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.
I'm back. Didn't need 3 weeks this time. I managed to re-write everything I lost and finish the chapter I was working on. I didn't get to the point I wanted to but I didn't feel like delaying any longer. Anyways due to this the next chapter will be delayed as well. I felt two 2 week intervals were better than a three week span followed by the regular schedule. Expect the next chapter on Christmas ^_^.
The hardest parts for me to write are filler. I know the key scenes I want and how to play them out and how to connect them, but filling the gaps inbetween and not making it feel rushed is the most difficult aspect of writing for me.
Review Responses: Many people have wondered whether or not Hanabi is a Sekirei. The easy answer is yes and no. Much like how Miya is MORE than a regular Sekirei (with her having the only complete crest) Hanabi is ALSO more than a regular Sekirei, although in a different manner. She 'is' considered one, but she is more than just that. That much is obvious though since she was a Shinobi prior to getting a Sekirei tama. Side note is that neither Hanabi nor Naruto will realize she's a Sekirei until much later. They don't have an actual 'definition' as to what makes someone a Sekirei and until they get that revelation they won't put two and two together. A Sekirei is too much of an 'alien' concept for them to grasp yet *chuckle*.
Some have disliked how Naruto handled Yashima. But look at it from his point of view. There's a massive chakra spike by his fiancée. He teleports to her just in time to witness someone swinging a huge ass hammer meant to harm, if not kill, the only person he has left in the world. Do you THINK he's just going to sit around and go "Ho hum, I guess this is all a big misunderstanding." Hell no. He's going to kick ass and he won't care about names. We know she's got no choice and just following orders, but he doesn't. He acted on what little information he had.
Hanabi can't be tracked. The tracking device is physical, what got transferred from Yashima to Hanabi was pure energy.
And yes, it had to be Yashima. I didn't choose her because of Junichi, I choose her because it's her. I've already given away too much by saying that so no more on that bit.
Yashima's consciousness was transferred with the chakra, but only a small portion of it, like faint feelings and impressions. It wasn't a true transfer, but a forced transfer, so it differs slightly from Yume's. That and Hanabi's personality is far more developed and dominate than Musubi's, in addition Hanabi didn't start as a Sekirei either. What this boils down to is this: The consciousness was transferred but it was quickly smothered and replaced by Hanabi's subconscious.
And finally, I kind of wish I could have dragged out Hanabi's chakra loss, I really do, but it wasn't meant to be dragged out as drama. It was meant to be used as a tool for her to get a Sekirei Tama placed inside her, nothing more. Plus there wasn't much more I could add into the story to drag it out prior to canon since she needed her chakra back by the start of it. I suppose I could have made up some random side story but it wouldn't have had any meaningful contribution to the plot. It'd be filler and I dislike filler. I have an even harder time writing it.
Chapter 3: The Shrine Maiden
"What the hell is that?" Naruto questioned incredulously as he pointed at Kurama's new accessory. He didn't know what it was but seeing what it was just blew Naruto's mind. It was so ludicrous that he was on the verge of breaking out into laughter.
"Oh shut up you fool, you think I went to one of those bargain-bins your mate loves so much and just picked this up for a few yen?" Kurama growled in annoyance as he batted 'it' away, only for it to gently float back again.
"I don't know, maybe you're learning how to get in touch with your feminine side?" Naruto inquired and then quickly had to dodge a massive paw strike. The ground shook Kurama narrowly missed Naruto. He hadn't actually been trying to hit, but it was a warning. Naruto hadn't been here for months, there hadn't been any need, so he was pretty surprised to see that Kurama had decided to... accessorize.
"Be serious, this is your mindscape we're inside. Just because it's following ME around doesn't mean it's not also inside YOUR mind." Naruto quickly lost his smile as he thought about that. Unknown intrusions inside one's mind usually spelled death, or mental compromise, where he came from. "Besides..." Kurama drawled on as he smirked at Naruto, "You have one too." The giant fox nodded to a point behind Naruto.
"Wait what?" Naruto yelled as he twisted his head around to look behind and sure enough, right there shyly peaking over his shoulder was a smaller version of the one floating around Kurama. "Oh what the hell..." Naruto took some calm, deep breaths. He couldn't go into Hokage mode again tonight to figure this out, not that he'd use it on anything other than life or death situations, but he could still handle this.
I mean, it couldn't be THAT hard to explain why a couple of soft looking glowing balls of energy were hovering and floating around them like a fancy new accessory right? His was a soft baby blue color and Kurama's was more silver.
Naruto settled down and began to analyze... "Already did that kit, the spheres are connected. Mine seems connected to yours, and yours seems to be connected to something outside of your mind." Kurama explained, hoping to save Naruto some time. That part had been easy for the ancient demon to figure out. It was figuring out just who, or what, Naruto's new little mindscape friend was attached to, hence the urgency of calling Naruto here.
If an enemy had an inside route to the deepest parts of Naruto's mind and a direct connection to him. Then could be in some deep shit unless Naruto figured this out.
"When did you first get that new accessory of yours?" Naruto asked curiously as he walked from side to side trying to peer into Kurama's new friend. It seemed to be constantly shifting, like a liquid constantly in motion except it was solid. Even the color seemed to change slightly but it always kept its silver look.
Kurama tried to smack the orb with a tail only to have it weave around it. The nine-tailed fox growled in annoyance again. "I've had mine for a little over two months, ever since our little jaunt through existence. It was never this active though, and it was never connected to anything prior to today. I was content to take my time to figure out what it was until it suddenly connected with something outside."
"And hence you butting in on my time with Hanabi." Naruto said as he nodded his head thoughtfully.
"You can make babies later." Naruto blushed a little at the vulgarity. "This is more important."
As much as Naruto hated to admit it Kurama was right. This was serious. There was something floating in his mind that neither he nor Kurama had any control over. This really was something that required his full attention. Unfortunately…
"Nope, haven't got a clue." Naruto said after a few moments of deliberation. Kurama would have face faulted if his pride had let him, as it is a giant sweat drop still rolled down the back of his head. To be entirely honest Naruto was just way too tired to be thinking about difficult things like this. "I don't sense any malice coming from my orb. It seems adoring, loving and almost shy." Naruto said as he lightly poked the orb causing it to take on a pinkish tinge, "Definitely shy."
