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 Kishimoto and Sakurako Gokurakuin. Only original thoughts and or characters created in this story are my own.

Author's Notes: I really like this chapter; I had some great fun with it. I have to say this is one of my favorites. I am slightly concerned about how I portrayed Miya but I feel that I've built up to it enough that it's not 'too' odd. (And no, it's not the winging, but it's almost as good, at least I think so)

Oh, and if you thought that last chapter threw you for a loop, this one will be even more confusing. I have more elements still to throw in your face before I start tying things up.

Also I came to the startling realization that I've been screwing up my dialogue quite a bit since the beginning. My punctuation at the end of the quotations was wrong more often than not, not to mention the punctuation with the following descriptors and dialogue options. I think I've fixed all cases of it in this chapter so hopefully going forward that particular grammar error won't be reappearing or at least it'll be as rare as any other grammatical mistake I make.

It's hard to catch all of them without a beta.

Review Responses: I know many people are probably confused over the Takami and Minaka scene last chapter. It raises a lot of questions and doesn't answer anything. I gave you a tiny peek behind the scenes. However by itself it makes little to no sense. This is intentional; it's designed to get you thinking of possibilities. There are still quite a few key pieces missing from the puzzle so I'd be very surprised if anyone wasn't at least a little confused by the last chapter.

Trust me, it will all work out. Once I unveil some of the bigger pieces of information it will all start to come together.

The Religion/Cult of Kyuubi. I could do so much with this but I won't. The problem with the religion is that I can either use it as a gag from time to time for kicks or do it seriously, which would cause it to have a dominate role in my story. The latter would cause my story to derail too much so I won't be going that route. I'll still use the religion however to a small degree. Sasuke had fan girls, Naruto gets cultists. That should give you an idea of how I intend to use them.

At least for now anyways, who knows, perhaps a certain someone will lead an army of cultists against MBI in the future, we'll see how things play out closer to the finale.

It was mentioned both in the previous chapter and back during the civil war that Minaka had 12 more Sekirei at his side, Sekirei that weren't connected with the 107 under Miya's charge. Obviously they can't be canon Sekirei; they'll have to be new ones. Now I could either treat them in one or two different ways. I could either create twelve completely original characters, or I could try and leverage characters that already exist. Obviously since I revealed Hiashi I've gone with the latter option. The reason for this is if I'm going to use a plot element, I'm going to fully use it. I'm not just going to make twelve fodder Sekirei for Naruto and Co. to steamroll, although there will be some of that. I'm going to use at least some of those characters to elicit strong emotional responses from Naruto and Co. and they'd also have to be people that could realistically give them a challenge.

Some people don't like me bringing back people from Naruto's world, I understand your views I think, it seems kinda cheesy and detracts from the whole Sekirei Universe feel, but at the same time what other option do I have without simply making 12 random worthless characters? There isn't enough time in the story to flesh out twelve new characters, and I'm not sure anyone would even care if I did. Of course that being said while I am bringing some Naruto characters back, I'm not bringing back twelve, about half of them will be cameos/OC because I want some characters that I can simply steam roll over (although not necessarily will all cameos get steamrolled). I've got one cameo already decided, for the other five I'm open to suggestions, just nothing North American, gotta be anime/manga related.

Chapter 23: The Aberration

Yume hummed a simple tune as she walked out of the grocery store. Her hands were full of grocery bags. She was here on another errand for Miya. The landlady had so much to do these days with all the residents living at Izumo Inn. Despite the workload it was obvious she enjoyed it. Yume and everyone else all pitched in some way to make Miya's life easier.

Even Naruto-kun did, although his was in the form of monetary donation. Although most didn't realize it he was actually paying enough to cover the rent of everyone that couldn't afford it. Miya had objected to that at first but Naruto had been insistent, constantly finding ways of slipping the money into her pocket without her knowing. Eventually she just gave in and accepted the increased payment.

Despite her reluctance to accept more money from Naruto she was in need of it. The amount of food, electricity and water the extra residents used up, along with all the other bills, was more than the amount of rent Minato and Naruto provided. Now that Homura had undergone a gender transformation her job as a host was done.

Speaking of money the cost of everything in the city had gone up since Naruto unleashed Kurama on the city. People were terrified now and no one wanted to ship goods to the area. It took a lot of extra monetary incentive to bring the shipments in.

The only reason that inflation hadn't completely skyrocketed was that half the residents of Shinto Teito had fled for good. The area around where Kurama had appeared was a ghost town, no one wanted to shop there, drive through there, or even do business in that area. Well almost no one.

It had become essentially become a wasteland. Emergency response teams had stayed there long enough to pull the people and bodies out of the rubble and then fled.

There were only two groups of individuals that occupied that part of town now: The underworld and the 'Religion of Kyuubi' that had begun to spread like wildfire. The latter group had a massive spike in recruitment over the past month because of Kurama's presence. He had become a major religious icon now and had tens of thousands of worshippers. Every one of them view Naruto has the 'Lord Kyuubi' in disguise.

There was nothing quite like the physical manifestation of a religious icon to boost recruitment.

And Akitsu was taking outrageous advantage of it. She had taken her role as head priestess far more seriously than everyone else. Blanc had written up some basic rules and commandments but Akitsu had basically taken control of the entire movement. A church had even been erected in record time and she spent every Saturday morning there holding mass.

It was nice that Akitsu finally found a hobby but it was definitely a rather disconcerting one. At least they had some semblance of control over the religion so it wouldn't get out of hand. Thanks to that no one was sacrificing virgin maidens or doing anything else equally outrageous.

Thankfully no one at Izumo Inn, aside from Naruto's Sekirei, had made any sort of connection between the appearance of the nine-tailed demon fox and Naruto. That was probably for the best with all things considered. Everyone that had been knocked out at ground zero had suffered memory loss. None of them had been able to remember waking up that morning so no one knew that it had actually been Naruto that had unleashed the demon.

The worst Naruto had to worry about was fanatical cultists chasing him. Every time he left Izumo Inn for more than a few minutes he'd have screaming cultists trying to chase him down so they could touch his 'holy and divine flesh'.

Hanabi had taken out more than one over enthusiastic female that had tried to throw their naked body at him.

"Oh hello Yume-san," a familiar voice called out.

