Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fire Emblem.
Chapter 2
Where there is Fire: Part 2
East Burning Forest
Robin, a 'normal', albino, human, and apparent amnesiac who barely knew her own name not even half a day ago, was seriously starting to wonder if she was still asleep in that field on the outskirts of South Town.
For one, it wasn't every day that someone became an amnesiac. Extreme force to a particular side of the temple was needed and the chances of survival were lower than 10%... more knowledge that suddenly popped into her head. On top of that, even if that was the case, upon awakening, instead of finding herself with a killer headache in a bandit camp or some hidden cave, she was in a field with a knight and two nobles standing over her. Now, I know it sounds like the beginning of some poorly written novel, but she was telling the truth.
That's where things started, but the dream only seemed to get weirder the longer the scenes played.
For one, she was an amnesiac; very convenient. The gullible nobles ate that 'not entirely truth' up while the stoic knight outed her as a Grimlean which, in the knight's defense, he was simply reciting the writing on the wall. She was wearing something very similar to someone of the faith and she could vaguely see images of people with the same or similar cloaks in visions.
But amnesiac, remember?
At the time, she didn't think her act was working. Chrom (the male noble) insisted she traveled with them despite her situation and gave constant reassurances, but she was too lost in fear of what they would do if she said no that she complied.
Now their prisoner, they revealed themselves to be Shephards (yes, in full armor, but she wasn't one to judge seeing her current not so honest testimony). They promised to release her when they were able to confirm her identity and find she was no threat to their Halidom... whatever that was. Something she probably shouldn't have question out loud seeing that Frederick (the knight) immediately called her a paid actress... prick.
She walked with them to the nearest town whereas they were greeted with smoke and screaming... lots of screaming. They were but a mile away and but the screams could be heard as if they were right next to it. Chrom and Lissa (the female and younger noble) immediately ran to the village along with their stoic knight-leaving her to basically fend for herself.
She could have ran at that moment. She was no longer their prisoner and she didn't want to know what they did to Grimlean around these parts (if she even was one). But then she heard the screams again. There was some part of her that just wouldn't let that go.
And against her better judgement, her feet carried her all the way to the gates of South Town.
Running at full sprint for a mile, the albino learned, proved to be the worst idea she'd ever made in her 30 minutes of life. She was practically winded by the time she'd arrived and her lungs demanded she stop less they implode. Hiding for but a minute, she caught her breath and tried listening to her surroundings.
The screaming she'd heard from the outskirts were strangely absent, along with the sounds of combat she'd expect from a burning village. There were still the occasional sobs and footsteps of people but they seemed to be running into buildings instead of running from the village, which made little sense tactically. If there were people setting the town ablaze wouldn't it be strategically sound to run away from the town instead of barricading?
...Where did that sudden bout of strategic theory come from?
Breath back in her lungs, she ignored that thought and began her march into the burning town. People were running all over the place, some bleeding while others carried buckets of water towards burning buildings. The possibility of a bandit attack would have sounded a lot less foolish if the signs of forced entry on several doors and establishments weren't plain to see.
A few more blocks into town and things began to become... weird. All around town in almost every block were men and women hung upside or crucified in nothing but their small clothes. She found the occasional villager either throwing rocks or berating the tied up victims but nothing was as bad as two particular men who seemed to have bled out in an alley, blood coating their pelvic area; a way she wished to never die.
It wasn't hard finding Chrom and the others. In fact, it was as easy as turning a corner. A few blocks into the town, she turned to a new street and found her former three wardens talking to a whiteboards man that seemed to be in some sort of distress by the way his arms constantly flailed around. Getting closer, she could see the tell tale signs of a near panic attack... somehow. The man was screaming about some demon with blonde hair and Chrom's placating was obviously doing nothing.
Just when she was about to go to the group, something happened. She says 'something' because it wasn't too apparent just yet. A sound she couldn't exactly describe in words echoed through the town. Over the multiple builds, a cloud seemed to have appeared on the ground and covered most of the vicinity.
Then she saw it.
Hands down the biggest creature she'd ever laid eyes on, post amnesia or no, stood tall looking down at something towards the town square. Its nine red tails waved majestically in the air and its malevolence spread throughout every street and crevice. Its red eyes were menacing and just one tooth was the size of 2 full grown men.
The bearded man fainted (cause what else do you call falling backwards like a felled tree) and Lissa damn near did the same if not for her cage crinoline catching her. She was sure the only reason she was still standing was because her legs were locked in place.
Then the thing was gone.
POOF!
Like it never existed.
Safe to say, the townsfolk had a new legend to spread throughout the lands.
After the whole fiasco, Robin learned that the village was successfully defended by a bunch of girls in hoodies the village dubbed the 'Scarlet Fury'. No one knew where they came from, but they were apparently responsible for the man made, no pun intended, displays around the village. Chrom wanted to thank the group for their bravery, but they disappeared along with the giant fox... not at all suspicious.
Not too long after, she was given a choice from the blue haired Shepherd. Seeing that the town had a doctor, they were more than happy to assist her in whatever care she may need. Or she could travel with the small merry band to the capital where she could get a more thorough care and hopefully join his band of 'Shepherds'. Seeing that she didn't exactly have a job, memories of one, money, or even a place to stay, it was a no-brainer what she chose.
That would, and should have been the end of it all.
Fate had other plans, apparently. After traveling through a dark forest instead of sleeping in cozy beds like Lissa suggested, consuming the most delicious bear she'd ever had in her short life, and dreaming of a black haired woman she couldn't remember the name or face of, she was rudely awaken by two things.
One: the ground violently shaking.
Two: a spear at her throat, curtesy of one pissed off knight.
Apparently, between sleeping like a human should, the knight was awaken by the same tremor as her. Upon not finding Chrom or Lissa, the only obvious clue at what happened to his fellow 'Shepherds' was that Robin, somehow, kidnapped them; because that made a lot of sense, at the time. Thankfully, common sense came through for her and they both ventured into the now burning forest to find their fellow Shepherds; Frederick on his steed while she was forced to run on her aching legs...
Once again, prick.
After dodging falling meteors and lava that spat from the dirt, they were finally reunited with their fellow Shepherds; the younger holding onto her brother as if he would disappear if she let go. There was someone else that seemed eager to introduce herself, but didn't get the chance to seeing there was a sea of glowing eyes heading their way from the east.
This is the part where the dream turned into a literal nightmare. Undead... things, were staggering towards them holding a multitude of different weapons that she couldn't exactly see. All she knew was that there was a threat heading towards them.
And her mind was already absentmindedly thinking of plans before they even left her lips. The group, tactically, retreated into a nearby fortress where along the way they met two others that seemed to be arguing before the redheaded female tomboy promptly kicked the azure haired noble looking guy in the face... ouch.
Sagely within cobblestoned walls, her group was able to recuperate while her mind began running through different scenarios and plans through her head without her permission. She tried to make them stop, but the more she tried and the more she heard the howls of the undead outside their newly claimed fort, the more her obvious tactical mind seemed to plan.
