Chapter 4
Convictions
Giggles escaped the mouth of a man as he made sure to capture word for word of the next paragraph to let his imagination keep up with his eyes. Even if he'd read the scene on the page over a hundred times already it still brought vivid fantasies no matter the repetition. Jiraiya truly was a genius of literature - a genius unmatched by all others and he wouldn't hear otherwise.
"Heheheh, Aiko, Aiko, you naughty, naughty girl~. Ahe, ahehehehehe." A small trail of blood rolled down the man's masked nose as he looked to the left page to take in the 'art' that accompanied this beautiful work of literature. After every sentence read, he would look back to said 'art' to fuel his endless imagination and give him more incentive to read on. Such work of art needed to be read slowly to truly take in the scene that he was trying to-
The male momentarily paused his read to deflect 3 metal objects that were strategically thrown to go through his head. He didn't even glance up at his attacker since he could feel her charging him for the umpteenth time today, sword in hand.
"Ma, and I was just getting to the good part," he drawled as he casually brought his kunai up and deflected the sword swing from the blue haired swordswoman. The legendary blade Falchion gleamed in the sunlight as it's wielder brought it in a horizontal arc to cut the silver haired teacher in half. Her swing met nothing but air as the shinobi ducked under the swing. Lucina expected a counter attack from her now opened position, but much to her annoyance, the one-eyed man only kept his attention on that damned blue book. Instead of waiting for an attack, the princess lifted her sword and prepared to bring it down on the still reading shinobi.
Before she could even go through with the movement, she froze as a kunai was placed at her jugular. "You're dead," he drawled lazily from his crouching position, never once taking his eye off his book. "Your movements are too wide and you depend too much on finishing blows. The correct move there was to retreat once your attack failed. Also... if the bait is obvious, please don't take it."
The man finally looked up to the bluenette to give an eye-smile. "Do try to remember that living beings are more prone to exploit your openings, my cute little Genin." Lucina gulped as she nodded at the man's words.
The kunai was moved from her neck and Lucina immediately acted. The shinobi was forced to jump back as the princess suddenly moved under his arm and swung vertically at his exposed armpit. She quickly dashed after him as he landed.
'Vantage'.
One of her few skills activated and her speed immediately doubled. The slight widening of the man's eye was the only indication that he was surprised before he slightly moved his head to the right and away from the jab. The sword retreated back to the woman just as fast as it came and he was forced to deflect the overhead strike while pivoting to her right.
He was once again surprised when his kick to her side was answered by a red aura that pushed his leg back and disrupted his balance. The girl seemed to be disheveled for a moment, but quickly turned around and took advantage of the shinobi's opening. She jabbed at his torso and felt slightly disturbed yet accomplished when the sword pierced through the man's torso.
The feeling of victory was short lived as not a second later the man puffed into a log that split into two. Her senses then yelled at her to move and that's exactly what she did. A shadow descended from above and almost planted her into the ground via dropkick if not for her reflex to dodge.
The shinobi now became the aggressor as he put away his book and charged the bluenette. Two shuriken appeared in his hand and was thrown as fast as they'd appeared. The time-traveler steadied her feet and was already in the motion to intercept the incoming stars.
Just as she was bringing her arm up, she saw her adversary throw another star that sailed faster than the rest. Unfortunately for her, she could slow stop current motion of her sword already swinging to deflect the first two ninja stars which turned into her downfall. The edge of her blade was able to deflect the incoming missle but her timing was off significantly and one of the shuriken passed her guard and headed straight for her eye.
In a feat that surprised even herself, she pushed her mana a third of a second before the star would take out one of her eyes and ducked awkwardly to the side. Fortunately, the shuriken flew past the side of her forehead and landed somewhere along with the other that missing her completely.
Unfortunately, the one aimed for gee eye took flesh with it. Her pale skin above her left eye was cut open for the world to see and a constant stream of red ran down her face. Hissing in pain, she stumbled awkwardly from her awkward angle before righting herself.
He teacher took full advantage of her opening and was in striking distance the second she righted herself. An arm was pulled back to strike wide with his kunai and Lucina was ready to guard.
What she did not anticipate was the blood that fell into her left eye added with the silver haired man feinting his swing and pulling up his leg instead. The leg was too far away to hit her but that apparently wasn't the purpose of the attack. As his leg left the ground a chunk of grass and dirt followed. Lucina was blinded further by the sudden dirty tactic and swung sightlessly at her now unseen enemy.
Her blade met air and she was punished for it with multiple strikes to her person. First was what felt like a palm strike to her cheek that turned her head, next was a body shot that folded her forward followed by an uppercut to the chin. Lastly was what could only be a kick that sent her sprawling across the field. She coughed violently and quickly rubbed her eyes free of any lingering dirty and blood before snapping back
to her trainer.
Said trainer that was already in front of her. She went to defend herself from whatever he had planned for her but felt strangely light. Somewhere between her tumble, she had lost hold of her sword. Gods.
The man gave her no quarter for losing her weapon. He was going for another palm strike to her face and Lucina quickly anticipated it and tried leaning back. That seemed to be the wrong move once more since he pulled back, spun around, and the time traveler saw stars as the man's sandals met the side of her head and sent her sprawling once again.
Unlike last time, she was not able to catch her bearings and landed on her side. She felt pain all over her body, but she still pushed herself to all fours despite it. She asked for this training and this pain was but a consequence of gaining strength. The world was depending on her to be strong and she had no time to be groveling on the ground.
Shaking her head, the time-traveler looked up to the silver haired man that had his face back in his book and a hand in his pocket. She knew he was doing that to rile her up, but she couldn't help her blood boiling at the sight of him dismissing her so easily. Vision cleared, she stood back up on shaky feet and drew a kunai from her pouch. Holding the dagger in a reverse grip she made ready to continue her assault.
After nearly a minute of contemplation and silence, Lucina decided to be the aggressor once more and charged forward. A battle cry left her lips as she got in range of the distracted man. A kunai met hers as sparks flew from the metal contact.
Her attacks were relentless. It lacked the grace and skill she normally performed in combat with Falchion, but the speed at which she could cut was noticeably different compared to swinging her legendary blade.