"Well since you're not going to solve this riddle I will." Kurama growled as he turned back to glare at the little orb floating around him. It really felt as if it was a living a creature, one that enjoyed taunting him. That irked Kurama more than anything; he did the taunting, not the other way around.
"You do that old friend, let me know if you discover anything." Naruto smiled as he waved goodbye to Kurama and faded from the mindscape.
x~X~x
**** Dream Sequence ****
She hurried after the Hokage as they rushed to the medical ward of the underground shelter. The Hokage, Naruto, had been in meetings with his top officers Shikamaru Nara and Neji Hyuga when the word had arrived.
Sakura had returned.
One of the scouting parties had found her deep in the forest. She had been sent out to find herbs vital to treating the wounded soldiers after the chakra had done its part. Chakra could mend cuts, and repair muscle, but it couldn't replenish what was lost. The fact that it had been reported that she was found, and not that she found them, was never a good thing. Sakura and Shizune were the last of the medical shinobi they had on staff. The loss of Sakura would mean a crippling blow to their war efforts. It would basically cut their ability to heal wounded shinobi in half. People that would have normally been saved would be lost.
There weren't many people in the tunnels as the four of them, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji and Lotus made their way to the medical ward. In the beginning the underground headquarters had been bustling with people: Shinobi, doctors, blacksmiths and others, but not anymore. Some had left, afraid that the hidden shelter would be discovered sooner rather than later. Most had been killed, either on supply runs or out on missions given to them by the Hokage. The underground shelter now only held a third of its capacity, a testament to how harsh this war had been on them. It couldn't go on for much longer otherwise they'd lose their ability to effectively complete their ultimate goal.
It only took a couple minutes; the shelter was very compact to avoid detection, to reach the room that held Sakura. Naruto stormed through the doors, not even bothering to knock, and she heard him suck in his breath as his eyes beheld Sakura. She heard Shikamaru mutter 'troublesome...' under his breath as he entered the room and Neji became even more silent than normal, his mouth pursed as if he had swallowed something bitter.
It was easy to see why once she caught sight of Sakura laid sprawled out on the medical bed. The smell was bad, but the sight was even worse.
She was alive.
But that was where the good news ended. Her right arm appeared to be broken in three places while her left was missing entirely. Her knee caps had been shattered as well effectively ruining her career as a shinobi. Shizune was skilled, but she was no Tsunade, she'd make it so Sakura could walk again, but she'd never recover enough for shinobi duties. But more than that the smell that hit her when she had arrived had a source. It still dripped from between her legs.
A woman's worst nightmare.
Shizune had more important things to deal with than cleaning Sakura up, like saving her life. She had lost a lot of blood and it was taking everything Shizune had to make sure she didn't lose anymore as she closed up the worst of Sakura's wounds.
"Damnit!" She heard her Hokage swear as he turned and slammed his fist into the wall. "I always told her to take an escort but she never listened. Damnit." More curse words filled the air as her master berated himself for not being more insistent that Sakura have an escort. He always seemed to take every death personally, as if every time someone died it was because he had made a mistake.
"Don't beat yourself up over this." She watched, her eyes narrowed as Neji placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. She was always watching for any sign of harm towards her master, even from her allies. There was no telling if a spy had infiltrated and was impersonating one of them.
She wouldn't let her guard down, not after what happened with Darui and Tenten. Her father's death started her down this path she now walked, it was because of her sister's death that she became as strong as she was, but it was because of 'that' incident that she had become what she was today. She refused to let her vigilance drop; she had gone so far as to even throw away her humanity to ensure that. Anyone could be an assassin; some wouldn't even know they were until after they had killed.
"Until we know what happened to Sakura there's no way to figure out whether or not an escort would have even mattered." Shikamaru said as he analyzed Sakura's body dispassionately. A cool head was what they needed right now. "I'll go question those that found her, see if they found anything at the scene that may help indicate who or what did this to Sakura." Shikamaru turned and left the medical room and headed towards the debriefing room to question the scouting party.
Her Hokage turned away from the wall and glanced at Shizune tiredly. It was times like this that the weight of command really seemed to weigh her master down. The Kyubi kept his body young and healthy, but his eyes looked really old as he addressed Shizune. "Please be honest Shizune, how bad is it?"
Shizune glanced up at Naruto quickly before turning her gaze back to her patient. She sighed, "I'll be honest, I can save her life... but I'm not sure how much more than that I can give you. The damage to her knees is beyond what I can heal. If Tsunade was still alive..." Shizune grimaced as she swallowed a lump in her throat. Lotus could tell Shizune dearly missed her master. "She'll be able to walk, but not without a pronounced limp. I'm sorry to say her days as a shinobi are over. With only one arm her ability to use medical techniques are limited, but still there. What bothers me the most however is the psychological damage done to her. If all we had to worry about was physical damage then I would be happy that she survived but... whatever was done to her, it broke her mind."
"Mmmm... Sasuke..." Sakura moaned suddenly, uttering her first words since arriving.
Naruto blanched as did everyone else in the room. Sakura wasn't a slouch when it came to being a Shinobi. Considering who was left Naruto could count on one hand the number of enemies that could possibly over power Sakura.
And only one had a powerful enough Genjutsu that they could break someone's mind. Sakura was a ninja through and through, she had had to live through worse things than rape in the past. She had personally DONE worse things than that in the early days after Konoha had been destroyed.
Konoha's destruction had left a deep scar on all of the survivors.
Lotus blushed and looked at her feet shyly suddenly all warm and tingly inside. It was an odd feeling.
She blinked and looked up again, she wasn't in the medical ward anymore. She was standing beside her Hokage as he stared into the lounge, his left hand was gripping the doorframe tightly. Sakura was seated on one of the couches as she chatted happily away with 'Ino-pig' as she called her about how she was going to win Sasuke's heart. The lounge was one of two areas where shinobi could go to relax, it had a pool table, some card tables, several couches and two coffee makers and some mugs placed on a counter along the far wall. Space was at a premium so not a lot of room had been allocated for luxury.
