"Naruko!"
"Owie! That hurts a lot, Vita-chan!" Naruko whined, as her smallest knight's arms crushed her waist.
"What were you doing you-you-you insane idiot!"
If Vita hadn't taken to shaking Naruko around like a ragdoll, perhaps in an attempt to quite literally shake an honest response out of her, maybe she would've received an immediate answer. Instead, Naruko actually had to take a moment to regain her bearings. "Vita, you've got clones!" Naruko stated, before she shook her head and recollected herself. "I… can't remember… what are you talking about?"
"Mistress. You should not fight in our stead. That is our role. Please, don't put yourself in danger," Signum said, and only then did Naruko take a moment to observe the room around her. Zafira, his face somewhat amused and yet grim at the same time, and Shamal, looking worried, were both standing behind Signum, looking severe but calm. They were on the door to the room, clearly having gone in after hearing Vita yell. All of them wore casual clothing that wouldn't be amiss on a civilian's frame.
"What… what do you mean?" Naruko asked.
Vita's sobs interrupted her train of thought, however, and Naruko quickly pulled her favorite snuggle toy into the hospital bed with her.
"What's wrong, Vita-chan?" Naruko asked.
"You! You're what's wrong, you idiot!" Vita said inbetween sobs. "We all thought you would die! Don't do that! Don't you ever do that again! It's forbidden!"
"Vita's right, mistress. What you did was very risky, and it's a miracle that you survived," Zafira said.
"I still don't know what you're talking about," Naruko said, patting Vita's back and rubbing a hand comfortingly on the smaller girl's back, almost as if encouraging her to let it all out. "What happened? What did I do?"
"Do… do you really not remember? It… would make sense. The wounds would have made you go into shock…" Shamal muttered. "But still…"
"I see. Then you do not remember coming to our aid a week ago, mistress?" Signum asked.
"You did something dumb, didn't you? I'm sure you did something dumb that almost got yourself killed," Naruko said, disapprovingly. "Wait…"
It didn't take too long for Naruko to take a deep breath, clearly calming herself down as much as she could. "Mistress… I will tell you what happened," Zafira stated.
"I'll be checking up on you while he does that," Shamal stated, nodding.
Naruko nodded her acceptance and let Shamal get to work as Zafira began to explain.
"Hm… I don't remember any of that," Naruko said. "But… I do remember getting so angry at that thing when it was squeezing you guys. I've never used magic that powerful, though… I can only do basic stuff like telekinesis and weak barriers…"
"But you very definitely did. If what you have explained is right, then it fits in with what we know," Shamal said. She mused for a second and then nodded to herself. "In your rage, mistress, you must have invoked the Book of Darkness's power. I had it with me at the time, so it's very likely it picked up on your subconscious wishes. Once you called upon its power, it took over your body and used it to achieve the wish you asked of it. We were only a few pages away from filling it then, but now we're missing forty more pages…"
"I see… with that kind of power… If I had that kind of power, you guys wouldn't need to fight anymore… I could fight and protect you instead!" Naruko said, grinning happily.
"No! Never! I won't let you do that ever again! It's forbidden!" Vita yelled, grabbing onto Naruko's shoulders and meeting her eyes, desperation clear. "Don't… don't do that!"
"But you guys fight so hard for me, I want to help you! I can't just stay back safe while you guys put yourselves at risk for me! That's not right!" Naruko said, frowning.
"It is, my mistress… it is how it should be. That is our duty, our role. We are your Knights, you are our mistress. We will defend you to our dying breath. We pledged our loyalty to you," Signum said, simply, her eyes closed and voice solemn.
"But… but I was a weak and helpless little girl then! If… if I can use the power of the Book of Darkness, then…"
"You would die."
Zafira's voice cut through like a knife, and everyone flinched.
"W-What?" Naruko asked, staggering back.
"Zafira's right, mistress. You used only a small fraction of the Book of Darkness' power… and it destroyed your body from the inside. I had to recreate several of your organs. Your body had cannibalized them to produce more magical energy to fuel your rampage… It's the first time I've had to use cartridges, myself," Shamal admitted. "The fact that you survived at all is miraculous, and we can't rely on something like that."
"But…" Naruko looked aside, knowing she couldn't meet their eyes. "Why… why am I so weak..? All I want… All I want is to protect you… my family, my knights… my beloved servants, why… why can't I do even that? I'm not worthy to be your master, I'm just a weak and powerless little girl who can't do anything… I'm worthless, I should just die so you can have a worthy master…"
The resounding slap of a palm on the soft tissue of someone's cheek quickly shocked everyone. "Don't you… don't you dare say something like that again!"
"V-Vita-chan…" Naruko said, her hand reaching her cheek, which was beginning to turn red. It'd likely begin to swell shortly. "Why… why are you…"
Vita had hung her head, and her fringe fell in front of her eyes, preventing Naruko from looking her right in the eye. However, Naruko could see the tears trailing down her cheeks, and Vita's teeth tightly clenched as she shook in barely contained fury. "Don't you dare! You're not worthless, you stupid dumbass! You're our mistress…"
"But… I'm only your mistress because I picked up the book, right? If someone else had it… if someone better than me had it, wouldn't it be so much better for you? If someone like the old man had it, you wouldn't waste so much time protecting and helping me…" Naruko said, her voice dejected.
"That's not true!" Shamal quickly protested.
"It's true that we originally swore loyalty to you because you were the Master of the Book of Darkness," Zafira began. "But that has since changed, mistress."
"…I, eh?" Naruko blinked, somewhat confused.
