Disclaimer: Right, so this marks the start of my remake. You'll all notice that there are only a few changes, not much, but significant enough that you should take note of them. Now then, I do not own Naruto or Sekirei, both of them are products of Masashi Kishomoto and Akurako Gokurakuin.

And with that out of the way, please enjoy the story.

Ashikabi no Shinobi

Prologue: The Shinobi Ashikabi

XoX

It was with a jerk that he was startled awake. For a moment, the man wondered where he was. It took only took a quick glance around, seeing the two seats on his left and the many rows of seats before and behind him filled with people that the male began to realize where he was.

That's right, he was on an airplane traveling that had been traveling from Los Angeles, California to Shinto Teito, Japan, the new capital of Japan. The landing struts hitting the runway must have woken him up.

Too bad, he was having a rather good dream too.

A ding filled the air before the pleasant voice of the flight attendant began speaking. "We have now arrived in Shinto Teito. Please remain seated until the plane has safely docked. Thank you for flying Tokyo air, and have a great day."

Sighing, the male relaxed back into his seat and looked back out the window. Outside was a riot of activity as the airplane he was traveling on made it's inexorable path to the docking station that would connect with the door and allow the passengers to unload. The window was very clear, with not even a tint to it, but he could still see his reflection in the mirror. The sight of his familiar spiky blond mop with the jaw length bangs and a fringe hovering over two cerulean blue orbs were as familiar to him as the three whisker marks that lined either side of his face.

It took a good while before they were allowed to leave, and the blond let his thoughts wander. Shinto Teito, recently renamed capital of Japan, the technical origin of his birth. How long had it been since he had stepped foot on it's soil?

"Far far too long," he muttered to himself. He must not have been quiet enough, however, because the older looking gentlemen next to him turned a questioning stare his way.

"Did you say something, young man?"

"Ah," the blond paused for a moment, surprised at having actually verbalized his thoughts. He spent so little time with others, except for the occasional one night stand, that he was no longer used to interacting or even being around others. Lately, he had even begun picking up the verbal tick of speaking to himself.

Perhaps it was a way of helping him keep his sanity.

"I was just thinking about how long it's been since I've been back," he finished a little hesitantly. It wasn't that he was nervous or anything, but he didn't quite know what to say, and considering he had just been caught speaking out loud, didn't want to give away too much information to this man. Or to anyone else, for that matter.

"I understand the feeling," the gentlemen replied with a wistful smile. He was an older man with black hair that was graying at the sides, giving him a very distinct look. The man was wearing a business suit that told the blond more things about him than he likely knew he was doing. Of course, most people would never suspect that even something as simple as seeing patch of lint on clothing could help someone judge their character. Or how the small scent of cigarette smoke wafting from the man let the blond know that the gentlemen had smoked at least a pack of cigarette's before getting on the airplane. Little things that like which helped an observative person determine more about another person than said person might be comfortable with.

For someone who had been trained as a fighter and assassin, the blond found those hard grained skills impossible to ignore, even after all this time. Perhaps especially after all this time.

"Back when I was your age, even a year felt like a long time to me."

The blond masterfully hid the tick mark that threatened to appear on his forehead. "I can imagine," he replied, deciding to cut off any chance of conversation right there by turning to look back out the window. It wasn't like he actually wanted to speak to this man anyways.

The moment soon arrived when passengers were finally allowed to begin offloading. The blond grabbed the duffel bag under his chair and stood up to his full height. He was very tall for a man who looked no older than eighteen years of age, standing nearly a head above the average Japanese male. When combining that with his blond hair, blue eyes, and broad shoulders one would never even expect him to actually be of Japanese decent.

Technically speaking he wasn't of Japanese decent, but he couldn't go around telling people he was an Elemental now could he?

Reaching into the pair of black jeans he was wearing, the blond pulled out a touch screen phone, one of the newer products called an Android that he had gotten in America, and turned it on. The first thing he did was check the time. It was early in the day, about an hour or so until noon. He should have plenty of time to find an apartment or hotel before needing to find his publisher.

While his left hand, the one holding on to the Android began fiddling around the touch screen, opening up a music application he had downloaded the moment he had gotten it, his right hand set the duffel bag on the table and went into the orange long sleeve hoodie that he was wearing over an equally long sleeved black shirt. He pulled out a small set of earphones, the kind that went directly into the ear, placed one in each ear, then plugged it into the phone just as AC/DCs' Thunderstruck began playing.

Hefting his duffel bag over his shoulder in a lazy manner, the blond began his own departure from the airplane.

"Let's see just how much Japan has changed the in the last two hundred or so years..."

Thankfully, he was the last person on the plane and thus, no one was around to hear his muttered comment.

XoX

"Guh, man this place has changed so much," the blond male complained as he got off another tram, this one leading further into the city. It had taken a bit longer than he would have liked getting out of the airport. It seemed that Shinto Teito had been having problems with terrorists of some kind or something. Security at the airport had been much tighter than normal, and thanks to a new piece of invasive technology that the airport seemed to be testing, what would have normally been a one hour process at the most had ended up taking a grand total of five hours. Fortunately for him, the process, aside from being unbearably long, had gone off without a hitch, and he had been let free a lot more quickly than a lot of other people that had been trying to enter the capital.

It was to be expected of course, he had been roaming the world for a long time. Someone like him was very good at adapting to any and every circumstance. He wouldn't have lasted very long if he hadn't.

With a sigh of aggravation, the blond began walking once more. He had been walking and riding the interconnecting railway for the past two hours and still had yet to get a good feel for the place. "Man, it looks like they changed the entire layout of this city." Granted, it had been two hundred or so years since he had even been in Tokyo, or Shinto Teito as they were now calling it, but still...

"How I am going to find my publisher if I can't even find out where I am?"

He looked around at the large skyscrapers, which seemed to tower over the city, with one large one in the center. It was a large clock tower style skyscraper, and had to be a newer addition because he had never seen it before. The streets were busy, with hundreds of cars moving along them, or stopped up in traffic. The people walking down the sidewalks were all crowded together and would make it impossible for anyone to walk against the flow. It was a lot busier then he had remembered last time he had been there.

"And in other breaking news, Hiroto Minaka, the President of the giant conglomerate MBI has bought up eighty percent of all Shinto Teito stalks..." Naruto looked up at the screen when he heard the announcement to see a man with white messy hair, glasses and a high-collared cape(?) of some kind sitting in a high backed chair. The man looked like he was trying to pose as some kind of king with the way he was seated; with his hands on the large arm rests on either side and his legs crossed as he sat straight up with an imperious look on his face.

"Phe, that guy looks like a complete douche-bag," Naruto muttered as he decided to ignore the rest of the news report, having deemed it as unimportant.

It's not like knowing who was trying to take over the city would help him find his publisher.

"A company that has enough power to buy out the capital of Japan, huh. Reminds me of that slime bag, Gato," Naruto mumbled with a frown. That wasn't a pleasant thought, especially since he hated being reminded of the past. But these days, just about everything made him think of his life before it all went to hell. That's simply the way things were, and he had long since learned to deal with it.

That didn't mean he had to necessarily like it, but his hatred for large conglomerate corporations went beyond the actual corporation itself. The biggest problem Naruto had with companies like MBI weren't, in fact, the companies, but that the people, the normal civilians and citizens, were perfectly willing to allow these large industrial business to do pretty much whatever the hell they wanted.

Like buying out an entire city for instance.

Hadn't the people learned what happened when large companies like that bought out entire cities? Had the people not learned from their ancestors mistakes in the past? Nothing good ever came from a large conglomerate corporation buying out the capital. MBI and Gato Corporation hadn't been the only companies to buy out cities like this, and all those other times such a thing had happened nothing good came from it. It seemed that humanities ability to ignore anything that did not affect them directly was still their strongest trait.

It made him sick.

His mind was brought briefly to what he knew of the large conglomerate. MBI, or Mid Bio Informatics, had sprung up relatively recently, with the last twenty years or so, yet had already claimed the spot at the top of the food chain when it came to leading edge technology. Despite being a new company, they were the largest pharmaceutical corporation in the entire world, and were apparently one of the richest if they could buy out more than seventy five percent of the capital of Japan.

An impressive feat to be sure. And one he couldn't help but be wary of. Whenever a large company bought out a city it was done for a purpose, large conglomerate companies didn't just buy out cities for no reason. There was always a reason, always. Unfortunately, Naruto couldn't for the life of him figure out what that reason might be.

