And we're back!
Holy crap, a month passed faster than I expected…This chapter was started a while ago, but I've been making slow progress on it.
Don't worry, I now know the difference between "desert" and "dessert"! One of them has an extra "s" in it!
I decided I didn't want to deal with it (As in writing it and the inevitable complaining), so until further notice, there is no pairing.
Anyways, on with the story!
I don't own Naruto, Final Fantasy VII, or anything else. I'm just a broke college student…
Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."
Normal Thinking: 'Insert witty remark here.'
Bijū/Deity Talking in Naruto's Head: "Insert witty remark here."
Bijū/Deity Thinking in Naruto's Head: 'Insert witty remark here.'
Scene Change: Insert Place Here
Jutsu/Technique: Insert Jutsu Here
Streets of Wutai (Two Months Later)
"Okay, so we didn't find anything."
"Again."
"But we were closer!"
"I don't think we were."
"Plus, we got an adventure out of it!"
"All we did was explore the shopping district...We did that two weeks ago."
"And that makes today a success in my book!"
"But we didn't accomplish the goal."
"And you know what?"
"No, but I think I've spent enough time around you by now to know that you will tell me."
"We'll find one tomorrow. I'm sure of it!"
"You don't know that."
"It's only a matter of time!"
"It doesn't matter how much time we spend if there's nothing there to find."
"So don't lose faith."
"I didn't think this was going to work from the start, so no worries. I don't have any less faith from earlier."
"I'll lead us through this!"
"I can say anything I want right now, and you wouldn't even notice, would you?"
"That's the spirit!"
Naruto shook his head with an exasperated smile as he and Yuffie walked down the village streets after yet another materia hunt. One that yielded no results, just like all the other ones before it.
Two months had gone by since Naruto met the hyperactive girl, and he had yet to go two days in a row without Yuffie showing up and pulling him into whatever activity she had decided that they would do for the day. Many days, Yuffie declared that they would search for materia, but they had yet to find anything. Although that wasn't a surprise, given where they were searching most of the time.
Naruto still didn't understand why Yuffie was positive that they would find something in the backyards of some villagers.
But despite the often ridiculous ideas for search areas that Yuffie came up with, even he had to admit that it was slightly strange that they hadn't found a single materia yet. Based on what he knew, it actually wasn't that uncommon to find a materia in the occasional odd location for whatever reason. Materia sometimes got picked up and moved by animals, only to wind up in a bird's nest or something...Which they have definitely searched before.
The blond had made more than one bird angry as a result.
However, regardless of that, they had yet to actually find a materia. In fact, Naruto was beginning to suspect that Yuffie's invisible guards were the reason for that. The guards must have been ordered to move ahead of them and do a quick search for any possible materia, and then remove them before Yuffie could get her hands on them.
Admittedly, Naruto could see where they were coming from.
Yuffie was still only six, and he appeared to not be much older than that. So it would be stupid to let them get a materia -an item that can be used as a legitimate weapon- without any training or obvious supervision.
So in the end, most of their materia searches turned into a day of scouring whatever random location Yuffie pointed at before she eventually called it quits. Naruto had to give her credit though, she had yet to give up on finding a materia.
Other days, Yuffie would come to him and decide that they would spend the day training in the clearing where they had met. That was another thing that Naruto was impressed with when it came to Yuffie.
She wasn't prodigious, but she was definitely relatively skilled for her age. Her biggest problem was not lashing out too quickly and ending up with throwing whatever she could at her opponent-in other words, at him.
To Naruto's irritation, Kurama had claimed that was yet another thing she had in common with the blond, more so when he was younger.
When they had sparred for the first time, Naruto had held back of course, but he still found it incredibly simple to subdue the girl. When she had gotten back up with a scowl and demanded a rematch, Yuffie glared -pouted- at him for several minutes before grinning like mad and declaring that it only made sense for her partner to be incredibly skilled.
It took a lot of restraint for Naruto to not mention that Yuffie had previously said that he wasn't on her level yet.
Naruto helped her where he could, frequently advising her to better protect an unguarded part of her body or to not rush in too quickly. When it came to hand to hand combat, Naruto noticed that she had the beginnings of some unfamiliar style, so he wouldn't be able to help her much there. Instead, he spent much of time training with her using kunai and shuriken, along with giving her actual experience against an opponent that wasn't a training dummy.
The blond never fully showed how skilled he was, both for the reason of not wanting to show Yuffie everything and because both he and Kurama knew that there were always people watching them.
Given who she was, the fact that they were at war, and that Naruto could still be a potential spy, it only made sense for Godo to not leave Yuffie unsupervised with Naruto. The blond ignored the out of sight watchers, deciding that if they didn't bother him, he wouldn't bother them. Although he wasn't sure if Yuffie knew they were there or not.
However, instead of the invisible guards every day, there were occasional days when the imperial guard with the x-shaped scar would come and watch. On those days, the other guards never watched from the shadows, so Naruto supposed that whoever the captain was, he was skilled and trusted enough to watch over Yuffie on his own.
When that happened, the man would simply stand off to the side in a spot that was out of the way and observe neutrally, as opposed to hiding out of sight. He never said much, opting to do no more than greet the him upon arriving with Yuffie and then saying farewell when it got late, but there were still times when Naruto could feel his gaze on the back of his head.
Overall, Naruto had been enjoying the time he spent with Yuffie, finding her company relaxing and as a chance to have some fun. Although whenever Kurama spoke about it, he sounded as though it was torture. But Naruto knew that the giant fox was starting to get used to the girl.
...At least he was vaguely sure.
As for Naruto's personal training, he had yet to make any grand breakthroughs with his new chakra, much to Kurama's amusement, but he was getting closer.
The last time he tried, he managed to reduce the expulsion of smoke down to that of a sealing scroll, so that's a plus!
Pulling himself back to the present, Naruto saw that Yuffie still had yet to notice that he hadn't been listening to her as she talked. 'Huh...I probably still have another couple of minutes.' He estimated.
"Hello, Yuffie!" A shopkeeper called as they passed. "And the same to you, Naruto! Finished with another day of playing?" Yuffie grinned and waved to the man, Naruto nodding in greeting with a smile next to her.
Thankfully, having spent two months being tugged around by Yuffie and interacting with them, most of the villagers had grown accustomed to seeing him. It had become common knowledge that wherever one of them was, the other most likely was somewhere nearby as well. Naruto knew that many of them were still a little curious about him, but they no longer sent suspicious and wary glances his way. In fact, even the guards were slowly starting to let up around him. Whenever they were on their way back from whatever they did for the day, Naruto would the ones that followed them giving him and Yuffie some space. And if they were close to her home or in a crowded area, then they would leave entirely.
"We weren't playing! We were hunting!" Yuffie insisted, making the man laugh.
"Of course, of course. My mistake." He replied. "Any luck today?"
Yuffie pouted. "Ugh, no. We still didn't find anything!"
The shopkeeper nodded, obviously amused by the girl. "Well, be sure to keep at it. I'm sure you'll find something eventually. Finding materia can be hard work."
Hearing this, a thoughtful look formed on Yuffie's face, drawing Naruto's attention. "What's wrong?"
Shaking her head, Yuffie spoke up. "We keep searching for materia, but we still haven't found one. I know we eventually will, but I wanna hurry up and do it! I'm super excited about it!" She blinked. "Are we doing something wrong? Is that why we haven't found one?"
The blond chuckled. "I've been telling you for a while now that a lot of the places you want us to look in aren't the right kind of spots."
She blinked at him. "Huh? You haven't told me that." Naruto rolled his eyes. A grin formed on Yuffie's face. "So? Where do we need to look?" The blond was about to answer, but a sudden wave of apprehension on his senses caught his attention.
