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: Wow, I got up those 75 reviews very quickly, not all of them were signed in but I didn't see any Guest abuse and some of them were decent reviews so I'll let that slide. Regardless I noticed at least half of the people that did sign in and review are not frequent reviewers. You sneaky people you, lurking in the background, consuming my story and not even leaving a single comment behind!
Ah well, I'm over it. I'm just glad people like my story, even if it is only a tiny minority that actually feels it's worth leaving a comment behind. ^_^
But, like I promised, here's the next chapter, much earlier than normal because you did manage to reach the goal. Interestingly enough I'm almost finished with Chapter 36. I'm reaching the point where the words are just rushing out because everything is just plain awesome and I have to get it on paper.
Review Responses: The Shiki Fujin isn't as all powerful as everyone seems to think it is. Ya, sure, it was 'invokes' the Death God, but how much role does said God play in the entire process? It's obvious that the Death God is the one that actually pulls the soul into the container to be sealed; it's obvious it takes the practitioner's soul as payment. It doesn't, however, have a hand in the creation of the seal, at least not completely. Minato added lots of little extra things to the seal such as sealing away a piece of his and Kushina's consciousness, implementing an unlocking mechanism, creating a controlled flow of chakra from Kurama to Naruto. It's possible the Death God has a hand in the creation of the base seal, but it's not meant to be total and absolute if Minato was able to modify it to such an extent. Besides, the seal has long since been dissolved for the most part as Naruto did completely unlock it and free Kurama. Even if it's still in place, the door is wide open for anything to get in and affect Kurama.
I love how everyone thinks Ayesha is evil, hehe. ^_^
And ya, I know asking for reviews is odd. Look at it this way this is pretty much a win-win for everyone. All it really cost people is thirty seconds to leave a comment and they get a chapter five days early. I'm not going to make a habit out of this though. This just worked well because of how the last chapter set up this one and because I'm so far ahead of the current chapter.
On a side note, you all broke my Traffic Graph on Thursday… Somehow I have more unique viewers than visitors, don't ask me how, but that's what it says.
The tank that Naruto bought… I think you'll like my plans for it. I laugh just thinking about it. That's definitely going to be a large source of humor in future chapters.
Oh, and for the record, Naruto doesn't know about the fight between Yume and Hanabi. He just stated Karasuba's request and the reason for said request. Yume has the right to know why she was asked to fight. Her guilt did push her into accepting more quickly, but she probably would have anyways.
Chapter 29: The Fated Battle
Shinto Teito was in ruins, the city was awash in a sea of flames. The tall sky scrapers of the once proud city were no more, reduced to rubble strewn across ruined streets and spoiled parks. The dead were piled up like cordwood. The deceased numbered in the tens of millions and countless more were dying horrible painful deaths.
Mother's died, clutching their crying children to their chests protectively, futilely, as they were consumed by the flames.
Men cried out in help as they crawled on their bellies, their limbs broken, crushed or missing entirely.
Many suffocated as the oxygen in the air burned away, greedily consumed by the uncontrollable inferno that engulfed the city.
This scene wasn't restricted to just Shinto Teito. All across Japan great cities fell, forests burned and mountains crumbled. The world itself screamed in agony as the island nation was torn to pieces. Large jagged chunks of landmass were ripped from planet and dragged into the sky. The massive chunks disintegrated as they were draw upwards into the gaping maw in the sky that was greedily consuming the planet.
Naruto couldn't bring himself to care as he stared across the battered landscape at his nemesis. He no longer had the capacity to feel anything for them anymore.
Not after Uchiha Madara had killed everyone he had cared for.
Akitsu was dead, impaled upon her own ice as Madara turned her powers against her.
Madara had ignored Blanc until she managed to hit him once. He hadn't ignored her after that, Naruto never found the rest of her body after Madara had finished ripping her to pieces with his bare hands.
Naruto's mind had almost broken when he bore witness to Chime's fate. Madara had used the King of Hell technique and had ripped Chiho's soul from Chime's body. He had forced Uzume to watch Chiho get devoured before Uzume had been killed, burned alive by one of the Uchiha's numerous fire techniques.
Yume had lasted longer than the other three but in the end she too fell. Madara had ripped her arms off and beat her to death with them.
And Hanabi… Naruto didn't dare remember what had happened to his wife. Remembering what was left of her, what had been left of their child, would destroy what little was left of his sanity.
That was, if he had any sanity left to destroy.
Everyone else was dead as well, they hadn't stood a chance. Izumo Inn was no more, just a smoldering hole in the ground a hundred miles deep.
Only one companion still stood at his side. His oldest companion: Kurama.
Naruto stood tall and proud on the cracked and broken ground, miles above the ruined city of Shinto Teito. He was cloaked head to toe in golden chakra, his empowerment from Kurama. His eyes were rimmed with yellow and his pupils had transformed into a bar as he drew upon as much natural energy as he could. All eight of his celestial gates were wide open as he drew on every drop of power he could muster. The amount of chakra that poured from his body rivaled that of the Juubi itself.
He wouldn't last long, but he didn't intend to live beyond this battle anyways. There were no pieces left to pick up to start life anew anyways. There was no life left to live.
Kurama himself stood behind him in his full glory, ready to kill the man responsible for enslaving him time and time again. A man that still sought to enslave him even now.
"How many times have we fought now? How many times have I slaughtered everyone you've cared for? How many more times will I need to do this before you accept reality?" Madara crowed as he grinned maliciously at Naruto. "How many more need to die before you bow down and accept your fate?"
"I will never surrender! I will fight you until my dying breath, no matter the cost," Naruto snarled as he crouched in preparation to attack the ancient Uchiha.
"You still don't understand do you Naruto-kun?" Madara laughed, his voice changing pitch and tone.
"Naruto!" a cry of desperation resounded from behind.
The golden figure whirled around and in stared in surprise as a massive silvery orb hovered above Kurama. It was enormous, miles in diameter. The orb had latched onto Kurama with massive tendrils of liquid silver. The mighty nine-tailed demon fox struggled futilely as the orb dragged him inside.
"I win again Naruto-kun," Madara hissed in pleasure as his faced dissolved into someone else.
Naruto could only watch on in horror as his oldest and last friend was devoured by the unknown. He stretched out his hands towards Kurama, "NO! KURA-
"-MA!" Naruto shouted as he shot up, his arms stretched out above him. His eyes looked around wildly as he tried to figure out what was going on. He wasn't on the battlefield anymore, he could barely see, the darkness was so profound he thought for one short moment that he had died. But he could still see the fire, the smoke, smell the scent of death in the air and hear the screams of the dying. It sounded, felt, so real, he could still hear them even now.
