"I still don't see why we're coming back here..."
"Why else? To gather information! They helped us find the first shard, why not see if they can help us find another?" Naruto grinned as he walked into the familiar bar. "Hey Granny Tsunade! I'm back!" He shouted out, causing several horrified looks to snap up from across the bar.
"I SWEAR I'M GOING TO KILL WHOEVER-" Tsunade stopped in the middle of throwing a bottle at the voice as she recognized the mop of blonde hair. "Oh...it's-" She froze the moment Naruto came into the light of some of the nearby lamps.
"What's up?" Naruto beamed brightly, raising a hand up in greeting.
"Naruto! What happened!?" Tsunade shouted, catching the attention of several people from one of the back tables.
"Hey! Naruto's back!" Shikamaru said, quickly getting up, accompanied by Neji and Sarutobi. "Welcome back, how was your-WOAH!" Shikamaru gasped when Naruto turned around. "Naruto, how did you get that scar!?" Shikamaru asked in shock.
"IT WAS A GREAT BATTLE!" The blonde suddenly roared in excitement. "SO GREAT IN FACT THAT I...can't...really remember it..." Naruto quieted down.
"Probably from fighting a cucco, knowing Naruto." Neji shook his head.
"IF IT WAS A CUCCO THEN IT HAD TO BE A GIANT ONE!" Naruto roared out menacingly before quickly bursting into a fit of giggles. "But seriously, I really don't remember when I got this..." He giggled as he scratched the back of his head. The group smiled gently, glad to see that, at the very least, the blonde was okay. Neji then noticed Naruto's guest.
"Oh? Who is this?" He started, catching the attention of the others. Naruto blushed as he glanced to the orange-haired woman next to him.
"This...uh...is a good friend of mine...Midna." Naruto said, scratching his nose. The Twili glanced to the left for a moment before nodding at the group. "Uh, She's not exactly a people person." The blonde said before he was promptly smacked upside the head.
"You know that's not it, idiot..." She glared at the blonde.
"Midna...this wouldn't happen to be the client you mentioned earlier, would it, Naruto?" The group turned first to Neji, who had spoken the question, before turning back to Naruto and Midna, the blonde smirking.
"Sharp as ever Neji." Naruto nodded. "Yeah, she's the one who was looking for the mirror."
"Did you find it?" Sarutobi asked, catching the 'was' in Naruto's sentence. Naruto's troubled face immediately caught his attention.
"...Err...sort of. We found...a piece of it." He grimaced.
"A piece of it?" Shikamaru asked, quirking an eyebrow. Naruto nodded.
"It was shattered into four pieces. We came here wondering if you guys had heard rumors of..." Naruto stopped, quickly turning to Midna, who sighed before nodding. "Of weird things going on lately."
"Weird things? Aside from Naruto bringing in a girl to Tsunade's bar?" Shikamaru smirked as Naruto's face flustered, Midna quickly glaring into a corner to hide her own blush before she noticed something.
"Shut up! Not like that!" Naruto quickly bit back at the 'Genius'. The blonde felt a light tap on his back and, turning around, noticed Midna was glancing around the room. He looked around to see that almost every pair of eyes in the room was on their group. "Hey..." He started, turning back to the group. "Mind if we make this a little more private?" He pointed his eyes to one of Tsunade's back rooms. The group nodded, quickly moving into the back room as per the blonde's request.
"All right then..." Naruto started after they had shut the door to the room, the group taking seats around the table. "I need you guys to make me a promise." He said slowly, everyone narrowing their eyes. This wasn't Naruto the clown. This was the professional, assassin-like Naruto."Nothing you see here leaves this room...agreed?" He waited until everyone nodded their heads. "I'm trusting you guys..." He turned to Midna, nodding. "Go ahead." The Twili merely turned towards the wall and walked into the shadow cast upon it, making everyone stand up quickly in shock.