Her eyes narrowed and she prepared herself to spring into action as one of the shinobi responsible for guarding, and keeping concealed, the only entry into the shelter approached Naruto. If an enemy was going to infiltrate the guards at the entrance were the weakest links.
The man kneeled before Naruto as he prepared to give his report. She kept her eye on his hands and feet just in case he decided to spring a surprise attack, "We found her this morning wandering the woods a few miles away from the entrance. It seemed she slipped out at night and had spent most of the time looking for her 'Sasuke-kun'. When I discovered her outside without permission I knocked her out and brought her here. I'm sorry about the lack guard, despite her mental degradation her body still remembers how to move like a shinobi." The man seemed genuinely apologetic but emotions could be faked.
Naruto's lips thinned as he squeezed them together. His grip on the door frame strength to the point where his fingers actually dug into the stone. Lotus knew he had already read the report, she was there at his side when it had arrived. Naruto had said he wanted to see Sakura for himself and hear the report from the man who wrote it before coming to a decision.
And then Naruto entered 'that' mode. Lotus knew of it immediately, everyone did. Only minute changes were noticeable in her Hokage when it happened, but the presence he exuded changed completely. She couldn't help but straightened herself even more in that presence. The man kneeling on the ground stilled and held his breath, it was a difficult pressure to adjust to if one wasn't used to it. Even Ino noticed the change and looked up at Naruto, a look of hopelessness and sorrow evident in her eyes.
"Lotus." She turned her head a touch to regard her master. "Do it."
"As you wish Hokage-sama." She responded emotionlessly. She bowed her head slightly as she saluted her Hokage with a fist over her heart. She didn't need instructions. She knew this day was coming from the moment they realized Sakura's mind had regressed to a time before she was a Genin, a time before she had entered the shinobi world.
Lotus entered the lounge and padded silently towards Sakura. If Ino noticed she didn't give any indication. She wouldn't either, she was going to keep Sakura distracted until it was over, keep her company and be there for her until the very end.
She stopped just behind Sakura on the other side of the couch. Her presence concealed completely concealed. Most people probably wouldn't have noticed her had they been staring directly at her. It was an art she had perfected for her Hokage with the help of her ANBU mentor. To be at his side at all times but to never be noticed. It was the art of misdirection, the art of making everything else around seem more important, more interesting, more pressing, than oneself.
She placed her open palm on the back of the couch, straight across from Sakura's heart. For all the services that Sakura had rendered them over the years, the best thing she could do to repay her was to offer her a quick demise. Due to no intention of her own she had become a threat to their safety. They couldn't have her wandering off or getting in their way during critical moments, and they didn't have the resources to feed and take care of a useless individual. You pulled your weight, or you left and Sakura was no longer capable of living on her own or pulling her own weight.
Everyone Hyuga had one unique aspect to their bloodline. Hinata had been able to seen obscenely far distances. Neji had completely erased his blind spot. Lotus however, she was able to project chakra far further, and far more concentrated, that any other Hyuga before her. She was at the point where she could extend it two feet outwards. It made her Kaiten especially devastating giving it range and strength beyond normal. Although she couldn't do it yet Lotus figured she'd soon be able to fire spikes of pure chakra at range.
Lotus flared her chakra through the palm of her hand and the deed was done. The chakra spike ripped through the couch and Sakura's heart with equal ease. Sakura jerked in surprise as she stared at her chest for a moment before her lips turned up. She smiled, her first real smile since the incident two months prior, as she let lose one last shuddering breath and died.
All Lotus could hear as she returned to her masters side was Ino's chest wracking sobs as she mourned the death of her oldest friend.
**** End of Dream Sequence ****
Hanabi started awake and blinked her eyes slowly. At first she didn't understand, why was there a ceiling fan above her? And whatever she was on was far softer than anything they had in the shelter. She brought her right hand up to her face and brushed her hair out of the way. She heard gentle breathing beside her and she immediately went on guard. She slowly turned her head and...
Oh, she remembered now. She wasn't in the shelter anymore. She wasn't Lotus anymore. She wasn't even in the Elemental Nations. She was in her bed in the condominium she and her love, Naruto, had bought in Shinto Teito. Said person had his arms wrapped tightly around her chest as he hugged her close. The event of the night past must have awakened an old memory of hers. The similarities making her mind replay that horrible past event. Of all the tasks she had done in the service of her Hokage, that had been one of the worst.
Hanabi shook those thoughts from her mind. She decided to focus on something else, like the soft breathing of the man she loved. She smiled softly as she closed her eyes. Judging by what she could feel Naruto was down to just his boxers and she was in nothing more than the black sheer nightgown she had bought from Victoria's Secret. Naruto must have taken the time to change her clothing. She blushed lightly at that thought.
Now that she thought about it she must have fallen asleep when Naruto had gone to speak with Kurama. He had taken her to their room and put her to bed before joining her. She relax and enjoyed the feeling. Here she could be Hanabi, here she could relax, here she didn't need to be on her guard twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Sure there were problems, but compared to the constant threat of danger they were used to back in the Elemental Nations, this was heavenly.
She placed her free hand over the arm draped on her chest and slowly drifted off to sleep. It was still early and she could use more sleep.
x~X~x
The next day found Naruto and Hanabi strolling down the streets of Shinto Teito. They had a purpose today unlike the past two months where they had spent most of the time familiarizing themselves with the city.
Over the course of the past two months they had staked out various locations and knew the best paths to take to get through the city fast. This included skyline routes that had them move from rooftop to rooftop that emphasized speed and ground level routes if they wanted to avoid prying eyes. They also took note of four zones they had dubbed 'safe zones' should their condo ever get attacked. There was one in each cardinal direction of the city with the northern area being determined as the safest since everything within a 15 kilometre radius around a certain 'Izumo Inn' appears to be completely crime free, and most important, had the least amount of surveillance coverage by MBI.
It was almost as if MBI was hesitant to pry too deeply into that part of the city.
It wasn't that Naruto and Hanabi were ungrateful for what the company had done for them, on the contrary they were very grateful. The MBI card just seemed way to convenient for two the experienced shinobi to accept without any suspicion. They were used to expecting betrayal at any time from any direction.
