I never would have thought this little plot bunny would blow up like it has. Thank you to those who continue to read, and I hope I continue to interweave a story that is worth your time!

One question that has been asked that I'll address is that the number of Sekirei Naruto will wing won't go over the number of Sekirei that Minato had in canon, as that would be too many moving parts to take care of properly. Each Sekirei, the whiskered shinobi wings will have more than one use and won't be around just for the blond to sleep with, as they are trying to establish a home on a planet that wants to see every one of them on an examination table or forcefully raped to breed hybrids. So that will cut the list down somewhat as Quality, not Quantity, is one of the story's themes.

I hope you'll enjoy the chapter!

SoulScape

Darkness.

Naruto saw only darkness within the infinite depths of his soulscape, with the only sound being the waters of his mind bobbing and weaving within the thick blackness. Even now, the blond wonders how long he's been here after he and Sasuke fought until both were battered and broken, with his former friend and brother refusing to change and ultimately not letting go of his hatred and bitterness at the world. Even when the whiskered shinobi lay among the still waters, he still tried to replay everything mentally, trying to figure out what caused the unfortunate transformation that the Uchiha would come back months after the 4th war demanding another duel much like they did after Kaguya was sealed away with such an opaque shadow over him that the very mention of any peace between them drove the youth into a fervor to seek retribution for Konoha's part for what they did to the Uchiha and what they forced his brother Itachi to do to keep the peace.

Thinking back, even after flat-out refusing such a thing, he felt they were now beyond the history that bound them and could finally come together as team-mates like they were before that day in the forest of death before Orochimaru put that cursed seal that propelled his friend to do everything and anything to achieve vengeance against his brother and the destruction of the Uchiha clan. Willing to sell body and soul for dark secerts and capabilities from a man who ran relentlessly from the hourglass in his desperate bid to live forever, who jumped from body to body trying to keep the reaper from reaping his soul into that final judgment, the treacherous snake would deserve for all hereafter.

But nothing came to mind, no matter what Naruto tried to do. The writing was on the wall for the longest time, from Kakashi to Jiraiya; they did everything they could to warn him that Sasuke wouldn't just come around. And even if he did, such trauma and impulses didn't suddenly fade away over time with so many mulling how easily the last surviving avenger could quickly turn his mission onto him so that he could keep that dark flame fed with the thoughts and feelings that the whiskered blond wronged him in some way. No matter how much Naruto screamed and cried, giving him chance after chance, begging and pleading to others to give his wayward friend a chance to redeem himself. It was all for nothing, and his voice was brushed aside. His battle ended with Sasuke using the last of his powers to destroy him, with Kurama coming to his aid, resulting in the ancient fox descending into a dream-like coma with the blond unable to arouse the beast from its slumber no matter what he did.

Sasuke's final betrayal resulted in Kurama's ultimate sacrifice.

His eyes began to burn.

Naruto mourned the foxes' absence, which left him hollow yet riddled with even more guilt, but he stopped himself short of outright crying. Even now, he was unaware of what Kurama had done to save his life, but the fact that he still lived proved that he'd succeeded at his own cost.

And that's what hurt the most... When Naruto needed someone, the nine-tails was there. When the blond was in trouble, the fox bailed him out. When the whiskered shinobi was in a tight spot with nowhere to run or hide, Kurama was the big brother who stepped in and took the threat away. The same brother lay still and unmoving after giving everything to ensure the big dummy could continue breathing. Naruto felt the pain in his heart hurt more than any kunai, or Chidori would gladly take hundreds or even thousands if it meant he could hear the fox rumble about how stupid or clueless he was, even if it were just for a moment...

But yet, he couldn't help but see irony in it all. He and Sasuke perfectly symbolized where they stood about one another in their views and where they were in life; one stemmed from nothing with nothing much expected of him, and the other was born into greatness, with it almost assumed and assured by name alone. Both had childhoods so abruptly taken from them as a consequence of the ambitions of others that, for a while, they sought shelter from the barrage through the rivalry and bidding friendship during the forming of team seven.

As many similarities they shared, so too were their differences, the most prominent of which were their morals and ideals. Somewhere along the way, their paths diverged, only to once more converge, this time in opposition, which would lead to the ending of a feud and cycle that spanned back to their forefathers, who fought and split off after giving the world the secerts of Chakra when they defeated their goddess like-mother and freed the world from her rule.

