A/N: I am baack~

I've been reading some feedbacks ya' all gave me, and a lot of them were talking about Naruto being too weak. I wasn't intending for it to be that way, but it just happened...so I'm sorry, I guess. But it was necessary for the story to go on and for the relationships to build. Just wait a teensy tiny bit longer; he will be starting his training soon.

I also realized that his starting stats were seriously weak as shit! As bad as Lv.5 characters in a game! I may have forgotten that reality was mixed with the game, and that the game didn't start at the academy...my mistake :P
So I changed that around, which I hope makes you happier?

And again, at Naruto being a tad jumpy...well...he's a jumpy guy. He's been scared shitless by a lot of the girls in the anime, as well as Yamato's intimidating faces. But again, he'll get used to the threatening, so no need to get your panties in a bunch.

That's pretty much it for my report with a little bit of ranting. So you don't have to hear me blab on, and get on with the story~

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Sekirei.

"I'm up! I'm up!" The boy practically sprung out of his blanket. He then proceeded to slap his right cheek, hard enough to leave it stinging for a few seconds.

'An amazing way to start an amazing day.' He thought sardonically.

He got out of the bed without any troubles, and noticed that none of his body was in pain, save for the tingling on his cheek, which he was sure that it was swollen. Moving on from the small irritation, he took his hospital gown off and ripped the bandage that was constricting his entire torso. As he looked down at his stomach, he noticed that not a single scar marred his skin, save for the star shaped one near his heart: a good bye present from his former best friend.

Shaking the melancholy thought away, Naruto went back to marveling at the speed of his healing. 'If my healing wasn't fast before, it sure as hell is now! This game really is something to be able to heal such a wound in less than a day.' He did a quick series of stretches to dissolve the clinks in his joints, and was satisfied to find out that his body was back to perfect health. The red bar was full, too, which proved that his notion was indeed correct.

On the floor by the bedside, Naruto noticed a neatly folded set of the Disciplinary Squad's uniform. 'So they didn't forget this time.' He smirked. 'I guess I won't have to walk around in hospital gown then.'

The boy quickly got rid of all the bandages on his body and changed into the new set of garments. Then he proceeded to briefly outline the day's schedule in his head. He would first eat breakfast in proper clothes this time, and he would find the redheaded girl to ask for advice or possibly tutelage.

The impromptu planning stopped there. He didn't quite know where or how to find the Sekirei, and he couldn't even begin to guess as he did so with Miya. Naruto groaned, his shoulders slumping. The boy really wasn't pleased with the idea of having to waste yet another day, doing nothing constructive. A single day doing nothing was a whole day of training lost. And he really needed training right now. Training that he wouldn't be able start until he finished the damned mission.

So he was back to square one, unless someone could point in her direction. 'Maybe I could ask Takehito about her? He said he'd be waiting…in…lab C-3…' Naruto paled. He had completely forgotten about the meeting with the researcher last night. Needless to say, he couldn't have gone there even if he hadn't forgotten due to his unpleasant physical condition. And this would have been a good enough reason to most people for forgoing a meeting. Takehito was not 'most people', though.

'Forget the previous plans! If I don't apologize to him now, who knows what he'll do to me!'

The young shinobi hastily grabbed his haori and ran out of the clinic, slamming the door behind him. He swerved left and darted down the hallway, only to realize that he was going in the wrong direction and made a U-turn, scurrying off in the opposite direction.

The door to a certain lab opened slowly and silently, and a tuft of blond hair poked out of the small gap. A foot clad in shinobi sandals slid in next, which was soon followed by a head, frantically looking for any sign of people in the lab. When he came to the conclusion that no one was here, he let out a breath he was holding, and walked in confidently.

The room was nothing like he'd ever seen. There were large containers filled with green liquid and some bizarre looking machinery lined up on the floor. Dozens of pipes were connecting who knows what, and lights around the area were flashing in random intervals. On the walls, many bottles and flasks that had different things contained in it were placed on a metal shelf. He didn't really want to know any specifics, but they sure were fascinating to observe.

In the middle of the room, a dim light was shining on a single, large desk. The desk wasn't very notable in itself, but the state of it was. There were several thick books sprawled open on the side of the desk, and dozens, perhaps hundreds of paper lying disarrayed on the table. Beside the desk was a small pile of wrappers and food containers that were stacked up in an unstable manner.

