A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay! I wrote about 7k like...3 months ago, but got sidetracked by a whole bunch of tests and other fanfics... I have no excuses. This chapter deals with more interactions between Naruto and the Sekirei, and it's sort of a filler arc. Hope you enjoy!
Naruto walked down the street at a casual pace. He had a lot of time to spare until dinner, and he didn't want to go in too early just in case Miya attacked him again. That would be too troublesome. Normally, he was all for irritating the first Sekirei, but fighting over the same subject over and over again was too boring for him. He'd cook up a nice plan to rile her up later. But for now, he had to think of something else to do.
"..."
Nope. He had nothin. Did he really have nothing to do other than train, do missions, and eat ramen? Damn, he needed to get a life.
The blond continued walking, still aimless. 'Might as well check out what's around the area. I never got to really see the North section of Shinto Teito, so it would be a good idea to acquaint myself around the place.'
Compared to the South or East, the North section wasn't as developed or populated. He liked it though. It was nice and quiet for a change. And it wasn't really too far from the city if he ran at shinobi pace. Well, not many places would be too far if he ran like that, but that wasn't the point.
As he wondered around some more, the blond reached a more bustling part of the North. Various shops aligned both sides of the street, from simple markets to jewelry shops. Many common restaurants and stands were here as well, so maybe he could visit them later with others when they denied eating ramen.
He would still convince them to the best of his abilities to eat the food of the gods, though.
A few more shops passed by, and Naruto carefully took note of where each one was. Just then, a small shop caught his eyes. Unlike many other shops in the area, this one was much more luxurious even at a single glance. Elegant letters in deep blue were portrayed on the wall.
'Midnight Ocean'
Extremely curious, Naruto opened the door, which chimed a small bell, and entered the store. As expected, the interior was pretty luxurious as well. What caught Naruto's attention, though, was the enormous collection of alcohols sitting behind the counter.
"Welcome, sir." A woman with the most angelic voice greeted in a soothing and tender tone.
Naruto turned his head to see the owner of the voice. She had snow white hair that was flowing freely off her shoulders, and turquoise eyes that was a slightly darker shade than his own. She wore a fitting black dress that showed a generous amount of her cleavage, and he could bet that the dress had a low cut that showcased her thighs, even if they were hidden behind the bar at the moment.
"I don't think that I've ever seen you around here before."
Naruto couldn't help but feel relaxed for some reason. This woman was seriously exuding a calm and kind aura, unlike pretty much all the women he knew during his entire life, except for maybe Ayame. But even she couldn't hold a candle to this lady.
"Ah. It's because I've been working in the South and East side of Shinto Teito." He spoke as he pulled a stool back and seated himself in front of the woman. "So it's only natural that you didn't see me around." He gave a soft smile.
"Well, I'm glad to be of acquaintance, then. People here call me Madam Mirajane, but you can just call me Mira if you wish." She introduced herself.
The blond nearly melted at that. He had seen a fair share of beautiful women in his life - hell, he'd just seen four only an hour ago - but this lady right here was just...nice in ways he couldn't explain. Was this love?
"Mira...san." He didn't know why, but he somehow felt the need to add the '-san' suffix to her name. Weird. "People call me by many things, but you can just call me Naruto. Glad to meet you." He flashed her a full-blown foxy smile.
The madam maintained her beautiful smile and nodded.
"So, Naruto-kun. What are you doing in a bar at such a bright time of the day?"
"Aah, it's kind of embarrassing to say this, but the shop was just so pretty and eye-catching that I had to check the place out." He sheepishly smiled. On a side note, he would need to buy a beverage to not seem rude.
"I see. I'm flattered that you think my shop is pretty." She readjusted the blue scarf that was draping around her arms.
"I was only saying what I saw." He smoothly replied. "By the way, I've never been in a bar before. Since I'm here already, could you recommend me something?"
"Hmm, since it's only the afternoon, I wouldn't recommend any of the heavy drinks. Do you perhaps want to try a cocktail?"
Naruto didn't really care for the heaviness of alcohols, because Kurama would always flush the alcohol out. He only drank for the mood, and sometimes for the taste. But he guessed that it wouldn't hurt to try something other than standard sake. "I'm really good at holding my liquor, but I guess I don't mind trying the drink Mira-san would make me."
"Hmm..." Mira stared at the blond for a few seconds and turned away from him. She grabbed few of the bottles on the cupboard and brought out a metallic cup from underneath the stand. "I usually don't make drinks myself, because most customers that come at night are served by the employees here, so I'll apologize in advance for not being able to give you a fancy show when making the cocktail." She lightly bowed her head.
The blond blinked. Why was there a show when you're drinking? Was it a Japanese thing? It wasn't as if he was expecting something, so he didn't give a damn about such things. He'd better say something, quick.
"No, no. I'm honored that I'm able to receive a drink made by the madam herself. Please, don't bow your head for such a trivial matter like this." Naruto spluttered.
Being a gentleman was hard. And awkward. On one hand, he wanted to just act like the impish guy he was, but on the other hand, he wanted to listen to reason and act accordingly. It was like two different personalities were clashing to conquer one another.
His logical side won most of the time, and allowed him to behave like a gentleman that would make women smile. They didn't scowl at him or attempt to hit him, so he guessed that it sufficed. And since Mira-san was smiling at him as well, he probably hadn't done anything wrong so far.
He watched the woman with avid interest. She poured the colorful liquids in the metallic cup one by one, and shook the cup over her delicate shoulder. Then she moved the cup to just below her chin, and she shook the cup once again. But this time, Naruto had to try his utmost best to stare at the cup and only the cup. He most certainly did not stare at the bouncing globes just behind it. He was a perfect gentleman, and he would remain as such.
Mira finally slowed the shake to a stop, and poured the newly concocted liquid in a clear glass. It was a clear cerulean color that he hadn't seen in a while.
"Sorry for the wait. Here you go." She carefully placed the glass in front of him. "It's called sapphire splash. Not too original, I know, but it was all my head could come up with." She sheepishly smiled.
The blond tentatively took a small sip from the glass, and widened his eyes in surprise. It was nothing like the sake he had back home. But rather, it felt closer to one of those juices he tried on the island. Except that this was sweeter, more sour, and had alcohol in it. He decided that he liked the drink.
