Hello readers! I would like to thank Sefirosa—after yukino76—for reviewing the previous chapter plus sunset0020 for favoriting Always And Forever Yours as well as Spiritual-Sister for commenting in the first chapter of Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità in addition to LunnyMun16 for favoriting also following it, Hetalia on Ice, Kaitō Kokoro, and Kanashī, Wütend, Desolato then Akinezy for just doing the first in that list! Thank you very much! I really appreciate it!
...Okay Spiritual-Sister. Thanks for the warning. O_O
No problem yukino76! (:
Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of Naruto or Blood Lad. They belong to their respective owners. I only own this and every other story I have.
All that was left were ashes where the flesh-eating flora was once at. Each and every one of them stared in awe at the scene. Liz gaped at what she had seen. "The Chariot has evolved into...the World."
"Upright...the World symbolizes completion, integration, accomplishment, and travel." Itachi whispered. "The World signifies completion, achievement, and fulfilment. All of your efforts are finally paying off and you have reached the end of a journey or have completed a major life cycle. You have endured hardships and challenges along the way but these have only made you stronger and significantly wiser and more experienced than when you first started on your journey. You have finally accomplished your goal or purpose. Everything has come together, and you are in the right place, doing the right thing, achieving what you have envisioned, and feeling fulfilled and complete. In this sense, the World card also heralds new beginnings that naturally emerge out of the completion cycle."
Staz practically leapt up and down in joy. Complete and absolute joy. "GREAT JOB FUYUMI!" If she hadn't been ready and braced herself, he would have tackle-hugged her to the ground. The tight embrace only got tighter and tighter. "I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE BETTER NOW!"
"If you can maintain this level of determination over long periods of time, your life will definitely change for the better." Itachi smiled. "I'm sure of it."
Sasuke grunted. "Don't think you're out of the woods yet though; the path to total recovery will be long and arduous."
"But you just took the first step!" Naruto cheered. "A very important one at that!"
Liz nodded. "As long as you keep taking steps forward and never stop or go back, you will succeed within a matter of time."
"If you are as open to a professional therapist as you were to us just earlier, progress will be made." Braz pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Don't regress...progress."
Deep chuckling and slow clapping drew everyone in the room's attention to the source. A tall paler-than-paper man who had his black hair spiked up and sharp fangs poking out—like the Blood siblings—dressed in an all-too-familiar flowing high-collared black cape with blood-red insides appeared from below. Blood-red eyes took in the scene before them. "Well, well...what happened here?"
"Dad?!" Staz practically jumped out of his skin at the sight of the arrival. "I can explain! Really!"
Not that Braz was any better. "It's not what it looks like father!"
"Y-Yeah!" Same with Liz. Let's just say the three were more or less terrified.
But guess who stood up to him? "Please mayor, don't punish them!" Fuyumi exclaimed. "This was all to help me—"
"—I know." Several jaws dropped as that straight line morphed into a smirk. "Don't think I didn't see that Giant Montane Pitcher Plant that was sitting on that very spot—" He pointed to the stack of cinders "—and have never heard of Evokers and how they work."
Realization suddenly dawned on Naruto. "You're their dad?!"
"Dobe!" Sasuke barked. "Don't be so disrespectful—"
However, a bout of laughter cut him off short. "Why yes I am." He flung the corner of the cape to chin level, smirking as he clutched it. Like how Braz had done. "Do you not see the resemblance?"
"I-I do." Who couldn't? It was quite, quite obvious after all.
Itachi smiled as he stepped forward. "It is nice to see you again, Richarz-san."
"No need to be so formal." The man waved a hand in a dismissive manner. "'Richarz' is just fine; no need for honorifics or titles." He glanced at both Itachi and Fuyumi. Those same blood-red eyes then fell upon the one unfamiliar person in the room. "What is your name young man?"
The blond had to gather all of his strength to force his throat open. "N-Naruto Uzumaki."
"No need to be so frightened." Fangs flashed. "I won't bite you and suck every last drop of blood from your body." Counter-productive. As in Naruto only became even more frightened.
But a not-so-real—fake—cough broke the tension. "What are you doing here Dad?" Staz demanded. "I highly doubt you're here to look through my otaku paradise." Arms crossed. "Also, why did you bother to see the plant and how did you know it was even here?"
"I have my ways." Ominous glint. Yet that ominous glint receded into a more genuine spark. "I am glad Fuyumi-chan has gotten better thanks to what you did." He gave a nod. "In no time, my future daughter-in-law will be all better."
A certain pair's cheeks ignited hotter than the most infernal of hellfires at those words. "HUH?!"