'This place is dirtier than my room back in Konoha! And that's really saying something considering that I'm not one to clean that often.' The boy mused. "Who would've thought that Takehito was such a messy person?" He spoke out his thoughts as he snickered to himself.

All of a sudden, the door behind him closed with a slam. The blond turned his head at such a speed that would have cracked his neck. Holding his breath, he inspected the area. Nothing was out of place save for the closed door. His eyes searched the area, more urgently this time, but nothing came into his vision. Naruto tentatively took a few steps back, though his body was stiffening from the unknown danger.

'There are no such things as ghosts, there are no such things as ghosts…Who am I kidding! Of course there are ghosts! And I won't be able to hit them even if they attack me!' The boy's breaths started to get shorter, almost nearing the state of hyperventilation now. So when a ghastly face silently appeared right beside his shoulder, he did the only logical thing, and screamed like an eight-year-old girl as he sprinted to a corner of the lab.

"Ara? I didn't know you were so afraid of the dark, Uzumaki-kun. I thought that ninjas were supposed to work at nighttime?" The now identified Takehito spoke in a calm voice, though mirth was evident in his tone.

"T-Takehito, it's only you. A-and I'm not afraid of the dark! It's…only human to be afraid of things that they cannot touch, like ghosts for instance…" The boy attempted and failed to defend himself.

"Well, I can't say I'm sorry for scaring you. After all, it isn't nice to talk bad behind someone's back, you know." The man said, referring to the blond's previous comment on his messiness.

Naruto scuffled his feet. "I'm sorry, I guess. I didn't really mean to, cuz what I really wanted to do was apologize for not coming here last night."

Takehito raised his eyebrow. It was rather surprising to see the boy ask for forgiveness on his own accord, without threatening of any sort.

"Why would you apologize to me? You couldn't help that you were unconscious at that time." The man softly told him. Naruto's eyes widened at the man's unexpected kindness.

"Though it was your fault that you picked a fight with a woman whose capabilities far surpass your own." The boy cringed. "As well as the fact that you nearly killed yourself for not backing down." He cringed again as the man's harsh words pierced the shinobi as a kunai would. Casting his eyes on the floor, he readied himself for the next verbal blow.

"But I'm glad that you came back breathing." Naruto lifted his head to look at the researcher's eyes. They seemed truly genuine and glad that he had returned. Takehito smiled at the boy.

"…You are a specimen I'd love to experiment on, after all." Naruto stiffened. He'd take back what he said to the man. He was evil, a devil incarnate wearing a sheep's skin!

Not in the slightest bit fazed by the boy's reaction, he carried on speaking. "With that amazing healing ability of yours, I'd be able to do many, many things to you, and you'd be able to jump straight up no matter what I throw at you…huhuhu…" Ominous lights sparkled from his eyes as he rubbed his hands together.

'What…what is he doing…? Did he trick me into thinking that he was a nice person to extract information from me and lower my guard around him? Damn, I've got to get out of here…!'

As Naruto panicked and readied himself to run for it, Takehito chuckled softly, his usual expressions returning on his visage. "I'm sorry Uzumaki-kun, but I just couldn't forego the chance. It was hilarious, even if you won't admit."

"…That was uncalled for." Naruto crossed his hands over his chest, annoyance and a slight bit of fear still in his eyes.

The man's expression changed from that of joviality to that of seriousness. "But you really have to learn not to overestimate and kill yourself out there. I was really worried when you came back in such a state." He spoke softly. The boy only nodded in response.

"So, are you fully healed now?" A nod. "Then can I run a quick scan on you? I want to check out your body status as well as some other things I've wanted to look into."

Naruto looked at the man again. "It's about the 'experiments' from before, right? Better get this over with…" He grumbled. "But don't do that evil mad scientist act again, alright? It seriously gives me the creeps." He moved his eyes elsewhere, thinking about a certain snake sannin.

"Of course, it was only meant to be a whimsical joke in the first place. Now, come this way." The researcher led Naruto to something that looked akin to a grey clinic bed with an intimidating machine standing beside it. "Lie down here, please." He smiled.

"Um, okay." Naruto replied, a bit uncertain now.

