Before we start, I'll address the feedback!
Tanya: Most of my knowledge of FF7 comes from the remake, but it was intended to be more of an AU. Just so you know though, this isn't a serious story, I don't plan to update after this.
Warz: I've read Gaia's Sennin, it's the best story in this specific fandom I think! The only thing that I really took from that was the way Naruto used materia. Although with my own tweaks (I.e: no shadow clones or wall walking). As far as the fight scene goes, I can assure you I wrote from scratch and acted out in my room like a dummy lol. Any similarities aren't intentional. Also, it's no fun to write a fight with no stakes. I figured it was pretty clear Naruto was superior to the Turks, but I'll be sure to communicate that better in the future.
Guest: Sorry, I don't speak Spanish :/
Alright, here's the second part. Just a heads up, I did change the rating to M just in case. I wouldn't say it gets too gory, but I don't want to risk any guidelines. Besides, I like to curse when I write anyways.
Enjoy
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
The slums bustled even busier than the streets above the plates in the right area's. One such place was the Wall Market, it was practically a strip mall. Truthfully, Aerith didn't like it here. Despite all the fun stores and diverse inventory, the place itself was basically one giant Red Light District. It was seedy and was practically unlivable with the types of people a place like this attracted.
Despite her distaste for Sector 6, the brunette found herself curiously searching through it. She wore a tense look, stress obviously eating away at her. Her green eyes caught sight of a grand building with the words 'Honey Bee Inn' written across it.
"That's the place!" Aerith shuffled her way through the crowded streets and pressed herself to the door. It was quiet for a club but then again it was much too early for a club to be too rowdy.
Entering the building, it was as she thought. Business seemed to be slow at this time of day, but there was the odd customer here and there. She supposed, at a place like this though, most business was done in private.
"Um, excuse me?" She walked up to the bar to a woman with red hair wearing a rather revealing outfit.
The bartender looked up, giving Aerith a once over, "Well aren't you adorable? I don't suppose you're here looking for work, are you?" She asked.
The flower peddler shook her head and waved her hands embarrassedly, "Oh n-no! I have a job that I'm very happy with at the moment!"
The redhead frowned in disappointment, "A shame, an innocent looking girl like you has a huge market… So, what brings you by then?"
"Well, I'm looking for someone, I was hoping you could tell me if they were here."
"Oh?" The bartender gave a sultry smile, "A customer then, I guess you aren't as innocent as I thought!" She laughed, "No need to be shy, every woman has her needs."
With a subtle shade of pink settling in her cheeks, Aerith asked what she'd been meaning to. "I'm looking for Naruto, is he here right now?"
"Naruto? You like 'em pretty, huh? I'm sorry but that's not the type of work he does for us. Even if he did, we haven't heard from him in days. It's a shame too, the girls really enjoyed his company. Andrea did too."
The lithe brunette clenched her fists, a frown maring her soft features. "Do you happen to know when he last showed up for work?"
The red headed bartender rose a brow at the question and gave Aerith a suspicious glance, "Why exactly are you looking for him?"
"I'm worried," she told the woman honestly, "I haven't seen or heard from him in a while, I just want to make sure nothing bad happened."
The bartender's eyes widened in realization before snapping her fingers, "Hey, you're the 'girlfriend' aren't you?! Well, I guess I know why he never took the girls up on their offers! Naruto knows how to pick 'em!" She said with a wide smile, as if she'd solved a great big mystery.
Aerith looked a bit flustered, "G-Girlfriend? Did he really call me that?"
"Well… No, not really. But every time one of the girls offered to spend the night with him he'd always tell them, 'There's already someone I like. Sorry.' We all figured he was either gay or actually in a relationship. I'm kind of relieved to know that a guy that good looking didn't end up being gay."
"I see…" There was a sense of happiness that fluttered within her, followed by guilt. "Can you tell me when he was last here?" She neither confirmed nor denied the bartender's words.
"Last time he showed up to work was Saturday. Haven't seen or heard from him since, honestly we thought he ran off with his girlfri- well, you. I guess he didn't though…" she trailed off.
Aerith deflated in disappointment hearing that, but it also gave her some valuable info. "I saw him Sunday, right before he left for work we were above the plate selling flowers…" That meant that he never made it to work that day.
"And he was scheduled for Sunday right?"
The bartender nodded, "Mhm." She confirmed with a hum.
"Ok, thank you for telling me. I really do appreciate it."
"Sure. Before you go, I'll ask the girls if they've seen or heard anything… We all like Naruto, he's always treated working girls like us with respect and defended us. I mean, it's his job but still…"
Aerith smiled and nodded in appreciation, "That'd be a big help! I'll come back to talk another day, thank you so much!"
When the green eyed woman turned around her smile fell into a look of worry, "Naruto… What happened?"
Hojo's lab was a textbook mad genius' lair. The lighting was dark and dreary, while several tubes filled with strange organic 'somethings' illuminated the walkways with a sickly green.
"It does pain me to see you like this. If you hadn't killed the last two guards, I wouldn't have to chain you up like this." The good doctor himself looked like a rat, Naruto concluded when they first met.
Currently, Naruto hung in a tempered glass cell by the wrists in such a way that his feet were unable to touch the floor. His body had a few new scrapes and wounds, as did his face, but they were healing by the hour.
The blond let himself hang quietly, staring neutrally at the floor.
"I've got a few questions for you. You're quite close with the Ancient aren't you?" There was a hint of smugness in his tone. "According to reports from the Turks, you were her bodyguard…"
Naruto didn't allow himself to react, he knew he was being provoked.
"Perhaps more than a bodyguard, you were in love?" The scientist probed and Naruto's eyes narrowed just a smidge. "You were! How fascinating! She's the last of her kind you know, unfortunately not full blooded. When we take her into custody, we'll have to have her breed-!"
