Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fire Emblem.
Paralogue 1
I Need a Hero
Since Cynthia was a little girl, she believed in justice. True justice. Her mother would always tell her about the 'Generation of Heroes' and all the heroic deeds they were known for. Every story her mom told gave her many fantasies about meeting such heroes and hopefully being rescued like the people and the princesses in said stories. To this day she would mimic some of the cool hero poses shown in the picture books and act out scenarios in her room whenever she was alone. If things didn't get better than her endless imagination, then the fact that her mother sometimes would join her in her little imaginary escapades made her feel that much more like the hero she wanted to be! The fact that her mother at the time held the title as one of the best Pegasus knights of her generation only made acting out with her mother that much more exhilarating! Her mother and her friends were hailed as heroes, so in her mind, if she continued to play as a hero with her mother then one day she could become a hero as well. Even if she was a girly-girl, that wouldn't stop her from being the girliest hero the world had ever seen!
But life chose to enter her life early than it should for a child her age since it was the day her mother died that she realized everything was a lie. In her stories, the heroes were always there to save the people at the last moment. They were there to give the people hope and always stopped the bad guys from doing their evil deeds without fail. It was how all the stories her mom read her ended.
If that was the case, then why didn't any heroes save her mom? Why weren't they there to swoop in and save her mom when she was being overwhelmed by the monsters? Why did she have to watch her once kind and beautiful mom be buried without them even showing her face one last time? If the stories her mother always told her about her father were true, then why wasn't he there for mom when she needed him the most?
On that day, Cynthia Lockhart realized the truth about heroes and it changed her life forever. Heroes weren't as invincible in her eyes as they once were. In fact, she realized that they were just human. As human as she was, her friends, the Shepherds, and even her mother. Heroes were made from the heroic deeds they accomplished, but they never accomplished anything without losing something or someone along the way. They could not save everyone and they should never be expected to.
That day, the 'heroes' she once looked up to were now even more respected in her eyes. Everyone couldn't be saved and they knew that. They couldn't be there for everyone and always save the princess, but they would fight to their last breath to save the ones they could. They risk their lives for a better future and so their loved ones wouldn't have to live in suffering.
That's what a hero was to her and it was that same thought that made her change into the woman she now was. If there were no more heroes, then she would be a hero. She would be the BEST hero. She would save anyone she could and never give up no matter what just like Naruto Uzumaki!
He was her one, and only, hero. She may have never met him, but the stories she heard about him from her mom were one of the best stories she had ever heard! A man who stood up for humanity and gave his life so that everyone else could live was the picture-perfect definition of heroism in young Cynthia's mind and no one could tell her otherwise! Why, the fact that she and her friend came back to the future to find him specifically only made her bones shiver in excitement. She had never met her hero nor did she know what he looked like, but her mother's description and her dreams gave her a picture of the heroic figure in her head.
A tall, blonde haired man whose smile reassured the people and golden eyes that shook one's soul. He had a body as chiseled as stone and wore a suit of gold flaming armor that withstood even the mighty breath of a dragon. On his shoulder he carried a silver blade bigger than himself with ease. A blade enhanced with many enchantments to cut cleanly through bedrock and shined with brilliant bright light once an enemy was cut down. His very aura could be seen by the human eye and was so bright that one could compare him to the rays of the sun. A bright beacon of hope that fought to his last breath to defend humanity. A true hero.
The image in her head was everything this man before her was NOT. Everything from his bright orange cargo pants, to his shady black jacket and boots, to even the giant thing on his back! Just everything about this man just screamed VILLAIN.
And those WHISKERS! What beast was this hooligan trying to mimic?! No matter how cute it made the man look, Cynthia Lockhart would not be fooled by this ruffian's cuteness! She would slay this beast of a man for terrorizing those poor villagers or her name wasn't Cynthia Lockhart, Vanquisher of Evil!
…Unfortunately, she should have thought of a better plan besides just charging straight in to defeat the bad guy like she had thought up in her head. She always remembered Lucy telling her about having a proper plan before charging into battle, but it was just so dishonorable to attack a foe without announcing your presence! A true hero should never stoop so low as to fight the same way the ruffians do! It was completely against her hero code!
But it was because of her honor that she found herself tied up and captured by said ruffian. If she wasn't embarrassed enough, then the fact that the ruffian strategically put that rock in front of her to make her trip and land on another strategically placed rock only made her cheeks burn more in mortification! Damn him and damn his honorless ways of fighting! If she had not fell unconscious, then she was sure she could have taken the ruffian currently holding her hostage!
Gods, Lucy would give her the scolding of a lifetime if she found out about this! Not even a day in the past and she was already in trouble!
Just you wait, ruffian! I will escape and when I do, you shall be brought to JUSTICE!
Verdant Village Outskirts
10 minutes earlier
Naruto was beginning to believe everyone from the future had a screw or two loose. First there was Morgan, basically a hyper and cockier version of his 12-year-old self who was both a genius and complete airhead. Then there was Lucina, the stoic young lady that wouldn't catch a joke even if it kicked her in the face.
Now, it was this very…unique individual before him. She wasn't even that hard to find. In fact, he didn't even need to look for her in the first place since she literally fell right out of the sky.
After he and the brats landed outside Verdant Village, Naruto's sensed ill intent coming from the other side of the village mixed with the unsettled and paranoid feelings of the townsfolk. Leaving Morgan and Lucina to investigate the town, he quickly made his way to investigate this new presence that was definitely not here the last time he visited this little town. The fact that it wasn't just one, but a group of people who were pouring out ill intent only made Naruto rush to the scene faster. On his way, he felt another signature that was the complete opposite of what he was feeling in the distance. Curious, he stopped and hid in a tree while the presence came closer.
Somehow, someway, the signature he was feeling spotted him and swiftly swooped from the sky and sliced clean through the branch he sat on with a loud battle cry. He landed swiftly and waited for the follow-up attack, but much to his growing confusion, his attacker landed a few yards away from him and acrobatically flipped into the air—landing exaggeratedly on the ground in a pose with her arms stretched wide, head down and on one knee.
And now, here he was, looking at the young girl uncomfortably as about 30 seconds had already pasted. Then she popped up and began shouting at him – quite loudly.
"Halt, villain!" the young brunette before him ordered, standing in a strange heroic pose that would make Morgan proud. The girl was petite with brown pigtails and had a heart shaped face with brown eyes that shined with fire. She wore Ylissean Pegasus knight armor with a blue and white tunic underneath and wore long blue boots that stopped mid-thigh. Overall, she looked like a normal, young Pegasus knight.
Her mouth on the other hand…
"You are in the presence of your judge, jury AND executioner! I stand before you in nothing but the name of JUSTICE! Your heinous crimes against humanity shall be stamped out by the might of the lance that has been passed down from generation to generation! I have been blessed with skills that make me a nightmare for bag guys like you! Surrender yourself peacefully or the one, the ONLY, Cynthia Lockhart, Vanquisher of Evil, will forcefully end your pitiful existence!"
Wow, déjà vu. Naruto thought as he watched the girl's little performance. It may not have been his daughter's little routine word for word, but it definitely had the same enthusiasm. He didn't even need to know this girl was from the future. That Ylissean Pegasus armor and her…entrance, told him enough.
"Hehe, struck speechless by my visage, eh? No matter! I care not how you view me, for I am only here to dish out the spanking of justice for those poor villagers you've unjustfully oppressed!"
You would think that kids who come from a darker time in history would be a lot more… Lucina. But looking at Morgan and now this new…colorful individual, Naruto was beginning to question Lucina's story no matter how much Kurama's chakra tells him she was telling the truth.
"Now, do you have any last words before I past judgement onto you, villain? Think carefully, for Cynthia the Vanquisher might be merciful enough to write your final moments on your tombstone!"
Wow this girl one hell of an ego. And he thought Morgan was cocky? At least Morgan didn't blatantly say she was going to end you before she actually took action. Well, at least he could easily fix this little misunderstanding with a few words.
So, he opened his mouth to speak.
"NOT ANOTHER WORD!"
He closed his mouth.
"Your face gives away your evil dialogue! 'Urgh, you have caught me red-handed, Vanquisher, but I shall not fall to you here! My Master is awaiting my return and you are but a pebble in my way! If you want conversation, then let our steel do the talking!' HA! SO PREDICTABLE OF A VILLAIN! Yet, I must say your willingness to keep your comrade's whereabouts unanswered to your dying breath is quite honorable, blonde dirt-bag!"
Wow.
Just…
Wow.
Now she's drawing conclusions and answering the conclusions that she drew. This girl and Morgan were like peas in a pod. He could mistake them for sisters no matter their genetics.
"Worry not—for I care nothing for your chivalry! A bandit with chivalry is still a bandit! No matter what you call yourself or your morals, as your judge, jury AND executioner, it is my job to put evil, blonde, whiskered dirtbags like yourself either behind bars or 10-feet under where you belong!"
…He took it back. This girl was worse than Morgan.
"So, prepare yourself fiend! For our inevitable clash is about to commence!"
...Lucina better have picked better friends than this. If this girl acted this way, then he honestly wasn't looking forward to meeting the rest of them. Kami only knew what they all could do in a group. She had a decent charka pool, but compared to Morgan and Robin, it was abysmal.
Well, maybe he was just missing something about this girl. Maybe she was better at fighting than she was talking? She had to be something if she was able to survive the hell that should have been her home. Maybe there was some hope for this girl to-
*Thump*
…Or not. He didn't know how, but the girl somehow, someway, tripped on air and fell flat on her face. From the silence that followed and the abrupt fall of her legs a few seconds later, Naruto concluded that she was out cold.
The immortal stared at her for a full minute before he calmly walked over to the now immobile girl. He gave her a few taps with his foot to confirmed that she was indeed out cold before shrugging and tying her arms and legs with ninja wire (for his safety of course). He then made a shadow clone and gave it simple orders. Seconds later the clone gave a nod of approval before fling the unconscious girl over its shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He made sure he had all of her belongings before walking over to her Pegasus and grabbing its reins. Moments later the clone gave his original one last nod before walking back towards the village.
Naruto watched as the clone, girl and flying horse got further and further away before he continued his way towards his original destination.
He didn't see a thing. He didn't hear a thing. He found her unconscious when he was patrolling. Yea, that sounded like a good enough story for the princess.
Verdant Village Front Gates
Lucina was completely unprepared for Naruto to use his 'magic'. So unprepared in fact that the second they landed on steady ground, she was immediately hit with a wave of vertigo and promptly emptied the biol in her stomach. She would have been angry at the immortal for putting her through such an unwelcomed feeling if not for the serious expression on his face. He seemed very focused on the village they landed not too far from.
Moments after pulling themselves together, they walked to the village in the distance without a word. Not too long after they arrived at the village gates, he told her and Morgan to gather intel on the current status of the village before disappearing in a blur of leaves. She did not argue, she just did what she was told. She had enough experience to know when a shinobi got serious, then you followed orders and asked questions later.
From what she could see as they walked through the gates, there was nothing wrong with the town. Everyone seemed to be going on about their lives and ignoring them as they casually walked around.
Or at least, that's what she thought. She did not notice at first, but people were giving her and Morgan a wide berth and actively avoided eye contact whenever they looked in their direction. She could immediately tell they were, somehow, in Valm from the different Valmese styled buildings and the language these people were using. She didn't know how Naruto got them halfway across the world, but she wouldn't lie and say that ability was a very convenient tool for travel.
"These people are acting weird." Morgan pointed out the obvious as they walked deeper into the brisling town. Lucina had tried many times to have a normal conversation with people at stands, but they seemed to always take one look at her before speaking in not nearly as much mirth as they were to the people before her. If she didn't know any better, it was as if everyone in this town was afraid of her and Morgan, but how could that be when they had just entered the village?