When the two of them had woken up they had washed, changed and had breakfast; which had consisted of bacon, eggs and some buttered toast on the side. Naruto was a good cook having spent the majority of his life living alone. He may have eaten ramen most of the time, but it simply wasn't a feasible meal to have every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner so he had learned to make himself a variety of different simple dishes. After breakfast the two had decided to head out into the city.
"We need to find jobs." Hanabi said as they slowly made their way down the streets. They couldn't rely on MBI forever and their resume was rather... limited to say the least. Having "Professional Shinobi" along with all the ways they knew how to kill someone would hardly open up very many doors.
At least not any doors that they particularly had any desire to walk through. The yakuza bosses and gang leaders would no doubt love their unique pallet of abilities but they had just left one war and didn't particularly feel like becoming part of another any time soon as the various yakuza fought over territory. That left the low level jobs that anyone with a pretty face or some muscles could accomplish such as construction work or being a waitress.
"It can't be that hard to find one." Naruto said as he looked around for signs that would indicate that particular store was hiring staff. He figured there were always the little jobs waiting to be done by anyone with the desire to do so. Much like how D-Rank missions back home had been an annoyance, but necessary, there had to be similar type jobs here that no one wanted to do, but that needed to be done anyways.
"Ah! Naruto-san!" A familiar voice called out. Naruto couldn't quite place a name to the voice until he turned around and saw a familiar black haired teen jogging towards him. "It's good to see you again." Minato said as he stopped just in front of Naruto.
"Minato!" Naruto cried out and joy and patted the teen on the shoulders with both hands. Despite limiting his strength he still nearly drove the poor boy to his knees. "I really need to thank you again for your quick action that day." Naruto smiled and turned a little, opening his left hand towards Hanabi. "She made a complete recovery thanks to your aid."
No need to tell him it hadn't been complete until last night, but Minato didn't need to know that. He had been instrumental in saving Hanabi's life and that's all that mattered.
Hanabi nodded her head and smiled, "I should thank you as well. Naruto told me about how you helped him. From the sounds of it I owe my being alive to you. Thank you." Hanabi said politely. She didn't know Minato any better than anyone else on the street but courtesy never really cost her anything.
Well nothing except cinnamon buns, but there weren't any here and she wasn't going to make that mistake again.
"Err... you're welcome. I only did what anyone else would have done in that situation." Minato replied with a slight blush. It wasn't every day that a beautiful woman spoke to him so politely. His sister and mother were both... very unique. He didn't have very many friends, and certainly no female ones.
"So how have you been lately?" Naruto asked, honestly curious as to how the young man had been doing. They had parted ways under rather hectic situations and Naruto, to be entirely honest, had completely forgotten about the teen. He decided to keep that fact to himself so as to not hurt Minato's feelings.
"Ah..." Minato hesitated, he wasn't sure he wanted to answer that honestly. It was kind of embarrassing to say that he had failed the entrance exam to his chosen university twice in a row. "I'm getting by. I'm trying to get into a local university but I'm having more difficulty than I had initially thought I would." There, he didn't have to lie. He told the truth, and was able to leave out just how much trouble he was having.
"Ouch, I wouldn't know. I hate school. I don't think I'll ever try for a university. Something simple is all I want." Naruto faked a wince of pain, he hated academics. He felt the important lessons in life had to be learned first-hand and not from some stuffy book.
Minato chuckled as he shook his head helplessly. Yukari and Takami would be on his case if he just gave up, "I like your optimistic view on life. I wouldn't hear the end of it from my family if I just gave up though."
"Family huh..." Naruto said sadly and Minato wondered for a moment if he had said something he shouldn't have.
"Kyaaa! Please get out of the way!"
Naruto reacted instantly and moved faster than anyone could see. He quickly shoved Minato away sending the poor teen flying away. Naruto didn't wait to see what happened to Minato but the sound of breaking glass probably wasn't a good sign as he whirled towards the sound of the voice. He only had enough time to widen his eyes in surprise before a young woman slammed into him knocking him to the ground.
Hanabi was there in an instant with an open palm placed directly at the base of the girls skull ready to kill her if she showed even the slightest hint of hostility. "Make one wrong move and you die." Hanabi growled out as her protective instincts kicked in.
Naruto just blinked as he looked up from his position on the ground. In front of his eyes were a pair of white panties covering a perfectly toned ass. That certainly wasn't what he had expected to see, not that he was complaining or anything. The inner pervert inside of him taking a bunch of mental pictures for later use. "Well this is certainly a nice view." Naruto muttered.
Hanabi jerked her head towards her love and began to blush as she saw Naruto staring at another woman's ass. Hanabi shoved the girl off Naruto and hit him on the head. "Hey now! You have me you know!"
"I know, I know! Just building up the appetite." Naruto knew instantly that was the wrong thing to say as Hanabi's eyes narrowed dangerously. He hurriedly clambered to his feet and looked around frantically, he needed a subject changer and quick.
A groan drew both of their attention to the girl who was now sitting on the ground with her legs splayed out to either side. She was holding her head and shaking it lightly. The girl had short brown hair and brown eyes. Her breasts were enormous, larger than anything he'd ever seen before, surpassing even Tsunade and she had a well developed figure that made most Kunoichi jealous. She was also wearing what appeared to be, from what Naruto and Hanabi knew of this world, a shrine maiden outfit, although unlike most outfits this one stopped well short of her knees and no self-respecting maiden would be caught dead wearing it. She also wore thigh high white socks, brown military boots that went up to mid-calf and a pair of open-fisted red combat gloves on each hand.
"As I expected, that building was way too high to jump from." The girl mumbled to herself as she turned to stare at Naruto. Hanabi deflated instantly, her combat mode draining from her. There was no way she could strike someone that looked like that. The girl had such an innocence in her that it was impossible for her to be an assassin or an attacker. Hanabi doubted the girl had ever had a mean thought in her life.
"Are you alright?" Naruto asked curiously. That seemed like a pretty bad landing, and he was the expert on that. He had had some rather nasty crashes early on in his shinobi career.
