Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor Sekirei, all characters, thoughts and ideas that exist in this story that were taken from the original works belong to their specific creators, Masashi Kishomoto and Akurako Gokurakuin. Only original thoughts and or characters created in this story are my own.
Note: There will be flashbacks in this story; the first one is in this chapter. The flashbacks will basically describe major events like the final moments of certain key individual's lives. I'll try not to put more than one in per chapter, if there are any at all. I'll also try to keep them short but no promises. They'll be written in different styles from different points of view. I want to explain more of what happened in the past, but I don't want to just jam it in, I want it to make sense, so each 'flashback' will happen when something occurs at the present time that reminds the individual of the event in the past.
Review Responses: Some people have wondered who Naruto's companion is. I left it ambiguous for a reason. It just adds a bit of flavor. Although anyone who was observant enough probably figured it out. I felt there was 1 line in particular that gave it away. It will be revealed halfway through this chapter though for those that didn't guess correctly.
As for the Sekirei Naruto will end up with. I've already planned 4 of them out. Those 4 will for sure end up with him. I can't give away much more than that without spoiling things but that should give you a hint on how interesting his Sekirei will be. What is still in doubt is whether or not they'll be the only 4. I can say this though, there are 2 Sekirei I don't like, and won't be including them as a result: Kuu and Tsukiumi. Homura probably also won't be simply because he starts male. Now, I'm not saying those three won't get an Ashikabi at all, because they will, it just won't be Naruto. I know people like Tsukiumi but I don't, never did, never been fond of Tsundere's. They've always annoyed me whenever they appeared in anime/manga I've watched/read.
As for Miya, all I will say is that she is my favorite Sekirei character so expect something to happen with her.
Now for as to what happened at the end of the Prologue. Basically what Naruto did defied reality, however The Universe doesn't like being defied. Especially in such a haphazard way. So it retaliated against Naruto. Or I suppose not Naruto per-say, but against the warp in reality. The Universe doesn't care about Naruto only that its integrity isn't compromised. If you were paying attention you could see at certain points where The Universe was trying to impose itself back on the clearing to return the cause and effect back to normal. When the technique snapped and fell apart The Universe basically rejected everything in the clearing that was associated with the reality warping technique. Whether Naruto was either frozen in time/space, floating in Limbo, or existing between Universe' during this time, or even something more fantastical, is up to you. It's open ended for a reason. However you wish to envision it is how it works, just know that everything that was rejected from that clearing existed outside of space and time for an undisclosed duration. There is a reason why Naruto ended up where he did, but that won't be revealed until much later, it deals with a certain element I'm using to tie the two universes together.
And finally, I made a mistake in the prologue. When I said that Naruto's companion had been struck through the Gate of Limit, it was actually Gate of View. I basically mentioned the wrong gate in the prologue. The attack was supposed to have connected with the lower half of the torso. An attack of that magnitude hitting anywhere in the upper half of the torso is instant-death for people without enhanced healing capabilities. I knew where I wanted the attack to hit, I just didn't describe it properly for you.
Update: Removed a reference to Naruto's companion that appeared earlier than desired.
Chapter 1: Lost in a New World
Shinto Teito, the capital of Japan, was home to a new rising star in the corporate world: MBI or Mid Bio Informatics. The city hadn't always been called by that name. It used to be known as Tokyo but ever since MBI had come into play as a major power in the corporate world the name had been changed. Names are easily changed for the right price. And when MBI had bought out over seventy percent of the city, well that was apparently more than enough to buy a name change.
Mid Bio Informatics was a relatively new company. It had arrived on the battlefield that is the cutthroat corporate world about twenty years ago. It had radically changed the face of the battlefield, destroying many of its competitors easily by dealing in over-technology, technology that was far beyond anything that currently existed in the present day's market.
Because of its incredibly advanced technological discoveries it had easily pushed its way to the top of the corporate world. On the outside it was the largest pharmaceutical company in the world to date, but on the inside it was much more. All corporations had their skeletons in the closet; MBI had more than just the skeleton.
Despite Tokyo being bought by a major corporation and being renamed it remained relatively peaceful. The common citizen never thought anything was wrong. After all it wasn't like laws were unnecessarily changed, shady things didn't occur in the background or after dark, people didn't just disappear, and brawls causing major property damage weren't occurring.
It was in this peaceful city of blissful ignorance that an earthquake struck. It came suddenly, and without warning shaking buildings from side to side. Most people ran about in a panic as they headed for the streets or the shelters. This was Japan, earthquakes happened here often so the people were prepared for it.
However while earthquakes were common, what came next was not. They were not prepared for the unearthly howl that tore across the city like a million souls were crying out in agony as they were rent apart. Nor where they prepared for a single, massive upheaval that made literally everything that wasn't bolted to the floor air born for a few moments or for the earth to suddenly stop shaking as if it had never occurred in the first place.
x~X~x
When the light finally died down Naruto blinked his eyes a few time as he tried to adjust them to the sudden darkness. He didn't know what had just occurred. One moment he was trying his utmost to stop his companion from bleeding out, the next he completely engulfed in a white light. As the spots in his eyes disappeared he noticed a few things.
