toyotama's voice broke him from his murderous intent.
"You'll gain more sekirei." She said, a bit of sadness crept into her voice.
"I've only known you for barely a day, but I can feel your love, your inner power. That love will draw in sekirei like moths to a flame." Naruto figured that this "inner power" she spoke of referred to the vast chakra reserves he held, but chose not to say so. Not yet anyway.
"I want you to promise me something." Toyotama requested, her hands, and body removed themselves from Naruto's person. He found that he preferred the physical contact. It felt… nice to be touched in such a way by someone. His sekirei faced him, and stared into his eyes with determination not unlike a solider ready for war.
"Promise me that we'll win this game. Promise me that you'll never-" Naruto raised a hand to signal "Stop."
"Toyotama… I was told by someone who, in under five minutes, taught me a lesson that I follow down to this day." Naruto began to say, a sagely tone in his words .
"When a person has something important they want to protect, that's when they can become truly strong." Naruto repeated the sentence Haku had said to him years before on his first real mission to his sekirei. Naruto stared her dead in the eye, his heterochromia-affected eyes seemed to grab a tight hold of her own light blue orbs. He drew closer to her, and spoke at the same time.
"I have precious people I want to protect. Anyone who dares threaten them will be faced with a reckoning of lead, and steel." Naruto's body was consumed by a cloud of smoke, which he walked out of garbed in his shibito outfit, the same clothes, mask, and goggles he wore the night he saved the staff-user in front of him. He put his hood down, moved the snowboarding goggles from his eyes to the top of his head, and loosened the grinning mask so that it hung from his neck. With a radiant smile filled with reassurance, and conviction to his beliefs, Naruto's next statement brought tears to Toyotama eyes from the sincerity of her ashikabi's words.
"You are one of those people now, Toyotama. For you, I would make Death fall to my sword." After he uttered those words, Naruto used a single arm that he put behind her neck, and pulled his sekirei into his chest, and held her there in a one armed hug. Toyotama's eyes closed as she inhaled the scent of water, gunpowder, gasoline, and fire; her beloved master's scent. She could feel the cold metal of the guns, and massive sword attached to his back when her arms embraced him, her eyes closed. She could feel her ashikabi's love. Naruto leaned down, and smelt Toyotama's hair. Her dark green locks carried the scent of pine needles.
"We will win this because we will fight as one."
Toyotama held Naruto tighter after he said that. Nearly all the fighting would be between sekirei, but for her and other feathers her ashikabi was certain to wing, that would not be the case. They had an advantage. She had felt the power within him. A portion of that power now flowed through herself, radiated through her core. He wasn't normal. The beast clad in armor the color of a dark sapphire that Naruto called upon in her defense flashed in her mind. The dominance that it gave off, and the sense of hopeless it filled the traitor Ichiya, and her pompous ashikabi. Of course, the anomaly that was her ashikabi was one she looked forward to understanding. The weapons he carried, and the outfit he wore combined with the odd abilities he possessed.
"I'll worry about it later. He'll open up to me in time. After all," Toyotama thought as they separated, Naruto's civilian clothing reappeared on his body after another plume of smoke. The ashikabi opened the door that led to the lobby/checkout of the gun shop, and target range.
"We have many years to spend together."
(-Just a page break-)
The lilac – tipped blonde, and his greennette sekirei had walked out of the shooting range, the ashikabi held a big plastic bag that had boxes which held the ammunition he desired. Those shotgun shells that were shipped to him had miniature bolas encased inside the rounds. Perfect for dismemberment, or decapitation, depending on where the bola round hit. Naruto pressed a button on his car keys to pop open the chargers trunk, and another button to unlock the doors so that Toyotama could get in. On the way back he planned to explain to Toyotama that he was a shibito, where they came from, and why he was one. Naruto was bonded to her for life, and it was better if he told his sekirei now rather than later. A buzz from his phone that signaled he had received a text would delay his plans. For a few minutes at least. Naruto typed "Got it. I'll handle this. Standby." In reply, put the bag in, shut the trunk, and leaned his back on the driver side door. Toyotama exited the mechanical beast, and went to Naruto's side. He had a rather mischievous smirk, and his mismatched eyes were halfway closed. His face was calm, the type of calm that was associated with how the weather was before a storm. A dangerous calm.
