A/N: WARNING! This chapter gets vicious, mentally and physically. There you go. Disclaimer done.
You've. Been. Warned.
As ever, the "Embers" rule remains. If folks don't like this, POOF! Away it goes. Reviews are the fire that keeps me writing. Without them, I cannot put pen to paper. Simple as that. Every bit of feedback matters, large or small~! Your voice matters! Speak up!
Well, there we go. for the monthly update! Now that I've finished Resident Evil Village I can finally write without distractions for the most part.
That game absolutely kicked my ass, and...well...that ending broke me.
Now for your questions! I'll answer them quickly so we can get to the chapter:
Q: Do Naruto and Cinder have a past in this story? It seems like they do...
A: *zips lips*
Q: Just how much has the world of Remnant changed with Naruto's presence?
A: Canon has already begun to change, of course.
Q: Did Naruto "let" Cinder blind him? Been wondering about that?
A: Lets just say he had to make a choice.
We all know how he is.
Q: So we've got a mute girl, a blind guy, what's next, a deaf kid?!
A: Don't tempt me~!
Q: Is...Naruto alright? Looks like he's a little cracked.
A: Read and find out.
Chapter titles are henceforth going to be based on the lyrics of "One Thing" aka Neo's song.
As ever I don't own any references, quotes, themes or mes. Not a wit or one. That should be obvious by now.
Now then...I do believe its time to continue this merry little revenge story of ours, no? Grab some popcorn and kick up your feet...
"How does it feel, Fall?! To be deconstructed?! To be the victim?! Hurts, doesn't it?!
"Kill for kill! Eye for eye! Blood for blood!
"TIME! TO! DIE!"
~?
Eye for Eye
A wise man once said only the blind can truly see.
Naruto wondered about that sometimes.
Perhaps that man was right.
For a man who lived so long in light, being cast down into darkness had proven something of an...experience. Not a pleasant one at that. Strange as it might sound, he'd grown used to having eyes. To seeing then acting on what he saw. Likewise he'd worn his heart on his sleeve until someone scorched it away. Living without them these last few years had been painful. Agonizing. Horrific at times. But he had adapted. He had overcome, as he did all things.
And now he thrived.
All around him the world was alive with the sound of steel striking steel, the cries of battle and chaos with all it wrought. He couldn't see any of it. Not really. He "saw" the shockwaves of their clash, felt each reverberation as steel struck steel. Fire flashed through the air. Illusions formed and shattered like broken glass.
Neo was good. Neo was very good. Cinder was better.
Now wasn't the time to play about; so he sighed as he drew his staff, batting a blade aside Adam's blade more. Holding it parallel to his body, he tapped it once against the street. The sound echoed, spreading across the street in a low ripple of noise. A grainy outline interposed itself over the bleak darkness of his vision. Across the street, he heard Adam mirror the motion with his blade; listened as Wilt cleared its scabbard with an audible rasp. His senses stretched out toward the Faunus, detecting negative intent and so much more.
"I have no quarrel with you." though he could see him naught, he knew the young man was watching him.
"Nor I, you." the redhead scowled. "But you are in my way; thus, I will kill you quickly. There is no glory in torturing a cripple."
"Then step aside. We don't have to fight." He had no interest in fighting someone who wasn't Cinder. "Run away and live to fight another day."
"I'm afraid that isn't possible." Adam moved to block his path. "That woman swore to help me find Blake. With her aid, I can set things right. Without her...
"Ah." Realization dawned and a tired smile creased his whiskered cheeks. "The things we do for those we love."
"Truer words...
Sword met staff.
...have never been spoken!"
Wilt whistled in from the side; though he could not see it with his scarred eyes, Naruto found himself intimately aware of its passing all the same. He was aware of everything. He tasted the telltale burn of Dust on the air. He smelled the faint hint of sweat and blood on that rust-red blade. He heard it move through the air toward his throat, felt all the ripples of the world move with it as a great wave, sweeping all before it. Moreover, he already had some measure of the mind behind it; just as he knew the precise angle and moment with which he would strike...
And a small smile plucked at the corner of his scarred face.
...gotcha."
In a single seamless movement he stepped into the swing, turning what would have been a decapitating stroke into a harmless slap against the street. Its keen edge bit deep, slicing down into the street. Another ripple of sound, another grainy image. Naruto stomped down, trapped Adam's weapon in the crevasse he'd created. The faunus didn't falter. Blush snapped up and barked into his chest. Buckshot sprayed through empty air as the bullets struck a shadow clone, spraying smoke into the street.