'This is…'
From his mind, he heard Kurama growl. "It's the fleshbag manning the stall." The bijū said. "He's about to pull something."
The man laughed, but Naruto was able to pick up how tense it was compared to the previous one. "To find a natural materia, the best place to look are around mako springs. Materia is crystallized mako, so that only makes sense." He explained. "Besides that, materia can be found in cave systems. Off the top of my head, those are the two best spots to look for natural materia. If you don't want to look, you can just buy some at a store. A lot of stores sell some kind of materia."
"Oh...Then not in a park?" Yuffie asked.
"Only if someone or something else moved it there, which is possible." Naruto answered, still keeping an eye on the man.
Yuffie slowly nodded. "Okay...Is there a good place near here we can check?" Her eyes shone in excitement. "Naruto! We should totally do that tomorrow!" Suddenly, the man's apprehension spiked, this time mixed with some malice. Unseen by the man or Yuffie, Naruto began to prepare himself to either attack or defend as needed.
"Hm…" The man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, some buddies of mine who run shops that sell materia sometimes tell me about where they get the stuff. Apparently, not all of it is shipped in. In fact, they sometimes go out to find some themselves."
It was at that point that Naruto's eyes widened slightly, getting an idea of what the man was about to attempt. "Really?!" Yuffie gasped. "Where?! You have to tell us!"
"Hold on Yuffie." Naruto interjected, ignoring the wave of irritation that the man sent his way. "If there is a place like that, then it is probably outside of the village. In case you've forgotten, leaving it is a bad idea." He reminded her. 'Damn it. There aren't any guards nearby…'
Instead of listening, Yuffie waved him off. "Psh. Let's at least hear about it, Naruto! This could be just the thing we need!" She turned back to the shopkeeper, nearly bouncing up and down in her excitement. "Now come on! Where can we find materia?!"
The man grinned widely at her as Naruto glared at him. "According to my friends, there's this cave just outside of the village that has a small pool of mako. It's a good spot to go to find new natural materia every once in a while. They were planning on making another trip in about a week or two, so the cave probably has something there about now. They will get it then." The more the man spoke, the more Naruto felt his apprehension fade away and turn into malice and greed.
"Not if we get it first!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Where is the cave?!"
"Yuffie, we can't go there." Naruto hissed, but was ignored again.
"You know the waterfall that feeds into the village's river system?" An eager nod. "They told me that the cave is behind it, hidden by the falls. It's pretty easy to get to." Deciding that enough was enough, Naruto grabbed Yuffie by the hand and began to drag her away.
Yuffie blinked at the sudden move. "Huh? Hey, wait!"
"Yeah, thanks! We'll think about checking it out!" He called back to the man.
"Naruto! I wasn't done talking!" Yuffie said.
"Yes, you were." Naruto replied forcefully.
"You should just kill the fool and be done with it!" Kurama snarled.
'For what? He didn't do anything illegal!' Naruto said angrily. 'There's nothing illegal about talking to kids or sharing apparent rumors.'
"We both know what he was trying to do!"
'But we can't prove it!'
Naruto was pulled out of the conversation when Yuffie freed herself from his grip. Turning to face him, she glared. "What's the big deal? That was some good info!"
The blond shook his head. "Yuffie, I know what you're thinking, but going there is a bad idea. Like I said, leaving the village boundaries is out of the question. Especially to go explore some cave!"
"We wouldn't be going far!" Yuffie protested. "We could go there and be back super quick!"
"Or, something could go wrong 'super quick'!"
Huffing, Yuffie turned away and crossed her arms. "You're my partner. It's your duty to support my decisions!"
"Being your partner also means that I need to tell you when something is a bad idea." Naruto retorted. "And what you want to do is a bad idea!" She opened her mouth again, but Naruto didn't give her the chance to say anything. "Yuffie, please. Let's not go to that cave. I have a bad feeling about it. If you really want to go, then let's get some guards to come with us."
Yuffie glanced over her shoulder at him and stared for a moment. Eventually, she nodded with a grin. "Okay then! We won't go to the cave tomorrow!" She agreed.
Hearing this, Naruto quirked an eyebrow at her with a small frown. "...So you agree that we're not going there?" He asked warily.
"Yep!"
"Just like that?"
"You got it!"
"Bullshit/Bullshit.' Naruto and Kurama said together. There's no way that she would completely give up on the idea that easily.
The young girl's grin widened. "Okay! I'm calling it a day for now, Naruto!" She declared. "Starting tomorrow, we're going to continue the search!"
"Wait, hold on. Yuffie, we-" Naruto began.
"Great! See you tomorrow!" Cutting him off like she normally did, Yuffie whirled around and sped down the street, heading back home.
For several long seconds, Naruto didn't do anything but stand there and stare after her. Eventually, he sighed with an amused smile. "...Never mind then." He would just talk her out of it when she came to find him tomorrow.
The Forest Clearing (The Next Day)
"She's late…" Naruto muttered, glancing at the sky to check the position of the sun again. It was the next day, and he was sitting on a branch in the single tree in the clearing.
"She is." Kurama agreed. "And you stating that every other minute isn't going to miraculously make her show up."
Naruto frowned. "But she is never this late. And if she was going to not show up today, then a guard would have come and told me."
"Or maybe the brat's lessons are taking longer than they should today?" Kurama offered. "Whatever the case, it is no reason for you to prevent me from sleeping."
Feeling increasingly worried, Naruto hopped down to the ground. "I'm going to check on her." He decided, getting Kurama to release a groan of irritation.
"Why? There is every chance that she is simply running late!"
"There's also a chance that something happened." Naruto shot back. "If I'm being paranoid, then big deal. I'll just sit around and wait for her to finish whatever it is that she's doing." He said as he left the clearing.
Soon, Naruto had made it into the village and was dashing through the streets. He noticed multiple people send surprised looks his way, but he ignored them all, opting to focus on weaving through the crowds. After a few minutes, he spotted his destination up ahead.
Out of all the homes in the village, it was obvious which one belonged to the Kisaragi family. After all, not only was it the largest, but it was also the only one with both a wall surrounding it and guards stationed around the clock. To top it off, in comparison to the other homes, it was the size of a mansion.
Suddenly feeling slightly nervous, Naruto ran towards the gate, where two guards stood at attention. This was actually the first time Naruto had ever gotten close the home, so he wasn't sure how this was going to go.
It was obvious when the guards spotted him due to the sudden tensing of their shoulders and both of their heads tracking his approach. Once he was a few feet away, the guard on the left called out to him. "Stop. You are coming upon the private property of the Kisaragi family. Identify yourself and state your business."
Naruto offered them a hesitant smile. "Hi, my name is Naruto! I'm Yuffie's friend. She didn't show up today like she usually did, so I came to see why."
The guard who had spoken frowned slightly. "Naruto…?" He repeated before looking him over again before glancing to his partner. "Isn't that the name of…?" He muttered.
The other guard nodded slowly. "I think it is…" He raised his voice. "We know who you are, but Lady Yuffie did not express that she was expecting any visitors."
"Like I said, she didn't come meet me today, so I came here instead." Naruto repeated. "...So can I…?" He gestured towards the gate, but he frowned when they shook their heads.
"Unless expressly stated that you have permission to enter, we cannot allow you through." The first guard said, making Naruto groan.
"Fine, but then can you check to see how much longer she will be?" He asked. "Or pass a message that I'm out here waiting for her?"
"It's fine, I can answer him." The sudden inclusion of a new voice prompted all eyes to snap to the gate, where the guard with the x-shaped scar was standing.
Seeing him, both of the gate guards snapped salutes. "Sir!" They greeted as the captain opened the gate and stepped through.
The man nodded to them before giving Naruto a small smile. "Lady Yuffie finished her lessons about an hour ago. After that, she retired to her room. She said that she informed you yesterday that the two of you wouldn't meet up today."
