Disclaimer: first chapter

Chapter 34: Legends

"So close…yet so far. A little push, and He would have returned once more."

"Is it imperative that he regains his memories as well as his powers?"

"But of course! In my opinion, the greatest form of despair is the one that results in the destruction of hope." A snicker. "The same despair he felt when his friends didn't return, and won't return to normal. I savored that feeling, that imagery, that…SATISFACTION of breaking a supposed "Unbreakable" man."

"How do you plan on returning his powers?"

"Through the ashes of War, and the gift of Dust."

"What do you mean?"

"War shall be the trigger. Dust, the catalyst. The former will make him remember his prowess as a warrior, while Dust returns him to his former glory."

"I…I don't understand the latter. Why is Dust a catalyst?"

"Do you have piece of Dust on you?"

A Burn crystal was handed over. "Observe." The Burn Dust was activated, and became an open flame in the one that held it. The free hand pulsed with power. "Tell me what you can."

"Both are energy." A nod. "Both are ancient and more potent than Aura." Another nod. "It resonates with your own power." A shake of the head.

"It's not resonating."

Silence made itself known for minutes. The Dust kept burning while the other hand continued on releasing power. "…The Dust has the feeling of being alive. I can't explain it, but I guess the energy signature of it is just too similar to yours; feels as lively as a sentient being."

The fire flickered away while the other hand stopped the release of power. "That's because Dust came from a sentient being. More precisely, the Hero, whose energy is similar to mine."

A slight panic was inserted in the following question. "What of the Maidens? What is their role?"

"Sacrifices…if the catalysts fail. The Maidens were an afterthought. Deny all He might, the Maidens combined aren't even twenty percent of His destructive power, and not even five compared to mine. No. Most of His power is now in the form of Dust, useable to all sentient beings -if one knows how to use it."

"…What of the His four heirs? What of their lineage?"

"The Observer is trying his best to hamper me by letting certain pieces fall into place. The Guardian has lost his role through the times, yet the blood is still strong. The Soldier is but a child with a simple soul; it'll take years or a sudden event that forces an evolution for that one to be a nuisance. And the Gatekeeper-"

"I've met him. A silent one, but a firm believer in the stories of the past. I'm quite surprised that the quality of his locks are comparable to the shackles that hold the magnificent Beasts."

"Only the Observer and the Gatekeeper are the ones that keep me in place with their effort. Only those two hinder me, but I can still bypass them with my own pieces. If the Guardian and the Soldier restore their roles…then my plans so far may not have come to pass."

There was a bit of contemplation, but the conversation continued. "I've yet to see the fruits of your plans. But let me ask this…was the lunar eclipse your doing? Was this one of your plans?"

"Not at all. Not what I planned, but not unwelcome. A blessing in disguise, it was. I saw how much His soul remembered. I can confidently say the inhabitants of His soul remembered it quite well, and throughout that incident, He did too."

"A final question." A hand motion that meant 'keep going' was given. "Of the lineage of the Four Heirs…which do you fear most will hamper your plans?"

"The Guardian. Not because of his power, but because of his tenacity; the most troublesome trait passed down through the ages. The charisma to rally others is also another troublesome trait. Add in that accursed Semblance that only highlights His tenacity, the Guardian is the one that embodies His ideals."

"I will make note of that."

"You sound like you're leaving."

"...I am your eyes after all."

"Hmm…such a diligent little bird." An oppressive aura was released. "But even diligent ones yearn for freedom. Shall I make your cage smaller?"

"You already did that seventeen years ago."

"Ah…but it isn't everyday I get to meet the Shadow's lineage. I just had to keep you."

"…"

"Any retort?"

"None." And with that, the conversation ended. One felt jubilant at her plans, the other scornful for being forcibly made a caged bird.

Blake calmly read the large book while Adam responsibly returned the rest of the books Blake took to research her crazy fantasy. It's been an hour since she started reading the thing, and from what she gleamed from what she read, it felt like a novelization of an epic with the linearity and chronology of a biography. She wondered if the title of the book meant the beginning of her era or the beginning of the hero's life. Heck, the first 'chapter' of the book was a page long that contained a legend; one that harkened back to the Great Beasts, who powers were synonymous to weapons of mass destruction. Though never said in detail, the fact that nine beasts with terrifying power were mentioned...Blake comfortable naturally concluding that the Nine Beasts of this legend were the very same from a legend in her era. The next chapters were about a miserable childhood as an orphan that while incomparable to any Faunus' physical and mental abuse by the human race, the mere idea of mistreating a child was far crueler in her opinion.