First he noticed he was in an alley and not a very clean one either. Refuse lay strewn all about and a dumpster near the exit was overflowing with smelly garbage. What were supposed to be white washed walls rose to either side of him, but neither were very clean so they were looking decidedly on the grayish side. The ground was paved in something he had never seen before; he wasn't used to anything but dirt roads. Sasuke's corpse appeared to have made the trip to wherever he was, although it was definitely worse for wear. Many of the innards had fallen out and were splayed all over the ground between the two halves of the body. Between the major gash down the center of his chest and his body being torn apart in Naruto's abrupt chakra eruption, there wasn't a whole lot left to keep Sasuke's insides inside.
And that brought Naruto to the women in his arms. She was still breathing, but it was getting shallower by the second. Blood was leaking out of her abdomen despite his best attempts at stemming the tide of blood.
'Naruto, you need to find aid, my chakra can't heal her, and you don't know how.' A voice reverberated through Naruto's skull softly. He knew his life-long companion was correct, he couldn't stay here, and the longer he did, the greater the chance that she would…
He stood up swiftly, but gracefully, bringing the woman up with him carrying her bridal style. Naruto didn't want to finish that thought, he needed to find help, support, something. Thankfully he noticed that there were people running frantically across the alley opening, that meant that wherever he was, there were people, and that meant there was probably someone who knew some medical jutsus or knew someone who could help.
Naruto moved swiftly, covering the distance to the end of the alley in moments, his feet barely touched the ground as he flowed with a grace few in the city could match. Naruto had to squint as he broke from the alleyway as the light from the sun hit him. While he hadn't been in the alleyway long, his eyes had adjusted quickly. Shinobi that couldn't adjust quickly to changes in light didn't live long.
Naruto immediately noticed a stark contrast between the appearance of the buildings out here and the appearance they took on back in the alley. While the alley may not have been well kept, the front of the buildings here were. They were kept immaculately clean and the street and sidewalk appeared to be kept clean of refuse, although he still couldn't identify what they were made from.
"Oh my god!" Someone nearby exclaimed as they saw Naruto emerge from the alley. "What the happened to you two?" The exclamation drew quite a bit of attention from the nearby passerby's.
Naruto glanced over at the young man who had spoken and noticed he was wearing some very outlandish clothing, at least in his opinion. He wore a pair of shoes Naruto had never seen before. A pair of comfortable looking blue pants that were made out of a material he had never seen and a white long-sleeved shirt under a brown coat with a fur collar. He had short black hair that went just down past his ears with some bangs hanging over his nose and dark black eyes.
Naruto looked at himself and sighed. He supposed he did look a little out of place wearing what he did. It didn't help that the entire front of his body was drenched in blood as he had just body surfed on an open cadaver. It also probably didn't help that he was holding a beautiful woman in his arms that had a massive hole in her chest and was bleeding out at a terrifying rate.
But Naruto could focus on cleaning up, and blending in, later, right now he had more important things. "I need help!" Naruto cried out as he tightened his hold on his love. "We were attacked by a madman in the alley behind us. He stabbed my Fiancée, can someone help? Please?" Naruto was not above pleading if it helped save the life of one of his precious people.
"Someone call 119!"
"We need an ambulance over here!"
"Dear god look at the blood!"
"A MADMAN!? But I don't see any spindly, red-haired, clawed berserkers…"
Someone in the distance slurped and licked their lips in hunger.
"We need first aid! No CPR!"
"CPR? What kind of bad crack are you smoking?"
"MEDIC!"
The people around Naruto started clamouring in shock and horror. There were more than a few thumps as people fell over unconscious at the shocking sight, unable to take seeing anymore. Naruto had no idea what the hell a 119 was or an ambulance but he hoped it was some sort of emergency service that could help him. Also he wouldn't admit but a few of the sounds and comments he heard disturbed him just a bit. "I have no idea what everyone is shouting but I need help."
"Don't worry!" The first man who had spoken up said as he approached. He was lowering a strange device from his ear. "I've called 119, they're sending an ambulance here. It'll take you two to a hospital. Thankfully we're close so it should only take them a few minutes to get here."
Some sirens started blaring in the distance almost as soon as the man had finished speaking. "Thanks, I can't lose her; she's all I have left." He still didn't know what 119 or an ambulance was but from what little he could gather this 119 was a location and an ambulance was a transportation device of some sort.
"No worry, you look like you have just walked straight out of a war zone." Naruto shook his head sadly; the teen had no idea just how close to the actual truth he was. That final fight in the clearing that could be considered the final battle of the war that started when Akatsuki had declared war on the Shinobi world.
"In a sense it was, it certainly felt like it." Naruto replied sadly as he glanced back down the alley. "You may want contact whatever authority takes care of this city. Finding dead bodies isn't a very pleasant thing." The young man started to look a little green and appeared to be trying to look anywhere but at the alleyway Naruto had just left.