Yume was jerked from her recollection and turned to the familiar voice. She blinked in surprise when she saw who it was. "Ayesha-san! Where have you been? You disappeared almost two months ago."

Ayesha looked as she always did. Clean, pristine, carefree and happy. "Oh I thought I'd go to the store nearby and get some herbs for my tea but I think I got lost on the way back."

Lost was an understatement. "How did you get lost for months? Didn't you ask for directions?" Yume asked in concern.

"Oh I did, there were so many kind generous people that were willing to guide me." Ayesha replied. She had a hand over her mouth and was smiling beautifully.

"Well they must have steered you wrong, here, just follow me. I'm heading back to Izumo Inn now." Yume said as she started down the street.

"Oh how nice of you. Thank you Yume-san." Ayesha said as she fell into step behind Naruto's Sekirei.

"What happened to you?" Yume asked curiously. She really wanted to know how it was possible to get that lost in this city. Sure Shinto Teito was big, but two months was easily enough time to have found her way back, even by accident.

"Oh as I was leaving the store with my herbs I sort of forgot which direction I came from." Ayesha said cheerfully as she waved at some random strangers that passed by. They hesitantly waved back. "This nice man came up to me and asked if he could help me. I said I was lost and then he offered to escort me home, so I accepted."

"How did he know where Izumo Inn was?" Yume asked in confusion.

"Oh, I never thought about that. I never did mention where I wanted to go," Yume's suddenly had a very bad feeling about where this was heading. "He took me to this nice Hotel over on the west end. It looked pretty run-down on the outside but the inside was very pretty and colorful. He asked me kindly if I would stay the night there with him so I agreed." Yume's eyes began to widen in horror. "He kept touching me all night long. He seemed really sad and lonely so I helped him feel better. I don't know why he kept saying he was sorry as he thrust himself into me but I just hugged him and told him it was alright. He cried an awful lot that whole week we were together."

"Ayesha…" Yume started and swallowed hard, "That man just-"

"Raped me? Oh no, of course not," she finished for Yume. Ayesha laughed merrily and waved away her concern, "he just wanted some comfort so I comforted him."

"But he was a complete stranger!" Yume said in a strangled voice.

"So? Naruto-san was a complete stranger before I met him but he's a wonderful man is he not?" Ayesha pointed out.

"That's different!" Yume shot back indignantly. Naruto-kun never forced himself on anyone. He loved them all and they loved him back in return. That's what made it alright. That man just forced himself on Ayesha and then felt guilty afterwards.

What horrified Yume the most is that it was that Ayesha truly and honestly felt that there had been nothing wrong with giving herself completely to a total stranger. Now that Yume truly focused her eyes on Ayesha she realized that Ayesha had 'too' much love. It was indiscriminate, complete, total and absolute.

It was unnatural.

Yume sighed and tried to bring the conversation back on track. "What happened to that man?" she asked although she almost didn't want to find out.

"Oh, he's dead," her companion replied without a care in the world, "One morning I saw him staring out into the distance from the balcony. He looked so sad I didn't know what to do. I wanted to help him but I didn't know how." Ayesha looked a little sad as she tilted her head and stared up into the sky. "But then he glanced down at the street mournfully and that's when I knew how to help him! He obviously wanted out but had forgotten his wallet and couldn't pay for the Hotel room so I helped him."

"You helped him?" the bad feeling in her stomach began to grow worse.

"Yup! He was already leaning over the edge of the balcony so I just grabbed his legs and helped him over the rest of the way. That way he was able to get out of the Hotel without paying!"

Yume's look became even more horrified, "Please tell me you were on the first floor."

"We were on the tenth. He screamed and stretched his arms out towards me. I don't know what he was trying to say but he obviously wanted to be with me so I jumped out after him," Ayesha said as she skipped merrily across the crosswalk. "He might have survived the fall, I don't know, but when I landed on him he sort of broke." There was a regretful undertone to her voice at the end there.

Yume made a strangled noise in her throat, "And then it took you almost two months to wander here to this store?" Yume asked aghast.

"Oh, no, I met a couple of wonderful men that saw me land on him. They said things like threating to call the police if I didn't follow them. They seemed desperate so I went along with what they wanted."

"Oh no… Ayesha-san…" Yume couldn't believe this. How could this happen to someone like her? The worst thing is that she believed her. Yume didn't think Ayesha even had the capacity to lie, or the desire to even if she could.

"Oh it wasn't that bad. I had lots of company in that shipping container," Yume's jaw dropped but Ayesha continued on as if she didn't notice. "There were at least a hundred of us in there. Most of them were in rags and they all looked very malnourished. It was so sad that I just wanted to help them."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," Yume whispered to herself.

"We were in there days, I don't know how long. Those men said we were going on a boat ride to some place called 'Egypt.' Do you know where that is? Interesting place though, very hot and dry. I got sand in uncomfortable places while I was there," Ayesha said as she recalled the past month.

"Egypt is halfway around the world," Yume answered.

"Ah! That's right! I remember seeing huge pyramids. Anyways I did the only thing I could think of to help the people in that container."

"And what was that?"

"Well they were all starving so I figured why starve when there's a nice source of food right there!"

"No, no, no, you didn't!" Yume cried out as she desperately tried to protest what Ayesha was about to say next. There was only one source of nutrition that Yume could think of in that sort of enclosed environment, no matter how horrifying it may seem to be.

"They were very vigorous and enthusiastic about it. By the time we reached Egypt there were only five of them left but they were all quite healthy. They weren't hungry anymore. When we finally reached Egypt though they were all pretty upset about what happened. I don't know why they felt guilty but they felt the need to atone for their mistakes. So I happily agreed to help them and broke their necks. They all died with a smile on their face." Ayesha had a brilliant smile of her own as well as she described the event.

Yume stared at Ayesha in abject horror. There was something fundamentally BROKEN inside Ayesha. She was not innocent like Naruto and Hanabi had once thought her to be. This was something far different, something far worse and almost incomprehensible.

Ayesha had no concept of right and wrong, good and evil. To her life was only a series of causes and effects. She did what she felt like without any regard to morality of the action. It's not that she had bad morals; she just didn't have any in the first place or even considered them if she did. She was a blank slate that couldn't be written on.

Yume was having second thoughts on bringing Ayesha back to Izumo Inn but it was too late. The Inn had just come in sight and even if she left Ayesha now she could still find her way there.