In the end it didn't really matter so he put it out of his mind. He had washed his hands of humanity and it's stupidity the moment he had become aware of his cursed existence. What did he care if a bunch of humans were foolish enough to let a large company like MBI effectively take control of their lives and play with them like they were marionette's dancing to someone else's tune?

As he continued walking past the many people heading in the opposite direction of him, the blond pulled out several cards from his pocket. Each one was an ID car with his picture on it, but held different information about him. "Let's see now, who should I be this time. Namikaze Minato? No, I used that last time. Gamasatsu Jiraiya? No, I don't really feel like being that perv. How about, Nara Shikamaru? Naw, lazy ass isn't my style. Hmmm... Uzumaki Naruto. I haven't used that one in a while, at least a few centuries so it should be ok. Yeah, let's go with that, the original has always been my favorite anyways."

Pocketing the other ID cards Naruto placed the one he was planning on using in his wallet. "Now I just need to find that –" he was cut off when he accidentally bumped into one of the people around him when turning the corner, knocking them down. Fortunately for Naruto he was not only much bigger then most, especially people living in Japan, but also very powerful physically, he did not do anything more then move back a step. He shook his head, silently berating himself for not watching where he was going, then looked down to see who he had accidentally knocked over.

It was a young man with black hair and eyes who had been mumbling about 'failing twice' and 'entrance exams' or some such nonsense. Naruto sighed, while he may not like humanity that didn't mean he hated humans in general. Not every human was evil incarnate, just the vast majority of them. It would be rude not to at least make sure the kid was alright.

"Sorry about that," the blond said as he held his hand out to the kid. The other guy rubbed his backside before looking up. The blond blinked when he got a good look at the kids face – it was the kind of nondescript 'I've got nothing going for me in my life' face that some of the younger generation seemed to posses now a days – before breaking into the sheepish smile that he had spent most of his life perfecting. "You ok?"

"Er... no, no, it's alright, I should have watched where I was going," the teen said. Well, at least he got points for being polite. Some of the other people Naruto had bumped into had been complete douchebags, at least they had until the blond had shown them just why it was a bad idea to get on his bad side.

The human body was not made to bend in some of the ways he had forced other people's bodies to do.

The young man looked at the hand Naruto had offered before taking it and allowing the blond to pull him up.

"I suppose we'll just say we should both be more careful," the blond replied with a good natured chuckle. The young teen seemed to relax at his easy going attitude, and even smiled a bit. Sometimes it amazed Naruto how easy it was to manipulate others, even if it was doing something as simple as putting them at ease with a fake smile and a few words. "Anyways, good luck on your next entrance exams."

"What!? How did you know about my entrance exams!?" asked the kid in surprise.

The blond sweat dropped. "You were just talking out loud about failing your entrance exams twice before I ran into you."

"Oh..." the black haired kid looked embarrassed, Naruto figured it was about asking such an obvious question or somewhere along those lines. It wasn't like he cared though, and so he put the thought out of his mind.

"Anyways, take more care to watch your surroundings."

"Right."

"AH! Get out of the way please!"

Acting on instinct Naruto pushed the kid out of the way when he heard the shout, using enough strength that the boy was picked up off the ground and sent flying several feet back. The much younger teen landed on his rear end, much to Naruto's silent amusement. Hey, he was old, he had to find some ways to amuse himself. Looking up the blond had just enough time to see that the girl falling before him was brunette and had extremely large breasts before she smashed into his stomach with enough force to send him crashing into the ground and creating a decently sized crater.

"Ugh... what the... fuck...?" Naruto blinked as he saw a tight, toned and shapely ass clad in white panties. If this girl was some kind of angel, then she was the clumsiest angel he had ever met. "While I don't like getting smashed into the ground, I can't deny that this is a nice way to make up for falling on me."

The girl didn't seem to hear him because she just groaned.

Frowning, Naruto took a moment to wonder just where the hell this girl had come from, but quickly put it out of his mind. There were other, more important things to worry about. Like finding out if this girl was injured. He was just a good Samaritan like that.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Ow... I should have known that building was way to high to jump off of..." The girl mumbled as she crawled off of him. Now that Naruto got a better look at her he saw that she was a well-endowed young woman with short, brown hair and a well developed body figure. She was wearing an interesting set of clothing that looked like something he would expect from a manga. It consisted of a short red skirt and upper clothes that resemble the traditional clothing worn by the miko. She was also wearing a pair of red gloves that looked like they were used for battle. However, it was her chest that really got his attention.

'Dear kami. I think those breasts are bigger then Baa-chan's and Samui-chan's!' were the first thoughts of Naruto as he got his first up close glimpse of the large endowments the girl had. He had to wonder if breasts that size were even natural now a days.

The girl turned around and Naruto got to see a face that looked way too cute and innocent to be considered legal. It was a crime that such a cute face was on such a killer body. "Oh, you're the person who caught me, aren't you? Thank you very much," she said with a warm smile.

Naruto gave her an easy grin. Damn, this girl was an incredible beauty, he noted. "It was no trouble," he waved off her thanks, absently wondering how long it would take for him to seduce her. It had been a while since he'd slept with anyone, and even longer since he had slept with a woman as beautiful as her. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure if he had actually slept with a woman as beautiful was this girl. At least, not since the demise of the Elemental Nations. "I would hate to think of what might have happened if you had actually hit the pavement coming down as hard as you were. Are you alright?"

"Uh yes, I think I'm alright," the girl said as she patted herself down. The blond eyed her hungrily as he watched how her movements caused her chest to bounce in delightful ways. Just as he was about to start working his charm on the girl, Naruto's sixth sense began blaring around the same time the girls seemed to.

"Watch out!" she shouted as she pushed herself onto him, just in time to avoid a blast of electricity. Naruto flipped them around as the flew slightly through the air, landing on his feet and catching Musubi in his arms, before setting her back on her feet a second later so he could prepare for their attackers.

'I can definitely rule out the possibility that that was ordinary electricity,' Naruto thought with narrowed eyes. Aside from the fact that there wasn't a cloud in the sky from which any lightning could be formed, there were no broken power lines anyone in sight either. He also had to take into account that out of all the places the 'lightning' could have struck, it had tried to strike them. That meant someone had been aiming for either him, or...

He looked over at the girl who had fallen on him to see she too was standing up, an anxious look on her face as her eyes wandered up the side of a building. Naruto followed her gaze and looked up towards where she had to see two beautiful women – twins from the looks of them – in leather bondage costumes.

He promptly sweat dropped.

'I think I did just step into some kind of manga. Dominatrix twins that can shoot lightning... great, I thought I stopped dealing with violent women after Sakura-chan...'

"You can run all you want, but nothing will come of it," the one of the left said. She was wearing a dark purple leather suit, and Naruto absently noted that her breasts were the larger of the pair. Well, if nothing else that let him know they weren't quite identical twins, though they still looked remarkably similar.

"So just fight us and we'll get this over with quickly," the other one said. This one was wearing a red suit of the same make.

"I can't! At least, not right now!" the brunette that had run into him said, clenching her fists as she looked at the two with a mild glare. From the way she spoke to the pair, Naruto was able to glean that these two girls had been chasing the busty shrine maiden. He wasn't quite sure why, aside from the fact that the bondage twins apparently wanted to fight the brunette. Of course, that brought out a whole new line of questions. Why did these girls want to fight the one who had landed on him? Was there something going on in this town that he was unaware of and had just randomly stumbled across.

If so that would really suck since it was only his first day here.

"That's too bad, because we're not stopping until we defeat you." Electricity began to form on the two girls hands, light purple sparks that crackled as it shot off their hands in miniature bursts.

"Oh... this just sucks," Naruto muttered to himself. Though he remained nonchalant his mind was a whirlwind of activity. 'I can feel chakra flowing through them! But that shouldn't be possible. Humans have long since lost the ability to use chakra and that's definitely no jutsu...' That more than anything was what had gotten his attention. It looked like those girls were using pure elemental manipulation in order to create that lightning, an extremely remarkable feat. Even during the time of the Shinobi several thousand years ago, the ability to shape and manipulate even a single element was an accomplishment only a few people numbering in the single digits had managed.

"Sorry, but I don't want to fight right now!" Naruto didn't have much more time to complete his thoughts because the girl who had fallen on him grabbed his hand and began running. Of course, running would be a relative term in this instance. When most people ran they normally didn't go much faster then a light jog, usually around five to eight miles per hour.

