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.
Review Responses: Alright first I want to start off by saying this. I don't mean to offend anyone but I feel this needs to be stated so that you can all enjoy my story more.
Stop assuming the characters have a 30,000 foot view of the story and don't take each chapter by itself. I don't explain why certain actions are done in detail because I'm assuming people remember what has occurred in previous chapters and can use that to deduce things from there.
The number one complaint about the last chapter was Naruto leaving Hanabi all alone at Higa's Hospital. Now let me say 4 points to try and clear things up that I thought was obvious.
1) Naruto doesn't know Higa even OWNS any hospitals so there is no way he could know that he's practically handing her to him. Major pharmaceutical companies don't usually have their own hospitals.
2) Naruto doesn't know who attack Hanabi or why. For all he knows it was MBI. Perhaps he upset a Yakuza with ties to a few Ashikabi. There is nothing to link the attack to Higa: yet.
3) Naruto can teleport to Hanabi at any time using the Hiraishin no Jutsu.
4) Hanabi can signal Naruto very easily from a distance. She did it to tell him she was headed to Alpha Point. All she needs is one word: Help, and Naruto is there instantly to kick up a shit storm. (And from what I've heard burn victims are actually encouraged to move around and use their injured limbs so that scar tissue doesn't build up and inhibit movement.)
And to be honest, Naruto doesn't have a lot of options. Ask anyone that's known anyone with severe burn wounds. They NEED to be treated otherwise you run the risk of them dying due to blood infections and other nasty shit. Naruto had to take her to a hospital and with MBI ones out of the picture he didn't have a lot of options, 1 to be precise, and no time to look for others.
These are all things that I thought were easily apparent. When analyzing why something occurred, try to look at it from the perspective of the person making the decision, not the 30,000 foot view we all have because of our inherent knowledge of the Sekirei Universe. I know it can be hard sometimes; I myself fall into that trap at times when I read other's stories.
Anyways, thanks for the Chihio vs Chiho correction, I haven't gone back and fixed it but I fixed it everywhere else in my story.
I want to tell you why Hanabi is in the hospital but I don't want to spoil anything. There will be a confrontation with Higa, everyone can pretty much see that, but I can't say anything more about Hanabi's situation without spoiling things. However I don't plan on forgetting her.
Miya sneaking up on Naruto, people may have issues with that but it's not a knock at Naruto's abilities. It's a play on Miya being Miya. In Sekirei she always seems to be there at just the wrong time. It's one of the characteristics that define her. And it's one of the characteristics that she will keep in my story. No matter how good Naruto and Hanabi become, she will always be able to sneak up on them, but of course only when they're on the verge of breaking one of her rules ^_^.
Chapter 7: Settling In
Naruto woke as the first rays of dawn started to filter through the window of the room. There was a pleasant sensation pressing against his left side and his arm felt like it was being sandwiched between two warm, large marshmallows. Naruto opened his eyes and groaned as the rays of light danced across his vision. He waved his free arm in front of him as if to brush away the annoyance.
He turned his head and noticed that Musubi had crawled into his futon some time during the night and was now hugging his arm tightly between her exposed breasts. His hand had somehow gotten trapped between her legs in the process placing his fingers in an interesting, and slightly moist, location. Musubi's hands were lightly resting on his chest.
Musubi was once again dressed solely in a pair of modest white panties having nothing more to wear. All of the clothing that they had left was either sealed on their person or so much ash drifting on the wind. Not that Naruto cared very much. Musubi was a very beautiful woman and Naruto could definitely appreciate a beautiful woman, especially ones with massive breasts.
Naruto glanced around the room quickly. There wasn't a whole lot in it at the moment. Just two futons with a single pillow each that Miya had been generous enough to lend them along with a small dresser for clothing. Aside from that the room was entirely barren. Naruto silently mused that between Musubi's need for proper sleepwear and their lack of anything remotely resembling luxury he and Musubi were definitely going to need to go shopping.
It shouldn't be too bad, he hoped.
A smell wafted in through the cracks in the door causing Naruto to take notice and sniff the air more intently. That was definitely the smell of something very delicious being cooked. Naruto's stomach growled and he realized he hadn't eaten anything the night before. That was definitely something he intended to rectify with that delicious smelling, whatever it was, coming from downstairs.
But first he had to wake up Musubi.
"Musubi, it's time to wake up." Naurto said as he softly poked Musubi's cheek. There was another reason he wanted to wake Musubi up. If Miya saw them cuddled like this there would be hell to pay, especially since he wasn't entirely sure if the dampness he felt was sweat or something else and he didn't think Miya would care either way.
"Munya?" Musubi mumbled drowsily as she slowly started to wake up. She brought her hands to her eyes and began to rub the sleepiness out of them as she yawned widely. It was an absolutely adorable sight and Naruto couldn't help but smile at it. Despite her fully developed and gorgeous body, it was like Hanabi had said earlier; she really did seem like a child in an adult's body. It made Naruto feel a little guilty about some of his perverted thoughts. Just a little.
Naruto extracted his arm from its confinement, eliciting a small gasp from Musubi, and sat up. The girl's eyes widened in surprise and her breath quickened a little. There was definitely a faint blush on her cheeks that made Naruto feel just a little bit uncomfortable and guilty. Musubi probably had no idea why she felt the way she did.
He also seriously hoped his fingers hadn't done too much wandering or fidgeting while he was sleeping. He doubted Musubi would even understand what it was he had been unconsciously doing. With a groan Naruto stretched his arms back behind him to work the kinks out noticing with his keen nose that as he did so that the dampness had most definitely not been sweat, and there was far more on his fingers than he would have liked.
"Good morning Musubi, did you sleep well?" Naruto wanted to change the direction of his thoughts towards something else, something less erotic than his accidental foreplay with a girl who had no idea what foreplay was.
Musubi righted herself into a kneeling position beside Naruto, "Yes Naruto-sama! Musubi had the most amazing dreams of Naruto-sama and I felt incredibly wonderful." She said cheerfully. Suddenly a look of curiosity crossed the young Sekirei's face, "But Naruto-sama, what were you doing with your fingers last night? It felt weird but good to have them inside me and then this heat started to build up."
Naruto swallowed hard. This wasn't really something he wanted to cover right now, especially considering Miya could walk in on a half-naked Musubi at any time. It was also something he was trying to divert Musubi's attention away from. "Don't worry about it and you may want to keep what happened to yourself, it'll be our secret!" Naruto answered quickly, he didn't want Musubi asking too many questions, and he most certainly didn't want her asking others.
"But why Naruto-sama? It felt really good, if this is the way all Ashikabi make their Sekirei feel then it should be encouraged!" Musubi cupped her generous breasts in her hands and squeezed them gently. Naruto became instantly hard at the sight and he groaned mentally. Apparently his body really didn't care how immature Musubi was. "I could feel your love inside me last night!"
Naruto was pretty sure that wasn't 'love' that Musubi felt inside her but he really didn't feel like bursting the poor girl's bubble so soon. He needed to change the subject quickly and another whiff of the air gave him the perfect solution. "What an Ashikabi and their Sekirei do is up to them, that's what Minaka said correct? Anyways you should go take a bath and clean up. I can smell Miya cooking breakfast downstairs."
Musubi began sniffing the air like a dog, her eyes lit up in excitement and her stomach growled loudly, "Food!" Musubi shouted excitedly as she jumped to her feet. She quickly grabbed her clothes and ran out the door. Musubi had a very one-track mind and food was a very good way to derail her from her current thoughts.