"Eventually I found another nice man who was willing to fly me back to Japan," Ayesha said happily as she wrapped up her story, "It was a shame when his plane slammed into a bridge leading into Shinto Teito. Maybe I shouldn't have mixed that tea for the pilots. I don't know why they kept screaming 'Cthulhu is attacking us! May-day! Cthulhu is attacking us!' Do you know what a Cthulu is? Is that some kind of noodle? I've never heard of it before," Ayesha said questioningly as she looked over at Yume.

Yume would have palmed her face if her hands weren't full of grocery bags. Instead she just stared down at the sidewalk and sighed, "So, let me get this straight. You went to the store to pick up some herbs and were taken to a love hotel by a stranger that had sex with you for a week straight. Then you threw him off a balcony ten stories up, jumped after him, landed on him and killed him. Then you were picked up by slavers, shipped across two oceans to Egypt, convinced the other slaves to eat each other and then killed the ones that survived. After that you wandered around Egypt for a while until you got picked up by ANOTHER strange man, got flown to Japan where the plane crashed landed into a bridge because your tea caused the pilots to hallucinate and think they were under attack by a giant flying tentacle monster?"

"Oh you're very good at summarizing this!" Ayesha said happily.

"What is WRONG with you?" Yume demanded in total bewilderment.

"I'm not sure I understand Yume-san? I'm perfectly fine!" Ayesha said as she spread her arms wide, "See, no injuries!" She twirled around Yume happily.

Yume sighed, that was a completely different issue and probably something she would have found equally disconcerting if her mind wasn't already filled to the brim with all the crazy it could currently handle, "That's not what I was talking about…" she trailed off as she walked into the main foyer of Izumo Inn. This wasn't really a conversation she wanted to continue here.

She glanced around the room and noticed that almost everyone was here. Blanc was leaning against the wall near the door playing with a tablet that was hooked up wirelessly to the computer in her Ashikabi's room. She was so absorbed in whatever task Hanabi and Naruto had given her that Blanc never noticed her enter the Inn.

Minato was sitting on one side of the table. Kuu-chan was in his lap while Kaho and Tsukiumi were on either side on him. They looked as if they were getting ready to eat. Yume checked the clock and realized it was actually close to lunch. The smell of food wafting from the kitchen should have given it away immediately but her mind had been so pre-occupied with Ayesha's story she hadn't noticed right away.

Akitsu was there as well, leaning against one of the walls near the kitchen door as she waited patiently for Naruto and Hanabi to come down and join them. She always waited for Naruto to seat himself before she joined him.

Yume noticed that Chime was nowhere to be seen, she was probably upstairs with Hanabi and Naruto.

Matsu was sitting in the opposite corner from Blanc with a tablet of her own. She kept glancing over at the blue haired Sekirei so whatever she was doing probably had to do with Blanc. Knowing what her abilities were she was probably intercepting and receiving everything Blanc was.

The last Sekirei in the room, Homura, was lounged at the end of the table with his arms sprawled back and his legs crossed.

"Everyone, you won't believe who I just ran into… or what she's been through these past couple months," Yume said as she started over towards the kitchen to deliver the groceries.

Miya popped out of the kitchen and smiled at Yume, "Oh thank you Yume-san. This will…" Miya trailed off.

"Ah hello everyone!" Ayesha said as she slowly entered Izumo Inn. "Hello Miya-chan," She said as she addressed Miya personally.

Yume pointed a hand at Ayesha, "Everyone, our wayward sheep, Ay-." She gasped as an enormous pressure slammed into her.

The air seemed to burn as Miya glared at Ayesha with murderous intent. They could all felt the overwhelming pressure. It was highly focused and contained but all those within the room felt it even if no one outside could.

"Holy hell…" Blanc gasped out as she was brought crashing to her knees. The tablet clattered across the floor. The sheer terror that ripped through her body was almost beyond anything she had ever experienced before. The only thing that could compare was Kurama, but she had been miles away when he had been unleashed, not four meters away like she was now with Miya. She just wanted to curl up into a tiny little ball and hide in the deepest, darkest hole she could find. She took a quick frightened glance around the room and noticed that the others weren't faring well either.

Tsukiumi, Kusano, Kaho and Minato were all unconscious. Foam and spittle dribbled from Minato's mouth as he stared blankly up at the ceiling. His Sekirei weren't in much better condition. Tsukiumi and Kaho were flat on their backs and their eyes were rolled into the back of their heads. Kusano was still in Minato's lap as she stared blankly to the side.

Homura was huddled into a tiny ball as he tried to under the table in the center of the room and Matsu was curled up in the far corner staring at Ayesha with sheer terror in her eyes.

No one had ever felt Miya this upset before. Not even Matsu during her time in the first disciplinary squad, not when Naruto was nearly killed by a tank. This even paled in comparison to what had felt when Miya had found out Takehito had been killed.

The air seemed to literally vibrate and glow with murderous intent.

Like Blanc, Akitsu had been driven to her hands and knees. She shook like a leaf in the wind during a powerful wind storm and sweat poured down her face. Akitsu refused to look up. She herself had been broken once she had instantly recognized a kindred soul. She knew that something was wrong with Ayesha the moment she had laid her eyes on the woman but she could never quite figure out what it was.

Miya apparently knew.

Even Yume quaked as she gripped the wall behind her and used it as support to stay upright. Though she was the former head of the Disciplinary Squad like Miya, the worst she had to deal with was Karasuba, and this made even her former subordinate seem as gentle as a baby kitten.

Only Ayesha seemed entirely unaffected by Miya's look.

"No Greeting Miya-chan?" Ayesha asked cheerfully as she smiled into the face of death.

"And why would I wish to greet you after everything you've done?" Miya spat out.

"Aww, Miya-chan is being mean again," Ayesha said sadly, a small sniffle escaped her as she looked around the room curiously, "I don't see Naruto-kun. Oh I wanted to see him again and thank him."

The floor beneath Miya cracked and splintered as pure rage began to emanate from her.

Miya tilted her head slightly and her look became almost inhuman, "Stay. Away. From Him."

The still conscious residents of Izumo Inn felt the words scorch their minds with the force of a thousand suns.

Ayesha tilted her head and placed a finger against her cheek, "Him?" she asked in confusion as she acted oblivious to whom Miya could be referring to.