The girl that had grabbed his hand took off at such insane speeds that Naruto found his feet pulled off the ground and he was more or less flying behind the girl as the feeling of his arm being ripped off at the sockets came over him. He was actually so surprised by her speed that he didn't even bother to stop her as she rushed through the city like a bullet.

When they finally stopped Naruto rubbed his sore shoulder. "Oh wow, I don't think I've been dragged around town that fast since Anko-chan demanded I buy her dango." He looked over at the girl and smiled. "So, not that I mind being dragged behind such a beautiful woman, but care to share why you just decided to drag me with you?"

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" the girl apologized. "I don't really know why I dragged you along with me, I just sort of put your hand in mine and took off without even thinking. Please forgive me!"

"Haha, it's alright," Naruto said with a laugh. Truthfully it did kind of bother him, he had just been minding his own business when this girl had smashed into him, then took off with him after a pair of twins that looked like they belonged to an S&M group tried to fight her. Despite his slight irritation, Naruto found he couldn't muster up enough emotion to get truly angry. Maybe he was becoming apathetic? "Life was getting boring anyways, so I suppose I should be thanking you for giving me some form of excitement. By the way, my name Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto."

"And I'm Musubi," the girl said with a very formal bow. Placing her hands in front of her. This however, had the added effect of making her breasts push themselves together. Naruto found himself unconsciously licking his lips as he stared at the two melons on her, before shaking his head and snapping his attention to her face.

"Musubi, huh? That's a beautiful name," Naruto said with a grin, the more charming side he had developed when seducing women coming out to play. Perhaps this girl would be able to make up crashing into him in other ways...

The girl looked immensely happy by Naruto's compliment. She gave him a bright smile and bowed. "Why thank you! I think Naruto is a nice name as well."

"Well you would be the first one to eve think so," Naruto gave a small chuckle as he said this. "Even most people here in Japan think my names a little odd." Absently he wondered what the last name he used when he came into Japan was. It had been a long time since he had come to his birth home, at least five hundred or so years. Possible even longer. After a moment or two Naruto found out that he couldn't really recall when he had last been in Japan. Not that such a gap in his memory really bothered him. It's not like he actually cared about the last time he had been in Japan.

"Well I like it," Musubi said, smiling at him. "Thank you for what you did back there. It was extremely brave of you to to help me out."

"Ma, ma, there's no need to thank me. I didn't really do anything to be honest. But you're welcome all the same." Naruto looked at the girl for a second, collecting his thoughts. What would be the best approach towards seducing this girl, he wondered. Well, he supposed it would be good to ask her about those two she had been running from. He opened his mouth to speak, but snapped it closed when he saw the girl starting to fall over. "Uh oh," Naruto acted quickly, moving towards her and scooping her up in his arms.

The blond looked at the sleeping girl and sighed. Great, just great. Now not only could he not get on with the seducing, but he would feel guilty for taking advantage of a girl that appeared to need more help then he had initially suspected. "Well, now what are you going do to, Naruto?" He asked himself.

'The first thing I need to do is find a place to stay, a hotel or something, at least for the night.' He could worry about getting a more permanent residence after tomorrow when he went apartment hunting. Right now taking care of Musubi was more important. Even at his most cynical he had never turned away someone in need before, and he wouldn't start now.

His decision made Naruto looked around to make sure no one was in sight, tensed his legs, and disappeared.

XoX

Musubi woke up the next day. Yawning a little she looked around to see that she was in a small hotel room. She was laying in a futon, and there was another futon next to hers that was ruffled and looked like someone had just gotten out of bed. She didn't feel like she was in any danger, but she was curious to know where she was and how she had gotten there.

As she was continuing her observations of the room, noting that it was very bare and only had the most basics one would expect to find in a room – lamp, dresser, closet – Naruto entered through a door on her left. Seeing her up the blond smiled and said, "good morning, Musubi-chan! Did you sleep well?"

"I did!" Musubi replied cheerfully. A confused look then crossed her face as she looked around. The room was unfamiliar to her, and she couldn't help but ask, "Um... where are we?"

"Just a hotel room I managed to secure for us for the night," Naruto said as he walked over to her and sat in seiza. He grimaced slightly as he used the very formal sitting position. It wasn't one he used often, especially since his most recent ventures were in America and Europe. Still, it would be best getting used to this position soon since he was now staying in Japan, these people practically lived breathed and ate formal. "I didn't want to spend hours searching for an apartment while you were unconscious."

"Thank you so much, Naruto-Sama!" Musubi gave him a smile of such emotions that actually began to lean back in surprise. The girl he had rescued wore her heart on her sleeve it seemed. Not necessarily a bad thing, though definitely not a good thing. It was a miracle she had survived this long without having been preyed upon by people looking to take advantage of her. Then again, she seem to have made up for that by getting involved in a fight with those lightning users so maybe it was just karma. "You really saved me back there!"

Shaking his head, Naruto did his best to ignore the girls look and covered his uneasiness up well with a chuckle at her enthusiasm – though he wondered about the '-sama' suffix – he hadn't met girl quite as gung-ho as she seemed to be in, well, ever. She sort of reminded him of himself when he was a young brat fresh out of the shinobi academy. Remembering the academy brought a small pang to Naruto's chest, but he ignored it for now in order to focus on the girl in front of him.

"Your welcome now..." He blinked for a moment, turning his head towards the door he came out of while Musubi looked at him curiously, wondering if something was wrong. A second later he smiled and said, "you must be hungry by now. Am I right?"

As if in answer to his words Musubi's stomach rumbled, that is, if having what sounded like a roaring dinosaur shake the room they were in could truly be considered a mere rumble. Naruto had heard the stomach of Akamichi's who made less noise than that.

Musubi's eyes grew really large as a puppy dog like look came to her face. It was quite easily the most adorable thing he had ever seen. Not even Ino had been able to make a face that pitiful. "Yes."

Naruto bit his lower lip to keep from laughing, though whether to laugh or whimper was unknown. 'I guess the infamous puppy dog eyes jutsu really is an instinctive technique all females know on instinct.'

Standing up he gave the girl a grin and said, "I'm glad to see you're hungry, otherwise all that hard work I spent making breakfast would have just gone to waist."

It hadn't seemed possible, but if anything Musubi's eyes grew even wider and her mouth began to water, a small trail of drool leaking from the left side of her bottom lip. "Breakfast?" she asked in a voice that sounded like someone who had been dying of thirst just found a hidden oasis.

"That's right," the whiskered blond looked at her with some form of amusement. "Just wait right here and I'll bring you some food." With a jaunty whistle Naruto walked into the small kitchen and looked at the food that had been prepared. It was rather modest all things considered, consisting of several slices of french toast, two dozen or so pancakes, bacon, sausages and orange juice.

Well, at least it was a modest meal to Naruto – an Akamichi might also consider it modest – since he was sharing it with another person.

"I wonder if I should have made more," He sighed. "Then again, I couldn't get very many ingredients yesterday because I haven't been able to go to a bank and get my money so this was all I could afford." And he still didn't even know where his bank was so all he was left with was the money he had been able to exchange before coming to Japan. Unfortunately there was nothing he could do about that, there were simply steps he would need to take before he could even consider finding his bank.

First on that list was feeding himself and Musubi. He put the food he made on two trays, picked them up and walked back into the room where his brunette... 'come to think of it, what is Musubi to me?' he wondered as he set the food down in front of said girl, who elicited a squeal of delight as she saw all of the food piled on it.

Musubi immediately began consuming the food at a pace that would have put Choji to shame. Having long since learned table manners from the various precious people he had known so long ago, the blond ate at a slower pace so that his mind could wander. 'I've only known her for a few hours tops, yet... I feel something for this girl. I suppose it could just be the by product of having not had very much human contact for a long time, living in solitude for god knows how long would do that to a guy. And yet... I can't help but feel it's not just that. There's something about her that makes me feel emotions I haven't felt for a long... long time.'

And to think he had actually been planning on seducing this girl. Great, just great. Now he felt really guilty for even thinking about making her one of his many conquests.

It was just as his train of thought was ending that Musubi finished her breakfast. She looked at Naruto as her eyes once again got big, and this time tears seemed to be leaking out of the corner of them. Noticing this, the whiskered blond looked at her and tried his best to suppress a shudder.

"Yes?"

"Oh Naruto-Sama... thank you so much," she said in an overly emotional voice. "I owe you everything. Not only did you save me but you gave me food too."

Naruto sweat dropped as he looked at the girl. Once more she had that unnerving look on her face, a look of such respect and admiration that it bordered on unhealthy infatuation. He had never seen it on someone before, ever, and it made him more than just a little nervous.