Adam whirled. "What?!"
A hand closed around his shoulder and spun him around. Naruto's reared back, smashing his forehead against Adam's nose. An awful crack filled the misty streets. Blood flew through the air.
Adam crashed backward, spitting blood. "What are you...?"
Naruto twirled his staff and brought it crashing down. Blind eyes shimmered with a hint of gold.
He took no pleasure in this. Really. He didn't. He simply didn't have time.
"Just a man. I'm sorry, Adam." he tilted his head, evading Wilt by the narrowest margin, uncaring as the shockwave opened a thin cut against his cheek. "But you have to die now."
"Never! I won't fall here!"
With a roar the younger man kicked out at his chest and whirled away, bringing his blade to bear. Naruto let it pierce his shoulder, uncaring of the grisly wound it left behind. He pushed himself forward, goring his arm on the blade, bending it to hook against his wound. Then he reached around, grabbed Adam by the face, and levered him into a wall.
Aura crackled sullenly. Teeth sprayed through the air. Adam kicked out frantically, trying to escape. There would be none.
Naruto slammed him into the mortar again. Once. Twice. Thrice.
A pained cry reached his ears. "Mercy!"
He nearly slowed. Mercy. Such a quaint word. The last time he'd shown "mercy" it blew up in his face. That day he'd offered his hand in friendship, and someone spat in his face. How foolish he'd been. He'd made a choice that day. Lose his eyes to save an innocent. A fair trade, some might say. He disagreed. Kill for kill. Eye for eye. Blood for blood.
An angry knot tightened in his gut. "There is no mercy."
With a final slam, he ruptured the boy's eardrums and cracked his skull.
Scowling, he stepped over Adam's still quivering form and stormed toward Neo's dance with destiny.
"One down...
(.0.0.0.)
Emerald frowned and looked up at the skies of the Grimmlands.
A sudden shiver stole over her.
"Cinder...?"
She was fine. Surely. Cinder was invincible.
She...she couldn't die, right?
(.0.0.0.)
Vengeance was at hand.
Neo had waited for this moment, longed for it, even prayed in her darker moments. The instant when her blade pierced Cinder's black heart and ended her life. She would stand over her body and watch the light leave her eye, witness the very moment of her death and savor it. She was close now. So close she could taste it. Death wouldn't be quick. It would be slow. Agonizing.
And so she fought to see that dream realized.
All the world was a blur of steel and fire around her as she and Cinder raged back and forth; whirling, snarling, twisting against one another like a pair of she-devils. Blades clashed. Blood spattered the streets. Every speck of skill sang as semblances stretched to their limit. There was no room for thought, only action, only blood. One would stand. One would fall. Just as it was meant to be.
She would be denied no longer. Not one. Single. Second.
Another illusions shattered to glass and crossed with blades with her, leaving one of Cinder's many swords to pass harmlessly over her head.
"Nice trick." Her tormentor sneered, braving her blade with both hands to push down against her. "You've gotten stronger...
Fire flared in her visible eye.
...but so have I."
There was neither word nor warning for what came next; after all, how could she have prepared herself to fight a Maiden? Instead, she foolishly pushing forward. Mistakes were made. Sparks shot down the length of their interlocked weapons; an arcing current grounding itself in Neo's body. Then there was pain. Every cell clamped down as one. Her lips parted in a soundless scream, mismatching eyes glowing blue as her body fried.
Cinder capitalized on it and lashed out with a pillar of flame, flinging her away.
Her body crashed backward into a wall. Clothes scorched. Aura crackling Neo jerked back, twitching, skin seared. Agony flared in her shoulder, but she ignored it. Pushed past the pain. Not yet. She couldn't stop yet. This was her moment. If she retreated now, her prey would slip away in Mistral, never to be found again. No! Her mind railed at the thought. No, no, no!
'Up!' she snarled the word at her body, willing it to obey. 'Stand up!'
"Why go so far?" Cinder regarded her curiously as she stumbled upright. "You must realize you have no chance of winning."
Neo touched a hand to Roman's hat, still snug against her head. It evoked a reaction from her quarry, just not the one she wanted.