And now, here she was. An hour into defending their fort and throwing out commands she had no business calling so well. She was no doctor... possibly, but she was sure seeing giant foxes, witnessing Armageddon, and fighting the undead had nothing to do with her rehabilitation.
"Chrom! Frederick! Cover our arses! Make sure those things don't get pass the gates! Lissa! Get Sully back in the fight! Virion! You're with me! We're going to rain down on the enemy from above!" The albino's latest orders were followed to a T as more strategies she couldn't remember learning started popping into her head. Between remembering how to flick magic (oh, did she forget she also remembered how to do that) to pulling strategies out of her arse, even she was beginning to believe her whole 'amnesia act' was a lie. There was not enough convenience in the world to do what she was doing and she was sure Frederick would have a 'word' after this nightmare was all over.
Stopping at the top of the fort, she looked over the edge and down at the living dead trying to enter. From what she could see, there were only about 30 abominations left surrounding them. 22 wielded axes, 5 were wielding swords, 2 were wielding lances and 1 were-WOAH!
If she had been even a second late on dropping her head, her brain would have been introduced to an arrow courtesy of a zombie currently reaching back to reload. How these corpses were flinging arrows and swinging around weapons with such week skin and muscle would forever be beyond the albino's comprehension.
Shaking that thought, she shouted orders at the archer that followed her up the fort. "Virion! Do you have the archer's location?!" she asked the noble man who smirked as he loaded another shot.
"Already on it, dear Tactician." The azure haired man flamboyantly stated before standing up letting his arrow sore towards the unsuspecting corpse. His arrow hit true and the rich man's smirk grew more profound as he bowed at the albino. "The deed is done, Lady Robin! You may now gaze over the walls unimpeded!" Robin ignored his exaggeratly flirtatious tone and gazed back over the fort. Chrom and Frederick seemed to be doing their job at dispatching the corpses that were getting closer to the gate, evidence from the enemy's numbers now cut in half. The enemy would soon be on the back foot.
"What about me, ma'am," Robin turned to the enthusiastic voice next to her, having to look a bit lower at the girl that appeared out of nowhere. The girl, the confirmed 'Scarlet Fury', looked up to her expectantly, practically bouncing at the chance to help. She was skeptical at first on sending a child to the battlefield.
But this child was... unique.
"You... just keep doing what you're doing." With no further preamble, a hand came to her forehead in what the tactician thought was some kind of salute before she saw the girl do that strange sign with her hands once more. A puff of smoke later and their allies grew by 10. They weren't very efficient in taking down the undead due to their clear lack in combat proficiency against the army of undead, but their numbers more than made up for it on top of the flow of water that continuously swept the horde away from the fort whenever they were being overrun. The fact it was all the girl seemed to know how to do was a bit disappointing, but the tactician didn't fault the girl seeing that the distraction the copies made and the water gave the group plenty of room for error with no losses on their end.
"You heard the lady! Go give 'em hell!" The clones immediately saluted and leaped into the fray. Meanwhile, the original, tactically, retreated to the far end of the tower to take cover and view from a safe vantage point while continuing her watery assault at any opportune moment.
Robin couldn't stop the giddy feeling welling up inside of her. The act of planning and commanding came so natural to her! Like she was always meant to do this! She didn't think she ever controlled a militia before her amnesia but she was performing adequately if not better! All her plans fit perfectly into place like a puzzle and the feeling of potential victory was becoming intoxicating. All they had left to do now was clean up the remainder of these abominations and they could finally rest easily!
She would have her victory!
As if to spite her, fate decided to step in on her parade. Out of the forest came another abomination that stomped towards the fort. Robin only had time to gawk in surprise at the sheer size of the creature before it began running full sprijt at them. The copies of the little girl at the bottom only saw glimpses of the creature before it bulldozed its way through their ranks and seemed to prepare to run straight through their gates. Its rusted axe cut down anything in its way, allies included, and the aura it leaked from its body made her something in her feel a sense of familiarity that made her sick. She didn't know where this new threat crawled out of, but she wasn't going to waste time gawking at it.
Robin quickly called for the remaining Morgans to buy them a bit of time before running to the stairs and down to the level of the rest of her fellow Shepherds. She could tell everyone else had already seen what approached by the way they stood ready at the fort gate. Before she could even call out her next strategy the thing was already here.
The rest of the abominations that had been knowing on their door didn't even stand a chance as the bigger guy mercilessly swing through their decayijg corpses to break down the gate that kept the Shepherds safe from the horde of undead.
Robin wasted no more time barking her order.
"Virion! Aim for that things head! Chrom, Frederick, Sully! Switch to hit and run tactics! Target the legs of that thing and bring it to ground level! Stay clear of it's swings and don't even think about blocking its attacks!" She stopped briefly to find the smallest of their militia and felt reassured when she saw her form, albeit terrified, behind the same vantage point at the top of the tower. Reassured of her safety, she steeled herself and pulled out her Thunder Tome. "Morgan! I'm trusting you to keep those things out of our fort! Shepherds! I will make sure its attention is split! We can do this!" Everyone gave their own forms of approval as the giant readied his axe to swing at Chrom.
Robin opened her Tome and began chanting. Thunder sparked in her hand and not a moment later she held it out and let the mana leave her, sending a ball of lightning towards the charging corpse and was rewarded with a small hole in the creature's chest. To everyone's bewilderment, the creature merely stumbled slightly before continuing its charge.
Robin cursed as she turned and ran back up the stairway. She could do more for the team if she could see from a better vantage point while firing her spells from above. Once there, she rejoined Virion and peered down to see Chrom, Frederick and Sully doing battle against the abomination. Frederick and Sully circled the creature on their horses and did fine work staying out of its range with their lances while allowing Chrom to try and get in a good hit as its legs were filled with more and more holes. It was a harder process than one would think seeing that the thing didn't seem to feel their attacks and Chrom couldn't seem to get any closer without risking severe injury from one swing. On the bright side of things, the creature was slowing. However, its power was not.
Robin could only hope its legs gave out before their stamina did.
...
On the ground level of the fort, Chrom was panting heavily as he was beginning to feel his exhaustion from the constant battles. Frederick, Sully and he had tried their best to take down this giant, but they couldn't seem to get any closer to taking out the head. The closest thing that has gotten to it's head was Virion's, surprisingly, sharp archery skill with an arrow right through the jaw of the abomination. Sadly, all it seemed to do was piss off the giant even more, evidence from it's even wilder swinging and reckless tactics. If that wasn't bad enough, the thing seemed to understand that they were aiming for it's head and defended accordingly.
Chrom cursed under his heavy breaths as he once again stood in to battle. They needed to put this thing down now before one of the Shepherds seriously got hurt.