"Did she just-"
"NOTHING leaves this room." Naruto stated loudly, his eyes flashing red and becoming slit.
"N-Naruto?" Sarutobi stuttered, shocked at Naruto's sudden personality change. The blonde took a deep breath, his eyes returning to normal.
"I mean it. Nothing that is said here leaves this room. Please." Naruto said, walking over to a chair. "There's a good chance we're being watched. I don't want anyone finding out where we're heading, or, at the very least, WHY we're heading there." A small glow enveloped the blonde before a large mirror shard quietly landed on the table.
"How did you..." Neji started before Naruto held up a hand.
"This is the shard we found. It's a shard of the Mirror of Twilight. Do not touch it. AT ALL." The blonde warned as Shikamaru started getting up to look at it before slowly sitting back down. "When I said I didn't know how I got this scar, I lied. It was from this. Or rather, BECAUSE of this." The trio stared at the blonde in utter confusion. "The mirror has INCREDIBLY powerful magic, but because of its current, shattered state, it's unstable. It could probably wipe out an entire town." He glared at the others. "This one shard was able to summon a giant skeletal dragon. You do NOT want to know what happens when you touch one." The blonde said before the shard disappeared. He knew that it was probably Sasuke who sent the Stallord, but the more dangerous the shards seemed, the better a chance he had of keeping them quiet about them.
"A giant...skeleton?" Neji said in disbelief, Sarutobi's eyes narrowing.
"A Stallord." The old man said quietly, Naruto raising his eyebrows in shock.
"You know about them old man?" He nodded.
"And the fact that you managed to get out of there with only a scar like that is a miracle in and of itself." Sarutobi shook his head. "To think you found one of those in the desert...I should have gone with..." Naruto smiled.
"Well with any luck there won't be any more of those things running around in the desert." The old man stared at Naruto in shock.
"You mean you..." Naruto flashed a cheeky grin.
"Like I told Granny Tsunade, I'm a swordsman with benefits." He cackled before returning to his more serious nature. "Back to the mirror shards. Midna, the girl who walked into that wall a few seconds ago, is looking for them to seal their power before they cause any more damage, because obviously these things are WAY too dangerous out in the world as they are now." Shikamaru watched Naruto carefully.
"If these things are so powerful, then why is she the only one after them?"
"Because the maniac who broke the mirror into pieces is slowly killing away everyone she knows. He's essentially cut her off from her family and friends." He noticed the group's confusion before explaining. "When you put all four pieces together, you can travel to her homeland."
"Her homeland?" Shikamaru questioned, imediately thinking of the strange creatures he had become obsessed with. Naruto glanced to the shadow on the wall.
"Midna...is almost from another world. She's a powerful Mage, but was thrown out of her home by the maniac who broke the mirror. The mirror was broken to keep her from coming back, because he knows she can beat him." He shook his head. "I don't know the full details, but the guy essentially kicked her out of her own home, is killing everyone she knows, and laughing the whole time." Naruto narrowed his eyes in irritation upon his only memory of Zant. "I've met him. This guy has so many screws loose its amazing he knows how to walk."
"So you're trying to find a madman..." Shikamaru started.
"...and essentially rescue an entire city from him." Neji finished the sentence, Naruto nodding his head.
"I'm not asking you guys to fight with me or anything, because honestly, I don't want to fight him either." Naruto said as he folded his arms. "The guy has someone with him who learned how to use magic as well...a..." Naruto's eyes quieted in frustration. "An old friend of mine..." Sarutobi quirked an eyebrow in curiosity.
"It wouldn't happen to have been that boy who left Ordon several years ago, Sasuke, would it?" Naruto's face tightened instantly. "...I see."
"I don't know how he learned magic...or even got to that world...but he mopped the floor with me...broke my wrist and could have killed me...if I wasn't right by Lanayru's spring, I probably WOULD have been killled..."
"Wait, Lanayru's spring? Why would that have mattered?" Shikamaru asked, confused. Naruto looked up to the tactical genius.
