A/N: Alright ladies and gentlmen, good news and bad news. Good news first. My surgeries are over. Bad news: Now I have to WORK to pay for everything. Still, I'm feeling a bit better now. Really. Kinda. Sorta. I'm hanging tough though, having just come out of the woods...only to work my ass off as a bloody dishwasher! Not fun! Not fun at alll! UUUUUGH! I'm woking almost daily and I feel like crap, as to that effect. But nevertheless, despite this pesky little hiccup-I wanted to get word out any way I could, and since for some strange reason the site is being buggy, I wasnt able to work on this anywhere near as much as I would've liked. Still...THANKS FOR THE FEEDBACK!

I love you guys so much! *Cries*

Now, this chapter might be a bit confusing consider I haven't updated in awhile. With good reason! My job has been beating the living hell out of my as of late! This was REALLY had to write with being tired from work; exhausting, actually. But I'm proud of it, and I hope you enjoy it as I finally get some rest.

On another note, someone comissioned me to write this, but even then, I never thought I'd enjoy it this much...

Well...here ya go! =D

"I will let you down...I will make you hurt...

~ Johnny Cash.

Hurt

Uzumaki Naruto had hurt many in his long lifetime as a shinobi.

Sage.

Assassin.

Businessman.

Whatever you wanted to call it.

He had tolerated much since he'd become immortal, from beatings to brutaliztion. Survived having his heart broken, not once, not twice, but three times. He'd lost friends and family and acquaintances, looked on in helpless horror as his village was reduced to little more than a crater in the eartg, rebuilt, and pulverized again by an insane Uchiha. He had loved and he had lost and he had won, lived to tell the story of the Fourth Shinobi War in all its great, gory glory.

And all that was before he'd been cursed with agelessness. One did not accept the burden of being the Jyuubi's host lightly, but he'd been the only one able to do so at time. It was impossible to separate the biju again for a second time and someone had to contain the creature after Madara's death. So he had taken up the burden, taken the Ten-Tails into himself despite already housing fragments of chakra from the nine. He had not complained at the time, did not protest; it was his duty, and so he had done it.

Nearly three thouand years-and an eternity of relationships-later, he still wondered if he had made the right decision. It was...difficult to be trapped at the age of twenty-two, but he'd since learned to live with it. When the Hidden Villages eventually disappeared and the Shinobi vanished into myth and legend, he was left with the choice to simply observe the ways of the world, or actively participate in them. Stand on the sidelines and be swept away with the times, or embrace change and move forward into future.

Needless to say, he'd chosen the latter.

In the time since he had seen and done much. He had assasinated world leaders, watched nations rise and fall, partcipated in wars that shook the world over. He'd even obliterated a quaint little place called Hiroshima once-and they covered it up with a nuke!-back when he'd been allied with the United States. In the days since he had all but dissappeared from the eyes of the world. It wasn't that hard to do with a good ol' fashioned henge. He had countless disguises, and a veritable swarm of persona's to choose from, having been given years to perfect them.

If he remembered correctly, he'd been disguised as his old man at the time when the 'nuke' was dropped. Everyone simply accepted the cover story without protest, no one wanted to belive that a ten-tailed demon had crawled out off the sea years before and laid waste to their world. Ignorance at his finest. Some small part of him still regretted what he'd done to his country; the rest knew that it was a neccessary evil. The war would had dragged on even longer-more lives would've been lost-if he hadn't done what he' done.

One really had to appreciate just how far the U.S.A had been willing to go to preserve his cover, though. They'd long since given up trying to understand him or even replicate him-with his blood it simply wasn't feasible to create a clone or even a copy, they simply evaporated thanks to his toxic DNA. But the States considereid him a valuable asset regarldess. To this very day he still retained loose ties with them. Not as a contractor of course, he'd had his fill of blood for this century after that last debacle, he was more of an...advisor now. If said advisor needed to dirty his hands from time to time, or look into things, then who was he to protest? The jobs were good, the pay was better, and best of all, he was able to remain safely anonymous.