The exchanged lasted only 20 seconds but the girl didn't even manage to get the man to look up nor move from the position he'd been standing in the exchange. She had no idea how he was deflecting her blows without even acknowledging her, but her mind was set to just getting a single hit in than ponder over such trivial matters.
Then out of nowhere, the instructor's leg came out to sweep the bluenette's after a particular over extension aimed at his book, of all things. She showed her surprising acrobatic skills however and flipped over the sweep. As she landed, her hand flashed upwards. Three kunai shot from her left hand and headed straight for the man. He deflected the knifes with ease, but was surprised when he saw the exploding tags attached to the end of one of the knives.
An explosion shook the clearing as Lucina covered her face from the debris. When the heat and debri ceased, her arm fell, but her guard did not as she waited for the smoke to clear. She knew with absolute certainty that the attack wouldn't be enough to take out her trainer. He was made from harder material than normal human beings and was too slippery to be caught up in something as simple as that.
She was right since out of the smoke came two kunai that were aimed with superb accuracy at her leg and sword arm. Instead of deflecting the incoming projectiles, Lucina expertly dodged with almost laughable ease and ran towards the smoke that slowly dissipated.
Only to come to a halt when the smoke cleared and there was no sign of life in the clearing aside from herself. She looked around frantically to find the suddenly allusive man, but saw nothing but grass and trees. Sweat ran down her face as she continuously scanned her surroundings for any incoming threats. Shinobi were elusive fighters and she'd learned that first hand in this figh. She was quickly learning that they were far more allusive than the common assassin of her realm and far more willing to take advantage of the openings she left (though that could just be summed up to the vast difference in skill than just being from different realms). Her 'sensei' had proven in the last hour that he was not above fighting dirty to win and the lesson was being hammered into her head. But even if she couldn't yet see his next attack, she would prove that she was prepared to deal with whatever he threw at her next.
But alas, no preparation could have prepared her for the man's next surprise.
First was the sensation of someone grabbing her ankles. Next was a very ladylike squeak leaving her lips as she was, quite violently, pulled into the ground until there was nothing but her neck submerged. Lastly, was the shock that, somehow, someway, she'd been pulled underneath dry soil all the way up to her neck. Blinking rapidly was all the bluenette could do before she looked down at the grass that was now only centimeters away from her face. Seconds later a puff of smoke appeared in front of her and she nearly growled at her instructor that still had his face in that damn book.
"You actually surprised me for a moment there, Princess," the shinobi drawled as he turned a page in his book. "I didn't know my cute little Genin had exploding tags. Looks like I'll have to be more vigilant in the future if I wish to live longer."
Lucina once more struggled to pull herself from the dirt. After a few seconds of effort she could do nothing but groan and admit defeat. Her body ached and she was sure moving more would only agitate her bruises. She was completely at her teacher's mercy.
"…So, how bad was I?" She asked, resigned to her fate. Much to her confusion and growing annoyance, the man didn't reply. "Naruto?" still no reply. Lucina stared at the man in a moment of confused contemplation before her face dipped, finally relenting in a murmur, "…Kakashi-sensei."
"Oh, didn't know you were talking to me, Princess," he sing-songed, said princess too tired to even lift her head to give the glare the man deserved. "Not bad, actually." The 'Copy-Nin' said honestly, flipping another page in his book. "You seemed to adapt after your first mistake, which is very good. It shows your not repetitive, but a quick learner. That will make it a lot easier to train you in the future... However," finally, he closed the book and let out a disappointed sigh. "You have a lot of work to do."
Lucina winced at the man's tone. "Bu-but you said-"
"Oh, don't mistake my words," he reassured. "You have a grace in your swordplay that many lack. However, the problem doesn't stem from your abilities, but in the muscle memory from the things you're used to fighting." Lucina didn't need him to point out the obvious seeing that she knew more than anyone the meaning behind his words. "You leave yourself open unnecessarily and take swings as if you will run your opponent through with the first strike. You are never thinking defensively nor are you ready for your opponents' counterattack. It's because of that that you couldn't tell the difference between a straight and a feint."
"I also disapprove of you using weapons you aren't familiar with - something that is basic weapons 101. Though your speed increased, the amount of openings you leave in every strike honestly made me want to punch you in the kidney." The man sighed as he crouched down and placed a hand over the gash that was still pouring blood into her eye. A moment later, she felt warm while her vision was blinded by green. If she hadn't seen this done multiple times in the future by her Aunt Lissa then she'd marvel at the control the blonde had over healing magic without a staff. "The correct thing to do when you've lost your weapon is to either retreat or get your opponent into a position where you can safely retrieve it. Never fight with a weapon you aren't 100% sure you can win with for your secondary is just a last resort."
Lucina soaked in everything as she stared… up. She couldn't lie that every flaw he pointed out made her heart ache, but this was why she was here. He could make her stronger than even her father and he'd already proved it through crossing blades.
Cut healed and lecture given, 'Kakashi' stood up and dusted off the imaginary dust on his pants. "Whelp, I believe that'll be enough for day one. I hear there's a special on Waffles at Danny's and I want to be in line within the hour."
Lucina was ashamed at the way her mouth salivating at the mere mention of food. She'd fallen for his 'do not eat or you'll throw up' skit and she'd regretted it every minute afterwards. If her first decent meal since arriving to this world was her reward after this humiliating training session then you'd have to forgive her for her sudden break in character.
Her short trance was promptly ended by the sound of footsteps. She blinked as she saw her teacher now a good 10 meters away. She went to quickly retrieve her Falchion before remembering something very important.
A quick glance down reminded her of her predicament while an even faster glance up saw her teacher getting further away.
She looked back down at herself. Up at her retreating teacher.
Down at herself, retreating teacher.
Down herself, retreat teacher.
Down, teach.
Down-
"W-wait!" she finally yelled out, thankfully getting the silver-haired man to glance a look over his shoulder at the head in the ground.
Tilting his head in confusion, he looked at her suddenly pleading face. "Is there a problem my cute little Genin?"
"A-aren't you forgetting something?!" She yelled accusingly.