"Because the springs are well known for a reason. You all know they have some healing properties, right?" The group nodded. "Apparently it repels anyone who uses the magic that Sasuke learned."
"Sooooo...couldn't we..." Neji started before Naruto shook his head.
"We can't exactly move an entire spring with us." Naruto smirked at the idea, almost wishing he could.
"I was going to say bring some spring water with, but nevermind." Neji sighed as Naruto shrugged.
"Needless to say, the things we're looking for are extremely dangerous, and might even kill people who find them. If you hear of anything that gives off a kind of dark feeling, or just reeks of negative energy, please tell us." The trio stared at Naruto for a moment before Shikamaru and Neji looked at each other.
"Tenten?" Shikamaru asked.
"Tenten." Neji sighed as he put a hand to his head.
"What about Tenten? Where is she anyway?" Naruto asked, looking around.
"Tenten went to investigate Snowpeak, a snowy mountain whose frigid landscapes melt and bring water to Lake Hylia. She said there was a dark prescence that had suddenly appeared at the mountain." Naruto immediately slammed his hands on the table.
"WHERE IS IT!?" He shouted, a look of horror on his face. "HOW LONG AGO DID SHE LEAVE!?" Naruto demanded as Midna came back into the room upon hearing the blonde's shouting.
"Head to Zora's Domain, by the base pool there is a cavern that will lead you to the base of Snowpeak." Sarutobi said, Naruto imediately spinning around.
"THANKS OLD MAN!" He shouted as he snatched Midna's hand, quickly dragging her out the door.
"WAIT! WHERE ARE WE GOING!?"
"A SNOWY MOUNTAIN! GRAB A JACKET AND LET'S GO!" He shouted as he bolted out of the bar, Midna in tow. The three remaining in the room looked out after the two as they disappeared.
"Next time we see him, let's embarrass the hell out of him for getting to hang out with a woman like that." Shikamaru said, Neji nodding in agreement. Sarutobi merely started laughing.
"I swear, just like Rusl." He chuckled, shaking his head.
"What do you mean by that?" Shikamaru asked, turning to the old man.
"Ask him the next time you see him." He began laughing loudly as he also left the bar, Tsunade looking after him in utter confusion.
"What exactly did I miss?" She asked, turning to Neji and Shikamaru, who looked at each other before shrugging.
"TEEEEENTEEEEEN!" Naruto shouted out loud, the cold wind whipping at his face. "TEEEEEEEENTEEEEEEEEEEN!" He shouted again, hearing his own voice echo. "For fuck's sake, where the hell is she!?" He gnashed his teeth together as he pulled the red scarf that was wrapped around his neck over his nose in an attempt to keep the cold at bay.
"D-don't look at me, I'm j-just a witness here." Midna snapped at the blonde, now wrapped in several scarves and still shivering. She had liked the snow when they first went to Zora's Domain. It was only mildly cold, and the snow was fun to play in.
But this? This was pure bullshit.
The temperatures were frigid, the wind blowing so badly that her hair probably was made of ice now, and there were probably icicles stemming from her nose instead of snot. Oh yeah, and she was in Naruto's shadow right now. AND SHE WAS STILL COLD.
"WHY THE FUCK IS IT SO COLD UP HERE!?" She shouted, shivering. Naruto stopped moving, flaring chakra around his hand as he stuffed it into the shadow, scaring the shit out of Midna as he pulled her out and stuffed the imp inside the jacket he was wearing.
"I know it's cold..." Naruto shivered, Midna not saying anything as she cuddled against the blonde's warm chest. "But I'm not leaving until I find her. And we need to find out where the hell the Twilight Shard is anyway."
"But we're not going to get anywhere just trudging along the mountain like this..." She mumbled, not admitting she liked the warmth he gave. Her eyes widened as she felt Naruto's hand press against, what he THOUGHT was her back, but was actually a little lower, pressing her body closer to him. She didn't say anything however, as Naruto suddenly did a large leap, landing at the start of a large, snow-covered forest.