True to the young man's word the ambulance didn't take long to arrive. And when they did they didn't have to be directed where to go, it was fairly obvious who needed medical attention. Naruto had never seen a vehicle like the one he was staring at: The bright white sides, the blaring sirens, the flashing lights. Having something like that in the elemental nations would have been the equivalent to painting a giant bull's-eye on a target on yourself and screaming 'shoot me' at the top of your lungs. It was even on par with wearing a brilliant orange jumpsuit that could be seen five miles away. But Naruto didn't care, if it saved his love, he would do anything
Naruto's companion was quickly placed upon a stretcher and wheeled into the back of the ambulance. He had seen stretchers before, but they had always stayed in the Hospitals. It must be pretty convenient to have a vehicle that could transport that mobile bed. As Naruto climbed into the vehicle with the medics he turned back to the person that had helped him.
Naruto smiled lightly, "Thank you, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, I never did catch your name though." If she lived he was going to do everything in his power to repay the young man, but he needed his name first.
"It's Sahashi, Minato Sahashi." Minato replied as he waved at Naruto. "I wish you the best of luck and hope your fiancée recovers!" Minato never did figure out why Naruto laughed as the ambulance closed its doors and drove off towards the hospital.
"Minato, huh?" Naruto said softly, his laughter dying down. It was ironic, being saved by someone with the same name as his father. It seemed like his father was following him everywhere, watching over him. Naruto looked over at the medics that were in the vehicle with him. "Can you save her?"
"We'll try young man, we'll try. She's lost a lot of blood but luckily her spinal column is still intact and none of her vital organs have been hit. If we can prevent her from bleeding out we can heal her." One of the paramedics said calmly as he monitored his patient's heartbeat. There were a lot of strange tubes hooked up to Naruto's fiancée and if it weren't for the fact that the medics appeared to be confident in their work Naruto would have been questioning their every action.
"You're lucky we're living in the days of MBI." The second medic said with a gentle smile, she was a small woman but she had a kindly face and a smile that made the rising sun seem pale by comparison. "The hospital we're going to is owned by MBI, they have the greatest technology in the world. We can heal anything save death these days. Even ten years ago this would have been a fatal wound."
Naruto smiled in relief, these medics seemed to think that his love could be saved, that was definitely a welcome relief. "Well then, it looks like I may owe this MBI a favour in the future." Naruto replied with relief obvious in his voice.
x~X~x
Naruto had been given a change of clothes while his old ones were washed by the hospital staff. It hadn't taken very long. Thankfully most of the blood hadn't dried yet so it easily washed out. Naruto had been the one to clean his bandoleer himself, he wasn't about to let anyone near the scrolls contained within. They were far too precious to risk in the hands of the unskilled.
Not that he was really concerned about anyone around him activating them. For some reason he could only sense a few people within the area that actually had enough Chakra to be detected. Wherever he was, the regular people here couldn't mould chakra like virtually everyone back where he lived could. He was just concerned that they would damage that scrolls by mishandling them.
The hospital staff had demanded to check him over as well when he had walked into the hospital from the transportation vehicle. He tried to fight them off, telling them he was alright and that there wasn't anything wrong with him but they had insisted. Considering the condition he was in when he arrived at the hospital he supposed he couldn't 'really' blame them too much for being concerned. He really did look like he had just walked out of a war considering how much blood he was covered in. Naruto was actually sort of touched by how willing they seemed to be to help a complete stranger.
The hospital staff was incredibly surprised to find that none of the blood actually belonged to him, most of it had been Sasuke's. They had been even more surprised to find that the blonde wasn't just fine, but perfect in every way. His body was absolutely perfect, the ratio of muscle to fat couldn't be any better, his vitamin levels, cholesterol, everything, was the spot on. He had no defects, no diseases, no scars, nothing. He was the living definition of a completely one hundred percent perfectly fit and healthy individual.
Naruto had a certain companion tucked away inside him that was responsible for that feat of medical wonder but he wasn't about to go mentioning to the hospital staff that he was the way he was because he had a several hundred year old demon of unimaginable power living inside his stomach.
It was the sort of revelation that either sent people screaming or calling the nearest psychiatric ward.
After they realized that Naruto was the picture perfect definition of 'healthy' they left him alone. They did provide him with something to eat while he waited at the bedside of his fiancée though, which Naruto was thankful for. The food was alright, it was surprisingly better than standard issue hospital food, but it wasn't ramen. When he had asked if there was any ramen they had just given him a weird look and didn't respond.
Naruto hoped that didn't mean there was no Ramen wherever he had been sent to. That would make this place hell, even if they saved his love.
Right now Naruto sat beside his fiancée's bed as he watched her slowly breathe in and out. Almost forty eight hours had passed since the two of them were first admitted into the hospital and he had to admit, the technology they had here was incredible. Some of this was definitely familiar to him, but there was simply so much more than he was used to seeing in a hospital room. It seemed that the people here made up for their lack of chakra with more advanced and complex technology. There were the usual beeps and whirls and twerps going on all over the place, soft sounds that were normally associated with hospitals he was familiar with, but some of it was definitely foreign to him. Without any medical Ninjutsu they had healed her. He had watched as tiny machines had crawled across her abdomen, repairing the tissue and rebuilding the muscles. He had no idea what they were but they were certainly fascinating to watch.
When he had first seen them they had reminded him of his friend Shino and that brought back a bad memory. Shino had been one of the first of his friends to die, sacrificing himself to buy some time for Naruto and everyone else to evacuate Konoha when Madara had come knocking with a meteor.
