Stand By Me
Chapter 1: Awakening
It would be about three days later when Nyx finally woke up from his slumber. Warping to his dagger via magic was one thing; warping through Leader's weird 'summon circle' as he called it? Absolutely disastrous, which would explain why he had no recollection of what happened the moment he got sucked into that vortex of energy.
The first thing he did, surprisingly, was to stare at the bright sun outside the window of his room. Being alive still felt quite surreal and he wouldn't put it past the possibility that the whole meeting with Leader event was actually just a figment of his imagination before he went to the afterlife.
Closing his eyes, he was about to give himself a pinch when he felt a sharp pain on his right cheek.
Huh, pre-emptive pain. Wonder what that means?
"You're alive, you brave, crazy idiot." A familiar feminine voice sounded right next to him, with equal amounts of exasperation and amusement in them. Another sign that he was probably imagining things.
"Really Nyx? Really?" The pain intensified as the pulling on his skin increased to exponential proportions. "Is this proof enough that you're alive?"
"Alright, alright!" Shaking his head to escape the demonic grasp of the female, the young man rubbed his cheek furiously, "You didn't have to pull that hard you know, Crowe."
"Ha! Serves you right! When I heard from them what you pulled off back in Insomnia, I almost wanted to give you a beating right there!"
Nyx raised an eyebrow at that, "So you could kill me after Leader went through all that trouble just to keep me alive?"
"Yes!"
"And here I would've thought Leader would be the first victim." Cue deadpan expression.
"He was!" Clenching her fist and raising it high above her head, the brunette declared proudly, "I whacked him hard on the head when I saw him."
"She actually did." With impeccable timing, 'Leader' made his appearance, shaking his head as he remembered that particular scene, "She really did it, right on that bed too. Like one second she was unconscious; the next one she woke up and saw me, and before I said anything she literally just karate-chopped me on the head. Like what is up with that?"
Before Crowe could get into a heated exclamation, Nyx quickly cut her off, "I would say that you not showing up for about five years was enough to warrant some form of retribution from her."
"Sigh, they grow up so fast." Giving a listless sigh, the blond shrugged, "I can still remember how she used to ask me to pat her head every time after a mission – OUCH!"
Needless to say, more casualties were created when Crowe's 'innocent' childhood was brought up. The irony that Crowe was now anything but that wasn't lost on Nyx at all, which would explain that smirk that remained on his face as he watched the brunette grind her boots into their Leader's feet.
Although Libertus and himself were saved from Galahd, Crowe was actually picked up from the outskirts of a village in the Lucian Frontier. Nyx could still remember the first thing he noticed when he first met her. Not her scrawny physique, not the dirty rags she was in, but the hatred and pain in her eyes, as though she didn't have a single person to trust in the world.
Leader had taken both Libertus and himself on a basic field trip to show them the basics of combatting low-level daemons when they stumbled upon her. She had been trying to escape from the village who had all but threatened to beat her to death or worse if she had dared return. With nothing but herself to fend for, she had to resort to stealing and when you steal from a poor village, you're pretty much going to be the enemy of every single person in that village.
Crowe had been cornered by a group of Sabertusks, and yet there were no tears, no shivers, no nothing. She literally sat on the ground, as though accepting her fate, willing her life to end even. Needless to say, Leader took care of the monsters with what appeared to be a single punch to the ground, scooped her up in his arms and without a word, motioned for them to follow him back to camp.
What came after that was the most awkward few days of their lives. Leader had literally brought her to camp, gave her a thorough washing to get rid of the dirt that was on her, gave her some of the boys' clothing temporarily, before cooking her a nice stew to finish it off.
That dinner table was so quiet it was almost hilarious as he looked back on it now. Leader still hadn't said a word to the girl yet. He had practically done everything for her but not attempted to communicate at all. Everyone just… ate the stew. He had half-expected the girl to throw the stew at their Leader, since she didn't seem the sort to take pity easily but surprisingly, nothing happened. Seriously, they just all went to bed like nothing happened.
The next day, Leader would bring them out to the fields once more and resume his teachings, but this time the girl would sit somewhere in the area and just watch them 'practice'. By practice, it was actually watching them get their asses handed to them by Reapertails, the weakest monsters prowling the fields. When the day ended, the routine would begin again.