"Curses! Why won't this dastard go down?!" Chrom could hear Sully complain next to him, breathing even harder than he despite sitting on her steed. She had taken a hit meant for Lissa to her side and had been unable to get it healed fully thanks to the interruption of this thing. It didn't help that Lissa was still a beginner when it came to the clergy and still didn't have the experience to heal such grave injuries with limit time. If enough of them fall in battle then Chrom wasn't so sure she could bring them all back to health before one of them meets Naga in the afterlife.
Chrom's eyes suddenly widened as he took a glance at the gate. There were at least 15 to 20 more creatures charging their way from the forest and they were getting closer by the minute. That also could only mean one thing: Morgan had either failed on their defense or she no longer had the mana to produce that strange magic to multiply herself once more.
Which meant, their time might just be drawing near. They were exhausted, injured, and still hadn't finished off this giant that was already pulling their last strings. If that horde came in through the bridge, then all their fighting would have been for not.
It was only Chrom's reflexes kicking in that he quickly brought his sword into a defensive stance as the giant swung it's rusted axe. Also at that moment, Chrom forgot a very important fact about this thing. It was strong. Very strong. And not even his defenses saved him from the axe that slammed into his sword and blew him off his feet. Now flying, the prince only came to a stop via his body slamming violently against the stone wall.
"Chrom/Milord!"
The prince could barely hear the voices of his friends distress over the ringing in his ears. Through blurry vision, he could vaguely see a yellow blur running his way before there was a light and he felt warmth coursing through every muscle in his body.
"Chrom... stay wi... hro...!" He heard the bits of his sister words as she did her magic. He could see pass his sister and saw Sully get knocked across the yard with a broken lance flying out of her hands. He saw her hit the wall and slump, head down and unmoving. He saw Robin sling another spell while Virion rained arrows down on the abominations head. He witness the creature bring it's axe over it's head and heave it right at the archer and strategist. The force behind the throw completely destroyed the stone the two had been standing on and the prince could do nothing as his friends fell from the top and landed painfully on the dirt ground, hard. Both were struggling to get to their feet and the only thing protecting them now was Frederick who stood upon his steed protectively over them.
Everything had been going so well up until this thing had come through the gates. Now they were all down but Frederick, there was tears in his little sister's eyes and he could see the horde of abominations coming through the gates.
What the hell was he supposed to do? Even if he continued to fight, he still had no answer for the giant that had defeated his Shepherds singlehandedly. He was just mad that his Shepherds, his friends, were now all injured or dying on the floor and there was nothing he could do about it! His thoughts were in a scramble and he could barely think straight, but his friends continued coming to the forefront of his mind and forging his resolve. If they are going to risk their lives to protect him, then there was no way he could just stay down! A leader fights alongside his allies and he'd be damned if a headache was going to stop him from protecting the people he cared about!
Shakily, he got to his feet and ignored the voice next him to let it finish... whatever it was finishing. He couldn't stay down while his friends were on their last legs. He... he had to keep fighting. He had... what did he have to do...? Right... he, had to protect his friends, his people! Yes, who the hell else will do it if not him! He... had to keep fighting for... for Emm... for Emmeryn's dream and... and his little sister. Yes! He had to keep them all safe! He had to keep fighting! Even if it killed him!
And as if Naga heard his determination to live and fight, a pool of water fell from the very heavens and slammed full force into the creatures coming through the gate - the force crushing their bodies and turning them into smoky mist within seconds. A second wave in the form of what looked like a dragon of all things, rose from behind the creature before slamming into its back-Chrom and the rest unfortunately being soaked in the process. Rubbing the water from his eyes, Chrom looked back up to hopefully see the dissipating smoke of the creature but was met with the back of the creature instead as it looked up to something on the wall of the fort. Thankfully, the creature wasn't quite tall enough to block his view from the figure standing atop the walls.
The figure wore a long red cloak that seemed a few sizes too big. A flash of orange was all Chrom could get from underneath the cloak and... and...wait, that, looked familiar. Who... who was that again...? Wait, he knew that shade... and cloak... yea, he knew it... he knew... the Scarlet Fury... Morgan, was it?... her name was Morgan... was it not? Yes... yes it was Morgan... what, what exactly was she doing? She... she was talking, but the ringing in his ears didn't allow him to hear her this far. But though his ears were not properly functional, his eyes weren't-and they saw the moment the creature threw its axe and destroyed the stone the girl once stood over.
He watched as her body flailed in the air before, thankfully, landing on her feet in front of them. Her hands... her hands were once again in that strange sign before she multiplied once more. Five of her charged the now weaponless creature with war cries that made Chrom's ears ring louder.
The warmth was back, specifically for his head this time. A yellow blur was next to him again and the horse that was once in front of him was now charging at the creature along with the clones. He was starting to feel better now. The ringing in his ears was beginning to subside and the fog in his head began to clear. He could now see the face of Lissa concentrating along with the green glow that emanated from her staff.
A bright light suddenly grabbed his attention and a moment later a deafening 'BOOM' shook the Archanean before he was blown back and darkness claimed him once more.
A few minutes earlier
Morgan felt as if her legs were about to drill a hole into the ground from the amount of shaking they were producing; shaking that only seemed to get worse as the corpse she'd just hit with one of her most powerful jutsu seemed to be unaffected, proof evident from how it slowly looked back at her with those evil-yes, very evil eyes. Gulping so hard she was sure everyone in the vicinity could hear it, she pushed down her fear, stood tall and did the only thing that came to mind.
"C-cower, fiend! F-for you are in the presence of greatness! D-d-divinity! J-JUSTICE!"
'Yes, k-keep those big, actually really scary, eyes on me you stupid zombie! Yes, th-this was all according to my plan and not because I was too scared to move! Not at all! Deception is the art of a shinobi a-and I'm just using this as a distraction so the rest can heal up! Yes! That's exactly what I'm doing and no one can say otherwise!' Morgan swallowed once more. This could either go very good for the people on her side, or very bad for her everything.
"M-my father is a r-renown legend among the shinobi world a-a-and it is w-with the power that he has bestowed upon me that I put an end to your evil plans, s-scum!"
'Gods, Morgan! Stop stuttering! Just repeat the words like you practiced and try not to think about the scary, very scary, glare the big monster is giving you makes you... you... oh gawds, I swear I don't taste very good Mr Zombie!'
"H-he's obtained names like the 'God of Shinobi', 'Second Flash of Konaha', and is also the best father that ev-KYAAA!" The blonde comically leaped from the stone wall as a giant axe came flying her directions. Landing approximately not too far away from the horseman currently standing protectively in front of the prince and princess, Morgan's face twisted into genuine anger as she pointed at the giant; a foot repeatedly stumping into the dirt. "Hey! You can't attack me in the middle of my introduction! That's like, bad guy cliché 101-IYAA!" She was once more forced to dodge as the abomination jumped at her with its retrieved axe back in its hands. She had no idea what she'd said to piss the thing off but it was coming at her with much more aggression than when it whiped the floor with the others.