**** Flashback ****
Naruto and Shino clasped each other's forearms, "Shino, I didn't want to ask this of you but…" He couldn't finish that statement. Naruto had been nominated as the Hokage when the remnants of the Shinobi Alliance had fled back here for safety. With Tsunade and many of the other elites like Kakashi dead he was the only one with the charisma, strength and desire to lead Konoha. He's been forced to make some incredibly difficult decisions over the years, but asking Shino and his Genin team to misdirect Madara away from the actual escape route ranked among the top.
It was a death sentence, he was basically asking them to die so that he and the others could escape. It left a bitter taste in Naruto's mouth, even if he knew there was no other choice. Naruto turned his gaze towards the burning remnants of Konoha. The meteor hadn't left much left to burn after it had slammed into the center of the city. It made Pain's attack pale in comparison. The Hokage monument was no more, destroyed by the shockwave that had shot outwards from the impact zone of the meteor. The walls had crumbled, no building still stood in one piece and even the surrounding forest for half a mile in every direction had been flattened. The very foundation of earth that the village had sat upon had cracked and splintered. Even if the meteor was removed in the future, life would never flourish in Konoha again. No one in that ruined city still lived, and it was only a matter of time before Madara found those that fled.
There weren't very many people left, and those that were, were still needed in the ultimate plan to destroy Madara. Shino and his team were the only expendable ones left. They only survived the attack because they had just left the village on a reconnaissance mission before the meteor struck. They had hurried back but soon realized there hadn't been very much they could do. While the best of the Shinobi Alliance Remnants fought Madara, Shino and his Genin team had done what they could to evacuate the few people that hadn't been killed. The Shinobi Remnants had only fought to buy time for Naruto and the others to evacuate the last few necessary components for the plan Naruto had begun to formulate.
None of them had survived, which had left Shino and his team of Genin as the only expendable ninjas still alive.
Expendable.
That thought is what left the bitter taste in Naruto's mouth; he never wanted to view his friends as expendable. Unfortunately being Hokage didn't give him the right to value the individual over the many.
Naruto glanced over at Shino's charges, they looked scared, they hadn't even reached puberty yet being between the ages of 11 and 12. The war with Madara had forced Naruto to fast track many of the Academy students. However behind the fear in their eyes was a fire that burned bright. Despite their age the 'Will of Fire' burned fiercely within those three. They knew what was being asked of them. They were scared, but they would do their best, they would lay their lives down for their Hokage.
"It is fine Hokage. Why? Because I know of the plan, I know what it entails and I know that it does not require my abilities or services to enact. Those others that I protect by performing this final duty in service of Konoha will see to it that my sacrifice is not in vain, that my death will be avenged." Shino murmured softly. He had always been the most logical of Naruto's peers. He knew exactly why he had been asked to die, and he had accepted it. He had always been loyal to Konoha, but more importantly he was loyal to his friends and cared for them deeply. He wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice his life to save theirs, even if his Hokage hadn't asked him.
His only unfulfilled desire was to see his shy teammate finally gather the courage to ask the man she loved to be with her.
Shino turned from his Hokage and surveyed the ruined village in the distance. Shino had his bugs spread out all over the devastated village and flattened forest to monitor the movement of the enemy. The enemy was beginning to head in their direction. "Go Hokage. Why? Because if you tarry much longer my sacrifice will be naught."
Naruto sighed and nodded. "Again, I'm sorry my friend." Naruto sad sadly as he turned and jumped away through the forest. Naruto let go the tears he had been holding back. He hoped for the best, he hoped that Shino, the logical strategic thinker, had some sort of exit plan, but Naruto's heart knew the truth. He was never going to see his friend again. "May you find peace in the next life my friend, peace you were never able to find in this one." Naruto whispered as he increased his speed to quickly catch up with the others.
The sound of explosions and fighting erupted behind him, and it was all Naruto could do but simply grit his teeth and keep going.
**** End Flashback ****
Thinking back to the deaths of his friends, what he had been forced to ask of them, always brought Naruto to the verge of tears, even years later. The medical staff wasn't entirely accurate in their diagnosis. Naruto did have scars, many of them, they just weren't visible scars. There were some scars that would probably never heal. None of his friends had died easy deaths; the luckiest had simply died quickly. Others like what happened to Sakura when Sasuke caught her alone were worse.
Naruto shuddered and shook those thoughts from his mind. He had to focus on the now. He could dwell on the past later, much later.
Naruto brushed some stray locks of hair out of her eyes as he gazed at his companion softly. She had lost some of her small intestines and a portion of her stomach but it was a small price to pay for keeping her life. In all honesty she probably wouldn't even notice it. The doctors had informed him that she should soon make a full recovery and that she should be waking soon. Due to how much blood she had lost it may be several days before her full strength returned but she was no longer in any danger. Once she wakes up, and her cognitive abilities checked out, he had been informed that they would be allowed to go.
A soft 'shik' brought Naruto's attention away from his companion as the door to the room opened up. That was another technological wonder that Naruto had marvelled at when he had first arrived; doors that automatically opened as he approached them. Through the door came a single woman holding an electronic clipboard in her hand, Naruto had seen those as well after coming here. They looked just like regular clipboards back home except there was a screen on it instead of paper and could be used for so much more than simple paper could.