A pair of warm hands quickly wrapped themselves around his outstretched hand. "Naruto-kun!" Hanabi called out in concern as she brought his hand down and pulled him into her embrace. "It's alright, it was just a nightmare," she whispered into his ear as she comforted him.
A nightmare, it was just a nightmare. Naruto squeezed Hanabi tightly in relief. She was still alive, they were all still alive. He sobbed in relief as the memories of the dream leaked away with his tears.
He felt a second pair of arms wrap themselves around his waist, they were cold like ice and just what his overheated body needed. The temperature dropped as the air around them cooled. Akitsu noticed how overheated her Ashikabi was and used her power to cool him down. Naruto hadn't noticed until then just how badly he had been sweating.
There was some thumping outside and the door to their bedroom was thrown open. Yume, Chime and Blanc quickly piled into the room, concern etched deeply in their faces.
"Naruto-kun are you alright?" Yume asked as she quickly reached the bedside.
She had felt a massive surge of negative emotions tearing through the bond. As if all the world's evils had descended upon her Ashikabi at once. She had been abruptly ripped from her sleep, as had everyone else from the way they had rushed to Naruto's room.
"Naruto-kun had a nightmare." Hanabi said as she softly rubbed his back. His sleep had always been a little troubled due to memories of the war but it had never been this bad.
"That must have been some nightmare." Blanc muttered as she got on the bed and crawled into Naruto's lap. He had always been there for her, so it was her turn to be here for him.
"Naruto-kun." Chime said, biting her lip in concern. She wrung her hands unsure what to do.
"I'm alright… I just…" Naruto paused, his body shuddered as the memories of the dream flashed through his eyes. Another wave of powerful negative emotions surged through the bond. Tears still streamed down the side of his face. "You were all dead… Madara he…" Naruto choked up before he could finish.
A look of understanding crossed Hanabi's face and she held Naruto all the tighter. "Shhh, it's alright, Madara is gone, dead. We killed him. And even if he comes back we'll kill him again, just like we did last time."
Yume tugged on Chime's arm and pulled her towards the bed. She nodded and the two of them climbed on to the bed and enveloped Naruto in their embrace like the others. The five of them sat there until morning pouring as much love and happiness they could into their Ashikabi.
Naruto soon drifted off back into sleep and for the first time since before the war he had a dreamless, peaceful sleep.
x~X~x
Sahashi Takami groaned as she rubbed the last vestiges of sleep from her eyes. She brought the coffee mug up to her mouth and drank deeply. It was a triple strength espresso; it was about the only thing these days that could wake her up in the morning.
She had slept on the couch in her office again. She had stayed at the office late to finish the paper work. The mess that Uzumaki Naruto had left in Shinto Teito had ultimately caused the bill to fix the damages to land in their lap, after all MBI owned Shinto Teito and it was their responsibility.
There was no concrete proof that it had actually been Uzumaki Naruto that had defaced the city, although there was no doubt in her own mind. The acts of vandalism had all been caused by completely unknown and unregistered people.
Thankfully the window had just recently been fixed and a new desk had been provided for her so her office was once again a comfortable place to work. No one had the courage to ask her why the last one went through the window, which was a good thing because at the time she probably would have thrown them through the window as well.
She still had no idea why she had been so upset. One moment she had been going over document reports on the latest experiments and the next she had an irresistible urge to strangle blonds.
Takami looked down at another report; this one mentioned that all the men's and women's washroom signs had been swapped. And when the report said all, it meant literally 'all' signs. Every single establishment in Shinto Teito had been changed.
Even MBI suffered this indignity. Her private washroom had a sign put on it stating that females weren't allowed in there. She had no idea how he managed to do it without tripping any security alarms.
Takami looked up as the door to her office opened. There just inside the doorway was a familiar face with an unfamiliar expression on his face. Whenever Takami ever saw him he almost always had a smile or grin on his face.
But not this time, this time Minaka Hiroto had a troubled expression on his face. In his hands was a paper report on something.
"Is this report accurate?" Minaka asked as he silently padded across the room.
"Which report is that?" Takami replied, she had gone over a lot of reports these past few days.
"The one about No. 08, Yume," Minaka clarified as he set the report down on her desk and tapped it.
"I wrote down word for word everything she said. Whether it is accurate or not is unknown but at the very least Yume believes it and Uzumaki Naruto would have no reason to lie to her," Takami said as she shot a quick glance at the report she had written and filed the day before.
"Hmmm," Minaka hummed as he became lost in deep thought. He held his chin in the palm of his hand and crossed his other arm under his elbow.
"Is there something wrong?"
"It's impossible. The entire situation is impossible."
"I don't see what's impossible about it," Takami said on confusion. Yume's explanation was plausible based on everything she knew about Sekirei. "The Tama is a Sekirei's spirit, it's entirely possible for Yume to still exist within Musubi after giving up her Tama and a strong enough mental trauma has been known to destroy a person's psyche."
"That's not the problem, the deactivation command was indeed sent to No. 88 but it's impossible for that much power to be placed behind it," Minaka's said thoughtfully. His eyes narrowed as he worked through the problem aloud, it was one of his quirks that Takami noticed he did from time to time. Whenever he became too deep in thought he had a bad habit of talking aloud. "Safeguards are in place to ensure that such a situation could never happen." The safeguards could be removed but he hadn't removed them and no one else knew how so that wasn't the problem. "The command was sent, but the power necessary to cause such a trauma, such an event, was not. Yume was supposed to exist to keep Musubi in the game in the event of early termination, not replace her."
"You make it sound as if you planned to have Yume sacrifice her Tama for Musubi."
"Of course, I didn't go through all that effort to arrange the invasion for nothing," Minaka snapped back, "So much wasted effort in making Musubi a vulnerability to exploit…" the emperor trailed off as he became lost in thought again.
Minaka had not meant for Yume to become a full-time replacement for Musubi after the two had merged into one. She was simply meant to be a safe-guard so that Musubi would live long enough for Ayesha to encounter her.
To think all the effort he had made to ensure that a broken Musubi would end up as Uzumaki Naruto's Sekirei had gone to waste.
"Kukuku, ah well this is what makes life interesting, unexpected occurrences like this. If everything went the way I planned, things would have been boring," Minaka said finally as a smile slowly started to creep across his face.
He'd have to adjust his plans. Naruto had the uncanny ability to draw people to his cause. He'd just have to use Ayesha and her sister to counter that, isolate him from any and all potential allies. If he couldn't use Musubi as a vulnerability for Ayesha to exploit he'd have to use a different angle of attack.
Takami had to school her features to prevent her surprise from showing. "I'm glad you're amused, this issue has given me a headache on more than one occasion," Takami muttered bitterly as she took another swallow of her espresso. She had always wondered why Minaka had insisted that she have Seo use his Sekirei to chase Musubi around that particular part of the city. They had fully intended to chase her anyways but Takami had paid him to keep her in that specific area.