The TV screen detonated. Blood began to leak out from between the fingers of Miya's clenched hands.

Homura blacked out, her mind no longer capable of handling the strain.

"OH! You mean Naruto-kun! He's such a nice man, don't you think? Always thinking of others!" Ayesha gave Miya a brilliant smile.

"If you so much as touch him…" Miya's ominous threat thundered across the room rattling the walls.

They quaked and quivered as Miya's words threatened to liquify their bodies.

Akitsu fell, her eyes rolled up into the back of her head.

Blanc was flattened to the floor, struggling to remain conscious.

"Oh you don't need to worry about that; after all he is already so 'happily' 'married.' " The words stabbed Miya's heart like a dagger, "It would be rude of me to 'intrude' upon them. I wouldn't want to be considered 'selfish' and 'jealous,' " Ayesha said in her normal happy tone although her gaze seemed to pierce straight through to Miya's soul. "Hanabi-san is so good for him, so 'faithful' and 'loyal'. I'm glad she 'exists', he deserves someone like 'that,' " Ayesha closed her eyes and smiled brilliantly, "besides I have to take care of Kuu-chan! She's such a sweet girl."

Miya felt that she was breaking into a million pieces but she had to stay strong for them, "Stay away from MY Sekirei!"

The words felt like a thousand daggers piercing their souls.

Yume was driven to her knees, her mouth was open wide as she gasped desperately for breath.

"Aww, you're so mean," Ayesha pouted and a small tear rolled down her cheek, "I just want to read Kuu-chan some bed time stories, and tuck her into bed and wash her back and play with foxy-kun."

There were no more words from Miya. She looked like she was beyond the ability to form them. Matsu couldn't understand what was going on. Miya hadn't even exhibited a fraction of this rage when she had torn Karasuba apart. Why was this strange girl still alive?

Why was this strange girl completely unaffected by Miya's killing intent? Matsu was used to Miya's anger and right now she wanted nothing more than to simply end her own life to save herself.

Ayesha looked around and started in surprise, "Oh no, everyone has fallen asleep!" Ayesha turned back to Miya. "Can I make some tea? Tea is good for staying helping one stay awake."

For one instant Matsu thought that Miya was about to murder the blonde haired girl where she stood but then it was over. The killing intent was gone and Miya's face had returned to normal.

The purple-haired landlady held a hand up to her mouth and chuckled, "Oh why thank you Ayesha-chan, you're so thoughtful. It's awfully rude of them to fall asleep in the middle of your introduction. Please, use the tea I have in the kitchen, it's in the third cupboard from the left," Miya said as if nothing had happened at all.

"Thank you Miya-chan!" Ayesha said and started for the kitchen.

"Ah! But please leave your herbs on the table here. You can use my own, I have plenty in there," she said pleasantly.

"Oh, alright, thank you, please take good care of these herbs some of them were hard to get!" Ayesha unbuckled a couple bags from her waist and placed them on the table.

"All of them," Miya said before Ayesha could take a step away from the table.

Ayesha looked at Miya curiously and tilted her head in confusion, "But I did…" The look in Miya's eyes intensified, "OH! I forgot about that one!" Ayesha apologized as she knuckled her temple, "Sorry about that." She reached into a pocked inside her dress and pulled out a small bag and placed it beside the others.

"Thank you Ayesha-chan."

"Hehe, you're welcome," Ayesha called over her shoulder as she bounded into the kitchen.

Miya whipped her head over to Matsu and captured her gaze. "Wake Homura up, take those herbs and 'dispose' of them, completely. Make sure to stand far away when you do so."

"Miya-san you're scaring me," Matsu said as she slowly picked herself up from the floor.

"Good, because you should be," Miya answered tersely, "And do NOT tell Uzumaki-san or Hanabi-san about this, am I clear?" Miya stared directly at Yume as she said this. Ayesha was her problem; she would deal with that thing herself.

Yume opened her mouth to protest. Her Ashikabi had a right to know of any potential danger, especially one so close to home. But she quickly closed her mouth as Miya's gaze became more intense, right now probably wasn't the proper time to protest. Perhaps she may not be able to tell Naruto but she could protect him from Ayesha, keep her away. She had already planned something along those lines after she had heard Ayesha story on the way here. The girl was incredibly dangerous. Someone without any moral compass could do great harm without even realizing they were harming anyone.

What concerned her most was how angry Miya had just been. That much rage and killing intent made her think there was some bad history between the two of them, some VERY bad history.

And Ayesha had just shrugged off killing intent powerful enough to kill the weak hearted as if it wasn't even there.

"Miya-san… are these Belladonna leaves?" Matsu asked in concern as she peered into one of the bags. She didn't recognize everything she saw but what she did made her even very concerned. She even noticed a couple mandrake roots.

"I hope that's all there is."

Matsu quickly tied the bags up and handled them as if she was holding a bomb. "Don't worry, I'll take care of this Miya-san," Matsu said as she went to wake up Homura.

"Yume, can you finish lunch for me? Just put those groceries down anywhere I'll sort them out later. I'm going to see what's taking Naruto-san and Hanabi-san so long," Miya asked as she turned and left the room.

"Sure thing Miya-san," Yume said as she watched Miya leave the room. She knew that look Miya had sent her way. Miya wanted her to do more than just make lunch. She wanted her to keep an eye on Ayesha as well.

"What the frickin hell is going on here?" Blanc gasped as she finally managed to scrape herself up off the floor. One moment they're all getting ready to enjoy lunch and the next she got to experience what sheer terror was all about. That was nearly as bad as when Kurama had been unleashed in Shinto Teito. If it weren't for that she was certain she'd be unconsciousness right now.

"I don't know," Yume said as she stared worriedly after Miya, "I really don't know and it makes me nervous. Perhaps it may be prudent for us to keep Ayesha-san away from Naruto-kun." Yume was certain that Miya wanted nothing more than to throw Ayesha out the door but she hadn't, and that concerned Yume even more.

Blanc nodded in agreement as she shakily got to her feet.

x~X~x

Miya leaned against the wall just outside Naruto's room, her head bowed. She looked down at her hands and sighed, so many bad memories had resurfaced at the sight of Ayesha. Memories she never wanted to remember.

She glanced over at the door to Naruto's room and pain gripped her heart.

