Disclaimer: Fan of Fanfics21 does not own Naruto or Final Fantasy XIII

This fic is a part of my «Project Cypher» series (which is on my profile for you to look at), which connects all of my fics listed there (please note that some have yet to be written yet or posted) in a big storyline that transcends the boundaries of space-time. For the beginning of the series, please read Cipher Origins, which is connected to this fics' Naruto. Please don't flame or anything of the sort for what I am doing with this project. I'm writing this for fun and not to impress people. Writing is a passion for authors who want to share their imagination with others. Thank you for reading this.-Fan of Fanfics21

Naruto dressed moderately for the occasion, he was off of shinobi business and he wanted to spend this time bonding with Lightning. For some reason, he felt…connected to her in some way. He didn't know how though. His memory was still in fragments, but at least he knew his mission in this world, but will be saddened by the results of what will happen afterwards. He had to go, Lightning was—no, Éclair was waiting for him, and it would be rude to keep a lady waiting.

*Several Hours earlier-Lightning-*

These dreams again, the ones that show more of Naruto's true past comes to light as Lightning watched them. A great battle raged as dragons roared with unrelenting fury. She saw the two mightiest of them rage on, one was the Dragon King, Bahamut himself, not the Eidolon, but the legendary beast himself in his true and majestic form as he clashed with the infamous Tiamat as her five colored draconic heads roared with savage fury. Down below, where the humans were running for their lives, two people clashed blades against each other.

Lightning was shocked at who they were, and why they were fighting. It was Naruto, and his twin sister Shana, wielding twin blades now separate from its married half as the two siblings came at each other to kill. With each clash of the blades, their sorrows grew, with each cut on their flesh, their tears flowed, with each passing moment, an agonizing torment drove them against their will to fight each other. It was painful to watch, Lightning had never seen such pain before. It was too much; she wanted this painful scene to disappear.

Then she awoke, cold sweat dripping down her forehead as she panted from the intensity of the dream. It was sad, siblings on opposite sides forced to fight each other to the death over a conflict she had never seen. She knew that this was a story frozen in crystal, in a world lost to the ravages of time itself. The day was radiating a nice warm sunlight at the moment, and besides, she was supposed to meet Naruto in her Éclair form. She had one of those 'age disguise' candies Nione gave Naruto. Well, she might as well get ready for the day; they were supposed to meet at the dumpling shop around noon.

*Noon*

Everyone was on their way doing their ordinary routine as Naruto sat down at the bench in casual clothes. It was a simple white dress shirt and black pants with brown shoes as he came a little earlier than he expected as he kept his eyes out for anything pink. But for some reason, he felt like he was being watched…or should he say stalked?

Hinata Hyūga was a girl with unrequited love for Naruto Uzumaki. While the crush started in the younger years when they first enrolled in the Academy, she admired his will to never give up, his kindness, and at the same time, his past. She never knew who his family was until the sudden appearance if his mother Kushina, and left her wondering, where was she when Naruto needed her? Did she abandoned him, a long term mission that made many believe that he was an orphan, or even…died and was somehow brought back from the dead?

No, that would be impossible…then again, what if there was a jutsu out there that summons the dead? Hinata shook her head, that idea was inhumane, twisted, and a violation of many things. Who would be completely stupid or downright insane to create a jutsu like that?

She watched Naruto sitting there, as if waiting for something. She had to admit, he looked good in those clothes. It almost looks like he was…

"…Going on a date?" a familiar feminine voice said, finishing the thought as Hinata let out a startled gasp as she turned to see Ino smiling at her. Hinata looked flustered at the question as Ino chuckled. "Well, if you two are going on a date. Then don't keep him waiting!" Ino told her as Hinata shook her head no. "I-it isn't like that…I just noticed him just sitting there a while ago, like he's waiting for someone." Hinata stuttered as her cheeks went red at the thought of going on a date with Naruto.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." A new voice spoke up, gaining both girls attention as they saw a shade of pink hair way too familiar to them. "Sakura?!" they thought with shock as they noticed the pink haired girl dressed nicely. But two things Ino noticed about this girl were that she didn't have a massive forehead, and her eyes were blue. And she was way prettier than Sakura. With the fact that her best friend and rival were dead, this should be impossible. Could it be that he met someone else, someone else that was replacing Sakura as his interest? Unbelievable—

Then the duo left, leaving Hinata and Ino behind as their curiosity took over. Who was that girl, and why is she with Naruto? They began stalking them, wanting to know how close their relationship is as Ino could use this as an advantage to make Hinata more confident in herself and finally confess her love to Naruto. All these years of admiring and stalking is really getting on her nerves!

"Don't look Éclair, but we have stalkers." Naruto whispered to the younger Lightning as she looked over her shoulder, pretending to look back at a certain item as she noticed Ino and Hinata at the last moment before they hid behind the corner. "Curious aren't they?" she asked as Naruto laughed. "Well, they haven't met this form you're using, so that's why." He replied casually as they carried on.

