"We have dogs?" asked Takami.
"I was being poetic and setting the mood," said Minaka.
"I take it you want to send the Disciplinary Squad despite that Karasuba has already made enough of an impression as to have this group ready to flee Tokyo if not Japan?" asked Takami.
"So we send the full power of the Disciplinary Squad to indicate our displeasure at their poor sportsmanship," said Minaka.
"And if they slaughter these 'ninja' - exactly how does it get us any answers about who they really are?" asked Takami.
"Oh, good point. Ah well, too late," said Minaka with a shrug.
"You already sent them?" asked Takami.
Minaka held up his flip-phone. "The signal has been sent."
"We are SO going to crush these guys," said Benitsubasa, pumping a fist. "You be sure and watch, Natsuo-chan!"
"What do we know about the targets?" asked Haihane, hoping this would be at least interesting.
Natsuo checked the printouts on his clipboard. "According to the boys in Tracking - there are two Ashikabi who are apparently talking about making an escape. Both Ashikabi have identified themselves as 'ninja' - oh. That explains it. They must be corporate spies."
"They won't find anything but blood spatters when I'm done," promised Benitsubasa. "Such a crime is unforgivable!"
"We'll be meeting Karasuba on the way, then going directly after them," said Natsuo. "I get the feeling this might turn out interesting..."
"Weapon-type Sekirei are able to reinforce their chosen weapon, have some basic training with that weapon, and are able to use some specific attacks by using the weapon as a focus," said Nina as Naruto tried to dodge Ikki's attacks. "They are also stronger and faster than an average human."
"I got that," said Naruto, his hands coming into a familiar position. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Now facing seven Naruto, Ikki merely attacked the one who hadn't moved between smoke-puffs. Except that the flat part of her sword caused the target to go poof.
"Unarmed combat specialists tend to be stronger and faster," continued Nina. "Individuals vary, of course. Also - the more affection a Sekirei gets - the more of their own potential is unlocked."
Ikki had taken out four more clones during that speech, only to find one of the others had landed a really solid hit on the back of her head.
"So that's it?" asked Naruto as he waited for Ikki to shake off the hit.
"Well, there are also element-type Sekirei like Akitsu," said Nina. "Those who have control over ice or fire or wind or such. Those are rarer than the weapon-types and specialize in long range attacks. Then there are brain-types like myself who are skilled in support and not as good at the actual combat roles."
"So what about the numbers? They mean anything?" asked Naruto as Ikki nearly parted his hair with her opening attack.
"The most powerful are the first nine - the single digits," said Nina from her position on the side-lines sitting next to Katsuragi. "The information on the Sekirei is generally not available though, unless you're working for MBI directly. I'm a healer-type with information-gathering as secondary. There are a total of 108 Sekirei, so there are going to be many of those we're just not familiar with."
"Time," called out Katsuragi.
Ikki sheathed her swords in a practiced move, bowed lightly, and then returned to the sidelines. Katsuragi took her place, settling into a basic stance.
"Begin," called out Ikki as the second hand clicked into place on the watch.
He came from a ninja world where they had ninjutsu techniques for darn near everything. Ninja who had fire-fighting duties in their hidden village, for example, usually had a few Water Release techniques that were adapted from combat techniques or crafted specifically for that purpose. There were low-level techniques used for such things as cleaning windows that might have started out as a training method but were frequently used anyway due to the utility.
He was considered a super-pervert and one of the Leaf Village's legendary ninja. For him not to have some perverted jutsu would have been more surprising.
He was also curious about a few things, as this touched upon one of his other passions and something he considered himself better than Orochimaru in: Fuuinjutsu or Sealcraft. The Sekirei Crest was a seal, or close enough. While he'd never been able to completely unravel Orochimaru's Cursed Heaven Seal because it tended to kill the people it was on long before he'd unraveled a third of it. Since that seal was linked to the chakra of the victim, it then fell apart after death.
This was a bit different from what he was used to, but there was apparently no danger of the seal malfunctioning while he was exploring it.
Certainly Akitsu seemed to be enjoying it, though he was having to reinforce his ribs among other things to avoid physical injury.
"Did the ground just shake?" asked Naruto, glancing in the direction of the tent.
"Akitsu is so lucky," said Ikki as she looked in that direction herself. "For a Scrapped Number at least."
FWAM!
Two wings of ice shredded a good part of the tent.
"Averting eyes," said Naruto, squeezing his eyes shut then covering them with his hands and turning away. There were some things he didn't want to EVER see and this was pretty high on that list.
There was no reply from any of his Sekirei, just a loud feminine groan that sounded like Akitsu's voice.
"Gee," said Naruto, still covering his eyes. "That sounds like an excuse to go buy some more ramen! I think I saw a place just outside the forest a bit. Hopefully far enough away. Let's go!"
"Uhm, right," said Katsuragi. "I suppose it will be hard to concentrate on sparring."
"I like ramen," said Ikki. The grin her Ashikabi turned on her indicated that her response was the correct one.
Karasuba took out a notebook, jotted something down, and then stashed the little notebook away again.
"That was your Death Notebook, wasn't it?" asked Benitsubasa, looking around the train station. "Who got on your list this time?"
"Whoever invented this 'musak' thing," said Karasuba. "I used to like this song."
Benitsubasa shrugged. "Why are we going by train anyway?"
"They're in a park on the edge of town. Easiest way to get there," said Natsuo.
"I suppose," said Benitsubasa.
"Besides," put in Haihane, "the company car was in for maintenance."
"Ah," said the pink-haired fighter. That made sense.
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(Posted Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:46)
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