Without warning, Toyotama felt the bandages wrapped around her injuries torn off. "What the fuck?!" Were the words that nearly came out of the angry sekirei, but the sight of her wounds- or rather, the lack of them- prevented her from such an outburst.
"The hell…?"
Gone. She examined her previously scabbed over upper arm, and the gouges on her side only to find them completely normal, as if the injury never happened, the skin was its usual tone. She didn't even feel sore! Her confused, and amazed gaze went to her ashikabi's face as if he had an explanation, but he only cocked his head to the side. The smirk, and look his eyes held indicted that he knew how, or had an idea as to why her wounds healed so quickly. Before she could inquire anything, the sound of a car engine- one utterly pathetic compared to the monster Naruto drove- sounded as a classic car, one Naruto recognized as an older model corvette aggressively pulled up. Naruto sighed internally.
"Why'd that asshat bring something so innocent?! Oh well, there can only be one classic." Naruto loved corvettes, but this one would soon suffer an unfortunate end. After Naruto brought its owner down an entire skyscraper worth of pegs. Still Naruto had to give it to the guy. He didn't take anything without retaliation.
"He just doesn't know who's fucking with is all." Naruto thought in amusement at two things: one that the driver of the white 1950s to 60s era corvette actually was either stupid or arrogant enough to search for Naruto. The second was the amount of piss would stain this guy's pants when Naruto brought out Nightmare, and another friend.
"It really is unfair to every other ashikabi that I'm in this game." Naruto stated humorously with a tinge of remorse for the ashikabis that he would crush, and sever their bonds. None of that remorse was felt for the driver of the car that had pulled up ten meters away from Naruto, one Higa Izumi, and boy did he look mad as he opened the car door, and slammed it shut. The heir of a pharmaceutical company whose name Naruto didn't bother to learn had a rather hostile gaze while his face was neutral. That glare combined with his white knuckles were the only tips Naruto needed. Toyotama, on the other hand, was in a stare down with the martial artist that had a bias towards kicks, Ichiya. The two females sneered at each other, and Toyotama pulled out her new staff from her bountiful bosom, immediately she triggered its extended form, and leaned it on her shoulder diagonally, the end that held the spear towards the night sky.
"Nice toy." Insulted the tan sekirei. Toyotama smashed the lower end of her new staff into the ground in response. The meter-wide, ten-centimeter deep crater of spider web cracks that formed from the impact seemed to shut up Ichiya, and Higa let a brief look of impression show in his eyes before he snuffed it out. What they didn't know was that even Toyotama didn't expect her blow to have that much force. Naruto still had that same calm, mischievous expression, like nothing bothered him. After that squabble, the four just stared at each other, the sekirei ready for a fight while their masters seemed to be in a silent battle of their own. Five minutes past under the moonlight, and streetlights in that modestly – sized parking lot, a lot of tension built up until Naruto's smirk grew.
"So I broke your pride, and you want payback, right." Naruto stated more than asked the reason for Higa's 'unannounced' visit. The heir grit his teeth.
"The thought crossed my mind." The other ashikabi admitted.
Higa fixed his tie , and inhaled before he exhaled to calm down. Toyotama raised a brow, and got ready to engage if needed, though Ichiya seemed to dislike what was about to be said. Naruto kept that unnerving look on his face, Higa started to feel like Naruto mocked him silently, but according to what his sources said, this lilac – tipped blonde held secrets that would give Higa a decisive edge over that troll Minaka. The informants didn't say what, likely out of fear, but Higa was willing to take a gamble to defeat the biggest rival to his family's business. That goal was much more important than this stupid 'game' Minaka set up. These 'sekirei' were a waste of space save for their powers, or physical abilities. Beyond those however, Higa saw them as worthless. Completely worthless.
"I have a proposal. I want the two of us to establish an alliance."