The girl beamed a smile at Naruto as she stood up, "Oh you must be the person that caught me! Thank you!" She said happily as she clasped her hands together. She seemed to be alright despite the fall for which Naruto was thankful of. It seemed that she was made of tougher stuff than the average person. Which meant he had to be careful regardless of her cheerful attitude although the fact that she seemed to display all her emotions on her face like an open book did much to dispel any hostility. He knew she wasn't putting on a mask, there probably wasn't anyone alive more experienced than him at changing faces.
At the very least he could be courteous. He never was one to abandon someone in need. And the inner pervert in him was singing praises to Jiraiya.
Naruto chuckled as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I don't think it was so much that I caught you, in so much as that you landed on me." The woman in front of him was certainly beautiful. Hanabi was still far better looking in his eyes but he had to admit he may be slightly biased in that regard. If he wasn't already spoken for he may have even been tempted to ask her out for dinner. "Anyways, are you alright, that was a long fall."
"Ah, yes, yes I am, thank you..." The scent of ozone suddenly filled Naruto's nose and all the alarm bells in his head started to go off. Hanabi must have sensed the same thing as he could feel her tensing as well, unsure as to what was causing the change in weather.
"Watch out!" The brown haired girl shouted as she tried to shove Naruto out of the way. Naruto however just slid through her guard, grabbed her around the waist and jumped back just before a bolt of lightning blasted into the ground where the two of them had been.
Now Naruto was on guard for an enemy attack. That strike had been too accurate for it to be regular lightning, especially since there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and secondly he had felt a small flare of chakra before the blast had struck out at him. It meant that there was someone else that had attacked him, and that someone was capable of manipulating chakra enough to fire off lightning blasts.
He looked over at the young woman that he had rescued from the lightning blast, she seemed to have known it was coming almost before he did, and noticed that her eyes were looking skyward towards the top of one of the nearby buildings. He followed her gaze, and Hanabi followed his, until they came to rest upon another set of, at least what Naruto considered, gorgeous women. Women in costumes that would have made Anko proud.
"Bondage ladies, I just had lightning shot at me by women with a bondage fetish." Naruto muttered sourly as flashbacks to the few times he had interacted with Anko flashed across his mind, "They have to be related to Anko somehow, I just know it." He seriously hoped that wasn't the case though. He still tried to scrub out the memories of 'Happy Time at Anko's Place'. She had been well intention but Hinata had been out for a week after that and Naruto couldn't look at rope the same way anymore. He also knew way too many different ways of typing people up.
"We have bigger things to worry about then whom they may be related to." Hanabi said as she glared at the two on the rooftop in anger. No one attacked her Naruto, no one. The only reason she wasn't already charging up the side of the building to tear them apart was because Naruto didn't look too concerned and because such weak attacks wouldn't really hurt him.
The woman with the larger breasts of the two placed her foot upon the railing of the rooftop and smirked down at them. "It's useless to run you know, you might as well just stand there and get beat by us!" She said as lightning began to crackle around her.
Well, at least I know where the lightning came from. Naruto thought to himself as he eyed the two on top of the building warily. A dozen different strategies flashed through his mind, different ways in which he could deal with the two.
Unfortunately being in a street full of people that were staring at them like they were part of a circus show really limited his choices. No Rasenshuriken this time since he wanted to keep the body count manageable. He'd also rather keep as much of his abilities a secret as he could. He didn't mind using them, just not out in the public like this. It also brought back another shinobi instinct to keep things hidden until the right time. The more others knew about you, the harder they were to kill when you met them on the battlefield. And he was certain that MBI was watching, there's no way this kind of activity would escape their notice.
There was probably a party room somewhere with TV's set up deep within the MBI headquarters where staff members just sat around watching various interesting events in Shinto Teito.
x~X~x
"Hey! Haihane pass the popcorn! This is starting to get good!" A hand was waved imperiously
"Hehehe, bondage twins, I like bondage." A bag of popcorn was tossed across the room.
"Damnit you poked holes in it again! Natsuo tell her to stop that!" A finger was pointed accusingly.
"Well, doesn't he look like an interesting man. I like interesting men" His hands were interlocked together and placed under his nose as he bent forward and stared at the screen intently.
"It's him again, I can still smell the blood swirling around him." She licked her lips and shuddered in pleasure.
"I thought you got enough blood when you bathed with that corpse a few months back! How can you possibly betray Natsuo?" An indignant shout blasted across the room.
"He doesn't smell like blood?" A tongue was dragged across a newly polished blade.
"Urk!"
"I'll let you play with him after I'm done." He still hadn't stopped staring at the blonde haired sex god.
The sound of someone noisily licking their lips echoed across the room.
"Hehehe, I wonder if we can have a threesome bondage. I know some good rope tricks. GAH!" Blood spurted out as a clawed hand poked into her own temple.
"Natsuo! I swear the two of them are insane!" A helpless cry rang out.
x~X~x
"Just fight us already!" The second one said, her breasts were much smaller than the first one but that didn't detract from her beauty in the slightest. "It'll be less painful for you if you stopped running so much."
"I'm not ready to fight yet!" The woman shouted back as she clenched her fists at her side. Well that changed things, they weren't shooting at him, just the woman that had landed on him panties first. Now Naruto wasn't going to have any of that. He didn't know exactly what was going on, like why the lightning bondage duo were attacking the beautiful shrine maiden, or why the shrine maiden had said 'yet' meaning she was willing to just not right now. But he did know that he wasn't going to let someone who had given him such a nice show get hurt.
Naruto signaled for Hanabi to move in and disable the bondage duo using a series of hand signals that he had created for his personal ANBU. He had created a new set after Konoha had burned and had updated and adjusted them on a yearly basis since then to prevent them from being decoded. "Hey now, I'm not going to just stand here and let you hurt a beautiful girl like her." Naruto shouted as he walked in front of the busty brunette and got into a fighting stance. He didn't really use stances, he was more of a brawler when he did fight with Taijutsu, but it looked impressive.
"Hey!" The larger breasted of the two shouted in outrage as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at Naruto, "Get out of the way! We're not here for you, only little miss shrine maiden over there." There were explicit instructions not involve anyone not part of the Sekirei Plan in the fight between Sekirei, not that Naruto or Hanabi knew that though. This did however prevent the bondage duo from going all out in such a situation.