"Wow. This is good. Much better than what I expected." He brought the cup to his lips only to jerk it away for a moment. "N-not that I wasn't looking down on it or anything...just better than what I thought." He stammered out to correct his words.
The white haired bar maid only smiled in response. "It's fine. I'm just glad that you like it."
Naruto stared at her in awe. She really was an angel. There were no other explanations. Normally, for all the other females he knew in his entire life, he would have been punched, hit by a flying projectile, strangled, cut, or be teased to death. But this woman...she just smiled!
There was no other choice left for him now. He would have to stay near this woman and study her a bit more. Getting to know her didn't sound too bad. The alcohol was a bonus.
"Hey Mira-san. Are you perhaps willing to take in one more employee?"
The blond balanced three large boxes on his hands as he used his knee to open the front door of his new dwelling place. Carefully taking his sandals off, he quietly bounded off to his room at the far end of the second floor's hallway. He slid the door open with his toes this time, and entered his room, setting the boxes on the floor without a sound.
Without further ado, Naruto made a single hand sign and created three solid clones, one for each box. Without giving any vocal orders, the man opened his inventory and took out a few sets of clothes, followed by his laptop that he bought about a year after he came to Shinto Teito. He put it away along with its charger to a corner and continued unpacking. He laid out his favorite orange futon along with an orange pillow of a darker shade.
Then without bothering to continue his work, he plopped down on the blanket and laid down, making himself comfortable. As if to prove that he wouldn't be working any longer, the blond swiped the inventory shut and closed his eyes, making the clones do the rest of the work. He wasn't slacking, mind you, but he just happened to have the least work, because the clothes took up quite a bit of space in the inventory. It definitely wasn't his intention to store the least troublesome items there. Nope. Not at all.
He smugly listened to his clones working and gave himself some well-deserved rest by clearing his head of any thoughts.
"...Gah." He reopened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. For some reason, he felt extremely restless. He lifted himself back up and glimpsed at his clones. They were approximately halfway done, and he had no desire to take over their work.
But he didn't want to sit there lounging away. He sighed in resignation. "Outside it is, then."
The blond wandered down the stairs to the first floor, and sniffed his way to the kitchen. And not so surprisingly, Miya was chopping something with great speed and dexterity, wearing a white apron.
"Yo." Naruto greeted her for the second time for the day, as he approached her back.
Miya didn't pause her chopping motion, but still turned her head slightly to his direction and smiled pleasantly. "Back already from the little escapade of yours?"
Damn. He was hoping that she had forgotten that tidbit of information by now.
"Escapade? I was only getting my stuff to move in properly." He put a foxy grin on his face, though he knew that Miya couldn't fully see his face at the moment.
Shamelessly, Naruto closed the distance between them, and peered over her shoulders to see what she was making. He didn't notice her body tense slightly from the proximity.
"What'cha making?" He inquired while eying the ingredients lying around the counter.
"Miso soup." She tersely replied.
"Aaaannd~?" He inched closer to the woman.
"Wait a few more minutes and you'll see, you impatient child." She admonished, slightly irritated by his persistent questioning and harried by the proximity.
Naruto pouted and stepped away from the woman to give her some space.
"Aww, I just wanted to know so that I could help you with all this..." He gestured to the counter.
The consistent sound of chopping paused, as Miya turned her head to stare incredulously at the blond.
"You? Help me cook?" She turned back to the counter and resumed chopping, then snorted. "I believe that your assistance would be more of a hindrance than an aid."
"Seriously, Miya. How lowly do you think of me?" He pouted. "In case you haven't noticed, I've been living alone for the last four years. It was a given that I'd learn to take care of myself during that time." The man huffed.
Unconvinced in the slightest, Miya stood her ground. "I don't think anyone could cook as horribly as you, Naruto-kun." She put her knife down and wiped her hands on her apron, before she moved to stir the pot. "I mean, remember the last time you tried to cook something? That food you called ramen...it was so horrible that I couldn't bring myself to eat even the ones they sell in the stands." She grimaced, thinking back to the horrifying concoction of thick noodles, overcooked meat and unidentifiable soup.
Naruto spluttered in embarrassment. That wasn't exactly the best moment of his cooking career.
"H-hey! It's not my fault they didn't have any proper ramen noodles or soup! The fact I didn't know the recipe didn't help, either! Now I make sure that I know how to cook before I do anything. And you weren't exactly the best cook either, so you of all people can't say that to me!" He pointed an accusatory finger at the woman.
Still not very convinced, Miya focused again on her cooking. "Well, improvement or no, you're not going to be using my kitchen any time soon." She finalized. "So you can just run along now, and do whatever it is that you do with your chaotic life.
"Fine." He mock glared at his long-time friend and left. What she didn't notice, though, was a glint in his eyes that promised hell on earth.
"Pass me the salt, please." The blond requested.
"Get it yourself. It's in the kitchen." Miya replied with a twitch in her eye. The ungrateful idiot was not only being picky about her food in her house, but also showing great disrespect towards the chef herself. And she was so happy to see him only moments ago. It was stupid of her to conveniently forget this annoying aspect of the blond.
"But Miya-chan! I don't know where the salt iiiisss~ I just came here today, remember?" He whined, all the while cackling inwardly at his friend's annoyance.
Miya openly glared at the man, before she relented and silently stood up, leaving for the kitchen.
"Damn, you've got some balls, annoying Miya like that." Uzume whistled, forgetting her suspicion of the blond and wounded pride from their previous encounter at the sight of such an unusual scene.
"Kukukuku. Naru-tan is so mean~ You're the only one I know that could make Miya so riled up like that." Her glasses glinted. "It makes me want to experiment on you even more~" Her grin widened as her hands slid over to the man sitting next to her. But before it was able to reach his toned stomach, the assaulting appendage was flung back to its origin with a loud slap.
"Hands to yourself when we're eating, Matsu-chan." Naruto admonished, and plopped a small piece of a grilled fish in his mouth as if he weren't fending himself off a pervert or planning several dozen ways of annoying his landlady.
The redhead rubbed the back of her hand to sooth the pain, then suddenly perked her head up to look at the well-built man with twinkling eyes.
"Hey, does that mean I can do whatever I'd like when we're done eating?"