However what was even more troubling was what he had intended to use her for, a vulnerability to exploit. There was something going on here behind the scenes that she was completely oblivious to.
Still this revelation just threw questions in a situation she thought was a done deal. Takami knew this was going to be the source of many more headaches to come. "So, what caused Musubi's consciousness to dissipate?" she asked hoping Minaka had figured something out during his ramblings and internal musings.
Minaka blinked as his attention was brought back to reality, "I'm not sure," he said after a moment of thought. His smile turned into a bemused one and he let out a laugh, "Oh I'm getting excited now. It's been a long time since something this interesting appeared!"
"So something other than the Jinki caused the deactivation command to overload and destroy Musubi's consciousness," Takami stated as she summed up everything they knew, which was very little.
"Hmm, hmm," Minaka hummed merrily, his eyes literally glowed with joy. "Something completely unexpected and unknown has appeared! This is exciting, I must figure this out!" Minaka shouted for joy as he ran from her office.
Takami could only shake her head in exasperation as she watched the emperor of Japan run out of her office like a little kid racing for the Christmas tree on Christmas day. As sad as it was for a moment there he seemed almost like the old Minaka from before.
She looked at her empty coffee mug and got up to refill it. She stopped as a sudden chill ran down her spine. She couldn't believe she had completely missed that one, singular fact while dealing with Minaka. Dread began to form in the pit of her stomach.
The attack on Kamikura Island had occurred years ago while Naruto's arrival in Shinto Teito was barely nine months ago.
There were absolutely no records of his existence before that time, anywhere. She knew because she had personally arranged to have the world databases scoured for any information about that man. Either he had been a complete ghost before his arrival in Shinto Teito, which she doubted considering his personality, or his arrival was supernatural, akin to that of the Sekirei.
So why would Minaka arrange for Musubi to be a vulnerability to exploit in a man that didn't even exist until just recently? The only thing that made sense was that Minaka 'knew' that Uzumaki Naruto would arrive in Shinto Teito eventually, perhaps he even had a hand in his arrival.
The pit in her stomach sank deeper. Karasuba had been there when Uzumaki Naruto had suddenly appeared. That could have been mere coincidence but she had opted to recover the body in the alley instead of challenging the blonde. That wasn't like her at all; she wouldn't have done that unless ordered.
Something was very wrong here.
"What the hell is going on?"
x~X~x
Naruto flipped open his phone and glanced at the time. It was a quarter past ten. He had little under an hour to finish his preparations for the battle to come; he would easily make it with time to spare.
His preparations would be perfect when completed. He knew how destructive Yume could be with her abilities and he assumed that Karasuba would be just as destructive. With what he was putting into place Yume could go all out without having to worry about collateral damage, something that had hampered her ability to use her capabilities to their fullest prior to now.
He had been honing and improving his Fuinjutsu ever since he became a part of the Sekirei Plan. The large scale sealing array that was deployed around the edges of the park was one of the results. It was an incredibly strong and durable barrier, even more so than the one that Orochimaru had used to isolate the Third away from his ANBU. There wasn't very much that could break through it, it would stop even a meteor strike. He had a clone at each corner of it and would act as an anchoring point for the barrier when it was erected.
It wouldn't be nearly as effective if it was erected over a much larger area such as a city but for a small area such as this park it was nearly impervious. No conventional attack would break through it, from either side.
There was a secondary seal built into the barrier that mimicked Obito's Sharingan power. Obito was able to create his own alternate dimension and Naruto had done something similar here. The second seal analyzed the contents held within the barrier and created an alternate dimension based on what was found, transporting all creatures with chakra to said dimension. When the seal was dispelled it would erase the dimension and everyone trapped within would be brought back to the real world.
Again like the barrier seal it couldn't be used over a large area, the chakra requirements to maintain such a seal grew exponentially with distance. After more than a couple miles it would require more chakra to maintain than he was capable of providing and after fifty it would strain even the ability of the Jubi to maintain.
It also couldn't withstand a lot of strain either, he fully expected the dimension to shatter before the end of the battle but it should help to mitigate some of the damage to the park itself, it had already seen more than enough abuse.
The third seal was a three dimensional one he had created that was based off the communication devices he had made months prior. It would sit at the top of the barrier in the very center and transmit images to him outside. It was specifically designed to go through dimensions so he could be kept up to date on how the battle was proceeding, even while it was sealed away in an alternate dimension.
He tucked the phone away and glanced around the park, letting out a small humorless chuckle as he did so. This poor park had seen so much abuse over the past few months. Kusano's overgrowth, the battle that followed, Shiina's decay, Naruto's clones erecting the Hokage Monument in the middle of it and finally the battle that would take place between Yume and Karasuba.
And those were just the events he was aware of.
This place would never be the same.
Naruto walked briskly around the perimeter of the sealing array, his eyes scanning every inch of it making sure it was perfect. It was essentially done and the only thing that was left was to double check the work to make sure it was flawless. When using dual-purpose sealing arrays the greatest concern wasn't whether or not it would function, but whether the functionality of one part of the array would interfere with the other.
After making a full circuit around the barrier array he was satisfied. Everything was ready for the fight to come.
He scanned the area and his eyes came to rest upon his own Sekirei, gathered just outside the edges of the barrier. They were all here; none of them wished to miss the fight between Karasuba and Yume.
Yume herself appeared calm and collected on the outside but the inside was different. Naruto could feel several different emotions conflicting inside her, worry and remorse swirled around a mixture of calm resignation, relief and even a little excitement. It was an odd mixture of emotions but Yume had said she was fine when he had asked what was wrong.
She had been feeling this way ever since he had talked to her about the fight the day before.
The others were all gathered around her, talking softly amongst one another as they shared their concerns, hopes, worries and ideas for the battle to come.
"She'll be fine," Hanabi said as she sidled up beside her husband.
"I know," Naruto replied as he wrapped an arm around Hanabi's shoulder. If anyone aside from Hanabi, Miya and himself could beat Karasuba, it would be Yume.
Hanabi eyed Naruto and a thoughtful expression came over her face. "Is the nightmare still bothering you?" she asked softly.
"A little," he replied with a light shrug of his shoulders. He would be lying if he said he wasn't still a little disturbed by it but he had gotten over it for the most part. His Sekirei had helped him with that.
No, it was the meaning of the dream that bothered him more than the dream itself. He had felt it when he had awoken a few hours later, the absence of the familiar presence he had grown used to over the years.
Kurama was gone, fully absorbed by the silvery orb that had hovered above him since their arrival into this world. That was what the dream had symbolized.