"Look, Lucy! They have a pastry shop! We have to go!" Morgan suddenly exclaimed while pulling her towards the store before the future princess could give a reply. Lucina just sighed exasperatedly as she was dragged against her will towards the pastry shop. She didn't know what was going on in this town, but she hoped she could get some answers in this new shop.
There was a ring of a bell as the two girls entered the store. The store wasn't very big, but it held at least 12 people that were all sitting down and eating many different cooked treats with their friends, spouse or child. The joy on their faces reminded Lucina of her own parents and she idly wished she was in the place where the little girl was smiling happily at her mother and father.
It was as Lucina was thinking this that she realized how quiet the café got and everyone seemed to be giving her subtle glances as if to make sure she wouldn't try anything. Morgan either didn't sense the atmosphere or completely ignored it since she went right up to the lady at the front counter.
"H-hello, ma'ams. What can I make for you?" The woman sounded hesitant, as if one wrong word would be the end of her life.
"I want the best pastry you've got! No matter what it is!" Morgan beamed up at the woman who gave her a smile that did not reach her eyes. Lucina didn't even register that the young blonde was speaking in Valmese since she was too focused on the eyes that were burning a whole in the back of her head.
"I-is that so? T-then maybe you'd like our 'Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Cake Special'?"
Morgan's eyes brightened and for a second there was a genuine smile on the woman's face before she glanced back at Lucina and swiftly looked away-finding the wooden counter a lot more interesting. "I'd love that!" Morgan shrieked, getting a bow from the woman before she swiftly moved to the back of the shop. A few seconds later, the woman returned with a plate that held a chocolate cake with what looked like ice cream feeling as a layer. Morgan was shining at the piece of cake before reaching into her hoody and pulling out a worn out green frog purse.
"How much do I owe you." Morgan said as she popped the purse open and waited for her total. The woman was about to speak, but took another glance at the masked boy behind the blonde, specifically the sword he currently had his arm resting on, before shuddering and smiling back at the little girl.
"D-do not worry, ma'am. It's on the house." Morgan blinked up at the woman's strange behavior before shaking her head.
"I can't take this for free, ma'am. It would be wrong of me to do so when all these people have paid. Please tell me how much I owe." Lucina would have actually been shocked by Morgan's stance on morals if not for the situation at hand.
The woman kept giving Lucina fearful glances before trying to explain to the blonde why her dessert was free. This brought a frown to the pinkette's face the longer the little argument continued. She was about to step in and ask why the woman looked so frightened by her appearance when a voice spoke directly behind her.
"Enough of this!" Lucina turned to see an angry brunette male stop right in front of her. He wasn't really built, but he wasn't exactly skinny either. He wore plain civilian clothing and seemed to have a slight limp. The scowl on his face put Lucina on edge and made her frown back up at the man. "Why do you people keep coming here to terrorizing us when you've already taken so much?!"
Lucina's eyes narrowed at the man's words. "What are you talking about, sir."
"Don't play the fool with me, boy!" The man yelled and went to grab the masked boy by his collar. Out of instinct, Lucina's hand shot out before the man could grab her and swiftly twisted the man's hand behind his back until he was on his knees. Lucina could see people in her peripheral stiffen at her action, but made sure to keep her glare to ward off anyone else trying to take advantage of the situation.
"I'd advise you keep your hands to yourself, sir." Lucina said calmly and added a bit of pressure to the man's arm to push her point. She then heard the screeching of a chair before a woman was running to her with worry and fear in her.
"Please don't hurt my husband!" the blonde woman cried and kneeled before Lucina in prayer position. "He meant no disrespect! He has just been really stressed from his work! Please forgive him this one time! We promise this will never happen again! Please!"
"H-honey." The kneeling man grunted to his now crying wife. Lucina didn't know the full situation, but the way everyone in the café was looking at her made even her feel like she was the one in the wrong. Lucina slowly relaxed as she released the man she had inadvertently held hostage. Immediately the woman had the man in her arms and was crying as the man rubbed her back soothingly. Lucina looked down at the man who glared daggers in her direction before looking to Morgan.
"We're leaving." She simply said before turning and walking out of the store. Morgan panics shortly before running after the pink haired girl. Before she got half way, she suddenly stopped before heading back to the counter of the waiter and taking 25 gald from her frog purse and putting it on the counter.
"Thank you very much, ma'am!" she smiled up at the woman before running after her companion.
…
Lucina frowned behind her mask as she walked through the town. She couldn't for the life of her find out why everyone in town seemed to be either looking the other way whenever she and Morgan walked or glared daggers in her back. Every time she had attempted to speak with someone, they wouldn't give her the time of day and quickly tried to end the conversation as soon as possible. This really didn't make any sense. They hadn't even been in the town for 30 minutes and everyone was giving them glares that could slay Risen. What exactly was going on in this town?
And where the hell did Naruto go? As much as she wanted to think the blonde was out to gather 'information', he has yet to really do something that has made her feel less at ease. Heck, she wouldn't put it behind him to be plotting some way to make her look the fool like the many times he already has. The fact that she still had this blasted pink hair didn't make her feel any better. For his sake, she hoped he was actually doing something more productive when they had a situation as serious as thi-
"Bullshit!"
Lucina's head shot up when she heard the angry cry of a woman in the distance.
She was completely taken aback at what she was seeing. Two men in very familiar armor was towering over an angry, messy raven-haired woman with traces of ash on her face and a metal face guard that could only belong to a blacksmith. She had on a beige overall with a red t-shirt underneath and wore heavy brown gloves and boots. Her shirt did nothing to hide the muscle she had and the slight tension in her shoulders told Lucina she was prepared to use the hammer she held in her right hand. The smirks on the two men's face didn't really help the situation either.
"I don't understand why you're so mad, madam. You should be honored to lend your weaponry to Lord Chrom. It for protection after all." Lucina scowled at the man. Were these soldiers using her father's name to get free service from this woman? "Besides, we have gotten some very troubling news that you have been selling weapons to our enemies. That's a clear threat to our Lord's protection."
"To hell with your protection and to hell with your so-called allegations!" The woman shot back, not even hiding the distaste in her words. "We have been doing just fine until your fake ass prince showed up on our land! I couldn't give two shits how threatened your prince is by who I sell my weapons to. This is VALM! You have no rights to past judgement on land that isn't apart of your own! If I wanted to sell weapons to the fuckin' Grimleal to gut you and your prince's ass, then I would do it with a discount and a fuckin' smile on my face!"
"Watch your mouth!" One of the knights barked at the woman. "You are nothing but peasants! Words like those are clear signs of aggression! Keep speaking out of line and the prince'll-"
"The prince will do what? Send his soldiers to do his dirty work like he always has? HA, please! You people don't scare me! Everyone here might be too scared to deal with yer bullshit, but I'm not! If your prince is so scared of a village girl gutting his scrawny ass, then tell him to get off of our island and go hide back in his fuckin' castle!"
Both men were now openly snarling at the woman at least a head and a half shorter than them. "D-Do you have any idea what you just said? You just threatened someone of royal blood! That's punishable by death!"
"Did you not just hear what I fuckin' said?! This is VALM! Your monarch words are nothing but wind and pieces of paper on these lands! Tell your prince to come down here and shut down my shop himself and I promise to show him the curtsy of a Chon'sin warrior!"
Lucina could see the moment one of the men snapped. She saw a bulging vain on the right man's head before he reached down and grabbed a fist full of the woman's shirt and brought his angry face to hers. "I don't give a damn about your rights! I'm giving you an order to-"
"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"
Lucina blinked when an orange blur crashed into the man. Morgan had just ran faster than Lucina could blink and nailed the soldier right in the face with a flying kick. The future princess then inwardly cringed when the blonde landed gracefully on the ground before popping up and standing in one of her 'poses'.
"Halt you fiends! Your time of tyranny will come to an end on this poor maiden for you are no longer in the presence of a simple civilian, but in the presence of greatness-"
The future princess didn't even blink as Morgan went through her usual routine. She was used to it by now and would no doubt see it more in the future, so there was no point in her stressing over it anymore. At the end of the day, as long as the girl got the job done and was hurting no one, Lucina didn't really care how she did it.
About 3 minutes of Morgan 'introducing' herself and two beaten and retreating soldiers later, Lucina walked up to the now glowing blonde who was getting a pat on the back from the now more noticeably chipper blacksmith.
"I gotta say, yer probably the weirdest kid I've ever met, but you sure throw one hell of a kick!" the blacksmith guffawed, stroking Morgan's ego further.
"Hehe, it was nothing! Those guys never stood a chance against my skills!" Morgan proclaimed with her chest puffed out in pride. The blacksmith's good mood dropped the second she saw Lucina walk towards her and the blonde.
"What, you want an ass kickin' too, pinky?" the water threatened with her hammer on her shoulder. Lucina's brow twitched at the woman's words before she quickly calmed and shook her head.
"No ma'am. I only want to confirm that you are unharmed." The pinkette said politely, making the older woman lose all tension.
"Heh, not a scratch on me thanks to this little gaki!" the woman said as she ruffled the hair of the blonde who seemed to brighten at the praise. "Those bastards aren't nothing but bark and no bite. Been terrorizing our home for 2 weeks now with nothing but numbers. If we had a proper force, then their asses wouldn't last 10 minutes." The woman sighed as she shook her head. "But enough of that! Why don't you two come inside so I can feed ya? I gotta have some way to pay back my little savior!"
The woman laughed as she walked back into her shop, not even giving Lucina a chance to respond. Morgan didn't even need to be told twice since she immediately followed after the woman who had offered them free food.
The pinkette just shook her head as she followed after her bubbly companion.
…
Lucina looked around the weapons shop with awestruck eyes as Morgan excitedly explored a knights heaven. She had learned many things about the Valmese culture along with their language, but she never had the pleasure of stepping on their soil nor actually experiencing their culture. The weapons she was seeing on stacks and on the walls had her mouth agape in fascination. There were so many different types of blades she had never seen! Like that long katana looking blade. Or that sickle with the chain ball! Oh! And that those weird fork looking daggers! There were so many objects flouting around and just begging for her to try them!
"Better close yer mouth or somethin' just might jump in, honey." Lucina snapped out of her little trance as she looked to the woman who had invited her into this wonderful heaven now behind the front counter. She had forsaken her brown overalls and now only wore a muscle shirt that Lucina could see showed off her round, bouncy, mountain sized…eyes. Below she had on simple brown pants that seemed to hug her legs and show off her toned physique.
Now that Lucina was getting a better look at the woman, she could tell she was quite fit—for a woman, that is. Everything from her calves to firm shoulders, to her well-toned muscular arms, to her big, well-shaped…eyes. Lucina couldn't help but look down at the less endowed part of her body compared to the woman's brea-eyes! EYES! It was her EYES, Lucina!
"Keep starin at me like that and ya just might get lucky, honey." Lucina head shot up as she was now looking the woman dead in her…eyes in confusion.
"What do you mean by that?" She said in genuine confusion. The smirk on the woman's face dropped.
"Uh, y'know. Lucky as in…y'know what, never mind." The woman shook her head at the obliviousness she could see from what little the pinkette's face was showing. Oblivious people like this weren't fun to tease at all. "Ah, I'm such a ditz! I completely forgot to introduce myself!" The woman said sheepishly as she extended her hand to the pinkette. "Names' Chen'lee, and this here is Chen's Arms and Deals!"
Lucina smiled at the woman before reaching out to take the hand in hers. "You may call me Marth." The pinkette said while firmly grasping the hand.