Over the course of the next few days, Libertus could be seen trying to chat with her, since you know, Leader still hadn't said a word to her. Or to any of them about this. He just expected them to treat this as the norm. At that point, Nyx had only really known Leader for a few months, and he did realize that the blond had a few quirks but even this was pushing it. It was quite obvious the girl was just ignoring them anyway, so the whole situation was just ridiculous.
"Don't think you're off the hook there, Mister!" Crowe seemed to have noticed his smirks and crossed her arms in displeasure, "What are you grinning at, huh?"
Nyx actually chuckled at that, "I'm pretty sure this happened way back then too."
The brunette blinked for a few moments, before a small blush grew on her cheeks, "S-Shut up! That was a long time ago! Why are you even bringing it up now?!"
It had taken a few weeks, but eventually one fateful event had changed their dynamic. They were out in the fields once again, but this time, the girl was nowhere to be found. In a weird, non-spoken manner, they had sort of divided their duties between the three of them (i.e. collecting wood, getting ingredients for meals, clearing the area of rubbish etc.) The girl seemed to have wandered off to find wood this time, but hadn't returned even at dusk.
Before long, Nyx and Libertus got worried and decided to venture out in the wilderness to look for her. Leader had left earlier that day to go on a 'mission' and had yet to return. Normally there was a curfew for them, but in this case, there really wasn't any hesitation, they had to go find her.
Long story short, she had actually gotten lost because she was chased by a whole bunch of Sabertusks and Reapertails and couldn't find her way back. When they finally found her, she was actually fending off the daemons with rocks on the ground and a couple of branches that were just laying around. Though she had managed to kill quite a few on her own, she was clearly on her last heels and if Nyx hadn't actually jumped right in front of her and tanked a bite from the Sabertusk for her, who knew what would have happened? Libertus had taken that opening and leapt onto the damn thing, stabbing it with his dagger.
Before the other daemons could react, they had hightailed it out of there with Nyx carrying the girl in his arms. The last thing they needed was for a damn Iron Giant to spawn out of nowhere and slice them to bits. As they were running, Nyx could feel the girl clutch to him tightly, with trails of wet liquid running down his arms. At first, he thought it was just the blood, but then he heard whimpering. Glancing down, he was absolutely shocked to see tears just streaming down the girls' face.
"I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…"
Till this day, Nyx could still remember the first words that came out of Crowe's mouth. Heart-wrenching didn't even begin to describe what he felt since it reminded him too much of his own sister. When they finally reached camp, their Leader was seen waiting for them by the camp, as though expecting this to happen. All this time, the girl simply kept crying and apologizing.
They would later find out (after all the wounds were bandaged and everyone was safe and sound) that she was sorry because she didn't bring any wood back. Not because she was scared for her life, not because she almost died, but because she had failed them in her mind.
Libertus went over and gave her a hug immediately and proclaimed himself to be her big brother from that point on. Nyx nodded his head in the affirmative when she looked at him, as though wondering what his opinion was. That was when their Leader declared them to be a 'family', which was the motto that supported the three of them till today.
"She needed actions, not words. Whatever I said at that time would mean nothing to her. The poor girl had been lied to, beaten and abused to the point where she felt she needed to leave her 'haven'. The only alternative was the wilderness where she could be killed any second, and yet she chose to venture out. What does that tell you about her experiences?"
"She had to see for herself that we weren't going to use her for any other purpose and that we treat her like one of us. If you guys had gotten the message quicker, then it wouldn't have taken so long! Now make sure you remember this: Understanding why someone does something is far more useful than figuring out how someone does something. If you gain this skill, you've gotten yourself a vital survival tool in this world."
Their 'esteemed' Leader, had expected two young boys to read that deeply into a girl's emotional state and react accordingly. He shouldn't even be surprised; their Leader was just that weird.
"Alright, since you're up and ready, let's take a look at you eh?" Naruto's words shook him out of his reverie, indirectly saving him from Crowe's wrath.
"I'm actually feeling great at this point, much… lighter?"
"Yeah you would. You've been 'purified' with all that burning, remember?"
Crowe winced at that, "That was honestly the freakiest thing I've seen so far. You were literally on fire, with ashes peeling off your skin every five seconds."
"Don't need to tell me that again. I'm still trying to get over the fact that I survived that."
"Heh, don't get too happy yet. We're going to have to retrain your entire body once you've recovered. For now, lie down and get some more rest. The journey ahead of us is just beginning."