He hadn't gone to his mindscape yet, it would probably be some time before he did. As silly as it was, he childishly held onto the idea that so long as he didn't see the empty landscape then it meant Kurama was still there, asleep, somewhere in expanse of his mind. He knew he was being foolish, the rational part of his mind had already come to grips with the disappearance of his friend but parts of him resisted still.
"We don't have to go through with this fight," Hanabi murmured as she eyed Yume. The Sekirei of Fate was talking with Blanc at the moment and the small Sekirei seemed pretty heated over something. "With all of us here we could overwhelm Karasuba-san in an instant, take the sword, and be rid of a major nuisance."
"We could…" Naruto trailed off. What Hanabi suggested was entirely doable. He alone would be enough to take Karasuba down. Unfortunately his honor wouldn't let him do that, and neither would Yume's.
He still didn't know why she agreed to the fight, but she had and he wasn't going to cheapen her decision by using it as a trap.
"…but we're not going to are we?" Hanabi finished for him.
"No, no we're not. In a way I think Yume wants this fight almost as much as Karasuba does. There appears to be some kind of rivalry between them," Naruto said as he looked towards MBI.
In a sense what the two had was much like what he and Sasuke once had, although Karasuba seemed to be in greater possession of her faculties than Sasuke had been. She was crazy, but she knew she was and embraced it. That gave her some semblance of control.
Hanabi stared at the back of Naruto's head for a moment before she sighed in exasperation. "I'm not going to let that b-Karasuba-san kill Yume-san." There was always the risk of accidental death but if by some miracle Karasuba had Yume beaten and still went for the kill she would step in and stop it.
"I intend to stop her as well if she goes too far but with a battle at this level anything can happen," Naruto said.
"What are you going to do about spectators?" Hanabi asked curiously.
Naruto frowned thoughtfully; his wife had a good point. A barrier such as this would be very visible and from a long distance away. The people of Shinto Teito seemed to have an unhealthy and potentially fatal level of curiosity.
He checked the time on his phone, it was ten to eleven. His frown deepened; there wasn't enough time to erect a third barrier to hide the other two. It would be impossible to hide that something was happening here.
Well if it was impossible to hide that something was going on here then he wouldn't try. There were other methods available in that situation.
"We're going to raise the park, put it on a plateau," Naruto said as he came to his decision. That would be the best way.
"Are you certain? That will broadcast to everyone that something is happening here."
Naruto knew that but there were only two options available to them with the limited time left before Karasuba was supposed to be here. They could either sink the park into the ground or raise it into the air. Sinking the park into the ground was the stealthier option but it came with increased risk. Someone would stumble upon it eventually and if they were to fall upon the barrier from the outside it would kill them. Plus everyone and their grandmother could see what was going on when the dimensional barrier fell.
If the area was raised up everyone would know 'something' was happening but no one would be able to see was going on. If they raised it higher than the level of the nearby buildings then the only way to get to the top would be to fly or to scale it. He could use Akitsu to keep pesky news helicopters far enough away to not make out any details and everyone that had the ability to scale it fast enough to be there before the battle ended would already be at the top.
"I would rather everyone know that something is going on, but no idea what it is, than have few people aware and capable of seeing everything," Naruto said and fully explained his reasons. More than likely one or two of those 'few' individuals would capture a piece of what was going on and then everyone would find out anyways.
"When do you want to raise the land?" Hanabi asked.
"Once Karasuba gets here."
"Alright," Hanabi agreed and the two settled into a comfortable silence as they waited for Karasuba's arrival.
They didn't have to wait long. The scent of blood heralded her arrival, long before she herself became visible. There really was no mistaking that undeniable presence. A few minutes later the Black Sekirei herself made an appearance on the far side of the park. She dressed in her usual ensemble only this time she carried a second long sword with her, slung over her shoulder.
Naruto's Sekirei hurried over to his side as the Black Sekirei arrived on the scene. "Bro, please reconsider this," Chime said as she tried to convince Naruto to change the plans. She was in agreement with Hanabi in that they should all hit Karasuba at once and take her out. "This is Karasuba we're talking about here. She's dangerous."
There were only two people in the entire Sekirei Plan that Chime would never wish to fight and Karasuba was one of them. It wasn't just that she was incredibly powerful, it was also the blood thirst that went with it that made her incredibly dangerous.
"I will be fine Chime-san," Yume said as she tried to placate her sister. "This battle has been a long time coming." Karasuba had already challenged her once in the past, for leadership of the second disciplinary squad, and had been thoroughly trounced. Things were different now and Karasuba wasn't one to let past defeats go easily. Back then Yume's unique adjustments and Karasuba's lack of an Ashikabi could have been seen as crutches to Yume's advantage. Those advantages she held had rankled Karasuba quite badly.
Now such crutches no longer existed. This would be as fair a fight as there would ever be between the two of them. Win or lose Karasuba would be satisfied. They both would be.
"I gave my promise, and I don't go back on my promises, no matter how advantageous it would be for me to do so," Naruto said as he added his own support behind the current plan. He hadn't formally given his promise but the words themselves were irrelevant. What mattered was the faith and trust in them, in him. No matter how badly life may have warped him that was one aspect he refused to change. "You three stay here, Hanabi and I will be back," Naruto addressed Chime, Blanc and Akitsu.
Naruto made his way across the park amidst grumbles from his Sekirei. They didn't like him being so close to someone as dangerous as Karasuba. At his side were Yume and Hanabi.
"Glad to see you managed to get the sword," Naruto said as he came to stop a meter away from the head of the disciplinary squad.
"Of course, that was never in doubt," Karasuba replied.
"Seems like there was some trouble," Naruto commented as he pointed out a smattering of blood along the hem of her overcoat.
"There were some minor protests but I silenced them easily enough, nothing to concern yourself with."
"Just a nice warm-up before the real thing?" Naruto asked in disapproval with an arched brow.
"'That' could hardly qualify as a warm-up," she said with an undertone of disappointment in her voice. She glanced past Naruto's shoulder and took in the onlookers, "There seems to be quite the gathering here."
"They're just here to watch, I've given them strict orders not to interfere with this fight," Naruto said. He turned and tapped his wife on the arm to indicate they should get started, "And to help ensure no one sees or interferes we need to do one final thing."
Naruto and Hanabi moved to stand back to back. In perfect unison their hands flashed through a series of hand signs before slamming them on the ground. "Doton: Doryū Jōheki!" the two of them shouted aloud and channeled their chakra into the ground.
The ground shook and they were deafened by the sound of moving earth. Rocks broke apart, dirt shifted, underground tunnels buckled and caverns collapsed. With a massive heave the park was ripped from its foundations and raised into the air. A hundred feet, two hundred feet, upwards the earth was raised until it towered over every structure in the city. When the earth finally settled down there was a new plateau in the center of Shinto Teito, one mile high with sheer sides. The only way to get to the top now was to fly.