"Marth, eh? Like that Hero King guy?" the woman said with a raised brow.
"The very same." Lucina nodded with a smile.
"Damn, ya sure do dress like a hero. Even that blade of yers gives you the whole 'hero' vibe."
Lucina unconsciously rested an arm over said blade at its mention. "It's a family heirloom, ma'am."
"I see. Mind if I take a look at it?" The woman asked and was immediately shot down by the pinkette.
"I'm sorry, but I do not trust my sword in the hands of anyone but my own. I've had many…unsavory experiences in the past when it comes to giving my sword to others and I do not wish to repeat those experiences. I hope you can understand, ma'am."
The woman slumped in disappointment but waved off the pinkette's words. "Think nothing of it. Not the first time I've been denied. Though it's the first by a lassie with hair as…colorful as yers."
A tick mark appeared on Lucina's head as she remembered just how she got her now pink hair. Morgan assured her that it would 'fade away' in a day or two, but that did not make her anger any less quilled since she had to walk around the damn town with this absurd hair color. "There are…circumstances behind my hair I'm afraid." Lucina then blinked as something else finally registered in her head. "Um, and I'm a boy."
The woman just looked at her blankly as if processing what she just heard.
"Okay, honey, just because you're flatter than piss on a platter, doesn't make you'a man. I've been a part of the Chon'sin army for 15 years and a can point outta woman actin' like a man in ma sleep. No matter how mucha try to deepen yer voice, it will always have a hint'a feminism. So, unless there's a pole between your legs, girlie, you. Are. A. Woman."
Lucina reeled at the way this woman spoke. Most people would call the way this woman spoke 'vulgar' but growing up with a redhead who swore like a sailor and knew how to curse your name in any language made Lucina somewhat immune to such vulgarity. But Naga, this woman held no punches!
"So, why are you and the gaki here? I doubt you came here to see the sights since the only thing we have here of any national importance would be our pastry shop. Swear they make some of da best damn cake and ice cream I've ever had!"
Lucina sighed in relief at the change in topic. "No, ma'am. Morgan, I and another are just passing by." The pinkette responded, not telling the truth since there was no clear way to tell the woman she was looking for someone when even she didn't know who she was looking for.
The woman snorted at Lucina's reply. "Like hell you are. No one's 'just passing by' when they come to this island. You're either comin' here to get away from yer country, or you have ulterior motives. For yer sake, I hope it's the former than the latter."
Lucina's brows furrowed as an opportunity to finally get the answers she's been searching for dropped in her figurative lap. "What exactly is going on in this town? Does it have something to do with those Ylissean soldiers that were harassing you?"
The woman became more serious as she crossed her arms. "Yea, we're in deep shit at the moment and it's all thanks to that so-called 'Chrom' bastard that's been basically extorting money from us for the past 2 weeks." Lucina's eyes widened behind her mask as the name of her father left the woman's mouth. "The bastard's soldiers came and basically demanded us to pay him for 'protection' while he's just 'passing through'. Of course, we refused since he was WAY out of his jurisdiction, but that seemed to piss them off. Before we knew it, those bastards began destroying and hurting our people before we could even mount up a proper counterattack. Fuckin cowards."
While the woman was speaking, Lucina's mind was on other things. There was just no way her father was on this side of the world. He was in Ylisse not even a day ago and they were currently in Valm. Without the teleportation power of Naruto, it would take at least 3 to 4 weeks on ship just to make it on this side of the world. Considering she left her father not even 2 days ago and the fact the Chrom on this island has been here over 2 weeks, there was no other conclusion Lucina could come to other than the Chrom currently on this island was impersonating her father.
The second she came to that conclusion her fist clenched in anger. She now understood the reasons behind the glares of the people and the poor training of the soldiers Morgan fought. No matter how convincing the armor those bastards wore, there was no way they weren't even close to a royal guard's skill level. Only a select few were selected as a Royal Guard. You must have skills that are recognized by both the head knight of the Pegasus knights and the current Royal Guard commander. Not only that, you had to be accepted by both the council and the Exalt herself. Lucina knew for a fact Frederick nor Phila approved of those waste of human space and it was hard to imagine Aunt Emmeryn having these men protect her family.
This was just a clear case of impersonation of royalty. There was no saving these people. They not only impersonated her father, but they ruined his image in this town and they will suffer the consequences of their actions.
"Have you seen this Prince Chrom since he's been here?" Lucina interrupted the still talking woman, trying to get as much information as possible before going on her little 'hunt'. Much to her displeasure, the woman shook her head.
"Can't say I have. He only sends out his Royal Guards to do his work for him. Not once has he ever come down 'ere 'imself. The people 'ere are already suspicion of the bastard, but the last person who tried to stan up to them was my hubby." Lucina watched the woman come to a sudden stop as her face dimmed at the mention of her husband. "He tried rallying up the people to fight back, but some of the guards found out and made an 'example' out of him and the few that rallied. They ended up beating him within an inch of his life and killed the few that rallied behind him."
Lucina could feel her blood boil as the now snarling woman continued.
"My hubby lived, but ever since that day the people lost the will to fight and my hubby will limp fer the rest of his life. Heh, the families of the few who died blamed my hubby for their loss and are all too vocal in showing their hate." The woman chuckled humorlessly. "It's fucking hilarious how they're praising my hubby for standing up one day and cursin' his name the next. Maybe they're right that if my hubby did nothin' then they would probably still have their family, but I'd rather live knowing that I at least did somethin' than to live like the fuckin' cravens they are!"
The future princess of Ylisse said nothing as the woman got what she wanted off her chest. The way she spoke and the way every word came out so clearly spoke volumes of how much she had been holding everything in—the slight trace of tears in her eyes only furthering her hypothesis.
She understood this woman. She had been in the same hopeless position the woman was currently in. The hopelessness of watching as people she fought alongside sacrifice their lives so that she could live, and the looks of resentment on the faces of the people she had to speak to whenever another one of her men perished in battle. She understood it very well.
However.
"I understand how strongly you feel about this, but please do not hate the civilians for their actions." The woman looked up to the younger woman in a mixture of shock and confusion. "I cannot say I condone the way they are taking their hatred out on your family, but please do not show them the same hate for not taking up the sword. They are only civilians and were no-
"Fuck that!" Chen'lee slammed her hand onto the counter-top in rage. "No matter the reason, you don't just let someone march in and take your home without putting up a fight! Darton isn't even a fuckin' warrior and he had the balls to stand up to them bastards! Those cowards should pick up the swords their loved ones dropped n keep fightin! You lose when you fuckin give up and that's exactly what those bastards did!"
"I understand that, but you must be reasonable." Lucina spoke calmly, contrary to her current companion. "They are but civilians—not soldiers, not warriors, civilians. They know nothing of the pain soldiers like yourself have to go through on the battlefield. Not only do you risk your life for the people and your country, but you also mourn for your comrades and those you were unable to save. In a sense, you've been through more pain than they will ever understand. I'm not asking you to forgive them, but please understand that it is ignorance and lost that's fueling their hate."
The woman gritted her teeth before calming down slightly and leaning over the counter with her chin on her palm. "I understan' that, but it still pisses me off. All we've done for this town and they just turn on us like that? Really just gets underneath my skin y'know."
Lucina nodded as she leaned her back against the counter. "To be honest, I feel like a hypocrite telling you that considering my current mission."
"Mission?" Chen'lee said with a raised brow, not that the pinkette could see it. Lucina tilted her head to the ceiling and closed her eyes as the view of two of the most important people that was once in her life flashed in her mind. They were smiling down at her as she laughed at the flowers she got them. Being the great parents they were, they laughed with her and accepted the gift without hesitation. She would never forget the smiles they had that day because that was the last day she ever saw them.
"My mother and father were both murdered—killed by someone they once held as their closest friend." The revelation made the blacksmith's eyes widen as the younger woman continued. "They were on a mission to defeat a corrupted man dead set on destroying my village. In order to put a stop to him, my mother and father gathered all their troops and headed to defeat this enemy threatening their home. I don't know exactly what happened there, but only a few returned. I will never forget the looks of shock and despair on their faces as they walked through our village. I was only a child at the time and I didn't understand what was really happening. All I knew was that I couldn't find my mother or father. That same day, I was told by my aunt that my mother nor father would ever be coming home."
Lucina could feel the pang of hurt in her heart when she remembered the tears Lissa shed as she tried to tell her that her father was never coming home. She never could get the words out in the end, just cried louder the more she tried to get the words out. Back then, Lucina was smart enough to understand what her aunt was trying to say and resulted in her locking herself in her room for an entire week. If not for her friends being there when she needed them, Lucina might have never gotten out of her depression. The image of her aunt in so much pain and sorrow became one of many memories that kept her fighting for a better future.
"No one ever knew why or who betrayed my father, which lead to mistrust in my family's militia and eventually lead to their disbandment. Not long after that my home was invaded and destroyed by an unstoppable force we couldn't even hope to defend against. My people, my neighbors, my family, they all died protecting me and my friends."
Lucina looked down at her hands. The hands that was unable to protect her future. The hands that buried so many of her soldiers and friends. The hands that had the blood of both the living and the dead. She clenched them tightly as all the painful memories flowed through and strengthened her resolve.
"On that day, I swore I would find my father's killer and end their life with my own hands. And I'll do it even if I lose my life in the process."
There was no response from the woman behind her as the pinkette dwelled in her painful memories. A few seconds passed before all tension left the time-traveler and she looked back to the woman who had been silent throughout her little story.
She didn't know whether to panic or sweat drop at what she was seeing. There were streams of tears coming down the woman's face, but you wouldn't be able to tell if she was actually crying since she wore the same serious expression since Lucina started talking.
Next to her however, Morgan, whose lack of presence Lucina finally noticed, was sniffing with equal streams of tears falling down her face.
"Y-you've had such'a rough life, gaki." No one could miss the crack in the older woman's voice, nor could they miss new streams of tears falling down the woman's cheeks as her face began twitching. When Lucina saw the woman's face no longer able to maintain it's stoic composure, Chen'lee brought her arm over her face and began rubbing the salty substance falling from her eyes. "D-damn it! I got s-sand in my eyes! I-I'm not crying y'hear me! I'm not!"
This time the time-traveler couldn't stop the sweat-drop that rolled down the back of her head as the woman literally mimicked a certain twin-tailed redheaded time-traveler of hers. Another sweat-drop rolled down as she saw Morgan mimicking the older woman.
"Th-that's so sad~." Morgan cried as she dropped her arm and looked up to Lucina with puffy red eyes. "I-I never knew you had s-such a terrible childhood, Lucy! I-Its just—its just soooo saaaad~!" Lucina let out a gasp as Morgan disappeared form behind the counter and was now enveloping her into a tight hug. The girl might be shorter than her, but Gods did she have strength! "D-don't worry, Lucy! I'll help you find that bad guy! W-we'll find him and bring him to justice even if it takes eternity, 'dattebane!"
For once, Lucina didn't give an exasperated retort to the girl's childish bout. The look on the girls face when she looked down into her azure colored eyes, she saw both sorrow and determination. The pinkette could only chuckle humorously and pat the whiskered girl on the head.
"D-damn it, gakis! Stop this mushy-mushy shit, o-or you'll really make me cry!"