The blond did his best to hide these thoughts as he smiled and waved off her thanks. "Don't mention, I was more then happy to help you. Personally, I believe that if you have the power to help someone in need, then you should. There's not much purpose for having the power to help others if you don't even use it, you know?" In retrospect, that had been his belief once, back when he was a foolish young man who dreamed of being Hokage. It was so easy to recall how he had wanted to be admired and respected back then. In short, he had wanted to be a hero.

It was almost funny how life seemed to enjoy trampling on dreams like that.

Musubi looked at Naruto, eyes wide in respect. "That has to be the most incredible thing I've ever heard anybody say."

"Uh... hehe, well, it's just something of a personal motto I live by," Naruto replied, scratching the back of his head as he gave a sheepish laugh. Perhaps he shouldn't have said anything. That look of adoration had increased, and he really wasn't quite sure he liked it.

"Hey, Naruto-Sama," Musubi said, making said blond blink.

"Yes?"

"I uh... I know I've already imposed on you quite a bit, but I have another favor I would like to ask you," she said, wringing her hands nervously in her lap. The movement startled him a bit. If he had pinned this girl right she was a pretty straight forward person and generally didn't care about things like propriety and what not. For her to suddenly start acting so shy must mean what she had to ask him was big.

Well, he had come this far so he might as well help her until she no longer needed it. In attempt to reassure the girl, Naruto gave her a kind smile. "Whatever you need help with just tell me and I shall do my utmost to help you out."

"Really!?" Musubi looked at him and smiled. "In that case, I was hoping I could stay here with you. You see, I don't have any place to stay so I was hoping you would let me at least stay the night."

"Of course I'll let you stay with me," Naruto replied as if the answer should have been obvious from the beginning. He didn't fully understand why he was willing to help this girl out so much. 'Well, that might not be one hundred percent true,' he thought to himself. The blond knew he had a superman complex the size of Asia, he rarely ever refused help to someone, and the few times he did were only because he felt malicious intent to harm or kill coming off of those people. This girl had no such intent about her. In fact, her thoughts and emotions were some of the purest he had ever felt. 'Could that be why? Or is there something more to my desire to help her?'

Then he blinked as he remembered something. "Though I only rented this hotel room out for one night, so unfortunately we're going to need to find a more permanent place of residence. But once we find a place to live, you can stay with me as long as you want." If Naruto were honest with himself he would admit to being lonely. The thought of having such a beautiful and kind, if a bit naïve, girl spending time with him was nice.

"Thank you so much Naruto, you've saved me once again," Musubi said with a smile.

Naruto chuckled a little. "Think nothing of it. Though that does remind me, why were those girls..." he trailed of as Musubi got on her hands and knees and crawled over to him. His eyes found themselves focusing first on her face, a stunning and expressive face that held a look of such innocence it only added to her already attractive features. Then they slid down to her breast, large and dangling breast which Naruto was sure were quite possibly larger then Tsunade's. Finally, his eyes slid down her back, to the shapely rear and the mile long legs attached to it. He hadn't met a girl this attractive in a very long time.

He gulped.

'Dear kami, I really am a pervert. Ero-sennin did say the way of the perv would eventually be too strong to resist, and I guess he was right. I wonder if this is a result of having continued his legacy as a means of providing extra cash.' Or maybe it was due to the amount of sex he'd had during his long life. Strange, before now he had never felt like a pervert before, then again, that could just be because he looked at all the women he had slept with as nothing more than warm bodies to help keep his loneliness at bay for a single night. For some reason Musubi was different, he didn't know how, or even why this was so, but he now that he was here, in her presence, without the threat of getting shocked by twins capable of shooting lightning from their hands with a bondage fetish, the thought of Musubi being just another warm body seemed unfathomable to him.

How odd.

His eyes moved back to Musubi's face, which had closed the distance towards him with a light blush staining her cheeks. "You're such a wonderful person. You're so kind and giving," she said in a voice that could only be described as awe.

'I wonder if you'd still be saying that if you knew that my hands are stained in so much blood I can no longer see them,' Naruto thought to himself. Throughout his long life he had killed many times, sometimes in self defense, sometimes in cold blood, sometimes he had even killed on accident when he had not realized his own strength compared to a normal humans. He had long since lost count of the number of lives he had personally slain, but it had to be somewhere in the millions by now. It was a depressing thought, and one he didn't want to contemplate.

"I just wish someone like you could be my Ashikabi."

"Hmmm?" Naruto blinked at the phrase. It sounded like a title of some kind, but he had never heard it before. "What's an Ashikabi?"

"The special person I'm supposed to find," Musubi said. She took one of his hands in both of her own, with Naruto letting her, having not sensed any ill intent and curious to know what she was talking about. "I've been looking for mine for so long. Even though we've never met, our Ashikabi is the one we are meant to serve. It's our job to guide them to the higher sky above."

As she said this Musubi placed his hand on her chest. Naruto was about to crack a joke at propriety, even though he was almost sure this girl was too naïve to understand, when they both felt something hit them.

'What is this?' Naruto asked himself as his eyes widened as the strange feeling that had been with him since he first started talking to Musubi was magnified a hundred fold. 'I feel... warm. Secure, almost. I haven't felt like this since...' he shook his head and pulled his hand off of her. Breathing heavily he stood up shook his head, attempting to dispel the feeling. 'It was like her chakra had overlapped mine with positive emotions and intent. I've never felt something like that, ever.'

"Anyways, since your done with breakfast why don't you go and get washed up. This place unfortunately doesn't have a bath, but it does have a shower. Then get dressed and meet me in the kitchen ok?"

"Okay!" Musubi said cheerfully as she ran into the bath room. However, despite her cheerful demeanor she was wondering about the same thing he was.

'What was that heat I was feeling in my chest just now?'

XoX

Naruto and Musubi found themselves walking along the road as they searched for a place to live. It was very difficult, as the blond had just found out that the banking company he used in this particular city had been bought out by M.B.I., and as he had no desire to expose himself to such a large company he would have to take more precautions when going to extract his money.

This created a problem with the fact that unless he had a source of income and enough cash on hand to make a down payment, no one was willing to give them a place to live. This issue was compounded with the fact that Naruto didn't have a job. Technically. He was a writer, having decided to continue his godfather's legacy. But because he used a pen name, and refused to let others know who the real author was – it would have caused problems since his books have been around for several millenia – he was unable to say he held a job.

"Haa..." Naruto sighed as he and Musubi walked out of another place that had refused to grant him an apartment due to his lack of a job. A part of him wanted to just bandy about some money to get himself a place to live, he'd done that before, hell, he remembered buying a mansion in Majorca just because he could. Unfortunately, Naruto knew he couldn't do that here. Not when a large corporation like MBI had just bought out the capital. They were no doubt keeping an eye on any unusual activity, and bribing someone to set him up with a place to live with large gaps of background information either missing or forged was definitely a noteworthy activity.

"Sorry it's taking so long to find a place, Musubi-chan," he continued as he looked over at the girl he was walking with.

"There's no need to apologize," Musubi said with a smile. She didn't seem to be bothered at all by their lack of success. If anything, Naruto got the feeling that she was rather happy, though what she was happy about was anyone's guess. "If anything I'm grateful to you for being with me and being willing to help me. I've spent all my time alone, trying to find my Akishabi that I haven't gotten to speak with too many people."

"In that case I'm glad your here as well," Naruto grinned at the girl, even as his mind gave a slight wince. This girl really was making him feel guilty for thinking of seducing her, and the worst part was she didn't even know it. "I've been alone for quite a while too, so having someone keep me company is nice. Especially when it's such a beautiful girl that I'm finding myself with." So much for not making at least a passing attempt at seducing. Perhaps it was habit.

"Do you really think I'm beautiful?" asked Musubi, pressing her hands to her cheeks as she smiled at him. It was a much different reaction then what he was used to. Most girls blushed, Musubi was just happy to receive a compliment.

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't think it," Naruto replied with a shrug. They walked along for a few more second before Musubi grabbed his shirt to stop him. She pressed herself against him and the blond could feel her assets pushing themselves into his chest. Had he been a less experienced man he would have gulped.

"Naruto-Sama..."

He looked down at the girl and felt his hands begin to circle around her waist. Despite having just met her, the blond wasn't gay and having someone like Musubi pressing themselves into his side was having an effect that he couldn't help but respond to. Maybe he had been reading too much into this and he was about to get some play after all.

