Chapter 50
Keeping contact with his dragon's fist for a moment, Naruto flashed his signature foxy grin before abruptly withdrawing his hand. Turning away, Naruto made his way towards the others who were by now waiting for him by the entrance of the chamber. In contrast with his silent footsteps, heavy metallic thuds rang out, jarring their sensitive ears as the 12' long dragon padded just behind his Rider.
"So, you're a Dragon Rider now? I have to say, I never imagined you being one." Eragon remarked as Naruto and his dragon passed by him and Saphira on their way to Arya who was waiting for them to join her.
"Neither did I Eragon. When I first came to this continent, I never expected to form any kind of permanent bonds. Although my people were capable of amazing…if mostly destructive feats, immortality itself was a very rare one. Even then, our 'immortality' was a perverted version of the one the Dragon Riders and elves have. I won't tell you more, it's best if no one else knows about it," Naruto pointedly looked into the dust-sized dimensional hole.
"Hmmm, I wonder if I could use my eye power to see the Eldunari within that space?" wondered Naruto as he sent even more chakra into his right eye.
Then to the shock of everyone except the Eldunari, who hadn't forgotten the blonde's earlier display of power, the originally miniscule hole expanded until it reached the height of the entrance, revealing glowing crystalline orbs as they pulsed at different intervals while bathing the rest of the chamber with a soft light.
Closing his eyes, Naruto withdrew the flow of chakra that ran through his eyes as they switched back to their original cerulean blue. With the switch, the pocket dimension once again closed itself off from the rest of the world.
Upon opening his eyes, Naruto was greeted to the astonished gazes of Eragon, Saphira, Arya, and most of all his dragon. The first three quickly recovered as they just chalked it up to their friend and to one of them, lover, as just another impossible event turned possible in the ordinary life of Naruto.
However, the last pair of eyes remained wide open as he looked at the seemingly ordinary, in his eyes at least (it was hard to tell what the two-legs considered handsome or beautiful), human that with a single glance and a burst of energy, managed to rip open an impenetrable pocket dimension that was keyed to the energy of the user.
Shaking his head, the dragon toothily grinned as he continued to follow his Rider, his head just a foot away from Naruto's shoulder while shuddering in anticipation of the days to come.
Continuing forward past Eragon and Saphira, Naruto stopped once again before Arya, who immediately strode forward and grabbed the once burned and mangled hand while slightly pausing over his new gedwëy ignasia. Sighing, Naruto watched as his elven lover fussed over his long healed hand, turning it over and constantly touching it, more for her sake of assuring he was safe than for his.
Once she was satisfied that his hand was fully functional, Arya proceeded to intertwine her fingers before locking them in a semi-deathgrip as if to shield the hand from any potential sources of damage.
Despite already knowing about Arya's protectiveness, Naruto still couldn't resist finding how cute the usually cold elf could be when she displayed her caring side.
Bringing his hand back up to her eyes, Arya gave it another scan, "Naruto, love, are you sure your hand is alright?"
"Arya, my hand is fine. See?" Naruto soothingly said as he wriggled his hand out of her grip while moving his fingers through the air. Nodding her understanding, Arya still grabbed his wiggling hand out of the air and once again intertwined their fingers, only this time with a gentle grip.
Grinning, Naruto slowly circled his thumb on her hand, marveling at the velvety softness of her light honey skin. His smile soon grew bigger when he saw her turn a delicious red.
Gently glowing like the morning sun, Arya rolled her eyes in exasperation herself closer to lean her head on his broad shoulder, allowing her irresistible fragrance, which smelled of crushed pine needles and a subtle hint of wildflowers, to wash over him. As one, the two began the journey back to the surface.
Meanwhile, the others, including the newborn dragon, stared at the blatant display of affection the two were showing, shocked at the degree of obvious warmth and love the normally stoic elf was showing, as the couple slowly ascended with a grace known only to those who had completely control over their bodies the passageway under Doru Araeba, seemingly lost in their own world.