Stumbling back from a fist that destroyed the ground in front of her, she shakily stumbled to her feet and retreated away from the monster-her lack of combat experience showing as she turned her back on the enemy and 'tactically' retreated, cause real heroes don't run from danger. Heart racing faster than she'd ever thought possible, she made the familiar hand sign that usually solved all her problems before a shadow grew above her.
Glancing over her shoulder, it took everything in her not to scream as the creature neared her from above with its axe raised above its head ready to smash her into the ground. The only thing that saved her was the two clones she'd made in her panic throwing her clear and taking the hit head on. The ground shook as she rolled and finally came to a halt on her side. Quickly pushing herself to an elbow, her stomach sunk as she saw the whole the creature had made in the ground. Just a second later and that dirt would have been-
Gulping, Morgan pushed herself to her shaking legs-absentmindedly noting that the next slip-up just might be her last. Crossing her fingers, 10 duplicates of herself appeared next to her and immediately charged the creature. Immediately after, the girl began going through a different set of signs, watching her hands just to make sure she didn't mess up. Later, she would kick herself for taking her eyes off the fight, but for the time being the stress of staying alive was all that was going through her mind. The motion ends with the both her hands held palms out facing away with both thumbs and index fingers touching. She could feel the moister in the air respond to her chakra and saw droplets of water beginning to form in the-
She almost choked on her own spit when she saw one of her clones fly pass her peripheral. A moment later she actually flinched as the memory of her body being thrown into a stone wall rebounded in her head. Two more clones memories reached her and now the creature was charging once more. Morgan, as ashamed as she was to admit it later, froze. She didn't know when or how, but the creature was already towering above her and it took everything in her body just to look up at it. The aura around its dark skin seemed to shine with more light than it did from afar and its terrifying presence held her steady as if it was physically holding her down.
But that wasn't even the most terrifying part of the creature.
Its now crimson eyes stared down at her with a stare unlike anything she'd ever felt before in her life. Its soulless glowing optics might as well have turned her limbs to stone seeing that they were more than effective in holding her in place.
This... this was nothing like fighting humans. She'd stopped a few bandits in her short life and though some were monsters in their own right and proved they would kill her and sleep easy the same night, they did not possess the killing intent to ever shake her very being.
This thing... it was in a completely different league.
It would kill her.
No, it wasn't the fact that it would kill her that frightened her so, for if that was the case then she would have frozen whenever a bandit came at her with the intent to kill. No, this thing... it was the fact that this thing wouldn't just kill her out of necessity, but because it could. The permanent frown on its face may have showed anger, but the soullessness in its eyes showed it'd feel absolutely nothing in killing her and it would do the same to millions more while still feeling nothing. It was the lack of humanity in the things eyes that truly made her feel terror.
Absentmindedly, she remembered her dad once saying there were monsters out there that walk around in human skin. She wasn't sure if this thing was exactly what he meant, but right now she was sure she'd finally found that monster.
She saw the little memories she had flash before her eyes as the thing raise its hands over its head in an axe swing that would sure turn her to paste.
Only for the creature to suddenly fall to a knee as something tore a chunk out of its left leg. The thing crashed to the ground with the same momentum of a falling tree as something landed on its back. Morgan didn't even know when she had held her breath but it came out quick and shaky as she saw the blue knight from before repeatedly stab a sword into the creatures back while bolts of lightning were shot continuously at the creature's legs from the tactician that was barely on her feet.
Before the knight could go for the head, the thing moved. In a motion that was sure to give the shinobi in training and even the stoic knight nightmares, the thing's head turned 180 degrees to stare back at the man on its back. The knight brought his sword down in an arc to decapitate the creature staring into his soul.
Only for the thing's arms to bend unnaturally back to catch the sword in its palms. The knight didn't even have time to be surprised once more before the creature swung forward, sending the knight flying into the dirt far away. Morgan only glanced back to see the knight land before her attention snapped back down to the creature who was pushing itself to its feet, sword and axe now equipped in each hand.
"MORGAN!" She heard the cry of the tactician but couldn't take her eyes off the threat before her. "Douse that bastard in water! It's our only chance!"
Morgan didn't know if it was the past fear of death resurfacing at the now even deadlier threat that gave her the resolve to move, but she didn't waste even a millisecond in calling out the name of the jutsu she had been holding for what felt longer than just a minute.
'S-Suirou no Jutsu (Water Prison Jutsu)!'
The moisture surrounding them suddenly grew in size before quickly attaching itself onto the creature, enveloping its massive form until it was surrounded in a sphere of water. Thinking quick, a hand shot out into the dome to stabilize the chakra while the other quickly went through another series of one-handed seals. Stopping on the Tiger, the water dome began to spark as the hand inside began producing electricity. Almost at the same moment her jutsu was completed, Robin appeared behind the sphere with one hand holding a tome while the other pointed at the sphere with sparks dancing off her fingertips.
Morgan would later acknowledge this moment as singlehandedly the coolest combination attack she'd ever performed as they both called out the name of their attacks.
'Raiton: Denkishokku (Lightning Release: Thunder Shock)'
'Elthunder!'
The dome lit up. Electricity danced through the liquid and the creature as its howls echoed through the water in its throat. Not finished with her assault, once the light show ended she swiftly hopped away and made 10 more clones. A smirk reappeared on her face along with her clones and the fear she once felt vanished as the dome of water fell along with the chard corpse struggling to its only leg. The clones mimicked the original's movements as she reached into the pouch on her leg. In sync, they pulled out a kunai with paper wrapped around each handle and boisterously proclaimed their final attack: 'Killer Move: Bomb Barrage!'
The tags sparked. A moment later they were sent flying and into the body of the still staggered creature. If the scene couldn't get any better, she saw the tactician lady throwing a fire ball at the thing as well.
The last thing Morgan saw before the tags reached their expiration was the creature giving her a glare fit to burn through concrete before it was engulfed by blinding light followed by an explosion that knocked her off her feet.
...
Lissa stared, mouth agape and in complete awe at the crater the most terrifying creature she'd ever laid eyes on once stood. The explosion (which just so happened to be the greatest thing she'd ever seen) left a crater almost the size of her room and literally blew Chrom and herself off their feet. Dust along with the remains of the creature rose into the air as the flames slowly died out and Frederick and Sully's horses finally calmed down from the trauma they no doubt felt being within the vicinity of such an explosion. Pushing herself to a sitting position she awed at the sight for a moment longer.
Then Morgan did what she thought was only necessary for such a display of teamwork and flashiness.
"That... that was SO COOL!" Her loud exclamation got the attention of the only other two still standing in the clearing. Before Robin could fall, the blonde was in front of her; eyes sparkling like a thousand stars while both thanks and questions shot rapidfire at the tactican.
"You're amazing, Ms Tactician! We were all like WAM! And the zombie was like 'NOT TODAY'! Then you were like 'time to tip the scales'! Then we combined our attacks and everything went BOOM! We make such a great team!"
Robin was listening, but too many words were coming at once. Her head was starting to become foggy again but she had enough grace to at least reply to the girl looking up to her as if she was her own mother.