'To be treated like he wasn't even there… I'm shocked he was still able to socialize and function as a living being.'

But it wasn't all that bad for the child that grew to be a hero later on; he gained genuine friends as well as those he could call family despite not being of blood. They were a small light in his dark world. And apparently, two of the brightest "lights" in the hero's life were two friends of his -girls to be precise. With the way the book portrayed them with vomiting amounts of purple prose, Blake concluded from the get go that these two were important people. Still, it didn't change his overall environment.

And as she continued reading on, Blake realized the social, political, and economic structure of the lost era was similar to the current. The only glaring difference was the mismatched development of technology (seriously televisions were a thing, but not cars), the leader of the village the size of a Kingdom was a benevolent ruler with the powers of a dictator only checked by cumbersome council members whilst in all actuality was part of a country ruled by the true lord of the land, currency was made out of coins, and they had super-powered warriors that were (arguably) stealth enthusiasts or masters with the job description of a modern Hunter or Merc without the obligatory mission to eradicate Grimm. Oh and it was hardly peaceful because of power struggles against other countries.

Apparently, the hero's dream was to be the leader of this rotten village for the sole purpose of wanting people to respect him while being the strongest out of all of them. Blake knew such a childish ambition was one that would lead to mass ridicule towards him. Yet the hero never cared of the naysayers; he went into an academy that allowed him to learn how to become a fighter -a soldier for the village. The only shocker to Blake was minimum age of entry: Five.

Blake had to close the book for a moment to take a break. She looked to Adam, who read a fine piece of literature in his hands, and was immersed in it. If anything, she wanted to stop at this point, and just steal Adam's book for a more pleasurable time.

But she needed answers. Without a doubt, the situation frustrated her.

"Any problems there, Belle?"

"Just read that the hero was a child soldier in the making."

"…I'm intrigued." He remarked. "Anything else?"

"They have something like the Hunter's Guild to do jobs all over the world. The academy the hero went to was made to make them capable of protecting their village while doing international jobs for the right price." Adam nodded, fully comprehending Blake's words. He took a sip of his can of Crimson Taurus. Blake delivered the next line monotonously. "Best part is he went to an instructional institution at five."

Cue fountain of spit-take off to the side.

"Told you it was the best part."

Adam wiped his mouth. "No it wasn't!" He hissed at her. "I half expected you to say he went when he was at least the age of eight. But five?! That's kindergarten age!"

Blake crossed her arms. "It seems that you're taking this seriously."

"On the grounds that whoever thought of that book of yours is royally screwed in the head." Adam explained while he lowered his book onto the table. He got out of his seat, and pulled out a small bundle of tissues to wipe off his mess. "I don't particularly believe that what you're reading is a genuine piece of evidence that links our lord to the Hero."

"Fair enough. But I won't give up. What happened two days ago was not something that happened by chance. I'm sure of it." She opened the book again only to realize how much she had to read. She scooted back to see that she barely made a dent in the ridiculously thick book that rivaled -outperformed the thickness of an encyclopedia book!

"Best read up to what you can, Belle. You won't be finishing this one in four hours."

She continued on further, reading of the misadventures and misfortunes of childhood that not even she, a Faunus, ever experienced. His time at the academy came to a close with a final series of tests. He performed subpar at combat, barely passing in the paper test, and dismal at the strange sorcery-like techniques -in particular cloning.

From basic descriptions earlier introduced. The energy that was like Aura was called Chakra. If pronounced, it sounded like 'Chuck-ra' or something like that. But moving on, Blake read that this energy was the mixing of two energies, the energy of the body, and energy of the soul. The mixture of these two energies, and along with the necessary signals allow for that energy to expel out into the real world. With the right combination, a person could spit out a fireball, coat him or herself in lightning, cast illusions, and many more! And for the Hero, the basic illusory technique of making a clone stumped him enough to lead to failure.

Three years of failure. That was what Blake read when the author described the looks of mockery, disdain, sneers all aimed at Naruto. Even worse, Naruto had no one to console him to his normal self. His precious friends were there to cheer him up, but they couldn't help. They couldn't help because Naruto failed for his third time. He failed to become what he wanted to be. His only chance to prove people wrong was out of his reach permanently.

