World Hoppers
Chapter 10 – Spira (Part 3)
Disclaimer – STOP FUCKIN SUING ME!! I don't own my SOCKS for Christ's sake!
Hey there boys and girls! It's the big 1-0, the tenth chapter! REMEMBER TO REVIEW ON THE ROMANCE POLL! LAST CHANCE!!
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Yuna stumbled out of the Chamber of the Fayth sweat dripping down her brow, and again Kimahri rushed to aid her. She had acquired her second Aeon, an animalistic beast of fire named 'Ifrit'.
"You did better this time! Only eight hours instead of a day." Naruto commented. "Now let's get out of here. We can have our talk on the ship to… Lookie? Larc?" he searched his memory for the name of the city.
"Luca." The magic-wielding native offered.
"Thanks. We can have our discussion on the way to Luca."
The party of six (Tidus was left in the Temple) left through the Cloister of Trials. The perils were unneeded on the way back, so did not activate as they made their way through the normally fiery chambers of the Kilika Cloister.
"Do you know how damn long you were in there?! EIGHT HOURS!! I was bored out of my fucking mind!" Obviously, Tidus was not pleased with the length of their stay in the 'Waiting Room' as Yoru had dubbed it.
"Relax Tidus; it's not much better in there. I think. You could've gone and fought some monsters if you wanted while we were stuck in that stone box." The former Kyuubi remarked as he began walking down the Kilika Temple stairway.
They passed the cracked platform where they had fought the Sinspawn known as Geneaux. Every Sinspawn was named and while Geneaux didn't last long it had still existed, thus earning itself a name.
The seven walked down the stairs and entered the jungle. The Fiends seemed a bit weaker than they had been prior to their battle with Geneaux. Tidus especially had an easier time fighting them. The weakest (a quick, lizard-like Fiend called 'Dinonix') now only took one slice to cleave it in twain.
The monsters of the Jungle behind them, the group of mismatched warriors marched through the rebuilt waterfront village to the new dock, where the S.S. Winno was waiting for them. The villagers sent them away with cheers and thanks for what they had done for the people of Kilika.
"Now," Yoru began once the entire party of seven was sitting up in the lookout area of the ship. "We have a goal to accomplish. Currently we know each other's strengths in battle. That's all fine and good but what do we; Tidus, my otouto and I know about all of you? What do you know about us?"
It was a good question. What did they know about the three outsiders? What did they know about their pasts, what they liked, what they couldn't stand? "I-I think I should start." Yuna's timid voice wavered through the air. "W-What should I talk about?"
"What do you like? What do you hate? Where are you from? Hobbies, dreams, things like that."
The brunette nodded. "Well, um… I like flowers and music. I don't like Sin, Fiends or heartless people. I was born in Bevelle, and Kimahri brought me to Besaid when my father, Lord Braska was killed defeating Sin. My hobbies… training I suppose. My dream is to bring hope back to Spira." She said firmly, determination in her eyes.
"Good, good. You'll be a fine leader. I can already tell many wonderful things about you. Wakka?"
"Hmm… I like Blitzball, training, and getting stronger as a Guardian. I don't like Sin, obviously, or people think that the Besaid Aurochs are hopeless because we never win. I was born on Besaid, and I don't remember my parents; they were killed by Sin when I was really young. My hobbies are playing Blitzball and protecting Yuna. My dream is to be a great Guardian like Sir Auron, and defeat Sin!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air for emphasis.
"You'll achieve your dream, I assure you. One day Wakka will be hailed as one of the greatest Guardians that ever lived. Where were we? Ah yes. Lulu?"
"I enjoy music, plays, reading and the outdoors. I dislike pompous people, Sin of course, and muscle-heads. I, like Wakka, was born on Besaid. My parents died close to the same time his did, and we were friends growing up. My hobbies would be learning new spells and training to be a better Guardian. My dream is to help Yuna defeat Sin."
"I think you're already a great Guardian!" Naruto interjected. "You're an essential part of this team and I don't think we'd be able to do this if you weren't here."
'Sounds like somebody's got a crush!' the Kitsune Hanyou thought. "I agree with Naruto-otouto. You are an essential part of our team, and a great Guardian in your own right. I think Kimahri's next."
"Kimahri likes music, Yuna. Doesn't like Sin, Fiends, people who hurt Yuna. Born on Mount Gagazet. Auron tell Kimahri to take Yuna to Besaid. Yuna not want Kimahri to leave her alone on Besaid, so Kimahri stay. Kimahri's hobbies are guarding Yuna, listening to birds. Kimahri's dream is to help Yuna's dream come true."
"Well aren't you a gentle giant! …I don't really have any other comment. I'm bad at the whole 'positive outlook' thing. Tidus?"