"Leader," struggling to get up, Nyx continued, "I feel fine! We can start the training now. Just give me a few minutes."
"Oh no, you don't! Sit your ass down!" The brunette looked at him in disbelief, before forcing her hands on his chest, pushing him back into bed. "Don't you even think about pushing yourself like that. Your muscles are all out of whack right now, I'm surprised you can even move!"
"Always with the exaggeration, it's not that bad – "
"Come on Nyx, with you, it always is that bad."
"We still have time Nyx, don't worry." Naruto grinned, "It'll be awhile before we officially move out anyway. Luna should be fine for now so we can use the next few days to condition and then move on to proper training."
Nyx finally lost the 'battle' with Crowe and fell helplessly back onto the bed, "If you say so, Leader."
"Aw, don't look so upset. You'll love the training menu!" The glee in his voice sounded way too familiar for Nyx's liking. Too many memories of sadistic training (aka torture) came to mind.
"Wait, why are you so happy about it?"
"Oh, no reason really." The vulpine smirk on his leader's face didn't help at all.
"Crowe, you know something, don't you?" Knowing he wasn't going to get much out of the blond, he turned to the only other source of info at the moment.
The brunette rolled her eyes, "Fine, I was going to wait till later to break it to you, but if you're so eager to know," Sending a hand through her hair, Crowe gave a resigned sigh, "We're currently based near Cape Caem. Basically, in a month's time, max, we need to prepare ourselves on a journey to Altissia." For some reason, she stopped there, not wanting to continue.
"Okay…? That's it?" The confusion was real.
Silence was what greeted him as he awaited a response, "Alright, so that's not it. What crazy scheme is he cooking up this time?"
There was just something about the extreme reluctance in Crowe releasing that information that sent shivers down his spine. Surely, whatever it was, it couldn't be that bad.
"Go on Crowe, tell him how you guys are going to get to Altissia." The chirp in his voice sounded like pure evil at that moment.
"What do you mean how we're going to get to –" Realization hit him as he stared right into the brunette's eyes, "You can't be serious."
"… Unfortunately, yes."
"And you're okay with that?!" The incredulity in his voice couldn't go up any more octaves.
"No. But does it look like I have a choice?"
"Well I don't see you helping me convince him that he's utterly insane!"
"Do you think I haven't tried?! What did you think I was doing for the past three days!"
Closing his eyes and counting to ten, he took a deep breath, before asking, "Libertus isn't going, right?"
"No, his leg won't let him. He's currently out gathering information for us, having a chat with a few of the locals to map out this area. I've told him to give it a rest but he kept saying it's the least he could do for us while we… we… prepare… to… to…" It almost seemed as if physical pain was preventing her from finishing that sentence.
At this point, he already knew what they were expected to do. No wonder Leader was being all lenient and letting him rest. Heck, he didn't even know if it was possible for him at this stage. Crowe, he assumed, would be able to use some form of magic to assist her hopefully, since there was no way he could foresee her doing it otherwise. As for him, it'll require a lot of preparation.
"Don't worry about it Nyx, I'll make sure you're ready for it." How is it that Leader just had this ability to annoy/frustrate/irritate him just by being there?
"Wow that's just mean, even for you."
Says the man that expected them to swim to Altissia.
~ ***** XV ***** ~
"Ehhhhhh? What do you mean Chocobos are not for rental?" The dismay in Prompto's voice was clear as day. After all, it had taken him quite a long time to convince (aka beg) the crew to come to Wiz Chocobo Post so that they could ride some Chocobos.
"It'll be a good distraction, just for a little while!"
"Well, it figures something like this would happen." Gladiolus shook his head as Wiz began explaining apologetically to the group that there was a behemoth in the region that kept preying on their Chocobos and it just wasn't safe for them to be rented anymore.
Surprisingly, it was Ignis who came up with the suggestion, "So, if we were to rid you of that Behemoth, we would be able to rent Chocobos again?"
"Oooh! Ignis!" The blond hopped up and down whilst waving his arms in excitement, "Aww yeah! Let's do it!"
"Wait, wait, wait, what? I thought we're going to Lestallum!" His sister was there after all, and the sooner he saw her safe, the faster he'll be at ease.