The shrine maiden stared at Naruto with an open mouth as she protested being protected. Naruto just held a hand up and shushed her, "No can do, I never go back on my word, and I'm going to protect her!" The woman in question was so incredibly moved by Naruto's dedication, she felt her chest tighten and her heart beat quicken.
"You asked for it!" The woman in the purple bondage shoot shouted, damn the standing orders, she was going to make the blonde idiot pay. "Hikari, zap that loud mouthed fool!" Nothing happened for a moment and then there was a small thump that sounded very much like a body hitting the ground. "Hikari?" The large chested woman of the bondage duo asked as she turned to look at her sister. Hikari was lying in a heap on the ground, unconscious but unharmed. She opened her mouth to shout out to her sister when she felt pressure being applied to the base of her neck and then she blacked out.
The shrine maiden stared up at the top of the building where Hanabi had just knocked out the lightning twins. Her mouth had dropped open and stars were twinkling in her eyes. Naruto would have bet that any moment she was going to start hopping up and down like a little girl.
"That was so cool!" The shrine maiden gushed as she pointed up at Hanabi who was picking up the two bodies. There were some questions both she and Naruto wanted answered, and those two had them, or at least they better have them if they knew what was good for them. "How did she get up there so fast? She knocked both those meanies out so quickly too!"
Hanabi leapt from the building to the ground below and made her way over to Naruto's side. It was only five stories high so it wasn't that bad. It did leave several people staring at her with their mouths agape. "What do you want done with them?" Hanabi asked as she stopped at Naruto and the shrine maiden. She had Hikari thrown over her left shoulder and the other one tucked under her right arm. They were going to stay asleep for awhile. Hanabi had placed some chakra into the main arteries that fed blood to their brain. Not enough to kill them, but enough to slow it to a point where the body shut itself down to prevent brain damage from occurring due to oxygen deprivation.
Naruto sighed as he stared at the two in question, he needed answers. There were some very strange things going on in this town and he was not going to be unprepared for it. The lack of information could kill, did kill. "We'll take them back to our condo and tie them up. There are questions that need answers, and I'm hoping those two will have them." Naruto said as he glanced back and forth between the two bondage girls. Hanabi just simply nodded in agreement. She had figured as much when she was up there knocking them out.
With the situation now finally diffused Naruto turned to the girl that had fallen on him earlier. "Sorry about all that." Naruto said apologetically. He didn't have anything to apologize for but he learned long ago that it was better to apologize first and ask questions later when dealing with the fairer sex. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto held his hand out to the girl, "And she's Hanabi Hyuga-Uzumaki." Naruto finished as he held his hand out towards Hanabi indicating that it was her that he was referring to.
"Oh! Please to meet you!" The shrine maiden said as she shook Naruto's hand. "They call me Musubi. It's nice to meet you as well Hanabi, thank you for taking care of those scary ladies for me." Musubi said happily as she beamed a smile at the two.
Hanabi just shook her head a little and smiled back. It was impossible to dislike someone who was so happy and carefree. She opened her mouth to respond when Musubi started to tip over. Naruto acted quickly and caught her before she could hit the ground and held her gently in his arms. He looked over at Hanabi and raised an eye questioningly.
She just shrugged in response, she was just as clueless as he was. "We should take her back with us." Hanabi suggested as she looked down at the girl, noticing for the first time just how exhausted she appeared to be. "She's probably been chased all over the city by these two. I wouldn't feel right if we just left her here."
Naruto nodded and picked her up bridle style. "Alright, let's head back to the condo. I guess our job hunting is done for the day."
Minato climbed out of the department store he had gone crashing into with a groan. Thankfully he had landed in a pile of soft clothing and none of the glass had gotten on him. He watched as Naruto and Hanabi walked away from the area and was about to chase after him to give him a piece of his mind when he notice the massive gash in the sidewalk where the lightning had struck. It was, coincidentally, where he had been as well before Naruto had shoved him out of the way. He quickly forgave Naruto for tossing him through a building right then it there. It had to be better than getting electrocuted.
As he turned to walk away he noticed a strange man garbed almost entirely in black with a black face mask watching Naruto and Hanabi walk away with an intense look on his face. Minato blinked and rubbed his eyes for a second and when he opened them again, the dark clothed man was gone.
"Ahem?" A cough sounded behind him accompanied by the tapping of a rather impatient foot.
Minato turned around and came face to face with a rather irate store manager.
"Are you going to pay for this?" The store manager asked as she waved her hand at the broken window and ruined displays. "Or for that?" She pointed at his shoulder.
Minato looked down and blushed heavily. There were some bras hanging loosely across his shoulders.
"W-Well I..." Minato stuttered, he really didn't know what to say or do in this situation.
"You're coming with me!" The woman demanded as she grabbed Minato by his collar and began to drag him back into the department store.
Minato gulped and resigned himself to his fate. His sister and mother would never let him hear the end of this. Maybe he shouldn't have been too quick to forgive Naruto.
x~X~x
It was a good thing Naruto and Hanabi had done some scouting earlier in the month because carrying three unconscious females through the main streets of Shinto Teito was a very good way to get arrested very quickly. They ducked and weaved through the various back alleys, minor streets in the shadier sections of the city. Sometimes they even went through a few backyards and over the roofs of single story buildings. It took far more time than any other route would have taken them but eventually they made it back to their condo. By then, however, it was rapidly approaching dinner time if the sunset sinking in the west was any indication.
It wasn't until after they had entered their home that Naruto realized something critical, "Do we even have any rope?" Naruto asked as he went through a mental checklist of all the supplies he had on him. He deliberately tried to avoid having anything to do with rope after having seen what Anko could do with a length of rope.
Hanabi thought about it for a moment before sighing softly. She was in the same position. All the rope she had kept on hand to practice various methods of tying people up had been left behind in the Elemental Nations. There just hadn't really been any time to take her hobby with her. To be honest she wasn't even sure where her interest or desire arose from. She could have sworn that she hadn't cared about rope in the slightest prior to her sister's death.