"We are tools, mistress. Nothing more, nothing less. Without fault, each and every one of our previous masters has treated us as such," she said. "We will perform whatever task is asked of us, and serve faithfully no matter how horrible or abusive our master might be. That is our role as the Wolkenritter," she continued.
"But…" Shamal began, smiling warmly at Naruko. "You showed us kindness. You showed us kindness even though it hurt you to. You shared your food, what little of it there was, with us. You bought us clothes, treated us as your family."
"We're tools, Mistress," Zafira said, smiling at her as well.
"But don't forget. We are your tools, and we are your tools of our own free will," Signum added.
Vita nodded. "We are your tools not because that's what we're programmed to be… we're your tools because we love you, Mistress. I love you."
"V-Vita-chan… everyone, I… I—"
Naruko closed her mouth and shook her head. She looked a bit panicked, almost as if she didn't know how to answer.
"You don't have to be strong, mistress. You don't have to fight for us or defend us… we do that. That's what we're here for. That is what we want to do. It's the only thing we can do for you, in return for all that you've given us. So allow us this," Zafira said, solemnly.
"…I… I…"
"Mistress… you don't have to answer. But just know, we love you, and that is why we serve you willingly," Signum said.
"I can't breathe," Naruko said, a moment before darkness claimed her.
"MISTRESS!"
***
"…This is worse than I'd thought, but she's out of danger, for the time being," Shamal said, wiping the sweat that had gathered on her forehead. "The mistress's heart was more damaged than I thought it was. The implants are working as they should, for the time being, and it seems that they've settled for the moment… but this is, at best, a temporary fix."
"I see," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, interrupting the scene as he walked in, hands clasped behind his back. "The service you have performed for Konoha, there is nothing I can offer you that will repay it. You've saved mine and countless others's lives. Konoha owes you a debt that we can never repay. Anything you need of us, you have to but ask, and it will be provided."
Everyone turned around. "All is for our mistress," Zafira said, simply. "And our mistress sees this village as her home. So long as she does, we will defend it to our last breath."
"I was honestly surprised to see you supporting me instead of rushing to Naruko," Sarutobi said, freely, looking at Shamal.
Shamal shook her head. "My first priority will always be our Mistress, however, she asked that I support you," Shamal said, simply.
"Naruko is an asset to this village that it has never truly respected or appreciated as she should be," the Hokage said, simply.
"You know something that can be of use to us, do you not? Perhaps some miraculous medicine or artifact… anything that can help," Vita said, bluntly, looking at the Hokage. "You're The Professor, you know everything about this world."
"No, not everything," Sarutobi said, "and I don't know of anything in particular that can help with this, but…"
Signum's eyes narrowed, and the rest of the Wolkenritter listened in rapt attention.
"I know of someone that can help you. If there is any medical procedure or technique that can help Naruko right now, then she knows it, or at least knows of it. I've spent this past week tracking her down. I've narrowed down her location to the Land of Fire, and my spymaster is working on her exact location as we spea—"
They were interrupted by an ANBU agent, who delivered a small scroll to Sarutobi. He read it promptly, and then closed and burned it.
"Jiraiya-kun has always been extremely quick when motivated. What I came here for is to deliver this," the man said, revealing a fancy-looking, rolled up scroll that he pulled out of his sleeve. "This is an order for this person to come back to Konoha right now. Her name is Senju Tsunade, and she is the greatest medic in this world, bar none. If anyone or anything can help Naruko right now, it's Tsunade."
"You have a location," Signum said, simply.
"I do," Sarutobi said, nodding. "She is in a town called Otafuku Gai, about four hundred and thirty six kilometers that way," Sarutobi said, gesturing in the rough direction of Otafuku Gai.
"Very well. Shamal, you should stay to ensure Naruko's health," Signum ordered.
Zafira stepped up. "I'll stay, as well. My job as a Guardian Beast is to ensure our master's well being at all times. I will not fail again."
Signum nodded. Shamal nodded, as well. They both knew she did not feel insulted at all by the implication that she might not be strong enough to guard Naruko herself. She knew she was the weakest of the Knights in direct combat, and that one guard can be easily bypassed, no matter how alert the watcher remains. As much stronger as she'd grown, she was not overly proud of her combat abilities, and even her occasional trainer agreed it was better that she remain in a support role.
"Very well. Vita, we'll depart right now. I assume this 'Senju Tsunade' has a very distinct appearance, correct?" Signum asked.
"Blond, pigtails, wears mostly green, travels with a mousy looking young woman and a pig. She also has very… ahem… How do I say it? Oh, screw it. She has giant tits. Massive mammaries whatever you want to call them, and they're pretty much her most noticeable trait… also, she's got a bad temper and possesses enough physical strength to demolish buildings with finger-flicks. Just about anybody in the Land of Fire can recognize her, if all else fails, ask around. My agent will meet you as soon as he is able. He knows you'll probably drop by sooner rather than later, and knows what you all look like. He'll probably track you down once you're in the city, and will most likely be keeping an eye on Tsunade's breasts. Good luck."
"You mean an eye on Tsunade," Zafira noted.
"No, if I know Jiraiya, he's going to be looking right at Tsunade's breasts," Sarutobi said, frowning.
"He's your student, isn't he?" Vita asked, frowning in distaste.
"Yes, yes he is. But that's irrelevant."
Signum and Vita nodded. "It is," Vita said. "We don't have time for this."
"Move out," Signum commanded.
Within seconds, they'd leaped out a window and become streaks of light in the air.