"Yes?"

Musubi looked up at him, her eyes once again wide and watery as she looked at him. For a moment Naruto thought something was wrong. He opened his mouth to ask her if she was alright when a loud, earth shaking rumble erupted from the woman's belly.

"I'm really hungry again."

XoX

It was an hour later that a despairing Naruto and a happy Musubi exited a small restaurant. After having nearly face faulted, something he would have done were it not for the fact that the brunette had still been in his arms at the time, he had taken her out to get something to eat...

...and promptly wished he hadn't.

"Ah! That was delicious!" Musubi said with a content and happy sigh. The excitable girl began to pat her now full belly, though you could never tell since it still looked as slim and slender as it had before she had eaten.

"I'm glad you liked it," Naruto sniffed, large tears pouring down his eyes as he held his now nearly empty wallet. 'I also hope that will keep you full for a good long while because I don't think I can pay for another eat-a-thon like that unless I can find that god forsaken bank,' he said to himself. He had always considered himself a healthy eater with a larger then normal appetite. It was just how things were thanks to the enormous size of his chakra reserves. He had to eat more to fill up on the energy he expended and his chakra increased his appetite to near inhuman levels.

However, this girl put him to shame. Hell, she could probably out eat an Akamichi with ease. When he took her out, Musubi had eaten ten entrees, two main courses, and a slice of triple chocolate cheesecake for dessert.

Yeah, Choji had nothing on this girl.

'And yet she doesn't have his girth. I wonder where she puts it all,' he cast an inconspicuous glance at the girls breasts, which jiggled each time she made even the slightest of movements. They were looking a tad larger then before she ate...

"Naruto-Sama, since you took me out to lunch and made me breakfast, why don't you allow me to make you dinner tonight?" said Musubi, snapping the blond out of his thoughts.

He looked over at her with a curious glance, his head tilting to the side as his mind registered her words. "Dinner?"

"Yeah, it will be great! I promise," she pumped her fists in the air with a large smile on her face. Naruto thought over her proposal. On the one hand, he wasn't sure how long he really wanted to be in this girls presence. She was making him feel strange, it wasn't necessarily a bad kind of strange, in fact it felt nice. At the same time he didn't really like it. The feeling she gave him, no matter how good, would only be a temporary reprieve from the negative emotions his life had become. It would be for the best if he didn't allow this girl to get too close.

And on the other hand he couldn't just leave the girl on her own. Musubi had already proven to be incapable of taking care of herself; not only had she gotten into a fight with two girls who could shoot lightning from their finger tips, she had pretty much run herself into the ground by going several days without food or sleep. Much as it sucked, his own moral compass, skewed as it was, wouldn't be able to sleep at night if he just let this girl go.

He sighed, what he wouldn't give to go back to simpler times to when he was just a Konoha Shinobi fighting an evil organization with a megalomaniac hoping to control the world by projecting an infinite illusion on everybody using the moon and the power of a creature of immense destruction and terror.

"I would love that, thank you," Naruto said. He couldn't help but smile at her childlike enthusiasm, it kind of reminded him of Rock Lee, without the creepy eyebrows and youth fetish. There was also the fact that Musubi was extremely hot – and Lee was extremely not – but that was so obvious the blond simply felt it was not worth mentioning, even in his mind.

"But before we do that, I'm going to need to get some cash at the bank. Why don't you head over to the grocery store and I'll meet you there?" The last thing he needed was someone who might recognize Musubi and report her to Hiroto. While he still did not know what was going on, or why those lightning users were chasing her, Naruto felt being cautious might be best. After all, MBI practically owned the city, and there had always been rumors of large companies committing experiments on people in order to create super soldiers.

The fact that Naruto had seen every single Resident Evil Movie and played all of the video games had nothing to do with his paranoia. Really.

Whether or not that was the case, and the conglomerate corporation that owned this city was experimenting on people was irrelevant. If those women did belong to MBI then prudence was definitely warranted in this instance.

"Okay!"

Naruto watched as Musubi ran off and quickly moved in the opposite direction. It took a bit of asking around, but eventually he found the bank he had been looking for, making him curse since after hearing the directions realized he had passed it at least twice yesterday. Still, had he found the bank the other day he might not have met that interesting girl, and while he wasn't sure he had any plans on staying with her since he didn't want to grow attached, he couldn't deny that in the short time since they met she had made his life interesting.

He took a sharp turn down an abandoned alley. After making sure he was alone, the blond brought his hands into a hand sign. No one but he would recognize the hand seal, one of several that only he used. The index and middle fingers from both of his hands were crossed, creating a T-shape. "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu," he muttered. There was a puff of smoke and when it cleared, two Naruto's could be seen standing in pace of one.

The copy that the original had just created made three of it's own hand signs – inu, I, tori – each one based off of one of the twelve animals of the zodiac, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. When that cleared the person standing before Naruto was a beautiful female with blond hair done up in two pony tails, blue eyes, and a figure similar to Musubi's.

"Here," Naruto said, handing his female counterpart a fake idea with her face and the name Yamanaka Ino on it. "Go in and get about twenty thousand yen at least, that should be enough to tide Musubi and myself over."

"Got it, boss," Naruko said in the light, heavenly female voice the blond had fashioned for his female self when he made the jutsu.

As the female version of himself took off Naruto sighed. "Even after so many years of hearing the female version of myself call me boss it's still a little creepy." His attention was snapped from his thoughts of his clone when the sound of explosions rocked the area.

Rushing outside of his alley Naruto's eyes narrowed when he saw Musubi running away from those lightning users, this time they were wearing sexy maid outfits. The blond had to shake his head at that. He truly had to wonder if he hadn't somehow stepped into some kind of manga because there was simply no way this type of thing could be normal.

'Maybe those girls are otaku's?' The blond thought before shaking his head, bringing his thoughts back into focus. He didn't know why his companion was over in this area, unless she had been looking for him, nor how those two girls found his new friend. But he knew that he had to do something. Tensing his muscles Naruto pushed off the ground, the cement under him caved from the pressure and formed a small imprint of his foot as he left the spot. Speeding towards the two lightning users who were doing their utmost to fry Musubi with blast of electricity.

"Konoha Senpuu!" Naruto shouted as he spun his body around in a one hundred and eighty degree rotation. His left foot lashed out, catching one of the lightning users in the head with a round house kick. The woman let out a shout as she was sent sprawling to the ground.

"What the -!?" the other one shouted before Naruto smashed twin palms into her stomach. The woman let out a gasp of pain as she was sent flying backwards, landing on her flat on her back hard enough to knock the wind out of her.

Using the pairs downed state as a distraction, Naruto rushed over to Musubi, scooped her into his arms, and took off at great speeds.

"Damn him!" The woman that had gotten kicked in the head shouted. She sat up, rubbing the large bruise on the left side of her face, just barely visible under her hairline. "That really hurt! Just who the hell does this guy think he is!?"

"He's not a Sekirei I can tell that much," the other one said when she finally managed to catch her breath. She looked over at where the blond had taken off too, her eyes narrowing. "However, no human should be capable of reaching those speeds."

The girl holding her sore face just grunted. "Whatever, lets just find them before that girl claims him as her Ashikabi. I need to teach that fool a lesson for kicking me."

XoX

'What's... happening to me?' Musubi looked up at Naruto as he carried her in his arms, running and dodging all the attempts the two lightning users made to hit them. He was doing a good job so far, evading the blasts of lightning as if he had been doing it all his life. Had Musubi been in the right state of mind she would have been awed by his display of speed and evasive maneuvering. As it was she was just barely hanging onto conscious thought as heat flared up all over her body. 'This feeling... I feel so hot. My body feels like it's on fire.'

"Are you alright, Musubi?" asked Naruto, his eyes flicking over to her. Seeing those blue orbs looking at her in concern caused even more heat to burst from her chest. So much so that she couldn't even answer Naruto, who swore when one of the lightning blasts came close to hitting them.

"Damn it! I need to find a way to lose them," Naruto growled as he looked behind him to see the two still after him. 'I'm impressed they can keep up with me at this speed. I wonder if their channeling lightning through their body to increase their physical prowess like E did.' He quickly shook his head, 'now's not the time to be thinking of new theories on the two chicks with strange powers. I need to lose them, but I can't use anymore speed in public. As it is I'm already pushing the boundaries of human capabilities. Then again, those two broke them with their strange light show so I guess it doesn't matter.'