Which brings us to the focal point of our story.

As much as he wished he weren't; he was here on business, not pleasure. Which was a damn shame. Japan had some fine women.

Yes, having wandered earth for nearly a century or two and having seen all he wanted to see, the Ageless Ninja, had somehow found his way back to home once more. Tokyo, to be precise. Nowadays they were calling it Shinto Teito after MBI had bought up most of the city in a massive buyout. Hiroto Minaka, if the news broadcast was to be belieived. The man reminded him of Gato in a way only taller; better dressed, and mad as a hatter at a tea party. Mad enough to buy up the capital and laugh at the world, at any rate. This man worried Naruto; he might have to end him if he became too troublesome in the future. His employers might not like that but eh, sometimes one life needed to end to preserve a thousand.

The man had simply come out of nowhere to found Mid-Bio-Informatics, and honestly, the conglomerate worried him more than his employers knew. There was next to no information on the man or the Kamikura Island he was to infiltrate. Assuming he could find it; considering it had been wiped off of the face of the earth. By all rights, it didn't exist in this world. But that was the beauty of it; no one would think to question a man who didn't exist, looking for something that wasn't supposed to exist, either.

No one thought to question a harmless-looking civilian as he stepped off the train and into the main station none even realized that this was the very man who had laide waste to the capital centuries before. And if no one chose to wonder why he was wearing a black suit and tie in the middle of summer, even better. That suited him just fine. Even in his dark attire, no gave him so much as a passing glance, none pondered what he might have locked away in that heavy case of his. It was almost sad, really.

They were perfectly content to live out their compartmenalized little lives in perfect peace, paying no attention to anything outside of their little cubicles. Utterly unaware of what was taking place around them nor of the God that walked in their midst.

All that was going to change, and soon. Very soon indeed. Once he discovered what Minaka was up to with this Over-Technology of his, these cattle would find their world turned upside down. He didn't relish the idea of disrupting their sad little lives, but experience told him that Minaka wasn't hoarding all that tech just for the hell of it. No, by the time he was finished with this city it would either be a smoldering crater or turned upside down. Perhaps even moved a few inches on the map. Who knew?

If the man really did have technology capable of "killing a God" as he so blatantly put it, Naruto was certain he would have to call upon his tenant to counter the madman's aim.

"I almost hope he does." a feminine voice groused inside his head. "You haven't let me out to play since Hiroshima."

'That's because you turned everything into a crater!'

"You said it was neccessary!"

'You didn't have to laugh while you were doing it!'

There was a silence as jailor and tenant mulled over that. Then:

...stupid humans and their moral code."

'Shall I break out the whip again?' Naruto asked almost pleasantly. That earned him a squeak.

"N-No, master!"

"Good girl." Speaking aloud earned him more than a few odd glances, but it was worth it. It was good to be the king.

Ah, but he digressed.

"Lets see," he murmurred, checking his phone. "I've got two hours before I need to reach the hotel." Snapping it shut he scanned the crowd, wondering at his next move. In the end, his stomach decided for him, giving a growling rumble that reminded him he'd skipped breakfast this morning. "Guess I'll grab a bite to eat or some-

"Please get out of the way!"

"Hmm?" A blink. "Who? What? When? Where?" It sounded as though the voice had come from above, but that simply wasn't possible-

"PLEASE GET OUT OF THE WAAAAAAY!" Maybe it was.

It was a testament to centuries of honed reflexes that Naruto did not stand there gawping like a fish when the shadow fell over him, nor did he bat an eyelash as the girl fell from the sky. He simply reacted, took three steps backwards, raised his arms, and caught her. Easily. He was not, however, prepared for the sheer momentum behind it. He felt the pavement crack beneath his feet, concrete splintering beneath the impact of her meteoric fall from the heavens, sending them both twirling as he struggled to keep his footing.

"By the Sage, what the-oof!