Suddenly one of the chains holding Naruto snapped, the 18 year old swinging just slightly from breaking one of his bindings.
"Quit speaking." Naruto's blue eyes gained an inhuman look as he forced his will to kill on Hojo.
The doctor briefly had a vision of himself being strangled with chains before blinking and realizing it was a simple hallucination. "Hehehe." The doctor giggled in fascination. "You lack elegance my dear subject, but you more than make up for it in ferocity! Hahaha!"
A loud beeping interrupted their time together and Hojo sighed in disappointment.
"Another meeting… I have plans for you though, don't get too comfortable."
Naruto didn't bother struggling against his restraints, they were too secure and numerous for him to break out on mere strength alone.
"Guh!" Naruto grunted and his eyes widened in pain as a knife sunk into his stomach. He didn't dare to make any noise or expressions resembling pain, but it became near impossible when the short blade was ripped away from him. His brows furrowed and he coughed wetly, flecks of blood spraying from his mouth and trickling over his lips.
"I know this may seem cruel, dear Test Subject but it's necessary for my research. I theorize that in accordance with your cells splitting abnormally fast, you can self-heal with magic! Normally one might need a materia, but your physiology is a little bit different."
Hojo pulled up a scan of Naruto's body, nothing looked out of the ordinary until he switched slides and a complex network of 'veins' revealed themselves.
"H-He found my chakra pathways?!" Naruto thought in shock as he hacked up more blood.
"I was fascinated to learn that you had a secondary circulatory system, specifically for magic no less. You are indeed an interesting specimen."
Naruto glared before closing his eyes, "I have to relax! Calm your breathing and slow your heart rate!" He told himself, allowing himself to have an elevated heart rate would only cause him to bleed out quicker. This wound wasn't fatal for him, it may take a few days to heal, but as long as he focused he'd survive it easily enough.
Observing his subject, Hojo frowned as he didn't get the reaction he wanted. "Hmm, is this not urgent enough?" He questioned aloud before he scratched his chin, seemingly contemplating something. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I supposed." With a shrug, the mad man made a small precise slice right over Naruto's jugular.
Naruto's eyes shot wide open, an expression of shock on his face as a geyser of blood sprayed from his neck. "Ack!" He gurgled on his own blood.
"I guess if you die here, then you weren't as interesting as I thought you were. Oh well." Hojo carried on, walking away as if his hands and outfit weren't splattered with fresh blood and typed away on a keyboard.
"B-Bastard!" Naruto gurgled internally, "It was that damned kyuubi's job to heal wounds like this! I-I can't-!" Naruto's vision grew blurry, the edges blackening, "I can't die here… Heal damnit, HEAL!" he thought stubbornly.
Putting all his effort and focus into willing his body to heal, Naruto felt a tug on his internal mana reserves.
"Haaa, what a disappointment." Hojo turned around, fully expecting to see a useless corpse. What greeted him however was the scientific marvel he'd been waiting for. "Oh?"
*Tsss*
The soft sound of sizzling, followed by thin steam rose from Naruto's neck and stomach wound. Amazingly, the wounds stitched themselves back together as if they were fast forwarding through time. A small scar about two inches in length remained on the neck but the open wound was gone.
Naruto coughed and hacked, his skin pale and slick with blood. The fatigue he felt was unreal, sure he healed the wound but the blond felt he might just die from the exhaustion he received for doing so.
"You've given me a wonderful idea, dear Subject."
With that, Naruto blacked out.
Naruto groaned as he awoke and tried to sit up before hissing in unexpected pain and remained down. "Ngh! S-Somethings not right…" he thought, something felt wrong. Really wrong.
The source of his agony was the right side of his body, it was incredibly tight and tender. Strangely enough, he had covers.
"Oh, you're awake!" Naruto flicked his blue eyes over to the bespectacled doctor. It had been roughly a month, just over, since he'd given himself up to the Turks and been subjected to the mad man known as Hojo. "You've been in and out for two weeks now! I pushed a bit too far, too quickly. But it all worked out didn't it?"
The blond remained silent and tentatively touched his side, which was in pain. His fingers ghosted over what he knew were surgical staples. Immediately, Naruto threw his covers off sitting up despite the pain.
"W-What the hell did you do to me?!" He snarled as lifted his plain shirt, and observed the large scar that traveled from his stomach to his back.
Hojo smiled sickeningly, "Nothing much, I've borrowed your kidney though."
"What?!"
"Don't look so distraught, I gave you one in return. Although, it does need some healing. But that won't be a problem for you of all people, will it?" Naruto glared at Hojo, teeth grit in both rage and pain. "To be honest, it almost didn't take to you. Strange since yours took so well to the recipient."
Shinra's resident mad man walked around his lab lighting up a particular tube. Inside it was an unconscious man hooked up to several tubes and machinery. He had long spiky black hair and seemed to be relatively tall with a well built body.
"A former project of mine, nearly shot dead." Hojo said with disappointment before perking up, "A team was able to recover the body and I've been preserving it ever since! His kidney and heart were shredded with bullets, but you've solved the kidney problem. Now all I need is a heart!"
Naruto's eyes were wide, understanding that it would be his heart that was taken.
"I believe this is the most emotion you've shown me our entire time together. I'm sure your remarkable healing will fix everything right up. My hope is that you'll be able to fix the organs and we'll be able to harvest from you as needed! Could you imagine how convenient that would be? I wonder, will your rapidly splitting cells grant transplanted people regeneration-?!"
Naruto gagged over a toilet, throwing up nothing as a bout of nausea hit him. It had been three whole months now since he'd become Hojo's favorite little lab rat. At the very least, now he had a companion.