"Well ah... I like Blitzball, fighting Fiends and other stuff like that. I don't like assholes, my old man or people that look up to me just because of my old man. My hobbies are Blitzball and fighting Fiends I guess. I... Don't really have a dream. I was born... Should I tell them?" he asked the ages old Hanyou.
"If you tell them then we'll reveal our pasts too, but I think we can trust them. I say go for it." Naruto nervously nodded his agreement, and Tidus continued his personal introduction.
"I was born... in Zanarkand, a thousand years ago. My old man's name was Jecht, and he was the best Blitzball player of his time, but he was a total ass. One day, Sin attacked the city while I was playing the finals. I met up with Auron, and we fought some Sinscales and a Sinspawn. He led me to Sin, then said that 'my story was beginning. Then we got sucked into Sin."
"Y-You're saying you're from Zanarkand?! And you're from the past?! I'm sorry man, but that's hard to believe!" Wakka exclaimed.
"It's true! Naruto and Yoru believe me, and if you can't believe me then you're gonna think they're bat-shit crazy. Y'know what? Why don't you guys go? Tell them your stories," the blonde said firmly.
"Alright. I'll go first. My past I'll save for last. I like music, dark places, water and fire. I don't like people in general. Get them in a tough spot and most will leave you to die. My hobbies... contemplating the universe. I have long since given up on my dream. As for my past, you better get ready for a long story." he cleared his throat and closed his eyes.
"I, along with Naruto-otouto, was born in another universe. One much different and yet eerily similar to this one. My tale begins two thousand years before Naruto's. In the year 2237, the human race developed chakra. This chakra gave them the ability to do many wondrous things, like walking on water and shooting fire from their mouths. One hundred years later, special traits began appearing in families. My family, whose name I have long since abandoned, developed the Kekkei Genkai known as 'Oto'. Sound. Nearly any sound they made resulted in an explosion or gash in whatever was in front of them. For my family, this surfaced during puberty. I however was born with it, in 2414. Along with that, I developed the 'Otogan', the Sound Eye. You already know about that though. Because any sound I made gave birth to death, I was alone in a sound absorbing room for much of my life." the former Demon Lord recalled the woeful story of his life. It went on for nearly an hour, as he know had much more to tell. "We opened the door and arrived in the shallow waters of Besaid. You were there for the rest."
The empathetic Yuna was in tears just after he began his tale, and Lulu soon after. They had thought that life here, with the constant threat of death was hard. There, sitting before them was a man that had lived a life of loneliness and pain and come through it with his head held high. He told jokes and laughed like any other person. Acting like his life was perfect, he trudged through a life of regrets and self-doubt... and that only made the story more saddening.
"Now I believe that an emotional break is needed before you hear about my otouto's life." the young looking man stood and cracked his neck. "Anyone want a doughnut? They're good!" he grinned as a large package poofed into his hand.
Despite what they thought, the other five members of their party were much more relaxed after the pause in their emotional nose-dive. "Okay, I guess I'm last. I like ramen, the people that I can consider my friends, and my aniki, Yoru. I don't like people that refuse to learn, the person I once thought of as a brother, and a man named Orochimaru. My hobby would be training, and my dream... It was to become the Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato... But now I just want to be known and respected throughout the world where I was born. My story's not as long as Yoru-aniki's, but it's just as bad, if not worse."
"It begins on the day I was born. A Demon Lord, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, attacked my village, Konohagakure no Sato. My father, the Yondaime Hokage, protected the village by sealing it into me. He wanted me to be known as a hero, but the villagers saw me as the Kyuubi in human form." he continued his story through his graduation from the Konohagakure Shinobi Academy, his mission to Nami no Kuni, the Chunnin Exams and the Oto Invasion, the mission to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke, and the events that followed. All the way up to when he met Yoru. "...and the rest you've already heard."
His friends were rooted to their spot. Yuna was openly crying, hugging her furry Guardian. Tears fell down Lulu's face as she rose from her seat. She slowly walked to Naruto... and hugged him. The woman felt him tense. "Don't tell me... you've never gotten a hug?" she whispered into his ear. Receiving no response, she tightened her embrace. The black-draped Guardian had never felt so much sorrow for anyone; not even Yuna. The day was almost over, and it would soon be time for the party of seven to return to their cabins below deck.
The rest of the trip was spent in awkward silence, especially between Lulu and Naruto. Finally though, the veil seemed to lift a bit when they arrived in Luca. Wakka and Tidus were quite excited over the Blitzball tournament that they were participating in. That was really the only reason for going to Luca. The redhead was going to quit Blitzball after this tournament so that he could be one of Yuna's full-time Guardians.