Hanabi shook her head negatively as she dumped the two unconscious lightning girls on the floor. "No, but I do have some ninja wire. It'll work however it won't be as comfortable as rope but that's their problem." Hanabi replied as she sauntered into the bedroom to grab some wire. She had some in case of emergencies but she never used it in combat so she didn't keep it in seals on her person.
Naruto grinned as he stared at Hanabi's perfectly toned ass as she made her way into the bedroom. He never got tired of looking at her. An amazing body is one of the perks of being a Kunoichi. "Great! Just hang them from the ceiling when you find the wire. Also don't forget to put chakra restriction seals on them as well, I don't want them blowing anything up when they awaken." Naruto called after his fiancée as she disappeared into the bedroom. An acknowledging sound drifted from the bedroom.
Naruto laid Musubi gently down upon the couch and brushed some of her hair out of her face. Musubi, and the two that attacked her, were mysteries to him. In a city filled with civilians without an ounce of chakra it was strange to find exceptions such as these. Oh there were a few that had some but most barely had enough to survive.
These three however were practically pulsating with untapped chakra potential. It was as if they had barely scratched the surface of what they could use. They reminded him of the girl that had attacked Hanabi last night, only far less violent. Even the lightning duo hadn't been out for blood, not really. They didn't seem like bad people intent on causing lasting harm The entire situation earlier was much like challenging someone to a duel, or a spar, as opposed to a death match. Naruto had become a good judge of character over the years even if he did make mistakes from time to time.
Naruto headed to the kitchen and started to cook dinner. It was a little early but neither he nor Hanabi had been able to get lunch, it was a little difficult while carrying three unconscious females. Most establishments would probably call whatever security force protected the city and sic em on them. As Naruto went through the fridge and pantries to figure out what to cook up he decided on curry. It was relatively simple, easy, and they had plenty of ingredients for it. It was a new recipe he had picked up and learned when they had arrived in the city a few months back.
Hanabi walked back into the room with two spools of ninja wire, one in each hand, and looked over at the different ingredients Naruto was pulling from the fridge. "Curry tonight?"
"Yup, Musubi is probably going to be hungry as well so I plan to make extra. I felt her stomach rumbling the whole way here. And if there's not enough I can just have some ramen." Naruto said happily, not entirely upset about that prospect in the least. Running out of enough for seconds was always a good way to convince Hanabi to let him have ramen.
Hanabi sighed as she walked over to Hikari and picked her up. "Just don't deliberately make too little, alright?" Hanabi replied in exasperation. She knew Naruto's tricks, but she just let them pass. It wasn't worth arguing over so long as he got at least some nutritious food in him. "Any particular position you want them in?" Hanabi asked as she started to wrap the wire around Hikari. There were some basics regardless of the final position, such as tying the arms and legs up.
"Face down horizontal suspension with a hogtie binding should be enough. Raise them high enough so that when they're suspended they are face to face with us." Naruto said without looking up from what he was doing. Curry was a new recipe for him and he still made mistakes. It had seemed really basic at first but for some reason unless he concentrated it turned out horrible. He had burned even his taste buds at one time, too much curry.
"That always was Ino's favorite position." Hanabi mentioned idly as she began to tie Hikari up more thoroughly. Ino's short stint in the T&I division after the war and before Konoha had been destroyed had caused that woman to develop some very odd fetishes. Hanabi blamed it on her spending too much time with Anko. Hanabi sighed as she thought about the blonde haired woman, she missed Ino. Ino had been one of the people there protecting their escape from the shelter when Madara finally came knocking. Her family's jutsu had momentarily halted Madara's movement before he managed to shatter her mind. Her body had been quick to follow.
One of the advantages to having chakra is that she didn't need a large support beam to hang the women. She could just use chakra to attach it. When Hikari had been hogtied Hanabi jumped up to the ceiling and began to pull Hikari up with her. When the woman was at the right height Hanabi coiled the rest of the ninja wire and stuck it to the ceiling. There was enough chakra holding it in place that it should stay there at least an entire day. It was asking for a bit much for it to last longer than that. To finish things off Hanabi slapped a chakra seal on both of Hikari's arms and one on her torso between her breasts.
The other girl soon joined her sister, hanging from the ceiling at the same elevation and in the same position. It was a sight that would have looked very odd if anyone had walked in on them. Hanabi admired her handiwork for a moment before turning her eyes to the girl on the couch. She wasn't quite sure what to make of their final guest. She wasn't like the two dangling captive who had defined roles as prisoners. She was a bystander Naruto had opted to protect, bless his heart, and had simply taken with them when she had fainted into Naruto's arms. Hanabi sighed and just sat on the couch beside the woman, lifting Musubi's head up and placing it in her lap as she did so. For some odd reason Hanabi felt a sort of kinship with the brunette.
It was about thirty minutes later, when Naruto was finishing up the curry, that Musubi woke up sleepily. She lifted her head from Hanabi's lap and rubbed her eyes lightly. There was drool dripping from her mouth as she sniffed the air. "Hungry..." Musubi mumbled as a loud gurgling reverberated through the condo. Musubi's stomach just introduced itself. Naruto and Hanabi both just stared at each other as large sweat drops slide down the back of their heads.
Naruto just chuckled and filled up a plate with some curry and brought it over to the couch. "Here you go, I just finished making dinner." Naruto said kindly as he handed the plate to Musubi. Musubi's eyes widened and began to sparkle as she grabbed the plate and began to dig into the food.
"It's sow gwood." Musubi mumbled with her mouth full.
"Don't speak with your mouth full." Hanabi said as she bopped Musubi on the head with the side of her hand. Naruto just laughed as he walked back to the pot of curry to get Hanabi and himself their food.
"Sowwy." Musubi mumbled, still shovelling food in, earning herself another bop on the head.
"Don't eat too quickly." Naruto called as he came back over with two more plates of curry. "I don't want to have to clean curry off the floor." Musubi stopped for a moment and gave him a clueless look. Naruto sighed and placed Hanabi's dinner before her. "Nevermind." He muttered as knelt on the floor on the other side of the small living room table to eat. Musubi seemed like a good girl, but there appeared to be a few key things missing.
Like common sense for instance.