But. A spark of hope. Though Blake thought otherwise from the way the author wrote the scene. Naruto's hope was a secret test to claim the village's most treasured Scroll, where all of the village's forbidden techniques were stored. Naruto knew where it was, and how to easily get it, so he accepted the secret test. And in the dead of night, his heist for the Forbidden Scroll was executed successfully through the use of a simple perverted technique.

Blake had to frown on that method, but begrudgingly accepted it because it worked.

She read further on, where Naruto opened the Scroll, and read one of the contents inside. He read a few things too, and each time he learned something, and executed it well enough, his grin only got wider. Only when a teacher from his academy found him did he stop. And in the end, a plot was unearthed. The man who persuaded Naruto to take the Scroll meant to pin the blame on Naruto while he took the Scroll for himself. But more importantly...he told Naruto a grave and important secret. Blake guessed it had something to do with the stares, but she held her judgement in favor of reading the truth.

However, she did not expect the heavy burden Naruto literally carried. 'A human weapon...with the power of a Great Beast inside of him. That was his identity to others of power. Monster to those who didn't understand.' It took a little more time for Blake to register the name the traitor called Naruto.

Blake opened her Scroll to make a call.

"What now?" Adam asked.

"Getting a little bit of help." Blake answered.

"Blake? I'm surprised you'd make a call. Especially to me of all people."

"Ren. Do you know how to speak ancient Vacuo tongue?"

"A tad."

"What does Kyuubi Kitsune mean?"

A loud sound echoed from the other side of the call. "...Where did you hear that?" Ren asked seriously.

"A book." Blake replied as she read on. Naruto ran away from the area. His teacher went and fought the traitor. And then when the teacher was on his last legs while saying that Naruto wasn't a monster; that he wasn't that stupid designation society placed upon him. The teacher said a few more encouraging words that Naruto returned with the intent of beating the traitor into the ground.

Through the use of a thousand or so amount of solid-made clones.

"You're still looking into your theory?"

"I can't stop now, Ren." Blake heard a sigh from the stoic member of team JNPR.

"Fine. I'll head to the library and help you with unfamiliar terms labeled in the ancient Vacuo tongue." Ren told to Blake. "But to answer your question... Kyuubi Kitsune in the ancient tongue is roughly or technically translated as...Nine-Tailed Fox." The call ended.

"What new development is there?" Adam asked promptly after the call ended.

"The Hero had the power, or probably the whole being of the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside of him by the leader of his village. And if he is like in the legend of the Nine Legendary Grimm, then he used the Ninth's own power to fight." Blake answered. "The similarities just keep stacking up, Adam. They're making sense to me!" She told him. "The Hero seems to be always connected to the Ninth Great Beast. Even here...their link is blatantly stated in the text. Our own legends about him tied him to the Ninth Grimm." She couldn't stress this fact any more than she'd attempted to do for the past two days.

Adam scratched his head. "Fine. Say I believe what you're telling me so far. Did the book ever tell what the Hero looked like?" He waited for an answer. "I mean with how far you've gone into the life of the Hero. Surely by now you've passed the exposition, and know what he looks like, right?"

Blake looked at the book. Then back to Adam. Then back to the book. "...I-I can't seem to recall. There was just..."

"-What kind of idiot author is this not telling what the protagonist looks like?!" Adam yelled with restraint.

"Look! Every time the Hero is talked about on a personal level, the point of view changes to first person. Nothing about his appearance is mentioned, and when it's in the third person, no mention of it is there either!"

"You'd think the author would at least put in a hairstyle or color." Adam slapped his left palm on his forehead. "Were you under the assumption that the Hero looks like our lord?" Blake was cornered. Hesitantly, she nodded. Adam sighed as he looked at the page. "Hm?"

Blake perked up because of Adam's increased interest.

"Does the next page have an illustration?" Adam asked.

Blake looked down on the book. Faint lines that made different angles bled into her current page. The Cat Faunus turned the page, and was silenced by what she saw. She turned to Adam, who was equally flabbergasted. "H-He looks..."

"-He looks exactly the same." Adam finished for Blake. "I've seen pictures of his younger days back at the orphanage Granny Lupa runs." Blake gave him a look. "What? She told me to call her that." He waved away the digression to return to the focus. "Without a doubt, by this illustration -this masterful sketch- is an exact depiction of our lord..."