"Uh, thanks, um, kid... kiddo? Um, but if anything, you were, uh, the one who saved us all. Yes, if not for your unique skills we'd be done for." Her strategically placed praise made the girl stick out her chest in pride.
"Heheh, it was nothing. All in a days work for a hero like myself," Morgan bragged, conveniently forgetting the part where she 'tactically retreated' from her foe while on the verge of having a heart-attack.
"By the Gods," Chrom hobbled over to the duo, his gaze glued to the crater left behind from the explosion. A moment later he looked to the still gloating girl with an awe she would no doubt soak up. His amazement only grew when he realized the 'Scarlet Fury' looked as if she could do the same thing 10 more times and still have enough energy to wrestle a wyvern or two. "I, must thank you for the assist. I dare not imagine what would have become of us if you weren't at our side."
Morgan brightened more before rubbing her nose bashfully, "Heheh, y'know, just doing the job my dad left me with." As if suddenly getting an epiphany, the girl's eye widened before she gripped her head in panic, "Ah crap, I completely forgot about that old fossil!" It was only when the words were said that Chrom seemed to remember the same thing.
"He, hasn't returned?" Despite the girl shaking her head he was more plagued with the thoughts of why she looked completely unconcerned about the fact her father was still circumnavigating the forest while these thing still possibly roamed. It took a group (and Robin's tactics) just to survive through the horde. There was a chance the man would have been able to get away, but to fight those things on his own bordered on the insanity.
"Kami, this was my opportunity to show him what I'm made of... no, scratch that. I think it's best he not see that at all... Oh Kami, I can already hear him making fun of me!"
Chrom looked bewildered.
"Are, you not worried for his well being."
The girl snorted, as if the question he'd asked was idiotic. "Worried? About him? No way! My Dad's the strongest, after all. If anything, it's those dead mokes that you should be... more..." her sentence trailed off and all but died as her gaze seemed to lock onto something behind the prince. A moment later it morphed into horror, prompting Lissa and Chrom to turn their head to the same directions.
Their faces equally shifted at the impossibility of the situation.
Like something straight out of one of a horror theatre, a hand reached from the formally created pit-its midnight skin giving no illusions to what it was. The beginnings of a head began slowly rising and Lissa's legs gave out from under her.
Incandescence purple orbs peaked over the edge and Morgan took a step back. The thing pushed the rest of its torso out of the crater and Chrom's grip on his sword loosened.
"Y-you've gotta be kidding," Chrom heard Morgan whisper, his eyes never wavering from the creature still rising from the crater.
His eyes widened the more of the creature they were able to see. Now almost fully out of the crater Chrom was somewhat relieved to see the thing did not make it out of such an explosion unscathed. Its right arm and leg seemed to have been blown off completely, its skin was twice as dark no doubt from the scorching flames, half of its jaw was just... gone, and from the way it even struggled to stay on its remaining arm told the prince the injuries it sustained had taken its toll despite its defiance. However, the terrifying aura that surrounded it once seemed to be dark in color and rose from its shoulders a lot higher than he-
"LOOK OUT!"
Chrom almost couldn't warn the others in time. Faster than he thought capable of the injured, it leaped into the air, its body glowing brighter as it reached its peak. Chrom was only able to grab Lissa and get back a few feet before the thing came down on them like a flaming meteor. The destruction it caused was equal, if not greater, than the previous one and Chrom was sent off his feet. A moment later his head impacted something hard and all he knew was darkness.
...
Lissa's eyes were blurry as she pushed herself to a sitting position. Dirt and smoke still filled the air and it only made it that much more difficult to see through the haze. She tried speaking but all that came out were hoarse coughs and wheezes. If it wasn't for her glowing staff she was sure she wouldn't even be able to navigate through dense smog that covered them.
"*hack* *cough* Chr-Chrom?" Desperately, she called out to her brother, hoping beyond all hope that he still yet lived. "Chrom? Brother? Wh-where are you?" She didn't know what she would do if she had to return home without her big brother. Gods, just imagining the look on Emm's face when she told her the news was enough to hasten her efforts.
She must have been out of it more than she'd anticipated seeing that her brother was quite literally right next to her. Relieved, she crawled the small distance and tried shaking him awake. Fear gripped her heart as her brother remained unmoving. "Chrom? Chrom! Wake up! Gods, your heads' bleeding! Gods, oh Gods, I need to close the-"
The princess froze.
Not too far behind her was the distinct sound of movement. Every bone in her body shook at the ominous breathing she could now make out and she silently wished that what she was hearing wasn't what she was hearing. Fear gripping her heart, she slowly turned around.
The scene was straight out of one of her nightmares.
Despite it all, the thing was still alive-and this time, it was crawling; straight towards her.
At that moment, Lissa knew true fear. She couldn't tell if the sticky wetness in her smallclothes was her sweat or urine amymore but she hadn't the time to think it over seeing that she was too busy praying, shaking, and attempting to shake her brother awake to protect her like he always did.
"C-Chrom. Oh Gods, Chrom, please. Pl-please get up! Oh Gods, Chrom please! Please help me, Big Brother!" Her shaking became more frantic and her cries turned to shrieks as the creature grew closer and closer. In the end, her brother did not wake, and the creature was upon them.
Lissa stood stock still. She could feel the abomination's breath on her neck and see smog pass her peripheral. Like helpless prey, she did nothing as the predator above her began to growl. It was so close she could smell it's breath and rotten flesh. She didn't want to look at her killer, but her head turned on its own.
They say when you stare into the abyss, it stares back at you. Lissa has now looked into the abyss and for once in her life wished she'd stayed in the castle with her sister.
Despite it being hunched over and on one leg, the thing was still taller than her. Missing a jaw along with its flesh slowly following from its boney body, the only reason Lissa figured she couldn't throw up was because her throat was so tight the bile couldn't squeeze to its escape. She couldn't draw un the air to scream as the thing leaned back, raised its fist and prepared to turn her into paste. Nor could she do anything as it came down and her life flashed before her eyes-
"Rasengan!"
Fate shined upon her that day.
The creature was sent flying across the fort in a spinning heep. Lissa somehow found her breath again and thanked the Gods she was still alive for however much longer that may be. Looking up, she was met with the familiar back of her blonde savior. The clothes were basically covered in dirt and the orange could now be mistaken as a dark cider, yet the figure stood hunched and prepared for the threat before them.
...
"M-Morgan," said girl looked over her shoulder at the princess calling her name before snapping her attention back at the threat that began pushing itself to its foot despite one of her strongest attacks landing. It would seem despite its appearance, this thing's magical and chakra resistance was beyond that of normal human mages. However, despite how tall she currently felt facing the thing all by herself and the state the thing was in, she was still too scared to get anywhere close enough for it to get ahold of her. All it took was one hit from the thing and Morgan had no illusions of what would become of her.