"W-WHAT?!" Both Staz's and Fuyumi's eyes bugged completely out of proportion.
Too bad Braz and Liz weren't helping with the situation. In that they were snickering. Richarz chuckled. "Of course I see you two getting married. Even a blind person could see this clear as day." A twinkle lit up in his eye. "Invite me to the wedding, alright?"
"D-DAD!" Staz almost combusted into flames, like many vampires would when exposed to harsh sunlight. Ouch.
But the parent all but ignored his son's apparent agony. "It is nice to see you again, Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha. Nobody I have known is as eloquent and persuasive as you are. I am proud to have met you." He turned his back, leaving the room. But not without leaving one last parting shot. "Staz, clean up the mess."
A jaw crashed into oblivion. Too bad Braz and Liz all but fled with their father, so no help from them. Why do bad things always happen to good people?!
The 24th of December
Thank goodness Naruto, Sasuke, Itachi, and Fuyumi did in fact not run away from the mess. With their—and Kurama's—assistance, the six of them were able to dispose of all the ashes and eliminate all the stains within several hours. What a fun way to spend an afternoon and evening. Thank goodness Itachi treated them all to some find food: all sorts of sushi of the highest quality which pretty much melted in Staz's mouth, fruit salad filled with a vast variety of different fruits for Fuyumi, omusubi with okaka and tomatoes for Sasuke, seaweed-stuffed onigiri with stir-fried cabbage and dango on the side for Itachi, piles and piles of pork products for Kurama, and of course...the twenty huge bowls of miso ramen with extra pork for Naruto. What a great dinner. Sadly, the nightmare fuel returned for a certain someone as he watched not only an impossible amount of noodles disappear into such a small space, but also razor-sharp fangs tearing apart poor pieces of raw fish and tempura with no manners to be seen from either of them. Great. Just great.
After that, they parted ways, but not before Staz practically groveled on the ground, expressing his eternal gratitude in a not-so-subtle way. Thank goodness there was no one else there to witness the sight. At least Fuyumi did not stand out nearly as much as she gave a polite bow and thanked them for their help before giving Naruto back his Evoker.
Anyways, the three—after Kurama reverted back—returned to their place of stay and headed to bed for a well-deserved rest. Well, except Naruto didn't exactly go to sleep; as usual, he chatted with Shikamaru, Chōji, Kiba, and—the most recent addition—Natsu. The Nara did not change his mind in the slightest, only sighing how troublesome the Uzumaki's day must have been. The Akimichi dropped his phone. The blond almost became deaf with how loudly the Inuzuka screamed into his transmitter and by extension the flaxen's receiver. The Dragneel celebrated with his kindred spirit on a job well done. Nice.
The next day, Staz was there to greet them after breakfast had passed. "Follow me!" And they did just that. Of course, someone—Sasuke—was not as eager as the others—Naruto and Itachi—as they were led back to the towering high-rise. However, instead of the group of guys, different people met them there.
"We are forever grateful for your efforts in helping our daughter recover." A tall blue-haired woman possessing a bodacious figure dressed in a fancy velvet dress who had blue and yellow eyes smiled.
A tall black-haired man who wore glasses and had a more plain appearance than his wife and child gave a bow. "Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, Itachi-san...we cannot thank you all enough. You were our ray of hope when nothing else was working."
"Maybe old-fashioned methods are not necessarily the best ways to accomplish your goals." Richarz hummed. "Maybe I will accept more ideas from outsiders." Blood-red eyes flicked toward the Uchiha brothers. "I highly doubt I will find any better negotiators than you two though."
Braz smirked. "I agree. It's hard to find people as eloquent you know."
"But if there are more people like them, Tophet can only improve." Liz added.
Their father nodded. "Perhaps."
"Thank you so much!" Fuyumi gave another bow. "I will do my best to keep my determination up and improve further in therapy!"
Itachi smiled. "I'm glad."
"...Good." Sasuke grunted.
Naruto beamed. "That's awesome!"
"Let's get down to the chase." Staz's sudden statement had three sets of eyes widening. "I know you guys are leaving today and will be going to the next place within a short amount of time." I guess he deduced this from the reservation he may not have legally seen. Not that he needed to tell anyone else this. Nope.
Fuyumi interjected. "We had to say 'goodbye' before you three left!"
"It's not 'goodbye'; we'll come back shortly." The Uzumaki reassured. That brought a smile to her—and the Blood siblings'—lips.
Itachi smiled. "Let's exchange information. It will come in handy for communicating with each other."