"Awww, but, but think of the poor Chocobos! At this rate, they'll be kept here forever, unable to run free in the wild and they'll all end up dying in sorrow! I didn't think you would be that cruel, big guy!" The fact that Prompto was jabbing his finger into Gladiolus' chest with each sentence emphasized just how much he wanted to do the hunt.
"What? No, I didn't mean that," Staring helplessly back at the blond, he turned to the Prince for help, "Well, Noctis? What do you say?"
Said Prince was currently staring at the hunt poster in thought, "Hm, what do you reckon Ignis? Should we do it?"
The tactician of the team glanced over to see Prompto giving him the 'puppy-eye' look, before nodding, "If we kill this 'Deadeye', we get the meat, a sizeable amount of gil and also the ability to rent Chocobos in the future. The only downside is we need to spend a bit of time, but in this case, I reckon the pros outweigh the cons."
Running a hand through his spiky black hair, Noctis turned around and gave the Chocobo Post owner, Wiz, a thumbs up, "Alright, it's settled then. Don't worry old man, we'll get this thing sorted before you know it!" Waving to the final two members of the group, he pointed to their destination, "Let's go slay ourselves a Behemoth!"
"Woohoo! Right on!" To say Prompto was ecstatic would be an understatement.
~ ***** XV ***** ~
"Is there really a need to rush?" A certain fox grumbled unhappily.
They were currently travelling to the Disc of Cauthess to rouse Titan in an attempt to get him to form a covenant with Noctis to aid him on his journey. Knowing that group of knuckleheads, it wouldn't be surprising if they got into a situation that had all of them on the edge of dying, so for the sake of her beloved fiancée, Luna was doing all she could to ensure she didn't marry a dead person.
Well, that was what Kurama said. The huge blush on the Oracle's face when he muttered that was followed by a shy smack on his head, which the fox did not appreciate.
"Why do I get punished for speaking the truth?!"
According to her, all she wanted to do was ensure that 'Noctis-sama' was ready when the time came, and that he would need the Astrals on his side in order to combat the Empire.
"Sure, sure, but that just sounds boring. Let's go with my version of events. It has more credibility to the general public."
Needless to say, the poor girl was teased the whole way on their journey, interacting the same way they've had for the last fifteen or so years. Since a young age, the Princess had already started having 'visions' of the future, learning about the Starscourge and communing with the Astrals. An Oracle didn't have friends, because she served a noble purpose for the whole of Eos, and no one was to jeopardize her 'mission' whatsoever.
It didn't help that everyone would just stare at her in awe every single time she so much as looked at them. Being the kind, gentle girl that she was, not once did she complain about anything. Her mother doted on her as much as she could, understanding the burden that she would one day have to carry, and her beloved brother would entertain her in all ways possible, because the sight of a sad Lunafreya was just heart-wrenching to anyone.
Things changed on that fateful day, when her visions started blurring. It was as though the timeline was being changed and new possibilities were being added. For every ending that involved Starscourge engulfing Eos, she saw two others of the same person successfully erasing it. That person used to be unrecognizable, but had slowly grown clearer over the years in her 'visions'. It didn't take long for her to figure out that it was Prince Noctis from Lucis. King Regis had visited them before on a political trip and the young kid made quite the impression on her with his never-ending energy. Though their meeting was short, Lunafreya had thoroughly enjoyed the Prince's presence and was just glad to have made her first friend.
The next time they met however, was a few years later when King Regis and Noctis visited once again, this time with the young Prince more subdued. His mother had passed away recently, protecting him from a daemon before King Regis and his subordinates could get to them in time. It was a tragic event, one that thoroughly destroyed the Prince's spirits. His eyes lacked any warmth and his entire being just reeked of apathy, as though nothing in this world mattered anymore.
She had tried her best to encourage him, and explain to him the wonders of life, because she knew the reason why King Regis had brought him here. Noctis was the Chosen One, the one she kept seeing in her visions, the one that was meant to destroy Starscourge and rid Eos of the darkness that was to come.
The Prince had been receptive to her and her alone, and that endeared him to her even more. The memories she had of him then were some that she would never forget, for those were definitely some of the happiest moments in her life.
"Oi, stop drifting off while I'm talking to you." A disgruntled fox mumbled by her side.
Lunafreya blinked as she looked down, "Ah, sorry Kurama-san, I didn't mean to ignore you."
"I swear, how can you still be so polite when all I've been doing is bitching about random stuff the whole time?!"