"The most we can do now is just stay under the cover of these trees." He said taking a deep breath as he leaned against a tree. As the wind howled around the two, Midna's eyes widened, while Naruto's glazed over.
"All right everyone, we're going to practice some small practical chakra exercises!" Iruka Umino said to his class. Naruto groaned as he sat next to Sasuke and Sakura, the raven-haired Uchiha stoically staring forward as Sakura continued sneaking glances towards him. "Chakra isn't just used to create ninjutsu, it's also used be more practical for shinobi on stealth missions. It can be used to help conceal their bodies like a camoflauge, or even warm them up in the most frigid of waters."
Naruto, despite wanting to retort, silently admitted it was a cool idea. As the class began lining up to practice, the blonde grimaced. Another Chakra Control exercise...crap. He knew it wasn't going to end well, most likely with him catching on fire or something. But that smug smirk Sasuke gave made him want to try anyway, if only to show the prick up.
"Heheh, if I did it now, I'd probably blow myself up..." Naruto chuckled against the tree's bark.
"Then just be careful about it..." Midna immediately replied, causing Naruto to jump.
"H-huh!? M-Midna!? Wait, did...did you just-!?"
"This isn't the first time you've had a flashback that I got roped into..." She mumbled, thinking back to when Naruto first met Sarutobi. Naruto suddenly went very quiet.
There was still so much he didn't know...his childhood was in pieces, his teenage years were scattered at best, and he knew absolutely NOTHING of his later years as an adult.
He suddenly remembered Shion from when he met her in the Cave of Ordeals...dammit, now he remembered how she looked like...
And what she did...
The blonde's face began to heat up in embarrassment. He still didn't know what was up with her, but she was getting REALLY familiar with him. Almost like...
The blonde froze.
...like a lover would...but. But what about his scattered memories of Hinata? The shy girl always fainting around his oblivious self!?
His face turned stony white. Wait...was Shion some kind of...some kind of a slut!? No, no that couldn't be...but then...was he some kind of pervert with multiple wives!? That can't be right either!
The blonde began to panic, the imp feeling the blonde's heartbeat quickly picking up speed as his mind went further and further down this horrible train of thoughts and worries.
"Quite worrying about it...they'll come back to you eventually...and even if they don't, they won't change you from who you are."
Naruto stopped his panic attack to stare down at the little imp as she snuggled against him, her shadowy form fading to reveal the Twili's black and pale blue skin buried under several different colored scarves he had been given over the years. He watched the imp for a moment before nodding his head, deciding it was better not to think so hard about it. As the blonde looked out across the snowy mountainside, a more appealing thought occurred to him.
"What's it like?" Naruto asked suddenly, causing the imp to look up at him.
"What's what like?"
"The Twilight Realm...what's it like?" Midna looked down, thinking of her home.
"Well...the temperature is a lot warmer for starters..." She began, causing Naruto to chuckle. "There isn't any snow...and the sky...isn't quite the same as the one here."
"Really? It's not blue or anything?" Naruto asked, confused. The imp shook her head.
"No, it's only orange and black. That's why it's called the TWILIGHT Realm, dork." She giggled as Naruto pouted.
"Well you said it was a different sky! How would I have known it wouldn't be pink or purple or something?!" Naruto griped as Midna's giggling erupting into laughter.
"No you dork, it's a beautiful..." Her laughter quickly died out as she came to a sudden realization. "...orange..." She slowly looked up to the blonde, whose stitched, orange hat flopped over his scarf as he looked down at her.
"Midna? You okay?" He asked, confused. The imp quickly looked back down, a blush searing across her face.
"Nothing...just...nothing..." She said, causing Naruto to worry something WAS wrong. She had never realized why Naruto brought her such comfort. Why he reminded her so much of home.