"All right." They did just that, sharing their contacts amongst themselves.
Staz spoke out. "If Braz ever invites you to 'help' him with one of his experiments, say no." He shuddered as the electric chair, the jars of leeches, the freezers, the rope tied to the ceiling and lying about, and those countless potions came to mind. "Seriously, just say no."
"Don't listen to him." White light obscured the mentioned's eyes. "I won't do anything illegal to you. I promise."
Blood-red eyes rolled. "Yeah right." Those same blood-red eyes shot back to the three. "You guys packed all your bags, right?"
"Right." Itachi confirmed. "They are all in my car. We placed them all there before breakfast."
Staz gave a nod. "You guys better get going now so you guys won't be late to your next place."
"Of course." Sasuke grunted. Naruto shared that nod.
And now it was time to go. Fuyumi started to wave. "Bye! See you again!"
"You better not forget!" Staz yelled.
Liz grinned. "I can't wait to see you all again!"
"Don't be strangers." Braz stated. Plain and simple.
Richarz smirked at them. "Come back soon, alright?"
"You're welcome back any time!" Mrs. Yanagi cried.
Mr. Yanagi smiled. "You should come over to our house some time."
"I'll miss you all!" Naruto announced.
Sasuke remained silent for several moments before finally opening his mouth. "...Bye."
"Thank you for having us." Itachi bowed. The three then turned around, heading back to the hotel where the eldest's vehicle was at.
The seven watched as the trio departed, not leaving until they were out of sight.
"Oh. My. God."
For hours on end, Itachi had been driving, leaving their prior place of stay far behind. However, unlike the last several times they had been on the road, Naruto had not been asleep; on the contrary, he was anything but asleep. Like the most recent time. The car had been filled with excited chatter as Naruto spoke to Natsu on the phone about pretty much anything that came to mind. And I mean anything: the types of ramen Natsu should try, the spiciest foods out there, the tastiest—yes, tastiest—fires there are, dragon lore, how hilarious it was seeing how annoyed Sasuke was at the incessant chatter, how hilarious it was seeing how annoyed Gray was at the incessant chatter...you name it, they talked about it. For hours upon hours on end. Literally. No joke. It's like déjà vu to a few days ago. Ugh. Just how much had they had to say to each other?! Just how extensive were their topics?!
Just when will this end?! "Aww man! You have to go on another Job right now?!" Question answered. "I'll talk to you later! Bye!"
"Finally..." Relief. Sweet, sweet relief. Sasuke was only seconds away from slamming his head on the window again and again and again and again. Again.
Naruto shot a glare at the offender. "Shut up teme!"
"I bet Gray was also relieved you guys finally stopped talking." That glare was returned.
And the blue glare only intensified. "What's wrong with us talking to each other?!"
"Talking? More like babbling for god knows how long." And the black glare intensified as well. Déjà vu indeed.
Time to break up the tension. Once more. "We are approaching our destination." Itachi cut in. Mission accomplished; the staring—glaring—contest had ended as the blond broke off the gaze, facing the man. "We are going to a city by the name of Wutai."
"Wutai?!" First, an incredibly silly-sounding yet actually sinister name in Tophet. Now this?!
A knowing smirk crossed the eldest's face. "We will be seeing some familiar faces there and some new ones."
"Like in Fushichō?!" The Uzumaki's jaw dropped wide open.
That knowing smirk had yet to vanish, only growing in size and smugness. "Perhaps..."
"Nii-san." Sasuke all but face-palmed.
At that moment, their destination came into view. Unlike the previous one aka Tophet, the city actually looked like a place on the surface of the earth instead of below; skyscrapers rose above the numerous mountains and cliffs surrounding the metropolis with only a sandy beach offering a break from the greys and browns of the place.
"So that's Wutai?" Naruto pondered.
Itachi nodded. "Yep."
About ten minutes later, the car entered the vicinity. Immediately, Itachi steered the vehicle toward the hotel they would be staying in. However, upon arriving and bringing their stuff out of the car, two figures were there to meet them. Two figures that the three had seen and interacted with before.
Naruto gaped. "Aerith?! Cloud?!"
"Hey! Don't leave me out!" A tall well-built man who had sky-blue eyes as well as spiky black hair with several bangs framing the sides of his face and was dressed in a dark blue uniform-like outfit, gloves, and boots ran up to the newcomers, waving wildly. Upon stopping before the three, he beamed brightly. "Hey there! My name is Zack Fair and welcome to Wutai!"
Translation: Nii-san=Older brother
How was it?
Please review! I really appreciate them and they motivate me to write more!