"Hey Saphira, is it just me, or is this really happening?" Eragon nudged Saphira on her side as he wondered how in Alagaesia the two were already so comfortable with being so intimate already. Even if they obviously liked each other before they got together, they were practically glued together. "How…how shameful!" and with that, he covered both of his eyes as Saphira glanced away from the spectacle only to roll her eyes at the childishness of her Rider.
"Little one, you can already see with your sharp eyes how they are clinging onto each other. What do you want me to do? Smack you on the head?"
Although Eragon didn't answer, she could feel through their mental link the beginning of a nod. And so, with a light flick of her tail, the same tail that decapitated many an Urgal and human, Saphira whacked him from behind, snorting in amusement as Eragon, for all of his formidable strength and chakra reserves, was face planted into the stone floor.
As Eragon sputtered and was in the process of getting back on his feet, Umaroth and the other Eldunari sweat dropped as they wondered whether they shouldn't have waited for another hundred years for another Rider.
After getting over his initial shock, Naruto's dragon awkwardly made his way to his Rider, still unused to the idea of walking after being trapped inside an egg for over a thousand years. Not wanting to be forgotten, even if it was because of his Rider's mate, the eldest of the six was about to poke Naruto's shoulder with his snout when suddenly, he felt a hand land on his snout, the only part of his face that was not completely armored in metal spikes.
"Don't think I forgot about you." Naruto started as he rubbed the snout that was almost the size of his head, eliciting an odd rumbling that when he felt through their new mental link, he found out to be purring.
Amused, Naruto continued his scratching as the trio continued up the slope as Arya's free hand twitched, wanting to also do what Naruto was doing, "Soon enough, we'll be spending so much time together you'll want to be left alone…especially I put you through aerial training. Oh that's going to be entertaining…never taught anybody how to dodge projectiles that could fly hohoho…"
Elf and dragon that day formed a bond almost as strong that between Rider and dragon the moment they heard the ominous whispering and giggling of a maybe mad blonde.
"Elf…just what kind of devil have I joined myself to?" whimpered the hatchling as he quickly switched to the other side, allowing Arya to stroke his nose.
"Shinobi," stressed Arya as they continued upward, "shinobi, not devil." When the dragon looked at her confusedly, she patted his nose.
"Once you two have time alone, I am sure he will tell what you wish to know. Just be ready for hell on Alagaesia when he mentions training, it is actually just a way for him to let out his inner sadist."
Beside her, Naruto pouted as a small thundercloud formed above his head, startling everyone as it started to rain, pelting the blonde with tiny raindrops although he stayed dry. After several moments of watching and wondering how he was not wet, Arya rolled her eyes as she tugged him forward up the tunnel with the others following several steps behind.
Half an hour later of dark corridors and pale werelight, the group finally saw the faint golden outline of the shut gates when they heard a loud smack of flesh against flesh. Startled, they all swept their gazes towards the source, only to see a fading red handprint on Naruto's forehead as large tears were pouring through his eyes.
Slightly disturbed by the abnormally large tear drops flowing from the edges of the blonde's eyes, they continued to watch Naruto cry anime tears as he muttered under his breath, "Stupid, sooooo stupid. Why didn't I just Kamui past these stone doors? And shut up furball, this isn't funny!"
Everyone, except for a certain dragon, rolled their eyes once again as they watched the most powerful being in the world beat himself up about not getting past the most well-kept secret in all of Alagaesia. Said dragon looked at everyone in slight confusion, wondering who exactly this furball was as the last time he looked…nobody was particularly furry.
His question was answered when his partner glowed a malicious red before something popped with a puff of smoke above his head. As the smoke cleared, there were several reactions.
Eragon, Saphira, and Arya, looked in amusement as they saw the fox that embarrassed their friend earlier when they first arrived.
Umaroth and the others watched in horror of seeing that beast, no matter how small or innocent it looked, out in the open air.
The dragon just looked dumbfounded, wondering where in the world the tiny fox came from. Before he could ask, Naruto spoke through the link, "We'll talk about this later. By the end of the day, you will know everything there is to me, along with your siblings." The baby dragon dragged his eyes away from the odd fox as he nodded his understanding to the blonde who had stopped crying and was looking at him.