…he is already happily married.

…rude… to intrude…

He and Hanabi had what Takehito-san and she once shared. She knew how special that bond was. Was she really intruding on that bond? Would she ruin his happiness if she tried to stand at his side?

…considered selfish and jealous.

She wasn't being selfish, or jealous. She just… wanted to be happy again. What was wrong with that? Was she jealous of Hanabi?

…so faithful and loyal.

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She wasn't betraying Takehito-san. She still loved him, she always would and she would always remember him. A part of her would always belong to him. He would wish for her to be happy right?

…glad she exists, he deserves someone like that.

Every time she saw that ring on Hanabi's finger a jealous twinge would shoot through her body and for an instant she'd wish for Hanabi to disappear. She couldn't deny that. There were so many 'what ifs'. What if Hanabi hadn't existed? Would it be her at Naruto's side now instead?

The Sekirei were her little ones, they'd accept her. The only problem was Hanabi-san. If she didn't exist…

Miya squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists. No, she couldn't think like that. She couldn't condemn Hanabi simply because she existed. That wasn't fair to her, to Naruto or to anyone. If Hanabi didn't exist Naruto would never have gotten involved in the Sekirei Plan and Miya would have never met him. She should thank Hanabi for this opportunity to get to know Naruto.

Even if Hanabi's continued existence meant she could never stand at Naruto's side.

"Oh yes!" she heard a familiar female voice cry out from Naruto's room. "That's the spot Naruto-kun! Deeper push it in deeper!"

Miya scowled. Here she was getting all emotional and those two are doing illicit activities in HER Inn! At least this time she'd catch them in the act, there was no way to avoid her this time.

"Oh god yes that feels amazing!" Hanabi cried out in ecstasy.

Miya stomped to the door and slammed it open. "Naruto-san! Hanabi-san! What are you two…?" her question trailed off as she saw just what it is the two had been up to.

"Is there something wrong Miya-chan?" Naruto asked as he raised his head and looked over at Miya. He was currently straddling Hanabi who was lying face down on the floor beside his bed. Most of her clothes were still on and Naruto's hands were kneading the flesh just between her shoulder blades.

In other words he was giving Hanabi a massage.

Miya sighed in resignation. She was never going to catch those two doing illicit activities. "No Naruto-san, nothing is wrong," she said a little dejectedly.

As she turned to leave Hanabi spoke up, "Miya-san! You should join us," she said with a grin. "Naruto-kun gives the best massages."

Ayesha's words flashed across her mind, "I don't want to intr-"

"Nonsense!" Hanabi interrupted Miya before she could finish. Hanabi pushed herself up and sent Naruto sprawling across the floor with a squawk. "You've been working so hard these past few days you need to take a break sometimes," Hanabi said as she grabbed Miya's hands and pulled her back into the room.

"It would be selfish of me to ha-"

"Oh I can't wait to get my hands of Miya-chan!" Naruto said with a grin, his hands making groping motions in the air. Hanabi glared at him, "I mean I can't wait to give her a massage! A massage, ahahaha," Naruto quickly corrected himself as he tried to look anywhere but at his wife.

"Lunch won't cook itself," Miya tried to protest lamely as Hanabi guided her to the futon and had her lay out flat on top of it face down.

"I'm sure someone else can manage it. Yume-san is a pretty good cook, when she gets back from the grocery store she'll finish it up if she doesn't see you there," Hanabi said, deflecting Miya's protest. Yume had done it before a few times when Miya had been pulled away to interrupt an illicit activity.

Hanabi beckoned her husband over and Naruto slowly made his way to Miya. He straddled her waist and then noticed a couple problems. Miya's haori and hakama didn't really leave any room to give her a massage and her hair went down to her waist.

"How do you normally tie your hair up?" Hanabi asked Miya as she knelt beside the landlady. She pulled out a couple of hair pins.

"Just in a bun," Miya replied distractedly. She felt Hanabi gather her hair and tie it up in a nice bun so that it was out of the way.

"Miya..." Naruto started as he analyzed her clothing critically, "As confident as I am about my massages it's rather difficult to do it through clothing and your garments…" he trailed off.

"I trust there will be no wandering hands?" Miya asked curtly.

"Of course not! I am a perfect gentleman when it comes to my massages. I'd never touch a place you didn't want me to," Naruto said indignantly. Of course if Miya DID want his hands to wander well then all bets were off.

Naruto took her response as her acceptance. He quickly untied the straps that kept Miya's hakama secured. Once the hakama was loosened he pulled the haori out and slid it off Miya's body. She helped by raising her arms. Once free he handed it to Hanabi who carefully folded it and placed it beside her.

Miya didn't resist as he slowly pulled the hakama down to her rear. Once done Naruto couldn't help but admire Miya's flawless skin for a moment. This was the first time he had ever seen her topless, although the frontal view was blocked.

"Well, I guess it's time to work the tension out of those muscles!" Naruto said with a smile as he began to knead the flesh around Miya's collar bone. He immediately realized just how tense and stressed out her muscles were. Whether she knew it or not, she actually needed this.

Miya began to moan softly in pleasure as Naruto slowly worked the kinks and knots out of her muscles and tissues.

Naruto knew there were many different types of massage techniques. He wasn't sure which one his belonged to. He used a combination of chakra sensing and chakra pressure in his. He used his chakra to scan the body and when he found a disruption of the chakra flow or tension in the muscle he would work on that area. He'd use physical pressure to work the knot out and chakra to relax and sooth the area.

Hanabi had told him it was actually very arousing. A massage like his normally made people feel very good and relaxed but when you added the soothing chakra to it as well the feeling became a lot more intense.

As Naruto continued to work Hanabi struck up a conversation with Miya. She kept it light, talking about normal things such as the weather, dreams, family, hobbies and the latest news. She even mentioned how she originally felt nothing for Naruto and was only at his side to fulfill the dream her sister never could. She went on to describe how that had changed over the years. Now she was certain that her love for Naruto was truly her own, and not just the fulfillment of her sisters dream.

Miya responded when she could but Hanabi ended up doing most of the talking. Hanabi couldn't really fault the landlady, Naruto was very good.