A pole whallpoped him in the face and stars exploded across his vision, sending him slamming against a wall, accidentally producing a small crater. Well, this was certainly new. Several seconds passed before his vision finally cleared, before realized he wasn't under attack. The girl in his arms hadn't moved a muscle since she'd fallen into his embrace. He felt no ill intent from her, nay, she didn't even seem cabable of it. When he tried to look at her through the lense of chakra, all he saw was innocence, stark and pure. Just who was this girl who had fallen from the sky?

"Are you alright?" he asked, wonderingly.

"H-Hai." came the soft reply. Then her eyes widened.

"Y-You caught me!" the girl-for she was emphatically female-gawped up at him, almost unable to believe what he'd just done. Naruto opened his mouth to reply, and found himself peering down into a heartshaped face from which eyes of warm caramel shone. Ebony tresses framed that angelic face, her visage pursing in a small frown of disbelief as he looked on. She was clad in a slim, white yukata that did her body no justice around which a large bow was bound. She was...beautiful. The thought slammed into his head, unbidden. But there, in her hand...why did she have something like that?! The blonde's jaw nearly dropped open when he saw the Naginata, still clutched firmly in her palm. Who walked around with one of those?!

"Yes, I've been known to save damsels in distress a time or two." her face colored prettily at that, prompting another inquiry. "What's your name?"

"K-Kaho."

Applause erupted around them; no doubt they thought a move was being screened or something. Naruto staunchly ignored the noise as he lowered her to his feet. Did she pout a little as he set her down to the ground, her lower lips trembling ever so slightly as he looked away? Must've been his imagination. A vehement glare was enough to remind the onlookers that they had other places to be; places that didn't involve being on the receiving end of those bloody red daggers. It was only when he was certain they were alone that Naruto continued.

"Well, Kaho-san, mind telling me why ya fell from the sky?"

"I-I was looking for someone." she admitted sheepisly, her flush deepening as the crowd continued to disperse. "I thought if I climbed up high enough, I'd be able to see them clearly but...

"But?"

Her cheeks colored a pretty pink and she averted her gaze.

...I fell."

"Oi oi oi, how are you still alive?" Naruto sweatdropped. "You telling me ya fell from one of those buildings or something?!" Had this been an anime, he surely would've facepalmed at her quiet nod. As it were he merely blinked several times. How did someone fall from a height like that in the first place? Was she a clutz or something? Why did she have a weapon? And why, oh why was she suddenly looking at him like that...?

"Ah!"

Naruto swiftly reached out to steady her, cradling her shoulders. He nervously held her, suddenly aware of her flushed face, the rapidity of her breath. Her fingers fisted around the lappels of his suit, drawing her closer to him until all he could see were those brown eyes.

"It is you." she gasped. "I knew it. I...finally found you."

"What?"

It wasn't the strength of the reaction that had caused Kaho to fall over; it was the suddenness. She hadn't been expecting it. She wasn't prepared the sudden pounding of her heart, the warmth of her cheeks, or the quickness of her breath. She was finally experiencing the on-coming adulthood of her species: the reaction to her Ashikabi-the person who was meant to be her destined one. Her partner. Precious person. She all but melted against him, pressing her entire body against his, feel her breasts shoving up against his chest, nipples stiffly poking through the fabric of yer yukata.

"My Ashikabi-sama." she whispered.

Naruto frowned.

"Ashi-wha?"

Whatever else he might've said died when pushed herself up on the tips of her toes she pressed her lips to his. Soft. Kaho's lips were soft like satin sheets as they clove against his. Her body was like a furnace-warming him even through their clothes, a gentle kind of wamrth that offered much and pledged her very being to him. Her wings...Wings?! Blue eyes bulged as six streamers of light burst from her back, spreading outward in a glorious shower of heavenly radiance. In that instant he almost believed that she really was an angel. Humans didn't have wings.

"Naruto-sama...

But now?

Naruto had returned to Japan on a mission of espionage. He wasn't here to make friends. He was here to wreack havoc and bring MBI down. Perhaps the entire Capital, as well. He was here to hurt. His mission detailed that, and he had prepared himself for it. That was what he was here for. Not to become an Ashi-whatcha-call-it and get bound to a bunch of beautiful girls. But the moment Kaho's lips claimed his-the moment she drew near to-chose him, he was hopelessly lost. He couldn't even begin to fathom the possibility of being without her. And that frightened him.