After his episode, Naruto coughed into his hand as he raised a question. "So now what? I'm guessing you don't want me to force our way through these doors," Naruto said jokingly as Umaroth and the other Eldunari mentally protested.
Within a second, the doors slowly opened as Umaroth uttered a phrase in the ancient language. Free of the confines of the earth at last, the remnants of the Dragon Rider Age looked out on their greatest pride…as well as their greatest failure.
"Doru Araeba, capital of Vroengard and most importantly, home and sanctuary of the dragons and Dragon Riders…now an abandoned ghost town and ruined buildings. All because of a few traitors. But most of all, because of our arrogance that blinded us from recognizing the obvious threat right before our eyes." Eragon heard Umaroth sigh as the elder dragon reminisced about the disaster that forced their once proud race into hiding in the darkest corners of all the land.
"Do not worry, Umaroth-elda," Eragon and Saphira thought back as they watched Naruto send Arya and his dragon into his personal dimension and then appear with a burst of speed on top of Saphira's back, "When we finally defeat Galbatorix, we will create a better Order, one that shows compassion and understanding to all but the most despicable of criminals. While it will not bring back the dead or grant you your old bodies, we can make sure that such a mistake never happens again…even if we must draw ourselves away from Alagaesia herself."
Looking sharply at his young charge, Umaroth realized that Eragon, despite his age, already knew what had to be done. "You are correct hatchling. Once Galbatorix is defeated, the people of the Empire will rejoice at his downfall, but at the same time will reject any Rider from helping them. This rejection will last for years, decades, and possibly even centuries after this day and so our only option…is to fade away. Should Alagaesia ever need us, we will be there, but in return we will stay away from any minor conflicts and let the other races figure out their own problems."
As Eragon climbed onto the saddle attached to Saphira – she was too large to just jump on now – he thought on his elder's words and wondered not for the first time, just where would they go after killing Galbatorix? However, he placed those thoughts to the side as Naruto yelled out from behind him.
"So…what do dragons eat exactly? Because I can feel from my bond that my dragon is getting rather hungry."
Before Eragon could answer, Umaroth supplied one, "Naruto-finiarel, back before Galbatorix, the snail like creatures, or Snalglí, were a favorite of ours. They should be scattered around the island. But be warned, ever since the Fall, they have mutated and are even capable of nullifying magic to a certain degree."
No sooner had the words left the white Eldunari's mind when several dozen clones of Naruto popped out from behind their creator and dashed away in a blur, hunting for poor five-foot tall giant mutated snails to send back into the Kamui dimension for the dragon to feast on.
One clone remained behind as Naruto winked at Eragon, "Well, I'm off to go have some fun with my pet…I mean my students. Well then, later!" Said Rider watched in amusement as his fellow Rider disappeared in a swirl of black before patting his own dragon on her sapphire neck.
"Let's go, other half of my life. We have a war to win and a king to kill."
For the first time in a century, the roar of a dragon rang out through the dead city of Doru Araeba as Saphira roared out her agreement before pouncing into the sky with her power hindquarters and following the directions the Eldunari were giving as she flew the long distance between Vroengard and the mainland.
Some Time Later….
Meanwhile, in the Kamui dimension…a certain elf was frantically running through a giant forest as all manner of weapons including kunai, shuriken, maces, hammers, and swords thudded directly where she was milliseconds ago.
"Damnit Naruto, I knew that this training was going to be brutal, but why did you not at least blunt the blades?!" Arya complained under her breath as she quickly ran only one seal for a Kawarimi, disappearing in a small puff of smoke as several shuriken impaled themselves into a log before a mace came sailing into the picture, completely shattering the log into splinters.
Sweat dropping both in exasperation at the now destroyed log that could have been her and in exhaustion, Arya shot an evil glare up at the blonde in the tree who, just moments ago, was laughing maniacally as he summoned and then launched the thousands of projectiles from the large scroll he was holding in his hands.
