The Sage Ashikabi

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Naruto x ?

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Story Start

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'To think after all these years I've returned.' Stepping down the flight of stairs was a young man. Sun-kissed blond hair spiked out, kept cut short with a crystal like glow to it. His skin was a light shade of tan and smooth and his eyes a cerulean blue shade like the ocean. He was a young man that looked to be in his late twenties, maybe early thirties wearing a fit orange dress shirt with reversible cuffs, black dress jacket, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. On his shoulder he carried a large blue and white duffel bag.

He made his way from the private jet to where the Limousine was waiting for him. The security features needed to enter the city was irksome; then again, one could say that about a lot of M.B.I. setup. Then again considering he could fool the system easily it didn't bother him.

Even with all the gains that happened with technology his Mysticism won out. Maybe one day the technology might be a hassle, but today was not that day. Naruto passed by the suits that were lined up and got to the limo where his personal driver Reginald was waiting.

Reginald was a man going into his forties. A healthy build of an average man that did moderate exercise. Dark hair and prominent jaw dressed in a dark Italian double-breasted suit.

"Good Afternoon Naruto-sama, your guest has already arrived and taken her seat in the Limousine. "

"Well done Reginald. For our Itinerary I wish for you to head to the Northern part of the city. Upon arriving in the area I will give you further instructions."

"Very well." The man replied as he got into the driver's seat of the car. While normally drivers would open the door for what was deemed as important men or women Naruto never liked little things like that. He felt it made a person spoiled and was fully capable of opening his own door. With that he climbed inside.

Aah yes it was a person he was all too familiar with.

Sahashi Takami. Senior Staff at M.B.I.

The years had been kind to her. She was still slender and chesty from what he remembered with grey eyes dressed in a pair of dark trousers and black top. For a woman who had two kids she looked amazing. The only thing that had changed was that her now once beautiful and lustrous black hair was now an exotic grey.

"Aah Takami-chan have you finally decided to give in to your mad passions and desires for me?" He casually asked as he opened the minibar.

To her credit she only reacted to a minor eye twitch this time. "I see somethings haven't changed."

"Well, you come to learn with age you have to take time to enjoy all the things in life you missed out on during your youth." He sagely replied as Takami took out a cigarette, and began to light it.

Naruto quickly blew out the lit cigarette to which Takami groaned. "I hate when you do that."

"And you know I hate cigarettes. They make your breath smells likes ash and messes up your lungs. Now are we going to get to the reason you called me here? Because as you should know developments that have occurred after I left have put me in a mood less than merciful towards all things M.B.I." His sudden turned to coldness had unnerved the woman. There was a reason why Naruto was known as the scariest living being.

She also understood his sudden shift. Takehito was his friend. It was odd how quickly the two men bonded, but understandable. Takehito was a peaceful man and an inquiring mind that always sought out the peaceful solution. Even if Naruto never said anything it was easy to see that in some small way Naruto saw a bit of himself in the man.

Despite personal misgivings he was willing to adjust some of the first Sekirei into combatants so they could protect the rest of their kin. It was no secret that humans potential for war would always be a major part of the species. The Sekirei would have been enslaved and bred for war that would cause irreversible damage to the planet.

Initially M.B.I. Had been a far nobler venture when Naruto had left all those years ago. Dedicating to researching and protecting the Sekirei, but things had changed.

"Then I'll get right to the point Naruto. I need your help with the Sekirei Plan that Minaka has recently started a few Months ago."

Would things have been different if he acted after the invasion that happened at Kamikura island? Would he have been able to do anything? Protecting the Sekirei while hunting the entities would have been difficult for even him. Even then as much as he hated to admit it, he wouldn't have known the first thing to do for the developing Sekirei.

While a psycho Minaka was still brilliant which showed thanks to the Conglomerate that M.B.I. managed to become in his absence.

The years had changed him, preventing him from making the same impulsive actions and mistakes he would have in his youth. For the time being the Sekirei would have to be safe where they were while Naruto hunted the entities that mysteriously showed up all those years ago. "What will you have me do?"

"I need your help in protecting the Sekirei that we let out of the labs," replied Takami before producing an M.B.I. Pad, which was basically like the IPad, except it was made by M.B.I. using their advanced technology, and you could access the M.B.I. database if you had to proper access code.

Such devices were highly coveted and orders were given

"So how bad has Minaka let it become? How out of control has it gone since I have been away?"

"Very bad. Ashikabi with Sekirei have forcibly winged other Sekirei against their Will and are using them to control territory like they were the Yakuza. Currently Shinto Teito has three major Ashikabi with territories that cover the South, the West, and the East with their Sekirei being the enforcers for each," Takami answered with Naruto scowling at the three names.

It was astounding how anyone can be brilliant yet so stupid at the same time. Had he not considered the possibility that one Ashikabi could wing enough Sekirei that even M.B.I. would not be able to stand against them?

"I already assigned a Guardian of Unwinged Sekirei, but he can only do so much, and I can't risk using any other person capable of doing such a job."

Naruto continued going through the list of Sekirei along with their status. He stopped when his eyes fell upon a certain Sekirei.

'Miya-chan.' It made sense that she wasn't winged. Their pillar. Their Queen. Even though she loved Takehito dearly he nor anyone had been capable of getting Miya to react…well…besides…

He quickly dismissed the thought as he continued memorizing the information. The Sekirei that were winged. Their Ashikabi. Who was in the labs receiving adjustments. Everything he would need to know.

"Wait a minute…" He came across number seven. Akitsu. "What's this scrapped number business?" From what he could see some idiot screwed up the process and caused her to wing herself.