It was a slender woman with grey eyes and grey hair that went down to her neck. She stood about 162cm and if Naruto had to guess her weight from the sound of her footfall he'd put her between 48 and 52 kilograms. She wore black shoes with black trousers and had a medical overcoat that went down to her knees covering a white buttoned collared shirt. The entire ensemble was topped off by a brown necktie.
"Ah, good afternoon Mr. Uzumaki." The woman said as she approached the end of the bed. Naruto smiled at her lightly as he carefully watched her, he hadn't see this woman before but without any chakra he could stop her from harming his beloved, assuming she didn't get too close. "I take it my staff have been treating you and your fiancée well during your stay here?"
Oh, so that's what she was. If she was in charge of the whole place then she was indirectly responsible for saving his love. He could show her at least some courtesy and trust in that case. "Ya, I'm fine, and it's just Naruto. I've never been one for formality Mrs..."
"Sahashi, Takami Sahashi."
Naruto frowned for a moment diverting his eyes towards the ground as he entered deep thought, "Sahashi... Sahashi... where have I, OH!" Naruto remembered, that was the same last name as the young man that had helped him earlier. "Is there any relation to a Minato Sahashi?"
Takami blinked in surprise for a moment before smiling, "Yes, he's my son. When did you meet him and is he well?"
Naruto nodded, "Yes, he was the one that actually called the medics for me and got us here. I'm really grateful for his efforts. I probably would have lost her if it wasn't for him." Naruto grinned as he rubbed the back of his head. Now he had two reasons to like this woman, the mother of that young man earlier and the person in charge of the hospital. "He seemed to be doing well when we parted."
Takami smiled in relief, her job kept her from being able to see, or talk, with her son very often. It was difficult being so involved in MBI like she was, it didn't leave her with much time for her family. But she had come here for more important reasons that to talk about family. Takami cleared her throat as she looked down at the tablet in her hands. A few quick swipes of her fingers brought up what she wanted. "Alright, first order of business. There are several things that need to be taken care of. First of all we need to finish filling out your fiancée's medical record. I know it's been a hectic and frantic past two days for you, everything considered, but we never actually got her name when you arrived." Takami said as she waved her hand at the person in the bed.
"Oh!" Naruto said in surprise, he had completely forgotten about that as well. "Ah, sorry, my bad, I didn't mean to keep it from you, it's just that when I get focused on something I tend to forget everything else." Naruto apologized, he really hadn't meant to keep it from them for so long, it just didn't seem like a very pressing topic at any point in time, and no one had asked. "She's my fiancée, and only because the papers to have us married got burned before they could be officially accepted." Burned was putting it lightly. Probably shouldn't mention that the papers had burned when Madara had incinerated his envoy to the fire capital. While most people could get away with an ad hoc marriage. However the heiress to a powerful clan, well what remained of it anyways, getting married to the Hokage? That required something a bit more than just signing papers and submitting them to the local corner store. "Her name is Hanabi Hyuga-Uzumaki and she means everything to me." Despite not having been officially recognized as an Uzumaki, Hanabi had decided to take his surname along with her own. It was her way of meeting halfway until they could be officially recognized as a married couple.
She was a stickler for custom in certain areas.
Takami's pressed the clipboard tablet to her stomach with her left hand as her right danced over the screen. "Hanabi Hyuga-Uzumaki. I'm assuming that her maiden name is Hyuga and she obtained the Uzumaki name from you correct?" Naruto nodded in confirmation. "Good, alright, the medical record is now complete." Takami said as she hit the finish button and updated the medical records. There was a little ding and a smiley face holding up two fingers in a peace sign appeared on the screen signalling the process had been completed successfully. "Now for another matter we need to take care of: payment."
Naruto tilted his head and frowned. In Konoha the hospital had been free, at least for him. He never had to pay for anything. In the beginning Hiruzen had taken care of the expenses. Later on when he became a shinobi, it was free since he risked his life for the village. And after he had become Hokage, well, everything was free for him then. Naruto had to remember though, he wasn't the Hokage anymore. He was in a strange foreign land; it only made sense that he would have to start paying for things he had been used to getting for free.
"Is there some sort of favor or task I can do for you or the hospital?" Naruto asked, "Instead of cash payment I mean." He had no money, there was no way he'd be able to afford all the luxurious services that had been rendered for him and Hanabi.
Takami just shook her head, "No, no services per-say but... I am aware of your situation and your lack of, funds. The fact that neither of you don't appear in any of our databases is very perplexing as it has a complete profile of everyone that has ever entered, left, or lived within the borders of Japan. How you two managed to get here is a mystery, one we would very much like to learn. Our security could be, compromised, if your method of entry got out." If there was a security gap big enough for the two of them, three if one included the mangled corpse in the alley that MBI had recovered, then this was something they definitely needed to be informed about. They couldn't initiate the second phase of their plan successfully with a hole that large in their surveillance.