"That was mildly impressive," Karasuba said as she tried to keep her voice neutral. She was not about to admit in front of Hanabi that she was awed. Even the Black Sekirei couldn't help but be moved by the sheer scale of what Naruto and Hanabi had done together. She was too far from the edge of the park to see the city but that in and of itself was a testament to just how high up they were now.
"Oh, that was nothing, you should see what I can do when I'm serious," Hanabi said flippantly.
"Enough Hanabi, we're not here to start a fight," Naruto said. He paused for a moment and then amended his statement, "Well we're not here for 'you' to start a fight." Naruto held his hand out for Miya's longsword. "The battlefield has been prepared, once you hand over the sword Hanabi and I will leave. Once we reach the perimeter of the plateau I'll erect a barrier so the two of you can fight without any outside disturbances."
Totsuga No Tsurugi traced a graceful arc in the air as Karasuba tossed the longsword to Naruto. The blonde shinobi deftly caught it and brought it to eye level. He eyed the sheath; it was long, jet black and elegant, if not simple, in design. He drew the blade half a length and eyed the workmanship. He wasn't the foremost weapons expert but he knew a high quality blade when he saw one and this blade was easily a match for any of the legendary blades back in his day. Satisfied that Karasuba hadn't given him a substitute he sheathed the blade and slung it over his shoulder.
"Prudent," Karasuba said, agreeing with Naruto's decision to look over the blade.
"In my line of work one has to be," Naruto said as he tapped Hanabi on the arm. "You've upheld your part of the bargain, I'll uphold mine. Come Hanabi." Naruto turned and headed back towards the rest of his waiting Sekirei.
With one last glare at Karasuba Hanabi quickly followed her husband.
"That's one fine toy you have there, Yume," Karasuba said as she watched Naruto walk away.
"He's not a toy Karasuba, he's my Ashikabi," Yume said calmly as she readied herself for the battle to come.
"That's all an Ashikabi is though, Yume: A tool to unlock our power and a toy to play with."
Yume shook her head as she gave Karasuba a pitying look, "You really don't understand how wonderful it is to have a proper Ashikabi."
"I don't need a proper Ashikabi."
"You'll never know what it feels like to love."
"That's fine with me, so long as I can fight I don't care. The thrill of battle, the challenge of pitting myself against a worthy opponent, defeating you! That is all I care about," Karasuba said with a vicious grin on her face. She drew her sword and pointed it at Yume, her breath quickening in anticipation.
Yume stared at Karasuba intently, "I know that's not true and I will show you that truth, even if I have to beat it into you," she said as she raised her fists and settled into a battle stance.
A low hum picked up around them and suddenly a massive purple barrier was erected around the two of them. The world outside disappeared and all that was left was the two of them on the pre-arranged battlefield that Naruto had prepared for the two of them.
"More tricks courtesy of your Ashikabi?" Karasuba asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, so that I won't have to worry about collateral damage." Karasuba wouldn't care in the first place, the barrier was almost entirely for her own benefit. "We can fight as hard as we like for as long as we like and there won't be any interference of any sort."
"Perfect," Karasuba purred.
The two eyed each other for a brief moment before, measuring one another. Then they were off, streaking towards each other. Two blurs of color, virtually invisible to the untrained eye. A powerful boom resounded across the landscape as the two forces came together. Cold steel blistered through the air faster than the eye could follow. Yume weaved to the side, avoiding a thrust, and then bent at the waist to avoid the follow up slash as Karasuba's blade eagerly sought her heart.
Yume steadied herself with a hand on the ground and lashed out with her foot. Karasuba hissed in pain as reinforced boot slammed into the fingers wrapped around the hilt of her sword, knocking the blade wide.
Taking advantage of the opening Yume quickly regained her feet and stepped into her opponent's guard. She lashed out at Karasuba with two lightning quick palm strikes. Karasuba was not one to take lightly however. With god-speed impulse reflexes the black Sekirei reacted faster than anyone could have imagined. Her right hand released the hilt of her sword and snapped back across her chest. The back of her hand smashed into Yume's wrist and deflect one of the strikes. With a small backwards jump Karasuba took the second strike, a powerful hit to her to her shoulder.
Yume had to stop her advance and tilt her head back as Karasuba's blade flashed across her face. A small sharp piercing pain flared across the side of her face as the tip of the sword traced a thin red line across her cheek.
She didn't have time to worry about the minor injury though as Karasuba recovered quickly. With a look of absolute glee in her eyes Karasuba blurred towards her, blade outstretched, hungrily seeking her blood. Yume reinforced her legs with even more chakra and disappeared in an awe inspiring feat of speed. The blade hit nothing as it cut through Yume's afterimage.
Again with god like reflexes Karasuba reacted faster than anyone could imagine. Even as her blade cut through the afterimage her feet were moving. As if she was sliding across the ground Karasuba twisted her body to the side narrowly avoiding the lightning fast strikes from her rival.
The air screamed as Karasuba's blade cut a path towards Yume's neck. The Sekirei of Fate reacted instantly and hit the side of the blade with the palm of her hand. The blade cut a small knick in her thumb but was redirected over her head. A follow-up strike took the wind out of Karasuba as Yume's fist buried itself deep in her opponent's gut.
Even as the air was forcefully expelled from her lungs Karasuba reacted quickly. With a quick burst of speed she shot backwards, preventing Yume from doing a follow through. However Yume wasn't about to let Karasuba get her wind back and with another incredible display of speed she appeared behind the Black Sekirei.
Unfortunately for Yume, Karasuba had anticipated this. Even as Yume appeared behind her, the Black Sekirei was already in mid-spin. With a quick twist of her wrists she swung her sword downwards across Yume's chest. The Sekirei of Fate avoided the attack but was unprepared for what came next.
A shockwave rippled off the tip of the blade and slammed into Yume. She had just enough time to cross her arms in front of her. The force of the attack lifted Yume from her feet and threw her a dozen meters.
Yume took control of her body in midair and landed gracefully. Pain flared with every breath she took. She took stock of her condition with a quick glance down at her chest. There hadn't been very much force behind the shockwave, which could be attributed to Karasuba's recovery from her earlier hit and the awkward angle at which the blade was swung. However it still cut a line across her chest, save for the area where she had managed to block it with her arms. Her clothing was still serviceable and she was thankful for the reinforced metal in the back of her gloves.
"You're much better than before," Yume complimented her former subordinate.
"And you've seem to have grown weaker since you've gained an Ashikabi," Karasuba replied with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. "You were stronger than this before, you can't beat me as you are now."