"I don't have time for your misplaced blame, girl." Cinder's visible eye rolled in mild disdain. "I didn't kill your boss. If you want revenge, take it up with little red."
...misplaced blame?! You dare?! An angry ember ignited in Neo's heart. Treacherous witch. "Little Red" hadn't been the one to start this now, had she? She'd been there at the end to be sure, but she'd not instigated this. She understood that now. Time had given her perspective. Ruby Rose was a meddler to be sure, but she wasn't the catalyst to all this.
Cinder was.
Cinder had come to them first.
Cinder had chosen them. Ruined them. Forced them onto a path of no return.
And right now? For all her preening and prattling, Cinder Fall seemed weaker than she'd ever been before. Bleeding from myriad cuts, gasping for air in the mist, she didn't look a thing like that fire witch that first brought them long. Even now Neo could feel Roman's hand on her shoulder, urging her forward. This was what he would have wanted...wasn't it? Payback. Kill for kill. Eye for eye. Blood for blood. Time to die.
Neo dove at her and they fell once more into a whirl of blades. Cinder met her with a snarl.
"You're not the only one with a grudge against Ruby!"
'I don't care about her!' Had she a voice, Neo would've screamed. 'This is your fault!' instead she settled for a silent scowl as her blade slipped cut across the bandages of Fall's left arm, tearing through the sleeve. 'All of it!' Cinder recoiled and like a madwoman, she gave chase. 'Every bit of it!'
It wasn't fair!
A glass blade shattered against her parasol, but Hush held.
'Why did it have to be us?! Why could't you just leave us alone?! WHY?!'
Cinder cut low and Neo swung high, driving a high heel into the taller woman's solar plexus. Fall folded like a wet paper bag. In a fit of pique the mute dropped her blade and grabbed her by the head. Her knee came up again, ramming against Cinder's skull. Fall lashed out and flung her away, but the damage was done. For the first time since she'd met her Neo saw fear lurking in that lone golden orb. It was there plain as day, written all over her scarred wretched face. No! Not good enough!
She slammed forward again in a whirl of pale light. 'I had one thing!'
Another cut across her face.
'One person!'
Two now.
'And you took that away from me!'
Three!
'Now I'm going to take something from you! Your LIFE-
"Neo!" A familiar voice barked. "Down!"
They sounded so much like Roman that she obeyed without thinking; flinging herself flat to the ground.
It saved her life; flames shot over her head, immolating a nearby wall to sullen embers. That could've been her. Too close.
"Listen to me, damnit! I'm not your enemy! Ruby is!"
Her words warped into a pained cry as a blade pierced her thigh.
"I don't know anyone by that name." a familiar voice hissed just behind Cinder's ear. "And I don't care." its owner gave the edge a vicious wrench, tearing through muscle. "All this started with you. Now it'll end with you."
Cinder ripped the blade free and sprang back. Neo stalked after her. The Maiden swept a hand up at her, flames blazing in her palm-
Naruto's hand caught the blast and snuffed it out, a blown candle against the wind.
Cinder dove past him with a wicked smile and Neo realized too late that she'd been drawn in, exposed to a brutal crosscut. Blistering blades passed a hairsbreadth over her throat as she swayed away. Another near miss. A wave of golden light -Naruto?- bulled in before she could capitalize on the moment, neatly severing Cinder's left arm. She tumbled back, clutching her shoulder with a hoarse cry.
"You again!"
"Me!" Sightless eyes met hers. "Did you really think I'd let you get away?"
Cinder's only response was another scream; as Neo looked on her back arched and a ghastly black limb burst from the length of her mangled shoulder. No. Not just an arm. That thing...was shadow incarnate. Wretched, twisted, in the worst of ways. Neo's stomach roiled in disgust at the sight. Well. That certainly told a tale all its own, didn't it? She'd been hiding that thing under the bandages. Sensible. And hideous. Ghastly. She really had become a monster.
"Look what's become of you." Naruto shook his head. "You've sold your soul for strength."
"Shut up!" she hissed the words through gritted teeth. "Where the hell...is Adam?!"
"Where?" He cocked a blond brow at her her. "Where do you think?"
Cinder whirled, and her lone eye narrowed upon on a still form only yards away, slumped against a wall. "Already?! Useless faunus-
"At least he fought for a cause, twisted though it was." Naruto's staff slammed into her throat, cutting her diatribe short. "You just want power."