Naruto could see a noticeable difference in Miya's body has he worked his way down her back. The tension was draining out as she relaxed and enjoyed the massage. He worked his way down the center of her back first, focusing on the muscles around the spinal column until he reached her waist. Then he worked his hands outwards and began to move back up the sides of her back making sure to work the tension out of the muscles in her sides as well.

As his hands reached her chest Naruto looked up and Hanabi nodded curtly. Miya's eyes were closed and she had almost completely stopped responding to Hanabi. It was time. Naruto massaged the muscles under Miya's arms and then worked his way down until he reached the sides of her breasts. He began to carefully massage the sides of her breasts and the areas around the base of those bountiful mounds.

Miya didn't voice a single complaint.

He paid her breasts extra special attention as he worked around the sides and base of them with the undersides of his fingers. He was limited in what he could do with her face down but he managed. His touch was light and gentle as he kneaded, stroked, squeezed and massaged those soft mounds.

After several minutes of concentrated attention in that area Naruto worked his hands back up and began to journey down again. Hanabi quickly repositioned herself and pulled the hakama, being careful to include the undergarments, the rest of the way off leaving Miya completely in the buff.

Miya still had yet to voice a single complaint.

Naruto's hands worked their way down to her rear. He began to massage them vigorously as he applied deep pressure to the area. There were key muscles in this part of the body along with important nerves. It was actually an important area to relax and loosen. Although it's normally a compliment Miya's ass was very tight and was in dire need of his attention. It definitely needed a good massage to loosen up.

Once again Miya didn't voice a single complaint. Naruto would have thought she was asleep if it wasn't for the soft moans emanating from her throat.

Once he was certain he had worked all the tension out of her rear end he worked his way down to her thighs. As he worked those muscles through he couldn't help but glance between her thighs. Although her legs were closed he could still see a small amount of the mound hidden there and he noticed something very interesting, but not unexpected considering what his massages did to Hanabi.

Miya was very aroused.

Naruto only gave the area a quick glance however and quickly went back to work. He wasn't here to ogle Miya; he was here to help her relax.

It was almost thirty minutes later when Naruto finished with her feet. He had paid special attention to that part of her body. There usually weren't too many tense muscles in the feet but a good massage there was always very soothing and relaxing. You could completely change a person's demeanor from angry to blissfully content with a good foot rub.

"She's fallen asleep," Hanabi whispered as she checked on their landlady.

Naruto glanced over at her face and had to agree with Hanabi's assessment. She was completely asleep. There was a gentle, content smile on her face as well. She looked so much more relaxed now than when she had first arrived.

The two of them carefully pulled the futon cover out from under Miya and covered her with it. They'd let her rest here for now. Hanabi folded the rest of Miya's clothing and placed them beside the haori. They'd be there for her when she woke up.

The two slowly rose to their feet and looked at each other. Their expressions changed and suddenly they no longer wore gentle smiles, their eyes became as hard as diamond. Hanabi reached behind her head and pulled off the seal Naruto had attached there. He had written it hastily on a spare piece of paper.

Thanks Hanabi, I've never seen Miya that unsettled before. Naruto's fingers flashed in the ANBU sign language that only the two of them knew.

She's a proud woman that one. Hanabi's fingers flashed through the hand-signs. She's like me in many ways. To see her like that was disconcerting for me as well, she was rattled badly. Naruto agreed with everyone his wife said. Miya was a strong woman; he didn't like to see her like that either.

They had known instantly that something was wrong earlier.

Miya may have kept her killing intent contained, but Ayesha had not, and that had warned them that something was very wrong. Hanabi had quickly used her eyesight to peer into the living room and Naruto had used a seal to join his sight with her own so he could see what she saw.

Both of them could read lips.

They saw how certain words hurt Miya. The massage session was designed to counter-act those words, refute them through actions.

Naruto hadn't really been in the midst of giving Hanabi a massage when Miya walked in. Everything had been an act to get Miya into the room and under Naruto's hands. Miya needed to feel like she was accepted, like she was wanted. She needed to have the tension drained from her system, for her worries to be washed away. Hanabi had been able to easily read the conflicting emotions on her face as she came towards their room. Naruto had come up with the plan to help her. He didn't even enjoy the massage as much as he should have. He treated it like he would have a mission. There was a task to get done and he did it. Even the massaging of Miya's breasts was calculated to make her believe he cared about her as a woman as well as a friend.

It didn't matter whether or not Naruto truly desired her or that Hanabi would actually accept her, all that matter is that Miya 'believed' that he did and that she would.

The entire thing from start to finish had been a very calculated manipulation of Miya's mental and emotional state to counter the damage Ayesha had done to it.

Should we kill Ayesha? Hanabi sent.

Naruto shook his head, No, not until we know more, we may be able to use her. Ayesha was not on their side, neither of them had suspected it but they should have. She was obviously connected to Minaka somehow, that was the only way he could have known about Naruto's plans to attack Mikogami Hayato. Naruto was kicking himself for not throwing her in stasis like the others. However since she was connected that meant he could use her to feed that bastard false information.

Don't get too ambitious with your plans. Sometimes it's better to simply eliminate an enemy instead of trying to find a use for them. Hanabi flashed back. She did not like Ayesha at all. The pressure they had felt when Miya and Ayesha had clashed was strange. It was all-encompassing, engulfing. It didn't try to destroy or intimidate them, but assimilate them.

Enslave them; make you desire nothing more than to obey. They were trained to resist unwanted manipulations like that so it wasn't an issue to resist it for them, not at that level. However in lower doses where they wouldn't notice as easily…

That's what had happened to them earlier. They had accepted Ayesha because she had been subtly manipulating their feelings for her but she hadn't done anything so overt that they would have noticed it.

Now that they knew about her nothing she could do would affect them. She had landed herself squarely in the middle of their dangerous individuals list and they would be automatically suspicious of every single action she did from this moment forward.

If I feel she is starting to get out of hand I will end her with or without your consent. Hanabi signed, Ayesha was incredibly dangerous. If Hanabi noticed even a hint that Naruto's Sekirei were beginning to favor Ayesha over him she'd end Ayesha's life instantly.

You already have it. Naruto signed back. He knew what Hanabi was afraid of. He wanted to use Ayesha, but not at the expense of those he cared about.

We need to create a new hideout. Hanabi signed as she brought to his attention a new problem, a rather significant security issue.