"It's a bad habit of yours to gloat before you've won, Karasuba," Yume said as she settled back into her fighting stance.
"This time shall be different, I will win," Karasuba's sword began to glow.
"We'll see," Yume said as energy started to collect within the palm of her hand.
"Ether Strike!" "Azure Storm!"
x~X~x
Naruto and his Sekirei watched on as the two powerful attacks slammed into one another. Yume's attack was a massive ball of energy, different from her usual beams but necessary against someone like Karasuba. She needed to the ability to remain mobile at all times.
Karasuba's attack lacked the sheer strength and magnitude of Yume's, however made up for it through numbers. Three bluish shockwaves ripped their way across the ground towards Yume's attack. The Ether Strike plowed through the first two but enough strength had been used up by the time it hit the third one that it simply detonated instead of continuing on.
"Is Yume-san going to be alright?" Chime asked in concern.
"It's hard to say," Naruto said, he wasn't going to sugar coat things for his Sekirei, "Karasuba has the edge in reach, reflexes, experience and adaptability."
Hanabi agreed with her husband. "Yes, Yume on the other hand is faster, stronger and more durable than Karasuba," she said as she pointed out Yume's advantages.
"So they're almost perfectly matched?" Blanc asked quietly.
Naruto nodded his head and rested an arm on the blue haired Sekirei's shoulder, "Yes, and while we say they have an advantage over the other in various areas the difference is quiet miniscule. More than likely the winner of this battle will come down to one simple factor…" Naruto trailed off.
"Luck," Hanabi finished for him.
"Luck," Naruto agreed.
"Is there anything we can do to help Yume-san?" Chime asked nervously.
"No, I won't interfere. I've… been in that position before. I know what it's like to have someone interfere with my fights. Win or lose this is a battle Yume must see to its conclusion by herself," Naruto said. Those two, Karasuba and Yume, they both needed some closure and Naruto would be damned before he denied them that. A distant noise reached his ears and he glanced away from the unfolding battle, "Speaking of interference… Akitsu, I have a job for you."
"Naruto-sama?" Akitsu asked as she appeared at his side.
"We appear to be attracting some onlookers," Naruto commented as he pointed towards the oncoming helicopters. There were multiple, probably from many different news stations. He knew creating a new plateau in the middle of Shinto Teito would garner some kind of attention, even after the mess his clones had made. "Keep them away. Warning shots should be enough for them to keep their distance. If you can hit the cameras they're using, all the better."
"I will see to it that they don't disturb us or Yume-san, Naruto-sama," Akitsu said. She turned to move into a better position but stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
Akitsu looked at him in askance but he just smiled at her. He drew her into his embrace and kissed her passionately. Akitsu melted into his arms as she felt his warm chakra race through her body. Brilliant white crystalline wings of ice exploded from her back, showering the area in soft snowflakes.
A few moments later Naruto pulled away leaving a breathless Akitsu behind, "Thank you," Naruto said simply.
Akitsu smiled at him, her cheeks lightly tinted from the passionate kiss. She turned to the oncoming helicopters with renewed conviction on her face. If her Ashikabi didn't want those helicopters near here she'd make sure they didn't get anywhere close.
The temperature dropped and the water vapor around Akitsu began to freeze solid, skipping the liquid state entirely. A cold wind began to whip around the ice Sekirei chilling everyone in the area. Akitsu's eyes began to glow a brilliant white as her power built towards a crescendo.
The Sekirei of Ice raised her arms and pointed them, palms open, into the air and chanted her norito, "This ice that represents my loyalty, shield my Ashikabi from all evil!" The sky around the plateau appeared to crack and splinter.
For one quick moment everyone thought that Akitsu had broken the sky. However as the cracks began to elongate they were able to see it was something else entirely. The sky beyond began to distort as massive chunks of ice began to form in the air. All around the plateau enormous slabs of ice appeared.
When Akitsu was finished a massive spherical dome of ice surrounded the plateau. Similar to the demonic ice mirrors, only on a completely different scale. Its widest point was level with the top of plateau and was as wide as the plateau was tall. If people somehow missed the mile high plateau suddenly appearing in the middle of Shinto Teito they weren't going to miss the massive sphere of ice that appeared around it or the sudden drop of temperature across the city.
Akitsu looked at Naruto and smiled, "Naruto-sama, rest easy, I will ensure that none get near," she said as she jumped and disappeared into the ice dome that encircled them.
"Alright, that's impressive," Naruto commented, slightly surprised at the magnitude of what his Sekirei had just accomplished. She didn't even appear winded. She probably had much more to give.
Hanabi wrapped her arm around Naruto's waist and leaned into his side, "She's been training every day. She's almost as dedicated to you as I am," she said with a smile and kissed him on the cheek.
Naruto smiled at his wife and kissed her back. "I know, it's why I'm entrusting this task to her," he said and turned back to the fight between Karasuba and Yume. Things were really beginning to heat up between the two. The dimensional barrier wouldn't hold much longer with the amount of power those two were throwing around.
"I'm starting to get a little jealous," Blanc muttered, her eyes darting back and forth as she watched the two combatants fight each other at a level she could only dream of reaching.
"Don't be, you can reach their level some day with enough hard work and effort," Naruto said as he grabbed Blanc and pulled her to him. He had stood where Blanc was once, on the sidelines while those more powerful than him protected him. He never had any talent when he was younger either; he had no easy ride to where he stood now. If Blanc wanted to reach their level he would help her.
The dimensional barrier wobbled and their attention was drawn back to the fight unfolding between Yume and Karasuba.
x~X~x
Karasuba held her blade at her side, horizontal to the ground. Blue energy began to coat the blade the battle hungry Sekirei poured more power into her attack.
"Divine Wolf Storm!"
Karasuba glided across the open ground, her blade was invisible as she severed the air. Razor sharp shockwaves screamed towards Yume.
There were too many attacks coming too close together to dodge them. Panting in exertion Yume summoned her power once more. She had seen Hanabi do this several times before, she knew the basic principle behind it, even managed to get it to work during training. However she never had a chance to try this in a real battle. Gritting her teeth Yume began to spin, "Aether Line!" she shouted. Her power erupted from her hands and wrapped itself around her like a cocoon.
The attacks slammed into the spinning wall of chakra and exploded harmlessly.
Yume knew she couldn't keep the barrier up for long. It cost her more energy to keep it up than it did for Karasuba to maintain her constant assault.
She'd have to risk taking a hit to create an opening to counter-attack. The question was how much she could risk getting hit with to create that opening. Her outfit was in tatters, her skirt was long gone and her kimono top was shredded; only barely managing to cling to her shoulders. She'd have to discard that soon, it wasn't capable of protecting her modesty anymore in its current condition, and her bra had long since been destroyed.