Kazehana, who was sitting in front of Matsu, pulled her by the scruff of her neck back to her seat. "I believe that I should have 'fun time' with foxy-kun first. He promised me, after all." She winked at the blond and purred. "It doesn't have to be the tour of the rest of the house. If you want, we can get to know my room more privately."
Before he could respond in any kind, the landlady returned from the kitchen with a saltshaker in her hand.
"Here's the salt you requested, Naruto-kun. Here, let me season it for you." She unscrewed the saltshaker fully open and bent down next to Naruto.
"No, it's f-"
"Oops, seems like my hand slipped and too much salt went in." She stood back up with a full grin on her face. "Well, I hope this won't be a problem, since you thought my soup was too bland. Since I had to get up in the middle of the meal for this, you'd better finish every drop of it Naruto-kun."
The shinobi, with his mouth agape, looked at his soup, then at the evil woman standing next to him.
"You know, there's something called subtlety, and you are very lacking in that aspect of the art. Among many others…" He spoke mirthlessly. She wasn't really going to make him eat all of this, was she? She poured all the salt into his bowl, not leaving even a pinch of salt in the container. Though he wasn't really a picky eater, this was a bit too much for even a person like him.
"Hmm? What could you be talking about?" She smiled innocently. "You are going to finish that soup, aren't you?"
He swore that her eyes flashed red for a moment there. Not your usual bijuu chakra-infused red eyes, but literally two sparks of red lights in the place of her eyes.
The young shinobi slowly scooped a spoonful of the soup and dripped it back in the bowl, disgust clear in his eyes. The salt hadn't even fully dissolved in there. He ignored the sniggering coming from the other Sekirei, and went back to stirring the soup. After a while, he spooned a bit of soup once again and looked at Miya for the last time. The devil woman wasn't taking no for an answer, if the steely eyes and that thrice damned grin meant anything.
Not wanting to prolong the torture any longer, he sipped the broth and tried his best to keep himself from gagging.
"Mmm. This is better than I thought." He grinned with a bit of effort. "In fact, this is so good that I have to share!"
Not giving any time for any of the occupants to realize what he'd just said, he pinched Matsu's thigh with a bit of power behind it. When she opened her mouth to sound her shock and displeasure, Naruto grabbed his bowl and shoved the liquid down the poor girl's throat, fully taking advantage of his superior speed stats.
The redhead spluttered and coughed, both her hands on her throat trying to stop herself from puking anything out. "Gaaahhh! Watah! Waataaahh!" She rasped out, clawing the air for water.
"Well, there's my cue to escape." Naruto chuckled.
The shinobi quickly stuffed his mouth with approximately half the rice in his bowl and picked up the half-eaten fish with his chopsticks, before running out to the balcony. He stopped a short second to grin at the gob smacked group of Sekirei and took off to hide on the roof, sending a clone to run out the house.
'They wouldn't know what hit them.' He sniggered the best he could with his mouth bulging with food. Then he lied down comfortably on the roof tiles, and stared at the setting sun.
"I thought you didn't want to anger the woman too much." A voice snorted in his head.
'I didn't. But her reactions were too funny to stop. Getting to mess with Matsu was a plus. And there was no way in hell I'd eat the soup saltier than seawater. I mean, seriously. Could you blame me?'
"Can't stand a bit of salt, hm?" Kurama sniggered. "I bet that the women downstairs now think that you're just a spineless monkey that runs away from even the smallest of challenges."
'Hey! That is so not true! What I showed them was that no one can restrain the Uzumaki Naruto!' He indignantly shouted in his mind.
"Of course you did, ya monkey." The fox rolled his eyes.
"You know, if you don't impress them soon, you'll never get into their pants. They're all Sekirei down there, so once they get imprinted on some other monkey, it's bye-bye for you." Kurama seriously pointed out.
'Bah! You're worrying too much. It hasn't even been a day since I got here.' Naruto shrugged, before he realized what the fox's goal was. 'O-oi! Stop insinuating that I'm living here only to get me some girls!'
"Well, isn't it?" Kurama would have raised an eyebrow if he had one. "I don't see any reason to move out of your pathetic dwelling into this one other than to mate with all those females." He continued. "Add that to the fact that you're still a virg-"
'Woah-! I get it, I get it! Can we please not go there? It's embarrassing enough to talk about girls with a massive entity of destruction who lives in my stomach!'
"Then make yourself useful and go get some." The bijuu rumbled. "It's really getting boring in here, you know. And you barely let me out to cause major destruction."
'For good reason, too.' Naruto quipped.
Kurama ignored him. "The least you can do is entertain me with your life. So you'd better catch yourself at least three of 'em down there!" He barked out imperially.
Before Naruto could protest in any way, the gigantic fox suddenly perked up. "Speaking of getting some, one's headed straight up here. Quick! Look less dumb!"
The blond rolled his eyes at the less than impressive jab and snapped out of the deep connection they were in. True to the kyuubi's words, Kazehana was leisurely walking towards the roof he was on.
Their eyes met and the busty woman grinned at him, before she jumped up to the rooftop, elegantly landing right beside him.
"So this is where you were. We all thought that you ran out to the city." She giggled softly as she took a seat beside him, minding the dirty chopsticks and fish bones that lay on the tiles.
"Well, that was kind of the point." Naruto flashed his foxy grin. "Though I'm a bit annoyed that you managed to find me so quickly..."
She giggled once again, and leaned back to look at the setting sun.
"It's really nice to sit and watch over the city like this. We didn't have this kind of beauty when we were still in the island." She relaxed into her position and sighed. "Only sake would make this better...which I actually have a spare of!" She sat back up and stuck her hand in her cleavage. After rummaging for a while, she shouted 'aha!' and pulled out a huge sake bottle.
Naruto gaped at the woman. 'How in the world did she pull that out of her skin-tight clothes? Did every Sekirei have some kind of storage areas in their bodies?'
"Gulp, gulp...Paaahh!" The wind Sekirei drank out of the bottle, not minding the astonished look Naruto was giving her. "Drinking sake while watching sunset is nice, don't you think?" She led the bottle back to her lips once again.
"Drinking sake itself is nice to you, whenever and wherever it may be." The blond deadpanned. "I don't understand why you love the stuff so much. Sure, it's good for relieving stress and it's tasty, but it has nothing on ramen. Have you still not tried it? It's really the food of the gods, I tell ya! It's literally a sin to not have tried-"
His rant was cut off by her full-blown laughter.