A branch snapping brought both of them back to their surroundings, where the blizzard had died down enough for them to see better. Naruto turned around, immediately noticing a shadow ducking in and out of the trees.
"Midna..." Naruto started, the imp regretfully leaving his warm embrace and melding back into his shadow as he pulled out his sword and shield. He quickly flipped his hands into his favorite hand-sign, sending several clones up into the trees as he slowly began walking through the snow-covered forest. Slowly walking through the snow, the soft crystals crunching under his boots, Naruto calmed himself as his eyes turned yellow, his latent senses activating. The white of the snow suddenly dimmed, leaving only a small glow off in the corner of his field of vision. The glow suddenly turned to him before leaping at him, Naruto's eyes snapping back to blue as a white creature flew over his ducked head, Naruto quickly launching a foot up into the creature's stomach. The creature twirled several times in the air before landing several feet away. Looking up, Naruto's eyes widened. It looked like some kind of giant owl with its wings folded, and without a beak...AND IT LOOKED WEIRD AS FUCK!
The monster stopped for a moment, looking at Naruto in curiosity before it suddenly lowered its head, slowly circling around the blonde. Naruto glared at the creature, holding his shield out in front of him as he also circled the snowy owl-like monster. Naruto suddenly flared his chakra, launching out towards the monster, keeping an eye out for any kind of claws or potentially dangerous appendages as he suddenly disappeared in a blur of motion, reappearing behind the creature before smashing it up into the air. The creature noticed through nearly clenched eyes that several other Narutos had leapt out into the air, grabbing the creature's feet and each shoulder, slamming it harshly back into the snow, the real Naruto leaping high into the air before spinning the Master Sword around and falling straight towards the creature's head. The blonde's ears suddenly perked however, hearing a small squeak, before noticing a small tuft of brown hair sticking out into the snow. The sword slammed down into the ground right next to the creature's head, Naruto staring at it intently as his clones disappeared in puffs of smoke. He quickly grabbed a hold of the creature's head, finding it to be of a very soft material; but his eyes widened as he suddenly ripped off the newly identified mask, revealing the person he had been searching for.
"TENTEN!?" Naruto shouted, his eyes wide before they dangerously narrowed as he grabbed the costume, his eyes turning slit and red as he pulled her close to his face. "THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?! I COULD HAVE FUCKING KILLED YOU!" He roared, his voice cracking as tears began to stream down his face.
"I...I'm sorry..." She started, still shivering from how close to death she was, and how Naruto's face had so rapidly changed. Since when did his eyes turn red? "I...I just wanted to see how good you were..."
"DON'T FUCKING DO IT LIKE THAT!" He shouted, quickly wrapping the girl in a hug. "Don't fucking do that again...I don't want to lose anyone...especially a friend..." The brunette sat there in the snow for a moment before wrapping her arms around the blonde, the both of them still shaking. "Please...don't ever do that again..."
"...I...I won't..." She quietly answered.
"A Mirror fragment, huh?" Tenten said, Naruto sitting on a log across from her, having explained the situation to her.
"Yeah. And since you felt that dark feeling increase, it's most likely that unstable fragment." Tenten looked down at the snow, pondering the information she received.
"All right." She nodded. "Halfway up the mountain, there's a small cave that has some extra supplies in it. I've tried climbing this mountain several times, but even through all my training, I still can't get to the top of it." She smiled as she looked up to Naruto. "But you...I think if anyone can make it to the top, it'll be you." She laughed uneasily as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I've seen first-hand what you can do, and I probably only scratched the surface. So...when you get back..." She clapped her hands together pleadingly. "Think we could spar?" She asked hopefully. Naruto smiled wearily.
"So long as you don't try doing a stealth attack on me, then that's fine. I won't cheat and use my little magic tricks on you."
"Think you could teach me it?" She asked hopefully. Naruto shook his head, causing her to pout.