Lucina and Morgan left the shop with more information than they went in with. They now knew the threat and where to find it. Just 2 miles outside the village was a fort where the brigands posing as the Ylissean Royal Guard were holding up camp. As much as she wanted to just storm the fort and slay the man posing as her father, she had to think logically about the situation. As much as Morgan boast about her power and how much a single shinobi was compared to a group of brigands, Lucina wasn't too sure she could trust the 12-year-old to lead the assault. It was better to play it safe and watch until Naruto regrouped with them instead of doing things on their-
Lucina let out a surprised 'oof' as she bumped into an immovable object. She looked down to see Morgan staring into the distance. The princess looked up and couldn't help the feeling of longing that came over her. Coming towards them was a man and woman holding the hand of what could only be their little girl. The smiles on the parents faces were just as radiant as the bright smile on their child's.
Lucina could faintly remember her being in that same position when she was little. She wasn't able to go down the street hand and hand with her father and mother due to their status, nor was she able to share memories like this due to the war with Plegia. Be that as it may, there was never a lack of love from either of them. No matter how much she complained that she wished they would spend more time with her, her parents were patient to their very inpatient child. They may not always be together like she wanted, but at least they were there.
It was as she was thinking that that she remembered Morgan telling her she never knew her mother. Now Lucina felt a pain of guilt from how childish her past self was. Her parents may not have always been there when she wanted them to be, but at least she had both of them; her mother longer than her father. Morgan never even had the chance to get to know what it felt like to have a full family, yet the look in her eyes right at this moment was not the eyes of wanting nor sadness. In fact, it was as if she was looking at the couple with, sympathy?
"Lucy," the girl spoke in almost a whisper, "It's so sad watching these people try to be happy when they're not."
Lucina looked down at the blank faced kid before looking back at the couple. From what Lucina could see, the family didn't show a single sign of trouble nor sorrow. They seemed like any normal family in the eyes of the princess, so what was the meaning behind the blonde's question?
"My father raised me all by himself for 12 years." The girl continued before Lucina could reply. "During that time, he would always smile and tell jokes to make me happy, but as I grew up, I slowly started to understand that my father was a liar."
Morgan's eyes dimmed a bit at her own words.
"Even though he smiled, most times it didn't reach his eyes. The times he was alone, I never once seen him with the same smile he made with me. He never told me what was bothering him and I was too much of a coward to ask him. It was then that I realized it was the same with the people around me. The smiles on their faces may have looked genuine to the human eye, but I could finally see the truth—and the truth hurt. Those smiles were plastic compared to mine. It was like they were dolls made specifically to make me happy. In the end, their smiles went from making me happy, to really confused, to really pissing me off."
A look of surprise crossed the pinkette's face at the venom in the normally bubbly girl. She didn't have to wait long for the girl she near to return because not a second later the girl piped back up with her trademark smile on her bubbly face.
"So, I decided that if people wouldn't give me a genuine smile, then I would smile for them! If people couldn't find a reason to truly be happy, then I would give them a reason! If someone was down, then I would make their day! It was fun and I truly enjoyed the looks of anger when I pranked someone. Hell, I even got a kick out of the joy on peoples faces when I did something that made me look stupid. It was like I was the towns very own hero!"
The girl's smile then fell as the couple made eye contact with the duo and the smiles dropped off their face as well. Immediately they began looking everywhere but the time travelers as they continued on their path.
"This place reminds me too much of home. The look of defeat in everyone's eyes were just like the people back home. My dad always told me that if you want change, then you can't wait for someone else to change it for you. You have to take the matter into your own two hands and change it yourself. I understand that some people just do not have the ability to fight, but there's a difference between being 'unable' and being 'unwilling' and that's what I see when I look at the people in this village."
The couple passed right by them and didn't utter a word as they made their way away from the duo. Morgan looked back and saw the little girl who was looking back at them curiously. Morgan gave the girl a bright smile before giving the girl a wide smile and waving. The girl looked like she wanted to do something in return, but the parents pulled her protectively in front of them as they continued to walk.
The blonde stayed blank face for almost a full minute before brightening up and putting her hands of her hips. "But that's why people like me exist!" the blonde suddenly exclaimed as she began doing various poses. "Even if the people have lost the will to fight, as a hero dedicated to fight for the weak, I will fight in their stead! If they are unwilling, then I will be their will! If they are knocked down, then I will pull them back up! If there is an enemy too great for them to handle, then its only right that a hero is there to help! THAT'S what being a hero is all about!"
As by some dumb luck, her justice was need since three 'guards' were currently harassing a shop vender in the distance. "And just like that, justice calls! Come, Lucy! Let us get out there and put these evil doers in their place by showing them the right and left cheeks of JUSTICE!"
Lucina didn't follow her companion as she marched towards the bandits. Knowing the girl didn't need her help, she just stood there thinking about everything the blonde had just told her. Her story sounded truthful, but that was the problem. If Morgan came from the same future she did, then there was no way the peace she spoke of would be possible. No where in the world was safe from the Grima's army she knew for a fact. The Risen roamed every continent in the world and no one was spared from the destruction. Not even seals they made kept the Risen away for long before they were eventually found. There might have been no lies in Morgan's eyes, but that in itself was the problem.
And it was because of that that Lucina seriously started to question just what future Morgan came from.
"LUCYYYYYYY~!"
Lucina came to a, quite literal, screeching halt as something rammed into her back and face planted her to the ground. She could feel someone wiggling on her back as she tried to push herself back to her feet. She knew who tackled her. Hell, there was no way she could mistake that voice for anyone else considering she came back to the future with her.
"Good to see you too, Cynthia." Lucina grunted out as she settled for just pushing herself to her elbows. She looked over her none existent chest down to her brunette friend who was looking back up at her with teary eyes. Why exactly she was in a cocoon of wires was a question Lucina would have to put off after the young girl had calmed down.
"I'm so glad I found you! I thought I was the only one who made it through since I was the only one here! I can't tell you how happy I am to know I'm not here alone and WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR HAIR?!" Cynthia's mouth ran like a motor until her attention finally landed on her friends once blue locks.
Lucina could do nothing but scoff at the mention of her once blue hair. "There was an accident." Was all she said in regard to that before she lifted herself and her friend to their feet. Her best friend was looking as chipper as she remembered her despite the fact she was tied neck to ankle with wires. She didn't even need to think very hard the reason behind her friend's detainment since there was only one person in this town who had ninja wire on their person.
"So, what have you been doing since you've arrived?" Lucina asked as she tried to untangle the brunette from the wires.
"Oh, Lucy its horrible!" Cynthia cried. "All the people in the town kept giving me these mean looks and looking the other way when I tried talking to them! And get this! When I finally got the information I needed and headed out to take justice, I was capture by the very ruffians I set out to defeat!"
Lucina's eyes widened as she momentarily stopped trying to untangle her best friend and grabbed both her shoulders in a vise grip. "Are you OK? They didn't do anything to you did they?" Lucina asked worriedly to her friend. To her shock, Cynthia lost all tension and an all too familiar smirk was on the girl's face.
"Oh, you should have seen me, Lucy!" the brunette said excitedly before dropping her head and octave dramatically. "I was surrounded on all sides by brigands wielding everything from swords to axes. They proved to be more than capable for my skills and ended up capturing me, but not before I took down a good 20 of em!"
Lucina just stared at her friend dryly. She wouldn't really call Cynthia a liar, but she had a tendency to stretch the truth when it came to her little escapades.
"Hey, stop looking at me like that! It happened—I swear!"
Just like you did all the other times. Lucina thought as she went back to untangling this damn WIRE. How the hell did you untie knots like this!
"-one of their lackeys took me back to the town. Once I was sure his friends were far enough away, I chose that time to make my escape! Since the only thing that wasn't tied up was my mouth, I decided to take a chunk out of his neck! But get this! I bit the guy so hard that he literally burst into a cloud of smoke! Is that not awesome or what!"
Lucina paused for a good 5 seconds before a hand slid down her face as she no doubt knew what actually happened.
It was a few seconds later and she finally got the idea to cut the wire that she realized Cynthia was far too quiet. She looked up to her friend only to see the wide eyes shock on her face as she stared at something in the sky. Lucina immediately turned her attention to the sky and immediately went stock still at what she was seeing.
"By the Gods," was the only thing she could mumble before bodies fell from the sky and the present got a small taste of the future.
20 minutes earlier
Fort Outside Verdant Village
Ruger couldn't remember where he went wrong in life. Maybe it was the day he lost his noble right and was forced to live in shame as a peasant for something as petty as theft. Granted, he stole over 200,000 gald worth of merch, but he believed a slap on the wrist was all he should have been given. Apparently, no one thought the same since the next day he was caught and stripped of his noble title. He would have spent major time in the slammer if not for him escaping Ylisse before his sentence.
After avoiding Ylisse and bounty hunters for over 3 years, he finally made his way into a good bandit group and made a name for himself as a thief. He was doing so good that he even made his own band of brigands. They would make their living by posing as Lords from other countries and extorting villages for 'protection'. It might cause some disarray in the main lands, but when had he ever cared about the economy? War and distrust was how bandits made their living without having to worry about repercussions from the capital. While the army is too busy trying to defend its country, bandits are looting and pillaging without a care in the world.
This place was no different. While Valm was in the beginning stages of war thanks to the man known as 'The Conqueror', he was here posing as the Lord of another land. The second his boys rolled in the village and started making demands, they were begging for their lives within the hour. The laughable police force of the town were quickly disposed of and were warned that any further resistance would mean the death of every villager. Of course, they didn't mean it since destroying a village this close to Chon'sin was just asking to put a target on their backs, but fear was a hell of a dagger.
Every now and then some people would get out of line, but they were quickly stomped back down like the rest and the despair in the people's eyes only made him love his job more! Just rough up a couple villagers and threaten to kill and rape a few women and the people were pleading for their lives like the homeless for water.
And the best part about it all was he didn't even need to lift a finger! All he had to do was dress his men in noble clothing and armor and those dumbass peasants would believe anything! It was ingenious! Perfection! The best plan he'd ever come up with! Just another day at work for Ruger the bandit!
But like all good things, they eventually come to an end. Ruger just never thought it would hit him right in the fucking balls—quite fucking literally.
He didn't even know how he found himself in this situation. One minute he and his boys are partying like no tomorrow after another successful day of terrorizing those inferior fools, the next a blonde guy with whiskers was standing right in front of him. All the partying came to a halt as everyone looked to the intruder. After a few seconds of silence, the blonde spoke and Ruger immediately knew he was going to kill this bastard.
"Damn, you are one ugly lookin' motherfucker."
There wasn't even faint whispers of wind after the blonde's words. Everyone and everything was just looking to the blonde with looks of mortification. It was as if the world had come to a halt at that very moment just so Ruger Van De Luger could fully process the insult this man dared let slip from his mouth. It had to be a slip because no one was this stupid to say such a thing when surrounded by over 50 men with swords and lances.
Safe to say, once the words were fully processed and he confirmed those were the words that just left the blondes mouth, Ruger was, understandably, pissed.
Now, Ruger would admit that despite being a bandit, he did not have the muscle nor the strength to actually get things done himself. When he thought about it, he never really needed to get things done himself. When he was a noble, he had his servants do everything from washing his body to wiping his ass when asked. Even when he became a bandit there was always someone he befriended to do the heavy lifting for him.
It was how he survived. A few well-placed lies here, a few well-placed lies there and people were under his command like puppets on a string. He didn't have to care about his outward appearance since if he wanted such things like money and women all he had to do was get someone to get it for him. He's lived like that as a noble and he's lived the same as a bandit. He was the very definition of a slime.
That did NOT, however, give this bastard the right to say such words and keep living!
This shit-stain was being put to the sword—no questions asked.
"I thought someone posing as Chrom would at least have the decency to be a 6 out of a 10, but you don't even have a face a mother could love. Just, how the hell can a man barely in his 30's be this damn ugly?"