Naruto grinned at the sight. Food seemed to be able to distract Musubi from just about anything. All one had to do was mention it and she'd forget the earlier conversation like it had never happened.
Naruto himself took a little longer to get ready. He could have followed quickly after Musubi but he wasn't in any rush. It wasn't like he was in the Elemental Nations where every moment counted, he could savor things now. And despite all the trouble that has arisen recently, they all seemed disconnected one-offs instead of a prelude to some sort of impending doom.
At least he hoped they weren't connected.
He met Uzume in the hallway sleepily rubbing her eyes much like Musubi had earlier. "Hey bro." Uzume greeted Naruto with a little wave as she covered a yawn with her other hand.
Naruto looked Uzume up and down and grinned appreciatively, "Good morning Uzume, but you may want to get dressed before going downstairs." Naruto gestured to Uzume's clothing, or lack-there-of. "Miya may get upset and as she so fondly reminds me I may not be able to control my beastly desires."
"Hmmm? I'm heading to the bath…" Uzume trailed off; she had a confused look on her face as she regarded Naruto. Then her eyes began to follow his eyes down. "Crap." She said with a blush as she turned and ran back into her room.
Naruto just chuckled and shook his head from side to side as he turned and headed towards the staircase. Ah yes, getting a room here was definitely the best idea he'd ever had. If Jiraiya were here he'd have pumped out a novel by now already.
If he survived Miya that is.
Speaking of novels though, that could be a good way to solve his financial problems for a long time to come.
Just as Naruto was about to turn the corner and head down the stairs to the dining area he paused for a moment and look to his left. A confused look crossed his face for a moment before a small smile creased his face.
A secret room is it? Well whoever he/she is they didn't feel dangerous, I don't sense any killing or malicious intent. Only… arousal? Naruto chuckled and headed down stairs. If one of the residents of Izumo Maison was hiding then who was he to question it? He'd be a hypocrite if he did.
Smells like a female version of that old toad sensei of yours. Kurama chimed in. Naruto knew that while Kurama could only smell what he smelt, his tenant was far better at analyzing said scents.
That's a scary thought
The dining room at Izumo Inn doubled as a living room, although it was rather sparse regardless of its designation. There was a large, low rectangular wooden table in the center of the room with cushions placed at regular intervals around the table and at the far side of the room was a flat screen television on a TV stand. The TV itself was on, turned to one of the many news channels. There wasn't very much to the room beyond that although it appeared to be somewhat of a Nexus in the house with connections to the entrance, kitchen, and both the upstairs and downstairs rooms.
The room was empty at the moment, Miya was still in the kitchen cooking breakfast, so Naruto decided to get a bit of fresh air. It was a good way to wake up after all, right next to having a bucket of frigid water dumped on your face by a sadistic sensei.
Naruto blinked as he let his eyes adjust to the change in light. It was bright outside; there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It looked as if today would be a nice day weather wise.
He had been outside for maybe five minutes before the sound of shattering glass and buckling wood piercing the calm morning air. Naruto looked up just in time to appreciate the fine figure of Uzume leaping from the window to the top of the wall that ringed Izumo Inn. Her towel slipped giving Naruto a second eyeful, this time of her chest, before she was able to wrap her towel around herself again.
"Hey bro, you're Musubi's Ashikabi right?" Naruto nodded, trying to figure out why Uzume was asking the obvious.
She jumped off the wall and landed beside him. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts tightly up against his side. One of her legs wrapped around his, "I don't want to fight! So can you please stop her?" Uzume asked.
Right now, with the way Uzume was pressing herself against him, if she had asked him to hand the world to her he'd ask her what kind of platter she'd like it on.
Musubi poked her head out of the broken window. "Ah! Please get away from my Naruto-sama!" Musubi shouted as she leapt from the window.
"Now now girls, I know you both want a piece of this. There's plenty to go around, no need to fight." Naruto said with a lascivious grin. He could almost picture his old sensei up in Heaven giving him a thumbs up right about now.
Musubi didn't appear to have heard him. "Please get away… FROM MY NARUTO-SAMA!" Musubi yelled as she raised her fist and lashed out at Uzume.
There was a loud clang as Miya intercepted the blow with a pot lid. She whirled her ladle around her hand twice before she lashed out twice in rapid succession smacking both Uzume and Musubi in the head.
"I won't tolerate you young ladies running around half naked." Miya said sternly as she lectured both Uzume and Musubi. A dark aura began to appear around Miya, "Am I clear?"
Both Uzume and Musubi quickly agreed. Miya closed her eyes and smiled at them. She waved her ladle back towards the house, "The food's almost ready, please go get dressed ladies."
x~X~x
Naruto had spent the rest of the time before breakfast outside sitting on the veranda enjoying the nice morning. Musubi and Uzume had both been quick to dart inside to go get dressed.
When Miya called out to him on the veranda he slowly stood and made his way back into the house. When he got inside he found Musubi already kneeling at the table waiting for the food to be served. Her eyes showed an eager expression and Naruto could swear he saw drool dripping from his Sekirei's mouth. Naruto made a mental note to check Musubi in the future to see if there was a black hole forming in her stomach since she always seemed to be hungry regardless of how much she'd eaten.
Although in this case he supposed it could be forgiven considering how hectic the day before had been. He had assumed Miya had fed Musubi after he and Uzume had left but he couldn't be sure.
Judging by the sounds coming from the kitchen Miya was probably still in there finishing up breakfast for the residents of Izumo Inn. Naruto couldn't quite place what he smelt but it certainly smelled good and decided to go sit beside Musubi.
It was then that Naruto was introduced to the final member of Izumo Inn. Just as he was settling down on a cushion beside his Sekirei a white haired, black eyed man walked into the room. He stopped for a second and stared at Naruto as if startled to see him there. Naruto noticed that his eyes darted around the room as if looking for someone before they came to rest back on Naruto. An easy care-free smile creased his face as he walked forward.
"I see we have a couple new residents." The man said in a polite tone. He seemed to be wearing a pair of basic black jeans and a button up collared white shirt. "I'm Kagari, one of the residents of Izumo Inn." Kagari extended a hand out to Naruto.
Naruto smiled in return and clasped his hand, "Nice to meet you Kagari, I'm Naruto Uzumaki." The handshake was broken and Naruto turned his head to indicate Musubi, "And this energetic girl beside me is Musubi."
"It's nice to meet you as well." Kagari greeted Naruto's Sekirei. Naruto noticed a hint of confusion in his eyes almost as if Kagari had been confused to see Musubi there. It was quickly gone as it was replaced with genuine cheer.
"Hello Kagari-san. It's nice to meet you." Musubi beamed a smile at the guy.
"Will you be staying for breakfast this morning?" A new voice called out as Miya entered the room carrying a large pot of something very tasty smelling. Naruto still couldn't place what it was but at the moment he didn't particularly cared. After nearly twenty four hours of nothing to eat he was willing to eat anything.
Musubi seemed to be even more excited than he was. Her head had whipped around so quickly Naruto was worried she may have gotten whiplash and the way she clenched her utensils and how intently she was staring at the pot was anything to go by it was like she was trying to will the food into her stomach.
Kagari nodded his head towards Miya and headed for one of the cushions, "I think I will today. I don't have anywhere I need to be at the moment."
Miya sat at the end of the table and placed the pot of warm breakfast in the center. "Please, help yourself." She said as she placed a soup spoon into the pot. Now that Naruto could get a good look at it, it looked like porridge but it smelled far different, and far better, than anything he was used to.