"Now if you would stay still…" The grey haired researcher took out multiple patches all with wires attached to them, and stuck them on seemingly random places on the boy's face and body. His eyes glinted as he took out a gigantic syringe. A syringe that would take even Miya out for a good while. "Good night, Uzumaki-kun." The last thing the boy could feel before blackening out was a needle piercing his ass.

Naruto awoke with a numbing sensation all over his body. 'Kami, why do I faint so much on this island? I probably lost more consciousness here than the rest of my life combined.' He sat up and looked around the room. Takehito was by a desk not too far away from him, furiously scribbling down while muttering something. Freaky.

Seeing as the weird patches were still on his arms, he deduced that they were still all over his body. He would have to interrupt the researcher from his mutterings. He was getting itchy and uncomfortable, after all.

"Hey, Takehito! Mind if I take these off?" He called for the man. The said man jerked up in surprise, and glanced at his watch.

He scribbled something on his paper as he replied. "Sure, go ahead."

Naruto plucked the visible ones off his arms and legs first, as well as his his face and torso, and then proceeded to let his hands wonder his own body as he searched for others. Two were on his back, one on the back of his neck, and one at the back of his shoulder.

As the boy was finishing off, Takehito approached him, holding a thick compilation of paper. "You sure woke up much earlier than I expected. I thought it would last at least five hours, even considering your…ability. This was the strongest anesthetics we have on this island, which is saying something because it even works on the Disciplinary Squad members, including Miya." The man seemed to be impressed.

Naruto didn't quite see much significance there, so he simply shrugged. "So, find anything interesting?"

"Oh, yes." His tone changed to that of an excited child's. "You aren't quite similar to the Sekirei as I've expected. There is a core of energy a bit above your stomach, but it seems to be more developed than the Sekirei core somehow. And more potent, too." The man looked at Naruto. "Not only that, but you seem to have two different types of energy in your body, which confused me a little. One was almost dormant in your stomach, while the other one was circulating through your entire body. I'm going have to research this a bit further…" He scribbled on the paper he was holding, and started to mutter to himself again.

Though a bit disturbed by the man's behavior, the boy was taken aback by the accuracy of the analysis. These people of the future really were amazing, to be able to do such things without the help of bloodlines such as the Byakugan. Not that he cared for the specifics. He had better things to do, like training.

"Hey, so are you satisfied now?" The man stopped mid-rant and looked up with a curious glance. "Cuz I have some questions I want to ask you too. It's quite…urgent."

"Hm, what are they?" He asked.

"Well, remember the 'missions' I told you about?" The man nodded. "I got a new one yesterday." Naruto shifted his position to directly look at Takehito. "It told me to get a martial arts teacher. I thought it was easy enough at first, but there seems to be no martial artist other than Sekirei here."

The man interrupted him mid-speech. "Is that why you fought Miya yesterday? Strange, she usually isn't the type to instigate any fights, no matter how violent she seems."

"Well, partly." Naruto admitted. "But that wasn't really the reason for our fight. I…was a bit pissed at her attitude…and I may have attacked her first…" He smiled sheepishly.

"Ah. That explains it." The man said. "Well, you'd have to excuse her, Uzumaki-kun. She isn't one for expressing her feelings. Miya was entrusted with a serious responsibility since she was young, so she's not quite like the others." He explained.

"Though it was interesting how she seemed to be distressed when she brought you in…" The man muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Naruto questioned, having missed what the man said to himself.

"It's nothing, just an interesting speculation of mine." He smiled.

The boy looked at him weirdly, then continued pouring out his ruminations. "Anyways, I don't know…I don't know what to do anymore. Kazehana seemed nice enough, but she probably wouldn't be able to help me even if she wasn't hurt. And that bloodthirsty one promised that she'd kill me the next time we meet. I used the male one as a shield and made him pass out. I doubt that he'll enjoy my presence around him." He listed all the Sekirei he knew. "Miya is friggin disinterested in me, and would not give me a second of her time. So the only conclusion I came up with was that I need to meet that red headed girl with the glasses."

Naruto sighed. "But I haven't a clue where she is, what she does, and what she's like. I'm at a dead end here. So could you help me out a little, please?" He pleaded.