…Scratch that, death was too good for this asshole. No, he would die slowly and by every torture method in the book. Stoned, trampled, set ablaze, raped, skinned, even starved and dehydrate this fucker and the only thing this bastard would get to drink after weeks of torture and humiliation would be the sweat from his balls.
He went to bark back something at the soon to be dead blonde but was cut off by said blonde.
"Ruger Van De Luger, very stupid name by the way, former noble of the Ylissean Royal Elders and currently has a bounty of 30,000 gald. Wanted: dead or alive for the crime of theft and association with bandits. Said to have stolen over 1,000,000 gald worth of merchandise and has partaken in many acts of pillaging. You were to be trial for your crimes and was going to be sentenced to a few years in confinement, but escaped a day before his trial 8 years ago and was last seen with a group of bandits known as 'The Wild Ones'. Haven't been identified as dead or alive, but the bounty has never been dismissed. Which means, you are still very much a wanted man."
"Now, normally I would bring you back to the country alive since nations like to have their justice done publicly, but unfortunately for you," the blonde actually smiled at him, "stains like yourself don't deserve trial."
It came so fast that Ruger wasn't even able to react. One second the blonde was standing there with his oh-so-cocky smile, the next the blonde disappeared and reappeared with his foot buried deep in his groin. No one who watched the scene unfold would deny the high-pitched scream that left his mouth as he felt his balls basically kicked to his throat.
Everything after that was just a blur. He could hear his men charging in righteous fury, but could see nothing but the blurring ground as he laid in a fettle position while cradling his violated sack. It was about 2 minutes later that everything went quiet and Ruger was able to see clearly again. What he saw he wished he didn't. Everywhere around him were bodies and bodies of his former mates. They all looked like they suffered from a strange knife in their head, a cut throat, a deep slash or some even missing their lower body.
They were dead. They were ALL dead. And in the middle of all this was the blonde menace who didn't have a single drop of blood on him and was now walking towards him at a sedate pace while casually twirling his weird dagger. Ruger tried to be angry. He tried to muster up something in his being to be mad at this man. He tried to think about how this man just ruined his life. He tried to think about all the men this guy had just slain by himself, but that was the problem. He had just taken out what 50 men all by himself with what looked like not even breaking a sweat. That just left him with a cold feeling as the man got closer and closer to him.
If he could kill 50 men without even thinking twice, then what exactly could he do to him? Instead of the righteous anger he wanted to build up, the cold feeling of fear gripped his heart instead as he started to back away from the monster in front of him. "S-stay the hell away from me!" He tried screaming at the man, but it didn't deter him in the slightest. The now cowering man was backed into a corner as the blonde got ever so closer.
Now, it is said that when a man or woman experiences enough fear, they tend to react either out of instinct of do things that they usually would never do. There minds are in so much turmoil that the only thing they are concerned about at the moment is living to see another day. It was a moment like this that caused Ruger to reach into his pocket pull out a rectangular brown box that emitted a dark aura.
The box came from a Grimleal's corpse he and his boys had raided about 5 months ago. A box that's said to summon the power of Grima's army at will with said army following the commands of their summoner. He didn't know exactly what he would summon, but anything at the moment was preferred than allowing this monster of a man to take him back to end his life! So, without hesitation, he opened the box and immediately a bright light escaped and shot towards the sky.
Dark clouds seemed to appear in the atmosphere as what looked like multiple clocks with eyes began looking down on the world. It was hands down one of the scariest things he had ever seen, but he couldn't pull his eyes away from the supernatural phenomenon in the air. He then bore witness to something even stranger as bodies began pouring out of the eye sockets of the clocks. He finally took his eyes off the sky when a literal army feel from the sky and was now surrounding him and the blonde on all sides.
It was as he looked at what looked like the undead that soft chuckles began leaving his lips. The chuckles went from soft to and all out guffaw as he glared at the blonde who was looking around him with wide eyed shock. "Do you see the power I wield! You can beg for your life, but no matter how much you beg I will show you no mercy!" He then pointed at the blonde with a malicious grin that did not belong on the face of man as he barked out orders to his new army. "Okay you fuckin meatheads! Kill him and do it as slow as possible! Make sure you slice off his limbs one by one! Make him feel pain! Make him SCREAM! GYAHAHAH-URK?!"
The man's laughter stopped as an explosion of pain erupted in his chest. He looked down only for his eyes to widen at what he was seeing. There was a bloody sword sticking out of his chest. He slowly turned his head back to see who or what had just run him through. His eyes widened in horror as there was a melted face 5 centimeters away from his and breathing purple smoke. He then let out a scream as the creature bit into his neck and tore the skin from his neck like it was steak.
His screams filled the air as he fell to his stomach in absolute agony and looked up to someone—anyone who could save him. However, where there once stood a blonde was now nothing more than hordes and hordes of undead that he had summoned. Tears poured down Ruger's face as for once in his life he wished he'd had just accepted the minor punishment for his crimes.
His final moments were of him screaming his lungs dry as he was sliced, eaten and going through the most excruciating pain he had ever had in his life.
Verdant Village
It came without warning. Absolutely no one was, nor could they be, prepared for the sudden assault on their village from the very heavens above. On minute the sky was partially cloudy with a hint of rain on the horizon, the next there were multiple eyes looking down on them from what looked like clocks in the sky. It was as if the Gods were peering down at them to see if they were still in line—judging them for all they were worth.
As if the Gods didn't like what they were seeing, they suddenly began spitting out bodies from their sockets. Seconds later, the figures landed everywhere around the town and did not discriminate. Building, stalls, churches, even people were assaulted from above as the shadows descending to earth and began crashing and breaking through anything unfortunate enough to be in it's way. The projectiles came down in the dozens before the eyes finally retreated and the people could once again take a breath of air.
Unfortunately, their nightmares had only just begun. The projectiles began rising from the debris with weapons in hand and soulless purple eyes. Many people could only look in fear as the toned, yet rotted figures looked into their very souls. The sound of bones cracking into place and haunted grunting came from what looked like the remains of what once was human beings. The black decayed skin made even the tough men feel vile coming up their throats. The menacing aura coming from each being made people back up in fear as if they could feel their inevitable demise. As if there was nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide. No Gods to pray to.
Then the corpses launched, and the town knew fear.
The undead swung at anything that moved and showed no mercy. Man, woman nor child was spared as the corpses began cutting through people indiscriminately. Those who tried to fight back would get a hit on the living dead, just to be decapitated do to the lack of knowledge on how to dispose of these never before seen creatures. Those who hid were found and cut down without even a plea leaving their throats. Those who trip were trampled on by others trying to flee and ended up dying prematurely before the walking dead could even get to them.
It was chaos in every sense of the word.
A good example of this chaos was a woman desperately running at the same pace as her disabled husband as they tried to get away from the approaching horde behind them. They had been running for what felt like hours, but they just couldn't get away from the rotting corpses that seemed to be keeping a steady pace with them despite their efforts.
Their retreat was for not however when the husband could not take the stress on his injured leg and collapsed to the floor in a panting heap. Unlike the human instinct to flee in the threat of imminent danger, the wife knelt down to her husband and tried getting him to his feet. His face was pale and he looked as if he was in pain, but there was no time to examine his features since what could surely be their deaths was only a few yards behind them.
"Sweetie, you have to keep running! Please!" her voice was desperate as she continued glancing up at the horde that was getting ever so closer.
"I-I can't go any f-further." Man choked out as tears began falling down him face. "I-I'm just baggage at this point. P-please, Diana, y-you have to keep running!" The man tried to push his wife to continue onward, but he shook her head furiously with tears of her own now in her eyes.
"I won't leave you! I can't leave you!" the woman shouted back, fear laced in her voice but not for the abominations that was on their tail. "Don't ask me to leave you!"
The man looked up to the woman he loved with a look of pain and fear. It hurt. It hurt him so much that he was no longer the man he used to be due to his recent injury. He couldn't do anything to save his village from those accursed bandits, and now he couldn't do anything for his wife who would surely die if she stayed here with him.
"I-I couldn't protect the village then, b-but I'll be damned if you die because of me! Now GO! LEAVE ME, WOMAN! SAVE YOURSELF! PLEASE!" Diana could feel the desperation in his words, but she didn't care. She was nothing but a simple village girl before she met this man. The man who invited her into his family. The man who gave her a home and a new family. The man who vowed to be with her till death do them part. And at that moment, she smiled and knelt down to the one and only man she has and will ever love. The horde of monsters now surrounding them was of no importance as she looked at the face of the man she couldn't live without.
"I don't care." She whispered as she cupped his face and looked into his teary eyes through her own. "If you are destined to die here, then so am I." The man's eyes widened as the woman brought him into a warm embrace. Out of instinct, his arms wrapped around her and the world around them seemed to lack importance as they accepted their fate. He didn't want to die. He wanted to continue living with this woman he called his wife until they were old and wrinkled, but it was truly over.
Through his blurry eyes, he saw the zombies behind his wife raised their axes above their heads. Tears rolled down his face faster as acceptance rolled in and he hugged his wife closer in his arms. If he was going to die, at least it was in the arms of one of the people he loved.
Then the axe came down and the sound of flesh being ripped rung throughout the alley.
…Not feeling the pain despite the sounds, the husband and wife opened their eyes and was shocked to find the abominations that was poised to end their lives dissipate into clouds of purple smoke. They were utterly confused and speechless until they heard the sound of fighting behind the man. Both looked to the direction to see a shocking sight.
A blur of blue was quickly dispatching what was once dozens of the undead with the grace of a composer. Every sword swing was swung in such precision and grace that it was hard for the undead to even apply a counter-attack. Any undead unlucky enough to get within the pink haired swordsman's way met a swift end by the young man the married couple had met in that pastry shop not even an hour ago. The same boy the husband threatened and wife begged for mercy was now… defending their lives?
With one final swing of the swordsman's sword, the last abomination was slain and the boy relaxed his guard. A few labored breaths left the young man's mouth. After confirming that there was indeed no more threats in the area, the masked boy turned to the couple who were looking up at him in awe. The woman was the first to break out of her stupor and was going to thank the boy for saving their lives, but the boy spoke before she could even get a word out.
"Get to safety! Quickly!"
The boy didn't wait for a reply as he ran back towards the town and cut down any undead in his way. The couple could only look in astonishment as the boy disappeared in the distance. So young and he was fighting, while they fled for their lives. If he made it out of this, then they swore they would return the favor in any way they knew how.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
In the middle of town, a cloud of smoke that covered majority of the street erupted and what was once a desolate street became occupied by multiple diverse man-sized felines. The felines ranged from blue cats the size of lions to grey cats the size of elephants. In the middle of these felines was one white horse-sized cat that stood on all four with yellow tribal markings and wore red nail polish on all paws. On top of this feline stood Morgan in all her justified glory as she pointed towards the horde of zombies that was coming their way.
"Alright guys! There are hordes and hordes of undead terrorizing these poor towns folk! As allies of JUSTICE, it is our sworn duty to protect the weak from the oppressors! There is no enemy that will stop your claws for you ar-"
Morgan's 'speech' came to a stop when a tail smashed into the back of her head and caused her to slide against the hard pavement a couple of feet away from her original position. She was not down long before she was back on her feet and pointing back at her boss summons with a tick mark on her head while stomping the ground angrily.
"What the hell was that for you stupid cat?!" Morgan shouted at the summon who just looked down on her with eyes that showed no emotion.
"I felt you going on one of your childish tangents again, so I interfered." The cat spoke, getting a nod of approval from every summon in the vicinity. Morgan just gaped at the feline with her mouth agape and wearing a face that could only be described as befuddlement.
"You-! I-! But my-! AAAAARGH! Fine! Just kill the damn zombies and protect the town, 'ttebane!" the girl grumbled as she pointed to the incoming horde.