Toyotama almost dropped her staff but did drop her jaw while her eyebrows shot up into her hairline. Ichiya gained a scowl that Higa didn't see as she had placed herself behind him, but it was Naruto's reaction that made him think he had a chance of getting the mysterious blonde's cooperation. Naruto's smile fell as a blank look settled on his face, and his hair obscured his eyes. Higa saw this as a sign to continue his proposal, and he stepped forward. That was his second big mistake. The first was believing that he had a chance to get Naruto to align with him. The heir only managed two steps before he fell to his knees, and his eyes widened in shock. Higa's white pants became crimson with the blood that flow from the holes in his kneecaps.
"Was that supposed to be a joke…?"
Higa's mind was frazzled by the suddenness of his wounds, he didn't even feel pain as he looked up at the now unfamiliar voice he heard. When he saw a gun held in Naruto's hand with a stream of smoke that poured out the barrel, It all became real to the crippled ashikabi as his body realized that it had two holes through it.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Loudly shrieked Higa, his agonized cry snapped the sekirei out of the shocked positions they were in. Ichiya exploded with rage, how dare this…! This….!
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Bellowed the furious martial artist, the short – haired woman dashed towards Naruto at to an average person were great speeds. To Naruto she was slower than a tortoise, and he could easily kill her before she finished another step towards him. But, the shibito had a suspicion to confirm about the staff-user next to him. She seemed confused. Right now Naruto wished he knew exactly what she was thinking. If he could then he would've heard something that confirmed a part of a hunch he had.
"Why is she so… slow?"
While Toyotama didn't register Ichiya's charge at the snail's pace Naruto did, the skimpily dressed sekirei was still a great deal slower to Toyotama's perspective. When the two fought before her ashikabis timely intervention, the staff-user was barely able to track her opponent's motions. Now? It was as if the world had been put in slow motion. Did being winged by your destined one really give a sekirei this much of a power boost? No. That wasn't it. Something else was at play here. The 'thing' in question would have to wait to be investigated however. Toyotama let a vicious grin spread on her face as she got into a rushing stance, one knee forward, upper body leaned towards her opponent, and staff held with both hands in front of herself. Payback time had arrived!
"Round two!" Toyotama mentally called out as she engaged her target, the ground where she stood cracked further when she blasted forward at a speed she never thought possible only for a speed-type sekirei to reach. Instantly, Toyotama found herself within a third of a meter to Ichiya's body that gradually began to speed up as the other sekirei felt the wind from the staff-user's abnormally high speed. Ichiya's pupils widened when she realized that Toyotama had moved in way too close for comfort. The woman decided to barrel roll to the side to dodge whatever the unusually fast Toyotama planned to do.
"Too slow bitch!"
Higa's sekirei was halfway into the evasive maneuver when, her body tucked together about a foot above ground when she felt cold metal thrust hard into her midriff, inside the loop of metal that held her checkered clothes together. Ichiya didn't have time to react as she was yanked to the opposite side she intended to go, the metal braced itself on the circle of metal near her tanned skin, partially under with rest pressed against the top of the loop in way that ensured Ichiya wouldn't slip away from the staff. Toyotama's forward-focused eyes were glaciers as she spun her catch in a wide circle above her head, both hands used for maximum control. After a few stomach-churning twirls, Toyotama brought her staff level with her chest, and flung Ichiya's dizzy body away to the side with a powerful swing.
SMASH! CRUNCH!
Naruto winced in sympathy for the old school Chevrolet when Ichiya's body impacted against the now dented hood, and crashed through the front windshield, glass splintered onto the immediate vicinity, but Naruto was certain most of the shards were impaled inside the unfortunate sekirei whose bloody arm was the only thing visible. Naruto also couldn't help but smile on the inside. He really gave Toyotama such an unfair advantage, and he didn't refer to her weapon.. Naruto saw that his sekirei stood with her body forward, staff held in the middle, low to the ground in a single hand with her face pointed towards the vehicle that the immobile Ichiya laid in. Toyotama blinked when she saw that Ichiya would not move save for an occasional twitch. With a glance both quizzical, and amazed Toyotama peered down to at her held out left hand, astonished at the raw strength she just displayed. Her arms quivered from her actions, the muscles felt like liquid metal, and her senses where off the charts.
"Toyotama."
Said sekirei looked to her ashikabi when he called her name. His expression tried to be serious, but giddiness partly broke through.
"Get inside the car. I've got a lot of things to talk with you about."
