"There are several benefits to formalized relations with Mid-Childa and the Time/Space Administration Bureau," said Miss Notch. "Not only will we have access to at least some of their magitek, but trade will benefit. Your brother the Emperor was quite clear that he wishes nothing to impede this deal."
"I was speaking of my Naruto's situation," said the Princess Kodako.
"Oh," said Miss Notch, her head cocking to the side as she considered that particular issue. "For a thirteen year old boy who has only been practicing magic for about a year, he shows promise despite being of the male gender. From what I've seen of the two males of his party, their own reserves register quite high as well. It may be something genetic within the humans of their world that allows this when the female gender is considerably more magically adept within Mid-Childa itself."
"While fascinating, you have still avoided the question I wished answered," said Kodako impatiently. "The two girls that accompanied Naruto."
"I do not have much in the way of information," said the lifesize maid doll. "I can only speculate there."
"Do so," commanded Kodako, wondering at the maid's hesitance to address this issue.
"Very well," said the maid. "If Naruto's world does not normally feature polygamous relations, then it would be my guess that the girl with all the knives is a bodyguard to the one with the odd eyes. Every time that Naruto was struck during the test, the shorter of the two girls flinched. Whenever Naruto managed to score a direct hit on Nanoha, her body language indicated some pride. The bun-haired girl, on the other hand, didn't react much to whom was being hit but was clearly intrigued by the higher-powered attacks and defensive moves."
"So, they are trying to trick me," said Kodako, her voice indicating some admiration and irritation.
"Well, they ARE ninja," pointed out Miss Notch.
"What are the odds of a polygamous society within their world?" asked Kodako, going thoughtful for a moment.
"Possible, though I deem it unlikely," said Miss Notch. "As they have repeatedly used the terms 'ninja' and 'shinobi' - they are most likely similar to other groups described by those terms. Ninja are 'those born in darkness, who act in darkness, and ultimately to die in darkness' - not exactly a lifestyle which lends itself well to stable family relationships."
"Yes, but a polygamous relationship would allow for the increased chance of a next generation," said Kodako. "If I can merely take him and break him to the role of my consort, I could use the relationship with his 'fiancee' as another tool in breaking him in. Then she would remain whole and hale as a hostage to his performance."
"Your brother, should he learn of such a thing, would be most displeased," warned Miss Notch.
"My brother, should he learn of such a thing, would most likely clap me in irons, put me in a dark little cell somewhere, and forget about me while he seeks to smooth over relations with Mid-Childa and Naruto's world," said Kodako. "What's life without a little danger?"
"Safe," replied Miss Notch.
"See? How boring would that be?" said Kodako.
"Okay, she's prepped."
"Let's see. Paperwork's filled out but her handwriting's pretty atrocious. Yeah, this is the waiver. Awfully young, but she's a genin - so it's legal."
"She's got to be all of twelve. Is it really all right to be doing this?"
"I suppose she must have needed the money, and it may actually come in handy in her line of work."
"If it works."
"Well, that is always the thing isn't it?"
Tenten glanced to the side, her back to the tube with Naruto inside. Hinata was fidgeting again.
"So," tried Tenten. "You and Naruto?"
"Eh?" asked Hinata.
"You're engaged to Naruto?" asked Tenten. "That must be rough."
"W-w-well, that is, I mean," fidgeted Hinata.
"Eh? You could probably just ask him to let you go if you hate it that much," said Tenten.
"EH?!" squeaked Hinata.
"He was always dead last in everything back when I was at the Academy," said Tenten. "The instructors always brought him up when it came to giving a bad example. Then there were the stupid pranks he'd pull, like some baby that'd never grow up."
"Th-that isn't q-quite it," protested Hinata.
"Oh?" asked Tenten.
Hinata touched the bracelet on one wrist. "N-Naruto-kun is... very special to me."
"Oh? 'special'?" asked Tenten.
"Y-yes," said Hinata, not going any further.
"You saw that Princess, right?" asked Tenten, switching subjects. "You saw her bodyguard? What exactly WAS that?"
"She had a chakra network," said Hinata, a little more confident with a technical subject. "I used my Byakugan briefly in the booth. She's made of cloth and metal and gears and things, but she's also alive somehow. I couldn't examine further without being obvious."
Tenten's estimation of Hinata went up a little at that. Covertly gathering information on potential enemies right under their noses? Definitely not useless. Hmmm. "I'm a little familiar with the Byakugan because your cousin Neji is on my team. Did you get any information about anything else?"
Hinata nodded. "I've been practicing at turning my Byakugan on and off for brief periods while no one's looking. The use of chakra here is different from typical jutsu use, but there seem to be things in common as well."
"I see," said Tenten, turning her gaze to the bracelet. "That's a gift from Naruto?"
"Y-yes," said Hinata, touching a part of the bracelet. Abruptly the bracelet unfolded and extended, becoming a hankyu-style shortbow of the same white material as the bracelet.
"No arrows?" asked Tenten.
"Naruto said it would fire chakra arrows," said Hinata. "I haven't tried it out."
"Hmmmm," hmmmed Tenten, one hand straying towards the pouch that held her own recent purchases.
Yzma shook her head as she looked over the map. "Squirrels."
Well, technically it was just mainly squirrels. There were also the rats, the chipmunks, the occasional weasel. Kronk's 'squirrel summon' wasn't entirely squirrels, merely involved mostly squirrels.
It was just that what she had initially thought of as a completely useless ability of her manservant was becoming a major asset. Everyone saw the squirrels and hardly anyone reacted to them.
Okay, the Inuzuka and the Aburame and the Akimichi compounds were apparently deadly to the little rodents. Other than that though, they were mostly able to navigate through this overlarge village without much difficulty.
Ah, here she was. Naruto's girlfriend.
"Are you one of the doctors here? I don't remember you," said one of the nurses who'd brought the girl in.
"Oh, don't worry about that," said Yzma, wearing surgical gear that left only her eyes showing - and she had glasses on to help disguise her there. "I'm with that hidden organization that doesn't even exist. You know the one."
The nurse paled. "I... I see. You're with them."
"Exactly," said Yzma. It was a ninja village. Of course it would have such an organisation, or at least a lot of people would believe it did. "Now, I'm going to get to work on this shinobi. You don't want to be present for this, do you?"
The nurse practically fled the room.
Yzma smiled as she locked the door, and turned to regard the unconscious pink-haired brat. She'd asked around and had uncovered that while many people talked about the boy being engaged to a 'Hyuga' girl - there had been a few who'd talked about THIS girl as his long-time crush.
A genius such as herself could see through the deception.
Not that she hadn't stalked and found the severely underage 'Hyuga' girl with the odd eyes. She'd deal with THAT one later. Now to deal with the most likely candidate.
Opening her "doctor's bag", Yzma looked over the choices before deciding:
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(Posted Mon, 31 May 2010 23:47)
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