Naruto grimaced, he'd love to be able to tell her how he got here, but he honestly didn't know himself. He wasn't about to spill any of his secrets, especially not the sealing array he had created. If there was one thing Naruto had learned over the years, it was that when secrets got out, people died. However he could offer one thing, some assurance that his arrival wasn't really a repeatable occurrence. "I do not know exactly 'how' I ended up where I did, I was supposed to be elsewhere." Technically not a lie, but he was bending the truth almost to its breaking point there. "But I can tell you this, the method that I used is unique to myself alone, and it took years to put it into motion." He didn't need to mention that five of those years were research and that if he needed to he could have it set up again in months. "It's not something you need to worry about anyone or anything else abusing." That was true, it was something unique to him, no one else had even a clue how the key scroll worked. "Hanabi arrived with me only because I deliberately included her in the process."
Takami nodded as she sat down in one of the chairs against the wall and thought to herself for a moment. Takami could tell when someone was lying, and she knew that Naruto was being truthful. However she could also tell that he was deliberately leaving things out. No matter, he would simply have to be watched.
Takami turned her head and stared at Naruto. "Well, if you won't tell me how you got here, we'll have to find some other way of paying us for these hospital expenses. Those nano-machines are not cheap to employ and must be disposed of after each use." Takami tapped her tablet against her cheek for a moment. "I noticed something very interesting while analyzing Hanabi's blood earlier." Naruto tensed for a moment wondering if he was going to have to kill the woman across the room. He didn't want to, but he wouldn't let his love become someone's experiment. "If we could do some more thorough testing on her we could call us even. She is remarkably similar to certain... individuals that I am in association with."
"No."
"Ah but you don't seem to..."
"NO!" Naruto growled as some of Kurama's killing intent leaked out, startling Takami. If she hadn't know better she would have thought she was sitting across from a male Karasuba. She could have sworn, it was just for a moment, but the man's eyes across from her had changed. It had been too quick to determine how, but they had.
There was no way that Naruto would let anyone experiment on Hanabi. He'd raze the city to the ground before he let that happened. Flashes of experiments that Orochimaru and Kabuto had put people through zipped through Naruto's head. He would never allow someone he cared about to go through that kind of nightmare.
Naruto calmed down before wiping a hand across his hair and shading his eyes with the other. "I'm sorry for that outburst, the people here have been nothing but kind and generous since I've arrived." He apologized to Takami, he really was sorry, but he still wasn't going to give into her desire. "It's not that I object to aiding you, it's just I've had some bad experiences in the past with people I've cared about being turned into test subjects by some twisted and deranged individuals. Just the thought of anyone I care about going through testing..." Naruto let out a ragged breath as memories of the horrible test labs that Orochimaru and Kabuto had used flashed through his mind. "I'm sorry."
Takami nodded, it seemed certain words set off the individual sitting before her. She would have to choose her words carefully in the future. "Well, there is one final option. You." Naruto moved his hand away from his eyes and stared at Takami with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.
"I'm not..."
Takami held her hand up, "No, don't get me wrong, I don't want to put you through testing. I'd just like a couple pints of blood from you, that's all. Your blood, from the little testing we were able to do, is incredible." Naruto had an idea of where this was going, it had to do with his Uzumaki bloodline. If all she wanted was a few pints of blood from him, than he wasn't going to object. It's not like he hadn't given it away before. "It appears to have incredible healing capabilities, able to resist even the most debilitating poisons and diseases. It heals and replicates itself faster than anything I've ever seen and most importantly the wear and tear on the cells when they replicate is much less than normal. A few pints of your blood would go a long way to pushing our medical technology to the next level. All our advances have been in inorganic treatments like nano-machines but your blood may be the key to advancing our organic treatments."
Naruto couldn't help but let out a small smile. Takami looked so animated when she talked about his blood. Almost like a little kid in a candy store. If all he had to do was give up a few pints of blood, blood that would be replenished before the day was over, to pay for all the medical services that he and Hanabi had received, well Naruto felt that it was a fair trade. He also felt that he owed Takami a little since he gave her such a start earlier, although he was impressed at how well a civilian managed to handle Kurama's killing intent.
"Alright, I can live with that." Naruto said with a smile as turned his arm over to point the crook of the elbow up. "Where do you want to hook me up so we can get do this?"
Takami smiled happily as she stood. Truth be told she knew Naruto would decline her first two suggestions of repayment. If he was a spy, there's no way he'd consider giving up his method of entry. And considering how protective he had been of Hanabi she knew that Naruto would violently reject any proposal that involved a sacrifice on her part.
What she was really after was Naruto's blood. The secret of immortality, or at the very least incredible longevity, lay within there. The amount of money, power and influence MBI could command across the world with that secret would be astounding. Naruto had no idea how valuable he truly was and Takami would damn herself long before she gave him up. She needed his blood if she was going to earn enough money to cover the expenses this damnable plan of Minaka's. Despite the earnings from selling the results of the over-technology MBI was bleeding money faster than it made.
"Thank you." Takami said as she beckoned Naruto to follow her, "This won't take very long."
Takami led Naruto into the next room and had him lay down on the bed in there. Soon after some nurses arrived and began to hook his arm up to some machine that appeared to draw the blood from his arm. It was kind of interesting to watch the bag of blood slowly fill up. The small pinprick he felt when the needle went in was barely noticeable. Takami had been right though, it didn't take very long at all. Within thirty minutes two bags of blood had been filled out and the nurses were once again at his side unhooking him from the machine.