"Man, I can see why Tenten always had that smile on her face whenever she used this scroll. It's oddly satisfying to throw weapons until my target is a pincushion." Naruto grinned when he saw the look Arya was giving him.
"Had enough Arya? I understand that after a couple weeks of dodge training, you're getting tired of it. But you have to admit, you've gotten much better at the Kawarimi." Naruto called out as he jumped down in front of Arya.
Although she didn't want to admit it, her control over the Kawarimi had improved dramatically to the point that after maybe another day or two of training, she could utilize the jutsu without any seals.
"Say Naruto, after all this time with you, I have never seen you personally train. Your clones don't count." Arya quickly cut off Naruto when he opened his mouth to argue. Snapping his jaws shut, Naruto raised a thoughtful eyebrow before rolling up the sleeves and on his arms and his pants as he sent a burst of chakra through the seals on his limbs.
Definitely looking at the script that glowed for a second and not her lover's tanned and well-muscled arms and legs, which Arya absently thought how odd it was that she never saw them until now, the elf looked in interest at the graceful and esoteric symbols that flowed over said limbs. Seeing Arya's questioning gaze, Naruto pointed at the seals around his wrists and ankles.
"The script you just saw on my arms and legs are part of an area called Fuinjutsu and are called seals. So far, I have shown you Taijutsu from our spars, Ninjutsu from the elemental attacks you have seen, and Genjutsu when I pulled you and Eragon into my Tsukuyomi. You've seen the destructive capabilities, both physical and mental, of these different areas of jutsu have when performed. But," Naruto paused as Arya listened with rapt attention, waiting for the next part, "despite how powerful they are, almost none of them can match what Fuinjutsu can do."
Arya widened her eyes in astonishment; she had seen how Naruto shattered the heavily reinforced armor of Fäolin with blindingly fast punches and kicks and then proceeded to destroy an entire plateau with nothing but a dropkick. She also remembered how he used a gigantic wooden dragon that remained undamaged despite being bathed in dragon fire. And finally, she remembered how Eragon found his true name in a matter of minutes through a Tsukuyomi.
And to think all of this couldn't match this Fuinjutsu?
"Impossible, how could this be? What could mere writing possibly be able to do that the jutsu you have shown us cannot? By the Log, you even brought back the spirit of Brom back from the realm of the dead!" After training extensively in the Kawarimi for two weeks, she was all but converted to the religion that many of the shinobi back in the Elemental Nations swore to.
"What you say is true, but I must remind you that the only reason I was only able to do so was because of these eyes." Naruto said as he pointed towards eyes that had morphed into the Rinne-Sharingan before switching back. "The few jutsu that could possibly match or surpass Fuinjutsu are mostly related to these eyes. But remember when I prolonged the amount of time you all had back in Ellesméra? That was through seals. The time when I broke the connection between Fäolin and his dragon? Fuinjutsu. Seals can do anything, literally anything as long you have the knowledge and imagination to do so."
"But I diverge. These seals you see on my arms and legs are called resistance seals and as its name implies, they make any action I do that much harder. Right now, I just set my seals to 60x resistance. Before it was 45x, but after I found my true name, my body was partially reformed and now I need higher resistance seals." Naruto stopped as he placed his thumb and index finger on his chin, "Now that I think about it…I really should place these seals on you so that you can train all the time."
Arya just stood there in shock as she, not for the first time, realized the huge difference in power between them as she not for the first time grew dejected…at least until Naruto wrapped his arms around her.
After becoming a couple for over two weeks, the amount of embarrassment she used to feel from simple touches and hugs from Naruto decreased. Now all she felt was warmth and security as she let herself be held by her sun, the one person that could make her feel such fuzzy feelings.
Knowing that due to her upbringing, Arya still had slight problems with being in an 'unequal' relationship as she put it, Naruto chose his words carefully after holding her for a minute.