Naruto agreed. Ayesha knew about Charlie Point and all its secrets. Delta was destroyed and Beta wasn't much of a hideout in the first place. With her at Alpha point every base had essentially been compromised.

It was time to create Epsilon Point.

x~X~x

Naruto and Hanabi slowly made their way downstairs to the foyer. Naruto's massage session with Miya had lasted well over an hour. Lunch had probably already been served. That was fine; neither of them were particularly hungry anyways, not after what that just happened.

"How is Miya?" Chime asked as she appeared at Naruto's side. There was a concerned look on her face.

"Better now, much better."

Miya would probably be asleep for a few hours at least. It was probably best that Naruto wasn't there when she woke up. Someone would need to be though otherwise all their work would be undone. It would probably have to be Yume.

"That's a relief, she looked pretty bad coming up the stairs," Chime said as they entered the foyer. She had been with Naruto and Hanabi when the confrontation started. Like Naruto and Hanabi she knew something was wrong immediately and had put Chiho to sleep just to be safe.

While Naruto had joined his sight with Hanabi's she had opted to leave the room and hide at the top of the stairs. While she hadn't felt any of Miya's killing intent she was more than capable of hearing what had been said. When Miya had started to come upstairs she had fled to the washroom. The fact that Miya never noticed Chime was a testament to just how disturbed she had been. When she saw Miya enter her Ashikabi's room she felt it was better not to return. She had gone out the bathroom window instead of the door and had circled around to the front.

"Hanabi-san! Naruto-kun!" Yume waved at them from the table. "I kept some lunch warm for you."

True to her word there were two bowls of udon soup sitting on the table waiting for them. The smell was absolutely mouth-watering. Yume must have gone all out to make sure it was just perfect. One bowl wouldn't be enough for Naruto but it would have to tide him over until dinner.

"Thank you Yume-san," Hanabi thanked her as she took a seat at the table.

"It's not a problem Hanabi-san, I know how hard you and Naruto-kun worked."

She didn't need to specify what work she was referring to. Yume always seemed to be more aware of what was going on around her than her nature would suggest. She was almost as uncannily omniscient as Miya sometimes.

"Ayesha's back," Blanc informed Naruto and Hanabi as she entered the foyer, "She's outside playing with Kusano right now." The blue-haired Sekirei quickly moved to her Ashikabi's side and sat down.

"Really? Where has she been this past month?" Naruto asked, pretending he was ignorant of her return.

"Love Hotel, Shipping Container and Egypt," Yume answered with a deadpanned expression on her face.

"Wait what?" Naruto asked in surprise and confusion. The others in the room shared his reaction. For some reason Ayesha and those three locations just didn't mesh very well in their minds, even after the confrontation with Miya.

"I'll let you know more once I've sorted out all the crazy I've heard today," Yume murmured as she rubbed her temples.

"Where is Akitsu?" Naruto asked as he looked around. He couldn't see the ice Sekirei anywhere.

"She's outside keeping an eye on Kusano and Ayesha," Blanc said as she leaned her head against Naruto's shoulder. Akitsu was the best one to watch her. The devotion she held towards Naruto was borderline fanatical.

"Alright, well let her know that Hanabi, Blanc and I are heading out for a bit. We'll be back for dinner," Naruto said as he stood up, his lunch was finished; there wasn't even a drop of soup left in the bottom of the bowl. "Bring your tablet with you Blanc."

They were going to go shopping for new places to buy for Epsilon Point. With the money taken from Mikogami Hayato they could buy any house they wanted now in Shinto Teito so that wasn't a factor like it was last time. They'd be able to find the perfect location for their next hideout.

And they didn't want Ayesha getting wind of it so they were going to take care of business away from Izumo Inn.

"Naruto-kun remember to wear a disguise. If I have to drop one more screaming fanatic you're sleeping outside!" Hanabi called after her husband as he walked out the front door.

Naruto waved his hand and transformed into a middle-aged man in a business suit.

On the way out Hanabi paused to whisper into Yume's ear, "Can you watch over Miya-san for us?"

"Of course," Yume whispered back, she'd make sure to be there at Miya's side when she awoke.

"Thanks," Hanabi said and waved farewell. She quickly hurried after Naruto who was already leaving the property and heading for a nearby internet café.

x~X~x

Miya yawned and stretched as she slowly woke up. She buried her face into her pillow and breathed in deep. It had such a wonderful scent, it reminded her of Naruto. A soft smile creased her face as she remembered that wonderful dream she had. Naruto and Hanabi had accepted her with open arms and she had been given such a wonderful massage.

She could still feel the heat of his hands as he massaged her chest.

Miya blinked as reality instantly came crashing down. She pushed herself up and stared at the pillow and futon she was on. This wasn't her room, the pillow wasn't hers and neither was the futon she was sleeping in.

That was when she realized she was completely naked. She glanced to the side. Her clothing was folded neatly beside her exactly where she had remembered Hanabi folding them in her dream.

Her eyes widened even more and she quickly turned and sat up. She held the futon cover up to her chest to preserve her modesty. Yume was kneeling beside her beside with a small smile on her face.

"Good afternoon Miya-san, did you have a nice nap?" The brunette asked.

"I… yes, yes I did thank you," Miya said as she glanced around the room. This was definitely not her room, it was Naruto's.

"It's still a couple hours until dinner so you don't need to hurry and rise. I handled lunch; there is still some soup in the fridge if you would like a late meal."

"Thank you Yume-san," Miya replied and let the futon cover drop. It was just the two of them here so modesty wasn't something she needed to be concerned with.

Miya folded her arms around her stomach and lightly brushed her sides. Even now she could still feel Naruto's touch on her body. It made her feel warm inside, remembering those gentle hands rubbing the tension and worry from her body.

Ayesha had been wrong, Miya could see that now. That woman had always been like that. She existed to destroy the bonds between others, whether she knew it or not. Miya felt foolish for taking her words so seriously.

Miya's face flushed a little as she remembered the warm tingling sensation she felt as Naruto's hands wandered to places they should not have. Heat began to build up again between her legs as she remembered his soft hands caressing her breasts.

"That wasn't a dream was it?" Miya asked softly.

Yume shook her head and her smile widened, "No, it wasn't. Miya-san, you should not turn away from love. One does not need my eyes to see how much you care for him. You know Takehito-san the best, would he wish for you to move on and be happy, or cling to his memory at the cost of happiness?"