On the way back to Hanabi's room Takami held up what appeared to be a gray and gold plastic card with the letters M.B.I. on the front and a black strip on the back. "Here, you can have this as well." Takami said as she held the card out towards Naruto.
Naruto tentatively took the card from the woman and looked at it questionably. "What is this exactly?"
Takami looked startled for a moment before deciding to humor Naruto. "It's an MBI card, a credit card. It can be used to purchase anything, well anything within reason, while you're within the confines of the city." She explained, what she didn't mention was that the card had an embedded tracking device and the receipt of every purchase that was made was sent directly to MBI headquarters. Takami was serious when she said she wasn't going to let Naruto go. She may have gotten some pints of blood from him but she wasn't satisfied with just that.
"I can't take this." Naruto said quickly as he tried to hand the card back, "It's too valuable, I haven't done anything to earn something like this." It was also rather suspicious. There was no way someone like Takami would just give him a card that would let him buy anything and everything without there being some sort of catch. Naruto wasn't about to be roped into a contract or deal that he would have to break in the future.
"Don't worry about it." Takami said as she waved her hands in front of Naruto, she was going to have to be a little upfront if she wanted him to take the card. "Truth be told your blood is worth far more than the little bit of medical treatment we gave your soon-to-be wife. Consider it me paying you back now without having to deal with royalties later." She didn't want Naruto to come back in the future and demand some of the profits that were built off his blood.
Naruto mused that over with in his head for a bit. He wasn't quite sure what she meant by royalties but what she said did make a certain kind of sense. He didn't know how much his blood was worth wherever he was now but bloodlines, even minor ones, were always sought after back in the Elemental Nations. "Alright, I accept." Naruto said with a smile as he pocketed the card into one his many holders. Takami almost sighed with relief. "But now I'd like to return to Hanabi's side." Naruto said as he headed for the door to his beloved's hospital room. Naruto would keep the card for now, he had no way of purchasing anything anyways and the card solved that one distressing problem. He wasn't going to keep it however. Once he or Hanabi had obtained a job in the city that could support them he was going to destroy the card and all evidence it had existed.
Perhaps he could even do some buying and selling at MBI's expense.
"That's fine; your fiancée is free to stay until she feels she is healthy enough to leave. Consider any and all future expenses at this hospital paid for." Takami turned and left the area. She had much research to conduct.
When Naruto entered the room he was treated to a pleasant surprise. Hanabi's eyes were open and she was turning her head back and forth weakly as she looked around the room. With a cry of joy Naruto rushed over to the bed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders gently. "You're awake; thank the Log that you're awake." Naruto whispered softly as he nuzzled her hair.
Hanabi blushed lightly and let her head rest in Naruto's arms, "Ano…" She started shyly, "Where are we? This place doesn't look or sound like anywhere I'm familiar with." She looked tilted her head and looked into Naruto's eyes, their noses touching. Hanabi had been scared when she had woken up alone in the room. She was used to having Naruto's familiar presence around her all the time but she couldn't seem to be able to sense him or see him. Even now she could barely feel his chakra. However Hanabi wasn't a trained shinobi for nothing. Instead of panicking Hanabi had been trying to get a feel for where she was ever since she woke up but nothing seemed familiar. About all she had been able to deduce was that she was in a hospital room in a strange city that was somewhere.
Naruto smiled at her gently and gave her a kiss on the lips. Hanabi blush intensified but she returned the kiss with equal intensity. "That's an interesting story, let me start at the beginning…" Naruto started as he broke away.
Naruto spent the rest of the day explaining everything that had happened after Hanabi had lost consciousness. Neither of them paid much attention to anything save the other for the rest of the day.
It was almost a week later before Hanabi and Naruto finally left the hospital. Hanabi had been well enough to stand by the next day but even a few minutes of walking had exhausted her. Naruto never left he side the entire time. He even stayed past visiting hours. The hospital staff had tried to kick him out the first night but after what happened to the nurse that had tried that, no one had dared to kick him out again.
The nurse still couldn't get her hair color to go back to the way it was.
It also helped that Takami had said that he was allowed to stay, something about being a special case.
Thankfully Hanabi didn't need a new outfit, it had been washed just like Naruto's and had been available once she was able to dress herself, although Naruto had insisted on doing that for her. He always seemed to enjoy dressing her up. Hanabi wasn't sure if he was just trying to be nice or if it was his inner pervert that wanted an additional excuse to touch her. Ultimately it didn't matter to her in the end; it wasn't as if she disliked being touched by him. It was nice to be fawned over by the man you love, regardless of the reason.
By the fifth day after Hanabi had awoken she had been able to almost function like a normal human being. She could walk the whole length of the hospital without needing to rest, although it did take a toll on her stamina. That was something she would have to rebuild. The two of them became familiar with many of the hospital staff as they called out when they passed each other in the halls.