"Ah, sorry, sorry, sorry." Attempting to placate him, the Oracle started apologizing, though the action only seemed to intensify the fox's negative emotions.
"Gaaaaah! How can anyone be so nice?! How do you even attain such purity in your soul?!"
For someone who's spent ages (literally) with a blond that has pretty much exhibited and experienced all emotions of mankind, it was pretty baffling for Kurama to constantly be treated 'nicely'. One thing about Naruto was that he gave good banter. There was just nothing better than talking shit to your best pal every now and then. It served as good motivation, improved your bond and acted as a good way to pass time.
With Luna, there was none of that. None.
"But we're friends Kurama-san, why wouldn't I be nice to you?" The gentle smile on her face proved too bright for the sinned soul of the mighty Bijuu.
"I swear you do that to me on purpose." There was just no way for him to retort. He just didn't understand! Any other girl would have complained about something by now. One just did not shoulder the burden of the world (again, literally) and went about their lives as though nothing changed! Kurama had been trying to get some form of outburst from her for years without success. Pretty much every time Naruto came to visit them, he spent an hour or so grumbling to the blond about how he better work his ass off to ensure the girl was safe, or else.
"Hehe," Chuckling, she reached down and gave the mumbling fox a warm hug, "I'm fine Kurama-san. I know you're worried about me, but I'm fine. Besides, you were the one who told me not to worry, right?" A playful tint entered her cerulean orbs as she smiled, "Or are you not going to protect me anymore?"
"WHAT?! Hell no! I'll protect you from this damn world if I have to. Let them come! I dare them! I'll rip those bastards' heads off! That'll teach them to mess with my Luna!"
It was pretty clear at this stage Kurama was this uncle that you would always have that would care about you but had no idea how to really express it apart from trying to motivate you via tough love, yet couldn't bear to see anything bad happen to you at all. It just so happens he's currently a pet, which made it even more hilarious if anyone were to stumble upon this scene.
Secretly, Luna would never tell Kurama (because he would get mad again), but she really loved the fox in his Chibi-form. Never mind how majestic he actually was, the fact that she could cuddle with him at any time plus these sorts of tirade he would have every now just made her love him even more. She couldn't begin to imagine what it would be like without him by her side.
"You wouldn't have to do any of this shit if that stupid Prince stepped up his game already!"
Ah yes, one important thing to note: Kurama didn't really like Noctis. In his eyes, the Prince was a lazy, no-good, stupid, idiotic, pathetic, weak, cry-baby, papa's boy, rude, arrogant, useless piece of… you know what.
The fox really didn't hold back his dislike for the Prince, aiming to bite him at least once each time he saw him. Noctis still got shivers every time he saw anything that resembled a fox. Talk about childhood phobias.
Giggling at the raging fox, she gave him a light kiss on the head as they continued on their climb to meet the Titan, "Thank you Kurama-san."
"Keh! I'm not doing this for you! I'm just… just… just upset that, you know, a good girl like you has to do all the work!" Naruto would be the first one to tell you that Kurama was a bit of a tsundere.
"I know, and that's why I said 'thank you'."
"Well… well good!"
A peaceful silence continued for a few moments before Kurama started again, "But yeah, why do we have to rush?"
~ ***** XV ***** ~
"Ah-choo!" A certain Prince had been sneezing non-stop for the past few minutes.
"SHHHHH!" Which really wasn't ideal when you were supposed to be following a Behemoth.
"Oi Noctis, don't tell me you're catching a cold? I didn't train you to become a weakling who doesn't know how to take care of his own body."
"Did you forget to put on a blanket before you slept last night?"
"Shut up! I'm not a kid oi, just leave me alone! Someone must be talking about me!"
"Ooooh, maybe it's Lunafreya-sama!"
Urgh, knowing my luck, it's probably that crazy fox she's got with her… argh, let's not go there…
"Yeah right. I still don't see what she sees in this sorry ass."
Before Noctis could retort that he wasn't some 'sorry ass', Ignis gave the next instruction.
"Gladiolus, take point, we're about to reach the clearing."
"Gotcha."
It had taken them ages to finally follow Deadeye back to its resting place. With all the fog in place, it wasn't too difficult to follow but it sure took a while. On the plus side, Prompto did manage to take a few photos when the lighting allowed, so at the very least, they'll have something to commemorate this trip with and something to talk about when they meet up with Iris.