"Can I have more?" Musubi asked as she eyed Naruto's plate hungrily. She had already polished off her meal and licked her plate clean.
"What in the world?" Hanabi exclaimed as she pointed at Musubi. "She ate that curry faster than you eat ramen! How is that possible?" Hanabi demanded, she wanted an explanation. Naruto was a like a black hole when it came to Ramen. It just got sucked in faster than you could blink. This woman had just beaten Naruto's ramen eating record. It was an impossibility! Back in Konoha Old Man Teuchi had a convey belt set up to feed Naruto, along with a stockpile of already made ramen. It was the only way to keep up with Naruto's stomach.
Naruto sighed and began to push his plate towards Musubi when Hanabi stopped him. "No, don't, you made this meal, you eat." Hanabi told Naruto as she put her own plate before Musubi, "I'll go bring the pot over. It's probably easier that way. I get the feeling there won't be much in the way of leftovers tonight."
Hanabi was right, fifteen minutes later the entire pot of curry was gone along with all the rice on the side. Hanabi only shook her head at the sight. Musubi was as bad as Naruto when it came to food. She had an endless abyss for a stomach. "Two of you, there are now two of you..." Hanabi muttered under her breath as she stared at the floor in despair. Now she'd never be able to go anywhere. How do you take two human vacuum cleaners out for a nice meal?
"Thank you so much Naruto-sama!" Musubi gushed as she stared at Naruto with sparkling eyes. Naruto began to wonder if she kept a set of stars just behind the eyelids that she brought out whenever she was excited. It was a bit unnerving that they managed to appear as often as they did. "Not only did you save me earlier but now this..." She clasped her hands together and looked as if she was about to leap at Naruto at any moment. Hanabi placed a hand on her leg to hold her down, just in case. Musubi didn't even seem to notice. "I was so hungry I just collapsed right there and you took care of me!" Naruto and Hanabi sweat dropped again. She had collapsed from hunger? How long had she gone without food? She didn't look like she was malnourished. "I wish someone like you could be my 'Ashikabi-sama'" Musubi said thoughtfully as she put a finger on her lips.
"Ashikabi?" Naruto asked curiously, what the hell was that? Naruto began to rifle through his memories for any reference to Ashikabi. Hanabi however had heard that word before, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she stared at Musubi. That was how Yashima had addressed that scum on the rooftop the last night. It had looked very much like a master/slave relationship. If Musubi was looking for a master...
A knock on the door broke everyone out of their thoughts. Naruto gave Hanabi a look and the young Hyuga nodded. She quickly got up and faded from view as she entered the kitchen. Well it wasn't so much that she faded from view as everything else became more important. No one would know she was there unless she let them.
"Stay here Musubi, I'll be right back." Naruto said with a soft smile as he stood up and headed to the door. Behind him the two women began to stir.
"Okay!" Musubi said cheerfully as she pumped a fist into the air.
As Naruto approached the door he extended his senses to try and get a feel for what was on the other side. They were in a condo, so door-to-door marketers weren't an explanation. The police would have announced themselves and criminals would have just bashed the door down. And no self-respecting assassin would walk in through the front door, especially not after announcing themselves with a knock. Unfortunately it didn't leave a whole lot of possibilities. Actually it left down right none that Naruto knew of and that's what made him more nervous than usual. If it was something he had experience with, he could deal with it.
After extending his senses Naruto picked up a few things, first off it was an older individual on the other side and they had more chakra than the average civilian. Not enough to be alarming, and certainly nothing compared to the woman he had fought last night, but interesting never-the-less. There was also an odd vibe coming from whoever it was. Naruto couldn't quite pin it down but whoever it was, was different beyond simply having more chakra that most people in this new world. If Naruto had to rate it, it was on par with Sakura immediately after Genin graduation.
Inconsequential in the shinobi world, but impressive for a regular person.
Ultimately Naruto decided to just open the door and see who it was. He might as well act as if he was just a regular person and not some super powered shinobi. Besides he couldn't sense anyone aside from that one person in the hallway which meant whoever was at the door was alone. Naruto didn't like to brag but there wasn't anyone that could hide from him. Everyone who had survived Konoha became a sensor to one degree or another. They had to, an ambush meant death. And Naruto was one of the best sensors, as odd as that seemed. He was the only one who could reliably pinpoint Hanabi when she was trying to be stealthy.
Naruto opened the door nonchalantly as he placed a big grin on his face ready to greet whoever it was like a happy go-lucky fool. "Ah! Good evening, how may I help you?" Naruto asked as he eyed the person on the other side of the door. It was a man that was maybe in his mid-twenties. He was as tall as Naruto and was lean-built with brown hair that seemed like it didn't want to be tamed no matter how much it was combed. He wore a white undershirt with a pair of green jeans and black boots He had a leather jacket thrown over his left shoulder and held it there in a light grip.
The man didn't look like he had any visible weapons and his physic wasn't so intimidating that he appeared to be a threat. Naruto was just glad that the two bondage ladies weren't within visible sight of the door otherwise that would have been difficult to explain.
"Ah yes! I'm Seo, Seo Kaoru and I was hoping you could help me with something." The man said with a grin, "You see I seemed to have misplaced two of my companions and I was wondering if you happened to know where they were. They're twins you see, and they enjoy wearing identical suits when on business. One wears purple and the other red..." Seo stopped suddenly as he felt the cold edge of a blade pressed against his throat from behind.
Naruto was no longer smiling.
Author's Note: I wanted to go on, but this just seemed like far too good of a place to stop. I was hoping to finish everything with Seo and Musubi in this chapter but I'm almost at 11k words.
Also, one last note, this IS a mature story, so you better be a mature person. There will be violence, which you've already seen, there will be nudity and there will be explicit scenes. It's not going to be unnecessarily vulgar (I hope) but I'm not going to pull punches either. Naruto is a bloody world, even if it's glossed over greatly in the manga, and Sekirei is a god damn freakin Harem manga with enough tits to give Queen's Blade a run for its money. It would be doing a disservice to both if I were to skimp on it for the sake of the easily offended minority. If you're the type of person that gets easily offended by this stuff it's probably best to stop here.
Anyways please review and let me know what you think!