He gave her a long, hard stare as if the question she'd asked was gibberish before giving her an eye-smile. "Ma, think of this as today's final lesson. Get out of that before I make it to the gates and I'll teach you something special. Jaane~." With one final wave, the Copy-Nin returned to his walk as a familiar book reappeared in his hand—leaving the princess with her mouth agape and a growling stomach.
For the next 45 minutes, the clearing was filled with grunts of exertion, all the while the bluenette cursed a blonde's name in 3 different languages.
"Suiton: Suiryudan no Justu (Water Style: Water Dragon Bullets)!"
Training Morgan was an... ordeal.
Mind you, it wasn't because she was necessarily bad. She had glaring weaknesses just like any other trained shinobi and she wasn't the, worse, he'd ever had the pleasure of training.
"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!"
It was just that, after the first water jutsu, then the third, then the fifth... then the eighteenth... and so on, he came to a quick, almost disappointing realization that the Water Dragon Jutsu was literally the only aggressive jutsu she knew besides the Shadow Clone and Summoning. He remembered her saying something about a lightning jutsu and the water prison but had yet to see it in action.
"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!"
It didn't help the little girl's case that, instead of at least linking her attacks to lead into tactical advantages, she was just throwing them left and right and 'hoping' they hit. No plan, no set pattern, just her throwing out the same jutsu and clone barrage until one of them eventually hit - not that she had a chance in hell considering her Taijutsu was on the level of a first year academy student.
"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!"
...If things couldn't get any more frustrating, the moment she 'technically' scored a strike, the little shit had the nerve to gloat in the middle of the fight. Thankfully, after giving her the good ol' Kakashi special, Finger of Death, she never did it again. In fact, that actually made her want to hit him even harder (not that she succeeded).
"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!"
Her only saving grace would be her stamina. Water Jutsu were very chakra consuming and the fact she was constantly producing water using the water vapor in the air was definitely praise worthy. Not only that, but the clone jutsu was equally (if not more) draining and the gaki could still stand on two feet after multiple demonstrations over the last hour. Technically, she could deal with any bandit she came across and could probably deal with a small army in this world simply by overwhelming them with numbers or straight up drowning them, but that all meant zilch against some of the more experienced fighters he'd met in this world.
"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!"
...Just what the hell did his future-self teach this kid? Better question: did he even teach her at all? This girl fights like she watched an action movie and tried mimicking the moves in real life. Surely his future-self wasn't this negligent, right? RIGHT? He was just a clone, but he was almost positive the original was gonna blow a fuse when he received the memories later and OH MY GOD USE SOMETHING EEEEEEEEEEEELSE!
...
"So *huff* how'd I *huff* do *wheeze*."
...The clone actually contemplated giving her the truth. On one hand, breaking her spirit sounded like a dick move, especially with someone as bubbly as the girl who seemed to almost worship the ground he walked. However, a lie would do nothing but boost her already swelled ego and the clone liked to think he'd seen enough water jutsu in his lifetime...
...Eh, the original would be the one to deal with the consequences.
"...If you weren't my daughter I'd break your hands just so I'd never have to see another water jutsu in my eternity again..."
The girl had the gall to pout; as much as one could while trying to swallow air. "It's *wheeze* my favorite jutsu *huff* and *wheeze* the only one you'd *wheeze*. Gods *wheeze* I-I'm dying!"
Breathe in, breathe out.
"HmmmmmmmmmHaaaaaaaaaaaah, then I guess I'll start with the bad." He didn't need to remove the hand that met his face to know the girl was suddenly anxious. "You freeze too damn much. When I get in close, you obviously have no idea what to do and usually run under pressure. Now, that isn't necessarily always a bad thing considering you're obviously not a close combat fighter, but outright turning your back on an enemy is the height of stupidity. If not bad enough, when you're forced to engage up close you throw some of the worst punches and kicks I've ever seen in my goddamm life-which says a lot coming from me of all people."
The girl slumped noticeably at the harsh criticism, but her father continued nonetheless. "I'm not even going to talk about your tactics... You almost had me a couple of times if you'd simply... knew, another jutsu, but your reaction time is snailish, your stealth skills are nonexistent and *sigh* your little routines are going to get you killed one of these days, gaki." He took solace in the fact that she at least looked sheepish at that. "If we add up your pros and cons, then I'd say the ratio would be about 20/80. You can take a hit and your ninjutsu is versatile in this Realm, but your Taijutsu is ass, you crack under pressure too easily and you have no idea what you are doing on the field of battle. All in all, I wouldn't trust you to fight a dog even if it was blindfolded with 2 legs."
Every word he spoke shot like arrows through the girl's chest and she finally slumped down in defeat from both exhaustion and what felt like verbal child abuse. The fact that it was the exact things her future father pointed out only made the blows to her combat prowess that much more hurtful.
"I'm actually afraid to ask, but why have you been neglecting your Taijutsu? Don't you know it's just as important as your Ninjutsu?" The older shinobi asked the girl who now sat crisscross and rubbed the back of her head nervously.
"I kinda, sorta~ didn't think it was that important," she laughed sheepishly. "I always thought throwing jutsu was enough to get me by. Guess I was wrong, huh?" The clone was a sentence away from committing filicide. "Besides, you, wouldn't teach me anything else. It took me ages just to get you to teach me the Suiton jutsu. The only reason I know the summoning and clone justus is because I, went behind your back to learn them."
That made the older blonde raise a brow. "You mean I didnt teach you anything? Nothing at all?"
"You, weren't very motivated in teaching me back then. "I don't know anything about being a shinobi because you never taught me!" She snapped at him. "I understood that you never wanted me to be a shinobi, but it was my dream to be everything you were and you denied that dream every day I brought it up! So... so if I'm a failure of a shinobi then it's all YOUR fault you, you, jerk!" If possible, the pout she showed was even bigger than the one before and the clone pondered if the size of her baseball sized puffed cheeks was a genjutsu or not.
To be fair, she had a right to be angry. He was sure his future self had the same reasons he currently had now not to teach her anything else. Question was, did he have more of a reason not to teach her in the future? Plus, the eyepatch on her face wasn't really giving him anymore incentive to do so either...