"It didn't have to be this way, but you just wouldn't listen," Naruto expressed sorrowfully as he surveyed the impairment imposed that was his missing arm. It was numb despite how he felt the nerves flare. His face twisted with mounting anguish and indignation before releasing those feelings in a bellow. "Why couldn't you listen!" he slammed his left hand, which was already balled into a fist, into the waters below him in a resonating splash that rippled like a stone being skipped. "Why did you push things too far and cross a line I couldn't follow!? The seas started to bubble and break around him, with heated steam misting the air.

A sudden intrusive chill permeates his body, penetrating his very bones, making everything ache painfully and his motions stiff.

You might not think so, Naruto, but it would have ended this way. Sasuke's ghostly voice retorted all around him with a watery but genuine tone. One of us finally killed the other and ended the cycle...

Naruto's head fell, his hair obscuring the sorrow in his eyes. He finally conceded what everyone tried to tell him, which he tried desperately to disprove and deny. Sasuke's loyalties lay only with himself, and his initiative for vindication had consumed him that day entirely.

He was lost, and nobody could have prevented the Uchiha from concluding what would be an old brothers' blood feud that saw vast landscapes ripped asunder and destroyed from that all-out war between them.

I didn't think you'd do it; I never thought you would have the audacity to finish what we started...

"I always gave you a choice and many chances, but you couldn't do the same for me?" Tears of hurt escaped Naruto's clenched eyes. "I wasn't going to make the same mistake again. I couldn't — I couldn't let you hurt any more of my precious people! Sakura gave you her heart, and you ran it through. Kakashi tried once more to talk sense into you, and he paid the price with you beheading him! I couldn't stand by and lose any more to your misguided need for revenge. I couldn't...!"

Sasuke's voice snorted at this, eliciting a series of pallid chuckles. You finally learned your lesson, but you still haven't Naruto. You're still the same fool you always were. I was never going to change, not while everyone who wronged my clan could walk among the living while my family still rotted within their tombs. If it took my entire life, Konoha would burn and burn to the ground, and only when the last of its ashes faded into the wind would I have considered my vengeance complete... You were the only one outside of Sakura who clung to the foolish notion that I could be led out of darkness, but it was a darkness of my own making.

Even now, Naruto wants to deny the voice of his departed friend, to bring up what they did in Wave against Zabuza and his willingness to sacrifice himself to protect him from Haku. Or the battle against Gaara, who tried to crush Sakura against a tree, pushing himself beyond the breaking point that day to muster a Chidori that Sasuke Uchiha was still willing to aid and protect someone he considered a comrade at that time. He even goes as far as to confront Itachi when the older Uchiha comes to take him away and rip the fox from his gut.

So many times did the blue-eyed blond see the light that still dwelled inside his tormented team-mate, but why couldn't he reach it?

No matter what you could have said, done, or didn't do. I was steadfast in my choice. I wasn't going to stop until someone stopped me...and I'm glad it was you...

A sneer left the blond's lips with the way he grits his teeth as one of his sharp K-9s sunk into his bottom lip; his spiky hair bristled out before declaring heatedly. "Oh, so that's it? Thank you for killing me. No, I'm sorry that I lost my damn mind?! Or maybe I should have listened and not caused you so much pain!?"

No answer.

"Oi! Say something, you asshole!" the blond hollered into the void.

No answer once again.

"Tsh, as I expected... He always leaves people hanging." Naruto grunted with the waters once again cascading around him from the sudden shift of his mood.

Live... Sasuke's voice uttered suddenly.

"What?" was the echoed response of the confused blond.

Live and find your purpose away from the lands that twisted us into what we became. You didn't want my camaraderie or the village's approval. Think for yourself for once and find happiness beyond me and team seven..."

"To live?" Naruto mumbled with him again, lying in the water, trying to comprehend its meaning as his mind replayed the mental illustrations of his many adventures throughout the elemental nations to find renewed meaning in his existence from all the past heartache.

Northern District of Shinto Teito

Real Estate Office

Days Later...

If there is one thing Miya could say about herself, she now understands that she has needs, much like any female. She put aside those needs for self-improvement to become one of the best wielders of the blade ever to live. To be the eternal guardian after the Jinkis chose her for its stewardship role during her years trying to find herself when her ambitions as a youth were twisting and turning her into something entirely befouled by those foolish and self-centered views of what she thought of might make right and any kind of frailty meant certain death. Those years watching over her people as a literal deity did change many of those whims as a young girl, some for the better and some not that well. But it didn't mean that throughout that journey, she didn't learn and grow from all the hardships and pitfalls on her path throughout her long life.

Yet she was going through all those thoughts and feelings she thought she had given up such a long time ago, with her going into what many females of her species would call nesting. Unlike the females on Earth, where it's the males who will fight each other for that right to pass their genes onto the next generation to build the foundations of a house and home, it's the Wagtail ladies that will bicker, poke, and scratch and kick for the Ideal places to raise a family and don't mess around when it comes to the proper tree to roost.