Naruto closed his eyes and reached into the wellspring of energy inside of his body. Feeling his chakra respond to his calling like an old friend, the whiskered blond began manipulating it, channeling it through his legs to strengthen them, and also to the bottom of his feet to increase his speed. The ground under him cracked as Naruto shot off like a human missile, leaving the two lightning users behind in the dust.

"Naruto-Sama..." Musubi mumbled, causing the blond to look down as he continued his running. The girls face was beat red and she was breathing much more heavily then she should be. Naruto's concern for her began to sky rocket as he couldn't figure out what was wrong with her.

"Shit! Are you alright? You look like your burning up."

"I feel... I feel so hot," Musubi said, her breathing going heavy as she looked at him through half lidded eyes. She could feel her body responding to the blond in her arms, he was making her feel such heat, yet she didn't know why.

"Right, let's find some place where you can rest for now."

Looking around Naruto made a quick detour into an alleyway. He knelt down and set Musubi on the ground. He frowned as he looked her over, pressing a hand to her forehead and eliciting a startled gasp from her. 'How odd, while she's burning up I can tell she not sick. But then the question remains, why is she so...' the blond blinked when a honey-like scent hit his nostrils. He would admit that it had been a while since he had been in the company of anyone for more then an hour to two, much less a women's. But there was no way he could not recognize the particular scent she was emitting.

'Is she... aroused?' now that he got a closer look at her Naruto could see the signs of a woman who was feeling extremely horny. The half-lidded eyes, the flushed cheeks, the way she was heaving for breath and the smell of her juices as they drenched her panties. All were obvious signals of a female who was highly sexually aroused. Though he had never seen anyone so severely aroused it actually hampered their ability to function, Musubi looked almost like she was going into heat.

"Naruto-Sama..." Musubi fell into him, knocking the blond over and crawled on top of him until she was straddling his waist. Her panting had increased to the point where her breathing sounded harsh, as if she had run several thousand miles in less than a day. Her face was flushed a deep scarlet, her eyes were half-lidded, and her mouth was parted slightly as she stared at his lips. She moaned slightly when her crotch rubbed against his leg, and gave him a pleading look. "Please... help me... I feel so hot. My body feels like it's burning. I've never felt this way before..."

'Does that mean she's a virgin?' wondered Naruto, looking at the girl whose face was making a slow pace towards his. 'Or is something else going on? Because I know this is not normal.'

All thoughts fled Naruto's mind when Musubi placed her mouth over his. For a moment, all the blond could do was take in the feel of her soft lips as they pressed against his, it felt like a silk yukata had been slipped over his mouth. Despite Naruto's surprise, his hesitation only lasted for an instant before instincts kicked in and he began kissing back. It had not been so long since he had been with a women that he didn't know what do in this kind of situation. He applied more pressure against Musubi's soft and warm lips. His hands moved from behind him and holding him up to her waist.

He fell onto his back, taking Musubi with him as they continued to kiss. He felt her chakra flare dramatically and almost pulled back with a start when it latched onto his own signature. The only reason he didn't was because of his gut instincts. Whatever was happening, Naruto could feel it wasn't hurting him in any way. Instead he focused some of his attention on what was happening to his chakra, and came to a startling conclusion when he felt his chakra begin merging with hers.

Well, merging really wasn't the right word, but it was the only thing that seemed to fit. He could feel her chakra shifting slightly to better match his own, it expanded, increasing in size and growing nearly twice as powerful. Considering she had already had some decent reserves, around Tsunade's level, before hand, it was an impressive increase in power.

And then it happened. Like tree sap as it slowly ran down the side of tree he felt it creep up on him. Emotions. Numerous emotions and thoughts bombarded him, how happy he was to finally have an Ashikabi, how pleased he was that his Ashikabi was so kind hearted, how pleasant it felt to be kissing his Ashikabi, how much he loved his Ashikabi...

It took him several moments to realize that these were not his thoughts, they were the thoughts of the woman currently kissing him.

Musubi began glowing a light purple, the chakra forming around her in prism like rays of light. A symbol appeared on her back and began to project itself outwards in a physical manifestation of energy. The symbol was of a bird with a yin and yang circle under it and two tomoes on either side, making that four total. With the the yin and yang crest they formed a U with the tomoes under the bird. From the projected symbol ten wings spread out from her back, large, brilliant rays of light that shone in the cast aside the darkness of the alley so totally all anyone would see if they were to look was white.

They pushed against the confined walls of the small alley they were in, actually cracking the cement they were struggling against. Eventually, as if decided that the battle against the cement walls was pointless, the wings folded in on themselves to engulf him and Musubi in a protective embrace.

The light soon began to fade, the wings disappeared, the symbol made from energy vanished, and all that was left were Naruto and Musubi, still kissing in the alley. When they broke the kiss Musubi's and Naruto's eyes fluttered open and they stared at each other. Naruto's left hand came over and cupped the brunette's face in wonder, causing the girl to instinctively lean into his touch.

"What just happened?" asked Naruto, confused. He had never felt something like this, a connection so profound he could actually feel Musubi in an almost spiritual sense.

Musubi closed her eyes as she smiled at him in an expression that radiated sheer joy, the kind of which Naruto had never seen on another person before. It made his heart actually begin beating that much faster.

"You've just become my Ashikabi-Sama."

XoX

"I can't... believe... we lost them..." one of the girls huffed. The two of them were currently on their knees as they tried to regain their breath. Both had continued chasing after the strange human that had somehow just blasted away from them faster then either of them had ever thought possible. The pair had been stunned by the mans speed, but not enough to give up the chase. It was fortuitous for them that the man had left a trail in the form of foot indentations on the concrete. They had been able to follow that, only to reach an empty alleyway where the trail ended.

"Shut up... Hikari..." the other one panted. "I just... want to know how a mere... mere human can move so fast..."

"Who cares?" growled Hikari, finally regaining her breath. "Now that we've lost her again who knows how long it will take us to find her."

"It wouldn't matter even if you two did find her," a voice said behind them. Both of the female Sekirei whirled around to find themselves staring at a masked man with shock white hair and outfitted with a black coat and face mask.

"Homura!" Hikari growled, a fierce scowl lighting her face. "What do you want?"

"I just thought it would be a good idea to inform you that the girl now has an Ashikabi."

"Then... that boy winged her?" Hibiki asked in slight surprise, before releasing an angry growl. "Damn it! We had been so close this time!" The girl should have been easy pickings, aside from being only a recently released Sekirei, she was also of a higher number and therefore had less power than they did. They had chased the girl all throughout the city. Not surprising, number eighty eight had been faster than they were, being a physical type of Sekirei, but they were sure that she would have run out of juice eventually, all they would have had to do was keep chasing her.

And they would have gotten her too, if it weren't for that blond brat who kicked them.

"And you!" The more easily aggravated of the two continued as she pointed an angry finger at the black suited Sekirei. "You were watching us the whole time, weren't you?"

"It is my job to be the guardian for unwinged Sekirei," Homura replied in a nonchalant tone that pissed Hikari off. She had never liked this guy or his self righteous attitude. "You should know that by now. Perhaps I should teach you two a lesson."

"If it's a fight your looking for Homura then I'll give it to you!" the twin with the larger bust size shouted.

"Are you mad, Hibiki!?" hissed Hikari as she grabbed her sisters arm. "Do you remember what happened the last time we fought him?" Despite herself Hibiki gulped as flames encased the white haired Sekirei's hand.

"You're lucky that girl found her Ashikabi, as I have no interest in fights between winged Sekirei. So I'll let you off, for now," Homura said as the flames dispersed and he began walking away.

The two twins looked at each other as the white haired male left, both giving an internal sigh of relief.

XoX

Later that night Naruto found himself sitting at a small table in the same hotel room as before, since they had been unable to find an apartment with all the excitement that had happened today. As he sat there the blond took his time admiring Musubi as she cooked food wearing nothing more then a pair of panties and one of his shirts. It was truly a sight for the ages.

Her clothing had been ruined during the girls flight from the two lightning users before he had gotten to her. Not that he could find it in himself to complain, it had been a while since he had such a beautiful female in his presence like this. And even though she was not wearing his clothing because he had ripped apart during a night of passionate sex, it did not diminish how hot the girl looked in his clothing.

Musubi on the other hand was humming a happy tune, pleased to know that she had finally found her Ashikabi and such an amazing one at that. She couldn't help but think of how lucky she was, the blond was so kindhearted and strong. He had even protected her from those two other Serkirei, though she had no idea how he had been able to run so fast. Smiling at where her thoughts were taking her the brunette looked down at the food she was preparing.