Toyotama nodded as she went to the gray vehicle, a smirk on her face as she passed the crumpled form of Higa. He had crawled to his damaged car that held Ichiya, and began to fruitlessly order her to get up, his desperate cries were of no use. He didn't realize it, but their bond had been broken by the damage that the impact with the ruined corvette caused. Ichiya's neck had snapped upon collision, the crack masked by the glass being shattered, and the metal groaning as it was bent.
While Toyotama walked to the Charger, Naruto zeroed in on the mewling Higa, not finished with the other ashikabi. When the victorious (not that Naruto considered that a fight) pair were about to pass one another, the lilac – tipped blonde thrust his arm out to the side in front of his sekirei. Both had blank faces when they turned their heads to each other.
"No more secrets." Naruto stated as he retracted his arm, and turned back to Higa with a cruel smirk. Toyotama saw the skull and crossbones emblem on the handgun her ashikabi loosely held in his right hand. Briefly, she assumed that her ashikabi intended on killing the wounded Higa, but he quelled that thought from her mind.
"I gotta tell this punk what I think about forced winging." Toyotama smiled as she faced forward, her body continued towards the blue flame on gray old-model charger. She felt Naruto's eyes on her as she walked. With a slow beat, Toyotama put a sway in her hips, her curvy, slim waist accentuated her thighs, and her firm, sculpted butt. Toyotama looked back , and to her delight Naruto had stopped to watch the show. With a wink, and a grin, Naruto resumed his walk to the downed Higa, the heir had quieted, a look of realization at both the situation he was in, and that he no longer could feel his connection with Ichiya.
"Now if I didn't know what happened, I'd say that you look like someone just shit in your cereal."
Higa looked up with useless fury at the face of Naruto that was filled with mock-pity. The uninjured ashikabi bent down with the previous look on his face replaced by a smirk. Once eye level with Higa, Naruto spoke again, he went straight to the point.
"You're done forcibly winging sekirei."
Before Higa even could react, he cried out when Naruto shoved the external piece of the "cutlass" Beretta into the pressure point on Higa's collar. The metal was shoved as far it could into the area without permanent damage. The pharmaceutical heir thrashed for a second until an inhuman grip closed around his windpipe, his neck almost crushed by the tightness.
"… Can't…! Breathe…!" Higa's voice was barely vocalized however, the grip remained the same.
"Yes you can, just enough to keep you conscious, not enough to talk. " Naruto's suddenly frigid voice froze any resistance Higa had left as he felt something dreadfully familiar. He saw the same cloud that had unleashed the hellish knight that donned azure armor form behind Naruto who had a downright psychotic grin as the knight emerged from the cloud with a triumphant roar.
"THE NIGHTMARE WILL NEVER DIE!"
The grotesque arm it possessed was raised to the night sky, the fist seemed to crackle with electricity. Higa wasn't sure what he feared more: the malformed knight, or the blonde that seemed to control it. The young man paled to an almost pallor when he saw another cloud appear, what emerged from this one radiated insanity, and made Higa's body practically shut down if his visible, wide-eyed terror was any indication.
"GRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!"
Higa saw another knight, this one completely humanoid, appear with a violent scream as it emerged from its cloud. A thick black mist disabled any clear view of the tall knights pitch-black armor. What could be seen was the thin visor on the helm that glowed the same murderous red as the azure knights. A short whistle from Naruto brought Higa's attention back to the person who had him restrained by the throat.
"You've already met Nightmare," Naruto cocked his to the left to indicate the walking monster in blue armor that glared at the pinned heir with eyes that burned with dominance, as if it waited to challenged. Naruto's head then cocked to where the new knight stood, its hidden gaze felt rather than seen.
"I call this one Berserker." Naruto introduced the second of his knights.
"Now, back to my original statement." Naruto held Higa by the throat as got out of the squat he put himself in, the injured party went up with him. The heir felt the cold metal removed from his the pressure point as Naruto slipped his cutlass into the back of his jeans, and underneath his shirt. Naruto then slammed his hostage onto the dented hood of the wrecked corvette, the other male gasped in both pain, and relief because while the impact was painful, Naruto had let him go, and moved about a meter away.