Sitting in a well-decorated real estate office, a favorable critique from the usual gibberish from MBI's CEO has showered nothing but acclaim for its ability to find the finest quality homes. However, the back-and-forth dissension like a tennis match over accepting one measly check was something number one could've done without. She felt the last of her patience whittle away as she did everything she could to avoid making a scene or leaving the entire area in pieces, which was becoming a fast-approaching option with the way her hands in her lap clenched her hakama tightly.

This was why she let Takehito do all the talking and moving while she stayed at home and tended the house. It quickly brought back thoughts and feelings about why she despised reeling and dealing with Earthlings. They always make things more complicated than needed, and she only wanted to get this molasses-like business deal moving so she could get started on house hunting!

"Ma'am, I'm not trying to be rude, but without a valid account, I can't accept your payment..." a somewhat overweight middle-aged man with glasses and slicked-back hair dressed business casual said sheepishly from the other side of a dark tan-colored table. "Rules, you know. I can't sidestep them just because you tell me to."

The purple-haired alien could only stare back, clearly aggravated that some human was giving her such a hard time over something trivial like taking a blank check before saying in a more cutting tone that didn't hide her displeasure. "How is accepting capital such a hard thing? Have things changed this much to turn away someone who wants to do business? Or is my patronage not good enough for this establishment when its motto is to make everyone leave with a smile because you don't want me smiling right now!"

A bead of sweat ran down the man's brow and the side of his face, with him doing little to hide how frightened he became before he said more fearfully, "Ma'am, I told you countless times I can't take an expenditure this big until you show me some ID so my manager will know this isn't a sham. I'm only trying to follow the rules!"

Miya could only take a deep breath to control her inner sentiments as she shifted her posture in the leather chair she was sitting in. Without saying another word, she reached into her purse that sat next to her left leg and fished out her cell phone before hitting the redial that would direct her to the only other person who could help her without lives being lost if she lost her temper.

Which was a fuse that was already as short as it is these days with her emotions all over the place.

After a few moments, the speaker on the other side of the line picks up with the elder alien speaking in a low tone, clearly unhappy. "Yeah, it's me. The place you sent me isn't accepting the check unless I show credentials... Make it right, or you will know what will happen if I'm displeased. And we both know what transpires when I'm not in a forthcoming mood!" With that said, she listens as the man on the other side of the phone sputters an apology before promising to address the issue personally before he cuts the call.

Bringing her attention back to the estate agent while crossing her arms across her chest and crossing one leg over the other, leaning back into the chair, her reddish-brown colored eyes becoming somewhat piercing in their gaze, with the gentleman in front of her wondering if maybe he might have pissed off the wife of some higher-up member of the Yazuka before saying in a flat yet even tone. "Your supervisor should be getting an important call right about now. So, let us cut to the chase, and you draw up those papers before things between us don't sour entirely."

"R-r-right! Just give me a moment!" The man squeaks in trepidation, quickly reaching into his desk for the proper forms. He might not know who this person was, but he wouldn't risk his life trying to call her bluff over a job that already paid inadequately for his services. "P-please sign here so we can get s-s-started!" he shuttered out while pushing a large stack of papers with a pen to the scary-looking woman before him.

Looking through the stacks of paper before her, the Wagtail Queen mutters under her breath as she starts to sign her name on the dotted lines. She never wanted to do the logistics when dealing with humans, with how backward they still were regarding virtually everything. This was supposed to be a meet and greet, sign some papers and look at some places that could become her forever home, not sit here for over an hour going back and forth with someone who thinks she's some con artist just because she didn't want to give out personal information.

It wasn't like they'd be able to accept her resume as celestial sovereign and alien Queen without people thinking she'd been watching too much anime.

Glancing momentarily, Miya could see the business-dressed gentleman speaking softly on the phone with a bewildered look, as if he had been told something he had trouble believing. While it would be hard for human ears to pick up, the hushed whispers in the conversation were as if the man might as well have been shouting it out in a room with an echo. "Really? Minaka Hiroto called you personally? THE Minaka Hiroto!? Yes, she's still here, and I can still feel her scary eyes on me... Is the payment approved? Can I have a field agent show her some places and get her out of my office before I do something to embarrass myself? She got the same look my mother would do whenever she caught me snacking without permission..."

Miya could only snort to herself on how easily these beings can go from piss and vinegar to acting like a chastised child the next at the drop of a hat. She would have found it quite humorous if it wasn't pathetic that these humans were so erratic that they could easily make it to the next solar system and back if procrastination were a renewable food or energy source.