A pool of dread was beginning to form in Naruto's stomach. "We never decided that. She told me that she would meet up with me today like usual." 'She didn't…'
"I think she did…"
Hearing this, the captain's smile slowly slipped into a frown. "But that's…" He stiffened and whirled around. "Follow me, Naruto." He ordered.
Naruto scrambled to follow the man as he walked briskly towards the home. Because of their difference in size, Naruto was forced to a light jog as the man quickly made his way to wherever they were going. "Lady Yuffie didn't tell you that she wouldn't be meeting you, today?" The man captain asked, getting a shake of the head.
"No, she didn't." Naruto said. "She told me that she would meet me today." He glanced up at the man. "…She told you that we agreed not to meet?" As they walked, Naruto looked around, taking in their surroundings. They had passed several guards and other personnel through the halls, but after seeing the captain's frown, all of them stepped out of the way, although most of them sent curious eyes Naruto's way.
The captain nodded with a frown. "Yes, she did. She said that you two were taking a break today." He turned down another hall. "Because of that, no guard was sent to inform you. We thought you knew that." Finally, they came to a stop in front of a pair of sliding doors. Knocking on them, the captain spoke up. "Lady Yuffie? I need to speak with you." They waited in silence for several moments. "Lady Yuffie, it's Kenshin. Please open the door."
"She's not in there." Kurama determined.
Still not getting a response, Kenshin's frown deepened. "Lady Yuffie, I'm coming in." With that, he grasped the doors and pulled them apart. "Damn…" He muttered, walking into the room.
From his spot next to Kenshin, Naruto scanned the bedroom. "Seriously, Yuffie? I told you not to go." He said under his breath.
Suddenly, Kenshin's attention snapped to the blond. "Naruto, what do you know about this? Where did she go?"
Naruto blinked. "…Wait, you're not suspecting me of anything?"
Kenshin momentarily smiled at him. "No, I'm not. I think I've seen enough of you to understand that you don't mean any harm. You're a good kid, and most of the people in the village know that by now." His smile faded away. "But back to the matter at hand, please tell me what you can."
Nodding, Naruto spoke up. "After another failed search yesterday, Yuffie and I were called out to by a shopkeeper in the village. When we told him that we haven't been having any luck, he suddenly got tense. He then told us about this one cave behind the waterfall that leads into the village's rivers. According to him, there's a good chance to find some materia there. I kept trying to talk Yuffie into leaving the information, but she wouldn't listen. It got to the point that I had to drag her away." He paused and locked eyes with Kenshin. "…I think that man wanted Yuffie to leave the village and go to the cave. He got mad when I tried to convince Yuffie it was a bad idea."
The more he heard, the more Kenshin's frown became more prominent, until he was outright scowling. When Naruto finished, he walked to the still open door. "Guards!" He barked, and Naruto was somewhat impressed by how quickly a pair of guards showed up. Kenshin pointed to one of them. "Gather a team and prepare to move out! We're heading out of the village into a possible combat and rescue scenario! You have ten minutes to meet me at the gate!" The man nodded before dashing off. Moving to the next, Kenshin continued. "You will be informing Lord Godo of the situation and then lead a team to find the man responsible." He gestured for Naruto to step forward. "Naruto will tell you who it was and then you will do so."
"Yes, sir!"
"Good." Kenshin turned back to Naruto with a small smile, but it was strained. "I apologize for this, Naruto, but I'm afraid this is where we part ways. Please tell him what you told me." He nodded and turned to leave.
Before he could take more than a step, Naruto stopped him. "Wait, I'm coming too!" He declared.
Hearing this, Kenshin immediately shook his head. "No, you're not. It's too dangerous. You've already done wonderfully simply by acting when you felt something was wrong. Leave the rest to us."
"But-"
"That's final." Kenshin cut him off. Not giving him a chance to speak any further, the captain left the room, Naruto glaring after him.
After Kenshin left, the remaining guard spoke. "The captain is right, kid. This isn't the time for playing ninja. Please tell me what you know."
Naruto scowled. 'Playing ninja? Who the hell is playing?!' Attempting to pull in his anger, Naruto quickly told the guard what he knew, down to the time of day and where the shopkeeper was. As he spoke, Naruto became increasingly agitated by the fact that he was standing around while Yuffie could be in trouble. Once he had gotten what he wanted, the guard thanked Naruto and swiftly left to complete the rest of his orders.
"You're not seriously going to sit around and wait for them to take care of it, are you?" Kurama asked resignedly, but Naruto noted the lack of disapproval in his tone.
'Hell no!' Naruto answered and walked out of the room and made his way toward the exit. 'A friend of mine is in danger. There's no way I'm going to sit around and do nothing.' Naruto declared. 'Yuffie already has an hour head start. The guards should be moving out soon, but we don't know how long it will take them to get there. If I leave now, I might beat them there, and every second could count.'
Kurama snorted. "Remember, you don't know what you're up against. And you're still in a weakened state."
Instead of becoming more worried, Naruto actually smirked. 'Heh, that just means it will be even better when I kick some ass.'
"Ha! True enough!" Kurama growled in anticipation as Naruto finally exited the property. "Very well. If this needs to be done, then we might as well show our superiority. No mercy!"
'Glad to have your support.' With that, Naruto sprinted down the street, shocking the nearby people with his speed.
Falls of the Leviathan (A Little Later)
Naruto came to a stop behind a boulder near the falls, successfully staying out of immediate sight. Silencing his movements, he slowly peeked his head out and scanned the area. For a small moment, he allowed himself to be impressed by the sheer size of the falls. Up ahead of him was a wall of rock that was nearly as stall as the Hokage and spanned the length of it, but every inch of the wall as submerged by roaring water that pooled into a reservoir at the bottom. Finding the spot had been easy, for all he needed to do was follow the river upstream until he found the source.
Not seeing anyone, he dashed out and ran along the bank until he came upon the wall of rock. Because of how big the waterfall was and the speed that the water was shooting over the edge, there was a sizable gap between the falling water and the parallel cliff. Naruto blinked when he noticed that there was also a small path that went behind the waterfall.
"The jackass did say that the cave was hidden by the waterfall…" He muttered as he began to walk. It took a minute of walking in silence, but the rock wall soon indented in on itself until it formed a wide gap that led deeper in. Frowning, Naruto peered into the cave, noting how it sloped downwards, leading deeper into the ground. "This must be it…" Suddenly, his eyes came to a stop upon an object laying on the damp ground ahead of him. Eyes widening, Naruto ran up to the item and kneeled down to pick it up. Now that he was holding it, he confirmed his suspicions and scowled down at it.
Clutched in his hand was Yuffie's headband.
"Yuffie…" He growled, worry and anger warring within him. She went anywhere without this thing, always opting to wear it.
"Calm down." Kurama ordered. "This simply means that she really did come here, nothing more. Don't jump to conclusions."
Naruto took a deep breath and pocketed the headband. 'Right.' Not seeing anything else around him, Naruto continued deeper into the cave, making sure to move as quietly as he could as he went.
"Pay attention to your surroundings." Kurama growled.
'I know.' As he moved through the twisting tunnel, Naruto's eyes scanned every part of the tunnel, not wanting to miss anything. A minute later, he was glad that he was paying so much attention to his surroundings, otherwise he would have missed the abrupt way that the path sloped down. Taking a moment to assess the path, he stepped forward and slid down the slant, balancing himself so he could do so while standing. 'How deep do you think this thing goes?' He asked.
"No clue." The bijū responded. "Probably a good ways." Naruto hummed in agreement as he came to a stop at the bottom of the slope. Glancing around showed him that he had entered a cavern, but he frowned when he saw that there were multiple diverging caves spread throughout the area, each heading in different directions. The entire area was surprisingly well lit due to the occasional glowing crystal protruding from random surfaces. "And if what we're seeing is any indication, then it may be harder than we thought to find them."