"Say, kiddo, have you ever had any weird dreams about red eyes, giant plants or the sudden urge to destroy the world?"
Morgan's face was right as rain.
"...What kinda stupid question is that?"
...Eh, good enough. Not like she had the mental compacity to take over the world anyway. If Morgan was an evil mastermind then he was Pickle Rick. "Whelp, it's your lucky day, kiddo! It just so happens that I have enough time to train you; seriously. Do well, and I MAY teach you a new jutsu."
The astonished look on the girl's face was actually cute. Seems the girl couldn't even keep the excitement from her voice if she tried. "Y-you're actually going to train me? Like, for real for real?!"
"Don't get too excited, kiddo. If you thought earlier was hard then I can't wait to see the look on your face after this one."
"I'm perfectly OK with that, Dad!" Morgan exclaimed, stars in her eyes as she gazed up to meet her father's while bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Just finally being able to follow my dream of being just like you is more than enough for me! You truly are the best father in the world!" Said declaration was followed by a tackle... or it would have if the blonde hadn't held a hand out to catch the girl's face in his hand. "Awww come on you stupid Gnome! Let me love you!"
"You call me old then say you love me?"
"Its how I show my love, Dattobayo! Now let! Me! Love! You!"
The clone couldn't stop his face from twitch in mirth. Life truly was beautiful...
Yet cruel at the same time.
"Okay, seeing that you're so eager, it's time for part two of Uzumaki's Training from hell." Reaching into his pouch, the shinobi retrieved something in the shape of a blue pill before flicking it into the girl's mouth, stopping her 'assault' momentarily. After choking for a few seconds, she held her throat and glared up at her father. Said glare slowly slid of as she saw her father holding something that was definitely not in his hands a second ago.
"…Dad, what is that?" Morgan pointed indignantly at the object in question. Naruto didn't even acknowledge it. He simply kept patting the thing in his hand threateningly as he smiled down at his offspring.
"This here, dear, is a board. But you may call it the 'Board of Education'." The name was not threatening in the least. Heck, she had been threatened by far more dangerous objects in the past 5 days than she had in her entire life. On top of that, she trained to be a shinobi. The only things she should be scared of on the field were kunai, swords, jutsu and Bijuu so there is absolutely no reason she should be scared of two feet of wood.
But considering who was holding said condensed wood with a smile that looked far too sweet for the situation, Morgan couldn't help but be nervous.
"Now, we are going to train all~ over again." The immortal said, far too chipper for the younger blonde. "But this time, we are going to go through the Academy Taijutsu kata that I will only show you once. For the next hour after, we will do nothing but kata and you will do it to the best of your ability... However," there was a sparkle in Naruto's eyes that actually made Morgan flinch, "Every time you trail off, mess up, talk back or stop, for any reason at all, we will switch to cardio." His smile grew the more he explained. "You will run. Run as if your life depended on it. And I will chase you down. Evade me for 5 minutes and you shall be spared. Get caught, and you'll be... disciplined. If you want, think of this as a game of tag, but I'm always it!"
The girl's face turned pale.
"So, how about it! You excited for real training or what?!"
Naruto wasn't surprised he didn't receive an answer. He wasn't even surprised when his eyes opened and Morgan was no longer in the clearing. A tear came to his eye when he felt his little ankle biter almost half a mile away.
"*Sniff* she's so eager to learn, Kurama."
"You are evil, kit."
"I learned from the best, partner."
Like a bullet, he vanished.
And a high-pitched scream of agony echoed through the forest.
Ylisse
Danny's Waffle House
Naruto couldn't hold his smirk even if he tried. Across from him sat two starving animals hungrily tearing into their food as if it would vanish any second.
First was the masked lion. The blue, messy haired feline was taking the more dignified approach. Fork and knife in hand, she cut even pieces from the plate sized waffle and made sure every slice met the cup of syrup before it was quickly and brutally stuffed into her mouth. Before she even began chewing, there was another fluffy delight on her fork, in the syrup, then in her mouth. Cheeks puffed like a chipmunk and a look of childish delight, she was truly lost to her own gluttony.
And then there was the blonde wildebeest. Dignity meant nothing to this creature. The dinner table was a battlefield and whatever landed before this herbivore and would not leave even in crumbs. Instead of using the mighty weapons gifted to her for this battle, she decided it best that she tore her game apart with her own hands - savagely tearing at the waffle on her plate and not stopping even when it begged for mercy. Like a beast starving of hunger, she stuffed her mouth full, grabbed the small cup of maple before pouring the sugary goodness into her mouth; chewing with reckless abandon. Other animals around the unlikely pair gazed at the scene in a mixture of awe, fear or disgust, but the unlikely duo paid them no mind for their attention was firmly on their ever dissipating game.
"Chn uh shoff naraitin ush, yad (can you not narrate us, Dad)!"
Said father's grin widened. "Since when was it a crime to narrate the behavior of wild life to the masses?"
" buu Iscoosh ish inboshitn (but its embarrassing! And insulting)!"
"It's may be insulting but it's facts, brat."
"Ifl yhow ouw inshoshin shwen a fot mu foog uf yur phut (Ifl yhow ouw inshoshin shwen a fot mu foog uf yur phut)!"
"Try saying that again when your mouth isn't stuffed and I can actually put in subtitles, twerp." Naruto chided, ruffling the blonde's hair to both her joy and embarrassment. A glance slightly to his right and next to the younger Uzumaki brought on a bigger grin. The bluenette's cheeks were no longer inflated and was eating considerably slower while sitting straighter in her seat, but thw hue of red on her face as she stared at her plate with hyper focused intensity nearly made him give the girl the same treatment. "How about you, Princess? Enjoying the feast?"
The time-traveler opted to wait until she was finished chewing before giving her reply. "I-its exceptional," she acknowledged, dabbing her face with a napkin before elegantly placing it back down like she hadn't just savagely destroyed half her meal in less than 3 minutes.
'Far too late to look dignified, princess.'
"Take your time, kiddos. The food isn't going anywhere and you have plenty of time to eat it."
"I beg to differ." Lucina retorted, her plate unnaturally clean. "The more time we waste indulging ourselves the less we have to complete our tasks."