They departed the S.S. Winno onto Dock Two. "Hurry!" Yuna exclaimed. "Maester Mika is arriving in the next dock!" they followed her to Dock Three, where a grand ship had made port. A long crimson carpet extended out from the ship and out into the waiting crowd. "It's Maester Mika's sixty-fifth year in office; a wondrous occasion!"
Those native to this world and age were quite energetic about the whole thing. Even Tidus was interested! The shinobi were not pleased at all. The Maesters controlled the world, but it hadn't progressed since Sin attacked. They were so locked into tradition that nothing was allowed to change. It reminded Naruto too much of the Hyuuga clan, and Yoru just didn't like traditions that hindered the practitioners' progress in any way. This list included almost every tradition in existence and one more wouldn't hurt it any.
"Is that… Seymour Guado?" someone near them asked.
The Hanyou turned to the natives and Yuna explained. "The Guado are another race on Spira. Around one month ago, Jyscal Guado; Seymour's father, died. Lord Jyscal was a Maester of Yevon, and his son inherited his title."
"That's retarded." Yoru commented.
"What do you mean?" The summoner asked, quite confused.
"I mean that idea is dumb as hell. Why should Seymour inherit the position just because his father was a Maester? Leadership isn't genetic!" he exclaimed.
"I suppose… but it's tradition!" Wakka whispered.
"Ah, the Seven Sacred Words of the Church. 'We've Never Done It That Way Before'. Don't get me started on 'tradition'." the Hanyou spat. Wakka had a rare streak of intelligence and dropped the subject before Yoru got too agitated.
The welcoming party ended as soon as it had begun and the onlookers dispersed, most likely to save a seat for the tournament. Yuna's Guardians left for the Aurochs locker room, where Tidus would be brought up to speed on the current rules of Blitzball. It seemed that the sport hadn't changed much in the thousand years since Tidus had lived in Zanarkand
The summoner soon rushed into the room bearing news. "Tidus! There's a rumor going around that Sir Auron has been seen at the café!"
"Really?!" he shouted, ecstatic at the notion of seeing someone he knew from his home. "Let's go!" the pair, along with Kimahri, Naruto and Yoru left the room.
"Wait!" Wakka yelled after them. "The game starts in like, half an hour!" but they were already too far away to hear him. "Damn it!" he swore. "If they don't come back in time we're on our own."
The group of five made their way to where the legendary Guardian had been seen. The small establishment was searched, but Auron was not in the immediate vicinity. That was when the trouble started. They had a small run-in with two of Kimahri's 'friends', Biran and Yenke. They taunted him about his broken horn, and small size compared to most other Ronso. To a human he was a giant, but the Guardian was more than a head shorter than his Ronso brethren. The minor threat passed when Naruto spoke. "Hey guys… Yuna's gone."
"What?! C'mon Kimahri, we gotta find her!" Tidus shouted, running out of the café and into the city square. "Damnit, where did she go?!"
"Where have you been?" Lulu yelled, jogging as best she could up to them. "The game's already started!"
"Yuna's been kidnapped!"
"What?! It must be the Al Bhed; they're using her to make Wakka throw the game!" the woman cursed.
"I think you people take Blitzball a little too seriously. Kidnapping someone as important as a Summoner just to win a game? That's some serious shit right there." Yoru shook his head in exasperation. "In any case, we need to get to the Al Bhed's dock. It's number four if I remember right. And it seems that I am." He said as they approached the wall of boxes blocking the fastest path to dock four.
They made their way from dock one to dock four, fighting robotic guards that the Al Bhed had placed to hinder their arrival. With Lulu's lightning spell it didn't take too long for them to reach the Al Bhed's ship, but it was already departing. The marine vessel hadn't left the pier yet, and the five jumped on without much difficulty.
The guards were meant to stop them, but the Al Bhed had a backup plan. A large machine rose from the center of the ship. It was roughly spherical, with three legs, two rather tall rotating gears and a blitzball containment apparatus. The robot was essentially an oversized blitzball shooter. "If you guys get into any actual danger we'll save you, okay?" the Hanyou said before he backed to the edge of the ship.
The 'Oblitzerator', as Tidus had dubbed it, was extremely slow moving but heavily armored. Naruto moved as he saw the machine launch a volley of blitzballs that beat into the sorceress. A firm hand held him back. "But-" Yoru shook his head.
"She needs to be able to take a hit. Remember what happened to Arturia." The shinobi turned back to the fight. "Oh my- Use the crane!" he shouted, growing aggravated at the three fighters' obliviousness. "Use the crane to tear the gears off!" he sighed. "And I thought you were unobservant."
"Yeah- HEY!" the Namikaze shouted indignantly as his adopted older brother chuckled. It was true that Naruto had grown much smarter during the relatively small amount of time he had been traveling with Yoru. He did still have his 'blonde moments' though, as we all do at times.