"Oh that smells good!" Uzume said as she jogged down the stairs. She was now clothed in the same casual clothing she had worn the night before.
"I see you remembered your clothing this time." Naruto said with a grin as he poured himself some breakfast.
Uzume blushed as she walked over to her place at the table, "Oh, what's this?" Miya asked curiously. She knew of the little altercation outside but Uzume hadn't been embarrassed enough by that to blush.
"Damnit bro." Uzume hissed at Naruto before she turned to Miya and waved her hands in surrender. "It's nothing Miya, just some sleepy forgetfulness. It's all taken care of."
Miya just placed a hand on her cheek and sighed, "Oh dear, what will a poor widow like me do surrounded by such debauchery." Miya said sorrowfully. No one believed for a moment that she was serious.
They all grabbed a bowl full of food and began to eat. It was and oddly quiet meal.
Naruto frowned as the noise from the television suddenly caught his attention. He put down his utensils and turned to the TV. He had basically tuned it out but something interesting caught his attention. There was a news reporter out on the streets video tapping one of the bridges that lead out of Shinto Teito. Normally this wouldn't have garnered his attention but the fact the bridge appeared to be blockaded and everything travelling across it was being searched thoroughly caught his attention. As did what the reporter had been talking about.
"Is there something wrong Uzumaki-san?" Miya asked curiously as she noticed Naruto staring at the television intently. The other Sekirei in the room stopped eating as well and looked up to regard Naruto. Musubi being Musubi just kept on eating.
"MBI just bought the city." Naruto growled softly as his gaze morphed into a glare. "I've seen this happen before. I've seen what happens when a single powerful corporation dominates an entire area. It's never ended well for the regular people." The bones in Naruto's hands creaked as he clenched his fists tightly. "What's worse is he is strangling the city by deciding what comes in and what goes out." Naruto despised major corporations that used their money, power, and influence to force their way in other people's lives, usually for the worse.
Memories of Gato and his company controlling the Wave Country with his wealth surfaced bringing back painful memories of his young. He had seen this happen elsewhere as well. When the shinobi villages started to fall, the powerful corporations began to rise. It had happened with Iganami in Iwa when the powerful mining magnate had bought out the Daimyo's guards and suffocated the nation, without ninjas there was no counter-force the Daimyo could employ. A larger version of Wave Country happened in Kiri when most the main continent had been reduced to ashes by Madara. All the outlying islands and villages were cut off and became dominated by Gato's successor.
Miya and Kagari exchanged concerned glances. Naruto had a feeling that they knew what was going on, and why it was occurring. The only thing that had stopped Naruto from demanding an answer from them is that they both looked just as concerned as he felt.
Musubi placed a hand on Naruto's arm and gave him a concerned look, "Naruto-sama? Are you alright?" She asked, concern evident in her voice and posture. A Sekirei could feel everything their Ashikabi could and right now it was leaving a very unpleasant feeling inside of Musubi. Sadness, Remorse, Guilt and Anger all raged around inside Naruto and he could tell that it made her uncomfortable.
Naruto tore his eyes away from the television and tuned it out. He took a long, deep, shuddering breath as he calmed himself down. He didn't want to upset Musubi. He turned and smiled at her, "Ya, I'll be alright, thanks."
Musubi beamed at Naruto, "It's alright Naruto-sama! You don't have to worry about anything; I'll protect you forever and ever!" She declared in her usual happy bubbly self. Naruto couldn't help but grin in return. Something about the Sekirei beside him just brought happier feelings.
Miya gave the television one last long look before she turned her attention to the newest residents of Izumo Inn. "Now Musubi, Uzumaki-san." Naruto winced, she still hadn't forgiven him for the night before, "In light of what happened this morning I feel that I must mention that there are some rules that must be obeyed while you live here."
"Of course." Naruto said in a hurry. He certainly didn't want to upset the landlady any worse than he already had.
Miya took note of his quick acceptance and noted it down as a good sign and continued on with a small smile. "First, there will be no violence here at Izumo Inn."
"I can accept that." Naruto said with a grin. He really was looking for some rest and relaxation. Things had just been crazy since he and Hanabi had arrived. Even the first two months had been a major whirlwind of activity as they got used to their new environment. "What about training things like sparring? I heard that you and Musubi did some training last night."
"That's fine but nothing excessive. Now for the second rule is that there will be now lewd activities here either." Ouch, that was going to hurt. It was alright for now but once Hanabi was healed and returned. Well he could figure that out when the time came. He'd rather have Hanabi fight it out with Miya.
"What's 'lewd'?" Musubi asked as she gave Naruto a questioning look.
Crap, Naruto's shinobi senses were tingling. He knew that a wrong answer here could spell doom. Miya was looking at him with an expectant look, waiting for how he would respond. Uzume had a huge grin on her face as well. Naruto coughed and cleared his throat before he took a deep breath. "A lewd act is when someone does something that is related to…" Naruto stopped, he couldn't say sex. Musubi still thought it was a food. Damn the girl had the worst gaps in her vocabulary. He tried a different approach, sex was taboo and he wasn't going to go over that line again. "That is, it's something that occurs when one person does something physical to another that makes them feel very good."
"Oh! So like what you were doing to me with your fingers this…" Naruto quickly clamped a hand over Musubi's mouth. Naruto should have realized, with Musubi there is no line, it's a giant squiggle that seems to twist and turn wherever it feels like.
Dead silence reigned and the temperature started to drop drastically.
Crap, too late, he was so going to pay for this one. Naruto wondered idly if there was some way he could be put in the room beside Hanabi after Miya was done with him.
A dark aura began to manifest around Miya as her hair began to sway upon a non-existent breeze. Her eyes were stilled closed and she still had that small smile on her face but for some reason they both seemed to take on a much more sinister appearance.
Uzume hugged her arms around her knees and began rocking back and forth. "Oh god bro, what have you done, it's going to appear!"
"Now, now Miya, you can hardly expect the two of them to know about the rules before you explain them." Kagari tried to calm Miya down as he subtly began back away from the irate woman.
This did not bode well for Naruto. He didn't know what was going to happen but judging from the reaction of his fellow housemates, it wasn't going to be good.
And then it began to appear, Naruto didn't know what it was but something began to creep out from behind Miya's head. "Uzumaki-san, lewd acts within Izumo Inn are strictly…" Miya's smile widened almost imperceptibly, "Proh-"
A black blur shot past Miya's head and stabbed into the wall behind her. Naruto's hand and arm were stretched out towards Miya as if he had just thrown a projectile. His eyes were wide and his breath had started to become a little more labored.
"What the hell was that?" Naruto demanded as he stared at what it was he had pinned to the wall behind Miya. It appeared to be a purple mask of demonic visage. It still had a dark purple and black aura hovering around it although it appeared to be twitching? The kunai he had summoned from a seal on his wrist was stilled embedded in the wall where it had pinned the demonic mask. He had enhanced it with a little bit of wind chakra just in case.
Uzume's jaw had hit the floor and her eyes were bulging out of their sockets as she stared at the scene before her. She was completely speechless. She could only gape helplessly as she witnessed the impossible.
Kagari on the other hand looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown. Someone had defied Miya, they had defied Miya in her own household, they had… Kagari looked as if he was about to consider throwing all his manly pride out the window and run screaming from the room.
A tiny bit of color began to gently float through the air. Everyone's eyes were drawn to it. A single, long strand of beautiful purple hair gently floated in the breeze. It was perfect in every way, with one sole exception. One end had been cut. Everything else seemed to freeze in those few moments as the strand of hair gracefully danced in the air.
