A/N: Please read this little note, would you kindly? It would mean the world to me!
First, site notifications have gone wonky again. Can anyone see this?
Second, the Embers rule remains.
If folks don't like this story, POOF! Away it goes.
So by all means, speak up! Every bit of feedback matters here! Truly, it does! That's no joke!
I...dislike begging for feedback, but reviews truly keep me writing. Without them, I lose all inspiration. That's no joke! So by all means, speak up! Call that what you will, but I write for feedback; that, and the joy of chatting with you all. That's the long and short of it, and the reason I started to write here so long ago.
Now onto your questions. Got some heavy ones this time. I do hope you've prepared yourself.
Q: Strength levels? Even a basic ranking would be awesome.
A: At this point it would be Naruto (Limited Baryon Mode) Sasuke (Eyes Intact) Sakura (Maiden Power) Kakashi (Obito's chakra)
Clearly those rankings can shift, but there won't be any "Nerfing" in this story. Not like what Boruto did.
Seriously? Sasuke running out of chakra? Over trivial things...? No. Just no.
Don't even get me started about what happened to him and Naruto!
Q: Is...is Salem's curse broken?
A: Very much so. She understood the importance of life and death, because she thought was going to die. And she nearly did. But she's lost none of her power; even with mortality, she's still a force to be reckoned with, as this chapter proves.
Speaking of which! Time for a shameless plug! "Knight of Salem" by Couer Al'Aran goes more in depth to the ideal of a mortal Salem.
I cannot recommend it enough! Its an absolutely delightful blend of madness and storytelling.
Q: TF is Ozpin?
A: Already said where he is in an earlier chapter. I dislike repeating myself.
Q: Wait, wait, wait. Are THEY here?
A: They who...?
Q: And the pairing is...?
A: What're you on about? The pairing was finalized ages ago. Read and see. Make your own assumptions. Who knows? I might surprise you.
Q: Why haven't you mentioned others like Tai or Ironwood and the like?
A: Well, we know James is pretty damn old by the end of volume eight, so it stands to reason he's older than the rest. But I won't speak of Young!Tai yet. You'll see him. Sooner or later.
Q: More madness! More insanity! We demand it!
A: As you wish..
Alright, then! I think I've kept you long enough.
Now I think I'm going to enjoy my first day off in forever.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. Not a wit or one~! They're merely tributes.
Now then! Here! We! GO~!
"Mercy! Please! You can't leave me like this! They'll eat me alive!"
~?
Reasons to Understand
"Daddy's back!"
There can be no greater gift for a father returning from a long journey than this. Naruto scarcely had time to step over the threshold of his home before he heard Summer's cry; a shout swiftly accompanied by the pitter-patter of small feet. He cast a glance to the stairs and caught a flash of white in his peripherals, followed by a flash of silver eyes. Tock and Glynda weren't far behind her.
He tried to brace himself. Really, he did.
It just wasn't enough. "Papa!"
"Wait, watch the-
No dice. Summer slammed into his recently healed leg and it buckled. Then he was done.
She bowled him right over; he went down with an "Oomph!" of surprise and she rode him to the ground, still clinging to his leg. The back of his head kissed the kitchen floor a nanosecond before Tock landed on his chest, further driving the wind from his lungs. In a rare breach of decorum Glynda landed on top of her all but flattening the smaller girl against him. In short? Everyone latched onto and by the gods, they latched hard. A chorus of happy voices assailed his ears as they badgered him with questions, each quicker than the last.
"We missed you! Why were you gone so long?!"
"Why do you look so beat up?!"
"Did you miss us?!"
"Hey, hey!" he raised his arms with a laugh, trying to fend them off only to fail spectacularly. "Of course I missed you! And its a long story! Now where's your...mother."
Looking up from where he lay, he saw her slip out of the den. Silver eyes met his.
"Naruto."
They say absence truly makes the heart grow fonder.
Maria wasn't looking very fond of him right now.
He gulped a little. "Hey, sweetie?"
On the surface the Grimm Reaper's face was the very picture of calm; a dark ocean seemingly undisturbed by stress or any such emotion. Naruto knew better. Beneath that gentle facade lay death itself, ready to cut him down if he said the wrong word. All the signs were there; here smile didn't quite reach her eyes, her stance was shifted just so, one hand straying toward the twin scythes belted to her shoulders, the way she was looking not at him, but past him...
"Nope!" Kurama squawked. "Not dealing with it! Wake me when she's not making that face!"