"Are you ok?" The former ninja's new companion asked.
The blond heard through the glass as he spit into the toilet and rolled over to sit against the wall. He glared at the man for his question before looking away and calming himself. Of course, out of every single person in the whole wide world, Hojo's little Frankenstein was none other than Zack fucking Fair.
"Yea, just a bit under the weather." In accordance with Hojo's plan, the warriors had traded internal organs. Zack had Naruto's kidney and heart, while Naruto in turn had his.
The blond had been kept on life support for about two weeks or so, since the heart couldn't beat on its own yet. His healing factor did its job though and patched up the wounds the vital organ had taken. Although, it wasn't perfect.
The kidney and heart he'd taken from Zack didn't function at 100%. According to scans they were in perfect health, they just didn't seem to run as efficiently in his body. Or perhaps, his body was too demanding for them.
Hojo believed it had something to do with his chakra network, and Naruto found validity in that theory. The organs were a vital part of any ninja's chakra pathway system, and he'd had one of the most important organs taken from him. That being the Gate of Death, which was located in the heart.
"And you? Hojo's been taking you to fight his creatures right? You don't heal as fast as I do, so your wounds aren't completely healed" Naruto's glowing blue eyes flicked over the black haired man.
One thing that had come out of taking Zack's heart was the Mako that had been circulating throughout his bloodstream. Naruto's body had got a healthy dose of it now and with it his body had grown stronger. In terms of power, speed, and fighting capability, he felt that he was much closer to being as strong as he was back home. At least, without the kyuubi's assistance
His stamina was an issue now though, due to the heart not being able to handle the strain. But when he was feeling good, Naruto was certain he was beyond SOLDIER 1st class. Even without materia.
"I'm made of pretty tough stuff myself. There's no need to worry about me." Zack had grown a certain respect for the young man he'd been confined with. "Besides, Hojo's little experiments are hardly a match for even a 2nd class SOLDIER!" He boasted.
"If you say so. Look out for yourself, not many people get a second chance. I doubt there will be a third."
Naruto was an odd person, Zack could feel an underlying resentment the blond had for him. For what reasons, the former SOLDIER had no clue but he could feel it in the way his new heart trembled. Despite that though, Naruto showed worry and relief when he came back alright.
"You say that, but this is my third chance. I cheated death when I fought Sephiroth and I did it again when I broke out of Hojo's lab the first time." He said with some pride.
Naruto propped his knee up and leaned on it for support, "You've got the devil's luck, I guess."
Zack snicker and leaned against the glass, "His looks too."
"Hm." Naruto snorted, not feeling up to the banter. "He's frustratingly likable." He thought internally.
"Hey, so what's after this for you?" Zack questioned.
After… The blond had come under the assumption that there would be none. Did he have an after? Even if he escaped, he didn't have anywhere to go. Aerith still loved Zack and now that the man was back… Well, Naruto wasn't a masochist and he knew better than to hang on for a hopeless situation.
"Maybe I'll go home." His real home. They were at war when he left, was the village lost? Had that old war hawk beaten the other nations into submission? There were many questions he found himself with at the thought of home.
"You don't sound too excited about it." Zack pointed out and Naruto shrugged. "How about a dream? Everyone chases something; Wealth, fame, power. Even small things like a pretty girlfriend or a car!"
"A dream… I used to have lots of dreams." The blond said.
"I just wanted someone to love me and I would love them in return. I didn't want to be alone anymore." He said that in his own mind, not willing to say it aloud. Naruto closed his eyes, an image of Aerith appearing before it faded away. "At the very least, I'll have some use in my homeland." He opened his eyes and despite the glow they received from his secondhand mako, they seemed remarkably dull.
Zack looked at the younger man with a frown before he smiled, "That sounds pretty boring. Say, how's about you and me team up? I've got a pal I'm starting a business with, his name's Cloud!" Naruto raised an eyebrow at the familiar name, "We're ganna be mercenaries, I'm sure there'll be a spot available for you." The dark haired man offered.
"That so?" The blond said dryly.
"Course! I doubt Cloud would have a problem with it, actually, I hope he remembers… Guy was sick as a dog before we got away."
Naruto pondered on the name, "This Cloud, is his last name Strife?"
Zack perked up, "Yea! You know each other already?" He asked in confusion.
The shinobi shook his head, "Not personally, I've heard a lot about him from a girl I know. Apparently, I look just like him."
Zack nodded, "You do, it's uncanny really." The man then sent a suggestive glance to Naruto, "A girl you say? Tell me more!"
The blond chuckled a bit, "There's nothing to tell, we're just friends. Nothing more, nothing less."
"I didn't peg you for the shy type."
"I'm not shy, I'm just not the type to kiss and tell. she's just in love with your friend Cloud."
Zack's eyes widened and he grimaced, "Oh, that's rough buddy."
Naruto snickered and then barked in laughter. The irony of Zack of all people telling him that wasn't lost on the younger man, "No kidding!" The blond rubbed the wetness in his eyes away as his laughter settled.
"I don't think I've ever seen you laugh…" Zack said in awe before smiling himself, that was the most alive he'd ever seen his new friend. "Well, hopes aside, there is no 'after' without an escape…"
Naruto took a deep breath, "I guess not."
"You can leave that part to me though." Zack said with supreme confidence.
Zack was nothing else, if not reliable. Over the time Naruto had been forced to interact with the man, he'd found that they were remarkably similar in some aspects. A deep part of him hated that, but another was glad.
"What are you waiting for, Naruto?! Let's go!" Zack offered his hand to Naruto, a broad sword clutched in the other. Ah, the great escape huh?
"You work fast." Naruto said as he helped himself up.