Silence came in between the Faunus duo.

"Well?"

"Consider me persuaded, Belle." Adam answered lowly. "But...this isn't enough to persuade others. And even now, I'll admit I'm still a little skeptical. You're going to need to get some solid evidence that our lord's been reincarnated both in body and soul down to the last detail."

Without warning, Nora slid into the conversation. "Wasn't the Hero responsible for making the shells of people while Death released souls?!" Her sudden outburst shocked the pair. Nora noticed this, and recollected herself. "I mean...if that's the case, then shouldn't others from the Hero's time be reincarnated too?"

Blake had to ask, "Nora? Why are you here, if I may ask? I called for Ren."

Nora saluted Blake. "I came with him." She answered. "And he's just a few shelves away palming his face for my overeagerness!" The saluting hand was waved away. "Like I said, if reincarnation is true in the Hero's legend, then surely if you keep reading the book, you might notice names that are similar or even directly off of the book!"

Blake and Adam looked at each other. The latter chose to say something. "She isn't wrong as far as theory goes."

"Right?" Nora gushed.

Ren walked next to Nora. "Or you could skip to the end, and find a clue."

Blake stood up. "Ren. Glad you could make it. Oh. And thanks for the idea, Nora. By the way, both of you, this is Adam, a...friend. Adam, these are Nora and Ren."

Adam stood up, and offered his right hand. "Charmed." Ren and Nora shook the Bull Faunus's hand.

Ren continued on. "As I said before, you may also look at the end for clues."

"Why? A clue is vague, and I need solid evidence." Blake asked.

Nora glowed with a grin that reach one ear to the other. "Ren! You can't mean-?"

Blake stepped forward towards the partnered pair. "You two know something?"

"I know -We know what you're reading is none other than the rarest book in Remnant: Tome of Beginning." Ren wasn't surprised by Blake's startled look. He continued. "We knew because you mentioned the title of one of the Great Beasts. And because we know, we also know the last piece of text written on the last page of that book." Ren gestured towards Nora.

Nora happily said the final page's content. "It's a poem that said the Hero would return! His death is meant to be a sacrifice, and that it's his sacrifice that keeps the world together!" Her increased volume instantly dipped. "At least that's an interpretation by people who believed it."

Blake and Adam read the poem on the last page, and saw that Nora explained it quite well. Both Faunus asked. "Why wouldn't they?"

Blake continued the series of questions. "And if this book is so rare, why do you know enough about it?"

Ren opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He looked to Nora for support. She merely nudged his left shoulder with her right. He sighed. "...My family held one of these books." Ren replied. "The story goes that if your family held one of these books, then your line was related to the author." He kept his monotonous tone. "And I can tell you why others who've read it under close supervision of the owners say that they don't believe it because the piece is considered as an elegy." Ren replied. "It may be done in first person to emulate the Hero's thoughts, but if one were to reason the chronological structure of the Tome, that piece needed to be placed in the section slightly before the Hero's death."

Blake felt the need to dig deeper. "That may be so-"

Ren interrupted. "-And I can tell you from word of mouth through generations that that last piece is an elegy, yet also a 'plausible' prophecy with how much the supernatural comes into play with this book."

Blake, without a doubt, had a lot to think about. Ren's origins were added to that growing list. "...I'll take both your words into consideration. If you'd like, us four can read this with what little time we have left? With four pairs of eyes, I'm sure we can get more than a few pieces of evidence."

Adam turned to Blake. "Belle. What about the picture?"

Blake instantly flipped pages to get to the image. "What do you think of this?" She asked as she showed the partnered pair the picture that clearly resembled Naruto.

"It's...something."

"Other people aren't likely going to believe you, Blakey!"

Ren followed it up with, "-Coincidence. Appearance might have been pure coincidence."

"What do your ancestors say about the author that wrote about the Hero?" Adam questioned Ren.

He turned his gaze away. "None. I know nothing. They knew nothing."

"But now that we're here, why not read together? Huh, Ren? Whaddaya think?" Nora interjected. "Who knows...maybe the book isn't totally fantasy, and the legends are true!"

"Might as well." Ren said in surrender.