"You really are still the same, aren't you. Even with that ridiculous hairdo of yours," she stated as she grabbed a few strands of his long, smooth hair, "you haven't changed at all."
Naruto's confusion at the sudden comment was quickly replaced with a tick mark.
"Hey! Don't diss the hair! It just grew out like that and the ladies sure as hell don't mind." He jerked his head from her touch to show that he didn't appreciate her derogatory statement.
Kazehana raised her free hand in front of him, as if to show him that her hands were off him. "Whatever you say, Foxy-kun."
Naruto scowled and shook his hair vigorously to rearrange it to the way he liked it: natural and messy. It made him look quite dashing, in his opinion. It also allowed him to hide his slightly heterochromatic eye, which drew more attention to him than he already would.
The duo sat on the roof in silence, choosing to watch the setting sun. In just a moment though, the comfortable silence was broken by the busty woman's whine.
"Mou! I'm out of sake already!" She pouted as she shook the upside down bottle several times above her mouth, trying to drink to the last drop.
Naruto glanced at the woman and sighed. "Kazehana...That bottle was about the size of my thigh..."
"I know! Where'd it all go?!" She hugged the gigantic bottle to her breasts and pouted harder.
Naruto would have found this cute - irresistible, even - if the situation weren't so absurd. "...You drank it all, Kazehana. Like always." He rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't you savor the taste instead of guzzling it down if you love it so much?"
She raised an eyebrow, though she still didn't let go of the gigantic bottle. "Do you eat that ramen of yours slowly?"
"...Touché." He admitted rather sheepishly. "But at least I don't take ramen wherever I go!"
Ignoring the blond's unsuccessful jab, Kazehana sighed dramatically. "That was my last bottle, too. Maybe Miya has some secrete stash of sake in the house...?"
"Nah. Don't even bother. I bet she'd hit you with the ladle for even asking such a blasphemous thing." He snorted. "I do believe that I have something better, though. Close your eyes."
"You're not going to do anything cheesy like kiss me, are you?" The wind user smiled at him cheekily. "I'm afraid I'm not that easy to take, foxy-kun, no matter how it usually seems."
"Jeez, what's with you and Miya thinking of me as such a sleazy guy? I'm not that bad...am I?"
"Foxy-kun...Do you not hear yourself talk lately?" She deadpanned. "You're definitely what people would call...what was the word...?" She closed her mouth in concentration, before clicking her finger in realization. "A playboy! That's what men like you were called!" She grinned impishly.
Naruto's jaw unhinged at her statement. Him...a playboy? Wasn't that type of person supposed to have a lot of women around them and have lots of sex? And if that's so...was that supposed to be a compliment or a derogatory remark?
Judging by the woman's expression, it probably was meant to be the latter. But being the munificent and forgiving man he was, he would kindly take the comment in stride, because it also meant that he had the looks and skills to be one, right?
"Well, although I wouldn't call myself a playboy, your thoughts are duly noted. Buut! Since you are so unwilling to trust me, I guess I have no choice but to withhold my surprise. A pity though, because I was sure that you would love it." Naruto offhandedly said. "I guess I'll just have to drink it myself."
As expected, the woman's head perked up at that.
"Maa, maa. No need to be so hasty foxy-kun..." She nervously chuckled. "See? I already closed my eyes!"
"Well, I don't know...You didn't seem to trust me in the slightest. And don't think that I can't see you peeking." He spoke in a berating tone.
She quickly closed her eyes tightly, and even covered them with her hands to emphasize that she really wanted the surprise.
Naruto chuckled at her desperation and silently summoned his inventory, taking a moderate sized bottle out, which had a touch of luxury unlike the normal sake bottles Kazehana drank out of.
After a second or so of thinking, he also took out a clear glass cup from the inventory, and finally closed the inventory. He carefully poured the drink into the cup and brought it to the woman's lips.
Her shoulders jerked in surprise at the sensation, though she quickly realized what the cold material was. Her hands still over her eyes, she dipped her head slightly to taste the beverage.
"Hm? This isn't sake..." True to her speculation, when she opened her eyes to look at the drink, it wasn't the opaque, whitish liquid that she was used to, but rather a lucid and brownish liquid that she had never seen before.
"Course it isn't. Here. Hold it." He handed the glass over to her. She obliged and took it, staring intensely into the cup. "It's called whiskey, apparently. Do you like it?"
Kazehana eyed the liquid a bit longer before she downed it in one go. "Oh wow! This is some good stuff!" She looked back down at the empty glass with an appreciative gaze. Then she turned to the blond and gave him a pleading gaze.
"No." He firmly declined before she could even ask.
"But foxy-kuuun!"
"You know as well as I do that you can't have whatever you want just because you want it. Everything has a price, and the same goes for the whiskey." He chided. "So you'll have to earn it, Kazehana-chan."
She pouted harder. "Then what do you want me to do?"
"…Kiss me." Naruto suddenly said after a moment of silence.
"…?!" It took her a few seconds to process what came out of his mouth, and even then, she was flabbergasted to the point of being unable to speak. "M-mou Naruto-kun, you like this onee-chan that much?" She nervously laughed as she tried to pass it off as a joke.
"Kiss me, and I'll take it as a payment for the whiskey." He repeated himself again with a serious look in his eyes.
Kazehana's smile became strained. She liked the boy, she really did. He was interesting, funny, good looking, warm hearted, and really sweet at the most unexpected times. But he wasn't her ashikabi. Her body didn't react to his proximity. He would be heartbroken no matter how she conveyed her answer, and she was at a loss how to reject him. She couldn't even counter it with her usual playful innuendos.
Naruto, sitting on the other side of the woman, was also in quite a predicament. He had only meant to tease the Kazehana like usual, but had accidently gone a bit too far. And now she was actually considering it. Well, perhaps not, but she seemed to be thinking quite hard on it. She didn't look too happy, though. He had to think of something to say, and get the situation over with as soon as possible. It would not do to lose a precious friend over such a stupid joke.
"Are you really considering it?" He flashed the most mischievous grin he had in his repertoire. "I was only joking, ba~ka. Oh well, it can't be helped that I'm incredibly handsome and amazing." He stood up and turned around, covertly taking out the whiskey from the inventory. "But since I'm feeling really generous today, I'll just give this to yah." He tossed the bottle to her, which she absentmindedly caught. She was obviously shocked by the development of things.