"Man, that's a lot of barrels." The beast had finally stopped as it reached its destination, which was really just a cliff that it seemed to use as its bed. However, all around the place, were oil barrels scattered haphazardly.
"Hm…" Noctis rubbed his chin as his mind came to a quick conclusion, "So Ignis, you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"We've got some barbeque sauce in the car." As expected of the tactician, simple and precise answers always.
"Gladio, you mind tanking the hit for us?"
"Only if I get the biggest serving." Cue roll of eyes.
"You get the biggest serving every time anyway, since you're the biggest out of all of us."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's do this!" With a wave of his hand, his trusted Greatsword shimmered into view.
"Prompto, make sure you get a nice photo when the fireworks go off, yeah?"
"Leave it to me, Noctis!"
"Let's see, how many magic flasks have we got again?"
"About five."
"Cool. Alright, let's move out."
Thus, began the hunt for Deadeye, also known as Operation: Dinner.
"Have we got some mayonnaise too?"
~ ***** XV ***** ~
He had been meditating for quite some time now, and it just felt good to be able to feel Nature once more. Heavens know it took way too long before he reached this point, not to mention all the stuff he had to work on before he got back to this stage, but it was worth it.
Nyx was still resting and Crowe was in her room, working on a few of the scrolls he gave her. Now that she couldn't rely on the King's magic, she needed to somehow harness the elemental energies in order to fulfill the 'mage' role in the team. With the Empire owning all sorts of anti-magic armor, it wasn't a bad idea to not be able to use 'magic'. No one said anything about melting them with fire though. The 'magic' that the Empire were used to was different to the 'elements' that Naruto was used to. He had discovered that fact quite early on.
The problem was him not being able to figure out what exactly was different. The elements in this world just didn't feel right. He couldn't even get in touch with Nature when he first arrived in this place. Everything was just off, in terms of feel. He could use chakra (thank goodness), but he could only use it to enhance himself. He could barely hold a Rasengan for five seconds to start off.
It wasn't even his control though. There was something else at work that was dissipating any energy that he exuded. It almost felt like decay, only at a way faster rate. His chakra was being dissolved in thin air somehow, and he couldn't figure out why.
Luckily for him, he still had his Taijutsu, speed and Fuinjutsu, so he was still badass, but against infinite numbers of robots, there was only so much Taijutsu could do before he tired out. He wasn't even exaggerating, the Empire literally had infinite numbers of robots. They were somehow able to pump out one every second it felt like. On top of that, he had killed the Chancellor in every way imaginable over the last few years but the guy would just regenerate using that disgusting energy of his and look perfectly normal the next minute.
Like what was up with that? He had fought immortals before but this was just sad.
Make no mistake, he made sure that insufferable asshole didn't get any satisfaction either, because he never once suffered any injury from the Chancellor himself. Any cuts, grazes and scars were only because he was overwhelmed by the robots. It was a good thing anti-magic fields don't work on his Hiraishin seals, because otherwise, he would have been mince-meat on quite a number of occasions.
In every encounter so far, half the frustration was having to go through dozens and dozens of robots before even being able to reach the Chancellor, the other half was obviously having the Chancellor revive every single time. He had stopped bothering to try since a few years ago, preferring instead to try and figure out how to combat the Chancellor's ability. Why waste time tackling a problem you couldn't solve? It wasn't like they could catch him anyway.
He was labeled 'MIA' after he actively cut off communications with Lucis. It was the easiest way to send Regis the signal. The Chancellor knew what his chakra felt like now and seemed to be a good sensor. Had he rushed back to Lucis, then the war would have started too early. He couldn't really send a letter either, since the Empire pretty much controls the entire mail service. Kurama was stationed with Lunafreya at all times so he couldn't use him (not that Kurama would have agreed to doing it anyway). He would rather not risk using Umbra and Pryna if possible since he was pretty sure the Chancellor knows about the 'messaging' that was going on between Luna and Noctis. Though why he chose to let that happen was beyond him at this point.
By the King's order, Cor had been trying to locate him ever since, but he knew it was just Regis' way of keeping him out of harm's way. The Lucis King needed Cor to be there for Noctis when he eventually took over the throne.
"Sigh… If only I had Shikamaru to break it all down for me, then I wouldn't have to use my brain so much." Rubbing his eyes as he came out of meditation, the blond gave a yawn as he took in the sunset.