And so Blake continued where she left off. She read that Naruto was field-promoted, and was now an active member of their combat force. He was placed in a squad -a team of four that consisted of three rookies and one veteran. Names were listed here and there, but none popped out at anyone. However, Blake felt she heard the name "Sasuke" before.

Things only got "brighter" when he became instated as a Shinobi -a ninja- roughly (even that's a stretch considering their versatility) comparable to a Huntsman or Huntress in his or her prime. Because of his new job, he was given a new world to explore inside and outside the walls. He even found more people he considered precious to him.

During the Hero's first serious mission, Blake learned that he was quite the idealist like Ruby. The young hero and his team fought a veteran swordsman and an accomplice with an ice Semblance. The pair were hired to kill a bridge builder to keep the employer rich through monopolization of trade in the area. The Cat Faunus learned even further how the lost era worked; as long as a person could fight, they had a job from people from all walks of life as long as they employer could charge for the service.

In the end, the opposing pair died. The ice user sacrificed himself for the swordsman, who died by betrayal orchestrated by the employer. The employer himself died along with his army of normal mercenaries, who in turn wounded the swordsman even further to edge of death. Blake frowned at the aftermath. Money, military might, and information made this society run, and people took advantage of it. It made the hero forged an ideal for himself: to never run away in the face of overwhelming adversity, and to never go back on his word.

Blake idly thought of the Naruto she knew. Stubborn, reckless, and willing to do anything to follow up on his promise. 'If he is the Hero, then he certainly has the core of his ego. And those techniques I can't recognize...they must be skills from his past life brought out of his id, or instinctive impulses.' A frown was set on her face. 'If it's so...then these bouts of madness and a jump in skills are no doubt triggered every time he engages himself in a battle. And undoubtedly, the worst or most impressionable memories are the extreme cases that caused the resurfacing of both his ego and id.' Her eyes glazed over the pages, reading them mindlessly. 'Though...they return into the deepest parts of his subconscious as far as I can tell.' The most important thought came off as a question. 'What'll happen to him once he knows his true self?'

Jaune's world was blindingly white. No landmarks were visible to identify his location. No amount of shadows were there to contrast his surroundings. There wasn't even a horizon to tell if he even stood on solid ground. All he knew was that he was beside three boys. They had no features to them, but they were shining a certain color. One was green, the other, red, and blue. Jaune himself glowed white like his aura. But he and the others were in the presence of another person. They were in front of a man that glowed gold like the sun.

The man in gold bore the boys and Jaune with a gift for each. The man gave the boy in green a book. "Take this book, that grows to fit an infinite amount of pages. Record what you observe, or tell a story that never ends. Whatever you write, you must make it so that whatever you wrote lasts all throughout time." The boy in green smiled.

"Then I'll write your story!" Claimed the boy. "Tell me how you lived until now, and I'll write as many pages as it takes! You won't be forgotten; I'll make sure of it as my promise to you!"

The man patted the green boy's head. "I have no doubt you do as you said." He encouraged him before he moved on to the boy in red. "For you, I bestow a sword." The boy in red eagerly reached for the weapon, but the man stopped him. "When you hold it, it will no longer be a sword; it will be a weapon in the form you wish it to be as. So think hard on how my gift will benefit you, and form it will take to fit you." The boy in red crossed his arms as he went into a deep thought. When the boy made his decision, he grabbed the sword.

Instantly, the sword's form dispersed into wisps of silver that entered where the boy's eyes would be. Not a moment later, two balls of silver light made eye-like features. "My sword became my eyes. I'll make my enemies tremble under my stare, freeze them, or even destroy them; I'll make them feel your overwhelming power through these eyes!"

The man placed a hand on the boy in red's shoulders. "Then you must learn to control it responsibly. Your eyes are now weapons much like a sword; they can harm. You must know to keep your powers in check. Make a scabbard for the sword that now became your eyes. Only use them when it is an enemy that deserves your wrath, but never drown in it. Understand?"

The boy nodded vigorously. "I'll use it to wipe away those that harm the people I love and the world around them!"

The golden man moved on to the boy in blue. He gave the boy a padlock. "My gift to you is this." The man placed the lock in the boy's right hand, and the gift merged into the boy's skin. When the golden man's hand left the boy's, a circular tribal-like tattoo was etched on the palm. However, it didn't stop there. More markings -letters or characters Jaune never saw before in his life wrapped around the boy's right arm like a constricting snake. "You gained the knowledge to seal any and all things needed to be locked away from the world. You shall be the gatekeeper that keeps the world safe from those that would do tremendous damage upon the world."