But that did not mean she was completely out of options. There was still one move she had still yet to use in her, admittedly small, arsenal. Problem was, it required all her concentration and it would tire her out immediately. If it missed then they were as good as dead, but they were as good as dead anyway so what was there to lose? Looking back to the princess still shaking and staring at her as if she was Naga herself, her decision was made.
A hand-sign and two clones appeared to her right. Holding out a hand, the clones began moving their hands in a spherical motion around her palm while she concentrated on her chakra. She could feel the vast amount of chakra she still had left listen to her commands and couldn't stop the joy instide her from appearing on her face as she felt the chakra around her begin to morph in her image. She had never used this technique against anyone in her life, but she'd seen the destruction it could cause and the thought of sending such a worthy villain to its grave with her most powerful attack like one of her fantasies coming true.
Before she knew it, words were leaving her lips; to whom the words were intended for, she did not know.
"'No matter the obstacle, no matter the threat, I will not back down. If they take off my arms, then I will kick them dead. If they take my legs, then I will bite them dead. I will never run and I will never back down!' Those are the words of my father, Naruto Uzumaki! That's his nindo! His ninja way!" Morgan gulped audibly as the creature successfully pushed itself back to a crouch and gave her that familiar glare that once petrified her. "Even... even if I'm scared, I won't run away-no, I can't run away. How can I even think to call myself the daughter of the strongest shinobi if I can't even protect the people who need me the most!"
Lissa stared in amazement as what looked like rings of water began orbiting the sphere both outside and within. She'd... she'd never felt anything like this before. Normally, mana was more akin to a breeze brushing across your skin. Since mana had no physical form and was hard to draw from the air the use of tomes and staffs were used as a conduit to give it shape. Without a tome it was said to be impossible to make any lasting spells or curses strong enough to cause any lasting injury or damage.
But that sphere. .. this girl was summoning raw magic before her very eyes; powerful magic at that. A spell she'd never seen before that caressed her very skin as it was drawn towards the orb in the girl's hand.
And... and it was being done, without a tome or staff. She'd thought she'd seen the girl do weird things before with casting lost magic and making clones of herself, but the power she was feeling in that orb trumped anything she'd done before.
"My dream is to be just like my father-to never back down and never give up. I may currently be weak, but that doesn't mean I will never be strong. As long as I give it my all then there will never be a limit for me, because no matter what stands in front of me, at the end of the day I will be the hero! That is my nindo! My ninja way!"
A final pulse from the orb and Lissa began to hear waves. Despite never hearing it before and being limited to pictures on books, she could tell from the swashing of water and the way water seemed to sing in the air that she was hearing the ocean; a sound she'd never heard before, but captivated her all the same.
And it was all coming from the spiraling sphere in the girls hand. Said girl that was, along with her three doppelgangers, looking back at her with a confident grin she was sure was meant to be reassuring.
"So don't worry, princess, 'cause the great Morgan Uzumaki is going to protect you!"
Lissa did not believe she was into women. She'd had a crush on Frederick since her first blood and the many knight's she'd had the pleasure of viewing from her balcony in the castle. Naga, even Vaike had her bothered despite her clearly having no interest in the shirtless brute; Emm later reassuring her that it was but the passing of hormones.
But at this moment, as she stared at the back of the one that had sworn to save her, to protect her, she could swear after this was all over that she saw the back of someone great-an actual knight in shining armor standing protectively in front of her.
As silly as it may sound, it felt... warm. Nice. Reassuring, as if everything would truly be OK. As if she would live another day. As if she would see her family alive and well again.
It made her feel hope and her chest warm.
Two of her three knights disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving her sole knight holding the orb of destruction in her hand while glaring back at the monster before her. Grin never leaving her face, her knight steeled herself. This would be her final attack and Lissa could feel the confidence her knight had in it succeeding.
Her adversary finally moved, its powerful legs launching itself at them.
And her knight reeled her arm back similar to some sort of grant play for children, her knight called out her attack.
"Take this, you freak! Uzumaki Secret Technique: Orb of-"
*BOOM*
Her knight tripped mid swing while the princess was forced to cover her eyes from the new debri. The momentum her knight had built up, however, carried her body forward would have crashed right on her face were it not for her free hand snapping out to catch the ground. She couldn't see her face, but the princess was sure her knight was as currently as dumbfounded as she.
Something big had suddenly fallen right out of the sky and crushed her knight's glory flat. Dust covering their vision, Lissa only prayed it wasn't another one of those creatures for her heart wouldn't be able to take any more surprises.
When the smoke finally cleared, she didn't know whether what she was seeing was a dream come true or a sick joke. Standing atop the dissipating smoke that was once the most horrifying creature she'd ever laid eyes on was an equally horrifying figure; that is, depending on how bad your ranidaphobia was.
Before her very eyes, she swears to Naga, was a frog. Not any normal frog, mind you. Normal frogs were small, cute, completely harmless creatures that on a bad day could give you a good scare if taken by surprise. This frog however, would not only take you by surprise, but possibly crush or even swallow you whole if it had a particular craving for human flesh.
Standing at an astounding 8 feet tall with the width of about 6 was a beautiful, orange amphibian wearing what looked to be Chon'sin styled clothing with a freakin' SWORD at its hip the size of her! Lissa thought she was shocked at the sheer impossibility of the sight, but if she could see her knight's face then she'd have to retract that statement.
Morgan's jaw was practically on the ground. The power she'd spectacularly morphed into physical form had deformed and turned into a puddle that dripped on her still raised hand while the chakra dispersed into the ether. Atop the frog was a familiar blonde gnome looking around confused. His gaze stopped on them and the man had the nerve to begin scratching the back of his head as if he hadn't just committed a cardinal sin amongst heroes.
"Hm, coulda sworn there was a zombie here a second ago..."
"DAAAAAAAD! YOU BIG, BALD, UGLY, GNOME! YOU TOTALLY STOLE MY BIG MOMENT BACK THERE! AGAIN!" Morgan cried in hysterics as she weakly banged her fist against her father's chest, tears streaming down her face. "GIVE ME BACK MY MOMENT YOU BIG JERK! GIVE! IT! BACK! WAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAA!"
Naruto chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head as the girl's complaints and blows grew in number. Chrom and the rest of the Shepherds, now sitting and being patched up by Lissa, were staring down the blonde duo. Both had completely blown their minds, albeit, in different ways, and were now chatting away as if they hadn't just destroyed their perception of power.
Somewhere between their banter, the blue haired boy/girl had returned and was also watching the interaction with veiled emotion. They had no idea who the boy/girl was or where he/she came from but at this point they could care less if he/she was Grima masquerading as a noble behind a mask. Right now the only thing on their minds was recovery and kicking themselves over the loss they'd no doubt suffered this night if it wasn't for the two blondes.
Meanwhile, Naruto looked over to the blue haired boy/girl that was staring back at him unflinchingly (or at least he thought he/she was). Naruto's eyes definitely weren't toying with him when he saw the sword the boy/girl had wielded on his/her waist. It was an exact duplicate of the Falchion the prince had and, as far as Naruto knew, there was only one Falchion in the world and it could only be used by those who had Naga's blessing (A.K.A, the royal family of Ylisse), so how the hell did this boy/girl wield it? And how the hell was there a second one?