It was on the sixth day that Hanabi and Naruto had come to a startling, and frightening, realization. Hanabi couldn't mould her chakra anymore. Sasuke's attack had destroyed one of her celestial gates beyond repair and since no one in this new world they were in even knew what the celestial gates were, let alone how to repair them, it was a lost cause. In addition the lightning elemental chakra in the attack had ruined a significant portion of her coils. Hanabi's elemental affinity was earth, which was weak to lightning. When you coupled that with the power of the attack and where it had struck, it had destroyed all the coils around where the Gate of View should have been. Even the adjacent gates had been damaged slightly due to the feedback from the lightning attack. Her chakra no longer flowed through her body smoothly like it did before. The mind had subconsciously stopped funnelling chakra through Hanabi's body so that the damage done wouldn't get any worse. Only enough was provided so that Hanabi could live.
When Hanabi had found out she became an emotional wreck. She couldn't use her Gentle Fist Taijutsu; all of her techniques had become useless. She couldn't even use her Byakugan anymore. She had lost all of her shinobi abilities. She was now nothing more than a stronger than average civilian. Hanabi wasn't in any emotional condition to leave the hospital so the two of them had spent the rest of the day in each other's arms as Naruto did his best to comfort his love. It wasn't until around midnight that she finally fell asleep, completely emotionally spent.
The following day was when they finally checked out of the hospital. Hanabi was still feeling under the weather due to the revelation from the day before but she was a Kunoichi, even if she no longer had the ability to mould chakra. Rock Lee had still led a successful career even with under developed chakra coils.
Naruto stretched his arms as he walked out of the sliding front doors of the hospital, Hanabi at his side. He grunted as small pops and cracks resounded. "It feels good to be outdoors again. I hate hospitals." Naruto said with relief as he took a deep breath of fresh air.
"I can't say I'm particularly fond of them either." Hanabi poked her fingers together as she looked up at Naruto, "Ano, have you decided on… on where to go from here?"
"Nope!"
A large sweat drop appeared behind Hanabi's head and it slowly slide down her back. "Why am I not surprised?" She muttered under her breath. She should have guessed, unless it was life threatening, or something to do with her well being, Naruto never really put much thought into things. Even now he tended to just wing it when it came to every day life.
"What was not?"
"Nothing love, nothing at all." Hanabi replied with a smile as she linked her right arm through Naruto's left. There hadn't been a whole lot of time to be intimate with her love when they had been in the Elemental Nations. Everyone was on edge every second of every day. No on really let their guard down for a second, knowing to do so would be the last second they lived.
Even though she and Naruto were together, they had never actually 'been' together. The act simply left one too spent and vulnerable to react should the worst occur. Since she and Naruto were the two most critical pieces of the plan to destroy Madara, they were the only two that never really had the ability to relax and just enjoy what time they had left.
And as much as she hated to admit it, their ever constant vigilance was one of the reasons they had survived the final attack by Madara.
The other reason was the sacrifice their friends made to ensure their escape.
"Well… we need a place to stay." Hanabi said thoughtfully as her gaze slowly drifted to the ground in front of her. "And some clothing, we can't keep wearing what we brought from our old home. We stand out too much." Naruto nodded, it made sense. Hanabi was always so thoughtful. Naruto personally didn't have any problems with his own clothing or what others thought of it, but then again he knew not everyone shared his opinion of orange being the chosen color of God.
Naruto's stomach growled loudly startling the two. He scratched the back of his head with his free hand and chuckled sheepishly. "I don't suppose you're up for some non-hospital food first before we actually start working on all that stuff."
Hanabi smiled as she patted Naruto's stomach. Naruto was always hungry, but she had to admit she was dying for something other than that crap they fed you in hospitals. "That's not a bad idea, no ramen though."
"What?! No Ramen! But…"
"Naruto…" The look in Hanabi's eye started to change as she glared at Naruto. "I just got out of the hospital, I need 'real' food, not ramen."
"Alright, alright, no ramen." Naruto muttered, sometimes Hanabi could be really scary.
Author's Notes: No action in this chapter unfortunately. There will be some in the next however. This chapter was designed to help build the foundation of the story. There is definitely some foreshadowing in this chapter.
Just some fore warning. I will be following canon Sekirei for the most part. Most of the major events that happened in Sekirei will happen here, the only difference is that the outcome of each major event will change, sometimes quite a bit. Heck, even their initiation may have a different cause than before. Anyways, almost every major event will occur again in this story but how they start, how they progress and how they end can, and more than likely will, be different. Earlier events will be more similar than later events as the changes to the outcomes have ripple effects. I also reserve the right to change the above statement at any time should the story go off in a different direction than canon ^_^.
Also, I'm following the manga, not the anime, this doesn't change much except that the ending of the second season of the Sekirei anime essentially doesn't happen.
Please review if you can, I'd love to have comments, even negative ones provided they're not pure flames. People get better by making mistakes and having them pointed out so we can correct them. Of course that doesn't mean you have to be critical, just if you notice something in the process of reading the chapter, let me know.
One thing I'm not entirely sure on is the chakra circulatory system. I don't think it was EVER properly explained in Naruto, and some of the things done in the show contradict what information there was provided for it. I basically needed the damage done by Sasuke to be critical enough that Hanabi can't use her chakra anymore and I just hoped I created a logical enough reason for it.