"Well, I'm a bit tired, so I'll retire for the night." He faked a yawn. "G'night Kazehana-chan. Seeya tomorrow!"
When Kazehana's eyes noted the man's form disappearing through a window, she finally came back to her senses, and looked down at the brown bottle laid on her lap. She was thankful that it was only a joke, and that she even got a free bottle of good alcohol.
So why was it that she didn't feel happy in the slightest?
"Hey Naruto-kun!" A woman came running to him at a remarkable speed. She stood in front of him and grinned, the smile looking more sincere and happier than ever before. "Takehito-san said that he'd love to teach me more about personal relationships. Isn't it great? Now you won't have to bother with educating me in this area. We can focus more on real training now, and work on deepening our friendship, however we're supposed to do so."
"Wait, so you don't want me to be your teacher anymore?" He looked back at her, slightly hurt from the blatant dismissal. She almost seemed happy to get rid of him and install Takehito as his replacement.
Miya cocked her head slightly to the side, obviously not understanding the purpose of the question. "Wouldn't it make sense to take a more experienced person to teach me?"
He nearly cringed at that. Of course Takehito was a better replacement, in both compatibility and experience. But it hurt to hear her say it so explicitly.
"R-right…Of course." He shakily forced a smile on his face. "Good for you, Miya-chan."
"Well, I just wanted to tell you this, and that we should meet at 4 instead of 2 o'clock because of this." She beamed at him. "See you later, Naruto-kun!"
She ran back towards the direction she came from as quickly as she had arrived, leaving the blond to stare behind her.
The shinobi put his enhanced speed to use once more, and sprinted towards the woman, chakra already charged at the sole of his feet. "Rasengan!"
Having felt the boy charge, Miya jumped into the air and flipped out of the range of attack. "Foolish boy, do you truly not understand the difference of our skills? Then allow me to demonstrate." She flicked her katana out of the sheath and swung it in a full arc. With a gigantic shockwave, deep crevices were created, redesigning the environment. Naruto shot out of the way, only for him to face another shockwave. Unable to parry this one, he summoned a Rasengan in hopes of softening the blow. The attack was too large and powerful, however, and he took the full brunt of the attack.
He flew back quite a distance, and he was able to hold himself just barely as he skidded down on all fours. But before he was able to even stand, the woman swung her katana once again with more power and speed. Though it wasn't as strong as those that fell battleships in the invasion just a year ago, it was definitely a killing blow that would exterminate most Sekirei in one hit.
The bloodied boy fell to the ground, unmoving. Deep gashes marred his upper body diagonally, and more blood than thought humanely possible poured out to the cold floor. Though unnoticed by the blond, his HP bar was down to the red zone, and the continuous loss of blood only seemed to dwindle the remaining health points.
Naruto's eyes snapped open. He was in an unfamiliar environment, surrounded by an unfamiliar scent. The only thing familiar was the beeping that was going off like crazy in his head, which he guessed was impeding him from thinking clearly. He quickly turned it off with a halfhearted slap to his face and a vocal command.
"Oh right...I moved here yesterday..." He muttered, finally having regained his composure.
The blond looked around the room to see, well, nothing much, really. Although he already moved his stuff out the previous day, barely anything he owned pointed to him as the owner of the room. Well, there were his orange blanket and pillow, but he couldn't see them at the moment from his position so they didn't count.
"Ugh, my head's still pounding from that dream..." He winced slightly as he got out of his bed. "Haven't had that dream since...last year, was it?"
Naruto vigorously shook his head in an attempt to clear his head of depressing thoughts. "Gah! Who cares. Better go do my morning training and blow off some steam."
He took off his orange pajamas and changed into the disciplinary squad uniform, then opened the window, silently jumping down to the backyard.
"Huh. This place is much bigger than I thought." He spoke as he looked around. It wasn't green enough to be called a garden, but there were several trees and flowers here near the fences. It was as if the place was meant for someone to do some training in. And knowing Miya, he wouldn't have been too surprised if that were the case.
Either way, this was a great place for him to do some light training without having to go too far out, which he wasn't inclined to do at the moment.
He walked over to a spot with sufficient space around him, and began his warm up with several thousand push-ups with one hand, flipping his body in the air after each push. When he deemed his body loosened up enough, he went through a series of practiced katas of the Swirling Tide that he had learnt years ago. He started off with slow executions of the basics, and slowly moved on to more advanced katas, and furthered the training by adding his own variation to it.
Fortunately for the residents of the inn, Naruto was sensible enough not to use any force behind his punches or kicks, and focused on parrying and his footwork. This didn't mean that he went easy on his training though, as he was fine-tuning his katas. He couldn't allow a single mistake such as over extension of his arm or making unnecessary movements that created holes in his defense.
After an hour and a half, the blond's blurry movements slowed to a halt, revealing his sweating and panting form.
"My taijutsu seems pretty much finished as the way it is now...though I wouldn't be able to test it out until I battle someone really strong." Naruto said to no one in particular as he wiped is drenched forehead with his grey sleeve. "Shadow fighting with my imagination or spamming clones for sparring can only get me so far, after all." The man sighed in slight frustration.
He undid the kinks in his fingers and shoulders, and decided to retire for the morning. When he was about to climb up the wall to get back into his room, his body tensed at the sound of a weapon cutting through the air.
'Intruder?' He collected himself again and concentrated on the location of the possible enemy. More slashes were heard. 'No. No intruder would be stupid enough to make so much sound when he's breaking in. Then training, maybe?'
Naruto relaxed slightly, but kept his senses and mind alert. Now curious of the person responsible for the disturbance, he silently moved to the other side of the inn and glanced behind the corner of the wall.
A woman was wielding a slender katana with both hands, slashing vertically, then horizontally, then moving her arms with her entire body by twirling, as if she were executing a deadly dancing move.
"You're still training, Miya? I thought that you were just a harmless old landlady." Naruto smirked.
"Ohohohoho. Can't a young lady learn how to defend herself?" She covered her mouth and laughed, though a tick mark was clearly seen on her forehead.
Naruto snorted. He still didn't understand why she was so insistent in saying that she was frail.