"…I am willing to forgive you this once since you've actually summoned us for something worth our time." A malicious grin came on the boss summons face as it looked at the incoming horde of dead flesh. "Alright, kittens! We got a good one this time! If it looks dead, then send it back to hell!"
There were multiple cries of agreement from every feline before they all scattered throughout the town. Left in the clearing was Morgan and her boss summon who was looking at the incoming horde that was now just upon them. The white cat's grin became even more malicious. Right before Morgan's eyes, the cat's fur began rising as it's tribal markings began sparking with electricity.
Morgan blinked once before the cat exploded forward in a yellow blur and made a hole right through the Risen horde. Where there once marched 30 to 40 undead creatures, now was a clearing with nothing but dissipating purple smoke. And about 50 yards away was an all too amused feline guffawing at the line of destruction she left behind her first attack.
"KYAHAHAHAHAHAHA! DAMN WEAKLINGS! YOU FALL AFTER JUST ONE TAP? I HAVEN'T EVEN SHOWN A QUARTER OF MY POWER YET AND YOU DARE RETURN TO THE AFTERLIFE ON ME? COME ON MAKE ME AT LEAST BREAK A SWEAT YOU POOR EXCUSES FOR APPETIZERS!" With another crackle of lightning, the boss summons was gone and left a slightly shivering Morgan. The girl had forgotten just how terrifying her summons was. For once, she was happy the stupid cat was on her side.
She shook her head from her thoughts as more important matters came to mind. With one hand-sign, 50 clones popped into existence in front of the blonde. She quickly gave the 50 clones orders before they all dispersed into multiple directions as she hopped to the nearest roof. There were people in need of saving!
"Quickly! Everyone take shelter in the Cathedral!" Chen'lee shouted as she guided the retreating villagers into the church. "Damn, just where the fuck did these things come from?!" the woman gritted her teeth as she saw the undead chasing the last of the townsfolk. She was about to make the call to close the doors when she saw a man and a little girl far behind the remaining group. From what she could see, the man had a large gash on the side of his head and was leaning on the much younger girl.
Chen'lee cursed as she knew that even if they made it to the cathedral there was no way they would have enough time to close the gates before the undead behind them made it in. Even if she went out and helped, there was no way all of them were making it back alive considering the shear numbers behind them. She looked back to the people cowering in the church before sighing heavily and lifting her silver axe over her shoulder.
"Damn. This isn't really how I planned to kick the bucket." She mumbled before rushing out past the incoming people and towards the duo in the distance. She made it to the duo just in time to block a downward axe swing from the abomination. With another swift movement, she beheaded the creature before turning to the stunned duo. "What the fuck are ya lookin' at?! GO!"
The duo nodded in thanks before quickly moving as faster as they could towards the church. Chen'lee turned her attention back just in time to move her head out of the way of an incoming arrow. Another swing of her axe and another creature was split in half while she ran deeper into the ranks of the undead. The former Chon'sin warrior cut through anything in her way as she forced the undead creatures to focus their attention more on her. Over the sounds of tearing flesh and grunting, she could faintly hear the sound of heavy doors closing and a smile came to her face as she knew the two she had sacrificed her life for made it in safe and sound. Knowing this was going to be her final moments, she charged into the incoming horde of monsters with a loud battle cry as she cut cleanly through anything in her way.
But alas, her mortality showed as not even 3 minutes in a well-placed cut to her sword arm caused her to lose grip of her axe. Now she was not only weaponless but surrounded on all sides. Her heart was basically beating out of her chest from exhaustion as she gritted her teeth. She didn't want to die here, but her life was basically out of her hands at this point. She could do nothing but stare down the creatures ready to end her life. She did not break eye contact with the swordsman not even meters away from her as her entire being burned with fear, anger and defiance.
"If I'm going to die," she whispered as determination burned in her eyes and her fist began to bleed as her nails broke the skin. "then at the very least… I won't die a craven!" Then she charged at the nearest creature with her good fist raised. In retaliation the creature raised its sword high—ready to bisect the human in front of him.
Much to her shock, the punch landed. Not only did it land, but it sent the creature flying back and into its brethren. If that wasn't shocking enough, then what she saw on her arm definitely made her eyes widen further. Her entire arm—no, her entire body was coated head to toe in this strange orange glowing aura that looked like fire. Her entire body also felt warm. Warmer than she ever remembered feeling in her life. Not long before that passed her mind, she finally felt the hand that was pressed firmly on her shoulder and turned to look. There was a man standing behind her with 3 whiskers on each cheek, eyes that glowed orange with pupils in a weird cross pattern and was glowing even brighter than she was. She could not take her eyes off the serious gaze of the man that seemed to be staring into her very soul.
She only came out of her trance when she saw multiple creatures charging his 6. She opened her mouth to warn him, but turns out she didn't need to since nine arm like appendages grew from his back and swatted the creatures away like flies. She could do nothing but look in astonishment as the same thing happened to the horde of creatures that once surrounded her on all sides. Within a few seconds there was nothing else surrounding them but air. A second later the man let go of her and the strange orange energy dissipated from her being and the man nodded at her before, to her ever-growing shock, he took one leap, far above the human capability, and was now hoping from rooftop to rooftop in the distance.
Chen'lee suddenly felt weak in her knees as she slumped to the ground and watched the figure disappear in the distance.
"What the hell just happened?"
Cynthia breathed heavily as she looked down to the smoking town from the back of her trusty steed. The exhaustion was not limited to just her since her Pegasus was showing signs of exhaustion as well. She ran an armored hand along the flying horse's neck as she tried to give as much reassurance as she could.
"I'm sorry, Lisanna. Please, just hang in there a little bit longer." Cynthia begged her panting steed. "We can't quit until everyone is safe." The flying horse seemed to understand its master as they flew further into the town to look for anyone in need. Thankfully, it didn't seem like anyone else was in trouble. Between herself, the strange giant cats running around, Lucina's swift swordsmanship and the many many little girls in orange running around, the townsfolk were in good hands. She still felt a pang of guilt for the people she was not able to get to, but she learned long ago that there was no way a hero could save everyone no matter how strong they may be. If she could save even one person, then she could sleep at the end of the day knowing she did her best.
10 minutes later she saw Lucina on the ground facing off against 5 Risen advancing on her. From what the Pegasus knight could see, Lucina stance seemed lower than usual and the repeated chest movement was proof enough that the princess was possibly on her last legs. Thinking quickly, she dove straight down to assist her sister-in-arms before she collapsed in exhaustion.
She twirled her silver spear over her head as she descended at top speed. Once she was at a reasonable distance, she steadied her lance and swung with all her might towards the closest Risen. The force put behind the swing combined with the speed of her descent, the Risen's rotted skin stood no chance as its head was swiftly separated from its body. The Pegasus knight didn't stick around to see her work since she was already circling around in the air. As she made a full round, Cynthia saw that Lucina had taken advantage of the momentary distraction and had quickly run her blade through the remaining Risen with the last of her strength.
Seeing that there were no more threats around the Pegasus knight steered her steed to the ground and landed next to her equally exhausted friend. "You okay, Lucy?" Cynthia asked. The future princess didn't seem to be able to give a response through her panting, so she settled with just giving a nod in the brunette's direction.
Once the duo felt they had caught enough breath they were on the move again, but this time both on the back of Cynthia's Pegasus. It would be better to stick together when they were both so exhausted than alone and with no backup. They could only rest easy when they were sure everyone in the town was safe.
As they were doing their rounds, they came across a sight that lifted both their brows. Three Risen were hacking down a door to an Inn that was burning faster than any of the buildings in the town. They were going down to quickly finish off the remaining threat, but when they heard the unmistakable scream of a little girl the Pegasus' speed doubled. Within the span of 5 seconds, Cynthia and Lucina both hopped off the Pegasus and had their weapons separating the heads of all three threats.
Once the dead had returned to their graves the two time travelers were alerted the cries of the child once again. It was coming straight from the burning building that didn't look like it would say up for much longer. Both girls looked at the flames that were spilling out both the doorway and windows of the Inn while thinking the best way to get in without causing their deaths.
As they were thinking this the little girl's cries evolved into a pain-filled screech. Before Lucina could say anything, Cynthia had already forsaken her armor and had hopped right through the flames faster than she could react.
…
"HOT HOT HOT HOT!" Cynthia let out a stream of curses as she patted out the flames that burned her cloths. She had hopped in without thinking and she was paying the price with multiple burns along her arms and legs. But that was inconsequential at the moment. The only thing that mattered at the moment was the little girl that was screaming for help. She quickly scanned through the burning building to locate her target. Once she found what she was looking for, she quickly ran towards it. From what she could hear from the cries outside, it was coming from the second floor, so the stares was the first thing she located.
Thankfully, aside from small embers the stairs were still intact and did not fall apart as she stomped up them. Once she got to the top she looked down the hallway with blurry eyes from the smoke. She couldn't even hear anything other than the crackling wood and burning flames around her. Not getting any help and not wanting to check every room, the Pegasus knight cupped her hands to her mouth and called out.
"HEY KID! WHERE ARE YO-" She was forced to stop and cough as smoke invaded her lungs. Thankfully, her voice was heard as a voice called out from down the hall.
"H-Help! Please!"
Cynthia heard the cry and was immediately walking towards the voice. She would have liked to throw caution to the wind and move faster, but she was no longer in the first floor and had no intentions of falling through to her fiery death. So she walked slowly and made sure to stay as far away from the flames as possible.
"Keep talking to me, sweetie! Where are you?!" Cynthia called out as she held a hand over her mouth to minimize her smoke intake.
"I-I'm over here! Pl-please hurry! My mom!" the voice called back and made Cynthia curse inwardly. She could carry one out, but two was beyond her. The building wasn't going to last much longer and she knew it. There was no room for two trips in, but she would have to worry about that when the time came.
As the girl kept talking and Cynthia kept getting closer and closer, they were rewarded with Cynthia walking into the last room at the end of the corridor and seeing a little girl on the floor. She was looking at Cynthia with watery eyes while hovering over…over…
Oh Gods…
The brunette quickly rushed over to the woman that seemed to be laying in a pool of what could only be her blood. As she knelt down to the woman a bloodstain could be seen on the lower part of her rib cage. It was where all the blood was coming from no doubt. Then she looked into what should have been vibrant chocolate brown eyes, but was replaced by a dull, lifeless hue that told more than Cynthia wanted to know. Cynthia didn't even need to check a pulse to see if there was anything she could do since the answer was obvious.
She was dead. There was no kind or easy way to say it.
"P-please save her!" Cynthia looked up to the brown-haired little girl that couldn't be no older than 6 with trepidation.
"I…" Cynthia tried to say more, but there were no words she could think of at the moment that could break it to the little girl. "S-sorry. Your mom… she's-"
"No! Don't say it!" The girl cried in defiance, not wanting to hear the truth. "She can't be! She said she would be alright! She said someone would save us! Save her! PLEASE! SAVE MY MOM!"
"Listen!" Cynthia shouted at the girl and stopped her much understood tantrum. "If we don't get out of here then we are both going to die! Your mom fought and sacrificed her life to keep you away from the monsters outside! She did everything she could just so you could live and keep eating all the ice cream and hug all the stuff toys you want! I'm sorry that I was too late to save your mom, but I swear on my name as a hero that I will not waste your mother's sacrifice! We both will live! We both will escape! And you will move on knowing that your mother died a hero—do you understand me?!"