'What the hell have I gotten myself into?!'

A/N: Aaand there you have it! Naruto's up in Shinto Teito for the Sekirei Plan! This one is slightly different the norm that I write; primarily in the fact that he's positively ancient compared to his canon self. He's not a misanthrope by any means, he's just very, very jaded when it comes to trusting others. I decided to erect this fic when it became clear that some Sekirei in "Counting Stars" would be left out. Naruto won't be taking any orders from anyone, he's simply here to find out what Minaka's up to and if neccessary, stop him. Furthermore, before any anonymous reviewers see fit to challenge the fact, I'll just say this:

I FULLY INTEND TO UPDATE ALL MY WORKS!

As to Naruto...

He's actually a pretty nice guy in this...unless you get on his bad side. Shocking, right?! Lol The focus was on almost entirely on him this chapter, although, Kaho stole the spotlight towards the ened. She's such an amusing character; I can't help but enjoy any scene she's in, and wonder what she might've been like if she wasn't butched by Karasuba...ya get the picture? As we've seen, she's very devoted to her Ashikabi...

Anywho, I worked extremely hard on this one, so I hope to hear what you think! Pairing is up in the air! YOU DECIDE! As said before, I have a vauge idea who will be a part of Naruto's flock in this, but the rest its entirely up to ya'll! And on a final note, thank you to everyone offering emotional support in regard to my health woes. Its greatly appreciated! An awful lot is going to change in this story soon! Look forward to an epic prank next chapter...provided my health holds out.

Next chapter we get right down to the nitty gritty! It'll be out soon, providing my health holds, so look forward to it ya know!

So...in the immortal words of Atlas...

...Review, Would You Kindly? And of course, enjoy the preview! Hopefully it will tide you over and help you realize just who will be a part of Naruto's little flock here...

(Preview)

BZZAP!

Naruto hissed painfully as another bolt of lightning struck him. It wasn't quite as powerful as Sasuke's own Raiton style, but it still packed one helluva punch. If he hadn't been reinforced by the Jyuugi's chakra it would have done a great deal more than make his hair stand on end. The pain didn't bother him, nor did he particularly mind what Kaho thought of him. However these twins had done something unforgiveable, they'd sullied a piece of him that he would never be able to replace.

They'd ruined his suit.

"Oi now, I hope you have the money to pay for this...

"Y-You stay away from me! Kono hentai!" Hikari squeaked, clamoring backwards. "Touch me or my sister again and I'll k-kill you!"

"But Hibiki, you're reacting to him, too..

"SHUT UP! I've changed my mind! I don't want to be winged by this pervert!"

"Pervert?!" Naruto felt a muscle jump in his jaw, blue eyes flaring fiercely at the simple slight. "Now see here missy, I'll have you know that I am no mere pervert!" His words seemed to mollify them somewhat, "I am a SUPER perv-

Wrong thing to say.

ZAP!

"OW!" he yelped, shrugging off another jolt of electricity as effortlessly as one would wind. "Okay, seriously! That's starting to hurt! It was an accident, godamnit! I didn't mean to, ah fuck it." He turned his head, regarding his Sekirei and struggling to keep the anger out of his eyes. If there was thing that Naruto had no tolerance for, something that he could not-would not-accept, it was being mocked. Oh he could ignore minor things but these, these contstant shocks radiating up and down his spine...that could not stand.

"Kaho-chan? Toyotama-chan?

"Hai/Yes, Naruto-sama?" his Sekirei blinked.

"They're not winged, right?"

"No..?"

Naruto grinned.

"Which means I don't need to hold back!"

The twins blanched.

"DYNAMIC! ENTRY!"

"Konoha Senpu!" Hibiki's last sight was that of a rather large shoe screaming toward her face. Then she joined her sister in blissful slumber.

"You," Naruto ground out, "Are coming with me!"

R&R! =D