Cinder stumbled back, clutching at her neck with her Grimm limb.
Naruto stalked after, sightless eyes intent.
Neo matched him step for step.
'How does it feel, Fall?!" Naruto's voice boomed out ahead of her and he struck first before Cinder could; slamming a strange snarling sphere into Cinder's chest. "To be deconstructed?!" she crashed away, aura shredding to pieces beneath the keening orb. "To be the victim?!" she thrashed upright, battered and bloodied, only to be kicked down again. "Hurts, doesn't it?!"
Her blade swiped out and was summarily deflected for its efforts.
"Kill for kill! Eye for eye! Blood for blood!
"TIME! TO! DIE!
Her cries of pain were sweet, sweet music to Neo's ears. More than that, they centered her. She'd nearly lost herself to rage and gone on a rampage. Anger wouldn't bring Roman back; she certainly couldn't avenge him if she was dead. No. Anger could come later. Revenge was a dish Best Served Cold, after all.
Steeling herself, she abandoned her assault and melted into the mist.
A moment's reprieve allowed her to focus and weave another illusion. It gave her time to focus.
For all his handicap, Naruto was tearing Cinder apart. Flames parted before his staff; indeed, he fended her off with almost lazy ease. Was he toying with her? Dragging out her agony? Neo didn't know. A better person might have let them duke it out alone; let them preserve some vestige of honor.
Neo was anything but honorable.
To be fair, Cinder reacted very quickly; far faster than most huntresses would've thought possible. She immolated the clone, blocked a flung knife fro the shadows and slammed her blades down to birth a mighty explosion that blasted them apart. The effort cost her and drove the maiden to a knee. Sweat beaded from her brow. Wasted, gasping for air, she pushed herself upright.
"I won't die here!" she railed, eye wide and red. "I'm meant for more than this! I have destiny!
"Yes." Naruto kicked out, catching her in the chin. "You do."
Neo slipped closer in the mist. Cinder screamed.
"Why won't you die!?"
Fall fought well. Didn't make a lick of difference. Naruto dismantled her. It was...almost sad, really. Jab to the ribs. Closer she crept. He hacked away half Cinder's ear as the Maiden tumbled to safety. Hush slipped free of its hidden scabbard with a silent click. Cinder lashed out with yet more fire, and he walked right through it, uncaring of his burns. There at last, Fall's resolve began to falter.
...Cinder, has this ever worked?"
She tried to retreat. She really did; she just wasn't quick enough. He caught her by the wrist and reeled her in, a stunned fish upon a hook.
You took my eyes." In an instant, he was upon her. His forehead kissed hers like a lovers might. "Now I'll take yours."
His hand swept past in a cruel claw, hooked into the side of Cinder's face and twisted.
Blood spattered a wall; the scream that followed eclipsed all others.
Neo grit her teeth against the wail that followed. It reminded her of a little girl who'd lost everything she'd ever known; It was an awful keening sound, one that had even Naruto flinching despite herself. But he didn't give in, didn't relent, didn't show mercy. Claws fingers came away, leaving Cinder with a ruined hole in the right side of her head. She slumped with a gasp, weeping scarlet tears. Her hair shifted a little and for a moment, she glimpsed the other side of her face, a scarred ruin. She'd lost the other eye long ago.
Cinder dropped to her knees, unable to do anything more than weep.
"I'm sorry!" here at last her voice warbled, so much that of a child. "I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!"
...eye for an eye."
Naruto ignored her, considering his prize. As Neo looked on in quiet consternation, he removed a scroll from his pouch and sealed the bloody orb within. Cinder didn't even notice. She continued to babble at his feet. What was she apologizing for? Neo didn't know. Didn't care. She saw her chance and surged forward. Cinder's back was to her. She might well hear her coming, but with both eyes gone...well. The less said the better. Three steps away now. Two. One...!
Neo swung down.
Naruto's craggy visage softened. "I forgive you."
Hush slammed into Cinder's chest and burst out her back.
Cinder didn't scream. Didn't curse her. Didn't even react; not at first. Instead the Fall Maiden swayed in surprise, mouth open to form a round "O" of genuine surprise. She looked down, realized she couldn't, and grasped feebly at the blade protruding from her flesh. When she finally looked up with, her eyeless expression seemed almost...lost, somehow. Like a little girl gaping at her father.
"But...you said you forgave me...