"I promise none shall escape the cages I'll build." The boy told resolutely. "They'll be under lock and key for all eternity."

The man nodded silently, them moved in front of Jaune. In the man's hands was a shield. "My gift to you is this shield." Jaune reached out to it much like the boy in red. And like before, the man stopped Jaune from having it. "Like your brother's sword, your gift shall fit you to your own specific need. The sword is offensive in nature; the opposite of a shield. You must think of what your shield can turn into." Jaune was forced to think of himself as a shield. He didn't like that, but his body involuntarily reached for the shield.

Jaune held the shield in his hands. And like the sword, the shield made wisps of light that surrounded Jaune's already glowing body. The difference here was that the shield stayed. Confused, Jaune involuntarily let out a, "What?"

"I see. You made yourself the shield." A dome of fire emerged far behind the golden man. The didn't sound disappointed, but he did sigh heavily. "A shield that is unyielding, and pushes others back. A self-sacrificing shield that give all to the protection of others from any threat that comes." He gave Jaune, or rather the person Jaune possessed a smile. "I guess it's because you inherited my stubbornness."

Jaune involuntarily talked again. "That's right! I'm not backing down, or be moved by any threat! I'm standing in place to keep all those I cherish and others safe from harm." The claim was as ridiculous as it sounded in Jaune's opinion. However, he knew he was a hypocrite by thinking that. He remembered how irrevocably stubborn he was on protecting Weiss.

"As admirable as the thought may be... Even shields have their limits." The man spoke softly. "You can be as stubborn as you want protecting others, but if you can't protect yourself then you're not any different from those you're trying to protect." Jaune looked down. He used up everything he had to stop Naruto, and in the end was still beaten. He couldn't protect himself. "A self-sacrifice is a noble act. But if you do it all the time with the use of your gift, you test Death every single time. Each time you do leads closer to your demise. Never take your gift for granted, or it will fail you in the end when you need it most."

"I promise I'll use it in times of necessity!"

"As you should." The man ruffled Jaune's hair as he looked at him and the other boys. "My sons...use these gifts well. Never stray from your purpose with these gifts, and they will stay strong."

The world washed away into white, but before the vision went away, Jaune thought he saw something. The man -four boys' father- casted a large shadow behind him. Jaune looked into it, and found countless silhouettes. He didn't know what to make of them; he didn't have the time to analyze them. No. All he could do was leave the vision, and weakly opened his eyes.

Naruto walked through a field of flames and rubble. He didn't know where he was, or why he was here, but he just kept going. All he could really tell was that he was searching. He searched and searched on as he ignored the ashes, dust, and the blistering heat around him. The ground glowed red from the heat. The air was hotter than any arid desert in summer. And yet he knew he wouldn't get hurt. He kept walking, jumping, running around as he persisted on searching for whatever it was he looked for. He kept his ears clear for any noise that pierced the crackle of the surrounding deathly inferno.

He snapped his head to the right when his keen hearing heard the whimpers and grunts of a child. He ran to the child. When he got there, he dug his hands into the red-hot rubble without a care. He ripped out rebar like ribbons; he scooped out chunks of walls, floors, ceilings as if they were weightless pieces of paper. His search got so sloppy that he looked like a dog that dug into the ground. The moment he found a hand poke out of the several feet of rubble he searched through, his excavation became focused and with calculated haste.

Unearthed, Naruto looked at a toddler no older than four. The child, born with hair darker than the night sky and with eyes equally void of color, leaked out tears and lost the voice to cry. When the child moved its gaze towards Naruto, its tears increased in output. It called out for the mother and father weakly. But to the normal person, they wouldn't hear it the way Naruto did. Naruto grasped the child's outstretched right hand, and firmly held onto it as he pulled the child out of the rubble.

"Don't worry little buddy. You're going to be fine!" Naruto reassured as he carried the child.

"M...a -hgk! Pa...!" The child's waterfall tears appeared to last forever.