"I'm only giving you one shot, and honestly that's only because if I kill you then other sekirei, and their ashikabis will suffer." Naruto's voice was devoid of emotion, and both his eyes mirrored the red of the knights that flanked him. Higa wasn't sure if it was fear that kept him silent, or his gut – instinct.
"You will stop forcibly winging sekirei. Contrary to what you think- and I see it in your eyes whenever you stare at a sekirei- they are alive, not some damn asset that you can use as you see fit."
Any retort Higa had died when the glowing eyes of Naruto suddenly were over him.
"I know you're not going to listen. If you're anything like that other rich little shit who winged Number 5 than you won't obey until I do something drastic." Naruto gave a teeth-filled grin, his enlarged canines shone for a moment.
"I had an Apache helicopter hover outside that guy's room in the middle of the night with missile-locks on him. You should've seen that shit-stain's face when he woke up in his king-sized bed, inside his room that could serve as a living room for a two – story house, and looked out his window." Naruto's red eyes glinted at the memory of the picture one of the men on board the helicopter sent him.
"Long story short, that made him call back his sekirei from the hunt they were on for a specific sekirei to 'protect' him. They almost got 'er too, but I intervened before they could get their target." Naruto frowned in way that made Higa very worried about his life.
"That was the same night I had to chase you away from Toyotama. And you wanna know something else?" Naruto clenched his fist hard enough for all the bones to crack.
"The sekirei that asshole had let his dogs out on contacted in my damn sleep an hour before the chase occurred, she asked me for my address." Naruto suddenly chuckled hollowly, and raised his head away from Higa's body that laid on the hood of his car.
"Why is it that both of the first sekirei I meet need to be saved from pricks like you? From what the rules say forced wingings aren't supposed to occur. Oh, wait…. You think that money gives you an excuse? Or is it your company's rivalry with MBI?"
Higa leaned up to speak, but the feeling of metal returned to the same pressure point forced him back down. Any further attempt was halted by a click.
"I really don't care. Just stop what you're doing and obey the rules."
A second later, Higa's scream tore through the night, the bullet left a see – through hole in the area were Higa once had a pressure point. The male soon went into shock as an ambulance from the hospital his family owned showed up, the people inside were Higa's helpers within the company, and ashikabi themselves. They didn't dare to look back at Naruto as he went to his vehicle. They knew better, those men in blacked-out clothing, armed with assault weapons, not to mention they had a fucking tank! They knew what their leader did not before he left.
"This guy is not to be messed with!"
Naruto turned over the engine, his beast roared to life as he patiently waited for the ambulance to leave.
"What a pushover." Naruto stated humorously when an MBI helicopter came for Ichiya. Toyotama blinked in surprise when the workers pulled her rival's body out of the wreck.
"Don't focus on that." Naruto told his sekirei, his car drove out of the parking lot, and headed back home as leisurely pace. He needed time to discuss this with her. The shibito, the Elemental Nations, who he was before he came here.
"I want Toyotama to trust me…. Because if she can accept who I was, and who I am now, then I can trust her, and most importantly, I can accept her love without a guilty conscience."
Speaking of the person that Naruto's thought concerned.
"So what do you need me to know?" Asked Toyotama, her head faced the driver's side. Naruto answered with a glance to her side, mostly he kept his eyes on the road.
"Do you believe in Shibito?"
-(Location: Mansion Izumo)-
While Naruto shared his secrets with his first sekirei, Miya and Gyokuro had just finished cleaning the pots, and pans that Miya had prepared the food they ate earlier. The tanned woman sat outside on a bench in the backyard, Miya insisted to make the two some tea, and Jiraiya's wife knew better than to resist.
The landlady emerged from her inn with two cups that lightly steamed, and held one out for Gyokuro. Once both woman had cups in their hands, they each took a moderate sip, and swallowed, Gyokuro sighed in satisfaction.
"I can buy the rarest tea leaves, hire the best tea maker, and give them the best pot, and that still wouldn't equal what you make."
"Ufufufufu. Flatterer." Miya giggled, the shapely woman covered her mouth with a sleeve as she did so, cup held with one hand.
"Miya, forgive me if this question makes you uncomfortable but," Gyokuro put her cup in her lap, and faced the other woman who gained a curious expression.