She had been lucky thus far, aside from a multitude of minor cuts and scrapes all over her body, she only had one serious wound and that was long gash through her left side. That was another worry she'd have to contend with soon, the blood lost through that wound would only weaken her as the battle continued.
Karasuba however had not come out of that exchange unscathed. She had broken two of her opponent's ribs in exchange for the gash in her side. Karasuba would also have a nasty black eye and a bruised cheek in the morning from the clean hits she managed to get in. This was in addition to a multitude of other bruises she had managed to leave on Karasuba's body whenever she got a hit in.
Yume quickly came to a decision, Karasuba's attack was incredibly fast and relentless but that came at the cost of following a set pattern. If she timed it right she could sacrifice her left arm to give her the opening she needed to hit Karasuba with an unstoppable attack.
Her decision made she changed her spinning motion. Instead of expelling her chakra she began to gather it in her right hand. As she finished her last spin her right hand drew in the chakra that had been used to protect her, quickening the charge.
The barrier dropped. Yume snapped a left hook and punched an oncoming shockwave. Her glove and hand shredded as the wave of pure force exploded on impact. Yume hissed as excruciating pain lanced up her arm.
But she pushed it to the side. She couldn't afford to waste this opportunity, she would not waste it.
Her right hand glowed. Her attack charged. There was no way Karasuba would be able to dodge this. Not in her tired state. "Ether Blast!" Yume shouted as she thrust her open palm at her opponent.
For a singular moment the air around Yume's fist warped and twisted. Then a massive beam of energy blasted forth. The oncoming shockwaves were instantly consumed and wiped out as the wave of energy rolled over them.
Karasuba's god-speed impulse kicked in, allowing her to react instantly to the sudden onslaught. She canceled her attack in mid swing and kicked off the ground, jumping to the side.
Unfortunately even if her reflexes were fast enough, the sheer magnitude of the attack, coupled with the level of injuries she had, prevented her from moving as quickly as she liked. With a curse Karasuba twisted her body in mid-air and braced herself. The beam plowed into her, carrying her across the battlefield.
Karasuba gritted her teeth in pain as she struggled inside Yume's attack. Her knuckles whitened as her grip on her sword tighten. She dug her feet into the dirt ground, finding extra purchase even as she was pushed backwards.
She knew this was Yume's last ditch effort to beat her. If she could just break this attack Yume would be too tired to stop her follow-up. Victory would be hers. But to do that she would need to drop the extra reinforcement of her body that allowed her to withstand the attack to initiate a counter-attack powerful enough to be effective.
A joyous smile creased Karasuba's face. She was overjoyed and excited. This was how it should be; this was the thrill she desired. A do or die situation where even the slightest mistake or mistiming would mean the difference between victory and defeat. A battle where she was pushed to her utmost limit.
This was everything she had hoped it to be.
An orgasmic feeling spread through Karasuba and she climaxed right then and there. Her body quaked with ecstasy. She didn't care what happened to her body, she would defeat Yume.
She ended her resistance and let the wave of energy wash over her body. Like a long-awaited lover Karasuba embraced the feeling of pain as her body was scorched. The agony that flared all across her body drove her to new heights of pleasure.
"Victory is mine YUME!" Karasuba roared as she swung her sword twice. The first create a singular powerful shockwave that seemed to hover in the air. The strike traced the same path, but opposite in direction and amplified the first shockwave. "Final Gale!" The powerful shockwave ripped straight down the center of the Ether Blast.
Like Moses parting the Red Sea, Karasuba's attack parted Yume's. Yume tried to pour more power into her attack but it was to no avail. The Ether Blast was more powerful than Karasuba's attack but its force was spread over a large area. Final Gale was designed specifically for cutting and deflecting. It didn't try to resist the beam; it parted it and pushed it to either side.
As Karasuba's attack reached the midpoint of Yume's a spark of unknown energy flared at the point of contact between the two attacks. A massive explosion enveloped the entire battlefield. Karasuba and Yume were violently thrown to opposite ends. With the sound of break glass the dimensional barrier detonated and the two combatants were dumped back into reality.
The two of them didn't notice. They were completely focused upon the other. As one they rose from the ground, heedless to the condition of their bodies. The next attack would be the last, they both knew it. Both were on their last legs.
Shockwaves ripped across the battlefield as the sound barrier was broken. Their bodies became little more than blurs as they shot across the battlefield. Fists readied, sword raised, bodies poised. With a thunderous crash the two powerful forces slammed into one another.
Fists struck.
The blade cut.
And then it was over.
Karasuba fell to one knee; a hacking cough wracked her body as blood dribbled from her mouth. Yume's final attack had broken four of her ribs and had driven three of them into her lungs, she could feel one of them collapsing as she gasped for breath. It was a fatal strike for any normal person, even for most Sekirei.
But not for her, she would survive.
A smile crossed her face as she heard a thump behind her.
She stood, heedless of the pain that ripped through her body, and glanced over her shoulder at her opponent.
Yume had fallen, she was victorious. A sense of profound satisfaction and contentment flooded her body. For so long she had been forced to walk in Yume's shadow, but no longer. She had walked out from within that shadow and stood for the first time in her own light.
Naruto was at Yume's side in an instant, his clones had dispelled themselves the moment Yume fell to dispel the barrier. He gently raised her up and rolled her over. There was a massive cut diagonally across her chest. It was deep, deep enough to hit bone, and cut right through it.
She was unconscious and bleeding out, fast. Thankfully her Sekirei crest was still active on her stomach. Normally that would have disappeared with this level of injury. It seemed that even if Kurama was gone some portion of his Will remained. He was preventing her from being deactivated from her injuries; however it was up to Naruto to save her life.
Then Hanabi was at his side, a first aid kit in one hand and several pills in the other. "Hold her head up," Hanabi said and Naruto quickly complied. She placed the pills inside Yume's mouth. They were blood pills and soldier pills. They wouldn't save Yume's life but it would buy her precious time.
Hanabi went work after that quickly disinfecting the various wounds and wrapping them tightly in medical gauze. As his wife became absorbed in tending to Yume's wounds Naruto rose to his feet and looked over at Karasuba.
The Black Sekirei looked to be in nearly as rough shape as Yume. Although she was on her feet it appeared she had some difficulty breathing as more blood seemed to escape from her lips with each breath she took. Beyond the bruises and internal damage done by Yume, the Ether Blast had literally started to cook Karasuba. Her skin was bright red as if it had been rubbed raw and then left out in the sun for far too long. The blast had also completely destroyed her clothing; there wasn't a stitch of cloth left on her body.
She still had her boots for some reason though.