"Well, it's not my first rodeo." The former SOLDIER smirked and withdrew his hand, walking out of the cell. "C'mon, we don't have much time before reinforcements show up."
The blond nodded, "I'm confident in my abilities… But I'm not sure about fighting a platoon of armed infantry with my bare hands." He warily.
"Sorry, but you'll just have to make do." As Zack said that, a group of infantry swarmed into the room, rifles locked and loaded.
"Get back into your cells or we shoot!" One shouted.
Zack simply settled in his sword stance and hardened his gaze.
Naruto narrowed his gaze, frowning at the group. "I can't hesitate to kill." He muttered. In his confinement, the blond had realized he'd grown 'soft' and hesitant while on Gaia. That changed now, "It's been a while since I've flipped my switch."
With eyes of ice, Naruto seemingly teleported into the midst of the infantryman. The first two men he flew by fell to the floor limply, their heads twisted in a complete 180.
Knowing that if they shot at him they'd shoot at each other, the gunmen opted to pull their combat knives.
"Rah!" One lunged at Naruto with a leaping thrust.
*crck*
With a sickening crack, Naruto broke the man's arm and led him into one of his allies' knives. Plucking the now dead man's knife from the air, the ninja made quick work of the small company of men.
He flawlessly parried a knife that led into a brutal slash across the throat and instantly threw the blade he was using into the neck of another. Snatching the rifle from a dead foe, Naruto quickly opened fire. It took him maybe 10 seconds to finish that entire sequence, decimating the elite infantry.
Finding that there was no more opposition, Naruto dropped the rifle and turned to Zack.
Said man had a look of utter shock on his face, "Well… Color me surprised!" The dark haired man wasn't sure what to make of what he just saw. It was quick, efficient, and brutal. Not only that, but Naruto didn't even flinch at ending the lives of no less than 10 men.
"I'm not sure if I should be impressed or worried."
"I'm sure there's more where they come from." Naruto said as he began walking. Truthfully neither of them knew exactly where they were, so they'd have to do a bit of exploring. "First we should find out what floor we're on and what floor is the exit. I know my way around floor 60 and below, but I don't recognize any of this."
Zack followed, eyes peeled and head on a swivel. "You've been in HQ before? What, were you a Turk?" From his perspective, those were the only people that had access to HQ and could do what the blond just did.
Naruto shook his head, "No. I needed information. Shinra was targeting a friend and I wanted to know why. I also took the employee files. Although, that didn't give me much."
Zack whistled, "So you infiltrated? That takes some serious skills." They came across a fork, they paused for a minute before collectively deciding to go right. "Then you're a ninja? Ive fought the people of Wutai, they're skilled warriors." He noted.
Both men paused, finding they'd come to a dead end and were forced to turn around. "Yes, but not for Wutai." Naruto clarified.
"So a freelancer? You're basically already a merc, you'll fit right in with Cloud and I!"
Naruto frowned, "Not really, it's complicated." It wasn't, the blond just didn't want to work with Zack.
The duo came up on another split.
"Let's go right."
"Let's go left."
They grumbled to each other before nodding, "If there's nothing this way, I'll catch up to you." Zack said, now that he'd gotten a glimpse of Naruto's skill he was confident in the young man's ability. He didn't need a babysitter, neither of them did.
"Sounds good." The blond nodded and went left. Naruto was lucky enough not to run into any more guards as he stalked his way down the twisting and turning halls.
Turning a corner, the ninja's battle honed instinct told him to dodge. Heeding this feeling, Naruto took a back step and leaned just out of the way from a sword strike that would have sliced him right down the middle.
"I don't recognize you." A man with buzzed hair said as he sheathed his sword, "And judging by the blood on you, I doubt you're friendly. Don't tell me, you're one of Professor Hojo's little experiments?" He questioned noticing the blond's glowing eyes and hospital like attire.
Naruto didn't answer, his face set in a scowl. He wasn't in the mood to banter, and he didn't have time to either.
Observing his opponent, he noticed the tell tale glowing eyes of a SOLDIER not to mention the fact that he wielded a sword. And a strange modified one by the looks of it.
It was a standard katana, but the sheath had a rifle mag and trigger on it. To add to its unique design, it had a blood red blade that shined eerily.
"You're SOLDIER."
The man nodded and put a hand on his hilt, preparing for an attack. "2nd class, soon to be 1st. They call me Hound."
Naruto frowned a bit, he was hoping he'd run into a 1st class. He'd yet to fight one, well any SOLDIER for that matter. Oh well, this guy would have to do.
"And why is that?" Naruto entertained as he settled in a stance.
"Cause once I have someone's scent, I don't let them go."
With that said, Naruto jumped into action. Hound, however, proved to be worthy of being in SOLDIER. He remained composed, not startling even if he was surprised by his enemies speed.
Just as Naruto was about to attack, believing he had the advantage, his instincts screamed at him yet again.
A sound, similar to that a rifle made boomed off the walls, only a bullet didn't follow it. Naruto's eyes widened as he observed the SOLDIER's blade literally explode from its sheath. Hound caught it by the hilt and used the momentum to execute a hellish quick-draw.
Had Naruto been anyone else, he'd have been in two pieces. Off pure reaction time and superhuman reflex Naruto only suffered a minor cut over the left side of his mouth. The top and bottom lip split uncomfortably, but it was far from life threatening.
Stabilizing his stance, Naruto gazed at his opponent with a newfound wariness. That was dangerous, that weapon was dangerous.
"You dodge that? I'm impressed, I've never fought anyone that could escape my quick-draw, and that was before I added this nifty contraption."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, "As long as it's out of that sheath, it's just a normal sword… Besides, I have a rough grasp on the timing now that I've experienced it."
"Is that so?" Naruto said, straightening up, "I can't say I'm impressed, did you fight anyone that was willing to fight back?" He taunted.