The girl's lips quivered uncontrollably as tears and sweat rolled down her face. Cynthia understood that her words might not have been the right things to say to the grieving girl, but it was the only thing she could think of and time was of the essence. She did not have time to think up more things to sugarcoat her words. Right now her main priority was to get her and herself out of this building before they met a fiery end.
With one more sob, the younger brunette reached down and brought her mother's lifeless head into a time hug. It lasted no longer than 5 seconds before she gently let go and reached her arms out to the Pegasus knight. Cynthia smiled and quickly picked up the younger girl, but before they left Cynthia reached down and closed the deceased mother's eyes in respect. Then she shot up and out of the room as quickly as she could.
Once she was out of the room the Pegasus knight came to a halt in the hallway as a sea of flames met her in all directions. She couldn't see anything in front of her and her blurry eyes from the smoke wasn't helping. Cynthia held the girl tighter in her arms as the temperature seemed to increase exponentially. There was no way out and there was absolutely nothing she could do to change her situation.
Come on Cynthia! Think! THINK! The girl thought as she looked around her in desperation.
Just like finding the light at the end of a tunnel, there was a window at the end of the hallway that was barely visible due to the flames covering the path. Unfortunately, there was no way she was getting through that without getting burned. As she was looking at the window she felt the floor creek and rupture before the floor behind her gave way and she quickly backed up to avoid falling in the new pit of death. The Pegasus knight took one good look at what use to be the first floor only to see a sea of flames in its place. No way down, no way up, and the only way out is through flames.
Her decision was made.
She looked down at the little girl who was looking around her with teary eyes and sweat pouring down her face. "Hey, sweetie," she tried sounding reassuring so not to worry the already frightened 5-year-old. The girl turned her fear filled face up to her rescuer who did not seem to share the same fear she was feeling. "I need you to hang onto me very tightly, okay? Its going to get very hot and I need you to be a strong girl while I get us out of here, okay?"
The girl hesitated for a moment before nodding at her rescuer and clung to her shirt tighter. The brunette's grip on the little girl also tightened as she looked to the window in the distance. There was no more time lift. The place was about to come down and there was no more time to worry about the pain her body was no doubt about to go through.
This was what being a hero was all about. Sacrificing one's well-being for the sake of others. Saving people in their time of need. Never fearing the enemy no matter the odds. That's what she was: a hero.
With that motivation through her head, Cynthia charged forward and right through the flames. She could feel her body temperature skyrocket at the flames boiled her skin and the crying coming from the girl in her arms only made her feet move faster. In the blink of an eye she was already half way to her destination.
Unfortunately, fate was cruel and a third of the way there the floor above the window collapsed and blocked their way with flames. A small pang of hopelessness shock through the older girl's body but was quickly replaced with fury and determination as she charged right through the new wall of fire. She lowered her head and jumped right over the rubble and out of the window. She could hear another explosion behind her before she was free falling towards the ground. She didn't need to open her eyes to know how she was falling, so in a last-ditch effort she turned her back to what was no doubt going to be the hard cobblestone ground. It was going to hurt, a lot, but at least the girl would be safe.
However, instead of hitting the ground, she was caught in what could only be firm arms that held her study. She slowly opened her eyes and what she saw was something she only dreamed about. Holding her was a man with silted golden eyes and was surrounded in what looked like orange aura that rose from his body like fire. So lost she was looking at the ethereal man that she completely missed the fact that her burns were no longer throbbing and her fatigue had all but vanished.
An armor of flames, nine orbs that defied gravity, piercing golden eyes that looked into your every being. There was no doubt in Cynthia's mind who this man was. The same man that she idolized as a kid and was the figure of motivation throughout her life as a growing hero. The hero of all heroes himself.
And he had just saved her. He had just saved her! Hehadjustsavedher! Hehadjustsavedherhehadjustsavedherhehadjustsavedherhehadjustsavedherhehadjustsavedherhehadjust-
Naruto knew this was all his fault. He had been too laxed on this side of the world since he discovered the people's severe lack of power compared to the Elemental Nations. Because of his new attitude he had forgotten the golden rule of a shinobi: always expect the unexpected.
Now the town was suffering for his inaction. What he should have done the second that poor excuse of a man brought out that box bathed in malicious chakra was to separate his hand from his arm then his head from his shoulders. Unfortunately, his momentary curiosity cost him dearly and the lives of others were now put at risk or lost.
At the beginning, he actually felt a slight pang of guilt when he left the man to die at the hands of zombie horde. He was an ass, but Naruto still to this day doesn't believe someone should go out slow like that. His guilt for the man quickly left his mind the second he Hiraishin to the town and saw the first human corpses. If not for him then the man and woman he saw lying in a pool of blood wouldn't be on his conscious.
Thankfully, his quick thinking and the help of from his shadow clones and cat summons tat could only belong to his daughter, the death toll wasn't very high. At the most only 20 to 25 people perished either prematurely by being trampled by escaping people, dying from collapsed buildings, or getting caught by the zombie horde. The rest who survived were either leaving the village while some of his clones watched over them or were all held up in the Cathedral. Those who could not make it to the church on their own he and his clones had to personally carry there. They were at first spooked by him in his chakra cloak mode, but they didn't question it much since they were being taken to safety at speeds surpassing human capabilities.
Once he was sure everyone was safe, he quickly set out to find Lucina and Morgan. Said task was easier said than done since, once again, his senses were cut drastically due to the poisonous chakra in the air. Heck, it probably wouldn't have taken him so long to secure the town if he could just spread out his senses and find people instead of dashing through the village and hoping to come across someone; which was the same thing he was doing to find the gakis.
Thankfully he found Lucina staring at a burning building with unease as if debating on whether or not she should go in. He landed right next to her and she didn't even flinch. She just turned her worried eyes to him before looking back at the burning inferno. He was going to say something but stopped when the sound of glass echoed followed by an explosion. He looked up to see shards of glass followed by a body that was holding a slighter smaller body.
Naruto didn't even hesitate to jump up and catch the two figures. As he landed, he examined the bodies in his arms and inwardly winced at the burns on both girls' arms, legs and even face. They were only second-degree burns, but they looked painful all the same. The smaller of the two seemed to be shivering and sobbing and it made Naruto instantly allow his cloaks power to envelop the two while two chakra arms grew from his back and glowed green over the two bodies. He absentmindedly noticed the older girl as the same one he had brought to the town, but dismissed that thought as he got to work on their injuries. The cloak would be used to numb the pain while also rejuvenating their vitality. Meanwhile the chakra hands would heal the second degree burns slowly while putting the smaller girl to sleep.
Once he saw the burns recede back into healthy skin, Naruto put the older girl on her feet while she just stood there looking at him with the same wide-eyed expression she had since they opened. Once he was done, he disconnected with Kurama and couldn't lie that he was amused on the inside when he saw the brunette's eyes widen even more at his new appearance. He did not, however, allow his amusement to be seen and turned his attention to Lucina who looked tired but relieved at the same time.
"You alright, princess?" he asked the girl who stood in defiance even though she looked like she could keel over in any minute. Lucina's only reply was a nod before sheathing her sword. She knew that if Naruto was here, then she and the town were in good hands.
The trio became a quartet as Morgan landed right next to her father. "There are no more monsters in the town, Father!" the girl saluted her father who gave her a smile.
"Good, then get to the church and make sure the people are safe. I still need to take care of-"
"NARUTO!"
Cynthia seemed to have gotten out of her little stupor since the girl she was holding was now safely on the ground and she was now in the blonde's face shooting off words faster than her brain could process them.
"Naruto! I mean, Mr. Uzumaki! My Savior! My hero! Oh Gods, I made a fool out of myself earlier in front of my hero! GAH, I've already ruined my heroic image in front of the hero of heroes! Get it together Cynthia! Get! It! To! Gether!" Every last word was emphasized with her hitting herself in the head with both fists. The girl didn't stay distraught for long since not even a second later she was beaming up at the blonde once again. "Um, I know this isn't the best time and all, but I want you to know that you are my biggest inspiration! I am who I am today because of your heroic deeds! It was your fight with the Fell Dragon that gave humanity the chance to survive and I've lived my life wanting to be as strong as you! Oh gosh, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but don't worry! Even if you have not yet done said deed it is still an inspiration to me nonetheless! Please teach me to be a hero like you! I swear I'll do anything and I won't complain even once! Please make Cynthia Lockhart, Vanquisher of Evil, your eternal servant Mr. Uzumaki! Please!"
Geez, what do you even say to such devotion? On one hand, he was honored someone felt so highly of him, but on the other had it was kinda creepy the way her eyes were widening pass human limits. He swore if they got any larger they would pop right out of their sockets. And the breathing… the heavy breathing and blushing on her face did not make for a comfortable picture.
"Cynthia, this is no time for that." Lucina, the saint herself, came to his rescue with all her stoic glory. "Right now, we must make secure the area and make sure the people are safe-"
There was a loud screech in the air that brought the conversation to a quick end. Naruto immediately narrowed his eyes and jumped to the closest roof, followed by his equally curious daughter. Thinking quick, Cynthia and Lucina ran over to the Pegasus that was on standby and hopped on. Seconds later they were on the roof next to the blondes and their hearts nearly stopped at what they were seeing. A literal sea of glowing eyes were heading towards the village in a menacingly slow march. They could have stood there all day and they still probably wouldn't be able to count the number of Risen they were seeing. Every single one was armed with a weapon and they were marching towards the town with the little hesitation they were known for in the future.
Naruto looked over to the girls and was not surprised to see the girls looking as if they were staring death in the eyes. They were quivering and the hopelessness in their eyes were apparent to the immortal. It was how most humans were in the face of an enemy they knew they couldn't defeat and despite their heroism, they knew the task in front of them was far beyond their capabilities.
But then, something changed in Cynthia's eyes. They flashed from fear, to remorseful, to determination within a moment. A second later she turned around and marched towards her Pegasus. Naruto saw this and quickly ran over and grabbed the girl's wrist before she could do anything stupid.
"What the hell do you think you can do against that?" He asked coldly. The girl turned to him and it was a completely different face than the many he'd already seen her make. She was scowling at him with that same look of determination in her eyes.
"I have to stop them somehow before the village is destroyed." She gritted out as she tried to pull her arm away.
"And what exactly can you do against that?" Naruto pointed at the army behind him. He applauded the girl for running head on while thinking of the people, but getting herself killed in the process was foolish in every sense of the word. "You fly into that and you'll just be throwing your life won't save anyone and you'll only leave behind friends." There was no reason for her to throw her life away when he was here. He could defeat the army himself
"I DON'T CARE!" Cynthia shouted at the blonde much to his surprise and finally yanked her hand free. "You said that everyone is at the Cathedral, right? Then that means most of the population has not evacuated the city! Even if we evacuate, the people said this is an island! By the time they get the boats to the water and prepare to get everyone on board it will already be too late! So many people are going to die and I know it!" Tears were coming down the girl's face as she looked to the horde in defiance. "That's why, even if it's just a few minutes, I will stale for as long as I can so that as many people as possible can get away! Everyone minute I stale is another life I'm saving! That's my job as a hero! To save as many lives as possible even if it costs me my own! That's what it means to be a hero!"