Taking one last look through the signed forms, she clears her throat roughly to gain the man's attention, who gives the person he was talking to a quick goodbye before directing his attention to the woman who intimidated the daylights out of him. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" He smiled, but it looked more like a grime with the way his eyes squinted and the corners of his lips twitched like they had been forced.

"As long as you don't try to sell me a drug house or some hobo's den of debauchery because I know who I'll be seeing first to issue a complaint~," Miya said sickly sweetly, with a broad smile of her own her eyes sparkling. It was not in a way that someone was unhinged or even fanatic; it was soft and inviting, even an innocent one could say. But it did little to hide the idle threat of possible bodily harm if crossed that caused the man to gulp.

Y-yes ma'am! W-we take pride in our m-motto of you leaving with a s-s-smile...!"

Elsewhere...

"Didn't I tell you, girls, that the security was lax?" An older lass says with delight in her tone.

"You did, but I didn't think it was that bad. Doesn't the professor realize how easy it is for us to get out of the dormitories?" A young girl says, still quite surprised she could give her handler the slip and escape.

"Even if he did, he hasn't sent anyone to retrieve us, so let us have some fun for once without having someone in a coat looking over us all day!" Another girl gushes about all the enjoyment she is about to have.

With the trio giving a small cheer, they quickly start jumping across the rooftops as they make their way to the entertainment district of Shinto Teito in a bid to mingle among the humans and have something authentically fun to do rather than sit around doing nothing outside of listening to lectors or other dramas that the higher and lower digits would get into about the power and numbers station.

Some couldn't wait for the Sekirei plan to happen, and some were becoming more antsy about spouse hunting or just being able to be a young Wagtail and have fun among their age group. The push for them to remain sheltered has led to nothing but combative altercations that caused the disciplinary squad to be called to break up countless brawls or other forms of fighting that were becoming more and more common each day. The fledglings were ready to leave the nest, and many still haven't connected why such actions by those in MBI caused them to remain behind closed doors, even though all but one were over 18.

The world outside the protective bubble would prove unsafe and unkind even to those more prepared for it.

It's too bad for these three; they'll learn a harsh truth outside of that particular bubble quicker than the rest of their kin about Earthlings and how fast someone else can seal your fate with a single kiss or by the end of a weapon.

Perched nearby from a highrise balcony, number #04 Karasuba could only watch as the three misguided wagtails sped off into the distance, quickly becoming faded dots in the afternoon sun. She was dressed in a tight black and white leather top secured by belts, a black miniskirt and stockings, black boots, and a grey haori with the Sekirei Crest printed in black and worn loosely over her shoulders. Her weapon of choice was a nodachi, often scabbarded in a black sheath with a white diamond pattern stitching across the body and secured on her person at waist height on the left side. She was among the tallest of Sekirei, owing much of this to her long legs, with her long light grey hair tied in a high ponytail, a lengthy single strand extending forward and downwards, and narrow grey-colored eyes. She's generally seen with bags under her eyes, giving her the haggard and exhausted look of someone who doesn't get much sleep, even though Karasuba tends to keep her eyes narrowed into slits, most typically while attempting to act friendly and avoid others immediately picking up on her aggression and growing bloodlust.

"Well, well, well. I thought I'd have to search high and low for something fun today." A laid-back, almost feline purr rippled through the air, accompanied by the heart-shaped face tilting to the side as she traced her gloved fingertips across the pummel of her blade, considering her options to chase after prey or leave them to their coming fate. Her features were relaxed, and her smile soft that did nothing to hide those fangs in the dark and bloodshot eyes watching on from out of sight, staring at them from every angle as those perilously sharp talons crept closer and closer toward the softness of their throats.

Bending her knees before leaping into the air, she takes a giant hop onto the adjacent building before walking on the edge of the nearby railing like a professional tightwire walker, humming a ditty to herself with her already making up her mind as she quickly sprints and jumps once more as she bounces from one building to another in pursuit to clip the wings of some naughty little birds were trying to break the rules before the games were ready. "Let's see how these eager little chicks fare when Minaka can't hold their hand. I hope they at least try, or this little game of cat and mouse wouldn't be fun if the cat consumes them after the first swipe~." her voice becoming more gleefully cold, her eyelids opening somewhat with her steel grey colored eyes emitting a reddish mist of her pent up lusts for carnage with her steps quickening like some beast out of hell awaiting to drag some unfortunate souls into the burning depths.