Hound frowned, glaring at his adversary. He dashed forward, meeting the blond and attacked him in a flurry diagonal and overhead slashes.
"I was right." Naruto thought as he carefully weaved in and out of the deadly sword strokes coming his way. "He's not bad, but he already revealed his most dangerous technique."
Stepping in close, Naruto interrupted Hounds footwork stopping him in his tracks. Simultaneously, he reached up and caught the SOLDIER's wrist preventing a textbook downward slash.
With practiced ease the ninja threw Hound over his shoulder, ripping the blade from his enemies hand.
"Ngh!" Hound grunted as he rolled and popped to his feet. He growled seeing his prized sword in someone else's hands.
Naruto took a few test swings, testing the sword out. "It's well balanced. Katana's aren't really my style," the blond inspected the red blade running his fingertips across it, "but I think I've changed my mind. This sword is a work of art."
"That's mine!" Hound lunged, throwing a straight left that was parried by Naruto's free hand. The SOLDIER received a sidekick to the stomach for his effort and then a vicious slash the the cut from shoulder to hip. "Glrgh!" He grunted and kneeled, precious life blood rolling out of the wound.
"You did well staying composed, but your fighting style was too predictable. I'm sorry to say, you've been getting by on nothing but physical superiority."
Hound grimaced, struggling to catch his breath. The blond was spot on with his assessment. It happened every time he fought someone that was equal to him, or surpassed him. They were always able to beat him because his fighting style was so easy to read. It was a major flaw in his part and was the reason he wasn't first class.
"I was outclassed." He admitted as his arms gave out, forcing the SOLDIER to lay. "Damn…" With that, Hound took one final breath.
*Tss*
With a soft hiss, Naruto healed the slice he'd taken to the face. It didn't take much out of him for something this small and it healed as though it never happened in the first place.
The blond touched his lip, satisfied that the wound was gone. He then flipped his dead foe with his foot in a rather cold manner and knelt to take the sheath to his weapon. Reuniting the blade to its home, he turned around and began walking down the hall once more.
There had to be an exit somewhere.
Aerith sat in her designated glass container, on the surface she looked rather calm, if not outright defiant. But if you looked close you could see the faint tremble of her lips and shaking of her hands that clutched at her dress soothingly.
Shinra, Hojo, they were all monsters. How could they call themselves human? How could they treat people, her mother, the way they did and sleep at night.
The last remaining Cetra took a deep calming breath, "I'll make it out of this. I always do." She was determined. "If no-!" The woman jumped and flinched away when she heard gunfire to her left.
"What's happening?" She mumbled in worry.
"ARGH!" She flinched again hearing the pained scream.
"Take me to the exit, I'm tired of walking through this maze." Aerith heard a familiar voice that made her eyes water and out from behind some kind of containment pod walked a familiar head of spiky blond hair.
"Naruto!" She shouted in happiness. The man she called out to paused, in equal shock. Almost robotically he turned to her, his eyes widening at the sight of her. Immediately he sprinted to her and pressed a hand against the glass.
"Aerith?! Hold on, I'll get you out!" Stepping back, he withdrew his new sword and slashed the container's control pad to shreds. Like clockwork, the door slid open and his first friend glomped him in a tight hug
"I've been so worried about you! Mom and I thought that maybe you'd left, but I found your knife for sale at a shop in Wall Market! I know that you'd never sell it, so I figured something bad happened. Are you…?" She wanted to ask if he was alright, but looking at him she could tell that he wasn't the same.
The glowing eyes aside, he was much more pale and thin than he used to be. And she could spot a new scar on his neck, as if he had been slashed there.
Aerith cupped his cheeks, rubbing his whisker marks with her thumb. "I'm happy to see you."
The blond nodded and took one of her hands into his, "Why are you here Aerith?"
"The Turks, they dropped the upper plate of Sector 7 on the slums. While I was helping a little girl they said that I could go with them or they would take the girl… I didn't have a choice." She explained.
Naruto's brow furrowed in anger, "They coerced you. Which one was it." He demanded.
"Tseng." She said quietly.
The blond quietly grit his teeth, he didn't hate the Turks. He couldn't, knowing their circumstances were similar to his as a member of ROOT. They were pawns, valuable pawns but that was it. They did simply as they were told.
At least he used to think like that. "Tseng, that bastard will get what's coming to him." He thought. Naruto had never liked Tseng, he couldn't even find it in him to respect the man.
He shook his head and comfortingly rubbed Aerith's arms, careful not to cut her. "I'll deal with him another time, for now we have to beat it."
Naruto turned back around to the guard who he had previously held at sword point. The man hadn't dared to run, simply clutching at the bleeding gash on his shoulder.
"Hey, let's go. And don't go taking us down the crowded route." Naruto looked back at Aerith and gestured her over. He bit his lip, pausing for a second.
"S-Should I tell her about Zack? If we get out of here quick enough… She'll never know he was here." He pondered before shaking his head, "No," he berated himself, "She doesn't deserve that, she still loves Zack and he loves her." He admitted begrudgingly.
With great reluctance the blond turned back to her, a tight expression on his face. "Something wrong? We should be going shouldn't we?" Aerith asked.
Naruto rubbed his neck, something the green eyed girl had seen him do when talking about something he didn't really want to. "Listen Aerith, there's something important you should know-!"
"Hey! Turns out, going right was basically going left! It circled around and led me here!"
Naruto sighed and looked away, not wanting to see the great shock on Aerith's face. "-Or see at this point." The tall blond stepped aside, showing the brunette someone she genuinely never thought she'd have the chance to see again.
Zack followed the same path that Naruto had, but froze as the blond stepped away. His heart- Naruto's heart- beat loudly as if it were a tribal drum.