'Damn. It's times like this that I'm really hating my crappy chakra control.' Naruto sighed. One of the biggest losses was that Naruto couldn't simply spam clones to make the search easier, like he did back when he was swallowed by the Isobu. Now, Naruto could barely make fifty clones, and that was with Kurama's help!
"Stop complaining. Even ten clones will be more than enough." Kurama huffed. "Now hurry up and make the seal. The sooner we find them, the sooner we can get out of here."
'Fair enough…' Placing his hands together, Naruto waited for Kurama to give him the go ahead. "Shadow Clone Jutsu." With a puff of smoke, Naruto was surrounded by a dozen clones. Nodding, Naruto gestured to the tunnels. "I want six teams of two to check out the caves. Pop if you find something and be sure to stay out of sight." Knowing that the situation was serious, the clones saluted before immediately pairing off and dashing away to follow orders. "That hopefully won't take too much time…" Not having anything else to do, Naruto decided to walk around the cavern, trying to find any clues as to what happened. '...Why do you think that guy did this?'
"Tch. Probably because he was bribed to." Kurama scoffed. "Greed is a powerful motivator, no matter who you are. Given the incentive, is it really too hard to think that betrayal is a possibility? Such a thing is common in humans."
Naruto sighed. That was probably correct, but just wished that wasn't the case here. He had occasionally seen such a thing back in the Elemental Nations, but Naruto never understood why a person would do it.
And to willingly put a young girl into danger for your own greed? That marked you as one of the worst pieces of trash imaginable in Naruto's book.
Shaking his head to rid himself of the increasingly angry thoughts, Naruto instead focused on a glowing crystal sticking out from the ground in front of him. Looking it over, Naruto guessed that it was easily the size of an adult, and was big enough so that he couldn't even wrap his arms halfway around it. Taking a step closer, Naruto released a quiet gasp as he came within reaching distance of the crystal. 'This is…'
Kurama rumbled from within his mind. "That thing has the Lifestream running through it, doesn't it?"
The blond nodded. 'Yeah, I couldn't feel it at first because it's so faint, but it's definitely there.' Hesitantly, he reached out a hand and placed it on the crystal. To his surprise, this action made the gentle glow of the crystal grow to new levels, and Naruto felt a comforting warmth creep up his arm. Naruto smiled at the feeling as it reminded him of his time in the Lifestream. Deciding to test something, Naruto closed his eyes and focused on the part of the Lifestream coursing through the crystal, mingling with the portion in his own body. His smile grew when the glow became even brighter and he heard the sound of giggling echo in his head.
"Naruto, move!" Alarmed, Naruto did as instructed without question, leaping to the side.
Not even a second later, something crashed down onto the spot he had been standing in. "I told you to pay attention to your surroundings!" Kurama snarled, but Naruto knew the bijū was frustrated that he had also momentarily let his guard down. Frowning, Naruto slowly reached for a kunai as he eyed the creature in front of him.
Growling at him was a monster that resembled a large dog, but it was definitely more dangerous than that. The monster was a strange mix of skinny and power, as while the side of its body showed ribs, its front legs were bulging with muscles. The entire body of the monster was pitch black, making it harder to see in the dim lighting, and protruding from its upper back was a strange, orange tail that ended in a point. Both of the monster's empty silver eyes were trained on Naruto. Hearing growling behind him, Naruto glanced over his shoulder, confirming that another monster dog was behind him.
'What the hell are these things? I haven't seen monsters like these before…' Naruto turned his body so that the monsters were on either side of him, not wanting to let one be behind him. He crouched in preparation, knowing that they were about to attack him. Seeing their target show signs of a fight, both monsters snarled and got ready to pounce.
"Oh, like hell!" Kurama roared. The next second, the entire cavern was flooded with the killing intent of the strongest bijū. The result was immediate; both monsters stilled completely and their eyes widened in fear. At the same time, they let out a terrified whimper. "These mutts need to learn who the alpha is!" Kurama raged.
Naruto let an amused smirk spread across his lips, but it soon faded when the monsters visibly shook themselves free of their fear and started to creep towards him again. 'I don't think they care too much…'
"And that will be their fatal mistake." The anger in Kurama's voice was clear. "It seems like even common dogs kept as pets are smarter than these things. Kill them. Now."
'Don't need to tell me twice…' Without warning, Naruto dashed towards the dog that had attacked him. Surprised by the rush, the monster was unable to get out of the way in time to avoid the kunai that stabbed into the side of its skull. Not bothering to watch its body fall to the ground, Naruto yanked out the kunai and whirled around, hurling it straight at the second monster. This time, the dog proved to be alert enough to jump out of the way in time, but it didn't manage to do so for the following kunai that pierced right between its eyes.
The blond nodded in satisfaction as the monster hit the ground. "That was easy…" He muttered, retrieving his kunai. Suddenly, Naruto was hit by a rush of memories from one of his clones, soon followed by a couple more. "There are more of them…" Each of the groups had been attacked by monsters, with every monster being the same type as the two he just killed.
"That isn't normal." Kurama said. "Maybe a few, but to have this many monsters spread out throughout the cave system? And each group of monsters laying in wait at the end of each path, as if for a small search party? The two you just killed were stupid, painfully so. They wouldn't be able to coordinate something like systematic ambushes."
'Someone else is directing them.' Naruto concluded.
"Exactly." Suddenly, the blond was hit with the memories of another clone, but this one wasn't reporting about monsters. "And now we know who."
Scowling, Naruto spun around and ran into a tunnel on his right. After a few minutes of running, he decreased his speed when he spotted the tunnel ending opening out into another cavern. As he crept closer to the end of the tunnel, Naruto made sure to silence himself completely. Hugging the wall, Naruto slowly poked his head out.
The tunnel he came from granted him an expansive view of the entire cavern, from the crystals spread throughout it to the gathering of people next to the underground lake on the other side. Crouching low, Naruto scanned the area to his immediate left, looking for the spot that his clones had found. A moment later, he found what he was looking for and started to sneak over to it, making sure to stay out of sight by using the natural rock formations in the cave.
Soon, Naruto found himself scaling up a wall of rock. When he neared the top of the small cliff, an identical face to his own popped out over the edge. "Grab on, boss." His clone whispered, reaching a hand out. Grabbing it, Naruto let himself be pulled up by his clone before nodding in thanks, allowing the clone to dispel.
After he assimilated the memories, Naruto turned his eyes back towards the other people in the cavern, only to frown when he couldn't make out Yuffie from where he was. Deciding to get closer, Naruto crept along the ledge, thankful that it spanned the entirety of the room. When he started to pick up the sounds of conversation, Naruto got down onto his stomach and crawled over to the edge.
From his new position, he was nearly directly above the group, but they still hadn't spotted him. Now that he was closer, Naruto took in a feature of their appearance he hadn't noticed from the other side of the cave.
Each of them were wearing Wutai soldier armor.
This new knowledge made Naruto scowl. 'So these guys are traitors, too? They would lure out and kidnap one of their own?' That made things even worse than he had initially thought. The group was made up of fifteen men, each of them sporting Wutai gear. There were also a few of those monster dogs resting a little ways away.
"When I get out of this, you guys are so gonna be sorry!" Instantly, Naruto's eyes snapped over to the side. He felt relief flood him when he saw that an unharmed Yuffie was placed on top of a small outcropping off to the side. The six-year-old was clearly infuriated by the ropes that were binding her, but Naruto didn't see any signs of injury on her body.
One of the men snorted. "That's the eighth time you've said that, but you're still tied up, brat." He said dismissively, not bothering to look up from sharpening his sword as he spoke.