"Sorry, but it was a skill that was given to me by someone else, and I honestly can't say if I could teach it or not. The answer's probably no anyway."
"All right, I guess that's what I get for getting my hopes up." She sighed, standing up. "Then I'll leave this to you. I'm heading back to the town to thaw out all of my supplies." She giggled. "Being up here for the past two weeks has really put a damper on them. See ya!" Naruto stared after the girl with wide eyes as she trotted down the mountainside. Two weeks...TWO WEEKS!? WAS SHE INSANE!?
"Then again...she tried to attack me in a fucking costume, so maybe she is crazy..." Naruto wondered as Midna reappeared next to the blonde before squeezing her way back into his jacket. "You're not comfy in there or something, are you?" He smirked as the imp pouted back up at him.
"It's her fault...I'm still cold and I had to leave this warm little spot for a stupid reason...then I had to wait until you finished explaining...do you REALLY think these scarves are helping?" She glared up at the blonde, who chuckled as the two started back up the mountain.
Getting up the mountain proved to indeed be much harder than he originally thought, as the wind was quick to pick back up again, Naruto slowly trying to use his chakra to warm himself, and as a by-product, Midna as well, as they went further and further up the mountain.
"F-f-f-f-f-fucking hell...w-w-w-why m-m-must the places we go t-t-to, either b-b-b-be blazing hot, or f-f-f-fucking f-f-f-f-freezing..." He shivered as he rubbed his shoulders in an attempt to keep warm, slowly circulating chakra through his fingers and toes. It was a good exercise, he would admit, because while it was difficult, he couldn't doubt its effectiveness. Hell, if not for the technique, he would have been downed a few hours ago. The sun was quickly setting, the area becoming dark, and it looked like Naruto was in an endless field of snow, only darkness surrounding them. And of course, fate never allowed the blonde to be in slight misery, as Naruto immediately heard the sound of howling wolves.
"Oh f-f-f-f-for f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-fuck's s-s-s-s-s-sake..." He gnashed his teeth as he tried to reach for his sword, his body refusing to let his arm move past his chest. "D-d-d-d-dammiit! C-c-c-c-come on!" He looked down to see Midna was almost white in color, knowing she was probably unconscious. "I s-s-s-s-swear that if I only g-g-got to see your human f-f-form once, I'm g-g-gonna be pissed! D-d-don't you dare f-f-f-fall into a coma or something Midna!" He panicked. He was in the middle of nowhere, wolves were getting closer to him, and possibly the only person who might be able to warp them out of here was probably frozen into a coma.
God dammit...not again.
Naruto's knees hit the snow, the wind whipping at the blonde's face as he tried to look forward, slowly losing consciousness. Those were Wolfos...and there were a lot of them.
"W-w-w-what I wouldn't give f-f-f-for a bowl of hot r-r-ramen..." He grimaced before a large THUD was heard, Naruto noticing a Wolfo was sent flying across his field of vision, as well as the snowy field he was in. "F-f-f-fuck..."He mumbled as a loud roar boomed not far from Naruto, the blonde finally losing consciousness as he flopped into the snow, shivering. The thudding moved closer to Naruto before noticing the blonde was carrying something inside of his jacket.
"A Human!?" A deep voice said in shock. "Oh...he gots someone too..." The voice rumbled quietly as he looked down at the blonde. Noticing several Wolfos were coming back to the downed blonde, the source of the thudding, a large white creature, roared loudly, causing several Wolfos to back away from it before it picked up Naruto and began walking through the blizzard, holding both the blonde and a large fish.
Kenta: A little bit shorter a chapter than usual, but we only have one more chapter to go before the boss fight, so just hold tight.
Again, thanks for all you guys' patience over the last three years. I'm really glad I was able to pick this story back up, and it's all thanks to you guys' constant badgering!
Wait, that sounded rude...I DIDN'T MEAN IT THAT WAY! I SWEAR! I REALLY APPRECIATE IT! TToTT
Kenta Raikiri