Naruto couldn't help but admire the situation, much like one would admire the calm before the storm.
And with an audible thud the strand landed gently on the table. Or maybe the thud was the sound of Naruto's own heart giving up and going on vacation having had enough of the stupid blond it was in. Naruto felt that it could as just as easily been either or.
No one spoke, no one looked away from the single strand of hair, no one made even a single twitch as if to do so would be to unleash the full fury of the storm that was held back by that single strand.
Naruto began to pray inside his head, My Almighty Lord the Log, Please let this be a Genjutsu, My Almighty Lord Ramen, Please let this be a Genjutsu.
Musubi sneezed and the strand of hair was blown away.
A massive oppressive dark purple and black aura erupted from Miya as her hair began to wave furiously in the air. Miya brought he hand up to her mouth and began chuckling. It wasn't one of those nice chuckles; it was one of those dark creepy chuckles that usually signalled the beginning of some unspeakable torment. She still had her eyes closed with the dark smile on her face and that only made the whole visage even worse.
Naruto swallowed hard. This was bad, this was very bad. Temari had looked very much the same when he had mentioned her weight. That was NOT an experience he wanted to go through a second time.
Naruto desperately searched around for any sort of help and found nothing. He couldn't bail and leave Musubi there. The poor girl was hiding behind Naruto, clinging to him desperately as she shook with fear. Uzume looked like she was about to hyperventilate and Kagari was literally trying to climb the walls. That left only a single source.
Kurama, help!
Oh HELL no, last time I helped you out in this situation Temari threw me into a mountain range. I'm STILL missing a patch of fur on my fifth tail due to that. You're on your own.
Oh come on! Please! She'll kill me! Naruto begged for help, Kurama was his last and only hope.
No way, if you die then you die; however I refuse to reform at a later date with TWO bald spots on my tails.
Damnit, Kurama had abandoned him in his darkest hour.
Naruto swallowed hard as the darkness increased and began to envelop everything in the room. It was no longer an aura that seemed to seep from Miya. It was an all-encompassing dominion that was reminiscent of Shikamaru's abilities.
Then 'they' began to appear.
The mask that Naruto had pinned to the wall had friends, a lot of friends. They began to appear everywhere. A dozen appeared around Miya their demonic visage suffocated everything. Some began to peek out from beneath the table while others began to peek around the edges of the door frame.
Naruto could have sworn he heard a shriek come from above him but he dismissed it, a little too preoccupied with his own impending doom to pay attention.
And then the masks started to bleed through the walls. Blood dripping from their eyes and mouths. The walls themselves began to take on a reddish hue. Kagari shrieked like a girl and jumped back from the wall.
"Oh God bro, why, why did you do it. We're all dead." Uzume barely managed to force out in terror. Her entire body shook and quivered in terror. It oddly reminded Naruto of when he had watched a single leaf hold on with all its might to a tree branch as a storm tried to rip it from its perch.
And then mercifully, she fainted.
Kurama... Naruto called out, I'm dead aren't I?
Yes kit, yes you are. Despite some of the bone-headed manoeuvres you've done over the course of your life and the trouble you've gotten me into, it was enjoyable. I'll miss you.
Naruto nodded to himself as he settled into the saiza position. He bent low as he pressed his head to the ground before Miya, "I know this is too late, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry." Remorse evident in his voice as he said farewell to Hanabi and Musubi and accepted his fate. There was no getting out of this one.
"Far too late Uzumaki-san. Far too late." Miya said with a demonic grin as she summoned her sword from seemingly thin air and grabbed it with her right hand. Her left hand plucked one of the masks that were hovering in the air and placed it on her face. "You'd best prepare yourself." The voice was dark, demonic and made even the hairs on Kurama's tail stand up on end. If people thought Kyubi could sound demonic, they hadn't heard an angry Miya.
Naruto just gulped as Miya lunged at him.
Hanabi... I'm sorry.
x~X~x
Hanabi suddenly woke up with the feeling that something bad was happening to her Naruto-kun. She quickly dismissed it though as she knew that nothing in the city could hurt him and began to concentrate on her surroundings.
There was the smell of stale, too-clean smell of anti-septic that was dominant in virtually all hospitals. She also noted that there weren't the usual beeps and tweets that were associated with monitoring devices so that meant the medics didn't consider her in any sort of life threatening condition. Nor did she feel any needles or tubes attached to her body, the only thing of note was that her arms were left above the covers of whatever bed she was in.
And the bed certainly felt far more luxurious than what she would have expected. It didn't feel like a normal hospital bed. The mattress was far too comfortable and the sheets far too nice.
Hanabi opened her eyes and slowly looked around the room. It certainly looked and smelled like a hospital room, albeit far more luxurious than anything she'd ever seen before. The monitoring devices were there, they just were not in use. Now that she got a good look at her bed she noted that the sheets were of a fine quality that rivalled what she was used to back in her father's compound. There were also many amenities built into the room such as a small television mounted to the far wall, what looked like a bathroom from the partially opened door and even a small makeshift kitchen, albeit one without a stove.
She also noted that her arms were carefully bandaged and wrapped. They also felt far better than they had when she was last conscious. They didn't hurt or burn anymore, although they were incredibly itchy. Hanabi wasn't much of a medic-nin but she knew that burns of that degree should hurt more than this. Either the technology they had here was incredible or she was so pumped up on painkillers she couldn't feel anything.
Regardless of what it was she used her training to block the itch out of her mind. It was oddly more difficult than she had anticipated. She could also tell that her arms were covered in some sort of liquid or gel like substance, probably to keep them moist and hydrated after what she had done to them.
And she knew what she had done to them. She had seen what had happened to her arms through her Byakugan. She had been too far gone to stop and even if she could, she couldn't risk those two women from getting away from her. It was only when the pain had gotten too intense for her to bear that she had broken the technique and stopped.
Her new abilities and her old ones were not compatible. At least not yet.
The Sekirei core she had within her had settled over where her broken celestial gate had been. It was effectively doubling as a secondary source of chakra, like Kurama was for Naruto, and as a replacement gate for her destroyed one. This meant that with her celestial gate restored her chakra coils were able to mend themselves properly. With the coils restored and the gates working properly her subconscious and body were able to handle chakra the normal way so she was now able to mould chakra like she could back in the Elemental Nations.
However the core did more than just act as a replacement gate. A Sekirei Core was different from regular chakra since it didn't push chakra through her coils. It was just as potent as regular chakra but it was far finer. Instead of needing coils to flow through her body it was able permeate every aspect of it instead through something akin to osmosis but different. The chakra that permeated through her body could be used for her new gravity based abilities. It also allowed her to better protected her inner body parts since she could encase any part of her body, even previous unprotected areas like her heart, lungs and other internal organs.
Unfortunately when she tried to use the two in conjunction there had been an incredible buildup of friction. Her Sekirei Core abilities were focused on her body, but directed with her hands. Her bloodline abilities were also mainly used with her hands. The two different applications of chakra caused friction with each other. The Sekirei Core focused on her arms and hands, permeating everything, but the chakra in her coils were rushing out with great abandon to fuel the Kaiten. Normally the chakra that permeated every cell in her body would just accommodate and move aside from the chakra in her coils but in this case they were both being utilized so it didn't make any accommodation. This caused the friction which in turn caused the internal temperature of her arms to increase exponentially until she literally started to cook from the inside out.
She was going to have to forget combining her more powerful Hyuga techniques with her new Sekirei powers. At least until she learned how to use her family techniques with only one hand or find some way to make the two different ways of chakra utilization to work together.