Naruto closed his eyes, and left the area. The air was crisp and cool. The breeze was gentle; it didn't fan the flames like it was over there in the realistic depiction of Hell. No. Here on the mountain that watched over world on fire, he sat down and did his best to calm down the child. A cloud that hid the full moon moved out of the way. Silver strikes of moonlight shined off of the child's reflective black hair. However, the eyes didn't share that same effect.

He stared at red eyes with a single black bead on the iris of each eyeball.

Naruto's vision instantly distorted once more. He looked upon a red and shattered moon. Just then, a black tail blocked his view, and slammed down to hit him. He rolled out of the way. Without any moment to recover, a clawed hand came after his face. He bend his back backwards while he cocked his left arm. His right foot stepped forward, then his left arm followed. The strike connected, and the opponent was pushed backwards. The forest was further damaged as the fight went on.

"You're not getting past me!" Naruto heard himself involuntarily spoke out. "You hear me?! You're not getting past me! You're gonna return to normal even if it's the last thing I do!"

Naruto winced at the sentence repeated twice. A newer vision wanted to take over. Patches of his vision broke open like bricks that fell out of place. Before the surrounding fully changed, he got a good look at his opponent.

A giant Fox Grimm with nine tails.

Then in an instant, he was face to face with an exhausted Jaune, whose eyes looked like they glowed in determination. As he focused deeply, Naruto's peripheral vision of Jaune changed. The Arc's hairstyle changed; moreover, facial features were added. Naruto shook his head, and thought his mind played tricks on him. No way.

Impossible.

How screwed up was his vision to mess Jaune up with himself?

The scene in front of him went into a rapid-paced rewind. Glimpses of his insane self as he tore up Beacon and the forest caused memories of that night to trigger naturally. The rampage he had... His lack of care for others... His inability to recognize anyone... -to fail to recognize Weiss. He looked down in shame as he remembered her words.

"I-If...this is...my final moment. Please remember...my words, Na...ruto. You...take care of yourself now. Better -ngh control your...temper. No one...will like you if you're like this...all the time. If I sound like...I'm lecturing...then it's because I care. And ...And I want...nothing more than my friends to be...safe."

Yet at the same time, he couldn't help but remember who he mistook Weiss as.

The misty image of a woman in white left a foul taste in his mouth. Even voices in his head agreed, and he didn't even know he had them! He simply balled his hands up into fists while he gritted his teeth as a name popped up. "K-"

Naruto's eyes violently opened. His breathing rate increased to a runner's pace before he went into hyperventilation. His eyes darted out into all directions as he went and assessed his surroundings. The sudden return into the realm of consciousness was a shock for him and for the person that was in the room as well. His eyes locked onto the intruder's form.

Nurse.

Female.

Jade eyes.

Pink hair.

Cherry-Blossom scented perfume.

He felt like he knew her. Not like a familiar face, but as someone he genuinely knew. A sharp ring ripped him away from his train of thought. A distortion in his vision invaded his reality once more. The more Naruto wished to remember something, the more the pain in his head increased. Yet he stubbornly tried. He just saw things! Important things that could give answers! There was no way he'd let those escape! His hyperventilating condition only worsened along with his heart rate going into a severe form of tachycardia. 'I'm not giving them up!' He stubbornly thought! The irises of his eyes flashed from blue, to orange, to red rapidly. Naruto wanted to claw out the pain that throbbed in his head.

Instead, Naruto got soothing relief from the pain. A hand was placed on his forehead and another on his chest. A tranquilizing green light surrounded the nurse's hands. The pain in his head and chest lessened to a degree. "Calm down, Mr. Uzumaki." Said the nurse. "You're all right. You're no longer in that battlefield. You're back in the real world." The words were said as softly and comforting as possible. His breathing and heart rate were still hyperactive, but he recovered at a snail's pace. "Breath easy now. I'll be back in a sec." She left his side to get something.

Not a moment later, the nurse came back with a paper bag. She told him to breathe into it. He did as told, and soon his condition stabilized. When the nurse deemed him okay, she took the bag away from him. She asked him how he felt; he replied with "Better." However, from the way his arms and legs were wrapped in bandages, he wasn't. "What happened?" He asked.

"..."

"Please. Tell me."

"Your arms from the elbow down suffered burns. The same can be said for your feet and the areas just above your ankles." She reported to him honestly. "I've used my Semblance, and I hope it's enough to help." She turned away. "I...I actually haven't checked it because you suddenly woke up."

Naruto looked at the nurse. "Why don't we look at your work together?"