The former SOLDIER swallowed thickly, he'd spent lots of time thinking about how his first meeting with Aerith would go.
What would he say? What should he do? More importantly, what would she say and do?
"Z-Za-" The poor girl couldn't even finish a single syllable before choking. Her vision grew blurry and her lips trembled. Instead of speaking, she gave a mad dash to the man and practically tackled him.
Zack was a sturdy guy though and caught her, throwing his broad sword to the side and catching her. The dark haired man felt his own emotions welling up, as he felt (and heard) soft sobs sink into his torso.
"I-I thought that-! That I'd never see-! You again!" She said between sharp intakes of breath. "It's been- four years!"
"I know, I'm back." He said softly while petting her back, allowing the woman to squeeze herself to him. "I'm sorry for making you wait." He said genuinely.
"Huh. That hurts more than I thought it would." Naruto frowned and looked away, turning to the guard again. "Gimme your materia." He distracted himself by arming himself for the chance that they had to fight their way out.
"A-All I have is this." The man pulled a necklace from beneath his shirt showing a stylized thunder materia. "It's an heirloom that my grandad gave me."
"Works for me." Naruto snatched the jewelry and put it over his neck. "That actually works out well for me since lightning is my affinity."
"Well, it seems we've got something of a security issue. Trouble here and more coming, how frustrating." Hojo's familiar voice spoke over the speakers.
Naruto's head whipped left and right before finding a windowed observation deck that the scientist spoke from.
"Hojo, hiding like a coward. I'm not surprised." Naruto insulted.
"Cowardice, I think not. Intelligent, why yes. Violence doesn't quite suit me, so I leave it to those who it does."
Naruto clicked his tongue, "Hojo and Tseng, they're number one and two on my shit list."
A large group of heavily armed infantry stormed the room, clad in distinctive red armor. Most of them had guns, but the odd few carried what looked to be riot shields.
The blond drew his blade and spared a glance to Aerith and Zack. The darker haired man placed himself in front of the woman protectively, sword already in hand. His eyes briefly met Aerith's before looking away to the inevitable fight.
"Aerith!" Yet another voice called out to the woman and Naruto groaned.
"You sure are popular." He said as he watched a group of people sprint down some stairs. Two of them he recognized, "Tifa and Barret? Why are you two here?" He asked, shocked to find them at Shinra HQ. The last person was someone Naruto had never met, but he supposed introductions can wait.
Tifa's head looked at Naruto, eyes widening at seeing him. "Naruto?" She said in confusion, "We're here to save Aerith!" She clarified. The busty bartender had tons of questions for him herself, but realized now wasn't the time to ask them.
"Say less. I'm assuming you know the way out if you got here?"
She nodded resolutely and Naruto smiled before turning back to the guy he'd been using as his guide. "Well, I guess I don't need you anymore."
The man seemed to sigh in relief before he went stiff and fell over in pain as his wrist was quickly broken.
"Sorry, but I'm not ganna take the chance that you decide to play hero and kill someone." Naruto wasn't really all that sorry, it would have been more effective to kill him but he held himself back on the account that the man was already beaten.
"Oh my! How ruthless of you!"
Naruto huffed and turned back to Hojo. There was a frighteningly cold smile on his face that seemed out of place to those that had known the version of him that was happy and seemingly carefree.
"You know, I had lots of nicknames back home. But I only really liked one." Naruto concentrated for a moment, utilizing the thunder materia he'd taken. Small sparks of discharge bouncing off his form.
One of the only times he'd ever truly and utterly been beaten was by the Raikage and Killer Bee. Although from the defeat, he created this knock off version of A's Lightning Cloak. It was an inferior technique by comparison, but it bolstered the blond's already high speed by leaps and bounds.
"As interesting as that sounds-!"
Hojo didn't get to finish his taunting as Naruto flipped his sword into a reverse grip and vanished, a static discharge left in his wake.
"I am Lightning." He reappeared directly behind the line of soldiers, skewering one through the back with his sword.
"Rgh!" The man shouted in pain, his gun clattering to the floor as his hands went to the blood red blade sticking out of his chest.
"The rain transformed." Naruto yanked his weapons out roughly, a spurt of blood following it as he flipped it the right way around. With a flick, the extra blood was flung off. The blond did all of this while maintaining eye contact with Hojo, as if he were introducing himself. Said scientist looked intrigued by the display, clearly caught off guard by it.
"You've been keeping secrets." He said over the intercom, "No matter! Men, get work." At his command, a new battle began.
Group battles were chaotic but Naruto was used to those. Not to mention his boosted speed gave him an advantage.
The ninja raised his sword defensively and ran forward, deflecting a hail of bullets he wouldn't have been able to without his Lightning technique.
*chnkchnkchnkchnk*
The fact that the sword didn't chip or warp as the lead bounced off it was a testament to its quality. Naruto found himself liking it more and more with every second he wielded it.
There was a sharp clicking noise, signaling that the gun that fired at him was empty. The blond slashed upward diagonally, clean through the infantryman's arms and brought it around again for another upward slash, mirroring the original. The second attack drew a deep slice along the torso that earned Naruto a few flicks of blood on his cheek.
The blond moved forward, scoffing as he saw three other attackers try to surround him with their rifles. A sound plan if they played their distance, except they didn't.
Just before they pulled the trigger, Naruto kicked one of the guns to the side causing the bullet that was subsequently fired to hit one of their comrades. He followed his momentum and delivered a spinning back kick, sending his first target to his back. This left the blond directly facing the last man and ready to fight.
The Shinra agent seemed to hesitate, a fatal mistake on his part. Naruto closed the gap and knocked the gun away with the flat of his sword, capitalizing on the opening he swung the blade across the body in one mighty finishing blow.