"Looks like I'm back in the hospital." Hanabi said with remorse, "Sometimes I envy Naruto and his ability to recover from virtually any wound in the span of twenty-four hours." That was a very useful ability to have, especially for a shinobi. She could deal without having the huge mass of demonic chakra inside her though. She moved her legs a bit and wiggled her toes. The bed really was far more comfortable than the one she had for her last hospital stay. "At least it's much nicer than the previous one."
Hanabi began to look around the room with more scrutiny. Naruto wouldn't have left her here with no message. The last thing she remembered was collapsing in his arms so she was sure it was him that brought her here.
Hanabi frowned as she saw nothing to indicate any sort of message. Then her eyes widened in realization. Of course Naruto wouldn't leave anything physical. It was too easily found or tampered with. He would have left a message in a different way, a way that only she could find and understand.
Which left only one option.
"Byakugan." Hanabi whispered as she activated her bloodline ability. She could activate her bloodline without hand seals; it was just faster with them.
If there wasn't a physical message there was going to be a non-physical message. And just as Hanabi had suspected there it was on the wall above the door directly in front of her. Naruto had left a message in chakra. He had stuck trace amounts of chakra in the shape of letters to form words and sentences on the wall. Too faint to be seen by the naked eye, but easily visible by her with her bloodline ability, even if it had faded a bit due to time.
At least Naruto's time as Hokage had improved his hand writing abilities. He had been atrocious back when he had first taken office.
Hi Hanabi, found hospital not related to MBI, get healthy soon, be back to visit when settled in at Alpha Point. *Smiley Face* a little bit down from the original message was a second one. P.S. Nice girl across hallway, could use a friend. Hanabi read silently in her head. Well that explained a few things at least. She knew where Naruto was and she had a better idea about her own situation. The second comment about the girl however peaked Hanabi's curiosity.
She focused her eyes and gazed through the two walls separating her room from the room across the way. It didn't grant her perfect vision considering the barriers in the way but she got a good idea of what was going on over there. She noticed two things right away. One of them was that the girl was definitely one of those individuals capable of becoming an Ashikabi and the other one was that there was something incredibly wrong with her chakra coils. Some sections seemed to be very dull, almost devoid of all chakra while others seemed to have bulges. Overall the chakra moved very unnaturally and sluggishly like something was inhibiting its natural movement. She needed to be in the same room to be able to analyze it in greater detail since the two walls made her vision slightly less than perfect.
Even without Naruto's suggestion the Hinata in her wouldn't be able to leave the girl alone. With her ability to see the chakra pathways and manipulate chakra at a very minute level within said pathways she may be able to help her.
She deactivated her bloodline ability as she saw a nurse come this way down the hallway outside, no need to startle anyone if she should walk in on her. Now she just needed to find some way to get up and meet the girl. She wasn't going to start walking around without permission, that was a good way to get into trouble and she was hardly in any position to defend herself at the moment.
It also hadn't helped that she had noticed three strong, probably Sekirei, chakra sources just outside the Hospital she was in. She didn't want to cause any raucous around unknown Sekirei.
And as if answering Hanabi's thoughts the door to her room opened up and the nurse she had seen earlier walked in. Hanabi couldn't help but think that this was a little too convenient.
The nurse brightened significantly when she noticed that Hanabi was awake, "Ah, Good! You're awake." The nurse said cheerfully as she picked up the clipboard attached to the foot of her bed. "We weren't sure when you would awaken. Your arms were in pretty rough shape and that sort of shock tends to have unpredictable results on a person's psyche."
Hanabi just shrugged as best she could, "I've been through worse. Thank you for taking care of me." She tipped her head a little. "How bad are my arms and when do you think I can leave?" Hanabi really didn't want to be stuck in the hospital for an extended period of time.
"I'm not going to lie, it was bad. However we did some surgery to drain the excess fluid building in your arms and applied some experimental cream based on some of the latest biological healing advances created by MBI." The nurse said proudly. Hanabi frowned for a moment and wondered if Naruto had been wrong about this hospital being associated with MBI. Her worries were laid to rest a moment later. "MBI may have the greatest technology in the world but that doesn't mean we can't acquire what they created." The nurse stopped for a moment, her face going white a bit, "You didn't hear me say that!"
"Hear what?" Hanabi asked innocently, playing along with the nurse.
The young woman smiled in relief, "Anyways, normally I would estimate several months to recover but with the new treatments it should only be a few weeks. We need to make sure your recovery goes smoothly. Burns don't heal overnight and we need to ensure that any excess fluid buildup is taken care of and that the skin is healing properly. You could lose permanent usage of your arms if they're not taken care of properly."
The explanation made sense to Hanabi. She didn't like it, she didn't want to be stuck in the hospital for that long, but the loss of her arms was completely unacceptable. At least that should give her plenty of time to get to know the person across the hallway.
"I see, thank you for being so honest with me." Hanabi meant it too. Honesty was actually pretty rare in the shinobi world, at least outside of a close knit group of comrades anyways. It actually made Hanabi a little suspicious but until she had some indication of subterfuge she was going to take the information in good faith. "I don't suppose you could help me up. I think I'd like to meet some of my neighbours. If I'm going to be here for a while I should at least make their acquaintance"
"I really shouldn't." The nurse said as she pursed her lips and looked down at the clipboard. The notes that the doctor in charge of Hanabi had said she shouldn't be up and about for at least a few more days although there were some time schedule for bedridden exercises to help keep the arms and hands retain their proper motions.
"You can be there with me, watch me the whole time." Hanabi said gently as she tried to convince the nurse to let her go. "I won't say anything to anyone. If anyone asks I'll just complain that I've been bedridden all this time."
The nurse sighed and caved in, "Alright, I suppose I could. Just for a short time though. I really shouldn't be allowing patients that just got out of surgery to walk around."
Hanabi smiled again. She was eager to get to know the girl and figure out what was wrong with her. It was in her nature, or rather Hinata's nature, to help those around her that were less fortunate.
Hanabi noticed that the door to her neighbours room was open which made her feel a bit more comfortable. It was difficult to simply go up and talk to someone you didn't know. You never knew what to say since it could come across the wrong way.
She never had this problem back in her village. Despite its size everyone in the ninja force knew just about everyone else. Even if you had never talked to someone there were always enough stories going around about both yourself and the other person that there was already some sort of common ground to work with before even saying the first word.
The nurse didn't actually accompany Hanabi as she poked her head into the room. She was probably being nice and giving Hanabi some time to introduce herself without a nurse hanging over her shoulder.
"Hey there." Hanabi said to the girl. Said girl was seated upright and reading a book in her lap.
She looked up at Hanabi and smiled welcoming. "Hello." Her eyes briefly glanced at the bandages wrapped around Hanabi's arms, "Are you my new neighbour?"
Hanabi nodded and stepped fully into the room, "Yes, I'm just across the hallway." She was beginning to feel a little more comfortable about this situation. This girl didn't seem to mind her presence at all.
"Ah! You must be Hanabi-san! I'm Chiho, Naruto-kun told me about you." Chiho said cheerfully as a smile creased her face.
Naruto-kun? "Not anything bad I hope."
Chiho giggled, "Oh no, nothing too bad. He talked about how you would stalk your sister when you were younger." Hanabi blushed a little at that.
She had been a curious child. She had always wondered where her sister went all the time and whenever she wasn't training with her father she was following her sister, discreetly. Because Hinata usually stalked Naruto Hanabi had become almost as familiar with the blond as her sister. Although she hadn't been as love sick and interested. That only happened after she had killed her sister.
