Hanabi Hyuga had then run away from squirrels, gotten cornered by some little kids who'd argued about whether to use her for LIVE TARGET KUNAI PRACTICE or taking her off and going with the idea of tormenting her with some tea party. Except that the whole thing had gone bad and then worse, and just when she was sure that this was it - she was about to die - HE came.
He rescued her, took her away from those kids, and cleaned the wounds off. He'd even bandaged her and given her a fishcake off of his ramen.
She'd never paid attention to ramen before, but that was SO good. Maybe it was just that she'd been starving at the time. The shop owner had found a little box that her savior had put some broth in.
When her savior had tried to leave, she had been a little anxious about that and had insisted she had to go with him.
Not that this was anything other than convenience. Of course, that was all there was to it. As the heir of the main branch of the Hyuga family, she most certainly was self-reliant and not afraid of squirrels, round-glasses-wearing medic-nin, or anything else. No, it was just about convenience.
When this boy had met with his genin team and missions had been discussed, Hanabi had further added a layer of plan. Stick with this guy and when she was turned back to normal, she'd be able to document that she'd already been involved in accomplishing ninja missions. She'd be ahead of the game instead of just missing out on class time. Win!
"Naruto? Your cat is snickering evilly."
"Oh. Must be a cat thing. C'mon, Kurochan, let's go find that kitty. I want to check on Sakura this afternoon."
Sakura woke up with the oddest sensation of looking at where her body was sitting on a table a few feet away. "AGHHHHHHHH!"
"That's quite enough of that," said a blonde girl, looking up from where she was raising the table on a winch. "No screaming. This is delicate work."
"B-b-but," began Sakura.
"Look, they explained what happened," said the girl. "Someone used some sort of magic to turn you into a clockwork golem. An enemy going out for revenge. Unfortunately he or she got you."
"This is Naruto's fault!" said Sakura, gritting her teeth.
"No, it's not," said the girl. "It's the fault of whoever done it. You're one of these 'ninja' right? Better get used to people swearing vengeance on you. As I understand it, it's an occupational hazard. My name's Winry Rockbell, by the way. I'm working on your upgrades and rehab."
"Just turn me back!" suggested Sakura.
"Okay," said Winry. "How?"
"How?" asked Sakura.
"How do we turn you back to normal?" asked Winry. "Look, I'm an expert at magimechanical systems. I build automail systems, which are artificial limbs for people who have lost limbs and can't handle the regenerative drugs for whatever reason. I've never run into this. I've seen self-willed golems before, but there are only two groups that do it. Najirea is one. The other is a bit more friendly, but still not exactly sharing with its technology. Turning you back to human? Love to. How do we do that?"
"So it isn't that you can't do it, but you don't know how," said Sakura. "So what are you talking about upgrades?"
Winry began going over Sakura's body. "Your joints aren't strong enough to support your body's strength, your split soul is manifesting as a seal-array that's unstable, and you cracked your knuckles when you hit Naruto."
"Oh," said Sakura.
"We've got a way we can possibly get you a NEW human body, cloning from some hairs and cell samples, but it'll take a year and we need your permission to proceed."
Sakura frowned, then tried to nod. On finding she couldn't, she made a face. "Go ahead. Do it. A year with a mechanical body."
"Yeah, since you're a ninja we have to reinforce this body a bit," said Winry. "The TSAB is picking up the tab on this, so at least it isn't going to cost you anything."
"Oh," said Sakura. "So this is like a ninja puppet?"
"I suppose. I've never seen a 'ninja puppet' but I think I have the idea."
"Can you add any hidden mechanisms, storage compartments, gadgets?" asked Sakura, thinking she might as well get some use out of it.
Winry looked up, and her grin gave an immediate answer.
Kurochan/Hanabi watched as the team settled into position, Naruto carefully setting her down.
"Stay there, Kurochan," said Naruto, taking a couple of steps away. "Mjolnir!"
[Yes Sir. Set Up.]
Kurochan blinked as Naruto was suddenly holding a hammer and his clothes had changed.
"Wide Area Search," commanded Naruto, whacking his hammer on the ground. Five spheres of crackling yellow energy formed and shot off in different directions.
"Nyow?" asked Hanabi.
"It's exactly what he said it is," explained Kakashi, looking down at the cat. "He sends those off to find something, in this case the cat 'Tora', and when one finds the target - he'll know about it."
"Nanoha can do it while doing other things, I take it that Naruto isn't quite as good at multitasking?" asked Miyuki Takamichi.
"Yes, that's probably it," agreed Kakashi.
"Mrow," said Hanabi.
"So is the cat some sort of magical mascot?" asked Miyuki. "I was wondering. Most magical girl series on TV have a mascot, but Nanoha doesn't have one. Unless you count Yuuno but he was just stuck as a ferret while he healed."
"Oh, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what she is," said Kakashi, giving a flash of Killing Intent and evil look towards the cat.
"Mew?" asked Hanabi.
"No, I don't think you're an innocent little kitty," said Kakashi. "A normal cat doesn't understand human language or have those eyes."
"Those are rather distinctive," admitted Miyuki.
"Mew?" asked a beginning-to-panic Hanabi.
"Just answer me one thing," said Kakashi, glancing at where Naruto was still concentrating on his search. "Are you an enemy?"
"Mew mew mew mew MEOW," denied Kurochan frantically, shaking her head and looking nearly panicked.
"That's good then," said Kakashi by way of reply. If this WAS a spy or enemy, he'd expect more competence or confidence. Instead of the cat's body language changing to 'please don't kill me' in a heartbeat. "That leaves what to do about this."
"So Naruto has a magical mascot who's a cute little kitten?" asked Miyuki. "Better not tell Nanoha, she'll be so jealous."
"Nanoha being the young lady who basically pounded Naruto to the point he collapsed from wounds and ended up in the hospital," qualified Kakashi.
"What exactly happened while I was off duty?" asked Sasuke.
"Naruto has a rank as a mage in addition to a rank as a ninja," explained Kakashi. "Apparently the test for mage advancement has some things in common with the upcoming chunin exam. Mainly that they both involve a certain degree of violence."
"Darn," said Sasuke, sounding regretful. "Wish I could have seen that."
"Got her!" announced Naruto. "Distance two point three four kilometers. Eight O'Clock from my position. She's near the hot springs. She sees my probe and is running. INTO the hot spring. Women's side."
"Keep watch," said Kakashi. "If the cat remains there, Miyuki will have to go after it."
"How does this work?" asked Kakashi, standing behind Miyuki who was sitting in front of the odd device.
"This is a communicator that allows us to contact Mid-Childa and vice versa," said Miyuki. "I'm contacting the lab working with Sakura-san."
The image of a blonde girl appeared. "Winry Rockbell. Rockbell Engineering."
"Hello, Winry," said Miyuki. "This is Team 7. We're checking up on Sakura Haruno."
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(Posted Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:15)
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