"That's 'cause it's true!" Yuffie shouted. "You've picked a fight with the best ninja in Wutai! You should be begging me for forgiveness!" She turned her head away and stuck her nose into the air. "If you ask nicely, then maybe I won't kick your butts too badly."
Naruto didn't know whether to be amused or frustrated that even while held hostage, Yuffie refused to drop her bravado. He could easily hear the slight quiver in her voice, and if the expressions of the men were anything to go by, then so could they.
"Yeah, sure." Said another. He glanced to his comrades. "I'm sick of hearing her talk. Why don't we muzzle her?"
Yuffie scowled at him. "I'd like to see you try! You come any closer and I'll show you exactly how awesome I-"
"Enough!" One of them snapped, making the girl flinch. He marched over to Yuffie and Naruto's heart nearly stopped when he pulled a knife out from its secure spot on his thigh and held it up to her neck.
Seeing this, Naruto made to leap over down there and intervene, but Kurama stopped him. "Don't! Stay where you are!"
'He's going to kill her!' Naruto snarled, but still remained in place.
Knowing that he had to speak quickly, Kurama immediately refuted that. "No he won't. You don't take a hostage, only to kill them off before the negotiating party even arrives, especially not a hostage as important as the daughter of the leader of their nation."
'You don't know that!'
"Naruto, think! You've been trained for situations like this since you were six! You're an idiot, but even you know the drill for a hostage situation!"
'I…' Clenching a fest, Naruto settled back down on the ground. He knew Kurama was right. Acting rashly now would only get Yuffie seriously hurt. '...Sorry.'
"Tch. I just didn't want to deal with your whining if something the little brat." Kurama huffed, prompting a halfhearted smile to appear on Naruto's face.
Yuffie froze in terror at the feeling of cold metal pressing against her, and her eyes nearly doubled in size. Seeing this, the man holding her at knife-point smirked cruelly. "There, that's better." He trailed the tip of the blade along her neck and up the side of her face. "If you don't want to be stabbed like a real ninja, then shut the hell up. Understand?" Lower lip quivering, Yuffie nodded slightly. "Good." To both Naruto and Yuffie's relief, he retracted the knife. His goal accomplished, he turned back to the others. "You see? That wasn't so hard." He was greeted with a couple of amused chuckles.
Behind the man, Yuffie's frame started to tremble, but only Naruto noticed. It was getting harder and harder not to rush down there with each passing moment, but Kurama repeatedly reminding him not to helped him remain in place.
"Focus on something else."
'Like what? What could I possibly focus on that besides what's right in front of me?'
Naruto felt irritation seep through their link. "How about the fact that there is someone else in here? Someone hidden?"
The blond blinked at this. 'Wait, seriously? I didn't see anyone when I first got here, and neither did my clones! Are you sure?'
Kurama growled. "Yes, I'm certain. This person is unusually skilled in masking their presence, but it is impossible to mask one's emotions and feelings."
Cerulean eyes scanned the vicinity, attempting to spot the other observer. 'So? This person is giving off ill intent? Because if they are, I can't feel it.'
"No, not exactly. It was brief, but I picked up irritation when that one piece of trash threatened the brat with a knife." Kurama said. "They were...irritated that she was put at risk. There, over by the lake. On the other side of the huge stalagmite. They're hiding in the shadows."
'Another enemy?'
"Probably, but this one doesn't seem to want to make himself known. I don't even know if the men in front of us are aware that they are there."
'...I'll keep an eye out for them, but I won't start anything if they don't. If they felt irritated that Yuffie was threatened, then that at least means that they don't want her to get hurt...Right?'
"Could be…"
After a few more minutes, Naruto found himself growing frustrated as he scanned the area again. 'Where the hell are the reinforcements?' He hissed in his mind. Were they really that slow in getting here? Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps from the other side of the cavern drew everyone's attention. Naruto smiled faintly at the sight of Kenshin leading several imperial guards into the cavern. 'Finally.' Naruto's eyes widened in shock when he spotted the unmistakable form of Godo Kisaragi next to Kenshin. This was the first time that Naruto had seen the man in person, but he still recognized the leader of Wutai. Standing in his own armor, Godo struck an imposing image, strongly reminding Naruto of some of the older shinobi he had met when they got serious.
"Yes, finally." Kurama huffed. "They took too much time in getting here."
Once they reached the center of the cavern, Godo raised a hand, signaling for his men to stop. Because of his helmet, Naruto couldn't see the redhead's eyes, but he could tell that his mouth was set into a grim frown. With the arrival of the newcomers, the kidnappers all turned to face them.
After a minute of silence, Godo spoke up. "...Where is she?" His voice was soft, but there was an undeniable edge of steel in it.
The man holding the knife smirked and reached out towards Yuffie. Said girl released a startled yelp when she was unceremoniously grabbed by the back of her vest and held up. "Right here." The apparent leader replied.
"...Daddy…" Yuffie whimpered. Seeing her whole and unharmed, Godo's eyes momentarily softened and he nodded to her. But the next moment, they were back to the furious orbs they had been and locked with the eyes of the man holding her.
"I've come personally, just as your message instructed." Godo announced. "Return my daughter...Now."
'Message? What message?'
"They probably got it from the fleshbag that put this stupid idea in the brat's head. Or if he had already fled, then they might have discovered one in the man's home."
The leader chuckled and roughly set Yuffie back down. "Oh? You think it's gonna be that easy?" He shook his head. "Sorry, but no dice." Naruto held back a shiver at the raw rage he felt coming from Godo, although Naruto wasn't sure if it was more from his daughter getting kidnapped or from his inability to do anything without risking Yuffie.
"What do you want? Why are you doing this?" Godo demanded.
With a sneer, the man spoke up. "What do we want? Well, that's simple, really." He gestured to his companions. "What we want is a leader who actually gives a shit about his people."
Godo frowned. "What are you saying? Do I not care for my people? Do I not do my best to lead you? Would I not lay my life down in an instant for my nation?"
"I don't know, would you?!" The man shouted. "We have been at war for over six years now, but we are no closer to repelling those Shinra bastards than we were when this entire thing started! In fact, we are close to losing!"
"The enemy is strong. To defeat them takes time, so winning within a day is impossible." Godo responded. "But we cannot lose hope. Wutai is strong, just like her people. By fighting amongst ourselves, we do our enemy's job for them. We must stay united."
The leader barked a sardonic laugh. "United? United?! As if you have any right to say that! While you sit back and relax in your palace, eating fine food and surrounded by loved ones, our brothers and sisters are being slaughtered! How is that united?!"
Hearing this, Godo's frown deepened. "What would you have me do? Lead every battle myself? I must direct the war, and I can hardly do that if I'm on a battlefield. Do not think I do care for the lives lost. Every drop of blood spilled hurts me as if it were my own."
"Bullshit! You don't care about the people under your rule! You'll sacrifice us all to get what you want!"
'That's what this is about?' Naruto growled internally. 'They did this because they think he doesn't care about his soldiers? Of course he does!'
"Shinra is slowly getting closer and closer to wiping us all out, and yet you still do nothing!" The man continued. "You'll lead us all to our deaths!"
Naruto felt some frustration coming from Godo. "As I've said, the enemy is not to be taken lightly. It's been a long and difficult war, and I wish for it to end as much as the next." Godo glanced to Yuffie. "But taking my daughter doesn't help anyone. If anything, you are only doing more damage by creating internal conflict." He locked eyes with the man. "If you return her now, then I swear that none of you will be harmed. We can still work this out without the loss of any lives. If you tell me your concerns, then I can work towards fixing them."