"I did." Naruto's head bobbed. "But I never forget. And you owe Neo a debt."
Yes, a debt that was now paid. Blood for blood. Neo ripped her blade free with a vicious twist, leaving Cinder to pitch forward onto her stomach. Such a sight brought her more relief than a dozen deaths. The mastermind collapsed with a gurgle, catching herself on her Grimm arm, only for the limb to crumble away into ash. She landed on her back and did not rise again. Her chest twitched, frantically trying to draw in air, only to fail. A tiny wheeze fled fro her lips, leaving the air to shimmer around her.
Somehow, she still spoke. "...Naruto?"
The wounded warrior shook his head and sat beside her. "I'm here."
Blood bubbled at her lips. "...do you," she coughed once, "Remember Mistral?"
Crimson pooled at his feet, slowly stain his trousers scarlet. His head bowed a little. "Yeah."
A small, broken smile curled the corner of her ruined mouth. "We should've stayed in that cave."
His shoulders trembled.
Neo turned her head aside and spat. The sound seemed to reactivate Cinder, if only for a moment
"And you," That sightless gaze found hers. "You know not what you've unleashed." a tiny croak of laughter left her lips, rattling off into a cough. "You...were never meant to win here. For this, you will... suffer...more than you know." her bloodied lips curled in a cruel grin of spite. "Its a shame I won't live to see it...
"We've had enough suffering for one lifetime." Naruto sat down beside her. "If someone wants to hate us, they're more than welcome. I'll bear that burden gladly."
Cinder's lips thinned. "You always were stubborn...
Naruto chuckled ruefully. "So were you."
Silence reigned.
...Cinder?"
She didn't answer. She'd stopped breathing. The life had already left her body.
"Goodbye, partner." Naruto whispered softly.
Neo released a breath of her own. Her shoulders slumped. Her knees buckled, leaving her to sprawl out beside her ally. For a moment, she felt something. A strange feeling overcame her. It wasn't guilt, or any emotion she knew, but it persisted regardless. She shook it off just as quickly, scrubbing at her eyes. They felt hot. Itchy. Not with tears, but something else. It could wait. She'd figure out this strange feeling later.
High above them, the slate-grey sky finally released its bounty.
Rain crashed down from the clouds, fitfully at first, but within moments it strengthened from a steady pitter-patter to heavy sheets. Of course it would rain. She squinted up at it, eyes gone narrow. Nasty weather. They'd catch cold if they stayed out here. But neither moved. Her eyes continued to itch. She scrubbed them yet again and resolved herself to ignore...whatever this was. Naruto must've felt the weight of her gaze on his shoulders; because he shifted a little where he sat. When he raised his gaze, she was alarmed to find a sorrowful expression etched across his face.
"She was a better person, once." he muttered the words almost to himself. "Before all this. Before...
Silence passed between the two of them, broken only by the rain above. And then...
Without warning, Naruto slumped over, sprawling in the street.
Huh. Sleep sounded nice right about now. Sleepy...
Darkness took her moments later.
A/N: Remember, Embers rule. I'll delete this quite soon if folks don't like it. So by all means. Make yourselves heard.
I did say there was more than met the eye. Speaking of eyes, wonder who became the Maiden?
Guess you'll have to read on and see.
So lets see, now we have a blind man, a mute girl, and...well... *SPOILER* read the previews.
Feels like we've got a theme going here.
Pretty much a single pairing here, rare as that is. Never really wrote a Blind!Naruto before. Its pretty fun, even if this particular iteration is a bit like Daredevil. That said, this...is going to be a short story. Probably five-ten chapters at most. And I'm not pulling the same shit the finale did. Really! What even was that?!
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...Review, Would You Kindly?
Do tell me what you think of enjoy the previews.
Next time! Blood for Blood.
(Previews)
He reached down.
"Nothing personal. Eye for an eye...
"I WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU LOVE!"
Adam cocked his head. "I can't hear you. No...wait...who am I?"
Neo slapped a hand to her head.
Naruto sighed. "Oh, dear...
"Breathe."
Naruto touched a hand to Neo's neck.
Something popped in her throat. She gasped softly. And made the first sound of her life.
...that...hurt."
Naruto's brow shot straight to his hairline.
"Well, I'll be damned." he laughed then, and the sound set her blood aflame. "You really do have a lovely voice."
Neo slammed into him and welded her lips to his.
R&R~!