Coldly, he walked to the man he dropped initially and jabbed his blade down into the trooper's softly armored ribs.
The blond danced through the platoon of infantry, tearing through them like they were thin paper. He'd set his eyes specifically on the men with rifles, deeming them the most dangerous.
As he jumped from man to man, Naruto dared to glance at his allies. Zack stayed by Aerith, ensuring that she wasn't targeted by anyone ambitious. Tifa, as he'd known, was a good fighter and picked her battles well. The long haired beauty fought the men armed with riot shields, while Barret covered her with his big gun arm and their mystery companion did the same with his oversized sword.
Ba-Bump
The blond grimaced in pain as his chest thrummed with pain, his heart feeling as though a knife went through it. He nearly stumbled due to the sudden feeling, pausing in his assault.
"Fuck- Now?!" He screamed internally as he struggled to keep himself from outright collapsing. Naruto bit his lip, acutely aware that he was in the middle of a battlefield and his fighting style put him dead in the middle of all the enemies.
Gritting his teeth, the blond stood a smidge straighter so as to not give away the fact that he was in pain. However, the fact that he didn't move forward was more than telling.
Having witnessed the sword wielding ninja slaughter their comrades, the Shinra troops were more than cautious and actually played to their strengths. Two men leveled their rifles at him and pulled the trigger.
Naruto's sword became a red blur, blue arcs of electricity bouncing off his form as moved as quickly as his body would allow to deflect the hail of bullets coming to him. It was a sight to behold, something inhuman surely but not sustainable. The two men found the end of their rifle magazine and at just the right time too.
BA-DUMP
"Ngh!" He audibly grunted and fell to one knee, his body wracked with pain stemming from his chest. Naruto looked up with a glare, sweat rolling down his brow as he painted trying to breath without feeling terrible pain. It couldn't have been at a worse time too
"Ah… Reinforcements!" Hojo said delightedly over the intercom.
Reinforcements indeed. A large mechanical looking robot thumped heavily into the mix, a laser sword attached to its arm. Not far behind it looked to be a man clad in a streamlined set of high-tech armor.
"What the fuck are those?"
Before the Shinra men could get another chance to attack him, a large fireball crashed in front of them blocking their vision.
"Naruto! Are you ok?" Tifa ran up to the kneeling blond and threw his arm over her shoulder while she backed up, Barret being conscious enough to provide overwatch and his own storm of bullets to anyone that tried to capitalize.
Naruto allowed himself to be helped to the back line, still wincing at the piercing pain in his chest. Despite that, he gave his friend a thin smile "Peachy, I'm just out of practice is all… What are those things, robots?" He asked.
"They're shock troopers! Guys in suits, they can be tough to fight if the people in them are competent." She informed.
"What a pain." The blond was confident enough in his swordplay and physical ability to say he'd demolish those two. In the suit or out of the suit. At least, not when he felt as if he were on the verge of a heart attack. Not to mention, they couldn't spend too much longer fighting here or they'd just end up trapped.
"You look pale, I can use Cure if you give me a second." Tifa said in worry.
Naruto shook his head, Cure wouldn't fix his condition. "No, let me borrow your fire materia though." He held his hand out expectantly, a plan already in mind, "And stay back, I don't want to get anyone caught in this but the Shinra guys."
Tifa looked hesitant but nodded and plucked a red orb from her gauntlet, "Okay!" She placed her trust in the blond and stepped out from beneath his arm. Seeing that he could stand on his own she stepped a few paces back to Barret, "Cloud! Come back!"
"So that's Cloud… We do look alike." Naruto thought before turning towards Zack and Aerith. "Stay clear!" He instructed them.
Zack looked like he wanted to protest but Aerith pulled him back a bit and nodded. The dark haired SOLDIER raised an eyebrow when Naruto took him a deep breath, the blond's chest expanding almost cartoonishly.
"What's he doing?" Zack thought curiously before he shielded Aerith from a blanket of heat. "He's BREATHING fire?!"
Naruto hunched forward, a torrent of flames blowing from his lips as if they were coming from the bottom of a rocket thruster. The flames spread out fiercely, covering the entirety of the remaining enemy forces.
After a second or two, Naruto upped the intensity, the orange flames gaining a white hue before coming to an abrupt halt.
The blond coughed dryly and panted as he finished up his replica jutsu, clutching his throat sorely.
His lips and tongue had burns from the technique, a consequence of mana having a different flow than chakra and him overloading the technique. Naruto found that there were no 'affinities' on Gaia, so he could drop whatever juts I'd he wanted if he had a solid picture. He didn't even need hand signs, however the margin for error was much smaller.
Putting that thought to the back of his mind, his sharp blue eyes scanned the flaming battlefield. Aside from the wrecked suits of armor that had been all but destroyed, there weren't even any bodies left. It wasn't the intended outcome, but he doubted those enhanced Shinra troopers would've been taken out by a weaker technique.
The technology of Gaia was a frightening thing. He could only imagine what the people of his world would do with it.
BA-DUMP
In a more controlled manner, the ninja kneeled, sheathing his sword and clutching his chest in an effort to soothe the pain. Taking slow controlled breaths, he tried to slow his heart rate.
"Naruto, how are you feeling?" Aerith had kneeled down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked at the woman, almost surprised that she left Zack's side. "You're burned." She said, noting the burns on his lips.
"Cure!" A soft green light bathed over the blond and his burns, both inside and outside his mouth, slowly vanished.
"Thanks Tifa." The blond nodded in appreciation as he handed the bartender her materia back. "For the heal and the materia." Naruto looked back to Aerith who looked at the battlefield, a somber expression on her face.
"Did they have to die?" Is what he assumed she thought.