Shaking away the bad memories Hanabi settled into the chair beside Chiho's bed. "He was told that story. My sister was always stalking him and he was too dense to notice. He never noticed she liked him until she confessed to him directly."
Chiho giggled again, "That sounds like Naruto-kun. He and Uzume-chan get along really well. They both seem to have similar interests."
Hanabi's world shook and for a second she thought it was about to end. This was an impossibility that should never have come to pass. Should Naruto ever team up with a female version of him.
Oh dear Log nothing would be safe then. It would be the beginning of the end.
"Please tell me this Uzume doesn't like orange or ramen."
"No, Uzume-chan doesn't like ramen, and her favorite colors are pink and purple."
Hanabi sighed in relief, "I was worried there for a moment."
Chiho smiled, "Yes, I meant to say they both love to tease and pull pranks. She especially loves to dress people up in strange outfits."
Oh dear Log this was bad. This was VERY bad.
"Hanabi-san." The nurse called from out in the hallway, "You should finish up quickly, the doctor is scheduled to have another look at your arms soon and you shouldn't be seen out of bed."
"Sorry Chiho, looks like I need to return to my room."
"That's fine Hanabi-san, I hope we can talk more soon." Chiho said.
Hanabi smiled at Chiho as she stood to leave, "Yes, I'd like that. It's nice to have a normal friend."
Hanabi could tell that this was going to be the start of a beautiful friendship. The two had warmed up to each other very quickly. It had helped that Naruto had broken the ice for them. She would have to do something nice for him when she got out of the hospital.
x~X~x
It was an odd sight to see as Naruto and Musubi had walked around the clothing store. The customers and the staff weren't quite sure what they were supposed to do in this situation. Although everyone else seemed to be trying to do their best to ignore the situation. If the young man didn't seem to be in any noticeable discomfort they weren't going to approach him.
For all they knew he could be one of those S&M people.
Naruto appeared as if he had just stepped out of a mixed-martial arts arena. His face was bloodied and bruised, welts could be seen on his arms and his hair was matted down in sweat and dried blood. They were healing rapidly in the eyes of many, but for Naruto they were taking an eternity. Kurama was too terrified to speed up the healing to any noticeable degree lest he raise the ire of the Hannya of the North. The only people that could call him a demon with a straight face were those that hadn't seen Miya when she was in 'that' mode.
Naruto, to his credit, wasn't harrowing Kurama about it either. He knew he deserved every bump, bruise and cut on his body so he was more than willing to endure the pain and discomfort for as long as required. Sometimes the four stages of reducing a woman's ire just wouldn't work and that situation back there was one such time. He had learned early on with Sakura that you never harmed a woman's hair. To do so was almost always a death sentence. He felt he was lucky that he had escaped without any broken bones or ruptured organs.
Naruto was currently standing in one of the change rooms of the store. Unlike most change rooms in clothing stores this place appeared to have entire sections sectioned off. The room Naruto was currently in wasn't the change room itself, although it had a locking door barring the room from the rest of the store. It more closely resembled an anti-chamber with two benches that lined the two side walls. There were actually two different, smaller, rooms that branched out from this room that were used to get changed in. Naruto, for one, was glad for this since Musubi hadn't shown any indication that she knew what modesty was.
Right now he was waiting for Musubi to finish changing into a new set of clothing she had picked out. One of the first things Naruto had decided to do was get Musubi some additional sets of clothing. While the Shrine Maiden outfit was all well and good, it didn't fit all situations.
Naruto just wasn't entirely sure that Musubi should be picking out her own clothing. Some of her choices were definitely strange. Although he couldn't be too sure himself since he wasn't any better when it came to female clothes. Hanabi should be the one here with Musubi but she was hospitalized for the moment.
The curtains opened and Musubi stepped out. A small grin crept across Naruto's face without him noticing. "How do I look Naruto-sama?" Musubi asked as she twirled around for him. Naruto's pants started to feel tight as he stared at Musubi and what she had put on. He hadn't even been aware that she had picked those clothing out.
It brought Naruto's mind back to an earlier conversation. When the customer service rep had handed Naruto the key to the room she had told him to behave. He hadn't understood what she meant but now he did. It would be very easy for a hot-blooded youth to get over-excited when a gorgeous woman stepped out from behind those curtains wearing nothing but sexy lingerie.
"You look amazing Musubi-chan." Musubi was garbed in a pair of silk black panties with a sheer black nightgown that barely seemed to contain her chest. It didn't leave anything to the imagination since Naruto could see right through it. Sure he had seen her in less, but for some reason adding that piece of fabric over her body made Musubi appear even more erotic. "You can never look anything but amazing, but I thought we were here to get your regular clothing?"
"Teehee." Musubi laughed as she rubbed her head and smiled at Naruto. "Hanabi-san wore clothing like this and you seemed to like it so I wanted to wear the same as well!" Musubi had absolutely no idea what she was doing to Naruto's self-restraint as she waved her hands animatedly. It took most of his self-control to remember that Musubi was only wearing it to make him happy, not to arouse him like Hanabi.
It was hard.
"Well I don't mind if you wear it so long as you remember to only wear it around me." It was about time he started to teach Musubi what modesty was. While it was fine for Musubi to walk around in the nude, he certainly didn't mind, he didn't want her to put on a show for the public.
"Yes Naruto-sama!" Musubi turned around bent over as she reached into the change room for something. Naruto got a full on look at Musubi's perfectly shaped behind. The panties seemed to stretch and mould perfectly to her heavenly area making it increasingly harder for Naruto to restrain himself.
Just take her from behind, you know she'll accept it joyfully. A voice whispered in his mind.
SHUT UP YOU PERVERT! Naruto shouted back. Laughter echoed through his mind as Naruto scowled.
That's like the pot calling the kettle black! That made Naruto scowl even more.
That scowl was quickly wiped away as Musubi suddenly straightened and pulled out another nightgown that looked identical to the one she was currently wearing. Between Musubi arousing him outside and Kurama egging him on from within it was becoming harder and harder to resist. "After you told me about how we lost everything in the old place I wanted to get this for Hanabi as well so we can both wear it for you at the same time." Musubi said cheerfully as she held up the second sheer nightgown in her hands.
Naruto swallowed hard as images of Hanabi and Musubi hugging him from either side in that nightwear danced through his mind. "That's great Musubi, I'm sure that Hanabi will be happy that you thought about her." He smiled at his Sekirei. "Why don't you try on some of the regular clothing next?" He had to get her into something a little less revealing otherwise the two of them would end up making a mess. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she'd accept anything he did to her, with total acceptance and joy, even if she had no idea what it exactly it was they were doing or its significance. Musubi deserved to know completely what the act entailed and what it meant before she was subjected to it. Most importantly she deserved to know the potential consequences.
As much as Naruto cared for Musubi he really didn't think she had much mother material in her as of yet. Figuratively speaking of course.
"Alright!" Musubi replied in her usual cheerful way. Musubi seemed to be so oblivious to his arousal and as if to torment Naruto even more she began to take off her clothing right there in front of him.
"Ahem." Naruto coughed lightly as he pointed to the change room.
Musubi blushed a little in embarrassment as she let the hem of her nightgown drop. She knuckled her head and stuck her tongue out at herself. "Teehee, Musubi is still getting used to this whole modesty thing." Musubi apologized as she headed back into the change room.