"Why does Naruto look the way he does? I thought that you adopted yet if anything he looks like your legitimate son." Gyokuro was a tad surprised when Miya openly laughed. The melodious sound continued for a few moments until Miya managed to lower it to a silent giggle.
"Now that wasn't a question I expected! You had me thinking something else entirely!" Miya said, her giggle still there. Gyokuro relaxed after she heard the other woman laugh, and a tense feeling she hadn't known form was lifted. Miya looked down at the warm liquid in her cup, a fond expression as she recalled how Naruto ended up looking so much like her. Granted, a part of her had felt like a thief, but that had completely faded within the first month of motherhood for her.
"Let's see, I actually have to start the story a few months before I became Naruto's mother." Miya told Gyokuro who got into a comfortable position before she leaned towards Miya.
"The first week after Jiraiya had dropped off Naruto was very awkward between us, he was very unsure weather to trust me, and usually only exited his room to leave for training." Miya began, a bit sad from her memories of the training methods shibito had. The weakest among them were to be as strong as at least a kage in the Elemental Nations, and they achieved this through intense physical conditioning, and inhumane exercises. Miya was always there to help Jiraiya with bandages when Naruto was carried back by a shibito because he pushed himself too hard or someone really hurt him during the matches between trainees.
"Slowly, very slowly, he began to interact with me. At first he would only ask for simple things, a cup of water," Miya gave an example.
"Then, Naruto began to actually have conversations with me about both mundane, and rather specific topics, some I found myself enjoyed having someone to talk about with!" Miya further explained.
Gyokuro nodded, and sipped more tea.
"What where your discussions about? Food?" Gyokuro joked as she took another sip. She soon choked on it from laughter when Miya happily answered "Yes!"
"Like mother, like son." Gyokuro supposed after she ceased coughing. Miya took that as a cue to continue.
"Within three months, the two of us became very closed, the only other person that I could compare it to was Takehito, yet this closeness was of such a different nature. I was so confused." Miya admitted with a smile directed at the tan woman in black.
"Eventually, I asked the trash-writer you'd call a husband," Gyokuro briefly chortled at the way Miya described her mate, yet couldn't deny that the money almost barely made up for it. At least he didn't go peeking anymore, Jiraiya had her from that. She really didn't mind either. Gyokuro focused in on Miya's words.
"What exactly was I feeling? I didn't feel as if it was wrong but it was just so new, and strange that I did not know how to deal with it!" Miya breathed, and sipped her cooled tea.
"What I wasn't aware of was that Naruto had felt the same emotions I was, and he too had went to Jiraiya. He had told us the exact same thing. We both felt as if the other was a mother, or in my case, a son. When I heard it, I first had questioned it but Jiraiya kept providing evidence to his answer;" Miya began to list them off.
"The way I doted on him, making lunches, getting him to eat his vegetables, the worry I showed when he experimented with new weapons, and Jutsu, the pride I showed I his accomplishments, both academic, and shibito-related, the way I cared for him on the rare days he had fallen ill. Those, and multiple others beat whatever reason as to how I thought that I did not have those feelings for him." Miya seemed to recall every detail at that moment, Gyokuro listened with a mother's ear, and agreed with Jiraiya's assessment, and she, as a mother, was qualified to say that.
"After I accepted it, Jiraiya called down Naruto, and told us both that if we really wanted it…." Miya paused to clear her throat from the emotions that swelled within her.
"Jiraiya had prepared adoption papers. If we really wanted it, Naruto, and I could be a family." Miya let happy tears fall at the memory of when Naruto jumped into her arms. All his life Naruto had grown without a mother's love, and here was his chance to grab it, to seize such a thing, and never let go. Gyokuro herself felt a tear slid down her cheek as she looked inside the house where her teddy bear of a husband slept with their sound asleep daughter in his lap. Gyokuro turned back to Miya as her fellow mother continued.
"If it was possible, our happiness would increase as something that I still don't, nor care to understand as I will forever be grateful that it happened, occurred." Gyokuro listened intently, her question about be answered.
"For some reason, when Naruto, and accepted that we would be mother, and son, a pulse of energy came from me, and went into Naruto. He was rendered unconscious from the blast, and a group of shibito came to escort the three of us to a medical bay. It was there as they did blood work on him that saw a change in his genetic structure." Miya took another sip.