"Sekirei #7. Akitsu. She escaped the labs after her Adjustor was fired for his stupidity and arrogance. From what we were able to get out of that pig he planned on winging Akitsu despite her having no reaction to him. He screwed up the process and tried to take out on her to which she fought back. By the time anyone arrived to the scene he was dying and half the lab was coated in ice. She only escaped because Minaka let her out for his own amusement to see just how a 'scrapped number' could possibly factor into the game," Takami answered.

"She has a name, you shouldn't call her by that terrible title."

"I'm sorry Naruto, but that's her official title, and just about every Sekirei now within the city of Shinto Teito knows it," replied Takami.

"Considering no one was able to check the damages or see if her adjusting could be fixed its irresponsible to assume she can't be winged. Minaka is a damn moron. Fortunately that's a flaw we can use against him." Naruto would have went and killed the man right now if he wasn't sure that the bastard probably had some sort of dead man switch planted in all the adjusted Sekirei. Minaka would not leave things up to chance, especially with knowledge of the one person who could easily stop him out there and it being common knowledge how far Naruto would go to protect innocent life.

"So...what do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going to have Reginald drop me off then have him take you to M.B.I. Before I make any moves I need to visit an old friend. To which after that I will go find and make sure Akitsu is safe. Then I will go about the process of stopping these abusive Ashikabis. What about you?"

"I'm currently the assigned Adjustor for Sekirei #108 Kusano. The little girl is so full of life and wants to see the outside world. I'm actually going to take her on a little trip to the park in a few days to see a spot where some flowers grow," Takami answered with a small smile at the end.

"In that case take care of her. " Naruto then gave Reginald the name of the address he wished to be dropped off at as well as orders to drop Takami off as her place of employment.

He wished he had paid a little more attention to the weather as the sky was littered with clouds. The sound of soft rumbling was indicating it was going to rain soon. Either way that would not deter him. There was only one place she would be today. The anniversary of that day.

The rain began to pour but Naruto continued his trek. It was easy to spot her, a head of violet in front of a headstone.

He moved over the kneeling woman as he removed his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. The woman's head snapped up to meet his gaze. Her face stricken with tears. "S-Sensei." The woman murmured. Were her eyes deceiving her?

"I don't think Takehito would want you out here drowning in misery like this." He told her calmly. "Take however much time you need."

A sense of warmth welled up within the woman. A faint beating in her heart slowly began. While neither had realized it at the time the Bond between Sekirei and Ashikabi was being formed.

What she had with Takehito. Admiration. Appreciation. A strong emotional bond, but the love was more platonic. It was more of the strongest type of platonic friendship one could have. Because Miya knew that a Sekirei being with anyone, but their true partner would stunt their emotional growth and power, preventing them from reaching their full potential.

There had always been something there, but now there was no denying it. The distance had made things easier, but now the pain and loneliness would be unbearable.

On one hand it felt difficult to accept these feelings as she felt she would be betraying her bond to Takehito on the other hand denying the bond would only cause misery. Denying the bond was not an option, but taking things slow and giving time for her to get used to it might make things easier.

"Sensei." She stood up and faced him. "I'm ready to leave."

"In that case it would only be proper for me to escort a lady home."

A smile tugged at her lips. "How gentlemanly of you."

With that the two of them began their journey out of the graveyard.

Naruto couldn't help but feel concerned. He liked to think after all these years he still knew Miya fairly well and the inner turmoil she was exhibiting was plain.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the house-turned-Inn. A simple two-story building in the classical Japanese style, with the second floor for the bedrooms, and everything else on the first floor.

"So this is the Inn? I feel the atmosphere. I think I'm going to like staying here."

"I'm glad." Miya had a true smile upon her face. That expression, that joy, she was most beautiful when she was happy.

Turning and giving Naruto a formal bow, Miya opened the front door. "Welcome Home, to Maison Izumo. May you ever find peace within these walls."

A smile graced Naruto's lips. It was good to see his old student was as he remembered. "Thank you for the hospitality of this house and for your generosity may you be blessed."

"Ufufu, I see your time away hasn't changed you Sensei."

They entered the house, removing their footwear in the entrance as was proper, then Miya showed him upstairs to a room labeled '202'. With that she gave him the time of which the meals would be served as well as the house rules of no lewd acts, and no violence within the walls of the Inn.

Naruto handed her an envelope of money that would cover the next six months.

Miya left Naruto to his new room, and he stepped inside. Naruto began to search the room, being thorough and found many small hidden cameras.

Well this seemed rather familiar. Naruto decided to explore the inn a bit more. Looking around he found the little bathhouse, very traditional in style.

After finishing his exploration he arrived at the table to eat dinner. He took a moment to examine Miya. She was the same slender yet shapely woman he remembered with fair skin and brown eyes. Her waist length purple hair had short bangs in a hime-style. Her state of dress was different then he last saw her, a purple hakama, white haori with a sash-like belt, wooden sandals, and a white ribbon to hold her hair in place.

For a moment dinner was quiet and enjoyable. It stayed that way for a few moments until Naruto decided to drop a revelation on her. "I'm going to be fighting against Minaka's Sekirei plan."

Surprise showed in Miya's face as she clutched her cup of tea. "So you know what he's been up to?"

"Takami contacted me. Things are going out of control. For what's it worth I'm sorry for leaving. I had no idea things would haven't gotten that bad."

"Do not blame yourself Sensei. You chose the decision that would protect innocent lives." Though not everyone understood that. "What do you plan on doing?"

"First, I'm going to become familiar with the territory of the city while also looking for number seven Akitsu."

"The one that they say is broken? Those fools, what they've done to my birds are unforgivable. If not for the fact that I'm sure Minaka has some sort of fail-safe involved I would have ended his life a long time ago."

"Don't worry Miya. One way or another we'll save them. All of them." He promised her.