Evidently, the blue haired boy/girl knew where the blonde shinobi was looking and turned his/her body as if to hide the sword that hung around his/her waist. This only made Naruto's brows crease in suspicion at the figure he knew nothing about.
"I must thank you, friend." the shinobi turned his head to see Chrom standing in front of him with a somewhat composed smile. "We owe our lives to you and your... daughter."
"Don't sweat it," he waved the prince off, ignoring the suspicion in the prince's tone. "We happen to be in the neighborhood is all. Besides, its not like we can just let you guys die out here."
The words seemed to make the Prince's smile brighten. "Then I am glad there are good people out there like you, friend." He said, extending his hand towards the blonde. "My name is Chrom... but I guess you already knew that. May I know yours."
The blonde smiled back respectfully. "Naruto. Naruto Uzu-"
"Morgan! Morgan Uzumaki," said girl suddenly interrupted, putting herself between the two older men while puffing her chest out in clear arrogance. "Heh, no need to thank the real hero of the day. Just doin' ma job as a Hero of Justice, ya know." Kami, and Naruto thought he was starving for attention at her age.
Thankfully, Chrom did not stroke her ego. Instead, he looked to the older of the two with raised brows.
"Your names sound, foreign. Are you perhaps from the northern continents? Maybe Valm?"
Ignoring the irritation he could feel from the shorter blonde, Naruto instictively prepared to lie. It was easy to forget that the only people who had last names on this continent were the noble pricks and the royal family when you've spent most your time around people of your own culture. But he was now in a new ball game and he had to play by it's rules... or at least, tell a few white lies.
"Something like that."
"Milord, if I may," a new voice joined the conversation curtsy of a stoic knight now standing next to liege, looking at them with both curiosity and a bit of suspicion. "I've only read this in text, but I do believe the headbands they wear indicate their professions as shinobi of Chon'sin-a country in Valm known for their practices in bushido; the 'way of the warrior', if you will. It is said that shinobi serve directly under a Lord and are trained at birth to defend their liege till death or a new ruler is appointed. Am I correct, sir?"
Sweet, sweet opportunity.
"What? Were not from-"
"You seem to know a lot considering that knowledge isn't exactly spread to the public. Makes me wonder exactly what 'text' you were reading." Naruto swiftly interrupted his daughter before she could say anything unnecessary, the muffled sounds coming from the girl simply being his imagination. Yes, his imagination and definitely not him smothering her with his hand. That's your, and everyone else's, imagination, as well.
"It is my duty to know of all threats my lord and lady may face in the future," the knight replied stoicly. "I also know that you are trained in lethality and deception, so you will have to forgive me if anything you say isn't taken at face value."
"...Wow. You must be fun at parties."
He felt something pinch his palm, but just like the muffled screams it was all his imagination.
"My duties first and foremost is to protect the royal family. Fun can come when I've secured their safety or when I'm dead."
"...Good to know," Chrom seemed to look exasperated at the knight's devotion but the blonde paid it no heed. "Well, due to, reasons, we are currently on a, how do you say, leave of absence, at the moment. My girl wanted to see the world and what kinda father would I be if I didn't give my baby girl what she wanted." He suddenly felt something pinch his palm again, but just like the muffled screams, it was all his imagination.
"...And what of your liege?"
"Currently missing."
"Missing?"
"More like she's hiding. You know how Lords and Madames are. Think they know more about the outside world than us veterans do."
"...I am very familiar, sir." If the blonde had blinked he would have missed the smirk that switched on the knights face and the prince's scoff of derision. He felt something wet repeatedly roll, circle and slide against his palm but as they all knew by now, it was just his imagination
"And your Liege? May we know her name?"
"Being a little too forward there, aren'cha mister Knight? For all I know we could be on completely opposite sides."
"My lords are of Ylissean royalty. Unless you've committed a crime or done acts against the crown then we have no quarrel with you. I simply wish to fill in the holes in your story."
"And if I don't wish to fill those holes?"
"Then my earlier suspicions would be valid."
"And what suspicions might those be?"
"Your presence, for one. I suppose we are to 'believe' you suddenly decided to 'appear' on the outskirts of South Town the moment my lord also happens to be passing?"
"And I'm supposed to believe that YOU guys weren't the one's actually following US? Hell, how don't I know it wasn't YOU who summoned those things back there?"
The knight looked as if he'd just been accused of sacrilege. "T-to even insinuate that we'd-do you honestly believe turning suspicion onto my lord will absolve you of your own?"
"I don't know, do you interrogate every moose crossing the road you walk on? Or maybe pick up pebbles on the road to lower the chances of tripping?"
"Hmph, even the smallest of rubble is capable of causing injury or even death if stumbled on."
"Wait, you actually do it?"
"It is a duty that I perform with pride. Giving 110% to protecting my Lord and Lady is an honor and duty I take very seriously. Giving any less would be-"
"Um, I, don't think she can breathe." Naruto stopped to blink at the words. A moment later, he looked down at the girl he still had his hand over the mouth of. She had grown a shade of blue since the last time he looked down and her chakra was a lot less agitated than it had been minutes before. Realization hit him and he released her face. Air was absorbed into the girl's throat like a man dying of thirst. Her body heaved in the precious natural resource as if it would be her last and it only stopped when she turned to glare back at him.
"Y-y-you *wheeze* ASS," was her unfiltered screech.
"Now, now, Morgan. If you wanted to breathe, all you had to do was-" a hand shot out, quickly stopping the disaster that would have been the girl's leg being introduced to his groin. A brow was raised. "Really, Morgan. And here I thought you were better than-" apparently, Morgan was a believer in 'if you first don't succeed, try, try again' evidence from the fist that flew out equally fast and almost made contact if not for the older blonde catching the attack once again. "Oi! Cut it out, brat! Do you NOT want to be born?!"
"Whatever I break will just grow back you bald jackass!"
"That doesn't mean it won't hurt, brat!"
"It's a price you're willing to pay!"
"Like hell I am!"
"This is no time for childish banter." The two stopped on a dime to turn to the sharp voice. The blue haired boy/girl now stood before them with his/her body still turned to hide the sword Naruto had no doubt was a replica of the one Chrom wielded. "First, I'd like to apologize for leaving you to fend for yourselves. If I'd known that such powerful beings had followed me I'd had coordinated with your group instead of venturing alone."
"Ah, think nothing of it, friend. I forgot to get your thanks as well?" Chrom spoke, letting the end of the sentence hang to get the name of the boy/girl.
"… You may call me Marth." That seemed to get the raised eyebrows of both Chrom and Frederick.
"Marth? After the Hero King of old? You sure swing your sword like a hero. Perhaps you can share where you learned your swordsmanship?" Chrom asked, but the boy/girl (yes, he was still confused on this guy's/girl's gender) only shook his head and turned to get ready to walk away.