"So, have you improved during our time apart? Or did all your skills dull like woman you claim to be?" He mockingly grinned at her. "Cuz I know I have improved without a doubt."
While it was true that he did this because he wanted to taunt her into fighting him, he actually wanted to know how her skills progressed. Last time he sparred with her, he was only barely able to win, and only because of his superior speed stats. Sure, he had a higher strength stat as well, but it didn't mean much when her dexterity stat was the triple of his. He had been putting nearly all his stats on speed and dexterity since then.
'Observe.' He silently commanded, causing a small window to pop up beside the woman.
Name: Miya / No.01
Level: 72
Specialty: Sword
Gender: Female
Species: Sekirei
Condition: Normal
Intelligence: 46
Speed: 68
Strength: 77
Dexterity: 184
He scanned the numbers with celerity, unwilling to waste even a second in front of the woman. He was unsure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, but she hadn't advanced much, other than her increased strength. She was still freakishly strong, though. He…might be a bit hard pressed if she went all out.
Naruto: Lv.81 (exp: 970/8100)
(0) stat points remaining
Intelligence: 80
Speed: 108 (+53)
Strength: 72 (+45)
Dexterity: 97 (+15)
Charisma / Attractiveness: 66 (+5)
His speed and strength was much superior to hers, though, so he'd survive.
'Oh right, we were in the middle of a banter…Why did I suddenly begin explaining this to no one...?' He sweat-dropped.
"…believe that it is enough to defend myself from vulgar men like you." She finished speaking and slashed at the thin air before pointing her katana at the blond.
"Oh really?" Naruto spoke in a challenging tone, hovering his hand above his own weapon. "Then I guess that you wouldn't mind a spar against me."
Before the woman could utter a word of protest, the shinobi sprinted to her and stretched his arm to impale her abdomen. Miya quickly angled her blade downwards to parry his attack, albeit only barely. Having expected the dodge, Naruto didn't so much as blink and pulled out his other dagger to swipe down at her arm. But the element of surprise was no longer on the blond's side, and she was able to block the attack more fluidly with her sheath, which...wasn't in her hand only a second ago. He shrugged and slashed at her waist this time at speeds nearly invisible to the naked eye, but once again Miya was able to block it with her katana.
The two stared down at each other as their blades were at a deadlock.
"I believe that I never agreed to spar." She blatantly glared at the man. "And did I not say that no violence is permitted in the Izumo Inn?"
"Well, this is a spar, and spars don't count as violence." Naruto put a bit more effort in pushing his blades towards Miya as he flashed a fanged grin. "And don't even act as if you didn't want to battle me. I can feel your adrenaline rushing right...here." He finally pushed her katana all the way back so that she couldn't put much force into her grip, and lowered his head to directly face hers, nearly touching her nose and close enough to hear her quickened breathing.
Ba dump.
Miya quickly hid her surprise with a scowl and jumped away from the smirking blond. She then took a large calming breath, and glared sharply at the aggravator.
"You're lucky that this was the backyard of my inn, or else I would have split you into two." She unsheathed her blade and huffed, before she headed back to the building. She paused in her steps and spoke quietly. "And no breakfast for you, Naruto-kun."
The shinobi's victorious grin faltered. "Wha-? But I didn't do anything this time!" He chased Miya to the door as he whined. "Miya-chaaaann! Then at least finish the-"
"No breakfast." She repeated herself once more and closed the door behind her.
"..." Naruto gaped at the door in disbelief and closed his mouth with a click. "The gall of that woman..." He walked up the nearest wall and entered a window. "She could have at least battled me if she was going to ban me from breakfast..." He muttered, pouting to himself.
"Guess this morning's breakfast is ramen-" He straightened up, but paused mid-speech as his eyes met the eyes of a certain brunette girl. An nearly naked brunette girl. "Err, what are you doing in my room? Not that I'm complaining or anythin." He purposely looked up and down her body, his eyes lingering a bit longer on her barely covered breasts.
Oh, he wasn't a pervert by a long shot, no matter how hard his previous teachers tried. It was just that it was pretty interesting to rile this one up, if the last encounter was anything to go by. The nice view was only a bonus. Or was it the other way around?
Seeing him not taking his eyes off her, Uzume covered her body as much as she can with her arm and growled. "That's what I should be asking, you perverted lecher!"
He blinked, then took his eyes off the girl and swept the room with a glance.
"Huh. You're right. This isn't my room." He shrugged and directed his gaze to the girl again. "And you have no right to call me a lecher, miss I-like-showing-my-undies-to-strangers. It's not like I'm looking at anything I haven't seen, anyway." The blond dismissively waved her off and turned for the window again.
Her eye twitched at his attitude, but couldn't think of anything to say back to him without embarrassing herself any further. All she could do at the moment was to stare at his retreating figure disappearing out the window after giving her a cool smile and a wave.
She grit her teeth and determined that she would get back at that guy someday, somehow. She didn't escape MBI to be harassed then captured by the likes of that guy. She still needed to find interesting things to do in the outer world, and maybe find her ashikabi on the way. And to do that, she had to survive from that conniving guy.
"Damn. Now I actually have to wear clothes from now on." She sighed and grabbed her shirt off the floor.
A few days later, Naruto found himself sitting on a messy pile of cables, careful to keep a distance between him and a certain redheaded girl.
"…And so, I'd like to ask you to teach me more on using computers."
Matsu stopped her advances on the blond and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at this.
"I mean, sure I know how to use the Internet, cuz all you have to do is...err...type stuff..." His cheeks tinged with a pinkish hue at his obvious lack of knowledge. "Anyway, I want to reinforce the basics and then go onto hacking."
"Hacking?" She repeated, surprised by his sudden interest. "You want to learn hacking?"
He nodded.
"Why bother, Naru-tan? I'm sure I can make my time for you whenever you need...with a little bit of compensation, of course." Her mouth morphed into a gigantic grin as her hands made a squeezing motion.
"Riiight. Of course you would." He rolled his eyes. "I would prefer to be able to do it myself, though." Hacking, especially if done by Matsu, would surely prove to be invaluable to his missions, but he still didn't want people to know of his involvement in the more shady part of his jobs. The less they knew, the merrier.
"So I want you to teach me." He restated himself, only to find that Matsu was still away in her own perverted lala land, and was now approaching him on all fours.