"Hmm…" The man looked contemplative as he turned around. "All I could tell you at this point is that Matsu, the red haired girl you were talking about, is an intelligent type Sekirei. So she probably can't help much with the physical department if you're searching for a hand-on-approach kind of teacher."

Takehito stopped for a moment to think if he missed anything. Remembering a crucial point to his argument, he slapped his fist onto his palm. "Oh, and for fair warning, she only acts and cares for things she finds interesting. So if you aren't able to catch her attention, your chance of having a civil conversation with her will be terminated." He paused. "And that's all I can tell you."

"W-wait, what do you mean by that's all you can tell me? You can spare some things that can be useful, can't you?!" Naruto asked frantically.

The man turned and faced the shinobi again. "Well, I can tell you. But I won't. It is their personal information we're talking about." He smiled.

"I'm afraid I won't be helping you in this aspect unless you have anything of equal value to offer. I can't spoon-feed you all the time, after all. Otherwise, you can try the old fashioned way of trial-and-error until the girl accepts you." The man said off-handedly.

"Why you...! I've already told you a lot about myself, didn't I? What else do you want to extract out of me?!" He almost yelled in frustration.

Takehito tapped his chin in mock thinking. "Hmm...I won't ask for much. You really seem to need the information on the entire Disciplinary Squad to save the time you've already lost so much of..." Naruto winced at the reminder.

"All I ask from you is to participate in some of the more...daring experiments dealing with your energy source."

"You mean...my chakra?" Naruto inquired. "That's rather risky, isn't it? Especially in the hands of someone who barely knows about shinobi..."

"You shouldn't have to worry too much about it though." The man intervened in his rebuttal. "Our technology developed a great deal in three thousand years. It can do the things you never would have imagined."

Naruto still looked skeptical.

"Think about it this way, Uzumaki-kun. I have the information you need, and you have…the resources I want to look into." Two eyes glinted at the boy. "All I'm asking for is permission to go a little deeper than we previously agreed we would. This is quite the fair trade, don't you think?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the person standing in front of him. He was cornered. He had nowhere else to run, no one to turn to. He had to do this, even if it meant shaking hands with the devil himself - as long as his body and soul was safe, of course.

"Fine. I'll do it. Just don't cripple my body." He sighed.

"Splendid." The older man clasped his hands together and smiled.

"Now, the information?" Naruto placed his hand out, gesturing to give it to him.

"Impatient, are we?" Takehito chuckled.

The boy growled back. "The only reason I'm offering my body to you is because of time." He went over his words. "Kami, that sounded so wrong in so many ways..." He face palmed.

"Ah, it's good to be young..." Takehito crooned. Naruto glared. "Just sit here and wait. It won't take long." The man stated and left the room, leaving the blond to himself.

Truth to be said, Naruto wasn't too worried about the turn of events, no matter how risky tinkering with chakra and its core can be, he was sure that the game system wouldn't allow anything to be too threatening. If worst came to worst, the kyuubi would probably be able to do something about it, though he didn't quite want to resort to using the fox's power.

What he was concerned with was how much he would change in the time he stayed on the island. Now that the shinobi world was gone, he couldn't become hokage anymore. And since all his friends and precious people weren't here, he wasn't able to socialize and play the fool, making them laugh at the stupidity of his actions.

The boy's eyes hardened. He didn't have any life-long goal in his mind but to get stronger than those Sekirei, and Sasuke by default.

He was afraid. Afraid that he would turn into a narrow minded fool who cares for nothing other than gaining power. He knew thatthe only reason he did not go crazy in the first place was because he had his precious people. Now…now that they are no longer here, he would be more susceptible to hatred than he has ever been.

His brooding was cut short by the opening of the lab door, which Naruto was thankful for. He didn't need any more negative thoughts.

True to his words, Takehito only took a short while to return. "Here you go, the profile of the Disciplinary Squad members." The man handed the stapled pile of paper to Naruto. "I hope you can use it to its fullest potential." He smiled.

The blond glanced at the profile, before calling out and putting it in his inventory. He didn't want to explain what he was doing with this kind of information when he bumped into anyone in the corridors.

Takehito's eyes widened at the boy's nonchalant use of a time/space storage. "I'd love to get my hands that...all the possible experiments I could try..." He darkly muttered about a pearl necklace on pigs, which Naruto promptly decided to ignore.