"Do you need any help?" Naruto asked Karasuba. While his own Sekirei may have some misgivings about Karasuba, Hanabi especially, he had no problems with her. No real problems anyways. None of their meetings had ever started or ended on a bad note.
It was true that she was definitely a very different individual, but so had been many of the Shinobi under his command. Oddities and eccentricities were the norm for people in his profession, blood thirst and battle lust being some of the least.
"Not from you," Karasuba said as she denied his offer of aid. Her pride wouldn't let her accept assistance from the Ashikabi of her opponent. "Takami should be on her way to pick me up, if you tell your little Sekirei to let her through," she added and pointed to the side where an MBI helicopter could be seen circling the ice dome at a distance.
"Akitsu, let MBI through," Naruto called out. Takami couldn't take him by force even if she wanted to; he had already proven that much. The only card Takami could play that was of any threat what-so-ever was far too injured from fighting Yume to be of any use.
Akitsu didn't question his order and a moment later a section of the dome dissolved. The MBI helicopter made an abrupt turn and quickly flew through the opening. The ice reformed in the opening as the helicopter entered to prevent anyone else from coming in.
Naruto could see Takami's face through the opening in the side of the helicopter as it landed near Karasuba. There was a rather thoughtful look on her face as she looked back and forth between Karasuba and Yume. Naruto could practically see the gears turning as she pieced together what had happened here.
Takami leapt from the helicopter before it even finished landing. The doctors that were on hand were quick to follow. The head of the Sekirei Plan quickly strode across the field until she stood beside the head of the disciplinary squad.
"It's always you Uzumaki Naruto, it always has to be you. Every single major disturbance in Shinto Teito since the start of the Sekirei Plan has revolved around you," Takami said with a scowl, her hands were on her hips as she glared at Naruto.
"Hey, no one died this time," Naruto protested.
"Well I suppose miracles do happen on occasion," Takami shot back.
"Hey!"
"Still, I was worried about what would happen to Shinto Teito if Yume and Karasuba were to fight," Minato's mother said as she glanced around the plateau. That thought was almost as frightening, if not more so, then if Miya and Karasuba fought. "You did at least something right when you isolated this conflict." Takami would pay good money to figure out how Uzumaki Naruto managed to raise this plateau and shield the area from the outside world. However she doubted the people responsible would be willing to share that information. Instead she looked at the other half of the equation. "Are you satisfied now?" she asked Karasuba.
"Quite," Karasuba replied with a content smile, it was spoiled a moment later when she coughed up more blood.
Takami palmed her face and sighed in exasperation, "Get in the helicopter, we'll treat you at the Hospital. You will ALSO be telling me why you decided to go off and fight Yume without notifying MBI," Karasuba had been going off and doing her own thing more often these days and it was time to curb it. If she couldn't keep a rein on the disciplinary squad she wasn't going to be able to control any aspect of the Sekirei Plan.
She glanced at Yume for a moment than Naruto, "We really should take Yume in as well. I don't know how you've managed to keep her active with those wounds but I don't think you have the means to keep her alive."
Naruto bit his lip as he wrestled with the decision. The last time Yume had gone with Takami to MBI she had been in full possession of her faculties and was more than capable of protecting herself.
This time however she would be at their complete mercy.
"Naruto-kun, Takami-san is right. I've done all I can but it's only delaying the inevitable. She needs real help if she's going to survive," Hanabi said, looking up from her spot beside Yume.
"Did you try the new medicine I bought?" Naruto asked, he had 'acquired' some of MBI's latest medical advancements for just such an occasion.
"Yes, that's the only reason she's not dead yet."
Naruto sighed, there wasn't any decision to make. If Takami didn't take Yume, she was dead, plain and simple. However he didn't need to send her alone, "Alright, but I'm not sending her by herself," Naruto said and turned to his smallest Sekirei, "Blanc, go with Takami, make sure nothing untold happens to Yume. Contact me if they try anything." Blanc was the only one he could safely send away with Yume. Hanabi, Akitsu and Chime all had oddities about them that MBI was far too interested in for his comfort. Blanc, while the nature of her de-winging was strange, nothing after that point was anything beyond the norm. Nothing MBI was aware of anyways.
"Those bastards better not try anything or I'll rip their frickin arms off and beat them with it," Blanc growled as she effortlessly picked Yume up.
Naruto bent down and whispered into her ear, "Be careful, and don't say anything. Takami will definitely try to wiggle information out of you."
"I won't," Blanc murmured softly in response and hovered over to the helicopter.
Naruto turned to Takami and gave her a pointed look, "I'll be checking on Yume on a regular basis, if you try anything…" Naruto trailed off.
Takami waved away his threat, "My curiosity in Yume is already satisfied. She'll get the same treatment as any other injured Sekirei, nothing more, nothing less."
"She's not lying," Hanabi said as she deactivated he bloodline before Takami could notice it.
A little bit of the tension drained from his shoulders. He glanced up at the ice dome, "That's enough Akitsu, bring down the barrier, it's time for us to go."
"Are you leaving this here?" Takami asked as she pointed at the ground.
Naruto thought about that for a moment before he nodded his head, "Yes, it would make for a good battle field in the future."
Takami ground her teeth and massaged her temple. She felt another headache coming on. She could see his reasoning but…
"When will you stop rearranging the face of Shinto Teito?"
Akitsu appeared at Naruto's side and the dome of ice in the sky began to dissolve back into water. He gave her a grateful smile and kissed her on the head. He turned back to Takami and gave her a long, hard look, "When will this Sekirei Plan end?" He answered with a question.
Takami sighed as the headache hit her. She was half afraid that was going to be his response. She was about to open her mouth to give Naruto a piece of her mind when a flash of light momentarily blinded her. When the spots cleared Naruto and his Sekirei were gone.
With nothing else left to do here Takami head back to the helicopter. She had two badly hurt Sekirei to take care of and a pounding headache to cure and she wasn't sure which she should take care of first.
Author's Notes: For those of you who know where, or whom, I took Karasuba's attacks from, ya I know the color is off sometimes but that's intentional. Despite being called the 'Black Sekirei' her energy is actually blue, (especially since she's based off one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist) at least that's what I'm going with until we actually see her wings in the manga.
Err, actually I did see her wings but there wasn't any color to them. I'm sticking with blue even if her wings were creepy bone things.
And yes, Yume lost. Thought she was going to win did you? Hardly, that wouldn't resolve anything. Yume winning would only really serve as a tool to showcase abilities. Karasuba winning however, oh that can be used to do so much more.
Now some may wonder why I sent Blanc instead of a shadow clone? Simple, one is as good as the other in this situation and I don't like using Shadow Clones for things that they're not really needed for. Plus Blanc would be able to provide quite a bit more protection than a simple clone that would get dispelled with a single hit.