*Tenten*

Tenten was a kunoichi of weaponry. She had various kunai, shuriken of all shapes and sizes, sickles, swords, you named it. But those two weapons she saw Naruto use in his training this one time had made her instincts go wild. The craftsmanship between the Leoedge and Eloedge swords of his were outstanding. The way he used them was like they were a part of his own hands themselves. But the metal he used to make them…were one of a kind and were the best quality ever used.

She wanted to know the secret. If she could sneak into Naruto's room where he should have kept his weapons whenever he's off of ninja duty, she could finally learn what metal he used and try and reproduce it on her own. She wanted to make a cool weapon just like that!

She was cautious as she snuck through the window, the residents were still in and if she made even the slightest of sounds, then she'll be busted and would have to explain herself to Naruto's mother.

*Sasuke*

Sasuke Uchiha is well-known for being a loner and one who broods all the time. But ever since the incident that lead to Sakura's death and hearing of what happened to Chōji made him wonder what is going on with Naruto. It's like he's gone under a complete personality change. He used to be idiotic, wearing orange, and shouts to the heavens of becoming Hokage. Now, this Naruto is not the one he knew. This one was in a sense…heartless. He no longer smiled, he was blunt, and he was merciless to those who got in his way like Chōji did and was now crippled and unable to use ninjutsu ever again.

Sasuke didn't know what was going on with his…friend. It's as if this L'Cie business is destroying Naruto from the inside then out. That was when he noticed Ino and Hinata peeking from a nearby alley corner as he was strolling. He knew Hinata was following (stalking) Naruto all the time since the Academy years, but why is Ino with her unless…

"Great, another fangirl has changed targets, joy." Sasuke thought dryly as he was relieved that Ino had probably given up on him and was now probably after Naruto instead. Now he doesn't have to worry about Ino's constant attempts to seduce him or something along the lines. Deciding to see what Naruto was doing that had these two stalking him, Sasuke looked at the same direction they were, and blinked and rubbed his eyes. Was he hallucinating, or was Naruto going out with another pink haired girl that reminded him of Sakura except with several differences in appearance? His curiosity got the best of him, and decided to shadow Naruto and his 'date' and see what is going on here. And he wasn't going to stick with Ino or Hinata, girl gossip was one thing he couldn't handle even in the Academy years.

Sasuke wasn't the only one to notice it, Kiba and Akamaru themselves took noticed and were having a hard time believing that Naruto was taking some beautiful girl out on a date. They had to follow him and find out what he was up to; there might be some good blackmail potential to use on Naruto later.

*Tenten*

Tenten knew Naruto was an unpredictable ninja in many ways, but this time, he had taken it to a whole new level. How could a mere Genin pull off legendary blacksmithing skills?! She heard of blacksmiths of great skills and fame were able to breathe life into their creations, but Naruto had done just that as she is currently struggling to get Elo's jaw off her arm and Leo off her head. While they weren't using their full brute force in their jaws, their teeth were still sharp enough to draw small amounts of blood. "Well now, what brings a friend of Naruto's here?" a familiar voice spoke up in a deathly quiet tone. Tenten froze still as Leo and Elo instinctively let go of their grip on her as they scuttled away from the terrifying aura behind Tenten. Nervously turning around with a stiff back, she saw one Kushina Uzumaki, with her hair flowing wildly in the air like it was alive, and she was not happy.
Hinata, Ino, Sasuke and Kiba stalked the assumed dating couple from their own personal positions, wondering what they were up to as surprisingly, Naruto had taken this girl out to eat at a fancy restaurant. This shocked most of them greatly, because Naruto was well-known for eating ramen as a meal every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For him to do something like this was something unexpected and unnatural.

*The Date*

"You know Naruto, if this keeps up, they will think we really are on a date." Éclair told Naruto who shook it off. "Let them think that, right now, it's just us now." He replied as they began to eat their orders. Éclair had never really had these types of foods before, and had no experience with chopsticks much to her embarrassment. To make things even worse (in her opinion), Naruto fed her himself, this got the attention of other couples nearby as the men tried the same thing he did as the girlfriends of said men went awe at how sweet Naruto was.

"Dang, he's good, too good." Kiba muttered from his spot. That was definitely a powerful move Naruto pulled there. For a girl who is new to this kind of stuff and then personally feeding her as she's helpless without knowing how to use chopsticks, Naruto was a lady killer.

"Awe, he's so sweet…" Ino cooed with hearts in her eyes. She was one of those girls who fall for those sappy classic love stories that if used in real life, makes her want to find a man just like that. Hinata though, looked sad; she had this feeling, that being at Naruto's side forever was like a distant dream that should never be realized. It hurts her to see him like that with another girl. She ran home, tears beginning to form as her heart ached with pain. It hurts so much, the pain was unbearable, and can she really take this all in?

Ino knew that when Hinata ran away, it was an emotional crisis. As a fellow girl, she had to help a friend in need and will do whatever it takes to make things right. She'll need help planning so Naruto and Hinata could get some alone time. Maybe asking Lady Tsunade would help with the situation? Deciding on that, Ino ran to the Hokage's office, a plan settling in as she began thinking of scenarios that would benefit for Hinata. Unrequited love was one of the most painful types of love, especially with it being in a love triangle. Plus throwing in the life of a ninja, many bad endings could occur at any moment.