Miya thought on that. Takehito-san had cared for them all, her especially. He had always opposed the Sekirei Plan in its current form. He had been one of the few that knew what it was supposed to have been, the others being Takami and Minaka. Takehito had tried to stop it, Takami knew that it couldn't be stopped and simply went along with it to help control it. Many of the rules of the game had been created by her to help control and civilize the Sekirei Plan.

Even outside of the plan Takehito had done all he could to help others; this Inn was proof of that. He had always fought to protect and create smiles on the faces of others. He had loved her smile.

Miya had not smiled a true smile since the day Takehito-san had died.

"Takehito-san loved his research, but he never hesitated to reach out and help others. He wouldn't wish to see any one sad," she murmured as her mind traced over all the memories she had of her first love. He wouldn't wish to see her sad. Ultimately he sacrificed his own life for the sake of others. He would not have been opposed to her falling in love again.

"Then tell Naruto-kun you love him."

Miya flinched and quickly replied, "It's not that easy Yume-san." The two of them had a close, but odd, relationship. At times they were at odds with each other, at other times they shared an owner/tenant relationship and then there were those few precious moments when they spoke as close friends.

It was difficult to go from all that to lovers, and more. She didn't want to risk ruining the relationship they already had by taking that next step.

And then there was also the problem of…

"You think Hanabi-san would be against it," Yume stated simply. She could see the conflicting emotions inside Miya. Her eyes were special, they allowed her to see an individual's feelings, but more than that, she was able to see how deep their connection was to each individual. Each emotion had a different color to it, and each person had a different shade of that color.

"Hanabi-san is Naruto-san's wife," Miya said softly, she didn't want to come between them.

"Yes, and I think it's a beautiful thing," Yume agreed as brought up a hand and held it over her heart, "and soon I'll be Yume Uzumaki, as will Blanc, Akitsu and Chime. We all intend to have that ring on our finger too."

Miya looked at her unadorned fingers and imagined how they would look with a gold band around her ring finger. Takehito-san hadn't lived long enough to give her a ring, they hadn't been together long enough to even be intimate.

Miya felt herself longing for more than just a life as a widowed landlady.

"You don't have to decide what to do right away," Yume said as she slowly stood. "But love is too wonderful to ignore and toss aside, and your love for Naruto-kun shines bright. If Hanabi-san's reaction to your feelings concerns you then talk with her, interact with her. The closer she is to you, the more likely she is to accept you." From what she heard Hanabi had practically thrown Chime at Naruto. She was not opposed to more women; she was just opposed to random women. "I still don't believe she would reject you even now, Naruto-kun makes Hanabi-san out to be more trouble than she actually is because he enjoys teasing her." With that Yume quietly exited the room and left Miya to mull over her thoughts, and her feelings.

And she had a lot of feelings to sort out.

x~X~x

Later that night found Miya on the veranda. She had a hand up to her ear to hold back her hair as it waved gently in the breeze that blew through the yard. It was a peaceful night and sitting here gave her the chance to relax after the hectic day she just had. All told there were fourteen people living here at Izumo Inn. Ever since Naruto had arrived it had steadily filled up and now it had actually reached its maximum capacity. Minato and Naruto each occupied two rooms. Ayesha had her own room, she had her own, and Homura still maintained his as did Uzume, although she went by Chime now.

She never thought she'd see the day that her beloved Inn was as full and lively as it was.

Although she could have done without that monster being here. Unfortunately she wanted to keep Ayesha where she could watch her. Out there, in the streets, she could systematically destroy every Ashikabi and Sekirei bond with ease.

She felt her approach long before she arrived, Miya knew this conversation would happen, out of all her charges she was the one most likely to want answers.

"Miya-san?" Matsu asked as she came in sight of the landlady.

"Yes Matsu-san?" Miya asked as she sat on the veranda and looked out into the yard. She picked up the cup of tea that was sitting beside her and sipped on it. She had prepared it for herself; she didn't trust Ayesha unless there was someone there to watch her.

Matsu swallowed nervously. It had taken her the rest of the day to regain her wits and gather enough courage to approach Miya. "Matsu-tan was scared this morning. But she wasn't scared of you. Why was Matsu-tan scared of her?"

"She is an aberration that should not exist," Miya answered her softly, her good mood lost now, she hated remembering that thing. "I was doing my utmost to neutralize her. I won't let her…" she clenched her fists tightly as pain, sorrow, and frustration flashed across her eyes, "Not a second time. Never again."

Now Matsu was more scared than ever, "Why not…" Matsu's mouth twisted as if she swallowed a bitter pill. "Kill her?" Matsu asked, cold-blooded murder left a bad taste in her mouth but Ayesha scared her, badly.

Miya closed her eyes and sighed softly, "Because I already have…" Miya trailed off as she thought back to the past. After a few moments of recollection she opened her eyes and stared up at the moon sadly.

"Twice."

Author's Notes: Cthulu is a tentacle monster, it just doesn't usually fly. That's how badly the pilots were hallucinating.

Naruto and Hanabi manipulated Miya. Sneaky Shinobi!

'It didn't matter whether or not Naruto truly desired her or that Hanabi would actually accept her, all that matter is that Miya 'believed' that he did and that she would.' - That statement I will need to clarify because I know so many people will misconstrue it and I can't figure out a better way of phrasing it in my story. That statement in no way indicates how Naruto and Hanabi feel about Miya. It's simply there to state that their feelings were irrelevant at the time and that situation would have played out in exactly the same way regardless of whether they hated her or loved her. Again if you are using that statement to try and determine how Hanabi and Naruto actually feel for Miya you are misinterpreting it.

There were hints that Ayesha was more than she seemed in the earlier chapters. The observant would have caught it, maybe? Anyways Naruto not locking her up in stasis, how Hanabi accepted her so easily, Sasha's psychic barrier erecting itself when Ayesha appeared, how easily Ayesha seemed to agree to being kidnapped and how easily a clone that was meant to be a Yakuza bruiser seemed to accept her are just some of the hints. Subtle and almost unnoticeable if taken by themselves but there if you looked hard enough. There was another even more subtle hint; you needed to play Atelier Ayesha to have picked it up. Nio and Ayesha are sisters. That should have been a warning flag for those that played that game. Now for the fun part, trying to figure out what she is. ^_^