"Not necessarily true, princess." The bluenette raised a brow, puzzled at the blonde's words. "Regna Ferox's tournament is 3 weeks away while other events don't happen for another 3 weeks after. We could leave here by the end of the week and still make it there on schedule and with time to spare."
"That may be true, but it takes at least a weeks travel on foot to make it to Regna Ferox's borders - not including our trek to the West Khan's Castle. I'd rather we get there early and have time to spare than to leave last minute and possibly be derailed on the way."
The blonde's stayed raised since the first sentence. "You expect us to walk there, princess?"
Lucina blinked.
"How are we to get there otherwise? A steed becomes an inconvenience over time and I am not proficient enough in magecraft to glide. Travel by foot seemed to be the obvious conclusion... unless, you have other means of travel that I am not privy to?"
Naruto blinked back at the girl for a moment in contemplation before his smirk returned. "That, princess, will be a surprise for later. For now, the only thing you should be worrying about is getting seconds and whether or not you will live through tomorrow's training." To no one's surprise, Lucina was the only one who looked even remotely determined for their next 'session' while Morgan tried making herself look smaller as phantom pains shot to her rear. Said blonde also looked over to the determination on the bluenette's face and immediately snorted in derision.
"What an M."
Lucina looked to the youngest of their party and blinked.
"Ex-excuse me?"
"You're such an M. Only an M gets excited by
"If I'm not mistaken, you were pretty excited, if not more, about said training as well."
"That was before you turned it into child abuse you Big Bald Elf!"
As the two blondes bickered, Lucina could help but ask the question that was on her mind.
"What's, an 'Em'?"
The oldest suddenly felt a hook held before him, and by Gods did he stick it with bait.
"It means you get sexually aroused when holding long and sharp objects."
It took a moment for the bluenette to process the lie. Once she did, her face was anything but her natural pale. It was downright volcanic behind her mask and he could almost see the steam escaping her ears as she stood up in protest of the accusation.
"I-I-I-I DO NO SUCH THING!" Her voice rang loud and true through the small restaurant.
It took the girl a moment to realize she did not exactly speak discreetly-the sudden silence in the restaurant clueing her in. Slowly, she looked to her left and saw that all eyes in the diner was now on her. It took less than a second for the time-traveler to understand her blunder before immediately re-introducing her rear to her seat. She suddenly grew an intense interest in her lap as she tried her best to hide her mortification, all the while the nearby patrons and her own party laughed at her expense.
Despite living in Ylisse all her life back in her future, walking down the streets of Ylisse today was a new experience for Lucina. The bustling crowds and street veneers selling their wares happily painted a vastly different picture compared to her own world.
In the future, the streets were always barren and lacked the cheer of today. Street venders weren't selling nearly as much product on their stalls due to the dangers of being outside the walls and the flowers from the small gardens in front of certain businesses were dead and clearly neglected-not to even mention the lack of people carrying weapons to defend from the homeless and desperate even in areas as busy as this. Every street was not all sunshine and rainbows but they were marginally better than the slums back in her kingdom to the point the Halidom was unrecognizable.
This, truly is what her kingdom should have been like. A place she would one day rule and pass on the image and expectations her father and late aunt envisioned. Not the lifeless, soundless, depressing husk that was her future 'home'.
"Sooooooo, where're we going next, Dad?" Morgan shook her from her revere, most likely bored after following their 'leader' for the better part of an hour.
Said man didn't even turn around to answer, "Nowhere in particular. Thought about torturing-ehem! 'Training' you twerps for a few more days but princess gave me a pretty good idea."
Lucina felt completely justified in the glares she and her fellow time-traveler burned into the back of the blonde's head. "And what exactly do you have planned?" The princess had to ask.
"Haaaaaah, Princess Princess Princess. If i told you ALL my plans then how would I ever have any fun? Next time, don't be so inconsiderate of other people's feelings."
'This man was truly insufferable...'
The group halted at the sudden rise in both population and activity. All around them, people stopped what they were doing to follow a group of men and woman running to the edge of the intersection. Shops were abandoned and work was put on a hold as nearly everyone on the block rushed to follow in line-leaving the group of three all alone in the street. One look behind to his traveling companions told the blonde all he needed to know. Morgan looked confused while Lucina seemed hyper-focused on the horde.
The the youngest asked about the one word that was basically shouted by every passing body.
"Dad, what's an Exalt?"
Opportuni-
"The Exalt is the title given to the ruler of Ylisse," Lucina swiftly interrupted before the older of the three could even think to poison the girl's mind with his antics. The revelation seemed to peak the younger blonde's interested and she was immediately in her father's face with demands.
"Dad! Dad! I wanna go see the Exalt, too! Can we go see the Exalt? Please! Please! Plllleeeeeeeaaase!"
Surprisingly, the shinobi didn't waste their time. Instead, with a chuckle, he waved off the two eager time-travelers towards the bustling crowd. "Go ahead, kiddos. I'll be right behind you."
Although Lucina had much more personal interest in seeing the Exalt, Morgan moved a lot faster. Her feet were already carrying her towards the horde without them; Lucina following shortly after in a more sedate pace. The blonde shook his head in amusement before following the two eager teens.
...
The packed streets made for quite the diverse in colors and styles as they all stood in one line to cheer and throw praises at the monarch walking calmly through their streets. The Pegasus knights that hovered above the Exaxt held their weapons at the ready, but the smiles on their faces painted a picture of soldier who were truly greatful and honored to serve their liege. It was quite the sight, all things considered.
That is, until you saw the gradually irritated blonde and her blue haired companion doing their best to look over the heads and bodies blocking their view.
Standing on her tip-toes, Morgan did everything other than cutting people in two to get a view above the flesh wall before her. He'd ask why she didn't just jump to a higher angle if he hadn't remembered the girl was just as airheaded as he once was.
Lucina was baring no different. Although she'd given up on standing on her toes the emotions he could feel coming radiating from her was anything but religious. A few more seconds and he wouldn't be surprised if she started stabbing her way pass the mass of people just to get a glimpse at the light beyond; which just wouldn't do.