This girl, she was not afraid of her own life, but the lives of the people she potentially couldn't save. People she didn't know, people who she had never even met, people she would never even have a conversation with, and she was about to give her life for those same people. She was just like Lucina. Ready to give up her own life so the future would not be rewritten. Just like Emmeryn, hated by her own people for the crimes of her father, but never giving up on them no matter the stones and curses they threw at her. She was just like… like…
At that moment, it wasn't Cynthia who was looking up at him with determined brown eyes, but a much younger Naruto Uzumaki staring him down with Jiraiya's dream on his shoulders. A dream he swore to carry out, but ultimately gave up when the going became too hard and he lost the will to move on. A dream he abandoned when his sensei fought for it to his dying breath. A dream he was stomping on for the past 50 years with his selfishness; reasons be damned.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Lucina looking at him without the mask that always hid her ocean eyes. "Naruto, I… I know I have no right to ask this considering how much I've already asked of you, but please, just this once, help us save this village." Naruto looked at the pleading eyes of the future woman that put so much trust in his strength. A teen who had suffered far more than any child should have in their early lives. Someone who had not given up on humanity even despite seeing them at their worst. He looked long at hard at the three who were ready to give their lives while also silently begging for his help.
"Dad…" That's right, he had a new reason to continue living.
Naruto didn't show any emotion outwardly as he let go of the girl's arm. He casually began walking over towards the edge of the roof they were own without uttering a word. Just when Cynthia was about to speak up, he interrupted her.
"Say, kid, you wanted to know how to be a hero, right?" Naruto asked as he walked away from the trio—not even giving her a chance to answer back. "Well, it wouldn't be good for a hero like myself to allow you to continue on without at least giving you the hero's code, right? So sit back because I'm going to teach you the rules of this selfless profession." The blonde said as he casually walked towards the horde of Risen. All the while, Cynthia watched with wide eyes as she could feel the air change around them.
"Mom, what was Naruto Uzunaki like?" A 6-year-old Cynthia asked her mother as she hugged her stuffed Falchion tighter and looked to her mother's back with hope filled eyes.
The brunette turned her head to her daughter before a smile came on her face and she turned back to flipping the eggs on the stove. "What's with the sudden question, princess?" She asked, not correcting her daughter on her mispronunciation of her lost friend's name.
"Well, I know everything about you mommy and many of the other heroes, but I don't know anything about Uzunaki. You always say he was a great guy, but that's not enough. I want to know everything about him! His likes, how he looks, how he fights, just tell me something about him! Please!" the smaller brunette sounded desperate as she looked at her mother's back expectantly. There were a few seconds of silence before the older brunette let out a sigh and turned off the stove. She swiftly removed the gloves and apron on her person before turning to her daughter who was looking at her with the most cute and innocent look she could muster.
A giggle came from the woman before she reached down and scooped her little princess into her arms. "Alright my little pega-pony-princess. I'll tell you everything about Uzumaki and more."
A smile lit up on the little toddler's face before she threw her hands up in victory and enveloped her mother in a hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou~! I love you so much, mommy!"
The older woman giggled at the joy on her daughter's face as she walked over to the kitchen table and plopping down in the closes stool. Her daughter was now on her lap with an expectant look in her beaming eyes while hugging her toy Falchion as close as it can get.
"Okay, princess, where do you want me to start?"
The younger blonde beamed brighter as a question was already on her tongue. "Oh, tell me what he was like!"
The older woman nodded before looking to the ceiling in thought.
"Well…"
"Rule #1: Throw away your fear." Naruto stated as he cracked his neck. "Fear is nothing more than a poison that puts a limitation on your mind and body. It weakens the mind and tends to have your brain second guess itself and put hesitation in your movements. It is good to fear, since it's the one emotion that influences your entire body, but fear doesn't negate courage, it beckons it. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to face it. Once you learn that, then you already know more about yourself than your enemies know about their own."
The army was getting ever so closer to the village, but it was nothing more than a secondary concern in the brunette's eyes as she continued to stare at the back of the man that stood before the army.
"…if I were to be honest, I don't really know how I would describe him in just one word. He was so honest, strong, fearless, and charming at times, yet sour, a jerk, and completely dense at other times. But if it wasn't for him, then I would have never married your dad and I wouldn't have my little pwega-pwony-pwincess~!" the brunette got a grunt of discomfort from her daughter as she assaulted her cheeks. The pout on her little girl's face made the action all the more worth it.
"But despite that, there was no one in the army I trust more than him." The woman continued as an image of her deceased friend shimmered in her head. "No matter what stood in his way, he would always find a way around it. If there was a rock in the road, then he would destroy it. If there was a valley to cross, then he would hop it. If there was an army in his way, then in his eyes, the solution was simple: cut through it."
The woman chuckled at her own words.
"He truly was the most unpredictable person I've ever met." She looked down to her daughter who was now basically bouncing in her lap.
"He sounds so cool!" Cynthia exclaimed with stars in her eyes. "I bet he could beat anybody, huh? Even Uncle Chrom!"
The woman chuckled at the look on her daughter's face. "He was quite strong dear, but his power lied not only in his strength, but in his willingness to never give up."
"Rule #2: Failure is NOT an option! One only fails when they quit. As a hero, you can't afford to be a quitter! You fight to your dying breath because a quitter never wins and a winner never quits! Always remember that when you fail, others will suffer! When you hesitate, people get hurt! And when you quit, people die! You must think about the people you are trying to protect when you are fighting, for when you have something that you need to protect, that is when you truly become strong!"
Cynthia's eyes were widening the more the immortal spoke. She couldn't help the shiver that went up her spine from the conviction in the blonde's words. His words struck every cord in her body and soul and she couldn't turn her eyes away from the man – no, the hero in front of her.
"He never quit and he never let us down. If we fell, then he would be there to pick us back up. If there was a challenge we couldn't overcome, then he would overcome it for us. If one of us had a problem, then he would help us fix it. That's just the kind of guy he was."
"Rule #3: A hero is only as good as his weapon." The duo's eyes widened as an ethereal bright orange aura surrounded the blonde. It was nothing like the energy from before. They could feel the power emanating from the blonde like a flowing river and the power only seemed to grow as the seconds went on. "Every second you don't sharpen your blade, your enemy is sharpening theirs! Every time you get weaker, your enemies get stronger! Never forsake your weapon for it is, and will forever be, the one friend that will fight with you till the end!"
The pig-tail haired girl's hand unconsciously gripped her lance. She had never thought of it more than just a weapon – a tool used to slay her foes and bring victory to her allies. She now knew how foolish her thoughts were. Her grip tightened on her weapon as if it would abandon her at any moment.
"Oh OH! What kind of weapon did he use? He had to have some kind of super strong weapon that could like, cut through mountains and stuff!" Cynthia said with equal vigor to her last questions.
"Oh, he had a weapon alright…"
"Rule #4: Heroes are made, not born! If you have the determination to succeed, then you will fucking succeed! Let no one look down on your dreams for your dreams are what makes you who you are! It's what pushes you to fight! It's what divides you from your enemies! Even if you lose, lose knowing that you fought for your goals! For your future! For your friends! Once you realize what you fight for, THAT will be all the motivation you need to succeed!"
Cynthia swore at that very moment she would never forget these words for as long as she lived.
"But there was one thing that Naruto Uzumaki always was to me and the rest of the Shepherds..."
"And the final rule," a smirk came to the immortal's face as the energy around him started to expand and take shape. First came four limbs that extended outwards and balanced themselves on the cobblestone grounds, then two ears, a maw, nine tails that bloomed from the back and finally 2 white orbs that held no pupils, but showed signs of amusement.
What now stood before the town was a nine tailed fox that stood at least 20-story's tall with intricate patterns that went along its arms, legs and torso and in the middle of the creature floated Naruto with a smirk on his face and both hands stretched to his sides. Naruto brought his hands out to his sides and the fox seemed to mimic his movements. Now in the fox's hands were two giant blue orbs of energy that made deafening screeching sounds and had shuriken wings spinning wildly around the spheres.
"…he was, and forever will be…"
Tears streamed down Cynthia's cheeks and a wide smile was plastered on her face as she stared at the back of a real life hero.
"…our hero."
"Make DAMN sure your enemies never forget your name, Dattebayo!"
Then he threw the orbs and a dome of light lit the dark sky as it completely enveloped the incoming army.
XXXX
Morgan's Diary Day 2
Cynthia is probably the best girl I've ever met! She's a little on the girly side, but her fascination with heroes made us click on a spiritual level! And the second I told her about my father, I swear her eyes lit up like stars! I've never had this fun in my life! Like, playing and talking with Cynthia was on the same level as me playing with my father! We had so much fun and it was only for a few hours! Gawds, if time didn't stop us, then we would be singing our hearts out and playing pranks on Aunt Lissa till the moon went up!
We had so much fun that Cynthia said she wanted to hang out again! This time, she said that we are going tree climbing tomorrow, so I have to go to sleep as soon as the moon hits the sky to wake up and find her at 10 A.M. sharp! I tried to go to sleep the second I got to my room, but that would only keep me up over night and I can't have that! I have a big day tomorrow and I'm not gonna let sleep or time stop me from getting to it faster!
Kinda short, but gonna end it here! Sleeps' awaitin and there's a bed with my name on it!
Later!
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I'm so excited that I can't sleep! Gawds, what do I do to sleep! Tomorrow can't come any faster?! GAH! WHY CAN'T TOMORROW COME FASTER?! GO DOWN ALREADY STUPID SUN AND LET ME SEE MY FIRST FRIEND ALREADY!
Morgan's Diary Day 3
I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRY!
A/N: FINALLY! FUCK THIS CHAPTER! JUST, FUCK THIS CHAPTER! You have NO idea how much I wanted to be done with this chapter! I literally had to dig up every once of motivation to continue writing this story just to get through this chapter! It didn't have anything to do with how I enjoyed the chapter or anything of the like. No, it's the fact that I had to re-write this stupid thing!
This entire chapter was like writing an essay that I really didn't want to write, but at the same time I really wanted to get an A on. I really just wanted to write the middle and end of this chapter, but the middle was just killing my motivation! It's a horrible feeling, but I did what had to be done and I'm FINALLY done with it! Fuck! This! CHAPTER!
Well, now that my little tantrum is over, I have a question for you all. In the beginning I was just going to say "screw it" and go with the idea I originally wanted, but as I was writing future chapters I found out that no matter what route I take, it would relatively be the same. So here is my questions for you guys: would you rather have Morgan's mother be Robin or Lucina? At this point and since the story has started, it has been leaning towards Robin, but since Naruto is will be spending a lot more time with the time traveler than the tactician, then there is still a possibility for the relationship to happen.
Second question: what are your views on harems? Now, before anyone jump to conclusions, I have no plans for this story to be a harem. Having a harem might be fun and all for me to read, but for me it takes away the 'love' aspect of the relationship. I would be down to experiment with this in the future, but I just wanted to get people's views on it if I ever wrote another fic.
To those who said good chapter: Thank you very much! There are too many of you to name but just know that I appreciate you!
5-digit: I actually found the future child thing very confusing as well. Like, they could be in Valm one minute then have to go all the way to east Ylisse just to get Laurent lol. It confused the hell out of me at the time, but I just learned to accept it and moved on. About Robin knowing her past, I actually did that for a very special reason that you honestly wont know until almost halfway through the story. Don't worry though, it's explained then.
LightninXX: I love your theories my dude and at the same time you confused the hell out of me LOL. But to answer your question, you are somewhere in the middle. Can't say much more than that without giving something away.
Aergaia: Didn't actually know that. Thanks a bunch for that information friend!
Izunama: Hope Morgan grows on you lol.
Poharan: Thanks a lot for the complement! I read back some of my old chapters and I will go back some time in the future and fix the mistakes, but your complement is appreciated!
J-Dawg: Thank man and I promise you will find that out the next chapter.
Parts of this chapter was inspired by EvilFuzzy9's I Am NOT Going Through Puberty Again!
Go and read his work. Trust me, its worth it!
Anyways, thank you all very much for the follows and reviews and hopefully I'm getting better at writing! Hoped you enjoyed this looooong chapter and as always, make sure to review, follow and favorite and hope to see you all next time!