Deep breaths were heard as Takehito Asama ran the hallways of Teitō-tō, trying to reach his wife, who was on the floor above him. Unsettling news was given to him when one of the guards spoke about being three Sekirei short when they did a lunch roll call not long ago that sent everyone into a panic, with the head researcher putting the entire site on lockdown until he could reach Minaka or Takami to give them the news that some of their alien visitors escape off-site. They knew it was only a matter of time before an escape attempt would happen. Still, they figured if they could keep the young aliens pacified, they could finish getting the battleground set up and their military stationed to ensure everything was under their control. Now, they got three out of their sphere of protection that anyone could wing them and shred that shield of secrecy that has kept the United Nations from invading the landmass in massive numbers that might as well be the continuation of World War 2 (minus the nuclear bombs.) He quickly took the stairs with him, jogging up the steps like an Olympic sprinter. Before reaching the door on the next floor, he roughly pushed it open by slamming it against the wall and moving past people loitering in the hallway with a spooked or baffled look of the grey-haired man's frantic dash like the devil himself was chasing close behind him.

"Takehito!?" one man calls out, unsure why he saw said man running like his life depended on it.

"What's going on?" a woman asked, bewildered. She had never seen the head researcher in such a state.

"Did something happen to Takami...?" another in the growing backdrop mutters; as many knew, both science heads were in a relationship and were expecting their first child together.

Continuing to ignore the peanut gallery that spoke among themselves, the researcher eventfully reached his destination at the end of the hall, almost plowing through the office door. This alarmed the woman inside, who hollered surprisedly: "Takehito!? What the hell is wrong with you!?"

Panting heavily, the man leans against the door frame, trying to catch his breath before saying, between puffs. "...Three... ...Sekirei... ...have escape...!"

The sudden silence was deafening, and the sound of her clipboard hitting the ground was the only noise between them.

"Fuck...Damn it! Now? Some of them had to try this now?!" The older woman groused angrily before quickly reaching into her coat pocket for her faithful flip phone. "Do we know which ones got out?" she said while pressing the numerals in to call Minaka, as this was a breach they had to fix before things got out of hand.

Regaining some of his wind, Takehito pushes himself from the doorway before saying. "Number 38, 39, and 18. They didn't attend lunch and roll call before an instructor told some perimeter guards something was amiss. And that was when they discovered they weren't in their rooms or anywhere. They did sweeps from top to bottom to ensure every possible place they could go was checked before I issued a complete lockdown with the rest of the Sekirei being directed to return to their rooms..."

The temperamental woman could only mutter things under her breath, still sitting through endless dial tones as she awaited to hear her Ex's troublesome voice come through. Without the preparations being finalized, someone was bound to wing one of them and control something they wouldn't understand, which worried her more than anything. While harmless, these aliens could quickly become dangerous if someone uses them for personal gain or to cause mayhem; they haven't even finished the trials for the new disciplinary squad overseeing the Sekirei plan. Yume is already putting her retirement in so she could be released to find her Ashikabi, and Karasuba has been like a cat climbing up and down the curtains, wanting to spill blood that three naive Wagtails could be an inch hard to ignore if the crow were to set her sights onto them.

The last thing they needed was for someone or a small group to control any Wagtail or number 4 to butcher them.

As the cell phone rings, the head adjuster becomes increasingly antsy, pacing the room with a look of unease. 'Damn it, Minaka, you're picking the wrong time to ignore my call!'

After moments of hearing nothing but dial tones, Takami flips the phone close before stuffing it roughly in her pocket. "He's not picking up. So we have to do this without him. Contact Matsu or Kocho to see if they can track them. I will contact Yume and see if I can get her to do one last assignment. As we both know, outside of Miya, she's the only one that can prevent those dumbasses from getting killed if Karasuba decides she wants to do some bird hunting..."

Giving his wife a nod, the messy-haired man turns as he walks instead of running to the nearest office to make a couple of calls to get things rolling.

The older woman could only stare out the large glass window as if the afternoon horizon would give her a clue or an answer to this prediction she suddenly found herself in. If three Wagtails felt encouraged to try this stunt, it would be only a matter of time before the others would try it, and much as she wanted to trust them since they would still be relatively young by their species' longevity. If brought in unwinged and alive, she would have to make an example of them to ensure this kind of thing wouldn't happen again. "You three have no idea what you're getting yourselves into. The world outside is cold, uncaring, and will eat you alive if you let them..."

Turning, she walks to her desk to make a few calls of her own to get the search parties going before the Sekirei alarms go off that would tell them if they had been winged or killed, with her mumbling out while taking a seat in the black rolling chair. "Damn it... Why do I feel I could have done more...?" the four walls surrounding her remained muted of their judgments as she picked up the office phone in an endeavor to put out this wildfire before it caught ablaze.