The blond blinked. 'He's...He really doesn't want to anyone getting hurt. Even after they kidnapped his daughter, he is still giving them a chance to back down…' Naruto knew that Godo wouldn't hesitate to personally cut them all down if they so much as implied that they were going to hurt Yuffie, but he was surprised that Godo was giving them a chance at all.
"He's a fool! They threatened his child and rebelled against their leader! They deserve no mercy!"
The leader appeared to think similarly to Kurama, for he scoffed. "It's too late for that. I've already lost people to this war, and more people are being lost as we speak."
"If it's too late for that, then what are you trying to accomplish here? Tell me, why have you kidnapped my daughter? Why are we here?" Godo demanded.
Shaking his head, the man spoke up. "You're leading this country towards ruin, but the situation is still salvageable. As much as I hate to admit it, with their superior weapons, numbers, resources, and technology, it is only a matter of time before Shinra overwhelms us. We can't win this war...Not anymore."
"So what are you saying?" Godo asked angrily. "You want me to surrender? To give into Shinra's demands? Because if that is what you're saying, then you're a fool. We are Wutai, we do not roll over and die when told to." The soldiers behind him gave small nods.
"Admirable, but potentially foolish." Naruto opted to stay silent.
"And that's why you're here." The leader sneered. In contrast to the pride coming from Godo's men, the group of kidnappers appeared to be disgusted. "I know there's no way that you would ever open your eyes to the truth, not when you're so blinded by pride and idiocy. And like a good herd of chocobo, the rest of Wutai will follow your example." He pointed his knife at Godo. "But if we kill off the biggest idiot, then the rest will crumble."
Godo's eyes narrowed. "So that's your goal? To kill me?"
"It is indeed, Lord Godo." The man spat. "It was so nice of you to come here personally." It was then that the soldiers noticed that the monster dogs had been silently moving to surround them. "If you want your daughter back, then you will have to kill us."
"You can't possibly think that you will get out of here alive." Godo retorted. "You do this, and your fates will be sealed."
The man laughed. "All of us came here knowing that. We accept it!" He twirled his knife around. "But at the end of the day, it will be worth it." At this, the other men armed themselves, ready to fight. Responding to this, Godo's soldiers also readied themselves, making sure to remain aware of the monsters as well.
'This is about to get ugly…' Naruto prepared himself to move quickly if he had to.
"Now no more talking!" The man shouted. "This is the end of you, Godo!" With that shout, led the charge against the soldiers, the monsters taking that as the cue to pounce. Within seconds, the entire cavern was filled with the sounds of shouting, metal clashing against metal, and the growling of monsters.
"Now's your chance! The brat is unguarded!"
'I know!' Acting on the opportunity, Naruto leapt down from the ledge and landed on the ground. A second later, he was pulling out a kunai and jumping up onto the rock Yuffie was on. His sudden appearance made the scared girl flinch in shock before she registered who it was.
"N-Naruto?!" Yuffie said in disbelief. "What are you doing he-"
"No time!" Naruto hissed, cutting through her binds. Once she was free, he hoisted her to her feet and started pushing her to move. "We need to leave!"
"Wha?" She stuttered, confused. When she finally processed what was happening, her eyes widened. "W-Wait!" She protested, looking towards where her father was fighting. "What about-"
"They'll be fine!" Naruto cut her off. "They're goal is getting you out of here. So help them by leaving-ttebayo!" He ordered. "Staying here will only make it worse for them!"
Hearing this, Yuffie hesitated, but she then nodded and allowed herself to be pulled along. "Okay…" The two of them ran towards the tunnel that led back towards the exit.
Easily moving out of the way of a slash, movement from the corner of his eye caught Kenshin's attention. When he saw what it was, he was so surprised that he was nearly unable to parry the next attack. 'Naruto?! Did he follow us here?!' While he didn't like the fact that another child was present, he was thankful that the blond was getting Yuffie out of there.
Unfortunately, the leader of the kidnappers spotted the two of them at the same time. "What?!" He growled. Kicking the guard he was fighting in the stomach, he shouted. "The brat's escaping! Don't let her get away! I want her and that other brat dead!"
"Shit!" Naruto cursed, pulling Yuffie to make her move faster. Risking a glance back, he saw that while most of the kidnappers were still fighting, one of them broke off to chase them, taking a pair of monster dogs with him. While the monsters weren't too much of a problem, Naruto had no idea as to how strong the man was. Not only that, but he also had to make sure that Yuffie didn't get hurt. "Come on!" They ran into the tunnel, the enemies following.
"No!" Kenshin made to pursue, but he was headed off by an enemy. "I don't have time for you!"
As Naruto and Yuffie ran through the tunnel, Naruto was judging how close the pursuers were based on sound. 'They're getting closer!'
"Then run faster!"
'I can't!' Naruto shouted. The cave curved towards the right, and Naruto saw light coming from up ahead. Rethinking his knowledge of the cave's layout, he spoke up. "Yuffie, please tell me you have a few weapons on you!"
"U-Uh, I have a couple of shuriken!" She said. "Oh! And a smoke bomb or two!"
Naruto nodded. "Give me the smoke bomb!" He instructed. Hastily complying, Yuffie reached into her pouch as they ran and pulled out a small spherical object.
"Here!" She tossed it to him.
Catching it, Naruto devised a plan. "The room up ahead is too big for us to get to the other side before they catch up!"
"So what do we do?!"
"We have to fight back!" He said. "When I throw the smoke bomb, hide as quickly as you can behind one of the crystals in the room. They're big enough to block you from view. When we get the chance, we both need to attack at the same time. You take out one monster and I'll take out another. Then we finish the guy together! Keep your distance from the man and attack by using shuriken!"
"Will that work?!" Yuffie asked nervously.
Naruto smirked. "These things aren't that smart and their reaction time is pretty bad! And if we tag team him, we'll beat the man. I guarantee we can finish this in under a minute!" They were coming up on the end of that tunnel.
Yuffie swallowed, but she then gained a determined expression. "Got it! You can count on me!"
"Good!" He turned his attention forward again. "Here we go!" The moment they exited the tunnel, he spun around and threw the smoke bomb at the man. The ball exploded upon impact on his face, earning a sound of surprise as a large amount of smoke covered the area. "Hide!" Using the momentary cover, Naruto and Yuffie split up and sprinted over to different crystals, ducking out of view.
The next second, the two monsters and the kidnapper dashed out of the smoke, coming to a stop when they saw that their targets were gone. Scowling, the man looked around. "Find them." He ordered. Understanding the instructions, the two monsters started sniffing the ground.
'They can sniff us out?!' Naruto shouted in his mind. 'I thought that they just looked like dogs, not that they had the senses of one!'
"And that was an assumption you shouldn't have made."
'Oh yeah, then why didn't you figure that out?!' Naruto crept silently around the crystal, making sure to not press his back against it in fear of the making it glow.
"Tch. I thought that it was so obvious, that it was impossible to miss. But it seems that I had underestimated your stupidity...again."
Normally, Naruto would have fired off a curse at the bijū, but he decided that making sure he isn't found was more important. From what he could hear, the monster was slowly making its way to his crystal and would discover him at any moment. Knowing this meant they had to act quickly, Naruto looked over towards Yuffie and saw that she was looking back at him. Giving her a nod, Naruto slowly pulled out a pair of kunai. 'Kurama, where is the human?'
"From where you're facing now, he is at 7 o'clock and about twenty feet away." Kurama replied.
Mapping it out in his head, Naruto nodded. 'Alright…' He locked eyes with Yuffie again. This time, he held up a hand and started ticking down fingers. After the last one, the two of them simultaneously leapt out from behind their crystals and hurled their weapons before Naruto dashed at the shocked human.