One had but to look to the door him to see the source of her anxiety. For Salem herself lingered just past the threshold, unwilling to approach. She looked pretty as a painting. She'd since shed her dark robes for a flowing white dress, her once ash gray hair was now swept into a loose braid draped over her shoulder, blue-green eyes so wide they almost seemed to glow in the afternoon light. She met Maria's stare evenly, not once wilting in the face of her confusion.
Maria's brow shot into her hair. "What the hell is this?"
"Hey! You told me to come back alive. I did."
"Yes," she ground out, "But what. Is. This."
Kurama made a fair point. Lying availed him naught here. So he told the truth. "That...would be Salem."
Maria absolutely hissed. Summer tilted her head. Tock made a noise of confusion.
In the end, Glynda of all people was the one to diffuse it.
She untangled herself from Naruto's arm, looked up at Salem, and gasped.
"Mother?"
Salem jolted where she stood. "I beg your pardon?!"
"I'm sorry." the little blond adjusted her glasses, cleaned them with a cloth, then dared a sheepish little smile. "I mistook you for someone else. You just look so much like her."
It was both the best and worst thing she could've said.
Salem's hands flew to her face, muffling a noise of pure pain. Naruto winced. It sounded like she might burst into tears at any moment. He could see the similarities between her and Glynda at a glance; that must've made it even more painful. Salem had children once. It only made sense that she'd be weak to that word.
"Another mommy?" Tiny Tock was ally for it; entirely too young to consider the ramifications.
Summer screwed up her face and considered Salem intently. As she looked now, Salem didn't at all resemble the monster she'd seen through the Seer. If she made the connection by their voices, she was doing little to show it. Even now Glynda kept stealing the odd glance at Salem; Naruto suspected she was rather keen on the idea herself.
Unfortunately that left the matter of Maria, quite possibly the deciding factor. "Is he telling the truth?"
Salem lifted her chin. "That depends entirely on you, dear girl. Who do you think I am?"
The Grimm Reaper crossed both arms before her bosom. "What is he to you?"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Here we go...
"What is he?" Salem sniffed like the queen she'd once been and finally dared to cross the threshold into their home. "Responsible, that's what he is!" those lively eyes flicked to him. "Were it not for him I wouldn't be back in this...feeble form." her gaze flitted back to Maria. "I am owed recompense."
Silver eyes flashed, drawing a flinch from the former Grimm.
"You haven't kissed him or anything, have you?"
"K-K-Kissing?!" Salem's pale face turned red as a rose. "How bold! Why would I do such a thing?! He hasn't even begun to court me yet, let alone serenade me!"
Summer tilted her head. "What's a seranade?"
"See what I mean?" Naruto saw his chance for what it was and dragged himself upright. "I couldn't just leave her be." Rising soon proved easier said than done considering Summer and the others simply weren'tletting go of him, but he managed somehow. " She wouldn't be able to function in society like this."
Salem preened a little. "He's a gentlemen if nothing else."
"This from the woman who tried to kill me!"
"I already apologized and promised to cease all hostilities against you and yours." Salem tilted her head. "Shall I allow you to hold my hand as well?" she touched a finger to her lips, genuinely considering the matter. "Then again, I do not wish to seem a harlot...
"Maybe you have a point." Maria slumped in defeat. "Well, here views certainly are antiquated. You and your bleeding heart...
"Eh, you love me."
"I do," she jabbed him once in the nose for good measure. "And that is the ONLY reason I'm even entertaining this notion."
"But she seems so nice!" Tock put in.
A dark brow rose. "Girls. Upstairs. Now."
Summer tried to protest. "But daddy just go back-
"You go right this instant, or you'll get no desert tonight!"
The girls scarpered.
"Adorable little things." Salem hummed as she watched them scramble upstairs. "And if my strength concerns you, you needn't worry. "I am not helpless, rest assured still have my spells. I was quite the sorceress in my day."
Maria scoffed. "I very much doubt you can-
Salem raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
Maria flinched a bolt of purest light howled past her to obliterate a nearby wall. It kept going, shooting out past the horizon, arcing over the walls of Vale. Something exploded in the distance. Cries of shock and alarm went up as a pillar of molten light billowed into the sky.
"I'm sorry," the former queen all but preened, rubbing her fingers together. "I didn't quite catch that. Care to repeat yourself?"
"To be clear!" Maria butted her forehead against Salem's, "I saw him first. You have no claim on him."
"So you say." Salem hummed. "I am feeling rather peckish after that journey...perhaps we should find something to eat."
"Are you even listening to me?"
"Oh, my! It certainly is drafty in here!"