So, being the kind soul he was, Naruto decided to 'lend' his assistance... What? He couldn't be an ass all the time.
Making a clone, it immediately saluted to him before walking up and grabbing his shorter clone underneath her armpits much like a toddler. There was, of course, protest, but it died down the moment she was on his shoulders and finally able to see over the mass of bodies. Meanwhile, the original went behind the bluenette and, without preamble, swept her legs from underneath her with a well placed sweep to the back of her knees. Knees immediately folding from the sudden action, Lucina let out a yelp before instinctively trying to right herself. Her efforts were not needed since she immediately landed into a pair of strong arms that adjusted her by slightly tossing her in the air. Her head instictively shot towards her carrier in shock only to see a familiar smirking face looking back down at her.
"Time for a better view, Princess."
"Wha-what in Naga's name are you-"
Lucina nearly swallowed her tongue as the man holding her did a one-eighty while carrying her, ironically, in a 'princess carry'. Her stomach dropped and face paled the moment the blonde leaped into the nearby alley. With a display of skill and speed she'd never seen a human perform, the man kicked his way from wall to wall all the way to the top of the building without losing momentum. Her vision blurred and vertigo hit her with the force of a Warhammer up till the moment they finally landed on the roof. Her stomach was doing flips and she no longer knew if her lunch wanted to stay in or come out but that came second to the glare she gave the man that nearly gave her a heart attack.
"P-Put me do-"
In hindsight, she noted she should have been a little more specific. Right after her command, the blonde's arms vanished from beneath her and gravity took it's course. Her rear smacked the ground with a soft *thump* which immediately had the bluennette wincing and rubbing. It didn't really hurt too much, but that didn't stop the glare she sent to the still smiling ninja above her. If her blood couldn't boil any further the man stepped over her like discarded rubble and made his way over to the edge of the building - an action that threw fuel on the growing fire as she stood and reached his side in record time.
Whatever anger was in her vanished at what she saw over the rooftop.
The view was one of the most dazzling things she'd ever seen in her life. A sea of people in a line could be seen in full extending from her vantage point. From her position all the way to the castle itself were citizens smiling and throwing praises at the top of their lungs.
And in the center of it all, surrounded by guards in heavy armor and Pegasus Knights flying close by over the buildings was none other than the current Exalt of Ylisse and Lucina's future deceased aunt, Emmeryn Lowell. Tears threatened to leave her eyes as she gazed down longingly at the woman she once only knew as a painting on a wall - said paintings that did her aunt no justice.
She was as beautiful and angelic as every frame in her world portrayed her to be. Hair as rich and gold as fine silk flowed down to her chest in twin drills with a round tiara at the back of her head keeping the rest of it together. The brand of Naga could be seen at the center of her forehead where her bangs split and the smile she wore seemed to brighten the already bright streets. Her face was triangular much like the time-travelers while her fare-skin didn't hold a single blemish or scar. Her attire consisted of a long white blouse that hugged her hips and split on both sides of her waist to show her long legs equipped with long green slippers that went to her thighs and showed the tops of her feet. Over the blouse was a haori with gold edges that wrapped around her slender form. To complete the look she wore what looked like a brown collar scarf that extended to her shins and had many gold decorations. From head to toe, she was the picture of royal blood and the aura Lucina could feel from her vantage point told her, for sure, everything about her aunt was 100% authentic.
"Beautiful," Lucina couldn't help but speak. "She's everything my father said she was." For the second time since coming here, Lucina had to physically hold herself back. Despite never meeting her, there was a need deep within her screaming to go down there and embrace her once lost family member. A need so deep and desperate that the pain from her biting her lip was all that kept her from following through with the thoughts in her mind which was, admittedly, growing more difficult as the woman walked passed her building and down the street. Even when she was no longer in sight and the people had long since gone back to their daily activities, Lucina couldn't keep her eyes off the road where her aunt had vanished.
"...Naruto," even though she was not looking at the man she could feel his gaze on her. "If possible, I'd like to leave for Regna Ferox immediately."
"...Why?" Unlike the many other times the blonde had spoken to her, this time there was a noticeable lack in playfulness or teasing. If anything, he sounded as if he already knew the answer but simply wanted her to put it into her own words. Finally tearing her eyes away from the distance she turned to stare at the blonde who looked back to her without a clear form of emotion she could describe.
"In three weeks, there will be an attempt on Lady Emmeryn's life." The sudden revelation didn't even make the shinobi twitch. "Though the attempt was a failure, the wound she receives is what eventually leads to her death in the second attempt that takes place 2 months from now. I would love more than anything to stop both, but the first, I admit, is beyond my capability of preventing. There is but one way of stopping it that I could think of without dirtying my hands, but that would cause more trouble than it is worth. Not to mention it being impossible to both stop it and being in Regna Ferox in time to compete."
"...Sooooo, what do you want to do, princess?" Though the question was asked, she already knew what she could and could not say. The blonde was very clear that every decision made would be hers and only hers; a part of the deal she agreed to. He would give hints and his input when he felt she needed it, but he would give her no direction. This was truly her journey with him making sure she lived and was strong enough to form a new future - and as much as she did not like it, as much as she felt it made him beyond selfish and dastardly, she had no choice but to accept it. Though he was only helping her for his own selfish reasons, she would not look a gift Pegasus in the mouth and accept the blessings that came with their 'temporary' alliance.
Shoulders suddenly feeling twice as heavy, the bluenette let out a breath. The decision she was about to make would not be an easy one, but it was all she could come up with. Her father was an important figure in the upcoming events and she would have to prioritize his safety over all; no matter how much the decision would weigh on her conscience later.
"We should go to Regna Ferox." She utterly loathed the words leaving her mouth. "Emmeryn can prevent key events in the future, but... without my father, much worse will occur. Though she will forever be scarred by the first attempt, her life will not end there. Therefore, it is best we proceed to Regna Ferox as planned."
Lucina awaited the blonde's response. It did not come immediately, but she was given words after a brief sigh on his part, "Hard decision, isn't it, princess?" Lucina did not think this was one of those questions she was supposed to answer, so she kept silent. "As a leader, or 'hero', you will make even harder decisions that benefits the majority, but can damn a few either immediately or along the way. You can't save everyone, princess. I learned that lesson the hard way long ago and that lesson is something you should learn quick - whether you want to or not."