Naruto sighed in relief. He never had to deal with any of this back in the Elemental Nations. Any of this. The only time he had been able to relax and shop for clothing was prior to the war. Sure Ino and Sakura had used him as a baggage boy from time to time but neither of them were like Musubi. He was usually forced to wait outside the store while the girls tried on every outfit and they most certainly didn't pose for him. If he had so much as taken a single peak, even accidentally, they'd beat him into the ground.
Musubi insisted on him seeing every outfit before she was satisfied. Unless it got his approval she wasn't happy with it. He just wanted her to get what she wanted, but apparently in her vocabulary that meant what he wanted. He wasn't planning on getting very much this trip. Just a few extra sets of clothing since he was going to wait until Hanabi could take her out before the fleshed out the wardrobe. A box full of her shrine maiden outfits had been delivered just before their trip out to the stores and while that was all fine and good variety was the spice of life.
"We'll need to get a TV after this." Naruto mused as he stared up at the ceiling. A television was very good for keeping up with current events. It was usually lacking in details, and almost always biased towards a single side or view point, but it was a good place to find out what was going on, even if they whys and who's were convoluted.
"Really? We're getting a TV?" Musubi asked from behind the change curtain. She sounded even more energetic than usual if that was possible. "I really like TV's! I can learn all sorts of things about the outside world that way!"
"Outside world?" Naruto started, that was an odd way of putting it. He had assumed that Musubi was a little sheltered due to her naivety but this was pushing it. Did she spend her entire life in a lab being experimented on by men in lab coats or something?
There was some rustling as the curtains began to move. Musubi opened the curtains and stepped out in a set of clothing. These ones were pretty simple and plain. Just a set of bloomers and a tight fit T-Shirt with the number 88 on the front. "Yes! The world that you live in. We Sekirei were born on an island and we were controlled there." Musubi stopped just in front of Naruto and did another twirl for him. "How do I look?"
Naruto felt as if he had just had a bucket of cold water dumped over his head. Any arousal he once had fled instantly, he couldn't even appreciate the tight fitting clothing that Musubi was wearing. "A-Ah, they look great Musubi." Naruto cleared his throat to clear out the lump that had formed there, "What do you mean by controlled?" He was half afraid to ask.
Musubi smiled up at Naruto and spread her arms out wide. "Newborn Sekirei's can't adjust to the outside world or control their power very well." Musubi explained as she moved forward and embraced Naruto tightly as she buried her face in his chest. He just stood there accepting the embrace as he waited for Musubi to continue, "For example if I couldn't control myself I would have turned you into a pancake by now." Musubi pulled back a bit and lifted her head. Her eyes were closed and her face was flushed as she smiled at her Ashikabi.
"I think I probably would have been fine." Naruto said after a moment. Then again he had to admit, Musubi was far stronger than the average woman and for any of the regular civilians he had seen around the city she probably could have caused legitimate harm.
Musubi stepped back and giggled, "True, Naruto-sama is much stronger than I would have expected from my destined one. Musubi is so lucky to have you as an Ashikabi, I don't have to worry about hurting you." Musubi playfully hit Naruto in the stomach.
"Yes, I'm much stronger than anyone realizes." He replied with a smile. Musubi only nodded her head clueless assuming he was referring to his physical strength. "You mentioned an island earlier?"
Musubi brought both her hands up to her lips and tilted her head to the side slightly. "Ah! Kamikura island! It's a secret island of the MBI and it's not on the map either. However it's off the east coast of Japan and it's where all Sekirei are born and the initial adjustments take place." Musubi replied cheerfully, glad to be of assistance to her loved one. Naruto only shook his head in amusement. Apparently Musubi either didn't know what secret meant, or was just one of those individuals that completely forgot that something was a secret two seconds after being told.
Well Naruto wasn't going to stop and correct Musubi in this situation. The more he learned about MBI the better. Speaking of learning more about MBI. Naruto made a hand sign behind his back.
The store clerks were in total shock as they watched a completely healed Naruto walk out of the store.
"How many more sets of clothes do you have left to try on?" Naruto asked as he glanced at Musubi up and down taking what she was wearing in for the first time. His earlier response had been automatic but now that he had the mental faculties capable of appreciating what Musubi was wearing he found himself wanting.
"Just one more!" Musubi said as she rushed back into the change room and began to change into her final outfit.
"Musubi-chan... the curtain."
"Oh, hehe, oops." Musubi apologized as she closed the curtain. Teaching Musubi anything was a very slow process it seemed. Anything outside of battling and love seem to go right through one ear and out the other.
And food Naruto mused, although Musubi seemed to only remember that when he stomach growled which was usually all the time.
Naruto was feeling a little better now. Musubi's earlier revelation about control had seriously worried him but it seemed that she meant she had help controlling her power, not that she herself was being controlled. Still, it probably meant that has earlier assessment that she was born and raised in a lab was probably pretty close to the truth.
This meant that both he and Hanabi had a lot to teach Musubi before she was up to speed with what a girl her age should know.
"When did you leave the facility?" Naruto asked Musubi. He was sort of curious as to just how much real life experience the young Sekirei had.
"Just recently. Maybe a few weeks before I met you Naruto-sama." Musubi's voice floated across the divide between the anti-chamber and the change room. "I didn't keep track, hehe, I was sort of busy getting chased by those meanies Hanabi-san beat."
Naruto sighed in exasperation and rubbed a hand through his spiky hair. "So that's why you seem to be so clueless about the outside world."
"Muuu, that's not nice Naruto-sama." Naruto chuckled as he envisioned Musubi pouting cutely. "If I hadn't been kidnapped my adjustments would have been done much sooner."
Naruto silenced in mid-chuckle. His blood ran cold again. Kidnapped? Adjustments? What the hell happened to Musubi in the past? "You were kidnapped?" Naruto asked cautiously. He tried to keep his wariness and concern out of his voice.
Not that it mattered much since Musubi could feel what he felt through their bond, "Don't worry Naruto-sama! I'm fine, Yume-sama rescued me and saved my life!" Musubi said cheerfully as she opened the curtain and stepped out of the change room.
Musubi had finished changing into the final set of clothing she had picked out. This time Musubi was wearing a swimsuit: A simple black two-piece bikini. Naruto's blood wasn't certain what it wanted to do. Rage in uncontrollable lust as he stared at the gorgeous women in a two piece bikini or stay cold at the thought of Musubi being kidnapped and adjusted.
Musubi smiled as she felt Naruto's emotions stir again at the sight of her. She was probably the most naïve girl in the world but she still knew these types of clothing made her Ashikabi happy, even if she didn't know exactly why. If it made Naruto-sama happy she'd wear it for him gladly.
"Yume-sama?" Naruto questioned. He assumed that was the name of another Sekirei but one he hadn't heard of before. He really needed to get his hands on more information, or at least someone that could get him that information. This lack of knowledge was troubling him greatly.
"Yes! Yume-sama is a Sekirei like Musubi! She was amazing." Musubi gently placed a hand on Naruto's chest and gazed up into his eyes. "Musubi was kidnapped when she was young but Karasuba-sama and Yume-sama both came to rescue me." Musubi grasped Naruto's right hand and gently placed it directly upon her left breast. "Musubi was dying but Yume-sama saved my life. She gave herself up to heal me. I can feel her inside me even now, can't you?"
At first Naruto didn't understand exactly what Musubi was saying. His hormones were raging out of control as he gently squeezed the soft flesh beneath his fingers. Musubi's face became flushed at his ministrations and her breath started to quicken. Between the feeling in his hand, the clothing Musubi was wearing and the expression on her face Naruto was sure that any moment he was going to lose control and ravage Musubi right then and there when he suddenly understood what Musubi meant. It would be better to say he 'felt' what she meant.