"I'm not here to talk about myself. This world teeters on the brink of calamity. Tonight was but a prelude to the events yet to come. You have been warned." Naruto watched this 'Marth' give him one last glance before turning and walking away into the forestry.
"Huh?! What teeters where now?" Naruto heard the newly entered blonde princess speak behind him, apparently finished healing the rest of their traveling band.
"It would seem we are coming across more and more suspicious individuals." Frederick spoke up, turning to look dead at the blonde shinobi. Naruto gave him the mental bird before stretching his arms and looking back to the prince.
"Whelp, you guys seem to have everything under control now, so I think I'll leave you to your... Shepherdy, business. Me and my little angel here have prior engagements so this will be where we part ways."
"What!" Both Lissa and Morgan exclaimed as they rushed him.
"You can't just leave like that! We-we're still not 100 percent and, and you're strong enough to escort us and, and you still have to show me how to do that cool frog summoning thing!"
"Yea, Dad! And I still haven't gotten my reward for saving the princess!"
...Glad to at least know where their priorities lie.
"Matter a fact, why don't you join the Shepherds!" Lissa suddenly suggested. "With you, Morgy and those giant frogs around there's no way we could ever lose against those greedy bandits or corpses, I just KNOW it!"
Naruto paused at the girls request. Then he smiled and shook his head, slightly amused at the crestfallen faces the princess and his princess made in sync. "Sorry kiddos. Uncle Naruto has a lot in his bowl and a bowl is most useful when it's empty," he said sagely, making the two girls pout even more.
He was about to say something else but stopped halfway as his senses went off for the third time that day. His head immediately shot towards the direction of the subtle, yet malicious chakra and his eyes landed on white hair and a face that could not be misconstrued with anything other than pure terror.
Observing the new face Naruto frowned slightly. If he were to compare her to the average woman, then she would definitely be in the above average category when it came to looks. She had long white pigtails that went down to her chest with a braid that wrapped around the back of her head. Her attire was also unique. She wore a dark purple cloak with lit purple eyes that went down the sleeves and golden folds at the end of the cloak. The cloak was held loosely together by a small rope that hooked onto button and wore a V-Neck T-Shirt with purple outlining and white baggy pants. She also wore leather brown boots that went up to her shin and had leather gloves on her hands. If Naruto were to see this woman on the street, then he would have chopped her up to a pretty face and moved on with his life.
But he wasn't paying attention to her looks. He didn't know how he didn't notice her when he first arrived, but her chakra signature was massive; like, Bijuu reserves massive! The only other person in this area who had more chakra than her was himself (which was pretty freaking amazing). It also felt much like a dark mage's corrupted chakra, but what really got him was the way the chakra felt. He was sure he had only felt that chakra once in his life and that was an hour ago. In short words, it was an almost exact copy of the chakra he'd felt when that portal opened. That dark, sickening, malicious chakra that had blanketed the area and his senses.
In normal cases he would have been on the woman before she could even blink, but the fear coming from her chakra told a bigger story than the fear on her face showed. She was shocked that he'd caught her, but the fear of him in particular overrode the rest of her senses-the fact that she was frozen stiff all the proof he needed to confirm his thoughts.
He had questions. Questions that this woman could most likely answer. However, there was a time and place for everything and around a crowd of people who weren't nearly on that level of chakra would be a disaster waiting to happen.
"Is there a problem?" The blonde blinked out of his mulling at the prince's voice. Looking over, he could see the man was suddenly on edge and he didn't need to be a genius to see why. In fact, everyone in the clearing seemed to be ready for a fight if the lance that was now in Frederick's hand was anything to go by. "You're giving my companion quite the stare. Do you, perhaps know her?" Turning back to the albino and observing her features one last time, he smiled before turning it to the prince.
"Nope."
Then a hand fell on his daughter's shoulder and they vanished in a swirl of leaves—leaving six completely baffled Shepherds behind.
When Marth felt he/she was far enough away from the group, he/she stopped and waited by leaning against a tree. He/she was sure the blonde had gotten the message and would be on his way the second he was able.
Sure enough, a flash of orange appeared in his/her peripheral vision and Marth was now staring at a blonde that was looking at him/her seriously, while the shorter blonde looked around in confusion.
"Well, I'm here to talk. Now, how should we start?"
Marth nodded before speaking, "I'm glad you got my message. You truly are as great as the stories told." Marth spoke in a tone that no longer sounded strained and flowed more smoothly. Then Marth reached up and took off his/he-no, definitely a her—mask and allowed the two blondes to see the blue orbs that laid hidden behind the mask. Long hair flowed easily down her back as she looked to the shinobi with all seriousness in her eyes.
"My name is Lucina, and I come with dire news and a request that only you can help me with.
A/N: Got this knocked out a day earlier so I figured why wait. The next is my favorite chapter of the 9 I have written and trust me when I say you NEED to pay attention to some things in it. One part hints at whose Lucina's mother while others hold some foreshadowing of the final clash. God I can't wait till I get to the end of the Plegian arc!
For those who have not realized it by now, the villains in this new rewrite has been buffed while Morgan has been significantly nerfed. When I originally wrote Morgan I planned for her to be just like her genius mother in both tactics and magic but found it very hard to put her up against any challenge in the future seeing that she could simply curbstomp anything just like her father. In the end, there were too many problems with her power level and made for a very boring story for me to write, hence the nerf.
BTW, on the subject of who Naruto will get with in the end, I will address that right now.
First and foremost, for now, Lucina is out. She just too young bruh and I couldn't find a decent reason for bee to fall in love with Naruto considering how their relationship progresses as the story goes on. This will be up for debate later in the story seeing that the ending of this story heavily influences Morgan's background but by the middle of this story you will know who Morgan's mother is. Until then, I will not say who her mother is nor will I give hints.
However, what I WILL give you are choices. Choices that can change the story in the future if someone gives me a good enough idea.
With that being said, I do not have plans for this to be a harem story. However, like before, I'm willing to negotiate if someone has a good enough idea with the characters that are available. Said characters will be at the end of each chapter in the order in which they meet our favorite blonde ninja. Also know that the harem will NOT exceed 2 and if a particular mother is chosen then the harem route is voided all together so choose wisely!
But understand something. In the future, one of these characters WILL drop from the list simply due to how their daughter plays in a particular chapter down the road so sorry in advance. But for now, please enjoy speculating who Morgan's mother will be by the end of this story
Potential Mothers for Morgan:
Robin
Lucina (probably not)
?
?
?
One last thing. I want to thank everyone who gives me good criticism be that via PM or review. I will always take criticism when it is needed and encourage everyone to do the same. If there are any misspells or things in the story that just make no sense then I always want to know. It helps me fix those mistakes and hopefully not make more in the future.
Also, thank you everyone who came back to read this story. Your reviews are much appreciated and the nice you say keeps me wanting to write more!