Lucina remained silent.
"However," this time the look he gave her was in the eye, "you should also know that it is impossible to save the whole world without getting your hands dirty, but a 1% chance of change is better than no percent at all."
There was a meaning behind those words and Lucina knew. She tried replaying them in her mind but they all came to the one conclusion she hoped he was concluding too. However, when she drew nothing and deemed to ask she was cut off by the blonde breaking eye contact and reactivating a smile.
"Ah, just in time, kiddo!"
A presence landed on the edge of the roof and the form of Morgan who was immediately upon them - excitement written clear on her face. "Dad! Dad! The Exalt actually waved at us! Her smile was so beautiful and the knights were all so shiny and I now want a pegasus and, and..." she paused as she inspected the two on the roof. Her face suddenly twisted in suspicious silence. "You two were having a moment up here, weren't you?"
The older blonde immediately burst into laughter. "Ha! Caught us red handed, twerp!" The 'admission' immediately had the younger blonde glaring before marching up to her senior to look... up, at her.
"I turn my back for ONE second and you're already making a move on my Dad, huh? Hmmmmmm. Seems I was foolish enough to think that whole 'innocent princess' act was just that." Said Princess watched confused as the girl circled her in apparent thought as if she were a dress on display. She eventually came to a stop before her and let out a snort she thought was meant to be derisive. "Dont even know what I'm worried about. You're definitely not his type."
Lucina didn't truly understand what the child was getting at, but instictively felt that she should have been offended.
"Whelp! I'm beat! How's about we head back to the Inn and get some rest for the trip tomorrow! Regna Ferox isn't going to come to us, after all!"
The sudden change was successful in getting Morgan's gaze away from the bluenette, but led her to confusion instead. "What?! But you said we had time to get there?!"
"I did - and we do. However, since princess here is so set on us not 'wasting time', I thought this would be a great time to teach you two something valuable." And juat like that, her protest died and immediately replaced with intrigued. "If you are as determined as you say, you'll have this skill learned by tomorrow evening and we'll be in Regna Ferox the morning after."
As impossible as that sounded, Lucina was more than ready to learn. Any skill the shinobi was willing to teach would only improve her own and help her do more for the people. Morgan was in a similar mindset, but he could tell her that they were about to peel onions together and she'd probably ask 'when'.
"But once we get there, the real training begins." The blonde said ominously. "We got a tournament to prepare for and princess's performance will reflect on me. Therefore, be prepared to ache, cry, and curse my name because you two may not enjoy the experience, but I can promise you one thing," the smile on his face was villainous. "I most definitely will."
Both time-travelers gulped.
Ylisse (Night)
Castle Barracks
"Aaaaand THIS is your room!" Lissa yelled out in a flourish as she pushed the door open. Walking inside, the princess tilted back and forwards excitedly as she waited for their recent addition to the Shepherds to walk into her new quarters.
Steppung into the room, Robin awed as she inspected her new sleeping quarters.
The room wasn't anything extravagant. A simple one bedroom dorm that stretched about 20 feet width and length with a wooden dresser in the corner, a table with candles to the right and a bed in the left corner. There were those strange lamps on the wall that seemed to be found illuminating rooms and halls all around the castle along with a window at the front wall. It wasn't exactly her dream home, but it was being given to her and she had no intentions of being ungrateful to the people that had taken her in.
"So? What do you think? It's no 5 star Inn but it's pretty roomy! Plus, check this out!" Lissa ran to the window and began undoing the latch keeping it shut. A moment later, the glass was pushed open and Lissa gave her an eager smile as she urged her to come over. "I made sure to get you the best view in the Barracks! Don't say I never did anything for you!"
Robin looked out the window and was stunned silent. The Barracks was stationed just on the side of the castle grounds next to the stable. It was out of the way of the rest of the beauty that was Castle Ylisse but even the roads leading here were grand and stoned; a luxury only someone of noble blood could afford. Her quarters were located on the second floor all the way on the right of the building almost completely isolated from the rest of the Shepherds. In her head, she couldn't help but to think how much of a tactical disadvantage that put her in.
That is, until she saw the view.
Being on the far end of the Barracks apparently gave her access to a view that could not be seen by others unless they poked their heads out the window. For her, all she had to do was look forward and she could see the majestic majesty that was the Capital of Ylisse.
Brilliant lights lit up the city far and wide, some blue, some red, some orange. The blur due to her distance made the lights stretch, adding to the beauty of the scene by 10. There was no music playing and she couldn't hear the bustling of the crowd below but she could image hundreds of happy faces going about; something that oddly felt foreign to her, as if she'd never felt such a feeling even before her memory lost.
"It's beautiful," she whispered, causing her guide's smile to brighten.
"I know, right? Emm used to take us up here back before she became Exalt. I always remember her saying how beautiful the Halidom was at night and how much she wished the war would end so the city could thrive again. Nowadays, she doesn't have the time to come up here, but I make sure to tell her how beautiful the Halidom has become since..."
Lissa paused, the tactician feeling the girl's emotions dip before they jumped back up. "But hey! Don't let me bring you down! Tomorrow is your first day as an official Shepherd! Frederick gives voluntary training on the grounds every morning at 6 and Stahl typically cooks breakfast at 9 so make sure you get plenty of rest! If you ever need anything then don't hesitate to ask any of us! You're apart of this family now, got it?"
The word 'family' made an unexplainable warmth in the tactician grow.
Without further preamble, Lissa skipped towards the door, pausing shortly before she could close it. "Oh, and if you, uh, ever wanna have, you know, girl talk, I'm always available. I, don't exactly have many girl friends around here, so, it'd be nice if we could... y'know..."
Seeing meek Lissa was a gem Robin didn't know she needed.
"I understand," the albino chuckled. "If I ever get the need to talk about boys or paint my nails then I know who to look for."
"...Why do I get the feeling you're making fun of me?" The princess pouted.
"Me? Make fun of a princess who neglected to tell me the fact not half a moon ago? Perish the thought." Her sarcasm got a 'totally adult' cherry before the blonde disappeared behind the now closed door, leaving the tactician to her devices.