"I was surprised when a medic asked me to give some blood, but I complied when he said that he had to make sure of something that he couldn't say until he was sure that wasn't it crazy. The result came back with 50% of the genetic traits Naruto had oriented from me." Miya revealed to a bug-eyed Gyokuro.
"How is that possible? You became a second mother?" Gyokuro asked.
"No." Miya shook her head. This was why a part of her had felt like a thief.
"The previous DNA- that of his birth mother- had been ripped out, and replaced with my own. Without birthing him, I had become Naruto's mother, his biological mother."
"Then doesn't that mean-?" Gyokuro was interrupted by a low chime. Someone had just rung the doorbell. Who could it be at this hour? Miya stood up, and shook her head as she mumbled "She didn't waste her time getting here." And went inside to answer the door. With a confused movement of her brow, Gyokuro also left the bench, both cups of tea still there. The two woman answered the door, and two separate expressions formed upon the sight of who was there. Miya wore a soft smile with closed eyes, and a tilt of her head. Gyokuro looked ready to slam the door, and call in the shibito. Speaking of which, why the hell did they allow a person carry one of those anywhere near this house!?
"Hi!" Kindly greeted a pretty, young woman with brown eyes, and hair that had her bangs positioned around her eyes, and the back was tied by a long purple ribbon. She stood at five-feet, and four inches which made her perky C-cup bust seem larger. She wore a white gown was cut low to show the top of her cleavage, and went down to the mid region of her thighs. The gown had slightly puffy sleeves that ended in skin tight black rings of cloth, and around her bust was a black, and red stripped attachment to the gown that had a circular arch under her breasts with more of the black, and red cloth to the sides, split at the upper curve of her body, the middle white. Her thigh-high boots were black with a white stripe near the top, and her full-gloves matched. Finally, there was a black cloth collar around her neck like you'd normally find on a formal shirt, the image heightened by the neat, red bow underneath. She looked perfectly normal except for the big-ass scythe she held innocently behind her.
"My name's Yomi! I'm here to meet Naruto!"
Gyokuro started to mentally curse Naruto's name in five different languages.
CUT! CHAPTER OVER!
AN: At long last, Shibito Ashikabi has been updated! Man, I've missed the feeling of getting a new chapter out for this one. I hope that this update will satisfy those of you that have waited so long for it.
Let's talk about this chapter, namely Toyotama! I hope you all like how her personality is so far, and I really hope you guys like her new staff! To make it easier to visualize, it looks identical to Robin's staff from the original Teen Titans. Another thing about Toyotama is how she feels a lot stronger than she should. That is because she is. The cause for that stems from how strong Naruto is. In Sekirei, they spoke of ashikabis having innate power, and that would allow them to unlock a sekirei's full power. My theory for this story is that the power is chakra of a certain type that very few people have, and the stronger this person's chakra is, the more powerful the sekirei right off the bat! Since we have a chakra powerhouse like Naruto it's only logical that by this method of looking at it, his sekirei are much stronger. That said, Toyotama, and the other sekirei Naruto will get, aren't going to be used to this at first like with how Toyotama had a hard time keeping up with her own movements. That is something Naruto will rectify, and teach all of them to deal with.
Other thing is Higa….-_- None of us like that douche bag so he'll be Naruto's punching bag until Sasuke shows up. That also brings us to Mikogami. Like with Higa, Naruto has taken a sekirei that had been his in the series, #43 Yomi the first of my additions to the original four girls the original story had, of which Toyotama was supposed to the third winged, but I've made her first. As you've read Uzume was nowhere to be seen. Worry not, I have other things planned for our veiled sekirei, just wait.
Finally, how Miya became Naruto's biological mother. I read something similar to what I had happen in a different story but I think that Naruto was a baby, and Takehito was alive at the time. I can't remember the name or author of the story, but please don't think I'm stealing anything. I don't think I need to comment on the new knight Naruto showed but yes, it is that Berserker!
Please forgive me for the long wait, the next will not take as long! Read, and give honest reviews. I do value reader input, and I would like to hear what you readers think.
Later! Grey-blueflames burning out!