Almost done.

"Dinner will be ready in just a little while," she informed Naruto before going back to her cooking.

"Alright," Naruto said in acknowledgment. "Thank you for doing this by the way."

"Oh don't worry about it, Naruto-Sama," Musubi looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. "You're my Ashikabi. I'm more then happy to do this for you."

As she went back to her cooking Naruto frowned. 'I'm still not even one hundred percent sure what this whole Sekirei, Ashikabi business is. From what I've seen they have abilities above that of what humans have now a days.' He paused at that thought. Present day humans didn't have any powers whatsoever, the ability to use chakra had been long since lost. Whether by human evolution – or de-evolution as Naruto thought of it – the ability to channel and manipulate chakra was no longer available for humans, and had disappeared less then one-hundred years after the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

Nowadays, people only had enough chakra to survive. Even civilians in his day and age had more chakra then people these days.

Shaking his head Naruto's thoughts got back on track. 'While I've only met three so far, none of them seem capable of defeating any of the stronger ninja in my day.' He looked at Musubi and gave the girl a calculating gaze as he sized her up in the way he used to do when facing a strong opponent. 'Granted, she has potential. Her reserves are incredible, especially now that she was, what was the term, winged? With the right training, she could easily defeat a kage.'

That was a scary thought. As far as raw power went, this girl now had more chakra than the Sandaime Raikage, a man who had been known for his incredibly large reserves of chakra and being capable of fighting the Hachibi, Gyūki, to a stand still. To make matters more intriguing, this girls power didn't seem to have been earned through training like a ninja's was. It was the power she was born with and now enhanced by his own chakra. That was what had Naruto thinking. Every shinobi had at one point been nothing more than a genin with very little power, as they grew up and continued to train, their skills, physical abilities, and chakra reserves all grew more powerful. If this girls raw power was natural, then she had a vast amount of potential. With the right kind of training Musubi could quite possible become even stronger than the most powerful Raikage the Elemental Nations had ever known.

Just then Naruto's cell phone began ringing. Pulling out his phone, one of the few touch screens that had been recently released to the market by verizon wireless(1), he flipped it open and pressed the accept call button. The screen blanked before the image of Minako appeared on it. Before the whiskered blond even had a chance to ask the man how the hell he received this number, the president of M.B.I. spoke up.

"Du duu duu duun! Congratulations young man, you've just become the Ashikabi for a Sekirei!"

"How the hell did you manage to get this number?" asked Naruto, interrupting whatever the man was about to say.

"Oh that, getting a number is rather easy for someone like me to do, Uzumaki Naruto-kun," Hanako said with a smile. Naruto narrowed his eyes with a look that could kill. However, the man appeared undeterred by the look as he continued. "I will admit, you are a very hard man to get a hold of. The number of times my line was rerouted to a different phone was quite impressive, and the fact that there is very little information on you is even more so. Though, I will admit to knowing a bit more about you then most... Namikaze Minato."

Naruto kept his poker face up, but on the inside his mind was a hurricane of activity. 'Minato was the ID I used last century when I was in England. But I barely even used it and even then it was only in the smaller cities that I stopped by during my travels. How could he know that?'

He didn't question the man, and wouldn't have been able to anyways as Musubi saw him on his phone and walked over to peer at it from over his shoulder so she could see who he was talking too.

"Professor!?" she said in surprise.

"Well hello number eighty-eight. How are you doing?"

Musubi gave a brilliant smile. "I'm fine, Professor."

"I take it you two know each other?" said Naruto, baiting for information.

"Oh yes, the Professor was my professor before I began searching for you," Musubi informed him.

"I see," Naruto said with a frown. The thought of Musubi being looked over by this guy made him ill, even though they were talking through a phone, he was getting bad vibes from this guy. That the man seemed to be constantly holding a smug look also didn't help. "So was you congratulating me the only reason you called? Or was there another one?"

"Of course there was another reason," the man said. "Now that you're an Ashikabi you have become part of a grand game. An epic competition and struggle between Sekirei who must battle in secret in order to stay with their Ashikabi. Do you understand this?"

Naruto's already prominent frown increased. "Just to make sure I'm getting this right, you're telling me that I've become involved in some kind of competition, a tournament, I guess, that involved Sekirei battling each other?" This sounded exactly like the kind of things he had long since tried to avoid.

"That's right!" the man crowed, seeming to be quite pleased that someone had caught on so quickly. "You really are quite intelligent, aren't you. Then again, for someone like you, you'd have to be I imagine."

Naruto scowled. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course, of course," the man placated. Considering he was still wearing his large, condescending grin, he didn't seem to really care one way or the other. "I look forward to seeing what you do. Perhaps it will be you who brings about the New Age of the Gods."

Naruto snorted. Age of the Gods? What the hell was that? It looked to him like this man had been spending a little bit too much time playing World of Warcraft or one of those other video games where fantasy was the rule of the day.

"So if this is a competition can I assume that there is a 'prize' at the end?" Truthfully, Naruto didn't really care. He wasn't interested in competing in any tournament, nor did he care for whatever prize might be at the end. Material items meant nothing to him, and he though he didn't look it, he was sure that his bank account had more zero's than Minaka could even think of, so money meant next to nothing to him as well. In short, whatever prize was to be handed out didn't matter, he was just playing along at the moment to make the man think he was interested in what he had to say.

It was surprising how loose lipped people like Minaka tended to be.

"Oh yes, there is a very fabulous prize if I do say so myself," Minaka smiled indulgently, even though it was quite clear to Naruto that this was something he had been hoping to be asked. "The Ashikabi and Sekirei who wins will get a most fabulous prize and shall be allowed to ascend to the higher skies above together and usher in a new Age of the Gods."

Well that was a bust. It looked like this man was either craftier than he let on, or a delusional fool. Either way, it didn't look like he would be getting any information from Minaka any time soon.

"Ah yes, I forgot to mention." Naruto paused in his ruminations to glance back down at the screen where Minaka was leaning forward. "The Sekirei Plan is a highly confidential secret project. Should you attempt to inform anyone of it, then you will be dealt with most harshly. I look forward to seeing how you do in this grand game, Uzumaki Naruto-kun."

The screen went blank and Naruto found himself staring at it for several seconds as his mind slowly digested everything he had just heard.

He had just gotten himself involved in some kind of competition, essentially some kind of battle royal, that involved the girl he had just winged and several other Sekirei like her. Sekirei were people who needed to find their Ashikabis who, according to Musubi, were the ones that Sekirei like herself were destined to serve, though if the kiss they had shared a few hours prior was anything to go on then their relationship was more than that of a master and his servant. In short, he had just run afoul of something he had not only long since tried to avoid, but also detested with every fiber of his being.

It would come as no surprise to any who knew of Naruto's past, but he hated it when people manipulated others for any reason.

With a growl, Naruto pocketed his phone as he finally came to terms with what had just happened and found he did not like it one bit.

"Are you ok, Naruto-Sama?" asked Musubi, growing concerned when she heard him growl.

Naruto looked over at the girl and felt his expression soften almost against his will. "Not really..." he said with a sigh. "I guess I just don't like the idea of you risking your life for the whims of someone else." That was only part of the reason, however, with a much larger part being that he had been trying to avoid this kind of thing. He didn't like involving himself in the worlds affairs. While he wouldn't deny someone in need his help, he didn't want to involve himself in something on a scale that could affect more than just one person, the fact that he was doing his best to stay of the radar notwithstanding.

"So... you're worried about me?" she asked, almost seeming shy.

"Of course I am," Naruto said, looking at her strangely. While Musubi probably wouldn't understand the look in it's entirety, it was the kind of expression someone had when they were both confused and resigned. With a sigh, the blond continued.

"This might sound odd, but I haven't had anybody to call a friend, or even a remote acquaintance for... a long time." Understatement of the century didn't even begin to describe this phrase. It had been an untold number of... years? Yes, let's go with years. It had been an untold number of years since Naruto had been remotely close to anybody. And he didn't count the untold number of one night stands he had been in as women he had been particularly close to.

Shaking his head, the blond banished thoughts of sex from his mind. He wasn't a pervert, but considering it was the closest he had allowed himself to be with another person, it was one of the few things in his life that was constant.

Continuing on, Naruto started once again where he had left off. "Yet in the span of a single day, you've managed to somehow become important to me." Perhaps it had something to do with this new bond they had. He could feel her, a warm, bright spot within his heart that was currently evoking more emotions from him than he had felt within the past millennial. The fact that all of them were positive, and seemed to counter act the darkness that had long festered within it only made them that much harder to ignore. "I don't want to see you hurt."