"I didn't know you had a brain." A teasing voice sounded behind him as a breeze of iciness saturated the area.
"Gee, thanks Gentiana. Love you too." Turning around to face the Glacial Queen, the blond deadpanned, "It's good to feel appreciated by you."
"I aim to please." Her emerald eyes twinkled in amusement before she gave him a light hug, "It's good to see you again."
Grinning, Naruto returned the hug with an extra 'oomph' by lifting her off the ground and spinning her in circles, eliciting delighted laughter from the goddess, "Oh you rascal, put me down."
Needless to say, the blond didn't comply with her wishes and the spinning continued. Neither seemed to mind though, because it had been some time since they've seen each other. Gentiana knew where he was but understood how important it was for him to solve the problem by himself. Naruto knew that as well and was grateful for her trusting him in the process.
"Did you miss me?"
"Still cheeky as ever, I see."
"So, that's a yes?" Cerulean eyes filled with mirth as he stared into those emerald orbs, "Oooh, have I finally managed to 'unfreeze' you?"
Shaking her head at the only male since Ifrit to have the audacity to flirt with her, she flicked him on the nose playfully, before whispering in affection, "Not a chance."
~ ***** XV ***** ~
"I can't believe you guys actually did it! Thank you so much!" To say Wiz was happy was an understatement. These young kids weren't half bad! He hadn't held much hope when they said they would take the hunt and was honestly quite worried when they still weren't back by dusk, but when they appeared with huge chunks of meat behind them and a photo to show the dead Behemoth, he was beyond ecstatic!
"No, we should be thanking you for letting us use your cooking facilities, we really appreciate it." Polite and impeccable as ever, Ignis gave the man a charming smile.
"Yeah! Thanks old man! This meat tastes gooood!" Prompto was busy shoving as much food down his throat as possible considering he hadn't eaten anything since that morning.
"Welp, it has been awhile since we had barbecue, so I guess this trip was worth it after all." Gladiolus chugged down a mug of booze as he eyed the chunk of meat in front of them, "But damn, with the number of explosions that happened, I didn't think we need to cook it anymore."
When they had engaged Deadeye, it was a simple tactic. Gladiolus had aggroed it, drawing its entire attention onto him, before smashing its head in with Dawnhammer to stun it temporarily. Ignis and Noctis proceeded to rain triple-casting Fira down on its ass using their magical flasks and when the oil barrels around them exploded upon combustion, Prompto was ready with his camera to take down the beautiful display.
Great teamwork that led to a one hundred to zero combo. Very satisfying indeed.
"Haha! Well then, since Deadeye has been taken care of, I'm happy to say that Rent-a-Chocobo is back in service! Since you guys were so kind to help us out, the first seven days will be free of charge!"
"Whoa really?! Ano sa, ano sa! Can we pick which Chocobos to use?" Needless to say, the blond was the most excited of the bunch since he was the one to suggest even coming here in the first place.
"Of course you can! I'm sure they'll be happy to meet you too! Feel free to visit them after your meal!"
"YAY! Did you hear that Noctis?! We can choose our very own Chocobos!"
"Calm down you idiot," Said Prince could only laugh at the enthusiasm his friend was currently exuding, "They're not really 'ours', you know that right?"
"Detail, details! Who cares! Oh, I'm so excited!"
"Baaaaka, weren't you just saying how tired you were an hour ago? Where is all this energy coming from?"
"Chocobo is love! Chocobo is life!"
"Here we go again…" Gladiolus shared a similar look of exasperation with Ignis, before both started laughing along with the rest of the group.
In that moment, they all forgot the pain and sorrow that had plagued the crew for the last few days, if only for a little while. This reminded them that whatever pain may come, it seemed that at the end of the day, they would be just fine.
"Ah! Gladio! You're hogging all the good stuff to yourself!"
"Of course! We agreed I would get the biggest serving, right?"
"Are you kidding me, that's way too big!"
"Prompto, you're going to choke if you keep that pace up."
"Wah? No, I'm fwine. Nom nom nom."
"Ignis! Don't just sit there, help me wrestle this big guy!"
"Yare, yare."
Yes, everything will be just fine.
~ ***** XV ***** ~
No I won't be afraid, just as long as you stand by me
~ ***** XV ***** ~
A/N: Mainly backstory. Will elaborate more on Naruto & Kurama next chap.
Leave a review for your thoughts. Cheers guys.