After some time organizing, Robin laid down in her new bed. The comfort the bed fabric gave compared to the forest floor was the first thing that came to mind, but was quickly replaced with the thoughts that had been plaguing her mind since she'd left that forest.
Ever since awakening in that field, she'd been able to see… things. By simply pushing mana to her eyes, she could get a read on anyone and everything within her vision. The read could stem from what weapon they had on their person, their current emotional state, how strong the guy/girl was, how fast the guy/girl was, to even the guy's/girl's gender. She had only learned about this skill on the spur of the moment when they had first fought the Risen in the woods and she had been using it randomly throughout her trip from the forest to Ylisse. It was truly amazing how she could tell by just a glance whether or not she could defeat someone in combat while also seeing the life-force and strength of her comrades. She'd felt safe ever since she'd discovered her abilities and the tactical advantages it brought to the battlefield gave her goosebumps.
It was that same power that had her looking to the ceiling of her new room in a daze. Not even 24 hours ago she had put her life on the line for people she'd barely known for more than a few hours. To make matters even more surreal, she'd seened a nine-tailed demon fox being summoned into a town, fought an army of walking corpses, nearly lost her life along with the people whom had found her, just to find out hours later that said companions were the prince and princess of a freaking nation.
Yet all of that, and she meant ALL of it, paled in comparison to what she felt from that blonde monster.
Curiosity. That's all it was.
A simple curious thought about the blonde who could so easily summon a Toad into existence and defeat a creature that took them all to even scrape. It was supposed to be just a peek. One peek and no one else would know.
Well, no one else but the monster himself.
The first thing she noticed was the blinding amount of mana the man held. The second was the shape it took around his form-particularly, in the form of a fox with nine-tails (coincidence?). And the final surprise that actually knocked her right off her feet and took her breath away were the cerulean blue eyes that immediately connected with her own not even a second after activating her personal ability. Her legs immediately felt like jelly and she couldn't stop her feet from collapsing underneath her as a deep feeling of doom invaded every inch of her body. Her heart wouldn't stop hammering against her chest and sweat seemed to escape her pours with almost inhuman speed; only growing worse the longer time went on.
A life she hadn't known flashed before her eyes. Pictures of people she never knew and places she never traveled did circles through her eyes yet the fear of death stood over it all. The phantom feeling of her throat being torn out made her body shiver and tears to roll down her face.
Only for it all to stop-relief coming in the form of a prince brraking their line of sight. The feeling of solace as the man disappeared was absolutely immeasurable-allowing her to shake off the brush she could have possibly just had with death. Chrom and Lissa were there, of course, to pick her up and make sure she was OK, but she was far from it and it most likely showed through their trip to the capital.
And though the experience was hours ago, she had told no one about what she had seen no matter how many times they asked.
Not from a lack of trying, mind you.
She'd tried telling Chrom when she thought the conversation could be turned in that direction, but every single time she attempted, this unexplainable shiver shook her body and her mouth would close on instinct. She couldn't explain it well, but if she were to put it into words, it felt as if someone was constantly gripping her throat; as if she spoke of what she saw then it would be the last word she'd ever speak-making her even more paranoid than she already had been since that man had left.
She didn't know who this Naruto Uzumaki was, but there was one thing for damn sure she knew for sure. No matter how many years she or any of the Shepherds trained or whatever tactics she came up with, they would never come even close to defeating that monster. Whether others knew it or not, that man was dangerous; and she'd prefer to stay clear of that danger for as long as she lived.
But for now, sleep was her ally. Hopefully, her dreams were more pleasant than her reality and tomorrow was brighter than today.
*Knock Knock Knock*
...Or not.
Huffing, Robin pushed herself off the comfort of her bed and headed to the door. It was most likely Chrom (the bleeding heart that he was) making sure she'd 'settled in'... or Lissa, undoubtedly forgetting something serious she needed to know. Either or, she unlocked and opening the door, words already leaving her mouth before she'd even seen the royals. "Sorry. I wasn't expecting anyone this... late."
The words tinkered off as she blinked at the empty corridor. Where she had expected to see the Prince or princess was nothing but stone and lights. She peaked her head out to see if she could at least find Lissa hiding behind the door but was met with a wall.
"That's... odd-"
The sudden feeling of a presence behind her made followed by something grabbing and twisting her arm painfully behind her while something sharp pressed against her neck made the tactician stop all motor functions. The cold object pulled back gently and she instictively knew from the way the edges tried intruding into her skin that she was at knife point; the arm in her peripheral making that fact even more so.
A distorted voice spoke next to her ear and Robin suddenly wished this was all a dream.
"It is within your best interest that you do not make a sound, Ms Tactician."
A:N: Ladies and gentle! We are 2 chapters away from completely new content! Though there are scenes in the next chapter that wasn't in the original, there are still things I took from it that was needed in this story. After that, it's all new territiry (thank GOD)!
On a bigger note, we've already hit 200 followers and it hasn't even been a month yet?! Big thanks to you guys! Already got 60k words on the board but thinking about lowering the word count to get chapters out to you faster... which is what I would do if not for the fact most of my chapter NEED to be long... but HEY! Over 7k on views and 34 reviews! Thanks goes out to both those returning and those who are new to this story!
One more thing,I want to pull back my words from before and allow you guys to negotiate the Naruto pairing in this story. Don't get me wrong, the pairing i thought of for this story is still the best path in my opinion, but after thinking it out, I'm willing to negotiate with you guys.
Saying that, I want to see who you guys want as a pairing for Naruto. I'm not going to say this has no affect on who Naruto is going to be with in the future but I would like to see what the most popular is. Who knows? I MAY just change my mind on this pairing that isn't so permanent :)
Question: how do you guys feel about Lucina learning Jutsu? She is meant to be his successor, someone who he will pass down his knowledge to and would defend her world in his stead. However, I feel that giving her justu would take away from what makes Naruto and Morgan unique in this world. If everyone could do what Naruto and Morgan can then that wouldn't exactly make them stand out anymore.
So, what do you guys think?
Next chapter: August 29th