"Naruto-Sama," Musubi took one of his hands with a smile on her face. She pressed it against her breast, and the blond could feel her slightly hard nipple underneath the fabric. "I'm so happy to know you care about me so much. I knew I picked right when I chose you to be my Ashikabi."

"Musubi..."

"However, you don't need to worry about me," she continued with a soft smile on her face. "I will fight for you, I want to fight for you. And then you and I will ascend into the higher skies above together."

Naruto smiled at her. He didn't know what possessed him to do this, perhaps it was her words, or maybe his own instincts. In the end, it probably didn't matter.

His hand moved from her breast to her hips, it slid around her as his other hand came over and did the same, pulling the girl into a hug. Musubi instantly returned the hug. She was immensely pleased that she and her Ashikabi already seemed so close, and she loved the heat the blond's body seemed to radiate like a furnace. It warmed her, seeping into her very soul and comforting her in ways she had not even thought Ashikabi could do with their Sekirei. It was almost like he was pouring his love into their bond, like she could actually feel him there radiating his desire to protect her.

"If that's the case, if you really want to fight, then I will also fight with you," the words came out without him meaning to. He paused for a moment, considering them. In spite of having done his best to avoid trouble, Naruto found that he was being truthful. For some reason that was unfathomable to him, he felt that he was willing to fight for this girl, whom he had just met yesterday. How odd.

"You don't have to," Musubi started, shaking her head against his shoulder. "I can fight for the both of us."

"But I want to." Naruto pulled away from their embrace so he could look in her eyes. "If we are partners, then that means we are a team. I won't let you fight alone, and I will do all in my power to protect you."

Musubi's eyes got big and watery, giving her an almost comical appearance. "Your such a great person, Naruto-Sama."

"I don't know about being a great person," Naruto said sadly. "However, I will always protect the people close to me." The sound of boiling caught the blonds attention and he continued, saying, "I think the foods getting ready."

"Ah! Oh no! The food!" Musubi shot up and ran over to the stove, causing Naruto to chuckle. If nothing else, being with Musubi would be an interesting and fun experience.

XoX

Dinner was anything but a quiet affair. Musubi had created her 'special curry' which the blond had to admit was good. During that time Naruto, in an effort to learn everything he could about what he had gotten himself into started asking Musubi all kinds of questions, which she was all to happy to answer.

"All Sekirei have their own special abilities," Musubi said as Naruto asked her about the two they had run into. "Each of us are different, with our own abilities and powers."

"So those two we ran into were lightning types, I guess," Naruto said with a thoughtful look.

"That's right," Musubi nodded her head. "Sekirei's like them are able to use a certain element, they're what the professor calls simple types. And I'm a fist type."

"So you specialize in hand-to-hand combat then?" asked Naruto.

"Yes. I am stronger and have more energy then other Sekirei," Musubi said.

"I see. And I suppose I'm right in assuming that a Sekirei can't change their type?"

"That's right, it's impossible for any Sekirei to change their type. Because the type of power each of us have is a part of who we are." Naruto nodded at the explanation as dinner continued on. When they were both done, Naruto insisted on doing the washing since she cooked the meal. However, Musubi was stubborn and said that she wanted to clean the dishes for him. They had eventually settled on washing the dishes together, Naruto would clean them and Musubi would dry them. The brunette Sekirei seemed to like his idea the best, claiming it would be bring them closer together.

It was just as they were finishing up that a knock came to the door. With a frown Naruto walked over to the door and opened it. Standing in front of the doorway was a large man in a black suit with an MBI badge on his collar.

"Can I help you?" asked Naruto, tensing as his mind began working into overdrive. Had Minaka decided to remove him already? Perhaps the man had changed his mind about allowing him to take part in this 'Sekirei Plan' and decided to remove him. There were an infinite number of possibilities and theories that sprang through Naruto's head, each of them as preposterous as the last.

Naruto's limbs loosened as he prepared to possibly incapacitate the man before him should he try anything. However, all the man did was hand the blond the box he was carrying, then shut the door.

Naruto stood there for several seconds, blinking before he looked down at the box in his hands.

"I wonder what this is," the blond said as he moved back into the room Musubi was in and set it down. Kneeling by it Naruto opened the box and pulled out... "clothes?"

"Oh, they brought me my clothes!" Musubi said. Then she grabbed the hem of the shirt Naruto had given her and began lifting it off.

"Um... not that I'm complaining or anything," Naruto commented as he watched her take the shirt off, or to be more specific watched as the skin tight shirt she had been wearing was dragged across her breasts, which were released with a jiggle as they came loose from the shirt. She wasn't wearing a bra so the blond ended up getting an eyeful of her full-figured chest, a sight that took all of his considerable will not to be thrown back with a nosebleed. "But are you really this comfortable with changing in front of me?"

Musubi blinked at him, adopting a look of confusion that when combined with her large chest being bared to him created a look of innocent sex appeal that Naruto was sure would have killed lesser men via nosebleed. He doubted that even Jiraiya, the super pervert that he was, would be capable of surviving the look she gave him.

"Why would I would uncomfortable changing in front of you?" she asked. She seemed genuinely confused by his words, almost as if she had never even given them a thought.

"You know, to keep your modesty and all that," Naruto said, wondering if she was really so naïve that the idea of propriety and proper behavior among the opposite sex was lost on her. "Most of the time when two people just meet they don't go showing off their... private areas to others."

"Oh," the brunette looked genuinely surprised and Naruto had to resist face palming. It seemed this girl had no nudity taboos. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but considering how hard that would make it for him, not quite a good thing either. "I didn't realize that. So should I not change in front of you?"

Naruto had to think about his answer for a moment, truly think about it. On the one hand, Musubi was hot, as in really hot. On the other Musubi was also naïve. He felt guilty for simply thinking of trying to take advantage of her because of that, and having the girl strutting about in the buff would make it infinitely harder to resist.

"That's up to you," Naruto admitted with a shrug. "Personally, I don't care if you want to change in front of me. You're gorgeous and I'm certainly not going to deny that I would love watching you without your clothes on." Whether or not it made things harder for him, in the end Naruto was still a male. No hot blooded heterosexual male would be willing to pass up the chance to ogle such a beautiful young woman, unless they were one of those guys who were still in the 'embarrassing virgin phase' of their lives.

Naruto most assuredly was not an innocent virgin.

"However, even if you do want to expose yourself in front of me, I would appreciate it if you didn't show yourself like this to anyone else."

"So you like seeing Musubi naked?" asked Musubi, an odd smile on her face. It was decidingly innocent, with no sexual connotations to it, yet radiated an expression of pure joy that actually took Naruto by surprise.

Naruto sweat dropped at the extremely blunt words. Really, he had never met a woman who could actually say something so crass without flinching. Of course, given that this girl spoke in such a naïve tone of voice, he doubted that she even realized how off kilter her words sounded.

Despite the plane weirdness of the question, Naruto answered it anyways. "I would be a fool not to. As I told you before, you're a beautiful woman."

"Naruto-Sama!" Musubi shouted as she lunged at him, wrapping her arms around the blond in a hug as she tackled him to the floor. "I'm so happy that you like the way I look! You don't have to worry however, if Naruto-Sama wants it, Musubi will only show herself like this to him."

Naruto groaned as he felt himself responding to Musubi's bare-chested frame pressing itself against him. He could feel all of the blood rushing to his lower head as her breasts mashed up against his chest, he could even feel her nipples poking him as they moved and were dragged across the fabric of his shirt.

"Musubi," he said, trying to keep the growl out of his voice. "If you keep this up I'm afraid I'm going to lose control of myself."

Musubi blinked as sat up and looked at him, tilting her head to the side in an expression of confusion. "Lose... control of yourself?"

"You don't understand what I mean by that, do you?" he asked, getting her to shake her head no. Naruto sighed. "It's a figure of speech. It essentially means I'll start thinking with my second head."

"Second head? You have two heads? How come I can only see one?" Musubi asked as she began to look at his body to see where his second head was.

Naruto groaned as he realized that Musubi didn't seem to understand any sexual terms, meaning it was unlikely she even knew what sex was. He was not looking forward to that conversation. "Never mind," he said quickly. In the hopes she would drop the subject he changed topics, "so why don't you finish getting changed so we can go to bed."

Musubi smiled as she began getting changed into a large shirt that he got out for her to sleep in. "Ok!"