"Arya, don't be discouraged by the power difference between us. You are remarkably powerful even compared to the shinobi back in my homeland and just your wards would make you a force to be reckoned with. And all of this without realizing the true potential of the chakra within you." Pulling slightly away, Naruto raised his right hand as he brushed her cheek, still marveling at the silkiness beneath his thumb just like he had during the first time as he looked deeply into her eyes.
"Naruto…" whispered Arya before a finger pressed onto her full lips.
"I love you for who you are, not the amount of power you have. But if you still feel insecure, then I will train you into the ground, bring you forth from the edge of physical and chakra exhaustion, and by the time I'm done, you will have all of the power you could ever want. Remember, you have one thing almost nobody back home had…immortality – a powerful tool if used correctly. So don't," Naruto pulled their foreheads together as the tips of the noses touched, "don't ever become disappointed in yourself, because I sure as hell am not. I love you Arya, no matter how powerful or weak you are."
With those words, Arya just melted into his embrace as all of her previous worries and doubts that had always been somewhere in the back of her mind just vanished, like a shadow in sunlight. Raising her head slightly, Arya suddenly surged forward as she pressed her lips against his and slightly closed her eyes.
Stunned for only an instant, Naruto responded as he drew her closer with one of his hands pressing on the curve of her spine, the leather breastplate she always seemed to wear molded against his muscled chest, while groaning in pleasure as his other hand tangled itself in her midnight black hair.
Ever so gently so as to not startle her, Naruto tilted her head further up as he deepened the kiss before lightly nibbling on her sensitive bottom lip, drawing out a surprised moan of passion as she felt electricity run through her nerves and down her spine.
"Oh…I could really grow to like this," thought Arya as her toes curled from the newfound enjoyment of their kissing and her hands bunched the back of his shirt at his shoulders, desiring only for this moment to go on forever.
Unfortunately, all good things have to end.
BOOM
Just as Naruto was about to go further with the kiss, a tremor ran through the ground underneath them as something of significant mass impacted the earth just a couple of miles away from them. Breaking off their kiss, Naruto whirled around as he shielded Arya from the incoming shockwave.
"Doton – Doryūheki!" With a stomp of his foot, a 10 feet tall and 6 feet thick chakra coated earth wall sprang up from the ground in front of them, fully shielding them from the blast. In the next second, the grass and trees around them flattened themselves to the ground as the solid wall in front of them stayed strong.
A full minute passed until the aftereffects wore off. Receiving a message from the Kage Bunshin that was supervising his dragon's training, Naruto gained several tics on his forehead as he again stomped the ground as he made the earth wall in front of them sink back into the ground. With a surge of chakra and a snap of his fingers, the clone that caused the mess was forced to undergo internal combustion as he exploded some distance away from them.
What awaited their eyes bemused the both of them, more for Arya than for Naruto.
Several feet in front of them was what looked like a black metal pile that occasionally twitched, which they realized was Naruto's dragon, who had almost doubled in length and size. Raising his head, the young dragon sheepishly looked over at the staring couple who he knew were doing one of their weird mating rituals from the mental connection they shared.
Further behind him was the smoking remains of a three-story tall meteor that now laid in several large pieces, scattered in the forest.
As the dust cleared, the two walked towards the still twitching dragon as any dents in his armor were automatically mended due to the Asura path he inherited from his Rider.
Checking over his dragon, Naruto concernedly asked, "Hey, you alright? I know the training is supposed to be harsh, but I didn't think my clone would be flinging building sized meteors at you this early. They were only supposed to be half as big."
The dragon merely rolled his glowing fiery eyes when he heard his Rider's question and following statement.
After arriving in the Kamui dimension, Naruto had allowed the dragon into his mind, guiding his mind while preventing his own from crushing the intruder. After a few seconds, Naruto realized that due to the bonding, their minds were somehow similar enough that they wouldn't reject each other, greatly relieving him as he didn't wish to accidentally mush his dragon's mind to paste.
Needless to say, the young dragon was beyond shocked by what he found in his Rider's memories.
A trained killer from a foreign land? He could accept that.
The most powerful shinobi to ever live in the Elemental Nations? That was to be expected.