Sasuke sighed as he turned away, feeling embarrassed by such cheesy romance in the air. It reminded him of the stories of how his parents met and fell in love with each other. That same lovey-dovey atmosphere they had was somehow hovering around that restaurant Naruto and that mysterious girl was in. He needed a cold shower; too much romance is bad for one's health.

Kiba Inuzuka was a boy loyal to friends like a dog is to his or her pack. Court shipping a girl needs privacy and respect for their decisions, for now, he'll leave them be. His animal instincts tell him to leave the 'Alpha' and his potential mate alone, or else face ugly consequences in the future if he lingered any longer. He wished them both luck, and proceeded to head home. He realized he should also get his own love life as well. Maybe he should talk to his mother and sister for some advice while at dinner?

The sun was going down as Naruto and Éclair finished their food while talking, laughing, and even crying a few times as these moments they had were cherished. Naruto took her to the Hokage Monument as they stood on the Minato's head as he showed her the sight that captivated her. The setting sun over Konoha looked like something out of an artist's greatest masterpiece as she took in the entire thing. "It's beautiful…" Éclair told him as her eyes watched as the last of the sun's rays faded away. "It is, and so are you…" he replied quietly. He must have meant to say to himself, but she heard as her cheeks warmed at that. While she was her adult self, Lightning was a warrior who was called many things and ignored them all together. But as Éclair, she was the lost human self she casted away to save the world from many perils. She was beginning to enjoy this life as an ordinary girl, but these times she takes this form was limited.

She would treasure them still, for they were connected to her bond with Naruto. These feelings, these memories, the time they had together, all of them was part of something she would cherish as long as she lived. She would do whatever it takes to help save him from his curse, even if it means to face a god in order to save him.

This is the oath of the girl who had awoken from a long distant dream…

This is the path of the boy who had awoken from a dream that will never be real…

Time and memory were frozen in crystal as this one small bond bloomed into a radiant light that would one day lead them to the path of happiness at the end of their journeys.

With the stars starting to reveal themselves in the night sky, Naruto escorted Éclair back to the ship, silently noticing the scent that Éclair would be recognized. This smell of sweet peach smell followed by rose and then a feminine musk, this was what Éclair smelt like. A girl, who is sweet, has the beauty, passion, and thorns of a rose, and the grace of what women should be. She was someone on a much different scale than any other woman he knew. She was special, but for some reason, he felt like he knew her before all of this. He decided to ignore it for now; the truth will come to him later.

"Thank you Naruto, for this experience I never had in my entire life." Éclair thanked him with a smile. "It's nothing really," Naruto replied, looking away with a bit of embarrassment as he smiled. "We should do this again whenever we get the chance huh?" he asked as Éclair nodded. "It's a promise." She told him as they bid each other good night.

As Naruto made his way to the front door of his house, he noticed one thing that made him raise a brow. Tenten in the front lawn buried headfirst into the dirt with her legs sticking out straight like a spear. "…Do I even want to know what that was about?" he asked dryly as he made his guess. Tenten being the weapons girl she is, snuck into his house to look at Leo and Elo in their gunblade forms. Got busted and his mom unleashed her infamous fury upon Tenten and tossed her out. Yup, that sounds like the possible scenario playing in his head. Moms are truly scary, and tough.

That night, as Lightning was back in her adult form, she dreamt. The dream wasn't horrible, ugly, or anything of the sort. It was a beautiful dream. Naruto was standing on an open grass plain as the wind gently swayed his unrestrained hair and clothes as he was smiling at the place. Where was this beautiful place? Was it Heaven, or a Utopia that he once told her before, the one that was free of conflict and strife that he sought to return too? The Ever-Distant Utopia, Avalon. As if sensing something, he turned towards her and smiled, his hand outstretched, as if he was waiting for her. She took the step forward as this dream was slowly becoming a reality little by little.

The new dream of the girl lost in time, seeks the Utopia others have sought…

The new dream of the boy continues to find his happiness among the trials of sorrows…

Two different worlds and two different hearts combine as the sun and the moon settle down in-between the horizon.

And gives all who see, the Evening Calm…

*Trailer*

Rain…

It poured endlessly in this nightmarish version of Konoha. She hated it.

Shadowy figures run though the run down streets.

This fake timeline sickened her to the core as her flying companion followed her.

The creatures emerged from the shadows, peering at their target with beady red eyes.

Her brother was waiting for her, and the older sister of her displaced friend was waiting for the return of her sister.

The beasts snarled as they jumped at their prey.

But now, the Time Gate is ready, and the journey can begin anew.

Shana Uzumaki and Serah Farron stood back to back as the shadowy monsters gathered around them. They looked to each other and smirked, they charged, their bowblades at their side as they began the battle to save the flow of time and space.

Shinobi L'Cie: Siblings of the Paradoxes

2014