"Oi, Matsu..." He inched away from her, disturbed by her expression that was even more out of it than usual. Dare he say, it was even worse than Ero-sennin's when he was peeping. Despite his efforts, the Sekirei didn't seem to be willing to stop her prowl any time soon.
"Ehehehehe...experiments...slapping...punishment…ehehehehe.." She began drooling as she giggled.
Naruto cringed and wondered if the hacking was worth all this.
"Brat. Of course this is worth it. Learning is only a bonus. Do you want to stay a virgin forever?" A voice snarked in his head.
'Shut up, ya damn fox! How many times do I have to tell you? Humans actually care about feelings. Unlike you beasts, we don't just go around banging whoever we want.'
"You can only say that now because you never had sex before, you ignorant fool! Now get me some action before you regret it in the future! Do you want to die of blue balls?"
Before retaliating like usual, he actually hesitated for a moment. Why was he so averse to enjoying carnal pleasure? It wasn't as if he had any obligation to anyone…
He looked back at the fiery red head. She had a nice and curvy body, great bust and ass, and was intelligent to boost. And most important of all, she actually wanted him. Him. Sure, the motive seemed a bit impure, but that was neither here nor there. Not to mention that, despite how reluctant he was to admit this to others, the girl came to be one of the few precious people that he came to care for in this world.
'So why is it that I feel reluctant to have her coming onto me?' He frowned.
A pink haired girl with a hitai-ate on her head flashed in his mind, soon followed by a lavender haired woman in grey garment, wielding a dangerous katana.
Naruto froze for a second before shaking his head in an attempt to forget the images. 'Let bygones be bygones, they say. It's probably for the best to find someone else and move on.' He grimly thought. 'Perhaps that someone isn't too far away from me…? In the Izumo Inn, maybe?'
Taking his sudden stillness as an invitation to his body, Matsu coiled her arms and legs from her spot, and pounced at the blond. The blond shinobi slugged her face out of instinct when her hands neared his goods, rendering her unconscious.
"Errr...maybe I'll look for someone a bit less...eager." He sweat-dropped. "Wouldn't do to punch her every single time she makes a move on me."
Naruto stood still, thinking over his options, if he could call it as such.
'Crossing out Matsu...for now. There's that Uzume girl, but she hates my guts, and I can't give up on teasing her, so not her either. Kazehana is, well, Kazehana. She's like a flirty friend that will always stay a friend, if her reaction towards him a few days ago meant anything.' Naruto blinked a few times. 'Well shit. That's basically all of them. Do I actually need to go outside to find a girlfriend? Flirting to someone I don't even know sounds just wrong, so I don't want to do that either...' Naruto frowned and tried to think of alternative methods, only to find that there was none left. He gasped in realization. 'Does this mean that all that effort and time I spent to level up and raise my charisma points were for naught?! NOOOOOOO!' He fell on his knees and sobbed, banging his fist on the floor.
Unbeknownst to him due to his immersion in self-pity, the redhead's eyes were fluttering open from her short slumber. Matsu slowly picked herself off the floor as she tenderly massaged her cheek. "Wha...what happened?" She slurred as she tried to boot her brain up. She looked at the blond for clarification and did a double take. "Are you...crying on the floor?"
"…I wasn't crying." He quickly stood back up, his tears nowhere to be seen. "I was just...worried about you. Thus the kneeling on the floor. Yeah.' He nodded. It sounded manly enough. Quickly gathering his wits, he spoke before she could question him further. "You okay? You just fainted after telling me that you'd teach me hacking. Kinda fell face-first, so your face might hurt for a while."
A look of confusion was followed by acceptance. "I see...but what were Matsu's conditions for teaching you?"
"Conditions?"
"Conditions, fees, payments, you know the works." She said flippantly.
"Umm, you said spending time with me was good enough for you." He smiled casually as he normally would, though he was sweating up a storm inside.
Fortunately for him, Matsu seemed content with his answer and nodded. "You have to spend some quality time with Matsu for real, then." She grinned, which soon turned into a bout of perverted giggles.
Naruto ignored it to the best of his abilities, and reassured himself that being in the same room with her itself was good enough for the deal. No need to do the nasty, or whatever she had planned. "As long as it is limited to only spending time together and doesn't make Miya want to kill me over and over again."
The Sekirei's grin widened. It was painfully obvious that her definition of 'quality time' differed from his.
"Miya-tan will never suspect a thing, Naru-tan." She purred as she inched towards the blond.
Before Naruto could do anything, a horrifying roar resounded through the house. It wasn't quite animalistic, although he would be hard pressed to say that it wasn't demonic. "NAARUUTOOOO!" The sound of a door banging open was followed by crashing noises throughout the house.
He smiled.
"Well, that's my cue for the chase to begin! It's been fun, but I gotta go. Things to do, people to avoid…" He slid open the door and smiled. "You probably won't see me at dinner tonight. Ja ne~" He left with a loud cackle, giddy at the thought of seeing Miya unable to keep her cool.
As expected, not long after he left Matsu's room, the lavender haired Sekirei appeared before him with fury blazing in her eyes. She hadn't transformed into her "demon form", as he would like to call it, but he was confident that she'd chase him around the city if he provoked her a little bit more.
"Good morning Miya-chan! Isn't today such a good day to share bright smiles?" He grinned widely, showcasing his set of sparkling teeth.
She scowled at him, though it wasn't as intimidating as usual due to a hand over her mouth.
"Aww, don't be shy. Smiling widely is good for your health. So be a good girl and smile widely for me."
She responded by pointing her unsheathed katana at his face, though her left hand stayed in front of her mouth. "Stop joking around. Undo this immediately."
"Hmm? Undo what, Miya-chan? I don't know what you're talking about unless you explain it in detail." He cutely tilted his head to the side and asked innocently. He couldn't fully hide the twitch of his lips, though.
Miya's eyes grew even more furious at the man's comment, and contemplated whether it was worth letting the blond live. She had to suppress a growl when she came to a conclusion that he was needed alive in order to fix this mess. Who knew how long this thing lasted?
She slowly lifted her hand off her lips, which she slightly opened to snarl at the blond. Her teeth glistened in a threatening manner...with a blue glow. Marine blue.
Naruto tried to hide his amusement again, but failed tremendously and ended up guffawing right at her face. Had he been a lesser shinobi, his stomach would have hurt a lot from laughing so much. But it didn't, because he was an awesome shinobi and had amazing abs.