Dead last in the Academy? …Must have been a glitch or something in the blonde's memories.
Container for the most powerful of the Bijuu, who could crush mountains and create tsunamis with a brush of its tail? Now it's getting ridiculous.
But to have faced a man capable of summoning giant meteors, creating forests, and summoning a giant ethereal warrior…and then proceeded to seal away a Goddess and a combination of all the Bijuu within him?
Impossible.
But the memories were there, and it would explain just how his Rider grew to be so powerful. At first, he feared whether he made too hasty a decision in choosing Naruto as his Rider: wondering whether they could ever have the close relationship dragons and their Riders had to the point that they felt like one being both in and out of combat. Someone with so much power and shinobi paranoia should have problems with letting others in, right?
He needn't have worried as over the two weeks inside the Kamui dimension, Naruto had shown him nothing but compassion and kindness…except during the 'training'. Seriously, what kind of sadistic bastard would throw meteors at the dragon he was bonded to.
His thoughts were interrupted when Arya sighed with a degree of amusement, "Naruto, was it really necessary to drop meteors on top of your dragon for dodging practice? You do realize had it been any other dragon, he or she would have been crippled for life, even with the elven arts."
"I did it precisely because he is my dragon. Don't underestimate the armor of my Asura Path; a whole castle could probably fall on him and he would only have a few fractures that could be easily healed, which is why I had to use meteors as conventional weapons would just bounce off of him." Naruto reasoned as he then held up two fingers.
"The only two weaknesses he truly has are his wings, while sturdier than due to the metal entwined with his scales, bones, and muscles, the flaps themselves are still more susceptible to damage, although it would take a damn sharp blade and significant force. The second would be the scar on his chest. While ordinary weapons would melt before they punched through, an accurate ballista shot would be more than enough to pierce through and cause fatal damage to his organs, even with the Asura path reinforcement. This could change for the better or for the worse as he ages, but for now, I will be creating wards and seals directly linked to my untapped chakra pool. That should be enough to protect him from anything."
The two students nodded their understanding as they knew only sufficient danger would be able to make them take the training seriously and due to their natural physical abilities, drastic measures had to be taken. However, they soon paled when they saw a familiar, but dreaded, wide smile that showed off his longer than normal canines.
"If you really thought the meteors were too much, I wonder how you feel about the next part of the training." The God of Shinobi smirked when he saw their expressions. "Hint: it involves a certain fox's tails."
Arya looked in confusion, since the only fox she knew related to her love was a cute chibi barely ye high, as her fellow victim slowly backed away, his eyes wide as giant dinner plates as he realized who his Rider was talking about.
"Don't worry though, my clone contacted me that we have almost arrived at the Varden encampment and it would seem…we are about to have a fight. So we'll postpone that training…for later." Excitement burned through the dragon's eyes as he stretched to his full size, showing off that he was as long and tall as Saphira was before her transformation.
Naruto simply looked amused as he too looked forward in anticipation, planning on perhaps increasing his resistance seals to further train his body and skills through the coming fight.
Although she would forever deny it, Arya also grew heated at the mention of the coming battle. Beneath her cold exterior lied a hot-blooded warrior that, while not enjoying the slaughter of her opponent, reveled in the full usage of her skills in both blade, magic, and now chakra that she trained so hard for.
All three grinned at each other before Arya schooled her expression into cold, unemotional one as Naruto transferred all of them out of his personal dimension.
As they appeared back in reality, it would only take a few days before all of Alagaesia knew that there existed yet another free dragon.
And this one would make his ancestors proud.
Notes:
Yuki no Kuni – Land of Snow
Doton – Doryūheki – Earth Style: Mud Wall
Hello everyone, sorry for the long periods of no updates. I've been having some pretty major writer's block as well as getting past this part of the story and onto the more exciting bits. Also, I'm trying to portray a realistic view of Naruto's and Arya's love…which is quite difficult and I now fully appreciate the amount of work that goes into weaving romance into any story. Please leave a review and thank you for reading!