The sudden attack did its job of surprising the monsters, allowing the kunai and shuriken to land successfully. Naruto watched as his monster immediately fell to the ground, but Yuffie's shuriken was slightly off target. Instead of piercing its forehead, the shuriken slashed one of its eyes and cut the side of its face, making it howl in a mixture of rage and pain. Cursing, Naruto tossed the kunai he had intended for the man at the monster, putting it down for good.
By then, the man had recovered enough to pull himself from his shock. He laughed at the sight of them. "What's this? The two of you actually want to fight me?" He pointed his sword at them. "Be my guest. Allow me to show you two that you can't just pretend to be strong!" He attacked.
Prepared for this, Naruto ducked under the slash meant for his neck, using his shorter frame to his advantage. Not wasting the chance, Naruto lunged at the man and planted a fist into his stomach. The man grunted at the surprising amount of force behind the blow, but was still able to kick at Naruto. The blond was thrown back a bit, but landed on his feet.
Glaring, Yuffie readied her next attack. "Naruto covered for me with the monster...but I won't miss again!" She declared, launching her shuriken at the preoccupied enemy.
The shuriken embedded into the man's side, making him shout in pain. "You damn brat!" She roared, turning to face the nervously smirking Yuffie. "I'll kill you!"
"Hey, moron!" The man was caught off guard by the voice coming from behind him, but before he could turn around, a kunai stabbed into his leg. Wounded, the man was forced down to his knee.
"Shit!" He hissed out. "Little bastard!" The man shouted. Acting quickly, he pulled something out of his pocket and aimed it at Naruto, making the blond's eyes widen in alarm when he saw what it was.
In the man's hand was a green orb.
'Crap!' Naruto made to move out of the way, but he wasn't fast enough.
"Aero!" The concentrated blast of wind fired from point-blank range slammed into Naruto's chest, hurtling him back. He only came to a stop when he slammed into a nearby crystal.
"Naruto!" Yuffie screamed, scared for her friend.
Wincing slightly, Naruto got back to his feet, using the crystal as a momentary support. "I'm fine!" He glared at the man. "It was just some wind!" 'Didn't think that he would have a materia…'
"And that was your error." Kurama growled.
The man chuckled. "You won't be 'fine' for much longer." He said menacingly. "I'm going to kill you both."
"I'd like to see you try!" Naruto shot back and dashed at the man.
Sneering, he aimed his materia at Naruto again. "Aero!" Ready for it this time, Naruto jumped to the side to avoid the spell and continued. Seeing this, the man quickly forced himself back to his feet, although he was leaning heavily on his other leg. Once Naruto was close enough, he slashed his sword down. The blond sidestepped the simple attack and got in close to him. Lashing out, he kicked the man's injured leg, aiming for his obvious weakness. "Guh! Screw you!" The man brought the sword back at Naruto, but it missed when the blond dove to the side.
"Hey! Leave him alone!" Yuffie's shout came a second before the girl leapt onto the man's back, startling both him and Naruto.
"What?! Get the hell off me!"
"No!" The man tried to shake her off, but Yuffie refused to let go, instead wrapping her arms around his neck.
Seeing this, Naruto smirked. 'That's one way to make an opening!' Using the chance, he lunged at the struggling pair. With the man preoccupied with Yuffie, Naruto was able to kick his leg again, earning a howl of pain as the man was forced down to his knee again. Following up on this, Naruto snatched up the fallen kunai and shouted to Yuffie. "Yuffie, move!"
"Okay!" Not questioning it, Yuffie let the man go and fell onto the ground, immediately moving to gain some distance between her and him. Now that she was out of the way, Naruto had a clear shot to the man's head. Not giving the man any time to recover, Naruto slammed the ring of the kunai into the man's temple, making sure to put in enough strength to knock him out.
Yuffie stared with wide eyes as the enemy crumpled to the cavern floor. "We...We did it?" She asked hesitantly. "Just like that? We won?"
Naruto smirked. "Just like that." He confirmed. "He didn't think that we could beat him, so he let his guard down." Naruto poked him with a foot. "Honestly, that could have been worse." No response. "...Yuffie?" He glanced back up at her, only to see her with her head lowered and her entire body shaking. "Yuffie?" Was the entire event starting to catch up with her?
"We…" Naruto took a step towards her. "We did it!" The abrupt shout startled Naruto to the point that he jumped a bit.
"Wha-?"
Before he could even blink, Yuffie had hugged him. "We totally did it! We beat the bad guy! We're awesome!" She shouted. Yuffie released him from the hug, but she then grabbed his hands and started to hop up and down excitedly.
Now understanding what was happening, Naruto smiled slightly in amusement. "Glad you're happy with this…"
"How could I not be?!" She asked. "We just beat the bad guy up, even though he is way older than us! This was our first mission as partners, and we were awesome!" Yuffie proclaimed.
"We only beat up a grunt and two monsters, not the leader or the rest of them…"
"Same thing!" Releasing his hands, she crossed her arms and nodded. "I knew this partnership would be effective. I'm such a genius."
"Ugh, I'm starting to wonder if we should have left her rescue to the guards."
Unlike Kurama, Naruto was grinning at Yuffie's antics. "Good to see that you're back to normal…" He paused as something came to mind. "Actually, hold on." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the item inside it. "Here, now you're back to normal!" He presented her headband to her.
Seeing it, Yuffie let out a gasp and snatched it up. "My headband!"
Naruto nodded. "I found it at the entrance of the cave. It's how I knew for sure that you were here."
Yuffie smiled as she looked it over, inspecting it for damage. "...Thanks...It was a present from my mom, so I was super mad when I realized it was gone." Not seeing any damage, she tied it to her head. "There!" She grinned at him, getting an identical one in return.
"Yuffie!" Hearing the new voice, both of them turned towards the tunnel they came from.
Seeing who had called her name, Yuffie beamed and waved. "Dad!" She called. Naruto took a step back as Godo Kisaragi ran up to his daughter and embraced her in a tight hug. "Ugh, dad!" She whined, but Naruto smiled when he noticed that she had tears in her eyes and was clinging to him just as tightly.
"Thank the gods, you're okay…" Godo breathed. He held her by the shoulders and looked her over. "You're not hurt anywhere?" It was at that point that Kenshin joined the group.
Shaking her head, Yuffie wiped her tears away. "Nope! Naruto and I totally kicked butt! I told you we're the best team ever!"
"You and Naruto did, hm?" For the first time since arriving, Godo's eyes left Yuffie and landed on the boy standing nearby. Not knowing how to react, Naruto smiled shyly.
"Hello, sir…" He fidgeted slightly when Godo continued to stare at him. "Um…"
Suddenly, Naruto was surprised to see Godo smile at him. "Hello. You're Naruto, eh? I've heard a lot about you." He nodded to the blond. "Thank you for helping Yuffie. That was a very brave thing to do." Godo glanced over to where Kenshin was standing. "You were even braver to do so despite the head of the imperial guards ordering you to stay put."
Naruto smiled slightly and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh, right…" He laughed weakly. "Sorry about that…"
Kenshin sighed and took off his helmet. "While I do not like the you put yourself in danger, I am also appreciative that you did so to help Lady Yuffie out of a dangerous situation. You are also unharmed?"
The blond shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Yuffie and I took care of the two monsters first before fighting the guy. Neither of us were ever harmed."
"Naruto was great!" Yuffie interjected. "He came up with a plan while we ran and then got in close to knock out that jerk! I mean, he totally couldn't have done it without me, but it was still pretty cool."
Godo chuckled at his daughter's antics. Now that he had confirmed that both she and Naruto were unharmed, his eyes grew colder and went to the unconscious man on the floor. Gesturing towards him, he spoke up. "Bind him and put him with the rest of the captives." He ordered.
Kenshin nodded. "Yes, sir." Walking over to the man, he glared down at him. "And this makes fifteen…"
Hearing this, Naruto blinked and made a small frown. "Fifteen…?" He repeated. "…There weren't any others?"