"I'll be going, then." Naruto stood up and started for the door.

"Don't forget the weekly meetings here on Wednesdays!" Takehito called back.

The blond merely raised his hand as an affirmative.

Three short knocks alerted the Sekirei of his presence.

"Scuse me." Naruto spoke as he let himself in the auxiliary control room. It was a small room with many screens with different rooms and hallways portrayed in them. What truly surprised him was that some of them had what looked like people moving in them.

Dazed by the mind-blowing discovery, he temporarily forgot the main reason he came to this room.

"I've been expecting you..." He didn't show any response to the girl. Instead, he seemed to be closing in to the screens.

"Ahem!" The girl cleared her throat. This finally caught Naruto's attention, as he turned his head to meet her eyes. His eyes held a slight amount of shock at seeing the girl and a bit of embarrassment for forgetting about her, though he quickly hid it so that she wouldn't notice.

Naruto opened his mouth to offer an apology, but the girl beat him to it.

"I've been expecting you, Naruto Uzumaki." She smiled as if she hadn't just said the same corny lines twice.

"Uh, okay." Came the intelligent reply from the blond.

The redhead's glasses glinted. "Naruto Uzumaki, approximated to be 16 years old. Is 166cm tall, weighs 50.9kg, blood type: B. Suddenly appeared in the middle of Kamikura Island in June 7th 2007. Is not yet identified whether his home planet is Earth, but is definitely not of the current world. Occupation…shinobi." She readjusted her glasses as she said the last part. And by the way she was looking at him, she was obviously expecting him be astonished by her ability to collect information.

Naruto raised his eyebrow in mock surprise. "You certainly are well informed." Then he smirked. "But two can play at that game, No.2 Matsu."

He inhaled slightly, and began listing what he had read just prior to coming to this room. "Matsu, Sekirei number 2. A 'brain-type' Sekirei, and has ability that can access electronic devices in a telepathic manner. Height: 161cm, weight: 47kg. Three sizes: 95-58-91." He smirked at the sight of Matsu's stunned face. "Hobbies: watching anime and soap opera, but seems to take a special liking towards R-rated ones. On a side note, you wear glasses even though you're a Sekirei because a slight accident occurred during your adjustment." He paused. "That is all." And gave her a victorious smile.

She blinked, unable to comprehend that her plan to greet and overawe the boy was sabotaged by none other than the boy himself. "Well, you're certainly a lot more interesting than I first thought you'd be…"

Naruto grinned once again. "Why thank you. Naruto Uzumaki, at your service, ma'am." He bowed to her dramatically. He was satisfied to get the intended effect when the girl giggled.

"Though I'd love to chitchat, I'm not really here for that today." He stood up straight again, showing that he was now being serious. "I've come here to ask you a favor, Matsu."

The girl was intrigued once by his sudden change of character, and twice by his lack of honorifics for her. "I'm listening."

"Though it embarrasses me to admit it, I am in need of more training, especially in the physical department. And I've been searching all over the island for a possible martial arts trainer, but I haven't been able to find one yet." His cerulean eyes met her red ones.

"I know that you probably won't be…willing to teach me using hands-on approach. But I was wondering if you could help me with finding a form that suits me and supervise my katas once in a while?"

The redhead seemed to consider it for a moment. "What's in it for Matsu?"

"H-huh?" The blond was taken aback at the unexpected question. He hadn't seriously thought that far.

"What's in it for Matsu? Matsu doesn't do random deeds for free. Matsu has better things to do with her life." She crossed her hands under her generous bust.

"Well, um…I don't really have anything on me right now except for my body…though I guess I could entertain you, in some way?"

Now he was just throwing random things at her. But she didn't mind, no. In fact, what she heard just now pleased her to a great deal that her eyes twinkled with glee.

"Your body…? Entertain…? Kukukukuku~" She started laughing creepily, with a slight drool hanging off her mouth.

Naruto took a step back. He didn't really like that laugh of hers.

"L-let Matsu…experiment with your body!" She exclaimed. The drool was still in place, and her hands were moving as if they were trying to grab something.

"Experiment?" The boy's face twisted in distaste. "I am willing to do many things, but that is not one of them." He already had enough on his plate with Takehito tinkering with his body, after all.