Mavis fluttered in through the gaping hole to land on Naruto's shoulder. Man and bird exchanged a single bland look between them.
The Nevermore gave the avian equivalent of a shrug. "Caw!"
"I hear you." he sighed. "Women are weird."
(.0.0.0.)
Nothing happens in Vacuo. Nobody cares about Vacuo.
Now her people knelt before their new ruler.
Oh, how little they knew...
(.0.0.0.)
A wise man once said, it is easier to conquer than to rule.
True words have never been spoken.
As another man now learned.
Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose as he considered the sheer pile of paperwork before him. It loomed over his desk, ready to topple over at the slightest provocations. Forms to sign, inspections to conduct, new soldiers to train. And that was just today! If he'd known this would be his reward, he might not have gone ahead with that coup. Make no mistake, he still would have done something to the council. But not this.
Perhaps he should've put puppets in their place, figurehead who answered to him.
A shame he hadn't thought things through.
For now, this was an annoying if necessary evil. Until he installed those who could govern properly, the duty of said governance fell to him. There were few he could trust, and even less to confide in. But he could trust the Schnee family, their soldiers, Cinder, and himself. It would have to do for now.
A brisk knock echoed at the door, plucking him from hid drudgery.
"Enter." he looked up, tried to make himself presentable, then gave up on it.
Kakashi stifled a sigh. "Enter."
Willow swept in, utterly at her ease. He supposed she would be; the Schnees were sitting pretty thanks to his little revolution; it certainly helped that they'd lent him their own private security force. In truth, he was rather surprised Cinder hadn't come barging in asking for more training. Maybe he'd worked her too hard last night. She must be exhausted if she was still sleeping that off...the fact that Willow wasn't suggested she'd slacked on her training today. Was that a new dress, too? Worrying.
"Did you need something?"
The girl got right down to it. "How much longer do you intend to do this?"
A blink. "Do what?"
She planted a fist on her hip. "Rule."
Oh, right. That. He coughed once and shook his head.
"Not for much longer if I have anything to say about it." Feigning disinterest, he pretended to peer at the papers on his desk and took a sip of his coffee. Willow's gaze tracked his face. "Probably another year, three at the most." Any longer than that, and he'd go made. "This is a thankless task, and I really don't want it...
"Truly?" Her pale visage turned a pretty shade of pink as she watched him. "That...that's good. I had thought...feared that you might...
"Might what?"
She didn't answer. Not at first.
And then. Quite suddenly. "...would you marry me, someday?"
Danger! Kakashi nearly spat out his coffee. "Willow, no. You're a child."
She didn't stomp like one. She simply crossed her arms. "I won't be forever."
...she had a point. For a wild moment Kakashi found himself imagining her as an adult-NO! Bad thoughts! Ignore! Suppress! His head slammed into his desk. Once. Twice. Thrice. Nope. Not dreaming. Damn it all. Still, the pain cooled his head and brought desperately-needed clarity, if only for a moment.
Young Willow quirked a brow, remarkably patient for her age. "Are you done?"
Kakashi banged his head once more. And then.
"Come here and help me with this."
She all but pranced over.
(.0.0.0.)
"Naruto would never do something like this."
Sakura didn't look up from her latest patient. Sweat knitted her brow as she ran glowing green hands across his chest. Sasuke considered him for a moment. At her touch his breathing eased and a hint of color returned to his pallid features. He might even live to see another sunrise if she kept working. Others wouldn't. How many more would be dead without her? Probably best not to think of it. There were already calls for them to raise the dead, please for loved ones to be brought back to life.
'You could.' A nasty little voice plucked at him. 'You saw Kabuto weave the signs that day thanks to Itachi. The jutsu was even explained to you.'
Did he dare?
To inflict Edo Tensei upon this world...
Sasuke scowled at the thought as much as the silence that followed. "Sakura? Did you hear me?"
"Hmm?" she looked up. "I'm sorry, did you say something? I was concentrating."
"I said Naruto didn't do this."
"..."
The silence stretched longer still.
"Sakura." He strained her name. "You know he wouldn't allow this kind of bloodshed."
It was a dark day indeed when Sasuke Uchiha of all people felt the need to defend Naruto Uzumaki. It wasn't as if they were sworn brothers or any such thing, but he still felt compelled to defend his friend's honor, if only because Sakura wouldn't. Wouldn't do for her to get ideas. Her followers were already chomping at the bit. If it fell to him to keep them in line, so be it. He would have order. One way or another.
"He might have changed."
Sasuke quirked a brow. "Like me?"
The Maiden flinched and looked aside. "That's not fair!