His eyes fell to the floor before a gloved hand presented itself, "Hey, you never told me you could breathe fire!" Zack asked as he offered his hand out.
Stubbornly, Naruto pushed himself to his feet by himself, "You never asked."
Zack took his hand back and chuckled softly, "I guess not. Would you have told me, if I did?"
"Probably not." Naruto looked away from him back to Tifa and her group. "Hey, that the same Cloud you were talking about? I heard Tifa call his name."
Zack looked past him and his eyes widened happily, "It is! And that girl from Nibbleheim too! They've grown strong!" He said almost proudly. He walked past Naruto eager to reacquaint himself with old friends. "Hey Cloud!" He said excitedly, leaving Naruto and Aerith behind.
There was an awkward silence that settled between the two. "Zack is… unbearably cool." He admitted.
"H-He is." Aerith said, feeling a strange confliction in her heart. "The both of you are very similar."
"That so?" He asked rhetorically, "Say, how'd you meet Tifa and Barret?"
"Well, I've never met Barret. His daughter is the one that I helped!" The brunette revealed, "And I met Tifa through Cloud! We went to rescue her from Don Corneo, but it turned out she was just ganna use him for info so we helped her out and ended up learning that Shinra planned to drop the upper plate on Sector 7… And now we're all here!" She summed up.
"Corneo's a dangerous guy, I hope you were careful." He chided.
"Cloud was a SOLDIER, he was my substitute bodyguard while you were gone!"
"Obviously not a very good one if we're here." Naruto quipped.
"… He came to save me?"
"A bit late… But I guess it's the thought that counts. I've heard a lot about him from Tifa and Zack, honestly I get the feeling they told me more about him than they did themselves." Naruto itched his head.
"Hey…" Aerith posed, "How do you know Tifa?" She questioned.
Naruto pursed his lips, eyes rolling to the left, "We met at a bar she used to run in Sector 7."
"Oh, Seventh Heaven!" She snapped her fingers in realization.
"Exactly. I'd head over every now and then for a drink after work. She'd lend me a room there if I ended up drinking too much or it was too late to make it back to Sector 5."
"Well that was awfully nice of her." Aerith said with minor suspicion.
"It was, Tifa's a good friend to have. She'll make Cloud a happy man, if he has a brain that is."
"What makes you say that?"
"She's in love with Cloud, has been for years apparently. Even if I did have feelings for her, I wouldn't have any right to get in the way of that. I'd feel terrible." He admitted.
Aerith seemed to shrink a bit, mouth opening before closing. "You guys should meet, Cloud can be kind of prickly but he's not a bad person."
"I've been wanting to, but I think that'll have to wait till he wakes up." Naruto pointed over to the other group that now swarmed around a prone and knocked out Cloud. "What happened?"
So apparently the sight of Zack made Cloud have some sort of mental breakdown. They were lucky that Hojo had bolted when he saw that there was no hope of victory against their combined might.
Otherwise…
Well, no point dwelling on hypotheticals.
"Hey." Naruto knocked on the sealed glass container impatiently. The creature inside stirred, flaming tail standing defensively. "You want out don't you? Let's make a deal."
The beast, Naruto couldn't make out exactly what kind of animal it was, looked cat-like but there was no way for him to really know. It seemed to narrow its eyes suspiciously and growled.
The blond sighed and rolled his eyes before hunching over a bit and looking into its eyes, "Cut the charade, I know you're intelligent. You can understand me can't you?"
The beast showed visible surprise before narrowing its gaze curiously, "You could tell?" It seemed more curious than hostile.
"I could. I saw it in your eyes, I've spoken to creatures like you before. Animals that were capable of thought and incredible feats." Naruto said in reference to the summons of his world, as well as the Kyuubi. All though the latter was simply an entity of malice.
"I see. A fascinating thought, it's not common that humans talk to animals. Not in these parts."
"I'm not from these parts, and I'm assuming you aren't either. So, how about it?" Naruto asked.
"Tell me your conditions."
"I'll let you out of this cage and help you out of the building. In exchange, you protect that girl until we make it out." Naruto pointed over to Aerith who fussed around Cloud with everyone else.
"An agreeable contract. But who's to say I don't just run off the moment you open this up? Traveling in a group as large as yours would only slow me down."
Naruto huffed in amusement, "Me." He said flatly and confidently, "You sat in here and watched me walk through every obstacle Hojo threw at me. Whether that was with my sword or with materia. Do you really think you can just walk through me?"
"And you? You know nothing of my abilities, are you so certain that I can't?"
"Yes." Naruto answered certainly.
"I suppose I don't really have much of a choice then." It said in amusement, this human was entertaining if nothing else.
"Not if you want to escape." Naruto grinned.
"You have a deal then. I'll protect your friend."
Naruto gave a cheshire smile, "Alright then." The blond withdrew his sword and aptly slashed the control panel on the cage, causing it to short out and open up. "So, what's your name?"
"Hojo called me Red XIII"
"Red it is."
~done~
This was the second chapter I was talking about. There's no real rhyme or reason to anything other than the fact that I wanted it to be that way. I think with the proper buildup and storytelling something like this would've been great. But I just don't have the patience to write out a bunch of chapters building up to the spot I actually want to write out.
It turns writing into a chore and at the end of the day I did this for fun. That said, I don't plan on updating this again. I might write something for a fight with Sephiroth, it'd be a good spot to practice group battles more. Maybe something like a big final battle would be fun.
Don't expect it though. For all intents and purposes, this is the last chapter. Again constructive criticism on how I could make the fight scenes easier to understand, or dialogue. I kinda just ended up writing whatever. Criticize it how you will.
Sidenote: Little MGS reference there hehe. Raiden is so badass.
Thanks for the read, till next time!