The trio took Yoru's advice and quickly dispatched the mechanical monstrosity once it could no longer do them harm. A last lightning spell and burst into a ball of fire before an explosion sent it into the coastal waters of Luca.
A door slid open and an unconscious Al Bhed man fell out of the cabin. Yuna stepped lightly over him and walked quickly to the rescue party. "I hope you hurt them." Lulu said as she hugged the summoner.
She nodded. "I thought that my uncle might be on here… but I didn't see him."
"Wait, your uncle? You're half Al Bhed?" Yoru asked, tilting his head to the side.
Yuna nervously nodded. "Please don't tell Wakka. You know how he feels about the Al Bhed."
"Woah, I gotta tell Wakka!" Tidus blurted.
"I thought I said not to tell Wakka!" Lulu hissed.
"The game!" the brunette woman exclaimed.
Lulu gasped and shot a flare to the sky, sending the message to their occupied companion.
The game went on for the Aurochs victory but Wakka had been injured.
The Aurochs had been seeded in the tournament. Once they one the game against the Al Bhed Psyches they went on to the finals against the Luca Goers. It was a fierce battle of skill and wits but the Aurochs came out on top… Albeit with a little assistance from the resident waterbender, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them in this case.
Then all hell broke loose.
Fiends invaded the stadium and attacked the fans. Sahagins (amphibian beasts, vaguely resembling green worms with fins and limbs) swam into the Spherepool, the aquatic arena in which Blitzball was played. Tidus and Wakka were able to fight them off, though they had some difficulty.
A man, clad in a black chestplate and a red coat, his left arm hanging in it like a sling, walked slowly and calmly towards an awaiting Fiend, a large blade resting on his shoulder. The Fiend, a beast known as a Vouivre, growled at the human who dared to face it. The Vouivre charged as the man lifted his left arm. His coat slid off of it and he gripped his sword. The Fiend was cleaved in two as the mysterious warrior brought his blade down upon it. The Vouivre gurgled and disappeared in a cloud of glowing apparitions.
"Who are you?" a demonic voice came from behind him. The man turned sharply, swinging his katana as he did. His would-be adversary caught the sword as though it were a stick wielded by a child. "I will not ask again."
"My name is of no importance." The stranger grunted.
"Did I ask for your name?" Yoru inquired of the man.
"…I am a traveler, and a protector." The shinobi released his sword and smiled, revealing his canines.
"Auron!" Tidus yelled as he approached. There was no time for reintroductions as a Garuda rose to meet them.
"We don't have time for this!" Naruto roared as he shot a stream of fire at the aerial creature, sending it crashing to the stadium seats. The Rin'negan wielder summoned his two other bodies and sent them to save the people. "Kuchiose no Jutsu!" he shouted, several two-tailed foxes leaping from the plume of smoke. "Kill the Fiends!" he ordered.
It was all unnecessary. Maester Seymour stood and summoned Anima, his personal Aeon. The great horrid creature began dispatching the Fiends with blasts of rainbow energy from its one visible eye. Their job already taken care of, the kitsune summons and Naruto's other bodies poofed away.
"I've got a bad feeling about that guy." Yoru whispered so that only his otouto could hear.
"If he's evil and powerful can I have his body?" the Namikaze replied. The former Kyuubi nodded his approval before Anima vanished, sinking back into whatever hell it came from.
Several hours later, the panic had long since died down. The party met at one of the many balconies to discuss their plans. Auron and Tidus arrived a while later, and the older man got right to the point. "I wish to become your Guardian. I promised your father I would."
Yuna was shocked into speechlessness. Her fathers Guardian wanted to be hers as well? "Do you refuse?" he asked, growing impatient.
"Of course not! I would be honored if you would be my Guardian." Yuna said as she bowed.
"Oh, and he comes too." The legendary man said, pushing Tidus towards her. "That I promised Jecht."
"What! He's a Guardian before we are? Not cool man, not cool."
"No… I have decided that you two will be my Guardians as well."
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BIZAAM! This chapter is the LONGEST chapter I've EVER WRITTEN! Clocking in at 4,100 words and 9.5 pages long, it's fairly large!
Now, we have the POLLZ!
ROMANCE POLL!! – POLL 1
Who should Naruto have a romance with? LAST CHANCE TO VOTE!!
Yuna – 4
Lulu – 11
Rikku – 2
NOBODY – 1
(SPLIT)
Who should Yoru have a romance with? LAST CHANCE TO VOTE!!
Yuna – 0
Lulu – 1
Rikku – 11
NOBODY – 0
(SPLIT)
WORLD POLL – POLL 2
I have an idea. Should I have the WORLD POLL or go ahead with my FRICKIN AWESOME idea?
A – Have the WORLD POLL!
B – Do the idea! It's AWESOME!!
REMEMBER TO VOTE ON BOTH POLLS!!