She turned around. "You'd want to see my handiwork?"

"Why not? I'm awake. You told me you healed my burns -at least you think so. So why not check?" He asked simply.

The nurse gingerly unwound Naruto's bandages one by one. Each time she finished, she gave a sigh of relief to know that her efforts were a complete success; total skin regeneration happened for the burnt areas of her patient's limbs. But what was left was... "Show me your palms." She looked at his understanding expression. His healed hands showed their palms. The nurse dumped a handful of ice on each palm.

The sudden feeling of cold made Naruto visibly shiver from his hands, to his arms, then his back in a comical way.

"Success." The nurse smiled as she retrieved the ice cubes.

"What was that for?" Naruto asked.

"To test if I've regenerated your nerves too."

"Eh?"

"You burnt off your superficial nerves inside the skin of your hands." She explained. She merely sighed when the patient tilted his head in confusion. "Nerves are things that make you feel things, Mr. Uzumaki. They also are the ones responsible for sending and receiving brain signals to make you move or react. Your burns injured these nerves. And normally, nerves aren't supposed to return after they've been damaged. I fixed it for you."

Naruto looked at his hands. He tested his fingers one by one. Each finger moved seamlessly to his command. There wasn't any delay in his responses; she completely healed him. The edges of his mouth curved upwards. It creeped up and up until it blew into a full-blown grin. "Thank you for all you've done, nurse! Words can't express just how much I'm grateful for this! He reached out for the nurse's hands. "Thank you very much!"

"I'm a nurse. It's my job to get you back to normal." She told him. "Now. Go rest. You'll need it for a full recovery. I'll be here for a little while longer, so don't worry about being lonely."

"...I'll try." Naruto said as he placed his back on the bed once more. "But...before I fall asleep, may I know your name?"

"It's Sakura Haruno, Mr. Uzumaki."

Naruto gazed at the ceiling. "Sakura..." He tested out the name. It was familiar. Very familiar. "...Beautiful name." He muttered the compliment just as he closed his eyes; his visions of a past he didn't know about were gone. Not gone from his memories, but rather that he didn't experience any more that'd haunt him for the moment. He felt some relief from that. Instead his dreams were inhabited by the falling of cherry blossoms on a peaceful spring morning.

In the dark of night, a silhouette of a woman entered Naruto's room. She stared at the young man while her hands neared her sword.

Yet instead of cutting him down, she spoke. "Your final words to your heirs and wives was the elegy written in the book." She paused for a moment as she recalled its contents. "You spoke of a return, and here you are in the flesh, but not in the mind..." The woman took a deep breath. "I...am elated at your return. But so is She. She is ready for you; however, you aren't even ready for the trials to come upon your reemergence." A tiny bit of dread was expressed as a twitch of her body. "She aims to reset what you've built. Her pieces are set. But you're not even on the board." Her right hand reached for her sword's handle; this time, her hand shook rapidly.

Any indication that the Faunus heard her wasn't present when the Faunus readjusted himself to remain comfortable in his bed.

"I have half a mind to stall Her plans by killing you." She said. "After all, She wants you at your best to fall from your peak. She's doing all this for you." She sighed lowly. Her right hand didn't rattle anymore. "But even I know that following through with that action is foolish. She would know I did it. And I can't jeopardize my friends and family if I did do it. It already cost me a best friend, and I'm not about to do that the rest." In a low voice, she said. "I say to you... Promise me you'll fight at your best and win. If not for the world, then fight for those you care for. That was what you taught the people of my lineage, and now I say it to you." She turned around to walk away, but stopped. "But first...a gift meant to be returned to its rightful owner." The woman pull something from inside her shirt. After she gave it, she left the room.

Not by using the door, neither by using the window. No. She left in the shadows like those people from the era long forgotten.

With the moon's light reflecting upon its surface, the jade crystal accompanied by two tiny steel beads swung about Naruto's right wrist.

And this is it for now. Did you enjoy it? I hope I made a lot of progress inserting actual Naruto elements with this chapter along with linking it to the present era in this story. And hey, I also added another angle to this story. I've certainly gave hints to the Four Heirs right? Right? Ah...well if it glosses over, then it's no matter so long as you understand Naruto had quite a large amount of influence in the world of Remnant.

So review, follow, favorite, I don't care.

This is Azure signing off.