The other three people in the cavern gave him quizzical looks. "…No, no others." Godo responded. "We made sure we got them all. Not all of them are alive, but there are fifteen of them." He admitted. "Why?"
Naruto's frown deepened, but he shrugged. "…No reason, I just thought there were more of them."
Godo chuckled again. "Ah, I see. Yes, that can happen sometimes in the heat of the moment. Your mind may play tricks on you and make you perceive things slightly different, but once you calm back down, things become clearer."
"I guess so…" Naruto muttered. '…Kurama.'
"It's no good. I can't sense the last one anywhere. They're either gone or don't have any ill intent…I'm betting that they snuck out unnoticed when the chance arose."
'…We didn't notice them earlier until they threatened Yuffie, so it could be either.' Naruto mused. '…But either way, I don't think they will cause any problems now.'
"Hm, you're probably right…" Kurama rumbled.
The blond's attention was pulled back to the present when Godo spoke. "Now then, why don't we all return?" He proposed with a smile. "Yuffie, your mother has been worried sick about you since we were informed what happened, and I'm sure that us taking so long isn't helping matters." His attention went to Naruto. "And Naruto, I would like for you to come with us as well. I know that my wife would also like to thank you."
Naruto opened his mouth to object, but he was cut off by Yuffie's excited exclamation. "Awesome! This is gonna be the first time you come over to my house, Naruto!" She beamed. Seeing this, Naruto paused and then sighed with a small smile.
"…Okay. I'd be happy to come, Lord Godo."
Slipping out of the cave, a man glanced around before pulling out his PHS. Dialing the desired number, he waited for the call to connect. The moment it did, he spoke. "It's me."
"Was the mission a success?"
"No, it was a failure."
"What happened?"
"The fools didn't put enough thought into it. They opted to kidnap the girl and try to kill her father outright. They were confronted and defeated."
"Can a connection between you and them be made?"
"No, no one knew I was there. It cannot be traced back to us. And I was sure to plant the idea in their heads indirectly."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Did anything of substantial note happen?"
He paused, thinking back to the scene he witnessed.
"Well?"
"…No, nothing else to report."
"Then you are to return immediately."
"Understood." He hung up. Putting his PHS away, he glanced back into the cave. "That boy…" It was only for a bit, but he could have sworn that that crystal had glowed brighter when the boy was knocked into it. '…Is it possible…?' For the Lifestream to react to his presence like that would mean…
He shook his head, clearing it of such thoughts. It was irrelevant either way, so there was no point to dwelling on it.
With that, he turned and began walking away, being careful not to get his suit wet.
Kisaragi Household (Later)
"I was so worried!" Kasumi gushed, hugging her daughter.
"Mom…" Yuffie whined quietly, but like her father, she didn't resist the embrace.
Once she was satisfied, Kasumi pulled back, showing that she had tears in her eyes. "When the guard came and told us what happened, I thought…" She bit her lip. "And then when Godo had to leave, too…"
"Mom, I'm fine. Dad is too." Yuffie said. "I'm sorry for running off like that…I should have listened to Naruto when he tried telling me not to go…"
At this, Kasumi's eyes went to the last person in the room, who had been standing a little ways away in an attempt to give the family some privacy. "Oh, that's right." Now completely releasing Yuffie, Kasumi turned to Naruto with a smile. "Thank you for helping save my daughter."
Naruto blushed and averted his eyes. "I-It was nothing. I had to do something-Whoa!"
Not giving him any time to react, Kasumi gave Naruto a hug as well, prompting a deeper blush from him. "…No, you didn't have to do anything…But you did, so thank you." She said quietly. Unsure what to say, Naruto simply nodded. After a moment, Kasumi let him go and took a step back.
Now that his wife had finished, Godo cleared his throat. "Yuffie, what you did today was foolish and dangerous." Yuffie looked down, but didn't argue. "And while I can forgive you for occasionally slipping out into the village without telling anyone, you should have never left the boundaries of the village unattended. We are at war, Yuffie. Right now, other humans are a bigger threat than monsters, as you saw today. It was extremely fortunate that nothing happened to you. In addition to that, your friend was also in danger because he decided to follow you." Yuffie's eyes were tearing up, but she knew he was right. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"…I'm sorry." Yuffie whispered. Looking back, she was regretting her decision to ignore Naruto's advice more and more.
Godo stared at his daughter for a few more moments before sighing. "…However, today also showed me something else." Yuffie closed her eyes. "It showed me that you are not as safe as I had thought in the village. That there are people within our very borders who are willing to put you in danger…And it's because of that…" The corner of his mouth quirked up. "We are upping your training. I don't want you to be that helpless ever again, and the only way to fix that is to make you stronger."
Yuffie gaped at him. "S…Seriously?"
"Yes, seriously. Starting next week, we are reducing your theoretical lessons and increasing your physical training. I also want to start teaching you about materia. Because I don't want the first time you are exposed to an unfamiliar type to be on the battlefield, like today."
Hesitantly, Yuffie began to smile. "A-Awesome…!"
"Lastly…" Naruto blinked when Godo's gaze turned to him. "Naruto, I would like for you to train with Yuffie here as well. I know the two of you have already been training together, but I want for you to do more of it here. That way, the guards can keep an eye on you, and you have better access to anything you may need. From weapons, to materia, to even food. Is that okay?"
Stunned, Naruto nodded. "Um, yeah…That's fine." By that point, Kasumi was openly grinning.
"Yes!" Yuffie cheered. "This is gonna be awesome!"
"But…" And just like that, Yuffie froze. "There is still the matter of your punishment, Yuffie." Godo took great pleasure in his daughter's expression.
"W-What's my punishment…?" She began to tremble as Godo's smirk grew.
"Oh, you'll see. Kenshin will be the one issuing it to you, starting tomorrow morning." Yuffie whimpered.
"…This is gonna suck…"
No longer able to contain it, Kasumi burst into a fit of giggles, prompting Naruto to start chuckling.
There we go! All done with Chapter 4!
The monster dogs were Guard Hounds. You know, those super weak enemies that only serve a purpose as adds? Yeah, them.
Short (And unimpressive) fight, but it will get better. If you think that Naruto should have wasted him immediately, then it seems you missed the part when I openly stated that I nerfed him. If it helps, focus on the fact that a seven year old was a match for an adult.
Aero was a spell in Before Crisis, so don't tell me I can't use it in this universe.
Might be a time skip next chapter (As in probably…unless I think of something I want to add)
Review Responses!
Kairitrion Cerulean: Yeah, the current point in time is before Crisis Core. I'm doing a lot of double checking to make sure I have my events in order though. Ugh, I noticed that a while ago, but I never got around to fixing it. Thanks for reminding me!
Guest(2): What you say makes sense, but using that much game logic means that I have to do everything with game logic. That restricts me too much. I will mostly stick to game logic, but I won't think of things in terms of levels and numerical values.
2blu: Glad you like it so far. As for your questions, I think it's safe to say that I will probably have him fight some crew at some point (Whether or not it will be something like a spar or as enemies for some reason remain to be seen). As for your second question, summons are something I have been considering but need to think out a bit more. And thanks for answering my question!
flamelegendvargas: Glad I could convince you to give a shot! As for your question…Possibly? I dunno if I would completely agree with your logic behind sage mode (I think chakra is necessary), but I think I can make it work if I really want to. But that's something future me would decide.
DeadRequiem: WEAPON form, huh? Hm…I'll be honest, not in the immediate future (For obvious reasons), but I suppose it could happen. I haven't put serious thought into that, but it could work…
Cormin12: It hasn't been specifically stated, but yeah, he is whole.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!
Until next time,
Kog6943