"That's life." he countered, holding her gaze. "Its seldom fair. If that idiot wanted to kill us -and why would he?- then he would have led that attack himself. I still say he had no reason to. It could've been his followers acting up."
Her brow furrowed and he wondered if she would protest.
"You're right." In the end, she abstained. "But so many were hurt...the people are angry...and we still haven't found Kakashi...
"He's in Atlas." a selfsame shrug put her fears to rest. "Might not be the same place; its been some time since I asked Jinn, but that's where she pegged him. We'll find him. As to your followers...we'll find a solution. We always do. And I'm sure Naruto will do the same for his."
Sakura ducked her head to hide her smile, but he caught the corner of her mouth curling upward.
"He can be a bit of an oaf sometimes, can't he?" she sniffled a little. "But he's our oaf." her right hand rose, scrubbing at the her face to dry the tears that threatened to come . "You're right. I'm sorry." A burning green eye flicked up to regard him, rimmed with wild emerald flame. "I swear, I don't know what's gotten into me lately. I'm so emotional these days. Maybe its these new powers of mine. Or the stress...
The ghost of a smile touched his lips. "Maybe all of the above?"
"Ass." she pelted him with a roll of gauze. "If you have time to sass me, then you have time to help."
"Putting me to work with the kids, are you?"
Sakura's smiled was decidedly cheeky.
"You bet! Now hop to it!
A/N: And there we go. More of an interlude chapter, but we needed to address the aftermath of things.
And is Sakura pregnant? Oho?
As ever, the Embers rule remains.
If folks don't like this story, POOF! Away it goes.
So by all means, speak up! Every bit of feedback matters here! Truly, it does! That's no joke! I really don't have much time to write these days and feedback is the wind beneath my wings. Silence is a lead weight that just drags me down.
As ever, reviews/feedback keep me writing them. Without them, I lose all hope, creativity and imagination.
So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly!
SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
(POTENTIAL PREVIEWS. Be sure and vote for what you want to see~!)
"Say it again."
Glynda blinked once in her lap. "Mother?"
Salem shivered just a little and patted her head. "Good girl...
Naruto took a picture.
"Alright," Maria allowed. "That's adorable."
"You intend to battle me?"
"Battle you, beat you, and spit on your grave."
"What's all this?"
Cody marched in and snapped off a brisk salute. "General."
"Thought I told you not to call me that.Only then did he realize his subordinate wasn't alone. "Who's this, then?"
Cody had his hand on the shoulder of a sheepish young man, more a boy than anything else. Flinty eyes met his, framed by a mess of dark hair. His unkempt appearance suggested he'd been subjected to a rigorous interrogation. He couldn't be more than fifteen. Sixteen at a stretch. He wore a uniform, though one that denoted him as a lower rank than most.
"Hunter caught this one trying to break into the armory, sir. I thought it best to bring him here."
"Any particular reason why?"
Cody grimaced. "...Crosshair wanted to execute him."
Kakashi stifled a sigh. Blast Atlas. Blast their soldiers and blast their bloody code names.
"What do you have to say for yourself, son?"
The youth didn't answer.
"He's just a boy, sir." Cody pleaded with him. "Barely past sixteen. He's an exceptional soldier. Go easy on him."
Steeping his fingers, Kakashi laid his chin atop them. "What's your name, son?"
"James." The private grimaced. "James Ironwood."
"You don't like the way I'm running things?"
The capture soldier bridled.
"You took over Atlas."
"I did." Kakashi granted him a brisk nod. "I believe I was rather clear on the reasoning for said takeover."
"Speak plainly."
"You're...not going to execute me, sir?"
In the end he sent James on his way. Perhaps it was a good thing to have a dissenting voice.
Another knock echoed not a moment later.
"SHOPPING!"
"Nope, nope, nope." Naruto pivoted on one heel and walked the other way. "You girls have fun. I'm not walking into that hell!"
Winchester chortled a little as he followed. "I hear ya...
...what did you do?"
To her credit, Salem looked at least little sheepish.
She winced at the gaping crater she'd left just outside the city. More a chasm, really. "Redecorated? My thanks you have, for catching my spell...
Ozpin sat on his throne. He would save the world. No matter the cost.
No matter how long it took. Months, years, decades, even.
He would not be fooled by this; he would be prepared.
Sasuke nearly choked on his tongue. "Did you just say...marriage?"
"And why not? Unless you have a problem with me?
"Wait. When did you get this forward?"
"I didn't. I grew up. We all did."
...I suppose you're right."
STAY TUNED! R&R! =D