"But Naru-tan, the sticky substance will make you feel sooo good~" She whined, misinterpreting Naruto's distaste for real experiments for the experiments she were talking about.

"No means no, Matsu. I have my morals and ideals, and I wish to stick to them as much as I can." Takehito was a special case, Naruto told himself. He literally had no other choice. But the girl, he would resist. Especially if he could do something else to compensate for the favor.

The redhead looked downtrodden. "Fine, Matsu will comply to Naru-tan's wishes. However." She raised a finger. "Naru-tan will grant Matsu a wish, too. Matsu will not ask for one right now, but Naru-tan will have to do whatever Matsu wants him to do later!" She looked satisfied with herself.

The proposal came as a relief to the blond, as he believed it was reasonable. It was a plus that he didn't have to deal with it right now. Naruto brought his hand out for a shake. "Deal!"

Matsu smiled at him and grabbed his hand. Naruto happily shook it with great vigor. It was a great moment for the shinobi. He was finally able to get a Sekirei to help him learn a martial arts style.

Matsu was having her own moment of delight. She hadn't touched such a warm hand in a long time. His durable grip on her hand was heartwarming. So she slightly frowned when the shake ended so quickly.

"So how do we do this?" Naruto inquired.

The girl seemed to me in thought, as she went into a thinking position. "Well, the best route to do this is to find the arts that are best suited for your body type and fighting style." She paused for a moment. "I guess that I could somewhat teach you the katas, but it would be best if you changed the forms around to make them fit you better, or incorporate those special moves better."

Naruto blinked at such a concise answer. "I guess…that would work. That would work really well." He nodded to himself slowly.

The redhead drew a V sign and smiled. "Of course it would. It's Matsu's plan after all." The boy smiled in return.

"But Matsu will need some time to search for the different arts. Still, it won't take too long because Matsu already finished analyzing Naru-kun's fighting style the first day we fought."

"That is amazing, Matsu! You're quite the Sekirei, aren't you." He exclaimed.

"Y-yeah." The girl only blushed in embarrassment at his explicit praise.

She then pushed her glasses up and asked. "So shall we meet every day starting tomorrow?"

"I guess?" Naruto tilted his head to the left. "That probably would be the best."

"Understood." She turned her chair to face the screens again and started tapping a board. Naruto sighed. He really needed to catch up to the modern technology, lest he look like a fool. A bigger fool.

Though her eyes were still on the screen, Matsu seemed to detect the boy's distress. "Is something the matter, Naru-tan?"

"N-nothing!" He shook his hands. "If you're busy now, I'd better get going."

The girl stopped typing and turned her chair halfway to glance at him once again. "You…don't have to leave you know. Matsu doesn't mind you watching her work." She replied shyly.

"No. It's fine. I don't seem to be of any help here." He responded almost immediately.

Matsu pouted. "Mou~ You could have at least given it some thought."

It was Naruto's turn to look sheepish. "Sorry. But I just thought that lounging about was not the best way to use my time."

He continued. "I have some material I wanted to look over too, so..."

"Yeah, yeah. Matsu can understand when she's not wanted."

"That's not what I mea-"

She cut him off and poked her tongue out. "I know. Teehee~l" Naruto drooped his head in part relief and part exasperation.

"Just make sure you get here by two after lunch." She told him in a jovial tone.

"Sure thing, Matsu-chan!" He gave her his foxy grin, not realizing his change in honorifics. Then he swiftly closed the door behind him, leaving a flabbergasted girl behind.

"Matsu-chan, huh. No one's called me that before." She fiddled her hands. "I think I like the sound of that."

On the Next Chapter:

"As embarrassing as it is to admit, I have contemplated hard and long on what you have told me that day. And…"

Her hands gingerly touched Naruto's chin and guided it to face her. "I want to know…what drives you so." She stared at him intensely again.

"If I agreed to train you, would you be willing to teach me?"

A/N: Aaand~ there it is. I wanted to upload a bit more, but then I noticed that I'd have to write like 2000 more words...which I haven't even started on...

So in the battle of speed vs quantity, speed won out and I just updated this much. Hope ya don't mind.

And stay tuned for the next chapter!

Ja ne~~