Miya clamped her mouth shut and glared at him. She put a hand to her mouth once again, not wanting to be disgraced any further.
"What...did you do?" She spat out venomously. He was really proving himself to be an annoyance around the inn. She really shouldn't have taken him in. Something like this would never have occurred if it weren't for him. Damn her and her compassion.
"I didn't do anything!" He exclaimed as he wildly raised both his hands up. The smile lingering on his face wasn't convincing, though. She tilted her blade so that it was now in a position that would allow her to cut him into ribbons in a flash.
"Well, not much, anyway." He awkwardly chuckled, before his eyes took a mischievous glint. "All I did was put a bit of crushed blueberries, teeth whitening and toothpaste...among other things." He snickered. "Don't worry. It will naturally fade away in a week or so."
Miya ground her teeth and changed the position of her katana so that it was now pointing at his junk. "Get. rid. of. it. now."
The blond cringed, sensing how serious she was about emasculating him. But he wasn't quite ready to yield, not after all that trouble he went through to acquire that ingredient.
"It...doesn't come off." He stated, taking care to slightly back away from the blade. "Maybe if you tried hard enough, the time limit could decrease by one day, but that's pretty much all you can do." It wasn't entirely true, as there were plenty of ways to nullify his prank, but he didn't lie in any way that there was nothing Miya could do, without his help at least. Too bad he was planning on enjoying this to the fullest.
Unable to hold her anger in any further, Miya started oozing out thick killing intent accompanied by purple miasma, more potent than ever. "Is that so...?" She grinned with tightened lips and crinkled eyes that had a bit too much strength behind them. Then she snapped open her eyes and exposed her dilated pupils that were screaming for his blood. "Then it seems that you will just have to die for me."
Naruto's grin faltered slightly at the venom dripping off her voice. It was time to get serious, it seemed. Not unless he wanted his junk cut off and put up on display. That didn't so anything to make this situation any less amusing, though.
He fell into a defensive stance he was familiar with, and got ready to retaliate any attacks that came his way. "Too bad I can't die tod-"
He was cut short by three terse knocks on the front door.
"Oh? Seems like we have a visitor." Naruto cocked his head in interest.
Miya grunted in annoyance and loosened the grip on her katana, before turning on her heels to answer the door. Naruto visibly relaxed as well and put a grin back on his face, then followed the woman down to the first floor.
"Ah, are you perhaps the landlady of this place?" A male voice came from behind the door.
"Yes I am. Are you looking for a place to stay in?" Miya spoke in a kind tone, her previous anger nowhere to be seen. She masterfully covered her mouth with her sleeves as a shy woman would, which looked amazingly natural on her. Deceiving people without any effort...women were scary like that. Or maybe it was just Miya.
"You know, this might not be the best place for you to live in. It's pretty worn down, has only one bathroom between six people, and the landlady is really mean." The blond popped up and opened the door wide so that he could take a look at the future innmate of his. He was an effeminate man with grey hair, or at least Naruto supposed that the guy was a man. His androgynous face and body didn't give him much to go by, nor did the his slightly husky voice. The last time he had such a hard time discerning the gender of a person was when he met Haku approximately a decade ago.
"Uhh, I don't think that it would be a problem. I was recommended by someone to stay here." He smiled rather gentlemanly, though it was a bit strained at the sight of Miya glaring at the blond.
"Are you sure? I mean-"
"If you dislike this place so much, you should live somewhere else, Naruto-san." She had half a mind to neuter him right there and then, had it not been for the need to cover her mouth from the newcomer. "That way we'd be able to provide lodgings for people who want to live here and don't cause much trouble."
Naruto scoffed playfully. "You speak as if there actually are people like that who want to live here. I mean, look at your current residents! All of us are troublemakers...of high degrees at that."
The grey haired teen actually reconsidered living in the inn. But in the end, he decided that he should be able to live in a rumbustious inn like this if he were to call himself a guardian of Sekirei. His life wouldn't be boring at the least.
He cleared his throat to gather the attention of the glaring duo. When they both stopped what they were doing and looked straight at him, he felt somewhat self-conscious, though he didn't understand why.
"Umm, so is a room available? I'd like to move in today, if that is possible." He let his mind known with a bit of difficulty, as he had to restrain himself from fidgeting.
"Of course." She smiled pleasantly. "Ignore this immature man. Most of the things he spouts are near nonsensical. Please follow me and I'll show you to your prospective room." She gestured the man in and stomped on Naruto's foot, hard, when the newcomer wasn't looking.
"OW!" The shinobi yelped.
"Is...something wrong?" The grey haired male turned from his position to look in Naruto's direction.
"Nothing's wrong. He probably bit his tongue trying to make a unintelligent comment." Miya ushered the male into the living room.
Naruto's eye twitched at the blatant dismissal as well as the obvious lie from Miya.
"Oi. Is it wrong for wanting to know the identity of the new resident?"
"Oh, I still haven't introduced myself." He stood up straighter from where he was. "My name is Kagari. Pleasure to meet you."
Stats:
Naruto: Lv.81 (exp: 970/8100)
(0) stat points remaining
Intelligence: 80
Speed: 108 (+53)
Strength: 72 (+45)
Dexterity: 97 (+15)
Charisma / Attractiveness: 66 (+5)
Skills:
Observation (lv.24)
Shadow clone jutsu (lv.76)
Sexy jutsu (lv.2)
Rasengan (lv.77)
Henge (lv.19)
Kawarimi (lv.34)
Surface/water walking (lv.73)
Wind release*
Jinchuriki mode*
Equipment:
Senju's emerald necklace: The necklace of Hashirama Senju. It has the ability to subdue even the strongest bijuu. Dex +15
Disciplinary Squad uniform: The uniform Sekirei in the Disciplinary Squad wear. It is made of high quality material and is easy to move in. Str +5, Spd +5, Chr +5
Basic shinobi sandal: A basic sandal for shinobi. Spd +3
Double Chakra Daggers: Daggers that are used in tandem for amplified power and speed. These daggers can be encased in different chakra natures for increased power, range, speed or supplementary effects. These daggers are special in that they will evolve as the user becomes stronger. (+5 every 10 levels) Str +45, Spd +45