He hadn't noticed it before now, he hadn't really been looking. It was especially hard to notice since the two were so similar to each other. Like himself, Musubi had two different types of chakra within her body. The only reason he noticed it now was due to the prolonged contact. He was able to 'feel' that the normal chakra moved differently at times and was able to trace that. One type of chakra flowed normally throughout Musubi's body like Naruto had come to expect from a Sekirei, but the other seemed to be stationary. As if it was the remnants of something else that was locked to a specific location. The normal flowing chakra was never used for anything, it was simply used to regenerate or recuperate the stationary chakra and it was that chakra that was used to enhance Musubi's physical capabilities.
He hadn't even noticed the stationary chakra until now. He wondered if Hanabi had noticed it earlier. Naruto stiffened suddenly and his eyes widened in realization. In his mindscape, the representation of Musubi's feelings wasn't a single orb, it was two. A large central one with a secondary orb that circled the primary regenerating cracks.
There was no other explanation. That was Yume, or at least the mental representation of Yume's consciousness. And since it seemed to be consciously working to repair the damage… it meant that Yume wasn't dead.
There was something Naruto needed to confirm but he'd have to wait until tonight when Musubi was asleep.
Naruto gave one last final squeeze before he pulled his hand away from Musubi's chest. He smiled gently down at the Sekirei and pulled her into a warm embrace. "Yes, I feel it too Musubi. I understand now."
"Naruto-sama." Musubi sighed softly in contentment as she returned the embrace with equal fervor. She didn't know what brought this on but she was glad that her Ashikabi was feeling better. He felt so warm right now and it made her feel warm inside as well, especially between her legs.
Naruto didn't want to let Musubi go. His protective instincts came back in full force and he swore to himself then and there if he ever found out who had kidnapped Musubi they'd have to deal with a two-hundred tall foot rampaging demon of (former) rage and destruction.
x~X~x
Seo slowly stood and brushed off his pants as the black tinted limousine pulled up to the edge of the road in front of him. Seo hated this but a job was a job and like his Sekirei constantly reminded him he couldn't be stingy in what he accepted. What he hated even more was that he had been forced into accepting a job for the one company he never wanted to deal with again: MBI.
It still didn't help the bitter taste that it left in his mouth. It wasn't like the man had done any harm to him or his Sekirei. He had just been acting cautious and careful and wanted some information. He could relate to the man.
When the car finally stopped Seo opened the door and got in. It was a posh interior but Seo didn't pay much attention to it, he wasn't here to admire the interior of the vehicle. He was here to finish the job and get out.
Beside him was a woman, Takami Sahashi to be exact. She was dressed formally wearing a full black grey suit with a white undershirt and black tie. She looked exactly like he had last seen her; the only difference was an eye-patch that covered her left eye. It appeared she had been injured recently.
"I take it you were successful." Takami stated as if she already knew the answer and just wanted confirmation. It wasn't even a true question.
"It's finished, I got what you wanted." Seo growled as he fished out an MBI card and handed it over to Takami. "I still don't understand why you wanted me to steal that for you."
Takami gazed at the card in her hand as she rubbed a thumb over it. "You don't need to know. All you need to understand is that it has served its purpose and we no longer required the owner to possess it."
There had not been any need to take it away from its owner. It was still useful in keeping track of enigma and the charges that had been racked up on it were hardly debilitating for a major corporate conglomerate like MBI.
Minaka however had been insistent. He had changed recently, although he's always had a few screws loose. He just seemed to have a few more these days.
"He's going to be pissed that we took that card from him you know." Seo said as he sighed. He didn't want to go through that experience again. Seo was a worldly person, he had seen the eyes and he knew what type of person he was. Those were the eyes of someone who had killed it wouldn't hesitate to do so again for the right reason.
"Let me worry about Naruto Uzumaki." Takami replied as she dismissed Seo's concerns. "If worse comes to worst I can just blame Minaka. I don't think anyone would miss that madman."
MBI was working on the blood Naruto had given them. All sorts of applications were coming to light including antibodies and gels that could be used to speed up the natural healing process of the body without the risk of expensive procedures and technologies. The blood couldn't be duplicated for some odd reason but they were able to analyze the methods in which the blood did what it did and were able to duplicate the method itself by other means.
Seo sighed opened the door and stepped outside. He needed some fresh air and Takami liked to smoke. He'd had enough. He turned back and leaned slightly as he peered back into the car. "Fine, but I'm not taking the fall for this if he finds out I swiped the card. I'm going to pin the blame squarely on MBI. I don't feel like having another blade pressed against my neck."
"Did he really do that?" Takami asked in surprise. Takami looked as if she didn't believe Seo. Takami had originally thought Naruto to be the kind of individual that only acted violently if provoked. Although Seo did manage to provoke people pretty easily.
"Naruto didn't, his girl did though. Those two are not normal people Takami. I'd be very careful when dealing with them. They possess strange techniques, strength that surpassed that of a physical-type Sekirei and experience. They're not like the Sekirei. They have the look of professional soldiers. They'll take most Sekirei apart piece by piece in a straight up fight."
Takami scoffed at that, "I know Naruto has some interesting attributes but I can hardly see them standing toe to toe against the Sekirei."
The whole idea was ludicrous. Naruto and Hanabi were humans, that much had been thoroughly examined. While both were unique in their own way neither of them had the core associated with being a Sekirei. The core was what made the Sekirei as strong and powerful as they were.
"I'm being serious Takami. I know the girl at least, Hanabi I think her name was, can completely erase her presence. She was able to walk right by my face without me noticing her. She knocked out one of my Sekirei, Hikari, without either of them realizing she was there and Hibiki only noticed when her sister didn't respond. It's like she's been trained to take people out in secret, like an assassin." Naruto disturbed Seo greatly, but Hanabi disturbed him more. He was very observant, and after the modifications that his friend had done to him he was even more aware of his surroundings yet that girl had been able to get the drop on him. It was unnatural.
Takami frowned as Seo's tone and expression took a more serious turn. She looked as if she was beginning to seriously consider what he was saying. He knew he was a no-good mooching bum but he did have a few areas where he excelled at and was relied upon. He knew Takami wasn't stupid enough to totally dismiss what he was saying when he became serious.
He almost never became serious without good cause. If he was serious now Takami would be the fool if she ignored him completely.
"I'll take your advice into consideration." Takami finally said after a moment of deliberation. "Your payment has been forwarded to your Sekirei." A small smirk crossed Takami's face as Seo's expression became sad. "I'm well aware of your philandering ways. The money is better managed in their hands. Have a good night." The door closed and the limousine drove off.
"Tch." Seo said as he turned and walked off down the street. After everything that had happened he needed a drink. He doubted his Sekirei would let him though.
Maybe he could relieve his stress some other way. A lecherous grin spread across Seo's face as he picked up the pace.
Author's Notes:
I wanted to leave a cliff hanger here but decided not to. Well I don't consider at least I don't consider this a cliff hanger anyways. I could have, quite easily, but if I leave too many cliff hangers people will get upset and they'll lose their impact. These past two chapters, and possibly even the next two, are meant to be sort of a wind-down, a rest period between hectic situations. Kuu-chan's rescue is gonna be awesome ^_^. Well MY kind of awesome anyways.
Hopefully everyone enjoyed this chapter and that there weren't too many spelling/grammatical mistakes. I don't have a beta, I just re-read each chapter 1-2 times before I post it and I usually catch most things. Changes in tenses is probably one of the few things I don't catch very easily so just bare with me if you see any.